Japhet, In Search Of A Father Part 1 by Frederick Marryat (read people like a book .TXT) 📕

Follow Up The Agreeable Introduction You Have Given Me To Mr Harcourt."

"My Dear Newland,  Say No More; You Will,  I Dare Say,  Do The Same For Me

If I Require It,  When I Give A Dinner. (Harcourt Caught My Eye,  As If To

Say,  "You May Safely Promise That.") But,  Newland,  Do You Know That The

Nephew Of Lord Windermear Has Just Arrived? Did You Meet Abroad?"

"No," Replied I,  Somewhat Confused; But I Soon Recovered Myself. As For

Tim,  He Bolted Out Of The Room. "What Sort Of A Person Is He?"

"That You May Judge For Yourself,  My Dear Fellow,  For I Asked Him To

Join Us,  I Must Say,  More Out Of Compliment To Lord Windermear Than

Anything Else; For I Am Afraid That,  Even I Could Never Make A Gentleman

Of Him. But Take Harcourt With You To Your Room,  And By The Time You

Have Washed Your Hands,  I Will Have Dinner On The Table. I Took The

Liberty Of Desiring Your Valet To Show Me In about Ten Minutes Ago. He'S

A Shrewd Fellow That Of Your'S--Where Did You Pick Him Up?"

"By Mere Accident," Replied I; "Come,  Mr Harcourt."

On Our Return,  We Found The Real Simon Pure,  Mr Estcourt,  Sitting With

The Major,  Who Introduced Us,  And Dinner Being Served,  We Sat Down To

Table.

Mr Estcourt Was A Young Man,  About My Own Age,  But Not So Tall By Two

Or Three Inches. His Features Were Prominent,  But Harsh; And When I Saw

Him,  I Was Not At All Surprised At Lord Windermear'S Expressions Of

Satisfaction,  When He Suppossd That I Was His Nephew. His Countenance

Was Dogged And Sullen,  And He Spoke Little; He Appeared To Place An

Immense Value Upon Birth,  And Hardly Deigned To Listen,  Except The

Aristocracy Were The Subject Of Discourse. I Treated Him With Marked

Deference,  That I Might Form An Acquaintance,  And Found Before We Parted

That Night,  That I Had Succeeded. Our Dinner Was Excellent,  And We Were

All,  Except Mr Estcourt,  In High Good Humour. We Sat Late--Too Late To

Go To The Theatre,  And Promising To Meet The Next Day At Noon,  Harcourt

And The Major Took Their Leave.

Mr Estcourt Had Indulged Rather Too Much,  And,  After Their Departure,

Became Communicative. I Plied The Bottle And We Sat Up For More Than An

Hour; He Talked Of Nothing But His Family And His Expectations. I Took

This Opportunity Of Discovering What His Feelings Were Likely To Be When

He Was Made Acquainted With The Important Secret Which Was In My

Possession. I Put A Case Somewhat Similar,  And Asked Him Whether In Such

Circumstances He Would Waive His Right For A Time,  To Save The Honour Of

His Family.

"No,  By G--D!" Replied He,  "I Never Would. What! Give Up Even For A Day

My Right--Conceal My True Rank For The Sake Of Relatives? Never--Nothing

Would Induce Me."

I Was Satisfied,  And Then Casually Asked Him If He Had Written To Lord

Windermear To Inform Him Of His Arrival.

"No," Replied He; "I Shall Write To-Morrow." He Soon After Retired To

His Own Apartment,  And I Rang For Timothy.

"Good Heavens,  Sir!" Cried Timothy,  "What Is All This--And What Are You

About? I Am Frightened Out Of My Wits. Why,  Sir,  Our Money Will Not Last

Two Months."

"I Do Not Expect It Will Last Much Longer,  Tim; But It Cannot Be

Helped. Into Society I Must Get--And To Do So,  Must Pay For It."

"But,  Sir,  Putting The Expense Aside,  What Are We To Do About This Mr

Estcourt? All Must Be Found Out."

"I Intend That It Shall Be Found Out,  Tim," Replied I; "But Not Yet. He

Will Write To His Uncle To-Morrow; You Must Obtain The Letter,  For It

Must Not Go. I Must First Have Time To Establish Myself,  And Then Lord

Windermear May Find Out His Error As Soon As He Pleases."

"Upon My Honour,  Japhet,  You Appear To Be Afraid Of Nothing."

"I Fear Nothing,  Tim,  When I Am Following Up The Object Of My Wishes. I

Will Allow No Obstacles To Stand In My Way,  In My Search After My

Father."

"Really,  You Seem To Be Quite Mad On That Point,  Japhet."

"Perhaps I May Be,  Tim," Replied I,  Thoughtfully. "At All Events,  Let Us

Go To Bed Now,  And I Will Tell You To-Morrow Morning,  All The Events Of

This Day."

Mr Estcourt Wrote His Letter,  Which Tim Very Officiously Offered To Put

Into The Post,  Instead Of Which We Put It Between The Bars Of The Grate.

I Must Now Pass Over About Three Weeks,  During Which I Became Very

Intimate With The Major And Mr Harcourt,  And Was Introduced By Them To

The Clubs,  And Almost Every Person Of Fashion. The Idea Of My Wealth,

And My Very Handsome Person And Figure,  Ensured Me A Warm Reception,  And

I Soon Became One Of The Stars Of The Day. During This Time,  I Also

Gained The Entire Confidence Of Mr Estcourt,  Who Put Letter After Letter

Into The Hands Of Timothy,  Who Of Course Put Them Into The Usual Place.

I Pacified Him As Long As I Could,  By Expressing My Opinion,  That His

Lordship Was On A Visit To Some Friends In The Neighbourhood Of His

Seat; But At Last,  He Would Remain In Town No Longer. You May Go Now,

Thought I,  I Feel Quite Safe.

It Was About Five Days After His Departure,  As I Was Sauntering,  Arm In

Arm With The Major,  Who Generally Dined With Me About Five Days In The

Week,  That I Perceived The Carriage Of Lord Windermear,  With His

Lordship In It. He Saw Us,  And Pulling His Check-String,  Alighted,  And

Coming Up To Us,  With The Colour Mounting To His Forehead With Emotion,

Returned The Salute Of The Major And Me.

"Major," Said He,  "You Will Excuse Me,  But I Am Anxious To Have Some

Conversation With Mr Newland; Perhaps," Continued His Lordship,

Addressing Me,  "You Will Do Me The Favour To Take A Seat In My

Carriage?"

Fully Prepared,  I Lost None Of My Self-Possession,  But,  Thanking His

Lordship,  I Bowed To Him,  And Stepped In.

His Lordship Followed,  And,  Saying To The Footman,  "Home--Drive Fast,"

Fell Back In The Carriage,  And Never Uttered One Word Until We Had

Arrived,  And Had Entered The Dining-Parlour. He Then Took A Few Steps Up

And Down,  Before He Said,  "Mr Newland,  Or Whatever Your Name May Be,  I

Perceive That You Consider The Possession Of An Important Secret To Be

Your Safeguard. To State My Opinion Of Your Conduct Is Needless; Who You

Are,  And What You Are,  I Know Not; But," Continued He,  No Longer

Controlling His Anger; "You Certainly Can Have No Pretensions To The

Character Of A Gentleman."

"Perhaps Your Lordship," Replied I,  Calmly,  "Will Inform Me Upon What

You May Ground Your Inference."

"Did You Not,  In The First Place,  Open A Letter Addressed To Another?"

"My Lord,  I Opened A Letter Brought To Me With The Initials Of My Name,

And At The Time I Opened It I Fully Believed That It Was Intended For

Me."

"We Will Grant That,  Sir; But After You Had Opened It You Must Have

Known That It Was For Some Other Person."

"I Will Not Deny That,  My Lord."

"Notwithstanding Which,  You Apply To My Lawyer,  Representing Yourself As

Another Person,  To Obtain Sealed Papers."

"I Did,  My Lord; But Allow Me To Say,  That I Never Should Have Done So,

Had I Not Been Warned By A Dream."

"By A Dream?"

"Yes,  My Lord. I Had Determined Not To Go For Them,  When In a Dream I

Was Ordered So To Do."

"Paltry Excuse! And Then You Break Private Seals."

"Nay,  My Lord,  Although I Did Go For The Papers,  I Could Not,  Even With

The Idea Of Supernatural Interposition,  Make Up My Mind To Break The

Seals. If Your Lordship Will Recollect,  It Was You Who Broke The Seals,

And Insisted Upon My Reading The Papers."

"Yes,  Sir,  Under Your False Name."

"It Is The Name By Which I Go At Present,  Although I Acknowledge It Is

False; But That Is Not My Fault--I Have No Other At Present."

"It Is Very True,  Sir,  That In all I Have Now Mentioned,  The Law Will

Not Reach You; But Recollect,  That By Assuming Another Person'S Name--"

"I Never Did,  My Lord," Interrupted I.

"Well,  I May Say,  By Inducing Me To Believe That You Were My Nephew,  You

Have Obtained Money Under False Pretences; And For That I Now Have You

In My Power."

"My Lord,  I Never Asked You For The Money; You Yourself Paid It Into The

Banker'S Hands To My Credit,  And To My Own Name. I Appeal To You Now,

Whether,  If You So Deceived Yourself,  The Law Can Reach Me?"

"Mr Newland,  I Will Say,  That Much As I Regret What Has Passed,  I Regret

More Than All The Rest,  That One So Young,  So Prepossessing,  So Candid

In Appearance,  Should Prove Such An Adept In deceit. Thinking You Were

My Nephew,  My Heart Warmed Towards You,  And I Must Confess,  That Since I

Have Seen My Real Nephew,  The Mortification Has Been Very Great."

"My Lord,  I Thank You; But Allow Me To Observe,  That I Am No Swindler.

Your Thousand Pounds You Will Find Safe In The Bank,  For Penury Would

Not Have Induced Me To Touch It. But Now That Your Lordship Appears More

Cool,  Will You Do Me The Favour To Listen To Me? When You Have Heard My

Life Up To The Present,  And My Motives For What I Have Done,  You Will

Then Decide How Far I Am To Blame."

His Lordship Took A Chair,  And Motioned To Me To Take Another. I

Narrated What Had Occurred When I Was Left At The Foundling,  And Gave

Him A Succinct Account Of My Adventures Subsequently--My Determination

To Find My Father--The Dream Which Induced Me To Go For The Papers--And

All That The Reader Has Already Been Acquainted With. His Lordship

Evidently Perceived The Monomania Which Controlled Me,  And Heard Me With

Great Attention.

"You Certainly,  Mr Newland,  Do Not Stand So Low In My Opinion As You Did

Before This Explanation,  And I Must Make Allowances For The Excitement

Under Which I Perceive You To Labour On One Subject; But Now,  Sir,  Allow

Me To Put One Question,  And I Beg That You Will Answer