"Aubrey _ats_. Quirk and others.

"We hereby undertake to procure the execution of a good and sufficient bail-bond herein, for the above-named defendant, in due time.

"RUNNINGTON & CO., Defendant's Attorneys.

"To MR. GRAB, Officer of the Sheriff of Middles.e.x."

With this doc.u.ment lying before them, and awaiting the messenger's return from the sheriff's office, Mr. Runnington and Mr. Aubrey conversed together anxiously on the subject of Messrs. Quirk, Gammon, and Snap's bill. Mr. Aubrey was sufficiently acquainted with the general course of practice to be aware, that beyond requiring him to put in bail to the action, (special bail, as it was called,) no effectual step could be taken against him for several months to come; _i.e._ till Michaelmas term in the ensuing _November_,[7] however eager and active the plaintiffs might be: so that he had an interval of at least four months, in which, as the phrase is, "to turn himself about," and endeavor to discover some mode of extricating himself from his present serious dilemma. After reminding Mr. Aubrey that neither a peer of the realm, nor a member of Parliament, nor an attorney,[8] could become bail for him, Mr. Runnington requested the names of two or three confidential friends to whom he might apply to become security for Mr. Aubrey; and as he should be at any time able to exonerate them from liability, by surrendering his person to his creditors, he felt no hesitation in applying to them to perform for him this act of kindness. "By the way,"

said Mr. Runnington, in the course of their conversation, and with apparent carelessness, "could I say a word or two to you on a little matter of business? And will Mrs. Aubrey excuse us for a moment?"

turning towards her. She bowed, and they withdrew for a moment into the adjoining bedroom.

"Put this into your pocket," said Mr. Runnington, taking out the day's newspaper; "and when you have an opportunity, read the account of what took place yesterday in the Court of King's Bench. It startled _me_ not a little, I can tell you; and the reason of my not having been at the office when your messenger arrived was, that I had not returned from Vivian Street, whither, and to the Temple, I had gone in search of you.

For Heaven's sake, don't alarm Mrs. Aubrey, or Miss Aubrey; but, if anything occurs to you, do not lose one moment in putting yourself into communication with us. If possible, I will call at Vivian Street this evening." With this they returned to the sitting-room, nothing in their appearance calculated to alarm Mrs. Aubrey, or even attract her attention.

Shortly afterwards Grab entered the room.

"All right, sir!" said he to Mr. Runnington; and added, turning to Mr.

Aubrey, "you're no longer in my custody, sir!"

"Oh, Charles! thank G.o.d!--Let us not stay another moment!" exclaimed Mrs. Aubrey, joyously starting up, and putting on her bonnet. "Oh, let us get once more into the open street!--the sweet fresh air!--Kate will go wild with joy to see us again--Oh, dear Mr. Runnington! how can we sufficiently thank you?" she added, turning towards him enthusiastically. Within a few minutes' time they had quitted that dismal scene; and were again apparently free. On first stepping into the bright cheering sunlight, and bustling noisy street, it had a wondrous sort of freshness and novelty--to them. _Now_ they were free to go whithersoever they chose!--Oh, blessed LIBERTY!--let an Englishman lose thee for but an hour, to become aware of thy value!--It seemed to Mr.

and Mrs. Aubrey, as if ten times the real interval had elapsed between their entering and quitting the scene of his incarceration. With what exhilarated spirits they hastened homeward! as if a millstone were no longer suspended from their necks. But Mr. Aubrey suddenly bethought himself of the newspaper given him by Mr. Runnington; and it cost him, indeed, a great effort to a.s.sume a cheerfulness so foreign to his feelings.

While, however, they are thus walking homeward, intending, in the event of Mrs. Aubrey becoming fatigued, to take a coach, let me, in order to enable the reader to appreciate the paragraph to which Mr. Runnington had called Aubrey's attention, turn for a while from this virtuous and afflicted couple, to trace the leading movements of that master-spirit of evil, Mr. Gammon; for which purpose, it will be necessary to take up our history from the evening of the day in which Mr. Aubrey had called at Mr. Gammon's chambers, to forbid him visiting any longer at Vivian Street. By that time, Mr. Gammon had thoroughly thought _out_ his plan of operations. What had pa.s.sed between him and Miss Aubrey and her brother, had satisfied him that the time for calling into action all his forces had arrived; and the exact end he proposed to himself was, to plunge Mr. Aubrey at once into apparently inextricable and hopeless difficulty--into total ruin--so as to render them all more accessible to Mr. Gammon's advances, and force Miss Aubrey into entertaining his addresses, as the sole means of effecting her brother's liberation. For this purpose, it would be necessary to make him debtor to so large an amount as would preclude the interference of even the most liberally disposed of his friends. Those might very probably go as far as fifteen hundred pounds on his behalf, who could not be brought to think of twelve thousand pounds--it being borne in mind, that one alone of Mr.

Aubrey's friends, Lord De la Zouch, was already liable, on his behalf, to some eleven thousand pounds, which would become payable on the ensuing 24th of January. But the mask was not yet to be thrown off; Gammon resolved to appear the firm friend of Mr. Aubrey to the last; deprecating vehemently, and striving to avert from him, the very proceedings which he was all the while, with secret skill and vigor, urging on against him. He determined, therefore, to recall t.i.tmouse's attention to the two promissory notes for 5,000 each; to pretend reluctance to allow them to be put in suit, and yet give him clearly to understand that _he_ might do so, without fear of giving mortal offence to Mr. Gammon.

At the moment of the reader's being reintroduced to Mr. Gammon, that gentleman was sitting, about nine o'clock in the evening, at his chambers, beside a table, on which were placed a lamp, a number of papers, and coffee. In one hand he held the rough draft of his rent-charge, which had that day been sent to him by Mr. Frankpledge, and he was occasionally making pencil memoranda on the margin as he went along. He would sometimes pause in his task, as if his thoughts wandered to other subjects; his countenance looked hara.s.sed, his ample brow seemed laden with anxiety. Certainly, great as was his energy, clear as was his head, and accustomed as he was to the despatch of business of even the most difficult and varied description, all his powers were at that moment taxed to their very uttermost stretch, as a hasty glance round the room would have satisfied the reader. On the sofa lay several piles of loose papers. First, there were the draft briefs--and voluminous they were--which he was now preparing, or rather settling, in the following actions for bribery penalties, coming on for trial at the ensuing Yorkshire a.s.sizes:--

"WIGLEY V. GAMMON, (_S. J._)"[9]

"_Same_ v. MUDFLINT, (_S. J._)"

"_Same_ v. BLOODSUCK, (_S. J._)"

"_Same_ v. WOODLOUSE, (_S. J._)"

All these serious actions were being pushed forward with great vigor, at the instance of Lord De la Zouch, who had, moreover, directed them all to be made special jury causes.

Secondly, a monstrous ma.s.s of papers, also lying on the sofa, contained the heterogeneous elements, out of which it required a head as clear as Gammon's to draw up a brief for the defence in a very complicated case of _conspiracy_--"The KING V. MIDDLETON SNAKE, and OTHERS,"--and which was coming on for trial at the ensuing King's Bench sittings for London; it having been removed, on account of its great difficulty and importance, by _certiorari_[10] from the Old Bailey. It ought to have been by this time prepared; yet Mr. Gammon had scarcely even looked at the papers, though the credit of their office was at stake, as the case had attracted a large share of public attention.

Thirdly, there were scattered about threatening ma.s.ses of doc.u.ments connected with the various joint-stock companies in which Mr. Gammon was concerned, either openly or secretly--either professionally or as a shareholder; the management of many of them requiring infinite vigilance and tact. These matters, however, and many others which had acc.u.mulated, till the bare thoughts of them oppressed and distracted him, he had altogether neglected, absorbed as he was by the pursuit of Miss Aubrey, and the consummation of his schemes and purposes respecting t.i.tmouse and the Yatton property. As if all this had not been sufficient occupation for him, there was yet another of a totally different description. He was writing a series of very popular and powerful attacks in the _Sunday Flash_, upon a certain Tory ex-Minister--in fact, endeavors to write him down--and this with the privity, and even occasional a.s.sistance, of one whom Gammon intended, in due time, to make great use of, as soon as his Lordship should have sufficiently committed himself thus, and otherwise; viz. my Lord Blossom and Box. Now, Gammon had for three weeks running disappointed the numerous readers of the _Sunday Flash_, during which period, also, he had been almost baited to death upon the subject by old Quirk, the chief proprietor of the paper; and that very evening, the odious VIPER, its editor, had been there, as it were, writhing and hissing about him till he had given a positive pledge to prepare an article against the ensuing Sat.u.r.day. All these things put together, were enough for one strong-headed man to bear up against, and Gammon felt very nearly overwhelmed; and the reader will think it very excusable in Mr. Gammon, that he felt such difficulty in commanding his thoughts even to the interesting task of settling the draft of his own rent-charge on the Yatton property. He was not quite satisfied with the way in which Frankpledge had tinkered up the "_consideration_" shadowed forth in Gammon's instructions, and was just sketching off one compounded of a "certain sum of five thousand pounds of good and lawful money of Great Britain, by the aforesaid Oily Gammon, at or before the execution of these presents, paid to the said t.i.ttlebat t.i.tmouse, and the receipt whereof the said t.i.tmouse thereby acknowledged, and from the same and every part thereof, released and discharged the said Oily Gammon, his heirs, executors, administrators and a.s.signs" (!!!) and also "of the great skill, and exertion, and sacrifices of the said Oily Gammon, for and on behalf of the said t.i.ttlebat t.i.tmouse, in and in respect of the recovery of the Yatton property," &c. &c.

I say he had just finished off this little matter, and was varying one or two of the expressions, when a sharp knock at his door announced the arrival of the intelligent grantor of the aforesaid annuity, Mr.

t.i.tmouse himself, whose stylish cab was at that moment standing opposite to the entrance to Thavies' Inn, in Holborn, having brought him direct from the House of Commons, whither, however, he was to return by eleven o'clock, till which time he had paired off, in order to enable him to come and consult Mr. Gammon on one or two important matters. Poor t.i.tmouse had conceived, since his memorable interview with Gammon, formerly related, a violent hatred of Mr. Gammon; but which was almost absorbed in his dread of that gentleman, who had such unlimited power over him. The sudden and serious diminution of his income by Gammon's rent-charge, almost turned his head upside-down, and occasioned a pother in his little bosom, which was all the greater for his being unable to admit any sympathizing friend into his confidence. He had become fidgety and irritable to a degree; his countenance and demeanor troubled and depressed; from all which, the more intimate among his brother senators naturally inferred that he had lost large sums at play, or was hara.s.sed by his election expenses; or had quarrelled with his mistress, or been found out by his wife; or been kicked, and dared not call out the aggressor; or that some other such accident as frequently happens to young gentlemen of fashion, had befallen him. Now, to be candid with the reader, t.i.tmouse certainly _was_ getting into rather deep water.

Formidable creditors were beginning to look somewhat sternly after him from various quarters; his upholsterer was becoming troublesome; his wine-merchant insisted on at least four hundred pounds on account; Messrs. Jimcrack and Nicknack were surprised at having received no payment for sundry expensive articles of jewelry and _vertu_. His coach-maker, his tailor, a host of household creditors, were getting very restless; he had a running account of some 600 or 800 at the _Gliddington_, in respect of his Parliamentary and other dinners at that fashionable establishment; his yacht was a dreadful drain upon him; he had been unfortunate in his sporting speculations; in short, if Gammon had his anxieties, so had t.i.tmouse his. He felt himself getting terribly out at elbows--so much so, that he could no longer give that calm and undivided attention to his Parliamentary duties, which his enlightened const.i.tuents had a right to expect at his hands: and in short, the sole occasion of his calling on Gammon, was to see if that gentleman could devise some mode of once more replenishing his empty coffers--a further mortgage on the Yatton property being the exact mode of doing so, which he was about to propose to Gammon. It required some tact, however, as he felt, to broach that subject in the present position of affairs; so he avowed that he had called to see if _Mr. Gammon's deeds were ready for signing_--as he, t.i.tmouse, was anxious to get it off his mind. Time was very precious with Mr. Gammon; he therefore lost not a moment in plucking aside the thin disguise of t.i.tmouse, and discovering the real object of his visit. Mr. Gammon looked very serious indeed, on hearing the account of t.i.tmouse's prodigal expenditure, and remonstrated with him earnestly, and even authoritatively; but it instantly occurred to him--could there possibly be a better opportunity for broaching the subject of the two promissory notes?

"My dear t.i.tmouse," said he, with great kindness of manner, "notwithstanding all I have felt it my duty to say, I do sincerely wish it were in my power to serve you in this emergency. But we really must spare old Yatton for a little--you've sadly burdened her already;--we shall be killing the goose to get at the golden egg, if we don't mind what we're about!"

"----! But what the devil's to be _done_, Mr. Gammon? For, 'pon my soul, I'm most _particular_ hard up, and _something_ must be done."

"We must bethink ourselves of our other resources, my dear t.i.tmouse!--let us see"--he paused, with his hand resting on his forehead for a few moments--"Oh! by the way--certainly," he added suddenly--"but no! it's a thousand pities; but my word is pledged."

"Eh? what? does anything strike you, Gammon?--'Pon my life, what is it?"

inquired t.i.tmouse, p.r.i.c.king up his ears.

"Why, yes, certainly," replied Gammon, musingly--adding, as if he did not intend t.i.tmouse to hear him, "to be sure, it would put ten thousand--nay, with the interest, nearly eleven"----

"The devil it would! _What_ would? My stars, Mr. Gammon!" exclaimed t.i.tmouse, eagerly--"Do let us know what it is!"

"Why, I was certainly thinking, at the moment," replied Gammon, with a sigh, "of that poor devil Aubrey's two notes for 5,000 a-piece and interest."

t.i.tmouse's face suddenly fell. "Oh Lord! Is that all? Hang the fellow--he's a beggar--squeezed dry--nothing more to be got out of him!"

he exclaimed with mingled chagrin and contempt. "A'n't worth powder and shot! Blood from a stone!--won't have anything worth taking this ten years to come!"

"Poor fellow!" quoth Gammon.

"'Pon my soul, Gammon, it's _me_ you may say that of, I rather think!"

"Why," said Gammon, glancing rather keenly at t.i.tmouse, "my first and greatest duty on earth, my dear t.i.tmouse, is to _you_--to look after, to secure your interests; and candor compels me to say, that, whatever may be my feelings towards that unfortunate person, still, I think, you've only to squeeze _him_ pretty hard, and blood would come from _other_ people. Eh! you understand?"

"By Jove!--Indeed!--No! But would it really? How?--Squeeze away, then, and be----! Please bring an action against the fellow, the first thing in the morning! Put him in jail, and he'll get the money, I'll warrant him! Dem the fellow! why don't he pay his debts? It's devilish hard on _me_, a'n't it? Didn't I forgive him forty thousand pounds? By the way, I'd forgot there's the other ten thousand that Lord De la Zouch is surety for--when do we touch that?"

"Oh! we've taken a bond for _that_, which will not fall due before--let me see--the 24th of next January."

"'Pon my soul, what a cursed bore! But can't one do anything with it before then?"

"What! Sue on it before it's due?"

"No--egad! I mean, raise the wind on it. Surely Lord De la Zouch's name is"----

"Whew!" thought Gammon, "that stroke certainly had never occurred to me!--Ay, he's right, the little fool! Old Fang will advance 8,000 or 9,000, or more even--I'll see to it, by Jove!" Then he said aloud--"It may be possible, certainly, my dear t.i.tmouse; but I see very great obstacles in the way."

"Some cussed law point--eh?"

"Yes--but I a.s.sure you I will turn my best attention to it," he added; and proceeded to bring back t.i.tmouse to the point at which he had started off. "And speaking of poor Aubrey--it's certainly true that you have been, I may say, extravagantly liberal to him--forbearing beyond example; and I can't think that any one can be expected, when he knows a wave of his hand will put some eleven thousand pounds into his pocket, to stand by idle forever! It is not in human nature"----

"No; 'pon my life it isn't," quoth t.i.tmouse, with a puzzled air, quite unable to make out whether Gammon intended to favor or discourage the notion of immediately proceeding against Aubrey; which Gammon observing, he continued--"At all events I should say, that if you consider that your own necessities"--

"Demme! I should think so!" interposed t.i.tmouse.

"Required it--and, as you very properly observed, _you_ are the best judge; certainly"----he paused; surely--thought he--t.i.tmouse _now_ saw his drift!

"Yes--'pon my soul!" exclaimed t.i.tmouse.

"Why, in that case, it is only due to myself to say _I_ can be no party to it: I have had to bear enough already that was due to others; and since I have solemnly pledged my word of honor to Mr."----

"What the devil _do_ you mean, Gammon? Cuss me, if I can make you out a bit!" interrupted t.i.tmouse, snappishly.

"You misunderstand me, my dear t.i.tmouse! Once for all, I say, if you want the money, you must immediately sue on these notes; and my opinion is, you'll succeed--only, I _must not appear in it_, you know! But if you do choose to employ some other solicitor--there's that Mr. Spitfire, for instance--to _compel_ me to give up the notes."

"Oh Lord! Honor! No, no!--So bless me Heaven! I didn't mean anything of the kind," cried t.i.tmouse, alarmedly, fearful of offending Gammon, who could scarcely conceal his impatience and disgust at the stupidity of t.i.tmouse.

"I cannot make you understand me, t.i.tmouse! What I mean is, it is my duty not to let my feelings interfere with your interests.