I now, therefore, recommend you--since you have suggested the thing--immediately to put yourself into the hands--as far as this little business is concerned--of some other solicitor, say Mr. Spitfire, in Scorpion Court; and whatever he advises you to do--_do_ without hesitation. You will probably tell him that, if he demands the two notes on your behalf, I may, for form's sake, resist: but I know I shall be ordered to give them up! Well--I can't help it!"

"Honor now, Gammon! May I do as I like?" inquired t.i.tmouse, stupidly.

"Honor!"

"And you won't be angry? Not a bit! eh?"

"On my sacred word of honor!" replied Gammon, solemnly, placing his hand on his breast.

"Then fire away, Flannagan!" cried t.i.tmouse, joyfully snapping his fingers. "By Jove, here goes! Here's for a jolly squeeze! Aha! Ten thousand drops of blood!--by Jove, he'll bleed to death! But, by the way, what will Mr. Quirk say?"

"Curse Mr. Quirk!" cried Gammon, impatiently; "you know the course you are to pursue--you are your own master, surely? What has Mr. Quirk to do with you, when I allow you to act in this way?"

"To be sure! Well! here's a go! Wasn't it a lucky thought of mine to come here to-night? But don't you forget the other ten thousand--the two make twenty thousand, by Jove! I'm set up again--aha! And as soon as ever the House is up, if I don't cut away in my span-new yacht, with a lot of jolly chaps, to the East Indies, or some _other_ place that'll take us a good six weeks, or so, to go and come back in. Hollo! Is that eleven o'clock striking?" he inquired with a start, taking out his watch; "It is, by Jove! and my pair's up; they'll be dividing--I'm off!

Good-night."

"You remember where Mr. Spitfire lives'!" said Gammon, anxiously. "In Scorpion Court, Strand. I must say he's one of the most respectable men in the profession; and _so_ quick!"

"Ah--I remember! I'll be with him the moment after breakfast!" replied t.i.tmouse: Gammon shook him by the hand--feeling, when he had shut both his doors, as if he had been playing with an ape. "Oh, thou indefinable and undiscoverable principle regulating human affairs!" thought he, falling into a revery, a bitter scowl settling on his strongly-marked features; "of what nature soever thou art, and if any such there really be, what conceivable purpose canst thou have had in view in placing this execrable idiot and ME, in our relative positions?" He pursued this line of reflection for some time, till he had got into a far more melancholy and misanthropical humor than he had ever before fallen into--till, recollecting himself, and with a deep sigh, he rang for a fresh supply of coffee from his drowsy laundress; and then exerted himself vigorously till nearly five o'clock in the morning, at which hour he sank, exhausted, into bed.

During the ensuing day, sure enough, he received a communication signed "_Simeon Spitfire_," and dated from "_Scorpion Court_," informing him that its respectable writer "was instructed to apply to him, on the part of Mr. t.i.tmouse, for the immediate delivery up of two promissory notes for 5,000 each, given by one Charles Aubrey to the aforesaid t.i.tmouse," and "begging Mr. Gammon's immediate attention thereto."

Gammon instantly copied out and sent an answer which he had carefully prepared beforehand--taking very high ground indeed, but slipping in, with a careful inadvertence, an encouraging admission of the strict _legal_ right of Mr. Spitfire's client. 'T was, in short, a charming letter--showing its writer to be one of the most fastidiously high-minded men living; but producing not the least favorable effect upon the mind of Mr. Spitfire, who instantly forwarded a formal and peremptory demand of the two doc.u.ments in question. Gammon wrote a second letter, alluding to an unguarded (!) admission made in his former communication, which he most devoutly hoped would not be used against him; and in terms of touching and energetic eloquence, rea.s.serted that, though the letter of the law might be against him, he conceived that, in point of honor, and indeed of justice, he was warranted in adhering to the solemn promise which he had made to a gentleman for whom he entertained the most profound respect; and, in short, he flatly refused to give up the instruments demanded! Irrepressible was the exultation of Mr. Spitfire, on finding himself getting so much the better of so astute a person as Mr. Gammon! and he took an opportunity of showing to every one who came to his little office, how Mr. Gammon had laid himself open to the superior tactics of him--the aforesaid Mr. Spitfire!--He then, with profound astuteness, wrote a fine flourishing letter to wind up the correspondence, and stick into an affidavit; in the course of which he apprised Mr. Gammon that the Court of King's Bench would be immediately applied to, for a rule calling upon him, forthwith, to deliver up the doc.u.ments in question. On this, Mr. Gammon drew up an imposing and admirable affidavit, setting forth all the correspondence; and, as soon as he had been served with the rule _nisi_, he instructed Sir Charles Wolstenholme, (the late Attorney-General,) Mr. Sterling, and Mr.

Crystal, to "_show cause_" against it; knowing, of course, quite as well as did counsel, with whom he did not think it necessary to hold a consultation, (for fear they should press him to give up the promissory notes without showing cause,) that there was no earthly chance of successfully resisting the rule.--When he took his seat under Sir Charles, just before that learned person rose to show cause, he touched Mr. Gammon on the shoulder, and very warmly complimented him on the highly honorable and friendly feeling which he had manifested towards the unfortunate Mr. Aubrey; but "feared that the case, as far as the legal merits went, was too plain for argument;--but he had looked with unusual care over the affidavits on which the rule had been obtained, and at the _form_ of the rule itself--and rejoiced to say he felt confident that he should be able to discharge it with costs:"--at which Mr. Gammon turned suddenly pale--with joyous surprise, as Sir Charles imagined--he not knowing Gammon so well as we do!--The reader is now in a position to appreciate the following report of what took place--and (_inter nos_) which said report had been drawn up for the _Morning Growl_, by Mr. Gammon himself.

COURT OF KING'S BENCH. Yesterday.

(_Sittings in Banco._)

_Ex parte_ t.i.tMOUSE.

"This was a rule, obtained by Mr. SUBTLE on a previous day of the term, calling upon Mr. Gammon, of the firm of Quirk, Gammon, and Snap, of Saffron Hill, Hatton Garden, to show cause why he should not forthwith deliver up to Mr. t.i.tmouse, M. P. for Yatton, two promissory notes, each for the payment, on demand to that gentleman, of 5,000, with interest, by Charles Aubrey. Sir CHARLES WOLSTENHOLME, Mr. STERLING, and Mr. CRYSTAL, now appeared to show cause--and took a preliminary objection to the form of the rule.

After a very long discussion, the Court decided that the rule might be moulded so as to meet the facts of the case, and directed cause to be shown on the merits.

"From the affidavits filed in answer to the rule, it appeared that, shortly after the termination of the late important case of _Doe dem. t.i.tmouse_ v. _Jolter_, (in which, it will be recollected, the lessor of the plaintiff succeeded in establishing his right to very large estates in Yorkshire,) Mr. Gammon had been very active in endeavoring to effect an amicable arrangement concerning the mesne profits; and, after great exertions, had persuaded his client Mr.

t.i.tmouse to enter into an arrangement highly advantageous to Mr.

Aubrey--who was to be released, (as we understood,) from no less a sum than Sixty Thousand Pounds, due in respect of the mesne profits, on giving the two promissory notes which were the subject of the present application. It further appeared, that on obtaining Mr. Aubrey's signature to these promissory notes, Mr. Gammon had explicitly and repeatedly a.s.sured him that he need be under no apprehension of being called on for payment for several years; but that the notes should remain in the hands of Mr. Gammon, and should not be put in suit till after a twelvemonth's notice should have been given to Mr. Aubrey. It did not distinctly appear whether Mr.

t.i.tmouse was ever made aware of this understanding between Mr.

Gammon and Mr. Aubrey--at all events, nothing had ever pa.s.sed in writing upon the subject. Mr. Gammon, on the contrary, frankly admitted it to be _possible_ that Mr. t.i.tmouse might have been under the impression, while surrendering so great a claim against Mr. Aubrey, that the sum secured by the two promissory notes was to have been before this time liquidated. There was no affidavit made on the subject by Mr. Aubrey. It also appeared that Mr. t.i.tmouse had not hitherto received any portion of the large amount, 20,000, yet due in respect of the mesne profits. The affidavits read by the Attorny-General set forth a correspondence which had taken place between Mr. t.i.tmouse's solicitor and Mr. Gammon, in which the latter insisted, in the most strenuous terms, upon the _honorable_ engagement under which he conceived himself to be to Mr. Aubrey, and solemnly declared his belief that Mr. Aubrey was under a similar impression; at the same time, there were expressions in Mr.

Gammon's letters, from which it was plain that he was aware of the right, in point of strict law, of Mr. t.i.tmouse, to the doc.u.ments in question. It also appeared from the affidavits of Mr. t.i.tmouse, and was not denied by those of Mr. Gammon, that the former had repeatedly urged the latter to deliver up the notes, or commence proceedings against Mr. Aubrey--but that Mr. Gammon had, on all such occasions previous to the present one, succeeded in dissuading him from his purpose. It had, moreover, been alleged on behalf of Mr. t.i.tmouse, that Mr. Gammon was acting in collusion with Mr.

Aubrey to defeat the just claim of Mr. t.i.tmouse; but this Sir Charles Wolstenholme indignantly disclaimed on the part of Mr.

Gammon, whose conduct throughout showed the nicest sense of honor, and the utmost possible anxiety to interfere between an unfortunate gentleman and utter ruin. But,

"The COURT, without calling on Mr. SUBTLE, (with whom were Mr.

GOOSE and Mr. MUD,) said the rule must clearly be made absolute.

The legal right of Mr. t.i.tmouse to the notes was admitted by Mr.

Gammon's own affidavit; and there was no pretence for holding that, as against Mr. t.i.tmouse, Mr. Gammon, who was only _one_ of that gentleman's attorneys, had any right to withhold the doc.u.ments in question. No authority from Mr. t.i.tmouse to Mr. Gammon to make the alleged representations to Mr. Aubrey, had been shown, and consequently that gentleman could in no way be bound by them. He was not even shown to have been aware of them. It was not pretended that Mr. Gammon, or any of his partners, had any lien on the notes, which must be therefore given up to Mr. t.i.tmouse. With respect to the imputation against Mr. Gammon, of being in collusion with Mr.

Aubrey, Lord Widdrington added, that from what his Lordship himself knew of Mr. Aubrey, it was impossible for a moment to imagine him capable of anything inconsistent with the strictest honor; and that Mr. Gammon's conduct showed that, though mistaken as to the extent of his power over the notes intrusted to him, he had acted from the purest motives, and evinced an honorable anxiety to serve the interests of one whom he believed to be unfortunate.--The rule was then made absolute; but on Mr. Subtle applying for the costs, the remainder of the day was occupied in an elaborate discussion upon the question--which, however, was eventually referred to the Master."

Nor was this all. The intelligent editor of the _Morning Growl_, happening to cast his eye over the above, while lying in proofs, made it the subject of an eloquent leading article, in which were contained many just and striking reflections on the continual inconsistency between law (as administered in England) and justice--of which the present--he said--was a glaring instance. It was truly lamentable--it seemed--to find truth and honor, generosity and justice, all sacrificed to the wretched technicalities, the petty quirks and quibbles, of the law--which required a radical reform. Indeed, the whole system of our jurisprudence called for the most searching revision, which, he hoped, would ere long take place. Then followed some powerful animadversions upon the conduct of Lord Widdrington, in giving effect to such pettifogging subterfuges as had that day served plainly to defeat the ends of justice; and the article concluded by calling upon us Lordship to resign his seat on the bench! and make way for a more liberal and enlightened successor, who would decide every case that came before him, according to the dictates of natural equity and common sense, without being trammelled by such considerations as at present fettered and impeded the due administration of justice. It did so happen, _inter nos_, that this same incompetent Lord Widdrington had called down upon himself and his court the foregoing philippic, by having imposed a smart fine upon the publisher of the _Morning Growl_, and super-added a twelvemonth's imprisonment, for an execrable libel upon an amiable and dignified ecclesiastic; and this, too, his Lordship had done, after overruling an almost interminable series of frivolous and vexatious technical objections to the proceedings, urged by the defendant's counsel, in conformity with the instructions which he had received, to take every possible advantage.

CHAPTER VI.

At the earliest moment at which Mr. Aubrey could, without suspicion, extricate himself from the embraces of his overjoyed wife, sister, and children, on his return to Vivian Street, he withdrew to his study, in order--professedly--to despatch some letters; but really to peruse the paper which had been given to him by Mr. Runnington, with such ominous significance. His eye soon caught the words "_Ex parte_ t.i.tmouse"--and he glanced over the above report of the proceedings, with exceeding agitation. He read it over twice or thrice, and felt really sick at heart.

"Oh, unfathomable Gammon!" he exclaimed at length, aloud, laying down the paper, and sinking into his chair. "Surely I am the weakest, or you the subtlest of mankind!" He turned over in his thoughts everything that he could recollect of Gammon's conduct, from the first moment that they had met. He felt completely baffled and bewildered. Again he perused the report of the proceedings in the King's Bench--and would have again relapsed into thought; but his eye happened to alight on two or three notes lying on his table, where they had been placed by f.a.n.n.y, having come in his absence. He opened the first listlessly, not knowing the handwriting; but, on unfolding it, he started violently on recognizing that of Gammon, within; and with mingled wonder and fear, read as follows:--

_"Thavies' Inn._

"DEAR SIR,--Heaven only knows when or where these hasty lines will find you. I am forced to address them to Vivian Street, being in total ignorance of your intended movements. If you have not taken my advice, and withdrawn from the kingdom, I know not what grievous indignity may not have befallen you. You may have been torn from your family, and now incarcerated in prison, the victim of a most cruel and inveterate rapacity. My conscience bears me witness that I can say--I can do--no more for you. I am grossly misrepresented--I am insulted, by having base and sinister motives attributed to me, for my conduct towards you--for my anxious and repeated interference on your behalf. In the _Morning Growl_ of to-day you will probably see--if you have not already seen--the report of some proceedings against me, yesterday, in the Court of King's Bench. It may apprise you of _the last_ desperate stand I have made for you. It is with bitter regret--it is with a feeling of deep indignation, that I tell you I am unable to fulfil my solemn, my deliberate, my repeated promise to you concerning the two promissory notes which you deposited with me, in implicit reliance on my honor. Alas! you must prepare for the worst! Mr.

t.i.tmouse and his new adviser can have, of course, but _one object_ in requiring the surrender of the two promissory notes, which I have already been compelled to give up, under peril of an attachment for contempt of court. I have strained, G.o.d knows! every nerve on your behalf; have all but fatally quarrelled with Mr.

t.i.tmouse, and with my partners; and I stand in some measure compromised, by the recent proceedings, before the profession and the public--and _all in vain_! Yet, once more--if you are not blinded and infatuated beyond all example or belief--I implore you, in the name of Heaven--by every consideration that should influence a man of honor and of feeling--fly!--lose not a second after reading these lines, (which I entreat you to destroy when read,) or _that second_ may involve your ruin--and the ruin of all connected with you! Believe me, your distressed--your unalterable friend,

"O. G."

Mr. Aubrey laid down this letter; and sinking back again into his chair, yielded for some moments to an impulse very nearly akin to despair. "Oh G.o.d!" he exclaimed, pressing his hand against his aching forehead--"to what hast Thou destined us, Thy wretched creatures!--I am forbidden to believe--I cannot--I will not believe--that Thou hast made us only to torment us; yet, alas! my spirit is at length drooping under these acc.u.mulated evils!--Oh G.o.d! oh G.o.d! I am blind. Give me sight, to discern Thy will concerning me!--Oh give me not up to despair! _Break not the bruised reed!_ _Quench not the smoking flax!_--What is to become of me? Is this man Thy messenger of evil to me? Is he the subtle and vindictive fiend I fear him to be? What can be his object--his motive--for resorting to such tortuous and complicated scheming against us as must be his _if_ he be playing the hypocrite?--or is he really what he represents himself? And am I guilty of groundless distrust--of gross ingrat.i.tude?--What shall I think, what can I do? Oh my G.o.d, preserve my senses to me--my understanding! My brain seems reeling! My perceptions are becoming disturbed!--Perhaps this very night the frightful scene of the morning may be acted over again! again my bleeding heart be torn from those it loves--to whom Thou hast united it!"--A deep sigh, or rather groan, burst from him; and leaning over the table, he buried his face in his hands, and remained for some time in that posture.

"What am I to do?" he presently inquired, rising, and walking to and fro. "_Fly_--he says! Were I weak and unprincipled enough to do so, should I not, in all human probability, fall into the deepest pit he has dug for me?--but be that as it may--_fly_ I will not! Never! Never!

Those dear--those precious beings in yonder room"--his heart thrilled within him--"may weep for me, but shall never BLUSH for me!"

"Why--how horrid is my position!" he presently exclaimed to himself!

"Ten thousand pounds and upwards, must either I pay, or Lord De la Zouch for me, within a few months;--here is a second ten thousand pounds, with nearly five hundred pounds of interest; I have been to-day arrested for nearly fifteen hundred pounds; and this man t.i.tmouse holds my bond for two thousand pounds more, and interest! Is it, then, Thy will, O G.o.d! that I am to sink beneath my troubles? Am I to perish from Thy sight? To be crushed beneath Thy displeasure?--Or merciful Father!--wilt THOU save me, _when there is none other to help_?"

Calmness seemed stealing insensibly over his troubled spirits; his agitated feelings sank gradually into an indescribable and wonderful repose; in that dismal moment of extreme suffering, his soul became blessedly sensible of its relationship to G.o.d;--that he was not the miserable victim of _chance_--as the busy spirit of darkness incessantly whispered in his ear--but in the hands of the _Father of the spirits of all flesh_, who listened, in his behalf, to the pleading of One _touched with the feeling of our infirmities_--_who was in all points tempted, even as we are_. His fainting soul felt sustained by the grace for which it had sought; the oil and balm of a sound scriptural consolation were poured into his wounds. Before his quickened eye arose many bright figures of those who had gloriously overcome the fiercest a.s.saults of the Evil One, resisting even unto death:--he felt for a moment _compa.s.sed about by a great cloud of witnesses_ to the mercy and goodness of G.o.d. Oh, in that moment, how, wonderfully little seemed the sorrows which had before appeared so great! He felt, in a manner, at once humbled and exalted. Invisible support clung to his confident soul--as if he were surrounded by the arm of Him _who will not suffer us to be tempted above what we are able; but will, with the temptation, also make a way to escape, that we may be able to bear it_. He sank silently upon his knees; and with clasped hands, and his face raised towards heaven, with profound contrition of spirit, yet with firm faith, besought the mercy which G.o.d has promised to those who thus will ask for it. Thus occupied, he did not perceive the door gently opened, and by Mrs. Aubrey--who, closing it hastily after her, flung her arm round his neck, sinking down beside him, and in a low, fond voice, exclaimed--"Oh, my own love! My own Charles! My poor, oppressed, persecuted, heart-broken husband! Pray for me--me also!" He gently returned her embrace, looking at her unutterable things; and after they had remained thus for a few moments, they arose. He gazed at her with unspeakable tenderness, and a countenance full of serenity and resignation. He gently soothed her agitated feelings, and succeeded in communicating to her a measure of the composure which he experienced himself. Before they had quitted that little room, he had even apprised her faithfully of the peril which momentarily menaced them; and again the cold waters gushed over her soul. At length, however, she had recovered her self-possession sufficiently to return to the room she had quitted, and instantly blanched Miss Aubrey's cheek by communicating the new terrors which threatened them.

Just as they were finishing dinner--a mere mockery, however, of a meal--a double knock at the door occasioned them all not a little agitation; but, as the event proved, needlessly, since it announced the arrival of only their kind, experienced friend, Mr. Runnington--who evidently felt infinitely relieved at finding that Mrs. Aubrey and Miss Aubrey had been made acquainted by Mr. Aubrey with the additional source of apprehension afforded by the report of the preceding day's doings in the King's Bench. Mr. Runnington felt a.s.sured that within twenty-four hours' time, proceedings would be taken against Mr. Aubrey; whom, however, he reminded, that as in the former, so in the antic.i.p.ated case, the extent of his immediate anxiety would be the finding bail for so very serious an amount; but that difficulty surmounted, he would be safe from personal annoyance and apprehension till the ensuing November. Mr.

Aubrey then apprised Mr. Runnington of the death of Lady Stratton, and the grievous events connected with it, amid the tears and sobs of Mrs.

Aubrey and Kate. Though he said but little, his countenance showed how much he was shocked by the intelligence. "Never in my experience," at length he observed, "a thirty-six years' experience in the profession, have I heard of, or met with, such a case of complicated misfortune as yours! 'But it is,' as the old proverb has it, 'a long lane that has no turning.' We must trust, my dear sir, to the chapter of accidents."

"Oh, Mr. Runnington!" interrupted Aubrey, with animation, "there _is_ no such thing!--It is the _order of Providence_!"

They then entered into a long conversation; in the course of which--"If our fears--our worst fears--be confirmed," observed Runnington, "and they venture to put in suit these two notes--then they will have thrown down the gauntlet. I'll take it up--and there's no knowing what may happen when we come to close quarters. First and foremost, I'll tax away every farthing of the alleged 'balance' of their monstrous bill--ay, I'll stake my reputation on it, that I leave them not a shilling; but, on the contrary, prove that you have already greatly overpaid them."

"Alas! have I not, however, pledged myself to Mr. Gammon _not_ to do so?" interrupted Aubrey.

"Pshaw!--Forgive me, but this is absurd. Indeed, Mr. Aubrey, it is really out-heroding Herod! All is fair against adversaries such as these! Besides, if you must be so scrupulous and fastidious--and I honor you for it--there's another way of putting it, which I fancy settles the matter. By Mr. t.i.tmouse putting these bills in suit, Messrs.

Quirk, Gammon, and Snap's promise to you is not performed--it is broken; and so there is an end of yours, which is dependent upon the performance of theirs."

"That is only on the supposition that they are playing me false--whereas the proceedings yesterday in court, especially when coupled with Mr.

Gammon's letters to me"----

"All hollow! hollow!" replied Mr. Runnington, shaking his head.--"False and hypocritical! Who could trust to _Gammon_? This fellow t.i.tmouse, whom they are doubtless fleecing daily, is, in all probability, desperately driven for ready money; and they have allowed him to get hold of these two bills, after a sham resistance on the part of Gammon, in order to call forward your friends to the rescue--that's their game, depend upon it!" Mr. Aubrey fired at the bare thought. "Yet I must own I am at a loss to discover what motive or object Mr. Gammon can have for going so far out of his way to secure your good opinion, or for wrapping himself in so impenetrable a disguise. He is a very, very deep devil, that Gammon; and, depend upon it, has some sinister purpose to effect, which you will by-and-by discover!" Mr. Aubrey then, for the first time, acquainted Mr. Runnington with Gammon's recent proposals to Miss Aubrey, at which Mr. Runnington seemed for some moments struck dumb with astonishment.

"I presume," at length said he, turning with a brief and sad smile towards Miss Aubrey, whose reddening cheek betokened the interest she felt in the conversation--"I presume, Miss Aubrey, there is no chance of our seeing you pa.s.s into--Mrs. Gammon?"

"I should rather think not, Mr. Runnington," she replied with sufficient loftiness of manner; "and I am quite at a loss, to conceive what could possibly have put such a thing into his head."