The Child of Waterloo, or, The Horrors of the Battle-Field — page 257: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

254 THE CHILD OF WATERLOO. there were others yet left to whom she owed the debt of grateful feeling. Her grief subsided into a gentler form of melancholy, and, to the great relief of Henry, she began to talk, without the sudden gush of anguish that had marked all allusion to him, cf her grandfather, with a feeling approaching to serenity. The only thing that now detained the Mortons in London was the approaching trial of Sternholde for the murder of the young French traveler at the Morton Arms, and that the law compelled them to stay for; although they would all gladly have left him to take what fate might be meted out to him without their as- sistance. The exultation of the late hostler of the Morton Arms, now that he was able, by fixing the onus of guilt upon the real crimi- nal, to free himself from the censure even of the most censori- ous of the inhabitants of the village, was, of course, of an abounding character. He took good care of Troubled Tom, whom he provided with a lodging, with an understanding that be was to sleep as long as he liked of a morning, and all day long, if he pleased. On the day before the trial of Sternholde, Captain Morton put Jem in mind that he had hinted still at some mystery connected with his fortunes, and hoped that he would consider them, the Mortons, as quite sufficiently his friends to warrant him in be- stowing upon them his utmost confidence; to which he replied, in a voice that showed how deeply he appreciated the kind man- ner in which the question was put.— ‘*There is a mystery, Captain Morton, and it all concerns a testamentary paper, which cannot be found, and the non-pro- duction of which keeps me in constant jeopardy, because it pre- vents me from really proving that I was the eldest son of my father.” ‘Indeed! That must be looked to for you.” ‘‘My father was,” began the hostler, ‘ta retired tradesman, He had been a respectable man, and a thriving man for many years, before he committed matrimony; and when he found himself succeeding in life, he indulged himself in the luxury of a wife. This, however, was a step that entailed some extra expense and some loss of time; but he met each by increased exertions and labor; the consequence was he lost nothing by the determined manner in which he met all new calls upon him. I was his first child, and on this occasion there was a little dis- play of finery and expense; but that was to be expected; he was expected to do so by all, and such was the thought of my mother, and she would have been much mortified if he had not done so. The result of all his care and punctuality in business was he throve well, and acquired a comfortable independence; and when I was about four years old, he determined upon retiring from business, and living a small distance from London, and there enjoy himself. About this time my mother died and left me, at an early age, in the care of my father, who was unused to children; and though he had every disposition to do what was right, he was not fit to have the charge of a boy of wy age. It was altogether a thing he had not been used to, comicbooks. com