The Mysteries of London, Vol. IV — page 288: what you’re looking at

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a tn THE MYSTEMIES OF Lonnan. : — here rocce melting and ¢endor than hie, which were meat dowith the flre of a noble and pencrono, at;—and never did man nor woman porcess finer weth than theirs. Both were fond of mucie and erawisg: both were imbued with deep religions f-clingr, finecre and even enthusiastie—bDut utterly | devoid of bigotry and wncharitablences;—and both ; loved virtue for its own sake. Faith with them ; wasadelight and an Inspiration encouraging fond ' hopes in respect to this world and confidence in the | next-a religion that knew naught of ascctic gloom, but that seemed to traco life's pathwar | amidst love, and perfume, and flowers | Mfrs. Pomfret had died when Ellen was about | fourteen; and for the twa following years the f maiden was blessed with the companionship and | counsels of a kind aunt, who, immediately after the | decease of her sister, took up her abode in the | { | bad g é houre. But death snatched her away to the tomb Bhortly after the sixteenth bicth-day of her nicce, who was thus left alono as it were with her father. Mr. Pomfret, though s kind and well-meaning man originally, was not a prudent one. He had an over-weening confidence In his commercial abilitics and financial foresight; and he was thus led into epeculations from which his friends, had he con- descended to consult them, wonld hare dissuaded him. Many of these speculations he undartool: on his own private account, and independently of the firm of which, 25 above described, he becamo the head; and his numerous affairs accordingly kept him much away from home. Ellen was therefore a great deal alone: for maidenly pradenco pre- vented her from calling in next door as often as she could havo desired, or as Leonard would havo wished to seo her. Still sho did now and then pass an hour or two with Mr. Mitchell and his 600, ree licting tho latter in his task of reading or bis post ot the chess-table. The old gentleman was deeply attached to Elen Pomfret; and the more so, inas- much as it appeared to boa settled thing that tho two families were to be closely united by means of the marriago of the young people. But no day was fixed for this event—nor indeed did the engarement appear to be moro than a tacit one; for the reader must remember that at the time when we introduce the hero and heroine of this narrative, the former was only twenty years of age, and the latter nineteen, The third house to which our present history especially refers, was inhabited by an old bachelor, Who at tho time alluded to was upwards of Sixty, | le was a fine man for his age—boasted that be had 1 not yet taken to spectacles—and walked as upright | and a® rapidly as if ho were twenty years younger, | His rubicund countenance was the very picture of | food-nature: and a very good-natured being he in | reality was. But he was whimsical and eccentric toa degree; and, though very rich and proud of his i Clepgantly furnished abode, lie seldom invited a , Krown-up person to cross his threshold—much Iecss ; to partake of his hospitality. But, on the other ‘ hand, he was devotedly attached to children; and ‘his preatest delight was to assemble a dozen or £0 j of his neighbours’ little sons and daughters in his ‘ comfortable parlour or handsome drawing-room, " and make them all as happy as he could. This was certainly a strange and most unusual predilection ‘or an old bachelor to enterteins—but there are ex- ceptions to all rulkks—and Mr. Gamble was a living proof of the dogma. He was wont to say that it wee eee le ee ~——w e e ew ee an ee did Lis heart pood to beheld ro-v-eeherhed) flagene haired, lauching-csed children ramping about Lim, o—that it awakened ble--ed feclinps in his poul to hear their merry shouts and witness their innce nt mirth,-and that be fancied himeelf vounp aesi4 When pretiding at the table around whieh he ae thered them, and where he dispensed fruit, cake, fweet wine, ond comfitures with no nigeard hand, Be it undcretood, then, that—-at least to our mind— “fr. Gamble was a most estimatle chararter: for ha who is fond? of children cannot possibly be an bad man—wwhereas we have no confidence whatever in the individual who docs not experience a lively in- terestin thoce exdesrinr, artless little beings. Mr, Gamble did not consider it to beat all dcropators to his nature or his ago, to join in the infantile fports Which he loved so much to behold; and when the curtains were drawn and tho door closed, he would even consent to become an active party to 2 gamo of blind-man’s-huff, or allow himectf to be con- verted for the nonce into a horse for the expres behoof of some chubbs urchin more bold in his requisitions than the rest. Mr. Gamble was indeed quite a character. Il used frequently to declare that he knew nothing more silly than to give dinner-parties, “ Friendship isa very queer thing,” he would say, “if it must be shown by my eating at another's cxpense, or by him coming to me to cat at mine. I would sooner spend ten ponnds upon cakes and Oranges for children who really enjoy them, than ten shilllogs on a repast for a frown-up person, who eats in your presence as if under tho influence of a chilling ccremony.” Relative to adults, therefore, Mr Gamble neither gave nor accepted invitations: but twico or thrico a-week ho congregated his littlo friends aroan4 him—and the more they romped, tho better ho was pleased,—the more noiso they made, tho higher did his spirits rise. If they injured his furniture, he cared uot, provided it was the result of anaccident: but if he once discovered a predilec- tion to wilfal destructiveness, or if he wero mado the butt of coarse rudencss instead of tho object of innocent merriment, he never again invited the offender to his abode. Considering that the habits of Mr. Gamble were such as we have tiaken some little trouble to de- scribe them, it may easily be supposed that the neighbours were nota little astonished whien it was rumoured, and ascertained to be a positive fact that Mr. Pomfret had veritably and actually been invited to dine with that eccentric gentleman, This was alone enough to ercate an impression that a revolution had taken place in the opinions of the old bachelor: but the wonderment was excessive when it was reported, and likewise discorered to be true, that Mr. Gamble had dined in bis turn with Mr, Pomfret. At first it was gupposed that the cunning merchant was cecking to ensnare the wealthy bachelor into a marriace with the beautiful Elen: but when it was remembered that sho was engaged to Leonard, and morcorer when it was ascertained that she had passed tho evening at the Mitche!"’s on tLe oecacion of the old bachelor dining with her father, the abore-mentioned epcculation Was instantly discarded. That a revolrtion fic taken place in the habits of Mfr. Gamble, was how- ever very cortain: foras time wore on, after ther> first interchanges of civilities betswcon him ar ‘eee Pomfret, their intimacy appearet to ERE Os, G. 2 the partics giten by the old bacle lor tot: poweus. eo ~ we — - SS, ctr Re ce | i (C(O) DOO (SO)