The Mysteries of the Court of London Vol. 7 — page 202: what you’re looking at

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

THE MYSTERIES OF THE COURT. 189 el mingled contempt and disgust for the reckless: “ Yes—if you will—I am at your mercy-—— dissipated flippancy of the Viscount, “if I enter but this is indeed cruel!” am Giege- - op ——ED upon certain recapitulations——" “It is a fashion which I have of bestowing the “Do whatever you like, my dear Sir Frederick,” favour which is asked of me,” rejoined Sir Frede- exclaimed Rushbrook, who waa now perfectly at | rick: and $here wae something coldly implacable his ease in respect to the loan he had asked for, | in his tone. “Well, tho bill came due: it wasa inasmuch as he knew full well that his brother-in- | forgery, as I have eaid: the Marquis of Swalecliffe law would faithfully fulfil any promise he had | disavowed it; and you, Lord Rushbrook, were made. “’Ponomy doul, thie wine’s capital !—— | stated to be upon the Oontinent. At all events, But I beg your pardor—I was interrupting you! ' you were not to be found. Your father came to Now then, I’m all attentioa—— By the bye, hadn’t me in an agony of grief: I took pity on him: he we better have another bottle before we go deeper | himself could not pay the bill for you—a terrible into eerious discourse P” exposure seemed to be staring you in the face. “Listen to me, my lord,” said the merchant, | As for the Marquis,—he was inexorable: he vowed somewhat severely, and without heeding the hint | that justice should take its course—augdet®€t even relative to the fresh bottle. “It was not I who | though I, the holder of the bill, might arrange the first sought the acquaintance of the Earl of Ford- | matter with your father, he would expose you ast wich,—nor that of his son the Viscount Rush- | all the Claubs—he would brand you as a villain. brook: but it was a circumstance of a peouliar | Then all of a sudden a change came over the Mar- character—or what other term shajl I use?— | quis, What influence was brought to bear upon which made me acquainted with your lordship’s! him I know not: but doubtless the intercessions family.” ,|0f your father and mother, privately made, pre- “But my dear Sir Frederick,” exclaimed the | vailed. His lordship agreed that the matter should Viscount, now wincing visibly at theemerchant’s | be hushed up; and I on my part agreed to ex- words, which seemed fraught with an allusion that | change the forged bill against a note of hand was only too intelligible, “you surely ere not | which your father the Karl of Fordwich gave me. going to recapitulate———” I need not add thet it was the same as presenting ‘Yes, my lord,” saifl the merchant coldly, “I| you or your family with two thousand pounds; am going to recapitulate. You ask me a favour— , for until this day that note of hand remains un- and I will confer i¢ in my own fashion, or else not | paid.” at all:’—then drawing forth a pocket-book, Sir} “Not one syllable of all this have I ever de- Frederick displayed several blank cheques; and he nied,” said the wretched Viscount; “nor do [ added, “ One of these will I presently fill up forthe | deny it now. But wherefore, Sir Frederick——” amount you desire, provided you listen to all that; “Stop! you have promised to hear me,” inter- I have to say. But remember ! I do not force you; | rupted the implacable merchant: and he added and if you decline to hear me, I replace my cheques | with a cold sneer, “When our discourse is at an in my pocket-book, and there is an end of the | end, and I have filled up the cheque which you matter.” require, we will drink another bottle of wine of ‘But my dear Sir Frederick,” stammered and | this very sort which you seem to like so well.” faltered the Viscount, “there is something very | The Viscount’s festures brightened up in the atrange about you this evening. What does it all | faintest degree as he saw that the conversation on mean P I scarcely think it is quite gene-/| this topic must soon draw to an end, and that he Pvus———" , would obtain the subsidy of which He stood so “Oh! if you take it in that light, my lord,” in- »much in need. terrupted the merchant, “I can only answer that | “The cireumstance to which I have referred,” perhaps it will not be quite prudent for me to | continued Sir Frederick Latham, “placed me on a comply with your request.” footing of intimacy with your family. I became Thue speaking, Sir Frederick Latham made a | the husband of your sister; and at the same time movement as if to shut up his pocket-book,—when | I had the suyreme honour”—here again he spoke the Viscount, who had the moat desperate need of | with a cold eneer—“ of advancing a few thousands money, and would rather hear anything, however ! for the benefit of your father. Nor was this all. unpalatable, than abandon the chance of obtain- Shortly after my marriage, you, my lord, became ing it,—bastened to exclaim, “Well, well, Sir | involved in fresh difficulties: you were outlawed Frederick, be it as you will. Proceed! I listen.” | for your debts: and every sheriff's officer in Lon- “Tt wae between two and three years ago,” said | don was in search of you. Ney, more--there the merchant, still with that calm, business-like | was one of your creditors,—a solicitor, who was air which the young nobleman felt to be so pro- | also a money-lender,—that threatened you with an voking, “that a bill for two thousand pounds, | indictment for ‘javing obtained from him a loan purporting to be the acceptance of the Marquis of | under the f pretences; and again were you Swalecliffe—a nobleman well known upon the | obliged to flee to the Continent—or at all events Turf—and drawn by Viscount Rushbrook, came in | to hide yourself'in some secure retreat. And who the course of business into the hands of the Firm | came forward to succour you? who settled your to which I belong. Thie bill was a lorgery : the | liabilities P who procured the reversal of the out- Marquis’s acceptance was a forged name—and | lawries? who arranged that ugly matter with the Viscount Rushbrook was the forger !” usurious solicitor? In a word, who again saved “Sir Wrederiok{" moaned Anastatia’s brother | you from ruin-——nay, from worse than ruin— piteously. ‘“ What if any one were listening?” | from utter degradation and dishonour? It was *No one listens improperly, my lord, in my | I, Frederick Latham, the City merchant.” house,” replied the merchant. “Am I to go; “And did I not express my most grateful on P thanke ?” asked the Viscount: “did I not, alike ———$—_—__— / COMIC OOO© SS (CO)