Joseph Wilmot, or, The Memoirs of a Man-Servant — page 196: what you’re looking at

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

JOSEPH WILMOT; OR, THE MEMOIRS OF A MAN-SERVANT. about to famt; and Mr. Howard hastily called to a cab-driver who was passing at the moment with his vehicle. “T am better now, dearest Henry,” murmured Edith in tremulous tones: “but so many sad and frichtful recollections have been conjured up ” ‘Yes, dearest—it is natural that you should be thus affected,” exclaimed her husband: and he sus- tained her to the cab which had just drawn up at the edge of the pavement. ) “Good bye, Joseph,” he said, addressing me in a kind voice: “we both of us wish you well. You possess a good and grateful heart; and you will prosper.” Edith likewise bade me “ good bye” in a friendly manner: the cab drove away—and I stood watch- ing it until it was lost amidst the crowd of vehicles in the neighbourhood of St. Paul’s Churchyard. Heaving a profound sigh as I thought of the hor- rible death of my deceased benefactor, and as I reflected that it had left upon Hdith’s mind an impression which would evidently never wear off altogether, though with the lapse‘of time it might be tempered down,—I turned to pursue my walk towards the Bull and Mouth: when I started and staggered back as if I had suddenly beholden a wild beast or a monstrous reptile about to spring at me—for there, only three yards distant, stood the horrible humpback, Mr. Lanover! His appearance was exactly the same as when I had beheld him last: his harsh iron-gray hair did not seem to have tended another shade towards whiteness: his shaggy brows overhung those eyes which had an expression partly of the weasel and partly of the snake. He was apparelled in com- plete biack—his usual style: but his hat was circled with crape—no doubt in mourning for Violet. His shoes had the strings tied in large bows: his immense hands looked larger still with the loose black kid gloves that he wore. At the moment when my eyes fell upon hin, his looks were fixed upon me with that cold searching gaze which was so penetrating and at the same time had the hideous fascination of the reptile. Thus some moments elapsed, during which he continued to survey me—while I was riveted to the spot under the influence of even a far greater amount of terror than I had previously anticipated I should experience, when ere my visit to London I cal- culated the chances of falling in with Mr. Lan- over. “ Well, Joseph,” he said, his looks and manner all of a moment softening down as much as it was possible for them to undergo such an alteration,— “so you are in London again ? Come—shake hands. You know I am your uncle; and though you have been a very disobedient nephew to me, I am in- clined to forget the past.” It was upon the tip of my tongue to ejaculate that I could not possibly forget it—when it sud- denly struck me that if I betrayed my knowledge of his murderous intentions at the time I fled from his house, it would be making him aware that Annabel must have listened to what was then going on and had’ communicated them to me. Therefore I at once checked—or rather withheld the retort I was about to make; and mechanically I gave him my hand. JHe shook it with what to any stranger who observed us, would have seemed a degree of friendly warmth: but the mere con- 183 tact of that hand, gloved though it were—and gloved as mine also was—sent a cold shudder quivering through my entire frame. I almost fancied that he meant to keep his hold upon me, and that he would drag me off: but as I swept my looks around, and beheld the throngs of passengers passing in every direction—when I felt, too, that this scene occurred in the broad daylight, and that a single ejaculation from my lips would bring num. bers to my succour—I suddenly regained my for- titude, and was ashamed that a young man of my age should even for a moment have yielded to so mortal a terror in respect to that individual. Nevertheless, it was not astonishing—considering all I knew of him—his diabolical capacity for mis- chief—his heartless unscrupulous disposition—his truly fiend-like character,—added to the loathsome repulsiveness of his person,—that I should have been thus horrified by the sudden apparition of the hideous humpback before my eyes. “You have grown a fine tall lad, Joseph,” he went on to.,observe: “you are a very handsome youth too, on my honour!—the handsomest youth that ever I saw in my life! I hope you cherish no ill feeling towards me? If the past musi be alluded to, recollect that you gave me very serious provocation—you struck me, you know—on that day when { confined you to your chamber. But tell me what made you run away ?”’—and now his eyes were again fixed upon me with a scrutiny so penetrating that it seemed as if the reptile-light which hung im their depths had become sharp as needles, “T considered myself ill-treated,’ was my an- Swer, now given with a certain degree of bold- ness; “and it was natural I should escape from a dwelling where I had to endure so much.” “Endure so much, Joseph!’ responded Mr. Lanover with a remarkable mildness of voice and a sudden softening of his looks: “ you are wrong to speak in this manner. You know very well that up to that particular day you were treated by me with the utmost kindness. But however, we will not refer to the past :’—and methought that he looked relieved, as if he had acquired the certainty that I knew much less of his murderous designs on that eventful night than he had hitherto imagined. ‘Let us walk along the street a little, and converse together. I think you were talking just now to Mr. and Mrs. Howard—were you not?” —and again he looked hard at me. “J was,” I replied, sauntering along gently by his side in the direction of Aldersgate Street. “Well, and what were they saying to you? chatting in a very familiar way, I have no doubt ? —for they are good easy kind of people, and give themselves no airs.” “They spoke to me with considerable kindness,” I rejoined. “You give me such curt answers, my dear Joseph,” said Mr. Lanover, “that I cannot help thinking you still experience a secret rancour against me. Why, you foolish boy! you little know that all along I meant to be the very best friend you had in the world, if you would only have permitted me. Of course everybody has his failings: perhaps mine consist of certain infirmities of temper—and you ought to make allowances. Ah, Joseph! when you were living with me, I used to build up such castles in the air—I was — Giyoo S (CO) AA