He could not tell; which Mr. Wyllys thought he ought to have done; for they were rather peculiar, being twisted, and would probably be remembered by most children brought up in the house.
Mrs. Stanley then begged he would describe the furniture of the drawing-room, such as it was the last summer he had pa.s.sed at Greatwood. He seemed to hesitate, and change countenance, more than he had yet done; so much so, as to strike Mrs. Stanley herself; but he immediately rallied again.
"Well," said he, "you ask a man the very things he wouldn"t be likely to put on his log. But I"ll make it all out ship-shape presently." He stooped to pick up his handkerchief, which had fallen again, and was going to proceed, when Mr. Clapp interrupted him.
"I must take the liberty of interfering," said he, looking at his watch, as he rose from his seat, and moved towards Mr. Reed, asking if he did not think the examination had been quite long enough.
"I must say, gentlemen," he added significantly, turning towards Mr. Wyllys and Harry, "that I think our client has had enough of it; considering that, upon the whole, there is no one here who has so much right to ask questions, instead of answering them, as Mr. Stanley."
"I should suppose, sir," said Mr. Reed, also rising and addressing Mr. Wyllys, "that you must have heard and seen enough for the object of our meeting. You have had a personal interview with Mr. Stanley; you confess that he is like his family, like himself, in short--allowing for the difference between a boy of eighteen and a man of thirty-seven, where the habits of life have been so different; you admit the ident.i.ty of the hand-writing--"
"I beg your pardon, sir; not the ident.i.ty, but the resemblance."
"A perfectly natural resemblance, under the circ.u.mstances, I think you must allow."
"Yes; the similarity of the hand-writing is remarkable, certainly."
"During the last two hours you have asked the questions which best suited your own pleasure, and he has answered them with great accuracy, without one important mistake. What more can you possibly require?"
"I do not stand alone, sir; we claim the time previously fixed for consideration, before we give our final answer. We are, however, much obliged to you, Mr. Reed, for granting the interview, even if its results are not what you may have hoped for. We shall always remember your conduct on this occasion with respect."
Mr. Wyllys then offered some refreshments to Mr. Reed; they were accepted, and ordered immediately.
Mr. Clapp was standing near Harry, and turning to him, he said: "Mr. Stanley has a favour to ask, Mr. Hazlehurst, though you don"t seem disposed to grant him any," he added, with peculiar expression.
""A FAIR field, and no favour," is a saying you may have heard,"
replied Hazlehurst, with a slight emphasis on the first word.
"But what is your client"s request, sir?"
Mr. Clapp made a gesture towards the sailor, who then spoke for himself.
"I understand that two of my cousins are in the house, and I should be glad to see them before I leave it."
"Whom do you mean, sir?"
"Elinor Wyllys and Mary Van Alstyne. I haven"t seen either of them since they were children; but as I have got but few relations, and no friends it seems, I should like to see them."
"You must apply to Mr. Wyllys; the young ladies are under his care," replied Harry, coldly.
But Mr. Wyllys took upon himself to refuse the sailor"s request, under the circ.u.mstances. Having taken some refreshments, Mr.
Reed, his brother counsel, and their client now made their bows, and left the house. As they drove from the door, Mr. Reed looked calm and civil, Mr. Clapp very well satisfied; and the sailor, as he took his seat by Mr. Reed, observed, in a voice loud enough to be heard by Harry, who was standing on the piazza:
"It turns out just as I reckoned; hard work for a man to get his rights in this here longitude!"
CHAPTER XIII. {x.x.xVI}
"Nay, let them go, a couple of quiet ones!"
Taming the Shrew.
{William Shakespeare, "The Taming of the Shrew", III.ii.240}
ELINOR was all anxiety to learn the result of the interview; and Mary Van Alstyne also naturally felt much interest in the subject, as she, too, was a cousin of William Stanley, their mothers having been sisters. Elinor soon discovered that the sailor had borne a much better examination than either of her friends had expected; he had made no glaring mistake, and he had answered their questions on some points, with an accuracy and readiness that was quite startling. He evidently knew a great deal about the Stanley family, their house, and the neighbourhood; whoever he was, there could he no doubt that he had known Mr. Stanley himself, and was very familiar with the part of the country in which he had resided. Altogether, the personal resemblance, the handwriting, the fact of his being a sailor, the papers he had shown, the plausible statement he had given, as to his past movements, and his intimate knowledge of so many facts, which a stranger could scarcely have known, made up a combination of circ.u.mstances, quite incomprehensible to the friends at Wyllys-Roof. Still, in spite of so much that appeared in his favour, Mr. Wyllys declared, that so far as his own opinion went, he had too many doubts as to this man"s character, to receive him as the son of his friend, upon the evidence he had thus far laid before them. The circ.u.mstances under which he appeared, were so very suspicious in every point of view, that the strongest possible evidences of his ident.i.ty would be required, to counteract them. The length of time that had pa.s.sed since the wreck of the Jefferson, the long period during which his father"s property had been left in the hands of others, and the doubtful character of the channel through which the claim was at length brought forward--all these facts united, furnished good grounds for suspecting something wrong. There were other points too, upon which Mr. Wyllys had his doubts; although the general resemblance of this individual to William Stanley, was sufficient to pa.s.s with most people, allowing for the natural changes produced by time, yet there were some minor personal traits, which did not correspond with his recollection of Mr. Stanley"s son: the voice appeared to him different in tone; he was also disposed to believe the claimant shorter and fuller than William Stanley, in the formation of his body and limbs; as to this man"s gait, which was entirely different from that of William Stanley, as a boy, nearer observation had increased Mr. Wyllys"s first impression on that subject. On these particular points, Mrs.
Stanley and Hazlehurst were no judges; for the first had scarcely seen her step-son, the last had only a child"s recollection of him. Nor could Miss Agnes"s opinion have much weight, since she had seldom seen the boy, during the last years he pa.s.sed on sh.o.r.e; for, at that time, she had been much detained at home, by the ill health of her mother. Hazlehurst had watched the claimant closely, and the interview had silenced his first misgivings, for he had been much struck with two things: he had always heard, whenever the subject of William Stanley"s character had been alluded to before him, that this unfortunate young man was sullen in temper, and dull in mind. Now, the sailor"s whole expression and manner, in his opinion, had shown too much cleverness for William Stanley; he had appeared decidedly quick-witted, and his countenance was certainly rather good-natured than otherwise. Mr.
Wyllys admitted that Harry"s views were just; he was struck with both these observations; he thought them correct and important.
Then Hazlehurst thought he had seen some signs of intelligence between Clapp and the sailor once or twice, a mere glance; he could not be positive, however, since it might have been his own suspicions. As to the volume of the Spectator, he had felt at first morally certain that he had read that very volume at Greatwood, only four years ago, but he had since remembered that his brother had the same edition, and he might have read the book in Philadelphia; in the mean time he would try to recall the circ.u.mstances more clearly to his mind; for so long as he had a doubt, he could not swear to the fact. He knew it was not the octavo edition, at Greatwood, that he had been reading, for he distinctly remembered the portrait of Steele in the frontispiece, and Addison"s papers on the Paradise Lost, which he had been reading; that very portrait, and those papers, were contained in the volume handed to him by Clapp. Both Mr. Wyllys and Hazlehurst were gratified to find, that Mrs. Stanley differed from them less than they had feared. She confessed, that at one moment her heart had misgiven her, but on looking closely at the sailor, she thought him less like her husband than she had expected; and she had been particularly struck by his embarra.s.sment, when she had asked him to describe the furniture of the drawing-room at Greatwood, the very last summer he had been there, for he ought certainly under such circ.u.mstances, to have remembered it as well as herself; he had looked puzzled, and had glanced at Mr. Clapp, and the lawyer had immediately broken off the examination. Such were the opinions of the friends at this stage of the proceedings. Still it was an alarming truth, that if there were improbabilities, minor facts, and shades of manner, to strengthen their doubts, there was, on the other side, a show of evidence, which might very possibly prove enough to convince a jury.
Hazlehurst had a thousand things to attend to, but he had decided to wait at Wyllys-Roof until the arrival of Mr. Ellsworth.
{"Addison"s papers on the Paradise Lost" = in fact, Addison"s essays on Paradise Lost are contained in volumes four and five of the Spectator}
Leaving those most interested in this vexatious affair to hold long consultations together in Mr. Wyllys"s study, we must now proceed to record a visit which Miss Agnes received from one of our Longbridge acquaintances, and we shall therefore join the ladies.
"I am sorry, my dear, that the house is not so quiet as we could wish, just now," said Miss Agnes to Jane, one morning, as she and Elinor were sitting together in the young widow"s room.
"Thank you, Aunt; but it does not disturb me, and I know it is not to be avoided just now," said Jane, languidly.
"No, it cannot be helped, with this troublesome business going on; and we shall have Mrs. Creighton and Mr. Ellsworth here soon."
"Pray, do not change your plans on my account. I need not see any of your friends; I shall scarcely know they are here," said Jane, with a deep sigh.
"If it were possible to defer their visit, I should do so; but situated as we are with Mr. Ellsworth--" added Miss Wyllys.
"Certainly; do not let me interfere with his coming. I feel perfectly indifferent as to who comes or goes; I can never take any more pleasure in society!"
"Here is my aunt Wyllys driving up to the door," said Elinor, who was sitting near a window. "Do you feel equal to seeing her?"
"Oh, no, not to-day, dear," said Jane in an imploring voice; and Elinor accordingly remained with her cousin, while Miss Agnes went down to meet Mrs. George Wyllys. This lady was still living at Longbridge, although every few months she talked of leaving the place. Her oldest boy had just received a midshipman"s warrant, to which he was certainly justly ent.i.tled--his father having lost his life in the public service. The rest of her children were at home; and rather spoilt and troublesome little people they were.
"How is Jane?" asked Mrs. Wyllys, as she entered the house.
"Very sad and feeble; but I hope the air here will strengthen her, after a time."
"Poor thing!--no wonder she is sad, indeed! So young, and such an affliction! How is the child?"
"Much better; she is quite playful, and disturbs Jane very much by asking after her father. What a warm drive you must have had, Harriet; you had better throw off your hat, and stay with us until evening."
"Thank you; I must go home for dinner, and shall not be able to stay more than half an hour. Is your father in? I wished to see him, as well as yourself, on business."
"No, he is not at home; he has gone off some miles, to look at some workmen who are putting up a new farm-house."
"I am sorry he is not at home, for I want to ask his opinion. And yet he must have his hands full just now, with that vexatious Stanley case. I must say, I think Clapp deserves to be sent to the tread-mill!"
"Perhaps he does," replied Miss Wyllys. "It is to be hoped at least, that he will receive what he deserves, and nothing more."
"I hope he will, with all my heart! But as I have not much time to spare, I must proceed to lay my affairs before you. Now I really and honestly want your advice, Agnes."
"You have had it often before," replied Miss Wyllys, smiling. "I am quite at your service now," she added, seeing her sister-in-law look a little uneasy. Mrs. Wyllys was silent for a moment.