"Well," said the other, "as much in your confidence as you ever chose to let anybody be."
"Ah!" rejoined Ralph, folding his arms; "that"s another thing, quite another thing."
"Don"t let us play upon words, Mr Nickleby, in the name of humanity."
"Of what?" said Ralph.
"Of humanity," replied the other, sternly. "I am hungry and in want. If the change that you must see in me after so long an absence-must see, for I, upon whom it has come by slow and hard degrees, see it and know it well-will not move you to pity, let the knowledge that bread; not the daily bread of the Lord"s Prayer, which, as it is offered up in cities like this, is understood to include half the luxuries of the world for the rich, and just as much coa.r.s.e food as will support life for the poor-not that, but bread, a crust of dry hard bread, is beyond my reach today-let that have some weight with you, if nothing else has."
"If this is the usual form in which you beg, sir," said Ralph, "you have studied your part well; but if you will take advice from one who knows something of the world and its ways, I should recommend a lower tone; a little lower tone, or you stand a fair chance of being starved in good earnest."
As he said this, Ralph clenched his left wrist tightly with his right hand, and inclining his head a little on one side and dropping his chin upon his breast, looked at him whom he addressed with a frowning, sullen face. The very picture of a man whom nothing could move or soften.
"Yesterday was my first day in London," said the old man, glancing at his travel-stained dress and worn shoes.
"It would have been better for you, I think, if it had been your last also," replied Ralph.
"I have been seeking you these two days, where I thought you were most likely to be found," resumed the other more humbly, "and I met you here at last, when I had almost given up the hope of encountering you, Mr Nickleby."
He seemed to wait for some reply, but Ralph giving him none, he continued: "I am a most miserable and wretched outcast, nearly sixty years old, and as dest.i.tute and helpless as a child of six."
"I am sixty years old, too," replied Ralph, "and am neither dest.i.tute nor helpless. Work. Don"t make fine play-acting speeches about bread, but earn it."
"How?" cried the other. "Where? Show me the means. Will you give them to me-will you?"
"I did once," replied Ralph, composedly; "you scarcely need ask me whether I will again."
"It"s twenty years ago, or more," said the man, in a suppressed voice, "since you and I fell out. You remember that? I claimed a share in the profits of some business I brought to you, and, as I persisted, you arrested me for an old advance of ten pounds, odd shillings, including interest at fifty per cent, or so."
"I remember something of it," replied Ralph, carelessly. "What then?"
"That didn"t part us," said the man. "I made submission, being on the wrong side of the bolts and bars; and as you were not the made man then that you are now, you were glad enough to take back a clerk who wasn"t over nice, and who knew something of the trade you drove."
"You begged and prayed, and I consented," returned Ralph. "That was kind of me. Perhaps I did want you. I forget. I should think I did, or you would have begged in vain. You were useful; not too honest, not too delicate, not too nice of hand or heart; but useful."
"Useful, indeed!" said the man. "Come. You had pinched and ground me down for some years before that, but I had served you faithfully up to that time, in spite of all your dog"s usage. Had I?"
Ralph made no reply.
"Had I?" said the man again.
"You had had your wages," rejoined Ralph, "and had done your work. We stood on equal ground so far, and could both cry quits."
"Then, but not afterwards," said the other.
"Not afterwards, certainly, nor even then, for (as you have just said) you owed me money, and do still," replied Ralph.
"That"s not all," said the man, eagerly. "That"s not all. Mark that. I didn"t forget that old sore, trust me. Partly in remembrance of that, and partly in the hope of making money someday by the scheme, I took advantage of my position about you, and possessed myself of a hold upon you, which you would give half of all you have to know, and never can know but through me. I left you-long after that time, remember-and, for some poor trickery that came within the law, but was nothing to what you money-makers daily practise just outside its bounds, was sent away a convict for seven years. I have returned what you see me. Now, Mr Nickleby," said the man, with a strange mixture of humility and sense of power, "what help and a.s.sistance will you give me; what bribe, to speak out plainly? My expectations are not monstrous, but I must live, and to live I must eat and drink. Money is on your side, and hunger and thirst on mine. You may drive an easy bargain."
"Is that all?" said Ralph, still eyeing his companion with the same steady look, and moving nothing but his lips.
"It depends on you, Mr Nickleby, whether that"s all or not," was the rejoinder.
"Why then, harkye, Mr-, I don"t know by what name I am to call you," said Ralph.
"By my old one, if you like."
"Why then, harkye, Mr Brooker," said Ralph, in his harshest accents, "and don"t expect to draw another speech from me. Harkye, sir. I know you of old for a ready scoundrel, but you never had a stout heart; and hard work, with (maybe) chains upon those legs of yours, and shorter food than when I "pinched" and "ground" you, has blunted your wits, or you would not come with such a tale as this to me. You a hold upon me! Keep it, or publish it to the world, if you like."
"I can"t do that," interposed Brooker. "That wouldn"t serve me."
"Wouldn"t it?" said Ralph. "It will serve you as much as bringing it to me, I promise you. To be plain with you, I am a careful man, and know my affairs thoroughly. I know the world, and the world knows me. Whatever you gleaned, or heard, or saw, when you served me, the world knows and magnifies already. You could tell it nothing that would surprise it, unless, indeed, it redounded to my credit or honour, and then it would scout you for a liar. And yet I don"t find business slack, or clients scrupulous. Quite the contrary. I am reviled or threatened every day by one man or another," said Ralph; "but things roll on just the same, and I don"t grow poorer either."
"I neither revile nor threaten," rejoined the man. "I can tell you of what you have lost by my act, what I only can restore, and what, if I die without restoring, dies with me, and never can be regained."
"I tell my money pretty accurately, and generally keep it in my own custody," said Ralph. "I look sharply after most men that I deal with, and most of all I looked sharply after you. You are welcome to all you have kept from me."
"Are those of your own name dear to you?" said the man emphatically. "If they are-"
"They are not," returned Ralph, exasperated at this perseverance, and the thought of Nicholas, which the last question awakened. "They are not. If you had come as a common beggar, I might have thrown a sixpence to you in remembrance of the clever knave you used to be; but since you try to palm these stale tricks upon one you might have known better, I"ll not part with a halfpenny-nor would I to save you from rotting. And remember this, "scape-gallows," said Ralph, menacing him with his hand, "that if we meet again, and you so much as notice me by one begging gesture, you shall see the inside of a jail once more, and tighten this hold upon me in intervals of the hard labour that vagabonds are put to. There"s my answer to your trash. Take it."
With a disdainful scowl at the object of his anger, who met his eye but uttered not a word, Ralph walked away at his usual pace, without manifesting the slightest curiosity to see what became of his late companion, or indeed once looking behind him. The man remained on the same spot with his eyes fixed upon his retreating figure until it was lost to view, and then drawing his arm about his chest, as if the damp and lack of food struck coldly to him, lingered with slouching steps by the wayside, and begged of those who pa.s.sed along.
Ralph, in no-wise moved by what had lately pa.s.sed, further than as he had already expressed himself, walked deliberately on, and turning out of the Park and leaving Golden Square on his right, took his way through some streets at the west end of the town until he arrived in that particular one in which stood the residence of Madame Mantalini. The name of that lady no longer appeared on the flaming door-plate, that of Miss Knag being subst.i.tuted in its stead; but the bonnets and dresses were still dimly visible in the first-floor windows by the decaying light of a summer"s evening, and excepting this ostensible alteration in the proprietorship, the establishment wore its old appearance.
"Humph!" muttered Ralph, drawing his hand across his mouth with a connoisseur-like air, and surveying the house from top to bottom; "these people look pretty well. They can"t last long; but if I know of their going in good time, I am safe, and a fair profit too. I must keep them closely in view; that"s all."
So, nodding his head very complacently, Ralph was leaving the spot, when his quick ear caught the sound of a confused noise and hubbub of voices, mingled with a great running up and down stairs, in the very house which had been the subject of his scrutiny; and while he was hesitating whether to knock at the door or listen at the keyhole a little longer, a female servant of Madame Mantalini"s (whom he had often seen) opened it abruptly and bounced out, with her blue cap-ribbons streaming in the air.
"Hallo here. Stop!" cried Ralph. "What"s the matter? Here am I. Didn"t you hear me knock?"
"Oh! Mr Nickleby, sir," said the girl. "Go up, for the love of Gracious. Master"s been and done it again."
"Done what?" said Ralph, tartly; "what d"ye mean?"
"I knew he would if he was drove to it," cried the girl. "I said so all along."
"Come here, you silly wench," said Ralph, catching her by the wrist; "and don"t carry family matters to the neighbours, destroying the credit of the establishment. Come here; do you hear me, girl?"
Without any further expostulation, he led or rather pulled the frightened handmaid into the house, and shut the door; then bidding her walk upstairs before him, followed without more ceremony.
Guided by the noise of a great many voices all talking together, and pa.s.sing the girl in his impatience, before they had ascended many steps, Ralph quickly reached the private sitting-room, when he was rather amazed by the confused and inexplicable scene in which he suddenly found himself.
There were all the young-lady workers, some with bonnets and some without, in various att.i.tudes expressive of alarm and consternation; some gathered round Madame Mantalini, who was in tears upon one chair; and others round Miss Knag, who was in opposition tears upon another; and others round Mr Mantalini, who was perhaps the most striking figure in the whole group, for Mr Mantalini"s legs were extended at full length upon the floor, and his head and shoulders were supported by a very tall footman, who didn"t seem to know what to do with them, and Mr Mantalini"s eyes were closed, and his face was pale and his hair was comparatively straight, and his whiskers and moustache were limp, and his teeth were clenched, and he had a little bottle in his right hand, and a little tea-spoon in his left; and his hands, arms, legs, and shoulders, were all stiff and powerless. And yet Madame Mantalini was not weeping upon the body, but was scolding violently upon her chair; and all this amidst a clamour of tongues perfectly deafening, and which really appeared to have driven the unfortunate footman to the utmost verge of distraction.
"What is the matter here?" said Ralph, pressing forward.
At this inquiry, the clamour was increased twenty-fold, and an astounding string of such shrill contradictions as "He"s poisoned himself"-"He hasn"t"-"Send for a doctor"-"Don"t"-"He"s dying"-"He isn"t, he"s only pretending"-with various other cries, poured forth with bewildering volubility, until Madame Mantalini was seen to address herself to Ralph, when female curiosity to know what she would say, prevailed, and, as if by general consent, a dead silence, unbroken by a single whisper, instantaneously succeeded.
"Mr Nickleby," said Madame Mantalini; "by what chance you came here, I don"t know."
Here a gurgling voice was heard to e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.e, as part of the wanderings of a sick man, the words "Demnition sweetness!" but n.o.body heeded them except the footman, who, being startled to hear such awful tones proceeding, as it were, from between his very fingers, dropped his master"s head upon the floor with a pretty loud crash, and then, without an effort to lift it up, gazed upon the bystanders, as if he had done something rather clever than otherwise.
"I will, however," continued Madame Mantalini, drying her eyes, and speaking with great indignation, "say before you, and before everybody here, for the first time, and once for all, that I never will supply that man"s extravagances and viciousness again. I have been a dupe and a fool to him long enough. In future, he shall support himself if he can, and then he may spend what money he pleases, upon whom and how he pleases; but it shall not be mine, and therefore you had better pause before you trust him further."
Thereupon Madame Mantalini, quite unmoved by some most pathetic lamentations on the part of her husband, that the apothecary had not mixed the prussic acid strong enough, and that he must take another bottle or two to finish the work he had in hand, entered into a catalogue of that amiable gentleman"s gallantries, deceptions, extravagances, and infidelities (especially the last), winding up with a protest against being supposed to entertain the smallest remnant of regard for him; and adducing, in proof of the altered state of her affections, the circ.u.mstance of his having poisoned himself in private no less than six times within the last fortnight, and her not having once interfered by word or deed to save his life.
"And I insist on being separated and left to myself," said Madame Mantalini, sobbing. "If he dares to refuse me a separation, I"ll have one in law-I can-and I hope this will be a warning to all girls who have seen this disgraceful exhibition."
Miss Knag, who was unquestionably the oldest girl in company, said with great solemnity, that it would be a warning to HER, and so did the young ladies generally, with the exception of one or two who appeared to entertain some doubts whether such whispers could do wrong.
"Why do you say all this before so many listeners?" said Ralph, in a low voice. "You know you are not in earnest."
"I AM in earnest," replied Madame Mantalini, aloud, and retreating towards Miss Knag.
"Well, but consider," reasoned Ralph, who had a great interest in the matter. "It would be well to reflect. A married woman has no property."
"Not a solitary single individual dem, my soul," and Mr Mantalini, raising himself upon his elbow.
"I am quite aware of that," retorted Madame Mantalini, tossing her head; "and I have none. The business, the stock, this house, and everything in it, all belong to Miss Knag."
"That"s quite true, Madame Mantalini," said Miss Knag, with whom her late employer had secretly come to an amicable understanding on this point. "Very true, indeed, Madame Mantalini-hem-very true. And I never was more glad in all my life, that I had strength of mind to resist matrimonial offers, no matter how advantageous, than I am when I think of my present position as compared with your most unfortunate and most undeserved one, Madame Mantalini."
"Demmit!" cried Mr Mantalini, turning his head towards his wife. "Will it not slap and pinch the envious dowager, that dares to reflect upon its own delicious?"
But the day of Mr Mantalini"s blandishments had departed. "Miss Knag, sir," said his wife, "is my particular friend;" and although Mr Mantalini leered till his eyes seemed in danger of never coming back to their right places again, Madame Mantalini showed no signs of softening.
To do the excellent Miss Knag justice, she had been mainly instrumental in bringing about this altered state of things, for, finding by daily experience, that there was no chance of the business thriving, or even continuing to exist, while Mr Mantalini had any hand in the expenditure, and having now a considerable interest in its well-doing, she had sedulously applied herself to the investigation of some little matters connected with that gentleman"s private character, which she had so well elucidated, and artfully imparted to Madame Mantalini, as to open her eyes more effectually than the closest and most philosophical reasoning could have done in a series of years. To which end, the accidental discovery by Miss Knag of some tender correspondence, in which Madame Mantalini was described as "old" and "ordinary," had most providentially contributed.
However, notwithstanding her firmness, Madame Mantalini wept very piteously; and as she leant upon Miss Knag, and signed towards the door, that young lady and all the other young ladies with sympathising faces, proceeded to bear her out.
"Nickleby," said Mr Mantalini in tears, "you have been made a witness to this demnition cruelty, on the part of the demdest enslaver and captivator that never was, oh dem! I forgive that woman."
"Forgive!" repeated Madame Mantalini, angrily.
"I do forgive her, Nickleby," said Mr Mantalini. "You will blame me, the world will blame me, the women will blame me; everybody will laugh, and scoff, and smile, and grin most demnebly. They will say, "She had a blessing. She did not know it. He was too weak; he was too good; he was a dem"d fine fellow, but he loved too strong; he could not bear her to be cross, and call him wicked names. It was a dem"d case, there never was a demder." But I forgive her."
With this affecting speech Mr Mantalini fell down again very flat, and lay to all appearance without sense or motion, until all the females had left the room, when he came cautiously into a sitting posture, and confronted Ralph with a very blank face, and the little bottle still in one hand and the tea-spoon in the other.
"You may put away those fooleries now, and live by your wits again," said Ralph, coolly putting on his hat.
"Demmit, Nickleby, you"re not serious?"
"I seldom joke," said Ralph. "Good-night."
"No, but Nickleby-" said Mantalini.
"I am wrong, perhaps," rejoined Ralph. "I hope so. You should know best. Good-night."
Affecting not to hear his entreaties that he would stay and advise with him, Ralph left the crest-fallen Mr Mantalini to his meditations, and left the house quietly.
"Oho!" he said, "sets the wind that way so soon? Half knave and half fool, and detected in both characters? I think your day is over, sir."
As he said this, he made some memorandum in his pocket-book in which Mr Mantalini"s name figured conspicuously, and finding by his watch that it was between nine and ten o"clock, made all speed home.
"Are they here?" was the first question he asked of Newman.
Newman nodded. "Been here half an hour."
"Two of them? One a fat sleek man?"
"Ay," said Newman. "In your room now."
"Good," rejoined Ralph. "Get me a coach."
"A coach! What, you-going to-eh?" stammered Newman.
Ralph angrily repeated his orders, and Noggs, who might well have been excused for wondering at such an unusual and extraordinary circ.u.mstance (for he had never seen Ralph in a coach in his life) departed on his errand, and presently returned with the conveyance.
Into it went Mr Squeers, and Ralph, and the third man, whom Newman Noggs had never seen. Newman stood upon the door-step to see them off, not troubling himself to wonder where or upon what business they were going, until he chanced by mere accident to hear Ralph name the address whither the coachman was to drive.
Quick as lightning and in a state of the most extreme wonder, Newman darted into his little office for his hat, and limped after the coach as if with the intention of getting up behind; but in this design he was balked, for it had too much the start of him and was soon hopelessly ahead, leaving him gaping in the empty street.
"I don"t know though," said Noggs, stopping for breath, "any good that I could have done by going too. He would have seen me if I had. Drive THERE! What can come of this? If I had only known it yesterday I could have told-drive there! There"s mischief in it. There must be."
His reflections were interrupted by a grey-haired man of a very remarkable, though far from prepossessing appearance, who, coming stealthily towards him, solicited relief.
Newman, still cogitating deeply, turned away; but the man followed him, and pressed him with such a tale of misery that Newman (who might have been considered a hopeless person to beg from, and who had little enough to give) looked into his hat for some halfpence which he usually kept screwed up, when he had any, in a corner of his pocket-handkerchief.
While he was busily untwisting the knot with his teeth, the man said something which attracted his attention; whatever that something was, it led to something else, and in the end he and Newman walked away side by side-the strange man talking earnestly, and Newman listening.
CHAPTER 45
Containing Matter of a surprising Kind
"As we gang awa" fra" Lunnun tomorrow neeght, and as I dinnot know that I was e"er so happy in a" my days, Misther Nickleby, Ding! but I WILL tak" anoother gla.s.s to our next merry meeting!"