"She is a choice t.i.t-bit for my master"s appet.i.te," thought she, chuckling to herself; and then she brought water, and made f.a.n.n.y wash the traces of tears from her face, and arrange her rich auburn hair neatly and tastefully. This done, the negress departed, after telling the young girl to prepare to receive Mr. Tickels in the course of the afternoon.
What must have been the reflections of that poor young creature, while dreading the entrance of the h.o.a.ry villain who sought her ruin? We can but imagine them: doubtless she thought with agony of her poor grandfather and little Charley, both of whom she knew would suffer all the anguish of uncertainty and fear, with reference to her fate. Then, perhaps, her mind reverted to the happiness she used to enjoy within the hallowed precincts of her humble home--which, humble as it was, and devoid of every luxury, and many comforts, was nevertheless endeared to her by a thousand tender a.s.sociations, and had been to her as an ark of safety from the storms of life. Her thoughts next dwelt upon the kind young lady, who had given her the gold coin, and whose sweet smile and pitying words still lingered in her heart. And should she ever see those dear relatives or that kind friend again? Or if she did, would she be able to look them in the face as a pure and stainless girl, or would she blush in their presence with a consciousness of degradation? But she was interrupted in these painful meditations by the sound of the key turning in the lock; and a moment afterwards Mr. Tickels entered the room, and advanced towards her. On observing her improved appearance, a smile of intense satisfaction overspread his bloated face and sensual features--and his eyes rested admiringly upon her form, which, though not ripened, was beginning to a.s.sume a voluptuous fullness that betokened approaching womanhood. Taking her hand, he drew her to a sofa and seated her by his side. How tumultuously her heart beat with apprehension and fear!--and the old _gentleman"s_ first words were by no means calculated to allay her alarm.
"My charming little girl," said he, raising her hand to his lips--"how beautiful you look! A _fruit girl_!--by heavens, you are fit to be a d.u.c.h.ess! Such sweet blue eyes--such luxuriant hair--such pure Grecian features--such a complexion, the rose blending with the lily--such a snowy breast, expanding into the two "apples of love!" And that little foot, peeping so coquettishly from beneath the skirts of your dress, should ever be encased in a satin slipper, and press naught but rich and downy carpets in the magnificent saloons of aristocratic wealth! Nay, nay, my little trembler, be not afraid, but listen to me: I love you more than words can express--you are the star of my life, and your l.u.s.tre shall light me on my way to more than celestial felicity. Hear me still further: the world bows the knee to me because I am rich--thus do I kneel to you, my angel, for you are beautiful. You shall dwell with me in a mansion, to which, in point of splendor, this is nothing. I will have a _boudoir_ prepared expressly for your use; it shall be lined with pink satin, and in summer the windows will overlook a beautiful garden, full of choice fruits and rare flowers; a sparkling fountain shall play in its centre, and your ears will be ravished with the melody of birds.
You shall wander in that garden as much as you choose, and when you are tired, you shall repose in a shady arbor, and dream of love and its thousand blisses. In the winter season, like this, the opera, the ballroom, the theatre, shall minister to your pleasure; and in those places, none shall surpa.s.s you in splendor of dress or magnificence of jewels. Say, _belissima_, will you give me your love in exchange for all these things?"
While uttering the above wild rhapsody, (which is given at length in order to show the temptations with which the old libertine sought to allure his intended victim,) he had kneeled at her feet, and, despite her resistance, encircled her waist with his arm.
And did that poor girl--the daughter of poverty--the child of want--whose home was a garret, and who was familiar with the chills of winter and the cravings of hunger,--did she, while listening to the splendid promises of the rich man who knelt at her feet, for a moment waver in her pride of virtue, or even dream of accepting his brilliant offers? No! for even had she no other scruples, a host of holy memories encircled her heart, as a shield of power against the tempter"s wiles,--the memory of home, of the two loved beings she had left there, of former happiness in a more elevated sphere; and of a gentle mother, whose beauty and virtues she had inherited, whose counsels she remembered, and who was sleeping in the churchyard.
Disengaging herself from the libertine"s embrace, and thoroughly aroused to a sense of her danger, and the necessity of making all the resistance she was capable of, to preserve her chast.i.ty and honor, the young girl, losing all sense of fear, poured forth a torrent of indignant eloquence that for the time completely abashed and overcame the h.o.a.ry and lecherous villain.
"No, sir--I will not, cannot love you; I hate and despise you, old wretch that you are, seeking to tempt a poor child like me to her ruin.
Oh! you are rich, and have the manners of a gentleman before the world,--and yet you are more base, mean and cowardly than the commonest ruffian that ever stole a purse or cut a throat! Let me go hence, I command you; you dare not refuse me, for I know there is a law to protect _me_, as well as the richest and the highest, and I will go to those who execute the law, and have you dragged to the bar of justice to answer for this outrage. Do you hear, sir?--let me go from this accursed place, or dread the power of the law and the vengeance of Almighty G.o.d!"
The libertine quailed before the flashing eyes and proud scorn of his intended victim; his discomfiture, however, lasted but for a moment. His red face grew black with the pa.s.sions of rage and l.u.s.t combined; he muttered a fierce curse, and springing forward, seized her in his vice-like grasp, and forced her towards the sofa, exclaiming--
"Curses on you, little h.e.l.l-bird, since neither persuasions nor promises will make you mine, it shall be done by force. Nay, if you scream so, by the powers of darkness I"ll strangle you!"
In all human probability he would have been as good as his word, for f.a.n.n.y continued to scream louder and louder; when suddenly Mr. Tickels received a blow on the head that brought him to the ground, and a voice cried out--
"Broad-swords and bomb-sh.e.l.ls! I am just in time!"
While the libertine lay sprawling upon the carpet, f.a.n.n.y turned to thank her deliverer; and what was her astonishment and joy when she beheld the wrinkled, care-worn face, and odd, shabby garments of--Corporal Grimsby.
CHAPTER III
_The Rescue._
"By the nose of Napoleon!" cried the worthy Corporal, clasping f.a.n.n.y in his arms,--"this is fortunate. Attacked the enemy in the rear--drove him from his position,--completely routed him, and left him wounded on the field; and you, my dear child, are the spoils of war!"
Mr. Tickels arose with difficulty from his prostrate position, rubbing his forehead, which was decorated with a token of the Corporal"s vigor, in the shape of a huge b.u.mp not included in the science of phrenology.
Turning fiercely to the latter gentleman, and quivering with rage, he demanded--
"Death and fury, sir! how dare you intrude into this room,--into this house? Who are you, and what in the devil"s name brings you here? Speak, you villain, or--"
"Hold!" cried the Corporal, his face crimsoning with anger, for he was a choleric little old gentleman, was the Corporal, and as quick to become enraged as to do a good action; "hold! No man shall call me villain with impunity; I shot two rascally Dons at Madrid for the same word, and by G.o.d, sir, if _you_ repeat it, I"ll cane you within an inch of your life!"
Mr. Tickels was as great a coward as a scoundrel; and though he was a much more powerful man than the Corporal, he deemed it prudent not to enrage the fierce little old gentleman more than necessary. He therefore adopted a milder tone, and asked,--
"Well, sir, what is your business here?"
"To convey this poor child to her home and friends," replied the Corporal, sternly. "It matters not how I ascertained her whereabouts; "tis enough to know that I arrived here in time to rescue her from your brutality. You shall pay dearly for this outrage, d.a.m.n you!" added the Corporal, again getting into a pa.s.sion, and turning very red in the face. "But come, my child, let us leave the den of this old hyena, and go to your poor grandfather and little Charley."
Mr. Tickels closed the door, and placed his back against it with a determined air.
"You are mistaken, sir," said he, calmly,--"if you suppose that you can thus force yourself into my house, and into my private apartments, and without explanation kidnap or carry off a young person whose presence here is no affair of yours. Do you know me, sir? I am the Honorable Timothy Tickels, ex-member of Congress, men are not in the habit of questioning my motives or interfering with my actions. I am rich, and my influence is unbounded, and, were I so disposed, I could have you severely punished for the a.s.sault which you have committed on me. Your dress and appearance indicate poverty, although your language evinces that you have enjoyed more elevated fortunes; I am disposed to be not only merciful, but generous. Come, sir--leave this young person with me, unmolested; depart from this house quietly, and say nothing about what you have seen, and here is a fifty dollar bill for you. When you need more, come to me, and you shall have it."
The Honorable Mr. Tickels drew from his well-filled wallet a bank-note for the amount named, and handed it to the Corporal, who regarded it with a curious smile, and twirled it in his fingers. His smile may have been one of gratification at receiving the money--but it looked very much like a sneer of contempt for the donor and his bribe.
"Now is it not strange," quoth the Corporal, soliloquizing,--"that this dirty little bit of paper--its intrinsic value not one cent, its representative value fifty dollars,--is it not strange, I say, that this flimsy trifle, that an instant"s application to the sickly flame of a penny candle would destroy, can procure food for the starving, clothing for the naked, shelter for the homeless? Great is thy power, money!--thou art the key to many of earth"s pleasures,--the magic wand, which can summon a host of delights to gild the existence of thy votaries; thou cans"t buy roses to strew life"s rugged pathway--but thou cans"t not, O great deity at whose shrine all men kneel, thou cans"t not cleanse the polluted soul, still the troubled conscience, or dim the pure surface of unsullied honor. Nor cans"t thou purchase _me_, thou sordid dross. Guns and grappling-irons!" abruptly added the Corporal, abandoning his philosophical strain, and getting into a towering pa.s.sion,--"would you bribe me to desert my post as a guardian of innocence, and turn traitor to every principle of honor in my heart?--Bah!" and crumpling the bill in his hand, he threw it into the face of the Honorable Mr. Tickels, much to that individual"s amazement.
"What do you mean, sir?" he demanded, "do you scorn my gift?"
"Yes!" thundered the little Corporal, "you and your gift may go to the devil together; and hark"ee, sir, perhaps "tis well that you should know who _I_ am, as you have so formally introduced yourself to me; I am--"
The remainder of the sentence was whispered in the ear of his listener, but the effect was magical. The Honorable Mr. Tickels started, and rapidly surveyed the person and countenance of the Corporal; then he reddened with confusion, and began to murmur a broken apology for his conduct, in which he was interrupted rather abruptly.
"Not a word, sir, not a word," said the little old gentleman, "all your apologies cannot remove from my mind the impression created by your treatment of this poor child; and, sir," (here the Corporal again lost his temper) "you cannot destroy my conviction that you are the d----dest scoundrel that ever went unhung! Consider yourself fortunate if you are not held legally responsible for your forcible detention of the young girl in your house, and for your attempted outrage on her person,--d.a.m.n you! Come, my child, this gentleman will no longer oppose our exit from his mansion."
The Corporal was right; the Honorable Mr. Tickels offered not the slightest objection to their departure, but on the contrary ushered them down stairs with great politeness, and held open the street door for them to pa.s.s out.
When f.a.n.n.y found herself once more in the open street, out of the power of her persecutor, and on the way to her home and friends, her grat.i.tude to her deliverer knew no bounds; she thanked the good Corporal a thousand times, and spoke of the approaching meeting with her grandfather and brother with rapture. Soon they reached their place of destination; once more the young girl stood in the humble apartment wherein all her affections were centered;--once more her aged grandfather clasped her in his arms, and again did she receive the fond kiss of fraternal love from the lips of her brother.
As soon as they had left the residence of the Honorable Mr. Tickels, in South street, the gentleman locked himself up in his study, threw himself into a chair, and actually began tearing his hair with rage and vexation.
"h.e.l.l and furies!" cried he--"to be thus fooled and baffled at the very moment when my object was about to be accomplished--to have that luscious morsel s.n.a.t.c.hed from my grasp, when I was just about to taste its sweets. The thought is madness! And, in the name of wonder, how came HE to know that she was here, and why does _he_ interest himself in her at all? I dare not trifle with _him_! Were some poor, poverty-stricken devil to const.i.tute himself her champion, I might crush him at once; but _he_ is above my reach. No matter; she shall yet be mine--I swear it, by all the powers of h.e.l.l! I care not whether by open violence, or secret abduction, or subtle stratagem; I shall gain possession of her person, and once in my power, not all the angels in heaven, or men on earth, or fiends in h.e.l.l, shall tear her from my grasp.--Ah, by Beelzebub, well tho"t of!--I know the mistress of a house of prost.i.tution (of which house I am the _owner_,) beneath whose den, as she has often told me, there is a secret cellar, which she has had privately constructed, and to which there is no access except through a panel in her chamber--which panel and the method of opening it, are known only to her, and a few persons in whom she can place implicit confidence.--This brothel-keeper told me, too, that she had the cellar made as a safe depository for young females who had been abducted from their homes,--a place of security from the search of friends, and the police. In that subterranean retreat, (which she informed me, is luxuriantly furnished, although the light of day never penetrates there,) these stolen girls are compelled to receive the visits of their lovers; and there, amid the gloom and silence of that underground prison they are initiated in all the mysteries of prost.i.tution. By heaven "tis the very place for my little fruit girl; she shall be abducted and conveyed there--and once safely lodged in these secret "Chambers of Love," HE who spoiled by sport to-day, shall in vain search for her. Let him come, bringing with him the myrmidons of the law; and let them search my house--then let them, if they choose, go to the brothel, beneath the foundation of which the girl is hidden, and search _that_ house, too,--ha, ha, ha! They will search for her in vain. But _how_ to abduct her--there"s the rub! Tush!
when did my ingenuity ever fail me, when appet.i.te was to be fed or revenge gratified? Courage, Timothy Tickels, courage! Thy star, though dim at present, shall soon be in the ascendant!"
Such were the reflections of the old libertine, as he sat in his study after the departure of the Corporal and f.a.n.n.y; and he was so delighted at the thought of a safe asylum for the latter, that, with restored good humor he applied himself to the discussion of a bottle of wine, and then, stretching himself comfortably on a sofa, fell asleep and dreamed of the subterranean "Chamber of Love," and the little fruit girl.
CHAPTER IV
_A night in Ann street._
We proceed now to show how the Corporal discovered the fact that f.a.n.n.y Aubrey was confined in the mansion of the Honorable Mr. Tickels, in South street.
Great was the consternation and alarm of the blind basket-maker and little Charley, as the day pa.s.sed away and evening came on, without the return of f.a.n.n.y. They were agitated with a thousand fears for her safety, for both their lives were bound up in hers, and they doted on her with an affection rendered doubly ardent by their poverty and almost complete isolation from the world. In the midst of their distress, Corporal Grimsby entered, bringing, as on the evening before, a basket of provisions. To him they communicated the intelligence that f.a.n.n.y had not returned; and the eccentric old man, without waiting to hear the recital of their fears, threw the basket on the table, bolted precipitately down stairs, and walked away towards Ann street with a rapidity that betokened the existence of some fixed purpose in his mind.
Meanwhile, his reflections ran somewhat in the following strain, and were half muttered aloud, as he trudged quickly onward, now nearly upsetting a foot pa.s.senger and receiving a malediction on his awkwardness, and then bruising his unlucky shins against lampposts and other street fixtures.
"By the nose of Napoleon! what can have become of the little minx? lost or stolen?--most probably the latter, for in this infernal city a pretty girl like her, so unprotected and so poor, can no more traverse the streets with safety, than can a fine fat goose waddle into the den of a wolf unharmed. Curses on these lampposts, I am always breaking my neck against them--bah! Well, to consider: but why the devil do I interest myself in this little girl at all? Is it because I am a lonely, solitary old codger, with neither chick nor child to bless me with their love, and whom I may love in return? Bah! no--that can"t be; and yet, somehow, there is a vacant corner in my old heart, and the image of that little girl seems to fill it exactly. I am an old fool, and yet--d.a.m.n you, sir, what d"ye mean by running against me, eh!--and yet, it did me more good to see that hungry family last night, eat the food that I had provided for them, than it did when I, Gregory Grimsby, was promoted to the elevated rank of Corporal. Now about this little girl--I"ll bet my three-cornered c.o.c.k"d hat against a pinch of Scotch snuff that she has been abducted--entrapped into the power of some scoundrel for the worst of purposes. That"s the most natural supposition that I can get at. Now display thy logic, Corporal: thy supposed scoundrel must be rich, for poor men can seldom afford such expensive luxuries as mistresses; being rich implies that he is _respectable_--so the world says and thinks--bah! Being respectable, he would not compromise his character by engaging personally in such a low business as entrapping a girl; no--he would employ an _agent_; and such an agent must necessarily be a very low person, whether male or female--if a male, he is a ruffian--if a female, she is a strumpet--and where do ruffians and strumpets, of the _lower orders_ (for even in crime there is an aristocracy)[A] where do they usually reside? why, in a congenial atmosphere--in the lowest section of the city; and what is the lowest section of this city? why, _Ann street_, to be sure. Truly, Corporal Grimsby, thou art an admirable logician! So now I am on my way to Ann street, to explore its dens, in the hope (a vain one, I fear) of finding the supposed agent who was employed by the supposed rich scoundrel to abduct, kidnap, or entrap my little f.a.n.n.y. Should I be so fortunate as to find that agent, money will readily induce him or her to divulge the place where the girl is hid; for the principle of "honor among thieves" has, I believe, but an imaginary existence."
[A] The honest Corporal was right; the well-dressed, gentlemanly, speculating, wholesale swindler would scorn to a.s.sociate with the needy wretch who protracts a miserable existence by small pilferings--and the fashionable courtezan who promenades Washington street and "sees company" at a splendidly furnished brothel, can perceive not the slightest resemblance between her position in society and that of the wretched troll who practises indiscriminate prost.i.tution in some low "crib" in Ann street. And yet philosophy and common sense both level all moral distinction between the two conditions.--A n.o.ble murderer once protested against being hung on the same gallows with a chimney-sweep--there was aristocracy with a vengeance! We opine that the lofty and arrogant pretensions of some of our "nabobs," who are often of obscure and sometimes of ignominious birth, are scarcely less ridiculous than the aristocratic notions of a gentlemanly rascal who robs _a la mode_ and picks a pocket with gentility and grace!
Leaving the Corporal to explore the intricate labyrinths of Ann street, (in the hope of obtaining some clew to the fate of f.a.n.n.y Aubry,) thou wilt have the kindness, gentle reader, to accompany us into one of the squalid dens of that great sewer of vice and crime. But first we pause to read and admire the sign which decorates the exterior of a "crib"
opposite Keith"s Alley, and which, with a peculiarity of orthography truly amusing, notifies you that it is a "_Vittlin Sollor._" (This sign remains there to this day.) Pa.s.sing on, we cannot fail to be impressed with the "mixed" nature of the society of the place; colored ladies and gentlemen (by far the most decent portion of the population) are every where to be seen, thronging the side-walks, indulging in boisterous laughter; loafers of every description are lounging about, whose tattered garments indicate the languishing condition of their wardrobes; great, ruffianly fellows stare at you with eyes expressive of the villainy that prompts to robbery and murder;--miserable men, ghastly women, and dirty children obstruct the pathway, and annoy you with their oaths and ribald jests. Let us descend this steep flight of steps, and enter this cellar. Be not too fastidious in regard to the odor of the place, for _eau de cologne_ and otto of rose are not exactly the commodities disposed of here, the place being devoted to the sale of that beverage cla.s.sically termed "rot-gut," and eatables which, unlike wine, are by no means improved in flavor by age. There is the "bar," and the red-nosed gentleman behind it seems to be one of its best patrons. A wooden bench extends around the apartment, and upon it are seated about twenty persons of both s.e.xes. A brief sketch of a few of the "ladies" of this goodly company may prove interesting, from the fact that the names are real, and belong to prost.i.tutes who even now inhabit the regions of Ann street.
That handsome, finely-formed female, with dark eyes and hair in ringlets, and who is also very neatly dressed, is "Kitty Cling-cling,"
who has been termed the "belle of Ann street." That lady in a red dress, with hair uncommonly short, (she having only recently dispensed with a wig,) is Joannah Westman, of Fleet street, and Liverpool Jane from the same _respectable_ neighborhood. This renowned "Lady" of the town was (and is) distinguished by a huge scar on her left cheek, which seems to be the exact impression of a gin bottle, probably thrown in some brawl in Liverpool, her native place. Then there is Lize Whittaker, from Lowell, who "ties up" at the corner of Fleet and Ann streets. Then we notice two ladies who rejoice in the mellifluous names of "Bald-head"
and "c.o.c.kroach," and who are both worthy representatives from Keith"s Alley. These, with a small sprinkling of ebony la.s.ses and their attendant cavaliers, make up the very respectable a.s.semblage.