CHAPTER XXVIII.
It was not in my power to release my friend by the payment of his debt;but, by contracting with the keeper of the prison for his board, I couldsave him from famine; and, by suitable exertions, could procure himlodging as convenient as the time would admit. I could promise toconsole and protect his sisters, and, by cheerful tones and frequentvisits, dispel some part of the evil which encompassed him.
After the first surprise had subsided, he inquired by what accident thismeeting had been produced. Conscious of my incapacity to do him anyessential service, and unwilling to make me a partaker in his miseries,he had forborne to inform me of his condition.
This assurance was listened to with some wonder. I showed him thebillet. It had not been written by him. He was a stranger to thepenmanship. None but the attorney and officer were apprized of his fate.It was obvious to conclude, that this was the interposition of somefriend, who, knowing my affection for Carlton, had taken this mysteriousmethod of calling me to his succour.
Conjectures as to the author and motives of this inter position weresuspended by more urgent considerations. I requested an interview withthe keeper, and inquired how Carlton could be best accommodated.
He said that all his rooms were full but one, which, in consequence ofthe dismission of three persons in the morning, had at present but onetenant. This person had lately arrived, was sick, and had with him, atthis time, one of his friends. Carlton might divide the chamber withthis person. No doubt his consent would be readily given; though thisarrangement, being the best, must take place whether he consented ornot.
This consent I resolved immediately to seek, and, for that purpose,desired to be led to the chamber. The door of the apartment was shut. Iknocked for admission. It was instantly opened, and I entered. The firstperson who met my view was--Arthur Mervyn.
I started with astonishment. Mervyn's countenance betrayed nothing butsatisfaction at the interview. The traces of fatigue and anxiety gaveplace to tenderness and joy. It readily occurred to me that Mervyn wasthe writer of the note which I had lately received. To meet him withinthese walls, and at this time, was the most remote and undesirable ofall contingencies. The same hour had thus made me acquainted with thekindred and unwelcome fate of two beings whom I most loved.
I had scarcely time to return his embrace, when, taking my hand, he ledme to a bed that stood in one corner. There was stretched upon it onewhom a second glance enabled me to call by his name, though I had neverbefore seen him. The vivid portrait which Mervyn had drawn wasconspicuous in the sunken and haggard visage before me. This face had,indeed, proportions and lines which could never be forgotten ormistaken. Welbeck, when once seen or described, was easily distinguishedfrom the rest of mankind. He had stronger motives than other men forabstaining from guilt, the difficulty of concealment or disguise beingtenfold greater in him than in others, by reason of the indelible andeye-attracting marks which nature had set upon him.
He was pallid and emaciated. He did not open his eyes on my entrance. Heseemed to be asleep; but, before I had time to exchange glances withMervyn, or to inquire into the nature of the scene, he awoke. On seeingme he started, and cast a look of upbraiding on my companion. The lattercomprehended his emotion, and endeavoured to appease him.
"This person," said he, "is my friend. He is likewise a physician; and,perceiving your state to require medical assistance, I ventured to sendfor him."
Welbeck replied, in a contemptuous and indignant tone, "Thou mistakestmy condition, boy. My disease lies deeper than his scrutiny will everreach. I had hoped thou wert gone. Thy importunities are well meant, butthey aggravate my miseries."
He now rose from the bed, and continued, in a firm and resolute tone,"You are intruders into this apartment. It is mine, and I desire to beleft alone."
Mervyn returned, at first, no answer to this address. He was immersed inperplexity. At length, raising his eyes from the floor, he said, "Myintentions are indeed honest, and I am grieved that I want the power ofpersuasion. To-morrow, perhaps, I may reason more cogently with yourdespair, or your present mood may be changed. To aid my own weakness Iwill entreat the assistance of this friend."
These words roused a new spirit in Welbeck. His confusion and angerincreased. His tongue faltered as he exclaimed, "Good God! what meanyou? Headlong and rash as you are, you will not share with this personyour knowledge of me?" Here he checked himself, conscious that the wordshe had already uttered tended to the very end which he dreaded. Thisconsciousness, added to the terror of more ample disclosures, which thesimplicity and rectitude of Mervyn might prompt him to make, chained uphis tongue, and covered him with dismay.
Mervyn was not long in answering:--"I comprehend your fears and yourwishes. I am bound to tell you the truth. To this person your story hasalready been told. Whatever I have witnessed under your roof, whatever Ihave heard from your lips, have been faithfully disclosed to him."
The countenance of Welbeck now betrayed a mixture of incredulity andhorror. For a time his utterance was stifled by his complicatedfeelings:--
"It cannot be. So enormous a deed is beyond thy power. Thy qualities aremarvellous. Every new act of thine outstrips the last, and belies thenewest calculations. But this--this perfidy exceeds--this outrage uponpromises, this violation of faith, this blindness to the future, isincredible." There he stopped; while his looks seemed to call uponMervyn for a contradiction of his first assertion.
"I know full well how inexpiably stupid or wicked my act will appear toyou, but I will not prevaricate or lie. I repeat, that every thing isknown to him. Your birth; your early fortunes; the incidents atCharleston and Wilmington; your treatment of the brother and sister;your interview with Watson, and the fatal issue of that interview--Ihave told him all, just as it was told to me."
Here the shock that was felt by Welbeck overpowered his caution and hisstrength. He sunk upon the side of the bed. His air was stillincredulous, and he continued to gaze upon Mervyn. He spoke in a toneless vehement:--
"And hast thou then betrayed me? Hast thou shut every avenue to myreturn to honour? Am I known to be a seducer and assassin? To havemeditated all crimes, and to have perpetrated the worst?
"Infamy and death are my portion. I know they are reserved for me; but Idid not think to receive them at thy hands, that under that innocentguise there lurked a heart treacherous and cruel. But go; leave me tomyself. This stroke has exterminated my remnant of hope. Leave me toprepare my neck for the halter, and my lips for this last and bitterestcup."
Mervyn struggled with his tears, and replied, "All this was foreseen,and all this I was prepared to endure. My friend and I will withdraw, asyou wish; but to-morrow I return; not to vindicate my faith or myhumanity; not to make you recant your charges, or forgive the faultswhich I seem to have committed, but to extricate you from your presentevil, or to arm you with fortitude."
So saying, he led the way out of the room. I followed him in silence.The strangeness and abruptness of this scene left me no power to assumea part in it. I looked on with new and indescribable sensations. Ireached the street before my recollection was perfectly recovered. Ithen reflected on the purpose that had led me to Welbeck's chamber. Thispurpose was yet unaccomplished. I desired Mervyn to linger a momentwhile I returned into the house. I once more inquired for the keeper,and told him I should leave to him the province of acquainting Welbeckwith the necessity of sharing his apartment with a stranger. I speedilyrejoined Mervyn in the street.
I lost no time in requiring an explanation of the scene that I hadwitnessed. "How became you once more the companion of Welbeck? Why didyou not inform me by letter of your arrival at Malverton, and of whatoccurred during your absence? What is the fate of Mr. Hadwin and ofWallace?"
"Alas!" said he, "I perceive that, though I have written, you have neverreceived my letters. The tale of what has occurred since we parted islong and various. I am not only willing but eager to communicate thestory; but this is no suitable place. Have patience till we reach
yourhouse. I have involved myself in perils and embarrassments from which Idepend upon your counsel and aid to release me."
I had scarcely reached my own door, when I was overtaken by a servant,whom I knew to belong to the family in which Carlton and his sistersresided. Her message, therefore, was readily guessed. She came, as Iexpected, to inquire for my friend, who had left his home in the morningwith a stranger, and had not yet returned. His absence had occasionedsome inquietude, and his sister had sent this message to me, to procurewhat information respecting the cause of his detention I was able togive.
My perplexity hindered me, for some time, from answering. I was willingto communicate the painful truth with my own mouth. I saw the necessityof putting an end to her suspense, and of preventing the news fromreaching her with fallacious aggravations or at an unseasonable time.
I told the messenger that I had just parted with Mr. Carlton, that hewas well, and that I would speedily come and acquaint his sister withthe cause of his absence.
Though burning with curiosity respecting Mervyn and Welbeck, I readilypostponed its gratification till my visit to Miss Carlton was performed.I had rarely seen this lady; my friendship for her brother, thoughardent, having been lately formed, and chiefly matured by interviews atmy house. I had designed to introduce her to my wife, but variousaccidents had hindered the execution of my purpose. Now consolation andcounsel were more needed than ever, and delay or reluctance in bestowingit would have been, in a high degree, unpardonable.
I therefore parted with Mervyn, requesting him to await my return, andpromising to perform the engagement which compelled me to leave him,with the utmost despatch. On entering Miss Carlton's apartment, Iassumed an air of as much tranquillity as possible. I found the ladyseated at a desk, with pen in hand and parchment before her. She greetedme with affectionate dignity, and caught from my countenance thatcheerfulness of which on my entrance she was destitute.
"You come," said she, "to inform me what has made my brother a truantto-day. Till your message was received I was somewhat anxious. This dayhe usually spends in rambling through the fields; but so bleak andstormy an atmosphere, I suppose, would prevent his excursion. I pray,sir, what is it detains him?"
To conquer my embarrassment, and introduce the subject by indirect andcautious means, I eluded her question, and, casting an eye at theparchment,--"How now?" said I; "this is strange employment for a lady. Iknew that my friend pursued this trade, and lived by binding fast thebargains which others made; but I knew not that the pen was ever usurpedby his sister."
"The usurpation was prompted by necessity. My brother's impatient temperand delicate frame unfitted him for the trade. He pursued it with noless reluctance than diligence, devoting to the task three nights in theweek, and the whole of each day. It would long ago have killed him, hadI not bethought myself of sharing his tasks. The pen was irksome andtoilsome at first, but use has made it easy, and far more eligible thanthe needle, which was formerly my only tool.
"This arrangement affords my brother opportunities of exercise andrecreation, without diminishing our profits; and my time, though notless constantly, is more agreeably, as well as more lucratively,employed than formerly."
"I admire your reasoning. By this means provision is made againstuntoward accidents. If sickness should disable him, you are qualified topursue the same means of support."
At these words the lady's countenance changed. She put her hand on myarm, and said, in a fluttering and hurried accent, "Is my brother sick?"
"No. He is in perfect health. My observation was a harmless one. I amsorry to observe your readiness to draw alarming inferences. If I wereto say that your scheme is useful to supply deficiencies, not only whenyour brother is disabled by sickness, but when thrown, by some inhumancreditor, into jail, no doubt you would perversely and hastily inferthat he is now in prison."
I had scarcely ended the sentence, when the piercing eyes of the ladywere anxiously fixed upon mine. After a moment's pause, she exclaimed,"The inference, indeed, is too plain. I know his fate. It has long beenforeseen and expected, and I have summoned up my equanimity to meet it.Would to Heaven he may find the calamity as light as I should find it!but I fear his too irritable spirit."
When her fears were confirmed, she started out into no vehemence ofexclamation. She quickly suppressed a few tears which would not bewithheld, and listened to my narrative of what had lately occurred, withtokens of gratitude.
Formal consolation was superfluous. Her mind was indeed more fertilethan my own in those topics which take away its keenest edge fromaffliction. She observed that it was far from being the heaviestcalamity which might have happened. The creditor was perhaps vincible byarguments and supplications. If these should succeed, the disaster wouldnot only be removed, but that security from future molestation begained, to which they had for a long time been strangers.
Should he be obdurate, their state was far from being hopeless.Carlton's situation allowed him to pursue his profession. His gainswould be equal, and his expenses would not be augmented. By their mutualindustry they might hope to amass sufficient to discharge the debt at novery remote period.
What she chiefly dreaded was the pernicious influence of dejection andsedentary labour on her brother's health. Yet this was not to beconsidered as inevitable. Fortitude might be inspired by exhortation andexample, and no condition precluded us from every species of bodilyexertion. The less inclined he should prove to cultivate the means ofdeliverance and happiness within his reach, the more necessary it becamefor her to stimulate and fortify his resolution.
If I were captivated by the charms of this lady's person and carriage,my reverence was excited by these proofs of wisdom and energy. Izealously promised to concur with her in every scheme she should adoptfor her own or her brother's advantage; and, after spending some hourswith her, took my leave.
I now regretted the ignorance in which I had hitherto remainedrespecting this lady. That she was, in an eminent degree, feminine andlovely, was easily discovered; but intellectual weakness had been rashlyinferred from external frailty. She was accustomed to shrink fromobservation, and reserve was mistaken for timidity. I called on Carltononly when numerous engagements would allow, and when, by some accident,his customary visits had been intermitted. On those occasions, my staywas short, and my attention chiefly confined to her brother. I nowresolved to atone for my ancient negligence, not only by my ownassiduities, but by those of my wife.
On my return home, I found Mervyn and my wife in earnest discourse. Ianticipated the shock which the sensibility of the latter would receivefrom the tidings which I had to communicate respecting Carlton. I wasunwilling, and yet perceived the necessity of disclosing the truth. Idesired to bring these women, as soon as possible, to the knowledge ofeach other, but the necessary prelude to this was an acquaintance withthe disaster that had happened.
Scarcely had I entered the room, when Mervyn turned to me, and said,with an air of anxiety and impatience, "Pray, my friend, have you anyknowledge of Francis Carlton?"
The mention of this name by Mervyn produced some surprise. Iacknowledged my acquaintance with him.
"Do you know in what situation he now is?"
In answer to this question, I stated by what singular means hissituation had been made known to me, and the purpose from theaccomplishment of which I had just returned. I inquired in my turn,"Whence originated this question?"
He had overheard the name of Carlton in the prison. Two persons werecommuning in a corner, and accident enabled him to catch this name,though uttered by them in a half whisper, and to discover that theperson talked about had lately been conveyed thither.
This name was not now heard for the first time. It was connected withremembrances that made him anxious for the fate of him to whom itbelonged. In discourse with my wife, this name chanced to be againmentioned, and his curiosity was roused afresh. I was willing tocommunicate all that I knew, but Mervyn's own destiny was too remarkablenot to absorb all my attention, and I
refused to discuss any other themetill that were fully explained. He postponed his own gratification tomine, and consented to relate the incidents that had happened from themoment of our separation till the present.