Sir Jasper Carew Part 68

If they who read this story suppose that I should not have hesitated to propose myself a claimant for an estate to which I had no right, I have no better answer to give them than a mere denial, and even that uttered in all humility, since it comes from one whose good name has been impeached, and whose good faith may be questioned. Still do I repeat it, this was an act I could not have done. There is a kind of half-way rect.i.tude in the world which never scruples at the means of any success so long as it injures no other, but which recoils from the thought of any advantage obtained at another's cost and detriment. Such I suspect to have been mine. At least, I can declare with truth that I am not conscious of an incident in my life which will bear the opposite construction.

But to what end should I endeavor to defend my motives, since my actions are already before the world, and each will read them by the light his own conscience lends? Let me rather hasten to complete a task which, since it has involved an apology, has become almost painful to pursue.

So successfully had Ysaffich employed his time at Brussels that a well-known notary there had already consented to aid our plans and furnish means for our journey to England. I cannot go over with minuteness details in which the deceptions I had to concur in still revive my shame. I could, it is true, recite the story of my birth and parentage, my early years abroad, and so on, with the conscious force of truth; but there were supplementary evidences required of me with which I could not bring myself to comply. Ysaffich, naturally enough, could not understand the delicacy of scruples which only took alarm by mere caprice, nor could he comprehend why he who was willing to feign a name and falsify a position should hesitate about a.s.suming any circ.u.mstances that might be useful to sustain it.

Of course I could not explain this mystery, and was obliged to endure all the sarcastic allusions he vented on the acuteness of my sense of honor and the extreme susceptibility of my notions of right. It chanced, however, that this very repugnance on my part should prove more favorable for us than all his most artful devices, and indeed it shows with clearness how often the superadded efforts fraud contributes to insure success are as frequently the very sources of its failure,--just as we see in darker crimes how the over care and caution of the murderer have been the clew that has elicited the murder.

Ysaffich wished me to detail, amongst the memories of my childhood, the having heard often of the great estate and vast fortune to which I was ent.i.tled. He wanted me to supply, as it were from memory, many links of the chain of evidence that seemed deficient,--vague recollections of having heard this, that, and the other; but, with an obstinacy that to him appeared incomprehensible, I held to my own unadorned tale, and would not add a word beyond my own conviction.

Mr. Ragge, the solicitor by whom the case was undertaken, seemed most favorably impressed by this reserve on my part; and, far from being discouraged by my ignorance of certain points, appeared, on the contrary, only the more satisfied as to the genuineness of my story.

Over and over have I felt in my conversations with him how impossible it would have been for me to practise any deception successfully with him.

Without any semblance of cross-examination, he still contrived to bring me again and again over the same ground, viewing the same statement from different sides, and trying to discover a discrepancy in my narrative.

When at length a.s.sured, to all appearance, at least, of my being the person I claimed to be, he drew up a statement of my case for counsel, and a day was named when I should be personally examined by a distinguished member of the bar. I cannot even now recall that interview without a thrill of emotion. My sense of hope, dashed as it was by a conscious feeling that I was, in some sort, practising a deception,--for in all my compact with Ysaffich our attempt was purely a fraud,--I entered the chamber with a faltering step and a failing heart Far, however, from questioning and cross-questioning, like the solicitor, the lawyer suffered me to tell my story without even so much as a word of interruption. I had, I ought to remark, divested my tale of many of the incidents which really befell me. I made my life one of commonplace events and unexciting adventures, in which poverty occupied the prominent place. I as cautiously abstained from all mention of the distinguished persons with whom accident had brought me into contact, since any allusion to them would have compromised the part I Was obliged to play with Ysaffich. When asked what doc.u.ments or written evidence I had to adduce in support of my pretensions, and I had confessed to possessing none, the old lawyer leaned back in his chair, and, closing his eyes, seemed lost in thought.

"At the best," said he, at length, "it is a case for a compromise. There is really so little to go upon, I can advise nothing better."

I need not go into the discussion that ensued further than to say the weight of argument was on the side of those who counselled the compromise, and, however little disposed to yield, I felt myself overborne by numbers, and compelled to give in.

Weeks, even months, were now pa.s.sed without any apparent progress in our suit. The party in possession of the estate treated our first advances with the most undisguised contempt, and even met our proposals with menaces of legal vengeance. Undeterred by these signs of strength, Mr.

Ragge persevered in his search for evidence, sent his emissaries. .h.i.ther and thither, and entered upon the case with all the warm zeal of a devoted friend. It was at length thought that a visit to Ireland might possibly elicit some information on certain points, and thither we went together.

It was little more than a quarter of a century since the date of my father's death, and yet such had been the changes in the condition of Ireland, and so great the social revolution accomplished there, that men talked of the bygone period like some long-past history. The days of the parliaments, and the men who figured in them, were alike for* gotten; and although there were many who had known my father well, all memory, not to speak of affection for him, had lapsed from their natures.

Crowther and f.a.gan were dead, but Joe Curtis was alive, and continued to live in Castle Carew in a style of riotous debauchery that scandalized the whole country. In fact, the mere mention of his name was sufficient to elicit the most disgraceful anecdotes of his habits. Unknown to and unrecognized by his equals, this old man had condescended to form intimacy with all that Dublin contained of the profligate and abandoned; and, surrounded by men and women of this cla.s.s, his days and nights were one continued orgie. Although the estate was a large one, it was rumored that he was deeply in debt, and only obtained means for this wasteful existence by loans on ruinous conditions. In vain Mr. Ragge made inquiries for some one who might possess his confidence and have the legal direction of his affairs. He had changed from this man to that so often that it was scarcely possible to discover in what quarter the property was managed. Without any settled plan of procedure, but half to watch the eventualities that might arise, it was determined that I should proceed to Castle Carew and present myself as the son and the heir of the last owner.

If there were circ.u.mstances attendant on this step which I by no means fancied, there was one gratification that more than atoned for them all: I should see the ancient home of my family; the halls wherein my father's n.o.ble hospitalities had been practised; the chamber which had been my dear mother's! I own that the sight of the princely domain and all its attendant wealth, contrasting with my own poverty, served to extinguish within me the last spark of hope. How could I possibly dream of success against the power of such adjuncts as these? Were my cause fortified by every doc.u.ment and evidence, how little would it avail against the might of vast wealth and resources! Curtis would laugh my pretensions to scorn, if not treat them with greater violence; and with such thoughts I found myself one bright morning of June slowly traversing the approach to the Castle. The sight of the dense dark woods, the swelling lawns dotted over with grazing cattle, the distant corn-fields waving beneath a summer wind, and the tall towers of the Castle itself far off above the trees, all filled my heart with a strange chaos, in which hope, and fear, and proud ambition, and the very humblest terrors were all commingled. Although my plan of procedure had been carefully sketched out for me by Ragge, so confused were all my thoughts that I forgot everything. I could not even bethink me in what character and with what pretension I was to present myself, and I was actually at the very entrance of the Castle, still trying to remember the part I was to play.

There before me rose the grand and ma.s.sive edifice, to erect which had been one of the chief elements of my poor father's ruin. Though far from architecturally correct in its details, the effect of the whole was singularly fine. Between two square towers of great size extended a long facade, in which, from the ornamented style of architraves and brackets, it was easy to see the chief suite of apartments lay; and in front of this the ground had been artificially terraced, and gardens formed in the Italian taste, the entire being defended by a deep fosse in front, and crossed by a drawbridge. Neglect and dilapidation had, however, disfigured all these; the terraces were broken down by the cattle, the cordage of the bridge hung in fragments in the wind, and even the stained-gla.s.s windows were smashed, and their places filled by paper or wooden subst.i.tutes. As I came nearer, these signs of ruin and devastation were still more apparent. The marble statues were fractured, and fissured by bullet-marks; the pastures were cut up by horses' feet; and even fragments of furniture were strewn about, as though thrown from the windows in some paroxysm of pa.s.sionate debauchery. The door of the mansion was open, and evidences of even greater decay presented themselves within. Ma.s.sive cornices of carved oak hung broken and shattered from the walls; richly cut wainscotings were split and fissured; a huge marble table of immense thickness was smashed through the centre, and the fragments still lay scattered on the floor where they had fallen. As I stood, in mournful mood, gazing on this desecration of what once had been a n.o.ble and costly estate, an ill-dressed, slatternly woman-servant chanced to cross the hall, and stopped with some astonishment to stare at me. To my inquiry if I could see Mr. Curtis, she replied by a burst of laughter too natural to be deemed offensive.

"By coorse you couldn't," said she, at length; "sure there's n.o.body stirrin', nor won't be these two hours."

"At what time, then, might I hope to be more fortunate?"

If I came about three or four in the afternoon, when the gentlemen were at breakfast, I might see Mr. Archy,--Archy M'Clean.

This gentleman was, as she told me, the nephew of Mr. Curtis, and his reputed heir.

Having informed her that I was a stranger in Ireland, and come from a long distance off to pay this visit, she good-naturedly suffered me to enter the house and rest myself in a small and meanly furnished chamber adjoining the hall. If I could but recall the sensations which pa.s.sed through my mind as I sat in that solitary room, I could give a more correct picture of my nature than by all I have narrated of my actual life. Hour after hour glided by at first, in all the stillness of midnight; but gradually a faint noise would be heard afar off, and now and again a voice would echo through the long corridors, the very accents of which seemed to bring up thoughts of savage revelry and debauch. It had been decided by my lawyers that I should present myself to Curtis, without any previous notification of my ident.i.ty or my claim; that, in fact, not to prejudice my chances of success by any written application for an audience, I should contrive to see him without his having expected me; and thus derive whatever advantage might accrue from any admissions his surprise should betray him into. I had been drilled into my part by repeated lessons. I was instructed as to every word I was to utter, and every phrase I was to use; but now that the moment to employ these arts drew nigh, I had utterly forgotten them all. The one absorbing thought: that beneath the very roof under which I now stood, my father and mother had lived; that these walls were their own home; that within them had been pa.s.sed the short life they had shared together,--overcame me so completely that I lost all consciousness about myself and my object there.

At length the loud tones of many voices aroused me from my half stupor, and on drawing nigh the door I perceived a number of servants, ill-dressed and disorderly looking, carrying hurriedly across the hall the materials for a breakfast. I addressed myself to one of these, with a request to know when and how I could see Mr. Curtis. A bold stare and a rude burst of laughter was, however, the only reply he made me.

I tried another, who did not even vouchsafe to hear more than half my question, when he pa.s.sed on.

"Is it possible," said I, indignantly, "that none of you will take a message for your master?"

"Begad, we have so many masters," said one, jocosely, "it's hard to say where we ought to deliver it;" and the speech was received with a roar of approving laughter.

"It is Mr. Curtis I desire to see," said I.

"It's four hours too early, then," said the same speaker. "Old Joe won't be stirring till nigh eight o'clock. If Mr. Archy would do, he's in the stables, and it's the best time to talk to him."

"And if it's the master you want," chimed in another, "he 's your man."

"Lead me to him, then," said I, resolving at least to see the person who claimed to be supreme in this strange household. Traversing a number of pa.s.sages and dirty, ill-kept rooms, we descended by a small stone stair into an ample courtyard, two sides of which were occupied by ranges of stables. The s.p.a.cious character of the building and the costly style of the arrangements were evident at a glance; and even a glance was all that I had time for, when my guide, whispering, "There is Mr. Archy,"

hurriedly withdrew and left me. The person indicated was standing as if to examine a young horse which had met with some accident, for the animal could scarcely move, and with the greatest difficulty could bring up his hind legs.

I had time to observe him; and certainly, though by no means deficient as regarded good features, I had rarely seen anything so repulsive as the expression of his face. Coa.r.s.ely sensual and brutal, they were rendered worse by habits of dissipation and debauch; and in the filmy eye and the tremulous lip might be read the signs of habitual drunkenness. In figure he was large and most powerfully built, and if not over-fleshy, must have been of great muscular strength.

"Shoot him, Ned," he cried, after a few minutes of close scrutiny; "he's as great a cripple as old Joe himself."

"I suppose, your honor," said the groom, "there's nothing else to be done, it 's in the back it is."

"I don't care a curse where it is," said the other, savagely; "I only know when a horse can't go. You can put a bullet in him, and more's the pity all other useless animals are not as easily disposed of.--And who is our friend here?" added he, turning and approaching where I stood.

I briefly said that I was a stranger desirous of seeing and speaking with Mr. Curtis; that my business was one of importance not less to myself than to him; and that I would feel obliged if he could procure me the opportunity I sought for.

"If you talk of business, and important business," said he, sternly, "you ought to know, if you haven't heard it already, that the man you want to discuss it with is upwards of a hundred years of age; that he is a doting idiot; and that, for many a day, the only one who has given any orders here now stands before you."

"In that case," said I, courteously, "I am equally prepared to address myself to him. Will you kindly accord me an interview?"

"Are you a dun?" said he, rudely.

"No," said I, smiling at the abruptness of the demand.

"Are you a tenant in arrear of his rent? or wanting an abatement?"

"Neither one nor the other."

"Are you sent by a friend with a hostile message?"

"Not even that," said I, with impa.s.sive gravity.

"Then, what the devil are you?" said he, rudely; "for I don't recognize you as one of my friends or acquaintances."

I hesitated for a moment what reply I should make to this coa.r.s.ely uttered speech. Had I reflected a little longer, it is possible that good sense might have prevailed, and taught me how inopportune was the time for such reprisals; but I was stung by an insult offered in presence of many others; and in a tone of angry defiance answered,--

"You may discover to your cost, sir, that my right to be here is somewhat better than your own, and that the day is not very distant when your presence in this domain will be more surely questioned than is mine now. Is that name new to you?" And as I spoke I handed him my card, whereupon, with my name, the ancient arms of my family were also engraved. A livid paleness suddenly spread over his features as he read the words, and then as quickly his face became purple red.

"Do you mean," said he, in a voice guttural with pa.s.sion, "do you mean to impose upon a man of my stamp with such stupid balderdash as that?

And do you fancy that such a paltry attempt at a cheat will avail you here? Now, I'll show you how we treat such pretensions without any help from lawyers. Garvey," cried he, addressing one of the grooms who stood by, laughing heartily at his master's wit, "Garvey, go in and rouse the gentlemen; tell them to dress quickly and come downstairs; for I 've got sport for them. And you, Mick, saddle Ranty for me, and get out the dogs. Now, Mr. Carew, I like fair play, and so I'll give you fifteen minutes law. Take the shortest cut you can out of these grounds; for, by the rock of Cashel, if you 're caught, I would n't be in your skin for a trifle."

A regular burst of savage laughter from the bystanders met this brutal speech, and the men scattered in all directions to obey the orders, while I, overwhelmed with pa.s.sion, stood motionless in the now deserted yard. M'Clean himself had entered the house, and it was only when a signal from one of the grooms attracted my notice that I remarked his absence.

"This way--this way, sir, and don't lose a second," said the man; "take that path outside the garden wall, and cross the nursery beyond it. If you don't make haste, it's all over with you."

"He would n't dare--"

"Would n't he?" said he, stopping me. "It's little you know him. The dogs themselves has more mercy than himself when his blood is up."

"Get the cob ready for me, Joe," cried a half-dressed man from one of the upper windows of the house, "and a snaffle bridle, remember."