"Yes, sir, my name is Albert Fitzallen," said the medical aspirant4, coming round the counter. There was no one else in the shop, and Felix hardly knew how to accost5 him on so momentous6 a subject, while he was still in charge of all that store of medicine, and liable to be called away at any moment to relieve the ailments7 of Clapham. Albert Fitzallen was a pale-faced, light-haired youth, with an incipient8 moustache, with his hair parted in equal divisions over his forehead, with elaborate shirt-cuffs elaborately turned back, and with a white apron9 tied round him so that he might pursue his vocation10 without injury to his nether11 garments. His face, however, was not bad, nor mean, and had there not been about him a little air of pretension12, assumed perhaps to carry off the combined apron and beard, Felix would have regarded him altogether with favourable13 eyes.
"Is it in the medical way?" asked Fitzallen, when Graham suggested that he should step out with him for a few minutes. Graham explained that it was not in the medical way,—that it was in a way altogether of a private nature; and then the young man, pulling off his apron and wiping his hands on a thoroughly14 medicated towel, invoked15 the master of the establishment from an inner room, and in a few minutes Mary Snow's two lovers were walking together, side by side, along the causeway.
"I believe you know Miss Snow," said Felix, rushing at once into the middle of all those delicate circumstances.
Albert Fitzallen drew himself up, and declared that he had that honour.
"I also know her," said Felix. "My name is Felix Graham—"
"Oh, sir, very well," said Albert. The street in which they were standing16 was desolate17, and the young man was able to assume a look of decided18 hostility19 without encountering any other eyes than those of his rival. "If you have anything to say to me, sir, I am quite prepared to listen to you—to listen to you, and to answer you. I have heard your name mentioned by Miss Snow." And Albert Fitzallen stood his ground as though he were at once going to cover himself with his pistol arm.
"Yes, I know you have. Mary has told me what has passed between you. You may regard me, Mr. Fitzallen, as Mary's best and surest friend."
"I know you have been a friend to her; I am aware of that. But, Mr. Graham, if you will allow me to say so, friendship is one thing, and the warm love of a devoted20 bosom21 is another."
"Quite so," said Felix.
"A woman's heart is a treasure not to be bought by any efforts of friendship," said Fitzallen.
"Far be it from me to make any boast," continued the other, "or even to hint that I have gained a place in that lady's affections. I know my own position too well, and say proudly that I am existing only on hope." Here, to show his pride, he hit himself with his closed fist on his shirt-front. "But, Mr. Graham, I am free to declare, even in your presence, though you may be her best and surest friend,"—and there was not wanting from the tone of his voice a strong flavour of scorn as he repeated these words—"that I do exist on hope, let your claims be what they will. If you desire to make such hope on my part a cause of quarrel, I have nothing to say against it." And then he twirled all that he could twirl of that incipient moustache.
"By no means," said Graham.
"Oh, very well," said Fitzallen. "Then we understand that the arena23 of love is open to us both. I do not fail to appreciate the immense advantages which you enjoy in this struggle." And then Fitzallen looked up into Graham's ugly face, and thought of his own appearance in the looking-glass.
"What I want to know is this," said Felix. "If you marry Mary Snow, what means have you of maintaining her? Would your mother receive her into her house? I presume you are not a partner in that shop; but would it be possible to get you in as a partner, supposing Mary were to marry you and had a little money as her fortune?"
"Eh!" said Albert, dropping his look of pride, allowing his hand to fall from his lips, and standing still before his companion with his mouth wide open.
"Of course you mean honestly by dear Mary."
"Oh, sir, yes, on the honour of a gentleman. My intentions, sir, are—. Mr. Graham, I love that young lady with a devotion of heart, that—that—that—. Then you don't mean to marry her yourself; eh, Mr. Graham?"
"No, Mr. Fitzallen, I do not. And now, if you will so far confide24 in me, we will talk over your prospects25."
"Oh, very well. I'm sure you are very kind. But Miss Snow did tell me—"
"Yes, I know she did, and she was quite right. But as you said just now, a woman's heart cannot be bought by friendship. I have not been a bad friend to Mary, but I had no right to expect that I could win her love in that way. Whether or no you may be able to succeed, I will not say, but I have abandoned the pursuit." In all which Graham intended to be exceedingly honest, but was, in truth, rather hypocritical.
"Then the course is open to me," said Fitzallen.
"Yes, the course is open," answered Graham.
"But the race has still to be run. Don't you think that Miss Snow is of her nature very—very cold?"
Felix remembered the one kiss beneath the lamp-post,—the one kiss given, and received. He remembered also that Mary's acquaintance with the gentleman must necessarily have been short; and he made no answer to this question. But he made a comparison. What would Madeline have said and done had he attempted such an iniquity27? And he thought of her flashing eyes and terrible scorn, of the utter indignation of all the Staveley family, and of the wretched abyss into which the offender28 would have fallen.
He brought back the subject at once to the young man's means, to his mother, and to the doctor's shop; and though he learned nothing that was very promising29, neither did he learn anything that was the reverse. Albert Fitzallen did not ride a very high horse when he learned that his supposed rival was so anxious to assist him. He was quite willing to be guided by Graham, and, in that matter of the proposed partnership30, was sure that old Balsam, the owner of the business, would be glad to take a sum of money down. "He has a son of his own," said Albert, "but he don't take to it at all. He's gone into wine and spirits; but he don't sell half as much as he drinks."
Felix then proposed that he should call on Mrs. Fitzallen, and to this Albert gave a blushing consent. "Mother has heard of it," said Albert, "but I don't exactly know how." Perhaps Mrs. Fitzallen was as attentive31 as Mrs. Thomas had been to stray documents packed away in odd places. "And I suppose I may call on—on—Mary?" asked the lover, as Graham took his leave. But Felix could give no authority for this, and explained that Mrs. Thomas might be found to be a dragon still guarding the Hesperides. Would it not be better to wait till Mary's father had been informed? and then, if all things went well, he might prosecute32 the affair in due form and as an acknowledged lover.
All this was very nice, and as it was quite unexpected, Fitzallen could not but regard himself as a fortunate young man. He had never contemplated33 the possibility of Mary Snow being an heiress. And when his mother had spoken to him of the hopelessness of his passion, she had suggested that he might perhaps marry his Mary in five or six years. Now the dearest wish of his heart was brought close within his reach, and he must have been a happy man. But yet, though this certainly was so, nevertheless, there was a feeling of coldness about his love, and almost of disappointment as he again took his place behind the counter. The sorrows of Lydia in the play when she finds that her passion meets with general approbation35 are very absurd but, nevertheless, are quite true to nature. Lovers would be great losers if the path of love were always to run smooth. Under such a dispensation, indeed, there would probably be no lovers. The matter would be too tame. Albert did not probably bethink himself of a becoming disguise, as did Lydia,—of an amiable36 ladder of ropes, of a conscious moon, or a Scotch37 parson; but he did feel, in some undefined manner, that the romance of his life had been taken away from him. Five minutes under a lamp-post with Mary Snow was sweeter to him than the promise of a whole bevy38 of evenings spent in the same society, with all the comforts of his mother's drawing-room around him. Ah, yes, dear readers—my male readers of course I mean—were not those minutes under the lamp-post always very pleasant?
But Graham encountered none of this feeling when he discussed the same subject with Albert's mother. She was sufficiently39 alive to the material view of the matter, and knew how much of a man's married happiness depends on his supplies of bread and butter. Six hundred pounds! Mr. Graham was very kind—very kind indeed. She hadn't a word to say against Mary Snow. She had seen her, and thought her very pretty and modest looking. Albert was certainly warmly attached to the young lady. Of that she was quite certain. And she would say this of Albert,—that a better-disposed young man did not exist anywhere. He came home quite regular to his meals, and spent ten hours a day behind the counter in Mr. Balsam's shop—ten hours a day, Sundays included, which Mrs. Fitzallen regarded as a great drawback to the medical line—as should I also, most undoubtedly40. But six hundred pounds would make a great difference. Mrs. Fitzallen little doubted but that sum would tempt26 Mr. Balsam into a partnership, or perhaps the five hundred, leaving one hundred for furniture. In such a case Albert would spend his Sundays at home, of course. After that, so much having been settled, Felix Graham got into an omnibus and took himself back to his own chambers41.
So far was so good. This idea of a model wife had already become a very expensive idea, and in winding42 it up to its natural conclusion poor Graham was willing to spend almost every shilling that he could call his own. But there was still another difficulty in his way. What would Snow père say? Snow père was, he knew, a man with whom dealings would be more difficult than with Albert Fitzallen. And then, seeing that he had already promised to give his remaining possessions to Albert Fitzallen, with what could he bribe43 Snow père to abandon that natural ambition to have a barrister for his son-in-law? In these days, too, Snow père had derogated even from the position in which Graham had first known him, and had become but little better than a drunken, begging impostor. What a father-in-law to have had! And then Felix Graham thought of Judge Staveley.
He sent, however, to the engraver44, and the man was not long in obeying the summons. In latter days Graham had not seen him frequently, having bestowed45 his alms through Mary, and was shocked at the unmistakable evidence of the gin-shop which the man's appearance and voice betrayed. How dreadful to the sight are those watery46 eyes; that red, uneven47, pimpled48 nose; those fallen cheeks; and that hanging, slobbered mouth! Look at the uncombed hair, the beard half shorn, the weak, impotent gait of the man, and the tattered49 raiment, all eloquent50 of gin! You would fain hold your nose when he comes nigh you, he carries with him so foul51 an evidence of his only and his hourly indulgence. You would do so, had you not still a respect for his feelings, which he himself has entirely52 forgotten to maintain. How terrible is that absolute loss of all personal dignity which the drunkard is obliged to undergo! And then his voice! Every tone has been formed by gin, and tells of the havoc53 which the compound has made within his throat. I do not know whether such a man as this is not the vilest54 thing which grovels55 on God's earth. There are women whom we affect to scorn with the full power of our contempt; but I doubt whether any woman sinks to a depth so low as that. She also may be a drunkard, and as such may more nearly move our pity and affect our hearts, but I do not think she ever becomes so nauseous a thing as the man that has abandoned all the hopes of life for gin. You can still touch her;—ay, and if the task be in one's way, can touch her gently, striving to bring her back to decency56. But the other! Well, one should be willing to touch him too, to make that attempt of bringing back upon him also. I can only say that the task is both nauseous and unpromising. Look at him as he stands there before the foul, reeking57, sloppy58 bar, with the glass in his hand, which he has just emptied. See the grimace59 with which he puts it down, as though the dram had been almost too unpalatable. It is the last touch of hypocrisy60 with which he attempts to cover the offence;—as though he were to say, "I do it for my stomach's sake; but you know how I abhor61 it." Then he skulks62 sullenly63 away, speaking a word to no one,—shuffling with his feet, shaking himself in his foul rags, pressing himself into a heap—as though striving to drive the warmth of the spirit into his extremities64! And there he stands lounging at the corner of the street, till his short patience is exhausted65, and he returns with his last penny for the other glass. When that has been swallowed the policeman is his guardian66.
Reader, such as you and I have come to that, when abandoned by the respect which a man owes to himself. May God in his mercy watch over us and protect us both!
Such a man was Snow père as he stood before Graham in his chambers in the Temple. He could not ask him to sit down, so he himself stood up as he talked to him. At first the man was civil, twirling his old hat about, and shifting from one foot to the other;—very civil, and also somewhat timid, for he knew that he was half drunk at the moment. But when he began to ascertain67 what was Graham's object in sending for him, and to understand that the gentleman before him did not propose to himself the honour of being his son-in-law, then his civility left him, and, drunk as he was, he spoke34 out his mind with sufficient freedom.
"You mean to say, Mr. Graham"—and under the effect of gin he turned the name into Gorm—"that you are going to throw that young girl over?"
"I mean to say no such thing. I shall do for her all that is in my power. And if that is not as much as she deserves, it will, at any rate, be more than you deserve for her."
"And you won't marry her?"
"No; I shall not marry her. Nor does she wish it. I trust that she will be engaged, with my full approbation—"
"And what the deuce, sir, is your full approbation to me? Whose child is she, I should like to know? Look here, Mr. Gorm; perhaps you forget that you wrote me this letter when I allowed you to have the charge of that young girl?" And he took out from his breast a very greasy68 pocket-book, and displayed to Felix his own much-worn letter,—holding it, however, at a distance, so that it should not be torn from his hands by any sudden raid. "Do you think, sir, I would have given up my child if I didn't know she was to be married respectable? My child is as dear to me as another man's."
"I hope she is. And you are a very lucky fellow to have her so well provided for. I've told you all I've got to say, and now you may go."
"Mr. Gorm!"
"I've nothing more to say; and if I had, I would not say it to you now. Your child shall be taken care of."
"That's what I call pretty cool on the part of any gen'leman. And you're to break your word,—a regular breach69 of promise, and nothing ain't to come of it! I'll tell you what, Mr. Gorm, you'll find that something will come of it. What do you think I took this letter for?"
"You took it, I hope, for Mary's protection."
"And by —— she shall be protected."
"She shall, undoubtedly; but I fear not by you. For the present I will protect her; and I hope that soon a husband will do so who will love her. Now, Mr. Snow, I've told you all I've got to say, and I must trouble you to leave me."
Nevertheless there were many more words between them before Graham could find himself alone in his chambers. Though Snow père might be a thought tipsy—a sheet or so in the wind, as folks say, he was not more tipsy than was customary with him, and knew pretty well what he was about. "And what am I to do with myself; Mr. Gorm?" he asked in a snivelling voice, when the idea began to strike him that it might perhaps be held by the courts of law that his intended son-in-law was doing well by his daughter.
"Work," said Graham, turning upon him sharply and almost fiercely.
"That's all very well. It's very well to say 'Work!'"
"You'll find it well to do it, too. Work, and don't drink. You hardly think, I suppose, that if I had married your daughter I should have found myself obliged to support you in idleness?"
"It would have been a great comfort in my old age to have had a daughter's house to go to," said Snow, na?vely, and now reduced to lachrymose70 distress71.
But when he found that Felix would do nothing for him; that he would not on the present occasion lend him a sovereign, or even half a crown, he again became indignant and paternal72, and in this state of mind was turned out of the room.
"Heaven and earth!" said Felix to himself, clenching73 his hands and striking the table with both of them at the same moment. That was the man with whom he had proposed to link himself in the closest ties of family connection. Albert Fitzallen did not know Mr. Snow; but it might be a question whether it would not be Graham's duty to introduce them to each other.
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1
sedulously
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| ad.孜孜不倦地 | |
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pestle
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| n.杵 | |
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pecuniary
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| adj.金钱的；金钱上的 | |
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aspirant
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| n.热望者；adj.渴望的 | |
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accost
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| v.向人搭话，打招呼 | |
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momentous
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| adj.重要的，重大的 | |
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ailments
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| 疾病（尤指慢性病），不适( ailment的名词复数 ) | |
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incipient
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| adj.起初的，发端的，初期的 | |
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apron
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| n.围裙；工作裙 | |
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vocation
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| n.职业，行业 | |
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nether
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| adj.下部的，下面的；n.阴间；下层社会 | |
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pretension
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| n.要求；自命，自称；自负 | |
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favourable
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| adj.赞成的，称赞的，有利的，良好的，顺利的 | |
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thoroughly
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| adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地 | |
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invoked
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| v.援引( invoke的过去式和过去分词 )；行使（权利等）；祈求救助；恳求 | |
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standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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desolate
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| adj.荒凉的，荒芜的；孤独的，凄凉的；v.使荒芜，使孤寂 | |
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decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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hostility
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| n.敌对，敌意；抵制［pl.］交战，战争 | |
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devoted
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| adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的 | |
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bosom
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| n.胸，胸部；胸怀；内心；adj.亲密的 | |
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fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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arena
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| n.竞技场，运动场所；竞争场所，舞台 | |
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confide
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| v.向某人吐露秘密 | |
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prospects
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| n.希望，前途(恒为复数) | |
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tempt
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| vt.引诱，勾引，吸引，引起…的兴趣 | |
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iniquity
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| n.邪恶；不公正 | |
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offender
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| n.冒犯者，违反者，犯罪者 | |
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promising
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| adj.有希望的，有前途的 | |
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partnership
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| n.合作关系，伙伴关系 | |
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attentive
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| adj.注意的，专心的；关心(别人)的，殷勤的 | |
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prosecute
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| vt.告发；进行；vi.告发，起诉，作检察官 | |
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contemplated
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| adj. 预期的 动词contemplate的过去分词形式 | |
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spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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approbation
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| n.称赞；认可 | |
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amiable
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| adj.和蔼可亲的，友善的，亲切的 | |
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scotch
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| n.伤口，刻痕；苏格兰威士忌酒；v.粉碎，消灭，阻止；adj.苏格兰(人)的 | |
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bevy
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| n.一群 | |
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sufficiently
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| adv.足够地，充分地 | |
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undoubtedly
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| adv.确实地，无疑地 | |
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chambers
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| n.房间( chamber的名词复数 )；（议会的）议院；卧室；会议厅 | |
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winding
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| n.绕，缠，绕组，线圈 | |
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bribe
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| n.贿赂；v.向…行贿，买通 | |
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engraver
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| n.雕刻师，雕工 | |
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bestowed
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| 赠给，授予( bestow的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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watery
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| adj.有水的，水汪汪的；湿的，湿润的 | |
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uneven
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| adj.不平坦的，不规则的，不均匀的 | |
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pimpled
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| adj.有丘疹的，多粉刺的 | |
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tattered
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| adj.破旧的，衣衫破的 | |
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eloquent
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| adj.雄辩的，口才流利的；明白显示出的 | |
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foul
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| adj.污秽的；邪恶的；v.弄脏；妨害；犯规；n.犯规 | |
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entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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havoc
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| n.大破坏，浩劫，大混乱，大杂乱 | |
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vilest
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| adj.卑鄙的( vile的最高级 )；可耻的；极坏的；非常讨厌的 | |
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grovels
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| v.卑躬屈节，奴颜婢膝( grovel的第三人称单数 )；趴 | |
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decency
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| n.体面，得体，合宜，正派，庄重 | |
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reeking
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| v.发出浓烈的臭气( reek的现在分词 )；散发臭气；发出难闻的气味 (of sth)；明显带有（令人不快或生疑的跡象） | |
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sloppy
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| adj.邋遢的，不整洁的 | |
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grimace
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| v.做鬼脸，面部歪扭 | |
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hypocrisy
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| n.伪善，虚伪 | |
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abhor
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| v.憎恶；痛恨 | |
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skulks
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| v.潜伏，偷偷摸摸地走动，鬼鬼祟祟地活动( skulk的第三人称单数 ) | |
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63
sullenly
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| 不高兴地，绷着脸，忧郁地 | |
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extremities
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| n.端点( extremity的名词复数 )；尽头；手和足；极窘迫的境地 | |
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65
exhausted
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| adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的 | |
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66
guardian
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| n.监护人；守卫者，保护者 | |
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67
ascertain
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| vt.发现，确定，查明，弄清 | |
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68
greasy
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| adj. 多脂的，油脂的 | |
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69
breach
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| n.违反，不履行；破裂；vt.冲破，攻破 | |
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70
lachrymose
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| adj.好流泪的，引人落泪的；adv.眼泪地，哭泣地 | |
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distress
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| n.苦恼，痛苦，不舒适；不幸；vt.使悲痛 | |
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72
paternal
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| adj.父亲的，像父亲的，父系的，父方的 | |
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clenching
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| v.紧握，抓紧，咬紧( clench的现在分词 ) | |
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