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BHOLD now, patient and reflecting reader-for in your eyes it is anxiously esired that this history (however imperetly given) may find favour

deadful-the desperate reverse in M. Aubrey's circumstances. He has suddenly fallen from a very commanding position in society: from that of a high-born English gentleman, possess ed of a fine unencumbered income, and all of luxury and splendour, and of opportunity for gratifying a disposition of noble munificence, that it can secure-and whose qualifications and prospects justified him in aspiring to the highest senatorial distinction :behold him, I say, with his beloved and helpless family, sunk-lower than into straitened circumstances-beneath even poverty-into debt-and that of a hopeless description!seeing that no one can be so secure, but that all this, or something of the like kind, may one day or other happen to him, 'tis hoped that it will be found neither uninteresting nor uninstructive to watch carefully and close. ly the present condition and conduct of the Aubreys.

Hor. Carm. Lib. iii. 49.

Bound hand and foot-so to speak -as Mr Aubrey felt himself, and entirely at the mercy of Mr Titmouse and his solicitors, Messrs Quirk, Gammon, and Snap, what could he but submit to almost any terms on which they chose to insist?-It will be recollected that Mr Gammon's proposal was, that Mr Aubrey should forthwith discharge, without scrutiny, their bill of L.3946, 14s. 6d. ; give sufficient security for the payment of the sum of L.10,000 to Mr Titmouse, within twelve or eighteen months' time, and two promissory notes for the sum of L.5000 each, payable at some future period, as to which he had to rely solely on the sincerity and forbearance of Mr Gammon, and the ratification of his acts by Mr Titmouse. This proposal was duly communicated by the unfortunate Aubrey to Messrs Runnington, who obtained a fortnight's time in which to deliberate upon it; at the end of which period, he was advised by them to accept the proposed terms as unquestionably fair, and, under circumstances, much more lenient than could have

Ante, No. CCC., p. 454-5. Part XII.

*

VOL. XLIX, NO.CCCIII.

A

been expected. This might be so; but yet, how dismaying and hopeless to him the idea of carrying it into effect! How, indeed, was it to be done? First of all, how were Messrs Runningtons' and Mr Parkinson's bills to be got rid of the former amounting to L.1670, 12s., the latter to L.756? And how were Mr Aubrey and his family to live in the meanwhile, and how, moreover, were to be met the expenses of his legal education? As was intimated in a former part of this history, all that Mr Aubrey had, on settling in London, was L.3000 stock (equal to L.2640 of money) and L.423 in his banker's hands;-so that all his cash in hand was L.3063; and if he were to devote the whole of it to the discharge of the three attorneys' bills which he owed, he would still leave a gross balance unpaid of L.3310, 6s. 6d. ! And yet for him to talk of giving security for the payment of L.10,000 within eighteen months, and his own notes of hand for L. 10,000 more! It was really almost maddening to sit down and contemplate all this. But he could not fold his arms in impotence and despairhe must look his difficulties straight in the face, and do the best that was in his power. He resolved to devote every farthing he had, except L.200, to the liquidation of Messrs Quirk, Gammon, and Snap's account, and (in smaller proportion) of those also of Messrs Runnington and Mr Parkinson: if necessary he resolved, though his heart thrilled with anguish at the thought, to sell his books, and the remnant of old family plate that he had preserved. Then he would strain every nerve to contribute towards the support of himself and of his family-poor oppressed soul !-by his literary exertions, in every moment that he could spare from his legal studies; and practise the severest economy that was consistent with health and the preservation of a respectable exterior. resolved also, though with a shudder, to commit himself to Gammon and Titmouse's mercy, by handing to them (though a fearful farce it seemed) his two notes of hand for L.10,000 payable on demand-for such Gammon intimated was usual in such a case, and would be required in the present one. But whither was he to look for security for the payment of L. 10,000 within eighteen months' time? This

He

was a matter that indeed staggered him, and almost prostrated his energies whenever he directed them to the subject; it occasioned him inexpres< sible agitation and anguish. Individuals there were, he believed-he knew-who would cheerfully enter into the desired security on his be half; but what a mockery — cruel and insulting! For them to be asked to secure his payment of the sum at the time mentioned, was, in effect, palpably asking them to pay the money for him, and in that light they could not but view such an application. The reader will easily understand the potency of such considerations upon so sensitive and high-minded a person as Aubrey. While revolving these distracting and harassing topics in his mind, the name of Lord de la Zouch always presented itself to him. Had he not solemnly-repeatedly-pledged himself to communicate with that kind and wealthy and generous nobleman, in such an emergency as the present? His lordship's income was at least eighty or a hundred thousand pounds a-year; his habits were simple and unostentatious, though he was of a truly munificent disposition; and he had not a large and expensive family-his only child being Mr Delamere. He had ever professed, and, as far as he had hitherto had an opportunity, proved himself to be a devoted, a most affectionate friend to Mr Aubrey :--did not Providence, then, seem to point him out distinctly as one who should be applied to, to rescue from destruction a fallen friend? And why should Aubrey conjure up an array of ima ginary obstacles, arising out of excessive and morbid fastidiousness? And whom were such scruples reducing to destitution along with him?his wife, his children, his devoted and noble-minded sister! But, alas! the thought of sweet Kate suggested another source of exquisite pain and embarrassment to Aubrey, who well knew the ardent and inextinguishable passion for her entertained by young Delamere. 'Twas true that to pacify his father, and also not to grieve or harass Miss Aubrey by the constant attentions, with which he would have otherwise followed her, he had consented to devote himself with great assiduity and ardour to his last year's studies at Oxford; yet was he by no means an infrequent visiter at Vivian

Street, resolutely regardless of the earnest entreaties of Miss Aubrey, and even of her brother. Not that there was ever any thing indelicate or obtrusive in his attentions;-how could it be? Alas! Kate really loved him, and it required no very great acute ness in Delamere to discover it. He was as fine, handsome, a young fellow as you could see any where; frank, high-spirited, accomplished, with an exceedingly elegant deportment, and simple, winning manners-and could she but be touched with a lively sense of the noble disinterestedness of his attachment to her! I declare that Kate wrote him several letters in dissuasion of his addresses, that wore such a genuine and determined air of repulsion as would have staggered most men; but young Delamere cared not one straw for any of them: let Kate vary her tone as she pleased, he simply told her that he had sent them to his mother, who said they were very good letters indeed; so he would make a point of reading all she would send him, and so forth. When Kate, with too solemn an emphasis to be mistaken or encountered with raillery, assured him that nothing upon earth should prevail upon her to quit her present station in her brother's family, at all events until he had completely surmounted all his troubles, Delamere, with looks of fond admiration, would reply that it signified nothing, as he was prepared to wait her pleasure, and submit to any caprice or unkindness which her heart would let her exhibit. I must own that poor Kate was, on more than one occasion of his exhibiting traits of delicate generosity towards her brother, so moved and melted towards her lover, that she could-shall I say it?-have sunk into his arms in silent and passionate acquiescence; for her heart had, indeed, long been really his. Now, I say, when Mr Aubrey adverted for a moment to this state of things, was it not calculated a thousand-fold to enhance the difficulty of his applying to the father of Delamere? So indeed it was; and, torn with conflicting emotions and considerations of this kind, nearly the whole of the fortnight granted to him for deliberation had elapsed, before he could make up his mind to apply to Lord de la Zouch. At length, however, he determined to do so; and when he had

dropped into the Post-Office his letter

one in every line of which the noble and generous person to whom it was addressed might easily detect the writhings of its writer's wounded spirit and broken heart-he looked indeed a melancholy object. The instant that, by dropping his letter into the box, he had irrecoverably parted with all control over it, and to Lord de la Zouch it must go, Aubrey felt as if he would have given the world to recall it. Never had he heaved so many profound sighs, and felt so utterly miserable and destitute as during his walk homeward that afternoon. There they did not know of the step he had intended to take, nor did he tell them that he had taken it. When he saw his sister he felt sick at heart; and du ring the whole of the evening was so oppressed and subdued, that the faint anxious raillery of Mrs Aubrey and Kate, and the unconscious sportiveness of his children, served only to deepen the gloom that was around his spirit. He had requested Lord de la Zouch to address his answer to him at the Temple; and sure enough, by return of post, Mr Aubrey found lying on his desk, on reaching the Temple in the morning, a letter addressed, "Charles Aubrey, Esq., at

Weasel's, Esq., No. 3, Pomegranate Court, Temple, London ;" and franked, " DE LA ZOUCH."

"I shall return presently," said Mr Aubrey to the clerk, with as much calmness as he could assume, having put the letter into his pocket, resolving to go into the Temple gardens and there read it, where any emotion which it might excite would be unobserved. Having at length seated himself on a bench, under one of the old trees near the river, with a somewhat tremulous hand he took out and opened the letter, and read as follows:

Fotheringham Castle, 18th July, 18-. "My very dear Aubrey,

"If you really value my friendship, never pain my feelings again by expressions of distrust as to the issue of any application of yours to me, such as are contained in your letter now lying before me. Has any thing tha has ever hitherto passed between us justified them? For Heaven's sake tell your attorneys not to lose a moment in procuring the necessary in

that he is working very hard indeed at Oxford; and so says his tutor. It is more than ever I did. Pray write by return. I am ever, my dear Aubrey, yours, faithfully and affectionately, "DE LA ZOUCH.

"CHARLES AUBREY, Esq.

"P.S. On further consideration, let your people send the deeds, &c., at once on to me, direct from themselves; -'tis a private matter, which is of no consequence to any one but ourselves. No one, indeed, except ourselves, your own solicitors, and your opponents, need know any thing about it. Neither Lady de la Zouch nor my son will have the least inkling of the matter."

struments, and forwarding them to me through Messrs Framlingham, my lawyers; I will then execute them immediately, and return them to you by the next post or mail. If you will but at once set about this in a business-like way, I will forgive and forget all the absurd and unkind scruples with which your letter abounds. Since you would probably make a mighty stir about it, I shall not at present dwell upon the inexpressible pleasure it would give me to be allowed to exonerate you at once from the vulgar and grasping wretches who are now harassing you, my very dear Aubrey, and to constitute myself your creditor instead of them. But, on further consideration, I suppose you would distress yourself on the ground of my restricted means rendering it so much more difficult for me than for them to give you time for the payment of your debt!! Or will you play the man, and act at once in the way in which, I assure you, upon my honour, I would act by you, on a similar solicitation, were our situations reversed? By the way, I intend to insist on being your sole surety; unless, indeed, your creditors doubt my solvency, in which case I hope we shall be able, amongst our common friends, to find a sufficient co-surety.

"And now, dear Aubrey, how get you on with law? Does she smile or scowl upon you? I wonder why you did not go to the fountain-head, and become at once a pupil to your friend, the Attorney-General. Who is the gentleman whom you are reading with? He certainly has rather a curious name! Well, my dear Aubrey, Heaven in its own good time crown your virtuous efforts—your unconquerable resolution-with success! Won't it be odd if, when I am dead and gone, and my son is occupying my present place on the benches, you should be sitting on the woolsack? More unlikely things than this have come to pass: look at! How are dear Mrs Aubrey and Miss Aubrey, and your little ones? Though we are going in a fortnight's time to fill this old place, (thes, thes, and

the

-s, and others, are coming,) we shall be till then quite deserted, and so after they are gone. Would that we could insist on all of you taking up your abode with us! Have you seen Geoffrey lately? He tells me

No language of mine can do justice to the feelings with which Mr Aubrey, after many pauses, occasioned by irrepressible emotion, perused the foregoing letter. Its generosity was infinitely enhanced by its delicacy; and both were most exquisitely appreciated by a man of his susceptibility, and in his circumstances. His eyes-his heart overflowed with unutterable gratitude towards the Almighty, and the noble instrument of his mercy. He would have flown on the wings of the wind to the dear beings in Vivian Street, with joyous face and light clastic step, to make them participators in his joy. He rose and walked to and fro by the river side with most exhilarated spirits. The sky was cloudless; the sun shone brilliantly; and innumerable brisk and busy craft were moving to and fro upon the swelling bosom of the magnificent Thames. Gladness was in his soul. The light without was typical of that within. Several times he was on the point of starting off to Viviau Street; but, on consideration, he resolved to ge to Messrs Runnington, and set them into instant communication with Messrs Quirk, Gammon, and Snap; and matters having been set in train for the speediest possible settlement, Mr Aubrey returned to chambers, but quitted them an hour earlier than usual, to brighten the countenances of those he loved by the joyous intelligence he bore. But he found that they also had cheering news to communicate; so that this was indeed a memorable day to them.

Old Lady Stratton, an early and bosom friend of the late Mrs Aubrey,

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