Frank Fairlegh Part 15

"I shall be most unwilling to do so," was the reply; "nor will I, sir, unless you consider it my positive duty; I would rather lose the money ten times over than bring such a disgrace upon c.u.mberland."

"You are a kind-hearted fellow," replied the Doctor; "it really is a very difficult case in which to know how to act. As a general principle, I am most averse to anything like hushing up evil."

[Ill.u.s.tration: page90 The Doctor Expels and Pupil]

"For Heaven's sake have pity upon me, Dr. Mildman," cried c.u.mberland, throwing himself on his knees before him; "I confess it all. I did allow Spicer to keep the cheque; he threatened to expose me, and I did it to escape detection; but promise you will not prosecute me, and I will tell you where he may be found, so that something may be done about it yet. I will pay anything you please. I shall come into money when I am of age, and I can make some arrangement. I don't care what I sacrifice, if I have to dig to earn my bread, only do not disgrace me publicly.

Remember, I am very young, and oh! if you knew what it is to be tempted as I have been! Oaklands, Fairlegh, intercede for me; think how you -91--should feel, either of you, if you were placed in my situation!"

"Get up, Mr. c.u.mberland," observed Dr. Mildman, in a grave, impressive manner; "it is equally needless and unbecoming to kneel to man for forgiveness--learn to consider that position as a thing set apart and sacred to the service of One greater than the sons of men--One, whom you have indeed grievously offended, and to whom, in the solitude of your chamber, you will do well to kneel, and pray that He who died to save sinners may, in the fulness of His mercy, pardon you also." He paused, and then resumed: "We must decide what steps had better be taken to recover your cheque, Oaklands; it is true we can send and stop the payment of it--but if you determine not to prosecute, for c.u.mberland's sake, you must let off this man Spicer also, in which case it would be advisable to prevent his presenting the cheque at all, as that might lead to inquiries which it would be difficult to evade. You said just now you knew where this bad man was to be found, Mr. c.u.mberland."

"Yes, sir, if he is not at the billiard-rooms in F---- Street, his lodgings are at No. 14, Richmond Buildings," said c.u.mberland.

"Ay, exactly," replied Dr. Mildman; and, resting his head upon his hand, he remained for some minutes buried in thought. Having at length apparently made up his mind, he turned to c.u.mberland, and said: "Considering all the circ.u.mstances of the case, Mr. c.u.mberland, although I most strongly reprobate your conduct, which has grieved and surprised me more than I can express, I am unwilling to urge Oaklands to put the law in force against you, for more reasons than one. In the first place, I wish to spare your uncle the pain which such an exposure must occasion him; and secondly, I cannot but hope that at your age, so severe a lesson as this may work a permanent change in you, and that at some future period you may regain that standing among honourable men, which you have now so justly forfeited, and I am anxious that this should not be prevented by the stigma which a public examination must attach to your name for ever. I will therefore at once go with you to the abode of this man Spicer, calling on my way at the house of a legal friend of mine, whom I shall try to get to accompany us. I presume we shall have no great difficulty in procuring rest.i.tution of the stolen letter, when the culprit perceives that his schemes are found out, and that it is consequently valueless to him. Having succeeded in this, we shall -92--endeavour to come to some equitable arrangement in regard to his claims on you--do you agree to this?" c.u.mberland bowed his head in token of a.s.sent, and Dr. Mildman continued:--

"And you, Oaklands, do you approve of this plan?" "It is like yourself, Doctor, the perfection of justice and kindness," replied Oaklands, warmly.

"That is well," resumed Dr. Mildman; "I have one more painful duty to perform, which may as well be done at once--you are aware, Mr.

c.u.mberland, that I must expel you?"

"Will you not look over my fault this once?" entreated c.u.mberland; "believe me, I will never give you cause for complaint again."

"No, sir," was the reply; "in justice to your companions I cannot longer allow you to remain under the same roof with them: it is my duty to see that they a.s.sociate only with persons fitted for the society of gentlemen, amongst whom, I am sorry to say, I can no longer cla.s.s you. I shall myself accompany you to town to-morrow, and, if possible, see your uncle, to inform him of this unhappy affair. And now, sir, prepare to go with me to this Captain Spicer;--on our return you will oblige me by remaining in your room during the evening. Oaklands, will you ask Lawless to take my place at the dinner-table, and inform your companions that c.u.mberland has been engaged in an affair, of which I so strongly disapprove, that I have determined on expelling him, but that you are not at liberty to disclose the particulars? I need scarcely repeat this caution to you, Fairlegh; you have shown so much good sense and right feeling throughout the whole business that I am certain you will respect my wishes on this head."

I murmured some words in a.s.sent, and so ended one of the most painful and distressing scenes it has ever been my fate to witness. -93--

CHAPTER X -- THE BOATING PARTY

"Fair laughs the morn, and soft the zephyr blows, While proudly riding o'er the azure realm, In gallant trim the gilded vessel goes, Youth on the prow, and pleasure at the helm."

--Gray's Bard.

"Shall I not take mine ease in mine inn?"

--Henry IV.

THE dinner pa.s.sed off heavily; every attempt to keep up a continued conversation failed entirely; and a general feeling of relief was experienced when the time arrived for us to retire to the pupils' room.

Even here, however, the state of things was not much better. Lawless and the others having in vain attempted to learn more of the affair from Oaklands and myself than we felt at liberty to tell them, lounged over a book, or dozed by the fire; whilst we, unable to converse on the subject which alone engrossed our thoughts, and disinclined to do so upon any other, were fain to follow their example. About half-past eight Dr.

Mildman and c.u.mberland returned, and, after dinner, which was served to them in the Doctor's study, c.u.mberland retired to his room, where he remained during the rest of the evening. Oaklands then received a summons from the Doctor, and, on his return, informed us that (as we had already heard) c.u.mberland was to be expelled. He added that Dr. Mildman intended to take him to town himself the next morning, as he was anxious to see c.u.mberland's uncle, who was also his guardian: he would probably, therefore, not return till the following day, in consequence of which we should have a whole holiday, and he trusted to us to spend it in a proper manner, which, as Coleman remarked, proved that he was of a very confiding disposition indeed, and no mistake.

When we went up to bed Oaklands beckoned me into his room, and, as soon as he had closed the door, gave me an account (having obtained Dr.

Mildman's permission to do so) of the interview with Spicer. They found him, it seemed, at his lodgings, preparing for his departure. At first he took a very high tone, denied the whole thing, and was extremely bl.u.s.tering and impertinent; but on being confronted with c.u.mberland, and -94--threatened by Dr. Mildman's legal friend with the terrors of the law, he became thoroughly crestfallen, restored the three-hundred-pound cheque, and consented, on the payment of fifty pounds, in addition to the fifty pounds he had already received, to give up all claims upon c.u.mberland, whereupon they paid him the money down, made him sign a paper to the above effect, and left him.

"And so, my dear Frank," said Oaklands, "there is an end of that affair, and, if it only produces as much effect upon c.u.mberland as it has produced upon me, it will read him a lesson he will not forget for many a long day. I blame myself excessively," he continued, "for my own share in this matter; if it had not been for my easy, careless way of going on, this scheme would never have been thought of--nay, I might, perhaps, have been able to rescue c.u.mberland from the hands of this sharper; but in this manner we neglect the opportunities afforded us of doing good, and--Frank," he continued, with a sudden burst of energy, "I will cure myself of this abominable indolence." He paused for some minutes in thought, and then added, "Well, I must not stand here raving at you any longer; it is getting very late: goodnight, old fellow! I shall be glad enough to tumble into bed, for I'm as tired as a dog: it really is astonishing how easily I am knocked up."

The absurdity of this remark, following upon the resolution he had expressed with so much energy but a minute before, struck us both at the same instant, and occasioned a fit of laughter, which we did not check till we recollected with what dissonance any approach to mirth must strike the ear of the prisoner (for such he was in fact, if not in name) in the adjoining apartment.

"Now, sir; come, Mr. Fairlegh, you'll be late for breakfast," were the first sounds that reached my understanding on the following morning: I say understanding, as I had heard, mixed up with my dreams, sundry noises produced by unclosing shutters, arranging water-jugs, etc., which appeared to my sleep-bewildered senses to have been going on for at least half an hour. My faculties not being sufficiently aroused to enable me to speak, Thomas continued, "You'll be late, Mr. Fairlegh"; then came an aside, "My wig, how he do sleep! I hope he ain't been a-taking lauddelum, or morpheus, or anything of a somnambulous natur. I wouldn't be master, always to have six boys a weighing on my mind, for all the wealth of the Ingies.--Mr. Fairlegh, I say!"

"There, don't make such a row," replied I, jumping -95--out of bed and making a dash at my clothes; "is it late?"

"Jest nine o'clock, sir; master and Mr. c.u.mberland's been gone these two hours. Shocking affair that, sir; it always gives me quite a turn when any of our gents is expelled: it's like being thrown out of place at a minute's warning, as I said to cook only this morning. 'Cook,' says I, 'life's a curious thing,' there's----"

"The breakfast bell ringing, by all that's unlucky," exclaimed I; and downstairs I ran, with one arm in, and one out of my jacket, leaving Thomas to conclude his speculations on the mutability of human affairs as he best might, solus.

"How are we going to kill time to-day?" inquired Oaklands, as soon as we had done breakfast.

"We mustn't do anything to outrage the proprieties," said Coleman; "remember we are on _parole d'honneur_."

"On a fiddlestick," interrupted Lawless; "let's all ride over to the Duke of York, at Bradford, shoot some pigeons, have a champagne breakfast, and be home again in time for the old woman's feed at five o'clock. I daresay I can pick up one or two fellows to go with us."

"No," said Oaklands, "that sort of thing won't do to-day. I quite agree with Freddy, we ought not to do anything to annoy the Doctor upon this occasion; come, Lawless, I'm sure you'll say so too, if you give it a moment's thought."

"Well, he's a good old fellow in his way, I know, but what are we to be at then? something I must do, if it's only to keep me out of mischief."

"It's a lovely day; let us hire a boat, and have a row," suggested Coleman.

"That's not against the laws, is it?" asked Oaklands.

"Not a bit," replied Coleman; "we used to go pulling about like bricks last summer, and Mildman rather approved of it than otherwise, and said it was a very healthy exercise."

"Yes, that will do," said Lawless; "I feel savage this morning, and a good pull will take it out of me as well as anything. Now, don't go wasting time; let's get ready, and be off;" and accordingly in less than half an hour we were prepared, and on our way to the beach.

"How are we going to do it?" inquired Lawless; "you'll take an oar, Oaklands?"

Oaklands replied in the affirmative.

"Can you row, Fairlegh?"

I answered that I could a little.

-96--"That will do famously, then," said Lawless; "we'll have a four-oar; Wilson has a capital little boat that will be just the thing; Freddy can steer, he's a very fair hand at it, and we four fellows will pull, so that we need not be bothered with a boatman. I do abominate those chaps, they are such a set of humbugs."

No objection was made to this plan. Lawless succeeded in getting the boat he wished for; it was launched without any misadventure, and we took our places, and began pulling away merrily, with the wind (what little there was) and tide both in our favour.

The morning was beautiful: it was one of those enjoyable days, which sometimes occur in early spring, in which Nature, seeming to overleap at a bound the barrier between winter and summer, gives us a delightful foretaste of the good things she has in store for us. The clear bright sea, its surface just ruffled by a slight breeze from the south-west, sparkled in the sunshine, and fell in diamond showers from our oars as we raised them out of the water, while the calm serenity of the deep blue sky above us appeared, indeed, a fitting emblem of that heaven, in which "the wicked cease from troubling, and the wear are at rest".

The peaceful beauty of the scene seemed to impress even the restless spirits of which our little party was composed, and, by common consent, we ceased rowing, and suffered the boat to drift with the tide, merely pulling a stroke now and then to keep her head in the right direction.

After drifting for some twenty minutes or so in the manner I have described Lawless, who never could remain quiet long, dropped the blade of his oar into the water with a splash that made us all start, exclaiming as he did so:--

"Well, this may be very sentimental and romantic, and all that sort of thing, but it doesn't strike me as particularly entertaining. Why, you fellows were all asleep, I believe."

"Heigho!" exclaimed Oaklands, rousing himself, with a deep sigh, "I was in such a delicious reverie; what a barbarian you are, Lawless! you seem utterly ignorant of the pleasures of the _dolce-far-niente_."

"_Dolce-far-devilskin_!" was the reply, in tones of the greatest contempt. "I would not be as lazy as you are, Oaklands, for any money.

You are fitter to lounge about in some old woman's drawing-room, than to handle an oar." "Well, I don't know," answered Oaklands, quietly, "but I think I can pull as long as you can."

-97--"You do, do you?" rejoined Lawless, "it will be odd to me, if you can. I don't think I was stroke-oar in the crack boat at Eton for a year, without knowing how to row a little; what do you say to having a try at once?"