The Adventures of Ferdinand Count Fathom, Complete - Tobias Smollett
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CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN
THE ART OF BORROWING FURTHER EXPLAINED, AND AN ACCOUNT OF A STRANGE
PHENOMENON.
In this manner did the artful incendiary work upon the passions of the
credulous unsuspecting Hungarian, who pressed him to his breast with the
most cordial expressions of friendship, calling him his guardian, his
saviour, his second father, and gave himself up wholly to his advice.
Next morning, according to the plan they had laid overnight, they
repaired to a tavern in the neighbourhood of the person to whom our
adventurer had been directed, and were fortunate enough to find him in
the house, transacting a money affair with a young gentleman who treated
him with his morning's whet.
That affair being negotiated, he adjourned into another room with Renaldo
and his companion, who were not a little surprised to see this minister
of Plutus in the shape of a young sprightly beau, trimmed up in all the
foppery of the fashion; for they had hitherto always associated with the
idea of an usurer old age and rusty apparel. After divers modish
congees, he begged to know to what he should attribute the honour of
their message; when Ferdinand, who acted the orator, told him, that his
friend Count Melvil, having occasion for a sum of money, had been
directed to a gentleman of his name, "and, I suppose," added he, "you are
the son of the person with whom the affair is to be negotiated."
"Sir," said this petit-maitre, with a smile, "I perceive you are
surprised to see one of my profession in the appearance of a gentleman;
and perhaps your wonder will not cease, when I tell you, that my
education was liberal, and that I once had the honour to bear a
commission in the British army. I was indeed a first lieutenant of
marines, and will venture to say, that no officer in the service was more
delicate than myself in observing all the punctilios of honour. I
entertained the utmost contempt for all the trading part of the nation,
and suffered myself to be run through the body in a duel, rather than
roll with a brother-lieutenant, who was a broker's son. But, thank
Heaven! I have long ago conquered all those ridiculous prejudices. I
soon observed, that without money there was no respect, honour, or
convenience to be acquired in life; that wealth amply supplied the want
of wit, merit, and pedigree, having influence and pleasure ever at
command; and that the world never failed to worship the flood of
affluence, without examining the dirty channels through which it commonly
flowed.
"At the end of the war, finding my appointments reduced to two shillings
and fourpence per day, and being addicted to pleasures which I could not
possibly purchase from such a fund, I sold my half-pay for two hundred
pounds, which I lent upon bond to a young officer of the same regiment,
on condition that he should insure his life, and restore one-fourth part
of the sum by way of premium. I happened to be lucky in this first
essay; for the borrower, having in six weeks expended the money, made an
excursion on the highway, was apprehended, tried, convicted of felony,
and cut his own throat, to prevent the shame of a public execution; so
that his bond was discharged by the insurers.
"In short, gentlemen, when I engaged in this business, I determined to
carry it on with such spirit, as would either make my fortune, or
entirely ruin me in a little time; and hitherto my endeavours have been
tolerably successful. Nor do I think my proceedings a whit more criminal
or unjust than those of other merchants, who strive to turn their money
to the best account. The commodity I deal in is cash; and it is my
business to sell it to the best advantage. A London factor sends a cargo
of goods to market, and if he gets two hundred per cent upon the sale, he
is commended for industry and address. If I sell money for one-fourth
part of that profit, certain persons will be so unjust as to cry, Shame
upon me, for taking such advantage of my neighbour's distress; not
considering, that the trader took four times the same advantage of those
people who bought his cargo, though his risk was not half so great as
mine, and although the money I sold perhaps retrieved the borrower from
the very jaws of destruction. For example, it was but yesterday I saved
a worthy man from being arrested for a sum of money, for which he had
bailed a friend who treacherously left him in the lurch. As he did not
foresee what would happen, he had made no provision for the demand, and
his sphere of life secluding him from all sorts of monied intercourse, he
could not raise the cash by his credit in the usual way of borrowing; so
that, without my assistance, he must have gone to jail; a disgrace which
would have proved fatal to the peace of his family, and utterly ruined
his reputation.--Nay, that very young gentleman, from whom I am just now
parted, will, in all probability, be indebted to me for a very genteel
livelihood. He had obtained the absolute promise of being provided for
by a great man, who sits at the helm of affairs in a neighbouring
kingdom; but, being destitute of all other resources, he could not have
equipped himself for the voyage, in order to profit by his lordship's
intention, unless I had enabled him to pursue his good fortune."
Renaldo was not a little pleased to hear this harangue, to which Fathom
replied with many florid encomiums upon the usurer's good sense and
humane disposition; then he explained the errand of his friend, which was
to borrow three hundred pounds, in order to retrieve his inheritance, of
which he had been defrauded in his absence.
"Sir," said the lender, addressing himself to Count Melvil, "I pretend to
have acquired by experience some skill in physiognomy; and though there
are some faces so deeply disguised as to baffle all the penetration of
our art, there are others, in which the heart appears with such nakedness
of integrity, as at once to recommend it to our goodwill. I own your
countenance prepossesses me in your favour; and you shall be
accommodated, upon those terms from which I never deviate, provided you
can find proper security, that you shall not quit the British dominions;
for that, with me, is a condition sine qua non."
This was a very disagreeable declaration to Renaldo, who candidly owned,
that, as his concerns lay upon the Continent, his purpose was to leave
England without delay. The usurer professed himself sorry that it was
not in his power to oblige him; and, in order to prevent any further
importunity, assured them, he had laid it down as a maxim, from which he
would never swerve, to avoid all dealings with people whom, if need
should be, he could not sue by the laws of this realm.
Thus the intervention of one unlucky and unforeseen circumstance blasted
in an instant the budding hopes of Melvil, who, while his visage
exhibited the most sorrowful disappointment, begged to know, if there was
any person of his acquaintance who might be less scrupulous in that
particular.
The young gentleman directed them to another member of his profession,
and wishing them success, took his leave with great form and
complaisance. This instance of politeness was, however, no more than a
shift to disengage himself the more easily from their entreaties; for,
when the case was opened to the second usurer, he blessed himself from
such customers, and dismissed them with the most mortifying and boorish
refusal. Notwithstanding these repulses, Renaldo resolved to make one
desperate push; and, without allowing himself the least respite,
solicited, one by one, not fewer than fifteen persons who dealt in this
kind of traffic, and his proposals were rejected by each. At last,
fatigued by the toil, and exasperated at the ill success of his
expedition, and half mad with the recollection of his finances, which
were now drained to half-a-crown, "Since we have nothing to expect,"
cried he, "from the favour of Christians, let us have recourse to the
descendants of Judah. Though they lie under the general reproach of
nations, as a people dead to virtue and benevolence, and wholly devoted
to avarice, fraud, and extortion, the most savage of their tribe cannot
treat me with more barbarity of indifference, than I have experienced
among those who are the authors of their reproach."
Although Fathom looked upon this proposal as an extravagant symptom of
despair, he affected to approve of the scheme, and encouraged Renaldo
with the hope of succeeding in another quarter, even if this expedition
should fail; for, by this time, our adventurer was half resolved to
export him at his own charge, rather than he should be much longer
restricted in his designs upon Monimia.
Meanwhile, being resolved to try the experiment upon the children of
Israel, they betook themselves to the house of a rich Jew, whose wealth
they considered as a proof of his rapaciousness; and, being admitted into
his counting-house, they found him in the midst of half a dozen clerks,
when Renaldo, in his imagination, likened him unto a minister of darkness
surrounded by his familiars, and planning schemes of misery to be
executed upon the hapless sons of men. In spite of these suggestions,
which were not at all mitigated by the forbidding aspect of the Hebrew,
he demanded a private audience; and, being ushered into another
apartment, he explained his business with manifest marks of disorder and
affliction. Indeed, his confusion was in some measure owing to the looks
of the Jew, who, in the midst of this exordium, pulled down his eyebrows,
which were surprisingly black and bushy, so as, in appearance, totally to
extinguish his visage, though he was all the time observing our youth
from behind those almost impenetrable thickets.
Melvil, having signified his request, "Young gentleman," said the
Israelite, with a most discordant voice, "what in the name of goodness
could induce you to come to me upon such an errand? Did you ever hear
that I lent money to strangers without security?" "No," replied Renaldo,
"nor did I believe I should profit by my application; but my affairs are
desperate; and my proposals having been rejected by every Christian to
whom they were offered, I was resolved to try my fate among the Jews, who
are reckoned another species of men."
Fathom, alarmed at this abrupt reply, which he supposed could not fail to
disgust the merchant, interposed in the conversation, by making an
apology for the plain dealing of his friend, who, he said, was soured and
ruffled by his misfortunes; then exerting that power of eloquence which
he had at command, he expostulated upon Renaldo's claim and expectations,
described the wrongs he had suffered, extolled his virtue, and drew a
most pathetic picture of his distress.
The Jew listened attentively for some time; then his eyebrows began to
rise and fall alternately; he coughed, sneezed, and winking hard, "I'm
plagued," said he, "with a salt rheum that trickles from my eyes without
intermission." So saying, he wiped the moisture from his face, and
proceeded in these words: "Sir, your story is plausible; and your friend
is a good advocate; but before I give an answer to your demand, I must
beg leave to ask if you can produce undeniable evidence of your being the
identical person you really assume? If you are really the Count de
Melvil, you will excuse my caution. We cannot be too much on our guard
against fraud; though I must own you have not the air of an impostor."
Renaldo's eyes began to sparkle at this preliminary question; to which he
replied, that he could procure the testimony of the Emperor's minister,
to whom he had occasionally paid his respects since his first arrival in
England.
"If that be the case," said the Jew, "take the trouble to call here
to-morrow morning, at eight o'clock, and I will carry you in my own
coach to the house of his excellency, with whom I have the honour to be
acquainted; and, if he has nothing to object against your character or
pretensions, I will contribute my assistance towards your obtaining
justice at the Imperial court."
The Hungarian was so much confounded at this unexpected reception, that
he had not power to thank the merchant for his promised favour, but stood
motionless and silent, while the streams of emotion of the heart was of
more weight with the Jew, than the eloquent acknowledgment which
Ferdinand took the opportunity of making for his friend; and he was fain
to dismiss them a little abruptly, in order to prevent a second discharge
of that same rheum of which he had already complained.
Melvil recollected all that had happened as a dream, which had no
foundation in truth, and was all day long in a sort of delirium, produced
by the alternate gusts of hope and fear that still agitated his bosom;
for he was not yet without apprehension of being again disappointed by
some unlucky occurrence.
He did not, however, fail to be punctual to the hour of his appointment,
when the Jew told him, there would be no occasion for visiting the
ambassador, because Renaldo had been, the preceding day, recognised by
one of the clerks who had been employed as a purveyor in the Imperial
army; and who, knowing his family, confirmed everything he had alleged.
"After breakfast," continued this benevolent Israelite, "I will give you
an order upon my banker for five hundred pounds, that you may be enabled
to appear at Vienna as the son and representative of Count Melvil; and
you shall also be furnished with a letter of recommendation to a person
of some influence at that court, whose friendship and countenance may be
of some service to your suit; for I am now heartily engaged in your
interest, in consequence of the fair and unblemished character which I
find you have hitherto maintained."
The reader must appeal to his own heart, to acquire a just idea of
Renaldo's feelings, when every tittle of these promises was fulfilled,
and the merchant refused to take one farthing by way of premium,
contenting himself with the slender security of a personal bond. He was,
in truth, overwhelmed with the obligation, and certainly disposed to
believe that his benefactor was something more than human. As for
Fathom, his sentiments took a different turn; and he scrupled not to
impute all this kindness to some deep-laid interested scheme, the scope
of which he could not at present comprehend.
After the tumults of the young gentleman's joy had subsided, and he found
himself eased of that burdensome poverty under which he had groaned so
long, his thoughts, which before were dissipated upon the various
circumstances of distress, began to collect themselves in a body, and to
resume their deliberations upon a subject which they had been long
accustomed to consider; this was no other than the forlorn Monimia, whose
idea now emerged in his bosom, being disencumbered of one part of the
load by which it had been depressed. He mentioned her name to Fathom
with marks of the most melting compassion, deplored her apostasy, and,
while he protested that he had divorced her for ever from his heart,
expressed an inclination to see her once more before his departure, that
he might in person exhort her to penitence and reformation.
Our adventurer, who dreaded such an interview as the infallible means of
his own ruin, resisted the proposal with the whole power of his
elocution. He affirmed, that Renaldo's desire was a manifest proof that
he still retained part of the fatal poison which that enchantress had
spread within his veins; and that the sight of her, softened by his
reproaches into tears and affected contrition, would dispel his
resentment, disable his manhood, and blow the embers of his former
passion to such a rage, as would hurry him on to a reconciliation, which
would debase his honour, and ruin his future peace. In a word, Ferdinand
described the danger that would attend the meeting in such emphatic
terms, that the Hungarian started with horror at the picture which he
drew, and in this particular conformed with the admonition of his friend.
One hundred pounds of the Jew's money was immediately appropriated for
the payment of his most urgent debts; the like sum he presented to his
friend Fathom, with a solemn promise of sharing with him whatever good
fortune might await him in Germany. And though Monimia had forfeited all
title to his regard, so ill could he bear the prospect of her distress,
that he entrusted his dear companion with the half of what remained, to
be expended for her use, fully resolving to screen her from the shocks
and temptations of want, as the circumstances of his future fate would
allow.
Fathom, far from opposing, applauded his generosity with marks of extreme
wonder and admiration, assuring him, that she should be put in possession
of his bounty immediately after his departure, he being unwilling to make
her acquainted with her good fortune before that period, lest, finding
his affairs in a fair way of being retrieved, she should be base enough
to worship his returning prosperity, and, by false professions, and
artful blandishments, seek to ensnare his heart anew.
CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT
COUNT FATHOM UNMASKS HIS BATTERY; IS REPULSED; AND VARIES HIS OPERATIONS
WITHOUT EFFECT.
Every necessary preparation being made, Renaldo, accompanied by our
adventurer, took the road to Dover, where he embarked in a packet-boat
for Calais, after having settled a correspondence with his dear
Ferdinand, from whom he did not part without tears. He had before
solicited him to be his fellow-traveller, that he might personally enjoy
the benefit of his conversation and superior sagacity; but these
entreaties he strenuously opposed, on pretence of his being determined to
push his fortune in England, which he considered as his native country,
and as the land in which, of all others, a man of merit has the best
encouragement. Such were the reasons he alleged for refusing to attend
his benefactor, who was himself eagerly desirous of attaining a
settlement in the island of Great Britain. But our hero's real motives
for staying were of a very different complexion.--The reader is already
informed of his aim upon the fair orphan, which, at present, was the
chief spring of his conduct. He may also recollect such passages of his
life, as were sufficient to deter him from reappearing at Presburg or
Vienna. But, besides these reflections, he was detained by a full
persuasion that Renaldo would sink under the power and influence of his
antagonist, consequently be rendered incapable to provide for his
friends; and that he himself, fraught with wiles and experience as he
was, could not fail to make himself amends for what he had suffered among
a people equally rich and unthinking.
Melvil, having embraced our adventurer, and with a deep sigh bid him take
care of the unfortunate Monimia, committed himself to the sea, and, by
the assistance of a favourable gale, was in four hours safely landed on
the French shore; while Fathom took post-horses for London, where he
arrived that same night, and next day, in the forenoon, went to visit the
beauteous mourner, who had as yet received no intimation of Renaldo's
departure or design. He found her in the attitude of writing a letter to
her inconstant lover, the contents of which the reader will be acquainted
with in due time. Her countenance, notwithstanding the veil of
melancholy by which it was overcast, seemed altogether serene and
composed; she was the picture of pious resignation, and sat like PATIENCE
on a monument, smiling at grief. After having paid the compliment of the
morning, Fathom begged pardon for having omitted to visit her during
three days, in which, he said, his time had been wholly engrossed in
procuring a proper equipage for Count Melvil, who had at last bid an
eternal adieu to the island of Great Britain.
At this information the hapless Monimia fell back in her chair, and
continued some minutes in a swoon; from which being recovered, "Excuse
me, Mr. Fathom," cried she with a deep sigh; "this, I hope, is the last
agony I shall feel from my unhappy passion."--Then wiping the tears from
her lovely eyes, she retrieved her tranquillity, and desired to know by
what means Renaldo had been enabled to undertake his journey into the
empire. Our hero, upon this occasion, assumed the whole merit of having
promoted the interest of his friend, by giving her to understand, that
he, in consequence of an unforeseen windfall, had defrayed the expense of
the Count's equipment; though he observed, that it was not without
reluctance he saw Renaldo make a wrong use of his friendship.
"Although I was happy," proceeded this artful traitor, "in being able to
discharge my obligations to the house of Melvil, I could not help feeling
the most sensible chagrin, when I saw my assistance rendered subservient
to the triumphs of the youth's baseness and infidelity; for he chose, as
the companion of his travels, the abandoned woman for whom he had
forsaken the all-perfect Monimia, whose virtue and accomplishments did
not preserve her sacred from his ungrateful sarcasms and unmannerly
ridicule. Believe me, madam, I was so shocked at his conversation on
that subject, and so much incensed at his want of delicacy, that my
temper was scarce sufficient for the ceremony of parting. And, now that
my debt to his family is over-paid, I have solemnly renounced his
correspondence."
When she heard that, instead of betraying the least symptom of regret or
compassion for her unhappy fate, the perfidious youth had exulted over
her fall, and even made her a subject for his mirth, the blood revisited
her faded cheeks, and resentment restored to her eyes that poignancy
which sorrow had before overcome. Yet she scorned to give speech to her
indignation; but, forcing a smile, "Why should I repine," said she, "at
the mortifications of a life which I despise, and from which, I hope,
Heaven speedily will set me free!"
Fathom, fired by her emotion, which had recalled all the graces of her
beauty, exclaimed in a rapture, "Talk not so contemptuously of this life,
which hath still a fund of happiness in store for the amiable, the divine
Monimia. Though one admirer hath proved an apostate to his vows, your
candour will not suffer you to condemn the whole sex. Some there are,
whose bosoms glow with passion equally pure, unalterable, and intense.
For my own part, I have sacrificed to a rigid punctilio of honour the
dearest ideas of my heart. I beheld your unrivalled charms, and deeply
felt their power. Yet, while a possibility of Melvil's reformation
remained, and while I was restrained by my niggard fortune from making a
tender worthy of your acceptance, I combated with my inclinations, and
bore without repining the pangs of hopeless love. But, now that my
honour is disengaged, and my fortune rendered independent, by the last
will of a worthy nobleman, whose friendship I was favoured with in
France, I presume to lay myself at the feet of the adorable Monimia, as
the most faithful of admirers, whose happiness or misery wholly depends
upon her nod. Believe me, madam, these are not the professions of idle
gallantry--I speak the genuine, though imperfect, language of my heart.
Words, even the most pathetic, cannot do justice to my love. I gaze upon
your beauty with ravishment; but I contemplate the graces of your soul
with such awful veneration, that I tremble while I approach you, as if my
vows were addressed to some superior being."
During this declaration, which was pronounced in the most emphatic
manner, Monimia was successively agitated with shame, anger, and grief;
nevertheless, she summoned her whole philosophy to her aid, and, with a
tranquil, though determined air, begged he would not diminish the
obligations he had already conferred, by disturbing with such
unseasonable addresses a poor unhappy maid, who had detached all her
thoughts from earthly objects, and waited impatiently for that
dissolution which alone could put a period to her misfortunes.
Fathom, imagining that these were no other than the suggestions of a
temporary disappointment and despondence, which it was his business to
oppose with all his eloquence and art, renewed his theme with redoubled
ardour, and, at last, became so importunate in his desires, that Monimia,
provoked beyond the power of concealing her resentment, said, she was
heartily sorry to find herself under the necessity of telling him, that,
in the midst of her misfortunes, she could not help remembering what she
had been. Then, rising from her seat, with all the dignity of
displeasure, "Perhaps," added she, "you have forgot who was the father of
the once happy Monimia."
With these words she retired into another chamber, leaving our adventurer
confounded by the repulse he had sustained. Not that he was discouraged
from prosecuting his aim--on the contrary, this rebuff seemed to add
fresh vigour to his operations. He now thought it high time to bring
over Madam la Mer to his interest; and, to facilitate her conversion,
took an opportunity of bribing her with some inconsiderable presents,
after having amused her with a plausible tale of his passion for Monimia,
with whom she undertook the office of his mediatrix, on the supposition
that his intentions were honourable, and highly advantageous to her
lodger.