HE ATTRACTS THE ENVY AND ILL OFFICES OF THE MINOR KNIGHTS OF HIS OWN
ORDER, OVER WHOM HE OBTAINS A COMPLETE VICTORY.
Such a pre-eminence could not be enjoyed without exciting the malevolence
of envy and detraction, in the propagation of which none were so
industrious as the brethren of his own order, who had, like him, made a
descent upon this island, and could not, without repining, see the whole
harvest in the hands of one man, who, with equal art and discretion,
avoided all intercourse with their society. In vain they strove to
discover his pedigree, and detect the particular circumstances of his
life and conversation; all their inquiries were baffled by the obscurity
of his origin, and that solitary scheme which he had adopted in the
beginning of his career. The whole fruit of their investigation amounted
to no more than a certainty that there was no family of any consideration
in Europe known by the denomination of Fathom; and this discovery they
did not fail to divulge for the benefit of our adventurer, who had by
this time taken such firm root in the favour of the great, as to set all
those little arts at defiance; and when the report reached his ear,
actually made his friends merry with the conjectures which had been
circulated at his expense.
His adversaries, finding themselves disappointed in this effort, held a
consultation to devise other measures against him, and came to a
resolution of ending him by the sword, or rather of expelling him from
the kingdom by the fear of death, which they hoped he had not courage
enough to resist, because his deportment had always been remarkably mild
and pacific. It was upon this supposition that they left to the
determination of the dice the choice of the person who should execute
their plan; and the lot falling upon a Swiss, who, from the station of a
foot soldier in the Dutch service, out of which he had been drummed for
theft, had erected himself into the rank of a self-created chevalier,
this hero fortified himself with a double dose of brandy, and betook
himself to a certain noted coffee-house, with an intent to affront Count
Fathom in public.
He was lucky enough to find our adventurer sitting at a table in
conversation with some persons of the first rank; upon which he seated
himself in the next box, and after having intruded himself into their
discourse, which happened to turn upon the politics of some German
courts, "Count," said he to Ferdinand, in a very abrupt and disagreeable
manner of address, "I was last night in company with some gentlemen,
among whom a dispute happened about the place of your nativity; pray,
what country are you of?" "Sir," answered the other, with great
politeness, "I at present have the honour to be of England." "Oho!"
replied the chevalier, "I ask your pardon, that is to say, you are incog;
some people may find it convenient to keep themselves in that situation."
"True," said the Count, "but some people are too well known to enjoy that
privilege." The Swiss being a little disconcerted at this repartee,
which extracted a smile from the audience, after some pause, observed,
that persons of a certain class had good reason to drop the remembrance
of what they have been; but a good citizen will not forget his country,
or former condition. "And a bad citizen," said Fathom, "cannot, if he
would, provided he has met with his deserts; a sharper may as well forget
the shape of a die, or a discarded soldier the sound of a drum."
As the chevalier's character and story were not unknown, this application
raised an universal laugh at his expense, which provoked him to such a
degree, that, starting up, he swore Fathom could not have mentioned any
object in nature that he himself resembled so much as a drum, which was
exactly typified by his emptiness and sound, with this difference,
however, that a drum was never noisy till beaten, whereas the Count would
never be quiet, until he should have undergone the same discipline. So
saying, he laid his hand upon his sword with a menacing look, and walked
out as if in expectation of being followed by our adventurer, who
suffered himself to be detained by the company, and very calmly took
notice, that his antagonist would not be ill pleased at their
interposition. Perhaps he would not have comported himself with such
ease and deliberation, had not he made such remarks upon the disposition
of the chevalier, as convinced him of his own safety. He had perceived a
perplexity and perturbation in the countenance of the Swiss, when he
first entered the coffee-room; his blunt and precipitate way of accosting
him seemed to denote confusion and compulsion; and, in the midst of his
ferocity, this accurate observer discerned the trepidation of fear. By
the help of these signs, his sagacity soon comprehended the nature of his
schemes, and prepared accordingly for a formal defiance.
His conjecture was verified next morning by a visit from the chevalier,
who, taking it for granted that Fathom would not face an adversary in the
field, because he had not followed him from the coffee-house, went to his
lodgings with great confidence, and demanded to see the Count upon an
affair that would admit of no delay. Maurice, according to his
instructions, told him that his master was gone out, but desired he would
have the goodness to repose himself in the parlour, till the Count's
return, which he expected every moment. Ferdinand, who had taken post in
a proper place for observation, seeing his antagonist fairly admitted,
took the same road, and appearing before him, wrapped up in a long
Spanish cloak, desired to know what had procured him the honour of such
an early visit. The Swiss, raising his voice to conceal his agitation,
explained his errand, in demanding reparation for the injury his honour
had sustained the preceding day, in that odious allusion to a scandalous
report which had been raised by the malice of his enemies; and insisted,
in a very imperious style, upon his attending him forthwith to the
nursery in Hyde Park. "Have a little patience," said our adventurer with
great composure, "and I will do myself the pleasure to wait upon you in a
few moments."
With these words, he rang the bell, and, calling for a bason of water,
laid aside his cloak, and displayed himself in his shirt, with a sword in
his right hand, which was all over besmeared with recent blood, as if he
had just come from the slaughter of a foe. This phenomenon made such an
impression upon the astonished chevalier, already discomposed by the
resolute behaviour of the Count, that he became jaundiced with terror and
dismay, and, while his teeth chattered in his head, told our hero he had
hoped, from his known politeness, to have found him ready to acknowledge
an injury which might have been the effect of anger or misapprehension,
in which case the affair might have been compromised to their mutual
satisfaction, without proceeding to those extremities which, among men of
honour, are always accounted the last resource. To this representation
Ferdinand answered, that the affair had been of the chevalier's own
seeking, inasmuch as he had intruded himself into his company, and
treated him with the most insolent and unprovoked abuse, which plainly
flowed from a premeditated design against his honour and reputation; he,
therefore, far from being disposed to own himself in the wrong, would not
even accept of a public acknowledgment from him, the aggressor, whom he
looked upon as an infamous sharper, and was resolved to chastise
accordingly.
Here the conversation was interrupted by the arrival of a person who was
brought to the door in a chair, and conducted into another apartment,
from which a message was brought to the Count, importing, that the
stranger desired to speak with him upon business of the last importance.
Fathom having chid the servant for admitting people without his order,
desired the Swiss to excuse him for a minute longer, and went in to the
next room, from whence the following dialogue was overheard by this
challenger:--"Count," said the stranger, "you are not ignorant of my
pretensions to the heart of that young lady, at whose house I met you
yesterday; therefore you cannot be surprised when I declare myself
displeased with your visits and behaviour to my mistress, and demand that
you will instantly promise to drop the correspondence." "Else what
follows?" answered Ferdinand, with a cool and temperate voice. "My
resentment and immediate defiance," replied the other; "for the only
alternative I propose is, to forego your design upon that lady, or to
decide our pretension by the sword."
Our hero, having expressed a regard for this visitant as the son of a
gentleman whom he honoured, was at the pains to represent the
unreasonableness of his demand, and the folly of his presumption; and
earnestly exhorted him to put the issue of his cause upon a more safe and
equitable footing. But this admonition, instead of appeasing the wrath,
seemed to inflame the resentment of the opponent, who swore he would not
leave him until he should have accomplished the purport of his errand.
In vain our adventurer requested half an hour for the despatch of some
urgent business, in which he was engaged with a gentleman in the other
parlour. This impetuous rival rejected all the terms he could propose,
and even challenged him to decide the controversy upon the spot; an
expedient to which the other having assented with reluctance, the door
was secured, the swords unsheathed, and a hot engagement ensued, to the
inexpressible pleasure of the Swiss, who did not doubt that he himself
would be screened from all danger by the event of this rencontre.
Nevertheless, his hope was disappointed in the defeat of the stranger,
who was quickly disarmed, in consequence of a wound through the
sword-arm; upon which occasion Fathom was heard to say, that, in
consideration of his youth and family, he had spared his life; but he
would not act with the same tenderness towards any other antagonist. He
then bound up the limb he had disabled, conducted the vanquished party to
his chair, rejoined the chevalier with a serene countenance, and, asking
pardon for having detained him so long, proposed they should instantly
set out in a hackney-coach for the place of appointment.
The stratagem thus conducted, had all the success the inventor could
desire. The fear of the Swiss had risen almost to an ecstasy before the
Count quitted the room; but after this sham battle, which had been
preconcerted betwixt our adventurer and his friend Ratchcali, the
chevalier's terrors were unspeakable. He considered Fathom as a devil
incarnate, and went into the coach as a malefactor bound for Tyburn. He
would have gladly compounded for the loss of a leg or arm, and
entertained some transient gleams of hope, that he should escape for half
a dozen flesh-wounds, which he would have willingly received as the price
of his presumption; but these hopes were banished by the remembrance of
that dreadful declaration which he had heard the Count make, after having
overcome his last adversary; and he continued under the power of the most
unsupportable panic, until the carriage halted at Hyde Park Corner, where
he crawled forth in a most piteous and lamentable condition; so that,
when they reached the spot, he was scarce able to stand.
Here he made an effort to speak, and propose an accommodation upon a new
plan, by which he promised to leave his cause to the arbitrement of those
gentlemen who were present at the rupture, and to ask pardon of the
Count, provided he should be found guilty of a trespass upon good
manners; but this proposal would not satisfy the implacable Ferdinand,
who, perceiving the agony of the Swiss, resolved to make the most of the
adventure, and giving him to understand he was not a man to be trifled
with, desired him to draw without further preamble. Thus compelled, the
unfortunate gamester pulled off his coat, and, putting himself in a
posture, to use the words of Nym, "winked, and held out his cold iron."
Our adventurer, far from making a gentle use of the advantages he
possessed, fiercely attacked him, while he was incapable of making
resistance, and, aiming at a fleshy part, ran him through the arm and
outside of the shoulder at the very first pass. The chevalier, already
stupefied with the horror of expectation, no sooner felt his adversary's
point in his body than he fell to the ground, and, concluding he was no
longer a man for this world, began to cross himself with great devotion;
while Fathom walked home deliberately, and in his way sent a couple of
chairmen to the assistance of the wounded knight.
This achievement, which could not be concealed from the knowledge of the
public, not only furnished the character of Fathom with fresh wreaths of
admiration and applause, but likewise effectually secured him from any
future attempts of his enemies, to whom the Swiss, for his own sake, had
communicated such terrible ideas of his valour, as overawed the whole
community.