THE GREAT ADVANTAGE OF BEING THE FOOL OF THE FAMILY--MY DESTINY IS
DECIDED, AND I AM CONSIGNED TO A STOCKBROKER AS PART OF HIS MAJESTY'S
SEA-STOCK--UNFORTUNATELY FOR ME MR. HANDYCOCK IS A BEAR, AND I GET VERY
LITTLE DINNER.
If I cannot narrate a life of adventurous and daring exploits,
fortunately I have no heavy crimes to confess: and, if I do not rise in
the estimation of the reader for acts of gallantry and devotion in my
country's cause, at least I may claim the merit of zealous and
persevering continuance in my vocation. We are all of us variously
gifted from Above, and he who is content to walk, instead of to run, on
his allotted path through life, although he may not so rapidly attain
the goal, has the advantage of not being out of breath upon his arrival.
As well as I can recollect and analyse my early propensities, I think
that, had I been permitted to select my own profession, I should in all
probability have bound myself apprentice to a tailor; for I always
envied the comfortable seat which they appeared to enjoy upon the
shopboard, and their elevated position, which enabled them to look down
upon the constant succession of the idle or the busy, who passed in
review before them in the main street of the country town, near to which
I passed the first fourteen years of my existence.
But my father, who was a clergyman of the Church of England, and the
youngest brother of a noble family, had a lucrative living, and a "soul
above buttons," if his son had not. It has been from time immemorial
the heathenish custom to sacrifice the greatest fool of the family to
the prosperity and naval superiority of the country, and, at the age of
fourteen, I was selected as the victim. If the custom be judicious, I
had no reason to complain. There was not one dissentient voice, when it
was proposed before all the varieties of my aunts and cousins, invited
to partake of our new-year's festival. I was selected by general
acclamation. Flattered by such an unanimous acknowledgment of my
qualification, I felt a slight degree of military ardour, and a sort of
vision of future grandeur passed before me, in the distant vista of
which I perceived a coach with four horses, and a service of plate. But
as my story is not a very short one, I must not dwell too long on its
commencement. I shall therefore inform the reader, that my father, who
lived in the north of England, did not think it right to fit me out at
the country town, near to which we resided; but about a fortnight after
the decision which I have referred to, he forwarded me to London, on the
outside of the coach, with my best suit of bottle-green and six shirts.
To prevent mistakes, I was booked in the way-bill, "To be delivered to
Mr Thomas Handycock, Number 14, Saint Clement's Lane--carriage paid."
My parting with the family was very affecting; my mother cried bitterly,
for, like all mothers, she liked the greatest fool which she had
presented to my father, better than all the rest; my sisters cried
because my mother cried; Tom roared for a short time more loudly than
all the rest, having been chastised by my father for breaking his fourth
window in that week.
At last I tore myself away. I had blubbered till my eyes were so red
and swollen, that the pupils were scarcely to be distinguished, and
tears and dirt had veined my cheeks like the marble of the
chimney-piece. My handkerchief was soaked through with wiping my eyes
and blowing my nose, before the scene was over. My brother Tom, with a
kindness which did honour to his heart, exchanged his for mine, saying,
with fraternal regard, "Here, Peter, take mine, it's as dry as a bone."
But my father would not wait for a second handkerchief to perform its
duty. He led me away through the hall, when, having shaken hands with
all the men, and kissed all the maids, who stood in a row with their
aprons to their eyes, I quitted the paternal roof.
The coachman accompanied me to the stage. Having seen me securely
wedged between two fat old women, and having put my parcel inside, he
took his leave, and in a few minutes I was on my road to London.
I was too much depressed to take notice of any thing during my journey.
When we arrived in London, they drove to the Blue Boar (in a street, the
name of which I have forgotten). I had never seen or heard of such an
animal, and certainly it did appear very formidable; its mouth was open
and teeth very large.
The coachman threw his whip to the ostler, and the reins upon the
horses' back; he then dismounted, and calling to me, "Now, young
gentleman, I'se waiting," he put a ladder up for me to get down by; then
turning to a porter, he said to him, "Bill, you must take this here
young gem'man and that ere parcel to this here direction.--Please to
remember the coachman, sir." I replied that I certainly would, if he
wished it, and walked off with the porter; the coachman observing as I
went away, "Well, he is a fool--that's sartain." I arrived quite safe
at St. Clement's Lane, when the porter received a shilling for his
trouble from the maid who let me in, and I was shown up into a parlour,
where I found myself in company with Mrs Handycock.
Mrs Handycock was a little meagre woman, who did not speak very good
English, and who appeared to me to employ the major part of her time in
bawling out from the top of the stairs to the servants below. I never
saw her either read a book or occupy herself with needlework, during the
whole time I was in the house. She had a large grey parrot and I really
cannot tell which screamed the worst of the two--but she was very civil
and kind to me. Before I had been there ten minutes, she told me that
she "hadored sailors--they were the defendiours and preserviours of
their kings and countries," and that Mr Handycock would be home by four
o'clock, and then we should go to dinner.
As I was very anxious to see Mr Handycock, and very anxious to have my
dinner, I was not sorry to hear the clock on the stairs strike four;
when Mrs Handycock jumped up, and put her head over the banisters.
"Jemima, Jemima, it's four o'clock!"
"I hear it, marm," replied the cook; and she gave the frying-pan a
twist, which made the hissing and the smell come flying up into the
parlour, and made me more hungry than ever.
Rap, tap, tap! "There's your master, Jemima," screamed the lady. "I
hear him, marm," replied the cook. "Run down, my dear, and let Mr
Handycock in," said his wife. "He'll be so surprised at seeing you open
the door."
I ran down as Mrs Handycock desired me, and opened the street-door.
"Who the devil are you?" in a gruff voice, cried Mr Handycock; a man
about six feet high, dressed in blue cotton-net pantaloons and Hessian
boots, with a black coat and waistcoat. I was a little rebuffed, I must
own, but I replied that I was Mr Simple. "And pray, Mr Simple, what
would your grandfather say if he saw you now?"
"Law, Mr Handycock," said his wife, from the top of the stairs, "how
can you be so cross? I told him to open the door to surprise you."
"And you have surprised me," replied he, "with your cursed folly."
While Mr Handycock was rubbing his boots on the mat, I went upstairs,
rather mortified, I must own, as my father had told me that Mr
Handycock was his stock-broker, and would do all he could to make me
comfortable. When I returned to the parlour, Mrs Handycock whispered
to me, "Never mind, my dear, it's only because there's something wrong
on 'Change. Mr Handycock is a _bear_ just now." I thought so too, but
made no answer, for Mr Handycock came upstairs.
"Are you ready for your dinner, my dear?" said the lady, almost
trembling.
"If the dinner is ready for me. I believe we usually dine at four,"
answered her husband gruffly.
"Jemima, Jemima, dish up! do you hear, Jemima?"
"Yes, marm," replied the cook, "directly I've thickened the butter;" and
Mrs Handycock resumed her seat, with:
"Well, Mr Simple, and how is your grandfather, Lord Privilege?"
"He is quite well, ma'am," answered I, for the fifteenth time at least.
But dinner put an end to the silence which followed this remark. Mr
Handycock walked downstairs, leaving his wife and me to follow at our
leisure.
"Pray, ma'am," inquired I, as soon as he was out of hearing, "what is
the matter with Mr Handycock, that he is so cross to you?"
"Vy, my dear, it is one of the misfortunes of matermony, that ven the
husband's put out, the vife is sure to have her share of it."
"Are you people coming down to dinner?" roared Mr Handycock from below.
"Yes, my dear," replied the lady; "I thought that you were washing your
hands." We descended into the dining-room, where we found that Mr
Handycock had already devoured two of the whitings, leaving only one on
the dish for his wife and me. "Vould you like a little bit of viting,
my dear?" said the lady to me. "It's not worth halving," observed the
gentleman, in a surly tone, taking up the fish with his own knife and
fork, and putting it on his plate.
"Well, I'm so glad you like them, my dear," replied the lady meekly;
then turning to me, "there's some nice roast _weal_ coming, my dear."
The veal made its appearance, and fortunately for us Mr Handycock could
not devour it all. He took the lion's share, nevertheless, cutting off
all the brown, and then shoving the dish over to his wife to help
herself and me.
After dinner, Mr Handycock went down to the cellar for a bottle of
wine. "O deary me!" exclaimed his wife, "he must have lost a mint of
money--we had better go upstairs and leave him alone; he'll be better
after a bottle of port, perhaps." I was very glad to go away, and being
very tired, I went to bed without any tea, for Mrs Handycock dared not
venture to make it before her husband came upstairs.