These Associates commit an Assault upon Crabtree, for which they
are banished from the Fleet--Peregrine begins to feel the effects of
Confinement.
Our adventurer having dined at an ordinary, and in the afternoon retired
to his own apartment, as usual, with his friend Cadwallader, Hatchway
and his associate, after they had been obliged to discuss the provision
for which they had paid, renewed their conference upon the old subject.
Pipes giving his messmate to understand, that Peregrine's chief
confidant was the old deaf bachelor, whom he had seen at his lodging the
preceding day, Mr. Hatchway, in his great penetration, discovered,
that the young gentleman's obstinacy proceeded from the advice of the
misanthrope, whom, for that reason, it was their business to chastise.
Pipes entered into this opinion the more willingly, as he had all along
believed the senior to be a sort of wizard, or some cacodaemon, whom
it was not very creditable to be acquainted with. Indeed, he had been
inspired with this notion by the insinuations of Hadgi, who had formerly
dropped some hints touching Crabtree's profound knowledge in the magic
art; mentioning, in particular, his being possessed of the philosopher's
stone; an assertion to which Tom had given implicit credit, until his
master was sent to prison for debt, when he could no longer suppose
Cadwallader lord of such a valuable secret, or else he would have
certainly procured the enlargement of his most intimate friend.
With these sentiments, he espoused the resentment of Hatchway. They
determined to seize the supposed conjurer, with the first opportunity,
on his return from his visit to Peregrine, and, without hesitation,
exercise upon him the discipline of the pump. This plan they would have
executed that same evening, had not the misanthrope luckily withdrawn
himself, by accident, before it was dark, and even before they had
intelligence of his retreat. But, next day, they kept themselves upon
the watch till he appeared, and Pipes lifting his hat, as Crabtree
passed, “O d-- ye, old Dunny,” said he, “you and I must grapple by and
by; and a'gad I shall lie so near your quarter, that your ear-ports will
let in the sound, thof they are double caulked with oakum.”
The misanthrope's ears were not quite so fast closed, but that they
received this intimation; which, though delivered in terms that he did
not well understand, had such an effect upon his apprehension, that he
signified his doubts to Peregrine, observing, that he did not much like
the looks of that same ruffian with the wooden leg. Pickle assured him,
he had nothing to fear from the two sailors, who could have no cause of
resentment against him; or, if they had, would not venture to take
any step, which they knew must block up all the avenues to that
reconcilement, about which they were so anxious; and, moreover, give
such offence to the governor of the place as would infallibly induce him
to expel them both from his territories.
Notwithstanding this assurance, the young gentleman was not so confident
of the lieutenant's discretion, as to believe that Crabtree's fears were
altogether without foundation; he forthwith conjectured that Jack had
taken umbrage at an intimacy from which he found himself excluded, and
imputed his disgrace to the insinuations of Cadwallader, whom, in all
likelihood, he intended to punish for his supposed advice. He knew his
friend could sustain no great damage from the lieutenant's resentment,
in a place which he could immediately alarm with his cries, and
therefore wished he might fall into the snare, because it would furnish
him with a pretence of complaint; in consequence of which, the sailors
would be obliged to shift their quarters, so as that he should be rid of
their company, in which he at present could find no enjoyment.
Everything happened as he had foreseen; the misanthrope, in his retreat
from Peregrine's chamber, was assaulted by Hatchway and his associate,
who seized him by the collar without ceremony, and began to drag him
towards the pump, at which they would have certainly complimented him
with a very disagreeable bath, had not he exalted his voice in such a
manner, as in a moment brought a number of the inhabitants, and Pickle
himself, to his aid. The assailants would have persisted in their
design, had the opposition been such as they could have faced with any
possibility of success; nor did they quit their prey, before a dozen, at
least, had come to his rescue, and Peregrine with a menacing aspect and
air of authority, commanded his old valet to withdraw. Then they thought
proper to sheer off, and betake themselves to close quarters, while our
hero accompanied the affrighted Cadwallader to the gate, and exhibited
to the warden a formal complaint against the rioters, upon whom he
retorted the charge of lunacy, which was supported by the evidence of
twenty persons, who had been eye-witnesses of the outrage committed
against the old gentleman. The governor, in consequence of this
information, sent a message to Mr. Hatchway, warning him to move
his lodging next day, on pain of being expelled. The lieutenant
contumaciously refusing to comply with this intimation, was in the
morning, while he amused himself in walking upon the Bare, suddenly
surrounded by the constables of the court, who took him and his adherent
prisoners, before they were aware, and delivered them into the hands of
the turnkeys, by whom they were immediately dismissed, and their baggage
conveyed to the side of the ditch.
This expulsion was not performed without an obstinate opposition on the
part of the delinquents, who, had they not been surprised, would have
set the whole Fleet at defiance, and, in all probability, have acted
divers tragedies, before they could have been overpowered. Things
being circumstanced as they were, the lieutenant did not part with his
conductor without tweaking his nose, by way of farewell; and Pipes,
in imitation of such a laudable example, communicated a token of
remembrance, in an application to the sole eye of his attendant, who,
scorning to be outdone in this kind of courtesy, returned the compliment
with such good-will, that Tom's organ performed the office of a
multiplying-glass. These were mutual hints for stripping, and,
accordingly, each was naked from the waist upwards in a trice. A ring
of butchers from the market was immediately formed; a couple of the
reverend flamens, who, in morning gowns, ply for marriages in that
quarter of the town, constituted themselves seconds and umpires of the
approaching contest, and the battle began without further preparation.
The combatants were, in point of strength and agility, pretty equally
matched; but the jailor had been regularly trained in the art of
bruising: he had more than once signalized himself in public, by his
prowess and skill in this exercise, and lost one eye upon the stage in
the course of his exploits. This was a misfortune of which Pipes did not
fail to take the advantage. He had already sustained several hard knocks
upon his temples and jaws, and found it impracticable to smite his
antagonist upon the victualling-office, so dexterously was it defended
against assault. He then changed his battery, and being ambidexter,
raised such a clatter upon the turnkey's blind side, that this hero,
believing him left-handed, converted his attention that way, and opposed
the unenlightened side of his face to the right hand of Pipes, which
being thus unprovided against, slyly bestowed upon him a peg under the
fifth rib, that in an instant laid him senseless on the pavement, at
the feet of his conqueror. Pipes was congratulated upon his victory,
not only by his friend Hatchway, but also by all the by-standers,
particularly the priest who had espoused his cause, and now invited the
strangers to his lodgings in a neighbouring alehouse, where they were
entertained so much to their liking, that they determined to seek
no other habitation while they should continue in town; and,
notwithstanding the disgrace and discouragement they had met with, in
their endeavours to serve our adventurer, they were still resolved to
persevere in their good offices, or, in the vulgar phrase, to see him
out.
While they settled themselves in this manner, and acquired familiar
connections round all the purlieus of the ditch, Peregrine found himself
deprived of the company of Cadwallader, who signified, by letter, that
he did not choose to hazard his person again in visiting him, while such
assassins occupied the avenues through which he must pass; for he had
been at pains to inquire into the motions of the seamen, and informed
himself exactly of the harbour in which they were moored.
Our hero had been so much accustomed to the conversation of Crabtree,
which was altogether suitable to the singularity of his own disposition,
that he could very ill afford to be debarred of it at this juncture,
when almost every other source of enjoyment was stopped. He was,
however, obliged to submit to the hardships of his situation; and as the
characters of his fellow-prisoners did not at all improve upon him, he
was compelled to seek for satisfaction within himself. Not but that he
had an opportunity of conversing with some people who neither wanted
sense, nor were deficient in point of principle; yet there appeared in
the behaviour of them all, without exception, a certain want of decorum,
a squalor of sentiment, a sort of jailish cast contracted in the course
of confinement, which disgusted the delicacy of our hero's observation.
He, therefore, detached himself from their parties as much as he could,
without giving offence to those among whom he was obliged to live, and
resumed his labours with incredible eagerness and perseverance, his
spirits being supported by the success of some severe philippics, which
he occasionally published against the author of his misfortune.
Nor was his humanity unemployed in the vacations of his revenge. A man
must be void of all sympathy and compassion, who can reside among so
many miserable objects, without feeling an inclination to relieve their
distress. Every day almost presented to his view such lamentable scenes
as were most likely to attract his notice, and engage his benevolence.
Reverses of fortune, attended with the most deplorable circumstances of
domestic woe, were continually intruding upon his acquaintance; his ears
were invaded with the cries of the hapless wife, who, from the enjoyment
of affluence and pleasure, was forced to follow her husband to this
abode of wretchedness and want; his eyes were every minute assailed
with the naked and meagre appearances of hunger and cold; and his fancy
teemed with a thousand aggravations of their misery.
Thus situated, his purse was never shut while his heart remained open.
Without reflecting upon the slenderness of his store, he exercised his
charity to all the children of distress, and acquired a popularity,
which, though pleasing, was far from being profitable. In short, his
bounty kept no pace with his circumstances, and in a little time he was
utterly exhausted. He had recourse to his bookseller, from whom, with
great difficulty, he obtained a small reinforcement; and immediately
relapsed into the same want of retention. He was conscious of his
infirmity, and found it incurable: he foresaw that by his own industry
he should never be able to defray the expense of these occasions; and
this reflection sunk deep into his mind. The approbation of the public,
which he had earned or might acquire like a cordial often repeated,
began to lose its effect upon his imagination; his health suffered by
his sedentary life and austere application, his eyesight failed, his
appetite forsook him, his spirits decayed; so that he became melancholy,
listless, and altogether incapable of prosecuting the only means he had
left for his subsistence; and, what did not at all contribute to the
alleviation of these particulars, he was given to understand by his
lawyer, that he had lost his cause, and was condemned in costs. Even
this was not the most mortifying piece of intelligence he received:
he at the same time learned that his bookseller was bankrupt, and his
friend Crabtree at the point of death.
These were comfortable considerations to a youth of Peregrine's
disposition, which was so capricious, that the more his misery
increased, the more haughty and inflexible he became. Rather than be
beholden to Hatchway, who still hovered about the gate, eager for an
opportunity to assist him, he chose to undergo the want of almost every
convenience of life, and actually pledged his wearing apparel to an
Irish pawnbroker in the Fleet, for money to purchase those things,
without which he must have absolutely perished. He was gradually
irritated by his misfortunes into a rancorous resentment against mankind
in general, and his heart so alienated from the enjoyments of life, that
he did not care how soon he quitted his miserable existence. Though he
had shocking examples of the vicissitudes of fortune continually before
his eyes, he could never be reconciled to the idea of living like his
fellow-sufferers, in the most abject degree of dependence. If he refused
to accept of favours from his own allies and intimate friends, whom he
had formerly obliged, it is not to be supposed that he would listen to
proposals of that kind from any of his fellow-prisoners, with whom he
had contracted acquaintance: he was even more cautious than ever of
incurring obligations; he now shunned his former messmates, in order to
avoid disagreeable tenders of friendship. Imagining that he perceived
an inclination in the clergyman to learn the state of his finances, he
discouraged and declined the explanation, and at length secluded himself
from all society.