Dobble's reputation for courage was not increased by the butcher's-dog
adventure; but mine stood very high: little Stubbs was voted the boldest
chap of all the bold North-Bungays. And though I must confess, what was
proved by subsequent circumstances, that Nature has _not_ endowed me
with a large, or even, I may say, an average share of bravery, yet a man
is very willing to flatter himself of the contrary; and, after a little
time, I got to believe that my killing the dog was an action of
undaunted courage; and that I was as gallant as any one of the hundred
thousand heroes of our army. I always had a military taste—it's only the
brutal part of the profession, the horrid fighting, and blood, that I
don't like.
I suppose the regiment was not very brave itself—being only militia;
but, certain it was that Stubbs was considered a most terrible fellow,
and I swore so much, and looked so fierce, that you would have fancied I
had made half a hundred campaigns. I was second in several duels; the
umpire in all disputes; and such a crack-shot myself that fellows were
shy of insulting me. As for Dobble, I took him under my protection; and
he became so attached to me that we ate, drank, and rode together, every
day; his father didn't care for money, so long as his son was in good
company—and what so good as that of the celebrated Stubbs? Heigho! I
_was_ good company in those days, and a brave fellow, too, as I should
have remained, but for—what I shall tell the public immediately.
It happened, in the fatal year ninety-six, that the brave North-Bungays
were quartered at Portsmouth; a maritime place, which I need not
describe, and which I wish I had never seen. I might have been a General
now, or, at least, a rich man.
The red-coats carried everything before them in those days; and I, such
a crack character as I was in my regiment, was very well received by the
towns-people; many dinners I had; many tea-parties; many lovely young
ladies did I lead down the pleasant country-dances.
Well; although I had had the two former rebuffs in love, which I have
described, my heart was still young; and the fact was, knowing that a
girl with a fortune was my only chance, I made love here as furiously as
ever. I shan't describe the lovely creatures on whom I had fixed whilst
at Portsmouth. I tried more than—several—and it is a singular fact,
which I never have been able to account for, that, successful as I was
with ladies of maturer age, by the young ones I was refused regular.
But "faint heart never won fair lady;" and so I went on, and on, until I
had really got a Miss Clopper, a tolerably rich navy-contractor's
daughter, into such a way that I really don't think she could have
refused me. Her brother, Captain Clopper, was in a line regiment, and
helped me as much as ever he could; he swore I was such a brave fellow.
As I had received a number of attentions from Clopper, I determined to
invite him to dinner; which I could do without any sacrifice of my
principle, upon this point; for the fact is, Dobble lived at an inn—and
as he sent all his bills to his father, I made no scruple to use his
table. We dined in the coffee-room; Dobble bringing his friend, and so
we made a party _carry_, as the French say. Some naval officers were
occupied in a similar way at a table next to ours.
Well—I didn't spare the bottle, either for myself or my friends; and we
grew very talkative, and very affectionate as the drinking went on. Each
man told stories of his gallantry in the field, or amongst the ladies,
as officers will, after dinner. Clopper confided to the company his wish
that I should marry his sister, and vowed that he thought me the best
fellow in Christendom.
Ensign Dobble assented to this—"But let Miss Clopper beware," says he,
"for Stubbs is a sad fellow; he has had I don't know how many _liaisons_
already; and he has been engaged to I don't know how many women."
"Indeed!" says Clopper. "Come, Stubbs, tell us your adventures."
"Psha!" said I, modestly, "there is nothing, indeed, to tell; I have
been in love, my dear boy—who has not?—and I have been jilted—who has
not?"
Clopper swore that he would blow his sister's brains out if ever _she_
served me so.
"Tell him about Miss Crutty," said Dobble; "he! he! Stubbs served _that_
woman out, any how; she didn't jilt _him_, I'll be sworn."
"Really, Dobble, you are too bad, and should not mention names; the fact
is, the girl was desperately in love with me, and had money—sixty
thousand pounds, upon my reputation. Well, everything was arranged,
when, who should come down from London, but a relation."
"Well; and did he prevent the match?"
"Prevent it—yes, sir, I believe you, he did; though not in the sense
that _you_ mean; he would have given his eyes: ay, and ten thousand
pounds more, if I would have accepted the girl, but I would not."
"Why, in the name of goodness?"
"Sir, her uncle was a _shoemaker_. I never would debase myself by
marrying into such a family."
"Of course not," said Dobble, "he couldn't, you know. Well, now—tell him
about the other girl, Mary Waters, you know."
"Hush, Dobble, hush! don't you see one of those naval officers has
turned round and heard you? My dear Clopper, it was a mere childish
bagatelle."
"Well, but let's have it," said Clopper, "let's have it; I won't tell my
sister, you know;" and he put his hand to his nose, and looked monstrous
wise.
"Nothing of that sort, Clopper—no, no—'pon honour—little Bob Stubbs is
no _libertine_; and the story is very simple. You see that my father has
a small place, merely a few hundred acres, at Sloffemsquiggle. Isn't it
a funny name? Hang it, there's the naval gentleman staring again,—(I
looked terribly fierce as I returned this officer's stare, and continued
in a loud, careless voice) well—at this Sloffemsquiggle there lived a
girl, a Miss Waters, the niece of some blackguard apothecary in the
neighbourhood; but my mother took a fancy to the girl, and had her up to
the park, and petted her. We were both young—and—and—the girl fell in
love with me, that's the fact. I was obliged to repel some rather warm
advances that she made me; and here, upon my honour as a gentleman, you
have all the story about which that silly Dobble makes such a noise."
Just as I finished this sentence, I found myself suddenly taken by the
nose, and a voice shouting out,—
"Mr. Stubbs, you are A LIAR AND A SCOUNDREL! take this, sir,—and this,
for daring to meddle with the name of an innocent lady."
I turned round as well as I could, for the ruffian had pulled me out of
my chair, and beheld a great marine monster, six feet high, who was
occupied in beating and kicking me, in the most ungentlemanly manner, on
my cheeks, my ribs, and between the tails of my coat. "He is a liar,
gentlemen, and a scoundrel; the bootmaker had detected him in swindling,
and so his niece refused him. Miss Waters was engaged to him from
childhood, and he deserted her for the bootmaker's niece, who was
richer;"—and then sticking a card between my stock and my coat-collar,
in what is called the scruff of my neck, the disgusting brute gave me
another blow behind my back, and left the coffee-room with his friends.
Dobble raised me up; and taking the card from my neck, read, CAPTAIN
WATERS. Clopper poured me out a glass of water, and said in my ear, "If
this is true, you are an infernal scoundrel, Stubbs; and must fight me,
after Captain Waters," and he flounced out of the room.
I had but one course to pursue. I sent the Captain a short and
contemptuous note, saying, that he was beneath my anger. As for Clopper,
I did not condescend to notice his remark; but in order to get rid of
the troublesome society of these low blackguards, I determined to
gratify an inclination I had long entertained, and make a little tour. I
applied for leave of absence, and set off _that very night_. I can fancy
the disappointment of the brutal Waters, on coming, as he did, the next
morning, to my quarters and finding me _gone_, ha! ha!
After this adventure I became sick of a military life—at least, the life
of my own regiment, where the officers, such was their unaccountable
meanness and prejudice against me, absolutely refused to see me at mess.
Colonel Craw sent me a letter to this effect, which I treated as it
deserved.—I never once alluded to it in any way, and have since never
spoken a single word to any man in the North-Bungays.
_Association of British Illuminati, to be held in the Town Hall,
Birmingham, in August, 1839._
[We have been specially favoured with an account of some of the most
important affairs to be transacted at the 1839 meeting; many of
which, from the general inaccuracy of the published report, will,
perhaps, not meet the public eye in any other way.]
The Lions of the day from all parts of the world are pledged to be
present, among others those of Mr. Van Amburgh. The man with the goats
and monkeys as yet sticks out for terms. Miss Amany Amal and sisters
will remain in this country, and attend, by permission from the Adelphi,
to communicate their interesting discoveries in Indian Toe-pography. The
president of the Nose-all-ogical Society will be engaged, as also Grace
Darling, if not too dear.
A Deputation from the Female Temperance Society will wait on the section
devoted to the investigation of mesmerism, to know if they may take
infinitesimal doses of brandy in their tea; and the section of moral
science will be requested, for the satisfaction of the scrupulous, to
state whether persons who abjure gin, rum, and brandy, because they do
not like them, are, therefore, fit members of a temperance society.
Professor Murphy will announce his discovery of the real philosopher's
stone, by which he will prove to them the possibility of converting all
sorts of rubbish into gold. It is intended to present to him the freedom
of the town in a brass snuff-box.
Dr. Crow will read a paper on the sagacity of rooks, in which he will
propound and defend the extraordinary conjecture that they never make a
noise without caws.
A Deputation from the Fellows of the Zoological Society will attend, to
request the Homœopathic section to devise some means for the application
of animal magnetism to the purpose of drawing more visitors to the
menagerie. Many of the public, it seems, are cured of their wish for
seeing "by smelling only;" and as it is supposed that the council "nose"
all about it, they will now begin to _vent-too-late_.
Mr. Owen will attempt to explain his plans for getting rid of old
discord by the establishment of New Harmony, and his peculiar notions of
the preservation of peace, by the disposal of the ladies on the
circulating library principle. Should he prove unable to make his views
clear, either to his auditors or himself, he will finish with a
catalogue of his own perfections, accompanied on the trumpet stop of the
town organ.
Mrs. Graham and her husband will cause to be read to the meeting a
paper, detailing numerous experiments, all tending to prove that it is a
popular fallacy to suppose that balloons have a tendency to rise in the
air.
Mr. Curtis will exhibit his celebrated acoustic chair, and explain its
capabilities. He will display the gold medal presented to him by
Government for the loan of it during the last year, and will show how a
foreign or colonial secretary may slumber in it from morn till night,
and yet hear what is going on all over the world. Mr. Curtis will
further develope, by experiments on all who choose to try, its amazing
property, by which a gentleman has only to sit in the chair, and appear
to sleep, when he will be astonished to hear what all the world says of
him.
Mr. Serjeant Talfourd will read a paper on the wrongs of authors, and
instance many affecting cases in which, after having been allowed to
live in splendour for a few years, they have been so reduced, by the
illiberality of the trade and the ingratitude of the public, as to
actually want a bottle of Champagne. He will illustrate the state of
civil degradation to which they are reduced by the fact that at one of
his literary dinners, a gentleman who had laboured in the Grub Street
line all his life, actually did not know the names of some of the dishes
set before him. Mr. Babbage will follow, with calculations produced by
his machine, proving that every book is profitable, and that booksellers
have neither rent, taxes, stock, nor bad debts to trouble them. He will
allude to the fact of a West-end publisher having lately retired with a
competence, and will suggest the propriety of a special meeting to
inquire into the circumstances of such an atrocity. He will be supported
by Captain Ross, who, however, will _not_ state that author-ship is the
worst vessel in which he ever put to sea.
Professor Fang, of Manchester, will present an interesting series of
tests for ascertaining the existence of the vital principle in Factory
children after they drop; and will suggest various novel stimulants when
the billy roller has ceased to be effective. He will point out the evil
of legislating on the subject of their ages, of which he will show the
impossibility of obtaining the requisite proofs, arising from that
beautiful economy of nature which bestows nothing in vain, and,
therefore, withholds from them the usual supply of teeth, seeing that
they have no time to use them.
Dr. Doubledose will communicate some interesting discoveries in the
science of taw-tology, illustrated with real marbles. All the town's
boys will be allowed to stand at this sitting.
Many other elaborate papers will be read to the various sections; but,
as they will generally be about nothing, it is considered that they need
trouble nobody.
Mrs. Williams, of the Old Bailey, will attend, for the accommodation of
the visitors, with a copious supply of pewter plates, two-pronged forks,
and handsome waiting maids; and a constant succession of buttocks and
flanks, hot and hot, will be received by every train from Euston Square.
The inhabitants of the town are determined to shew their hospitality to
the illustrious strangers they expect, and all the bachelors of arts and
unmarried professors will be warmly welcomed at the houses of the single
ladies.
[Illustration]