As it was late that night, Joey did not open the packet delivered to him
from Spikeman until he arose the next morning, which he did very early,
as he thought it very likely that he might be apprehended, if he was not
off in good time. The packet contained a key, 20 pounds in money, and a
paper, with the following letter:--
"My dear boy,--As we must now part, at least for some time, I have
left you money sufficient to set you up for the present; I have
inclosed a memorandum, by which I make over to you the knife-grinder's
wheel, and all the furniture, books, etcetera, that are in my rooms at
Dudstone, the key of which is also inclosed. I should recommend you
going there and taking immediate possession, and as soon as I have
time, I shall write to the woman of the house, to inform her of the
contents of the memorandum; and I will also write to you, and let you
know how I get on. Of course you will now do as you please; at all
events, I have taught you a profession, and have given you the means
of following it. I only hope, if you do, that some day you may be
able to retire from business as successfully as I have done. You
will, of course, write to me occasionally, after you know where I am.
Depend upon it, there is no profession so near to that of a gentleman
as that of a travelling tinker.
"Yours ever truly, AUGUSTUS SPIKEMAN.
"NB. There is some money in the old place to pay the bill at the
cottage."
Our hero considered that he could not do better than follow the advice
of Spikeman. He first wrote a few lines to Mary, requesting that she
would send her answer to Dudstone; and then, having settled with the
hostess, he set off with his knife-grinder's wheel on his return home to
what were now his apartments. As he was not anxious to make money, he
did not delay on his road, and on the fifth day he found himself at the
door of the alehouse near to Dudstone, where he had before left the
wheel. Joey thought it advisable to do so now, telling the landlord
that Spikeman had requested him so to do; and as soon as it was dusk,
our hero proceeded to the town, and knocked at the door of the house in
which were Spikeman's apartments. He informed the landlady that
Spikeman would not in all probability return, and had sent him to take
possession, showing her the key. The dame was satisfied, and Joey went
upstairs. As soon as he had lighted the candle, and fairly installed
himself, our hero threw himself down on the sofa and began to reflect.
It is pleasant to have property of our own, and Joey never had had any
before; it was satisfactory to look at the furniture, bed, and books,
and say, "All this is _mine_." Joey felt this, as it is to be presumed
everybody would in the same position, and for some time he continued
looking round and round at his property. Having satisfied himself with
a review of it externally, he next proceeded to open all the drawers,
the chests, etcetera. There were many articles in them which Joey did
not expect to find, such as a store of sheets, table linen, and all
Spikeman's clothes, which he had discarded when he went up to London,
some silver spoons, and a variety of little odds and ends; in short,
Spikeman had left our hero everything as it stood. Joey put his money
away, and then went to bed, and slept as serenely as the largest landed
proprietor in the kingdom. When he awoke next morning, our hero began
to reflect upon what he should do. He was not of Spikeman's opinion
that a travelling tinker was the next thing to a gentleman, nor did he
much like the idea of rolling the wheel about all his life;
nevertheless, he agreed with Spikeman that it was a trade by which he
could earn his livelihood, and if he could do no better, it would always
be a resource. As soon as he had taken his breakfast, he sat down and
wrote to Mary, acquainting her with all that had taken place, and
stating what his own feelings were upon his future prospects. Having
finished his letter, he dressed himself neatly, and went out to call
upon the widow James. Miss Ophelia and Miss Amelia were both at home.
"Well, Master Atherton, how do you do? and pray where is Mr Spikeman?"
said both the girls in a breath.
"He is a long way from this!" replied Joey.
"A long way from this! Why, has he not come back with you?"
"No! and I believe he will not come back any more. I am come, as his
agent, to take possession of his property."
"Why, what has happened?"
"A very sad accident," replied our hero, shaking his head; "he fell--"
"Fell!" exclaimed the two girls in a breath.
"Yes, fell in love, and is married."
"Well now!" exclaimed Miss Ophelia, "only to think!"
Miss Amelia said nothing.
"And so he is really married?"
"Yes; and he has given up business."
"He did seem in a great hurry when he last came here," observed Amelia.
"And what are you going to do?"
"I am not going to follow his example just yet," replied Joey.
"I suppose not; but what are you going to do?" replied Ophelia.
"I shall wait here for his orders; I expect to hear from him. Whether I
am to remain in this part of the country, or sell off and join him, or
look out for some other business, I hardly know; I think myself I shall
look out for something else; I don't like the cutlery line and
travelling for orders. How is your mamma, Miss Ophelia?"
"She is very well, and has gone to market. Well, I never did expect to
hear of Mr Spikeman being married! Who is he married to, Joseph?"
"To a very beautiful young lady, daughter of Squire Mathews, with a
large fortune."
"Yes; men always look for money nowadays," said Amelia.
"I must go now," said Joey, getting up; "I have some calls and some
inquiries to make. Good morning, young ladies."
It must be acknowledged that the two Misses James were not quite so
cordial towards Joey as they were formerly; but unmarried girls do not
like to hear of their old acquaintances marrying anybody save
themselves. There is not only a flirt the less, but a chance the less
in consequence; and it should be remarked, that there were very few
_beaux_ at Dudstone. Our hero was some days at Dudstone before he
received a letter from Spikeman, who informed him that he had arrived
safely at Gretna (indeed, there was no male relation of the family to
pursue him), and the silken bands of Hymen had been made more secure by
the iron rivets of the blacksmith; that three days after he had written
a letter to his wife's father, informing him that he had _done him the
honour_ of marrying his daughter; that he could not exactly say when he
could find time to come to the mansion and pay him a visit, but that he
would as soon as he conveniently could; that he begged that the room
prepared for them upon their arrival might have a _large_ dressing-room
attached to it, as he could not dispense with that convenience; that he
was not aware whether Mr Mathews was inclined to part with the mansion
and property, but, as his wife had declared that she would prefer living
there to anywhere else, he had not any objection to purchase it of Mr
Mathews, if they could come to terms; hoped his gout was better, and was
his "very faithfully, AUGUSTUS SPIKEMAN." Melissa wrote a few lines to
Araminta, begging her, as a favour, not to attempt to palliate her
conduct, but to rail against her incessantly, as it would be the surest
method of bringing affairs to an amicable settlement.