CAPTAIN DAPPER AND SIR CHERRY BOUNCE.
The verdure of the early spring re-clothed the trees with their gay
garments, and gave back its air of cheerfulness to the residence of
Count Alteroni.
It was about mid-day; and the sun beamed brightly from a heaven of
unclouded blue. Nature appeared to be reviving from the despotism of
winter's rule; and the primrose peeped bashfully forth to welcome the
return of the feathered chorister of the grove.
The count and countess, with their lovely daughter, were seated in the
breakfast-parlour. The two ladies were occupied with their embroidery:
the noble Italian exile himself was reading the _Montoni Gazette_, which
that morning's post had brought him.
Suddenly he uttered an exclamation of surprise, and then appeared to
read with additional interest and attention.
"What news from Castelcicala?" inquired the countess.
"You remember that the Earl of Warrington applied to me between three
and four months ago for letters of introduction on behalf of a lady of
the name of Eliza Sydney?" said the count.
"And who was about to visit Castelcicala in order to escape the
persecution of that vile man who aspired to the hand of Isabella," added
the countess.
"The very same. She is a cousin of the Earl of Warrington; and it
appears that her presence has created quite a sensation in Montoni. The
_Gazette_ of the 15th of last month contains the following
passage:--'_The fashionable circles of Montoni have lately received a
brilliant addition in the person of Miss Eliza Sydney, a near relative
of the Earl of Warrington, the noble Englishman who purchased some years
ago the beautiful villa at the extremity of the suburbs of Petrarca.
Miss Sydney has taken up her abode at the villa; and during the month
that she has already honoured our city with her presence, her agreeable
manners, amiable qualities, and great personal attractions have won all
hearts. It is even rumoured that the highest person in the land has not
remained indifferent to the attractions of this charming foreigner._'"
"Surely this latter sentence cannot allude to the duke?" exclaimed the
countess.
"It can allude to none other," answered the count: "'_the highest person
in the land_.' Of course it means the duke. But, after all, it is
probably only one of those idle reports which so frequently obtain vogue
in the fashionable circles of all great cities--"
"Or one engendered in the fertile brain of a newspaper editor," said the
countess. "Still it would be strange if, through _your_ letters of
introduction--"
"Oh! it is too absurd to speculate upon," interrupted the count,
impatiently.
"And yet your lordship is not unaccustomed to judge now and then by the
mere superficial appearances of things," said the countess severely.
"I!" ejaculated the Italian noble.
"Decidedly," answered the countess. "You believed Mr. Greenwood to be an
honest man without examining into his real position--"
[Illustration]
"Ah! that one foolish step of mine!"
"And you pronounced Mr. Markham a villain without according him an
opportunity of giving an explanation," added the countess.
"Always Richard Markham!" cried the count angrily. "Why do you
perpetually throw his name in my teeth?"
"Because I think that you judged him too hastily," said the countess.
"Not at all! did he not admit that he had been in Newgate?"
A cold shudder crept over Isabella's frame.
"Yes; and so has our friend Mr. Armstrong, whom you value so highly, and
whose letter from Germany gave you so much pleasure yesterday morning."
"Certainly I was pleased to receive that letter, because I had not heard
from Armstrong so long: I fancied that something had happened to him.
But, to return to what you were saying," continued the count; "Armstrong
was incarcerated merely for a political offence; and there is something
honourable in that."
"Mr. Markham may have been more unfortunate than guilty," said the
countess. "At all events you have condemned without giving him a fair
hearing. I have even asked you to refer to the newspapers of the period
and read his case; but you refuse to give him a single chance."
"Your ladyship is very quick to blame," said the count, somewhat
sarcastically; "but you forget how rejoiced you were some years ago to
discover that the chevalier Gilderstein, whose father was executed for
coining, was no relation of your family, as you had long deemed him to
be: and yet the chevalier was himself innocent of his father's offence."
"I certainly have expressed myself more than once in the way you
mention," returned the countess; "but I had so spoken without due
consideration. Now that a case is immediately present to my view, I am
inclined to feel and act more charitably."
"But how could Mr. Markham justify himself?" exclaimed the count. "Was
not that attempt at burglary in this house so very glaring?"
"Oh!" cried Isabella, colouring deeply; "let Mr. Markham be guilty in
other respects, I would pledge my existence he never, _never_ could have
been a participator in that!"
"You speak warmly, signora," said the count, whose brow contracted. "You
forget that I myself overheard him talking with some one over the wall
of the garden only a few hours before the entrance of the burglars----"
"We have many cases upon record," interrupted Isabella enthusiastically,
"in which men have been unjustly convicted on an almost miraculous
combination of adverse circumstances. Suppose that Mr. Markham was, in
the first instance, made the victim of rogues and villains, and
sacrificed by them to screen their own infamy,--suppose he underwent his
punishment in Newgate, being innocent,--will you sympathise with and
commiserate him? or will you scorn and repulse him? Oh! my dear father,
no kindness would be too great towards a being who has suffered through
the fallibility of human laws! Suppose that one of the villains who
plunged him--innocent--into all that misery, repented of the evil, and
signed a confession of his own enormity and of Mr. Markham's
guiltlessness;--then would you remain thus prejudiced? Oh! no--my dear
father, you never would! your nature is too noble!"
"My dearest Isabella, let us drop this conversation. In the first place,
it is not likely that your romantic idea of one of the villains whom you
bring upon your fanciful stage, signing such a confession----"
"Oh! my dear father," exclaimed Isabella, a ray of joy flashing from her
large black eyes; "if such were the case----"
"Well--if such were the case," added the count impatiently, "the entire
mystery of the burglary remains to be cleared up to my satisfaction; and
therefore, with your permission, we will leave this subject--now, and
for ever!"
Isabella's head dropped upon her bosom; and her countenance wore an
expression of the most profound disappointment and grief.
Scarcely had the conversation thus received a rude check and the count
resumed the perusal of his paper, when Sir Cherry Bounce and Captain
Smilax Dapper were announced.
"Here we are--the two inseparables, strike me!" ejaculated the gallant
hussar. "How is the signora this morning? somewhat melancholy--blow me!"
"It seems that you have nothing to make you melancholy, Captain Dapper,"
said the count, who did not experience the greatest possible amount of
delight at the arrival of the two young gentlemen, although he was far
too well bred to show his annoyance.
"Beg pardon, count--on the contrary, smite me!" returned Captain Dapper:
"I have a great deal to be melancholy for. I lost six hundred pounds
last night at cards--blow me for a fool that I was! I must confess,
however, that I wasn't half awake."
"Yeth--and Thmilackth inthithted upon my thitting down and playing too;
and I lotht thwenty poundth."
"And got scolded by your mamma into the bargain, for sitting up too
late," said the captain.
"Nonthenth, Thmilackth!" exclaimed Sir Cherry; "I dare thay my mother
allowth me ath gweat a lithenth ath your'th."
"Well we won't quarrel, Cherry," said the officer. "But what do you
think, count? I and Cherry dined together at the Piazza, Covent-Garden,
where we got the most unexceptionable turtle and the most approved
venison. The iced punch was superlative--the charges, of course,
comparative. Well, in the evening, while I and Cherry were sipping our
claret--and Cherry was admitting confidentially to me that he really
hates claret, and only drinks it because it is fashionable----"
"Oh! naughty Thmilackth!"
"Hold your tongue, Cherry. Well--a couple of gentlemen came into the
coffee-room. There was no one else there besides me and Cherry and the
new comers. So they began whispering together for a few moments; and at
length one of them rushes forward, catches Cherry in his arms, and cries
out, '_Oh! my dear Smith--my friend Smith--how glad I am to meet with
you again!_' Cherry coloured up to the eyes----"
"Oh! what an infamouth falthhood!"
"You did, and you were so frightened you could not speak a word. I was
obliged to tell the loving gentleman that your name was not Smith; and
then he begged pardon, and said he never saw in his life such a
resemblance to an old school-fellow of his as Cherry was. Well, we
laughed over the mistake: the two gentlemen rang for claret; and we all
sate down to the same table together. We drank several bottles of wine,
and then adjourned to another place to sink it all with
brandy-and-water. Cherry was quite top-heavy; but I was as sober as a
judge--"
"Why did you woll in the mud, then?"
"Why? because I tripped against a stone. Well, then we were foolish
enough to go to a gambling-house with these gentlemen; and there I lost,
and Cherry lost."
"And the two gentlemen won, I suppose?" said the count, drily.
"Oh! of course," answered Captain Dapper.
"How foolish of two mere boys like you to think of going to a
gambling-house," exclaimed the count. "Do you not see that the two
_gentlemen_ who accosted you in so strange a manner in the coffee-room
of an hotel, perceived you to be a couple of greenhorns?"
"They might have thought so of Cherry," cried the captain, colouring
deeply, and twirling his moustachios; "but they couldn't have formed
such an opinion of me--an officer in her majesty's service--strike,
smite, and blow me!"
"I'm thure I don't look tho veway gween ath you think," said Sir Cherry
Bounce, now falling into a sulky fit with his friend the officer.
"Oh! I know perfectly well that they were regular gentlemen," continued
the captain; "for they gave us their cards; and one was Sir Rupert
Harborough. The other was Mr. Chichester."
"Sir Rupert Harborough and Mr. Chichester!" exclaimed Isabella, on whom
the mention of these names produced a strange effect.
"Yes," answered Captain Dapper; "and so you see that they were proper
gentlemen, and it was all luck. But strike such luck as mine!"
Isabella's countenance was suddenly irradiated with a gleam of the
purest and most heart-felt joy;--the tears started to her eyes--but they
were tears of happiness;--and, fearful that her emotions would be
observed, she hurried from the room.
"Ah! but you didn't hear Cherry's adventure about the bird, did you,
count?" demanded Dapper, still continuing the conversation.
The count shook his head.
"Why, this was it," said the gallant captain of hussars. "A waggish
friend of mine, whose name is Dawson, dined with me and Cherry the other
day; and the conversation turned upon birds. Cherry said he was very
fond of choice birds; and Dawson immediately observed, 'If you like to
accept of it, I will make you a present of a very beautiful and curious
bird. I bought it the other day at Snodkins's, the bird-fancier's in
Castle Street; and you may have it:--it is still there. All you have to
do is to take a cage with you, call, and ask for Mr. Dawson's
_Poluphloisboio_.' Of coarse Cherry was quite delighted;--indeed, he
almost hugged my friend Dawson; and all the rest of the evening he could
think and talk of nothing but the bird with a hard name. At length he
thought of asking how large a cage he ought to take with him. 'The
largest you have got,' replied Dawson. So the evening passed away; and
next morning, before the clock struck nine, there was Cherry, rattling
up Regent Street as fast as he could in a hack-cab, with a huge
parrot-cage jolting on his knees. Well, he reached Castle Street, found
out Snodkins's, and said, 'Pleathe, I have come for Mithter Dawthon'th
_Poluphloithboio_.'--'for Mr. Dawson's what?' cried Snodkins.--'For
Mithter Dawthon'th _Poluphloithboio_,' repeated Cherry.--'And what the
devil is that? and who the deuce are you?' roared Snodkins, who thought
that Cherry had come to make a fool of him.--'The thing ith a bird; and
my name ith Thir Cherway Bounthe,' was the reply.--'And my name is
Snodkins,' said the fellow; 'and I don't understand being made a fool of
by you.'--'Mithter Dawthon bought a bird here a few dayth ago,'
persisted Cherry; 'and he thayth I may have it. Here'th the cage: tho
give me the bird.'--Snodkins was now inclined to believe that it was all
right; so he brought down the bird, put it into the cage, and Cherry
drove triumphantly home with it. His mamma was sitting at breakfast when
he entered with the cage in his hand. 'Here, ma,' said Cherry----"
"I don't thay _Ma_ more than you do, Thmilackth," interrupted the
youthful baronet.
"Yes, you do, Cherry," returned Dapper: "I have heard you a hundred
times. But let me tell the story out. Well--Cherry's mamma exclaims,
'Lor, boy, what have you got there?'--'A _Poluphloithboio_, ma, that my
fwiend Dawthon gave me.'--'A what, Cherry!' shrieks the old lady.--'A
_Poluphloithboio_, ma,' answers Cherry, bringing the cage close up to
his ma.--'A _Poluphloisboio_!' ejaculates mamma: 'why, you stupid boy,
it is nothing more or less than a hideous old owl!'--and so it was: and
there the monster sate upon the perch, blinking away at a furious rate
and looking as stupid as--as Cherry himself--smite him!"
Isabella had returned to the apartment and resumed her seat a few
moments before this story was finished; and Captain Dapper appeared very
much annoyed and surprised that she did not condescend to laugh at the
recital.
"By the by," he observed, after a moment's pause, "I have something to
tell you all--strike me!"
"Oh! yeth--about Wichard Markham," said Sir Cherry.
The count made a movement of impatience; the countess looked up from her
embroidery; and a deep blush mantled upon the cheek, and a sudden tremor
passed through the frame, of the lovely Isabella.
"Yes--about Richard Markham," continued the hussar officer. "I and
Cherry were riding in the neighbourhood of his house the other day--"
"And we thaw the two ath tweeth."
"Yes--and something else too;--for we saw one of the sweetest,
prettiest, most interesting young ladies--the signora herself
excepted--walking in the garden--"
"Well, well," said the count impatiently; "perhaps Mr. Markham is
married, and you saw his wife--that is all."
"No," continued Dapper; "for she was close by the railings that skirt
the side of the road running behind his house; and we saw an old
butler-looking kind of a fellow go up to her, and I heard him call her
'_Miss_.'"
"Mr. Markham and his affairs are not of the slightest interest to us,
Captain Dapper," said the count: "we do not even wish to hear his name
mentioned. Isabella, my love, let us have some music."
But no reply was given to the request of the count, who was seated in
such a way that he could not see his daughter's place at the work-table.
Isabella had again left the room.
Of what nature were the emotions which agitated the bosom of that
beauteous--that amiable creature?
Wherefore had she first sought her own chamber to conceal tears of joy?
And why had she now retired once more, to hide the out-pourings of an
intense anguish?