CHAPTER XXIX

HAS AN INTRODUCTORY ACCOUNT OF THE INMATES OF THE HOUSE, TO WHICH

OLIVER RESORTED

In a handsome room: though its furniture had rather the air of

old-fashioned comfort, than of modern elegance: there sat two

ladies at a well-spread breakfast-table. Mr. Giles, dressed with

scrupulous care in a full suit of black, was in attendance upon

them. He had taken his station some half-way between the

side-board and the breakfast-table; and, with his body drawn up

to its full height, his head thrown back, and inclined the merest

trifle on one side, his left leg advanced, and his right hand

thrust into his waist-coat, while his left hung down by his side,

grasping a waiter, looked like one who laboured under a very

agreeable sense of his own merits and importance.

Of the two ladies, one was well advanced in years; but the

high-backed oaken chair in which she sat, was not more upright

than she. Dressed with the utmost nicety and precision, in a

quaint mixture of by-gone costume, with some slight concessions

to the prevailing taste, which rather served to point the old

style pleasantly than to impair its effect, she sat, in a stately

manner, with her hands folded on the table before her. Her eyes

(and age had dimmed but little of their brightness) were

attentively upon her young companion.

The younger lady was in the lovely bloom and spring-time of

womanhood; at that age, when, if ever angels be for God's good

purposes enthroned in mortal forms, they may be, without impiety,

supposed to abide in such as hers.

She was not past seventeen. Cast in so slight and exquisite a

mould; so mild and gentle; so pure and beautiful; that earth

seemed not her element, nor its rough creatures her fit

companions. The very intelligence that shone in her deep blue

eye, and was stamped upon her noble head, seemed scarcely of her

age, or of the world; and yet the changing expression of

sweetness and good humour, the thousand lights that played about

the face, and left no shadow there; above all, the smile, the

cheerful, happy smile, were made for Home, and fireside peace and

happiness.

She was busily engaged in the little offices of the table.

Chancing to raise her eyes as the elder lady was regarding her,

she playfully put back her hair, which was simply braided on her

forehead; and threw into her beaming look, such an expression of

affection and artless loveliness, that blessed spirits might have

smiled to look upon her.

'And Brittles has been gone upwards of an hour, has he?' asked

the old lady, after a pause.

'An hour and twelve minutes, ma'am,' replied Mr. Giles, referring

to a silver watch, which he drew forth by a black ribbon.

'He is always slow,' remarked the old lady.

'Brittles always was a slow boy, ma'am,' replied the attendant.

And seeing, by the bye, that Brittles had been a slow boy for

upwards of thirty years, there appeared no great probability of

his ever being a fast one.

'He gets worse instead of better, I think,' said the elder lady.

'It is very inexcusable in him if he stops to play with any other

boys,' said the young lady, smiling.

Mr. Giles was apparently considering the propriety of indulging

in a respectful smile himself, when a gig drove up to the

garden-gate: out of which there jumped a fat gentleman, who ran

straight up to the door: and who, getting quickly into the house

by some mysterious process, burst into the room, and nearly

overturned Mr. Giles and the breakfast-table together.

'I never heard of such a thing!' exclaimed the fat gentleman. 'My

dear Mrs. Maylie--bless my soul--in the silence of the night,

too--I NEVER heard of such a thing!'

With these expressions of condolence, the fat gentleman shook

hands with both ladies, and drawing up a chair, inquired how they

found themselves.

'You ought to be dead; positively dead with the fright,' said the

fat gentleman. 'Why didn't you send? Bless me, my man should

have come in a minute; and so would I; and my assistant would

have been delighted; or anybody, I'm sure, under such

circumstances. Dear, dear! So unexpected! In the silence of

the night, too!'

The doctor seemed expecially troubled by the fact of the robbery

having been unexpected, and attempted in the night-time; as if it

were the established custom of gentlemen in the housebreaking way

to transact business at noon, and to make an appointment, by

post, a day or two previous.

'And you, Miss Rose,' said the doctor, turning to the young lady,

'I--'

'Oh! very much so, indeed,' said Rose, interrupting him; 'but

there is a poor creature upstairs, whom aunt wishes you to see.'

'Ah! to be sure,' replied the doctor, 'so there is. That was

your handiwork, Giles, I understand.'

Mr. Giles, who had been feverishly putting the tea-cups to

rights, blushed very red, and said that he had had that honour.

'Honour, eh?' said the doctor; 'well, I don't know; perhaps it's

as honourable to hit a thief in a back kitchen, as to hit your

man at twelve paces. Fancy that he fired in the air, and you've

fought a duel, Giles.'

Mr. Giles, who thought this light treatment of the matter an

unjust attempt at diminishing his glory, answered respectfully,

that it was not for the like of him to judge about that; but he

rather thought it was no joke to the opposite party.

'Gad, that's true!' said the doctor. 'Where is he? Show me the

way. I'll look in again, as I come down, Mrs. Maylie. That's

the little window that he got in at, eh? Well, I couldn't have

believed it!'

Talking all the way, he followed Mr. Giles upstairs; and while he

is going upstairs, the reader may be informed, that Mr. Losberne,

a surgeon in the neighbourhood, known through a circuit of ten

miles round as 'the doctor,' had grown fat, more from good-humour

than from good living: and was as kind and hearty, and withal as

eccentric an old bachelor, as will be found in five times that

space, by any explorer alive.

The doctor was absent, much longer than either he or the ladies

had anticipated. A large flat box was fetched out of the gig;

and a bedroom bell was rung very often; and the servants ran up

and down stairs perpetually; from which tokens it was justly

concluded that something important was going on above. At length

he returned; and in reply to an anxious inquiry after his

patient; looked very mysterious, and closed the door, carefully.

'This is a very extraordinary thing, Mrs. Maylie,' said the

doctor, standing with his back to the door, as if to keep it

shut.

'He is not in danger, I hope?' said the old lady.

'Why, that would NOT be an extraordinary thing, under the

circumstances,' replied the doctor; 'though I don't think he is.

Have you seen the thief?'

'No,' rejoined the old lady.

'Nor heard anything about him?'

'No.'

'I beg your pardon, ma'am, interposed Mr. Giles; 'but I was going

to tell you about him when Doctor Losberne came in.'

The fact was, that Mr. Giles had not, at first, been able to

bring his mind to the avowal, that he had only shot a boy. Such

commendations had been bestowed upon his bravery, that he could

not, for the life of him, help postponing the explanation for a

few delicious minutes; during which he had flourished, in the

very zenith of a brief reputation for undaunted courage.

'Rose wished to see the man,' said Mrs. Maylie, 'but I wouldn't

hear of it.'

'Humph!' rejoined the doctor. 'There is nothing very alarming in

his appearance. Have you any objection to see him in my

presence?'

'If it be necessary,' replied the old lady, 'certainly not.'

'Then I think it is necessary,' said the doctor; 'at all events,

I am quite sure that you would deeply regret not having done so,

if you postponed it. He is perfectly quiet and comfortable now.

Allow me--Miss Rose, will you permit me? Not the slightest fear,

I pledge you my honour!'

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