Authors: George W. M. Reynolds,James Malcolm Rymer
which is thine, dear
brother," said the lady, addressing herself to the portrait as if it could
hear the words which she pronounced with a melancholy solemnity: then, turning
towards Stephens, she exclaimed, "But you must acquaint me with the
ceremonies we have to fulfil, and the duties which I shall have to perform, in
order to accomplish the desired aim."
"I need not instruct you now," returned Stephens:
"the forms are nothing, and explain themselves, as it were;- a few papers
to sign at a certain person's house in Grosvenor Square - then a ride to the
Bank - and all is over. But we must now take our departure: the hackney-coach
that brought us hither is waiting to convey us to the West End."
Stephens and Sydney issued from the house together. The
former gave certain directions to the coachman; and they then commenced their
memorable journey.
Mr. Stephens did not allow his companion a single moment for
calm and dispassionate reflection. He continued to expatiate upon the happiness
which was within her reach amidst the rural scenery of Switzerland he conjured
up before her mental vision the most ravishing and delightful pictures of
domestic tranquillity, so congenial to her tastes:- he fed her imagination with
all those fairy visions which were calculated to attract and dazzle a mind
tinged with a romantic shade;- and then he skilfully introduced those specious
arguments which blinded her as to the real nature of the deceit in which she
was so prominent an agent. He thus sustained an artificial state of excitement,
bordering upon enthusiasm, in the bosom of that confiding and generous-hearted
woman; and not for one moment during that long ride, did she repent of the step
she had taken. In fact, such an influence did the reasoning of Stephens
exercise upon her mind, that she ceased to think of the possibility of either
incurring danger or doing wrong ;- she knew not how serious might be the
consequences of detection ;- she believed that she was combating the chicanery
of the law with a similar weapon, the use of which was justified and rendered legitimate
by the peculiar circumstances of the case.
The hackney-coach proceeded by way of the New Road, and
stopped to take up Mr. Mac Chizzle at his residence near Saint Pancras New
Church. The vehicIe then proceeded to Grosvenor Square where it stopped
opposite one of those princely dwellings whose dingy exteriors afford to the
eye of the foreigner accustomed to the gorgeous edifices of continental cities,
but little promise of the wealth, grandeur, and magnificence which exist
within.
The door was opened by a footman in splendid livery.
This domestic immediately recognised Mr. Stephens, and said,
"His lordship expects you, sir."
The three visitors alighted from the coach: and as Stephens
walked with the disguised lady into the hall of the mansion, he said in a
hurried whisper, "Courage, my dear Walter: you are now about to appear in
the presence of the Earl of Warrington!"
The servant led the way up a wide staircase, and conducted
the visitors into a library fitted up in the most luxurious and costly manner.
Cases filled with magnificently bound volumes, statues of exquisite sculpture,
and pictures of eminent artists, denoted the taste of the aristocratic
possessor of that lordly mansion.
Two individuals were seated at a table covered with papers
and legal documents. One was a fine tall, middle-aged man, with a noble and
handsome countenance, polished manners, and most kind and affable address:- the
other was an old gentleman with a bald head, sharp features, and constant smile
upon his lips when he addressed the personage just described.
The first was the Earl of Warrington; the other was his
solicitor, Mr. Pakenham.
The Earl rose and greeted Mr. Stephens cordially; then,
turning towards Walter, he shook her kindly by the hand, and said, "I need
not ask if you are the young gentleman to whom I am to be introduced as Mr.
Walter Sydney."
"This is my ward, your lordship," said Mr.
Stephens, smiling. "I think it is scarcely necessary to call your
lordship's attention to the striking resemblance which he bears to his lamented
father."
"Yes - it would be impossible to mistake him,"
said his lordship hastily, while a cloud passed over his brow. "But sit
down - pray sit down and we will proceed to business. I presume that gentleman
is your professional adviser?"
" Mr. Mac Chizzle," observed Stephens, introducing
the lawyer. "Mr. Pakenham, I have had the pleasure of seeing you
before," he added, addressing the nobleman's attorney with a placid smile.
Mr. Pakenham acknowledged the salutation with a bow; and his
eye, wandered for a moment, with some surprise, towards Mac Chizzle, - as much
as to may, "I am astonished to see a person like you employed in so
important an affair."
When every one was seated, the Earl of Warrington referred
to some papers placed before him, and said, "The object of this meeting is
known to everyone present. The duty that devolves upon me is to transfer to
Walter Sydney, the only son and heir of the late Stanford Sydney, upon being
satisfied with respect to the identity of the claimant, the sum of forty-one
thousand pounds now invested in certain stocks in the Bank of England."
"It is needless, I presume," said Mr. Pakenham to
enter into the particulars of this inheritance. We on our side admit our
liability to pay the amount specified by his lordship, to the proper
claimant."
"Quite satisfactory," observed Mac Chizzle to whom
these observations were addressed.
"The proofs of identity are, then, all that your
lordship now requires?" said Mr. Stephens.
"And I only require them as a mere matter of necessary
form and ceremony, Mr. Stephens," returned the Earl of Warrington. "I
am well aware of your acquaintance with the late Mrs. Sydney. and of the fact
that the deceased lady left her children to your care."
"My lord, here are the various certificates," said
Stephens, placing a small packet of papers before the Earl. "In the first
instance you have the marriage certificate of Stanford Sydney and Letitia
Hardinge, the natural daughter of the late Earl of Warrington, your lordship's
uncle."
"Well - well," exclaimed the nobleman, somewhat
impatiently, as if he were anxious to get rid as soon as possible of a business
by no means pleasant to him. "That certificate is beyond all dispute."
"Here," continued Stephens, "is the
certificate of the birth of Eliza Sydney, born October 12th 1810; and, here is
the certificate of her death, which took place on the 14th of February,
1831."
"This certificate is not necessary," observed Mr
.
Pakenham; "as in no case,
under the provisions of these deeds," he added, pointing to a pile of
documents before him, "could that young lady have instituted even a shadow
of a claim to this money."
"We had better possess one deed too many, than one too
few," said Mr. Stephens, with another bland smile.
"Oh! certainly," exclaimed the Earl. "And
this precaution shows the exact condition of the late Mr Stanford Sydney's
family. The daughter is no more: the son lives, and is present."
"Here, then, my lord," continued Stephens,
"is the certificate of the birth of Walter Sydney, on the 25th day of
November, 1814."
The nobleman examined this document with far more attention
than he had devoted to either of the former. He then handed it to Mr. Pakenham,
who also scrutinized it narrowly.
"It is quite correct, my Lord," said this
gentleman. "We now require two witnesses as to identity."
" I presume his Lordship will receive me as one,"
observed Mr. Stephens, "considering my intimate acquaintance with
all —"
"Oh certainly - certainly," interrupted the Earl
hastily.
"And Mr. Mac Chizzle will tender his evidence in the
other instance," said Stephens.
"I have known this young
gentleman for the last six years," exclaimed Mac Chizzle, pointing towards
Walter, "and I knew his mother also."
"Is your Lordship satisfied?" enquired Mr.
Pakenham, after a short pause.
"Perfectly," answered the nobleman, without
hesitation. "I am, however, in your hands."
"Oh! as for me," returned Mr. Pakenham, "I
have no objection to offer. Your Lordship is acquainted with Mr.
Stephens."
"Yes - yes," again interrupted the Earl; "I
have known Mr. Stephens for some years - and I know him to be a man of
honour."
"Then there is nothing more to be said," observed
Pakenham.
"No-nothing," added Mac Chizzle; "but to
complete the business."
"I will now read the release," said Mr. Pakenham.
The solicitor settled himself in a comfortable manner in his
chair, and taking up a deed consisting of several folios, proceeded to make his
hearers as much acquainted with its contents as the multifarious redundancies
of law terms would allow.
The disguised lady had now time for reflection. She had been
more or less prepared for the assertion of Mr. Stephens that Eliza Sydney was
dead, and that Walter was living:- but the bare-faced falsehood uttered by Mac
Chizzle (who, so far from having been acquainted with her for years, had never
seen her until that morning), shocked and astounded her. She had also just
learnt for the first time, that her late mother was the natural daughter of an
Earl; and she perceived that she herself could claim a distant kinship with the
nobleman in whose presence she then was. This circumstance inspired her with
feelings in his favour, which were enhanced by the urbanity of his manners, and
the readiness with which he admitted all the proofs submitted to him by Mr.
Stephens. She had expected, from the arguments used by this gentleman to
convince her that she should not hesitate to fight the law with its own
weapons, &c., that every obstacle would he thrown in the way of her claims
by him on whom they were to be made; - and she was astonished when she compared
all the specious representations of Stephens with the readiness, good-will, and
alacrity manifested by the Earl in yielding up an enormous sum of money. Now
also, for the first time, it struck her as remarkable that Stephens had
promised her ten thousand pounds only - a fourth part of that amount to which,
according to his own showing, she alone was justly entitled.
All these reflections passed rapidly through her mind while
the lawyer was reading the deed of release, not one word of which was attended
to by her. She suddenly felt as if her eyes were opened to a fearful
conspiracy, in which she was playing a conspicuous part:- she trembled, as if
she were standing upon the edge of a precipice;- and yet she knew not how to
act. She was bewildered: but the uppermost idea in her mind was that she had
gone too far to retreat.
This was the impression that ruled her thoughts at the
precise moment when Mr. Pakenham brought the reading of the long wearisome
document to a termination. The buzzing, droning noise which had filled her ears
for upwards of twenty minutes, suddenly ceased;- and she heard a voice say in a
kind tone "Will you now please to sign this?"
$he started - but immediately recovered her presence of
mind, and, taking the pen from the lawyer's hand, applied the signature of
Walter Sydney
to the document. It was next witnessed by Pakenham, Stephens, and
Mac Chizzle, who handed to the Earl.
The nobleman then took several papers - famfliar to all
those who have ever possessed Bank Stock - from an iron safe in one corner of
the library, and handing them to the disguised lady, said, "Mr. Walter
Sydney, I have much pleasure in putting you in possession of this fortune; and
I can assure you that my best - my very best wishes for your health and
prosperity, accompany the transfer."
Walter received the documents mechanically as it were and
murmured a few words of thanks and gratitude.
"Perhaps, Mr. Stephens," said the Earl, when the
ceremony was thus completed, "you and your friends will do me the honour
to accept of a slight refreshment in an adjoining room. You will excuse my
absence; but I have a few matters of pressing importance to transact with my
solicitor, and which cannot possibly be postponed. You must accept this as my
apology; and believe in my regret that I cannot keep you company."
The Earl shook hands with both Stephens and Sydney, and
bowed to Mac Chizzle. These three individuals then withdrew.
An elegant collation was prepared for them in another
apartment; but Mac Chizzle was the only one who seemed inclined to pay his
respects to it. Walter, however, gladly swallowed a glass of wine; for she felt
exhausted with the excitement she had passed through. Stephens was too highly
elated either to eat or drink, and too anxious to complete the business in the
City, to allow Mac Chizzle to waste much time over the delicacies of which the
collation consisted.
They were, therefore, all three soon on their way to the
Bank of England.
"Well, I think-we managed the job very correctly,"
said Mac Chizzle.
"Everything passed off precisely as I had
anticipated," observed Mr. Stephens. "But you, Walter - you are
serious."
"I do not look upon the transaction in the same light
as I did a couple of hours since," answered she coldly.
"Ah! my dear friend," cried Stephens, "you
are deceived by the apparent urbanity of that nobleman, and the mildness of his
solicitor. They assumed that appearance because there was no help for them;-
they had no good to gain by throwing obstacles in our way."
"But the certificate of
my
death was a forgery," said
Walter, bitterly.
"A necessary alteration of names - without which the
accomplishment of our plan would have been impossible," answered Stephens.
"But let me ease your mind in one respect, my dear Walter. That nobleman
is a relation of yours - and yet until this day his name has never been
mentioned to you. And why? Because he visits upon you the hatred which he
entertained for your deceased mother! Did you not observe that he interrupted
me when I spoke of her? did you not notice that he touched with extreme
aversion upon the topics connected with your revered parents?"
"I did! - I did!" exclaimed Walter.
"He hates you! - he detests you!" continued
Stephens, emphatically;" and he will not countenance any claim which you
might advance towards kinship with him. His duties as a nobleman and a
gentleman dictated the outward civility with which he treated you; but his
heart gave no