Agnes, or, Beauty and Pleasure — page 24: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

oo re ee re ee ee me ee ee ~ ee oo os eee Ee OE A TS tf ee , comes that it is all a rascally fraud and that he is | daughter. ee ee eS — 1; AGNES: OR, BEAUTY AND PLEASURE. The lawyer and his clerk were at first stricken ———— was given to the domestics; and the swelling sounds of “my lord” and “ my lady” began to with dismay ; and then Waldron, bending a look echo through the house—while the unconscious | of fierce hatred upon Timperley, as much as to babe Agies was spoken of as the Hon. Miss | ay that it was all through him this occurrence Evelyn. ° |had taken place, waved “his hand for him to, A few more days passed; and favourable an-| be gone. Timperley accordingly issued from the 8wers were received in respect to the notices which | private room, closing the door behind him; while had been served by Timperley. The Commis- Waldron settled his countenance into a stern sioner of Woods and Forests were quite prepared to | ‘resoluteness of expression, as if his mind were give up the estates in Wiltshire—the Commis- | already made up how to deal with the present ' Waldron. sioners of the Sinking Fund were equally ready to | assign the two hundred thousand pounds—so soon ae the satisfactory documentary evidence should be | produced. Everything was thus going on well; and a day was appointed for Morton and his soli- | citor to wait upon the Commissioners of Woods | and Forests and the Commissioners of the Sinking | Fund. On this day Morton was to be at Mr. Waldron’s office at eleven o’clock punctually,—he in the | meanwhile having gained some dim and vague knowledge of the contents of the voluminous docu- ments which he had undertaken to study. happened that Morton, in his eagerness to be punctual, was a quarter of an hour before his time. at the lawyer’s chambers in Lincoln’s Inn Fields. He had caught a glimpse of the old copying-clerk shuffling round the corner of the nearest street and diving into a public-house to obtain his morn- ing’s potation ; and the out-door clerk was absent , at Westminster Hall. There was no one in the front office when Morton entered it; and he was gliding towards the door of Mr. Waldron’s private room, when he was suddenly transfixed with asto- nishment on hearing the usually obsequious, re- spectful, and low-speaking Timperley ejaculate in | a menacing manner, “ Well, Mr. Waldron, those | are my terms! [I insist upon ten thousand—and i will not take a shilling less.” “Hush, Timperley! be reasonable!” said the jawyer, in a_ half-frightened, half-conciliatory | tone. “Tam reasonable,” replied Timperley, still in a peremptory and menacing voice. “I am not going to risk putting my neck into a halter for | euch a beggarly trifle as five thousand. So if you, don’t accede to my terms, I will blow the whole | affair and spoil your game. There has been for- | gery—there is now to be perjury-——” “ Husb, hush! — for God’s sake hush!” said “Consider all the expenses that I wave been at You shall have seven thou- | eand five hundred.’’ the clerk’s stern response, ‘You had better | rake up your mind, or I will tell Evelyn when he | ' no more a Peer than I am.” At that moment the dour—whickh Timperley had no doubt unguardedly left ajar when entering to speak to his employer—was thrown wide open, aad Morton Evelyn staggered into the private room. His countenance was as pale as death: ie gasped for utterance; but he could not speak— the power of articulation was suspended. Sinking down upon a chair he gazed with a vacant wild. ness, first at Waldron, then at Timperley; and lis feelings suddenly tinding vent, he burst inte | ‘ship of a workhouse pauper to the deceased Lord Lenrs, It | But come, Timperley, we will | _ split the difference! | you had these expectations. “Not a shilling under the ten thousand!” was sible—and I listened to it. emergency. | “And thus it is all a crgam! !” said Morton, _ dashing away his tears: “nay, worse than a dream !—a vile hellish fraud! And you, Mr. Wal- dron—yow are a villain | He “Remember, sir,” reptied the solicitor sternly, “that I am your father-in-law.” “ But not the less a villain!” ejaculated Evelyn, with a look that was half haggard, half infuriate, “ And if I be a villain, sir,” retorted Waldron, “T have the means of throwing all the burden of that villany upon your shoulders.” “No, by heaven, I am innocent !—you know that I am innocent!” cried Morton: “and the best proof is that not for worlds will I consent to profit by that villany which is all your own!” | You will consent—and you will profit by it,” -answered the lawyer coldly. “Taink not that [ am in your power: it is you who are in mine.” “No, sir—there is justice upon earth,” ex- claimed Morton: “and by the living God! [ will vindicate myself. Oh, to think that I should have become ensnared in these fearful meshes! But I will cast them off—I will be another Samson rend- ing the bonds which his enemies have put upon ‘him. Just heaven! that you could be so guilty !” “You had better compose, yourself and listen to 'me,” replied Waldron; still with a cold and almost scornful confidence. “Speak! What have you to say?” gasped Mor- ton Evelyn, sinking down upon the chair from which in his excitement he had sprung up. * You have now seen enough of me,” resumed Waldron, “ to judge how fully capable I am of ar- | ranging all my plans in a manner consistent with my own views, my own interests,and my own safety. Have the kindness to cast a glance over all our deal- ings together, and over all the progressive steps that have been taken in this business. How stand we? Simply as attorney apd client. I have been acting for you, according to the information and instructions which you have given tome. I am your dupe. You eame to me and told me that Your tale was plau- So completely did I believe it, that I advanced you considerable sums | of money: I moreover suffered you to marry my At the very outset—in my head clerk's presence—I said that you had honoured me by placing your affairs in my hands and appointing me your solicitor. Nay, the very agreement which you signed in reference to the per-centage, speci- fies the same facts, and isin the same sense. It was you that inserted the advertisements in the newspapers—you who received the correspondence which they elicited — you who supplied me with all the notes and memoranda that were requisite for the complete making-out of the case. If there has been a tale invented concerning tke relation- ij | ee oe 2 ee + ee | | SS ——— TT NOOKS connie (C@)