Great Britain -- Social conditions -- 19th century -- Fiction
Mr. Miles flung canting rogue and half a dozen oaths and one boot at his
head, and was preparing to add a tumbler, when his mentor whipped into
the lobby. Robinson could not have fallen to a worse master than this,
whose irregularities were so regular that his servant had always seven
hours to spend in the town as he pleased. There he was often solicited
to join in depredations on property. For he found half his old
acquaintances were collected by the magic of the law on this spot of
earth.
Robinson took a particular pride in telling these gentlemen that he had
no objection to taking a friendly glass with them and talking over old
times, but that as for taking what did not belong to him all that was
over forever. In short, he improved on Mr. Eden's instructions. Instead
of flying from temptation, like a coward conscious of weakness, he nobly
faced it and walked cool, collected and safe on the edge of danger.
One good result of this was that he spent his wages every month faster
than he got them, and spent the clothes his master gave him, and these
were worth more than his wages, for Mr. Miles was going the pace--wore
nothing after the gloss was off it. But Robinson had never lived out of
prison at less than five hundred per annum, and the evening is a good
time in the day for spending money in a town, and his evenings were all
his own.
One evening a young tradeswoman with whom he was flirting in the
character of a merchant's clerk, tremendously busy, who could only get
out in the evening; this young woman, whom he had often solicited to go
to the theater, consented.
“I could go with you to-morrow, my sister and I,” said she.
Robinson expressed his delight, but consulting his pockets found he
had not the means of paying for their seats, and he could not pawn
any clothes, for he had but two sets. One (yellowish) that government
compelled him to wear by daylight, and one a present from his master
(black). That, together with a mustache, admitted him into the bosom
of society at night. What was to be done? Propose to the ladies to
pay, that was quite without precedent. Ask his master for an advance,
impossible. His master was gone kangaroo hunting for three days. Borrow
some of his master's clothes and pawn them, that was too like theft. He
would pawn his ring, it would only be for a day or two, and he would not
spend a farthing more till he had got it back.
He pawned Mr. Eden's ring; it just paid for their places at the theater,
where they saw the living puppets of the colony mop and mow and rant
under the title of acting. This was so interesting that Robinson was
thinking of his ring the whole time, and how to get it back. The girls
agreed between themselves they had never enjoyed so dull a cavalier.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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