Great Britain -- Social life and customs -- 19th century -- Fiction
Fancy, then, in lieu of the conversation, a scoundrel, disappointed and
in a fury, wreaking his brutal revenge upon an amiable woman, who sits
trembling and pale, and wondering at this sudden exhibition of wrath.
Fancy how he clenches his fists and stands over her, and stamps and
screams out curses with a livid face, growing wilder and wilder in his
rage; wrenching her hand when she wants to turn away, and only stopping
at last when she has fallen off the chair in a fainting fit, with
a heart-breaking sob that made the Jew-boy who was listening at the
key-hole turn quite pale and walk away. Well, it is best, perhaps, that
such a conversation should not be told at length:--at the end of
it, when Mr. Walker had his wife lifeless on the floor, he seized a
water-jug and poured it over her; which operation pretty soon brought
her to herself, and shaking her black ringlets, she looked up once more
again timidly into his face, and took his hand, and began to cry.
He spoke now in a somewhat softer voice, and let her keep paddling on
with his hand as before; he COULDN'T speak very fiercely to the poor
girl in her attitude of defeat, and tenderness, and supplication.
“Morgiana,” said he, “your extravagance and carelessness have brought me
to ruin, I'm afraid. If you had chosen to have gone to Baroski, a word
from you would have made him withdraw the writ, and my property wouldn't
have been sacrificed, as it has now been, for nothing. It mayn't be yet
too late, however, to retrieve ourselves. This bill of Eglantine's is
a regular conspiracy, I am sure, between Mossrose and Bendigo here: you
must go to Eglantine--he's an old--an old flame of yours, you know.”
She dropped his hand: “I can't go to Eglantine after what has passed
between us,” she said; but Walker's face instantly began to wear a
certain look, and she said with a shudder, “Well, well, dear, I WILL
go.” “You will go to Eglantine, and ask him to take a bill for the
amount of this shameful demand--at any date, never mind what. Mind,
however, to see him alone, and I'm sure if you choose you can settle the
business. Make haste; set off directly, and come back, as there may be
more detainers in.”
Trembling, and in a great flutter, Morgiana put on her bonnet and
gloves, and went towards the door. “It's a fine morning,” said Mr.
Walker, looking out: “a walk will do you good; and--Morgiana--didn't you
say you had a couple of guineas in your pocket?”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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