Great Britain -- Social life and customs -- 19th century -- Fiction
Mrs. Crump and Woolsey, perhaps, received Morgiana's account of her
husband's miseries with some incredulity. The latter was now a daily
visitor to “Sadler's Wells.” His love for Morgiana had become a warm
fatherly generous regard for her; it was out of the honest fellow's
cellar that the wine used to come which did so much good to Mr. Walker's
chest; and he tried a thousand ways to make Morgiana happy.
A very happy day, indeed, it was when, returning from her visit to the
Fleet, she found in her mother's sitting-room her dear grand rosewood
piano, and every one of her music-books, which the kind-hearted tailor
had purchased at the sale of Walker's effects. And I am not ashamed
to say that Morgiana herself was so charmed, that when, as usual, Mr.
Woolsey came to drink tea in the evening, she actually gave him a kiss;
which frightened Mr. Woolsey, and made him blush exceedingly. She
sat down, and played him that evening every one of the songs which
he liked--the OLD songs--none of your Italian stuff. Podmore, the old
music-master, was there too, and was delighted and astonished at the
progress in singing which Morgiana had made; and when the little party
separated, he took Mr. Woolsey by the hand, and said, “Give me leave to
tell you, sir, that you're a TRUMP.”
“That he is,” said Canterfield, the first tragic; “an honour to human
nature. A man whose hand is open as day to melting charity, and whose
heart ever melts at the tale of woman's distress.”
“Pooh, pooh, stuff and nonsense, sir,” said the tailor; but, upon my
word, Mr. Canterfield's words were perfectly correct. I wish as much
could be said in favour of Woolsey's old rival, Mr. Eglantine, who
attended the sale too, but it was with a horrid kind of satisfaction
at the thought that Walker was ruined. He bought the yellow satin
sofa before mentioned, and transferred it to what he calls his
“sitting-room,” where it is to this day, bearing many marks of the best
bear's grease. Woolsey bid against Baroski for the piano, very nearly
up to the actual value of the instrument, when the artist withdrew from
competition; and when he was sneering at the ruin of Mr. Walker, the
tailor sternly interrupted him by saying, “What the deuce are YOU
sneering at? You did it, sir; and you're paid every shilling of your
claim, ain't you?” On which Baroski turned round to Miss Larkins,
and said, Mr. Woolsey was a “snop;” the very word, though pronounced
somewhat differently, which the gallant Cornet Fipkin had applied to
him.
Well; so he WAS a snob. But, vulgar as he was, I declare, for my part,
that I have a greater respect for Mr. Woolsey than for any single
nobleman or gentleman mentioned in this true history.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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