Tales and Novels — Volume 01: Moral TalesEdgeworth, Maria
General
Tales and Novels — Volume 01: Moral Tales
Edgeworth, Maria
Fiction
Archibald redoubled his threats; the servant stood by his master. The
poor woman burst into tears; but she steadily declared that she was
innocent; and no promise could be extorted from her, even in the
midst of her terror. Though she had horrible, perhaps not absolutely
visionary, ideas of the dangers of a lawsuit, yet she had some
confidence in the certainty that justice was on her side. Archibald
said, that she might _talk_ about justice as much as she pleased, but
that she must prepare to submit to _the law_. The woman trembled at the
sound of these words; but, though ignorant, she was no fool, and she had
a friend in Dr. Campbell's family, to whom she resolved to apply in her
distress. Henry Campbell had visited her little boy when he was ill,
and had made him some small present; and, though she did not mean to
encroach upon Henry's good-nature, she thought, that he had so much
_learning_, that he certainly could, without its costing her any thing,
put her in the right way to avoid the _law_, with which she had been
threatened by Archibald Mackenzie and his servant.
Henry heard the story with indignation, such as Forester would have
felt in similar circumstances; but prudence tempered his enthusiastic
feelings; and prudence renders us able to assist others, whilst
enthusiasm frequently defeats its own purposes, and injures those whom
it wildly attempts to serve. Henry, knowing the character of Archibald,
governed himself accordingly; he made no appeal to his feelings; for
he saw that the person must be deficient in humanity, who could have
threatened a defenceless woman with such severity; he did not speak of
justice to the tyrannical laird, but spoke of _law_. He told Archibald,
that being thoroughly convinced of the woman's innocence, he had drawn
up a statement of her case, which she, in compliance with his advice,
was ready to lay before an advocate, naming the first counsel in
Edinburgh.
The young laird repeated, with a mixture of apprehension and suspicion,
"Drawn up a case! No; you can't know how to draw up cases; you are not a
lawyer--you only say this to bully me."
Henry replied, that he was no lawyer; that he could, notwithstanding,
state plain facts in such a manner, he hoped, as to make a case
intelligible to any sensible lawyer; that he meant to show what he had
written to his father.
"You'll show it to me, first, won't you?" said Archibald, who wished to
gain time for consideration.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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