Tales and Novels — Volume 01: Moral TalesEdgeworth, Maria
General
Tales and Novels — Volume 01: Moral Tales
Edgeworth, Maria
Fiction
Dr. Campbell was now shown into the room where Mr. Macpherson, his
foreman and Pasgrave, were waiting. "Ah, monsieur, Dieu merci, vous
voila!" exclaimed Pasgrave. "You may go," said Mr. W---- to the
constable: "but wait below stairs." He unlocked the closet-door.
Forester, at the sight of Dr. Campbell, covered his face with his hands;
but, an instant afterwards, advanced with intrepidity. "You cannot, I am
sure, believe me to be guilty of any meanness, Dr. Campbell," said he.
"Imprudent I have been, and I suffer for my folly." "Guilty!" cried
Dr. Campbell; "no: I could almost as soon suspect my own son of such an
action. But my belief is nothing to the purpose. We must _prove_ your
innocence." "Ah, oui, monsieur--and mine too; for I am innocent, I can
assure you," cried M. Pasgrave.
"The whole business, sir," said the banker's clerk, who had, by this
time, returned to hear the termination of the affair--"the whole thing
can be settled in two minutes, by a gentleman like you, who understands
business. Mr. Forester cannot recollect the number or the firm of a
ten-guinea bank-note which he gave to M. Pasgrave. M. Pasgrave cannot
recollect either; and he is in doubt whether he received this
stained note, which Mr. Mackenzie lost, from Mr. Forester or from
Mr. Macpherson, the tailor." "There can be no doubt about me," said
Macpherson. "Dr. Campbell, will you be so good to look at the entry? I
acknowledge, I gave M. Pasgrave a ten-guinea note; but here's the number
of it, 177, of Forbes's bank. Mr. Mackenzie's note, you see, is of the
bank of Scotland; and the stains upon it are so remarkable, that, if I
had ever seen it before, I should certainly remember it. I'll take
my oath I never saw it before." "Sir," said Forester eagerly to Dr.
Campbell, "you gave me five ten-guinea notes: here are four of them in
this pocket-book; the fifth I gave to M. Pasgrave. Can you tell me the
number of that note?" "I can," said Dr. Campbell, producing the paper
which he found in Goldsmith's Animated Nature. "I had the precaution
to write down the numbers of all your notes myself: here they are."
Forester opened his pocket-book: his four remaining notes were compared,
and perfectly agreed with the numbers in the list. The fifth, the number
of the note which he gave to Pasgrave, was 1260, of the New Bank. "One
of your ten-guinea notes," said Dr. Campbell to Pasgrave, "you paid
into the bank of Scotland; and this gentleman," pointing to the banker's
clerk, "stopped it this morning. Now you have had another ten-guinea
note; what became of that?" Pasgrave, who understood Dr. Campbell's
plain method of questioning him, answered immediately, "I did give the
other to my hair-dresser, not long ago, who lives in ---- street." Dr.
Campbell instantly went himself to the hair-dresser, found that he had
the note still in his possession, brought him to Mr. W----'s, and, when
the note was examined, it was found to be 1260 of the New Bank, which
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