Now when I had left him, while I could not help seeing that he had
uttered many wise words, I was far from satisfied with his plans. True,
Naomi had promised to be my wife, but my whole nature revolted at the
thought of becoming entirely dependent on her income, while my rightful
possessions had been robbed from me. Thus, although the lawyer had told
me to leave the county, so as to ensure my safety until Naomi came of
age, I determined that I would stay and seek to get back my own. True, I
had been entirely unsuccessful in the past, and had played into the
hands of those who had wronged me. At the same time I had been learning
wisdom, and I pondered over the schemes which had come into my mind.
It was dark when we left Truro, for I did not think it wise to travel in
the day. I took the precaution, however, to buy a brace of pistols in
the town. This I was able to do by means of the money which Eli had
obtained from Jonathan Cowling, the old serving-man at Trevose.
By the following morning we had reached Mullion Porth, and without
difficulty found the house of Mrs. Mary Crantock. Indeed, we found
Tamsin standing in the little green-painted porch as if she expected us.
Now I must confess that I felt uneasy at being obliged to resort to this
means of finding a temporary home for my love. I did not know Mrs. Mary
Crantock, and I was afraid lest Tamsin Truscott should betray me. At the
same time I did not see what else I could do. To take her to Trevose was
altogether impracticable; Pennington was just as bad, even worse, while
Lawyer Trefry expressly stated that he could not consent for her to be
taken to his house. Moreover, I trusted that Naomi by her kindness and
winsomeness would make both Mrs. Crantock and Tamsin her friends.
I found Mrs. Crantock to be an exceedingly pious woman. She had been
very religiously inclined previous to Mr. Wesley's visit to Cornwall,
and since then her religion had become more pronounced. Her great aim in
life seemed to be to make people believe in the Methodist doctrines, and
to become converted according to the ideas of those wonderful people.
She had found out through Tamsin that the young lady I was seeking to
rescue was brought up a Papist, and this caused her to be eager to give
her a home. First, because she was anxious to know the distinctive
doctrines of the Papists; and, second, because she would have an
opportunity of, to use her own terms, "snatching a brand from the
burning."
The great thing that comforted me, however, was the fact that she seemed
desirous of making my love safe and comfortable, for I determined that I
would not stay at Mullion Porth, but take immediate steps to see if what
Eli had told me about the buried treasure was true.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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