The Disowned — Volume 05Lytton, Edward Bulwer Lytton, Baron
General
The Disowned — Volume 05
Lytton, Edward Bulwer Lytton, Baron
English fiction -- 19th century
Slowly Mr. Brown gazed, till at last his memory began to give itself
the rousing shake. "God bless me, sir, I beg you a thousand pardons:
I now remember you perfectly; Mr. Linden, the nephew of my old
patroness, Mrs. Minden. Dear, dear, how could I be so forgetful! I
hope, by the by, sir, that the shirts wore well? I am thinking you
will want some more. I have some capital cambric of curiously fine
quality and texture, from the wardrobe of the late Lady Waddilove."
"What, Lady Waddilove still!" cried Clarence. "Why, my good friend,
you will offer next to furnish me with pantaloons from her ladyship's
wardrobe."
"Why, really, sir, I see you preserve your fine spirits; but I do
think I have one or two pair of plum-coloured velvet inexpressibles,
that passed into my possession when her ladyship's husband died, which
might, perhaps, with a leetle alteration, fit you, and, at all events,
would be a very elegant present from a gentleman to his valet."
"Well, Mr. Brown, whenever I or my valet wear plum-coloured velvet
breeches, I will certainly purchase those in your possession; but to
change the subject, can you inform me what has become of my old host
and hostess, the Copperases, of Copperas Bower?"
"Oh, sir, they are the same as ever; nice, genteel people they are,
too. Master Adolphus has grown into a fine young gentleman, very
nearly as tall as you and I are. His worthy father preserves his
jovial vein, and is very merry whenever I call there. Indeed it was
but last week that he made an admirable witticism. 'Bob,' said he
(Tom,--you remember Tom, or De Warens, as Mrs. Copperas was pleased to
call him,--Tom is gone), 'Bob, have you stopped the coach?' 'Yes,
sir,' said Bob. 'And what coach is it?' asked Mr. Copperas. 'It be
the Swallow, sir,' said the boy. 'The Swallow! oh, very well,' cried
Mr. Copperas; 'then, now, having swallowed in the roll, I will e'en
roll in the swallow! 'Ha! ha! ha! sir, very facetious, was it not?"
"Very, indeed," said Clarence; "and so Mr. de Warens has gone; how
came that?"
"Why, sir, you see, the boy was always of a gay turn, and he took to
frisking about, as he called it, of a night, and so he was taken up
for thrashing a watchman, and appeared before Sir John, the
magistrate, the next morning."
"Caractacus before Caesar!" observed Linden; "and what said Caesar?"
"Sir?" said Mr. Brown.
"I mean, what said Sir John?"
"Oh! he asked him his name, and Tom, whose head Mrs. Copperas (poor
good woman!) had crammed with pride enough for fifty foot-boys,
replied, 'De Warens,' with all the air of a man of independence. 'De
Warens!' cried Sir John, amazed, 'we'll have no De's here: take him to
Bridewell!' and so, Mrs. Copperas, being without a foot-boy, sent for
me, and I supplied her--with Bob!"
"Out of the late Lady Waddilove's wardrobe too?" said Clarence.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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