The Disowned — Volume 05Lytton, Edward Bulwer Lytton, Baron
General
The Disowned — Volume 05
Lytton, Edward Bulwer Lytton, Baron
English fiction -- 19th century
You are now, sir, the heir to that property which, some years ago,
passed from your hands into mine. My son, for whom alone wealth or I
may say life was valuable to me, is no more. I only, an old,
childless man, stand between you and the estates of Mordaunt. Do not
wait for my death to enjoy them. I cannot live here, where everything
reminds me of my great and irreparable loss. I shall remove next
month into another home. Consider this, then, as once more yours.
The house, I believe, you will not find disimproved by my alterations:
the mortgages on the estate have been paid off; the former rental you
will perhaps allow my steward to account to you for, and after my
death the present one will be yours. I am informed that you are a
proud man, and not likely to receive favours. Be it so, sir! it is no
favour you will receive, but justice; there are circumstances
connected with my treaty with your father which have of late vexed my
conscience; and conscience, sir, must be satisfied at any loss. But
we shall meet, perhaps, and talk over the past; at present I will not
enlarge on it. If you have suffered by me, I am sufficiently
punished, and my only hope is to repair your losses.
I am, etc., H. VAVASOUR MORDAUNT.
Such was the letter, so important to Mordaunt, with which our worthy
friend was charged. Bowed to the dust as Vavasour was by the loss of
his son, and open to conscience as affliction had made him, he had
lived too long for effect, not to be susceptible to its influence,
even to the last. Amidst all his grief, and it was intense, there were
some whispers of self-exaltation at the thought of the eclat which his
generosity and abdication would excite; and, with true worldly
morality, the hoped-for plaudits of others gave a triumph rather than
humiliation to his reconcilement with himself.
To say truth, there were indeed circumstances connected with his
treaty with Mordaunt's father calculated to vex his conscience. He
knew that he had not only taken great advantage of Mr. Mordaunt's
distress, but that at his instigation a paper which could forever have
prevented Mr. Mordaunt's sale of the property, had been destroyed.
These circumstances, during the life of his son, he had endeavoured to
forget or to palliate. But grief is rarely deaf to remorse; and at
the death of that idolized son the voice at his heart grew imperious,
and he lost the power in losing the motive of reasoning it away.
Mr. Brown's advertisement was unanswered; and, with the zeal and
patience of the Christian proselyte's tribe and calling, the good man
commenced, in person, a most elaborate and painstaking research. For
a long time, his endeavours were so ineffectual that Mr. Brown, in
despair, disposed of the two Indian jars for half their value, and
heaved a despondent sigh, whenever he saw the great Turkey carpet
rolled up in his warehouse with as much obstinacy as if it never meant
to unroll itself again.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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