The Expedition of Humphry ClinkerSmollett, T. (Tobias)
General
The Expedition of Humphry Clinker
Smollett, T. (Tobias)
Epistolary fiction; Great Britain -- Fiction; Travelers -- Fiction
Though I did not pretend to explain this mystery, I said, I did not at
all doubt, but it would one day appear to be a deception; and, in all
probability, a scheme executed by some enemy of the person who had
sustained the assault; but still the gentleman insisted upon the
clearness of the evidence, and the concurrence of testimony, by which
two creditable witnesses, without any communication one with another,
affirmed the appearance of the same man, with whose person they were
both well acquainted--From Drumlanrig we pursued the course of the Nid
to Dumfries, which stands seven miles above the place where the river
falls into the sea; and is, after Glasgow, the handsomest town I have
seen in Scotland. The inhabitants, indeed, seem to have proposed that
city as their model; not only in beautifying their town and regulating
its police, but, also in prosecuting their schemes of commerce and
manufacture, by which they are grown rich and opulent.
We re-entered England, by the way of Carlisle, where we accidentally
met with our friend Lismahago, whom we had in vain inquired after at
Dumfries and other places--It would seem that the captain, like the
prophets of old, is but little honoured in his own country, which he
has now renounced for ever--He gave me the following particulars of his
visit to his native soil--In his way to the place of his nativity, he
learned that his nephew had married the daughter of a burgeois, who
directed a weaving manufacture, and had gone into partnership with his
father-in-law: chagrined with this information, he had arrived at the
gate in the twilight, where he heard the sound of treddles in the great
hall, which had exasperated him to such a degree, that he had like to
have lost his senses: while he was thus transported with indignation,
his nephew chanced to come forth, when, being no longer master of his
passion, he cried, ‘Degenerate rascal! you have made my father’s house a
den of thieves;’ and at the same time chastised him with his
horse-whip; then, riding round the adjoining village, he had visited
the burying-ground of his ancestors by moon-light; and, having paid
his respects to their manes, travelled all night to another part of
the country--Finding the head of the family in such a disgraceful
situation, all his own friends dead or removed from the places of their
former residence, and the expence of living increased to double of what
it had been, when he first left his native country, he had bid it an
eternal adieu, and was determined to seek for repose among the forests
of America.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account