The Memoirs of Mr. Charles J. YellowplushThackeray, William Makepeace
General
The Memoirs of Mr. Charles J. Yellowplush
Thackeray, William Makepeace
Didactic fiction; England -- Fiction; Household employees -- Fiction; Humorous stories; Master and servant -- Fiction
“MY LORD,--In reply to your demand for Miss Griffin's hand, in favor of
your son, Mr. Algernon Deuceace, I can only repeat what I before have
been under the necessity of stating to you,--that I do not believe a
union with a person of Mr. Deuceace's character would conduce to my
stepdaughter's happiness, and therefore REFUSE MY CONSENT. I will
beg you to communicate the contents of this note to Mr. Deuceace; and
implore you no more to touch upon a subject which you must be aware is
deeply painful to me.
“I remain your lordship's most humble servant,
“L. E. GRIFFIN.
“THE RIGHT HON. THE EARL OF CRABS.”
“Hang her ladyship!” says my master, “what care I for it?” As for the
old lord who'd been so afishous in his kindness and advice, master
recknsiled that pretty well, with thinking that his lordship knew he was
going to marry ten thousand a year, and igspected to get some share of
it; for he roat back the following letter to his father, as well as a
flaming one to Miss:
“Thank you, my dear father, for your kindness in that awkward business.
You know how painfully I am situated just now, and can pretty well guess
BOTH THE CAUSES of my disquiet. A marriage with my beloved Matilda will
make me the happiest of men. The dear girl consents, and laughs at
the foolish pretensions of her mother-in-law. To tell you the truth, I
wonder she yielded to them so long. Carry your kindness a step further,
and find for us a parson, a license, and make us two into one. We are
both major, you know; so that the ceremony of a guardian's consent is
unnecessary.
“Your affectionate
“ALGERNON DEUCEACE.
“How I regret that difference between us some time back! Matters are
changed now, and shall be more still AFTER THE MARRIAGE.”
I knew what my master meant,--that he would give the old lord the money
after he was married; and as it was probble that miss would see the
letter he roat, he made it such as not to let her see two clearly into
his present uncomfrable situation.
I took this letter along with the tender one for Miss, reading both
of 'em, in course, by the way. Miss, on getting hers, gave an
inegspressable look with the white of her i's, kist the letter, and
prest it to her busm. Lord Crabs read his quite calm, and then they
fell a-talking together; and told me to wait awhile, and I should git an
anser.
After a deal of counseltation, my lord brought out a card, and there was
simply written on it,
To-morrow, at the Ambassador's, at Twelve.
“Carry that back to your master, Chawls,” says he, “and bid him not to
fail.”
You may be sure I stept back to him pretty quick, and gave him the card
and the messinge. Master looked sattasfied with both; but suttnly
not over happy; no man is the day before his marridge; much more his
marridge with a hump-back, Harriss though she be.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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