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
And after whisling a bit, as was his habit when puzzled (I bleave
he'd have only whisled if he had been told he was to be hanged in five
minits), after whisling a bit, he stops sudnly, and coming up to me,
says:
“Hearkye, Charles, this marriage must take place to-morrow.”
“Must it, sir?” says I; “now, for my part, I don't think--”
“Stop, my good fellow; if it does not take place, what do you gain?”
This stagger'd me. If it didn't take place, I only lost a situation, for
master had but just enough money to pay his detts; and it wooden soot my
book to serve him in prisn or starving.
“Well,” says my lord, “you see the force of my argument. Now, look
here!” and he lugs out a crisp, fluttering, snowy HUNDRED-PUN NOTE! “If
my son and Miss Griffin are married to-morrow, you shall have this; and
I will, moreover, take you into my service, and give you double your
present wages.”
Flesh and blood cooden bear it. “My lord,” says I, laying my hand upon
my busm, “only give me security, and I'm yours for ever.”
The old noblemin grin'd, and pattid me on the shoulder. “Right, my
lad,” says he, “right--you're a nice promising youth. Here is the best
security.” And he pulls out his pockit-book, returns the hundred-pun
bill, and takes out one for fifty. “Here is half to-day; to-morrow you
shall have the remainder.”
My fingers trembled a little as I took the pretty fluttering bit of
paper, about five times as big as any sum of money I had ever had in my
life. I cast my i upon the amount: it was a fifty sure enough--a bank
poss-bill, made payable to Leonora Emilia Griffin, and indorsed by her.
The cat was out of the bag. Now, gentle reader, I spose you begin to see
the game.
“Recollect, from this day you are in my service.”
“My lord, you overpoar me with your faviors.”
“Go to the devil, sir,” says he: “do your duty, and hold your tongue.”
And thus I went from the service of the Honorabble Algernon Deuceace to
that of his exlnsy the Right Honorabble Earl of Crabs.
. . . . . .
On going back to prisn, I found Deuceace locked up in that oajus place
to which his igstravygansies had deservedly led him; and felt for him, I
must say, a great deal of contemp. A raskle such as he--a swindler, who
had robbed poar Dawkins of the means of igsistance; who had cheated his
fellow-roag, Mr. Richard Blewitt, and who was making a musnary marridge
with a disgusting creacher like Miss Griffin, didn merit any compashn on
my purt; and I determined quite to keep secret the suckmstansies of my
privit intervew with his exlnsy my presnt master.
I gev him Miss Griffinses trianglar, which he read with a satasfied air.
Then, turning to me, says he: “You gave this to Miss Griffin alone?”
“Yes, sir.”
“You gave her my message?”
“Yes, sir.”
“And you are quite sure Lord Crabs was not there when you gave either
the message or the note?”
“Not there upon my honor,” says I.
“Hang your honor, sir! Brush my hat and coat, and go CALL A COACH--do
you hear?”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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