第40章

Gus, who had never been in a prison before, and whose heart failed him as the red-headed young Moses opened and shut for him the numerous iron outer doors, was struck dumb to see me behind a bottle of claret, in a room blazing with gilt lamps; the curtains were down too, and you could not see the bars at the windows; and Mr.B., Mr.Lock the Brighton officer, Mr.Aminadab, and another rich gentleman of his trade and religious persuasion, were chirping as merrily, and looked as respectably, as any noblemen in the land.

"Have him in," said Mr.B., "if he's a friend of Mr.Titmarsh's; for, cuss me, I like to see a rogue: and run me through, Titmarsh, but I think you are one of the best in London.You beat Brough; you do, by Jove! for he looks like a rogue--anybody would swear to him; but you! by Jove, you look the very picture of honesty!""A deep file," said Aminadab, winking and pointing me out to hisfriend Mr.Jehoshaphat.

"A good one," says Jehoshaphat.

"In for three hundred thousand pound," says Aminadab: "Brough's right-hand man, and only three-and-twenty.""Mr.Titmarsh, sir, your 'ealth, sir," says Mr.Lock, in an ecstasy of admiration."Your very good 'earth, sir, and better luck to you next time.""Pooh, pooh! HE'S all right," says Aminadab; "let HIM alone.""In for WHAT?" shouted I, quite amazed."Why, sir, you arrested me for 90L.""Yes, but you are in for half a million,--you know you are.THEM debts I don't count--them paltry tradesmen's accounts.I mean Brough's business.It's an ugly one; but you'll get through it.We all know you; and I lay my life that when you come through the court, Mrs.Titmarsh has got a handsome thing laid by.""Mrs.Titmarsh has a small property," says I."What then?"The three gentlemen burst into a loud laugh, said I was a "rum chap"-- a "downy cove," and made other remarks which I could not understand then; but the meaning of which I have since comprehended, for they took me to be a great rascal, I am sorry to say, and supposed that I had robbed the I.W.D.Association, and, in order to make my money secure, settled it on my wife.

It was in the midst of this conversation that, as I said, Gus came in; and whew! when he saw what was going on, he gave SUCH a whistle!

"Herr von Joel, by Jove!" says Aminadab.At which all laughed.

"Sit down," says Mr.B.,--"sit down, and wet your whistle, my piper! I say, egad! you're the piper that played before Moses! Had you there, Dab.Dab, get a fresh bottle of Burgundy for Mr.Hoskins." And before he knew where he was, there was Gus for the first time in his life drinking Clos-Vougeot.Gus said he had never tasted Bergamy before, at which the bailiff sneered, and told him the name of the wine.

"OLD CLO! What?" says Gus; and we laughed: but the Hebrew gents did not this time.

"Come, come, sir!" says Mr.Aminadab's friend, "ve're all shentlemen here, and shentlemen never makish reflexunsh upon other gentlemen'shpershuashunsh."

After this feast was concluded, Gus and I retired to my room to consult about my affairs.With regard to the responsibility incurred as a shareholder in the West Diddlesex, I was not uneasy; for though the matter might cause me a little trouble at first, I knew I was not a shareholder; that the shares were scrip shares, making the dividend payable to the bearer; and my aunt had called back her shares, and consequently I was free.But it was very unpleasant to me to consider that I was in debt nearly a hundred pounds to tradesmen, chiefly of Mrs.Hoggarty's recommendation; and as she had promised to be answerable for their bills, I determined to send her a letter reminding her of her promise, and begging her at the same time to relieve me from Mr.Von Stiltz's debt, for which I was arrested: and which was incurred not certainly at her desire, but at Mr.Brough's; and would never have been incurred by me but at the absolute demand of that gentleman.

I wrote to her, therefore, begging her to pay all these debts, and promised myself on Monday morning again to be with my dear wife.Gus carried off the letter, and promised to deliver it in Bernhard Street after church-time; taking care that Mary should know nothing at all of the painful situation in which I was placed.It was near midnight when we parted, and I tried to sleep as well as I could in the dirty little sofa- bedstead of Mr.Aminadab's back-parlour.

That morning was fine and sunshiny, and I heard all the bells ringing cheerfully for church, and longed to be walking to the Foundling with my wife: but there were the three iron doors between me and liberty, and I had nothing for it but to read my prayers in my own room, and walk up and down afterwards in the court at the back of the house.Would you believe it? This very court was like a cage! Great iron bars covered it in from one end to another; and here it was that Mr.Aminadab's gaol-birds took the air.

They had seen me reading out of the prayer-book at the back-parlour window, and all burst into a yell of laughter when I came to walk in the cage.One of them shouted out "Amen!" when I appeared; another called me a muff (which means, in the slang language, a very silly fellow); athird wondered that I took to my prayer-book YET.

"When do you mean, sir?" says I to the fellow--a rough man, a horse- dealer.