ARTHUR
72

"What's the conclusion then? Is this not proof of the agreement between them? Did he not acknowledge this agreement in admitting that he knew Welbeck was my debtor; that he was told of his escape, but that (an unparalleled betrayal!) he had promised secrecy, and would not, at all, betray him? You said he intended to go back; but I doubt about that. You'll never see his face again. He was too wise to put himself again into the noose; but I really did. not really desperate to light Welbeck up. Old Thetford, Jamieson, and I, have sworn to hunt him down all over the world. I had a strong hope that he did not stray far away. Some intelligence has recently been received, which allows us to put us in pursuit of the smell. He may multiply and sneak; but, if he does not fall into our hard work in the end, he will have agility and cunning, as well as ferocity, like the devil."

The vengeful character that Wortley betrayed was not without reason. The spirit of his days has been spent on acquiring lean capital; his perseverance and honesty have been successful, and lately he thinks the situation is like justifying a marriage with an extraordinary woman, who had been engaged to her for years, but from whom her poverty had hitherto forced her to live apart. Hardly any of these alliances take place, and a career full of marital pleasures begins, when his bad luck exposes him to the fraud of Welbeck, and takes him, in an evil hour, to the brink of bankruptcy.

Jamieson and Thetford, however, were wealthy people, and until now I had not been told they had any reason to pursue Welbeck with a strange hostility. The latter was his uncle whose fate had been attributed by Mervyn, and was one of those who used money, not as a means of traffic, but as a commodity in itself. He had neither wine nor cloth, to be turned into silver. He thought it was a tedious process to exchange today a hundred dollars for a barrel or bale, and tomorrow exchange that bale or barrel for a hundred and ten dollars. It is better to give one hundred for a piece of paper, which, immediately brought to the money changer, he can get one hundred twenty-three and three-quarters. In short, the coffers of this man are supplied by the despair of honest men and the deceit of ruffians. I did not immediately suspect how this man's care and tireless attention to his own interests allowed him to become a victim of the Welbeck scam.

"What," I said, "thetford's old claim to Welbeck?"

"That is a claim," he replied, "that, if it were made good, would sentence Welbeck to prison and a healthy job for life."

"Hows it? It is nothing more than debt."

"Didn't you hear? But that's not surprising. Fortunately you are a stranger to anxiety and the trade revolution. Your wealth does not depend on a base that can be swept away by an unwanted explosion, or four indestructible strokes of a pen. suspicious traders were persuaded to hand over three banknotes each for eight hundred dollars. The eight coins were then deftly extended to eighteen; they were duly deposited at the time and place, and the next day Welbeck was credited for fifty-three hundred dollars. seventy-three, who, an hour later, was informed of his emissary. It was hard to tell whether the old man's sadness, shame, or anger, were the main ones. He underestimated all comforts except revenge, and that he would get it at any price. Jamieson, who dealt with the same thing as Thetford, was tricked in the same way, by the same amount, and on the same day.

"This "welbeck must have strength above that of an average human. As ashes in the study of human ignorance and stratagem, these veterans are surpassed. No one pityes them. 'It is good if his intelligence is limited to that, and he saves the honest and the poor. Because of his wounds to those who earn a little livelihood without sacrificing their honesty, I hate him, and will rejoice to see him suffer all the rigors of the law." Here Wortley's engagement forced her to leave.

The young man was honest. His story cannot be the fruit of discovery; however, what is the limit of deception? Nature does not limit the combination of luxuries. The subtle exterior, the show of virtue, and the beautiful story, thousands of times, are shown in human relationships with cunning and subtlety. Motives vary relentlessly, while actions remain the same; and acute penetration may not be difficult to pick and set motives, suitable to free from censure any action that a human can take.

Had I heard Mervyn's story from someone else, or read it in a book, perhaps I would have guessed the truth; but, as long as the impression was made by her tone, gestures, and appearance, she said, it remains in my memory, this suspicion is impossible. Evil can sometimes be ambiguous, its mask may confuse the observer; our judgments may be made wobbly and fluctuating, but Mervyn's face is an index of honest thought. Calm or hard, doubtful or confident, it is full of virtue and directness. He who listens to his words may question his truth, but he who looks at his face while speaking cannot hold back his faith.

However, it is possible to find evidence that supports or contradicts the story. I happened to be acquainted with a family, named Althorpe , who was a native of the part of the country where his father lived. I visited them, and, after some introduction, mentioned, as if by accident, the name Mervyn. They soon recognized this name as belonging to one of their ancient neighbors. The death of his wife and son, and the seduction of his only daughter by Colvill, with many sad incidents related to the fate of this princess, are mentioned.

This intelligence prompted me to ask Mrs Althorpe, a wise and honest woman, whether she knew the situation of this family now or now.

"I cannot say much" he replied, "from my own knowledge. Since my wedding, I've been used to spending a couple of summer weeks at my father's house, but my curiosity isn't as much as it used to be about my old neighbor's problems. I remember, however, when there, last year, during the fever , hearing that Sawny Mervyn had taken a second wife; that his only son, an eighteen-year-old young man, had taken a second wife, consider it appropriate to be deeply offended by her father's behavior, and treat the new hostess with contempt and contempt. I should not be too surprised by this, seeing children as very likely to consider themselves to be treated unfairly by the marriage of both their parents; but it hinted that the boys' jealousy and dissatisfaction were excited without the same cause. The new mother was not much older than herself, had become a servant of the family, and criminal intimacy had been taking place between her, while in that condition, and her son. Her marriage to her father was fairly accounted for by their most extravagant neighbors and od good deals. The boy, perhaps, in such a case, has the right to scold, but he should not bring his anger to the extreme level as has been reckoned with him. She is said to have grinned at him with contempt, and even called him a trumpet in the presence of his father and a stranger.

"It's impossible for such a family to stay together. Arthur takes a leave of absence one night to have all his father's money, ride the best horse in his pasture, and elope. For a while, no one knew where he was going. In the latter, someone is said to have met him on the streets of this city, metamorphosing from a rural youth into a good man. Nothing could be faster than this change, as she left the country on Saturday morning, and was seen in French Skirts and silk stockings, she said, went to the Church of Christ the next day.I guess he kept it with a high hand, as long as the money was still there.

"Abuku visited us last week, and, among other state news, told us that Sawny Mervyn had sold his house. His wife had persuaded him to try his luck in the West. The price of a hundred acres here would buy a thousand there, and that man, who was very dirty and stupid, and, though, quite foolish, there is no difficulty in understanding that one thousand ten times more than one hundred. He did not realize that the land above Schuylkill was ten times better than an acre in Tennessee.