“Out for an airing.”“Out for an airing.”
was, and my little beauty, all along the gravel, as if it had been a garden-roller. Directly I saw the chaise upset, I ran towards the minx as fast as my legs would carry me; but even then I couldn’t reach her in time enough to save my pretty cherub; and when I got up to it—oh, dear me! if its sweet little face wasn’t scored all over like crackling, and the gravel sticking into her cheeks for all the world like a bit of asphalte pavement.
I could have looked over this misfortune, (although, if the courteous reader will believe me, my little Kate has got some of the grits in her cheeks to this very day, and you can feel the gravel under the skin, like the stones in currants,) but it was the woman’s nasty, wicked deceit, in making me believe that she hated the very sight of a man, that set me against her. But I put a stop to those walks in the Park pretty soon. No wonder she was so anxious to take the child out to do it good—a toad!
What made me not like to part with her, however, was, that she seemed so head over ears in love with my little beauty, that I felt quite an interest in the woman, and was stupid enough to believe, that if I could only keep her away from that bothering Regent’s Park, and the lawyers’ clerks out of place, that are always lolloping about on the seats there, she would go on very well. Still, notwithstanding all the affection she made such a show of towards my little life, Edward and I used to remark that the child was always crying when it was up in the nursery; and when we asked her what was the reason of it all, leave her alone for having some taradiddle always ready at the tip of her tongue, by way of answer. Oh! then it was either the little love was fretting after its dear mamma, or else its poor teeth were wherreting its poor soul out, and the little Goody Two Shoes was ready to tear its little mouth to pieces, it was! (Was there ever such a double-faced crocodile?) But the mystery was soon cleared up; for one fine morning, a nice old silver-haired gentleman knocked at the door a few minutes after my lady had come in with my pet from its airing, (which had done itsomuch good, that it had gotsuchan appetite for its little dinner, I couldn’t tell!) and, like a good old soul, said he had called to tell me that he had seen that Miss Sarah of mine(who wassofond of my Kate that she could eat her!) ill-treating the poor little dear so shamefully in the open streets, that he couldn’t help following her home, and informing me of it. Directly the dear old gentleman had gone, I had my little cherub down, and, stripping it, lo! and behold, if the little dear’s white skin wasn’t dappled all over black and blue, with the pinchesthatdeceitful, hard-hearted nurse of mine had given it, till positively it had more the appearance of a little iron grey pony than a human being! Oh! how my fingersdiditch to be about the creature!
So I got rid of that deceitful bit of goods very soon, I can assure you; and so, indeed, I did of a number of others after her; for, upon my word, they are all alike, whether they are cooks, or housemaids, or nurserymaids, or pages, or footmen, it’s the same story over and over again—worry, worry—bother, bother—from morning till night, and not a moment’s peace to be had for love or money. A maid-of-all-work was quite a match for me; but, when we got on in the world, so as to be able to afford a footman—Lord bless me! I was positively mad from the moment I got up to the moment I went to bed again. Now, there was that lazy, impudent, fat footman of a Duffy. I’m sure he was—but my courteous readers must excuse me entering into particulars at present. They will be able to judge of the character my gentleman was from Mr. Cruikshank’s admirable plate. But it wasn’t only the laziness and cool impudence of the fat pig that pleased me, but he had a nasty way of—but I’m sorry to say I must reserve it all for another chapter.
WHICH PRINCIPALLY CONSISTS OF A QUIET HALF HOUR’S TALK ABOUT THE VIRTUES AND AIRS OF THAT GREAT, BIG, FAT, OVERFED, STUCK-UP PIG OF A JOHN DUFFY OF MINE, WHO WAS THE FIRST FOOTMAN I HAD IN MY SERVICE, AND WHO COULDN’T HAVE BEEN IN THE HOUSE MORE THAN A WEEK, I’M SURE, BEFORE (LUD-A-MERCY ME!) IF I DIDN’T DRAT THE DAY WHEN I FIRST SET EYES ON HIM; FOR I DECLARE THE PUPPY HAD SUCH AN IMPUDENT LOOK WITH HIM, THAT I NEVER SAW HIS FACE BUT I DIDN’T LONG FOR THE TIME WHEN I SHOULD SEE HIS BACK. HEwasA PRETTY FOOTMAN, TO BE SURE.
WHICH PRINCIPALLY CONSISTS OF A QUIET HALF HOUR’S TALK ABOUT THE VIRTUES AND AIRS OF THAT GREAT, BIG, FAT, OVERFED, STUCK-UP PIG OF A JOHN DUFFY OF MINE, WHO WAS THE FIRST FOOTMAN I HAD IN MY SERVICE, AND WHO COULDN’T HAVE BEEN IN THE HOUSE MORE THAN A WEEK, I’M SURE, BEFORE (LUD-A-MERCY ME!) IF I DIDN’T DRAT THE DAY WHEN I FIRST SET EYES ON HIM; FOR I DECLARE THE PUPPY HAD SUCH AN IMPUDENT LOOK WITH HIM, THAT I NEVER SAW HIS FACE BUT I DIDN’T LONG FOR THE TIME WHEN I SHOULD SEE HIS BACK. HEwasA PRETTY FOOTMAN, TO BE SURE.
“And a very saucy one,Heigh ho! Heigh ho!He walk’d so stiff, and look’d so smart,As if he own’d each maiden’s heart;I could have bang’d him, for my part,Heigh ho! Heigh ho!”Popular Song—though, in justice to the writer, I ought to add, that I have taken the liberty of adapting the last line of the highly talented poem to my highly excited feelings; for as John Duffy never had any“KEEN DART”of“HIS OWN,”of course I couldn’t go“WISHING”with the poet, that the monkey“FELT”any such fiddlesticks; though I must confess, that when I’ve seen that man crawling up stairs, as lazily as if he were a black beetle, I have over and over again“WISHED”to myself I only had my great big shawl-pin handy, so that I could have made himFEEL THAT.
“And a very saucy one,Heigh ho! Heigh ho!He walk’d so stiff, and look’d so smart,As if he own’d each maiden’s heart;I could have bang’d him, for my part,Heigh ho! Heigh ho!”Popular Song—though, in justice to the writer, I ought to add, that I have taken the liberty of adapting the last line of the highly talented poem to my highly excited feelings; for as John Duffy never had any“KEEN DART”of“HIS OWN,”of course I couldn’t go“WISHING”with the poet, that the monkey“FELT”any such fiddlesticks; though I must confess, that when I’ve seen that man crawling up stairs, as lazily as if he were a black beetle, I have over and over again“WISHED”to myself I only had my great big shawl-pin handy, so that I could have made himFEEL THAT.
“And a very saucy one,Heigh ho! Heigh ho!He walk’d so stiff, and look’d so smart,As if he own’d each maiden’s heart;I could have bang’d him, for my part,Heigh ho! Heigh ho!”Popular Song—though, in justice to the writer, I ought to add, that I have taken the liberty of adapting the last line of the highly talented poem to my highly excited feelings; for as John Duffy never had any“KEEN DART”of“HIS OWN,”of course I couldn’t go“WISHING”with the poet, that the monkey“FELT”any such fiddlesticks; though I must confess, that when I’ve seen that man crawling up stairs, as lazily as if he were a black beetle, I have over and over again“WISHED”to myself I only had my great big shawl-pin handy, so that I could have made himFEEL THAT.
“Gramachree ma Crooskeen, slantha gal mavourneen,Gramachree ma Crooskeen, Lawn, Lawn, Lawn;Gramachree ma Crooskeen, slantha gal mavourneen,Arrah cumaleen ma u leen bawn, bawn, bawn,Arrah cumaleen ma u leen bawn.”Who on earth can ever have written this gibberish I don’t know, and what the goodness gracious it can ever mean, is more than I can say. But this I do know and can say—to my humble ears it sounds as much like abuse as anything I ever heard in all my life; and that’s just what I want to apply to that good-for-nothing John Duffy. Augh, “Lawn! Lawn! Lawn!”
“Gramachree ma Crooskeen, slantha gal mavourneen,Gramachree ma Crooskeen, Lawn, Lawn, Lawn;Gramachree ma Crooskeen, slantha gal mavourneen,Arrah cumaleen ma u leen bawn, bawn, bawn,Arrah cumaleen ma u leen bawn.”Who on earth can ever have written this gibberish I don’t know, and what the goodness gracious it can ever mean, is more than I can say. But this I do know and can say—to my humble ears it sounds as much like abuse as anything I ever heard in all my life; and that’s just what I want to apply to that good-for-nothing John Duffy. Augh, “Lawn! Lawn! Lawn!”
“Gramachree ma Crooskeen, slantha gal mavourneen,Gramachree ma Crooskeen, Lawn, Lawn, Lawn;Gramachree ma Crooskeen, slantha gal mavourneen,Arrah cumaleen ma u leen bawn, bawn, bawn,Arrah cumaleen ma u leen bawn.”Who on earth can ever have written this gibberish I don’t know, and what the goodness gracious it can ever mean, is more than I can say. But this I do know and can say—to my humble ears it sounds as much like abuse as anything I ever heard in all my life; and that’s just what I want to apply to that good-for-nothing John Duffy. Augh, “Lawn! Lawn! Lawn!”
Ofcourse, when I had once risen to the dignity of having a male domestic in my establishment, I wasn’t going to make such a great silly of myself, as to come down again to the wretchedness of having nothing but a pack of females about one. Accordingly, I gave “my lord and master” (as Mr. Edward flatters himself he is) to understand as much in double-quick time. A fine thing, indeed, I said, it would be, to have all one’s good-natured friends, and all one’s precious charitable neighbours, (who every one knows are always sure to love one as themselves—oh yes!) pointing at one, and sneering away behind one’s back whenever one went out, with their “Oh, dear me! only to think that thepoorSk—n—st—ns couldn’t afford to keep on that grand page they started, for more thanonequarter of a year;” and with their nasty, double-faced “pity from the bottom of their hearts, because they wereafraidwe had been all along living beyond our means.”
But Mr. Edward was too great a philosopher by half to care a snap of the fingers for the opinion of the empty world or the feelings of his poor dear wife, of course—especially when it would cost him a trumpery five-and-twenty pounds, and a rubbishing suit or two of livery, per annum. Consequently, when I told him one evening, after I had treated him to a nice sweet little dinner of a leg of mutton, stuffed with sage and onions—pork-fashion—and a love of a bread-pudding to follow—(I always make it a rule to use up all the bits of bread in the house, at least once a week—unless indeed we have any illness in the family, and they are wanted for poultices—for, as I believe I said before somewhere, I can’t bear to see waste,)—Well, when I told Mr. Edward, I repeat, after we had both I’m sure eaten more than was good for us—(only I do think sage and onionssodelicious when one is not going to see company, and one can only get one’s husband just to take a mouthful or so of it; and then, ’pon my word, I verily believe, I could devour my own dear mother, if she was only stuffed with plenty of it, and nicely browned)—Well, when I told Mr. Edward—I repeat for the second time—just after we had finished every bit of that love of a bread-pudding (though the worst of it was, I, unfortunately, would go putting too much bread in it, like a great big generousstupid as I am, and, bother take it! the spongy stuff does swell so in the cooking, and then is sure to set to work and soak up all your custard in such a way, that ’pon my word and honour, when the love came to table, if it wasn’t like so much sop, and, positively, I’d have bet any one anything there wasn’t enough custard left in the whole dish to fill a sixpenny “Circassian Cream” pot—and that’s small enough, goodness knows! so that really and truly it looked so uninviting when I came to help it, that it was hardly fit to give to one’s parrot, or even to let the servants have, by way of a treat.)—But to return: well, when I told Mr. Edward—I repeat for the third time—(for plague take that dinner, Icannotget it out of my head)—that I had been considering for a long time whether it would be prudent in us to think about having another of those impudent young monkeys of pages in our house, when, for the matter of a few rubbishing pounds extra a year, we could get a nice, steady, handsome, respectable-looking man-servant, whose livery, I was sure, wouldn’t come, in the long run, to one penny more, if so much as that disgraceful young scape-grace of a Wittals’s did—for there’d be no silver sugar-loaf buttons continually to find, and they, with those bothering boys in livery, cost a small fortune alone, I knew.
Besides, I said—just to put Edward in a good temper—a man ofhisnaturally strong judgment must be well aware that a great big strapping boy, who hadn’t done growing, and kept running up so fast that he required to have at least two tucks let out of his trowsers every quarter, must eat more than a decent, well-behaved, abstemious young man who had got to his proper size, and who consequently wouldn’t be always getting a head taller per annum out of your mutton and beef. And moreover, I added, going to the sofa and kissing him, as I saw him smile, with what at the time I foolishly supposed to be good humour,—“It will, you know, my dear, look so highly genteel, and give one such a standing in the world, to have one’s door opened by a fine good-looking fellow, with powdered hair and a pair of handsome legs, and near upon six feet in his shoes.” But, oh dear bless me, no! Mr. Edward wouldn’t listen to suchstuff, as he called it; and must needs go bursting into a contemptuous laugh, telling me to go along with me, forI was an old fool, and ought to have more sense in my head at my time of life, (mytime of life, indeed! Well, that is good! Isn’t it, gentle reader?)
Of course it was the old story over and over again. He wasn’t going to bring himself to the workhouse, he wasn’t, for any of my fine fal-lal notions. As for his having a great, fat, lazy footman, sauntering about his house, and eating the very bed from under him, he wouldn’t think of it for a moment; for the long and short of it was,he couldn’t afford it, especially with the few suits that he had then down on his ‘Chancery Cause Book;’ and the world seemed to have come to such a pass now-a-days, that relations and partnerswouldsettle all their disputes amicably. So I merely told him, that, of course, I couldn’t say whether his trumpery Chancery Cause-Book would allow him to afford me a rubbishing footman or not; but this Icouldand Iwouldsay, that unless something was done, he’d have to afford, somehow or other, to pay for my funeral expenses before long—though, perhaps, I added, with my usual biting sarcasm,thatwould be far more agreeable to him. Then, bursting into tears, I went on saying, “If some change does not take place, I can only tell you, sir, I shall fall a martyr to your meanness and this great big house; for I feel myself sinking every day under the weight of it; and Doctor J—pp himself has, over and over again, said, when he has called and found me here nearly fainting with fatigue, ‘Why, my dear madam, will we over-exert ourselves in this way. Really, we are too attentive and good a housewife. We are not fit for it—positively, we are not. Now, we ought to be in bed in our present state—indeed, we ought—instead of being up here, ruining our naturally fine constitution in this way. Mr. Sk—n—st—n, I’m sure, cannot be aware of what we are doing, or he would never allow us, if he had one spark of feeling, to be killing ourselves by inches in this way. Really, my dear, good, lady, it comes to this—either we must get extra help, and eat little and good, and often, or depend upon it we shall be in our graves before many months are over our heads. Would you like us to speak to our good worthy husband on the subject, for I am sure he would gladly make any sacrifice, rather than let us endanger ourprecious life thus?” And what reply did I make to my medical attendant? I asked Edward, with an indignant look—why, I merely said, “No, Dr. J—pp, my own dear Edward will tell you that he cannot afford it; and if so, perhaps my funeral expenses will fall less heavily upon him than having an extra servant in the house.”
After I had said this, I sank in a chair, and burying my face in a sweet pretty cambric handkerchief, with a very rich imitation Valenciennes border, I waited, sobbing as if my heart would break, to see whether he would let me have my footman or not; and expecting, of course, that every minute he would be coming up and kissing me, and telling me that he would gladly do anything I liked to make his own sweet angel of a Carry happy and comfortable.
But, drat the cold-hearted, ill-natured hyena, he only burst out giggling in a most insulting way, and said, in his nasty, unmeaning slang, “it wouldn’tdo, and that he wasn’t quite such a fool as I seemed to take him for.” So I jumped up in a jiffey, and said with great point, and looking penknives at him, “I see what it is, sir; the sage and onions have disagreed with you, and of course you’re disgusted with the whole world, and your poor dear wife must suffer for it,”—and then, banging the door to with all my might, I walked quietly up to our bedroom, determined to read my lord duke a strong lesson, and just let him see that I wasn’t a worm.
“That footman I’ll have, if I die for it,” I exclaimed, as I jumped into bed, and turned my back round to the side Mr. Sk—n—st—n usually sleeps upon.
Next day I caught my gentleman out so nicely, the reader don’t know; and I led him such a dance the reader can’t tell. Well, the fact is, I didn’t feel quite myself, so I thought I might as well, as it was a very fine morning, pop on my beautiful white lace bonnet and my sweet imitation Shetland shawl, (they had only just come in then, though drat it! they, have got as vulgar as vulgar can be lately, and what I’m to do with mine I really don’t know, for, like a ninny, I thought it too good to wear every day, at first; however, as I wouldn’t be seen in it now for the whole world, perhaps I’d better make a great favour of it, and give it to my own dear mother).—Well, as I was saying, I strolled very comfortably down to Regent-street, just to take a passing glance at some of the lovely new dresses in the shops, that I should like to buy if I could only afford the money; and as it was, I was as near as two pins going in and getting two or three of the most expensive, and sending the bill in to Mr. Edward, just as a lesson to him for the future—but the worst of it is, I’ve always been too considerate for him by half, and he issoviolent at times. So I went strolling on until, I declare, if I wasn’t right at the bottom of Waterloo-place before I knew where I was, and felt myself so warm and faint for want of something, that I said to myself, I may as well, now I’m here, just step on to Farrance’s and treat myself to a lemon ice or so out of the housekeeping; for, as I very truly observed, it would be a hard matter if I couldn’t get a trifle likethatout of the weekly expenses at home; and besides Mr. Edward need be none the wiser, for nothing was easier than to put it down in the book under the head of “Charities;” and really, when I came to think of it, I positively blushed to remember that for weeks and weeks past I hadn’t put down so much as a farthing for that noblest of all the nine virtues.
Well, when I got to Farrance’s, who should the first person that I clapt eyes upon be, but my Mr. Edward himself, seated like a prince at one of the little marble tables, with two large sixpenny oyster patties before him, gormandizing away like a pig, as he is. So I crept up to him, and,pretending I had seen him through the window, I said, in a low voice, “So you are going to the workhouse, are you, my fine gentleman. Pretty workhouse, indeed! I never saw such a workhouse. And you can’t afford to have a footman to eat the very bed from under you, can’t you? Of course you can’t, if you come here every day, as now I plainly see you do, stuffing yourself with oyster patties, and such like indigestible extravagances, when I’m sure a round or two of cold toast, nicely done up in an old newspaper, would do very well for your luncheon, sir, and then there would be no occasion for your poor, dear, overworked wife to go slaving her life out to save you the expense of another servant, as you know she does. Augh! I can’t bear such gluttony.—Here, waitress,” I exclaimed, “bring me a lemon ice and a Bath bun or two, with a few almond cakes, if you please.” And then I went on, scolding him forhis disgusting greediness, and eating by turns, until, I declare, when the time came for that selfish pig of an Edward to pay, and the young woman at the counter asked me what I had had, if I hadn’t to tell her that I had taken two lemon waters, and three of those, (pointing to the Bath buns;) and two of those, (pointing to the raspberry puffs;) and two more of those, (pointing to the gooseberry tarts;) and, let me see—yes, I think, either three or four of those, (pointing to the almond cakes,)—though, between ourselves, I was certain I had eaten at least six of the hollow delicious things, for I’m very fond of them; but, of course, all pastry cooks know very well that ladies never can, or, at least, never will tell them exactly to a paltry penny cake or two what they have had, and, the people in the shop take good care to increase the price of their articles accordingly.
When that precious beauty of a Mr. Edward came home that evening, I wasn’t going to be such a stupid as to let the capital discovery I had made drop in a minute; so all dinnertime I went on apologizing that I had got none of theoyster pattiesfor him, which he seemed so partial to; and asking him whether they allowed such delicacies in theworkhousehe was going to in such a hurry, and saying a whole troop of other nice tantalizing, knagging things, until I made him so wild, that he went on in such a way, and said such unwarrantable things to me, and kept on vowing that I shouldnothave the footman I wanted, in such a frightful manner, that at last bang went the door to again, and up stairs I bounced to bed, saying, “I’ll soon let you see whether I’ll have the footman or not, my fine Turk; for if I’m not as ill as ill can be, until I have a man-servant safe in the house, why my name’s not Sk—n—st—n.”
All that night through I had the spasms so bad, that I took good care Mr. Edward didn’t have a wink of sleep; and next morning, just as he was shaving himself, and promising, that if I wanted an extra servant, I might have a parlour-maid (like his impudence, indeed!) I had such a violent attack of hysterics, that any one, to have heard my screams, (and I’m sure they must have been audible at least a hundred villas off,) would have thought that Mr. Sk—n—st—n was ill-treating me. Just before he went down stairs, I called him to the bedside, and told him I was convinced I had got violent Neuralgia—brought on by my over-exertions aboutthe house, and most likely I should never entirely get rid of it to my dying day. “Do you feel in pain, then, my love?” he said. “Where is it? Tell me, my duck.” “Of course I did,” I answered; and throwing up the whites of my eyes, and biting my lip, as if in great agony, I begged him, “Not to duck me, as he was the cause of it all, and that he might thank his stars that his ill-treatment hadn’t so completely shattered my nerves as to have brought on St. Vitus’s dance,”—and so it certainly would, only, to tell the reader the truth, I didn’t know the step of that most frightful of all dances; and I recollect when my aunt R—msb—tt—m had it very severely, it seemed to me much more difficult to manage than the double-shuffle in the College Hornpipe, so that as for keepingthatup all about the house for a whole week, why it was more than I chose to do.
As the reader may well imagine, I had our medical adviser round pretty soon, for I knew Mr. Edward hated doctors’ bills, and Mr. J—pp would be sure to agree with me, it was Neuralgia, as your doctors always say it is that, when they can’t exactly make out what it is that ails a lady. So when he came round, he told Edward great care must be taken of me, and I was to be kept quite quiet, and free from all annoyance, as I was suffering from as severe an attack of the nerves as he ever recollected to have met with in the whole course of his extensive practice, adding, that it wasn’t to be wondered at, as it was very prevalent among the ladies of the nobility and gentry just then; and that, indeed, he was attending several persons of quality at that time for the very same thing. After this, he sent me round some very nice sweet draughts, and some of the most delicious tinctures I think I ever tasted in the whole course of my life, which used to make me feel so beautiful and “tippy” afterwards, my lady readers can’t tell.
All that week I had my breakfast in bed, and what made me enjoy it more than anything else was, I knew Mr. Edward hated to pour out his own tea, and butter his own toast of a morning, because it interfered with his filthy newspaper. Only the worst of breakfasting in bed is, that bother take it! the crumbs will get all over the sheets, and if one happens to have dry toast, they are so hard, and do scrub a poor body so, that really onemight just as well lie upon sand-paper for the comfort of the thing; and drat it, do what you will, you can’t get them out of the bed again, until the things are taken off and well shaken.
When I went down stairs, after the fourth day, I laid myself upon the sofa, and was too ill to eat a thing; though Mr. Edward would come to my side, and beg and pray of me just to take a mouthful for his sake. But no! I told him, with a sigh, I was too weak to take anything beyond a cup of tea and a little dry toast (for, of course, after the couple of good large mutton chops that I took good care to have in the middle of the day, I hadn’t much of an appetite left for dinner, especially as I wouldn’t let my gentleman have any thing particularly nice—saying to myself, “If we can’t afford a footman—I’m sure we can’t afford dainties!”)
And so I went on with my severe attack of Neuralgia, getting worse and worse, and making my grand Turk breakfast by himself, and dine by himself—and get out of bed at all hours of the night to give me my delicious tinctures, and never even condescending to speak to him, unless it was to tell him, with a sigh, how ill and weak I felt,—and that I knew it was all owing to my over-exertions about the great big house,—and continually reminding him too that he had only himself to blame for it, as I had given him fair warning of what would be the consequence of his unfeeling meanness,—and then asking him quietly whether it wasn’t better now to pay the money for a footman, instead of seeing his poor, dear, fond, foolish wife suffering so acutely as she was, and having to pay, at least, double or treble as much in those horrid doctor’s bills for her,—and so I went on, I say, until, upon my word, one Monday evening (for I remember Mr. Edward had the boiled knuckle of veal cold for dinner which I’d given him hot on the Sunday), I was lying on the sofa groaning away, and my gentleman was seated by me after dinner, looking quite repentant, and asking me whether I thought Mr. J—pp was doing me good, and a whole troup of other civil things, when I said—with a sigh that seemed to cut him to the quick, thank goodness!—“It’s too late now, Edwarddear; I told you I was sinking fast, but you wouldn’t believe it then, and now I feel satisfied that I sha’n’t trouble you with my presence here much longer.” “For Heaven’s sake! Carry, my love, don’t goon in that way!” he exclaimed, pressing my hand between his two palms. “Is there anything I can get for you, dearest?” “That footman I spoke to you about,” I replied, “perhaps might have relieved me at one time; but now”—I added, as if in pain, “there is no hope. You will be kind to my little darling toodle-loodle-lumpty, when its poor dear mother’s no more, and take care when the little trot grows up thatshe’snot killed in this great big house for want of a footman.” Here that Edward gave two or three pathetic snivels, and commenced feeling for his pocket-handkerchief. So as I saw he was beginning to melt, I continued, in a low, solemn voice, “When I am gone, promise me, Edward—you wont marry again—and you will put upon my tombstone that I was a ‘TENDER AND AFFECTIONATE WIFE,’ and ‘UNIVERSALLY REGRETTED’—and now I come to think of it, Edward dear, it would look charming if you were to add those beautiful lines of ‘Affliction sore long time I bore,’ and wind up with ‘she fell a martyr to the want of a footman,’ brought in nicely somehow.” This, I’m proud to say, was a severe homethrust; and on looking at my fine gentleman, if I didn’t see a beautiful little tear in the corner of each of his eyes; and thank goodness, by staring as hard as ever I could at one of the roses in the carpet, and drawing the air in up my nose, I was lucky enough to squeeze out two or three tears myself—so that at last I worked upon the hard-hearted monster’s feelings in such a way, that he turned round and told me if I thought a footman would be any relief to me, for goodness sake to get one, only I was not to give way to low spirits as I did. But I merely answered, “No, thank you, dearest, dearest Edward; you must not go to any expense to please me in my last moments—you cannot afford it.” “Do not say so, dear Carry,” he answered, “you must and shall have one!” “No, no,” I replied, groaning as if in severe agony; “you cannot afford it, and I will not listen to it.” “What!—not to please your own Edward, my lamb,” he said, in a low voice, putting his lips close to my ear. “To please her own Edward,” I returned, with affection, “his lamb will do anything;” and then throwing my arms round his neck, I put an end to that awkward business.
“Ha, ha! Mr. Edward, my fine gentleman,” I couldn’t for the life of me help exclaiming to myself, whilst I was kissinghim, “I said I’d have a footman, if I died for it, and a footman I’ve got, and the best of it is, too, I’ve made a favour of accepting what I wanted—and what is so delightful to a poor dear married lady as that?”
I was getting well as quick as ever I decently could, when I was nearly thrown back; and I really thought I should be obliged to have a relapse. The fact is, we had a nasty tiff about the livery; for, upon my word, if Mr. Edward was not for putting the fellow into plain clothes—a likely thing! I said, and perhaps have him mistaken for some of my relations. But I pretty soon gave my gentleman to understand that I would have nothing short of a livery in my house; when, of course, off he went, talking some more of his highflown radical slang about liveries being “low things,” and “badges of servitude.” Badges of servitude, indeed! as if I did not know they were, long ago; and, to confess the truth, that was just the very reason—as I told him—why I stood out for one. Did he for one moment fancy that I was such a great big silly as to go to the expense of a man-servant to have him going in and out of my house, looking as disreputable as a country curate. For my part, I said, nothing would please me better—if it was only the fashion—than to put a beautiful brass collar round his neck, with our name and address nicely engraved on it, so that he might go about like a Newfoundland dog, and people know whose property he was. So I begged I might hear no more of such fal-lal nonsense; and that, if he did not wish to make me ill again, he would drop the subject without saying another word about it.
Well, I suppose, if I saw one, I saw a hundred great, big, hulking fellows, who came after my situation, and who were so grand, that, bless us and save us! one would have fancied that they had been brought up as clerks in some government office, and had been in the habit of receiving large salaries for doing nothing all their lives. Out of the bunch, I picked that John Duffy—drat him!—for he was the best, to my way of thinking. When he applied for the place, he was a nice, decent, genteel-looking body, of rather a slim figure than otherwise, and he seemed so willing—assuring me that he was ready to make himself generallyuseful, (all of which I can now very well understand—especially the thinness—for he had been six months out of a situation.)
The livery I had made for that dirty Duffy was one of the sweetest things when it was new, certainly. Every article of the entire suit was of a different colour. I ordered the tailor to make me a love of a white coat, and a pet of a canary waistcoat, and a perfect duck of a pair of bright crimson plush knee what-d’ye-call-’ems—the name of the things escapes me just at the present moment. Mr. Edward, in his nasty, perverse way, would have it that Duffy would look more like a Macaw in such fine feathers than a Christian; but I soon put a stop to his sneers, for I asked him pretty plainly, what the dickens that was to me? Of course I wanted all the world to know that I had got a footman, and as I didn’t see anything to be ashamed of in it, I took good care to publish it as conspicuously, and in as many colours, as a Vauxhall posting-bill.
But it seemed as if Fate had put me down in her black books, for really and truly that John Duffy couldn’t have been in the house above a month, before he gotsogross andsofat, and did make fleshsofast, that I’m sure it would have required nothing short of a suit of vulcanized india-rubber to have kept pace with him. As for asking him to pick up anything, bless you! I no more dared to do it than—than I don’t know what; for as sure as the porpoise stooped for anything, bang! would go either the strings of his waistcoat or else crack! would fly all the beautiful silver buttons off the knees of his—a—of his thing-me-jigs, (dear me, I shall forget my own name next.) When that monkey of a Wittals was with me, he nearly drove me out of my mind by growing upwards, but that pig of a Duffy fairly sent me stark staring mad, by growing sideways—drat him! Wittals, to have looked any way decent, wanted trousers made to pull out like telescopes; but that abominable Duffy, in order to have been kept merely respectable, must have had a coat and waistcoat made to expand like an accordion. If Wittals’s mulberry pantaloons required a tuck to be let out at the bottom at least once a month, I’m sure that Duffy’s canary vest needed another gore to be let in at the back quite as often. Really, thesixth week after the great whale had been in my kitchen, if he hadn’t grown nearly five waistcoat buttons stouter upon the good things out of my larder, and, before two months were over my head, if I hadn’t to put in behind a great wedge of shalloon—in the shape of a large sippet, to get it to meet anyhow. The way in which the man’s chin, too, kept on increasing was positively frightful for a thrifty housewife to behold. Chin upon chin, did I see grow under my very eyes, until at last they bulged out over his neckcloth, for all the world like half a mellon. And no wonder! for the quantity that man would eat was positively as if he was going into training for an apoplexy; and it wasn’t quantity alone he wanted, but, bless me! quality as well! As for cold meat, over and over again, have I seen him trying to turn his nose up at it; but, unfortunately for him, it was a snub, and do what he would, he couldn’t turn it up any higher. But, though Mr. Duffy objected to cold meat for dinner, yet he could manage to make away with a pound or two of it for his breakfast and supper. And, mercy-on-me! even the common household bread wasn’t good enough for his royal highness’s delicate stomach! Oh, no! he must needs go pampering himself with the digestive cottages I had expressly for myself of a morning. As for good wholesome salt butter, too, at one-and-one, I declare he wouldn’t so much as soil his mouth with it; not he! but he’d wait till our butter-dish came down, and thenwouldn’the fall to at our fresh at one-and-eight, and spread it on a large bit of my digestive cottage—yes! as thick as stucco!
The beauty of it was, too, the fatter he got upon my food, the lazier he grew over my work, for really it seemed as difficult for him to crawl along, as if he was one of those heavy inactive things your city folkswillcall “lively turtle;” and all the way up stairs one might hear him breathing as hard as a pavior, and puffing and blowing away like a railway engine. When he came up, too, there he’d be, with his face looking as greasy and dirty as the newspaper we have half price from the coffee-shop, and his forehead as dewy as our kitchen window on a washing day. But what annoyed me more than all was, that, do what I would, I could not for the life of me get the nasty bristly pig to shave his filthy red beard of a morning; and there I should have him bringingthe dinner things up with his four chins looking as rough and rusty as so many rasped French rolls.
The fellow, too, was so conceited, that really there was no bearing with him; for instance, if I left him in the parlour dusting the chairs, or rubbing the tables, directly my back was turned, off he’d be to the pier glass, and get attitudinizing before it, and arranging the nasty, greasy, figure 6 curl he had in the middle of his forehead, with his nasty oily fingers, or else—drat his impudence!—nothing would suit him, but he must go to the sideboard, and take out the clothes-brush, or, if that wasn’t handy, the semicircular one we had to sweep the crumbs off the table-cloth with, and begin scrubbing away at his hair with it. And the nuisance of it was, bother take it! Iwouldmake the fellow wear powder, so that, if ever I went to brush my beautiful black German velvet dress, there I should have it with long white streaks upon it like the inside of a backgammon board, and all smelling of hair-powder and pomatum as strong as that Duffy’s livery-hat.
Then of an evening, nothing would suit my lord duke but he must needs go lolling against the post of the street-door with his great big lumpy legs—like the ballustrades on Waterloo Bridge—crossed one over the other, picking his teeth with a bit of one of my pens, and ogling the girls, and making a noise with his lips after them as they went by—as if he was a perfect Adonis in plush—a—in plush—(tut! tut! it is very strange! I never can remember the name of those what-d’ye-call-’ems). Or if he wasn’t at the street door, wastingmytime against the post, there the monkey would be perched up on the top step of the area ladder, with his cauliflower head poked over the rails, and either in full gossip with what he made me believe was his washerwoman (the wretch!) or else sneering away at the policeman, or making game of the soldiers as they passed the house,—both of whom, he told our cook, who told me, were low-class hanimals, and people that he could not condescend to sit down to table with—so there was no use hasking on ’em. The consequence of this was, that if I had to ring once of an evening for him, I had to ring at least a hundred times before I could get him to hear me. And when he did hear me, sneak-to would go the street door, and in he would come all of an imitation hurry, buttoningup his waistcoat as if he had been dressing. Only let me stir out of the house, too, for a minute, and as sure as eggs are eggs, I should find him when I came back with his four chins resting comfortably on the top of our parlour blinds, and staring out of window with all his might—as if he was a lord bishop of the land, and had nothing to do, and there were no such things as teacups to wash up, or British plate to clean,—which latter article, as every married lady knows, is only a cheap substitute for silver, provided you’re rubbing it up every quarter of an hour, and if you’re not, why it looks more like a very expensive substitute for brass. Though, as for washing up the tea-things! I really don’t suppose the corpulent puppy did it above half-a-dozen times, at most, all the while he was with me. For, what do you think, gentle Reader, the nasty good-for-nothing, deceitful, carneying peacock used to do? Why if he usen’t to give that stupid, stupid cook of mine—who ought to have known better at her time of life—a filthy kiss, to get her to do it for him; and I suppose that he must have thought his slobberings particularly precious, for, positively, if the red-haired monkey didn’t go offering the same high terms to the maids, if they would only fill his coal scuttles for him, and—I blush for my sex when I say it—the minxes used to do it at the paltry price. What they can have seen, in the man, I’m sure I can’t make out; and I’m certain they didn’t know one thing—any more than I myself did at that time—or they never could have allowed him to trifle with their very best affections in the shameful way he did—a nasty, wicked, deceitful, liquorish-toothed “Married Man!”—and that’s what he was! When the wretch came to me, he told me he was a confirmed bachelor; but his livery, though shamefully spotted was not half worn out, when, to my horror, I discovered that the brute was a hopeless, inextricable Benedict, with not only a fond wife to support—out of my larder, drat her!—but no less than seven little incumbrances to bring up—on my cold meat, hang ’em! As a woman, of course, I’m for universal matrimony all over the world—though with regard to those necessary evils called servants, I must confess, I am of a totally different opinion. For my part, I would have them all bound by law to remain as single, all their days, as spiders. But from the parentalturn of the Footmen, Housemaids, and Cooks of the nineteenth century, I’m afraid no Act of Parliament could be made binding enough to prevent the fond stupids from plunging headlong into wedlock and a chandler’s shop; and when they find that a bountiful Providence doesn’t send customers as quick as it does children to such people, then of course the husband and the father again becomes the footman and the bachelor, drat him!—while the wife and the mother gets her daily bread for her children out of her mangle, and her dailymeatfor them out ofyourpantry! In my eyes, the only way to prevent this frightful state of things, is for us housekeepers to see whether or not, by the high wages we are now giving for men-servants, we couldn’t prevail upon some of the poor Catholic priests—who everybody knows have taken the vow of perpetual celibacy—to put on atoupée, and enter our service as footmen,—though, of course, from the proverbial warm-hearted disposition of the inhabitants of the “imirald isle,” it might be as well to give notice—even in such a case—that “no Irish need apply.”
For more than a month I thought that Duffy was as single as the very Gloucester he had for cheese, and so I should have believed him to my dying day, had I not noticed that he not only seemed too attentive by half to his washerwoman—who afterwards turned out to be his draggle-tail hussey of a wife—but also that the bundles of dirty clothes he sent to the wash, were considerably more corpulent, than, from the usual filthy state of his linen, I should have been led to expect. And it wasn’t long before I found out the cause of it all; for one fine Monday morning, I happened to go into the pantry, and there lay the usual stout bundle of dirty linen, belonging to John Duffy, Esquire. When I opened it on the sly, I thought I should have fainted. There they were—very pretty indeed!—two pair of cotton stockings—one pair of cold fried soles—one cotton night-cap—half a raspberry jam tart—one day shirt—a large piece of a beef-steak pie—two dickies—six tallow candles—four white cravats—a hunk of cold bacon—one pair of drawers—and upon my honour, near upon half a hundred weight of coals stuffed inside of them.
But the beauty of it was, that not content with robbing me of my meat and coals, and candles and things, thevillain must set to work pilfering our wine as well; and whenever Mr. Sk—n—st—n told him to decanter a bottle of port, or even sherry, I declare if the fellow didn’t, while he stood at the sideboard with his back turned to us, fill a good sized physic bottle out of it every time, for his own private drinking. For a long time it struck me, that less wine went to the quart bottle than is usual even with wine-merchants; but I attributed this to the improvements which are going on in glass manufactories so rapidly, that bottles, apparently the same size as they used to be, are made, by some invisible arrangement at the bottom, to hold twice as little as they used to do; while they seem to be getting less and less so fast, that soon, instead of two pints making one quart, in wine and beer measure, as our schoolmasters foolishly taught us to believe, we shall find it just the very reverse; for shortly, the “Honourable Company of Free Vintners” will teach us that two quarts make one pint.
Of course, from this I suspected something was wrong, and longed for the time when I should find my gentleman out. Accordingly, one day seeing that Mr. Duffy was out of his pantry, and the key in his cupboard door, I just took the liberty of looking into it, and there, to my great delight, I saw several rows of physic bottles packed one a-top of another—with sawdust, too, as I’m a Christian! and lying on their sides for all the world like a miniature bin of wine. I took up one of them, labelled “this draught to be taken at bed time;” and I declare if it wasn’t some of our very best port—then another, ticketed, “the mixture as before,” and hang me, if that wasn’t a phial full of our very choicest brown sherry! and on reaching down a bottle divided into quarters, with directions, ordering, “a fourth part of this gargle to be used whenever the throat is troublesome,” and if that one wasn’t filled to the cork—I never knew such impudence!—with some of our very primest Cogniac brandy! “Hoity toity!” cried I, “so Mr. Duffy must needs have a private cellar of his own. No wonder Mr. Edward is always telling me, in his nasty, mean, insinuating way, as if he thought I drank them, that the wine and spirits go very fast.”
I wasn’t long before I had the whole of Mr. Duffy’s small private cellar safe in my work basket, and, in less than twominutes, fast in one of the cupboards of the sideboard. As it was lunch time I determined to try “a draught to be taken in the morning” myself; for, to tell the truth I felt rather faint, and thought a glass of port couldn’t hurt me. But didn’t it though; for no sooner did I put it in my mouth than—ah, faugh!—oh! lud a mercy me! I never tasted such filth. If the dirty, fat, lazy pig, hadn’t been pouring the wine into a black dose bottle, without ever taking the trouble to wash it out first! “Oh, I wish to goodness gracious!” I cried, putting my hand to my stomach—for I felt far from myself—“I could only afford to give that dishonest mammoth of a Duffy notice to quit; and so I would this very moment, if it wasn’t for that beautiful livery which ought to have another six months’ wear in it at least!”
About this time, too, it seemed as if Fate—bother take her!—thought that that Duffy wasn’t enough to fill my cup, so she must needs go throwing that Wittals in, to make it run over. For, as luck would have it, one evening, home comes Mr. Skn—n—st—n with the joyful news, that the young ogre—missing the larder, no doubt—had grown tired of the few pleasantries connected with the legal profession, and had had the impudence to demand that he should be taken back again into my service—telling Edward to his face, that he’d learnt law enough in his office to know I had bound myself to keep him for these two years to come. Well, thought I, my fine gentleman, I could have told you as much; but, of course, I wasn’t going to do so.
The next day, who should march into the house but the young imp himself, without so much as even a single button left on his beautiful jacket; and when I asked him what he had done with them, he told me quite coolly that he’d been gambling at dumps, and having staked his all, had lost the whole of my beautiful plated sugar-loafs at one unlucky throw! This put me in such a horrid pet, that I raised my hand to give the young monkey a box on the ears, which he should remember to his dying day, when, bless us and save us! if the whiskerless Turk didn’t throw himself into one of the boldest attitudes of “the noble art” of self-defence, and spitting in the palm of one of his hands—a dirty young imp!—began dancing about, too, and bobbing his head, andsparring away at me, saying, “Come on old un! I should like to see you do it.” “Oh, you wicked young coward,” I cried; “what, would you strike a poor woman—augh!” “Wouldn’t I though,” upon my word the monkey answered, “if she goes hitting on me fust.” I told him to take himself down stairs as quick as ever he could, and when Mr. Sk—n—st—n came home, we’d see if he would strikehim.
Bother take the boy, there was no keeping him quiet anyhow! Now, for instance, I was obliged to go to the expense of having his livery done up, for, of course, I couldn’t see the urchin going about the disreputable figure he was. Well, a day or two after I had got him to look something like decent, I wanted to go and see dear mother, merely to ask the good old soul, whether—as the heat was so oppressive—she had got a good receipt for making ginger beer, and any old stone bottles she could spare me. As I was only going that short distance, I thought there would be no use in taking Duffy away from his work—especially as I didn’t see the necessity of letting him know who and what my friends were, or of pointing out to the fat stuck-up pig that the merchant I had made out my respected father to be was merely a coal ditto, and the vessels which I had spoken so often of before him at meals, were merely two barges filled with the very finest knubbly “Lord Mayors.” And as for taking that young Wittals to walk behind me as a protector, bless you! it was worse than useless. Besides, the young monkey had got a tongue as long as my arm, and I should have those filthy, shameful, wicked, false reports, flying all about the neighbourhood again, with their precious “Mrs. Sk—n—st—n’s friends is only heavers.” Heavers! pretty heavers, indeed!
Well, as I was saying, off I trotted to dear mother’s, but as my luck would have it, she couldn’t lay her hands on the receipt I wanted, anywhere. However, as Mrs. Lockley had given it to her, the good old soul had no doubt she would do as much for me. So I thought to myself, the best thing I can do is to go on and see that sweet woman. Mother, with her usual kindness, wanted me to stay dinner; but I begged of her not to ask me to stop that day, as I had got a beautiful hot fillet of veal for dinner, (which I am very partial to,) but if she liked I would come on the morrow when it wascold, (which I do not like at all). Whereupon mother said as it was her washing day, I must take pot luck if I came; but knowing whatthatstood for at home, I suddenly remembered a pressing engagement I had, which, I regretted, would deprive me of the pleasure.
I thought I should never have got to that sweet woman, Mrs. Lockley’s; for really the weather did seem to me so oppressive, that, upon my word, I felt ready to drop; and if it hadn’t been for the look of the thing, I do believe I should have sat down to rest myself on one of the door-steps. I was so hungry, too, with my long walk, that I certainly should have gone into some pastry-cook’s on my way, and destroyed my stomach with a lot of trash out of the housekeeping, if I hadn’t known that it was close upon that sweet woman Mrs. Lockley’s hour for luncheon.
When I got to Mrs. Lockley’s, of course, with my usual luck, she had only got one or two filthy baked apples and a little cold bullock’s heart (which, though I’d go miles for when smoking hot with veal stuffing, plenty of currant jelly, and a plate as warm as warm can be, yet I can’t even bear to look at it when it’s cold). So, as I didn’t relish this fare very much, I told Mrs. Lockley, when she apologised for the lunch, and asked me if I’d do as she did, that nothing on earth would give me greater pleasure, as, strange to say, they were two of my most favourite dishes; but, I added, I’m frightened to touch either, my love—for, to tell the truth, I’ve a nasty cold upon me; and, as I know I can be frank with you, my dear, if you should happen to have such a thing as an oyster or two handy, I think it would do me good. When, actually, the sweet woman, like a stupid,wouldsend out for some expressly for me, though I begged and prayed of the kind soul not to put herself to all that trouble on my account—taking good care, however, not to overdo it this time; for I thought it was the least she could do for me after leaving me to pay the whole of that cab, in the disgraceful way she had. As Lockley was out of town, and as I remembered she hadn’t seen our footman, and, besides, as I had got a love of a fillet of veal, why, I thought I couldn’t do less after all her kindness than ask that sweet woman, Mrs. Lockley, to come and take a plain family dinner with usthat day; which she said she would. Presently, off we started, and walked along chatting so comfortably, no one can tell.
Just as we had got near home, and I was thinking how nice and envious that sweet woman, Mrs. Lockley, would be, when she found poor us living in such superior style to herself, and that we kept two male servants instead of her little poking twopenny-half-penny one—lo, and behold! all of a sudden, I saw a large crowd of little dirty boys collected in a ring across the road, right opposite our house. By the noise of the drums, I knew it was a sight, and I hurried along as fast as ever I could, for I do like to see them. As we approached, I heard the voice of one of those stupid street conjurors crying out as loud as he could, that as soon as there was ninepence in the ring, he would cut off some poor young gentleman’s head. So I told that sweet woman, Mrs. Lockley, to come along for heaven’s sake, or we shouldn’t be in time; and on we toddled together as fast as my legs would carry me. On looking up at our house, I declare if there wasn’t that stupid, stupid cook, and that lazy minx of a housemaid lolling out of one of the windows of my bedroom, and that John Duffy out of the other. I merely shook my parasol at them then, and went as near as I could to see the stupid nonsense. When I caught sight of the boy in the ring, who had come forward to allow himself to be beheaded, positively if it wasn’t that abominable, wicked, incorrigible young imp of a Wittals of mine, who, having seen the trick done some hundred of times before, and knowing very well that the ninepence never yet had been made up, was delighted at being a party to the stupid imposition, which, I dare say, he thought a capital joke. No sooner did I set eyes upon him, out there in the middle of the dusty road, in my beautiful claret and silver (only just newly renovated too), with his best hat down on the ground, and all the neighbours at the windows, laughing away at the gratifying idea of the Sk—n—st—n’s grand page making such a scamp of himself—no sooner, I repeat, did I set eyes upon the disreputable young rip, than at him I rushed, right through the little boys. But directly he caught sight of me, on went his hat, with all the coppers that had been collected in it, a-top of his head, and off he scampered, and Iafter him, parasol in hand, as hard as I could go, while after me came all the little dirty boys, hurraying and hooting, and hollowing out “Go it, missus,”—“Go it, tiger,” until—finding I couldn’t catch that Wittals—I turned round, and began laying my parasol about the noisy and impudent young vagabonds at my heels. And then, oh, la! the nasty young dogs! what must they do but begin pelting me with mud and all kinds of filth, right over my beautiful lace bonnet and love of a poplin dress—salmon shot snuff,—and kept on at it, even on my own door step, whilst I was jerking away at the bell and hammering away at the knocker, trying to get that big fat elephant of a Duffy to saunter up to the door before I was one positive cake of mud from head to foot—for, drat those boys! the more I ran after them, the more they pelted me.
When I went to the parlour window, to shake my fist at the young urchins, who wouldn’t go away from the house, but kept on hooting outside as hard as they could, who should I see on the other side of the way, laughing fit to burst all her hooks and eyes, but that vulgar woman, Mrs. Lockley, drat her! whom I, like a great big silly, had brought up to see the superior style in which we lived. Well, there always was something about the creature I didn’t exactly like!
When I told dear, dear Edward of all that happened, and how that Wittals had been going on the very day after I had consented to receive him back to my service, he very justly said, that he wasn’t at all surprised at anything that young vagabond did, for he was impudent as a London sparrow, and he had been quite sickened of him by his tricks at his office; in fact, he knew there was no getting the good-for-nothing scapegrace to do a thing. For instance, if he wanted a simple letter copied, and called out to him, “Wittals, what have you got in hand just now?” the scamp would be sure to answer, “An apple, please sir,” or something just as aggravating. So Edward advised me, that the best thing I could do was to go down to the workhouse, and try and get them to take the boy back, which he was sure they would for a few pounds, if the case was properly represented to them. But I pretty soon told my gentleman that I was sure they would do no such thing (and if they would, I wouldn’t). For, to tell the truth, now that I had got two male servants in the house, I