Redgauntlet [117]
to treble in a very extraordinary manner, or breaking off his sentences with a whiff of his pipe, seemed adopted to give an air of thought and mature deliberation to his opinions and decisions. Notwithstanding all this, Alan, it might be DOOTED, as our old Professor used to say, whether the Justice was anything more then an ass. Certainly, besides a great deference for the legal opinion of his clerk, which might be quite according to the order of things, he seemed to be wonderfully under the command of his brother squire, if squire either of them were, and indeed much more than was consistent with so much assumed consequence of his own.
'Ho--ha--aye--so--so--hum--humph--this is the young man, I suppose--hum--aye--seems sickly. Young gentleman, you may sit down.'
I used the permission given, for I had been much more reduced by my illness than I was aware of, and felt myself really fatigued, even by the few paces I had walked, joined to the agitation I suffered.
'And your name, young man, is--humph--aye--ha--what is it?'
'Darsie Latimer.'
'Right--aye--humph--very right. Darsie Latimer is the very thing--ha--aye--where do you come from?'
'From Scotland, sir,' I replied.
'A native of Scotland--a--humph--eh--how is it?'
'I am an Englishman by birth, sir.'
'Right--aye--yes, you are so. But pray, Mr. Darsie Latimer, have you always been called by that name, or have you any other?-- Nick, write down his answers, Nick.'
'As far as I remember, I never bore any other,' was my answer.
'How, no? well, I should not have thought so, Hey, neighbour, would you?'
Here he looked towards the other squire, who had thrown himself into a chair; and, with his legs stretched out before him, and his arms folded on his bosom, seemed carelessly attending to what was going forward. He answered the appeal of the Justice by saying, that perhaps the young man's memory did not go back to a very early period.
'Ah--eh--ha--you hear the gentleman. Pray, how far may your memory be pleased to run back to?--umph?'
'Perhaps, sir, to the age of three years, or a little further.'
'And will you presume to say, sir,' said the squire, drawing himself suddenly erect in his seat, and exerting the strength of his powerful voice, 'that you then bore your present name?'
I was startled at the confidence with which this question was put, and in vain rummaged my memory for the means of replying. 'At least,' I said, 'I always remember being called Darsie; children, at that early age, seldom get more than their Christian name.'
'Oh, I thought so,' he replied, and again stretched himself on his seat, in the same lounging posture as before.
'So you were called Darsie in your infancy,' said the Justice; 'and--hum--aye--when did you first take the name of Latimer?'
'I did not take it, sir; it was given to me.'
'I ask you,' said the lord of the mansion, but with less severity in his voice than formerly, 'whether you can remember that you were ever called Latimer, until you had that name given you in Scotland?'
'I will be candid: I cannot recollect an instance that I was so called when in England, but neither can I recollect when the name was first given me; and if anything is to be founded on these queries and my answers, I desire my early childhood may be taken into consideration.'
'Hum--aye--yes,' said the Justice; 'all that requires consideration shall be duly considered. Young man--eh--I beg to know the name of your father and mother?'
This was galling a wound that has festered for years, and I did not endure the question so patiently as those which preceded it; but replied, 'I demand, in my turn, to know if I am before an English Justice of the Peace?'
'His worship, Squire Foxley, of Foxley Hall, has been of the quorum these twenty years,' said Master Nicholas.
'Then he ought to know, or you, sir, as his clerk, should inform him,' said I, 'that I am the complainer in this case, and that my complaint ought to be heard before I am subjected to cross- examination.'
'Humph--hoy--what, aye--there
'Ho--ha--aye--so--so--hum--humph--this is the young man, I suppose--hum--aye--seems sickly. Young gentleman, you may sit down.'
I used the permission given, for I had been much more reduced by my illness than I was aware of, and felt myself really fatigued, even by the few paces I had walked, joined to the agitation I suffered.
'And your name, young man, is--humph--aye--ha--what is it?'
'Darsie Latimer.'
'Right--aye--humph--very right. Darsie Latimer is the very thing--ha--aye--where do you come from?'
'From Scotland, sir,' I replied.
'A native of Scotland--a--humph--eh--how is it?'
'I am an Englishman by birth, sir.'
'Right--aye--yes, you are so. But pray, Mr. Darsie Latimer, have you always been called by that name, or have you any other?-- Nick, write down his answers, Nick.'
'As far as I remember, I never bore any other,' was my answer.
'How, no? well, I should not have thought so, Hey, neighbour, would you?'
Here he looked towards the other squire, who had thrown himself into a chair; and, with his legs stretched out before him, and his arms folded on his bosom, seemed carelessly attending to what was going forward. He answered the appeal of the Justice by saying, that perhaps the young man's memory did not go back to a very early period.
'Ah--eh--ha--you hear the gentleman. Pray, how far may your memory be pleased to run back to?--umph?'
'Perhaps, sir, to the age of three years, or a little further.'
'And will you presume to say, sir,' said the squire, drawing himself suddenly erect in his seat, and exerting the strength of his powerful voice, 'that you then bore your present name?'
I was startled at the confidence with which this question was put, and in vain rummaged my memory for the means of replying. 'At least,' I said, 'I always remember being called Darsie; children, at that early age, seldom get more than their Christian name.'
'Oh, I thought so,' he replied, and again stretched himself on his seat, in the same lounging posture as before.
'So you were called Darsie in your infancy,' said the Justice; 'and--hum--aye--when did you first take the name of Latimer?'
'I did not take it, sir; it was given to me.'
'I ask you,' said the lord of the mansion, but with less severity in his voice than formerly, 'whether you can remember that you were ever called Latimer, until you had that name given you in Scotland?'
'I will be candid: I cannot recollect an instance that I was so called when in England, but neither can I recollect when the name was first given me; and if anything is to be founded on these queries and my answers, I desire my early childhood may be taken into consideration.'
'Hum--aye--yes,' said the Justice; 'all that requires consideration shall be duly considered. Young man--eh--I beg to know the name of your father and mother?'
This was galling a wound that has festered for years, and I did not endure the question so patiently as those which preceded it; but replied, 'I demand, in my turn, to know if I am before an English Justice of the Peace?'
'His worship, Squire Foxley, of Foxley Hall, has been of the quorum these twenty years,' said Master Nicholas.
'Then he ought to know, or you, sir, as his clerk, should inform him,' said I, 'that I am the complainer in this case, and that my complaint ought to be heard before I am subjected to cross- examination.'
'Humph--hoy--what, aye--there