"Quite right, Ned; perfectly so. He stood high at the bar, had agreat name and great wealth, but having risen from nothing--I havealways closed my eyes to the circumstance and steadily resisted itscontemplation, but I fear his father dealt in pork, and that hisbusiness did once involve cow-heel and sausages--he wished to marryhis daughter into a good family. He had his heart"s desire, Ned.
I was a younger son"s younger son, and I married her. We each hadour object, and gained it. She stepped at once into the politestand best circles, and I stepped into a fortune which I assure youwas very necessary to my comfort--quite indispensable. Now, mygood fellow, that fortune is among the things that have been. Itis gone, Ned, and has been gone--how old are you? I alwaysforget."
"Seven-and-twenty, sir."
"Are you indeed?" cried his father, raising his eyelids in alanguishing surprise. "So much! Then I should say, Ned, that asnearly as I remember, its skirts vanished from human knowledge,about eighteen or nineteen years ago. It was about that time whenI came to live in these chambers (once your grandfather"s, andbequeathed by that extremely respectable person to me), andcommenced to live upon an inconsiderable annuity and my pastreputation."
"You are jesting with me, sir," said Edward.
"Not in the slightest degree, I assure you," returned his fatherwith great composure. "These family topics are so extremely dry,that I am sorry to say they don"t admit of any such relief. It isfor that reason, and because they have an appearance of business,that I dislike them so very much. Well! You know the rest. Ason, Ned, unless he is old enough to be a companion--that is tosay, unless he is some two or three and twenty--is not the kind ofthing to have about one. He is a restraint upon his father, hisfather is a restraint upon him, and they make each other mutuallyuncomfortable. Therefore, until within the last four years or so-Ihave a poor memory for dates, and if I mistake, you will correctme in your own mind--you pursued your studies at a distance, andpicked up a great variety of accomplishments. Occasionally wepassed a week or two together here, and disconcerted each other asonly such near relations can. At last you came home. I candidlytell you, my dear boy, that if you had been awkward and overgrown,I should have exported you to some distant part of the world."
"I wish with all my soul you had, sir," said Edward.
"No you don"t, Ned," said his father coolly; "you are mistaken, Iassure you. I found you a handsome, prepossessing, elegantfellow, and I threw you into the society I can still command.
Having done that, my dear fellow, I consider that I have providedfor you in life, and rely upon your doing something to provide forme in return."
"I do not understand your meaning, sir."
"My meaning, Ned, is obvious--I observe another fly in the cream-jug, but have the goodness not to take it out as you did the first,for their walk when their legs are milky, is extremely ungracefuland disagreeable--my meaning is, that you must do as I did; thatyou must marry well and make the most of yourself."
"A mere fortune-hunter!" cried the son, indignantly.
"What in the devil"s name, Ned, would you be!" returned the father.
"All men are fortune-hunters, are they not? The law, the church,the court, the camp--see how they are all crowded with fortune-hunters, jostling each other in the pursuit. The stock-exchange,the pulpit, the counting-house, the royal drawing-room, thesenate,--what but fortune-hunters are they filled with? A fortune-hunter! Yes. You ARE one; and you would be nothing else, my dearNed, if you were the greatest courtier, lawyer, legislator,prelate, or merchant, in existence. If you are squeamish andmoral, Ned, console yourself with the reflection that at the veryworst your fortune-hunting can make but one person miserable orunhappy. How many people do you suppose these other kinds ofhuntsmen crush in following their sport--hundreds at a step? Orthousands?"
The young man leant his head upon his hand, and made no answer.