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mere have given to have had addressed to himself one of the long letters, crossed down to the very postscript, full of sparkling delicacy, good nature, and good sense, which so often found their way to the "Rev. Dr Tatham, Yatton Vicarage, Yorkshire?" They were thus apprised of every thing of moment that transpired at Yatton, to which their feelings clung with unalienable affection. Dr Tatham's letters had indeed almost always a painful degree of interest attached to them. From his frequent mention of Mr Gammon's name-and almost equally favourable as frequent -it appeared that he possessed a vast ascendency over Mr Titmouse, and was, whenever he was at Yatton, in a manner its moving spirit. The Doctor represented Titmouse as a truly wretched creature, with no more sense of religion than a monkey; equally silly, selfish, and vulgar-unfeeling and tyrannical wherever he had an opportunity of exhibiting his real cha

racter.

It exquisitely pained them, moreover, to find pretty distinct indications of a sterner and stricter rule being apparent at Yatton, than had ever been known there before, so far as the tenants and villagers were concerned. Rents were now required to be paid with the utmost punctuality; many of them were raised, and harsher terms introduced into their leases and agreements. In Mr Aubrey's time a distress or an action for rent was literally a thing unheard of in any part of the estate; but nearly a dozen had occurred since the accession of Mr Titmouse. If this was at the instance of the ruling spirit, Mr Gammon, he certainly got none of the odium of the proceeding, every letter announcing a resort to those extreme proceedings being expressly authorized by Mr Titmouse personally; Mr Gammon, on most of such occasions, putting in a faint word or two in favour of the tenant, but ineffectually. The legal proceedings were always conducted in the name of "Bloodsuck and Son," whose town agents were, "Quirk, Gammon, and Snap ;" but their names never came under the eye of the defendants! No longer could the poor villagers, and poorer tenants, reckon on their former assistance from the hall in the hour of sickness and distress: cowslip wine, currant wine,

[Jan. elderberry wine, if made, were consumed in the hall. In short, there was a discontinuance of all those innumerable little endearing courtesies, and charities, and hospitalities, which render a good old country mansion the very heart of the neighbourhood. The doctor, in one of his letters, intimated, with a sort of agony, that he had heard it mentioned by the people at the hall, as probable that Mr Titmouse-the little Goth-would pull down that noble old relic, the cast turreted gateway; but that Mr Gammon was vehemently opposed to such a measure; and that if it were preserved after all, it would be entirely owing to the taste and the influence of that gentleman. Had Dr Tatham chosen, he could have added a fact that would indeed have saddened his friends-viz., that the old sycamore, which had been preserved at the fond entreaties of Kate, and which was hallowed by so many sad and tender associations, had been long ago removed as a sort of eyesore; Mr Gammon had, in fact, directed it to be done: but he repeatedly expressed to Dr Tatham, confidentially, his regret at such an act on the part of Titmouse. He could also have told them that there had been a dog fight in the village, at which Mr Titmouse was present! Persons were beginning to make their appearance in the village, of a very different description from any that had been seen there in the time of the Aubreys-persons, now and then, of loose, and wild, and reckless characters. Mr Titmouse would often get up a fight in the village, and reward the victor with five or ten shillings! Then the snug and quiet little "Aubrey Arms" was metamorphosed into the "Titmouse Arms;" and another set up in opposition to it, and called "The Toper's Arms;' and it was really painful to see the increasing trade driven by each of them. They were both full every night, and often during the day also; and the vigilant, and affectionate, and grieved eye of the good vicar noticed several seats in the church, which had formerly been oc cupied every Sunday morning and afternoon, to be-empty! In his letters, he considerately sunk the grosser features of Titmouse's conduct, which would have only uselessly grieved and disgusted his beloved correspondents. He informed them, however, from

time to time, of the different visiters by the bare idea, even, and put for

at the hall, particularly of the arrival and movements of their magnificent kinsfolk, the Earl of Dreddlington and Lady Cecilia, the Marquis Gants Jaunes de Millefleurs and Mr Tuftthe novel state and ceremony which had been suddenly introduced there at which they all ceased reading for a moment, and laughed, well knowing the character of Lord Dreddlington. At length, some considerable time after Mr Titmouse's grand visiters had been at the hall, there came a letter from Dr Tatham, sent by a private hand, and not reaching Vivian Street till the evening, when they were sitting together, after dinner, as usual, and which contained intelligence that was received in sudden silence, and with looks of astonishment, viz. that Mr Titmouse had become the acknowledged suitor of the Lady Cecilia!! Mr Aubrey, after a moment's pause, laughed more heartily than they had heard him laugh for many months-getting up, at the same time, and walking once or twice across the room-Mrs Aubrey and Miss Aubrey gazed at each other for a few moments, without speaking a word; and you could not have told whe. ther their fair countenances showed more of amusement or of disgust at the intelligence. "Well! it is as I have often told you, Kate," commenced Mr Aubrey, after a while, resuming his seat, and addressing his sister with an air of good-humoured raillery; "You've lost your chance-you've held your head so high. Ah, 'tis all over nowand our fair cousin is mistress of Yatton !"

"Indeed, Charles," quoth Kate, earnestly, "I do think it's too painful a subject for a joke."

"Why, Kate!-You must bear it as well"

"Pho, pho-nonsense, Charles! To be serious-did you ever hear anything so shocking as pe"

"Do you mean to tell me, Kate," commenced her brother, assuming suddenly such a serious air as for a moment imposed on his sister, "that to become mistress of dear old Yatton -which was offered to you, you know -you would not have consented, when it came to the point, to become- Mrs Titmouse?" For an instant, Kate looked at if she would have made, in the eye of the statuary, an exquisite model of beautiful disdain-provoked

ward, as she knew, in raillery only. "You know, Charles," said she at length, calmly, her features relaxing into a smile, "that if such a wretch had ten thousand Yattons, I would, rather than marry him-oh!"-she shuddered-" spring from Dover cliff into the sea!"

"Ah, Kate, Kate!" exclaimed her brother, with a look of infinite pride and fondness. "Even supposing for a moment that you had no prev"

"Come, Charles, no more nonsense," said Kate, patting his cheek, and slightly colouring.

"I say, that even if".

"Only fancy," interrupted Kate, "Lady Cecilia-TITMOUSE! I see her before me now. Well, I protest it is positively insufferable; I could not have thought that there was a woman in the whole world-why"-she paused, and added laughingly," how I should like to see their correspondence!"

"What!" said Mrs Aubrey, with a sly smile, first at her husband, and then at Kate, " as a model for a certain other correspondence that I can imagine-eb, Kate?"

"Nonsense, nonsense, Agnes !what a provoking humour you are both in this evening," interrupted Kate, with a slight pettishness; "what we've heard makes me melancholy enough, I assure you!"

"I suppose that about the same time that Lady Cecilia Titmouse goes to court," said her brother, "so will the Honourable Mrs Dela'

"If you choose to tease me, Charles, of course I cannot help it," quoth Kate, colouring still more; but it required no very great acuteness to detect that the topic was not excessively offensive.

"Mrs De".

"Have done, Charles!" said she, rising; and putting her arm round his neck, she pressed her fair hand on his mouth; but he pushed it aside laughingly.

"Mrs De-Dela-Delamere," he continued.

"I will finish it for you, Charles," said Mrs Aubrey, "the Honourable Mr and Mrs Delamere."

"What! do you turn against me too?" enquired Kate, laughing very good-humouredly.

"I wonder what her stately lady.

ship's feelings were," said Aubrey, after a pause," the first time that her elegant and accomplished lover saluted her!!"

"Eugh!" exclaimed both Kate and Mrs Aubrey, in a breath, and with a simultaneous shudder of disgust.

"I dare say, poor old Lord Dreddlington's notion is, that this will be a fine opportunity for bringing about his favourite scheme of re-uniting the families-Heaven save the mark!" said Mr Aubrey, just as the twopenny postman's knock at the door was heard; and within a few moments' time the servant brought up stairs a letter addressed to Mr Aubrey. The very first glance at its contents expelled the smile from his countenance, and the colour from his cheek: he turned, in fact, so pale, that Mrs Au. brey and Kate also changed colourand came and stood with beating hearts, and suddenly suspended breath, one on each side of him, looking over the letter while he was reading it. As I intend presently to lay a copy of it before the reader, I shall first state a few circumstances, which will make it appear that this letter may be compared to a shell thrown into a peaceful little citadel, by a skilful, though distant and unseen engineer-in short, I mean Mr Gammon.

This astute and determined person had long been bent upon securing one object-namely, access to Mr Aubrey's family circle, for reasons which have been already communicated to the reader. That Mr Aubrey was, at all events, by no means anxious for such a favour, had been long before abundantly manifest to Gammon, and yet not in a way to give him any legitimate or excusable grounds of of fence. The Aubreys had, he acknowledged, and especially in their present circumstances, an unquestionable right to receive or reject, as they thought fit, any overtures to acquaintance. Nothing, he felt, could be more unexceptionably courteous than Mr Aubrey's demeanour; yet had it been such as to satisfy him, that unless he resorted to some means of unusual efficacy, he never could get upon visiting terms with the Aubreys. The impres sion which Miss Aubrey had originally produced in his mind, remained as distinct and vivid as ever. Her beauty, her grace, her elevated character, (of which he had heard much on all

hands,) her accomplishments, her high birth-all were exquisitely appreciated by him, and conspired to constitute a prize, for the gaining of which he deemed no exertion too great, no enterprize too hazardous. He had, moreover, other most important objects in view, to which a union with Miss Aubrey, was in fact essential. She was, again, the only person, the sight of whom had in any measure given vitality to his marble heart, exciting totally new thoughts and desires, such as stimulated him to a fierce and inflexible determination to succeed in his purposes. He was, in short, prepared to make almost any sacrifice, to wait any length of time, to do or suffer any thing that man could do or suffer, whether derogatory to his personal honour or not-in order either to secure the affections of Miss Aubrey, or, at all events, her consent to a union with him. Having early discovered the spot where Mr Aubrey had fixed his residence, Mr Gammon had made a point of lying in wait on a Sunday morning, for the purpose of discovering the church to which they went: and having succeeded, he became a constant, an impassioned, though an unseen observer of Miss Aubrey; from whom he seldom removed his eyes during the service. But this was to him a highly unsatisfactory state of things: he seemed, in fact, not to have made, nor to be likely to make, the least progress towards the accomplishment of his wishes, though much time had already passed away. He was so deeply engrossed with the affairs of Titmousewhich required his presence very frequently at Yatton, and a great deal of his attention in town-as to prevent his taking any decisive steps for some time in the matter nearest his heart. At length, not having seen or heard any thing of Mr Aubrey for some weeks, during which he-Gammonhad been in town, he resolved on a new stroke of policy.

"Mr Quirk," said he one day to his excellent senior partner," I fancy you will say that I am come to flatter you; but, Heaven knows!-if there is a man on the earth with whom I lay aside disguise, that man is my friend Mr Quirk. Really, it does seem, and mortifying enough it is to own it, as if events invariably showed that you are right-and I wrong," (Here

Mr Quirk's appearance might have suggested the idea of a great old tomcat who is rubbed down the right way of the fur, and does everything he can to testify the delight it gives him, by pressing against the person who affords him such gratification,)-"especially in financial matters

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"Ah, Gammon, Gammon! you're really past finding out!-Sometimes, now, I declare I fancy you the very keenest dog going in such matters, and at other times, eh ?—not particularly brilliant. When you've seen as much of this world's villany, Gammon, as I have, you'll find it as necessary as I have found it, to lay aside one'sone's-I say, to lay aside all scrupthat is,—I mean,-one's fine feelings, and so forth you understand, Gammon?"

"Perfectly, Mr Quirk".

"Well-and may I ask, Gammon, what is the particular occasion of that screwed up forehead of yours? Some- . thing in the wind?"

"Only this, Mr Quirk-I begin to suspect that I did very wrong in recommending you to give an indefinite time to that Mr Aubrey for payment of the heavy balance he owes us-by Heavens!-see how coolly he treats

us!"

"Indeed, Gammon, I think so!Besides, 'tis an uncommon heavy balance to owe so long, eh?-Fifteen hundred pounds, or thereabouts?— 'Gad! it's that, at least!"- Gammon shrugged his shoulders, and bowed, as resigned to any step which Mr Quirk might think proper to take.

"He's a villanous proud fellow, that Aubrey, eh?-Your swell debtors generally are, though-when they've got a bit of a hardship to harp upon

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Certainly we ought, when we had him in our power".

"Ah!-D'ye recollect, Gammon? the thumbscrew? eh? whose fault was it that it wasn't put on? eh? Tell me that, friend Gammon! Are you coming round to old Caleb Quirk's matter-of-fact way of doing business? Depend on't, the old boy has got a trick or two left in him yet, gray as his hair's grown."

"I bow, my dear Sir,-I own myself worsted, and all through that absurd weakness I have, which some choose to call'

"Oh Lord, Gammon! Bubble, bub

ble and botheration, ah, ha!-- Come, there's nobody here but you and meand-eh! old Bogy perhaps so why that little bit of blarney?"

"Oh, my dear Mr Quirk, spare me that cutting irony of yours. Surely when I have made the sincere and humiliating submission to which you have been listening,-but to return to business. I assure you that I think we ought to lose not a moment in getting in our balance, or at least coming to some satisfactory and definite arrangement concerning it. Only pinch him, and he'll bleed freely, depend on it."

"Ah, ha! Pinch him, and he'll bleed! That's my thunder, Gammon, ah, ha, ha!-By Jove! that's it to a T-I always thought the fellow had blood enough in him if we only squeezed him a little-so let Snap be off and have a writ out against Master Aubrey."

"Forgive me, my dear Mr Quirk," interrupted Gammon, blandly-“ we must go very cautiously to work, or we shall only injure ourselves, and prejudice our most important-and permanent interests. We must take care not to drive him desperate, poor devil, or he may take the benefit of the act, and"

"What a cursed scamp he would be to"

"Certainly; but we should suffer more than he'

"Surely, Gammon, they'd remand him! Eighteen months at the very least."

"Not an hour-not a minute, Mr Quirk," said Gammon, very earnestly.

"The deuce they wouldn't? Well! Law's come to a pretty point! And so lenient as we've been !"

"What occurs to me as the best method of procedure," said Gammon, after musing for a moment-" is, for you to write a letter to him immediately-civil but peremptory-just one of those letters of yours, my dear sir, in which no man living can excel you suaviter in modo, fortiter in re, Mr Quirk."

"Gammon, you're a gentleman, every inch of you-you are, upon my soul ! If there is one thing in which I but you're a hand at a letter of that sort, too! And you have man◄ aged these people hitherto; why not go on to the end of the chapter ?"

"Mr Quirk, I look upon this letter

ship's feelings were," said Aubrey, after a pause, "the first time that her elegant and accomplished lover saluted her!!

66

Eugh!" exclaimed both Kate and Mrs Aubrey, in a breath, and with a simultaneous shudder of disgust.

"I dare say, poor old Lord Dreddlington's notion is, that this will be a fine opportunity for bringing about his favourite scheme of re-uniting the families-Heaven save the mark!" said Mr Aubrey, just as the twopenny postman's knock at the door was heard; and within a few moments' time the servant brought up stairs a letter addressed to Mr Aubrey. The very first glance at its contents expelled the smile from his countenance, and the colour from his cheek: he turned, in fact, so pale, that Mrs Au. brey and Kate also changed colour and came and stood with beating hearts, and suddenly suspended breath, one on each side of him, looking over the letter while he was reading it. As I intend presently to lay a copy of it before the reader, I shall first state a few circumstances, which will make it appear that this letter may be compared to a shell thrown into a peaceful little citadel, by a skilful, though distant and unseen engineer-in short, I mean Mr Gammon.

This astute and determined person had long been bent upon securing one object-namely, access to Mr Aubrey's family circle, for reasons which have been already communicated to the reader. That Mr Aubrey was, at all events, by no means anxions for such a favour, had been long before abundantly manifest to Gammon, and yet not in a way to give him any legitimate or excusable grounds of of fence. The Aubreys had, he acknowledged, and especially in their present circumstances, an unquestionable right to receive or reject, as they thought fit, any overtures to acquaintance. Nothing, he felt, could be more unexceptionably courteous than Mr Aubrey's demeanour; yet had it been such as to satisfy him, that unless he resorted to some means of unusual officacy, he never could get upon visiting terms with the Aubreys. The impression which Miss Aubrey had originally produced in his mind, remained as distinct and vivid as ever. Her beauty, her grace, her elevated character, (of which he had heard much on all

hands,) her accomplishments, her high birth-all were exquisitely appreciated by him, and conspired to constitute a prize, for the gaining of which he deemed no exertion too great, no enterprize too hazardous. He had, moreover, other most important objects in view, to which a union with Miss Aubrey, was in fact essential. She was, again, the only person, the sight of whom had in any measure given vitality to his marble heart, exciting totally new thoughts and desires, such as stimulated him to a fierce and inflexible determination to succeed in his purposes. He was, in short, prepared to make almost any sacrifice, to wait any length of time, to do or suffer any thing that man could do or suffer, whether derogatory to his personal honour or not-in order either to secure the affections of Miss Aubrey, or, at all events, her consent to a union with him. Having early discovered the spot where Mr Aubrey had fixed his residence, Mr Gammon had made a point of lying in wait on a Sunday morning, for the purpose of discovering the church to which they went: and having succeeded, he became a constant, an impassioned, though an unseen observer of Miss Aubrey; from whom he seldom removed his eyes during the service. But this was to him a highly unsatisfactory state of things: he seemed, in fact, not to have made, nor to be likely to make, the least progress towards the accomplishment of his wishes, though much time had already passed away. He was so deeply engrossed with the affairs of Titmousewhich required his presence very frequently at Yatton, and a great deal of his attention in town-as to prevent his taking any decisive steps for some time in the matter nearest his heart. At length, not having seen or heard any thing of Mr Aubrey for some weeks, during which he-Gammonhad been in town, he resolved on a new stroke of policy.

"Mr Quirk," said he one day to his excellent senior partner, "I fancy you will say that I am come to flatter you; but, Heaven knows!-if there is a man on the earth with whom I lay aside disguise, that man is my friend Mr Quirk. Really, it does seem, and mortifying enough it is to own it, as if events invariably showed that you are right—and I wrong," (Here

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