"Come, my good fellow, remember what I told you. No protestations. Let us come to the point."
"Thank you, sir—I will. Are you acquainted with London?"
"Tolerably well. What then?"
"You may have heard, sir, of a merchant there of the name of ——"
"Ay have I. One of our first men. Do you know him? Will he give you a character?"
"He is my uncle, sir—my mother's brother. Apply to him, and he will tell you I am a plunderer and a villain."
I looked at Mr Warton, somewhat startled by his frank communication, and waited to hear more.
"It is false—it is false!" continued the speaker emphatically. "I cannot melt a rock. I cannot penetrate a heart of stone. If I could do so, he would be otherwise."
"You surprise me!" I exclaimed.
"That I live, sir, is a miracle to myself. That I have not been destroyed by the misery which I have borne, is marvellous. A giant's strength must yield before oppression heaped upon oppression. But there, sir"—he added, pointing to his wife, and struggling for composure—"there has been my stay, my hope, my incitement; but for her—God bless her"—The wife motioned him to be silent, and he paused.