“What procures me the honour of Sir George Warrington's visit, and pray, Mr. Sampson, what do you do here?” says my lord. I think he had forgotten the existence of this book, or had never seen it; and when he offered to take his Bible oath of what he had heard from his father, had simply volunteered a perjury.
I was shaking hands with his companion, a nobleman with whom I had had the honour to serve in America. “I came,” I said, “to convince myself of a fact, about which you were mistaken yesterday; and I find the proof in your lordship's own house. Your lordship was pleased to take your lordship's Bible oath, that there was no agreement between your father and his mother, relative to some property which I hold. When Mr. Sampson was your lordship's secretary, he perfectly remembered having seen a copy of such an assignment, and here it is.”
“And do you mean, Sir George Warrington, that unknown to me you have been visiting my papers?” cries my lord.
“I doubted the correctness of your statement, though backed by your lordship's Bible oath,” I said with a bow.
“This, sir, is robbery! Give the papers back!” bawled my lord.
“Robbery is a rough word, my lord. Shall I tell the whole story to Lord Rawdon?”
“What, is it about the Marquisate? Connu, connu, my dear Sir George! We always called you the Marquis in New York. I don't know who brought the story from Virginia.”
I never had heard this absurd nickname before, and did not care to notice it. “My Lord Castlewood,” I said, “not only doubted, but yesterday laid a claim to my property, taking his Bible oath that——”
Castlewood gave a kind of gasp, and then said, “Great heaven! Do you mean, Sir George, that there actually is an agreement extant? Yes. Here it is—my father's handwriting, sure enough! Then the question is clear. Upon my o——well, upon my honour as a gentleman! I never knew of such an agreement, and must have been mistaken in what my father said. This paper clearly shows the property is yours: and not being mine—why, I wish you joy of it!” and he held out his hand with the blandest smile.
“And how thankful you will be to me, my lord, for having enabled him to establish the right,” says Sampson, with a leer on his face.