Rank and Talent; A Novel, Vol. 2 (of 3)

by William Pitt Scargill

The young ladies in general admired Mr. Markham for this expression, and they thought that he deserved their best thanks for thus reprehending and exposing such wanton and cruel wickedness. Miss Henderson was among the foremost to admire this sentiment. More than once or twice did she take up her pen to write Markham a letter of compliment and congratulation; to compliment him on his virtue, and to congratulate him on his success. But she had her fears and distrusts. She really did condescend to think that peradventure there might be some little impropriety, or some appearance of forwardness, if she should be the first to commence a correspondence; and yet she did very much wish for an opportunity of expressing to Markham her high sense of his professional talents, and her admiration of the moral beauty of his mind. What a pity it is that custom has so ordered it, that the lady must always wait till the gentleman takes it into his head to propose the question! it is very arbitrary. Perhaps many a worthy, modest, diffident gentleman, who would willingly, if he dared be so presumptuous, offer his hand to some beautiful, intelligent, amiable one of the other sex, is by this social, or rather unsocial regulation, doomed to live single, or to give his hand at last to some less worthy object. This, for aught Miss Henderson knew to the contrary, might be poor Markham's case. The young lady was aware that Markham was of humble origin, and to that she partly attributed his diffidence. She also thought that very likely he was waiting till by his professional exertions he had acquired a competency to live in a certain style. She was quite charmed with the beauty of his sentiments, and the sublimity of his mind; and whenever his name was mentioned, she was copious and fluent in his praise. It was the subject of her constant thoughts, and the theme of her frequent talk. So that most persons of her acquaintance thought that if there was not an absolute engagement, there was at least an implied understanding between them; and whenever, by her young friends, any sportive insinuations to that purpose were thrown out, she did not contradict them or set them right. Herein the young lady was obviously and decidedly wrong, and laid the foundation of some after perplexity, embarrassment, and mortification. It was wrong, very wrong indeed, and it was scarcely honest, inasmuch as she thought to make doubly sure of him, by suffering every one to take it for granted that there subsisted an engagement between them. But as honesty is the best policy, and as all deviations from that strict line are attended more or less with some inconvenience and disadvantage, Miss Henderson found that her object was far from being attained by this contrivance: for as she suffered this implied or supposed engagement to become common-talk among her friends, the rumor went farther, and reached the ears of Markham himself.

Great, unspeakably great, was his astonishment, when on his return from the circuit, and just as he was seated in his chambers and meditating on the sorrow which had afflicted him at parting from Clara, and thinking also of the sad change there now seemed to be in his prospects as they regarded her, great was his astonishment to see Mr. Martindale enter the apartment, and to hear him, before he had well uttered the ordinary salutation, exclaim,

"So my grave counsellor, I find you have lost your heart. A very pretty story; why you never condescended to honor me with the information. I suppose you thought I could not keep a secret. Well, well, you did wisely to keep your own counsel so long. If people can't keep their own secrets, nobody is likely to keep them for them. But methinks, young gentleman, you were rather in a hurry. You will not stand any great chance for making your fortune by the match; but that is your own concern. Nobody has any business with that but yourself. If you go on as you have begun, you will make a fortune in your profession; and perhaps, after all, that is the best way of making a fortune. You will enjoy it much more than if you have a fortune ready made for you."

Thus said Mr. Martindale to the astonished and perplexed Horatio Markham, who, as soon as he had recovered from the surprise with which this greeting overwhelmed him, replied,

"My good sir, you astonish me beyond measure. What can you allude to? I have not the slightest idea of what you can refer to. I assure you, sir, that you have been much misinformed if you have heard of any matrimonial engagement of mine."

With equal, if not greater astonishment, Mr. Martindale returned,

"My good sir, you astonish me beyond measure. Not know what I allude to? What, do you pretend to say that your attentions to Miss Henderson have meant nothing? All the world says that you are engaged to her, and that during the whole winter you have been assiduously attending her to the Opera, and perpetually dangling about with her. Indeed, some of your friends have observed that your attention was more occupied on Miss Henderson, than on the performances on the stage or orchestra: so it is absolutely ridiculous in you to affect to deny what every body knows to be the truth. And why should you deny it? you have a right to offer your hand to whomsoever you please. I know no objection to Miss Henderson."

Thereupon a flood of light burst in upon the mind of the young barrister, and he trembled in every limb, when he thought of the manner in which he had been so long and so carelessly committing himself. He saw that there was no room for denial, unless accompanied with very copious explanation; and he actually feared, that no explanation which he could give would be sufficient to exonerate him from the charge of having trifled with Miss Henderson's feelings, and having severely interrupted her happiness. This was not an enviable state of mind for a young gentleman who was very anxious to preserve a high moral reputation, as well as to acquire a high intellectual reputation. He was perplexed beyond measure; and he was for some minutes unable to say a word in continuation, denial, or defence. But thinking it absolutely necessary to say something after the very decided manner in which Mr. Martindale had brought the matter home to him, he replied,