第30章

following her wherever she moved.'I did not let him off so, even.At the cant, I bid and bid against them for the pretended Naboclish, till I, left him on their hands for 500 guineas.Ha!

ha! ha!--was not that famous?'

'But,' said Miss Nugent, 'I cannot believe you are in earnest, Sir Terence.Surely this would be--'

'What?--out with it, my dear Miss Nugent.'

'I am afraid of offending you.'

'You can't, my dear, I defy you--say the word that came to the tongue's end; it's always the best.'

'I was going to say, swindling,' said the young lady, colouring deeply.

'Oh! you was going to say wrong, then! It's not called swindling amongst gentlemen who know the world--it's only jockeying--fine sport--and very honourable to help a friend at a dead lift.Anything to get a friend out of a present pressing difficulty.'

'And when the present difficulty is over, do your friends never think of the future?'

The future! leave the future to posterity,' said Sir Terence;'I'm counsel only for the present; and when the evil comes, it's time enough to think of it.I can't bring the guns of my wits to bear till the enemy's alongside of me, or within sight of me at the least.And besides, there never was a good commander yet, by sea or land, that would tell his little expedients beforehand, or before the very day of battle.'

'It must be a sad thing,' said Miss Nugent, sighing deeply, 'to be reduced to live by little expedients--daily expedients.'

Lord Colambre struck his forehead, but said nothing.

'But if you are beating your brains about your own affairs, my Lord Colambre, my dear,' said Sir Terence, 'there's an easy way of settling your family affairs at once; and, since you don't like little daily expedients, Miss Nugent, there's one great expedient, and an expedient for life, that will settle it all to your satisfaction--and ours.I hinted it delicately to you before, but, between friends, delicacy is impertinent; so I tell you, in plain English, you've nothing to do but go and propose yourself, just as you stand, to the heiress Miss B--, that desires no better--'

'Sir!' cried Lord Colambre, stepping forward, red with sudden anger.Miss Nugent laid her hand upon his arm--'Oh, my lord!'

'Sir Terence O'Fay,' continued Lord Colambre, in a moderated tone, 'you are wrong to mention that young lady's name in such a manner.'

'Why, then, I said only Miss B--, and there are a whole hive of BEES.But I'll engage she'd thank me for what I suggested, and think herself the queen bee if my expedient was adopted by you.'

'Sir Terence,' said his lordship, smiling, 'if my father thinks proper that you should manage his affairs, and devise expedients for him, I have nothing to say on that point; but I must beg you will not trouble yourself to suggest expedients for me, and that you will have the goodness to leave me to settle my own affairs.'

Sir Terence made a low bow, and was silent for five seconds; then turning to Lord Clonbrony, who looked much more abashed than he did--'By the wise one, my good lord, I believe there are some men--noblemen, too--that don't know their friends from their enemies.

It's my firm persuasion, now, that if I had served you as Iserved my friend I was talking of, your son there would, ten to one, think I had done him an injury by saving the family plate.'

'I certainly should, sir.The family plate, sir, is not the first object in my mind,' replied Lord Colambre; 'family honour--Nay, Miss Nugent, I must speak,' continued his lordship, perceiving; by her countenance, that she was alarmed.

'Never fear, Miss Nugent dear,' said Sir Terence; 'I'm as cool as a cucumber.Faith! then, my Lord Colambre, I agree with you, that family honour's a mighty fine thing, only troublesome to one's self and one's friends, and expensive to keep up with all the other expenses and debts a gentleman has nowadays.So I, that am under no natural obligations to it by birth or otherwise, have just stood by through life, and asked myself, before I would volunteer being bound to it, what could this same family honour do for a man in this world? And, first and foremost, I never remember to see family honour stand a man in much stead in a court of law--never saw family honour stand against an execution, or a custodiam, or an injunction even.'Tis a rare thing, this same family honour, and a very fine thing; but I never knew it yet, at a pinch, pay for a pair of boots even,' added Sir Terence, drawing up his own with much complacency.

At this moment Sir Terence was called out of the room by one who wanted to speak to him on particular business.

'My dear father,' cried Lord Colambre, 'do not follow him; stay for one moment, and hear your son--your true friend.'

Miss Nugent went out of the room, that she might leave the father and son at liberty.

'Hear your natural friend for one moment,' cried Lord Colambre.

'Let me beseech you, father, not to have recourse to any of these paltry expedients, but trust your son with the state of your affairs, and we shall find some honourable means--'

'Yes, yes, yes, very true; when you're of age, Colambre, we'll talk of it; but nothing can be done till then.We shall get on, we shall get through, very well, till then, with Terry's assistance.And I must beg you will not say a word more against Terry--I can't bear it--I can't hear it--I can't do without him.

Pray don't detain me--I can say no more-- except,' added he, returning to his usual concluding sentence, 'that there need, at all events, be none of this, if people would but live upon their own estates, and kill their own mutton.' He stole out of the room, glad to escape, however shabbily, from present explanation and present pain.There are persons without resource who in difficulties return always to the same point, and usually to the same words.