Towards the close of the day their souls were subdued into resignation to the will of the all-wise Disposer of events: they had, in some measure, realized the consolations of an enlightened and scriptural piety.

They met the next morning, at breakfast, with a melancholy composure.

The blinds being drawn down, prevented the bright sunshine out of doors from entering into the little room where their frugal breakfast was spread, and where prevailed a gloom more in unison with their saddened feelings. To all who sat round the table, except little Charles, the repast was slight indeed: he had shortly before begun to breakfast down-stairs, instead of in the nursery; and, merry little thing!--all unconscious of the dest.i.tution to which, in all human probability, he was destined--and of the misery which oppressed and was crushing his parents--he was rattling away cheerfully, as if nothing could disturb or interrupt the light-heartedness of childhood. They all started on hearing the unexpected knock of the general postman. He had brought them a letter from Dr. Tatham; who, it seemed, was aware of that which had been the day before despatched to them by Mr. Parkinson. The little doctor's letter was exceedingly touching and beautiful; and it was a good while before they could complete its perusal, owing to the emotion which it occasioned them. 'T was indeed full of tender sympathy--of instructive incentives to resignation to the will of G.o.d.

"Is not that indeed the language of a devout and venerable minister of G.o.d?" said Mr. Aubrey--"whose figure is daily brightening with the glory reflected from the heaven which he is so rapidly approaching? In the order of nature, a few short years must see him, also, removed from us."

"Then we shall indeed be desolate!" said Miss Aubrey, weeping bitterly.

"Heaven," continued her brother, "is speaking to us through one of its ministers in this letter! Let us listen in reverent humility!" They remained silent for some moments, Mr. Aubrey re-perusing the long and closely written letter of which he had been speaking. Presently he heard a knock at the street door--an ordinary single knock--such as was by no means unusual at that period of the morning; yet he scarce knew why--it disconcerted him. He kept, however, his eye upon the letter, while he heard f.a.n.n.y opening the door--then a word or two whispered--after which the parlor door was hastily opened, and f.a.n.n.y stood there, pale as death, and unable, evidently from fright, to speak--a heavy step was heard in the pa.s.sage--and then there stood behind the terror-stricken girl a tall stout man in a drab great-coat, with a slouched hat, and a thick walking-stick in his hand--looking over her shoulder into the parlor, whose dismayed occupants soon shared the panic of poor f.a.n.n.y.

"Beg your pardon, sir," said he, civilly advancing into the room, and removing his hat--"is your name Charles Aubrey?"

"It is, sir," said Mr. Aubrey, rising from his chair--by which time a second man was standing at the door.

"You're my prisoner, sir," said the man, stepping close up to the wretched Aubrey, and touching him on the shoulder, at the same time holding out a thin slip of paper--the warrant by virtue of which he was then acting. The moment that he advanced towards Mr. Aubrey, a dreadful shriek burst from Mrs. Aubrey and Kate, who sprang forward, and threw their arms wildly round him. He implored them to restrain their feelings--though evidently greatly agitated himself.

"Will you let me look at your warrant?" said he, mildly, to the man who had arrested him, and remained standing close beside him. Mr. Aubrey, glancing over the fatal slip of paper, saw that he was arrested for fourteen hundred pounds and upwards at the suit of Messrs. Quirk, Gammon, and Snap.[6]

"You see, sir, it's only my duty to do this here," said the officer, respectfully, apparently touched by the agony of the two beautiful women who still clung wildly round one about to be torn ruthlessly from their arms;--"don't take on so, ladies--there 's no great harm done yet."

"For mercy's sake, Agnes! Kate! as you love me!--Be calm! You afflict me beyond measure," said Mr. Aubrey, who, though he had grown very pale, yet preserved under the circ.u.mstances a remarkable degree of self-possession. 'T was, however, a scene which he had been endeavoring to realize to himself, and prepare for daily, if not hourly, for the last week.

"Oh, mercy! mercy!--for G.o.d's sake have mercy on him! On us!"--exclaimed Mrs. Aubrey and Kate.

"Oh, good men! kind men!--have mercy!" cried Kate, desperately--"What are you going to do with him?"

"No harm, miss, you may depend on 't--only he must go with us, seeing we 're _obligated_ to take him."

"For Heaven's sake, don't--don't, for mercy's sake!"--cried Kate, turning her agonized face towards the man--her hair partially dishevelled, and her arms still clasping her brother with frantic energy. Mrs. Aubrey had swooned, and lay insensible in her husband's arms, supported by his knee; while f.a.n.n.y, herself half-distracted, was striving to restore her by rubbing her cold hands.

"Lord, ladies! don't--don't take on in this here way--you're only a-hurting of yourselves, and you don't do the gentleman any good, you know--'cause, in course, he's all the sorrier for going," said the second man, who had by this time entered the room, and stood looking on concernedly. But Miss Aubrey repeated her inquiries with wild and frantic impetuosity, for some time not aware that Mrs. Aubrey lay insensible beside her.

"Jemmy--run and fetch the lady a sup of water from the kitchen--she's gone into a dead faint--run, my man!" said the officer to his follower, who immediately obeyed him, and presently returned with a gla.s.s of water; by which time, both Kate, and her brother, and f.a.n.n.y, were endeavoring, with great agitation, to restore Mrs. Aubrey, whose prolonged swoon greatly alarmed them, and in whose sufferings, the sense of their own seemed for a while absorbed. The two men stood by, grasping their huge walking-sticks, and their hats, in silence. At length Mrs.

Aubrey showed symptoms of recovery--uttering a long deep sigh.

"I say--master," at length whispered the follower, "I'll tell you what it is--this here seems a bad business, don't it?"

"Jemmy, Jemmy!" replied his master, sternly, "You a'n't got half the pluck of a _b.u.m_!--There's nothing in all this when one's used to it, as I am."

"P'r'aps the gemman don't rightly owe the money, after all."

"Don't he? And _they've_ sworn he _does_?--Come, come, Jem, no chaffing!

The sooner (I'm thinking) we have him off from all this here blubbering, the better."

"Bless'd if ever I see'd two such beautiful women afore. I don't half like it; I wish we'd nabbed him in the street--and" he lowered his whisper--"if there's _much_ o' this here sort o' work to be done, I've had enough of being a b.u.m already, an' 'll go back to my business again, bad as times is!"

"Kind--good men!" said Kate, approaching them, and speaking with forced calmness--pushing aside her disordered hair from her pale cheeks, "Can't you leave him here--only a day longer?"

"Can't, miss--it's quite _un_possible; it's not to be done for no money short of debt and costs," said the officer, respectfully, but rather doggedly--as if he were getting tired of the scene--"one would think we were a-going to murder the gemman! Once for all, if so be as he will only go as a gemman should, to my little place in Chancery-Lane--(my name's Grab, miss, at your service, and there a'n't a better conducted lock-up nor mine in London, I a.s.sure you, nor where debtors is more comfortably looked arter)--he's no need to be there above a day or two--it may be less--and of course his friends will come and bail him out; so _don't_ be a-going on so when it's no manner o' use!"

"Charles! My love!" murmured Mrs. Aubrey, faintly--"they surely will not separate us? Oh! let us go together; I don't care where we go to, so long as I am with you."

"Do not ask it, my darling! my heart's love!" replied Mr. Aubrey, tenderly, as he supported her in his arms, and against his knee--and a tear fell from his eye upon her cheek--"I shall be exposed to but little inconvenience, I am certain; there can be no violence or insult offered me so long as I submit myself peaceably to the laws! And I shall soon, please G.o.d, be back!"

"Oh, Charles! I shall die--I shall never survive seeing you carried away!" she replied--and her manner was becoming increasingly vehement.

"Agnes, Agnes!" said her husband, reprovingly, "the mother must not desert her children; my heart will ache every moment that I am absent, if I think that my dear little ones have not a mother's protection."

"Kate will take care of them, love!" said Mrs. Aubrey, faintly; and her husband tenderly kissed her forehead. While this hurried colloquy between the wretched couple was proceeding, Kate was talking in low but impa.s.sioned tones to the two officers, who listened to her respectfully, but shook their heads.

"No, miss--it _can't_ be; it can't indeed."

"But you shall have _everything_ in the house for your security--I have still a good many handsome dresses; jewels, all--all; surely they will produce _something_; and then there's plate, and books, and furniture--you can't think Mr. Aubrey's going basely to run away!"----

"If, as how, miss, (you see,) it was only ourselves that you had to do with--(but, Lord love you, miss! we 're only officers, and has our duty to do, and _must_ do it!)--why, we'd go a little out of our way for to oblige a lady; but the people you must go to is the gemmen whose names is here," pointing to the warrant; "they're the people as the money's owing to--Quirk, Gamm"----

"Don't name them! They are fiends! They are villains! They are robbing, and then ruining, my wretched brother!" exclaimed Miss Aubrey, with dreadful vehemence.

"Kate, Kate!" cried Mr. Aubrey, kindly but peremptorily--"in mercy to me, be silent! Restrain your feelings, or really I must hasten my departure."

"Oh, Charles!" faltered Miss Aubrey, sinking down on a chair exhausted, and burying her face in her handkerchief.

"Now, sir--if _you_ please," commenced Grab, turning to Mr. Aubrey, "we must be thinking of going, seeing, I expect, I've another job on hand to-day; would you prefer coaching, or walking it? Excuse me, sir--I've seen many such things as this; and I know it's only a haggrawating of your feelings to be stopping here--the longer the worse! What must be, had better be done at once, and got over with. I've been a-telling this here young lady a many times, that it's no use fretting--and that in course you'll be soon back again, when you've done what's needful; so hadn't my man here better go and get a coach?"

"It is so, indeed!" exclaimed Mr. Aubrey, with a profound sigh--and endeavored for some time by all the means in his power to soothe and pacify his wretched companions.

"Can I speak a word with you alone, before I go?" he presently inquired of the officer.

"In course, sir," replied Grab; and promising to return within a minute or two's time, Mr. Aubrey quitted the room with Grab close at his heels; and presently they were both standing in his little study.

"Betwixt ourselves, sir," quoth Grab, in a confidential tone, "you've _rather_ keen hands to deal with;" here he laid his finger along his nose, and winked his eye--"and you'll lose no time in turning yourself about. You understand, sir?"

"Perfectly," replied Mr. Aubrey, with a sigh. "Who gave you your instructions in this matter?"

"Mr. Snap--the junior partner--it was him that brought this here warrant to me"----

"Are you sure? Was it not Mr. Gammon?"

"No, sir--Snap--Snap; that little c.o.c.katoo of a chap. Mr. Gammon called at my office half an hour afterwards, to be sure"----

"I thought so," interrupted Mr. Aubrey, quickly, his face flushing, and feeling relieved from a vast pressure.

"Ay," continued Grab, phlegmatically, "_he'll_ see you don't come to much harm in this matter"----

"What do you mean?" inquired Mr. Aubrey, with surprise.

"Lord! I could tell by his way. He called to say that, since they had resolved to go agin you, he hoped, we 'd show you every attention, and deal easy by you"----

"Indeed!"