A KNIGHT OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY by Edward Payson Roe (world of reading .txt) 📖

to Go To The Very

Hotel Where He Had Committed his Crime, And From That Starting-Point

Fight His Way Up. He Found The Public Room More Than Usually Well Filled

With Loungers, And Could Not Help Discovering, As He Entered, That He

Was The Subject Of Their Loud And Unsavory Conversation. The "Evening

Spy" Had Just Been Read, And All Were Very Busy Discussing The Scandal.

As The Knowledge Of His Presence And Identity Was Speedily Conveyed to

One And Another In loud Whispers, The Noisy Tongues Ceased, And The

Young Man Found Himself The Centre Of An Embarrassing amount Of

Observation. But He Endeavored to Give The Idlers A Defiant And Careless

Glance As He Walked up To The Proprietor And Asked for A Room.

 

 

 

"No, Sir!" Replied that Virtuous Individual, With Sharp Emphasis; "You

Have Had A Room Of Me Once Too Often. It'S Not My Way To Have Gamblers,

Bloats, And Jail-Birds Hanging around My Place--'Not If The Court Knows

Herself; And She Thinks She Does.' You'Ve Done All You Could To Give My

Respectable, First-Class House The Name Of A Low Gambling Hell. The

Evening Paper Even Hints That Someone Connected with The House Had A

Hand In your Being Plucked. You'Ve Damaged me Hundreds Of Dollars, And

If You Ever Show Your Face Within My Doors Again I'Ll Have You

Arrested."

 

 

 

Haldane Was Stung To The Quick, And Retorted vengefully:

 

 

 

"Perhaps The Paper Is Right. I Was Introduced to The Blacklegs In your

Bar-Room, And By A Scamp Who Was A Habitual Lounger Here. They Got Their

Cards Of You, And, Having Made Me Drunk, And Robbed me In one Of Your

Rooms, They Had No Trouble In getting away."

 

 

 

"Do You Make Any Such Charge Against Me?" Bellowed the Landlord,

Starting Savagely Forward.

 

 

 

"I Say, As The Paper Says, _Perhaps_," Replied haldane, Standing

His Ground, But Quivering With Rage. "I Shall Give You No Ground For A

Libel Suit; But If You Will Come Out In the Street You Shall Have All

The Satisfaction You Want; And If You Lay The Weight Of Your Finger On

Me Here. I'Ll Damage You Worse Than I Did Last Night."

 

 

 

"How Dare You Come Here To Insult Me?" Said The Landlord, But Keeping

Now At A Safe Distance From The Incensed youth. "Some One, Go For A

Policeman, For The Fellow Is Out Of Jail Years Too Soon."

 

 

 

"I Did Not Come Here To Insult You, I Came, As Every One Has A Right To

Come, To Ask For A Room, For Which I Meant To Pay Your Price, And You

Insulted me."

 

 

 

"Well, You Can'T Have A Room."

 

 

 

"If You Had Quietly Said That And No More In the First Place, There

Would Have Been No Trouble. But I Want You And Every One Else To

Understand That I Won'T Be Struck, If I Am Down;" And He Turned on His

Heel And Strode Out Of The House, Followed by A Volley Of Curses From

The Enraged landlord And The Bartender, Who Had Smirked so Agreeably The

Evening Before.

 

 

 

A Distorted account Of This Scene--Published in the "Courier" The

Following Day, In connection With A Detailed account Of The Whole

Miserable Affair--Added considerably To The Ill Repute That Already

Burdened haldane; For It Was Intimated that He Was As Ready For A Street

Brawl As For Any Other Species Of Lawlessness.

 

 

 

The "Courier," Having Had The Nose Of Its Representative Demolished by

Haldane, Was Naturally Prejudiced against Him; And, Influenced by Its

Darkly-Colored narrative, The Citizens Shook Their Heads Over The Young

Man, And Concluded that He Was A Dangerous Character, Who Had Become

Unnaturally And Precociously Depraved; And There Was Quite A General

Hope That Mr. Arnot Would Not Fail To Prosecute, So That The Town Might

Be Rid Of One Who Promised to Continue A Source Of Trouble.

 

 

 

The "Spy" A Rival Paper, Showed a Tendency To Dwell On The Extenuating

Circumstances. But It Is So Much Easier For A Community To Believe Evil

Rather Than Good Of A Person, That Mere Excuses And Apologies, And The

Suggestion That The Youth Had Been Victimized, Had Little Weight.

Besides, The World Shows A Tendency To Detest Weak Fools Even More Than

Knaves.

 

 

 

After His Last Bitter Experience Haldane Felt Unwilling To Venture To

Another Hotel, And He Endeavored to Find A Quiet Boarding-Place; But As

Soon As He Mentioned his Name, The Keepers, Male And Female, Suddenly

Discovered that They Had No Rooms. Night Was Near, And His Courage Was

Beginning To Fail Him, When He At Last Found A Thrifty Gentlewoman Who

Gave Far More Attention To Her Housewifely Cares Than To The Current

News. She Readily Received the Well-Dressed stranger, And Showed him To

His Room. Haldane Did Not Hide His Name From Her, For He Resolved to

Spend The Night In the Street Before Dropping a Name Which Now Seemed to

Turn People From Him As If Contagion Lurked in it, And He Was Relieved

To Find That, As Yet, It Had To Her No Disgraceful Associations. He Was

Bent On Securing One Good Night'S Rest, And So Excused himself From

Going Down To Supper, Lest He Should Meet Some One That Knew Him. After

Nightfall He Slipped out To An Obscure Restaurant For His Supper.

 

 

 

His Precaution, However, Was Vain, For On His Return To His Room He

Encountered in a Hallway One Of The Loungers Who Had Witnessed the

Recent Scene At The Hotel. After A Second'S Stare The Man Passed on Down

To The Shabby-Genteel Parlor, And Soon Whist, Novels, And Papers Were

Dropped, As The Immaculate Little Community Learned of The Contaminating

Presence Beneath The Same Roof With Themselves.

 

 

 

"A Man Just Out Of Prison! A Man Merely Released on Bail, And Who Would

Certainly Be Convicted and Tried!"

 

 

 

With A Virtue Which Might Have Put "Caesar'S Wife" To The Blush, Sere

And Withered gentlewomen Pursed up Their Mouths, And Declared that They

Could Not Sleep In the Same House With Such A Disreputable Person. The

Thrifty Landlady, Whose Principle Of Success Was The Concentration Of

All Her Faculties On The Task Of Satisfying The Digestive Organs Of Her

Patrons, Found Herself For Once At Fault, And She Was Quite Surprised to

Learn What A High-Toned class Of People She Was Entertaining.

 

 

 

But, Then, "Business Is Business." Poor Haldane Was But One Uncertain

Lodger, And Here Were A Dozen Or More "Regulars" Arrayed against Him.

The Sagacious Woman Was Not Long In climbing To The Door Of The

Obnoxious Guest, And Her Very Knock Said, "What Are You Doing Here?"

 

 

 

Haldane'S First Thought Was, "She Is A Woman; She Will Not Have The

Heart To Turn Me Away." He Had Become So Weary And Disheartened that His

Pride Was Failing Him, And He Was Ready To Plead For The Chance Of A

Little Rest. Therefore He Opened the Door, And Invited the Landlady To

Enter In the Most Conciliating Manner. But No Such Poor Chaff Would Be

Of Any Avail With One Of Mrs. Gruppins' Experience, And Looking Straight

Before Her, As If Addressing No One In particular, She Said

Sententiously:

 

 

 

"I Wish This Room Vacated within A Half-Hour."

 

 

 

"If You Have The Heart Of A Woman You Will Not Send Me Out This Rainy

Night. I Am Weary And Sick In body And Mind. I Wouldn'T Turn A Dog Out

In The Night And Storm."

 

 

 

"You Ought To Be Ashamed of Yourself, Sir," Said Mrs. Gruppins, Turning

On Him Indignantly; "To Think That You Should Take Advantage Of A Poor

And Defenceless Widow, And Me So Inexperienced and Ignorant Of The

Wicked world."

 

 

 

"I Did Not Take Advantage Of Your Ignorance: I Told You Who I Was, And

Am Able To Pay For The Room. In the Morning I Will Leave Your House, If

You Have So Much Objection To My Remaining."

 

 

 

"Why Shouldn'T I Object? I Never Had Such As You Here Before. All My

Boarders"--She Added in a Louder Tone, For The Benefit Of Those Who Were

Listening at The Foot Of The Stairs--"All My Boarders Are Peculiarly

Respectable People, And I Would Not Have Them Scandalized by Your

Presence Here Another Minute If I Could Help It."

 

 

 

"How Much Do I Owe You?" Asked haldane, In a Tone That Was Harsh From

Its Suppressed emotion.

 

 

 

"I Don'T Want Any Of Your Money--I Don'T Want Anything To Do With People

Who Are Lodged at The Expense Of The State. If You Took Money Last

Night, There Is No Telling What You Will Take To-Night."

 

 

 

Haldane Snatched his Hat And Rushed from The House, Overwhelmed with A

Deeper And More Terrible Sense Of Shame And Degradation Than He Had Ever

Imagined possible. He Had Become A Pariah, And In bitterness Of Heart

Was Realizing The Truth.

 

Chapter XVIII (The World'S Verdict--Our Knight A Criminal)

A Few Moments Before His Interview With The Thrifty And Respectable Mrs.

Gruppins, Haldane Had Supposed himself Too Weary To Drag One Foot After

The Other In search Of Another Resting-Place; And Therefore His Eager

Hope That That Obdurate Female Might Not Be Gifted with The Same Quality

Of "In'Ards" Which Pat M'Cabe Ascribed to Mr. Arnot. He Had, Indeed,

Nearly Reached the Limit Of Endurance, For Had He Been In his Best And

Most Vigorous Condition, A Day Which Taxed so Terribly Both Body And

Mind Would Have Drained his Vitality To The Point Of Exhaustion. As It

Was, The Previous Night'S Debauch Told Against Him Like A Term Of

Illness. He Had Since Taken Food Insufficiently And Irregularly, And

Was, Therefore, In no Condition To Meet The Extraordinary Demands Of The

Ordeal Through Which He Was Passing. Mental Distress, Moreover, Is Far

More Wearing Than Physical Effort, And His Anguish Of Mind Had Risen

Several Times During The Day Almost To Frenzy.

 

 

 

In Spite Of All This, The Sharp And Pitiless Tongue Of Mrs. Gruppins

Goaded him Again To The Verge Of Desperation, And He Strode Rapidly And

Aimlessly Away, Through The Night And Storm, With A Wilder Tempest

Raging In his Breast. But The Gust Of Feeling Died away As Suddenly As

It Had Arisen, And Left Him Ill And Faint. A Telegraph Pole Was Near,

And He Leaned against It For Support.

 

 

 

"Move On," Growled a Passing Policeman.

 

 

 

"Will You Do Me A Kindness?" Asked haldane; "I Am Poor And Sick--A

Stranger. Tell Me Where I Can Hire A Bed for A Small Sum."

 

 

 

The Policeman Directed him Down A Side Street, Saying, "You Can Get A

Bed at No. 13, And No Questions Asked."

 

 

 

There Was Unspeakable Comfort In the Last Assurance, For It Now Seemed

That He Could Hope To Find A Refuge Only In places Where "No Questions

Were Asked."

 

 

 

With Difficulty The Weary Youth Reached the House, And By Paying a Small

Extra Sum Was Able To Obtain A Wretched little Room To Himself; But

Never Did Storm-Tossed and Endangered sailors Enter A Harbor'S Quiet

Waters With A Greater Sense Of Relief Than Did Haldane As He Crept Up

Into This Squalid Nook, Which Would At Least Give Him A Little Respite

From The World'S Terrible Scorn.

 

 

 

What A Priceless Gift For The Unhappy, The Unfortunate--Yes, And For

The Guilty--Is Sleep! Many Seem To Think Of The Body Only As A Clog,

Impeding Mental Action--As A Weight, Chaining The Spirit Down. Were The

Mind, In its Activity, Independent Of The Body--Were The Wounded spirit

Unable To Forget Its Pain--Could The Guilty Conscience Sting

Incessantly--Then The Chief Human Industry Would Come To Be The Erection

Of Asylums For The Insane. But By An Unfathomable Mystery The Tireless

Regal Spirit Has Been Blended with The Flesh And Blood Of Its Servant,

The Body. In heaven, Where There Is Neither Sin Nor Pain, Even The Body

Becomes Spiritual; But On Earth, Where It So Often Happens, As In the

Case Of Poor Haldane, That To Think And To Remember Is Torture, It Is A

Blessed thing That The Body, Formed from The Earth, Often Becomes Heavy

As Earth, And Rests Upon The Spirit For A Few Hours At Least, Like The

Clods With Which We Fill The Grave.

 

 

 

The Morning Of The Following Day Was Quite Well Advanced when Haldane

Awoke From His Long Oblivion, And, After Regaining Consciousness, He Lay

A