The Tenant of Wildfell Hall Anne BrontĂ« (librera reader .txt) đ
- Author: Anne Brontë
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âââIs it to be the last, Lowborough?â said I, stepping up to him.
âââThe last but one,â he answered, with a grim smile; and then, rushing back to the table, he struck his hand upon it, and, raising his voice high above all the confusion of jingling coins and muttered oaths and curses in the room, he swore a deep and solemn oath that, come what would, this trial should be the last, and imprecated unspeakable curses on his head if ever he should shuffle a card or rattle a dice-box again. He then doubled his former stake, and challenged anyone present to play against him. Grimsby instantly presented himself. Lowborough glared fiercely at him, for Grimsby was almost as celebrated for his luck as he was for his ill-fortune. However, they fell to work. But Grimsby had much skill and little scruple, and whether he took advantage of the otherâs trembling, blinded eagerness to deal unfairly by him, I cannot undertake to say; but Lowborough lost again, and fell dead sick.
âââYouâd better try once more,â said Grimsby, leaning across the table. And then he winked at me.
âââIâve nothing to try with,â said the poor devil, with a ghastly smile.
âââOh, Huntingdon will lend you what you want,â said the other.
âââNo; you heard my oath,â answered Lowborough, turning away in quiet despair. And I took him by the arm and led him out.
âââIs it to be the last, Lowborough?â I asked, when I got him into the street.
âââThe last,â he answered, somewhat against my expectation. And I took him homeâ âthat is, to our clubâ âfor he was as submissive as a childâ âand plied him with brandy-and-water till he began to look rather brighterâ ârather more alive, at least.
âââHuntingdon, Iâm ruined!â said he, taking the third glass from my handâ âhe had drunk the others in dead silence.
âââNot you,â said I. âYouâll find a man can live without his money as merrily as a tortoise without its head, or a wasp without its body.â
âââBut Iâm in debt,â said heâ ââdeep in debt. And I can never, never get out of it.â
âââWell, what of that? Many a better man than you has lived and died in debt; and they canât put you in prison, you know, because youâre a peer.â And I handed him his fourth tumbler.
âââBut I hate to be in debt!â he shouted. âI wasnât born for it, and I cannot bear it.â
âââWhat canât be cured must be endured,â said I, beginning to mix the fifth.
âââAnd then, Iâve lost my Caroline.â And he began to snivel then, for the brandy had softened his heart.
âââNo matter,â I answered, âthere are more Carolines in the world than one.â
âââThereâs only one for me,â he replied, with a dolorous sigh. âAnd if there were fifty more, whoâs to get them, I wonder, without money?â
âââOh, somebody will take you for your title; and then youâve your family estate yet; thatâs entailed, you know.â
âââI wish to God I could sell it to pay my debts,â he muttered.
âââAnd then,â said Grimsby, who had just come in, âyou can try again, you know. I would have more than one chance, if I were you. Iâd never stop here.â
âââI wonât, I tell you!â shouted he. And he started up, and left the roomâ âwalking rather unsteadily, for the liquor had got into his head. He was not so much used to it then, but after that he took to it kindly to solace his cares.
âHe kept his oath about gambling (not a little to the surprise of us all), though Grimsby did his utmost to tempt him to break it, but now he had got hold of another habit that bothered him nearly as much, for he soon discovered that the demon of drink was as black as the demon of play, and nearly as hard to get rid ofâ âespecially as his kind friends did all they could to second the promptings of his own insatiable cravings.â
âThen, they were demons themselves,â cried I, unable to contain my indignation. âAnd you, Mr. Huntingdon, it seems, were the first to tempt him.â
âWell, what could we do?â replied he, deprecatingly.â ââWe meant it in kindnessâ âwe couldnât bear to see the poor fellow so miserable:â âand besides, he was such a damper upon us, sitting there silent and glum, when he was under the threefold influenceâ âof the loss of his sweetheart, the loss of his fortune, and the reaction of the lost nightâs debauch; whereas, when he had something in him, if he was not merry himself, he was an unfailing source of merriment to us. Even Grimsby could chuckle over his odd sayings: they delighted him far more than my merry jests, or Hattersleyâs riotous mirth. But one evening, when we were sitting over our wine, after one of our club dinners, and all had been hearty togetherâ âLowborough giving us mad toasts, and hearing our wild songs, and bearing a hand in the applause, if he did not help us to sing them himselfâ âhe suddenly relapsed into silence, sinking his head on his hand, and never lifting his glass to his lips;â âbut this was nothing new; so we let him alone, and went on with our jollification, till, suddenly raising his head, he interrupted us in the middle of a roar of laughter by exclaimingâ ââGentlemen, where is all this to end?â âWill you just tell me that now?â âWhere is it all to end?â He rose.
âââA speech, a speech!â shouted we. âHear, hear! Lowboroughâs going to give us a speech!â
âHe waited calmly till the thunders of applause and jingling of glasses had ceased, and then proceededâ ââItâs only this, gentlemenâ âthat I
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