by Clara Reeve
him."
"Oh, then, I will serve him with all my heart and soul; and I will do mybest to please you both."
"I thank you, John, and I will not forget your honest love and duty.I have so good an opinion of you, that I will tell you of some thingsconcerning this gentleman that will entitle him to your respect."
"'Tis enough for me," said John, "to know that your honour respects him,to make me pay him as much duty as yourself."
"But, John, when you know him better, you will respect him still more;at present, I shall only tell you what he is not; for you think him onlythe son of Andrew Twyford."
"And is he not?" said John.
"No, but his wife nursed him, and he passed for her son."
"And does old Twyford know it, sir?"
"He does, and will bear witness to it; but he is the son of a nearfriend of mine, of quality superior to my own, and as such you mustserve and respect him."
"I shall, to be sure, sir; but what name shall I call him?"
"You shall know that hereafter; in the mean time bring a light, and waiton us to the other parlour."
When John was withdrawn, Sir Philip said, "That is a point to beconsidered and determined immediately; It is proper that you shouldassume a name till you can take that of your father; for I choose youshould drop that of your foster-father; and I would have you be calledby one that is respectable."
"In that, and every other point, I will be wholly governed by you, sir,"said Edmund.
"Well then, I will give you the name of Seagrave; I shall say that youare a relation of my own; and my mother was really of that family."
John soon returned, and attended them into the other parlour; Sir Philipentered, with Edmund in his hand.
"My friends," said he, "this gentleman is Mr. Edward Seagrave, theson of a dear friend and relation of mine. He was lost in his infancy,brought up by a good woman out of pure humanity, and is but latelyrestored to his own family. The circumstances shall be made knownhereafter; In the meantime, I have taken him under my care andprotection, and will use all my power and interest to see him restoredto his fortune, which is enjoyed by the usurper who was the cause of hisexpulsion, and the death of his parents. Receive him as my relation,and friend; Zadisky, do you embrace him first. Edmund, you and thisgentleman must love each other for my sake; hereafter you will do it foryour own.["] They all rose; each embraced and congratulated the youngman.
Zadisky said, "Sir, whatever griefs and misfortunes you may haveendured, you may reckon them at an end, from the hour you are belovedand protected by Sir Philip Harclay."
"I firmly believe it, sir," replied Edmund; "and my heart enjoys,already, more happiness than I ever yet felt, and promises me all that Ican wish in future; his friendship is the earnest Heaven gives me of itsblessings hereafter."
They sat down to supper with mutual cheerfulness; and Edmund enjoyed therepast with more satisfaction than he had felt a long time. Sir Philipsaw his countenance brighten up, and looked on him with heart-feltpleasure.
"Every time I look on you," said he, "reminds me of your father; youare the same person I loved twenty-three years ago--I rejoice to see youunder my roof. Go to your repose early, and to-morrow we will consultfarther."
Edmund withdrew, and enjoyed a night of sweet undisturbed repose.
The next morning Edmund arose in perfect health and spirits: he waitedon his benefactor. They were soon after joined by Zadisky, who shewedgreat attention and respect to the youth, and offered him his bestservices without reserve. Edmund accepted them with equal respect andmodesty; and finding himself at ease, began to display his amiablequalities. They breakfasted together; afterwards, Sir Philip desiredEdmund to walk out with him.
As soon as they were out of hearing, Sir Philip said, "I could not sleeplast night for thinking of your affairs; I laid schemes for you, andrejected them again. We must lay our plan before we begin to act. Whatshall be done with this treacherous kinsman! this inhuman monster! thisassassin of his nearest relation? I will risk my life and fortune tobring him to justice. Shall I go to court, and demand justice of theking? or shall I accuse him of the murder, and make him stand a publictrial? If I treat him as a baron of the realm, he must be tried by hispeers; if as a commoner, he must be tried at the county assize; but wemust shew reason why he should be degraded from his title. Have you anything to propose?"
"Nothing, sir; I have only to wish that it might be as private aspossible, for the sake of my noble benefactor, the Lord Fitz-Owen, uponwhom some part of the family disgrace would naturally fall; and thatwould be an ill return for all his kindness and generosity to me."
"That is a generous and grateful consideration on your part; but you owestill more to the memory of your injured parents. However, there isyet another way that suits me better than any hitherto proposed; I willchallenge the traitor to meet me in the field; and, if he has spiritenough to answer my call, I will there bring him to justice; if not, Iwill bring him to a public trial."
"No, sir," said Edmund, "that is my province. Should I stand by and seemy noble, gallant friend expose his life for me, I should be unworthy tobear the name of that friend whom you so much lament. It will becomehis son to vindicate his name, and revenge his death. I will be thechallenger, and no other."
"And do you think he will answer the challenge of an unknown youth, withnothing but his pretensions to his name and title? Certainly not. Leavethis matter to me; I will think of a way that will oblige him to meet me atthe house of a third person who is known to all the parties concerned,and where we will have authentic witnesses of all that passes betweenhim and me. I will devise the time, place, and manner, and satisfy allyour scruples."
Edmund offered to reply; but Sir Philip bad him be silent, and let himproceed in his own way.
He then led him over his estate, and shewed him every thing deservinghis notice; he told him all the particulars of his domestic economy, andthey returned home in time to meet their friends at dinner.
They spent several days in consulting how to bring Sir Walter toaccount, and in improving their friendship and confidence in eachother. Edmund endeared himself so much to his friend and patron, thathe declared him his adopted son and heir before all his friends andservants, and ordered them to respect him as such. He every day improvedtheir love and regard for him, and became the darling of the wholefamily.
After much consideration, Sir Philip fixed his resolutions, and beganto execute his purposes. He set out for the seat of the Lord Clifford,attended by Edmund, M. Zadisky, and two servants. Lord Clifford receivedthem with kindness and hospitality.
Sir Philip presented Edmund to Lord Clifford and his family, as his nearrelation and presumptive heir; They spent the evening in the pleasuresof convivial mirth and hospitable entertainment. The next day Sir Philipbegan to open his mind to Lord Clifford, informing him that both hisyoung friend and himself had received great injuries from the presentLord Lovel, for which they were resolved to call him to account; butthat, for many reasons, they were desirous to have proper witnessesof all that should pass between them, and begging the favour of hisLordship to be the principal one. Lord Clifford acknowledged theconfidence placed in him; and besought Sir Philip to let him be thearbitrator between them. Sir Philip assured him, that their wrongs wouldnot admit of arbitration, as he should hereafter judge; but that he wasunwilling to explain them further till he knew certainly whether or notthe Lord Lovel would meet him; for, if he refused, he must take anothermethod with him.
Lord Clifford was desirous to know the grounds of the quarrel; but SirPhilip declined entering into particulars at present, assuring him ofa full information hereafter. He then sent M. Zadisky, attended by JohnWyatt, and a servant of Lord Clifford, with a letter to Lord Lovel; thecontents were as follow:--
"My Lord Lovel,--Sir Philip Harclay earnestly desires to see you at thehouse of Lord Clifford, where he waits to call you to account for theinjuries done by you to the late Arthur Lord Lovel, your kinsman; If youaccept his demand, he will make the L
ord Clifford a witness and a judgeof the cause; if not, he will expose you publicly as a traitor and acoward. Please to answer this letter, and he will acquaint you with thetime, place, and manner of the meeting.
"PHILIP HARCLAY."
Zadisky presented the letter to Lord Lovel, informing him that he wasthe friend of Sir Philip Harclay. He seemed surprised and confounded atthe contents; but, putting on an haughty air, "I know nothing," saidhe, "of the business this letter hints at; but wait a few hours, and Iwill give you an answer." He gave orders to treat Zadisky as a gentlemanin every respect, except in avoiding his company; for the Greek hada shrewd and penetrating aspect, and he observed every turn of hiscountenance. The next day he came and apologized for his absence, andgave him the answer; sending his respects to the Lord Clifford.
