第48章

IN WHICH IT IS SHOWN THAT A GOOD WIFE IS THE BEST DIAMOND A MAN CAN WEAR IN HIS BOSOM"Mrs.Titmarsh, ma'am," says Mrs.Stokes, "before I gratify your curiosity, ma'am, permit me to observe that angels is scarce; and it's rare to have one, much more two, in a family.Both your son and your daughter- in-law, ma'am, are of that uncommon sort; they are, now, reely, ma'am."My mother said she thanked God for both of us; and Mrs.Stokes proceeded:-"When the fu- when the seminary, ma'am, was concluded this morning, your poor daughter-in-law was glad to take shelter in my humble parlour, ma'am; where she wept, and told a thousand stories of the little cherub that's gone.Heaven bless us! it was here but a month, and no one could have thought it could have done such a many things in that time.But a mother's eyes are clear, ma'am; and I had just such another angel, my dear little Antony, that was born before Jemima, and would have been twenty- three now were he in this wicked world, ma'am.However, I won't speak of him, ma'am, but of what took place.

"You must know, ma'am, that Mrs.Titmarsh remained downstairs while Mr.Samuel was talking with his friend Mr.Hoskins; and the poor thing would not touch a bit of dinner, though we had it made comfortable; and after dinner, it was with difficulty I could get her to sup a little drop of wine-and-water, and dip a toast in it.It was the first morsel that had passed her lips for many a long hour, ma'am.

"Well, she would not speak, and I thought it best not to interrupt her; but she sat and looked at my two youngest that were playing on the rug; and just as Mr.Titmarsh and his friend Gus went out, the boy brought the newspaper, ma'am, -it always comes from three to four, and I began a- reading of it.But I couldn't read much, for thinking of poor Mr.Sam's sad face as he went out, and the sad story he told me about his money being so low; and every now and then I stopped reading, and bade Mrs.T.not to take on so; and told her some stories about my dear little Antony.

"'Ah!' says she, sobbing, and looking at the young ones, 'you have other children, Mrs.Stokes; but that--that was my only one;' and she flung back in her chair, and cried fit to break her heart: and I knew that the cry would do her good, and so went back to my paper--the Morning Post, ma'am; I always read it, for I like to know what's a-going on in the West End.

"The very first thing that my eyes lighted upon was this:- 'Wanted, immediately, a respectable person as wet-nurse.Apply at No.-, Grosvenor Square.' 'Bless us and save us!' says I, 'here's poor Lady Tiptoff ill;' for I knew her Ladyship's address, and how she was confined on the very same day with Mrs.T.: and, for the matter of that, her Ladyship knows my address, having visited here.

"A sudden thought came over me.'My dear Mrs.Titmarsh,' said I, 'you know how poor and how good your husband is?'

"'Yes,' says she, rather surprised.

"'Well, my dear,' says I, looking her hard in the face, 'Lady Tiptoff, who knows him, wants a nurse for her son, Lord Poynings.Will you be a brave woman, and look for the place, and mayhap replace the little one that God has taken from you?'

"She began to tremble and blush; and then I told her what you, Mr.Sam, had told me the other day about your money matters; and no sooner did she hear it than she sprung to her bonnet, and said, 'Come, come:' and in five minutes she had me by the arm, and we walked together to Grosvenor Square.The air did her no harm, Mr.Sam, and during the whole of the walk she never cried but once, and then it was at seeing a nursery-maid in the Square.

"A great fellow in livery opens the door, and says, 'You're the forty- fifth as come about this 'ere place; but, fust, let me ask you a preliminary question.Are you a Hirishwoman?'

"'No, sir,' says Mrs.T.

"'That suffishnt, mem,' says the gentleman in plush; 'I see you're not by your axnt.Step this way, ladies, if you please.You'll find some more candidix for the place upstairs; but I sent away forty-four happlicants, because they WAS Hirish.'

"We were taken upstairs over very soft carpets, and brought into a room, and told by an old lady who was there to speak very softly, for my Lady was only two rooms off.And when I asked how the baby and her Ladyship were, the old lady told me both were pretty well: only the doctor said Lady Tiptoff was too delicate to nurse any longer; and so it was considered necessary to have a wet-nurse.

"There was another young woman in the room--a tall fine woman as ever you saw--that looked very angry and contempshious at Mrs.T.and me, and said, 'I've brought a letter from the duchess whose daughter I nust; and I think, Mrs.Blenkinsop, mem, my Lady Tiptoff may look far before she finds such another nuss as me.Five feet six high, had the small-pox, married to a corporal in the Lifeguards, perfectly healthy, best of charactiers, only drink water; and as for the child, ma'am, if her Ladyship had six, I've a plenty for them all.'

"As the woman was making this speech, a little gentleman in black came in from the next room, treading as if on velvet.The woman got up, and made him a low curtsey, and folding her arms on her great broad chest, repeated the speech she had made before.Mrs.T.did not get up from her chair, but only made a sort of a bow; which, to be sure, I thought was ill manners, as this gentleman was evidently the apothecary.He looked hard at her and said, 'Well, my good woman, and are you come about the place too?'

"'Yes, sir,' says she, blushing.

"'You seem very delicate.How old is your child? How many have you had? What character have you?'

"Your wife didn't answer a word; so I stepped up, and said, 'Sir,' says I, 'this lady has just lost her first child, and isn't used to look for places, being the daughter of a captain in the navy; so you'll excuse her want of manners in not getting up when you came in.'