--I am but a poor man," he continued, turning to Nigel-
-"a very poor man, that am willing to do any honest turn upon earth,
for a modest consideration."
"I therefore warn you of the life you must lead, young gentleman,"
said Martha; "the poor woman who does the char-work will assist you so
far as in her power, but the wise man is his own best servant and
assistant."
"It is a lesson you have taught me, madam, and I thank you for it--I
will assuredly study it at leisure."
"You will do well," said Martha; "and as you seem thankful for advice,
I, though I am no professed counsellor of others, will give you more.
Make no intimacy with any one in Whitefriars--borrow no money, on any
score, especially from my father, for, dotard as he seems, he will
make an ass of you. Last, and best of all, stay here not an instant
longer than you can help it. Farewell, sir."
"A gnarled tree may bear good fruit, and a harsh nature may give good
counsel," thought the Lord of Glenvarloch, as he retreated to his own
apartment, where the same reflection occurred to him again and again,
while, unable as yet to reconcile himself to the thoughts of becoming
his own fire-maker, he walked up and down his bedroom, to warm himself
by exercise.
At length his meditations arranged themselves in the following
soliloquy--by which expression I beg leave to observe once for all,
that I do not mean that Nigel literally said aloud with his bodily
organs, the words which follow in inverted commas, (while pacing the
room by himself,) but that I myself choose to present to my dearest
reader the picture of my hero's mind, his reflections and resolutions,
in the form of a speech, rather than in that of a narrative.
Pages:
422
423
424
425
426
427
428
429
430
431
432
433
434
435
436
437
438
439
440
441
442
443
444
445
446