Contains a Vulgar IncidentThe Muse, whoever she be, who presides over this Comic History must now descend from the genteel heights in which she has been soaring and have the goodness to drop down upon the lowly roof of John Sedley at Brompton, and describe what events are taking place there.Here, too, in this humble tenement, live care, and distrust, and dismay.Mrs.Clapp in the kitchen is grumbling in secret to her husband about the rent, and urging the good fellow to rebel against his old friend and patron and his present lodger.Mrs.Sedley has ceased to visit her landlady in the lower regions now, and indeed is in a position to patronize Mrs.Clapp no longer.How can one be condescending to a lady to whom one owes a matter of forty pounds, and who is perpetually throwing out hints for the money? The Irish maidservant has not altered in the least in her kind and respectful behaviour; but Mrs.Sedley fancies that she is growing insolent and ungrateful, and, as the guilty thief who fears each bush an officer, sees threatening innuendoes and hints of capture in all the girl's speeches and answers.Miss Clapp, grown quite a young woman now, is declared by the soured old lady to be an unbearable and impudent little minx.Why Amelia can be so fond of her, or have her in her room so much, or walk out with her so constantly, Mrs.Sedley cannot conceive.
The bitterness of poverty has poisoned the life of the once cheerful and kindly woman.She is thankless for Amelia's constant and gentle bearing towards her; carps at her for her efforts at kindness or service; rails at her for her silly pride in her child and her neglect of her parents.Georgy's house is not a very lively one since Uncle Jos's annuity has been withdrawn and the little family are almost upon famine diet.
Amelia thinks, and thinks, and racks her brain, to find some means of increasing the small pittance upon which the household is starving.Can she give lessons in anything? paint card-racks? do fine work? She finds that women are working hard, and better than she can, for twopence a day.She buys a couple of begilt Bristol boards at the Fancy Stationer's and paints her very best upon them--a shepherd with a red waistcoat on one, and a pink face smiling in the midst of a pencil landscape --a shepherdess on the other, crossing a little bridge, with a little dog, nicely shaded.The man of the Fancy Repository and Brompton Emporium of Fine Arts (of whom she bought the screens, vainly hoping that he would repurchase them when ornamented by her hand)can hardly hide the sneer with which he examines these feeble works of art.He looks askance at the lady who waits in the shop, and ties up the cards again in their envelope of whitey-brown paper, and hands them to the poor widow and Miss Clapp, who had never seen such beautiful things in her life, and had been quite confident that the man must give at least two guineas for the screens.They try at other shops in the interior of London, with faint sickening hopes."Don't want 'em,"says one."Be off," says another fiercely.Three-and-sixpence has been spent in vain--the screens retire to Miss Clapp's bedroom, who persists in thinking them lovely.
She writes out a little card in her neatest hand, and after long thought and labour of composition, in which the public is informed that "A Lady who has some time at her disposal, wishes to undertake the education of some little girls, whom she would instruct in English, in French, in Geography, in History, and in Music--address A.O., at Mr.Brown's"; and she confides the card to the gentleman of the Fine Art Repository, who consents to allow it to lie upon the counter, where it grows dingy and fly-blown.Amelia passes the door wistfully many a time, in hopes that Mr.Brown will have some news to give her, but he never beckons her in.When she goes to make little purchases, there is no news for her.Poor simple lady, tender and weak--how are you to battle with the struggling violent world?
She grows daily more care-worn and sad, fixing upon her child alarmed eyes, whereof the little boy cannot interpret the expression.She starts up of a night and peeps into his room stealthily, to see that he is sleeping and not stolen away.She sleeps but little now.Aconstant thought and terror is haunting her.How she weeps and prays in the long silent nights--how she tries to hide from herself the thought which will return to her, that she ought to part with the boy, that she is the only barrier between him and prosperity.She can't, she can't.
Not now, at least.Some other day.Oh! it is too hard to think of and to bear.
A thought comes over her which makes her blush and turn from herself--her parents might keep the annuity --the curate would marry her and give a home to her and the boy.But George's picture and dearest memory are there to rebuke her.Shame and love say no to the sacrifice.She shrinks from it as from something unholy, and such thoughts never found a resting-place in that pure and gentle bosom.
The combat, which we describe in a sentence or two, lasted for many weeks in poor Amelia's heart, during which she had no confidante; indeed, she could never have one, as she would not allow to herself the possibility of yielding, though she was giving way daily before the enemy with whom she had to battle.One truth after another was marshalling itself silently against her and keeping its ground.Poverty and misery for all, want and degradation for her parents, injustice to the boy--one by one the outworks of the little citadel were taken, in which the poor soul passionately guarded her only love and treasure.
