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224 THE ADVENTURES OF PHILIP
" Yes, sir, rather late," answers the son.
"Pleasant party?"
"No, sir, stupid. Your friend Mr. Hunt wanted to come in.
He was drunk, and rude to Mrs. Brandon, and I was obliged to
put him out of the door. He was dreadfully violent and abusive."
" Swore a good deal, I suppose ?"
" Fiercely, sir, and called names."
I daresay Philip's heart beat so when he said these last words,
that they were inaudible : at all events, Philip's father did not
appear to pay much attention to the words, for he was busy reading
the Morning Post, and behind that sheet of fashionable news hid
whatever expression of agony there might be on his face. Philip
afterwards told his present biographer of this breakfast meeting and
dreary tete-a-tete. " I burned to ask what was the meaning of that
scoundrel's words of the past night," Philip said to his biographer ;
"but I did not dare, somehow. You see, Pendennis, it is not
pleasant to say point-blank to your father, ' Sir, are you a confirmed
scoundrel, or are you not? Is it possible that you have made a
double marriage, as yonder other rascal hinted ; and that my own
legitimacy and my mother's fair fame, as well as poor harmless
Caroline's honour and happiness, have been destroyed by your
crime V But I had lain awake all night thinking about that
scoundrel Hunt's words, and whether there was any meaning beyond
drunken malice in what he said." So we find that three people
had passed a bad night in consequence of Mr. Firmin's evil
behaviour of five-and-twenty years back, which surely was a most
unreasonable punishment for a sin of such old date. I wish, dearly
beloved brother sinners, we could take all the punishment for our
individual crimes on our individual shoulders : but we drag them all
down with us—that is the fact ; and when Macheath is condemned
to hang, it is Polly and Lucy who have to weep and suffer and
wear piteous mourning in their hearts long after the dare-devil
rogue has jumped off the Tyburn ladder.
" Well, sir, he did not say a word," said Philip, recounting the
meeting to his friend ; " not a word, at least, regarding the matter
both of us had on our hearts. But about fashion, parties, politics
he discoursed much more freely than was usual with him. He
said I might have had Lord Ringwood's seat for Whipham but for
my unfortunate politics. What made a Radical of me, he asked,
who was naturally one of the most haughty of men ? (" and that, I
think, perhaps I am," says Phil, "and a good many Liberal fellows
are"). I should calm down, he was sure—I should calm down,
and be of the politics des hommes du monde."
Philip could not say to his father, "Sir, it is seeing you cringe