212520_The_Adve ... _Way_Through_The_World.pdf - OUDL Home

290 THE ADVENTURES OP PHILIP
you in my letters of July, June, and 24th of May, ult. My poor
simple guileless Baynes was trustee to Mrs. Dr. Firmin, before she
married that most unprincipled man. When we were at home last,
and exchanged to the 120th from the 99th, my poor husband was
inveigled by the horrid man into signing a paper which put the
Doctor in possession of all his wife's property ; whereas Charles
thought he was only signing a power of attorney, enabling him to
receive his son's dividends. Dr. F., after the most atrocious deceit,
forgery, and criminality of every kind, fled the country ; and
Hunt and Pegler, our solicitors, informed us that the General was
answerable for the wickedness of this miscreant. He is so weak
that he has been many and many times on the point of going to
young Mr. F. and giving up everything. It was only by my
prayers, by my commands, that I have been enabled to keep him
quiet; and, indeed, Emily, the effort has almost killed him.
Brandy repeatedly I was obliged to administer on the dreadful
night of our arrival here.
" For the first person we met on landing was Mr. Philip Firmin,
with a pert friend of his, Mr. Pendennis, whom I don't at all like,
though his wife is an amiable person like Emma Fletcher of the
Horse Artillery : not with Emma's style, however, but still amiable,
and disposed to be most civil. Charlotte has taken a great fancy to
her, as she always does to every new person. Well, fancy our state
on landing, when a young gentleman calls out, ' How do you do,
General ?' and turns out to be Mr. Firmin ! I thought I should
have lost Charles in the night. I have seen him before going into
action as calm, and sleep and smile as sweet as any babe. It was
all I could do to keep up his courage : and, but for me, but for my
prayers, but for my agonies, I think he would have jumped out of bed,
and gone to Mr. F. that night, and said, ' Take everything I have.'
" The young man I own has behaved in the most honourable
way. He came to see us before breakfast on Sunday, when the
poor General was so ill that I thought he would have fainted over
his tea. He was too ill to go to church, where I went alone, with
my dear ones, having, as I own, but very small comfort in the
sermon : but oh, Emily, fancy, on our return, when I went into our
room, I found my General on his knees with his Church Service
before him, crying, crying like a baby ! You know I am hasty in my
temper sometimes, and his is indeed an angel's—and I said to him,
' Charles Baynes, be a man, and don't cry like a child !' ' Ah,' says
he, ' Eliza, do you kneel, and thank God too; ' on which I said
that I thought I did not require instruction in my religion from
him or any man, except a clergyman, and many of these are but
poor instructors, as you know.