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4 A SHABBY GENTEEL STORY
Mrs. Wellesley was in danger of starvation, should no friendly
person assist her.
Mrs. Crabb, then, came off to her daughter, whom the Sheenys,
Finnigans, and Clancys refused, with one scornful voice, to assist.
The fact is, that Mr. Crabb had once been butler to a lord, and his
lady a lady's-maid ; and at Crabb's death, Mrs. Crabb disposed of
the " Ram " hotel and posting-house, where her husband had made
three thousand pounds, and was living in genteel ease in a country
town, when Ensign Macarty came, saw, and ran away with Juliana.
Of such a connection it was impossible that the great Clancys and
Finnigans could take notice ; and so once more Widow Crabb was
compelled to share with her daughter her small income of a hundred
and twenty a year.
Upon this, at a boarding-house in Brussels, the two managed
to live pretty smartly, and to maintain an honourable reputation.
The twins were put out, after the foreign fashion, to nurse, at a
village in the neighbourhood ; for Mrs. Macarty had been too ill
to nurse them ; and Mrs. Crabb could not afford to purchase that
most expensive article, a private wet-nurse.
There had been numberless tiffs and quarrels between mother
and daughter when the latter was in her maiden state; and Mrs.
Crabb was, to tell the truth, in nowise sorry when her Jooly disappeared
with the Ensign,—for the old lady dearly loved a gentleman,
and was not a little flattered at being the mother to Mrs.
Ensign Macarty. Why the Ensign should have run away with his
lady at all, as he might have had her for the asking, is no business
of ours ; nor are we going to rake up old stories and village scandals,
which insinuate that Miss Crabb ran away with him, for with these
points the writer and the reader have nothing to do.
Well, then, the reconciled mother and daughter lived once more
together, at Brussels. In the course of a year, Mrs. Macarty's
sorrow had much abated ; and having a great natural love of dress,
and a tolerably handsome face and person, she was induced, without
much reluctance, to throw her weeds aside, and to appear in the
most becoming and varied costumes which her means and ingenuity
could furnish. Considering, indeed, the smallness of the former, it
was agreed on all hands that Mrs. Crabb and her daughter deserved
wonderful credit,—that is, they managed to keep up as respectable
an appearance as if they had five hundred a year ; and at church,
at tea-parties, and abroad in the streets, to be what is called quite
the gentlewomen. If they starved at home, nobody saw it ; if they
patched and pieced, nobody (it was to be hoped) knew it ; if they
bragged about their relations and property, could any one say them
nay? Thus they lived, hanging on with desperate energy to the