The sole hope of Ellis for extrication from these difficulties hung now upon Mr Giles Arbe; whom she had begun to apprehend had forgotten his promise, when, to her great relief, he appeared.
Nothing could be less exhilarating than his air and manner. He looked vexed and disconcerted; sat down without answering the civilities of her reception; sucked, for some minutes, the head of his stick; and then began talking to himself; from time to time ejaculating little broken phrases aloud, such as: ‘It i’n’t right!—It can’t be right!—I wish they would not do such things.—Fair young creatures, too, some of them—Fie! fie!—They’ve no thought;—that’s it!—they’ve no thought.—Mighty good hearts,—and very pretty faces, too, some of ’em;—but sad little empty heads,—except for their own pleasures;—no want of flappers1 there!—Fie! fie!’
Then letting fall two guineas and a half upon the table, ‘There, my dear,’ he cried, in a tone of chagrin, ‘there’s all I have been able to gather amongst all your scholars put together! What they do with their money I don’t know; but they are all very poor, they tell me: except Lady Arramede; and she’s so rich, that she can’t possibly attend, she says, to such pitiful claims: though I said to her, If the sum, Ma’am, is too small for your ladyship’s notice, the best way to shew your magnificence, is to make it greater; which will also be very acceptable to this young person. But she did not mind me. She only said that you might apply to her steward at Christmas, which was the time, she believed, when he settled her affairs; but as to herself, she never meddled with such insignificant matters.’
‘Christmas?’ repeated Ellis; ‘and ’tis now but the beginning of April!’
‘I went next to the Miss Crawleys; but they only fell a laughing. All I could say, and all I could do, and all I could represent, only set ’em a laughing. I never knew what at. Nor they, neither. But they did not laugh the less for that. One of them stretched her mouth so wide, that I was afraid she would have cut her cheeks through to her ears: and t’other frightened me still more, for she giggled herself so black in the face, that I thought she must have expired in a fit. And not one among us knew what it was all for! But the more I stared at them, the louder they laughed. They never stopt till they were so weak that they could not stand; and then they held their sides, and were quiet enough; till I happened to ask them, if they had done? and that set them off again. They are merry little souls; not very heavy, I believe, in the head: I don’t suppose they have a thought above once in a twelve-month.’
He had then applied to their brother. Sir Marmaduke professed himself extremely shocked, at the circumstances which had prevented his sisters from profiting longer by the instructions of so fine a virtuosa as The Ellis; but he hoped that something might yet be adjusted for the future, as he was utterly ashamed to offer such a trifle as this account, to so accomplished a young person as The Ellis. ‘I told him, then,’ continued Mr Giles, ‘that it was no trifle to you, for you were so very poor that you could not pay for your clothes; but I could never obtain any other answer from him, than that he had too much consideration for you, to think of offering you a sum so unworthy your merit.’
‘This, indeed, is rather singular,’ cried Ellis, half smiling, ‘that the smallness of my demands should make one person decline paying me from contempt, and another, from respect!’
Next, he related, he went to Miss Brinville, who, with great displeasure, denied, at first, having ever been a scholar of Miss Ellis. The young woman had been with her, indeed, she said, to chose her a harp, or tune it, or something of that sort; but she had found her so entirely unequal to giving any lessons; and the professor, her present master, had so completely convinced her of the poor young woman’s ignorance, that it was quite ridiculous to suppose having seen any body, once or twice, for an odd hour or two, was sufficient for being considered as their scholar. ‘Upon this,’ continued Mr Giles, ‘I told her that if she were not amongst your pupils, she must be amongst your friends; and, in that case, I doubted not, from your great good nature, you would dispense with her payment.’
‘Well, Sir?’ cried Ellis laughing, ‘and what said my friend?’
‘Good me! all was changed in a minute! she had never, she said, had such a thought as receiving you but as her music-mistress. So then, again, I demanded the money; for if she is not your friend, said I, you can’t expect her to teach you for nothing. But she told me she was just quitting Brighthelmstone, and could not pay you till she got to London. I really can’t find out what makes them all so poor; but they are prodigiously out of cash. Those operas and gauzes, I believe, ruin them. They dress themselves so prettily, and go to hear those tunes so often, that they have not a shilling left for other expences. It i’n’t right! It can’t be right! And so I told her. I gave her some advice. “There’s a great concert to-night, Miss Brinville,” said I; “if you take my counsel, you won’t go to it; nor to ever another for a week or two to come: and then you can pay this young lady what you owe her, without putting yourself to any difficulty.” But she made me no reply. She only eyed me askance, as if she would have liked prodigiously to order me out of the room. I thought I never saw her nose look so thick! I never took so much notice of it before: but it spoils her beauty sadly. After this, I went to Miss Sycamore, and I surprized her playing upon her harp. “This is lucky enough,” said I, “Miss Sycamore! I find you in the act of reaping advantage from the very person who wants to reap advantage from you.” So then I demanded your money. But she told me that she had none to spare, and that she could not pay you yet. “Why then,” said I, “Miss Sycamore, you must give her back her instructions!” I thought this would have piqued her; but she won’t easily be put out of her way. So she threw her arms round her harp, with the prettiest languishment you can imagine, making herself look just like a picture; and then she played me a whole set of airs and graces; quite ravishing, I protest. And when she had done, “There!” she cried, “there, Mr Arbe, those were her instructions: carry them back!”—I declare I don’t know how I could be angry with her, she did it with such an elegant toss! But it was not right; it could not be right; so I was angry enough, after the first moment. “Pray, Miss Sycamore,” said I, “what have you done for this young lady, to expect that she should do all this for you? Have you got her any place?—Have you procured her any emolument?—Have you given her any pleasure?—Have you done her any honour?’—She had not a word to answer: so she twirled her fingers upon her harp, and sung and played till I was almost ravished again. But I would not give way; so I said, “Miss Sycamore, if she owes you neither place, nor profit; neither pleasure, nor honour, I should be glad to know upon what pretence you lay claim to her Time, her Trouble, her Talents, and her Patience?”’
‘O could such a question,’ cried Ellis, ‘be put more at large for all the harassed industrious, to all the unfeeling indolent!—what reflections might it not excite! what injustice might it not obviate!’
‘Why I’ll say it any where, my dear, if you think it will do any good. I always give my opinion; for I never see what a man has one for, if he must not utter it. However, I could make nothing of Miss Sycamore. Those young ladies who play and sing in public, at those private rooms, of four or five hundred people, have their poor little heads so taken up, between the compliments of the company when they are in the world, and their own when they are by themselves, that there i’n’t a moment left them for a little thought.’
His next visit was to Lady Kendover; by whom he was received, he said, with such politeness, and by whom Ellis was mentioned with so much consideration, that he thought he should quite oblige her ladyship, by giving her an opportunity to serve a young person of whom she spoke with so much civility. ‘Upon which,’ continued he, ‘I told her about your debts, and how much you would thank her to be as quick as possible in helping you to pay them. But then she put ............