Page:The London Magazine, volume 8 (July–December 1823).djvu/543

 The barrister’s opinion was—that, as the heir of the bespeaker had solemnly deposed to the non-resemblance of the busts, and had on this ground found means to liberate himself from all obligation to take them or to pay for them, those busts had reverted in full property to the china-works. However he advised Mr. Whelp to blacken only one of them for the present, to place it in the same window where one had stood before, and then to await the issue.

A week after this, the bust of the stamp-distributor with the hair and face blackened was placed in the window; and below it was written in gilt letters—“His most excellent Majesty, the King of Hayti.”

This manœuvre operated with the very best effect. The passers-by all remembered to have seen the very same face a short time ago as the face of a white man: and they all remembered to whom the face belonged. The laughing therefore never ceased from morning to night before the window of the china-works.

Now Mr. Goodchild received very early intelligence of what was going on, possibly through some persons specially commissioned by Mr. Whelp to trouble him with the news: and straightway he trotted off to the china-works; not, to be sure, with any view of joining the laughers, but on the contrary to attack Mr. Whelp, and to demand the destruction of the bust.—However all his remonstrances were to no purpose; and the more anger he betrayed, so much the more did it encourage his antagonist.

Mr. Goodchild hurried home in a great passion, and wrote a note to the borough-reeve with a pressing request that he would favour him with his company to supper that evening to taste some genuine bottled London porter.

This visit however did not lead to those happy results which Mr. Goodchild had anticipated. True it was that he showed his discretion in not beginning to speak of the busts until the bottled porter had produced its legitimate effects upon the spirits of the borough-reeve: the worshipful man was in a considerable state of elevation; but for all that he would not predict any favourable issue to the action against Mr. Whelp which his host was meditating. He shrugged his shoulders, and said that, on the former occasion, when Mr. Goodchild had urged the bench to pronounce for the non-resemblance of the busts, they had gone farther in order to gratify him than they could altogether answer to their consciences: but really to come now and call upon the same bench to pronounce for the resemblance of the same identical busts was altogether inadmissible.

Mr. Goodchild was on the brink of despair the whole night through: and, when he rose in the morning and put his head out of the window to inhale a little fresh air, what should be the very first thing that met him but a poisonous and mephitic blast from the window of his opposite neighbour which in like manner stood wide open. For his sharp sight easily detected that the young barrister his enemy, instead of the gypsum bust of Ulpian which had hitherto presided over his library, had mounted the black china bust of the king of Hayti.

Without a moment’s delay Mr. Goodchild jumped into his clothes and hastened down to Mr. Whelp. His two principles of vitality, avarice and ambition, had struggled together throughout the night: but, on the sight of his brother the stamp-master, thus posthumously varnished with lamp-black, and occupying so conspicuous a station in the library of his mortal enemy, ambition had gained a complete victory. He bought up therefore the whole thirty-five busts; and, understanding that the only black copy was in the possession of Mr. Tempest, he begged that upon some pretext or other Mr. Whelp would get it back into his hands,—promising to pay all expenses out of his own purse.

Mr. Whelp shook his head: but promised to try what he could do;