Japhet, in Search of a Father

Front matter

JAPHET IN SEABCH OF A EATTIEK. GOLD MEDAfePARIS 1878 12ih International <^=ar Medal Awarded FRY'S CARACAS.ÆOCQA In £■ lb. and \ lb. packets. Frepared with the celebrated Cocoa of Caracas, combined with other choice descriptions. " A most delicious and valuable article." — Standard. "No more delicious, refreshing', nourishing and wholesome I everage has ever been manufactured."— Morning Post. FRY'S CMMIXTRACT i GUARANTEED pure cocoa only. i 'In Packets and Tins. i A perfectly pure and delicious beverage, prepared exclusively from Choice Cocoa Nibs (deprived of the superfluous oil). Purchasers cf this class of Cocoa should ask for "FRY S COCOA EXTRACT." 'The 'COCOA EXTRACT,' which really consists of Cocoa Nibs deprived of the superfluous oil. than which, if properly prepared, there is no nicer or more wholesome preparation of Cocoa." — ater, attdsffr, DR. HASSALL.

US.FRY&SONS BRISTOL* LONDON-1 EY CAPTAIN MARRYAT, AUTHOR OF 'PETER SIMPLE,' 'JACOB FAITHFUL,' 'MIDSHIPMAN BAST,' F.TC. LONDON ; WARD, LOCK, AND CO., WARWICK HOUSE.. DORSET BUILDINGS, SALISBURY SQUARE, E.C. UNIFORM WITH THIS VOLUME. By SIR WALTER SCOTT. WAVERLEY. KENILWORTH. IVANHOE. THE ANTIQUARY. BY lytton BULWER. LAST DAYS OF POMPEII. PELHA.M. PAUL CLIFFORD. EUGENE ARAM. By CAPTAIN MARRYAT. MIDSHIPMAN JAC03 FAITHFUL PETER SIMPLE. in : WARD, LOCK, AND CO., SALISBURY SQUARE, E.C. garments aud obey the rude summons. At las', the old man swaug open the gate, and the basket sway across his nose ; he went iu again for a knife and cat me down, for it was cruel to hang a baby of a sow days old ; carried me into the lodge, lighted a caudle, and opened the basket. Thus did I metaphorically first come to light.

When he opened the basket I opened my eyes, and although I did not observe it, the old woman was standing at the table in very light attire, spon*>'in-' her nose over a basin. "■ ' Vmly, a pretty babe with black eyes I ' exclaimed the old man iu a tremulous voice. ' Black eyes indeed,' muttered the old woman. ' I shall have two to-morrow.' ' Beautiful black eyes indeed ! ' continued the old man. ' Terrible black eyes, for sartain,' continued the old woman, as she sponged away. ' Poor thing, it must be cold,' murmured the old porter. 'Warrant I catch my death a-cold,' muttered the wife.

Chapter I. Like Most Other Children, Who Should Be Mt Godfather Is

DECIDED BY MAMMON— SO PRECO- CIOUS AS TO MAKE SOME NOISE IN THE WORLD AND BE HUNG A FEW DATS AFTER I WAS BORN— CUT DOWN IN TIME AND PRODUCE A SCENE OF BLOOD- SHED—MT EARLT PROPENSITIES FULLT DEVELOPED BY THE CHOICE OF MT PROFESSION Those who may be pleased to honour these pa°-es with a perusal, will not be detained with a lonrr introductory history of my birth, parentage, and education. Ihe very title implies that, at this period of mv memoirs, I was ignorant of the two first ; and it will be necessary for the due development of my narrative, that I allow them to remain in the same state of bliss • tor in the perusal of a tale, as well as in the pil°rimage of life, ignorance of the future may truly be considered as the greatest source of happiness. The little that was known of me at this time I will however narrate as concisely, and as correctly, as I am able.

It was on the I really forget the date, and must rise from my chair, look for a key, open a closet, and then open an iron safe to hunt over a pile of papers— it will detain you too long— it will be sufficient to say that it wason a night but whether the night was dark or mooulit, or rainy or fccry or cloudy or fine, or starlight, I really cannot teff; but it is ot no very great consequence. Well, it was on a night about the hour there again I'm puzzled, it might have been ten, or eleven, or twelve, or between any of thes3 hours ; nay, it might have been past midnight, and far advancing to the morniug, for what I know to the contrary. The reader must'excuse an infant of there again I am at a nonplus ; but we will assume of some days old— if, when wrapped up in flannel and in a covered basket, and, moreover, fast asleep at the time, he does not exactly observe the state of the weather, aud the time by the church clock.

I never before was aware of the great importance of dates in telling a story ; but it is now too late to recover these facts, which have been swept away into oblivion by the broad wing of Time. I must therefore just tell the little I do know, trusting to the reader's good-nature, aud to blanks. It is as "follows : —tint, at the hour of the night the state of the weather being also — —I, an infant of a certain age was suspended by somebody or somebodies at the knocker of the Foundling Hospital. Having made me fast, the said somebody or somebodies rang a peal upon the bell which made the old porter start up in so great a hurry, that, with the back of his hand he hit his better half a blow on the nose, occasioninga great suffusion of blood from that organ, and a still greater pouring fourth of invectives from the organ imme diately below it.

All this having been effected by the said peal on the bell, the said somebody or somebodies did incon tinently take to their heels, and disappear long before the old porter could pull his legs through his nether ' But, dear me, here's a paper I ' exclaimed the old man. ' Vinegar and brown paper,' echoed the old woman. Addressed to the governors of the hospital,' con tinued the porter. 'Apply to the dispenser of the hospital,' continued his wife. ' And sealed,' said he. ' Get it healed,' said she. ' The linen is good ; it must be the chdd of no poor people. Who knows ? '—soliloquised the old man. ' My poor nose ! ' exclaimed the old woman. I must take it to the nurses, and the letter I will give to-morrow,' said the old porter, winding up his portion of this double soliloquy, and tottering away with the basket and your humble servant across the courtyard. ' There, it will do now,' said the old wife, wiping her face on a towel, and regaining her bed, in which she was sood joined by her husband, and they finished their nap without any further interruption durino that night.

The next morning I was reported and examined, and the letter addressed to the governors was opened and read. It was laconic, but still, as most things laconic are, very much to the point. ' This child was born in wedlock— he is to be named Japhet. When circumstances permit, he will be reclaimed.' But there was a postscript by Abraham Newland, Esq., promising to pay the bearer, on demand, the sum of fifty pounds. In plainer terms, there was a bank-note to that amount enclosed in the letter. As> in general, the parties who suspend children ' in baskets have long before suspended cash payments, or, at all events, forget to suspend them with the baskets, my arrival created no little noise, to which I added my share, until I obtained a share of th» JAPHET IiY SEARCH OF A FATHER. 6 therefore, for the present, sink the shop, that my master may rise in the estimation of the reader, when I describe Jxis person and his qualifications.

Mr. Phineas Cophagus m ight have been about forty five years of age when I first had the honour of an introduction to him in the receiving room of the Foundling Hospital. He was of the middle height, his face was thin, his nose very much hooded, his eyes small and peering, with a good-humo tired twinkle iu them, his mouth large, and drawn down at one corner. He was stout in his bod}7-, and carried a con siderable protuberance before him, which he was in tlie Habit of patting with his left hand very compla cently ; but although stout iu his body, his legs were mere spindk-s,so that, in his appearance, he reminded you of some bird of the crane genus. Indeed, I may say, that his whole figure gave you just such au im pression as an orange might do, had it taken to itself a couple of pieces of tobacco pipes as vehicles of locomotion.

He was dressed in a black coat and waistcoat, white cravat and high collar to his shirt, blue cotton net pantaloons and Hessian boots, both fitting so tight, that it appeared as if he was proud of his spindle shanks. His hat was broad-brimmed and low, and he carried a stout black cane with a gold top in his right hand, almost always raisin j the gold top to his nose when he spoke, just as we see doctors represented at a consultation in the caricature prints. But if his figure was strange, his language and man ners were still more so. He spoke, ac some birds fly, in jerks, intermixing his words, for he never com pleted a whole sentence, with um — um — and ending it with ' so 07?,' leaving his hearers to supply the contest from the heads of his discourse. Almost always in motion, he generally changed his position as soon as he had finished speaking, walking to any other part of the room, with his cane to his nose, and his head cocked on one side, with a self-sufficient tiptoe gait.

When I was ushered into his presence, he was standing with two of the governors. ( This is the lad,' said one of them, * his name is Japhet.' 'Japhet,' replied Mr. Cophagus; 'um, scriptural— Shem, Ham, um — and so on. Boy reads ? ' ' Very well, and writes a very good hand. He is a very good boy, Mr. Cophagus.' 'Read — write — spell — good, and so on. Bring him up— rudiments — spatula — write labels — um — M.D.one of these days — make a man of him — and so on,' said this strange personage, walking round and round me with his cane to his nose, and scrutinizing my person with his twinkling eyes. I was dismissed after this examination and approval, and the next day, dressed in a plain suit of clothes, was delivered by the porter at the shop of Mr. Phineas Cophagus, who was not at home when I arrived. breast of a young woman, who, like Charity, suckled two or three babies at one time.

We have preparatory schools all over the kingdom ; fur young gentlemen, from three to five years of age, under ladies, and from four to seven, under either, or both sexes, as it may happen ; but the most prepara tory of all preparatory schools, is certainly the Found ling Hospital, which takes in its pupils, if they are sent, from one to three days old, or even hours, if the parents are in such extreme anxiety about their education. Here it commences with their weaning, when they are instructed in the mystery of devouring pap ; next, they are taught to walk— and as soon as they oan walk — to sit still; to talk— and as soon as they ban talk— to hold their tongues; thus are they in structed and passed on from one part of the establish ment to another, until they finally are passed out of its gates, to get on in the world, with the advantages of some education, and the still further advantage of having no father or mother to provide for, or relatives to pester them with their necessities.

It was so with me: I arrived at the age of fourteen, and notwith standing the promise contained in the letter, it ap peared that circumstances did not permit of my being reclaimed. But I had a great advantage over the other inmates of the hospital ; the fifty pounds sent with me were not added to ihe funds of the establishment, but generously employed for my benefit by the governors, who were pleased with my conduct, aud thought highly of my abilities. Instead of being bound 'prentice to a cordwainer, or some other me chanic, by the influence of the governors, added to the fifty pounds and interest, as a premium, I was taken by an apothecary, Who engaged to bring me up to the profession. And now, that I am out of the Foundling, we must not travel quite so fast. The practitioner vi ho thus took me by the hand was a Mr, Rhineas ( Jophagus, whose house was most con veniently situated for business, one side of the shop looking upon Smithfield Market, the other presenting it surface of gjass to the principal street leading out of the same market.

It was a corner house, but not in a corner. On each side of the shop were two gin establishments, and next to them were two public houses, and then two eating-houses, frequented by graziers, butchers, and drovers. Did the men drink so much as to quarrel in their cups, who was so handy to plaister up the broken heads as Mr. Cophagus? Did a fat grazier eat himself into an apoplexy, how very convenient was the ready lancet of Mr. Copha gus, Did a bull gore a man, Mr. Cophagus appeared with his diachylon and lint. Did an ox frighten a lady, it was in the back parlour of Mr. Cophagus that she was recovered from her syncope. Market days were a sure market to my master; and if. an over driven beast knocked down others, it only helped to set him on his legs. Our windows suffered occasionally ; but whether it were broken heads, or broken limbs, or broken windows, they were well paid for.

Everyone suffered but Mr. Phineas Cophagus, who never suffered a patient to e capo him. The shop had the usual allowance of green, yellow, and blue bottles; aud in hot weather, from our vicinity, we were visited by no small proportion of blue-bottle flies, We had a white horse in one window, aud a brown In use in the other, to announce to the drovers that we supplied horse-medicines. And we had all the 1 1,1 I'm medicines in ihe known world, even to the 'all-sufficieul medicine for mankind' of Mr. Enouy ; having which, I wondered, on my first arrival, \\h\ we troubled ourselves about any others. The shop was large, ami at the back part there was a most capacious iron mortar, with a. pestle to correspond. I hi first floor was tenanted by Mr. Cophagus, who , bacheloi ; the second floor was let; the others appropriated to the housekeeper, and to those who formed the establishment. In this well-situated tenement, Mr. Cophaeus (jot on swimmingly. I will

Chapter II. Like All Tyros

I FIND THE RUDIMENTS OP LEARN- ING EXTREMELY DIFFICULT AND LABORIOUS, BUT ADVANCE SO RAPIDLY THAT I CAN DO WITHOUT MY MASTER. A tall, fresh-coloured, but hectic-looking young man, stood hehindthe counter, making up prescriptions, and a dirty lad, about thirteen years old, was standing near with his basket to deliver the medicines to the several addresses, as soon as they were ready. The young in.ui behind the counter, whose name was Brookes, was within eighteen months of serving his time, when his friends intended to establish him on his own account, and this was the reason which induced Mr. Cophagus to take me, that I might learn the business, and supply his place when he left. Mr. Brookes was a very quiet, amiable person, kind to me and the other boy who carried out the medicines, and who had been taken by Mr. Cophagus, for his food and raiment.

The porter told Mr, Brookes who I was, and left me. ' Do you think that you will like to be an apothecary?' said Mr. Brookes to me, with a benevolent smile. ' Yes ; I do not see why I should not,' replied I. 'Stop a moment,' said the lad who was waiting with the basket, looking archly at me, 'you hav'n't got through your rudimans vet.' ' Hold your tongue, Timothy,' said Mr. Brookes. ' That you are not very fond of the rudiments, as Mr. Cophagus calls them, is very clear. Now walk off as fast as you can with these medicines, sir — 14, Spring Street ; 10, Cleaver Street, as before ; and then to John Street, 55, Mrs. Smith's. Do you understand ? ' 'To be sure I do — can't I read? I reads all tire directions, and all your Latin stuff into the bargain — all your summen dusses, horez, diez, cockly hairy.

I mean to set up for myself one of these days.' ' I'll knock you down one of these days, Mr. Timothy, if you stay so long as you do, looking at the print shops ; that you may depend upon.' ' I keep up all my learning that way,' replied Tivnothy, walking off with his load, turning his head round and laughing at me as he quitted the shop. Mr. Brookes smiled, but said nothing. As Timothy went out, in came Mr. Cophagus. ' Heh ! Japhet — 1 see,' said he, putting up his cane, ' nothing to do — bad — must work — um — and so on. Mr. Brookes — boy learn rudiments — good — and so on.' Hereupon Mr. Cophagus took his cane from his nose, pointed to the large iron mortar, and then walked away into the back parlour. Mr. Brookes understood his master, if I "did not. He wiped out the mortar, threw in some drugs, and, showing me how to use the pestle, left me to my work.

In half an hour I discovered why it was that Timothy had such an objec tion to what Mr. Cophagus facetiously termed the rudiments of the profession. It was dreadful hard work for a boy ; the perspiration ran down me in streams, and I could hardly lift my arms. When Mr. Cophagus passed through the shop and looked at me, as I continued to thump away with the heavy iron pestle, ' Good,' — said he, ' by-and-by — M. D. — and so on.' I thought it was a very rough road to such preferment, and I stopped to take a little breath. ' By-the-bye — Japhet — Christian name — and so on — surname — heh I ' cularly, as he will' play a very conspicuous part ;"i this narrative. Timothy was short in stature for hi* age, but very strongly built. He had an oval fac5^ with a very dark complexion, grey eyes flashing from under their long eyelashes, and eyebrows nearlv meeting each other.

He was marked with the small pox, not so much as to disfigure him, but still it was very perceptible when near to him. His countenance was always lighted up with merriment ; there was such a happy, devil-may-care expression in his face, that yon liked him the first minute that you were iu his company, and I was intimate with him im mediately. ' I say, Japhet,' said he, ' where did you coma from ? ' ' The Fouudling,' replied I. ' Then you have no friends or relations.' ' If I have, I do not know where to find them,' replied I, very gravely. ' Pooh ! don't be grave upon it. I hav'n't any either. I was brought up by the parish, in the work house. I was found at the door of a gentleman's house, who sent me to the overseers — I was about a year old then. They call me a foundling, but I don't care what they call me, so long as they don't call me too late for dinner.

Father and mother, whoever they were, when they run away from me, didn't ran away with my appetite. I wonder how long master means to play with his knife and fork. As for Mr. Brookes, what he eats wouldn't physic a snipe. What's your other name, Japhet ? ' ' Newland.' ' Newland — now you shall have mine in exchange : Timothy Oldmixon at your service. They christened me after the workhouse pump, which had " Timothy Oldmixon fecit " on it ; and the overseers thought it as good a name to give me as any other : so I was christened after the pump-maker with some of the pump water. As soon as I was big enough, they employed me to pump all the water for the use of the workhouse. I worked at my papa, as I called the pump, all day long. Few sons worked their father more, or disliked him so much : and now, Japhet, you see, from habit, I'm pumping you.' ' You'll soon pump dry, then, for I've very little to tell you,' replied I ; ' but, tell me, what sort of a person is our master? ' ' He's just what you see him, never alters, hardly ever out of humour, and when he is, he is just as odd as ever.

He very often threatens me, but I have never had a blow }'et, although Mr. Brookes has com plained once or twice.' ' But surely Mr. Brookes is not cross ? ' ' No, he is a very good gentleman ; but sometimes 1 carry on my rigs a little too far, I must say that. For as Mr. Brookes says, people may die for want of the medicines, because I put down my basket to play. It's very true ; but I can't give up " peg in the ring." on that account. But then I only get a box of the ear from Mr. Brookes, and that goes for nothing. Mr. Cophagus shakes his stick, and says, " Bad boy — big stick — um — won't forget — next time — and so on," ' continued Timothy, laughing ; ' and it is so on, to the end of the chapter.' By this time Mr. Cophagus and his assistant had finished their dinner, and came into the shop.

The former looked at me, put his stick to his nose, ' Little boys — always hungry — um— like good dinner — roast beef — Yorkshire pudding — and so on,' and he pointed with the stick to the back parlour. Timothy and I understood him very well this time : we went into the parlour, when the housekeeper sat down with us and helped us. She was a terribly cross, little old woman, but as honest as she was cross, which is all that I shall say iu her favour. Timothy was no favourite, because he had such a good appetite ; and it appeared that I was not very likely to stand well in her good opinion, for I also ate a great deal, and ' Mr. Cophagus wishes to know your other name,' said Mr. Brookes, interpreting I have omitted to acquaint the reader that surnames as well as Christian names, are always given to the children at the Foundling, and in consequence of the bank-note found in my basket, I had been named after the celebrated personage whose signature it bore. 'Newland is my other name, sir,' replied I. ' Newland — heh ! — very good name — everybody likes to see that name — and have plenty of them in his pockets too — um — very comfortable — and so on,' replied Mr. Cophagus, leaving the shop.

I resumed my thumping occupation, when Timothy returned with his empty basket. He laughed when he saw me at work. 'Well, how do you like the rudimans ? — and so on — heh ? ' said he, mimicking Mr. Cophagus. ' Not overmuch,' replied I, wiping my face. ' That was my job before you came. I have been more than a year, and never have got out of those rudimans yet, and I suppose I never shall.' .Mr. Brookes, perceiving that I was tired, desired me to leave off, an order which I gladly obeyed, ami I took my seat in a corner of the shop. ' There,' said Timothy, laying down his basket ; ' no more work for me nanty prandium is there, Mr. Brookes ? ' 'No, Tim ; but pott prandium, you'll post off again.' Dinner being ready, and Mr. Cophagus having returned, he and Mr. Brookes went into the back parlour, leaving Timothy and me in the shop to announce customers.

And I shall take this oppor tunity of introducing Mr. Timothy more parti- JAP1IE1 IiY SEARCH OR A FATHER. 8 for one penny, and I suppose the stuff I have taken is not worth a penny more. Now, if we put aside twopence for Jlr. Cophagus, we don't cheat him, or stea] bis property; the other sevenpence is of course our own — being liaRprqfits oftkeprofession.' ' But how shall we account for receiving the two pence ? ' said Timothy ' Selling two vials instead of one : they are never reckoned, you know.' ' That will do capitally,' cried Timothy ; and now for halves.' But this could not be managed until Timothy had run out and changed the sixpence ; we then each had our threepence halfpenny, and for once in our lives could say that we had money in our pockets. extra mouthful I took I sank in her estimation, till 1 was nearly at the zero, where Timothy had long bi un for the same offence ; but Mr. Cophagus would not allow her to stint him, saying, ' Little boys must eat — or won't grow — and so on.' I soon found out that we were not only well fed, but in every other point well treated, and I was very com fortable and happy.

Mr. Brookes instructed me in the art of labelling and tying up, and in a very short time I was very expert ; and as Timothy predicted, the rudiments were once more handed over to him. Mr. Cophagus supplied me with good clothes, but never gave me any pocket-money, and Timothy and I lamented that we had not even a halfpenny to spend. .pcore I had been many months in the shop, Mr. Brookes was able to leave when any exigence red his immediate attendance. Imadeupthe pills, bat he weighed out the quantities in the prescriptions ; if, therefore, any one came in for medicines, I de sired them to wait the return of Mr. Brookes, who would be in very soon . One day, when Mr. Brookes was out, aud I was sitting behind the counter, Timothy sitting on it, and swinging his legs to and fro, both lamenting that W9 had no pocket-nionej'.

Timothy said, ' Japhet, I've been puzzling my brains how we can get some money, and I've hit it at last ; let you and I turn doctors ; we won't send all the people away who come when Mr. Brookes is out, but we'll physic them ourselves.' I jumped at the idea, and he had hardly proposed it, when an old woman came in, and addressing Timothy, said, ' That she wanted something for her poor grandchild's sore throat.' 'I don't mix up the medicines, ma'am,' replied Timothy; 'you must apply to that gentleman, Mr. Newland, who is behind the counter — he understands what is good for everybody's complaints.' ' Lless his handsome face— and so young too I Why, be you a doctor, sir ? ' ' I should hope so,' replied I ; ' what is it you require — a lotion, or an embrocation ? ' ' I don't understand those hard words, but I want some doctor's stuff.'

Chapter III

I PERFORM A WONDERFUL CURE UPON ST. JOHN LONG'B PRINCIPLE, HAVING LITTLE Oil NO PRIN CIPLE OF MY OWN — I BEGIN TO PUZZLE MY HEAD WITH A PROBLEM, OP ALL OTHERS MOST DIFFI- CULT TO SOLVE. The success of our first attempt encouraged us to proceed ; but afraid that I might do some mischief, I asked of Mr. Brookes the nature and qualities of the various medicines, as he was mixing the prescriptions, that I might avoid taking any of those which were poisonous. Mr. Brookes, pleased with my continual inquiries, gave me all the information I could desire, and thus I gained, not only a great deal of informa tion, but also a great deal of credit with Mr. Cophagus, to whom Mr. Brookes had made known my diligence and thirst for knowdedge. ' Good — very good,' said Mr. Cophagus ; ' fine boy — learns his business — M.D. one of these daj's — ride in his coach — urn, and so on.' Nevertheless, at my second attempt, I made an awkward mistake, which very nearly led to detection.

Au Irish labourer, more than half tipsy, came in one evening, and asked whether we had such a thing as was called ' A poor man's plaister. By the powers, it will be a poor man's plaister when it belongs to me ; but they tell me that it is a sure and sartain cure for the thumbago, as they call it, which I've at the small of my back, and which is a hinder to my mounting up the ladder ; so as it's Saturday night, and I've just got the money, I'll buy the plaister first, and then try what a little whiskey inside will do ; the devil's in it if it won't be driven out of me between the two.' ' Very well, my good woman : I know what is proper,' replied I, assuming an important air. ' Here, Timothy, wash out this vial very clean.' ' Yes, sir,' replied Timothy, very respectfully. I took one of the measures, and putting in a little green, a little blue, and a little white liquid from the medicine bottles generally used by Mr. Brookes, filled it up with water, poured the mixture into the vial, corked, and labelled it, hausttts statim sumendus, and handed it over the counter to the old woman.