Toppleton's Client; Or, A Spirit in Exile

powerful and as terrible as he was in the days gone by. Long confinement to a purely mortal sphere must necessarily have weakened his supernatural powers, and it strikes

f which my evil genius was guilty, you will not hesitate a m

do not be too sanguine as to its results in convincing me

e had suffered at the hands of her now illustrious son on the ground of his not being quite himself on that occasion-a state of mind due to too close attention to work and study-I quite forgave him for that unpleasant episode in my campaign. My mother too overlooked the affront, and wrote me a most affectionate epistle, stating that I might trample upon her most cher

of her dear boy,'

I retorted; and then we both grinned, for each tru

" said Hopkins. "But on the who

rds so that no one could understand a syllable that I uttered. It was a fearful disappointment to my friends in the House and in the galleries; the latter being packed when it was understood that I was to speak. Of course, when the fiend appeared later on, he straightened it all out, and the printed speech which he dictated and which I wrote was really a fine effort and did our party much good. But these little embarrassments were tragedies to me, and at every new su

er in dead earnest, because I feared for the result. She had often said to me that while she should never marry for riches and position, she did not intend to fall in love with any man just because he had neither, and that no man need ever propose marriage to her who was not reasonably sure of a successful career

omon, I wot," inte

iage. This was the state of affairs at the time of my first meeting with the fiend, and for a year subsequent to that ill-starred night upon which he first crossed my path I let matters take their own course, waiting a favourable opportunity to ask the great question, upon the answer to which hung all my future happiness. I could see that with my increasing fame, her interest in me waxed; but as every passing day brought new and undreamed-of distinctions she grew more and more reserved toward me-a most feminine trait that, Hopkins. When a woman beg

t have been mightily surprised at your sudden strides towards universal geni

n of my virtues led him into making assertions which galled me, he little knew how much-assertions to the effect that to look at me no one would suspect that I had more than ordinary intelligence; that to hear me talk one would never suppose I could make a speech of any kind, much less set the world on fire

him," said Hopkins. "What could have induced you t

s that the Nile-green shade first placed within my reach and then snatched from me, I regret that the soul is

y rounded off to fit my curves, he managed to subdue that horrible aspect he had assumed with such fearful effect in the trial of Baskins v. Baskins, and when geniality was the attribute most likely to help him on he was geniality personified. The ball was ostensibly one of the Earl of Piccadilly's usual series of annual functions, but in reality it was given for the purpose of introducing me into society. From all accounts, it was a grand affair, and I seemed to have made as fine an impression as a social debutant as I had in the law courts, in the field of literature, and in the House of Commons. If the fiend spoke truly that night

st marry if we are to reach the pinnacle of success. There is a solidity about the married man's

hat some of the things which pertain to myself shall be left entirely i

'Have your own way about it, only take m

ed a wife and you may need a wife, but if you think I'm going into any co-operative scheme with you in that matt

marriage. No woman would have you, knowing that you were not yourself at times; and then having as little control over your other self as you seem to have

e a confirmed celibate. I don't believe a Cardinal, sir, would have hesitated between his hat and her. My sole justification was her loveliness, and then the fiend's rea

able type. His hats and shoes were distinctly in the mode, and his jewelry, as far as it went, was of unexceptionable taste and quiet elegance. In fact, Toppleton, I began to be something of a dandy. This I attributed to the natural vanity of my other self. I, too, was proud of that graceful form, but I never thought enough about it to go about arraying it in a fashion which neither Solomon nor the lily of the field could ever have approached. I cared nothing for gloves save as a means to a warm finger's end, and it made no diffe

great stew, but the fiend came in and relieved my conscience very much by showing me my balance in the bank. It amounted, Toppleton, to one hundred and seventy-five thousand pounds, with an income still running evenly along from my law practice of ten thousand pounds per annum, not to mention the revenues from my books, which in six months had amounted to two thousand pounds. I was a rich man, and when I observed that this was my condition, I made up my mind to ask Miss Hicksworthy-Johnston

now where?" a

d not return for twenty-four hours, since there was important business on hand. What the business was he did not inform me, nor did I seek to know it, since under our arran

ead somewhere, too shattered for the fiend to remain longer within it, and gone for ever from me? What if the present occupant of my corse had again yielded to the seductive influence of the cup, and was off somewhere upon a prolonged spree? I floated uneasily in and about my quarters here, sleepless, worried to distraction. I searched my

's cupboard was bare. This was an additional shock, and I became giddy with fear. I floated madly across to the bureau and peered into the drawers thereof. Beyond the ties

. Days came and went, leaving me still pondering. Christmas Eve came and found me here moping in a cheerless apartment,

though. If you had had your body and still been cloth

the evening of January second I heard a step coming along the hall which I at once recognized as my own, my latch-key was

said with a broad smile, a

to know what had become of you. I don't think you are the most considerate fiend in t

tell you about it, but you must have been floating about somewhere else. At all events, you are much better for the outing, and your purely mortal self has had a good time. And, by the way, I want to warn you about one point. When you are the occupant of this corse, I think you would better not walk down Rotten Row, or go anywhere in fact where I am accustomed to going, because you don't know my friends any more than I know yours, and that is apt to lead to misunderstanding. Lady Romaine Cushing, who was

I said, with some natural indignation, 'just because it embar

ied. 'You seem to forget that I am act

rather hard on me to be excluded from

a tree for instance, and watch yourself hobnobbing with the illustrious. You can sit in your invisibility in any one of the carriages that roll to and fro, and, as long as you do not obtrude yourself on the occupants, there is not an equipage in London, high or low, in which you cannot ride. You are better off than I am in

ersonal fashion. I prefer the incarnate manner of doing things, and if you wil

plied, and with tha

that I was better off for the outing I had so unceremoniously taken. My step was elastic, my head felt clear as a b

At eight thirty I was on my knees before her, and by eleven o'clock I was her accepted suitor. Such happiness as was mine, Hopkins, no man ever knew. The only trouble known to my soul at the moment was the consciousness that Arabella, as I was now permitted to call Miss Hicksworthy-Johnstone, was in the dark as to the methods by which my greatness had been achieved. I

e of his brain in your head when

t the close of a cross-examination such as no man ever went through before, lasting two and a half hours, Arab

om here,-a reprehensible habit, perhaps, but one which had always been my method of expressing satisfaction with the world. As I entered this room I was brought down from my ecstatic heights to an appreciation of my actual state, for

d finally. 'Wher

I was unprepared for it, so I made no reply, covering m

this time in a tone so peremptory that

swered. 'Whe

is he

affairs. I only wanted to know where you had been because I a

s, but you need not be interested in where I have been to-night, becaus

other, or complications may arise, that's all. By the way, I'll have to borrow you again to-morrow morning. There are a half-dozen mem

iesce in anything. 'Only I'll want to get back

wly for a moment, and I

iamentary business is very important, and I must have t

and so it happened. Every night for a week I spent in the company of my fiancée,-whose name, by the way, I never mentioned in the fie

disembodied state, and the fiend had taken possession for the day, when there was heard in the corridor a quick nervous step which stopped as he who directed i

s the kennel in which the h

. Indeed, I had hardly recognized the old gentleman's voi

is voice trembling with emotion. "He was livid, and when the door opened, and he saw the man he supposed

?' said the fiend, p

red the old gentleman. 'Don't you da

I, and to me it was absolutely incomprehensible, for I was not aware of anything that I had done that could possibly give rise to so violent an ebullition of rag

crite? What mistake can there be? Do you see that note in this week's

d the fiend calmly,

through with you you'll wish I hadn't brought this oak stick along with me. Now

wish to have explained until I know who you are, and what possible right you can have to demand an e

not or would not hear my whispered injunction that he be silent. As for the old gentleman, he sat gasping in his c

I here for, eh? What's my name, eh? What claim have I on you, eh? Young man, you are the most consummate Lothario on the footstool. You are a

fiend looked my father-in law el

devil is

rprise; and then, Toppleton, it breaks my heart to say it, but my foot-the foot of him who loved Arabella to distraction,-was lifted against her father, and the man to whom he had promised his daughter's hand, ap

sworthy-Johnstone had brought, and marked with blue pencil upon the page before me was printed the announcement of the engagement of m