'Old Dacre,' as Lord Fitz-pompey described him, was a phantom
enough at any time to frighten his youthful ward. The great object
of the uncle was to teaze and mortify the guardian into resigning his
trust, and infinite were the contrivances to bring about this desirable
result; but Mr. Dacre was obstinate, and, although absent, contrived to
carry on and complete the system for the management of the Hauteville
property which he had so beneficially established and so long pursued.
In quitting England, although he had appointed a fixed allowance for
his noble ward, Mr. Dacre had thought proper to delegate a discretionary
authority to Lord Fitz-pompey to furnish him with what might be called
extraordinary necessaries. His Lordship availed himself with such
dexterity of this power that his nephew appeared to be indebted for
every indulgence to his uncle, who invariably accompanied every act of
this description with an insinuation that he might thank Mrs. Dacre's
illness for the boon.
'Well, George,' he would say to the young Etonian, 'you shall have
the boat, though I hardly know how I shall pass the account at
head-quarters; and make yourself easy about Flash's bill, though I
really cannot approve of such proceedings.
Pages:
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25