s Mr. Moncton was
too artful a man to criminate himself. In a few days, I should now
become of age, when the term of my articles would expire. I should then
be my own master; and several private applications had been made to me
by a lawyer of eminence, to accept a place in his office, with promises
of further advancement; this rendered my uncle's conduct a matter of
indifference. The sudden and unexpected return of Theophilus gave a
very different aspect to my affairs.

CHAPTER XIV.

LOVE AND HATRED.

At first Mr. Moncton refused to see his son; but on the receipt of a
letter from Theophilus, his positive orders on that head were not only
reversed, but the worthy young gentleman was received with marked
attention by his father.

The contents of that letter I did not know then, but got a knowledge of
them in after years. The son had become acquainted with some villainous
transactions of the parent, which he threatened to expose to the world,
if any rigorous measures were adopted towards himself. These
revelations were of such a startling nature, that no alternative
remained to Mr. Moncton but to submit, which he did, and with a
wonderful good grace.

It would be no easy matter to describe the surprise and indignation of
Theophilus Moncton, when he discovered that the despised and insulted
Geoffrey had become a person of some consequence during his absence. I
shall never forget the studied air of indifference, the chilling
coldness, with which he met me on his return, and under the cover of
which he endeavoured to conceal his chagrin.

The long-cherished dislike that I had entertained for him, had lost
much of its bitter character during a separation of many months. I was
willing to believe that I might sometimes have been the aggressor, and
that time, and a more intimate knowledge of the world, might have
produced a favourable change in his surly and morose disposition. I had
still to learn that the world rarely improves the heart, but only
teaches both sexes more adroitly to conceal its imperfections. I could
perceive no alteration in Theophilus which gave the least promise of
mental improvement. After a few minutes spent in his company, I found
him more arrogant and conceited than when he left England. The
affectation of imitating foreign manners, and interlarding his
conversation with French and Italian, rendered him less attractive in
his assumed, than he had been in his natural, character.

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