Darrell if the principal were made over to him at
once. He had been brought up originally to commerce. He had abjured all
thoughts of resuming such vocation during his wife's lifetime, out of
that consideration for her family and ancient birth which motives
of delicacy imposed. Now that the connection with Mr. Darrell was
dissolved, it might be rather a relief than otherwise to that gentleman
to know that a son-in-law so displeasing to him was finally settled,
not only in a foreign land, but in a social sphere in which his very
existence would soon be ignored by all who could remind Mr. Darrell
that his daughter had once a husband. An occasion that might never
occur again now presented itself. A trading firm at Paris, opulent, but
unostentatiously quiet in its mercantile transactions, would accept him
as a partner could he bring to it the additional capital of L10,000."
Not without dignity did Jasper add, "that since his connection had been
so unhappily distasteful to Mr. Darrell, and since the very payment,
each quarter, of the interest on the sum in question must in itself
keep alive the unwelcome remembrance of that connection, he had the less
scruple in making a proposition which would enable the eminent personage
who so disdained his alliance to get rid of him altogether." Darrell
closed at once with Jasper's proposal, pleased to cut off from his life
each tie that could henceforth link it to Jasper's, nor displeased to
relieve his hereditary acres from every shilling of the marriage portion
which was imposed on it as a debt, and associated with memories of
unmingled bitterness. Accordingly, Mr. Gotobed, taking care first
to ascertain that the certificates as to the poor child's death were
genuine, accepted Jasper's final release of all claim on Mr. Darrell's
estate. There still, however, remained the L200 a year which Jasper had
received during Matilda's life, on the tacit condition of remaining Mr.
Hammond, and not personally addressing Mr. Darrell. Jasper inquired
"if that annuity was to continue?" Mr. Gotobed referred the inquiry to
Darrell, observing that the object for which this extra allowance had
been made was rendered nugatory by the death of Mrs. Hammond and her
child; since Jasper henceforth could have neither power nor pretext to
molest Mr. Darrell, and that it could signify but little what name might
in future be borne by one whose connection with the Darrell family was
wholly dissolved. Darrell impatie