LATE the same night, after a disordered walk, Archie was admitted into Lord Glenalmond's dining-room, where he sat with a book upon his knee, beside three frugal coals of fire.In his robes upon the bench, Glenalmond had a certain air of burliness: plucked of these, it was a may-pole of a man that rose unsteadily from his chair to give his visitor welcome.Archie had suffered much in the last days, he had suffered again that evening; his face was white and drawn, his eyes wild and dark.But Lord Glenalmond greeted him without the least mark of surprise or curiosity.
"Come in, come in," said he."Come in and take a seat.Carstairs" (to his servant), "make up the fire, and then you can bring a bit of supper," and again to Archie, with a very trivial accent: "I was half expecting you," he added.
"No supper," said Archie."It is impossible that I should eat.""Not impossible," said the tall old man, laying his hand upon his shoulder, "and, if you will believe me, necessary.""You know what brings me?" said Archie, as soon as the servant had left the room.
"I have a guess, I have a guess," replied Glenalmond."We will talk of it presently - when Carstairs has come and gone, and you have had a piece of my good Cheddar cheese and a pull at the porter tankard: not before.""It is impossible I should eat" repeated Archie.
"Tut, tut!" said Lord Glenalmond."You have eaten nothing to-day, and Iventure to add, nothing yesterday.There is no case that may not be made worse; this may be a very disagreeable business, but if you were to fall sick and die, it would be still more so, and for all concerned -for all concerned."
"I see you must know all," said Archie."Where did you hear it?""In the mart of scandal, in the Parliament House," said Glenalmond."It runs riot below among the bar and the public, but it sifts up to us upon the bench, and rumour has some of her voices even in the divisions."Carstairs returned at this moment, and rapidly laid out a little supper;during which Lord Glenalmond spoke at large and a little vaguely on indifferent subjects, so that it might be rather said of him that he made a cheerful noise, than that he contributed to human conversation;and Archie sat upon the other side, not heeding him, brooding over his wrongs and errors.
But so soon as the servant was gone, he broke forth again at once."Who told my father? Who dared to tell him? Could it have been you?""No, it was not me," said the Judge; "although - to be quite frank with you, and after I had seen and warned you - it might have been me - Ibelieve it was Glenkindie."
"That shrimp!" cried Archie.
"As you say, that shrimp," returned my lord; "although really it is scarce a fitting mode of expression for one of the senators of the College of Justice.We were hearing the parties in a long, crucial case, before the fifteen; Creech was moving at some length for an infeftment; when I saw Glenkindie lean forward to Hermiston with his hand over his mouth and make him a secret communication.No one could have guessed its nature from your father: from Glenkindie, yes, his malice sparked out of him a little grossly.But your father, no.A man of granite.The next moment he pounced upon Creech.`Mr.Creech,' says he, `I'll take a look of that sasine,' and for thirty minutes after,"said Glenalmond, with a smile, "Messrs.Creech and Co.were fighting a pretty up-hill battle, which resulted, I need hardly add, in their total rout.The case was dismissed.No, I doubt if ever I heard Hermiston better inspired.He was literally rejoicing IN APICIBUS JURIS."Archie was able to endure no longer.He thrust his plate away and interrupted the deliberate and insignificant stream of talk."Here," he said, "I have made a fool of myself, if I have not made something worse.
Do you judge between us - judge between a father and a son.I can speak to you; it is not like...I will tell you what I feel and what I mean to do; and you shall be the judge," he repeated.
"I decline jurisdiction," said Glenalmond, with extreme seriousness.
"But, my dear boy, if it will do you any good to talk, and if it will interest you at all to hear what I may choose to say when I have heard you, I am quite at your command.Let an old man say it, for once, and not need to blush: I love you like a son."There came a sudden sharp sound in Archie's throat."Ay," he cried, "and there it is! Love! Like a son! And how do you think I love my father?""Quietly, quietly," says my lord.
"I will be very quiet," replied Archie."And I will be baldly frank.Ido not love my father; I wonder sometimes if I do not hate him.There's my shame; perhaps my sin; at least, and in the sight of God, not my fault.How was I to love him? He has never spoken to me, never smiled upon me; I do not think he ever touched me.You know the way he talks?
You do not talk so, yet you can sit and hear him without shuddering, and I cannot.My soul is sick when he begins with it; I could smite him in the mouth.And all that's nothing.I was at the trial of this Jopp.
You were not there, but you must have heard him often; the man's notorious for it, for being - look at my position! he's my father and this is how I have to speak of him - notorious for being a brute and cruel and a coward.Lord Glenalmond, I give you my word, when I came out of that Court, I longed to die - the shame of it was beyond my strength: but I - I -" he rose from his seat and began to pace the room in a disorder."Well, who am I? A boy, who have never been tried, have never done anything except this twopenny impotent folly with my father.