University of Virginia Library

27. XXVII.
Bivins versus Blimmer.

MR. BLIMMER does not feel altogether easy
in his mind. At his last encounter, at a
street-crossing, with Jemima, that young lady
frowned upon him sharply. But it is not the frown
that disturbs Mr. Blimmer.

He has awkward recollections of a certain stout
gentleman, carrying his arm in a sling, who was lost
from the deck of a steamer, a great many months
ago. To be sure, the court has declared that this
old gentleman, and some fifty others, were burnt, or
drowned, or crushed, quite accidentally; and that
neither captain, nor engineers, nor company, are at
all to be blamed for it.

Mr. Blimmer is therefore not disturbed upon that
score; nor, indeed, is any one else at present. People
(except those who wear deep mourning still, or
who walk by twilight beside the tombs where rest
the bodies of their drowned husbands or sons)
think it all well enough; they have forgotten their
sudden and eloquent indignation; the captain and
engineers, for whom no names were too harsh, once,
are driving their several trades: and that influential
journal, which insisted “that an example should be
made, by severe punishment,” now enters such
paragraphs as this: “We understand that the
popular and gentlemanly Captain —, late of the
Eclipse, has taken charge of the new and elegant
steamer Empire. We need not say that every
attention will be paid to the comfort of his passengers,
and we insure them a quick run.”

Public indignation is very smart in the beginning;
but very mild in the end. The prosecution of murderous
captains ends like the Washington Monuments,
and the Cooper Statue.

It may well be, however, that Mr. Blimmer has
a twinge of conscience, as he thinks of the important
trust which the old gentleman, Mr. Bodgers, placed
in his keeping; and, possibly, an additional twinge
as his thought ran to the pretty face of the young
girl, who, but for him, might have been rich. But

straightway this twinge passes off, when he recalls
the absolute and pointed manner in which Miss
Kitty had refused to become Mrs. Blimmer.

It does not dispose to the exercise of amiable
qualities, to receive such rebuff from a woman;
least of all, when the rebuff is deserved, and when
the approaches have been made under some false
cover. A man is never so out of humor, as when
he is out of humor with himself; and there is no
such guard to temper, even in adversity, as the consciousness
of an honest purpose.

The thought of Kitty, then, did not relieve the
uneasiness of Mr. Blimmer: moreover, Blimmersville
was not making such advances towards a city, as the
proprietor could have desired. Numerous lots of
land had indeed passed into the Quid name, under
mortgage to Blimmer. But the advances were not
large; and the residences, which the Quid family
had proposed to erect on the property, were still
very much in the condition of the Washington
Monument, referred to above.

Mr. Blimmer, in his enterprising way, determined
to drive over to Newtown, and investigate matters.
He had not, indeed, any very clear idea of what he
was to accomplish. Still, he was uneasy; uneasy
about the Bodgers' will; uneasy about his private
copy; uneasy about the Quid claims; uneasy about

the Blimmersville payments. He was one of
those men who work off uneasiness by restless
activity.

He drove rapidly to Newtown. His horse
received a great many vigorous cuts which the poor
beast never deserved. Mr. Blimmer was pleased
with the appearance of Newtown. It seemed to
possess capabilities. He inquired the price of lots.
He was struck particularly with the Bodgers property.
“A nice property,” he thought; and he
emphasised that impression with a forcible cut upon
his horse's flank.

Squire Bivins had been the agent and legal adviser
of Mr. Bodgers. Mr. Blimmer determined to call
upon Squire Bivins. Miss Mehitabel, hiding a portion
of her nose behind two large bunches of lilac-blossoms,
directed Mr. Blimmer to the Squire's office.
He was, as usual, sitting over the crusted ashes of his
stove, in his leathern-backed chair. He welcomed
the new-comer in his accustomed amiable manner;
patting his wig behind, giving his lower garments
a hitch towards the boots, and placing a short
twist of Virginia-leaf upon the table, in token of
good-feeling.

“I am Mr. Blimmer, of Blimmersville—office,
corner of Broadway and Broome street,” said the
visitor.

“Your most obedient, sir,” said Bivins, hitching
a chair in his direction.

“Nice village here, Squire.”

“Well, pretty fair.”

“Much sale of property?” pursued Blimmer.

“Considerable,” said the Squire; observing his
usual caution.

“Valuable estate, which old Mr. Bodgers left,
wasn't it, Squire?”

“Tolerable,” returned Mr. Bivins, eyeing very
closely his visitor; and recalling now, for the first
time, the name of Blimmer, as that of a fellow-passenger
with his unfortunate townsman. He ventured
to mention the circumstance; and thereupon
received from Mr. Blimmer that gentleman's accustomed
rapid narrative of that catastrophe, of his
own humane efforts, especially in behalf of that
unfortunate old gentleman, Mr. Bodgers.

Mr. Bivins' interest was keenly excited—in the
visit.

“I think that you are an administrator on his
estate?” said Mr. Blimmer

“I am.”

“And what do you think of the claim brought
forward by Mr. Quid, Squire?”

“If you ask,” said Bivins, impressively, “my
legal opinion'—

There was a pause, in the midst of which, Mr.
Blimmer drew from his pocket a small note, and
slipped it upon the table of the administrator. The
administrator, placing the tobacco-twist upon it, in
such a way as to expose plainly its denomination,
proceeded:

“If you ask my legal opinion, it is, that the above
claim is very forcible.”

“Oh!” said Blimmer.

“Very forcible, indeed,” pursued Bivins; “so
much so, that we have advised our clients to
make terms with the claimants, and the estate
is now under settlement, subject to those terms
only.”

“It's very strange,” said Blimmer, “that the old
gentleman made no will.”

“Very,” said Bivins, eyeing him sharply.

“Do you think he did make no will?” asked
Blimmer.

“I think he did.”

“You think he did?”

“Exactly,” said Bivins.

“You think he did make no will?” repeated Mr.
Blimmer, somewhat doubtfully.

“I think he did make a will?” said Bivins,
wrenching emphatically a small piece from the end
of his Virginia-twist.

“Oh!” said Blimmer; “and it was in favor of —
Mr. Fudge, perhaps; Solomon?”

Mr. Bivins eyed his visitor in a very droll manner,
and replied, in a quite unsatisfactory tone of
voice, “Perhaps so, Mr. Blimmer.”

“I'll tell you what, Bivins,” said the proprietor
of Blimmersville, drawing up his chair, and patting
his host in a familiar manner upon the knee, “we
may as well come to business at once. The long
and short of the matter is this: Quid has bought
rather largely in my lots at Blimmersville; and his
pay depends very much upon his holding possession
of the Bodgers property. Now I want to know”
(and the man of business placed a note of much
larger amount than the first upon the Squire's
table) “what are the chances of his being
ousted, and what ground there is for believing
that, by-and-by, some other party will trump up
a will?”

“That's what I call to the p'int,” said Bivins,
regaling himself with a view of the pleasant-looking
bank-note; and thereupon, he related to the attentive
Mr. Blimmer all that he knew of the claim of
Mr. Quid, and of the will in favor of Miss Fleming,
which he had himself drawn up in behalf of
the late Mr. Bodgers; which will, however, to the
best of his knowledge, had never been signed. He

further stated that he had already communicated
these facts to Mr. Quid himself.

“You know the will was not signed?” said Mr.
Blimmer, inquiringly.

“I think it was never signed,” returned Mr.
Bivins.

“Mr. Bodgers was in the habit of doing such
business at your office, I believe, Mr. Bivins?” said
the Blimmersville proprietor.

Mr. Bivins assented.

“And had you no clerk, no assistant, 'Squire,
who might possibly have executed the will for Mr.
Bodgers, in your absence?”

“I did have Harry Flint in my office about that
time,” said Bivins, “to be sure; but the old gentleman
would hardly have arranged such a matter
with Harry.”

“And was Harry a young man likely to be interested
in favor of Miss Fleming, Squire?” continued
Blimmer.

“Well, I did think Harry was one time tender
upon Kitty; but he went off suddenly to California;
likely enough, Kitty gave him the mitten.”

“Oh!” said Blimmer; and the proprietor did
certainly manifest signs of embarrassment; which
were not lost upon the administrator.

Mr. Blimmer has thus gained all the information

that he desired; judging from his own state of feeling,
he does not think that Mr. Harry Flint will
come back from California to interest himself in
behalf of Miss Kitty. He feels, therefore, comparatively
safe on that score. But as he drives back
to town, he revolves a pleasant scheme for quickening
the payments of Mr. Quid. It strikes him as a
highly-ingenious scheme; and no sooner does he
reach the office of the Blimmersville property, than
he puts it in effect.

He addresses a note to Mr. Quid in this manner:

“There's a quid for him,” said Blimmer; and he
put his pen back in the stand, with a chuckle which
meant plainly: “Well done, Mr. Blimmer!”

Mr. Bivins, too, sitting over his crusted ashes,
and stroking his wig consequentially, reflected long
upon his interview with the proprietor of Blimmersville;
and putting his various queries together, he
thought within himself: “Blimmer is a man to be
watched!”

And Squire Bivins, under those silver-bowed spectacles,
wears a very keen pair of eyes.