The History Of The Life Of The Late Mr. Jonathan Wild The Great(Fiscle Part 3), Henry Fielding [most read books in the world of all time .txt] 📗

Suum.

The Common Form Of Exchanging Property By Trade Seemed To Him Too

Tedious; He Therefore Resolved To Quit The Mercantile Profession,

And,  Falling Acquainted With Some Of Mr. Wild's People,  He

Provided Himself With Arms,  And Enlisted Of The Gang; In Which He

Behaved For Some Time With Great Decency And Order,  And Submitted

To Accept Such Share Of The Booty With The Rest As Our Hero

Allotted Him.

 

But This Subserviency Agreed Ill With His Temper; For We Should

Have Before Remembered A Third Heroic Quality,  Namely,  Ambition,

Which Was No Inconsiderable Part Of His Composition. One Day,

Therefore,  Having Robbed A Gentleman At Windsor Of A Gold Watch,

Which,  On Its Being Advertised In The Newspapers,  With A

Book 3 Chapter 13 Pg 127

Considerable Reward,  Was Demanded Of Him By Wild,  He Peremptorily

Refused To Deliver It.

 

"How,  Mr. Blueskin!" Says Wild; "You Will Not Deliver The Watch?"

"No,  Mr. Wild," Answered He; "I Have Taken It,  And Will Keep It;

Or,  If I Dispose Of It,  I Will Dispose Of It Myself,  And Keep The

Money For Which I Sell It." "Sure," Replied Wild,  "You Have Not

The Assurance To Pretend You Have Any Property Or Right In This

Watch?" "I Am Certain," Returned Blueskin,  "Whether I Have Any

Right In It Or No,  You Can Prove None." "I Will Undertake," Cries

The Other,  "To Shew I Have An Absolute Right To It,  And That By

The Laws Of Our Gang,  Of Which I Am Providentially At The Head."

"I Know Not Who Put You At The Head Of It," Cries Blueskin; "But

Those Who Did Certainly Did It For Their Own Good,  That You Might

Conduct Them The Better In Their Robberies,  Inform Them Of The

Richest Booties,  Prevent Surprizes,  Pack Juries,  Bribe Evidence,

And So Contribute To Their Benefit And Safety; And Not To Convert

All Their Labour And Hazard To Your Own Benefit And Advantage."

"You Are Greatly Mistaken,  Sir," Answered Wild; "You Are Talking

Of A Legal Society,  Where The Chief Magistrate Is Always Chosen

For The Public Good,  Which,  As We See In All The Legal Societies

Of The World,  He Constantly Consults,  Daily Contributing,  By His

Superior Skill,  To Their Prosperity,  And Not Sacrificing Their

Good To His Own Wealth,  Or Pleasure,  Or Humour: But In An Illegal

Society Or Gang,  As This Of Ours,  It Is Otherwise; For Who Would

Be At The Head Of A Gang,  Unless For His Own Interest? And Without

A Head,  You Know,  You Cannot Subsist. Nothing But A Head,  And

Obedience To That Head,  Can Preserve A Gang A Moment From

Destruction. It Is Absolutely Better For You To Content Yourselves

With A Moderate Reward,  And Enjoy That In Safety At The Disposal

Of Your Chief,  Than To Engross The Whole With The Hazard To Which

You Will Be Liable Without His Protection. And Surely There Is

None In The Whole Gang Who Hath Less Reason To Complain Than You;

You Have Tasted Of My Favours: Witness That Piece Of Ribbon You

Wear In Your Hat,  With Which I Dubbed You Captain. Therefore Pray,

Captain,  Deliver The Watch." "D--N Your Cajoling," Says Blueskin:

"Do You Think I Value Myself On This Bit Of Ribbon,  Which I Could

Have Bought Myself For Sixpence,  And Have Worn Without Your Leave?

Do You Imagine I Think Myself A Captain Because You,  Whom I Know

Not Empowered To Make One,  Call Me So? The Name Of Captain Is But

A Shadow: The Men And The Salary Are The Substance; And I Am Not

To Be Bubbled With A Shadow. I Will Be Called Captain No Longer,

And He Who Flatters Me By That Name I Shall Think Affronts Me,  And

I Will Knock Him Down,  I Assure You." "Did Ever Man Talk So

Unreasonably?" Cries Wild. "Are You Not Respected As A Captain By

The Whole Gang Since My Dubbing You So? But It Is The Shadow Only,

It Seems; And You Will Knock A Man Down For Affronting You Who

Calls You Captain! Might Not A Man As Reasonably Tell A Minister

Of State,  Sir,  You Have Given Me The Shadow Only? The Ribbon Or

The Bauble That You Gave Me Implies That I Have Either Signalised

Myself,  By Some Great Action,  For The Benefit And Glory Of My

Country,  Or At Least That I Am Descended From Those Who Have Done

So. I Know Myself To Be A Scoundrel,  And So Have Been Those Few

Ancestors I Can Remember,  Or Have Ever Heard Of. Therefore,  I Am

Book 3 Chapter 13 Pg 128

Resolved To Knock The First Man Down Who Calls Me Sir Or Right

Honourable. But All Great And Wise Men Think Themselves

Sufficiently Repaid By What Procures Them Honour And Precedence In

The Gang,  Without Enquiring Into Substance; Nay,  If A Title Or A

Feather Be Equal To This Purpose,  They Are Substance,  And Not Mere

Shadows. But I Have Not Time To Argue With You At Present,  So Give

Me The Watch Without Any More Deliberation." "I Am No More A

Friend To Deliberation Than Yourself," Answered Blueskin,  "And So

I Tell You,  Once For All,  By G--I Never Will Give You The Watch,

No,  Nor Will I Ever Hereafter Surrender Any Part Of My Booty. I

Won It,  And I Will Wear It. Take Your Pistols Yourself,  And Go Out

On The Highway,  And Don't Lazily Think To Fatten Yourself With The

Dangers And Pains Of Other People." At Which Words He Departed In

A Fierce Mood,  And Repaired To The Tavern Used By The Gang,  Where

He Had Appointed To Meet Some Of His Acquaintance,  Whom He

Informed Of What Had Passed Between Him And Wild,  And Advised Them

All To Follow His Example; Which They All Readily Agreed To,  And

Mr. Wild's D--Tion Was The Universal Toast; In Drinking Bumpers To

Which They Had Finished A Large Bowl Of Punch,  When A Constable,

With A Numerous Attendance,  And Wild At Their Head,  Entered The

Room And Seized On Blueskin,  Whom His Companions,  When They Saw

Our Hero,  Did Not Dare Attempt To Rescue. The Watch Was Found Upon

Him,  Which,  Together With Wild's Information,  Was More Than

Sufficient To Commit Him To Newgate.

 

In The Evening Wild And The Rest Of Those Who Had Been Drinking

With Blueskin Met At The Tavern,  Where Nothing Was To Be Seen But

The Profoundest Submission To Their Leader. They Vilified And

Abused Blueskin,  As Much As They Had Before Abused Our Hero,  And

Now Repeated The Same Toast,  Only Changing The Name Of Wild Into

That Of Blueskin; All Agreeing With Wild That The Watch Found In

His Pocket,  And Which Must Be A Fatal Evidence Against Him,  Was A

Just Judgment On His Disobedience And Revolt.

 

Thus Did This Great Man By A Resolute And Timely Example (For He

Went Directly To The Justice When Blueskin Left Him) Quell One Of

The Most Dangerous Conspiracies Which Could Possibly Arise In A

Gang,  And Which,  Had It Been Permitted One Day's Growth,  Would

Inevitably Have Ended In His Destruction; So Much Doth It Behove

All Great Men To Be Eternally On Their Guard,  And Expeditious In

The Execution Of Their Purposes; While None But The Weak And

Honest Can Indulge Themselves In Remissness Or Repose.

 

The Achates,  Fireblood,  Had Been Present At Both These Meetings;

But,  Though He Had A Little Too Hastily Concurred In Cursing His

Friend,  And In Vowing His Perdition,  Yet Now He Saw All That

Scheme Dissolved He Returned To His Integrity,  Of Which He Gave An

Incontestable Proof,  By Informing Wild Of The Measures Which Had

Been Concerted Against Him,  In Which He Said He Had Pretended To

Acquiesce,  In Order The Better To Betray Them; But This,  As He

Afterwards Confessed On His Deathbed At Tyburn,  Was Only A Copy Of

His Countenance; For That He Was,  At That Time,  As Sincere And

Hearty In His Opposition To Wild As Any Of His Companions.

 

Book 3 Chapter 13 Pg 129

Our Hero Received Fireblood's Information With A Very Placid

Countenance. He Said,  As The Gang Had Seen Their Errors,  And

Repented,  Nothing Was More Noble Than Forgiveness. But,  Though He

Was Pleased Modestly To Ascribe This To His Lenity,  It Really

Arose From Much More Noble And Political Principles. He Considered

That It Would Be Dangerous To Attempt The Punishment Of So Many;

Besides,  He Flattered Himself That Fear Would Keep Them In Order:

And Indeed Fireblood Had Told Him Nothing More Than He Knew

Before,  Viz.,  That They Were All Complete Prigs,  Whom He Was To

Govern By Their Fears,  And In Whom He Was To Place No More

Confidence Than Was Necessary,  And To Watch Them With The Utmost

Caution And Circumspection: For A Rogue,  He Wisely Said,  Like

Gunpowder,  Must Be Used With Caution; Since Both Are Altogether As

Liable To Blow Up The Party Himself Who Uses Them As To Execute

His Mischievous Purpose Against Some Other Person Or Animal.

 

We Will Now Repair To Newgate,  It Being The Place Where Most Of

The Great Men Of This History Are Hastening As Fast As Possible;

And,  To Confess The Truth,  It Is A Castle Very Far From Being An

Improper Or Misbecoming Habitation For Any Great Man Whatever. And

As This Scene Will Continue During The Residue Of Our History,  We

Shall Open It With A New Book,  And Shall Therefore Take This

Opportunity Of Closing Our Third.

 

 

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Publication Date: 05-13-2014

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