The Bedford-Row Conspiracy | Page 6

William Pitt Scully, Esquire, of the firm of Perkins and Scully, deserted
those principles in which he had been bred and christened; deserted that
church which he had frequented, for he could not bear to see Sir
George and my Lady flaunting in their grand pew;--deserted, I say, the
church, adopted the conventicle, and became one of the most zealous
and eloquent supporters that Freedom has known in our time. Scully, of
the house of Scully and Perkins, was a dangerous enemy. In five years
from that marriage, which snatched from the jilted solicitor his heart's
young affections, Sir George Gorgon found that he must actually spend
seven hundred pounds to keep his two seats. At the next election, a
Liberal was set up against his man, and actually ran him hard; and
finally, at the end of eighteen years, the rejected Scully--the mean
attorney--was actually the FIRST Member for Oldborough, Sir George
Grimsby Gorgon, Baronet, being only the second!
The agony of that day cannot be imagined--the dreadful curses of Sir
George, who saw fifteen hundred a year robbed from under his very
nose--the religious resignation of my Lady--the hideous
window-smashing that took place at the "Gorgon Arms," and the
discomfiture of the pelted Mayor and Corporation. The very next
Sunday, Scully was reconciled to the church (or attended it in the

morning, and the meeting twice in the afternoon), and as Doctor
Snorter uttered the prayer for the High Court of Parliament, his eye, the
eye of his whole party--turned towards Lady Gorgon and Sir George in
a most unholy triumph. Sir George (who always stood during prayers,
like a military man) fairly sank down among the hassocks, and Lady
Gorgon was heard to sob as audibly as ever did little beadle-belaboured
urchin.
Scully, when at Oldborough, came from that day forth to church.
"What," said he, "was it to him? were we not all brethren?" Old Perkins,
however, kept religiously to the Squaretoes congregation. In fact, to tell
the truth, this subject had been debated between the partners, who saw
the advantage of courting both the Establishment and the Dissenters--a
manoeuvre which, I need not say, is repeated in almost every country
town in England, where a solicitor's house has this kind of power and
connection.
Three months after this election came the races at Oldborough, and the
race-ball. Gorgon was so infuriated by his defeat, that he gave "the
Gorgon cup and cover," a matter of fifteen pounds. Scully, "although
anxious," as he wrote from town, "anxious beyond measure to preserve
the breed of horses for which our beloved country has ever been
famous, could attend no such sports as these, which but too often
degenerated into vice." It was voted a shabby excuse. Lady Gorgon was
radiant in her barouche and four, and gladly became the patroness of
the ball that was to ensue; and which all the gentry and townspeople,
Tory and Whig, were in the custom of attending. The ball took place on
the last day of the races. On that day, the walls of the market-house, the
principal public buildings, and the "Gorgon Arms Hotel" itself, were
plastered with the following:--
"Letter from our distinguished representative, William P. Scully,
Esquire, etc., etc.
"HOUSE OF COMMONS: June 1, 18--.
"MY DEAR HEELTAP,--You know my opinion about horseracing,
and though I blame neither you nor any brother Englishman who

enjoys that manly sport, you will, I am sure, appreciate the
conscientious motives which induce me not to appear among my
friends and constituents on the festival of the 3rd, 4th, and 5th instant.
If I, however, cannot allow my name to appear among your list of
stewards, ONE at least of the representatives of Oldborough has no
such scruples. Sir George Gorgon is among you: and though I differ
from that honourable Baronet on more than ONE VITAL POINT, I am
glad to think that he is with you. A gentleman, a soldier, a man of
property in the county, how can he be better employed than in
forwarding the county's amusements, and in forwarding the happiness
of all?
"Had I no such scruples as those to which I have just alluded, I must
still have refrained from coming among you. Your great Oldborough
common-drainage and inclosure bill comes on to-morrow, and I shall
be AT MY POST. I am sure, if Sir George Gorgon were here, he and I
should on this occasion vote side by side, and that party strife would be
forgotten in the object of our common interest--OUR DEAR NATIVE
TOWN.
"There is, however, another occasion at hand, in which I shall be proud
to meet him. Your ball is on the night of the 6th. Party
forgotten--brotherly union--innocent mirth--beauty, OUR DEAR
TOWN'S BEAUTY, our daughters in the joy of their expanding