sir, if it were not for this port I could not get out another
sentence.) There used then to be sad scenes between them: my lord was
a terribly passionate man, and said things sharper than a two-edged
sword, as the psalms express it; and though Master Clinton was one of
the mildest and best-tempered boys imaginable, yet he could not at all
times curb his spirit; and, to my mind, when a man is perpetually
declaring he is not your father, one may now and then be forgiven in
forgetting that you are to behave as his son."

"Things went on in this way sadly enough for about three years and a
half, when Master Clinton was nearly eighteen. One evening, after my
lord had been unusually stormy, Master Clinton's spirit warmed, I
suppose, and, from word to word, the dispute increased, till my lord,
in a furious rage, ordered in the servants, and told them to horsewhip
his son. Imagine, sir, what a disgrace to that noble house! But
there was not one of them who would not rather have cut off his right
hand than laid a finger upon Master Clinton, so greatly was he
beloved; and, at last, my lord summoned his own gentleman, a German,
six feet high, entirely devoted to his lordship, and commanded him,
upon pain of instant dismissal, to make use in his presence of a
horsewhip which he put into his hand."

"The German did not dare refuse, so he approached Master Clinton. The
servants were still in the room, and perhaps they would have been bold
enough to rescue Master Clinton, had there been any need of their
assistance; but he was a tall youth, as bold as a hero, and, when the
German approached, he caught him by the throat, threw him down, and
very nearly strangled him; he then, while my lord was speechless with
rage, left the room, and did not return all night. (What a body it
has, sir--ah!)"