Topham

“ At the transfer hospital, a week later, Topham’s shattered, helpless form was laid for a few moments on a cot. His fall from a great height after a desperate duel with a German Taube left him victor and hero but with the shadow of death hovering over him. Numbness mercifully stilled the pain that had gripped him and he lay passive. It was not until he felt the touch of a hand softer than that of the hurrying surgeon who had given hasty “first aid” examination that he opened his eyes. A woman nurse, the only one he had seen so near the lines, was bending over him. He could see only dimly. ”

“ Topham awoke again in the dark small hours when man’s vitality is at its lowest ebb; awoke with that familiar depression, as of a chill hand gripping his heart—squeezing his very soul. It was Death, again, groping for him. Only his brain seemed clear. He tinkled, with a supreme effort, the bell at his bedside. A nurse came, her face indistinct in the dim light, and bent over him in an attitude of solicitation. ”

“ They seemed to fill the girl’s whole face—to fill it so that Topham thought he did not notice its other features; though later, he found that he could picture its every detail—the great masses of red-black hair; the clear dusky skin with a rose hiding in each cheek; the nose, chin, and teeth in keeping—not regular, not perfect according to canons of art, but compelling; a face for which men die.
Recklessly the navy officer stared—stared till the red flamed in the girl’s cheek, and she stumbled, [Pg 23] her trembling fingers loosing their hold upon the rail. ”

“ Topham was so very tall, that if he was living now, he might be shewn at Yeate's Theatre for a Sight, this Gentleman going one Day to enquire for a Countryman a little Way out of Town, when he came to the House, he looked in at a little Window over the Door, and ask'd the Woman, who sat by the Fire, if her Husband was at Home. ”

“ TOPHAM, THOMAS (1710?–1749) , known as ‘the strong man,’ was born in London about 1710, and was the son of a carpenter who apprenticed him to his own trade. In early life he was landlord of the Red Lion Inn, near old St. Luke's Hospital, and, though he there failed in business, soon gained profit and notoriety by his feats of strength. His first public exhibition consisted in pulling against a horse while lying on his back with his feet against the dwarf wall that divided Upper and Lower Moorfields. ”

“ Topham hesitated. “If you’ll wait for just an instant,” he answered. “I’ll be with you. I want to speak to the purser.”
Ferreira nodded, and Topham disappeared. In a few minutes he was back. A slight bulge above his right breast showed the presence of a packet of some kind and an occasional slight lift of his coat in the fresh breeze, showed that it consisted of a big official-looking envelope. ”

“ You, the savey man of the class; Rutile, the—the—I’ll be darned if I know what; and me the only one of the three who’s done a lick of work since we got out of the Academy—and then only because Uncle Sam gently but firmly refused to support me. But, say, Topham! How’d you get here? In command of a canal boat? Why don’t you speak up instead of making a quiet man break his rule against talking?”
Topham smiled. In fact, he had been smiling ever since he clasped Risdon’s hand, quite content to let the other rattle on unchecked. ”

“ Yet, had I and the King stood side by side, she could have told us in an instant, or, at least, on a little consideration. But neither she nor anyone else dreamed or imagined that I could be other than the King. So the likeness served, and for an hour I stood there, feeling as weary and blase as though I had been a king all my life; and everybody kissed my hand, and the ambassadors paid me their respects, among them old Lord Topham, at whose house in Grosvenor Square I had danced a score of times. Thank heaven, the old man was as blind as a bat, and did not claim my acquaintance. ”

“ Mr. Rutile shall have his vacation by all means, Miss Byrd.” “Now, Mr. Topham, I have some news for you. It—or rather she—is waiting in the next room. The Countess del Ouro Preto came to see me this morning. She had read the news about the fleet in the papers and knew the game was up. She came to confess, and to tell me a secret or two about herself. [Pg 275] Ahem! You have my permission to go, Mr. Topham! Through the right door yonder. Yes! That’s it! Good-morning, Mr. Topham.”
THE END
Transcriber’s Notes:
Numerous silent changes have been made to correct punctuation around dialogue. ”

“ But Topham shook his head. “Not for me,” he declared. “I don’t fight duels, not when I’m [Pg 45] on duty, anyhow. Besides, I see little cause. They bested us fairly. Anyhow, it’s too late now.”
As a matter of fact, the train was moving again.
The Brazilian hesitated. Then suddenly he tore the cards to pieces and flung them out of the window. “So be it, Senor!” he acceded.
Topham glanced down at his clothes and found them whole, though badly rumpled. Suddenly he started, just as he had on the steamer the night he left New York, and thrust his hands into his inner pocket ”

“ Topham declared open war on Fountayne, and Sterne supported the dean. Subsequently Topham laid claim to the commissaryship of Pocklington and Pickering, which Sterne himself enjoyed. The dispute lingered on for many years, and Sterne amused himself by humorously satirising in a pretended letter to a friend the ferment in cathedral circles which Topham's greed aroused. He represented York as a village of which Trim (i.e. Topham) was sexton and whipper-in; the archbishop was the parson, the dean the parish clerk, and himself, Lorry Slim, an insignificant parishioner. ”

“ Topham ignored the departure. "León Rivas, Bartolomé's son, will be up on Oro; he always rides for Rennie. He's younger than you, but I'd say"—the gambler studied Drew's lithe body critically—"you're about matched in weight. I'd shuck that gun belt, though, and anything else you can. And good luck, Kirby. You'll need all of it you can muster."
An hour later Drew followed Topham's advice, leaving gun belt, carbine, and everything else he could unload in Callie's keeping before he swung up on Shiloh. The big colt was nervous, tending to dance sideways, tossing his head high. ”

“ Topham decided to appeal to the public against the Dean, whom he charged with working upon the sick man at Bishopthorpe. So, during the second week in December, was launched his anonymous pamphlet entitled A Letter address'd to the Reverend the Dean of York; In which is given A full Detail of some very extraordinary Behaviour of his, in relation to his Denial of a Promise made by him to Dr. Topham. Though the sixpenny pamphlet set out to deal principally with the commissaryship that fell to Sterne, it nevertheless touched upon all the quarrels of a dozen years. ”

“ Ouro Preto wants to be a sovereign duke and he’s got the scads to pay for it. It’s up to the kaiser to say whether he bids high enough. And I shouldn’t wonder if the Countess Elsa would turn the scale.”
Suddenly the reporter broke off. He clutched Topham by the arm and dragged him to the edge of the pavement. “Stand still a minute,” he ordered, as he rested his hand on the navy officer’s shoulder and raised himself on tiptoe. “Yes! it’s she,” he exclaimed, an instant later. “You big men will never realize how useful your inches are [Pg 66] till you try being a little man in a crowd. ”

“ Mus.) shows the strong man lying extended between two chairs, with a glass of wine in his right hand, and five gentlemen standing on his body. About this time, or later, he became landlord of the Duke's Head, a public-house in Cadd's Row (afterwards St. Alban's Place) , near Islington Green.
Topham exhibited in Ireland (April 1737) and Scotland, and at Macclesfield in Cheshire so impressed the corporation by his feats that they gave him a purse of gold and made him a free burgess. ”

“ This "strong man" fell a victim to jealousy, as is proved by the following:—"August 10th, 1749, died, Mr. Thomas Topham, known by the name of the strong man, master of a publick house in Shoreditch, London. In a fit of jealousy, he stabbed his wife, then cut his own throat and stabbed himself, after which he lived two days." ”

“ He blacks the parson's shoes, greases his boots, runs to the town for eggs, catches his horse and rubs him down; and on one occasion, when the parson cuts his finger in paring an apple, goes half a mile to inquire of an old woman what is good to staunch blood, and returns with a cobweb in his breeches' pocket. All these incidents are a burlesque of Dr. Topham's endless visits to Bishopthorpe immediately after the new Archbishop had settled at the palace. ”

“ Waiving all question on this point, Donaldson may be considered as a sort of morning-star of that reformation which has resulted in the universal cheapening of literary publications. Major Topham, in 1775, speaks of a complete set of the English classics which he was bringing out, ‘in a very handsome binding,’ at the rate of one and sixpence a volume! ”

“ These were diversified in 1850 by a scene from ‘Barnaby Rudge.’ Topham possessed considerable histrionic talent, and was in that year one of Dickens's company of ‘splendid strollers’ who acted ‘The Rent Day’ of Douglas Jerrold and Bulwer Lytton's ‘Not so bad as we seem.’ Towards the end of 1852 he went for a few months to Spain to study the picturesque aspects of that country and its people. ”

“ That the question of the appointment, which threatened to divide the Church of York, might be settled peaceably, the Dean, Dr. Topham, and several others were summoned by the Archbishop to meet at Bishopthorpe on November 7, 1758, for a general conference. The two chief dignitaries, who had been misrepresented, each to each, by the intriguing lawyer, found themselves agreeably of one opinion: that it was inadvisable, notwithstanding ancient precedent, to grant the valuable patent for more than one life. ”

“ Topham joined three men at the next table, substantial town citizens, Drew judged. The owner of the cantina raised his glass.
"Gentlemen, I give you another successful trading trip!"
"Saw Johnny ride in," one of the men returned. "Kid seems to be settlin' down, ain't he? That ought to be good news for Rennie." [pg 019]
"One believes in reformations when they are proven by time, Señor Cahill," the man wearing rich but somber Spanish clothing replied.
"It sure must go hard with a man to have his son turn out a wild one," commented the third. ”

“ Helms's always been a troublemaker; he wouldn't need much more than a suggestion or two of the right sort. Helms, Stevens, Danny Birke, and that kid Mitchell. You're right so far, Nye." Topham grinned. "Like as not, I'm imaginin' things—a greenhorn huntin' Apaches behind every bush. None of that crew has the brains to see anything beyond the tip of his nose. No, I guess we can take it that you were handy and they had too much red-eye on empty stomachs. Only, I mean it, Kirby, you walk soft and get back to the Range as quick as you can."
"That suits me," Drew agreed. ”

“ Topham agreed. "Bayliss can either catch you off guard or see you're provoked again into doing something he can rope you in for. I'd get back to the Range and stay there until things settle down a little and someone else takes the good captain's mind off you."
"What about Anse? You take him on, Nye?" Drew asked.
"I ain't got th' authority to hire, Kirby. But no reason why he can't go down th' trail with us. Old Man is always on lookout for a good rider. Soon as we see how Johnny's doin', we'll head south. I already sent Greyfeather back to tell the Old Man th' kid's hurt an' up here. ”

“ Thomas Topham, born in London, and now about thirty-one years of age, five feet ten inches high, with muscles very hard and prominent, was brought up a carpenter, which trade he practiced till within these six or seven years that he has shewed feats of strength; but he is entirely ignorant of any art to make his strength appear more surprising; Nay, sometimes he does things which become more difficult by his disadvantageous situation; attempting and often doing, what he hears other strong men have done, without making use of the same advantages. ”

“ April 21.—The following notice was given to the public:—"For the benefit of Thomas Topham, the strong man, from Islington, whose performances have been looked upon by the Royal Society and several persons of distinction, to be the most surprising as well as curious of any thing ever performed in England ”

“ Topham's voice had lost its detached note. "And he sure wasn't the only Confederate to surrender. Hunt, he's got to learn that losing a war doesn't mean that a man has lost the rest of his life. But the way he's been acting these past months, Johnny might just lose it. Bayliss' tongue is hanging out a yard or more he's panting so hard to get back at you. That captain has heady ambitions under his hat, maybe like setting up here as a tinpot governor or something like. If he can discredit you, well, he probably thinks he's got a chance to rake in the full pot, and it's a big one. ”

“ Dr. Topham made a grasp for that office, but missed. The place was given to William Stables, another ecclesiastical lawyer. Thereupon Dr. Topham made a grasp for the Commissaryship of the Peculiar Court of Pickering and Pocklington, which had likewise become vacant by the death of Dr. Mark Braithwaite. This office, valued at six pounds a year, he missed also; the Dean generously presented it to his friend Laurence Sterne. Over these appointments Dr. Topham raised a loud clamor. ”