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-The Project Gutenberg eBook, General Bounce, by G. J. Whyte-Melville,
-Illustrated by Frances E. Ewan
-
-
-This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
-almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
-re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
-with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
-
-
-
-
-
-Title: General Bounce
-       or The Lady and the Locusts
-
-
-Author: G. J. Whyte-Melville
-
-
-
-Release Date: January 12, 2013  [eBook #41828]
-
-Language: English
-
-Character set encoding: ISO-646-US (US-ASCII)
-
-
-***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK GENERAL BOUNCE***
-
-
-E-text prepared by Suzanne Shell, Matthew Wheaton, and the Online
-Distributed Proofreading Team (http://www.pgdp.net) from page images
-generously made available by Internet Archive/American Libraries
-(http://archive.org/details/americana) 
-
-
-
-Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this
-      file which includes the original illustrations.
-      See 41828-h.htm or 41828-h.zip:
-      (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/41828/41828-h/41828-h.htm)
-      or
-      (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/41828/41828-h.zip)
-
-
-      Images of the original pages are available through
-      Internet Archive/American Libraries. See
-      http://archive.org/details/generalbounceorl00whyt
-
-
-
-
-
-GENERAL BOUNCE
-
-
-[Illustration: "'Where have you been all day? You promised to
-drive me out--you know you did!'"
-
-_Page 77_]
-
-
-GENERAL BOUNCE
-
-or
-
-The Lady and the Locusts
-
-by
-
-G. J. WHYTE-MELVILLE
-
-Author of "Katerfelto," "The Interpreter," "Market Harborough," etc.
-
-Illustrated by Frances E. Ewan
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-London
-Ward, Lock & Co., Limited
-New York and Melbourne
-
-
-
-
-PREFACE
-
-
-Where the rose blushes in the garden, there will the bee and the
-butterfly be found, humming and fluttering around. So is it in the
-world; the fair girl, whose sweetness is enhanced by the fictitious
-advantages of wealth and position, will ever have lovers and admirers
-enough and to spare.
-
-Burns was no bad judge of human nature; and he has a stanza on this
-subject, combining the reflection of the philosopher with the _canny_
-discrimination of the Scot.
-
-    "Away with your follies of beauty's alarms,
-    The _slender_ bit beauty you clasp in your arms;
-    But gi'e me the lass that has acres of charms,
-    Oh, gi'e me the lass with the _weel-plenished_ farms."
-
-Should the following pages afford such attractive young ladies matter
-for a few moments' reflection, the author will not have written in
-vain.
-
-May he hope they will choose well and wisely; and that the withered
-rose, when she has lost her fragrance, may be fondly prized and gently
-tended by the hand that plucked her in her dewy morning prime.
-
-
-
-
-    CONTENTS
-
-
-      CHAP.                                 PAGE
-
-         I. My Cousin                          9
-
-        II. The Abigail                       26
-
-       III. The Handsome Governess            41
-
-        IV. "Libitina"                        58
-
-         V. Uncle Baldwin                     72
-
-        VI. The Blind Boy                     85
-
-       VII. Boot and Saddle                  101
-
-      VIII. The Ball                         116
-
-        IX. Want                             130
-
-         X. Superfluity                      146
-
-        XI. Campaigning Abroad               161
-
-       XII. Campaigning at Home              177
-
-      XIII. The World                        194
-
-       XIV. To Persons about to Marry        204
-
-        XV. Penelope and her Suitors         212
-
-       XVI. Forgery                          225
-
-      XVII. Club Law                         236
-
-     XVIII. The Strictest Confidence         247
-
-       XIX. Dispatches                       259
-
-        XX. Dawn in the East                 276
-
-       XXI. Hospital                         292
-
-      XXII. The Widow                        303
-
-     XXIII. "Stop her"                       309
-
-      XXIV. King Crack                       323
-
-       XXV. "Dulce Domum"                    333
-
-      XXVI. "Eudaemon"                       347
-
-     XXVII. Flood and Field                  360
-
-    XXVIII. "The Sad Sea Wave"               374
-
-
-
-
-GENERAL BOUNCE
-
-_OR, THE LADY AND THE LOCUSTS_
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER I
-
-MY COUSIN
-
-     AN ENGLISHMAN'S HOLIDAY--ST. SWITHIN'S IN A CALM--THE
-     MERCHANT'S AMBITION--"MON BEAU COUSIN"--CASTLES IN THE AIR--A
-     LIVELY CRAFT--"HAIRBLOWER" AND HIS COLD BATH
-
-
-Much as we think of ourselves, and with all our boasted civilisation,
-we Anglo-Saxons are but a half-barbarian race after all. Nomadic,
-decidedly nomadic in our tastes, feelings, and pursuits, it is but the
-moisture of our climate that keeps us in our own houses at all, and
-like our Scandinavian ancestors (for in turf parlance we have several
-crosses of the old Norse blood in our veins), we delight
-periodically--that is, whenever we have a fortnight's dry weather--to
-migrate from our dwellings, and peopling the whole of our own
-sea-board, push our invading hordes over the greater part of Europe,
-nor refrain from thrusting our outposts even into the heart of Asia,
-till the astonished Mussulman, aghast at our vagaries, strokes his
-placid beard, and with a blessing on his Prophet that he is not as we
-are, soothes his disgust with a sentiment, so often repeated that in
-the East it has become a proverb--viz. that "There is one devil, and
-there are many devils; but there is _no_ devil like a Frank in a round
-hat!"
-
-It was but last autumn that, stepping painfully into our tailor's
-shop--for, alas! a course of London dinners cannot be persisted in,
-season after season, without producing a decided tendency to gout in
-the extremities--hobbling, then, into our tailor's warehouse, as he
-calls it, we were measured by an unfledged jackanapes, whose voice we
-had previously heard warning his brother fractions that "an old gent
-was a waitin' inside," instead of that spruce foreman who, for more
-years than it is necessary to specify, has known our girth to an inch,
-and our weight to a pound. Fearful that in place of the grave habit of
-broadcloth which we affect as most suitable to our age and manner, we
-might find ourselves equipped in one of the many grotesque disguises
-in which young gentlemen now-a-days deem it becoming to hide
-themselves, and described by the jackanapes, aforesaid, who stepped
-round us in ill-concealed admiration of our corpulence, as "a walking
-coat, a riding coat, a smoking coat, or a coat _to go to the stable
-in_!" we ventured to inquire for "the person we usually saw," and were
-informed that "the gent as waited on us last year had gone for a few
-months' holiday to the Heast." Heavens and earth, Mr. Bobstitch was
-even then in Syria! What a Scandinavian! rather degenerate to be sure
-in size and ferocity--though Bobstitch, being a little man, is
-probably very terrible when roused--but yet no slight contrast to one
-of those gaunt, grim, russet-bearded giants that made the despot of
-the Lower Empire quake upon his throne. And yet Bobstitch was but
-obeying the instinct which he inherits from the sea-kings his
-ancestors, an instinct which in less adventurous souls than a tailor's
-fills our watering-places to overflowing, and pours the wealth, while
-it introduces the manners, of the capital into every bight and bay
-that indents the shores of Britain.
-
-Doubtless the citizens are right. Let us, while we are in Scandinavian
-vein, make use of an old Norse metaphor, and pressing into our service
-the two Ravens of Odin, named Mind and Will, with these annihilate
-time and space, so as to be, like the Irish orator's bird, "in two
-places at once." Let us first of all take a retrospective glance at
-Mrs. Kettering's house in Grosvenor Square, one of the best houses, by
-the way, to be had in London for love or money. We recollect it well,
-not so many years ago, lit up for one of those great solemnities which
-novelists call "a rout," but which people in real life, equally
-martially as well as metaphorically, designate "a drum." To us
-creeping home along the pavement outside the _fete_, it seemed the
-realisation of fairyland. Row upon row, glaring carriage-lamps, like
-the fabulous monsters keeping watch, illuminated the square and
-adjoining streets, even to the public-house round the corner, that
-night driving a highly remunerative trade; whilst on a nearer
-inspection magnificent horses (horses, like ladies, look most
-beautiful by candle-light), gorgeous carriages--none of your Broughams
-and Clarences, but large, roomy, well-hung family coaches, with
-cartoons of heraldry on the panels--gigantic footmen, and fat
-coachmen, struck the beholder with admiration not totally unmixed with
-awe. Then the awning that was to admit the privileged to the inner
-realms of this earthly paradise, of which the uninitiated might know
-but the exterior; what a gauzy, gaudy transparency it was, no
-unfitting portal to that upper storey, from which the golden light was
-hardly veiled by jalousies and window-blinds. Ever and anon, much
-lashing of bay, brown, or chestnut sufferers, and the interference of
-a tall policeman, with a hat made on purpose to be assaulted by
-bludgeons, betokened the arrival of a fresh party, and angelic beings
-in white robes, with glossy hair, tripped daintily up the steps over a
-cloth, not of gold exactly, but of horse-hair, amongst a phalanx of
-unwashed faces, gazing half enviously at such loveliness in full
-dress. How beautiful we used to think these apparitions as we plodded
-home to our quiet chambers! but young Bareface, our connecting link
-with the great world, who goes to all the _best_ places, through the
-influence of his aunt, Lady Champfront, assures us they don't look
-half so beautiful inside, and that he sees quite as pretty faces, and
-hair quite as nicely done, at the little gatherings in Russell Square
-and Bloomsbury, to which even we might go if we liked. A radical dog!
-we don't believe a word of it. Never mind, let us look at that house
-in the dead time of year. Without and within, from attics to basement,
-from the balcony facing the square to the empty bird-cage overlooking
-a precipice of offices at the back, Repose and Ennui reign supreme.
-Were it not for the knocking of the workmen next door, we might as
-well be in the Great Desert. There _is_, we presume, a woman in
-possession, but she has gone to "get the beer," and if you have ever
-sighed for a town-house, now is the time to be satisfied with your
-rustic lot, and to hug yourself that you are not paying ground-rent
-and taxes, church-rate, poor's-rate, and water-rate, drainage,
-lighting, and paving, for that ghastly palace of soot and cobwebs,
-dust, dreariness, and decay. There is a scaffolding up in every third
-house in the square; and workmen in paper caps, with foot-rules
-sticking out of their fustian trousers, and complexions ingrained with
-lime-dust, and guiltless of fresh water, seem to be the only
-inhabitants of this deserted region, and even they are "between earth
-and heaven." Brown and parched are the unfortunate shrubs in those
-gardens of which discontented householders "round the corner" covet so
-to possess a key; and the very birds, sparrows, every feather of 'em,
-hop about in dirty suits of plumage that can only be described as of
-that colour unknown to naturalists, which other people call "grimy."
-Who would be in London in the autumn? Not Mrs. Kettering, certainly,
-if she might be elsewhere; and although she had possessed this
-excellent and commodious family mansion, with all its boudoirs,
-retreats, and appurtenances, so well described in the advertisement,
-but a short time, and was not the giver of that "reunion of
-fashionables" we have depicted above (indeed, the hostess of that
-evening has since been economising up two pair of stairs at Antwerp);
-yet Mrs. Kettering having plenty of money, and being able to do what
-she liked, had wisely moved herself, her fancies, her imperials, and
-her family to the coast, where, obeying the instinct for freedom that
-has driven Bobstitch to the desert, she was idly inhaling the salt
-breezes of the Channel, and dazzling her eyes with the sun-glint that
-sparkled over its dancing waves.
-
-Some few years have elapsed since the events took place which we shall
-endeavour to describe; but the white cliffs of our island change
-little with the lapse of time, though the sea does make its
-encroachments ever and anon when the wind has been blowing pretty
-steady from the south-west for a fortnight or so, and the same scene
-may be witnessed any fine day towards the middle of August as that
-which we are about to contrast with the dulness, closeness, and
-confinement of the great town-house in Grosvenor Square.
-
-First, we must imagine a real summer's day, such a day as in our
-island we seldom enjoy till summer has well-nigh given place to
-autumn, but which, when it does come, is worth waiting for. Talk of
-climate! a real fine day in England, like a really handsome
-Englishwoman, beats creation. Well, we must imagine one of these
-bright, hot, hay-making days, almost too warm and dusty ashore, but
-enjoyable beyond conception on the calm and oily waves, unruffled by
-the breeze, and literally as smooth as glass. A sea-bird occasionally
-dips her wing on the surface, and then flaps lazily away, as if she
-too was as much inclined to go to sleep as yonder moveless fleet of
-lugger, brig, bark, and schooner, with their empty sails, and their
-heads all round the compass. There is a warm haze towards the land,
-and the white houses of St. Swithin's seem to glow and sparkle in the
-heat, whilst to seaward a modified sort of mirage would make one fancy
-one could plainly distinguish the distant coast of France.
-
-Ashore, in those great houses, people are panting, and gasping, and
-creating thorough draughts that fill their rooms with a small white
-dust of a destructive tendency to all personal property. The children
-up-stairs are running about in linen under-garments, somewhat more
-troublesome than usual, with a settled flush on their little
-peach-like cheeks, and the shining streets are deserted, save by the
-perspiring pot-boy, and the fly-men drinking beer in their shirt
-sleeves. Only afloat is there a chance of being cool; and
-sailing-boat, gig, dinghy, and cobble, all are in requisition for the
-throng of amateur mariners, rushing like ducklings to the refreshing
-element.
-
-It was on just such a day as this that Mrs. Kettering found it
-extremely difficult to "trim the boat." A mile or so from the shore,
-that boat was slowly progressing, impelled by the unequal strength of
-her nephew Charles, commonly called "Cousin Charlie," and its worthy
-proprietor, a fine specimen of the genus "seaman," who certainly had
-a Christian name, and probably a patronymic, but had sunk both
-distinctions under the sobriquet of "Hairblower," by which appellation
-alone he was acknowledged by gentle and simple, bold and timid,
-delicate ladies and bluff fishermen, along many a mile of sea-board,
-up and down from St. Swithin's.
-
-"The least thing further, Master Charles," said Hairblower, ever and
-anon pulling the stripling's efforts round with one hand. "Don't ye
-disturb, madam--don't ye move, Miss Blanche; it's not _your_ weight
-that makes her roll." And again he moistened the large, strong hand,
-and turned to look out ahead.
-
-In vain Mrs. Kettering shut up her parasol, and shifted her seat; in
-vain she disposed her ample figure, first in one uncomfortable
-position, then in another; she could _not_ "trim the boat," and the
-reason was simple enough. Mrs. Kettering's weight was that of a lady
-who had all her life been "a fine woman," and was now somewhat past
-maturity; whilst her daughter and only child, "Blanche," the occupant
-of the same bench, had but just arrived at that period when the girl
-begins to lengthen out into the woman, and the slight, lanky figure,
-not without a grace peculiar to itself, is nevertheless as delicate as
-a gossamer, and as thin as its own gauzy French bonnet.
-
-Mother and daughter were but little alike, save in their sweet and
-rather languid tone of voice--no trifling charm in that sex which is
-somewhat prone, especially under excitement, to pitch its organ in too
-high a key. Mrs. Kettering was dark and brown of complexion, with
-sparkling black eyes, and a rich colour, much heightened by the heat.
-Not very tall in stature, but large and square of frame, well-filled
-out besides by a good appetite, a good digestion, and, though nervous
-and excitable, a good temper. Blanche, on the contrary, with her long
-violet eyes, her curving dark eyelashes, and golden-brown hair, was so
-slight of frame and delicate of tint as to warrant her mother's
-constant alarm for her health; not that there was any real cause for
-anxiety, but mamma loved to fidget, if not about "dear Blanche," about
-something belonging to her; and failing these, had a constant fund of
-worry in the exploits and escapades of graceless "Cousin Charlie."
-
-"Now, Charlie, my own dear boy" (Mrs. K. was very fond of Charlie), "I
-know you must be over-heating yourself--nothing so bad for growing
-lads. Mr. Hairblower, _pray_ don't let him row so hard."
-
-"Gammon, aunt," was Charlie's irreverent reply. "Wait till we get her
-head round with the flood; we'll make her speak to it, won't we,
-Hairblower?"
-
-"Well, Master Charles," said the jolly tar, "I think as you and me
-could pull her head under, pretty nigh,--howsoever, we be fairish off
-for time, and the day's young yet."
-
-"Blanche, Blanche!" suddenly exclaimed Mrs. Kettering, "look at the
-weed just beyond that buoy--the alga, what's its name, we were reading
-about yesterday. Charlie, of course _you_ have forgotten. I shall soon
-be obliged to get a finishing governess for you, Blanche."
-
-"Oh no, dearest mamma," said the young girl, in her soft, sweet voice,
-which always drew Hairblower's eyes, in speechless admiration, to her
-gentle countenance. "I could never learn with any one but you; and
-then she might be cross, mamma, and I should hate her so after you!"
-And Blanche took her mother's plump, tightly-gloved hand between her
-own, and looked up in her face with such a fond, bewitching
-expression, that it was no wonder mamma doted on her, and Hairblower
-and "Cousin Charlie" too.
-
-Mrs. Kettering was one of those people whose superabundant energy must
-have a certain number of objects whereon to expend itself. Though a
-pleasant, cheerful woman, she was decidedly _blue_--that is to say,
-besides being a good musician, linguist, draughtswoman, and worsted
-worker, she had a few ideas, not very correct, upon ancient history, a
-superficial knowledge of modern literature, thought Shakespeare
-_vulgar_ and Milton _dry_, with a smattering of the 'ologies, and
-certain theories concerning chemistry, which, if reduced to practice,
-would have made her a most unsafe occupant for a ground-floor. With
-these advantages, and her sunny, pleasant temper, she taught Blanche
-_everything_ herself; and if the young lady was not quite so learned
-as some of her associates, she had at least the advantage of a
-mother's companionship and tuition, and was as far removed as possible
-from that most amusing specimen of affectation, an English girl who
-has formed her manner on that of a French governess.
-
-Mrs. Kettering had gone through her share of troubles in her youth,
-and being of a disposition by no means despondent, was rather happy
-under difficulties than otherwise. We do not suppose she married her
-first love: we doubt if women often do, except in novels; and the late
-Mr. K. was a gentleman of an exterior certainly more respectable than
-romantic. His manners were abrupt and commercial, but his name at the
-back of a bill was undeniable. The lady whom he wooed and won was old
-enough to know her own mind; nor have we reason to suppose but that in
-pleasing him she pleased herself. Many a long year they toiled and
-amassed, and old Kettering attended closely to business, though he
-never showed his books to his wife; and Mrs. Kettering exercised her
-diplomacy in migrating once every five years further and further
-towards "the West End." Their last house but one was in Tyburnia, and
-then old Kettering put a finishing stroke to his business, made a shot
-at indigo which landed him more thousands than our modest ideas can
-take in, and enabling him to occupy that mansion in Grosvenor Square
-which looked so dull in the autumn, placed Mrs. Kettering at once on
-the pedestal she had all her life been sighing to attain;--perhaps she
-was disappointed when she got there. However that may be, the
-enterprising merchant himself obtained little by his new residence,
-save a commodious vault belonging to it in a neighbouring church, in
-which his remains were soon after deposited, and a tablet, pure and
-unblemished as his own commercial fame, erected to his memory by his
-disconsolate widow. How disconsolate she was, poor woman! for a time,
-with her affectionate nature: but then her greatest treasure, Blanche,
-was left; and her late husband, as the most appropriate mark of his
-confidence and esteem, bequeathed the whole of his property, personal
-and otherwise, to his well-beloved wife, so the blow was to a certain
-degree softened, and Mrs. Kettering looked uncommonly radiant and
-prosperous even in her weeds.
-
-Now, it is very pleasant and convenient to have a large property left
-you at your own disposal, more especially when you are blessed with a
-child on whom you dote, to succeed you when you have no further
-occasion for earthly treasure; and, in the eyes of the world, this was
-Mrs. Kettering's agreeable lot. The eyes of the world, as usual, could
-not look into the cupboard where the skeleton was; but our poor widow,
-or rather our rich widow, was much hampered by the shape which no one
-else knew to exist.
-
-The fact is, old Mr. Kettering had a crotchet. Being a rich man, he
-had a right to a dozen; but he was a sensible, quiet old fellow, and
-he contented himself with one. Now, this crotchet was the invincible
-belief that he, John Kettering, was the lineal male representative of
-one of the oldest families in England. How he came to have lost the
-old Norman features and appearance, or how it happened that such a
-lofty descent should have merged in his own person as junior clerk to
-a large City counting-house, he never troubled himself to inquire; he
-was satisfied that the oldest blood in Europe coursed through his
-veins, and with the pedigree he supposed himself to possess (though
-its traces were unfortunately extinct), he might marry whom he
-pleased. As we have seen, he did marry a very personable lady; but,
-alas! she gave him no male heir. Under a female succession, all his
-toil, all his astuteness, all his money, would not raise the family
-name to the proud position he believed its due. He could not bear the
-idea of it; and he never really loved poor Blanche half so much as
-that engaging child deserved. When all chance of a son was hopeless,
-he resolved to bring up and educate his only brother's orphan child, a
-handsome little boy, whose open brow and aristocratic lineaments won
-the old man's favour from the first.
-
-"Cousin Charlie," in consequence, became an inmate of the Kettering
-family, and was usually supposed by strangers to be the elder brother
-of pretty little Blanche.
-
-These intentions, however, were kept a dead secret; and the children
-knew as little as children generally do of their future prospects, or
-the path chalked out for them through life. With all his fancied
-importance, old Kettering was a good, right-feeling man; and although
-it is our belief that he revoked and destroyed several testamentary
-documents, he ended by leaving everything to his wife, in her own
-power, as he worded it, "in testimony of his esteem for her character,
-and confidence in her affection,"--previously exacting from her a
-solemn promise that she would eventually bequeath the bulk of her
-wealth to his nephew, should the lad continue to behave well, and
-_like a gentleman_--making a provision for Blanche at her own
-discretion, but not exceeding one-eighth of the whole available
-property.
-
-The testator did not long survive his final arrangements. And though
-her promise cost his widow many a sleepless night, she never dreamed
-of breaking it, nor of enriching her darling child at the expense of
-her nephew.
-
-Mrs. Kettering was a woman all over, and we will not say the idea of
-uniting the two cousins had not entered her mind; on the contrary,
-brought up together as they were, she constantly anticipated this
-consummation as a delightful release from her conflicts between duty
-and inclination. She was, besides, very fond of "Cousin Charlie," and
-looked eagerly forward to the day when she might see this "charming
-couple," as she called them, fairly married and settled. With all
-these distractions, it is no wonder that Mrs. Kettering, who, though a
-bustling, was an undecided woman, could never quite make up her mind
-to complete her will. It was a matter of the greatest importance; so
-first she made it, and then tore it up, and then constructed a fresh
-one, which she omitted to sign until things were more certain, and
-eventually mislaid; while, in the meantime, Blanche and "Cousin
-Charlie" were growing up to that age at which young people, more
-especially in matters of love-making, are pretty resolutely determined
-to have a will of their own.
-
-The bridegroom presumptive, however, was one of those young gentlemen
-in whose heads or hearts the idea of marriage is only contemplated as
-a remote possibility, and a dreaded termination to a life of
-enjoyment--in much the same light as that in which the pickpocket
-views transportation beyond the seas. He believes it to be the common
-lot of mankind, but that it may be indefinitely postponed with a
-little circumspection, and in some cases of rare good fortune even
-eluded altogether.
-
-It is curious to observe at what an early age the different instincts
-of the sexes develop themselves in children. Little Miss can scarcely
-waddle before she shoulders a doll, which she calls her baby, and on
-which she lavishes much maternal care, not without certain wholesome
-correction. From her earliest youth, the abstract idea of wife and
-motherhood is familiar to her mind; and to be married, though she
-knows not what it is, as natural and inevitable a destiny as to learn
-music and have a governess. Young Master, on the contrary, has no idea
-of being a "pater familias." His notion of being grown up is totally
-unconnected with housekeeping. When "he is a man, he means to be a
-soldier, or a sailor, or a pastry-cook--he will have a gun and
-hunters, and go all day to the stable, and eat as much as he chooses,
-and drink port wine like papa;" but to bring up children of his own,
-and live in one place, is the very last thing he dreams of. "Cousin
-Charlie" entertained the usual notions of his kind. Although an
-orphan, he had never known the want of a parent--uncle and aunt
-Kettering supplying him with as kind and indulgent a father and mother
-as a spoilt little boy could desire. And although he had his childish
-sorrows, such as parting from Blanche, going to school, being whipped
-according to his deserts when there, and thus smuggled through that
-amusing work, the Latin Grammar; yet, altogether, his life was as
-happy as any other child's of his own age, on whom health, and love,
-and plenty had shone from the day of its birth.
-
-Of course, old John Kettering sent him to Eton, that most aristocratic
-of schools, where Charlie learnt to swim--no mean accomplishment;
-arrived at much perfection in his "wicket-keeping" and "hitting to the
-leg," as, indeed, he deserved, for the powers of application he
-evinced in the study of cricket; was taught to "feather an oar" in a
-method which the London watermen pronounced extremely inefficient; and
-acquired a knack of construing Horace into moderately bad English,
-with a total disregard for the ideas, habits, prejudices, and
-intentions of that courtly bard. Of course, too, he was destined for
-the army. With _his_ prospects, in what other profession could he get
-through his allowance, and acquire gentlemanlike habits of
-extravagance in what is termed good society? Old Kettering wanted to
-make his nephew a gentleman--that was it. When asked how Charlie was
-getting on at Eton, and what he learnt there, the uncle invariably
-replied, "Learn, sir! why, he'll learn to be a gentleman."
-
-It is a matter for conjecture whether the worthy merchant was capable
-of forming an opinion as to the boy's progress in this particular
-study, or whether he was himself a very good judge of the variety he
-so much admired. Our own idea is, that neither birth, nor riches, nor
-education, nor manner, suffice to constitute a gentleman; and that
-specimens are to be found at the plough, the loom, and the
-forge, in the ranks, and before the mast, as well as in the
-officers' mess-room, the learned professions, and the Upper House
-itself. To our fancy, a gentleman is courteous, kindly, brave, and
-high-principled--considerate towards the weak, and self-possessed
-amongst the strong. High-minded and unselfish, "he does to others as
-he would they should do unto him," and shrinks from the meanness of
-taking advantage of his neighbour, man or woman, friend or foe, as he
-would from the contamination of cowardice, duplicity, tyranny, or any
-other blackguardism. "_Sans peur et sans reproche_"--he has a "lion's
-courage with a woman's heart"; and such a one, be he in a peer's robes
-or a ploughman's smock--backing before his sovereign or delving for
-his bread--we deem a very Bayard for chivalry--a very Chesterfield for
-good breeding and good sense. We are old-fashioned though in our
-ideas, and doubtless our sentiments may be dubbed slow by the young,
-and vulgar by the great. Still, even these dissentients would, we
-think, have been satisfied with "Cousin Charlie's" claims to be
-considered a "gentleman."
-
-Nature had been beforehand with old Kettering, and had made him one of
-her own mould. Not all the schools in Europe could have spoiled or
-improved him in that particular. And his private tutor's lady
-discovered this quality, with all a woman's intuitive tact, the very
-first evening he spent at the vicarage of that reverend Crichton, who
-prepared young gentlemen of fifteen years and upwards for _both_ the
-universities and _all_ the professions.
-
-"What do you think of the new pupil, my dear?" said Mr. Nobottle to
-his wife--a dean's daughter, no less!--as he drew up the connubial
-counterpane to meet the edge of his night-cap. "He was a wild lad, I
-hear, at Eton. I am afraid we shall have some trouble with him."
-
-"Not a bit of it," was the reply; "he is a gentleman every inch of
-him. I saw it at once by the way he helped Tim in with his
-portmanteau. Binks, of course, was out of the way,--and that reminds
-me, Mr. Nobottle, you never _will_ speak to that man,--what's the use
-of having a butler? And then, he's such a remarkably good-looking
-boy--but I daresay you're half asleep already."
-
-And, sure enough, patient Joseph Nobottle was executing a prolonged
-and marital snore.
-
-Mrs. Nobottle found no occasion to recant her predictions; and Charlie
-was now spending his summer vacation with Mrs. Kettering at St.
-Swithin's.
-
-We have left the party so long in their boat, that they have had ample
-time to "trim" or sink her. Neither of these events, however, took
-place; and after pulling round a Swedish brig, an enormous tub, very
-_wholesome_-looking, as Hairblower said, and holding a polyglot
-conversation with an individual in a red night-cap, who grinned at the
-ladies, and offered them "schnapps," they turned the little craft's
-head towards the shore, and taking "the flood," as Charlie had
-previously threatened, bent themselves to their work, and laid out
-upon their oars in a style that satisfied even the seaman, and
-enraptured the lad.
-
-"What a dear boy it is!" thought Mrs. Kettering, as she looked at
-Charlie's open countenance, and his fair golden curls, blowing about
-his face, browned by the weather to a rich manly hue, and lit up with
-the excitement and exercise of his work. Many qualms of conscience
-crossed Mrs. Kettering's mind, in the transit of that mile and a half
-of blue water which sparkled between "the Swede" and the shore. Much
-she regretted her want of decision and habits of delay in not
-completing the important document that should at once make that
-handsome boy the head of his family; and firmly she resolved that not
-another week should pass without a proper consultation of the
-universal refuge, "her family man-of-business," and a further legal
-drawing-up of her last will and testament. Then she remembered she had
-left one unfinished, that would make an excellent rough draft for the
-future document; then she wondered where she had put it; and then she
-thought what a husband the handsome cousin would make for her own
-beautiful girl; and rapidly her ideas followed each other, till, in
-her mind's eye, she saw the wedding--the bridesmaids--the
-procession--the breakfast--and, though last, not least, the very
-bonnet, not too sombre, which she herself should wear on the occasion.
-
-Not one word did Mrs. Kettering hear of a long-winded story with which
-Hairblower was delighting Blanche and Charlie; and which, as it seemed
-to create immense interest and sympathy in his young listeners, and
-is, besides, a further example of the general superstition of sailors
-as to commencing any undertaking on a Friday, we may as well give, as
-nearly as possible, in his own words.
-
-"Blown, Master Charles?" said the good-humoured seaman, in answer to a
-question from hard-working Charlie. "Blown? Not a bit of it; nor yet
-tired; nor you neither. I _was_ a bit bamboozled though once somewhere
-hereaway. It's a good many years past now; but I don't think as _I_
-shall ever forget it. If you'd like to hear it, Miss Blanche, I'll
-tell it you, as well as I can. You see, it was rather a 'circumstance'
-from beginning to end. Well, the fact is, I had built a smartish craft
-very soon after I was out of my time, and me and a man we used to call
-'Downright' went partners in her, and although maybe she was a trifle
-crank, and noways useful for stowage, we had pretty good times with
-her when the mackerel was early, and the prices pretty stiffish. But
-there never was no real luck about her, and I'll tell ye how it was.
-My uncle, he promised to help me with the money for her of a Friday.
-She was put upon the stocks of a Friday--finished off of a
-Friday--sailed her first trip of a Friday--and went down of a Friday;
-so, as I say, Friday's the worst day, to my mind, in the whole week.
-Well, the _Spanking Sally_--that's what we called her, Miss--always
-carried a weather helm. And one day--it was a Friday, too--me and my
-mate was coming in with a fairish cargo--Downright he said all along
-she was over-deep in the water--with a light breeze from the
-nor'-nor'-west, and the tide about half-flood, as it might be now. I
-had just gone forward to look to the tackle, when the wind suddenly
-shifted right on the other tack, and looking out down Channel, I saw
-what was coming. Black, was it, Master Charlie? Not a bit; it was a
-white one; and I knew then we should get it _hot and heavy_. It takes
-something pretty cross to frighten _me_, but I own I didn't like the
-looks of it. Well, afore I could douse foresail the squall took her.
-She capsized, and down she went; and though me and Downright stood by
-for a start to windward, we never knew exactly how it was till we
-found ourselves grinning at each other over a spare oar that happened
-to be on board when she misbehaved, for all the world like two boys
-playing at see-saw with their mouths full of salt water. Downright he
-was an older man, and not so strong as me; so when I saw two was no
-company for one oar, I left it; and thinks I, if I can get off my
-fisherman's boots and some of my clothes, I may have a swim for it
-yet.
-
-"The squall was too soon over to get up anything like a sea, and
-Downright he held on to his oar and struck out like a man. Well, what
-between floating and treading water, I got most of things clear. I was
-as strong as a bull then, and though it was a long swim for a man I
-had before me, I never lost heart noway. Downright, too, kept on close
-in my wake; we didn't say much, you may be sure, but I know _I_
-thought of his missus and four children. At last I hear him whisper
-quite hoarse-like, 'Hairblower, it's no use, I be goin' down now!' And
-when I turned on my back to look at him he was quite confused, and had
-let the oar cast off altogether. I couldn't see it nowhere. I tried to
-get alongside of him, but he was gone. I saw _the bubbles_ though,
-and dived for him, but it was no use, and after that I held on alone.
-The sun was getting down too, and queer fancies began to come into my
-head about Downright. Sometimes I thought he was in heaven _then_, and
-once I'll swear I heard something whisper to me, but I couldn't tell
-what it said. The gulls, too, they began to stoop at me, and scream in
-my ears; one long-winged 'un flapped me on the cheek, and for a bit I
-scarcely knew whether I was dead or alive myself. At last, as I came
-over the tops of the rollers, I saw the spars in the harbor, and the
-chimneys at St. Swithin's, and for awhile I thought I should get home
-after all, so I turned on my side to get my breath a bit. I ought to
-have made a buoy, as I calculated, about this time, but seek where I
-would, I couldn't see it nowhere, only looking down Channel to get my
-bearings a little, I saw by the craft at anchor in the bay that the
-tide was on the turn. My heart leapt into my mouth then. I had pulled
-a boat often enough against the ebb hereabouts, and I knew how strong
-it ran, and what my chance was, swimming, and nearly done too. First I
-thought I'd go quietly down at once, like my mate did, and I said a
-bit of a prayer, just inside like, and then I felt stronger, so I
-thought what was best to be done; and says I, ''bout ship' now is our
-only chance, and maybe we shall get picked up by some fishing craft,
-or such like, afore we drift clean out to sea again. Well, the Lord's
-above all, and though I thought once or twice I was pretty nigh out of
-my mind, I _was_ picked up at last by a Frenchman. _He'd_ no call to
-be where he was; I think he was there special, but I knew very little
-about anything else, for I was in the hospital nine weeks afore I
-could remember as much as I've told you. Howsoever, Friday's an
-unlucky day, Miss Blanche, you may take your Bible oath of it."
-
-Hairblower did _not_ tell them that half his earnings as soon as he
-got well went to the support of his mate's widow and her four
-children; perhaps it was as well he did not, for Blanche's eyes were
-already full of tears, and Charlie felt more than half inclined to
-embrace the honest seaman, but a bump against the shingle disturbed
-all their comments, at the same time that it broke through Mrs.
-Kettering's day-dreams, and Blanche had hardly got as far as "Here we
-are, mamma, and here's----" when she was interrupted by Cousin
-Charlie's vociferous "Look alive, aunt. Hurrah! three cheers--who'd
-have thought it? There's Frank Hardingstone!"
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER II
-
-THE ABIGAIL
-
-     BLANCHE'S BOUDOIR--A LADY'S LADY'S-MAID--MRS. KETTERING AT
-     LUNCHEON--AN HOUR'S PRACTICE--THE "MAN OF ACTION"--FOOD FOR THE
-     MIND--A FRIEND IN NEED--A VISIT TO DAVID JONES
-
-
-Whilst Mr. Hardingstone offers an arm--and a good strong arm it is--to
-each of the ladies, and assists them slowly up the toilsome shingle,
-let us take advantage of Blanche's absence to peep into her pretty
-room, where, as it is occupied only by Gingham, the maid, we need not
-fear the fate of Actaeon as a punishment for our curiosity.
-
-It is indeed a sweet little retreat, with its chintz hangings and
-muslin curtains, its open windows looking upon the shining Channel,
-and all its etceteras of girlish luxury and refinement, that to us
-poor old bachelors seem the very essence of ladylike comfort. In one
-corner stands the book-case, by which we may discover the pretty
-proprietor's taste, at least in literature. Divers stiffish volumes on
-the sciences repose comfortably enough, as if they had not often been
-disturbed, and although scrupulously dusted, were but seldom opened;
-but on the sofa, near that full-length glass, a new novel lies upon
-its face, with a paper-cutter inserted at that critical page where the
-heroine refuses her lover (in blank verse), on the high-minded
-principle that he is not sufficiently poor to test her sincerity, or
-sufficiently sensible to know his own mind, or some equally valid and
-uncomplimentary reason--a consideration for the male sex, we may
-remark _en passant_, that is more common in works of fiction than in
-real life--while on the table a drawing-room scrap-book opens of
-itself at some thrilling lines addressed "To a Debutante," and
-commencing, "Fair girl, the priceless gems upon thy brow," by an
-anonymous nobleman, who betrays in the composition a wide range of
-fancy and a novel application of several English words. Flowers are
-disposed in one or two common glass vases, with a womanly taste that
-makes the apartment in that hired house like a home; and loose music,
-of the double-action pianoforte school, scatters itself about every
-time the door opens, in a system of fluttering disorder, which
-provokes Gingham to express audibly her abhorrence of a place that is
-"all of a litter." "She can't a-bear it--can you, Bully?" smirks the
-Abigail; and Blanche's pet bullfinch, the darling of her very heart,
-makes an enormous chest, and whistles his reply in the opening notes
-of "Haste to the wedding!" breaking off abruptly in the middle of the
-second bar. Gingham is very busy, for she is putting Blanche's "things
-to rights," which means that she is looking over the young lady's
-wardrobe with a view to discovering those colours and garments most
-becoming to her own rather bilious complexion, and losing no
-opportunity of acquainting herself with Blanche's likes, dislikes,
-feelings, and disposition, by reading her books, opening her letters,
-and peeping into her album.
-
-Now, Gingham had been with Mrs. Kettering for many years, and was a
-most trustworthy person; so her mistress affirmed and thought.
-Certainly, with all her weaknesses and faults, she was devotedly
-attached to Miss Blanche; and it is our firm belief that she loved her
-young lady, in her heart of hearts, better than her perquisites, her
-tea, or even a certain Tom Blacke, whose dashing appearance and
-assured vulgarity had made no slight impression on her too susceptible
-feelings. "Every Jack has his Gill," if he and she can only find each
-other out at the propitious moment; and although the Gill in question
-_owned_ to two-and-thirty, was by no means transparent in complexion,
-and had projecting teeth, and a saffron-coloured front, yet she was no
-exception to the beautiful law of nature, which provides for every
-variety of our species a mate of fitting degree.
-
-When a lady confines herself studiously to the house, avoids active
-exercise, and partakes heartily of five meals a day, not to mention
-strong tea and hot buttered toast at odd times, the presumption is,
-that her health will suffer from the effects of such combined
-hardships. With patients of Gingham's class, the attack generally
-flies to the nerves, and the system becomes wrought up to such a pitch
-that nothing appears to afford the sufferer relief, except piercing
-screams and violent demonstrations of alarm upon slight and often
-imaginary occasions. Gingham would shriek as loudly to encounter a
-live mouse as Mrs. Kettering would have done to face a raging lion;
-and an unexpected meeting with any individual, even residing in the
-same house, was apt to produce a flutter of spirits and prostration of
-intellect, truly surprising to those who are unacquainted with the
-delicate organisation of a real lady's-maid _not_ on board wages. In
-this critical condition, Mrs. Gingham, on the first evening of her
-arrival at St. Swithin's, "got a start," as she expressed it, which
-influenced the whole destiny of her after life. Coming down from
-dressing her lady, she wended her way, as usual, to "the room," that
-sanctum in which the etiquette of society is far more rigidly enforced
-than up-stairs, and to which "plush and powder" would find it far more
-difficult to obtain the entree than into master's study or "missus's"
-boudoir. Expecting to see nothing more formidable than the butler,
-Gingham's alarm can be more easily imagined than described, when on
-entering this privileged apartment, she found its only occupant a
-goodish-looking, flashily-dressed young man, "taking a glass of sherry
-and a biscuit," and making himself very much at home.
-
-A suppressed scream and sudden accession of faintness made it
-imperative on the new arrival to exert himself, and by the time they
-had got to "Goodness! how you frightened me, sir," and "Dear _Miss_, I
-beg a thousand pardings!" they became very good friends, and the timid
-fair one was prevailed on to sit down and partake of the refreshments
-hospitably provided by the butler at his mistress's expense.
-
-Tom Blacke very soon informed the lady that "he was assistant to a
-professional gentleman" (in plain English an attorney's clerk), and
-had merely looked in to see if the house was let, to inform his
-employer. "I am very unhappy, miss, to have been the cause of alarming
-of you so, and I trust you will look over it, and may feel no ill
-effects from the haccident." To which Gingham, who was a lady of
-elaborate politeness, as became her station, and, moreover, much
-mollified by the constant use of the juvenile title "Miss,"
-courteously replied that, "Indeed, it had given her _quite a turn_,
-but she could not regret a meeting that had introduced her to such a
-polite acquaintance." So they parted with many "good evenings," and an
-openly expressed hope that they should meet again.
-
-Tom Blacke was a scamp of the first water, but not deficient in
-shrewdness, to which his professional pursuits added a certain amount
-of acquired cunning. He naturally reflected that the sensitive,
-middle-aged dame whom he had thus alarmed and soothed was probably an
-old and esteemed servant of the family at No. 9. The whole
-arrangements looked like being "well-to-do." The butler poured out
-sherry as if it was small beer, and probably in such an establishment
-the confidential maid might have saved a pretty bit of money, to
-which, even encumbered with the lady in question, Tom Blacke would
-have had no earthly objection. He was, as he said himself, "open to a
-match," and being a rosy, dark-whiskered fellow, with good teeth and
-consummate assurance, though he never looked at _you_ till you had
-done looking at _him_, he resolved to lay siege forthwith to the heart
-of Mrs. Gingham. A nervous temperament is usually susceptible; and
-though her fingers are occupied in folding Blanche's handkerchiefs,
-and "putting away" her gloves, shoes, and etceteras, the Abigail's
-thoughts are even now far away round the corner, up two pair of
-stairs, in the office with Tom Blacke.
-
-"Goodness gracious! Missus's bell!" exclaims Gingham, with a start, as
-if she had _not_ expected that summons at its usual time--viz. when
-Mrs. Kettering came in to shake her feathers before luncheon--and she
-runs down, palpitating as if the house were on fire. Though we must
-not stay to see Blanche take her bonnet off and smooth those sunny
-ringlets, we may go and wait for her in the luncheon-room, to which
-she is soon heard tripping merrily down, with even brighter eyes than
-usual, perhaps from the excitement of meeting Cousin Charles's friend,
-Mr. Hardingstone, whom sly Blanche knows but very little, and with
-whom she is consequently extremely diffident, notwithstanding the
-deference of his manner, and the respectful, almost admiring tone in
-which he always addresses the young girl.
-
-"Blanche, have you fed Bully? and practised your music? and read your
-history? Women should never neglect history. And looked for the name
-of that weed, whilst we think of it? and shall I give you some
-chicken?" said Mrs. Kettering, without waiting for an answer, as she
-sat down to a very comfortable repast about three o'clock in the
-afternoon, which she called luncheon, but which was by no means a bad
-imitation of a good dinner.
-
-"No, dear mamma," said Blanche; "besides, it's too hot for lessons;
-but tell me, mamma, what did Mr. Hardingstone mean about a mermaid,
-when he whispered to 'Cousin Charlie,' and Charlie laughed?"
-
-"A mermaid, Blanche? pooh! nonsense; there's no such animal. But that
-reminds me--don't forget to look over that beautiful thing of
-Tennyson's; girls should always be 'up' in modern literature. Do you
-know, Blanche, I don't quite like Mr. Hardingstone."
-
-"O mamma," said Blanche, "such a friend of Charlie's--I'm sure we
-ought to like him; and I'm sure he likes _us_; what a way he came down
-through that horrid shingle to help you out of the boat; and did you
-see, mamma, what nice thin boots he had on? I think I should like him
-very much if we knew him better. Not so much as 'Cousin Charlie,'"
-added the young girl, reflectively, "or dear darling Hairblower. How
-shocking it was when his partner went down, mamma. Did you hear that
-story? But I am sure Mr. Hardingstone is very good-natured."
-
-"That reminds me, my dear," said Mrs. Kettering, who was getting
-rather flushed towards the end of the chicken; "I do hope that boy has
-not gone to bathe: I am always afraid about water. Blanche, hand me
-the sherry; and, my dear, I must order some bottled porter for
-_you_--you are very pale in this hot weather; but I am always fidgety
-about Charlie when he is bathing."
-
-From the conversation recorded above, we may gather that Mrs.
-Kettering, who, as we have said, was inclined to be nervous, was
-rapidly becoming so upon one or two important points. In the first
-place, with all a mother's pride in her daughter's beauty, she could
-not be blind to the general admiration excited thereby, nor could she
-divest herself of certain misgivings that Blanche would not long
-remain to be the solace of her widowhood, but that, to use her own
-expression, she was "sure to be _snapped up_ before she was old enough
-to know her own mind." The consequence was, that Mrs. Kettering
-much mistrusted all her male acquaintance under the age of
-old-fellow-hood--a period of life which, in these days of "wonderfully
-young-looking men," seems indefinitely postponed; and regarded every
-well-dressed, well-whiskered biped as a possible subverter of her
-schemes, and a probable rival to "Cousin Charlie"; she kept him at
-bay, accordingly, with a coldness and reserve quite foreign to her own
-cordial and demonstrative nature. Frank Hardingstone she could not
-dislike, do what she would. And we are bound to confess that she was
-less guarded in her encouragement of that gentleman than of any other
-male visitor who appeared in the afternoons at No. 9, to leave a small
-bit of glazed paste-board, with an inward thanksgiving for his escape
-from a morning visit, or to utter incontrovertible platitudes while he
-smoothed his hat on his coat-sleeve, and glanced ever and anon at the
-clock on the chimney-piece, for the earliest moment at which, with
-common decency, he might take his departure.
-
-Then the safety and soundness of Blanche's heart was scarcely more a
-matter of anxiety than that of Charlie's body; and the boy seemed to
-take a ghastly delight in placing himself constantly in situations of
-imminent bodily peril. Active and high-spirited, he was perpetually
-climbing inaccessible places, shooting with dangerous guns, riding
-wild hacks, overheating himself in matches against time, and, greatest
-anxiety of all, performing aquatic feats--the principal result of his
-Eton education--_out of his depth_, as his aunt observed with
-emphasis, which were totally inexcusable as manifest temptations of
-fate.
-
-He was now gone off on an expedition with his friend and senior,
-Hardingstone; but well did Mrs. Kettering know that yonder blue,
-cool-looking sea would be an irresistible temptation, and that her
-nephew would "bundle in," as he called it, to a moral certainty, the
-instant he got away from the prying gaze of the town.
-
-"In the meantime," thought she, "it's a comfort to have Blanche safe
-at her studies; there is nothing like occupation for the mind to keep
-foolish fancies out of a young girl's head; so bring your books down
-here, my love," she added, aloud, "and after we have read the last act
-of 'Don Carlos,' you can practise your music, while I rest myself a
-little on the sofa."
-
-With all its beauties, "Don Carlos" is a work of which a few pages go
-a long way, when translated into their own vernacular by two ladies
-who have but a slight acquaintance with the German language; and
-Blanche soon tired of the princely step-son's more than filial
-affection, and the guttural warmth with which it is expressed; so she
-drew mamma's sofa to the open window, shut the door to keep her out of
-the draught, and sat down to her pianoforte with an arch "Good-night,
-mammy; you won't hear any of my mistakes, so I shall play my lesson
-over as fast as ever I can."
-
-Snore away, honest Mrs. Kettering, in the happy conviction that you
-have given your daughter ample occupation of mind, to say nothing of
-fingers, in the execution of those black-looking pages, so trying to
-the temper and confusing to the ear. Snore away, and believe that her
-thoughts and affections are as much under your control as her little
-body used to be, when you put her to bed with your own hands, and she
-said her innocent prayers on your knee. So you all think of your
-children; so you all deceive yourselves, and are actually surprised
-when symptoms of wilfulness or insubordination appear in your own
-families, though you have long warned your neighbours that "boys will
-be boys," or "girls are always thoughtless," when they have complained
-to you of their parental disappointments and disgusts. You think you
-know your children--you, who can scarce be said to know _yourself_.
-The bright boy at your side, who calls you by the endearing
-appellation of "the governor," you fondly imagine he is drinking in
-those words of wisdom in which you are laying down rules for his
-future life of frugality, usefulness, and content. Not a bit of it. He
-is thinking of his pony and his tick at the pie-shop, which will make
-a sad hole in the sovereign you will probably present to him on his
-return to Mr. Birch's.
-
-You describe in well-chosen language the miseries of a
-"bread-and-cheese" marriage to your eldest daughter, a graceful girl,
-whose fair, open brow you think would well become a coronet, and she
-seems to listen with all attention to your maxims, and to agree
-cordially with "dear papa," in worldly prudence, and an abhorrence of
-what you call "bad style of men." When her mother, with flushed
-countenance and angry tones, despatches you to look for her to-night
-between the quadrilles, ten to one but you find her in the tea-room
-with Captain Clank, "that odious man without a sixpence," as your
-energetic spouse charitably denominates him. And yet, as child after
-child spreads its late-fledged wings, and forsakes the shelter of the
-parental nest, you go on hoping that the next, and still the next,
-will make amends to you for all the shortcomings of its seniors, till
-the youngest--the Benjamin--the darling of your old age--the treasure
-that was, indeed, to be your "second self"--takes flight after the
-rest, and you feel a dreary void at your heart, and a solemn, sad
-conviction that the best and holiest affections of an earthly nature
-are insufficient for its happiness--that there must be something
-better to come when everything here turns to heart-ache and
-disappointment.
-
-But Blanche will not think so for many a long day yet. Though the
-minims and crotchets and flats and sharps were mixed up in sadly
-puzzling confusion, not a frown of impatience crossed that pure, open
-brow. Blanche's own thoughts were a panacea for all the provocations
-that the stiffest piece of musico-mechanism, or mechanical music,
-could inflict. It is a task beyond our powers to detail the vague
-ideas and shadowy dreams that chased each other through that glossy
-little head; nor have we any business to try. A young girl's brain is
-a page of poetry, without rhyme certainly, probably without much
-reason, but poetry notwithstanding. Before the world has lost its
-gloss of novelty, that gloss which is like the charm that dazzled the
-eyes of their mortal visitors, and made the fairies' straws and
-withered leaves and cobwebs look like purple hangings, and tapestry,
-and ivory, and gold--before life has borne away much to regret, and
-sin brought much to repent of--before the fruit has been plucked which
-still hangs from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, there is a
-positive pleasure in the mere act of thinking; and that intellectual
-luxury Blanche enjoyed to the utmost, whilst her fingers were tripping
-over the pianoforte keys, and Mrs. Kettering was snoring comfortably
-on the sofa.
-
-Now, Frank Hardingstone was prime favourite and _beau ideal_ with
-"Cousin Charlie," who, like all boys, had selected an idol a few years
-older than himself, and clothed him with those imaginary attributes
-which youth considers essential to constitute a hero. Frank was a
-country gentleman, in possession of his property at the early age of
-five-and-twenty, and, truth to tell, somewhat bored with his position.
-If we were to describe him, we should say he was "a man of action"
-rather than "a man of feeling," or "a man of business," or "a man of
-refinement," or "a man of pleasure," or a man of anything else. He
-looked energetic too, and vigorous, with his brown healthy complexion,
-his open forehead, clear penetrating eye, and short clustering hair
-and whiskers. Had he been the least thing of a coxcomb in dress or
-manner, the ladies would have voted him very handsome; but he was
-plain to simplicity in his attire, and rather abrupt in his address,
-so they abused him amongst themselves, but were very civil to him
-notwithstanding. The men, particularly the sporting ones, who are
-always ready with their judgments and opinions, pronounced that he
-"looked a good one all over," alluding, as we understand the phrase,
-not so much to his virtue as his corporeal powers, and capability of
-resisting fatigue. We are not so far removed from a state of barbarism
-in the present day as we are prone to flatter ourselves. When young
-King James called the grim old Douglas "his Graysteil," that royal
-heart was attached to Earl Angus for his magnificent frame, skill in
-feats of arms and efforts of strength, not for the giant's wisdom,
-which was doubtful, or his honesty, which was entirely negative; and
-so amongst any assemblage of young gentlemen now in the nineteenth
-century, the quality which excites most admiration seems to be a
-certain combination of activity and recklessness, which they call
-_hardness_. "Was Rakes in time for parade?"--"Oh yes, he drank four
-bottles of claret, and never went to bed--he's a deuced _hard_ fellow,
-Rakes" (applause). "Was Captain Cropper hurt when he tumbled over
-that gate and broke his horse's neck?"--"Hurt? not he; you won't often
-see _him_ hurt--there are not many fellows so _hard_ as Cropper"
-(great applause); and thus it seems that the brain is chiefly honoured
-according to its capacity, not of reasoning, but of cellarage--and the
-head only becomes the noblest portion of the human frame when it may
-be fallen on with impunity. Tell these "physical force" gentlemen of a
-"clever horse," and every ear is erect in motionless attention--talk
-to them of a clever man, their shoulders are elevated in pity--of a
-clever woman, their mouths are drawn down in disgust. But Frank
-Hardingstone was, to use their favourite word, "a great card" amongst
-all the associates of his age and standing. Square and muscular, with
-temper, courage, and address, he could walk, run, leap, ride, fence,
-play cricket, box, and swim with the best of them, and they never
-suspected that this powerful frame contained a mind capable and
-energetic as the casket in which it was concealed.
-
-Frank was a well-informed, well-judging man--loved mathematics, logic,
-and such strong intellectual food--enjoyed working out a sum or
-problem, or otherwise exercising his powerful mind, and would go to an
-iron foundry, or to see a ship built, or even to the Polytechnic, for
-sheer amusement. Had he been born to work for his livelihood, he would
-have made a capital engineer; as it was, he ought to have been in the
-navy, or the artillery, or anything but an idle man, living at his own
-place in the country. He had no relations, consequently nothing to
-keep him at home; people said that when alone he had no established
-dinner-hour--a grievous sin in our gastronomic age: he was too
-energetic to care very much for farming, although he did _occupy_
-certain acres of his own land; and too practical to be enthusiastic
-about field-sports, though he was a good shot, and rode right well to
-hounds. Altogether, Frank was out of his place in the world; and, not
-having arrived at that age when, if a man don't fit his destiny, he
-makes his destiny fit _him_, was in danger of becoming bored and
-careless, and a useless member of society. Luckily, Cousin Charlie's
-private tutor, Mr. Nobottle, held his cure close to Hardingstone
-Hall, and leave to course over certain grounds thereunto belonging
-being applied for and granted, an introduction took place between the
-squire and the clergyman's volatile pupil, which struck up an
-immediate alliance of obliger and obliged.
-
-No two people could well be more different in disposition and
-appearance than were Frank and Charlie. The man--strong, sedate,
-practical, acute, and penetrating; the boy--light, active, hot-headed,
-and romantic, jumping to conclusions, averse to reasoning and
-reflection, acting on the impulse of the moment, and continually
-getting into scrapes, which his friend as continually had to get him
-out of. Yet after they had known each other a few months they became
-inseparable. Charlie went regularly, after his studies at the rectory,
-to pass the rest of the day at the hall; and Frank found a renewed
-pleasure in boating, cricket, hunting, shooting, and even fishing,
-from the keen enjoyment with which the "young one" entered upon these
-diversions. As for the "young one" himself, he thought there was
-nothing in the world equal to Hardingstone--so strong, so plucky, so
-well-read, so sagacious, with such faultless coats, and such a good
-seat upon a horse, he was the boy's hero (we have all had such in our
-day), and he worshipped him accordingly. So ill could he bear to lose
-sight of his Mentor, even during the sunshiny hours of the vacation,
-that he had begged Hardingstone to come over to St. Swithin's, no very
-great distance from his own place, and had promised to introduce him
-to the "Aunt Kettering," and "Blanche," of whom he had heard so much
-in the intervals of their amusements "by thicket and by stream." The
-promise was made and kept--and Frank was living at the Royal Hotel,
-disgusting the landlord by the simplicity of his habits, and the
-waiter by his carelessness as regarded dinner, whilst he was growing
-day by day in the good graces even of Mrs. Kettering, and finding, as
-he himself thought with great penetration, a vast deal of sound merit
-in the fresh, inexperienced mind of Blanche. "Your cousin looks all
-the better for sea-bathing, Charlie," said Hardingstone to his young
-companion, as they toiled slowly along the broiling parade, where
-every sunbeam was refracted with tenfold power from glaring houses
-and a scorching pavement. "It braces the system just as good head-work
-braces the intellect. People don't train half enough, I think--even
-women ought to have sound minds in sound bodies; and look what
-indolent, unmeaning, insipid wretches half of them are--not like your
-aunt. Now that's what I call a vigorous woman, Charlie; she'd do in
-the colonies or anywhere--she's fit to be a queen, my boy, because
-she's got some energy about her. As for you, young gentleman, you work
-hard enough out-of-doors, but you neglect your brains altogether--I
-don't believe now that you have opened a book since you left
-Nobottle's."
-
-"Wrong again, Frank, as usual," replied Charlie; "I read for an hour
-this very morning, whilst I was dressing; I am very fond of reading
-when it's not _dry_."
-
-"And may I ask what your early studies were, my industrious young
-philosopher?"
-
-"'Parisina' and 'The Bride of Abydos'--by Jove, old fellow, it's
-beautiful."
-
-Frank made a face as if he had swallowed a pill. "'Parisina' and 'The
-Bride of Abydos,'" he repeated, with intense disgust; "a boy of
-sixteen--I beg your pardon--a young _man_ of your age reading Byron;
-why, you'll arrive at a state of mental delirium tremens before you
-are twenty, particularly if you smoke much at the same time. I daresay
-you are 'up' in 'Don Juan' as well--not that I think _he_ is half so
-bad for you; but no man should read sentiment in such an alluring garb
-as Byron dressed it, till his heart is hardened and his whiskers
-grown. All poetry, to my mind, has a tendency to make you more or less
-imbecile. You should read Bacon, my boy, and Locke, and good sound
-reasoning Butler; but if you must have works of imagination, take to
-Milton."
-
-"Hate blank verse," remarked Charlie, who opined--in which prejudice
-we cannot help coinciding a little--that poetry is nothing without
-jingle; "I can't read three pages of 'Paradise Lost.'"
-
-"Because your brain is softening for want of proper training,"
-interrupted Hardingstone; "if you go on like this you'll very soon be
-fit for Jean Jacques Rousseau, and I shall give you up altogether. No,
-when you go back to Nobottle's, I shall give him a hint to put you
-into a stiffish course of mathematics, with a few logarithms for
-plums, and when you are man enough to grapple with a real intellectual
-difficulty you will read Milton for pleasure, and like him more and
-more every day, for you will find----"
-
-"Oh! bother Milton," interrupted Charlie; "Frank, I'll bet you
-half-a-crown you don't jump that gate without touching;" and he
-pointed to a high white gate leading off the dusty road into the fresh
-green meadows, for they were now clear of the town.
-
-Frank was over it like a bird, ere the words were out of his admiring
-disciple's mouth, and their conversation, as they walked on, turned
-upon feats of strength and agility, and those actions of enterprise
-and adventure which are ever most captivating to the fancy of the
-young.
-
-Charles Kettering, we need scarcely say, entertained an extraordinary
-fondness for all bodily exercises. Intended for the army, and "waiting
-for his commission," as he expressed it, he looked forward to his
-future profession as a career of unalloyed happiness, in which he
-should win fame and distinction without the slightest mental
-exertion--an effort to which, in truth, Charlie was always rather
-averse. Like most young aspirants to military honours, he had yet to
-learn that study, reflection, memory, and, above all, common sense,
-are as indispensable to the soldier's success as to that of any other
-professional man; and that, although physical courage and light
-spirits are very useful accessories in a campaign, a good deal more is
-required to constitute an officer, since, even in a subordinate grade,
-the lives of his comrades and the safety of his division may depend on
-his unassisted judgment alone. Charlie had good abilities, but it was
-a difficult matter to get him to apply them with anything like
-diligence; and his friend Hardingstone, whose appreciation of a
-favourite's good qualities never made him blind to his faults, saw
-this defect, and did all in his power to remedy it, both by precept
-and example.
-
-Mrs. Kettering's misgivings as regarded her nephew's duck-like
-propensities were founded on a thorough knowledge of his taste and
-habits. Another mile of walking brought the pair once more to the
-beach, where it curved away completely out of sight of St Swithin's.
-The heat was intense; Charlie took his coat off, sat down upon a
-stone, and gazed wistfully at the sea.
-
-"Don't it look cool?" said he; "and don't I wish, on a day like this,
-that I was a 'merman bold'? I say, Frank, I must have a dip--I shall
-bundle in."
-
-"In with you," was the reply; "I haven't had a swim since I breasted
-the Mediterranean last year; only we won't stay in too long, for I
-promised your cousin to bring her some of that seaweed she spoke
-about;" and in another minute, in place of two well-dressed gentlemen
-standing on the beach, a couple of hats and a heap of clothes occupied
-the shore, whilst two white forms might be seen, ever and anon,
-gleaming through the blue waves as their owners dived, floated, turned
-upon their sides, kicked up their feet, and performed all those antics
-with which masterly swimmers signalise their enjoyment of their
-favourite element. We often hear people wishing they could fly. Now,
-we always think it must be exactly the same sensation as swimming; you
-are borne up with scarcely an effort--you seem to glide with the
-rapidity of a bird--you feel a consciousness of daring, and a proud
-superiority over nature, in thus mastering the instinctive fear man
-doubtless entertains of water, and bidding ocean bear you like a steed
-that knows its rider. The horizon appears so near that your ideas of
-distance become entirely confused, and the "few yards of uneven" water
-seem to your exulting senses like as many leagues. You dash your head
-beneath the green transparent wave, and shaking the salt drops from
-your brow, gallantly breast roller after roller as they come surging
-in, and with a wild, glad sense of freedom and adventure, you strike
-boldly out to sea. All this our two gentlemen bathers felt and
-enjoyed, but Frank, who had not followed this favourite diversion for
-a length of time, was even more delighted than his young companion
-with his aquatic amusements; and when the breeze freshened and the
-dark blue waters began to show a curl of white, he dashed away with
-long, vigorous strokes to such a distance from the shore as even
-Charlie, albeit of anything but nervous mood, thought over-venturous
-and enterprising. The latter was emerging from the water, when, on
-looking for his companion, it struck him that Frank, in the offing,
-was making signals of distress. Once he saw a tremendous splash, and
-he almost thought he heard a cry through the roar of the tide against
-the shingle. "By all that's fearful, he's in grief," was Charlie's
-mental exclamation; and whilst he thought it the gallant boy was
-striking out for life and death to reach his friend. What a distance
-it seemed! and how his knees and thighs ached with the long,
-convulsive springs that shot him forward! Charlie never knew before
-what hard work swimming might be; and now he has reached the spot he
-aimed at--he raises himself in the water--what is this? Merciful
-Heaven! Hardingstone is down! but there is a swirling circle of green
-and white not ten yards before him, and the lad dives deep below the
-surface and comes up holding his friend's motionless body by the hair;
-and now they are both down again, for Charlie is blown, and has not
-before practised the difficult feat of rescuing a man from drowning.
-But he comes up once more, and shakes his head, and coughs and
-clutches tightly to the twining hair, that even in the water has a
-death-like clamminess in his fingers. He is frightfully blown now, and
-a wave takes him sideways and turns him over--he is under
-Hardingstone, and this time he only comes up for an instant to go
-under again, with a suffocating feeling at his chest, and a painful
-pressure on his ears. Now he gulps at the salt water that appears to
-fill body, and lungs, and head; and now he seems to be whirling round
-and round; everything is green and giddy--there is something crooked
-before his face--and a feeling of pleasing languor forbids him to
-grasp it. The Great Uncertainty is very near--a glare of white light
-dazzles his eyes, and the waters settle over him, as he holds on to
-Hardingstone's hair with the clutch of a drowning man.
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER III
-
-THE HANDSOME GOVERNESS
-
-     BLIND-MAN'S BUFF--AN UNCEREMONIOUS INTRODUCTION--THE
-     MUSIC-MISTRESS--A CATHEDRAL TOWN--THE YOUNG LADIES'
-     SEMINARY--MARY DELAVAL AND HER ADMIRER--AN ATTACK REPULSED--THE
-     MILITARY ROUTED--A PRECARIOUS LIVELIHOOD
-
-
-Little, indeed, do one half the world know how the other half live.
-Fortunate is it for us all, that we have neither the invisible cap,
-nor the shoes of swiftness, that did their owner such good service in
-the fairy tale. We might be astonished, not to say disgusted, could we
-follow our nearest and dearest for one short half-hour after they have
-left our sight; could we see them, when they think no mortal eye is
-upon their actions, we might smile or we might weep, according as our
-temperament bordered upon the sentimental or the cynical. Yet is there
-One that always watches. How comes it that when we hide ourselves from
-man, we think no shame to expose our follies to man's Creator? Will a
-day come when everything shall be made known? when there will be no
-more hypocrisy--no more respectability--no more difference between
-vice on the house-top and vice in the corner? There will be some
-strange shifting of places when that day does come--much shrinking and
-wincing from the general Show-up--much scarlet shame, and livid
-remorse, when the brow can no more be covered, nor the past undone.
-'Tis a pity we should think so little of payment till the bill comes
-due;--in the meantime we go blindly on, deceiving and deceived--we
-know but little of our neighbour, and we trust in heaven our neighbour
-knows nothing whatever about us; so we grope about in the dark, and
-call it Life.
-
-Mrs. Kettering, on the sofa, knew nothing of what Blanche was thinking
-about, not six feet from her--knew nothing about Charlie, struggling
-convulsively for life half-a-mile out at sea--knew nothing about the
-woman she had left to take charge of her town-house--a pattern of
-respectability, sobriety, and trustworthiness, then reeling out of
-"The Feathers," as drunk as Chloe, to use an old Eton expression,
-highly derogatory to the character of Horace's young and tender love,
-she who bounded from the bard's classical advances like a frightened
-kid. Our Chloe, meanwhile, was grasping a door-key, and calling for
-gin, regardless that she had left a tallow-candle flaring close to a
-heap of shavings in the back scullery, that "the airy-gate," as she
-called it, was "on the latch," and there was nobody to answer the
-front door. This last piece of carelessness was the means of
-inflicting an additional disappointment on one who had already in her
-short life known troubles and disappointments more than enough. Mary
-Delaval had walked up to the grim lion-headed knocker with a weary
-step and heavy heart; but when her summons was again and again
-unheeded, and the chance of finding out even Mrs. Kettering's address
-became hopeless, she moved away with the heavy, listless air of one
-who has shot the last arrow from the quiver without attaining the
-mark, and begins to doubt if courage and energy are indeed qualities
-of the slightest advantage to our welfare, and whether blind fortune
-is not the controller of all here below.
-
-The sun beat fiercely upon the pavement, and there was not a breath of
-air to refresh those arid gardens in the parched and dusty square--yet
-Mary put her thick, suffocating veil down before her face and
-quickened her pace as she went home from her hopeless errand; for to
-these inconveniences she was obliged to submit, because in the freest
-country in the world, and the most civilised capital in Europe, she
-was walking on foot, without a companion or a man-servant.
-
-"Gad, that's a good-looking woman!" said Captain Lacquers to his
-friend, Sir Ascot Uppercrust; "fine-ish goer, too, but tires over the
-pavement. If it was not so cursedly hot, 'Uppy,' we might cross over
-and get a look at her."
-
-"Women rather bore me," replied Sir Ascot, who, being very young and a
-Body-guardsman, was of course _blase_; "but I don't mind, to oblige
-you,--only promise you won't let her speak to me." So, as Captain
-Lacquers turned up his moustaches, Sir Ascot went through the same
-pantomime, for practice against the time when his own should grow; and
-the couple sauntered carelessly on, and, by a dexterous manoeuvre,
-came "right across the bows" of Mary Delaval.
-
-We may be asked what two such undeniable dandies as good-looking
-Lacquers, of the Lancers, and Sir Ascot Uppercrust, of the Body-guard,
-should be doing in London at this time of the year. We cannot tell;
-for love or money probably--a redundancy of the one and a deficiency
-of the other being the two causes that generally drive young gentlemen
-to the metropolis, when their confiding companions are all "faded and
-gone." Be it how it may, there they were, and Mary Delaval wished them
-anywhere else, as, following in her wake, they made sundry
-complimentary remarks upon her figure, ankles, and general appearance,
-which might have been gratifying if overheard casually, but which,
-under the circumstances, were doubtless extremely impertinent and
-reprehensible.
-
-"I think I'll get forward, and ask her if she's going home," said
-Lacquers; and, curling his great black moustaches, he quickened his
-pace to add this crowning insult to an unprotected woman.
-
-Mary's blood boiled in her veins--she was a soldier's daughter, and
-her father's spirit swelled her heart till it felt as if it would
-choke her--she clenched her long slender hand, and thought, almost
-aloud: "Oh, if I were but a man to strike the coward to the
-earth!--oh, if I were but a man to shoot him as he stands!" In such a
-mood women have shed blood ere now, but the excitement cannot
-last--the reaction too surely arrives; and, alas for woman's pride and
-woman's weakness! Mary returned the bold insolent stare with the
-defiant glance and the lofty carriage of a queen, and then--she burst
-into tears. It was too much; fatigue, anxiety, and disappointment had
-overcome her nerves, and she could have killed herself for the
-weakness, but she sobbed like a child.
-
-Lacquers was a good-natured man, and a good fellow, as it is called,
-at heart--he was pained and thoroughly ashamed of himself. He took his
-hat off as if she had been a duchess, and with a readiness that argued
-this was not a first offence, and did more credit to his ingenuity
-than his candour, he begged her pardon, and assured her he thought she
-was "his cousin"--"Quite a mistake, ma'am, I assure you--pray forgive
-me--good-morning;" and so bowed himself off arm-in-arm with his
-companion, who had preserved an immovable stoicism, almost
-preternatural in one so young, during the whole interview.
-
-As Mary Delaval walked on, and gradually recovered her composure, she
-reflected somewhat bitterly on her lot, and looked back upon her life
-with a feeling of discontent, that for a moment seemed almost to
-upbraid Providence that she had not had a fair chance. It was but for
-a moment--Mary had been schooled in adversity, and had profited by its
-lessons. In some situations of life such a temperament as hers might
-have been prone to grow fastidious and uncharitable. Her ideal of good
-would have been very high, and she would have looked down with
-contempt upon the grovelling spirits that constituted the mass of her
-fellow-creatures. But poverty and dependence had taught her many a
-lesson, hard to learn, but harder to forget. What had she to do with
-pride?--a question to be asked, if you contemplated her tall, graceful
-figure, with its majestic sweep and lofty gestures--her goddess-like
-head, set on as if the Greek had carved its proportions with his
-unerring chisel--her dark, deep-set grey eye, with its long lashes,
-veiling a world of penetration, reflection, ay, and sentiment, for the
-happy man who could bid it kindle into love--her faultless profile and
-firm determined mouth, her father's legacy, with the courage it
-betokened--her low, lovable brow, with its masses of thick, dark brown
-hair plainly braided on each side of that pale, haunting face,
-beautiful in the deep expression which arrives only with the maturity
-of womanhood; with all this she might have been a queen, yet what had
-she to do with pride?--a question not to be asked of a friendless,
-desolate woman, trudging along the streets in the dreary isolation of
-loneliness in London, wasting her beauty in the strife for bread,
-wearing her talents threadbare in the drudgery of a daily
-music-mistress. What a lot if there were nothing beyond! To rise early
-in that dingy atmosphere--to breakfast hurriedly on such a spare meal
-as the lady's-maid next door would deem insufficient for her
-mistress's poodle--to leave the dreary lodging for the scarce less
-dreary street; day after day to make the same round, waiting upon
-vulgar parents and stupid children--day after day to bend rebellious
-fingers over the soul-breathing chords--to dissect the harmony of
-heaven into "one--two--three--four," "one--two--three--four,"--and
-day after day to return, wearied out in body and mind, to the solitary
-room which cannot be called a home, and the rent of which, dear on
-account of _the situation_, swallows up the hard-earned coins that
-should decorate and supply its vacuity; with nothing to cheer, nothing
-to amuse, nothing to console, not even the consciousness of that
-beauty which is only a cause of annoyance and remark; and, above all,
-with nothing to love--what a lot would this be, were there not a
-something to look forward to--a humble hope that this is but a state
-of trial and probation--a humble confidence that the reward is sure to
-come at last!
-
-And who was Mary Delaval? One of the many instances of a child
-suffering for the sins of its parents. We have said her father was a
-soldier, but, alas! her mother never was, properly speaking, Mrs.
-Delaval. Poor woman, she committed her one fault, and dearly she
-atoned for it. She shut the door upon herself, and her sex took good
-care that it should never again show a chink open to let her in. Trust
-them for that! she was not a proper person to be visited, and she
-remained outside. Captain Delaval would have married her, had he
-thought such a sacrifice on his part would have improved her position,
-for he loved her dearly; but he knew it could be of no use, in a
-worldly point of view, the only one in which he considered the
-subject, so he put it off and put it off, till too late. She never
-complained of the injustice done her, but it broke her heart. Rich in
-beauty and accomplishments, she had run away with the handsome, young
-artillery officer rather than be forced into a match which she
-detested, by a step-mother she despised. She had but one child, and on
-that child, it is needless to say, she doted foolishly. Delaval was a
-curious fellow, easy-tempered to a fault, careless of the world's
-opinion, and of everything but his own comfort and indulgences; a
-gallant soldier, notwithstanding, as brave as a lion, and a perfect
-authority in the code of honour adopted by his profession. Yet, for
-all this, he allowed the mother of his child to go upon the stage,
-under a feigned name, that he might live in luxury upon her earnings.
-Fortunately, it may be, for all parties, the artillery officer caught
-cold out duck-shooting, and was honoured with a military funeral some
-ten days afterwards. He left all he had, a small pittance, to the
-woman he had so deeply injured, and she retired with her daughter into
-a humble cottage in the West of England, where, for a time, they lived
-as happy as the day is long. Her whole energies were devoted to the
-education of her child. She taught her all she had herself learned--no
-mean list of acquirements--and young Mary Delaval (for, by the
-deceased officer's wish, they always bore his name) was skilled far
-beyond other girls of her age in the graceful accomplishments of
-womanhood, as well as in those deeper studies which strengthen the
-mind and form the character of youth. But Mary's girlhood had an
-advantage, in which her mother's was deficient. That mother, with the
-earnestness of one into whose soul the iron had deeply entered,
-impressed upon her daughter the lesson she had herself so painfully
-learned: "Put not your trust in man," was the substance of many a
-tearful entreaty, many a sage homily, from the repentant sinner to her
-innocent child; and, though the girl's faith was sadly shaken in the
-integrity of the creature, it was anchored all the more firmly in
-reliance on his Creator. The mother's health was but precarious. Often
-she thought, "What will become of Mary when I must leave her alone in
-the world?" and, having little else to bestow, she bequeathed to her
-darling that best legacy of all, the heritage of an immortal soul.
-Poor thing! her own constitution had been sadly broken by anxiety and
-disappointment, and the heart-wearing conviction that she had given up
-home, comfort, friends, good fame, everything, to fasten her young
-pure love on an unworthy object. Oh! the sickening misery of that
-moment, when first the idol's shrine is found to be a blank! when
-first the dreary misgiving dawns upon us, that the being for whom we
-have sacrificed our earthly all, and offered it with a smile--whom we
-have endued with all the attributes for which our own heart
-yearns--whom we have clothed with the gorgeous colouring of fancy, and
-decked in the false glitter of our own imagination--whom we have
-raised upon a pedestal, to place our neck beneath its feet, is but a
-stock or a stone, after all! Poor idolaters! are we not rightly
-punished? Have we not exalted man to be our God? and shall we worship
-the thing of clay with impunity? No; the very crime is made to bear
-its own atonement. Better that we should bow down to the dust, with
-crushed and empty hearts, than live on in the vain mockery of a false
-worship, in the degradation of a soul's homage to a mortal deity.
-
-Poor Mrs. Delaval (for as such was the penitent lady known) bore her
-punishment without a murmur; but it was a sad task to leave Mary among
-strangers, when failing strength and wasting limbs warned her that she
-must soon depart. The girl was in the first lovely bloom of womanhood,
-bright and beautiful as if she had never known sorrow or self-denial;
-and must she leave her now, when most she wants a mother's care? God's
-will be done! There is a humble grave, in the corner of a retired
-churchyard, far away in the West, marked by a plain grey stone, and
-the initial letters of a name--nothing more; and there the spring
-daisies are growing over the head of one who loved not wisely--who
-erred, and was forgiven, but not here.
-
-Mary Delaval was left to fight single-handed against the world. A hard
-battle it is for those who are not furnished with the sinews of war.
-
-The small sum bequeathed to her by her mother's care was invested in a
-savings bank, _which failed_. By the way, the failure was casually
-mentioned in the morning papers, and trustees of savings banks, as
-they sipped their coffee, remarked, "Ah! another of these concerns
-broke: gross rascality somewhere, no doubt." We hope it proved a
-warning to them, to look a little carefully into affairs which they
-had pledged themselves to superintend, and not to grudge
-half-an-hour's labour, when such a trifling effort might ward off the
-direst calamities from their humble neighbours. What was Mary to do?
-Besides her beauty and the mourning on her back, she had literally
-nothing. And yet the girl's heart never sank for a moment; she was
-possessed of that invincible Anglo-Saxon resolution, for which there
-is no better name than the colloquial one of "pluck." Had she been a
-man, she would have distinguished herself; as it was, perhaps the
-humble part she had to play required more courage, self-command, and
-self-reliance than the career of many a hero. One advantage she had
-over many others equally indigent--her talents were brilliant, her
-education had been excellent, and the natural conclusion at which she
-arrived was, that she must be a governess or teacher in a school. The
-former situation there was much difficulty in attaining, qualities
-which are prized in a lady being considered great drawbacks to a
-governess; but youth and good looks are not so much out of place in
-the latter; and Mary, after considerable difficulty, and a voluminous
-correspondence, found herself installed as second assistant in one of
-those strongholds of innocence and propriety, termed a young ladies'
-seminary.
-
-How different the life on which the orphan now embarked from all her
-previous experience of the world! She had been a merry little girl, in
-barracks, petted by officers from every regiment in the service
-(soldiers are all fond of children), and spoilt by papa, who thought
-nothing in the world equal to his little pet. She had grown into
-womanhood in the closest retirement of a small out-of-the-way village,
-associating only with her refined and cultivated mother, and preparing
-for a life of difficulty by study and reflection; and now she found
-herself the inmate of a house in which there were thirty pupils, and
-where she had not even a room of her own, to escape from the gossiping
-chatter of the girls, or the solemn platitudes of Miss Primrose, the
-venerable Calypso who presided over these isolated nymphs. There never
-was such a place for ladies' schools as the cathedral town of
-Bishops'-Baffler; but, as we believe all these repositories of beauty
-and education are conducted upon the same principles, it is needless
-to describe them. Health and morals are studiously attended to, and
-the use of the back-board inflexibly insisted on, the male sex, of
-course, strictly prohibited, and the arts and sciences, giving the
-former the preference, impartially administered. Young ladies are
-likewise taught to lie perfectly flat on their backs for several
-hours, we may say, literally, on a stretch, though of the object and
-intention of this feat, whether it is viewed in the light of a dreary
-penance, an innocent recreation, or a time-honoured institution, it
-does not become us, in our ignorance, to give an opinion.
-
-But Bishops'-Baffler, with all its advantages of salubrious air,
-constant bell-ringing, and redundancy of ecclesiastics, has one
-considerable drawback to those who take upon themselves the
-responsible charge of young ladies in the vicinity of a cavalry
-barracks. The morals of a cathedral town are not very easily
-deteriorated; but an order from the Horse Guards, determining that a
-certain number of jaunty forage-caps, jingling spurs, and dyed
-moustaches, should be continually swaggering up and down the principal
-thoroughfares of any city, though it adds to the liveliness, is not
-supposed to conduce much to the general respectability of the place;
-and with all our terrors of invasion, and our admiration, as
-civilians, of the military character--particularly the mounted arm--we
-confess to a partiality for it chiefly when removed beyond flirting
-distance from our dwelling-house, and acknowledge with grief and shame
-that its vicinity, in our own experience, has invariably over-roasted
-our mutton, multiplied our cobwebs, and placed our female
-establishment generally at sixes and sevens. But if we, an independent
-bachelor, are thus fain to be removed from the insidious sounds of
-"stable-call" and "watch-setting," from the fascinating sights of
-"watering-order" and "guard-mounting," what must have been good Miss
-Primrose's care and anxiety to preserve her tender fledgelings from
-the roving glances of those dashing serjeant-majors, far more
-brilliant warriors than the very lieutenants and captains of the sober
-foot regiment that preceded them; or the dangerous proximity of those
-good-looking officers in their braided frock-coats and their
-well-cultivated moustaches, which serve equally as an amusement to
-themselves and a terror to their foes--a defence in war and an
-occupation in peace? Miss Primrose was a large woman; but she ought to
-have been a giantess to cover her brood as she would have wished,
-when, walking two-and-two along the pavement, they were continually
-encountering "the Loyal Hussars," mounted and dismounted, or
-entangling in the very sheep-fold of their innocence some wolf in
-undress uniform, who would persist in taking the wrong side of the
-"trottoir," and then jingling his spurs together in feigned apologies;
-merely, Miss Primrose well knew, as a pretext for peeping under their
-parasols and "uglies" at the pretty faces, blushing not in anger
-beneath those defences.
-
-But what made the principal of the establishment, as she called
-herself, more wrathful than anything else, was to perceive that the
-figure on whom these warlike glances rested with the greatest marks of
-approval and admiration was not one of the young ladies upon whom she
-"lavished a mother's care, and conferred a gentlewoman's education"
-(see advertisement)--not one of the lady pupils for whom she felt, as
-she expressed it, "she was responsible, body and soul," but the
-majestic person, and the sweet, sad face, of the junior assistant,
-Mary Delaval! "Had it been myself, for instance," thought Miss
-Primrose, drawing up her ample frame with a proud consciousness that,
-twenty years ago, she, too, had a lover, "or even Miss Meagrim" (the
-senior assistant, a gaunt and forbidding damsel), "who certainly has a
-'genteel' figure, or little Miss Dashwood, or rosy Miss Wright, I
-could have understood it; but the idea of that dowdy thing, with her
-pale face and her shabby mourning! it only shows the extraordinary
-tastes men have, and the unaccountable creatures they are from
-beginning to end."
-
-And so poor Miss Primrose fell to ruminating on certain passages of
-her own early career, and a blight which nipped her young affections
-in the bud through the inconstancy of man.
-
-"Have you served?" says a Frenchman to his acquaintance. "Have you
-suffered?" might women as well ask of each other; and there are few
-amongst them, we fancy, but at one time of their lives have gone
-through the freemasonry of sorrow.
-
-Miss Primrose did not look like a heroine; yet she, too, had had her
-romance. Well, it had softened her character, for naturally she was a
-strong-minded woman; and the pretty gipsies over whom she presided
-little thought how much that austere lady sympathised with all the
-innocent "_espiegleries_" and girlish follies she thought it right to
-rebuke so severely.
-
-Now, even Miss Primrose could not help remarking that, notwithstanding
-the open admiration Mary Delaval everywhere excited, no London beauty
-of half-a-dozen seasons could have accepted the homage due to her
-charms with greater coldness and carelessness than did the junior
-assistant. The girl seemed to live in a separate world of her own,
-apart from the common pleasures and foibles of her sex. She was kind
-and courteous to all, but she made no confidences, and had no female
-friend. She continued to wear her mourning-dress for years after the
-usual term that filial affection imposes, and with that mourning she
-seemed to bear about with her the continual memory, almost the
-companionship, of her dead mother. Even Miss Meagrim, whom she nursed
-through the jaundice, and who, with returning health, and a fresh
-accession of hideousness, confessed she owed her life to Miss
-Delaval's care, owned that she could not make her out; and truth to
-tell, both that inquisitive lady and the formidable Miss Primrose
-herself, were a little afraid of their stately assistant, with her
-classical beauty and her calm, sad face.
-
-Years rolled on, and Mary Delaval, now in the mature bloom of
-womanhood, was still junior assistant at Miss Primrose's, and might
-have remained there till her glorious figure was bent, and her glossy
-braids were grey, had it not been for that order from the Horse
-Guards, mentioned above, which moved the head-quarters of the "Loyal
-Hussars" from Waterbridge to Bishops'-Baffler. Much commotion was
-there in the town when this regiment of "_Cupidons_" in pelisses
-marched in with all the honours of war; nor were the chaste retreats
-of our academical sanctuary entirely free from the excitement that
-pervaded the neighbourhood. Miss Primrose had her "front" freshly
-oiled, curled, and submitted to a process which, we believe, is termed
-"baking"; Miss Meagrim appeared with new ribbons in her cap, of a hue
-strangely unbecoming to her complexion; whilst a general feeling
-amongst the pupils in favour of "a walk," whenever the weather
-afforded an opportunity, argued that the attraction, whatever it might
-be, was decidedly out-of-doors. Mary Delaval alone seemed supremely
-indifferent to the movements of the military, and yet her destiny it
-was that the arrival of these gaudy warriors influenced in a manner
-she of all people could least have foreseen.
-
-We have said that of the usual pleasures of her kind she was utterly
-careless; but there was one enjoyment of which Mary never wearied, and
-in which she lost no opportunity of indulging when she could do so
-without attracting observation. This was, listening to a military
-band. It reminded her of her childhood--it reminded her of her
-mother--and she could stand entranced by its sounds for hours. In the
-gardens where the band played there used to be a porter's lodge kept
-by an old fruit-woman, much patronised by the Primrose establishment,
-and with this ancient Pomona Mary made interest to occupy her little
-secluded parlour, and listen to the music, whenever her school duties
-permitted the indulgence. Now it happened that one sunny afternoon,
-when Mary, in her usual sombre attire, was snugly enjoying from her
-hiding-place the harmonious efforts of "the Loyals," a certain wealthy
-manufacturer's lady was seized with a _physical_ giddiness as she
-promenaded in the gardens, and Captain D'Orville, _the_ great card of
-the regiment, came clanking into the porter's lodge to get a glass of
-water for the dame, upon whom he was in close attendance. Mary was
-eager to assist in a case of distress, and the Captain, an avowed
-admirer of beauty, was completely staggered by the apparition he
-encountered in place of the grimy old woman he had expected to find
-within. D'Orville was a gentleman of experience, and, as became a man
-of war, fertile in resources. He spilt half the tumbler of water over
-Mary's black gown, which _coup-de-main_ gave him an opportunity of
-excusing himself at length for his awkwardness, and prolonging his
-interview with the beautiful woman he had so unexpectedly fallen in
-with. The next day came a magnificent dress, and a note full of
-apologies, couched in the most respectful language, and addressed
-_Mrs._ Delaval. "I wonder how he found me out," thought Mary, "and why
-he did not put _Miss_." There was no signature to the note, and it was
-impossible to send the dress back, so she folded it in her drawer, and
-wondered what she ought to do, and what her mother would have advised.
-After this, wherever Mary went, there was Captain D'Orville; at
-church, in her school walks, when she went out with Miss Primrose--he
-seemed to have an intuitive knowledge of her movements, and never to
-lose an opportunity of gazing at her. Mary was a woman, after all; she
-thought it was "very disagreeable," yet was the excitement not
-altogether unpleasing. Gaston D'Orville was strikingly handsome; in
-fact, generally considered "the best-looking fellow in the Loyals,"
-with a peculiar charm of manner, and a thorough knowledge of the whole
-art, method, and practice of war as carried on against the weaker sex.
-What chance had the friendless teacher's heart against such a
-conqueror? This--there was no treachery in the citadel--there was no
-gratified vanity to be the enemy's best auxiliary, no trifling pique
-nor unworthy jealousy to make a conquest valuable merely as a
-conquest. Mary was one of the few women who can see things as they
-are, and not through the glasses of their own imagination or
-prejudice; and when she came to know him better, she perceived the
-hollow selfishness of the hardened man of the world, with a
-perspicuity of which he would have supposed "the handsome governess"
-totally incapable. That she _should_ know him better he took good
-care, but his advances were so well timed, so respectful, and in such
-thoroughly good taste, that it was impossible to take umbrage at them,
-and Mary found herself, she scarce knew how, meeting Captain D'Orville
-_by accident_, walking with him as far as the end of the street,
-amused by his conversation, and interested in his character, before
-she had time to think where or how she had made his acquaintance, and
-in what manner such an acquaintance was likely to end. And D'Orville
-himself was really in love, in his own way, with "the handsome
-governess."
-
-"There is no fool like an old one," he confided to his friend
-Lacquers, of the Lancers, in an epistle addressed to that philosopher
-at Brussels. "If I were a 'marrying man,' which you well know I am
-_not_, I should spend the rest of my life, unjust as would be the
-monopoly, with this glorious Mrs. Delaval. I always call her by that
-matronly title; it is so much more respectful, and must make her feel
-so much more independent. She is only a teacher, my dear fellow, a
-teacher in a girls' school; and yet, for dignity and grace, and real
-'high-bred' manner, she might be a duchess. Such a foot and hand! I
-can take my oath she has good blood in her veins. Altogether, she
-reminds me of your old mare, Sultana--as beautiful as a star--and
-looks as if she would die rather than give in. I never in my life saw
-a woman I admired half so much; you know I am generally pretty
-hard-hearted, but upon my word I begin to fear I have a soft place in
-me somewhere. And then, my dear Lacquers, what makes the thing so
-exciting is this--I do not believe she cares one toss of a halfpenny
-for me after all, and that if I were fool enough to offer to marry her
-to-morrow, she would quietly balance the advantages and disadvantages
-of the plan, and accept, or very likely _refuse_ me, with her calm,
-condescending dignity, extremely unflattering as it is, and without
-moving a muscle of her beautiful, placid countenance. Don't she wish
-she may have the chance? and yet, absurd as it sounds, I am horribly
-in love with her. You will laugh at me 'consumedly,' and sometimes I
-feel half inclined to laugh at myself, dodging about the stupidest of
-places, as deeply smitten as if I were a cornet, regretting I ever
-came here, and yet not man enough to leave and go on detachment, which
-I have the option of doing. I shall see her again this evening, and
-come to a decision one way or the other, for this can't go on. In the
-meantime, don't show me up to a soul, and believe me," etc.
-
-That very evening, a tall, good-looking man, in undress uniform,
-might have been seen, as indeed he was seen, by Miss Primrose's
-housemaid, walking a magnificent grey charger, with its bridle over
-his arm, close to the foot-pavement in Crozier Street, deep in what
-seemed an interesting conversation with a beautiful woman in black.
-
-"So you don't believe we unfortunates ever _are_ disinterested, Mrs.
-Delaval? I am afraid you have a very bad opinion of the whole sex,"
-said the gentleman, with a slight tremor in his voice, extremely
-unusual to him, and contrasting strangely with the steady, measured
-tones of his companion. "I cannot give an opinion where I have so
-little knowledge, Captain D'Orville," was the reply; she began to know
-him well now, and liked to talk _out_ with him, as a woman never does
-with a man for whom she cares; "I can only judge by what I see. It
-appears to me that you all live wholly and entirely for yourselves.
-If you are clever, you pervert your talents to get the better of
-your friends in every allowable species of dishonesty; if you are
-brave, your courage is but made subservient to your vanity and
-self-aggrandisement; if you are rich, your money is devoted to your
-own indulgence and your own purposes. I never hear, now-a-days, of
-anything noble, anything disinterested, such as I have read of. But I
-am talking great nonsense," said Mary, checking herself, and smiling
-at her own enthusiasm, unconscious of the burning admiration with
-which the hussar's eyes were riveted on her face. Like all _fast_
-reckless men, there was a spice of romance about D'Orville, and he
-liked to bring out the latent powers of a mind somewhat akin to his
-own daring intellect, more particularly when that mind belonged to
-such a person as his companion.
-
-"I could prove that men _may_ be disinterested, even in the nineteenth
-century," said he, and again his voice trembled as it sank almost to a
-whisper--"that there _are_ men who would give up station, profession,
-ambition, everything,--the present they enjoy, and the future they
-look forward to,--for the sake of one whom they esteemed--admired--in
-short, whom they _loved_." She would not understand him, and the calm
-brow was as calm as ever while she answered, "I cannot think so. I have
-seen quite enough as a child, for you know I am half a soldier
-myself, to give me no inclination to prosecute my studies in human
-nature. And yet I have my ideal of a hero too, but in these days there
-is no such character as a Leonidas, a Curtius (you know, we
-governesses must not forget our history), a William Tell, or a
-Montrose."
-
-"I'll wear thy colours in my cap, thy picture next my heart," muttered
-D'Orville; and then, carried away by the impulse of the moment, and
-forgetful of all his worldly prudence and good resolutions, he hurried
-impetuously on--"Listen to me, Mrs. Delaval; I may be presumptuous to
-speak thus to you on such short acquaintance, but you must have seen
-my regard--my attention--my devotion; I cannot bear to see you wasted
-here, thrown away in such a place as this--you who are meant for
-society and brilliancy, and everything that is worth having in life.
-Will you rely upon _me_? will you suffer me to rescue you from this
-obscure lot? will you consider?" Mary stopped dead short, drew herself
-up, and looked her admirer full in the face: "I am so unused to this
-sort of language, Captain D'Orville," she observed, without a vestige
-of emotion, "that I do not clearly understand you. If what you have to
-say is fit for me to hear, pray explain yourself; if not, I wish you a
-good evening;" and pausing for an instant while she kept him, as it
-were, "chained in her eye," she turned round, and walked calmly and
-deliberately straight home to Miss Primrose's.
-
-The hussar was completely taken aback by the simplicity with which his
-attack had been repulsed. There he stood, opposite the grey horse,
-utterly confounded, and not knowing whether to advance or retreat.
-Should he laugh the thing off, and descend to the meanness of
-pretending he had been in jest? He could not--no, he _dared_ not meet
-that calm, contemptuous eye. What an eye it was, and how he felt its
-influence even now! Should he hurry after her, and make a _bona fide_
-proposal of marriage, such as no woman could receive but as a
-compliment? Psha! what! marry a governess? What would the mess say,
-and Lacquers, and his brother profligates? No, the good grey horse was
-galloped back to barracks, and D'Orville was the life and soul of the
-supper-party, which he returned just in time to join. What a
-contrast it was, with its brilliant lights, flushed countenances,
-noise, excitement, and revelry, to the still summer evening, and the
-pure, sweet face of Mary Delaval.
-
-[Illustration: "She turned round and walked calmly and deliberately
-home."
-
-_Page 56_]
-
-The wealthy manufacturer's lady thought Captain D'Orville very absent
-and _distrait_ next day in the gardens; but from that time till he
-went on leave he devoted himself exclusively to her service, and she
-never dreamed that there was such a being in the world as the handsome
-governess at Miss Primrose's, or the loss that establishment had
-sustained in its junior assistant's departure.
-
-And now Mary had been long dragging on her weary existence as a
-music-mistress in London. Miss Primrose's severe comments on the
-impropriety of evening walks with cavalry officers led to a dignified
-rejoinder from her teacher, and the conversation terminated in a small
-arrear of salary being paid up, and Mary's wardrobe (with the
-exception of a certain very handsome dress, afterwards sold cheap as
-"returned") being packed for travelling. In London she obtained
-sufficient employment to keep her from starving, and that was about
-all. A situation as "Governess in a private family" was advertised
-for, and again and again she was disappointed in obtaining one, till
-at length hearing accidentally that Mrs. Kettering was in want of a
-"finishing governess" for Blanche, Mary Delaval proceeded to the
-town-house to make inquiries, and failing to obtain even the
-wished-for address, was returning in hopeless despondency, when she
-encountered the impertinences we have already detailed, and which were
-alone wanting to fill the bitter cup of dependency to overflowing.
-Poor Mary! hers was "a black cloud" through which it was indeed
-difficult to see "the silver lining."
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER IV
-
-"LIBITINA"
-
-     THE DROWNING MAN CATCHES AT A BOAT-HOOK--A BRITISH
-     FISHERMAN--THE MOTHER STRUCK DOWN--THE SICK-ROOM--WATCH AND
-     WARD--THE VISITOR THAT WILL NOT BE DENIED--A PRESSING
-     SUITOR--THE CHIEF MOURNER
-
-
-To keep a gentleman waiting any length of time, either in hot water or
-cold, is decidedly a breach of the laws of politeness, to repair which
-we must return as speedily as possible to "Cousin Charlie" and his
-friend, lying somewhat limp and blue at the bottom of "Hairblower's"
-dinghy; this worthy, under Providence, having been the means of saving
-the rash swimmer and the gallant boy who strove to rescue him from an
-untimely death, which a very few seconds more of submersion would have
-made a certainty. That Hairblower's boat-hook should have been ready
-at the nick of time was one of those "circumstances," as he called
-them, which he designated "special," and turned upon the fact of his
-having started a party of amateurs in the morning on a sort of marine
-picnic, from which they had returned prematurely, the gala proving a
-failure, with no greater loss than that of a spare oar and one or two
-small casks belonging to the seaman. It was on the hopeless chance of
-picking up these "waifs and strays" as they drifted down with the
-tide, that "Hairblower" was paddling about in a shallow skiff,
-denominated "a dinghy," when his attention was arrested by an
-adventurous swimmer striking boldly out at a long distance from the
-beach. As he said himself, "There's no depending on these gentlemen,
-so I thought it very likely I might be wanted, and stood 'off and on'
-till I saw Mr. Hardingstone making signals of distress. It's no joke
-that cramp isn't, half-a-mile out at sea; and I might have been too
-late with the boat-hook if it hadn't been for Master Charles--dear,
-dear, there's stuff in that lad you might cut an admiral out of, and
-they're going to make 'a soger' of him!"
-
-He had contrived to pull the two exhausted swimmers into his little
-craft; and although Charlie very soon recovered himself, his friend,
-who was farther gone in his salt-water potations, gave them both some
-uneasiness before he came thoroughly to his senses.
-
-Whilst our hardy seaman is putting them upon their legs, and
-administering hot brandy-and-water in a fisherman's house near the
-beach, we may spare a few lines to give some account of "Hairblower,"
-and the qualities by which he earned that peculiar designation. Born
-and bred a fisherman, one of that daring race with which our sea-board
-swarms, and from which Her Majesty's navy and the British merchant
-service recruit their best men, he was brought up from his very
-childhood to make the boat his cradle, and the wave his home. Wet or
-dry, calm or stormy, blow high, blow low, with a plank beneath his
-foot, and a few threads of canvas over his head, he was in his
-element; and long ere he reached the full strength of manhood he was
-known for the most reckless of all, even amongst those daring spirits
-who seem to think life by far the least valuable of their earthly
-possessions. Twice, as a boy, had he _volunteered_ to make up the crew
-of a lifeboat when the oldest hands were eyeing with doubtful glances
-that white, seething surf through which they would have to make their
-way to the angry, leaden sea beyond; and the men of Deal themselves,
-those heroes of the deep, acknowledged, with the abrupt freemasonry of
-the brave, that "the lad was as tough as pin-wire, _heart_ to the
-backbone." His carelessness of weather soon became proverbial, and his
-friends often expostulated with him on his rashness in remaining out
-at sea with a craft by no means qualified to encounter the sudden
-squalls of the Channel, or the heavy seas which come surging up from
-the Atlantic in a real Sou'-Wester. His uncle at length promised to
-assist him in building a lugger of somewhat heavier tonnage than the
-yawl he was accustomed to risk, and the _Spanking Sally_, of ill-fated
-memory, was the result. On the first occasion that the young skipper
-exultingly stamped his foot on a deck he could really call his own, he
-earned the nickname by which he was afterwards distinguished. His
-uncle expressed a hope that the owner would now be a trifle more
-careful in his ventures, and suggested that when it blew hard, and
-there was a heavy cargo on board, it was good seamanship to run for
-the nearest port. "Blow," repeated the gallant lad, while he passed
-his fingers through thick glossy curls that the breeze was even then
-lifting from his forehead--"Blow, uncle! you'll never catch me putting
-_my_ helm down for weather, till it comes on stiff enough to blow
-every one of these hairs clean out of my figure-head!" From that hour,
-and ever afterwards, he was known by the _sobriquet_ of Hairblower,
-and as such we verily believe he had almost forgotten his own original
-name.
-
-Hardingstone was soon sufficiently recovered to walk back to his
-hotel, and with his strong frame and constitution scouted the idea of
-any ill effects arising from what he called "a mere ducking." Once,
-however, on their way home, he pressed Charlie's hand, and with a tear
-in his eye--strange emotion for him to betray--whispered, "Charlie,
-you've the pluck of the devil; you've saved my life, and I shall never
-forget it." We are an undemonstrative people: on the stage, or in a
-book, here would have been an opportunity for a perfect oration about
-gratitude, generosity, and eternal friendship; but not so in real
-life; we cannot spare more than a sentence to acknowledge our rescue
-from ruin or destruction, and we are so afraid of being thought
-"humbugs," that we make even that sentence as cold as possible.
-
-Mrs. Kettering, though, was a lady of a different disposition. She was
-in a terrible taking when her nephew returned, and she observed the
-feverish remains of past excitement, which the boy was unable to
-conceal. Bit by bit she drew from him the whole history of his gallant
-efforts to save Hardingstone, and the narrow escape they both had of
-drowning; and as Charlie finished his recital, and Blanche's eyes
-sparkled through her tears in admiration of his heroism, Mrs.
-Kettering rang the bell twice for Gingham, and went off into strong
-hysterics.
-
-"Dear me, miss, how providential!" said the Abigail, an hour or so
-afterwards, popping her head into the drawing-room, where Blanche and
-Charlie were awaiting news of his aunt, having left her to "keep
-quiet"--"Dr. Globus is down here for a holiday, and Missus bid me send
-for him if she wasn't any better, and now she _isn't_ any better. What
-shall I do?"
-
-"Send for him, I should think," said Charlie, and forthwith despatched
-a messenger in quest of the doctor, whilst Blanche ran up-stairs to
-mamma's room with a beating heart and an aching presentiment, such as
-often foretells too truly the worst we have to apprehend.
-
-The curtains were drawn round Mrs. Kettering's bed, and Blanche,
-hoping it might only be one of the nervous attacks to which her mother
-was subject, put them gently aside to see if she was sleeping. Even
-that young, inexperienced girl was alarmed at the dark flush on the
-patient's face, and the heavy snorting respirations she seemed to draw
-with such difficulty.
-
-"O mamma, mamma!" said she, laying her head on the pillow by her
-mother's side, "what is it? I beseech you to tell me! Dear mamma, what
-can we do to help you?"
-
-Mrs. Kettering turned her eyes upon her daughter, but the pupils were
-distorted as though from some pressure on the brain, and she strove to
-articulate in vain. Blanche, in an agony of fear, rushed to the
-bell-rope, and brought Gingham and Charlie running up hardly less
-alarmed than herself. What could the lad do in a case like this? With
-the impetuosity of his character, he took his hat and hastened to Dr.
-Globus's house with such speed as to overtake the messenger he had
-previously despatched; Gingham was sent down to hunt up a prescription
-of that skilful physician, which had once before been beneficial; and
-Blanche sat her down in her mother's room, to watch, and tremble, and
-pray for the beloved form, stretched senseless within those white
-curtains.
-
-She could scarce believe it. In that very room, not six hours ago, she
-had pinned her mother's shawl, and smoothed her own ringlets. Yet it
-seemed as if this had occurred to some one else--not to herself. With
-the unaccountable propensity great excitement ever has for trifling,
-she arranged the disordered toilet-table; she even counted the
-curl-papers that lay in their little triangular box; then she went
-down on her knees, and prayed, as those pray who feel it is the last
-resource. When she rose, a passion of weeping somewhat relieved her
-feelings, but with composure came the consciousness of the awful
-possibility--the separation that might be--to-night, even; and the
-dim, blank future, desolate, without a mother. But the familiar noises
-in the street brought her back to the present, and it seemed
-impossible that this should be the same world in which till now she
-had scarcely known any anxiety or affliction. Then a soothing hope
-stole over her that these dreadful misgivings might be groundless;
-that the doctor would come, and mamma would soon be better; and she
-would nurse her, and love her more and more, and never be wilful
-again; but in the midst, with a pang that almost stopped her heart,
-flashed across her the recollection of her father's death--the
-suspense, the confusion, the sickening certainty, the dreary funeral,
-and how, in her little black frock, she had clasped mamma's neck, and
-thought she had saved all, since she had not lost her. And now, must
-this come again? And would there be no mother to clasp when it was
-over? Blanche groaned aloud. But hark! the door-bell rings, there is a
-steady footstep on the stair, and she feels a deep sensation of
-relief, as though the doctor held the scales of life and death in his
-hands.
-
-Gingham, in the meantime, whose composure was not proof against
-anything in the shape of serious illness or danger, had been wandering
-over the house with her mistress's keys in her hand, seeking for that
-prescription which she had herself put by, not three days before, but
-of which she had totally forgotten the hiding-place. Music,
-work-boxes, blotting-books were turned over and tumbled about in vain,
-till at length she bethought her of her mistress's writing-desk, and
-on opening that "sanctum," out fell a paper in her lady's hand, which
-ignorant Gingham herself at once perceived was meant for no such eyes
-as hers. She caught a glimpse, too, of her own name between its folds,
-and even in the hurry and emergency of the moment we are not prepared
-to say that female curiosity could have resisted the temptation of
-"just one peep," but at that instant "Cousin Charlie" and the doctor
-were heard at the door, and as Gingham thrust the mysterious document
-into her bosom, the former entered the room, and rated her soundly for
-prying about amongst Aunt Kettering's papers when she ought to have
-been up-stairs attending to herself.
-
-Dr. Globus felt Mrs. Kettering's pulse, and turned to Blanche (who was
-watching his countenance as the culprit does that of the juryman who
-declares his fate) with a face from which it was impossible to gather
-hope or fear.
-
-"Your mamma must be kept _very_ quiet, Miss Blanche," said the doctor,
-with whom his young friend was a prime favourite. "I must turn you all
-out but Mrs. Gingham. I should like to remain here for a while to
-watch the effect of some medicine I shall give her; but we cannot have
-too few people in the room." And to enhance this significant hint he
-pointed to the door, at which Charlie was lingering with a white,
-anxious face.
-
-"But tell me, _dear_ doctor," implored Blanche, in an agony of
-suspense, "_pray_ tell me, is there any danger? Will _nothing_ do her
-any good?"
-
-Poor girl, did you ever know a doctor that would reply to such a
-question?
-
-"We must keep her quiet, my dear," was all the answer she got; and
-Blanche was forced to go down-stairs, much against her will, and wait
-in blank dismay, with her hand clasping Cousin Charlie's, and her eyes
-turned to the clock, on which the minutes seemed to lengthen into
-hours, whilst ever and anon a footstep overhead seemed to indicate
-there would be some news of the patient; yet no door opened, no step
-was heard upon the stairs. Not a word did the cousins exchange, though
-the boy moved at intervals restlessly in his chair. The calm,
-beautiful evening deepened into the purple haze of night over the
-Channel, the lamps began to twinkle in the street, and still the
-cousins sat and waited, and still nobody came.
-
-When the door was shut, and Globus was left alone with his patient, a
-solemn, sagacious expression stole over the worthy doctor's face. He
-had long been the personal friend of Mrs. Kettering, as well as "her
-own medical man"; and although he would probably have felt it more had
-he not been called in professionally, yet it was with a heavy heart
-and a desponding brow that he confessed to himself there was little or
-no hope. He had put in practice all that skill and experience
-suggested--he had sent for a brother physician of high local repute,
-and now there was nothing more to be done save to wait for the result;
-so the kind-hearted man sat himself down in the chair Blanche had so
-lately occupied, and pondered over the many changing years, now like a
-dream, during which he had known that life which in yonder bed was
-dribbling out its few remaining sands. He remembered her the merry,
-black-eyed girl (once he thought her eyes brighter than those of Mrs.
-Globus); he saw her again the sparkling bride, the good-humoured
-matron, the doting mother, the not inconsolable widow. It was only
-yesterday he bowed to her on the parade, and thought how young she
-looked with her grown-up daughter; he was to have dined with them
-to-morrow; and the uncertainty of life looked him startlingly in the
-face. But the pride of science soon came to the rescue, and the
-practised healer forgot his private feelings in his professional
-reflections. And thus Dr. Globus passed his holiday--one afternoon of
-the precious fourteen, in which he had promised himself the fresh
-breezes and the out-of-doors liberty of St. Swithin's. Mrs. Globus and
-the children were picking up shells on the beach; his brother, whom he
-had not seen for ten years, was coming to dinner; but the doctor's
-time is the property of the suffering and the doomed, and still Globus
-sat and watched and calculated, and saw clearly that Mrs. Kettering
-must die.
-
-The hours stole on, candles were brought into the drawing-room, and
-the cousins tried in vain with parched lips and choking throats to
-have some tea. A ring at the door-bell heralded the arrival of the
-other doctor, a stout man in a brown greatcoat, smelling of the
-night-dew. Blanche ran out to meet him--it was a relief to do
-something--and beckoned him silently up-stairs. She even stole into
-the sick-room, and caught a glimpse of her mother's figure, recumbent
-and covered up; but the curtains were half closed, and she could not
-see the dear face. Globus kindly drew her away, and shut her out, but
-not before the frightened girl had glanced at a dark-stained
-handkerchief on the floor, and sickened with the conviction that it
-was clotted with blood. Outside, the little housemaid was sitting on
-the stairs, crying as if her heart would break. Poor Blanche sat down
-by her in the darkness, and mingled her tears with those of the
-affectionate servant. She began to get hopeless now. After a while she
-went down again to Cousin Charlie, and was surprised to find it so
-late; the clock pointed to five minutes past ten; and with trembling
-hands she closed the windows, listening for an instant to the dash of
-the waves outside, with a strange, wild feeling that they never
-sounded so before. Then she covered up "Bully," who had been whistling
-ever since the lights were brought; but she had not the heart to
-exchange a syllable with Cousin Charlie; and that poor lad, affecting
-a composure that his face belied, was pretending to spell over the
-evening paper, of which he was vacantly staring at the advertisement
-sheet. Again there is a movement above, and the two doctors adjourn to
-another room to discuss the patient's case. Great is the deference
-paid by the local Esculapius to the famous London physician. What Dr.
-Globus recommended--what Dr. Globus said--what Dr. Globus
-thought--were quoted by the former ever afterwards; yet could one have
-witnessed the consultation of these two scientific men, it might have
-been instructive to observe how professional etiquette never once gave
-way to the urgency of the moment--how the science of curing, like that
-of killing, has its forms, its subordination, its ranks, its
-dignities, and its "customs of war in like cases." Gingham was left
-with the patient, and the weeping housemaid stood ready to assist, the
-latter showing an abundance of nerve and decision, when called upon to
-act, which her behaviour on the staircase would scarcely have
-promised. Even Gingham was less flustered than usual, now there was
-really something to be frightened at. Woman is never seen to such
-advantage as when tending the sick; the eye that quails to see a
-finger pricked, the hand that trembles if there is but a mouse in the
-room, will gaze unflinchingly on the lancet or the cupping-glass, will
-apply the leeches without a shudder, or pour the soothing medicament,
-drop by drop, into the measured wine-glass, with the steadiness and
-accuracy of a chemical professor. Where man with all his boasted nerve
-turns sick and pale, and shows himself worse than useless, woman
-vindicates the courage of her sex, that unselfish heroism, that
-passive devotion, which is ever ready to bear and be still. They seem
-to have a positive pleasure in alleviating the pangs of the sufferer,
-and taking care of the helpless. Look at a bustling matron, blessed
-with a large family of children, and whatever may be the opinion of
-the "paterfamilias," however much he may grunt and grumble (so like a
-_man_!) at having the quiver as full as it will hold, she, in her
-heart of hearts, welcomes every fresh arrival with the hospitable
-sentiment of "the more the merrier"; and much as she loves them all,
-lavishes her warmest affections on the last little uninteresting
-morsel of underdone humanity, which, on its first appearance, is the
-most helpless, as it is the least attractive, of Nature's germinating
-efforts; unless, indeed, she should own a dwarf, a cripple, or an
-idiot amongst her thriving progeny--then will that poor creature be
-the mother's chiefest treasure, then will woman's love and woman's
-tenderness hover with beautiful instinct round the head which Nature
-itself seems to have scouted, and the mother will press to her heart
-of hearts the wretched being that all else are prone to ridicule and
-despise. So in the sick-room, when "pain and anguish wring the brow,"
-woman wipes the foaming lip and props the sinking head. Woman's care
-speeds the long doubtful recovery, and woman's prayers soothe the
-dying hour, when hope has spread her wings and fled away. In works
-like these she vindicates her angel-nature, in scenes like these she
-perfects that humble piety of which it appears to us she has a greater
-share than the stronger sex. The proud Moslem boasts there will be no
-women in his material paradise; let us look to ourselves, that the
-exclusion for us be not all the other way.
-
-Blanche sits vacantly in the drawing-room, and thinks the doctors'
-consultation is to be endless, and that it is cruel to keep her so
-long from her mamma. Charlie puts down the paper, and drawing kindly
-towards his cousin, finds courage to whisper some few words of
-consolation, which neither of them feel to be of the slightest avail.
-He has been thinking that Uncle Baldwin ought to be sent for, but he
-dares not excite more alarm in his companion's mind by such a
-suggestion, and he meditates a note to his friend Hardingstone to
-manage it for him. Uncle Baldwin, better known in the world as
-Major-General Bounce, is Mrs. Kettering's brother, and lives in the
-midland counties--"he should be sent for immediately," thinks Charlie,
-"if he is to see my aunt alive." Blanche is getting very restless, and
-thinks she might soon go up-stairs and see----Hush! the bedroom door
-opens--a rapid footstep is heard on the stairs--it is Gingham running
-down for the doctors--Blanche rushes to the door and intercepts her on
-the landing-place--the woman's face is ashy pale, and her eyes stand
-strangely out in the dubious light--her voice comes thick and husky.
-The young girl is quite composed for the instant, and every syllable
-thrusts straight to her heart as the maid stammers out, "O Miss
-Blanche! Miss Blanche! your mamma----"
-
-       *       *       *       *       *
-
-The sun rose, and the waters of the Channel glittered in the morning
-light, but the shutters were closed at No. 9--and honest Hairblower
-drew his rough hand across his eyes, as he sought to get some news of
-"poor Miss Blanche." He met Hardingstone coming from the house,
-whither the "man of action" had repaired on the first intelligence of
-their calamity, and had made himself as useful as he could to the
-afflicted family. "Do she take on, poor dear?" said Hairblower,
-scarcely restraining the drops that coursed down his weather-beaten
-cheeks. "Such a young thing as that, Mr. Hardingstone, to go loose
-without a mother--and the poor lady, too, gone down like in a calm.
-They will not be leaving, sir, just yet, will 'em? I couldn't bear to
-think of Miss Blanche cruising about among strangers, till she begins
-to hold up a bit--she should come out and get the sea-air, as soon as
-she is able for it, and I'll have the boat covered in and ready day
-and night----O Mr. Hardingstone, what _can_ I do, sir, for the poor
-young lady in her distress?" Frank shook the honest fellow's hand, and
-could scarcely command his own feelings enough to reply. He had done
-everything that was necessary in the house of death, had sent off an
-express for the General, sealed up Mrs. Kettering's jewel-boxes,
-writing-cases, etc., and performed all those offices of which the two
-children, for so we might almost call them, were incapable, and which,
-even in the presence of the Destroyer, are still hard, cold matters of
-business, and _must_ be attended to, like the ordering dinner, and the
-arrangement for the funeral, though the survivors' hearts may ache,
-and their wounds burst out afresh, till they too wish their bodies
-were laid at rest beneath the sod, and their spirits were away, free
-and unmourning, with the loved one in those realms with which, sooner
-or later, we are all to be acquainted.
-
-On the child's misery it would not become us to dwell. There are
-feelings over which a veil is drawn too sacred to be disturbed by
-mortal hand. Well might Margaret Douglas exclaim, in the old ballad--
-
-    "True lovers I may have many a one,
-    But a father once slain, I shall never see mair."
-
-And when a young, affectionate girl is wailing for a parent, the voice
-of sorrow cannot be hushed, nor the tears dried, till grief has had
-its course, and time has cured the wounds now so excruciating, which
-ere long shall be healed over and forgotten. "Cousin Charlie,"
-boy-like, was more easily consoled; and although at intervals his kind
-aunt's voice would seem to sound in his ears, and the sight of her
-work, her writing, or any other familiar object associated with
-herself would bring on a fresh accession of grief, yet in the society
-of Frank Hardingstone, and the anticipation of Uncle Baldwin's
-arrival, he found objects to divert his thoughts, and direct them to
-that brilliant inheritance of the young, the golden future, which
-never _shall_ arrive. He was, besides, a lad of a sanguine,
-imaginative disposition, and these are the spirits over which sorrow
-has least power. The more elastic the spring, the more easily it
-regains its position; and a sensitive organisation, after the first
-recoil, will rise uninjured from a shock that prostrates more material
-souls to the very dust.
-
-Over the rest of the household came the reaction that invariably
-follows the first sensations of awe inspired by sudden death. There
-was an excitement not altogether unpleasing in the total derangement
-of plans, the uncertainty as to the future created amongst the
-domestics by the departure of their mistress. The butler knew he
-should have to account for his plate, and was busied with his spoons
-and his inventory; the footman speculated on the next place he should
-get, with "a family that spent nine months of the year in London"; the
-very "boy in buttons" thought more of his promotion than of the kind
-mistress who had housed, clothed, and fed him when a parish orphan.
-Gingham herself, that tender damsel, was occupied and excited about
-Miss Blanche's mourning, and her own "breadths" of black and "depths"
-of crape usurped the place of unavailing regrets in a mind not
-calculated to contain many ideas at a time. Besides, the pleasure of
-"shopping," inexplicable as it may appear to man's perverted taste, is
-one which ravishes the female mind with an intense delight; and what
-with tradesmen's condolences, the interminable fund of gossip created
-thereby, the comparing of patterns, the injunctions on all sides "not
-to give way," and the visits to linen-drapers' shops, we cannot but
-confess that Gingham's spirits were surprisingly buoyant, considering
-the circumstance under which she swept those costly wares from their
-tempting counters. Tom Blacke, too, lost no time in assuring her of
-his sympathy.
-
-"O, Miss Gingham," said wily Tom, as he insisted on carrying a huge
-brown-paper parcel home for her, and led the way by a circuitous route
-along the beach, "O, Miss Gingham, what a shock for your affectionate
-natur' and kindly 'eart! Yet sorrow becomes some people," added Tom,
-reflectively, and glancing his dark eyes into Gingham's muddy-looking
-face, as he offered her an arm.
-
-"Go along with you, Mr. Blacke," replied the sorrowing damsel,
-forgetful of her despondency for the moment, which emboldened him to
-proceed.
-
-"You ought to have a home, Miss Gingham--you ought to have some one
-to attach yourself to--you that attaches everybody" (he ventured a
-squeeze, and the maiden did not withdraw the brown thread glove which
-rested on his arm; so Tom mixed it a little stronger)--"a 'onest man
-to depend on, and a family and such like."
-
-Tom flourished his arm along a line of imaginary olive branches, and
-Gingham represented that "she couldn't think of such a thing."
-
-"Service isn't for the likes of you, miss," proceeded the tempter;
-"hindependence is fittest for beauty" (Tom peeped under the bonnet,
-and "found it," as he expressed himself, "all serene"); "a cottage and
-content, and a 'eart that is 'umble may 'ope for it 'ere;" with which
-concluding words Mr. Blacke, who was an admirer of poetry, and
-believed with Moore _that_ would be given to song "which gold could
-never buy," imprinted a vigorous kiss on those not very tempting lips,
-and felt that the day was his own.
-
-Ladies of mature charms are less easily taken aback by such advances
-than their inexperienced juniors. The position, even if new in
-practice, is by no means so in theory, and having often anticipated
-the attack, they are the more prepared to receive it when it arrives.
-Ere our lovers reached No. 9 he had called her by her Christian name,
-and "Rachel" had promised to think of it. As she closed the
-"area-gate" Gingham had given her heart away to a scamp. True, she was
-oldish, uglyish, wore brown thread gloves, and had a yellow skin; yet
-for all this she had a woman's heart, and, like a very woman, gave it
-away to Tom Blacke without a return.
-
-In good time General Bounce arrived, and took the command from Frank
-Hardingstone, with many gracious acknowledgments of his kindness. The
-General was a man of far too great importance to be introduced at the
-conclusion of a chapter. It is sufficient to say, that with military
-promptitude and decision (which generally means a disagreeable and
-abrupt method of doing a simple thing) he set the household in order,
-arranged the sad ceremony, over which he presided with proper gravity,
-packed Cousin Charlie off to his private tutor's, paid the servants
-their wages, and settled the departure of himself and niece for his
-own residence.
-
-Do we think ourselves of account in this our world?--do we think we
-shall be so missed and so regretted? Drop a stone into a pool, there
-is a momentary splash, a bubble on the surface, and circle after
-circle spreads, and widens and weakens, till all is still and smooth
-as though the water had never been disturbed; so it is with death.
-There is a funeral and crape and weeping, and "callings to inquire,"
-then the intelligence gets abroad amongst mere acquaintances and utter
-strangers, a line in the _Times_ proclaims our decease to the world.
-Ere it has reached the colonies we are well-nigh forgotten at home.
-
-Mrs. Kettering was at rest in her grave; the General was full of his
-arrangements and his responsibilities; Charlie was back amongst his
-mathematics and his cricket and his Greek and Latin; the servants were
-looking out for fresh places; and the life that had disappeared from
-the surface was forgotten by all. By all save one; for still Blanche
-was gazing on the waters and mourning for her mother.
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER V
-
-UNCLE BALDWIN
-
-     NEWTON-HOLLOWS AND ITS GROUNDS--BACHELORS' BILLETS--THE HEIRESS
-     AND HER COMPANION--GENERAL BOUNCE--A GENTLEMAN FARMER--THE
-     LADIES' CLUB--A WOMAN'S IDEAL
-
-
-In an unpretending corner of the "Guyville Guide and Midland Counties'
-Directory" a few lines are devoted to inform the tourist that
-"Newton-Hollows, post-town Guyville, in the Hundred of Cow-capers, is
-the seat of Major-General Bounce, etc., etc., etc. The lover of the
-picturesque obtains, from the neighbourhood of this mansion, a
-magnificent view, comprising no less than seventeen churches, a vast
-expanse of wood and meadow-land, the distant spires of Bubbleton, and
-the imposing outline of the famous Castle Guy." Doubtless all these
-beauties might have been conspicuous had the adventurous tourist
-chosen to climb one of the lofty elms with which the house was
-surrounded; but from the altitude of his own stature he was obliged to
-content himself with a far less extensive landscape, seeing that the
-country was closely wooded, and as flat as his hand. But
-Newton-Hollows was one of those sweet little places, self-contained
-and compact, that require no distant views, no shaggy scenery, no
-"rough heath and rugged wood," to enhance their charm. Magnificent old
-timber, "the oak and the ash, and the bonny ivy tree," to say nothing
-of elms and chestnuts, dotted the meadows and pastures in which the
-mansion was snugly ensconced. People driving up, or rather along, the
-level approach, were at a loss to make out where the farms ended and
-the park began. Well-kept lawns, that looked as if they were fresh
-mown every morning, swept up to the drawing-room windows, opening to
-the ground; not a leaf was strewn on sward or gravel; not a weed, nor
-even a daisy, permitted to show its modest head above the surface; and
-as for a rake, roller, or a gardener's hat being left in a place where
-such instruments have no business, why, the General would have
-made the unfortunate delinquent eat it--rake, roller, or
-"wide-a-awake"--and discharged him besides on the spot. No wonder the
-flower-garden adjoining the conservatory, which again opened into the
-drawing-room, looked so trim and well-kept: "Master's" hobby was a
-garden, and, though utterly ignorant of the names, natures, and
-treatment of plants, he liked to see every variety in his possession,
-and spared no expense on their cultivation; and so a head gardener and
-five subalterns carried off all the prizes at the Bubbleton and
-Guyville horticulturals; and the General complained that he could
-never get a nosegay for his table, nor a bit of fruit for his dessert
-fit to eat. Yet were there worse "billets" in this working world than
-Newton-Hollows. The Bubbleton "swells" and county dignitaries found it
-often "suit their hunting arrangements" to go, over-night, and dine
-with "old Bounce." He would always "put up a hack for you," than which
-no effort of hospitality makes a man more deservedly popular in a
-hunting country; and his dinners, his Indian dishes, his hot pickles,
-his dry champagne, his wonderful claret ("not a headache in a
-hogshead, sir," the General would say, with a frown of defiance), were
-all in keeping with the snug, comfortable appearance of his dwelling,
-and the luxurious style which men who have served long in the army,
-and often been obliged to "rough it," know so well how to enjoy. Then
-there was no pretension about the thing whatever. The house, though it
-ranged over a considerable extent of ground, particularly towards the
-offices, was only two storeys high--"a mere cottage," its owner called
-it; but a cottage in which the apartments were all roomy and
-well-proportioned, in which enough "married couples could be put up"
-to furnish a very good-sized dinner-table, and the bachelors (we like
-to put in a word for our fellow-sufferers) were as comfortably
-accommodated as their more fortunate associates, who travelled with
-wives, imperials, cap-boxes, and ladies'-maids.
-
-It is a bad plan to accustom unmarried gentlemen to think they can do
-without their comforts; it makes them hardy and independent, and
-altogether averse to the coddling and care and confinement with which
-they expect to find matrimony abound. As we go through the world, in
-our desolate celibacy, we see the net spread in sight of many a bird,
-and we generally remark, that the meshes which most surely entangle
-the game are those of self-indulgence and self-applause. You _must_
-gild the wires, and pop a lump of sugar between them too, if you would
-have the captive flutter willingly into the cage. When young Coelebs
-comes home from hunting or shooting, and has to divest himself of his
-clammy leathers or dirt-encumbered gaiters in a room without a fire
-and with a cracked pane in the window, he takes no pleasure in his
-adornment, but hurries over his toilet, or perhaps begins to smoke.
-This should be avoided: we have known a quiet cigar do away with the
-whole effect of a bran-new pink bonnet. But if, on the contrary, he
-finds a warm, luxurious room, plenty of hot water, wax candles on the
-dressing-table, and a becoming looking-glass, the quarry lingers over
-the tie of its neckcloth with a pleasing conviction that that is not
-half a bad-looking fellow grinning opposite, and moreover that there
-is a "deuced _lovable_ girl" down-stairs, who seems to be of the same
-opinion. So the thing works: vows are exchanged, _trousseaux_ got
-ready, settlements drawn out, the lawyers thrive, and fools are
-multiplied. Had Newton-Hollows belonged to a designing matron, instead
-of an unmarried general officer, it might have become a perfect mart
-for the exchanges of beauty and valour. Hunting men are pretty usually
-a marrying race; whether it be from daily habits of recklessness, a
-bold disregard of the adage which advises "to look before you leap,"
-or a general thick-headedness and want of circumspection, the
-red-coated Nimrod falls an easy prey to any fair enslaver who may
-think him worth the trouble of subjection; and for one alliance that
-has been negotiated in the stifling atmosphere of a London ball-room,
-twenty owe their existence to the fresh breezes, the haphazard
-events, and surrounding excitement of the hunting-field.
-
-General Bounce's guests, as was natural in the country where he
-resided, were mostly men like mad Tom,
-
-          "Whose chiefest care
-    Was horse to ride and weapon wear;"
-
-nor, like him, would they have objected to place gloves in their caps
-or carry any other favours which might demonstrate their own powers of
-fascination, and their rank in the good graces of the heiress. Yes,
-there was an heiress now at Newton-Hollows. Popular as had always been
-the General's hospitality, he was now besieged with hints, and
-advances, and innuendoes, having for their object an invitation to his
-house. What a choice of scamps might he have had, all ready and
-willing to marry his niece--all anxious, if possible, to obtain even a
-peep "of that little Miss Kettering, not yet out of the school-room,
-who is to have ever so many hundred thousand pounds, and over whom old
-Bounce keeps watch and ward like a fiery dragon."
-
-But the passing years have little altered Blanche's sweet and simple
-character, though they have rounded her figure and added to her
-beauty. She is to "come out" next spring, and already the world is
-talking of her charms and her expectations. A pretty picture is so
-much prettier in a gilt frame, and she will probably begin life with
-the ball at her foot; yet is there the same soft, artless expression
-in her countenance that it wore at St. Swithin's ere her mother's
-death--the same _essence_ of beauty, independent of colouring and
-features, which may be traced in really charming people from the
-cradle to the grave, which made Blanche a willing child, is now
-enhancing the loveliness of her womanhood, and will probably leave her
-a very pleasant-looking old lady.
-
-"And Charlie comes home to-morrow," says Blanche, tripping along the
-gravel walk that winds through those well-kept shrubberies. "I wonder
-if he's at all the sort of person you fancy, and whether you will
-think him as perfect as I do?"
-
-"Probably not, my dear," replied her companion, whose stately gait
-contrasted amusingly with Blanche's light and playful gestures.
-"People seldom come up to one's ideas of them; and I am sure it is not
-your fault if I do not expect to meet a perfect hero of romance in
-your cousin." We ought to know those low thrilling tones; we ought to
-recognise the majestic figure--the dark sweeping dress--the braided
-hair and classical features of that pale, serious face. Mary Delaval
-is still the handsome governess; and Blanche would rather part with
-her beauty or her bullfinch, or any of her most prized earthly
-possessions, than that dear duenna, who, having finished her
-education, is now residing with her in the dubious capacity of part
-chaperon, part teacher, and part friend.
-
-"Well, dear, he _is_ a hero," replied Blanche, who always warmed on
-_that_ subject. "Let me see which of my heroes he's most like: Prince
-Rupert--only he's younger and better-looking" (Blanche, though a
-staunch little cavalier, could not help associating mature age and
-gravity with the flowing wigs in which most of her favourites of that
-period were depicted); "Claverhouse, only not so cruel,--he _is_ like
-Claverhouse in the face, I think, Mrs. Delaval; or 'bonnie Prince
-Charlie'; or Ivanhoe,--yes, Ivanhoe, that's the one; he's as brave and
-as gentle; and Mr. Hardingstone, whose life he saved, you know, says
-he rides most beautifully, and will make a capital officer."
-
-"And which of the heroes is Mr. Hardingstone, Blanche?" said her
-friend, in her usual measured tones. Blanche blushed.
-
-"Oh, I can't understand Mr. Hardingstone," said she; "I think he's
-odd-_ish_, and quite unlike other people; then he looks through one
-so. Mrs. Delaval, I think it's quite rude to stare at people as if you
-thought they were not telling the truth. But he's good-looking, too,"
-added the young lady, reflectively; "only not to be compared with
-Charlie."
-
-"Of course not," rejoined her friend; "but it is fortunate that
-we are to enjoy the society of this Paladin till he joins his
-regiment--Lancers, are they not? Well, we must hope, Blanche, to use
-the language of your favourites of the middle ages, that he may prove
-a lamb among ladies, as he is doubtless a lion among lancers."
-
-"Dear Charlie! how he will enjoy his winter. He is so fond of hunting;
-and he is to have Hyacinth, and Haphazard, and Mayfly to ride for his
-own--so kind of Uncle Baldwin; but I must be off to put some flowers
-in his room," quoth Blanche, skipping along the walk as young ladies
-will, when unobserved by masculine eyes; "he may arrive at any moment,
-he's such an uncertain boy."
-
-"Zounds! you've broke it, you fiddle-headed brute!" exclaimed a
-choleric voice from the further side of a thick laurel hedge,
-startling the ladies most unceremoniously, and preparing them for the
-spectacle of a sturdy black cob trotting rebelliously down the farm
-road, with a fragment of his bridle dangling from his head, the
-remaining portion being firmly secured to a gate-post, at which the
-self-willed animal had been tied up in vain. Another instant brought
-the owner of the voice and late master of the cob into the presence of
-Mrs. Delaval and his niece. It was no less a person than General
-Bounce.
-
-"Uncle Baldwin, Uncle Baldwin," exclaimed Blanche, who turned him
-round her finger as she did the rest of the establishment, "where have
-you been all day? You promised to drive me out--you know you did, you
-wicked, hard-hearted man."
-
-"Been, my dear?" replied the General, in a tone of softness
-contrasting strangely with the flushed and vehement bearing of his
-outward man; "at that--(no, I will _not_ swear)--at that doubly
-accursed farm. Would you believe the infernal stupidity of the
-people--(excuse me, Mrs. Delaval)--men with heads on their shoulders,
-and hair, and front teeth like other people--and they've sent the
-black bull to Bubbleton without winkers--without winkers, as I live by
-bread; but I won't be answerable for the consequences,--no, I won't
-make good any damages originating in such carelessness; no, not if
-there's law in England or justice under heaven! But, my sweet
-Blanche," added the General, in a tone of amiable piano, the more
-remarkable for the forte of his previous observations, "I'll go and
-get ready this instant, my darling; you shan't be disappointed; I'll
-order the pony-carriage forthwith. Holloa! you, sir; only let me catch
-you--only let me catch you, that's all; I'll trounce you as sure as my
-name's Bounce!" and the General, without waiting for any further
-explanation, darted off in pursuit of an idle village boy, whom he
-espied in the very act, _flagrante delicto_, of trespassing on a
-pathway which the lord of the manor had been several years vainly
-endeavouring to shut up.
-
-General Bounce was such a medley as can only be produced by the action
-of a tropical sun on a vigorous, sanguine Anglo-Saxon temperament.
-Specimens are becoming scarcer every day. They are seldom to be met
-with in our conventional and well-behaved country, though here and
-there, flitting about a certain club celebrated for its curries, they
-may be discovered even in the heart of the metropolis. On board
-transports, men-of-war, mail-steamers, and such-like government
-conveyances, they are more at home; in former days they were
-occasionally visible inside our long coaches, where they invariably
-made a difficulty about the window; but in the colonies they are to be
-seen in their highest state of cultivation; as a general rule, the
-hotter the climate, the more perfect the specimen.
-
-Our friend the General was a very phoenix of his kind. In person he
-was short, stout, square, and active, with black twinkling eyes and a
-round, clean-shaved face--small-featured and good-humoured-looking,
-but choleric withal. His naturally florid complexion had been baked
-into a deep red-brown by his Indian campaigns. If Pythagoras was right
-in his doctrine concerning the transmigration of souls, the General's
-must have previously inhabited the person of a sturdy, snappish
-black-and-tan terrier. In manner he was alternately marvellously
-winning and startlingly abrupt, the transition being instantaneous;
-whilst in character he was decided, energetic, and impracticable,
-though both rash and obstinate, with an irritable temper and an
-affectionate heart. He had seen service in India, and by his own
-account had not only experienced sundry hair-breadth 'scapes bordering
-on the romantic, but likewise witnessed such strange sights and
-vagaries as fall to the lot of few, save those whose bodily vision is
-assisted by that imaginative faculty denominated "the mind's eye."
-
-The General was a great disciplinarian, and piqued himself much upon
-the order in which he kept the females of his establishment, Blanche
-especially, whose lightest word, by the way, was his law. Indeed, like
-many old bachelors, he entertained a reverence almost superstitious
-for the opposite sex, and a few tears shed at the right moment would
-always bear the delinquent harmless, whatever the misdemeanour for
-which she was taken to task. The men, indeed, found him more
-troublesome to deal with, and the newly-arrived were somewhat alarmed
-at his violent language and impetuous demeanour; but the older
-servants always "took the bull by the horns" fearlessly and at once,
-nor in the end did they ever fail to get their own way with a master
-who, to use their peculiar language, "was easily upset, though he soon
-came round again." What made the General an infinitely less
-disagreeable man in society than he otherwise would have been, was the
-fact of his having a farm, which farm served him as a safety-valve to
-carry off all the irritation that could not but accumulate in an easy,
-uneventful life, destitute of real grievances as of the stirring,
-active scenes to which he had been accustomed in his earlier days. If
-a gentleman finds it indispensable to his health that he should be
-continually in hot water--that he should always have something to
-grumble at, something to disappoint him, let him take to farming--his
-own land or another's, it is immaterial which; but let him "occupy,"
-as it is called, a certain number of acres--and we will warrant him as
-much "worry" and "annoyance" as the most "tonic"-craving disposition
-can desire. Let us accompany our retired warrior to his farm-yard,
-whither, after an ineffectual chase, he at length followed his black
-pony, forgetful of Blanche and the drive, on which, in the now
-shortening daylight, it was already too late to embark.
-
-In the first place, the bull was come back--he had been to Bubbleton
-_minus_ his winkers, but no one in that salubrious town caring to
-purchase a bull, he had returned to his indigenous pastures and his
-disgusted owner--therefore must the bailiff hazard an excuse and a
-consolation, in which the words "poor," and "stock," and the "fair on
-the fifteenth," are but oil to the flame.
-
-"Fair! he'll be as thin as a whipping-post in a week--if anybody bids
-five shillings for him at the fair, I'll eat him, horns and all! What
-weight are those sheep?" adds the General, abruptly turning to another
-subject, and somewhat confusing his deliberate overseer by the
-suddenness of the inquiry. "Now those turnips are not fit for sheep! I
-tell you they ought to be three times the size. Zounds, man, _will_
-you grow larger turnips? And have I not countermanded those infernal
-iron hurdles a hundred times? a thousand times!! a hundred thousand
-times!!! Give _me_ the pail, you lop-eared buffoon--do you call _that_
-the way to feed a pig?" and the General, seizing the bucket from an
-astonished chaw-bacon, who stood aghast, as if he thought his master
-was mad, managed to spill the greater part of the contents over his
-own person and gaiters, rendering a return home absolutely
-indispensable. He stumped off accordingly, giving a parting direction
-to some of his myrmidons to catch the black cob, in as mild a tone and
-with as good-humoured a countenance as if he had been in this heavenly
-frame of mind the whole afternoon.
-
-Now the General, when he first began to live alone, and to miss the
-constant interchange of ideas which a military life encourages, had
-acquired a habit of discoursing to himself on such subjects as were
-most interesting to him at the time; so as he toddled merrily along,
-much relieved by the bucolic blow-up, and admired his sturdy legs and
-swung his short arms, all the way up the long gravel-walk towards the
-house, his thoughts framed themselves into a string of disjointed
-sentences, now muttered scarcely above a whisper, now spoken boldly
-out in an audible tone, which would have led a stranger to suppose he
-was carrying on a conversation with some one on the other side of the
-screening Portugal laurels. "Thick-headed fellows, these
-bumpkins," soliloquised the General, "not like my old friends at
-Fool-a-pore--could make them skip about to some purpose: there's
-nothing like a big stick for a nigger--never mind. I'm young enough to
-begin again--man of iron--what an arm! what a leg! might have married
-a dozen peeresses, and beauties by hundreds--didn't though. Now,
-there's Blanche; I shall have fifty fellows all after her before
-Christmas--sharp dogs if they think they can weather old
-Bounce--Rummagee Bang couldn't. By the by, I haven't told Mrs. Delaval
-that story yet--clever woman, and good judgment--admires my character,
-I'll bet a million--an officer's daughter, too, and what a magnificent
-figure she has--Bounce, you're an old fool! As for Charlie, he shall
-stay here all the winter; there's mettle in that lad, and if I can't
-lick him into shape I'm a Dutchman. He'll show 'em the way with the
-hounds, and I'll put him up to a thing or two, the young scamp.
-Snaffles! Snaffles!!" roared the General, as he concluded his
-monologue, and passed the stables on his way to the house, "don't take
-any of the horses out to-morrow till you get your orders. Do you
-_hear_ me? man alive!" And by this time, having reached home, he
-stumped off to dress for dinner, keeping up a running fire along the
-passages, as he discovered here a hearth-broom, and there a
-coal-scuttle, ready for him to break his shins over, and observed the
-usual plate and tea-cup standing sentry at each of the ladies' doors.
-
-We may be sure that not the least comfortable of the rooms at
-Newton-Hollows was especially appropriated as Blanche's own, and that
-young lady was now sitting opposite a glass that reflected a smiling
-face, enduring with patience and resignation the ceremony of having
-"her hair done." A French maid, named "Rosine," a very pretty
-substitute for bilious-looking Gingham, was working away at the
-ivory-handled brushes, and occasionally letting fall a thick glossy
-ringlet athwart the snow-white cape in which the process of adornment
-was submitted to, whilst Mary Delaval, buried in an arm-chair drawn
-close to the blazing fire, and enveloped in a dressing-gown, with an
-open book in her hand, was quietly listening to Blanche's remarks on
-things in general, and her own self and prospects in particular.
-
-That hour before dinner is the period chosen by women for their most
-confidential intercourse, and the enjoyment of what they call "a cozy
-chat." When Damon, in the small hours, smokes a cigar with Pythias,
-more especially if such an indulgence be treason against the rules of
-the house, he opens his heart to his fellow-trespasser, in a manner of
-which, next morning, he has but a faint recollection. He confides to
-him his differences with "the governor," his financial embarrassments,
-the unsoundness of his horses and his heart, the latter possession
-much damaged by certain blue eyes in the neighbourhood; he details to
-him the general scandal with which he is conversant, and binding him
-by promises of eternal secrecy, proceeds deliberately to demolish the
-fair fame of maid and matron who enjoy the advantage of his
-acquaintance; finally, he throws his cigar-end beneath the grate and
-betakes him "to perch," as he calls it, with an infatuated persuasion
-that the confidences which he has broken, will be respected by his
-listener, and that his debts, his difficulties, his peccadilloes, and
-the lameness of his bay mare, will not form the subject of
-conversation to-morrow night, when he, Damon, has gone back to London,
-and Pythias takes out his case to smoke a cigar with Dionysius. But
-the ladies by this time are fast asleep, dreaming, bless them, as it
-shall please Queen Mab--they must not wither their roses by sitting up
-too late, and though tolerant of smoking sometimes, they do not
-practise that abomination themselves, so tea-time is _their_ hour of
-gossip, and heartily they enjoy the refreshment, both of mind and
-body, ere they come down demure and charming, in low evening dresses,
-with little or no appetite for dinner.
-
-"Never mind Rosine," said Blanche, as that attendant concluded an
-elaborate plait by the insertion of an enormous hair-pin; "she can't
-speak a word of English. I agree with you that it is very charming to
-be an heiress, and I shall enjoy 'coming out,' and doing what I like;
-but I wish, too, sometimes, that I were a man; I feel so restrained,
-so useless, so incapable of doing any good. Mrs. Delaval, I think
-women are shamefully kept back; why shouldn't we have professions and
-employments? not that I should like to be a soldier or a sailor,
-because I am not brave, but I do feel as if I was fit for something
-greater than tying up flowers or puzzling through worsted work."
-
-"There was a time when I, too, thought the same," replied Mary, "but
-depend upon it, my dear, that you may do an infinity of good in the
-station which is assigned you. I used to fancy it would be so noble to
-be a man, and to do something grand, and heroic, and disinterested;
-but look at half the men we see, Blanche, and tell me if you would
-like to change places with one of them. Caring only for their dress,
-their horses, and their dinners, they will tell you themselves, and
-think they are philosophers for saying so, 'that they are easy,
-good-tempered fellows, and if they can only get enough to eat, and
-lots of good hunting and good claret, they are perfectly satisfied.'
-Indeed, my dear, I think we have the best of it; we are more resigned,
-more patient, more contented; we have more to bear, and we bear it
-better--more to detach us from this world, and to wean us from being
-entirely devoted to ourselves. No, I had rather be a woman, with all
-her imperfections, than one of those lords of the creation, such as we
-generally find them."
-
-"But still there are great men, Mrs. Delaval, even in these days. Do
-you think they are all selfish and egotistical, and care only for
-indulgences?"
-
-"Heaven forbid, my dear; I only argue from the generality. My idea of
-man," said Mary, kindling as she went on in her description, "is that
-he should be brave, generous, and unselfish; stored with learning,
-which he uses not for display, but for a purpose; careless of vanity
-and frivolous distinction; reliant on himself and his own high
-motives; deep and penetrating in his mental powers, with a lofty view
-of the objects of existence, and the purposes for which we are here.
-What does it signify whether such a one is good-looking in person or
-taking in manner? But as I am describing a hero, I will say his frame
-should be robust and his habits simple, to harmonise with the vigour
-of his intellect and the singleness of his character."
-
-"You have described Mr. Hardingstone exactly," exclaimed Blanche, with
-rising colour, and a feeling not quite of pleasure at her heart. Yet
-what signified it to her that Mary Delaval's Quixotic idea of a
-pattern man should typify so precisely her old friend Frank? Mary had
-never seen him; and even if she had, what was that to Blanche? Yet
-somehow she had taught herself from childhood to consider him her own
-property; probably because he was such a friend of Charlie; and she
-was a thorough woman--though she fancied she ought to have been born a
-hero--and consequently very jealous of her rights, real or imaginary.
-Silly Blanche! there was a sort of excitement, too, in talking about
-him, so she went on--"He is all that you have said, and people call
-him very good-looking besides, though I don't think him so;" and
-Blanche coloured as she spoke, and told Rosine not to pull her hair so
-hard.
-
-"Well, my dear," said Mary, "then I should like to know him. But never
-mind the gentlemen, Blanche; there will be half-a-dozen here to dinner
-to-day. To return to yourself--you have a bright career before you,
-but never think it is traced out only for your own enjoyment. As a
-girl, you may in your position be an example to your equals, and a
-blessing to your dependents--think what a deal of good you can do even
-about a place like this; and then, should you marry, your influence
-may be the means of leading your husband and family into the right
-way. I have had a good deal of trouble, as you know, but I have always
-tried to remember, that to bear it patiently, and to do the best I
-could in my own path without repining, was to fulfil my destiny as
-nobly as if I had been a dethroned queen, or a world-famous heroine.
-No, my dear, this world is not a place only for dancing, and driving,
-and flirting, and dressing.--Good gracious! there's the dinner-bell!
-and my hair not 'done' yet." And away Mary rushed in the midst of her
-lecture, to complete those arrangements which brought her out, some
-ten minutes afterwards, the handsomest woman within fifty miles of
-Guyville.
-
-Notwithstanding the lofty aspirations of these ladies, their contempt
-for the approbation of the other sex, and the short time they allowed
-themselves for adornment, two more tasteful and perfectly-finished
-toilettes have been seldom accomplished than those which at the
-well-lighted dinner-table enhanced the attractions of the pretty
-heiress and her handsome governess.
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER VI
-
-THE BLIND BOY
-
-     THE GRUB BECOMES A BUTTERFLY--FAREWELL AND HOW D'YE DO--NOT
-     WHAT WAS EXPECTED--THE GENERAL'S HOBBY--BLANCHE'S
-     BIRTHDAY--FAMILY ARRANGEMENTS--"GIVE YOU JOY"--A COUNTRY
-     DINNER-PARTY--TURNING THE TABLES--"THE COQUETTE"
-
-
-Meanwhile the eventful Friday has arrived which has promoted "Cousin
-Charlie" to the rank of manhood. The _Gazette_ of that day has
-announced the appointment of "Charles Kettering, Gentleman, to be
-Cornet in the 20th Lancers, vice Slack, who retires," and the young
-one, who has been cultivating the down on his upper lip for months, in
-anticipation of this triumph, turns up those ends, of which there is
-scarcely enough to take hold, and revels in the consciousness that he
-is a boy no longer, but an officer, a cavalry officer, and a
-gentleman. Old Nobottle, whom the pupil has attached to himself as an
-imaginative boy often does a sober old gentleman, is of the same mind,
-and has confided to Mr. Hardingstone his opinion of Charlie, and the
-bright deeds he expects from him. "The lad has all the makings of a
-soldier, sir," said the clergyman; "the cheerful spirits, the gallant
-bearing, the love of action, and the chivalrous vanity--half
-courageous, half coxcombical--which form the military character; and
-if he has a chance, he will distinguish himself. _If_ he has a chance,
-do I say? he'll make himself a chance, sir; the boy is cut out for a
-recruit, and he'll learn his drill and know his men, and keep his
-troop-accounts smarter than any of 'em." Nobottle was waxing
-enthusiastic, as the old recollections stole over him, and he saw, in
-fancy, a certain young artillery officer, gay amongst the gayest, and
-brave amongst the bravest, consulted by his seniors for his science
-and professional knowledge, and thanked in general orders for "his
-distinguished gallantry" in more than one decisive action. How
-different from the slouching, slovenly old man, in yesterday's white
-neckcloth, who may now be seen budding his roses, poking about his
-parish, and stuffing stupid young gentlemen with as much learning as
-shall enable them to pass their dreaded examinations. Poor old
-Nobottle, you _would_ marry for love, you _would_ sacrifice your
-profession and your commission, your prospects and your all, for the
-red-nosed lady, then, to do her justice, a very pretty girl, who now
-occupies the top of your table. Like Antony, you were "all for love
-and the world well lost," and, after a time, you found that the
-exchange was against you: what you took for gold turned out to be
-dross,--that which was honey in the mouth became bitter as gall in the
-digestion; in short, you discovered Mrs. N. was a failure, and that
-you did not care two pins for each other. Then came poverty and
-recrimination and the gnawing remorse of chances thrown away, that
-could not possibly recur again. Fortunately for you, a classical
-education and Church interest enabled you to take orders and get a
-living, so you work on, contentedly enough, now that your sensations
-are deadened and yourself half torpid; and although, when your better
-feelings obtain the mastery, you cannot but acknowledge the
-superiority of the present warfare in which you are engaged over that
-in which you spent your gaudy youth, yet, ever and anon, that foolish
-old heart still pines for the marshalling of men and the tramp of
-steeds, "the plumed troop and the big wars, that make ambition
-virtue."
-
-Hardingstone breakfasted at the rectory on the morning of Charlie's
-departure; he was to drive him to the station, and our young friend
-must indubitably have been late for the train, had he not been
-rescued, by a man of decision, from the prolonged farewells of the
-inconsolables he left behind. Binks, the butler, was overwhelmed by
-sorrow and strong beer; Tim, the tea-boy, who had never before seen a
-half-sovereign, sobbed aloud; the maids, on whom Charlie's good looks
-had made an impression proportionable to the softness of each
-damsel's heart, laughed and wept by turns; whilst Mrs. Nobottle,
-generally a lady of austere and inflexible disposition, weakened the
-very tea which she was pouring out for breakfast with her tears, and,
-finally, embraced Charlie with hysterical affection, and a nose redder
-than ever. The good rector took him aside into his study, and blessed
-him as a father blesses a son. "You have never given me a moment's
-uneasiness, my dear boy, since you came here," said the old man, with
-a trembling voice; "you have been a credit to me as a pupil, and a
-comfort as a friend; and now, perhaps, I shall never see you again.
-But you won't forget your old pedagogue, and if ever you are in
-difficulties, if ever you are in distress, remember there is a home
-here to which you may always apply for advice and assistance. God be
-with you, my boy, in the temptations of a barrack, as, if it should be
-your lot, in the perilous excitement of a battle. Do your duty
-wherever you are, and think, sometimes, of old Nobottle."
-
-Why was it Charlie's cigar would _not_ light, as he was borne away on
-the wheels of Frank Hardingstone's dog-cart? The tinder was quite
-wet, though there was not a drop of rain in the sky, and he turned
-away his head from his companion, and bent sedulously over the
-refractory tobacco. Could it be that Charlie was crying? 'Tis not
-improbable. Despite his recently-acquired manhood, he had a soft,
-affectionate heart, and if it now gave way, and came unbidden to his
-eyes, Frank liked him all the better for it.
-
-And as he was whirled along on the London and North-Western, how the
-young soldier's thoughts ran riot in the future. Would he have changed
-places with any dignitary in the world, monarch, prince, or peer, or
-even with the heretofore much-admired Frank Hardingstone? Not he. None
-of these held a commission in the 20th Lancers; and were to be pitied,
-if not despised, accordingly. What a lot was his! Two months' leave at
-least, and at his time of life two months is an age, to be spent in
-the gaieties of Newton-Hollows, and the attenuation of Haphazard,
-Hyacinth, and Mayfly, the mettle of which very excellent steeds Master
-Charlie had fully resolved to prove. All the delights of Bubbleton
-and the county gaieties, with the companionship of Blanche, that more
-than sister, without whom, from his earliest boyhood, no enjoyment
-could be half enjoyed. And then the flattering pride she would feel in
-her officer-cousin (Charlie felt for his moustaches so perseveringly,
-that a short-sighted fellow-traveller thought he had a sore lip), and
-the request he should be in amongst the young ladies of the
-neighbourhood, with a romantic conviction that love was not for him,
-that "the sword was the soldier's bride," etc. Then the dreamer looked
-forward into the vistas of the future; the parade, the bivouac, and
-the charge; night-watches in a savage country--for the 20th were even
-then in Kaffirland--the trumpet alarum, the pawing troop-horses, the
-death-shock and the glittering blade; a certain cornet hurraing in the
-van, the admiration of brother officers, and the veteran colonel's
-applause; a _Gazette_ promotion and honourable mention in dispatches;
-Uncle Baldwin's uproarious glee at home; and Blanche's quiet smile.
-Who would not be a boy again? Yet not with the stipulation we hear so
-often urged, of knowing as much as we do now. That knowledge would
-destroy it all. No, let us have boyhood once more, with its vigorous
-credulity and its impossible romance, with that glorious ignorance
-which turns everything to gold, that sanguine temperament which sheds
-its rosy hues even over the bleak landscape of future old age. "Poor
-lad! how green he is," says worldly experience, with a sneer of
-affected pity at those raptures it would give its very existence to
-feel again. "Happy fellow; he's a boy still!" says good-natured
-philosophy with a smile, half saddened at the thoughts of the coming
-clouds, which shall too surely darken that sunny horizon. But each has
-been through the crucible, each recognises that sparkle of the virgin
-gold which shall never again appear on the dead surface of the metal,
-beaten and stamped and fabricated into a mere conventional coin. The
-train whizzes on, the early evening sets in, tired post-horses grope
-their way up the dark avenue, wheels are heard grinding round the
-gravel sweep before the house, and the expected guest arrives at
-Newton-Hallows.
-
-"Goodness! Charlie, how you _have_ been smoking," exclaims Blanche,
-after their first affectionate greeting, while she shrinks a little
-from the cousinly embrace somewhat redolent of tobacco; "and how
-you're grown, dear--I suppose you don't like to be told you are grown
-now--and moustaches, I declare," she adds, bursting out laughing, as
-she catches Charlie's budding honours _en profil_; "'pon my word
-they're a great improvement." Charlie winced a little. There is always
-a degree of awkwardness even amongst the nearest and dearest, when
-people meet after a long absence, and the less artificial the
-character, the more it betrays itself; but Blanche was in great
-spirits and rattled on, till the General made his appearance, bustling
-in perfectly radiant with hospitality.
-
-"Glad to see ye, my lad--glad to see ye; have been expecting ye this
-half-hour--trains always late--and always _will_ be till they hang a
-director--I've hanged many a man for less, myself, 'up the country.'
-Fact, Blanche, I assure you. You'll have lots of time to dress," he
-observed, glancing at the clock's white face shining in the
-fire-light--and adding, with a playful dig of his fingers into
-Charlie's lean ribs, "We dine in half-an-hour, _temps militaire_, you
-dog! We must teach you that punctuality and good commissariat are the
-two first essentials for a soldier." So the General rang a peal for
-hand candles that might have brought a house down.
-
-And Charlie was well acquainted with all the inmates of Newton-Hollows
-save Mrs. Delaval. Of her he had often heard Blanche speak as the most
-delightful of companions, and indulgent of governesses, but he had
-never set eyes on her in person; so as he effected his tie before the
-glass, and drew his fingers over those precious moustaches to discover
-if change of air had already influenced their growth, he began to
-speculate on the character and appearance of the lady who was to
-complete their family party. "A middle-aged woman," thought
-Charlie--for Blanche, on whom some ten years of seniority made a great
-impression, had always described her as such--"forty, or
-thereabouts--stout, jolly-looking and good-humoured, I'll be bound--I
-know I shall like her--wears a cap, I've no doubt, and a front, too,
-most probably--sits very upright, and talks like a book, till one
-knows her well--spectacles, I shouldn't wonder (it's no use making
-much of a tie for _her_)--pats Blanche on the shoulder when she gives
-her precedence, and keeps her hands in black lace mittens, I'll bet a
-hundred!" With which mental wager Master Charlie blew his candles out,
-and swaggered down-stairs, feeling in his light evening costume, as
-indeed he looked, well-made, well-dressed, and extremely like a
-gentleman.
-
-Mischievous Blanche was enchanted at the obvious start of astonishment
-with which her introduction was received by her cousin--"Mr.
-Kettering, Mrs. Delaval." Charlie looked positively dismayed. Was this
-the comfortable, round-about, good-humoured body he had expected to
-see?--was that tall, stately figure, dressed in the most perfect
-taste, with an air of more than high-breeding, almost of command, such
-as duchesses may be much admired without possessing--was that the
-dowdy middle-aged governess?--were those long, deep-set eyes, the orbs
-that should have glared at him through spectacles, and would black
-lace mittens have been an improvement on those white taper hands,
-beautiful in their perfect symmetry without a single ornament? Charlie
-bowed low to conceal the blush that overspread his countenance. The
-boy was completely taken aback, and, when he led her in to dinner, and
-heard those thrilling tones murmuring in his ear, the spell, we may be
-sure, lost none of its power. "She is beautiful," thought Charlie,
-"and nearly as tall as I am;" and he was pleased to recollect that
-Blanche had thought him grown. Ladies, we opine, are not so
-impressionable as men--at least they do not allow themselves to appear
-so. Either they are more cautious in their judgments, which we have
-heard denied by those who plume themselves on knowledge of the sex, or
-their hypocrisy is more perfect; certainly a young lady's education is
-based upon principles of the most frigid reserve, and her decorous
-bearing, we believe, is never laid aside, even in tea-rooms,
-conservatories, shaded walks, and other such resorts, fatal to the
-equanimity of masculine understanding; therefore Mary Delaval did by
-no means lose her presence of mind on being introduced to the young
-gentleman, of whose deeds and sentiments she had heard so much. Woman
-as she was, she could not but be gratified at the evident admiration
-her appearance created in this new acquaintance, and truth to speak,
-"Cousin Charlie" was a youth whose allegiance few female hearts would
-have entirely scorned to possess; yet there was no occasion to tell
-the young gentleman as much to his face.
-
-A very good-looking face it was too, with its wide, intellectual brow,
-round which the brown silky hair waved in such becoming clusters--its
-perfect oval and delicate high-bred features, if they had a fault, too
-girlish in their soft, winning expression--in fact, he was as like
-Blanche as possible; and had his moustaches been shaved, could he
-indeed have submitted to the sacrifice, his stature lowered, and a
-bonnet and shawl put on, he might well have passed for his pretty
-cousin. There was nothing effeminate though about Charlie, save his
-countenance and his smile. That slender, graceful figure was lithe and
-wiry as the panther's--those symmetrical limbs could toil, those
-little feet could walk and run, after a Hercules would have been blown
-and overpowered; and when standing up to his wicket, rousing a horse,
-or putting him at a fence, there was a game sparkle in his eye that,
-to use Frank Hardingstone's expression, "meant mischief." Some of
-these good-looking young gentlemen are "ugly customers" enough when
-their blood is up, and Cousin Charlie, like the rest, had quite as
-much "devil" in his composition as was good for him. The "pretty page"
-only wanted a few years over his head, a little more beard upon his
-lip, to be a perfect Paladin.
-
-But the spell went on working the whole of dinner-time; in vain the
-General told his most wondrous anecdotes, scolded his servants at
-intervals, and pressed his good cheer on the little party--Charlie
-_could_ not get over his astonishment. Mrs. Delaval sat by him,
-looking like a queen, and talked in her own peculiarly winning voice
-and impressive manner, just enough to make him wish for more. She was
-one of those women who, speaking but little, seem always to mean more
-than they say, and on whom conscious mental superiority, and the calm
-subdued air worn by those who have known affliction, confer a certain
-mysterious charm, which makes fearful havoc in a young gentleman's
-heart. There is nothing enslaves a boy so completely as a spice of
-romance. An elderly Strephon will go on his knees to a romping
-schoolgirl, and the more hoydenish and unsophisticated the object, the
-more will the old reprobate adore her; but beardless youth loves to
-own superiority where it worships, loves to invest its idol with the
-fabulous attributes that compose its own ideal; and of all the
-_liaisons_, honourable and otherwise, that have bound their votaries
-in silken fetters, those have been the most fatal, and the most
-invincible, which have dated their existence from an earnest boyish
-heart's first devotion to a woman some years his senior, of whom the
-good-natured world says, "To be sure she _is_ handsome, but Lor'!
-she's old enough to be his mother!"
-
-Not that Charlie was as far gone as this: on the contrary, his was an
-imaginative poetical disposition, easily scorched enough, but almost
-incapable of being thoroughly _done brown_. Of such men, ladies, we
-would warn you to beware; the very temperament that clothes you in all
-the winning attributes of its own ideal can the most easily transfer
-those fancied attractions to a rival, inasmuch as the charm is not so
-much yours as his, exists not in your sweet face, but in his heated
-and inconstant brain. No, the real prize, depend upon it, is a
-sensible, phlegmatic, matter-of-fact gentleman, anything but "wax to
-receive," yet if you can succeed in making an impression, most
-assuredly "marble to retain." Such a captive clings to his affections
-as to his prejudices, and is properly subjected into a tame and
-willing Benedict in half the time it takes to guess at the intentions
-of the faithless rover, offering on a dozen shrines an adoration that,
-however brilliant, is
-
-    "Like light straw on fire,
-    A fierce but fading flame."
-
-Again was Charlie struck, as he swaggered off to open the door for the
-ladies, by the graceful movements of Mary's majestic figure. Again the
-half-bow with which, as she passed out, she acknowledged his courtesy,
-made a pleasing impression on the boy's fancy; and as he lingered for
-a moment, ere he shut out the rustle of their dresses and the pleasant
-tones of the women's voices, and returned to the arm-chair and the
-claret decanter, he could not help hoping "Uncle Baldwin" would be a
-little less profuse than usual in his hospitality, and a little less
-prolix in his narrative.
-
-"The young ones drink no wine at all now-a-days," remarked the
-General, as Charlie a second time passed the bottle untouched, and his
-host filled his glass to the brim. "Fault on the right side, my lad;
-we used to drink too hard formerly--why, bless you, when I encountered
-Tortoise, of the Queen's, at the mess of the Kedjeree Irregulars, we
-sat for seven hours and a half to see one another out, and the two
-black fellows fainted who were 'told off' to bring in claret and pale
-ale as they were wanted. Tortoise recovered himself wonderfully about
-the eighth bottle; and if he hadn't been obliged to be careful on
-account of a wound in his head, we should have been there now. Drunk!
-how d'ye mean? Not the least--fact, I assure you."
-
-Charlie got up and fidgeted about, with his back to the fire, but the
-General would not let him off so easily.
-
-"Show you the farm to-morrow, my boy, you'll be delighted with my
-pigs--Neapolitans every hair of 'em. What? no man alive shall presume
-to tell me they're not the best breed! And I'll tell you what,
-Charlie, I've secured the handsomest short-horned bull in this
-country. Two hundred, you dog!--dirt cheap--and if you're fond of
-stock you'll be charmed with him. Poultry too---real Cochin
-Chinese--got three prizes at the last show; average height two feet
-seven inches--rare beauties. Hens and chickens in knee-breeches, and a
-cock in trunk-hose!" With which conclusion the chuckling old warrior
-permitted Charlie to wheedle him off into the drawing-room, whither
-they entered to find the ladies, as usual, absorbed in worsted work
-and sunk in solemn silence.
-
-Pleasantly the evenings always passed at Newton-Hollows even with a
-small party like the present. Music, cards, cockamaroo, and the
-eternal racing game, of course, which gives gentle woman an insight
-into the two fiercest pleasures of the other sex--horse-racing and
-gambling--and introduces into the drawing-room the slang and confusion
-of the betting-ring and the hazard-table, served to while away the
-time. And though the General was even more diffuse than was his wont
-in personal recollections and autobiography, Blanche scarcely
-listened, so absorbed was she in her delight at having got Cousin
-Charlie back again, whilst that young gentleman and Mary Delaval were
-progressing rapidly in each other's good opinion, and exclaiming, in
-their respective minds, "What an agreeable person! and so _different
-from what I expected_!"
-
-Blanche's birthday was always kept as a period of great rejoicing at
-Newton-Hollows, and a very short time after Charlie's arrival that
-auspicious anniversary was ushered in, as usual, by the General's
-appearance at the breakfast-table bearing a cotton-stuffed white and
-green card-box, highly suggestive of Storr and Mortimer. This was
-quietly placed by the side of Blanche's plate, and when the young lady
-made her appearance, and exclaimed, "Dear, kind Uncle Baldwin, what a
-love of a bracelet!" though we might have envied, we could not have
-grudged the General the grateful kiss bestowed on him by his
-affectionate niece. Uncle Baldwin's mind, however, was intent upon
-weightier matters than jewels and "happy returns." He was to celebrate
-the festival with a dinner-party; and whilst he had invited several of
-the _elite_ of Bubbleton to celebrate his niece's birthday, he was
-anxious so to dispose and welcome his guests as that none should have
-reason to consider himself especially favoured or encouraged in the
-advances which all were too eager to make towards the good graces of
-the heiress; therefore the General held a solemn conclave, as was his
-wont, consisting of himself and Mrs. Delaval, who on such occasions
-was requested, with great pomp, to accompany him to his study, an
-apartment adorned with every description of weapon used in civilised
-or savage warfare, and to take her seat in his own huge arm-chair,
-while he walked up and down the room, and held forth in his usual
-abrupt and discursive manner.
-
-"I have such confidence in your sound sense, Mrs. Delaval," said he,
-looking very insinuating, and pausing for an instant in his short,
-quick strides, "that I always consult you in my difficulties." This
-was said piano, but the forte addition immediately succeeded.
-"Reserving to myself the option of acting, for dictation I cannot
-submit to, even from you, my dear Mrs. Delaval. You are aware, I
-believe, of my intentions regarding Blanche. _Are_ you aware of my
-intentions?" he interrupted himself to demand in a voice of thunder.
-
-Mary, who was used to his manner, answered calmly, "that she was not;"
-and the General proceeded, in a gentle and confidential tone--
-
-"The fact is, my dear madam, I have set my heart on a family
-arrangement, which I mention to you as a personal friend, and a lady
-for whom I entertain the greatest regard."
-
-Mary bowed again, and could hardly suppress a smile at the manner in
-which the old gentleman assured her of his consideration.
-
-"Well, though an unmarried man _as yet_, I am keenly alive to the
-advantages of the married state. I never told you, I think, Mrs.
-Delaval, of an adventure that befell me at Cheltenham--never mind
-now--but, believe me, I am no stranger to those tender feelings, Mrs.
-Delaval, to which we men of the sword--ah, ah--are _infernally_
-addicted. What? Well, ma'am, there's my niece now, they all want to
-marry her. Every scoundrel within fifty miles wants to lead Blanche to
-the altar. Zounds, I'll weather 'em, the villains--excuse me, Mrs.
-Delaval, but to proceed--I am extremely anxious to confide my
-intentions to you, as I hope I may calculate on your assistance. My
-nephew, Charlie, to be explicit, is the----Holloa! you woman, come
-back--come back, I say; you're carrying off the wrong coop. The dolt
-has mistaken my orders about the Cochin Chinas. In the afternoon, if
-you please, Mrs. Delaval, we'll discuss the point more at leisure."
-
-And the General bolted through the study window, and was presently
-heard in violent altercation with the lady who presided over his
-poultry yard.
-
-Though not very explicit, Mary had gathered enough from the General's
-confidences to conclude he was anxious to arrange a marriage
-eventually between the two cousins. Well! what was that to her? He
-certainly was a very taking boy, handsome, gentle, and high-spirited;
-nothing could be nicer for Blanche. And she was so fond of him; what a
-charming couple they would make. "I am so glad," thought Mary,
-wondering when she might congratulate the bride-elect; "so _very_
-glad; dear, how glad I am." Why should Mary have taken such pains to
-assure herself how glad she was? Why did she watch the _charming
-couple_ with an interest she had never felt before, as she joined them
-on their return from their morning walk? A walk, the object of which
-(tell it not in Bubbleton) had been to pursue the sport of rat-hunting
-in a certain barn, with a favourite terrier of Charlie's, a sport that
-Blanche was persuaded to patronise, notwithstanding her horror both of
-the game and the mode of its destruction, by her affection for
-Charlie, and her childish habit of joining him in all his pastimes and
-amusements. How alike they were, with their delicate skin, their deep
-blue eyes sparkling with exercise and excitement, and their waving
-brown hair clustering round each flushed and smiling face. How alike
-they were, and what a nice couple they certainly did make. And Mary
-sighed, as again she thought how _very_ glad she was!
-
-No further interview took place that day with the General, whose many
-avocations scarcely permitted him time for the elaborate toilette
-which, partly out of respect for Blanche's birthday, partly in
-consideration of his dinner-party, he thought it advisable to perform.
-He certainly did take more pains with himself than usual; and as he
-fixed an order or two in an unassuming place under the breast-lap of
-his coat, a ray of satisfaction shot through his heart that beat
-beneath those clasps and medals, while the old gentleman thought aloud
-as usual, "Not such a bad arrangement after all! She certainly did
-look very queer when I talked of Blanche's marrying. No doubt she's
-smitten--just like the one at Cheltenham. Bounce! Bounce! you've a
-deal to answer for. If ever I _do_, it's time I thought of it; don't
-improve by keeping. 'Pon my life, I might go farther and fare worse.
-Zounds! there's the door-bell."
-
-"Lady Mount Helicon!" "Captain Lacquers!" "Sir Ascot Uppercrust!" and
-a whole host of second-rate grandees were successively announced and
-ushered into the brilliantly-lighted drawing-room, to be received by
-the General with the _empressement_ of a bachelor, who is host and
-hostess all in one. Blanche was too young and shy to take much part in
-the proceedings. Charlie, of course, was late; but Bounce was in his
-glory, bowing to the ladies, joking with the gentlemen, and telling
-anecdotes to all, till the announcement of "dinner" started him across
-the hall, convoying stately Lady Mount Helicon, and well-nigh lost
-amidst the lappets and flounces of that magnificent dame, who would
-not have been here at all unless she had owned an unmarried son, and a
-jointure entirely out of proportion to the present lord's finances.
-The rest of the party paired off after their illustrious leaders. Sir
-Ascot Uppercrust took Blanche, who was already lost in surprise at his
-taciturnity. Miss Deeper skilfully contrived to entangle young
-Cashley. Kate Carmine felt her heart beat happily against the arm of
-Captain Laurel, of the Bays. Mr. Gotobed made a dash at Mary Delaval,
-but "Cousin Charlie," who that instant entered the room, quietly
-interposed and led her off to the dining-room, leaving a heterogeneous
-mass of unappropriated gentlemen to scramble in as they best might.
-Mary was grateful for the rescue; she was glad to be near somebody she
-knew. With a flush of shame and anger she had recognised Captain
-Lacquers, though that worthy dipped his moustaches into his soup in
-happy unconsciousness that the well-dressed aristocratic woman
-opposite him was the same indignant damsel who would once have knocked
-him down if she could. With all her self-possession, Mary was not
-blind to the fact that her position was anomalous and ill-defined. She
-had found that out already by the condescending manner in which Lady
-Mount Helicon had bowed to her in the drawing-room. With the men she
-was "that handsome lady-like Mrs. Delaval"; but with the women (your
-true aristocrats after all) she was _only the governess_.
-
-Dinner progressed in the weary protracted manner that the meal does
-when it is one of state and ceremony. The guests did not know each
-other well, and were dreadfully afraid (as is too often the case in
-good society) of being over civil or attentive to those whose position
-they had not exactly ascertained. It argues ill for one's stock of
-politeness when one cannot afford to part with ever so small a
-portion, save in expectation of a return. So Lady Mount Helicon was
-patronising and affable, and looked at everything, including the
-company, through her eye-glass, but was very distant notwithstanding;
-and the gentlemen hemmed and hawed, and voted the weather
-detestable--aw! and the sport with the hounds--aw--very moderate--aw
-(it was d----d bad after the ladies went away); and their fair
-companions lisped and simpered, and ate very little, and drank as much
-champagne as appearances would allow; and everybody felt it an
-unspeakable relief when Blanche, drawing on her gloves, and blushing
-crimson at the responsibility, made "the move" to Lady Mount Helicon;
-and the muslins all sailed away, with their gloves and fans and
-pocket-handkerchiefs rescued from under the table by their red-faced
-cavaliers.
-
-When they met again over tea and coffee, things had thawed
-considerably. The most solemn high-breeding is not proof against an
-abundance of claret, and the General's hospitality was worthy of his
-cellar. The men had found each other out to be "deuced good sort of
-fellows," and had moreover discovered mutual tastes and mutual
-acquaintances, which much cemented their friendships. To be sure,
-there was at first a partial reaction consequent upon the difficulty
-of breaking through a formal circle of ladies; but this feat
-accomplished, and the gentlemen grouped about cup-in-hand in becoming
-attitudes, and disposed to look favourably on the world in general,
-even Sir Ascot Uppercrust laid aside his usual reserve, and asked
-Blanche whether she had seen anything of a round game called "turning
-the tables," which the juvenile philosopher further confided to her he
-opined to be "infernal humbug." In an instant every tongue was
-unloosed. Drop a subject like this amongst a well-dressed crowd and it
-is like a cracker--here and there it bounces, and fizzes, and
-explodes, amongst serious exclamations and hearty laughter. Lady
-Mount Helicon thought it wicked--Kate Carmine thought it "fun"--Miss
-Deeper voted it charming--Lacquers considered it "aw--deuced
-scientific--aw"--and the General in high glee exclaimed, "I vote we
-try." No sooner said than done; a round mahogany table was deprived of
-its covering--a circle formed--hands joined with more energy than was
-absolutely indispensable--white arms laid in juxtaposition to dark
-coat sleeves--long ringlets bent over the polished mirror-like
-surface; and amidst laughing entreaties to be grave, and voluble
-injunctions to be silent, the incantation progressed, we are bound in
-truth to state, with no definite result. Perhaps the spell was broken
-by the bursts of laughter that greeted the pompous butler's face of
-consternation, as, entering the room to remove cups, etc., he found
-the smartly-dressed party so strangely employed. Well-bred servants
-never betray the slightest marks of emotion or astonishment, though we
-fancy their self-command is sometimes severely put to the test. But
-"turning the tables" was too much for the major-domo, and he was
-obliged to make his exit in a paroxysm of unseemly mirth. Then came a
-round game of forfeits--then music--then dancing, the ladies playing
-by turns--then somebody found out the night was pouring with rain, and
-the General declared it would be sure to clear in an hour or so, and
-nobody must go away till after supper. So supper appeared and more
-champagne; and even Lady Mount Helicon was ready to do anything to
-oblige, so, being a fine musician, she volunteered to play "The
-Coquette." A chair was placed in the middle of the room, and everybody
-danced, the General and all. Blanche laughed till she cried; and there
-was but one feeling of regret when the announcement of her ladyship's
-carriage broke up the party, just at the moment when, in accordance
-with the rules of the dance, Charlie sank upon one knee before the
-Coquette's chair, occupied by stately Mrs. Delaval. He looked like a
-young knight prostrate before the Queen of Beauty.
-
-When Blanche laid her head upon her pillow, she thought over all her
-uncle's guests in succession, and decided not one was to be compared
-to Cousin Charlie; and none was half so agreeable as Mr. Hardingstone.
-Mary Delaval, on the contrary, scarcely gave a thought to Captain
-Lacquers, Sir Ascot Uppercrust, Captain Laurel, or even Mr. Gotobed,
-who had paid her great attention. No, even as she closed her eyes she
-was haunted by a young upturned face, with fair open brow and a
-slight moustache--do what she would, she saw it still. She was,
-besides, a little distracted about the loss of one of her gloves--a
-white one, with velvet round the wrist--what could have become of it?
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER VII
-
-BOOT AND SADDLE
-
-     "THE GRAND MILITARY"--SPORT, BUT NOT PLEASURE--WARLIKE
-     ADVANCES--SOME OF ALL SORTS--AN EQUESTRIAN FEAT--THEY'RE
-     OFF--RIDING TO WIN--FOLLOW-MY-LEADER--WELL OVER AND WELL
-     IN--HOME IN A HURRY--A CLOSE RACE--THE HEIRESS WITH MANY
-     FRIENDS--A DAY'S AMUSEMENT
-
-
-"Card of the running 'orses--_cor_-rect card! Major, dear, you always
-take a card of me!" pleads a weather-worn, good-looking,
-smart-ribboned card-woman, standing up to her ankles in mud on
-Guyville race-course. Poor thing! hers is a strange, hard, vagabond
-sort of life. This very morning she has heard mass (being an
-Irish-woman) seventeen miles off, and she will be on her legs the
-whole of the livelong day, and have a good supper and a hard bed, and
-be up at dawn to-morrow, ready and willing for a forty-mile tramp
-wherever money is to be made; so, in the meantime, she hands up
-half-a-dozen damp cards to Gaston D'Orville, now Major in "The
-Loyals," and this day principal acting-steward of "The Grand Military
-Steeple-Chase."
-
-The Major is but slightly altered since we saw him last at
-Bishops'-Baffler. His tall figure may, perhaps, be a trifle fuller,
-and the lines of dissipation round his eyes and mouth a little deeper,
-while here and there his large whiskers and clustering hair are just
-sprinkled with grey; but for all this, he is still about the
-finest-looking man on the course, and of this fact, as of every other
-advantage of his position, no one is better aware than himself. Yet is
-he not a vain man; cool and calculating, he looks upon such "pulls in
-his favour," as he calls them, much as he would on "a point in the
-odds,"--mere chances in the game of life, to be made the most of when
-opportunity offers. He has just got upon a remarkably handsome white
-horse, to show the military equestrians "the line" over which they are
-to have an opportunity of breaking their necks, and is surrounded by a
-posse of great-coated, shawl-handkerchiefed, and goloshed individuals,
-mostly striplings, who are nervously ready to scan the obstacles they
-are destined to encounter.
-
-There are nine starters for the great event, and professional
-speculators at "The Kingmakers' Arms" are even now wagering that not
-above three ever reach "home," so low an opinion do they entertain of
-"the soldiers' riding," or so ghastly do they deem the fences flagged
-out to prove the warriors' metal. Four miles over a stiff country,
-with a large brook, and a finish in front of the grand-stand, will
-furnish work for the horses and excitement for the ladies, whilst the
-adventurous jocks are even now glancing at one another aghast at the
-unexpected strength and height of these impediments, which, to a man
-on foot, look positively awful.
-
-"I object to this fence decidedly," observes a weak, thin voice,
-which, under his multiplicity of wraps, we have some difficulty in
-identifying as the property of Sir Ascot Uppercrust. "I object in the
-name of all the riders--it is positively dangerous--don't you agree
-with me?" he adds, pointing to a formidable "double post and rail,"
-with but little room between, and appealing to his fellow-sufferers,
-who all coincide with him but one.
-
-"Nothing for a hunter," says the dissentient, who, seeing that the
-exploit has to be performed in full view of the ladies in the stand,
-would have it worse if he could. "Nothing for any horse that is
-properly ridden;--what do you say, major?"
-
-"I agree with Kettering," replies the Major; for our friend "Charlie"
-it is, who is now surveying the country on foot, in a huge white
-great-coat, with a silver-mounted whip under his arm, and _no gloves_.
-He is quite the "gentleman-rider," and has fully made up his mind to
-win the steeple-chase. For this has poor Haphazard been deprived of
-his usual sport in the field, and trained with such severity as Mr.
-Snaffles has thought advisable; for this has his young master been
-shortening his stirrups and riding daily gallops, and running miles
-up-hill to keep him in wind, till there is little left of his original
-self save his moustaches, which have grown visibly during the winter;
-and for this have the ladies of the family been stitching for days at
-the smartest silk jacket that ever was made (orange and blue, with
-gold tags), only pausing in their labours to visit Haphazard in the
-stable, and bring him such numerous offerings in the shape of bread,
-apples, and lump-sugar, that had Mr. Snaffles not laid an embargo on
-all "tit-bits," the horse would ere this have been scarcely fit to run
-for a saddle!
-
-Mrs. Delaval having been as severely bitten with the sporting mania as
-Blanche, they are even now sitting in the grand-stand perusing the
-list of the starters as if their lives depended on it--and each lady
-wears a blue and orange ribbon in her bonnet, the General, who escorts
-them, appearing in an alarming neckcloth of the same hues.
-
-The stand is already nearly full, and Blanche, herself not the least
-attraction to many of the throng, has manoeuvred into a capital
-place with Mary by her side, and is in a state of nervous delight,
-partly at the gaiety of the scene, partly at the coming contest in
-which "Cousin Charlie" is to engage, and partly at the anticipation of
-the Guyville ball, her first appearance in public, to take place this
-very night. Row upon row the benches have been gradually filling, till
-the assemblage looks like a variegated parterre of flowers to those in
-the arena below. In that enclosed space are gathered, besides the
-pride of the British army, swells and dandies of every different
-description and calibre. Do-nothing gentlemen from London, glad to get
-a little fresh air and excitement so cheap. Nimrods from "the shires"
-come to criticise the performances, and suggest, by implication, how
-much better they could ride themselves. Horse-dealers, and
-professional "legs," of course, whose business it is to make the most
-of everything, and whose courteous demeanour is only equalled by the
-unblushing effrontery with which they offer "five points" less than
-the odds; nor, though last not least, must we omit to mention the
-_elite_ of Bubbleton, who have one and all cast up from "the Spout,"
-as that salubrious town is sometimes denominated, as they always
-do cast up within reach of their favourite resort. Some of all
-sorts there are amongst _them_. Gentlemen of family, without
-incumbrances--gentlemen with incumbrances and no family; some with
-money and no brains--some with brains and no money; some that live on
-the fat of the land--others that live upon their wits, and pick up a
-subsistence therewith, bare as might be expected from the dearth of
-capital on which they trade. In the midst of them we recognise Frank
-Hardingstone, sufficiently conspicuous in his simple manly attire,
-amongst the chained and velveted and bedizened tigers by whom he is
-surrounded. He is talking to a remarkably good-looking and
-particularly well-dressed man, known to nearly every one on the course
-as Mr. Jason, the famous steeple-chase rider, who has come partly to
-sell Mr. Hardingstone a horse, partly to patronise the "soldiers'
-performances," and partly to enjoy the gay scene which he is even now
-criticising. He is good enough to express his approval of the ladies
-in the stand, taking them _en masse_, though his fastidious taste
-cannot but admit that there are "some weedy-looking ones among 'em."
-All this, however, is lost upon Frank Hardingstone, who has ears only
-for a conversation going on at his elbow, in which he hears Blanche's
-name mentioned, our friend Lacquers being the principal speaker.
-
-"Three hundred thousand--I give you my honour, every penny of it!"
-says that calculating worthy to a speculative dandy with enormous red
-whiskers, "and a _nice_ girl too--devilish well read, you know, and
-all that."
-
-"I suppose old Bounce keeps a bright look-out though, don't he?"
-rejoins his friend, who has all the appearance of a man that can make
-up his mind in a minute.
-
-"Yeees," drawls Lacquers; "but it might be done by a fellow with some
-energy, you know; she _is_ engaged to young Kettering, her
-cousin--'family pot,' you know--and she's very spooney on him; still,
-I've half a mind to try."
-
-"Why, the cousin will probably break his neck in the course of the
-day; you can introduce me to-night at the ball. By the way, what are
-they betting about this young Kettering? Can he ride any?"
-
-"Not a yard," replies Lacquers, as he turns away to light a cigar,
-whilst Lord Mount Helicon--for the red-bearded dandy is no less a
-person than that literary peer--dives into the ring to turn an honest
-"_pony_," as he calls it, on its fluctuations.
-
-"Look here, Mr. Hardingstone," exclaims the observant Jason, forcibly
-attracting Frank's notice to a feat which, as he keeps his eyes fixed
-on the stand, is going on behind him. "That's the way to put 'em at
-it, Major! well ridden, by the Lord Harry!" and Frank turns round in
-time to witness, with the shouting multitude and the half-frightened
-ladies, the gallant manner in which D'Orville's white horse clears the
-double post and rails to which Sir Ascot had objected.
-
-The Major, it is needless to say, is a dauntless horseman, and, on
-being remonstrated with by Sir A. and his party on the impracticable
-nature of the leap which he had selected for them, and the young
-Mohair of the Heavies suggesting that the stewards should always be
-compelled to ride over the ground themselves, made no more ado, but
-turned the white horse at the unwelcome barrier, and by dint of a fine
-hand and a perfectly-broken animal, went "in and out" without
-touching, to the uproarious delight of the mob, and the less loudly
-expressed admiration of the ladies.
-
-"That's what I call _in-and-out-clever_," observes Mr. Jason, as the
-shouting subsides, thinking he could not have done it better himself;
-and he too elbows his way into the mass of noise, hustling, and
-confusion that constitutes the betting-ring.
-
-"We ought to throw our 'bouquets' at the white horse!" says Mrs.
-Delaval's next neighbour, a bold-looking lady of a certain age; and
-Mary recognises, with mingled feelings, her military adorer and his
-well-known grey charger, now showing the lapse of time only by his
-change of colour to pure white. "I'm afraid its all very dangerous,"
-thinks Blanche, to whom it occurs for the first time that "Cousin
-Charlie" may possibly break his neck; but the General at this instant
-touches her elbow to introduce "Major D'Orville," who, having
-performed his official duties, has dismounted, and works his way into
-the stand to make the agreeable to the ladies, and "have a look at
-this Miss Kettering--the very thing, by Jove, if she is tolerably
-lady-like."
-
-How different is the Major's manner to that of Lacquers, Uppercrust,
-and half the other unmeaning dandies whom Blanche is accustomed to see
-fluttering round her. He _has_ the least thing of a military swagger,
-which most women certainly like, more particularly when in their own
-case that lordly demeanour is laid aside for a soft deferential air,
-highly captivating to the weaker sex; and nobody understands this
-better than D'Orville. The little he says to Blanche is quiet,
-amusing, and to the purpose. The heiress is agreeably surprised. The
-implied homage of such a man is, to say the least of it, flattering;
-and our cavalier has the good sense to take his leave as soon as he
-sees he has made a favourable impression, quite satisfied with the way
-in which he has "opened the trenches." At the moment he did so, on
-turning round he encountered Mary Delaval. She looked unmoved as
-usual, and put out her hand to him, as if they had been in the habit
-of meeting every day. With a few incoherent words he bent over those
-long well-shaped fingers; and an observant bystander might have had
-the good luck to witness a somewhat unusual sight--a Major of Hussars
-blushing to the very tips of his moustaches. Yes; the hardened man of
-the world, the experienced _roue_, the dashing _militaire_, had a
-heart, if you could only get at it, like the veriest clown then
-'squiring his red-faced Dolly to "the races"--the natural for the
-moment overcame the artificial--and as Gaston edged his way down
-through nodding comrades and smiling ladies, the feeling uppermost in
-his heart was, "Heavens! how I love this woman still! and what a fool
-I am!" But sentiment must not be indulged to the exclusion of
-business, and the Major too forces his way into the betting-ring.
-
-There they are, hard at it--_Nobblers_ and noblemen--grooms and
-gentlemen--betting-house keepers and cavalry officers--all talking at
-once, all intent on having the best of it, and apparently all layers
-and no takers. "Eight to one agin Lady Lavender," says a stout
-capitalist, who looks like a grazier in his best clothes. "Take ten,"
-lisps the owner, a young gentleman, apparently about sixteen. "I'll
-back Sober John." "I'll take nine to two about the Fox." "I'll lay
-against the field _bar three_." "I'll lay five ponies to two _agin_
-Haphazard!" vociferates the capitalist. "Done!" cries Charlie, who is
-investing on his horse as if he owned the Bank of England. At this
-moment Frank Hardingstone pierces into the ring, and drawing Charlie
-towards the outskirts, begins to lecture him on the coming struggle,
-and to give him useful hints on the art of riding a steeple-chase; for
-Frank with his usual decision has resolved not to go into the stand to
-talk to Blanche till he has done all in his power to insure the
-success of her cousin. "Come and see the horse saddled, you conceited
-young jackanapes; don't fool away any more money; how do you know
-you'll win?" says Frank, taking the excited jockey by the arm and
-leading him away to where Haphazard, pawing and snorting, and very
-uneasy, is being stripped of his clothing, the centre of an admiring
-throng. "I know he can beat Lady Lavender," replies Charlie, whose
-conversation for the last week had been strictly "Newmarket"; "and
-he's five pounds better than the Fox; and Mohair is sure to make a
-mess of it with Bendigo--he owns he can't ride him; and there's
-nothing else has a chance except Sober John, a great half-bred brute!"
-
-"Do you see that quiet-looking man talking to Jason there?" says
-Frank; "that's the man who is to ride Sober John--about the best
-_gentleman_ in England, and he's getting a hint from the best
-_professional_. Do you think _you_ can ride like Captain Rocket? Now,
-take my advice, Charlie, Haphazard is a nice-tempered horse, you
-_wait_ on Sober John--keep close behind him--ride over him if he
-falls--but whatever you see Captain Rocket do, _you do the
-same_--don't _come_ till you're safe over the last fence--and if
-you're not first, you'll be second!" Charlie promised faithfully to
-obey his friend's directions, though in his own mind he did not think
-it possible an _Infantry_ horse could win the great event--Sober John,
-if he belonged to any one in particular, being the property of
-Lieutenant Sharpes of the Old Hundredth, who stood to win a very
-comfortable sum upon the veteran steeple-chaser.
-
-"They look nervous, Tim, most on 'em," observes Captain Rocket, while
-with his own hands he adjusts "the tackle," as he calls it, on his
-horse; and his friend "Tim" giving him a "leg up," he canters Sober
-John past the stand, none of the ladies thinking that docile animal
-has the remotest chance of winning. "He seems much too quiet," says
-Blanche, "and he's dreadfully ugly." "Beauty is not absolutely
-essential in _horses_, Miss Kettering," replies a deep, quiet voice at
-her elbow. Major D'Orville has resumed his place by her side. Though
-he thinks he is paying attention to Blanche, he cannot, in reality,
-forbear hovering about Mrs. Delaval. That lady, meanwhile, with
-clasped hands, is hoping with all her heart that Captain Rocket may
-_not win_. If "wishes were horses," we think this young gentleman now
-tearing down the course upon Haphazard, throwing the dirt round him
-like a patent turnip-cutter, would have a good many of hers to bear
-him on his victorious career. By the way, Mary has never found her
-glove; we wonder whether that foolish boy knows anything about it. And
-talking of gloves, look at that dazzling pair of white kids on a level
-with his chin, in which "Mohair, of the Heavies," is endeavouring to
-control Bendigo. He has had two large glasses of sherry, yet does he
-still look very pale--another, and yet another, comes striding past
-like a whirlwind--Sir Ascot rides Lady Lavender, and Cornet Capon is
-to pilot the Fox. It is very difficult to know which is which amongst
-the variegated throng, and the ladies puzzle sadly over their cards,
-in which, as is usually the case at steeple-chases, the colours are
-all set down wrong. Each damsel, however, has one favourite at least
-whom she could recognise in any disguise, and we may be sure that
-"blue-and-orange" is not without his well-wishers in the grand-stand.
-
-Major D'Orville is an admirable cicerone, inasmuch as besides being
-steward, he has a heavy book on the race, and knows the capabilities
-of each horse to a pound, whatever may be his uncertainty as regards
-the riders. "Your cousin has a very fair chance, Miss Kettering--he
-seems to ride uncommonly well for _such a boy_; Sir Ascot wants
-nerve, and Mohair can't manage his horse." "See, they've got 'em in
-line," exclaims the General, who is in a state of frantic excitement
-altogether. "Silence, pray! he's going to--ah, the blundering
-blockhead, it's a false start!" Major D'Orville takes out his
-double-glasses, and proceeds quietly without noticing the
-interruption, "Then the Fox has been lame, and Capon is a sad
-performer; nevertheless, you shall have your choice, Miss Kettering,
-and I'll bet you a pair of gloves on the----By Jove, they're off," and
-the Major puts his glasses up in scarcely veiled anxiety, whilst Mary
-Delaval's heart beats thick and fast, as she strains her eyes towards
-the fleeting tulip-coloured throng, drawing gradually out from the
-dark mass of spectators that have gone to witness the start.
-
-How easy it looks to go cantering along over a nice grass country,
-properly flagged out so as to insure the performers from making any
-mistakes; and how trifling the obstacles appear over which they are
-following each other like a string of wild geese, more particularly
-when you, the spectator, are quietly ensconced in a comfortable seat,
-sheltered from the wind, and viewing the sports at a respectful
-distance. Perhaps you might not think it quite such child's play were
-you assisting in the pageant on the back of a headstrong, powerful
-horse, rendered irritable and violent by severe training (of which
-discipline this unfortunate class of animal gets more than enough),
-rasping your knuckles against his withers, and pulling your arms out
-of their sockets, because he, the machine, is all anxiety to get to
-the end, whilst you the controlling, or who ought to be the
-controlling power, have received strict injunctions "to wait." If your
-whole energies were not directed to the one object of "doing your
-duty" and winning your race, you might possibly have leisure to
-reflect on your somewhat hazardous position. "Neck-or-nothing" has
-just disappeared, doubling up himself and Mr. Fearless in a
-complicated kind of fall, at the very place over which you must
-necessarily follow; and should your horse, who is shaking his head
-furiously, as you vainly endeavour to steady him, make the slightest
-mistake, you shudder to think of "Frantic" running away with her rider
-close behind you. Nevertheless, it is impossible to decline "eternal
-misery on this side and certain death on the other," but _go you
-must_, and when safe into the next field there is nothing of any
-importance till you come to the brook. To be sure, the animal you are
-riding never would _face water_, still, your spurs are sharp, and you
-have a vague sort of trust that you may get over _somehow_. You really
-deserve to win, yet will we, albeit unused to computation of the odds,
-willingly bet you five to four that you are neither first nor second.
-
-In the meantime, our friends in the stand make their running
-commentaries on the race. "How slow they are going," says Blanche,
-who, like all ladies, has a most liberal idea of "pace." "_He's
-over!_" mutters Mary Delaval, as "blue-and-orange" skims lightly over
-the first fence, undistinguished, save by _her_, amidst the rest. "One
-down!" says a voice, and there is a slight scream from amongst the
-prettiest of the bonnets. "Red-and-white cap--who is it?" and what
-with the distraction of watching the others, and the confusion on the
-cards, Bendigo has been caught and remounted ere the hapless
-Lieutenant Mohair can be identified. Meanwhile the string is
-lengthening out. "Uppy is making frightful running," says Major
-D'Orville, thinking how right he was to stand heavily against
-Lady Lavender; "however, the Fox is close upon him; and
-that's Haphazard, Miss Kettering, just behind Sober John."
-"Two--four--six--seven--nine--what a pretty sight!" says Blanche, but
-she turns away her head with a shudder as a party-coloured jacket goes
-down at the next fence, neither horse nor rider rising again. One
-always fancies the worst, and Mary turns pale as death, and clasps her
-hands tighter than ever. And now they arrive at the double post and
-rails, which have been erected purposely for the gratification of the
-ladies in the stand. The first three bound over it in their stride
-like so many deer. Captain Rocket pulls his horse into a trot, and
-Sober John goes in-and-out quite as clever as did the Major's white
-charger. Mr. Jason is good enough to express his approval. Charlie
-follows the example of his leader, and though he hits it very hard,
-Haphazard's fine shape saves him from a fall. Blanche thinks him the
-noblest hero in England, and nobody but D'Orville remarks how very
-pale Mrs. Delaval is getting. Mohair essays to follow the example
-thus set him, and succeeds in doing the first half of his task
-admirably, but no power on earth will induce Bendigo to jump _out_
-after jumping _in_, and eventually he is obliged to be ignominiously
-extricated by a couple of carpenters and a handsaw. His companions
-diverge, like a flight of wild-fowl, towards the brook. The Fox, who
-is now leading, refuses; and the charitable Nimrods, and dandies, and
-swells, and professionals, all vote that Capon's heart failed him, and
-"he didn't put in half enough powder." The Major knows better. The
-horse was once his property, and he has not laid against it without
-reason. The brook creates much confusion; but Sober John singles
-himself out from the ruck, and flies it without an effort, closely
-followed by Haphazard and Lady Lavender. The rest splash and struggle,
-and get over as they best can, with but little chance now of coming up
-with the first three. They all turn towards home, and the pace is
-visibly increasing. Captain Rocket is leading, but Charlie's horse is
-obviously full of running, and the boy is gradually drawing away from
-Lady Lavender, and nearer and nearer to the front. Already people
-begin to shout "Haphazard wins"; and the General is hoarse with
-excitement. "Charlie wins!" he exclaims, his lace purple, and the ends
-of his blue-and-orange handkerchief floating on the breeze. "Charlie
-wins! I tell you. Look how he's coming up. Zounds! don't contradict
-_me_, sir!" he roars out to the intense dismay of his next neighbour,
-a meek old gentleman, who has only come to the steeple-chase in order
-that he may write an account of it for a magazine, and who shrinks
-from the General as from a raving madman. "Now, Captain Rocket,"
-shouts the multitude, as if that unmoved man would attend to anything
-but the business in hand. They reach the last fence neck-and-neck,
-Haphazard landing slightly in advance. "Kettering wins!" "_Blast_
-him!" hisses D'Orville between his teeth, turning white as a sheet He
-stands to lose eighteen hundred by Haphazard alone, and we question
-whether, on reliable security, the Major could raise eighteen-pence.
-Nevertheless, he turns the next instant to Blanche, with a quiet,
-unmoved smile, to congratulate her on her cousin's probable success.
-"If he can only 'finish,' Miss Kettering, he can't lose," says the
-speculator; but he still trusts that "if" may save him the price of
-his commission.
-
-What a moment for Charlie! Hot, breathless, and nearly exhausted, his
-brain reeling with the shouts of the populace, and the wild excitement
-of the struggle, one idea is uppermost in his mind--if man and horse
-can do it, _win he will_. Steadily has he ridden four long miles,
-taking the greatest pains with his horse, and restraining his own
-eagerness to be in front, as well as that of the gallant animal. He
-has kept his eye fixed on Captain Rocket, and regulated his every
-movement by that celebrated performer. And now he is drawing slightly
-in advance of him, and one hundred yards more will complete his
-triumph. Yet, inexperienced as he is, he cannot but feel that
-Haphazard is no longer the elastic, eager goer whom he has been
-regulating so carefully, and the truth shoots across him that his
-horse is beat. Well, he ought to last another hundred yards. See, the
-double flags are waving before him, and the shouts of his own name
-fall dully upon his ear. He hears Captain Rocket's whip at work, and
-is not aware how that judicious artist is merely plying it against his
-own boot to flurry the young one. Charlie begins to flog. "Sit
-_still_!" shouts Frank Hardingstone from the stand. Charlie works arms
-and legs like a windmill, upsets his horse, who would win if he were
-but let alone--Sober John shows his great ugly head alongside.
-Haphazard changes his leg--Major D'Orville draws a long breath of
-relief--Captain Rocket, with a grim smile, and one fierce stab with
-his spurs, glides slightly in advance--and Haphazard is beaten on the
-post by half a length, Lady Lavender a bad third, and the rest
-nowhere!
-
-       *       *       *       *       *
-
-Blanche is dreadfully disappointed. The General thinks "the lad
-deserves great credit for being second in such good company;" but the
-tears stand in Mary Delaval's eyes--tears, we believe, of gratitude at
-his not being brought home on a hurdle, instead of riding into the
-weighing enclosure with the drooping self-satisfied air, and the
-arms hanging powerless down his side, which distinguish the
-gentleman-jockey after his exertions. The boy is scarcely
-disappointed. To have been so near winning, and to have run second for
-such an event as the "Grand Military," is a feather in his cap, of
-which he is in no slight degree proud; and he walks into the stand the
-hero of the day, for Captain Rocket is no lady's man, and is engaged
-to risk his neck again to-morrow a hundred miles from here. So he has
-put on a long great-coat and disappeared. The General accounts for
-Charlie's defeat on a theory peculiarly his own. "_Virtually_" says
-he, "my nephew won the race. How d'ye mean _beat_? It was twenty yards
-over the four miles. Twenty yards from home he was a length in front.
-If the stewards had been worth their salt, we should have won. Don't
-tell _me_!"
-
-There is more racing, but the great event has come off, and our
-friends in the stand occupy themselves only with luncheon. Frank
-Hardingstone comes up to speak to Blanche, but she is so surrounded
-and hemmed in, that beyond shaking hands with her he might as well be
-back at his own place on the south coast, for any enjoyment he can
-have in her society. Major D'Orville is rapidly gaining ground in the
-good graces of all the Newton-Hollows party. He has won a great stake,
-and is in brilliant spirits. Even Mary thinks "what an agreeable man
-he is," and glances the while at a fair glowing face, eating,
-drinking, and laughing by turns, and discussing with Sir Ascot the
-different events of their exciting gallop. Lacquers, with his mouth
-full, is making the agreeable in his own way to the whole party.
-"Deuced good pie--aw--ruin me--aw--in gloves, Miss Kettering--aw--lose
-everything to you--aw;" and the dandy has a vague sort of notion that
-he might say something sweet here, but it will not shape itself into
-words very conveniently, so he has a large glass of sherry instead.
-Our friend Captain Lacquers is not so much "a man of parts," as "a man
-of figure." Charlie, somewhat excited, flourishes his knife and fork,
-and describes how he lost his race to the public in general. Gaston
-D'Orville, with his most deferential air, is winning golden opinions
-from Blanche, and thinking in his innermost soul what a traitor he is
-to his own heart the while; Mrs. Delaval looks very pale and subdued,
-and Bounce thinks she must be tired, but breaks off to something else
-before he has made the inquiry--still everybody seems outwardly to be
-enjoying him or herself to the utmost, and it is with a forced smile
-and an air of assumed gaiety that Frank Hardingstone takes his leave,
-and supposes "we shall all meet at the ball!"
-
-Fancy Frank deliberately proposing to go to a ball! How bitterly he
-smiles as he walks away from the course faster and faster, as thought
-after thought goads him to personal exertion! Now he despises himself
-thoroughly for his weakness in allowing the smile of a silly girl thus
-to sink into a strong man's heart--now he analyses his own feelings as
-he would probe a corporeal wound, with a stern scientific pleasure in
-the examination--and anon he speculates vaguely on the arrangements of
-Nature, which provide us with sentimental follies for a _sauce
-piquante_ wherewith to flavour our daily bread. Nevertheless, our man
-of action is by no means satisfied with himself. He takes a fierce
-walk over the most unfrequented fields, and returns to his solitary
-lodgings, to read stiff chapters of old dogmatic writers, and to work
-out a tough equation or two, till he can "get this nonsense out of his
-head." In vain, a fairy figure with long violet eyes and floating hair
-dances between him and his quarto, and the "unknown quantity" _plus_
-Blanche continually eludes his mental grasp.
-
-We do not think Frank has enjoyed his day's pleasure, any more than
-Mary Delaval. How few people do, could we but peep into their heart of
-hearts! Here are two at least of that gay throng in whom the shaft is
-rankling, and all this discomfort and anxiety exists because,
-forsooth, people never understand each other in time. We think it is
-in one of Rousseau's novels that the catastrophe is continually being
-postponed because the heroine invariably becomes _vivement emue_, and
-unable to articulate, just at the critical moment when two words more
-would explain everything, and make her happy with her adorer. Were it
-not for this provoking weakness, she would be married and settled long
-before the end of the first volume: but then, to be sure, what would
-become of all the remaining pages of French sentimentality? If there
-were no uncertainty, there would be no romance--if we knew each other
-better, perhaps we should love each other less. Hopes and fears make
-up the game of life. Better be the germinating flower, blooming in the
-sunshine and cowering in the blast, than the withered branch, defiant
-indeed of winter's cold and summer's heat, but drinking in no dew of
-morning, putting forth no buds of spring, and in its dreary, barren
-isolation, unsusceptible of pleasure as of pain.
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER VIII
-
-THE BALL
-
-     THE COUNTRY BALL--A POETICAL PEER--BLANCHE'S PARTNERS--SMILES
-     AND SCOWLS--MAMMA'S ADVICE--THE GENERAL'S POLITICS--THE MAJOR'S
-     STRATEGY--"HOME"--THE DREAMER--THE SLEEPER--AND THE WATCHER
-
-
-Bustle and confusion reign paramount at "The Kingmakers'
-Arms"--principal hotel and posting-house in the town of Guyville. Once
-a year is there a great lifting of carpets and shifting of furniture
-in all the rooms of that enterprising establishment. Chambermaids
-hurry to and fro in smart caps brought out for the occasion, and
-pale-faced waiters brandish their glass-cloths in despair at the
-variety of their duties. All the resources of the plate-basket are
-brought into use, and knives, forks, tumblers, wine-glasses, German
-silver and Britannia metal, are collected and borrowed, and furbished
-up, to grace the evening's entertainment with a magnificence becoming
-the occasion. Dust pervades the passages, and there is a hot smell of
-cooking and closed windows, by which the frequenters of the house are
-made aware that to-night is the anniversary of the Guyville Ball, a
-solemnity to be spoken of with reverence by the very ostler's
-assistant in the yard, who will tell you "_We_ are very busy, sir,
-just now, sir, on account of _the ball_." Tea-rooms, card-rooms,
-supper-rooms, dancing-rooms, and cloak-rooms, leave but few apartments
-to be devoted to the purposes of rest; and an unwary bagman, snoring
-quietly in No. 5, might chance to be smothered ere morning by the heap
-of cloaks, shawls, polka-jackets, and other lady-like wraps,
-ruthlessly heaped upon the unconscious victim in his dormitory. The
-combined attractions of steeple-chasing and dancing bring numerous
-young gentlemen and their valets to increase the confusion; and, were
-it not that the six o'clock train takes back the Londoners and
-"professionals" to the metropolis, it would be out of the power of
-mortal functionaries to attend to so many wants, and wait upon so many
-customers.
-
-That tall, pale, interesting-looking man in chains and ringlets has
-already created much commotion below with his insatiable demands for
-foot-baths and hot water. As he waits carelessly in the passage at
-that closed door, receiving and returning the admiring glances of
-passing chambermaids, you would hardly suppose, from his unassuming
-demeanour, that he is no less a person than Lord Mount Helicon's
-_gentleman_. To be sure, he is now what he calls "comparatively
-incog." It is only at his club in Piccadilly, or "the room" at
-Wassailworth, where he and the Duke's "own man" lay down the law upon
-racing, politics, wine, and women, that he is to be seen in his full
-glory. To give him his due, he is an admirable servant, as far as his
-own duties are concerned, and a clever fellow to boot, or he would not
-have picked up seven-and-thirty pounds to-day on the steeple-chase
-whilst he was looking alter the luncheon and the carriage. We
-question, however, whether he could complete his toilet as
-expeditiously as his master, who is now stamping about his room
-reciting, in an audible voice, a thundering ode on which he has been
-some considerable time engaged, and elaborating the folds of his white
-neckcloth (old fifth-form tie) between the stanzas.
-
-Lord Mount Helicon is a literary nobleman; not one of
-
-    "Your authors who's all author, fellows
-    In foolscap uniforms turned up with ink;"
-
-but a sportsman as well as a scholar, a man of the world as well as a
-man of letters; given overmuch to betting, horse-racing, and
-dissipation in general, but with as keen a zest for the elegances of
-literature as for those beauties of the drama to which he pays fully
-more attention, and one who can compute you the odds as readily as he
-can turn a lyric or round a flowing period. Had his lordship
-possessed a little more common sense and a slight modicum of prudence,
-forethought, reflection, and such plebeian qualities, he need not have
-failed in any one thing he undertook. As it was, his best friends
-regretted he should waste his talents so unsparingly on versification;
-whilst his enemies (the bitter dogs) averred "Mount Helicon's rhyme
-was, if possible, worse than his reason." Being member for Guyville
-(our readers will probably call to mind how the columns of their daily
-paper were filled with the Guyville Election Committee's Report, and
-the wonderful appetite for "treating" displayed by the "free and
-independent" of that town during their "three glorious days")--being
-member, then, of course it is incumbent on him to attend the ball; so
-after a hurried dinner with Lacquers, Sir Ascot, Major D'Orville, and
-sundry other gentlemen who _live_ every day of their lives, behold him
-curling his red whiskers and attiring his tall, gaunt form in a suit
-of decorous black.
-
-"Deuced bad dinner they give one here," said his lordship to himself,
-still hammering away at the ode. "Wish I hadn't drunk that second
-bottle of claret, and smoked so much.
-
-    When the thunders of a people smite the quailing despot's ear,
-    And the earthquake of rebellion heaves--
-
-No, I can't get it right. How those cursed fiddlers are scraping! and
-either that glass maligns me, or I look a little drunk! This life
-don't suit my style of beauty--something must be done. Shall I marry
-and pull up? Marry--will I! Bow my cultivated intellect before some
-savage maiden, and fatten like a tethered calf on the flat swamps of
-domestic respectability. Straps! go down and find out if many of the
-people are come."
-
-"Several of the townspeople have arrived, my lord; but few of the
-county families as yet," replies Straps, whose knowledge of a member
-of parliament's duties would have qualified him to represent Guyville
-as well as his master. Lord Mount Helicon accordingly completes his
-toilet and proceeds to the ball-room, still mentally harping on "the
-thunders of a people," and "the quailing despot's ear."
-
-The townspeople have indeed arrived in very sufficient numbers, yet is
-there a strong line of demarcation between their plebeian ranks and
-those of "the county families" huddled together at the upper end of
-the room. Britannia! Britannia! when will you cease to bring your
-coat-of-arms into society, and to smother your warm heart and sociable
-nature under pedigrees, and rent-rolls, and dreary conventionalities?
-When you do, you will enjoy yourself all the more, and be respected
-none the less. You will be equally efficient as a chaperon, though the
-trident be not always pointed on the defensive; and the lion may be an
-excellent watch-dog, without being trained to growl at every
-fellow-creature who does not happen to keep a carriage. His lordship's
-business, however, lies chiefly with those, so to speak, below the
-salt. Voters are they, or, more important still, voters' wives and
-daughters, and, as such, must be propitiated; for Mount Helicon, we
-need scarcely inform our readers, is not an English peerage, and my
-lord may probably require to sit again for the same incorruptible
-borough.
-
-So he bows to _this_ lady, and flirts with _that_, and submits to be
-patted on the shoulder and twaddled to by a fat little man, primed
-with port, but who, when not thus bemused, is an influential member of
-his committee, and a staunch supporter on the hustings. Nay more, with
-an effort that he deserves infinite credit for concealing with such
-good grace, he offers his arm to the red-haired daughter of his
-literally _warm_ supporter, and leads the well-pleased damsel,
-blushing much, and mindful "to keep her head up," right away to the
-county families' quadrille at the top of the room, where she dances
-_vis-a-vis_--actually _vis-a-vis_--to Miss Kettering and Captain
-Lacquers.
-
-That gentleman is considerably brightened up by his dinner and his
-potations. He has besides got his favourite boots on, and feels equal
-to almost any social emergency, so he is making the agreeable to the
-heiress with that degree of originality so peculiarly his own, and
-getting on, as he thinks, "like a house on fire."
-
-"Very _wawm_, Miss Kettering," observes the dandy, holding steadily by
-his starboard moustache. "Guyville people always make it so hot.
-Charming _bouquet_!"
-
-"Your _vis-a-vis_ is dancing alone," says Blanche, cutting short her
-partner's interesting remarks, and sending him sprawling and
-swaggering across the room, only to hasten back again and proceed with
-his conversation.
-
-"You know the man opposite--man with red whiskers? That's Mount
-Helicon. Good fellow--aw--if he could but dye his whiskers. Asked to
-be introduced to _you_ to-day on the course. Told him--aw--I couldn't
-take such a liberty." Lacquers wishes to say he would like to keep her
-society all to himself, but, as usual, he cannot express clearly what
-he means, so he twirls his moustaches instead, and is presently lost
-in the intricacies of "La Poule." We need hardly observe that
-manoeuvring is not our friend's forte. Blanche's eyes meanwhile are
-turned steadily towards the lower end of the room, and her partner's
-following their direction, he discovers, as he thinks, a fresh topic
-of conversation. "Ah! there's Hardingstone just come in--aw. Why don't
-he bring his wife with him, I wonder!"
-
-"His wife!" repeated Blanche, with a start that sent the blood from
-her heart; "why, he's not married, is he?" she added, with more
-animation than she had hitherto exhibited.
-
-"Don't know, I'm sure," replied the dandy, glancing down at his own
-faultless _chaussure_; "thought he was--aw--looks like a married
-man--aw."
-
-"Why should you think so?" inquired Blanche, half amused in spite of
-herself.
-
-"Why--aw," replied the observant reasoner, "got the married _look_,
-you know. Wears wide family boots--aw. Do to ride the children on, you
-know."
-
-Blanche could not repress a laugh; and the quadrille being concluded,
-off she went with Cousin Charlie, to stagger through a breathless
-polka, just at the moment the "family boots" bore their owner to the
-upper end of the room in search of her.
-
-Frank was out of his element, and thoroughly uncomfortable. Generally
-speaking, he could adapt himself to any society into which he happened
-to be thrown, but to-night he was restless and out of spirits;
-dissatisfied with Blanche, with himself for being so, and with the
-world in general. "What a parcel of fools these people are," thought
-he, as with folded arms he leant against the wall and gazed vacantly
-on the shifting throng; "jigging away to bad music in a hot room, and
-calling it pleasure. What a waste of time, and energy, and everything.
-Now, there's little Blanche Kettering. I _did_ think that girl was
-superior to the common run of women. I fancied she had a heart, and a
-mind, and 'brains,' and was above all the petty vanities of flirting,
-and fiddling, and dressing, which a posse of idiots dignify with the
-name of society. But no; they are all alike, giddy, vain, and
-frivolous. There she is, dancing away with as light a heart as if
-'Cousin Charlie' were not under orders for the Cape, and to start
-to-morrow morning. She don't care--not she! I wonder if she _will_
-marry him, should he ever come back. I have never liked to ask him,
-but everybody seems to say it's a settled thing. How changed she must
-be since we used to go out in the boat at St. Swithin's; and yet how
-little altered she is in features from the child I was so fond of.
-It's disappointing!" And Frank ground his teeth with subdued ferocity.
-"It's disgusting! She's not half good enough for Charlie. I'll never
-believe in one of them again!"
-
-Well, if not "half good enough for Charlie," we mistake much whether,
-even at the very moment of condemnation, our philosopher did not
-consider her quite "good enough for Frank"; and could he but have
-known the young girl's thoughts while he judged her so harshly, he
-would have been much more in charity with the world in general, and
-looked upon the rational amusement of dancing in a light more becoming
-a sensible man--which, to do him justice, he generally was.
-
-Blanche, even as she wound and threaded through the mazes of a crowded
-polka, skilfully steered by Cousin Charlie, who was a beautiful
-dancer, and one of whose little feet would scarcely have served to
-"ride a fairy," was wondering in her own mind why Mr. Hardingstone had
-not asked her to dance, and why he had been so distant at the
-steeple-chase, and speculating whether it was possible he could be
-married. How she hoped Mrs. Hardingstone, if there should be one, was
-_a nice person_, and how fond she would be of her, and yet few people
-were worthy of _him_. How noble and manly he looked to-night amongst
-all the dandies. She would rather see Mr. Hardingstone frown than any
-one else smile--there was nobody like him, except, perhaps, Major
-D'Orville; he had the same quiet voice, the same self-reliant manner;
-but then the Major was much older. Oh no--there was nothing equal to
-Frank--and how she _liked_ him, he was _such_ a friend of Charlie; and
-just as Blanche arrived at this conclusion, the skirt of her dress got
-entangled in Cornet Capon's spur, and Charlie laughed so (the
-provoking boy!) that he could not set her free, and the Cornet's
-apologies were so absurd, and everybody stared so, it was quite
-disagreeable! But a tall, manly figure interposed between her and the
-crowd, and Major D'Orville released her in an instant; and that deep,
-winning voice engaged her for the next dance, and she could not but
-comply, though she had rather it had been some one else. Frank saw it
-all, still with his arms folded, and misjudged her again, as men do
-those of whom they are fondest. "How well she does it, the little
-coquette," he thought; "it's a good piece of acting all through--now
-she'll flirt with D'Orville because he happens to be a great man here,
-and then she'll throw him over for some one else; and so they 'keep
-the game alive.'" Frank! Frank! you ought to be ashamed of yourself!
-
-       *       *       *       *       *
-
-In the meantime, Lord Mount Helicon must not neglect a very important
-part of the business which has brought him to Guyville. In the pocket
-of his lordship's morning coat is a letter which Straps, who has taken
-that garment down to brush, in the natural course of things, is even
-now perusing. As its contents may somewhat enlighten us as well as the
-valet, we will take the liberty of peeping over that trusty domestic's
-shoulder, and joining him in his pursuit of knowledge, premising that
-the epistle is dated Brook Street, and is a fair specimen of maternal
-advice to a son. After the usual gossip regarding Mrs. Bolter's
-elopement, and Lady Susan Stiffneck's marriage, with the indispensable
-conjectures about "ministers," a body in whose precarious position
-ladies of a certain age take an unaccountable interest, the letter
-goes on to demonstrate that
-
-     "it is needless to point out, my dear Mount, the advantages you
-     would obtain under your peculiar circumstances by settling
-     early in life. When I was at Bubbleton last autumn (and Globus
-     says I have never been so well since he attended me when you
-     were born--in fact, the spasms left me altogether), I made the
-     acquaintance of a General Bounce, an odious, vulgar man, who
-     had been all his life somewhere in India, but who had a niece,
-     a quiet, amiable girl, by name Kettering, with whom I was much
-     pleased. They have a nice place, though damp, somewhere in the
-     neighbourhood of your borough, and I dined there once or twice
-     before I left Bubbleton. Everything looked like _maison
-     montee_; and from information I can rely on, I understand the
-     girl is a great heiress. Between ourselves, Lady Champfront
-     told me she would have from three to four hundred thousand
-     pounds. Now, although I should be the last person to hint at
-     your selling yourself for money, particularly with your talents
-     and your position, yet if you should happen to see this young
-     lady, and take a fancy to her, it would be a very nice thing,
-     and would make you quite independent. She is prettyish in the
-     'Jeannette and Jeannot' style, and although her manner is not
-     the least formed, she has no _prononce_ vulgarity, and would
-     soon acquire our 'ways' when she came to live amongst us. Of
-     course we should drop the General immediately; and, my dear
-     boy, I trust you would give up that horrid racing--young
-     Cubbington, who has hardly left school, is already nearly
-     ruined by it, and Lady Looby is in despair--such a mother too
-     as she has been to him! By the by, there is a cousin in our
-     way, but he is young enough to be in love only with himself,
-     and appeared to me to be rather making up to the governess!
-     Think of this, my dear Mount, and believe me,
-
-      "Your most affectionate mother,
-
-      "M. MT. HELICON.
-
-      "P.S.--Your book is much admired. Trifles _raves_ about it,
-      and your old friend Mrs. Blacklamb assures me that _it made
-      her quite ill_."
-
-Primed with such sage counsel, his lordship determined to lose no time
-in "opening the trenches." After enacting sundry duty-dances, by which
-he had gained at least one prospective "plumper," he accordingly
-"completed the first parallel" by obtaining an introduction to General
-Bounce, which ceremony Captain Lacquers performed in his usual easy
-off-hand style--the introducer shouting into each man's ear his
-listener's _own_ name, and suppressing altogether that of his new
-acquaintance, an ingenious method of presenting people to each other
-without furthering their intimacy to any great extent. The General,
-however, and the member had known each other previously by sight as
-well as by name, the former having voted and spoken against the latter
-at the past election, with his peculiar abruptness and energy; but
-Mount Helicon was the last man in the world to owe an antagonist a
-grudge, and being keenly alive to the ridiculous, was prepared to be
-delighted with his political opponent, in whom he saw a fund of
-absurdity, out of which he promised himself much amusement.
-
-"Glad to make your acquaintance, my Lud," said the General, standing
-well behind his orders and decorations, which showed to great
-advantage on a coat tightly buttoned across his somewhat corpulent
-frame--"Don't like your politics--what? never did--progress and all
-that, sir, not worth a row of gingerbread--don't tell _me_--why, what
-did Lord Hindostan say to me at Government House, when they threatened
-to report me at home for exceeding my orders? 'Bounce,' says his
-Excellency--'Bounce, _I'll see you through it_'--what? _nothing like a
-big stick for a nigger_. _Stick!_ how d'ye mean?"--and the speaker,
-who was beginning to foam at the mouth, suddenly changed his tone to
-one of the sweetest politeness, as he introduced 'My niece, Miss
-Kettering; Lord Mount Helicon.' A second time was Frank Hardingstone
-forestalled; he had just made up his mind that he would dance with
-Blanche only _once_, sun himself yet _once_ again in her sweet smile,
-and then think of her no more--a sensible resolution, but not very
-easy to carry out. Of course he laid the blame on her. "First she
-makes a fool of D'Orville," thought he, "a man old enough to be her
-father--and now she whisks away with this red-bearded radical--to
-make a fool of him too, unless she means to throw over Charlie; and
-who is the greatest fool of the three? Why, you, Frank Hardingstone,
-who ought to know better. I shall go home, smoke a cigar, and go to
-bed; the dream is over; I had no idea it would be so unpleasant to
-wake from it." So Frank selected his hat, pulled out his cigar-case,
-and trudged off, by no means in a philosophical or even a charitable
-frame of mind.
-
-There was a light twinkling in the window of his lodgings over the
-Saddlers, some three hours afterwards, when a carriage drove rapidly
-by, bearing a freight of pleasure-seekers home from the ball. Inside
-were the General and Blanche, the former fast asleep, wrapped in the
-dreamless slumbers which those enjoy who have reached that time of
-life when the soundness of the stomach is far more attended to than
-that of the heart--when sentiment is of small account, but digestion
-of paramount importance. Age, as it widens the circle of our
-affections, weakens their intensity, and although proverbially "there
-is no fool like an old one," we question if in the present day there
-are many Anacreons who--
-
-    "When they behold the festive train
-    Of dancing youth, are young again;"
-
-or who, however little they might object to celebrating her charms "in
-the bowl," would, for "soft Bathylla's sake," wreathe vine-leaves
-round their grizzled heads. No: Age is loth to make itself ridiculous
-in _that_ way; and the General snored and grunted, heartwhole and
-comfortable, by the side of his pretty niece. How pretty she looked--a
-little pale from over-excitement and fatigue, but her violet eyes all
-the deeper and darker from the contrast, whilst none but her maid
-would have thought the long golden brown hair spoiled by hanging down
-in those rich, uncurling clusters. She was like the pale blush rose in
-her bouquet--more winning as it droops in half-faded loveliness than
-when first it bloomed, bright and crisp, in its native conservatory.
-The flower yields its fragrance all the sweeter from being shaken by
-the breeze. Who but a cousin or a brother would have gone on the box
-to smoke with such a girl as Blanche inside? Yet so it was. Master
-Charlie, who danced, as he did everything else, with his whole heart
-and soul, could not forego the luxury of a cigar in the cool night
-air, after the noise and heat and revelry of the ball. As he puffed
-volumes of smoke into the air, and watched the bright stars twinkling
-down through the clear, pure night, his thoughts wandered far--far
-into the future; and he, too, felt that the majesty of a sad, sweet
-face had impressed itself on his being--that she had been watching him
-to-day through his boyish exploits--and that her eye would kindle, her
-cheek would glow, when military honours and distinction were heaped
-upon him, as heaped he was resolved they should be, if ever an
-opportunity offered. To-morrow his career would begin! To-morrow, ay,
-even to-day (for it was already past midnight) he was to embark for
-the Cape; and scarce a thought of the bitterness of parting, perhaps
-for ever, shaded that bright, young imagination, as it sketched out
-for itself its impossible romance, worth all the material
-possibilities that have ever been accomplished. So Charlie smoked and
-pondered, and dreamed of beauty and valour. We do not think he was in
-very imminent danger of marrying his cousin.
-
-Perhaps, were he inside, his flow of spirits would only disturb the
-quiet occupants. Blanche is not asleep, but she is dreaming
-nevertheless. With her large eyes fixed vacantly on the hedge-row
-trees and fences, that seem to be wheeling past her in the carriage
-lamp-light, she is living the last few hours of her life again, and
-seeing their past events more clearly, as she disentangles them from
-the excitement and confusion amongst which they actually occurred. Now
-she is dancing with Lacquers or Sir Ascot, and wondering, as she
-recalls their commonplace chatter and trite remarks, how men so
-insipid can belong to the same creation as "Cousin Charlie," or
-another gentleman, a friend of his, of whom, for the first time in her
-life, she feels a little afraid. Now she laughs to herself as she
-recollects Cornet Capon's agony of shyness, and the burning blushes
-with which that diffident young officer apologised for tearing her
-dress. Anon she sees Major D'Orville's commanding figure and
-handsome, manly face, while the low musical voice is still ringing in
-her ear, and the quiet deferential manner, softened by a protective
-air of kindness, has lost none of its charm. Blanche is not the first
-young lady, by a good many, who has gone home from a ball with a
-flattered consciousness that a certain gallant officer thinks her a
-"very superior person," and that the good opinion of such a man is
-indeed worth having. The Major was "a dangerous man"; he betrayed no
-coxcombry to mar the effect of his warlike beauty and chivalrous
-bearing. He never "sank" the profession, but always spoke of himself
-as a "mere soldier," whilst his manner was that of a "finished
-gentleman." He had distinguished himself, too, on more than one
-occasion; and the men all had a great opinion of him. Woman is an
-imitative animal; and a high reputation, especially for courage,
-amongst the gentlemen, goes a long way in the good graces of the
-ladies. Add to these the crowning advantage, that the Major, except in
-one instance of which we know the facts, came into the unequal contest
-with a heart perfectly invulnerable and case-hardened by intercourse
-with the world, and a selfishness less the result of nature than
-education. When a man, himself untouched, makes up his mind that a
-woman _shall_ love him, the odds are fearfully in his favour. Blanche
-_liked_ him already; but if "in the multitude of counsellors there is
-safety," no less is there security in the multitude of admirers; and
-ere the Major's image had time to make more than a transient
-impression, that of Lord Mount Helicon chased it away in the mental
-magic-lantern of our fair young dreamer. He had taken her in to
-supper; and how pleasant he was! so odd, but so agreeable--such a
-command of language, and such a quaint, absurd way of saying
-commonplace things. Not so bad-looking either, in spite of his red
-whiskers; and such a beautiful title! How well it would sound! and
-Blanche smiled at herself as the idea came across her. But a handsome,
-manly fellow leaning against the wall was looking at her with a stern,
-forbidding expression she had never seen before on that open brow, and
-Blanche's heart ached at the vision. Mr. Hardingstone was surely very
-much changed; he who used to be so frank, and kind, and
-good-humoured, and to lose no opportunity of petting and praising the
-girl he had known from a child; and to-night he had never so much as
-asked her to dance, and scarcely spoken to her. "What right had he to
-look so cross at me?" thought the girl, with the subdued irritation of
-wounded feelings; "what had I done to offend him, or why should I care
-whether I offend him or not? Poor fellow, perhaps he is in low spirits
-about Cousin Charlie's going away so soon." And Blanche's eyes filled
-with tears--tears that she persuaded herself were but due to her
-cousin's early departure.
-
-Like the rising generation in general, Charlie was a great smoker. His
-ideas of "campaigning" were considerably mixed up with tobacco, and he
-lost no opportunity of qualifying for the bivouac by a sedulous
-consumption of cigars. He dashed the last bit of "burning comfort"
-from his lips as the carriage drove into the avenue at Newton-Hollows.
-Protracted yawns prevented much conversation during the serving-out of
-hand-candlesticks. Good-nights were exchanged; "We shall all see you
-to-morrow before you go, dear," said Blanche, as she disappeared into
-her room; and soon the sighing of the night wind was the only sound to
-disturb the silence of that long range of buildings, where all were
-sunk in slumber and repose--all save one.
-
-At an open window, looking steadfastly forth into the darkness, sat
-Mary Delaval. She had not stirred for hours, and she might have been
-asleep, so moveless was her attitude, had it not been for the fixed,
-earnest expression of her dark grey eye. One round white arm rested on
-the window-ledge, and her long black hair fell in loose masses over
-the snowy garments, which, constituting a lady's _deshabille_, reveal
-her beauties far less liberally than the costume she more inaptly
-terms "full dress." Mary is reasoning with herself--generally an
-unsatisfactory process, and one that seldom leads to any definite
-conclusion; sadly, soberly, and painfully, she is recalling her past
-life, her selfish father, her injured mother, the hardships and trials
-of her youth, and the ray of sunshine that has tinged the last few
-weeks with its golden light. She never thought to entertain folly,
-madness, such as this; yet would she not have had it otherwise for
-worlds. Bitter are the dregs, but verily the poison is more than
-sweet. And now he is going away, and she will never, never see him
-again; that fair young face will never more greet her with its
-thrilling smile, those kindly joyous tones never more make music for
-her ear. To-morrow he will be gone. Perhaps he may fall in action--the
-beautiful brow gashed--the too well-known features cold and fixed in
-death: not if prayers can avert such a fate. Perhaps he will return
-distinguished and triumphant; but in either case what more will the
-poor governess have to do with the young hero, save to love him still?
-Yes, she may love him _now_--love him with all her heart and soul,
-without restraint, without self-reproach, for she will _never_ see him
-again. On that she is determined; their paths lie in different
-directions, like two ships that meet upon the waters and rejoice in
-each other's companionship, and part, and know each other no more. It
-was foolish to sit up for him to-night; but it is the last, _last_
-time, and she could not resist the temptation to wait and watch even
-for the very wheels that bore him home; and now it is over--all
-over--he will never know it; but she will always think of him and pray
-for him, and watch over Blanche for _his_ sake, and love him, adore
-him dotingly--madly--to the last; and cold, haughty, passionless Mary
-Delaval leant her head upon her two white arms, and sobbed like a
-broken-hearted child.
-
-We wonder if any man that walks the earth is worthy of the whole
-idolatrous devotion of a woman's heart. Charlie was snoring sound
-asleep, whilst she who loved him wept and prayed and suffered. Go to
-sleep too, foolish Mary, and pleasant dreams to you: "Sorrow has your
-young days shaded;" it is but fair that your nights should glow in the
-rosy, fancy-brightened hues of joy.
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER IX
-
-WANT
-
-     LODGINGS IN LONDON--A CONVIVIAL HUSBAND--THE WIFE GIVES HER
-     OPINION--FAMILY PLEASURES--FAMILY CARES--DRESSING TO GO
-     OUT--THE DRUNKARD'S VISITORS--CHEAP ENJOYMENT--WHO IS THE
-     OWNER?--LONDON FOR THE POOR
-
-
-As you walk jauntily along any of the great thoroughfares of London,
-you arrive, ever and anon, at one of those narrow offshoots of which
-you would scarcely discover the existence, were it not for the paved
-crossing over which you daintily pick your way on the points of your
-jetty boots. All the attention you can spare from passing events is
-devoted to the preservation of your _chaussure_, and you do not
-probably think it worth while to bestow even a casual peep down that
-close, winding alley, in which love and hate, and hopes and fears, and
-human joys and miseries and sympathies, are all packed together, just
-as they are in your own house in Belgravia, Tyburnia, or Mayfair, only
-considerably more cramped for room, and a good deal worse off for
-fresh air. That noble animal, the horse, generally occupies the
-ground-floor of such tenements as compose these narrow streets, whilst
-the dirty children of those bipeds who look after his well-being,
-embryo coachmen, and helpers, and stablemen, play and fight and
-vociferate in the gutter, with considerable energy and no little
-noise, munching their dinners _al fresco_ the while, with an appetite
-that makes dry bread a very palatable sustenance. A strong "smell of
-stables" pervades the atmosphere, attributable perhaps to the
-accumulation of that agricultural wealth which, in its _right_ place,
-produces golden harvests; and the ring of harness and stamp of
-steeds, varied by an occasional snort, nearly drown the plaintive
-street organ, grinding away, fainter and fainter, round the corner.
-Shirts, stockings, and garments of which we neither know the names nor
-natures, hang, like Macbeth's banners, "on the outward walls." Washing
-appears to be the staple commerce, while porter seems the principal
-support, of these busy regions; and as the snowy water-lily rises from
-the stagnant marsh, so does the dazzling shirt-front, in which you
-will to-day appear at dinner, owe its purity to that stream of soapy
-starch-stained liquid now pouring its filthy volume down the gutter.
-Dirty, drowsy-looking men clatter about with pails and other apparatus
-for the cleansing of carriages, whilst here and there an urchin is
-pounced upon and carried off by some maternal hawk, with bare arms and
-disordered tresses, either to return with a smeared mouth and a
-festive slice of bread and treacle, or to admonish its companions, by
-piercing cries, that it is undergoing summary punishment not
-undeserved. The shrill organ of female volubility, we need hardly say,
-is in the ascendant; and we may add that the faces generally met with,
-all dirty and careworn though they be, are gilded by an honest
-expression of contentment peculiar to those who fulfil their destiny
-by working for their daily bread.
-
-In one of the worst lodgings in such a mews as we have faintly
-endeavoured to describe, in a dirty, comfortless room, bare of
-furniture, and to which laborious access is obtained by a dilapidated
-wooden staircase, sits our old acquaintance Gingham, now Mrs. Blacke,
-but who will never be known to "the families in which she lived" by
-any other than her maiden patronymic. Though in her best days a lady
-of no fascinating exterior, she is decidedly altered for the worse
-since we saw her at St. Swithin's, and is now, without question, a
-hard-featured and repulsive-looking woman. She has lost the
-"well-to-do" air, which sits more easily on those who live at
-"housekeeping" than on those "who find themselves," and everything
-about her betrays a degree of poverty, if not of actual want, sadly
-repugnant to the habits of an orderly upper-servant in a
-well-regulated establishment.
-
-Of all those who sink to hardships after having "seen better days,"
-none bear privation so ill as this particular rank. They have neither
-the determination and energy of "the gentle," nor the happy
-carelessness and bodily vigour of the labouring class. It is
-lamentable to watch the gradual sinking of a once respectable man, who
-has been tempted, by the very natural desire of becoming independent,
-to leave "service" and set up on his own account. From his boyhood he
-has been fed, housed, and clothed, without a thought or care of his
-own, till he has spread into the portly, grave, ponderous official,
-whom not even his master's guests would think of addressing save by
-the respectful title of "Mister." He has saved a "pretty bit o'
-money"; and on giving warning, announces his long-concealed marriage
-to the housekeeper, who has perhaps saved a little more. Between them
-they muster a _very_ few hundred pounds; and on this inexhaustible
-capital they determine to set up for themselves. If he takes a
-public-house, it is needless to dwell on the almost inevitable
-catastrophe. But whatever the trade or speculation on which he
-embarks, he has everything to learn; education cannot be had without
-paying for it; business connections cannot be made--they must _grow_.
-Those are positive hardships to _him_, which could scarcely be felt as
-wants by others of his own sphere, who had not always lived, as he
-has, on the fat of the land. Discontent and recrimination creep into
-the household. The wife makes home uncomfortable, and "the husband
-goes to the beer-shop." The money dwindles--the business
-fails--fortunate if the family do not increase. "Trade _never_ was so
-bad," and it soon becomes a question of assignees and ten shillings in
-the pound. The man himself is honest, and it cuts him to the heart.
-Only great speculators can rise, like the Phoenix, in gaudier
-plumage after every fresh insolvency; and hunger begins to stare our
-once portly acquaintance in the face. At last he is completely "sold
-up," and if too old to go again into service, he will probably think
-himself well off to finish in the workhouse. And this is the career of
-two-thirds of those who leave comfortable homes for the vague future
-of a shadowy independence, and embark upon speculations of which they
-neither understand the nature nor count the cost.
-
-But we must return to Gingham, bending her thin, worn figure over some
-dirty needlework, and rocking with her foot a wooden cradle, in which,
-covered by a scanty rug not over-clean, sleeps a little pinched-up
-atom of a child, contrasting sadly with those vigorous, brawling
-urchins out of doors. There is a scanty morsel of fire in the grate,
-though the day is hot and sultry, for a "bit of dinner" has to be kept
-warm for "father"; and very meagre fare it is, between its two delf
-plates. A thin-bladed knife and two-pronged fork lie ready for him on
-the rough deal table, guiltless of a cloth; and Gingham wonders what
-is keeping him, for he promised faithfully to come back to dinner, and
-the poor woman sighs as she stitches and rocks the child, and counts
-the quarters told out by the neighbouring clock, and ponders sadly on
-old times, than which there is no surer sign of a heart ill at ease.
-Well-to-do, thriving people are continually looking forward, and
-scheming and living in the Future; it is only your worn, dejected,
-hopeless sufferer that recalls the long-faded sunshine of the Past.
-
-Gingham's marriage took place at St. Swithin's as soon after Mrs.
-Kettering's death as appearances would allow, and was conducted with
-the usual solemnities observed on such occasions in her rank of life.
-There was a new shawl, and a gorgeous bonnet, and a cake, with a large
-consumption of tea, not to mention excisable commodities. Tom Blacke
-looked very smart in a white hat and trousers to match, whilst
-Hairblower signalised the event by the performance of an intricate and
-unparalleled hornpipe, such as is never seen now-a-days off the stage.
-Blanche made the bride a handsome present, which was acknowledged with
-many blessings and a shower of tears. Gingham's great difficulty was,
-how ever she should part with Miss Blanche! and "all went merry as a
-marriage bell." But they had not long been man and wife ere Tom began
-to show the cloven foot. First he would take his blushing bride to
-tea-gardens and such places of convivial resort, where, whilst she
-partook of the "cup that cheers but not inebriates," he would sip
-consolatory measures of that which does both. After a time he
-preferred such expeditions as she could not well accompany him on, and
-would come home with glazed eyes, a pale face, and the tie of his
-neckcloth under his ear. The truth will out. Tom was a drunken dog.
-There was no question about it. Then came dismissal from his employer,
-the attorney. Still, as long as Gingham's money lasted, all went on
-comparatively well. But a lady's-maid's savings are not inexhaustible,
-and people who live on their capital are apt to get through it
-wonderfully fast. So they came down from three well-furnished rooms to
-a kitchen and parlour, and from that to one miserable apartment,
-serving all purposes at once. Then they moved to London to look for
-employment; and Tom Blacke, a handy fellow enough when sober, obtained
-a series of situations, all of which he lost owing to his convivial
-failing. Now they paid two shillings a week for the wretched room in
-which we find them, and a hard matter it often was to raise money for
-the rent, and their own living, and Tom's score at "The Feathers,"
-just round the corner. But Gingham worked for the whole family, as a
-woman will when put to it, and seemed to love her husband the better
-the worse he used her, as is constantly the case with that
-long-suffering sex. "Poor fellow," she would say, when Tom reeled home
-to swear at her in drunken ferocity, or kiss her in maudlin kindness,
-"it's trouble that's drove him to it; but there's good in Tom
-yet--look how fond he is of baby." And with all his faults, there is
-no doubt little Miss Blacke possessed a considerable share of her
-father's heart, such as it was.
-
-But even gentle woman's temper is not proof against being kept
-waiting, that most irritating of all trials; and Gingham, who in her
-more prosperous days had been a lady of considerable asperity, could
-"pluck up a spirit," as she called it, even now, when she was
-"_raised_,"--so, surmounting the coffee-coloured front with a dingy
-bonnet, and folding her bare arms in a faded shawl, she locked baby
-in, trusting devoutly the child might not wake during her absence, and
-marched stoutly off to "The Feathers," where she was sure to find her
-good-for-nothing husband.
-
-There he was, sure enough, just as she expected, his old black coat
-glazed and torn, his pinched-up hat pressed down over his pale, sunken
-features, his whole appearance dirty and emaciated. None but his wife
-could have recognised the dapper Tom Blacke, of St. Swithin's, in
-that shaky, scowling, dissipated sot. Alas! she knew him in his
-present character too well. There he was, playing skittles with a
-ponderous ruffian, in a linen jacket and high-lows, who looked like a
-showman of a travelling menagerie, only not so respectable; and a
-little Jew pedlar, with a hawk eye and an expression of countenance
-that defied Mephistopheles himself to overreach him. There was her
-husband, betting pots of beer and "goes" of gin, though the cupboard
-was bare at home and the child crying for food--marking his game with
-a trembling hand, cheating when he won, and blaspheming when he lost,
-like the very blackguard to which he was rapidly descending.
-
-Gingham shook a little as she advanced, twirling the door-key
-nervously round her finger; but she determined to try the _suaviter in
-modo_ first, so she began, "Tom! Tom Blacke! dinner's ready, ain't you
-coming home?"
-
-"Home! Home be ----! and you, too, Mrs. Blacke; we won't go home till
-mornin'--shall us, Mr. Fibbes?" Mr. Fibbes, although appearances were
-much against him, in his linen jacket and high-lows, was a man of
-politeness where the fair were concerned, so he took a straw out of
-his mouth, and replied, "Not to cross the missus, when sich is by no
-means necessary; finish the game first, and then we'll hargue the
-pint--that's what _I_ say."
-
-"O Tom, _pray_ come away," said poor Gingham, who had caught sight of
-the chalked-up score, and knew, by sad experience, what havoc it would
-make with the weekly earnings. "I durstn't leave the child not a
-minute longer; I've kept your bit of dinner all hot for you--come
-away, there's a dear!"
-
-"Not I," said Tom, poising his wooden bowl for a fresh effort, and,
-irritated by his failure, bursting forth upon his wife. "How _can_ I
-leave these gentlemen in their game to attend to you? Come, let's have
-no nonsense; be off! _be off!_" he repeated, clenching his fist, and
-raising his voice to a pitch that called forth from the large man the
-admonitory remark that "_easy does it_," whilst the little Jew's eyes
-glittered at the prospect of winning his game.
-
-But Gingham was roused, and she went at him fiercely and at once:
-"Shame--shame on ye!" she exclaimed, in a low, hoarse voice,
-gradually rising, as she got more excited, and her pale features
-worked with passion, "with the child cryin' at home, and me obliged to
-come and look for you in such a place as this; me that slaves and
-toils, and works my fingers to the bone," holding up her
-needle-scarred hands to the by-standers, who were already collecting,
-as they always do when there is a prospect of _a row_. "Call yourself
-a man!--_a man_, indeed!--and let your wife and child starve whilst
-you are taking your diversion, and enjoying of yourself here? And you
-too," she added, attacking the large man and the Jew with a suddenness
-which much startled the former, "_you_ ought to be ashamed of
-yourselves, you ought; keeping of him here, and making of him as bad
-as yourselves--though perhaps _you're_ not husbands and fathers, and
-don't know no better. Ay, do, you coward! strike a woman if you dare!
-Was it for this I left my place and my missus? Oh dear, oh dear,
-whatever shall I do?" and Gingham, throwing her apron over her head,
-sank upon a bench in a passion of weeping, supported by a phalanx of
-matrons who had already collected, and who took part in the
-altercation, as being to all intents and purposes a Government
-question.
-
-Tom Blacke was furious, of course. Had it not been for the large man,
-he would have struck his wife to the ground--alas! not the first time,
-we fear, that she had felt the weight of a coward's arm; but that
-ponderous champion interposed his massive person, and recommended his
-friend strongly "not to cross the missus." Truth to tell, Mr. Fibbes
-had a little shrew of a black-eyed wife at home, who ruled the roast,
-and kept her great husband in entire subjection; besides which, like
-most square, powerful men, he was a good-natured fellow, though not
-very respectable; and having won as much beer as he wanted from Tom,
-willingly lent his good offices to solder up the quarrel, which ended,
-as such disturbances generally do, in a sort of half-sulky
-reconciliation, and the wife marching off in triumph with her captured
-husband. The women, as usual, had formed the majority of the crowd,
-and of course sided with the injured lady; so Tom Blacke, after a few
-ineffectual threats, and an oath or two, left the ground with his
-still sobbing wife, promising himself an ample revenge if she should
-dare to cross him at home, when there was no one by to take her part.
-
-When they arrived at the desolate room which served them for home,
-"baby" was awake, and crying piteously to find its little self alone.
-On what trifles do the moods and tempers of the human mind depend! The
-child set up a crow of delight to see its father, instead of the
-hideous howl in which it had been indulging, and stretched out its
-little arms with a welcome that went straight to the drunkard's heart.
-In another moment he was dancing the little thing up and down in
-perfect good humour; and poor Gingham, thoroughly overcome, was
-leaning her head against his shoulder in a paroxysm of reconciled
-affection, and going through that process of relief known to ladies by
-the expressive term of "having a good cry."
-
-How many a matrimonial bicker has been interrupted and ended by the
-innocent smile of "one of these little ones"! How many an ill-assorted
-couple have been kept from separation by the homely consideration of
-"what should be done with the children"! How many an evil desire, how
-many an unkind thought, has been quenched at its very birth by the
-pure, open gaze of a guileless child! The stern, severe man, disgusted
-with the world, and disappointed in his best affections, has a corner
-in his heart for those whom he prizes as his own flesh and blood; the
-passionate, impetuous woman, yearning for the love she seeks in vain
-at home, her mind filled with an image of which it is sin even to
-think, and beset by the hundred temptations to which those are exposed
-who pass their lives in wedded misery, pauses on the very threshold,
-and is saved from guilt when she thinks of her darlings. Sunshine and
-music do they make in a house, with their bright, happy faces, the
-patter of their little feet, and the ringing echoes of their merry
-laugh. Grudge not to have the quiver full of them. Love and prize them
-whilst you may; for the hour will come at last, and your life will be
-weary and your hearth desolate when they take wing and fly away.
-
-So Tom Blacke and his wife are reconciled for the time, and would be
-comparatively happy, were it not for the grinding anxiety ever
-present to their minds of how to "make both ends meet"--that
-consideration which poisons the comfort of many a homely dwelling, and
-which in their case is doubtless their own fault, or at least the
-fault of the "pater familias," but none the less bitter on that
-account.
-
-"There is the baker to pay, and the rent," sighed Gingham, enumerating
-them on her fingers; "and the butcher called this morning with his
-account; to be sure it is but little, and little there is to meet it
-with. I shall be paid to-day for the plain-work, and I got a bit of
-washing yesterday, that brought me in sevenpence-halfpenny," she
-proceeded, immersed in calculation; "and then we shall be
-three-and-eightpence short--three-and-eight-pence! and where to get it
-I don't know, if I was to drop down dead this minute!"
-
-"I _must_ have a little money to-day, too, missus," said Tom, in a
-hoarse, dogged voice; "can't ye put the screw on a little tighter? A
-man may as well be starved to death as worried to death; and I can't
-face 'The Feathers' again without wiping off a bit of the score, ye
-know." Gingham's eye glanced at the Sunday gown, hanging on a nail
-behind the door--a black silk one, of voluminous folds and formidable
-rustle, the last remnant of respectability left--and she thought
-_that_, too, must follow the rest to the pawnbroker's, to that
-receptacle of usury with which, alas! she was too familiar, and from
-which even now she possessed sundry mocking duplicates, representing
-many a once-prized article of clothing and furniture.
-
-Tom saw and interpreted the hopeless glance. "No, no," said he,
-relenting, "not quite so bad as that, neither; I wouldn't strip the
-gown off your back, Rachel, not if it was ever so; I couldn't bear to
-see you, that was once so respectable, going about all in rags. We
-_might_ get on, too," added he, brightening up, with an expression of
-desperate cunning in his bad eye--"we might get money--ay, plenty of
-it--if you were only like the rest: you're too mealy-mouthed, Mrs.
-Blacke, that's where it is."
-
-"O Tom, what would you have me do?" exclaimed his wife, bursting
-afresh into tears; "we've been honest as yet through it all, and I've
-borne and borne because we _were_ honest. I'd work upon my bare knees
-for you and the child--I'd starve and never complain _myself_, if I
-hadn't a morsel in the cupboard; but I'd keep my honesty, Tom, I'd
-keep my honesty, for when _that's_ gone, all's gone together."
-
-"Will your honesty put decent clothes on your back, missus?" rejoined
-Tom, who did not see that the article in question was by any means so
-indispensable; "will your honesty put a joint down before the fire,
-such as we used to sit down to every day, when we was first man and
-wife, and lived respectable? Will your honesty furnish a bellyful for
-this poor little beggar, that's whining now on my knee for a bit to
-eat?" Gingham began to relent at this consideration, and Tom pursued
-his advantage: "Besides, it's not as if it was to do anybody any harm;
-there's Miss Blanche got more than she knows what to do with, and the
-young gentleman--he's away at the wars. _Honesty_, indeed! if
-honesty's the game, you've a right to your share, what Mrs. Kettering
-intended you should have. I think I ought to know the law; and the
-law's on our side, and the justice too. Ah! Rachel, you used not to be
-so difficult to come round once," concluded Tom, trying the _tender_
-tack, when he had exhausted all his other arguments; and recalling to
-his wife's mind, as he intended it should do, their early days of
-courtship, and the carriage of a certain brown-paper parcel by the
-sea-shore.
-
-But Gingham felt she had right on her side; and when we can indulge
-the spirit of contradiction never dormant in our natures, and fight
-under the banner of truth at the same time, it is too great a luxury
-for mortal man, or especially mortal woman, to forego, so Gingham was
-game to the last. "No, Tom, _no_!" she said, steadily and with
-emphasis, "I _won't_ do it, so don't ask me, and there's an end of
-it!"
-
-Her husband put the child down in disgust, banged his hat upon his
-head, as if to go back to "The Feathers," and was leaving the room,
-when a fresh idea struck him. If he could but break down his wife's
-self-respect he might afterwards mould her more easily to his purpose,
-and the course he proposed to adopt might, at any rate, furnish him
-in the meantime with a little money for his dissipation; so he turned
-round coaxingly to poor Gingham, and asked for his bit of dinner, and
-put the infant once more upon his knee, ere he began to sound her on
-the propriety of applying for a little assistance to her darling Miss
-Blanche. "You ought to go and see your young lady, Rachel," said he,
-quite good-humouredly, and with the old keeping-company-days' smile;
-"it's only proper respect, now she's grown to be a great lady, and
-come to London. I'll mind the child at home; it likes to be left with
-its daddy--a deary--and you brush yourself up a bit, and put on your
-Sunday gown there, and take a bit of a holiday; you needn't hurry
-back, you know, if they ask you to stay tea in the room, and I'll be
-here till you come home; or if I'm not, I'll get one of the neighbours
-to look in. So now go, there's a good wench."
-
-Mrs. Blacke had not heard such endearing language since the sea-side
-walks at St. Swithin's--she felt almost happy again, and nearly forgot
-the "three-and-eightpence" wanting for the week's account. Sundry
-feminine misgivings had she, as to her personal appearance being
-sufficiently fine to face the new servants, in the exalted character
-of Miss Blanche's late lady's-maid; but women, even ugly ones, have a
-wonderful knack of adorning themselves on very insufficient materials,
-and Tom assured her the black silk looked as good as new, and that
-bonnet always _did_ become her, and always _would_--so she gave the
-child a parting kiss, and her husband many injunctions to take care of
-the treasure, and started in wonderfully good spirits; Tom's last
-injunction to her as she departed being to this effect--"If Miss
-Blanche should ask you how we're getting on, Rachel, you put your
-pride in your pocket--mind that--put your pride in your pocket, do you
-understand?" So the drunkard was left alone with his child.
-
-We have already said Tom was fond of the little thing--in fact, it was
-the only being on earth that had found its way to his heart. Man must
-love _something_, and Tom Blacke, the attorney's clerk, who had
-married for money as if he had been a ruined peer of the realm, cared
-just as little for his wife as any impoverished nobleman might for the
-peeress with whom his income was necessarily encumbered; but the more
-indifferent he was to the mother, the fonder he was of the child; and
-with all his liking for skittles and vulgar dissipation (the whist and
-claret of higher circles), he thought it no hardship to spend the rest
-of the afternoon with an infant that was just beginning to talk. He
-fully intended, as he had promised, to remain at home till his wife
-returned, but a drunkard can have no will of his own. When a man gives
-himself up to strong drink he chooses a mistress who will take no
-denial, for whom appetite grows too fiercely by what it feeds on,
-whose beck and call he must be ever ready to obey, for she will punish
-his neglect by the infliction of such horrors as we may fancy pictured
-in the imagination of the doomed--till he fly for relief back to the
-enchantress that has maddened him; and whilst the poison begets thirst
-as the thirst craves for the poison, the liquid fire poured upon the
-smouldering flame eats, and saps, and scorches, till it expires in
-drivelling idiocy, or blazes out in raving, riotous madness. Mr.
-Blacke was tolerably cheerful up to a certain point, when he arrived
-at that state which we once heard graphically described by the
-sergeant of a barrack-guard, on whom the duty had devolved of placing
-an inebriated warrior in solitary confinement--"Was he drunk,
-sergeant?" said the orderly officer. "No, sir." "Was he sober, then?"
-"No, sir." "How? neither drunk nor sober! what d'ye mean?" "Well, sir,
-the man had been drinking, no doubt, _but the liquor was just dying
-out in him_."
-
-So with Tom Blacke--after an hour or so the liquor began to _die out
-in him_, and then came the ghastly reaction. First he thought the room
-was gloomy and solitary, and he got nearer the child's cradle for
-company--the little thing was again asleep, and he adjusted its
-coverlet more comfortably--ah! that slimy, crawling creature! what is
-it? so near the infant's head--he brushed it away with his hand, but
-swarms of the same loathsome insects came climbing over the cradle,
-chairs, and furniture. Now they settled on his legs and clothes, and
-he beat them down and flung them from him by hundreds, shuddering with
-horror the while; then he looked into the corners of the room, and put
-his hands before his eyes after each startled glance, for hideous
-faces grinned and gibbered at him, starting out from the very walls,
-and mopping and mowing, shifted their forms and places, so that it was
-impossible to identify them. He could have borne these, but worse
-still, there was a Shape in the room with him, of whose presence he
-was fearfully conscious, though whenever he manned himself to look
-steadily at it, it was gone. He could not bear to have this visitant
-_behind_ him, so he backed his chair hard against the wall. In
-vain--still on the side from which he turned his head the grim Shape
-sat and cowered and blinked at him. He knew it--he felt it--mortal
-nerves could bear it no longer. He grew desperate, as a man does in a
-dream. Should he take the child and run for it? No! he would meet It
-on the narrow stairs, and he could not get by there. Ha! the window!
-bounding into the air, child and all, he might escape. He was mad
-now--he was capable of anything. Come along, little one!--they are
-blocking up the room--they cover the room in myriads--the Shape is
-waving them on--light and freedom without, the devil and all his
-legions within--Hurrah!
-
-Fortunate was it for the hope of the Blacke family that Mrs. Crimp was
-at this instant returning to her lodgings above, accompanied by
-several promising young Crimps, with whom, as she toiled up the common
-staircase, she kept up a running fire of objurgation and entreaty. The
-homely sounds, the familiar voices, brought Tom Blacke to himself. The
-vicinity of such a material dame as Mrs. Crimp was sufficient to
-destroy the ideal in the most brandy-sodden brain, and the horrors
-left their victim for the time. But he dared not remain to encounter a
-second attack. He could not answer for the consequences of another
-hour in that room alone with the child; so he asked his neighbour, a
-kind, motherly woman, and as fond of a baby as if she had not nursed a
-dozen of her own, to keep an eye upon his little one, and betook
-himself straight to "The Feathers," to raise the accursed remedy to
-his lips with a trembling hand, and borrow half-an-hour's callousness
-at a frightful sacrifice. Tom thought he knew what was good for his
-complaint, and "clung to the hand that smote him" with the confirmed
-infatuation of a sot. So we leave him at the bar, with a glazed eye, a
-haggard smile, and the worm that never dies eating into his very
-vitals.
-
-In the meantime, Gingham, with the dingy bonnet somewhat cocked up
-behind, and her bony fingers peeping through the worn thread gloves,
-is making her way along the sunny pavement in the direction of
-Grosvenor Square. The old black silk gown looks worse than she
-expected in that searching light, and she feels nervous and shy at
-revisiting her former haunts; nor does she like leaving home for many
-hours at a time. But as she walks on, the exercise does her good. The
-moving objects on all sides, and the gaudy bustle of London in the
-height of the season, have an exhilarating effect on her spirits. It
-is so seldom she has _an outing_; moped up for days together in that
-mews, the very change is enjoyment; and the shops, with their cheap
-dresses and seductive ribbons, are perfect palaces of delight. She
-cannot tear herself from one window, where an excellent silk for her
-own wear, and a frock "fit to dress an angel," as she thinks, for
-baby, are to be sold, in tempting juxtaposition, respectively for a
-mere nothing. If she was sure the colour of the silk would _stand_,
-she would try and scrape the money together to buy it; but a pang
-shoots through her as she recalls the fatal "three-and-eightpence," so
-she walks on with a heavy sigh, and though she knows she never can
-possess it, yet she feels all the better for having seen such a dress
-as _that_.
-
-And these, and such as these, are the pleasures of the poor in our
-great metropolis. Continual self-denial, continual self-restraint,
-continual self-abasement--like Tantalus, to be whelmed in the waters
-of enjoyment which must never touch the lip. In the country the poor
-man can at least revel in its freshest and purest delights. We have
-been told that "the meek shall inherit the earth"; and the
-day-labourer, mending "my lord's" park fence, has often far more
-enjoyment in that wilderness of beauty than its high-born proprietor.
-While the latter is in bed, the former breathes the sweet morning air
-and the scent of a thousand wild flowers, whose fragrance will be
-scorched up ere noon. The glad song of birds makes music to his
-ear--the whole landscape, smiling in the sunlight, is spread out for
-the delight of his eye. Not only the park, and the waving woods, and
-the placid lake, are his property for the time, but the cheerful
-homesteads, and the scattered herds, and the hazy distance stretching
-away as far as those blue hills that melt into the sky. He can admire
-the shadow of each giant elm without disturbing himself as to which of
-them must be marked for the axe; he can watch the bounding deer
-without caring which is the fattest to furnish a haunch for solemn
-dinners and political entertainments, where people eat because they
-are weary, and drink because they are dull. The distant view he looks
-upon is to him a breathing, sparkling world, full of light and life
-and hope--not a mere county, subdivided into votes and freeholds, and
-support and interest. His frame is attempered by toil to the enjoyment
-of natural pleasures and natural beauties. The wild breeze fans his
-brow--the daisies spring beneath his feet--the glorious summer sky is
-spread above--and the presence of his Maker pervades the atmosphere
-about him. For the time the man is happy--happier, perhaps, than he is
-himself aware of. To be sure he is mortal, and in the midst of all he
-sighs for beer; yet is his lot one not unmixed with many pure and
-thrilling pleasures; and if he can only get plenty of work, there are
-many states of existence far worse than that of an English
-field-labourer.
-
-Not so with the sons of toil in town--there, all enjoyment is
-artificial, all pleasure must be paid for--the air they breathe will
-support life, but its odours are far different from those of the wild
-flower. If their eyes are ever gladdened by beauty, it is but the pomp
-and splendour of their fellow-creatures, on which they gaze with
-sneering admiration--half envy, half contempt. If their ears are ever
-ravished by music, there is a tempting demon wafting sin into their
-hearts upon the sounds--there is a mocking voice of ribaldry and
-vulgar revelry accompanying the very concord of heaven. What pleasure
-_can_ they have but those of the senses? Where have they to go for
-relaxation but to the gin-shop? What inducement have they to raise
-themselves above the level of "the beasts which perish"?
-
-Honour to those who are working to provide intellectual amusements for
-the masses, and that education of the soul which places man _above_
-the circumstances by which he is surrounded! Much has been done, and
-much is still left to do. Those waves must be taught to leap ever
-upwards, to fling their separate crests towards the sky; for if the
-tempest should arise, and they should come surging on in one gigantic
-volume, they will make a clear breach wherever the embankment happens
-to be weakest; and who shall withstand their force?
-
-Can we wonder to find the lower classes sometimes discontented, when
-we think of their privations and their toils? Shall a man starve with
-but half-an-inch of plate-glass betwixt his dry white lips and the
-reeking abundance of luxurious gluttony? and shall he turn away
-without a murmur, die, and make no sign? Shall a fellow-creature drag
-on an existence of perpetual labour, with no pleasures, no
-relaxations, almost no repose; and shall we expect this dreary,
-blighted being to be always contented, always cheerful, always
-respectful to his superiors? Is it to be all one way here below? shall
-it be all joy, and mirth, and comfort, and superfluity with the one;
-and all want, and misery, and grim despair with the other? Forbid it,
-Heaven! Let us, every man, put his shoulder to the wheel--let each, in
-his own circle, be it small or great, do all in his power for those
-beneath him--beneath him but in the accident of station, brothers in
-all besides--live and let live--stretch a helping hand to all who need
-it--treat every man as one who has an immortal soul--and though "they
-shall never cease out of the land," yet will their wants be known and
-their hardships alleviated, and the fairest spirit of heaven--angelic
-Charity--shall spread her wings widest and warmest in London for the
-poor.
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER X
-
-SUPERFLUITY
-
-     LONDON FOR THE RICH--A GOLDEN IMAGE--THE LADY OF FASHION--LIFE
-     WELL SPENT--BOOK-WRITING AND BOOK-MAKING--THE DAY OF THE
-     DRAWING-ROOM--GOING TO MY CLUB--THE AWFUL MOMENT--GOD SAVE THE
-     QUEEN
-
-
-London for the rich, though, is a different thing altogether. "Money
-cannot purchase happiness," said the philosopher. "No," replied a
-celebrated wit, himself well skilled in circulating the much-esteemed
-dross, "but it can purchase a very good imitation of it;"
-and none can gainsay the truth of his distinction. What can it do
-for us in the great Babylon? It can buy us airy houses--cool
-rooms--fragrant flowers--the best of everything to eat and
-drink--carriages--horses--excitement--music--friends--everything but a
-good appetite and content. London for the rich man is indeed a palace
-of delights. See him at the window of his club, in faultless attire,
-surrounded by worshippers who perform their part of the mutual
-contract most religiously, by finding conversation and company, both
-of the pleasantest, for him who provides drag and dinner, equally of
-the best. Though they bow before a calf, is it not a golden one?
-though they "eat dirt," is it not dressed by a French cook? See him
-cantering in the Park--an animal so well broke as that would make John
-Gilpin himself appear a fine horseman. What envious glances follow him
-from the humble pedestrian--what sunny smiles shine on him from lips
-and eyes surmounting the most graceful shapes, the most becoming
-neck-ribbons! No, admiring stranger! You are not in the Bazaar at
-Constantinople--you are amidst England's high-born beauties in the
-most moral country on earth; yet even here, with sorrow be it said,
-there is many a fair girl ready to barter love, and hope,
-and self-respect, for a box at the opera and an _adequate_
-settlement--only it must be large enough. Within fifty yards of this
-spot may Tattersall's voice be heard any Monday or Thursday
-proclaiming, hammer in hand, his mercenary ultimatum, "The best blood
-in England, and she is to be sold." Brain-sick moralists would read a
-lesson from the animal's fate. Our men of the world are satisfied to
-take things as they are. Meanwhile the calf has shown himself long
-enough to his idolaters; he dines _early_ to-day--a quarter past
-eight--therefore he canters home to dress. Man has no right to insult
-such a cook as his by being hungry, so he trifles over a repast that
-Apicius would have envied, and borrows half-an-hour's fictitious
-spirits from a golden vintage that has well-nigh cost its weight in
-gold. What an evening is before him! All that can enchant the eye, all
-that can ravish the ear--beauties of earth and sounds of heaven--the
-very revelry of the intellect, and "the best box in the house" from
-which to see, hear, and enjoy. The calf is indeed pasturing in the
-Elysian fields, and we need follow him no longer. Can he be otherwise
-than happy? Can there be lips on which such fruits as these turn to
-ashes? Are beauty, and luxury, and society, and song, nothing after
-all but "a bore"? Nature is a more impartial mother than we are prone
-to believe, and the rich man need not always be such an object of envy
-only because he _is_ rich.
-
-But pretty Blanche Kettering enjoyed the glitter and the excitement,
-and the pleasures of her London life, even as the opening flower
-enjoys the sunshine and the breeze. It requires a season or two to
-take the edge off a fresh, healthy appetite, and _ennui_ scowls in
-vain upon the _very_ young. Gingham thought her young lady had never
-looked so well as she did to-day, of all days in the year the one in
-which Blanche was to _be presented_. Yes--it was the day of the
-Drawing-room, and our former Abigail forgot the supercilious manners
-of the new porter, and the high and mighty ways of the General's
-gentleman, and even her own faded black silk, in a paroxysm of
-motherly affection and professional enthusiasm, brought on by the
-beauty of her darling, and the surpassing magnificence of her costume.
-Blanche was nearly dressed when she arrived, standing like a little
-princess amongst her many attendants--this one smoothing a fold, that
-one adjusting a curl, and a third holding the pincushion aloft, having
-transferred the greater portion of its contents to her own mouth.
-
-Would that we had power to describe the young lady's dress; would that
-we could delight bright eyes, should bright eyes condescend to glance
-upon our page, with a critical and correct account of the materials
-and the fashion that were capable of constituting so attractive a
-_tout ensemble_--how the gown was brocade, and the train was silk, and
-the trimmings were gossamer, to the best of our belief!--how pearls
-were braided in that soft brown hair, and feathers nodded over that
-graceful little head, though to our mind it would have been even
-better without these accessories--and how the dear girl looked
-altogether like a fairy queen, smiling through a wreath of mist, and
-glittering with the dewdrops of the morning.
-
-"Lor', miss, you do look splendid!" said Gingham, lost in admiration,
-partly at the richness of the materials, partly at the improvement in
-her old charge. Blanche was a very pretty girl, certainly, even in a
-court dress, trying as is that costume to all save the dark, tall
-beauties, who do indeed look magnificent in trains and feathers; but
-then the Anglo-Saxon _blonde_ has her revenge next morning in her
-simple _deshabille_ at breakfast--a period at which the black-eyed
-sultana is apt to betray a slight yellowness of skin, and a drowsy,
-listless air, not above half awake. Well, they are all very charming
-in all dresses--it's lucky they are so unconscious of their own
-attractions.
-
-Blanche was anything but a vain girl; but of course it takes a long
-time to dress for a Drawing-room, and when mirrors are properly
-arranged for self-inspection, it requires a good many glances to
-satisfy ladies as to the correct disposition of "front, flanks, and
-rear"; so several minutes elapse ere Gingham can be favoured with a
-private interview, and she passes that period in admiring her young
-lady, and scanning, with a criticism that borders on disapprobation,
-the ministering efforts of Rosine, the French maid.
-
-A few weeks of London dissipation have not yet taken the first fresh
-bloom off Blanche's young brow; there is not a single line to herald
-the "battered look" that will, too surely, follow a very few years of
-late hours, and nightly excitement, and disappointments. The girl is
-all _girl_ still--bright, and simple, and lovely. With all our
-prejudices in her favour, and our awe-struck admiration of her dress,
-we cannot help thinking she would look yet lovelier in a plain morning
-gown, with no ornament but a rose or two; and that Mary Delaval's
-stately beauty and commanding figure would be more in character with
-those splendid robes of state. But Mary is only a governess, and
-Blanche is an heiress; so the one remains up-stairs, and the other
-goes to Court. What else would you have?
-
-It is difficult for an inferior at any time to obtain an interview
-with a superior, and nowhere more so than in London. Gingham was
-secure of Blanche's sympathy as of her assistance; but although the
-latter was forthcoming the very instant there was the slightest
-hesitation perceived in her answer to the natural question, "How are
-you getting on?" Gingham was deprived of her share of the former by a
-thundering double-knock, that shook even the massive house in
-Grosvenor Square to its foundation, and the announcement that Lady
-Mount Helicon had arrived, and was even then waiting in the carriage
-for Miss Kettering.
-
-"Good-bye, good-bye, Gingham," said Blanche, hurrying off in a state
-of nervous trepidation, she scarcely knew why; "I mustn't keep Lady
-Mount Helicon waiting, and of course she won't get out in her
-train--come again soon--good-bye;" and in another moment the steps
-were up, the door closed with a bang, and Blanche, spread well out so
-as not to get "creased," by the side of stately Lady Mount Helicon, in
-a magnificent family coach, rich in state-liveried coachman and
-Patagonian footmen, to which Cinderella's equipage in the fairy tale
-was a mere costermonger's cart.
-
-As the stout official on the box hammer-cloth, whose driving,
-concealed as he is behind an enormous nosegay, is the admiration of
-all beholders, will take some little time to reach the "string," and
-when placed in that lingering procession, will move at a snail's pace
-the whole way to St. James's, we may as well fill up the interval by
-introducing to the reader a lady with whom Blanche is rapidly becoming
-intimate, and who takes a warm--shall we say a _maternal_?--interest
-in the movements of our young heiress.
-
-Lady Mount Helicon, then, is one of those characters which the
-metropolis of this great and happy country can alone bring to
-perfection. That she was once a merry, single-hearted child, is more
-than probable, but so many years have elapsed since that innocent
-period--so many "seasons," with their ever-recurring duties of
-card-leaving, dinner-receiving, ball-haunting, and keeping up her
-acquaintance, have been softening her brain and hardening her heart,
-that there is little left of the child in her world-worn nature, and
-not a great deal of the woman, save her attachment to her son. She is
-as fond of him as it is possible for her to be of anything. She is
-proud of his talents, his appearance, his acquirements, and in her
-heart of hearts of his wildness. Altogether, she thinks him a great
-improvement on the old lord, and would sacrifice anything for him in
-the world, save her position in society. That position, such as it is,
-she has all her life been struggling to retain. She would improve it
-if she could, but she will never get any farther. She belongs to the
-mass of good society, and receives cards for all the "best places" and
-most magnificent entertainments; but is as far removed as a curate's
-wife in Cornwall from the inner circle of those "bright particular
-stars" with whom she would give her coronet to associate.
-
-Lady Long-Acre _bows_ to her, but she never _nods_. Lady Dinadam
-invites her to the great ball, which that exemplary peeress annually
-endures with the constancy of a martyr; but as for the little dinners,
-for which her gastronomic lord is so justly renowned, it is needless
-to think of them. She might just as well expect to be asked to
-Wassailworth. And although the Duke is hand-and-glove with her son,
-she well knows she has as much chance of visiting the Emperor of
-Morocco. Even tiny Mrs. Dreadnought alternately snubs and patronises
-her. Why that artificial woman, who has no rank and very little
-character, should be one of "the great people" is totally
-inexplicable; however, there she _is_, and Lady Mount Helicon looks up
-to her accordingly. Well, there are gradations in all ranks, even to
-the very steps before the throne. In her ladyship's immediate circle
-are the Ormolus, and the Veneers, and the Blacklambs, with whom she is
-on terms of the most perfect equality; while below her again are the
-Duffles, and the Marchpanes, and the Featherheads, and a whole host of
-inferiors. If Lady Long-Acre is distant with _her_, can she not be
-condescending in her turn to Lady Tadpole? If Dinadam, who uses
-somewhat coarse language for a nobleman, says he "can't stand that
-_something_ vulgar woman," cannot Lady Mount Helicon cut young
-Deadlock unblushingly in the street, and turn the very coldest part of
-her broad shoulder on Sir Timothy and Lady Turnstile? "City people, my
-dear," as she explains for the edification of Blanche, who is somewhat
-aghast at the uncourteous manoeuvre. Has she not a grand object to
-pursue for eighteen hours out of every twenty-four? Must she not keep
-alive the recollections of her existence in the memories of some two
-or three hundred people, who would not care a straw if she were dead
-and buried before to-morrow morning? Is it not a noble ambition to
-arrive at terms of apparent intimacy with this shaky grandee, or that
-superannuated duchess, because they _are_ duchesses and grandees? Can
-horses and carriages be better employed than in carrying cards about
-for judicious distribution? Is not that a delightful night of which
-two-thirds are spent blocked up in the "string," and the remainder
-suffocated on the staircase? In short, can money be better lavished,
-or time and energy better applied, than in "keeping up one's
-acquaintance"?
-
-This is the noble aim of "all the world." This it is which brings
-country families to London when their strawberries are ripe, and their
-roses in full bloom. The Hall looks beautiful when its old trees are
-in foliage, and its sunny meadows rippled with the fresh-mown hay.
-But, dear! who would be out of London in June? except, of course,
-during Ascot week. No, the gardener and the steward are left to enjoy
-one of the sweetest places in England, and the family hug themselves
-in the exchange of their roomy chambers, and old oak wainscoting, and
-fresh country air, for a small, close, ill-constructed house, redolent
-of those mysterious perfumes which are attributed to drains, and grimy
-with many a year's accumulation of soot and other impurities, but
-happy, thrice happy in its _situation_--not a quarter of a mile from
-St. James's Street, and within a stone's throw of Berkeley Square!
-Year after year the exodus goes on. Year after year has the squire
-sworn stoutly that he will enjoy _this_ summer at home, and perjured
-himself, as a man invariably does when he attests by oath an opinion
-in defiance of his wife. While there are daughters to marry off, and
-sons to get commissions for, we can account in a measure for the
-migratory movement, though based, we conceive, on fallacious
-principles. But when John has got his appointment, through the
-_county_ member after all, and Lucy has married the young rector of
-the adjoining parish, who fell in love with her at the _county_
-archery meeting, why the two poor old folks should make their annual
-struggle, and endure discomfort, is only to be explained by the
-tenacity with which English people cling to their national
-superstitions and their national absurdities.
-
-Even little Blanche, living in one of the best houses in Grosvenor
-Square, and going to Court under a peeress's "wing," sighed while she
-thought of Newton-Hollows and its shrubberies, and her garden just
-blooming into summer luxuriance. As they toiled slowly down St.
-James's Street, envying the privileged grandees with the _entree_
-through St. James's Park, our pretty heiress would fain have been back
-in her garden-bonnet, tying up her roses, and watching her carnations,
-and idling about in the deep shades of her leafy paradise. Not so the
-chaperon. She was full of the important occasion. It was her pleasure
-to _present_ Miss Kettering, and her business to arrange how that
-maidenly patronymic should be merged in the title of Mount Helicon:
-for this she was herself prepared to lapse into a _dowager_. Who but a
-mother would be capable of such a sacrifice? Yet it must be; none knew
-better than her ladyship--excepting, perhaps, the late lord's man of
-business, and certain citizens of the Hebrew persuasion, collectors of
-noblemen's and gentlemen's autographs--how impossible it was for
-"Mount" to go on much longer. His book on the Derby was a far deeper
-affair than his "Broadsides from the Baltic"--where the publisher lost
-shillings on the latter, the author paid away hundreds on the
-former--and the literary sportsman confessed, with his usual
-devil-may-care candour, that "between black-legs and blue-stockings he
-was pretty nearly told-out!"--therefore must an heiress be
-supplied from _the canaille_ to prop the noble house of Mount
-Helicon--therefore have the Mount Helicon arms, and the Mount Helicon
-liveries, and the Mount Helicon carriage, been seen day after day
-waiting in Grosvenor Square--therefore does their diplomatic
-proprietress speak in all societies of "_her_ charming Miss
-Kettering," and "_her_ sweet Blanche," and therefore are they even now
-arriving in company at St. James's, followed by the General in his
-brougham, who has come to pay his respects to his sovereign in _the
-tightest_ uniform that ever threatened an apoplectic warrior with
-convulsions. "My dear, you look exquisite," says the chaperon, "only
-mind how you get out, and don't dirty your train, and recollect your
-feathers; when you curtsey to the Queen, whatever you do, don't let
-them bob in her Majesty's face." Blanche, albeit somewhat frightened,
-could not help laughing, and looked so fresh and radiant as she
-alighted, that the very mob, assembled for purposes of criticism,
-scarcely forbore from telling her as much to her face. "Don't be
-nervous, my dear," and "_Pray_ don't let us get separated," said the
-two ladies simultaneously, as they entered the palace; and Blanche
-felt her knees tremble and her heart beat as she followed her
-conductress up the stately, well-lined staircase, between rows of
-magnificent-looking gentlemen-officials, all in full dress. The
-kettle-drums of the Life Guards booming from without did not serve to
-reassure her half so much as the jolly faces of the beef-eaters, every
-one of whom seems to be cut out to exactly the same pattern, and,
-inexplicable as it may appear, is a living impersonation of Henry
-VIII.; but she took courage after a time, seeing that nobody was the
-least frightened except herself, and that young Brosier of the Guards,
-one of her dancing-partners, and to-day on duty at St. James's, was
-swaggering about as much at home as if he had been brought up in the
-palace instead of his father's humble-looking parsonage. Blanche would
-have liked it better, though, had the staircase and corridor been a
-little more crowded; as it was, she felt too conspicuous, and fancied
-people looked at her as if they knew she was clutching those two
-tickets, with her name and her chaperon's legibly inscribed thereon,
-for the information of an exalted office-bearer, because this was her
-first appearance at Court, and she was going _to be presented_.
-Innocent Blanche! The gentlemen in uniform are busy with their collars
-(the collar of a uniform is positive strangulation for everything but
-a _bona fide_ soldier), whilst those in civil vestures are absorbed in
-the contemplation of their own legs, which, in the unusual attire of
-silk stockings and "shorts," look worse to the owner than to any one
-else, and that is saying a good deal. The General is close behind his
-niece, and struts with an ardour which yesterday's levee in that same
-tight coat has been unable to cool. The plot thickens, and they add
-their tickets to a table already covered by cards inscribed with the
-names of England's noblest and fairest, for the information of the
-grand vizier, and--shall we confess it?--the gentlemen of the press!
-Lady Mount Helicon bows right and left with stately courtesy: Blanche
-seizes a moment to arrange her train and a stray curl unobserved; and
-the General, between gold lace and excitement, breaks out into an
-obvious perspiration. Blanche's partners gather round her as they
-would at a ball, though she scarcely recognises some in their military
-disguises. And those who have not been introduced whisper to each
-other, "_That's_ Miss Kettering," and depreciate her, and call her
-"very pretty _for an heiress_." Captain Lacquers is magnificent; he
-has exchanged into the "Loyal Hussars," chiefly on account of the
-uniform, and thinks that in "hessians" and a "pelisse" he ought not to
-_be bought_ under half-a-million. He breakfasted with "Uppy" this
-morning, and rallied that suitor playfully on his advantage in
-attending the Drawing-room, whereas Sir Ascot was to be on duty, and
-is even now lost in jack-boots and a helmet, on a pawing black
-charger, outside. D'Orville is there too, with his stately figure and
-grave, handsome face. His hussar uniform sits none the worse for those
-two medals on his breast; and his beauty is none the less commanding
-for a tinge of brown caught from an Indian sun. He is listening to the
-General, and bending his winning eyes on Blanche. The girl thinks he
-is certainly the _nicest_ person _here_. By a singular association of
-ideas, the whole thing reminds the General of the cavalry action at
-Gorewallah, and his energetic reminiscences of that brilliant affair
-are by no means lost on the bystanders.
-
-"Blanche, my dear, there's Sir Roger Rearsby--most distinguished
-officer. What?--I was his brigade-major at Chutney, and we--D'Orville,
-_you_ know that man--how d'ye mean?--why, it's Colonel Chuffins. I
-pulled him from under his horse in the famous charge of the Kedjerees,
-and stood across him for two hours--_two hours_, by the god of
-war!--till I'd rallied the Kedjerees, and we swept everything before
-us. I suppose you'll allow Gorewallah was the best thing of the war.
-Zounds! I don't believe the Sepoys have done talking of it yet! Look
-ye here: Marsh Mofussil occupied the heights, and Bahawdar Bang was
-detached to make a demonstration in our rear. Well, sir----"
-
-At this critical juncture, and ere the General had time to explain the
-strategy by which Bahawdar Bang's manoeuvre was defeated, he and his
-party had been swept onward with the tide to where a doorway stemmed
-the crowd into a mass of struggling confusion. Lappets and feathers
-waved to and fro like a grove of poplars in a breeze; fans were
-broken, and soft cheeks scratched against epaulettes and such
-accoutrements of war; here and there a pair of moustaches towered
-above the surface, like the yards of some tall bark in a storm; whilst
-ever and anon a heavy dowager, like some plunging seventy-four that
-answers not her helm, came surging through the mass with the sheer
-force of that specific gravity which is not to be denied. As the
-state-rooms are reached, the crowd becomes more dense and the heat
-insufferable. A red cord, stretched tightly the whole length of the
-room, offers an insuperable barrier to the impetuous, and compels the
-panting company to defile in due order of precedence--"first come
-first served" being here, as elsewhere, the prevailing maxim. And now,
-people being obliged to stand still, make the best of it, and begin to
-talk, their remarks being as original and interesting as those of a
-well-dressed crowd usually are. "Wawt a crush--aw"--says Captain
-Lacquers, skilfully warding off from Blanche the whole person of a
-stout naval officer, and sighing to think of the tarnish his beloved
-hessians have sustained by being trodden on--"there's Lady Crane and
-the Miss Cranes--that's Rebecca, the youngest, she's going to
-be presented, poor girl!--aw--she's painfully ugly, Miss
-Kettering--aw--makes me ill to look at her." Poor Rebecca! she's not
-pretty, at least in a court dress, and is dreadfully frightened
-besides. She knows the rich Miss Kettering by sight, and admires her
-honestly, and envies her too, and would give anything to change places
-with her now, for she has a slight _tendresse_ for good-looking,
-unmeaning Lacquers. Take comfort, Rebecca, you will hardly condescend
-to speak to him, when you go through the same dread ordeal next year,
-in this very place, as Marchioness Ermindale. The Marquis is looking
-out for a young wife, and has seen you already, walking early, in
-shabby gloves, with your governess, and has made up his mind, and will
-marry you out of hand before the end of the season. So you will be the
-richest peeress in England, and have a good-looking, good-humoured,
-honest-hearted husband, very little over forty; and you will do pretty
-much what you like, and never go with your back to the horses any
-more; only you don't know it, nor has it anything to do with our
-story, except to prove that the lottery is not, invariably, "all
-blanks and no prizes"--that a quiet, unassuming, lady-like girl has
-fully as good a chance of winning the game as any of your fashionable
-beauties--your dashing young ladies, with their pictures in
-print-books, and their names in the clubs, and their engagements a
-dozen deep, and their heart-broken lovers in scores--men who can well
-afford to be _lovers_, seeing that their resources will not admit of
-their becoming husbands. Such a suitor is Captain Lacquers to the
-generality of his lady-loves, though he means honestly enough as
-regards Blanche, and would like to marry her and her Three per Cents,
-to-morrow. Misguided dandy! what chance has he against such a rival as
-D'Orville? Even if there were no Frank Hardingstone, and Cousin
-Charlie were never to come back, he is but on a par with Sir Ascot,
-Lord Mount Helicon, and a hundred others--there is not a toss of a
-halfpenny for choice between them. Nevertheless, he has great
-confidence in his own fascinations, and not being troubled with
-diffidence, is only waiting for an opportunity to lay himself, his
-uniform, and his debts at the heiress's feet.
-
-The Major, meanwhile, whom Lady Mount Helicon thinks "charming," and
-of whom she is persuaded _she_ has made a conquest, pioneers a way for
-Blanche and her chaperon through the glittering throng. "It _is_ very
-formidable, Miss Kettering," says he, pitying the obvious nervousness
-of the young girl, "but it's soon over, like a visit to the dentist.
-You know what to do, and the Queen is so kind and so gracious, it's
-not half so alarming when you are really before her; now, go on;
-that's the grand vizier; keep close to Lady Mount Helicon; and mind,
-don't turn your back to any of the royalties. I shall be in the
-gallery to get your carriage after it's over. I shall be so anxious to
-know how you get through it."
-
-"Thank you, Major D'Orville," replied poor Blanche, with an upward
-glance of gratitude that made her violet eyes look deeper and lovelier
-than ever; and she sailed on, with a very respectable assumption of
-fortitude, but inwardly wishing that she could sink into the earth,
-or, at least, remain with kind, protecting Major D'Orville and Uncle
-Baldwin, and those gentlemen whose duty did not bring them into the
-immediate presence of their sovereign.
-
-These worthies, having nothing better to do, began to beguile the time
-by admiring each other's uniforms, criticising the appearance of the
-company, and such vague impertinences as go by the name of general
-conversation. Lacquers, who had just caught the turn of his hessians
-at a favourable point of view, was more than usually communicative.
-"Heard of Bolter?" says he, addressing the public in general, and
-amongst others a first cousin of that injured man. "Taken his wife
-back again--aw--soft, I should say--fact is, she and Fopples couldn't
-get on; Frank kicked at the poodle directly he got to the railway
-station; he swore he would only take the parrot, and they quarrelled
-there. I don't believe they went abroad at all, at least not together.
-Seen the poodle? Nice dog; they've got him in Green Street; very like
-Frank; believe he was jealous of him!" A general laugh greeted the
-hussar's witticism, and the cousin being, as usual, not on the best of
-terms with his relation, enjoyed the joke more than any one else.
-Major D'Orville alone has neither listened to the story nor caught the
-point. Blanche's pleading, grateful eyes haunt him still. He feels
-that the more he likes her, the less he would wish to marry her. "She
-is worthy of a better fate," he thinks, "than to be linked to a
-broken-down _roue_." And as is often the case, the charm of beauty in
-another brings forcibly to his mind the only face he ever really
-loved; and the Major sighs as he wishes he could begin life again, on
-totally different principles from those he has all along adopted.
-Well, it is too late now. The game must be played out, and he proceeds
-to cement his alliance with the General by asking him to lunch with
-him at his club "after this thing's over."
-
-"We'll all go together," exclaimed Lacquers, who had been meditating
-the very same move against his prospective uncle-in-law, only he
-couldn't hit the right pronunciation of a _dejeuner a la fourchette_,
-the term in which he was anxious to couch his invitation.
-
-"Not a member, sir," says the General, with a well-pleased smile at
-the invitation; "cross-questioned by the waiter, kicked out by the
-committee--what?--only belong to 'The Chelsea and Noodles'--don't
-approve of clubs in the abstract--all very well whilst one's
-a bachelor--eh? D----d selfish and all that--wife moping in a
-two-storied house at Bayswater--husband swaggering in a Louis Quatorze
-drawing-room in Pall Mall. Can't dine at home to-day, my love; where's
-the latch-key? Promised to have a mutton-chop at the club with an old
-brother-officer. Wife dines on chicken broth with her children, and
-has a poached egg at her tea. Husband begins with oysters and ends
-with a pint of claret, by himself too--we all know who the old
-brother-officer is--lives in the Edgeware Road!--how d'ye mean?"
-Lacquers goes off with a horse-laugh; he enjoys the joke amazingly; it
-is just suited to his comprehension. "Then we'll meet in an hour from
-now," says he, as the crowd, surging in, breaks up their little
-conclave; "should like to show you our pictures--aw--fond of high art,
-you know--and our staircase, Arabian, you know, with the ornaments
-quite Mosaic. _A-diavolo!_" And pleased with what he believes to be
-his real Spanish farewell, our dandy-linguist elbows his way up to
-Lady Ormolu, and gladdens that panting peeress with the pearls and
-rubies of his intellectual conversation.
-
-All this time Blanche is nearing the ordeal. If she thought the crowd
-too dense before, what would she not give now to bury herself in its
-sheltering ranks? An ample duchess is before her with a red-haired
-daughter, but everywhere around her there is room to breathe, and
-walk, and _to be seen_. Through an open door she catches a glimpse of
-the Presence and the stately circle before whom she must pass.
-Good-natured royalties, of both sexes, stand smiling and bowing, and
-striving to put frightened subjects at their ease, and carrying their
-kind hearts on their handsome open countenances; but they are all
-whirling round and round to Blanche, and she cannot tell uniforms from
-satin gowns, epaulettes from ostrich plumes, old from young. It
-strikes her that there is something ridiculous in the way that a
-central figure performs its backward movement, and the horrid
-conviction comes upon her that she will have to go through the same
-ceremony before all those royal eyes, and think of her train, her
-feathers, her curtsey, and her escape, all at one and the same
-agonising moment. A foreign diplomatist makes a complimentary remark
-in French, addressed to his neighbour, a tall, soldier-like German
-with nankeen moustaches. The German unbends for an instant that frigid
-air of military reserve which has of late years usurped the place of
-what we used to consider foreign volubility and politeness--he stoops
-to reply in a whisper, but soon recovers himself, stiffer and
-straighter than before.
-
-Neither the compliment nor its reception serves to reassure Blanche.
-In vain she endeavours to peep past the duchess's ample figure, and
-see how the red-haired daughter pulls through. The duchess rejoices in
-substantial materials, both of dress and fabric, so Blanche can see
-nothing. Another moment, and she hears her own name and Lady Mount
-Helicon's pronounced in a whisper, every syllable of which thrills
-upon her nerves like a musket-shot. She reaches the door--she catches
-a glimpse of a tall, handsome young man with a blue ribbon, and a
-formidable-looking phalanx of princes, princesses, foreign
-ambassadors, and English courtiers, in a receding circle, of which she
-feels she is about to become the centre. Blanche would like to cry,
-but she is in the Presence now, and we follow her no farther. It would
-not become us to enlarge upon the majesty which commands reverence for
-the queen, or the beauty which wins homage for the woman; to speak of
-her as do her servants, her household, her nobility, or all who are
-personally known to her, would entail such language of devoted
-affection as in our case might be termed flattery and adulation. To
-hurrah and throw our hats up for her, with the fervent loyalty of an
-English mob--to cheer with the whole impulse of every stout English
-heart, and the energy of good English lungs, is more in accordance
-with our position and our habits, and so "Hip, hip, hip--God save the
-Queen."
-
-"Oh, dear! if I'd only known," said Blanche, some two hours
-afterwards, as Rosine was brushing her hair, and taking out the costly
-ostrich plumes and the string of pearls, "I needn't have been so
-frightened after all! So good, so kind, so considerate, I shouldn't
-the least mind being presented every day!"
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER XI
-
-CAMPAIGNING ABROAD
-
-     SHIFTING THE SCENE--UNDER CANVAS--A VETERAN AND A YOUNG
-     SOLDIER--THE CHARMS OF A BIVOUAC--ORDERS FOR THE MORROW--A
-     SOLDIER'S DREAM--AN EARLY START--THE MARCH--THE
-     ENGAGEMENT--FORTUNE OF WAR--CHARLIE'S COMMAND--THE BLUE ONE
-     DOWN!
-
-
-In the "good old times" when railways were not, and the _nec plus
-ultra_ of speed was, after all, but ten miles an hour, he who would
-take in hand to construct a tale, a poem, or a drama, was much
-hampered by certain material conditions of time and place, termed by
-critics the unities, and the observance of which effectually prevented
-all glaring vagaries of plot, and many a _deus ex machina_ whose
-unaccountable presence would have saved an infinity of trouble to
-author as well as reader. But we have changed all this now-a-days.
-When Puck undertook to girdle the earth in "forty minutes," it was no
-doubt esteemed a "sporting offer," not that Oberon seems to have been
-man enough to "book it"; but we, who back Electra, should vote such a
-forty minutes "dead slow"--"no pace at all!" Ours are the
-screw-propeller and the flying-express--ours the thrilling wire that
-rings a bell at Paris, even while we touch the handle in London--ours
-the greatest possible hurry on the least possible provocation--we ride
-at speed, we drive at speed--eat, drink, sleep, smoke, talk, and
-deliberate, still at full speed--make fortunes, and spend them--fall
-in love, and out of it--are married, divorced, robbed, ruined, and
-enriched, all _ventre a terre_! nay, time seems to be grudged even for
-the last journey to our long home. 'Twas but the other day we saw a
-hearse clattering along at an honest twelve miles an hour! Well,
-forward! is the word--like the French grenadier's account of the
-strategy by which his emperor invariably out-manoeuvred the enemy.
-There were but two words of command, said he, ever heard in the grand
-army--the one was "_En avant! sacr-r-re ventre-bleu!_" the other,
-"_Sacr-r-re ventre-bleu! en avant!_" So forward be it! and we will not
-apologise for shifting the scene some thousands of miles, and taking a
-peep at our friend Cousin Charlie, fulfilling his destiny in that
-heaven-forsaken country called Kaffirland. When it rains in South
-Africa it rains to some purpose, pelting down even sheets of water, to
-which a thunderstorm at home is but as the trickling of a gutter to
-the Falls of Niagara--Nature endues her whole person in that same
-leaden-coloured garment, and the world assumes a desolate appearance
-of the most torpid misery. The greasy savage, almost naked, crouching
-and coiling like a snake wherever covert is to be obtained, bears his
-ducking philosophically enough; he can but be wet to the skin at the
-worst, and is dry again almost before the leaves are; but the British
-soldier, with his clothing and accoutrements, his pouches, haversacks,
-biscuits, and ammunition--not to mention Brown Bess, his mainstay and
-dependence--nothing punishes him so much as wet. Tropical heat he
-bears without a murmur, and a vertical sun but elicits sundry jocose
-allusions to beer. Canadian cold is met with a jest biting as its own
-frost, and a hearty laugh that rings through the clear atmosphere with
-a twang of home; but he hates water--drench him thoroughly and you put
-him to the proof; albeit he never fails, yet, like Mark Tapley,
-he _does_ deserve credit for being _jolly_ under such adverse
-circumstances.
-
-Look at that encampment--a detached position, in which two companies
-of a British regiment, with a handful of Hottentots, are stationed to
-hold in check some thousands of savages: the old story--outnumbered a
-hundred to one, and wresting laurels even from such fearful odds. Look
-at one of the heroes--the only one visible indeed--as he paces to and
-fro to keep himself warm. A short beat truly, for he is within shot of
-yonder hill, and the Kaffirs have muskets as well as "assagais." No
-shelter or sentry-box is there here, and our warrior at twelvepence a
-day has "reversed arms" to keep his firelock dry, and covers his
-person as well as he can with a much-patched weather-worn grey
-great-coat, once spruce and smart, of the regimental pattern, but now
-scarcely distinguishable as a uniform. To and fro he walks--wet,
-weary, hungry, and liable to be shot at a moment's notice. He has not
-slept in a bed for months, and has almost forgotten the taste of pure
-water, not to mention beer; yet is there a charm in soldiering, and
-through it all the man is contented and cheerful--even happy. A slight
-movement in his rear makes him turn half-round; between him and his
-comrades stands a tent somewhat less uncomfortable-looking than the
-rest, and from beneath its folds comes out a hand, followed by a
-young, bronzed face, which we recognise as Cousin Charlie's ere the
-whole figure emerges from its shelter and gives itself a hearty shake
-and stretch. It is indeed Charlie, "growed out of knowledge," as Mrs.
-Gamp says, and with his moustaches visibly and tangibly increased to a
-very warlike volume. The weather is clearing, as in that country it
-often does towards sundown; and Charlie, like an old campaigner, is
-easing the tent-ropes, already strained with wet. "I wish I knew the
-orders," says the young lancer to some one inside, "or how I'm to get
-back to head-quarters--not but what you fellows have treated me like
-an alderman." "You should have been here yesterday, my boy," said a
-voice from within, apparently between the puffs of a short, wheezing
-pipe. "We only finished the biscuit this morning, and I could have
-given you a mouthful of brandy from the bottom of my flask--it is dry
-enough now, at all events. The baccy 'll soon be done too, and we
-shall be floored altogether if we stay here much longer." "Why the
-whole front don't advance I can't think," replied Charlie, with the
-ready criticism of a young soldier. "If they'd only let us get _at_
-these black beggars, we'd astonish them!" "Heaven knows," answered the
-voice, evidently getting drowsy, "our fellows are all tired of
-waiting----By Jove," he added, brightening up in an instant, "here
-comes 'Old Swipes'; I'll lay my life we shall be engaged before
-daybreak, the old boy looks so jolly!"--and even as he spoke, a hale,
-grey-headed man, with a rosy countenance and a merry, dark eye, was
-seen returning the sentry's salute as he advanced to the tent which
-had sheltered these young officers, and passing on with a
-good-humoured nod to Charlie, entered upon an eager whispered
-conversation with the gentleman inside, whose drowsiness seemed to
-have entirely forsaken him. "Old Swipes," as he was irreverently
-called (a nickname of which, as of most military sobriquets, the
-origin had long been forgotten), was the senior captain of the
-regiment, one of those gallant fellows who fight their way up without
-purchase, serving in every climate under heaven, and invariably
-becoming grey of head long ere they lose the greenness and freshness
-of heart which in the Service alone outlive the cares and
-disappointments that wait on middle age.
-
-Now, Charlie had been sent to "Old Swipes" with dispatches from
-head-quarters. One of the general's _aides-de-camp_ was wounded,
-another sick, an _extra_ already ordered on a _particular service_;
-and Charlie, with the dash and gallantry which had distinguished him
-from boyhood, volunteered to carry the important missives nearly a
-hundred miles through a country not a yard of which he knew, and
-threading whole hordes of the enemy with no arms but his sabre and
-pistols, no guide but a little unintelligible Hottentot. From the Kat
-River frontier to the defenceless portals of Fort Beaufort, the whole
-district was covered with swarms of predatory savages; and but that
-Fortune proverbially favours the brave, our young lancer might have
-found himself in a very unpleasant predicament. Fifty miles finished
-the lad's charger, and he had accomplished the remainder of his
-journey walking and riding turn-about with his guide on the hardy
-little animal of the latter. No wonder our dismounted dragoon was
-weary--no wonder the rations of tough beef and muddy water which they
-gave him when he arrived elicited the compliment we have already
-mentioned to the good cheer of "The Fighting Light-Bobs," as the
-regiment to which "Old Swipes" and his detachment belonged was
-affectionately nicknamed in the division. The great thing, however,
-was accomplished--wet, weary, and exhausted, Charlie and his guide
-arrived at their destination by daybreak of the second day. The young
-lancer delivered his dispatches to the officer in command, was
-received like a brother into a subaltern's tent, already containing
-two inhabitants, and slept soundly through the day, till awakened at
-sunset by a strong appetite for supper, and the absolute necessity for
-slackening the tent-ropes recorded above.
-
-"Kettering, you must join our council of war," said the cheery voice
-of the old captain from within; "there's no man better entitled than
-yourself to know the contents of my dispatches. Come in, my boy; I can
-give you a pipe, if nothing else."
-
-Charlie lifted the wet sailcloth and crept in--the conclave did not
-look so very uncomfortable after all. Certainly there was but little
-room, but no men pack so close as soldiers. The old captain was
-sitting cross-legged on a folded blanket in the centre, clad in a
-russet-coloured coat that had once been scarlet, with gold lace
-tarnished down to the splendour of rusty copper. A pair of regimental
-trousers, plentifully patched and strapped with leather, adorned his
-lower man, and on his head he wore a once-burnished shako, much gashed
-and damaged by a Kaffir's assagai. He puffed forth volumes of smoke
-from a short black pipe, and appeared in the most exuberant spirits,
-notwithstanding the deficiencies of his exterior; the real proprietor
-of the tent, a swarthy, handsome fellow, with a lightning eye and huge
-black beard and whiskers, was leaning against the centre support of
-his domicile, in a blue frock-coat and buckskin trousers, looking very
-handsome and very like a gentleman (indeed, he is a peer's younger
-son), though no "old clothes man" would have given him eighteenpence
-for the whole of his costume. He had hospitably vacated his seat on a
-battered portmanteau, "warranted solid leather," with the maker's
-name, in the Strand--it seemed so odd to see it there--and was
-likewise smoking furiously, as he listened to the orders of his
-commander. A small tin basin, a canister of tobacco, nearly finished,
-a silver hunting-flask--alas! quite empty--and a heap of cloaks, with
-an old blanket in the corner, completed the furniture of this warlike
-palace. It was very like Charlie's own tent at head-quarters, save
-that his cavalry accoutrements gave an air of finish to that dwelling,
-of which he was justly proud. So he felt quite at home as he took his
-seat on the portmanteau and filled his pipe. "Just the orders I
-wanted," said the old captain, between his whiffs; "we've been here
-long enough, and to-morrow we are to advance at daybreak. I am
-directed to move upon that 'Kloof' we have reconnoitred every day
-since we came, and after forming a junction with the Rifles, we are to
-get possession of the heights."
-
-"The river will be out after this rain," interrupted the handsome
-lieutenant; "but that's no odds; our fellows can all swim--'gad, they
-want washing!"
-
-"Steady, my lad," said the veteran, "we'll have none of that; I've got
-a Fingo at the quarter-guard here that'll take us over dry-shod. I've
-explained to him what I mean, and if he don't understand it now he
-will to-morrow morning. A 'Light-Bob' on each side, with his arms
-sloped, directly the water comes in at the rent in these old boots,"
-holding up at the same time a much-damaged pair of Wellingtons, "down
-goes the Fingo, poor devil, and out go my skirmishers, till we reach
-the cattle-ford at Vandryburgh."
-
-"I don't think the beggar _will_ throw us over," replied the
-subaltern. "I suppose I'd better get them under arms before daybreak;
-the nights are infernally dark, though, in this beastly country, but
-my fellows all turn out smartest now when they've no light."
-
-"Before daybreak, certainly," replied "Old Swipes"; "no whist _here_,
-Kettering, to keep us up very late. Well," he added, resuming his
-directions to his subaltern, "we'll have the detachment under arms by
-four. Take Sergeant Macintosh and the best of the 'flankers' to form
-an advanced guard. Bid him make every yard of ground good,
-particularly where there's _bush_; but on no account to fire unless
-he's attacked. We'll advance in column of sections--_mind
-that_--they're handier that way for the ground; and Harry--where's
-Harry?" "Here, sir!" said a voice, and a pale, sickly-looking boy,
-apparently about seventeen years of age, emerged from under the
-cloaks and blankets in the corner, where he had been lying half
-asleep, and thoroughly exhausted with the hardships of a life which it
-requires the constitution of manhood to undergo. Poor Harry! with what
-sickening eagerness his mother, the clergyman's widow, grasps at the
-daily paper, when the African mail is due. How she shudders to see the
-great black capitals, with "Important News from the Cape!" What a hero
-his sisters think Harry! and how mamma alone turns pale at the very
-name of war, and prays for him night and morning on her knees till the
-pale face and wasted form of her darling stand betwixt her and her
-Maker. And Harry, too, thinks sometimes of his mother; but oh! how
-different is the child's divided affection from the all-engrossing
-tenderness of the mother's love! The boy is fond of "soldiering," and
-his heart swells as "Old Swipes" gives him his orders in a paternal
-tone of kindness. "Harry, I shall entrust you with the rear-guard, and
-you must keep up your communications with the sergeant's guard I shall
-leave here. He will probably be relieved by the Rifles, and you can
-then join us in the front. If they don't show before twelve o'clock,
-fall back here; pack up the baggage, right-about-face, and join 'the
-levies,' they're exactly five miles in our rear; if you're in
-difficulties, ask Sergeant File what is best to be done, only don't
-club 'em, my boy, as you did at Limerick."
-
-"Well, sir," said the handsome lieutenant, "we've all got our orders
-now, except Kettering; what are we to do with him?"
-
-"Give him some supper first," replied the jolly commandant; "but how
-to get him back I don't know; we've had a fine stud of oxen for the
-last ten days, but as for a horse, I have not seen one since I left
-Cape Town."
-
-"We're doing nothing at head-quarters, sir," exclaimed Charlie, with
-flashing eyes; "will you allow me to join the attack to-morrow, with
-your people?"
-
-The three officers looked at him approvingly, and the ensign muttered,
-"By gad, he's a trump, and no mistake!" but "Old Swipes" shook his
-grey head with a half-melancholy smile as he scanned the boy's
-handsome face and shapely figure, set off by his blue lancer uniform,
-muddy and travel-stained as it was. "I've seen many a fine fellow go
-down," thought the veteran, "and I like it less and less--this lad's
-too good for the Kaffirs; d----n me, I shall never get used to it;"
-however, he did not quite know how to refuse so soldier-like a
-request, so he only coughed, and said, "Well--I don't approve of
-_volunteering_--we old soldiers go where we're ordered, but we _never
-volunteer_. Still, I suppose you won't stay here, with fighting in the
-front. 'Gad, you _shall_ go--you're a _real_ good one, and I _like_
-you for it." So the fine old fellow seized Charlie's hand and wrung it
-hard, with the tears in his eyes.
-
-And now our three friends prepared to make themselves comfortable. The
-old captain's tent was the largest, but it was not water-tight, and
-consequently stood in a swamp. His supper, therefore, was added to the
-joint stock, and the four gentlemen who, at the best club in London,
-would have turned up their noses at turtle because it was _thick_, or
-champagne because it was sweet, sat down quite contentedly to half-raw
-lumps of stringy beef and a tin mug only half filled with the muddiest
-of water, glad to get even that.
-
-How they laughed and chatted and joked about their fare! To have heard
-them talk one would have supposed that they were at dinner within a
-day's march of Pall Mall, London--the opera, the turf, the ring, each
-and all had their turn; and when the sergeant on duty came to report
-the "lights out," said lights consisting of two lanterns for the whole
-detachment, Charlie had just proposed "fox-hunting" as a toast with
-which to finish the last sip of brandy, and treated his entertainers
-to a "view-holloa" _in a whisper_, that he might not alarm the camp,
-which, save for the lowing of certain oxen in the rear, was ere long
-hushed in the most profound repose.
-
-Now, these oxen were a constant source of confusion and annoyance to
-the "old captain" and his myrmidons, whose orderly, soldier-like
-habits were continually broken through by their perverse charge. Of
-all the contradictory, self-willed, hair-brained brutes on the face of
-the earth, commend us to an ox in Kaffirland. He is troublesome enough
-when first driven off by his black despoilers, but when recaptured by
-British troops he is worse than ever, as though he brought back with
-him, from his sojourn in the bush, some of the devilry of his
-temporary owners, and was determined to resent upon his preservers all
-the injuries he had undergone during his unwilling peregrinations.
-Fortunately, those now remaining with the detachment were but a small
-number, destined to become most execrable beef, large herds retaken
-from the savages having already been sent to the rear; but even this
-handful were perpetually running riot, breaking out of their "kraal"
-on the most causeless and imaginary alarms when in the camp, and on
-the march making a point of "knocking up" invariably at the most
-critical moment. Imagine the difficulties of a commander when, in
-addition to ground of which he knows comparatively nothing, of an
-enemy outnumbering him hundreds to one, lurking besides in an
-impenetrable bush, where he can neither be reached nor seen--of an
-extended line of operation in a country where the roads are either
-impassable or there are none at all--and, above all, of a trying
-climate, with a sad deficiency of water--he has to weaken his already
-small force by furnishing a cattle-guard, and to prepare himself for
-the contingency of some thousands of frantic animals breaking loose
-(which they assuredly will should his position be forced), and the
-inevitable confusion which must be the result of such an untoward
-liberation. The Kaffirs have a knack of driving these refractory
-brutes in a manner which seems unattainable to a white man. It is an
-interesting sight to watch a couple of tall, dark savages, almost
-naked, and with long staves in their hands, manoeuvring several
-hundred head of cattle with apparently but little trouble. Even the
-Hottentots seem to have a certain mysterious influence over the horned
-troop; but for an English soldier, although goaded by his bayonet,
-they appear to entertain the most profound contempt.
-
-Charlie, however, cared little for ox or Kaffir; the lowing of the one
-no more disturbed him than the proximity of the other. Was he not at
-last in front of the enemy? Should he not to-morrow begin his career
-of glory? The boy felt his very life-blood thrill in his veins as the
-fighting propensity--the spirit of Cain, never quite dormant within
-us--rose to his heart. There he lay in a corner of the dark tent,
-dressed and ready for the morrow, with his sword and pistols at his
-head, covered with a blanket and a large cloak, his whereabout only
-discernible by the red glow from his last pipe before going to sleep;
-the handsome lieutenant was already wrapped in slumber and an enormous
-rough great-coat (not strictly regulation); the ensign was far away in
-dreamland; and Charlie had watched the light die out from their
-respective pipes with drowsy eyes, while the regular step of the
-sentry outside smote less and less distinctly on his ear. He had gone
-through two very severe days, and had not been in a bed for weeks.
-Gradually his limbs relaxed and tingled with delightful languor of
-rest after _real_ fatigue. Once or twice he woke up with a start as
-Fancy played her usual tricks with the weary, then his head declined,
-his jaw dropped, the pipe fell to the ground, and Charlie was fast
-asleep.
-
-       *       *       *       *       *
-
-Far, far away on a mountain in Inverness the wild stag is _belling_ to
-the distant corries, and snuffing the keen north air as he stamps ever
-and anon with lightning hoof that cuts the heather tendrils asunder
-and flings them on the breeze. Is he not the great master-hart of the
-parcel? and shall he not be circumvented and stretched on the moor ere
-the fading twilight darkens into night? Verily, he must be stalked
-warily, cautiously, for the wind has shifted and the lake is already
-ruffling into pointed, white-crested waves, rising as in anger, while
-their spray, hurried before the tempest, drifts in long-continuous
-wreaths athwart the surface. Fitful gusts, the pent-up sobs of rising
-fury, that must burst or be released, chase the filmy scud across that
-pale moon, which is but veiled and not obscured; while among the ferns
-and alders that skirt the water's edge the wind moans and shrieks like
-an imprisoned demon wailing for his freedom. Mists are rising around
-the hazy forms of the deer; cold, chilling vapours through which the
-mighty stag looms like some gigantic phantom, and still he swells in
-defiance, and _bells_ abroad his trumpet-note of war. Charlie's
-finger is on the trigger; Uncle Baldwin, disguised as a Highlander,
-whispers in his ear the thrilling caution, "Take time!" The wind howls
-hideously, and phantom shapes, floating in the moonlight, mock and
-gibber and toss their long, lean arms, and wave their silver hair. No,
-the rifle is _not_ cocked; that stubborn lock defies the force of
-human fingers--the mist is thickening and the stag moves. Charlie
-implores Uncle Baldwin to assist him, and drops upon his knees to
-cover the retiring quarry with his useless weapon. The phantoms gather
-round; their mist-wreaths turn to muslin dresses, and their silver
-hair to glossy locks of mortal hues. The roaring tempest softens to an
-old familiar strain. Mary Delaval is before him. Her pale, sweet face
-is bent upon the kneeling boy with looks of unutterable love, and her
-white hand passes over his brow with an almost imperceptible caress.
-Her face sinks gradually to his--her breath is on his temples--his
-lips cling to hers--and he starts with horror at the kiss of love,
-striking cold and clammy from a grinning skull! Horror! the rifleman,
-whose skeleton he shuddered to find beneath his horse's feet not
-eight-and-forty hours ago! What does he here in the drawing-room at
-home? _Home_--yes, he is at home, at last. It must have been
-fancy--the recollections of his African campaign! They are all gone to
-bed. He hears the General's well-known tramp dying away along the
-passage; and he takes his candle to cross the spacious hall, dark and
-gloomy in that flickering light. Ha! seated on the stairs as on a
-throne frowns a presence that he dare not pass. A tall, dark figure,
-in the shape of a man, yet with angel beauty--no angel form of
-good--glorious in the grandeur of despair--magnificent in the pomp and
-glare of hell--those lineaments awful in their very beauty--those
-deep, unfathomable eyes, with their eternity of suffering, defiance,
-remorse, all but repentance or submission! Could mortal look and not
-quail? Could man front and not be blasted at the sight? On his lofty
-forehead sits a diadem, and on the centre of his brow, burned in and
-scorched, as it were, to the very bone, behold the seal of the
-Destroyer--the single imprint of a finger.
-
-The boy stands paralysed with affright. The Principle of Evil waves
-him on and on, even to the very hem of his garment; but a prayer rises
-to the sleeper's lips; with a convulsive effort he speaks it forth
-aloud, and the spell is broken. The mortal is engaged with a mortal
-enemy. Those waving robes turn to a leopard-skin _kaross_, the
-glorious figure to an athletic savage, and the immortal beauty to the
-grinning, chattering lineaments of a hideous Kaffir. Charlie bounds at
-him like a tiger--they fight--they close--and he is locked in the
-desperate embrace of life or death with his ghastly foe. Charlie is
-undermost! His enemy's eyes are starting from their sockets--his white
-teeth glare with cannibal-like ferocity--and his hand is on the boy's
-throat with a grip of iron. One fearful wrench to get free--one last
-superhuman effort of despair, and.... Charlie wakes in the
-struggle!--wakes to find it all a dream; and the cold air, the
-chilling harbinger of dawn, stealing into the tent to refresh and
-invigorate the half-suffocated sleepers. He felt little inclination to
-resume his slumbers; his position had been a sufficiently
-uncomfortable one--his head having slipped from the pistol-holsters on
-which it had rested, and the clasp of his cloak-fastening at the
-throat having well-nigh strangled him in his sleep. The handsome
-lieutenant's matter-of-fact yawn on waking would have dispelled more
-horrid dreams than Charlie's, and the real business of the coming day
-soon chased from his mind all recollections of his imaginary struggle.
-Breakfast was like the supper of the preceding night--half-raw beef,
-eaten cold, and a whiff from a short pipe. Ere Charlie had finished
-his ration, dark though it was, the men had fallen in; the advanced
-guard had started; Ensign Harry had received his final instructions,
-and "Old Swipes" gave the word of command in a low, guarded
-tone--"Slope arms! By your left--Quick march!"
-
-Day dawned on a spirit-stirring scene. With the swinging, easy step of
-those accustomed to long and toilsome marches the detachment moved
-rapidly forward, now lessening its front as it arrived at some narrow
-defile, now "marking time" to allow of its rear coming up, without
-effort, into the proper place. Bronzed, bold faces theirs, with the
-bluff, good-humoured air of the English soldier, who takes warfare as
-it comes, with an oath and a jest. Reckless of strategy as of
-hardship, he neither knows nor cares what his enemy may be about, nor
-what dispositions may be made by his own officers. If his flank be
-turned he fights on with equal unconcern, "it is no business of his";
-if his ammunition be exhausted he betakes himself to the bayonet, and
-swears "the beggars may take their change out of that!"
-
-The advanced guard, led by the handsome subaltern, was several hundred
-paces in front. The Hottentots brought up the rear, and the "Fighting
-Light-Bobs," commanded by their grey-headed captain, formed the
-column. With them marched Charlie, conspicuous in his blue lancer
-uniform, now respectfully addressing his superior officer, now jesting
-good-humouredly with his temporary comrades. The sun rose on a jovial,
-light-hearted company; when next his beams shall gild the same arid
-plains, the same twining _mimosas_, the same glorious landscape, shut
-in by the jagged peaks of the Anatola mountains, they will glance back
-from many a firelock lying ownerless on the sand; they will deepen the
-clammy hue of death on many a bold forehead; they will fail to warm
-many a gallant heart, cold and motionless for ever. But the men go on
-all the same, laughing and jesting merrily, as they "march at ease,"
-and beguile the way with mirth and song.
-
-"We'll get a sup o' brandy to-night, anyhow, won't us, Bill?" says a
-weather-beaten "Light-Bob" to his front-rank man, a thirsty old
-soldier as was ever "confined to barracks."
-
-"Ay," replies Bill, "them black beggars has got plenty of lush--more's
-the pity; and they doesn't give none to their wives--more's their
-sense. Ax your pardon, sir," he adds, turning to Charlie, "but we
-shall advance right upon their centre, now, anyways, shan't us?"
-
-Ere Charlie could reply he was interrupted by Bill's comrade, who
-seemed to have rather a _penchant_ for Kaffir ladies. "Likely young
-women they be, too, Bill, those niggers' wives; why, every Kaffir has
-a dozen at least, and we've only three to a company; wouldn't I like
-to be a Kaffir?"
-
-"_Black!_" replied Bill, in a tone of intense disgust.
-
-"What's the odds?" urged the matrimonial champion, "a black wife's a
-sight better than none at all;" and straightway he began to hum a
-military ditty, of which fate only permitted him to complete the first
-two stanzas:--
-
-    "They're sounding the charge for a brush, my boys!
-    And we'll carry their camp with a rush, my boys!
-      When we've driven them out, I make no doubt
-    We'll find they've got plenty of lush, my boys!
-            For the beggars delight
-            To sit soaking all night,
-              Black although they be.
-
-    And when we get liquor so cheap, my boys!
-    We'll do nothing but guzzle and sleep, my boys!
-      And sit on the grass with a Kaffir lass,
-    Though smutty the wench as a sweep, my boys!
-            For the Light Brigade
-            Are the lads for a maid,
-              Black although she may be."
-
-"Come, stow that!" interrupted Bill, as the _ping_ of a ball whistled
-over their heads, followed by the sharp report of a musket; "here's
-music for your singing, and dancing too, faith," he added, as the rear
-files of the advanced guard came running in; and "Old Swipes"
-exclaimed, "By Jove! they're engaged. Attention! steady, men!--close
-up--close up"--and, throwing out a handful of skirmishers to clear the
-bush immediately in his front and support his advanced guard, he moved
-the column forward at "the double," gained some rising ground, behind
-which he halted them, and himself ran on to reconnoitre. A sharp fire
-had by this time commenced on the right, and Charlie's heart beat
-painfully whilst he remained inactive, covered by a position from
-which he could see nothing. It was not, however, for long. The
-"Light-Bobs" were speedily ordered to advance, and as they gained the
-crest of the hill a magnificent view of the conflict opened at once
-upon their eyes.
-
-The Rifles had been beforehand with them, and were already engaged;
-their dark forms, hurrying to and fro as they ran from covert to
-covert, were only to be distinguished from the savages by the rapidity
-with which their thin white lines of smoke emerged from bush and
-brake, and the regularity with which they forced position after
-position, compared with the tumultuous gestures and desultory
-movements of the enemy. Already the Kaffirs were forced across the
-ford of which we have spoken, and, though they mustered in great
-numbers on the opposite bank, swarming like bees along the rising
-ground, they appeared to waver in their manoeuvres, and to be
-inclined to retire. A mounted officer gallops up, and says a few words
-to the grey-headed captain. The "Light-Bobs" are formed into column of
-sections, and plunge gallantly into the ford. Charlie's right-hand man
-falls pierced by an assagai, and as his head declines beneath the
-bubbling water, and his blood mingles with the stream, our volunteer
-feels "the devil" rising rapidly to his heart. Charlie's teeth are set
-tight, though he is scarce aware of his own sensations, and the boy is
-dangerous, with his pale face and flashing eyes.
-
-The "Light-Bobs" deploy into line on the opposite bank, covered by an
-effective fire from the Rifles, and advance as if they were on parade.
-"Old Swipes" feels his heart leap for joy. On they march like one man,
-and the dark masses of the enemy fly before them. "Well done, my
-lads!" says the old captain, as, from their flank, he marks the
-regularity of their movement. They are his very children now, and he
-is not thinking of the little blue-eyed girl far away at home. A belt
-of _mimosas_ is in their front, and it must be carried with the
-bayonet! The "Light-Bobs" charge with a wild hurrah; and a withering
-volley, very creditable to the savages, well-nigh staggers them as
-they approach. "Old Swipes" runs forward, waving them on, his shako
-off, and his grey locks streaming in the breeze--down he goes! with a
-musket-ball crashing through his forehead. Charlie could yell with
-rage, and a fierce longing for blood. There is a calm, matronly woman
-tending flowers, some thousand miles off, in a small garden in the
-north of England, and a little girl sitting wistfully at her lessons
-by her mother's side. They are a widow and an orphan--but the handsome
-lieutenant will get his promotion without purchase; death-vacancies
-invariably go in the regiment, and even now he takes the command.
-
-"Kettering," says he, cool and composed, as if he were but giving
-orders at a common field-day, "take a sub-division and clear that
-ravine; when you are once across you can turn his flank. Forward, my
-lads! and if they've any nonsense _give 'em the bayonet_!"
-
-Charlie now finds himself actually in command--ay, and in something
-more than a skirmish--something that begins to look uncommonly like a
-general action. Waving the men on with his sword he dashes into the
-ravine, and in another instant is hand-to-hand with the enemy. What a
-moment of noise, smoke, and confusion it is! Crashing blows, fearful
-oaths, the Kaffir war-cry, and the soldiers' death-groan mingle in the
-very discord of hell. A wounded Kaffir seizes Charlie by the legs, and
-a "Light-Bob" runs the savage through the body, the ghastly weapon
-flashing out between the Kaffir's ribs.
-
-"You've got it _now_, you black beggar!" says the soldier, as he
-coolly wipes his dripping bayonet on a tuft of burnt-up grass. While
-yet he speaks he is writhing in his death-pang, his jaws transfixed by
-a quivering assagai. A Kaffir chief, of athletic frame and sinewy
-proportions, distinguished by the grotesque character of his arms and
-his tiger-skin _kaross_, springs at the young lancer like a wild-cat.
-The boy's sword gleams through that dusky body even in mid-air.
-
-"Well done, blue 'un!" shout the men, and again there is a wild
-hurrah! The young one never felt like this before.
-
-       *       *       *       *       *
-
-Hand-to-hand the savages have been beaten from their defences, and
-they are in full retreat. One little band has forced the ravine, and
-gained the opposite bank. With a thrilling cheer they scale its rugged
-surface, Charlie waving his sword and leading them gallantly on. The
-old privates swear he is a good 'un. "Forward, lads! Hurrah! for _blue
-'un_!"
-
-The boy has all but reached the brink; his hand is stretched to grasp
-a bush that overhangs the steep, but his step totters, his limbs
-collapse--down, down he goes, rolling over and over amongst the
-brushwood, and the blue lancer uniform lies a tumbled heap at the
-bottom of the ravine, whilst the cheer of the pursuing "Light-Bobs"
-dies fainter and fainter on the sultry air as the chase rolls farther
-and farther into the desert fastnesses of Kaffirland.
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER XII
-
-CAMPAIGNING AT HOME
-
-     THE SOLDIER IN PEACE--THE LION AND THE LAMB--"THE GIRLS WE
-     LEAVE BEHIND US"--A PLAIN QUESTION--THE STRONG MAN'S
-     STRUGGLE--FATHERLY KINDNESS--THE "PEACE AND PLENTY"--A
-     LADY-KILLER'S PROJECTS--WAKING THOUGHTS
-
-
-In a neat, well-appointed barouche, with clever, high-stepping brown
-horses and everything complete, a party of three well-dressed persons
-are gliding easily out of town, sniffing by anticipation the breezes
-of the country, and greeting every morsel of verdure with a rapture
-only known to those who have been for several weeks in London. Past
-the barracks at Knightsbridge, where the windows are occupied by a
-race of giants in moustaches and shirt-sleeves, and the officers in
-front of their quarters are educating a poodle; past the gate at
-Kensington, with its smartest of light-dragoon sentries, and the
-gardens with their fine old trees disguised in soot; past dead walls
-overtopped with waving branches; on through a continuous line of
-streets that will apparently reach to Bath; past public-houses
-innumerable, and grocery-shops without end; past Hammersmith, with its
-multiplicity of academies, and Turnham Green, and Chiswick, and
-suburban terraces with almost fabulous names, and detached houses with
-the scaffolding still up; past market-gardens and rosaries, till
-Brentford is reached, where the disappointed traveller, pining for the
-country, almost deems himself transported back again east of Temple
-Bar. But Brentford is soon left behind, and a glimpse of the "silver
-Thames" rejoices eyes that have been aching for something farther
-afield than the Serpentine, and prepares them for the unbounded views
-and free, fresh landscape afforded by Hounslow Heath. "This is really
-the country," says Blanche, inhaling the pure air with a sigh of
-positive delight, while the General exclaims, at the same instant,
-with his accustomed vigour, "Zounds! the blockhead's missed the turn
-to the barracks, after all."
-
-The ladies are very smart; and even Mary Delaval (the third occupant
-of the carriage), albeit quieter and more dignified than ever, has
-dressed in gaudier plumage than is her wont, as is the practice of her
-sex when they are about to attend what they are pleased to term "a
-breakfast." As for Blanche, she is too charming--such a little,
-gossamer bonnet stuck at the very back of that glossy little head, so
-that the beholder knows not whether to be most fascinated by the
-ethereal beauty of the fabric, or wonder-struck at the dexterity with
-which it is kept on. Then the dresses of the pair are like the hues of
-the morning, though of their texture, as of their "trimmings," it
-becomes us not to hazard an opinion. Talk of beauty unadorned, and all
-that! Take the handsomest figure that ever inspired a statuary--dress
-her, or rather undress her to the costume of the Three Graces, or the
-Nine Muses, or any of those _dowdies_ immortalised by ancient art, and
-place her alongside of a moderately good-looking Frenchwoman, with
-dark eyes and small feet, who has been permitted to dress _herself_:
-why, the one is a mere corporeal mass of shapely humanity, the other a
-sparkling emanation of light and smiles and "tulle" (or whatever they
-call it) and coquetry and all that is most irresistible. Blanche and
-Mary, with the assistance of good taste and good milliners, were
-almost perfect types of their different styles of feminine beauty. The
-General, too, was wondrously attired. Retaining the predilections of
-his youth, he shone in a variety of under-waistcoats, each more
-gorgeous than its predecessor, surmounting the whole by a blue coat of
-unexampled brilliancy and peculiar construction. Like most men who are
-not in the habit of "getting themselves up" every day, he was always
-irritable when thus clothed in "his best," and was now peculiarly
-fidgety as to the right turn by which his carriage should reach the
-barracks where the "Loyal Hussars," under the temporary command of
-Major D'Orville, were about to give a breakfast of unspeakable
-splendour and hospitality.
-
-"That way--no--the other way, you blockhead!--straight on, and short
-to the right!" vociferated the General to his bewildered coachman, as
-they drew up at the barrack-gate; and Blanche timidly suggested they
-should ask "that officer," alluding to a dashing, handsome individual
-guarding the entrance from behind an enormous pair of dark moustaches.
-
-"That's only the sentry, Blanche," remarked Mary Delaval, whose early
-military experience made her more at home here than her companion.
-
-"Dear," replied Blanche, colouring a little at her mistake, "I thought
-he was a captain, at least--_he's very good-looking_."
-
-But the barouche rolls on to the mess-room door, and although the
-ladies are somewhat disappointed to find their entertainers in plain
-clothes (a woman's idea of a hussar being that he should live and die
-_en grande tenue_), yet the said plain clothes are so well put on, and
-the moustaches and whiskers so carefully arranged, and the fair ones
-themselves received with such _empressement_, as to make full amends
-for any deficiency of warlike costume. Besides, the surrounding
-atmosphere is so thoroughly military. A rough-rider is bringing a
-young horse from the school; a trumpet is sounding in the
-barrack-yard; troopers lounging about in picturesque undress are
-sedulously saluting their officers; all is suggestive of the show and
-glitter which makes a soldier's life so fascinating to woman.
-
-Major D'Orville is ready to hand them out of the carriage. Lacquers is
-stationed on the door steps. Captain Clank and Cornet Capon are in
-attendance to receive their cloaks. Even Sir Ascot Uppercrust, who is
-here as a guest, lays aside his usual _nonchalance_, and actually
-"hopes Miss Kettering didn't catch cold yesterday getting home from
-Chiswick." Clank whispers to Capon that he thinks "Uppy is making
-strong running"; and Capon strokes his nascent moustaches, and
-oracularly replies, "The divil doubt him."
-
-No wonder ladies like a military entertainment. It certainly is the
-fashion among soldiers, as among their seafaring brethren, to profess
-far greater devotion and exhibit more _empressement_ in their manner
-to the fair sex than is customary in this age with civilians.
-
-The latter, more particularly that maligned class, "the young men of
-the present day," are not prone to put themselves much out of their
-way for any one, and treat you, fair daughters of England, with a
-mixture of patronage and carelessness which is far from complimentary.
-How different you find it when you visit a barrack or are shown over a
-man-of-war! Respectful deference waits on your every expression,
-admiring eyes watch your charming movements, and stalwart arms are
-proffered to assist your delicate steps. Handsome, sunburnt
-countenances explain to you how the biscuit is served out; or
-moustaches of incalculable volume wait your answer as to "what polka
-you choose their band to perform." You make conquests all around you,
-and wherever you go your foot is on their necks; but do not for this
-think that your image never _can_ be effaced from these warlike
-hearts. A good many of them, even the best-looking ones, have got
-wives and children at home; and the others, unencumbered though they
-be, save by their debts, are apt to entertain highly anti-matrimonial
-sentiments, and to frame their conduct on sundry aphorisms of a very
-faithless tendency, purporting that "blue water is a certain cure for
-heart-ache"; that judicious hussars are entitled "to love and to ride
-away"; with other maxims of a like inconstant nature. Nay, in both
-services there is a favourite air of inspiriting melody, the burden
-and title of which, monstrous as it may appear, are these unfeeling
-words, "The girls we leave behind us!" It is _always_ played on
-marching out of a town.
-
-But however ill our "captain bold" of the present day may behave to
-"the girl he leaves behind him," the lady in his front has small cause
-to complain of remissness or inattention. The mess-room at Hounslow is
-fitted up with an especial view to the approbation of the fair sex.
-The band outside ravishes their ears with its enchanting harmony; the
-officers and male guests dispose themselves in groups with those
-whose society they most affect; and Blanche finds herself the centre
-of attraction to sundry dashing warriors, not one of whom would
-hesitate for an instant to abandon his visions of military
-distinction, and link himself, his debts, and his moustaches, to the
-fortunes of the pretty heiress.
-
-Now, Sir Ascot Uppercrust has resolved this day to do or die--"to be a
-man or a mouse," as he calls it. Of this young gentleman we have as
-yet said but little, inasmuch as he is one of that modern school
-which, abounding in specimens through the higher ranks of society, is
-best described by a series of negatives. He was _not_ good-looking--he
-was _not_ clever--he was _not_ well-educated; but, on the other hand,
-he was not to be intimidated--not to be excited--and _not_ to be taken
-in. Coolness of mind and body were his principal characteristics; no
-one ever saw "Uppy" in a hurry, or a dilemma, or what is called "taken
-aback"; he would have gone into the ring and laid the odds to an
-archbishop without a vestige of astonishment, and with a carelessness
-of demeanour bordering upon contempt; or he would have addressed the
-House of Commons, had he thought fit to honour that formidable
-assemblage by his presence, with an equanimity and _insouciance_ but
-little removed from impertinence. A quaint boy at Eton, _cool hand_ at
-Oxford, a deep card in the regiment, man or woman never yet had the
-best of "Uppy"; but to-day he felt, for once, nervous and dispirited,
-and wished "the thing was over," and settled one way or the other. He
-was an only son, and not used to be contradicted. His mother had
-confided to him her own opinion of his attractions, and striven hard
-to persuade her darling that he had but to see and conquer;
-nevertheless, the young gentleman was not at all sanguine of success.
-Accustomed to view things with an impartial and by no means a
-charitable eye, he formed a dispassionate idea of his own attractions,
-and extended no more indulgence to himself than to his friends.
-"Plain, but neat," he soliloquised that very morning, as he thought
-over his proceedings whilst dressing; "not much of a talker, but a
-_devil to think_--good position--certain rank--she'll be a _lady_,
-though rather a _Brummagem_ one--house in Lowndes Street--place in
-the West--family diamonds--and a fairish rent-roll (when the mortgages
-are paid)--that's what she would get. Now, what should I get? Nice
-girl--'gad, she _is_ a nice girl, with her 'sun-bright hair' as some
-fellow says--good temper--good action--_and_ three hundred thousand
-pounds. The exchange is _rather_ in my favour; but then all girls want
-to be married, and that squares it, perhaps. If she says 'Yes,' sell
-out--give up hunting--drive her about in a phaeton, and buy a yacht.
-If she says 'No,' get _second leave_--go to Melton in November--and
-hang on with the regiment, which ain't a bad sort of life, after all.
-So it's hedged both ways. Six to one and half-a-dozen to the other.
-Very well; to-day we'll settle it."
-
-With these sentiments it is needless to remark that Sir Ascot was none
-of your sighing, despairing, fire-eating adorers, whose violence
-frightens a woman into a not unwilling consent; but a cautious, quiet
-lover, on whom perhaps a civil refusal might be the greatest favour
-she could confer. Nevertheless, he liked Blanche, too, in his own way.
-
-Well, the band played, and the luncheon was discussed, and the room
-was cleared for an impromptu dance (meditated for a fortnight); and
-some waltzed, and some flirted, and some walked about and peeped into
-the troop-stables and inspected the riding-school, and Blanche found
-herself, rather to her surprise, walking _tete-a-tete_ with Sir Ascot
-from the latter dusty emporium, lingering a little behind the rest of
-the party, and separated altogether from the General and Mary Delaval.
-Sir Ascot having skilfully detached Lacquers, by informing him that he
-had made a fatal impression on Miss Spanker, who was searching
-everywhere for the credulous hussar; and having thus possessed himself
-of Blanche's ear, now stopped dead-short, looked the astonished girl
-full in the face, and without moving a muscle of his own countenance,
-carelessly remarked, "Miss Kettering, would you like to marry me?"
-Blanche thought he was joking, and although it struck her as an
-ill-timed piece of pleasantry, she strove to keep up the jest, and
-replied, with a laugh and low curtsey, "Sir Ascot Uppercrust, you do
-me too much honour."
-
-"No, but will you, Miss Kettering?" said Sir Ascot, getting quite
-warm (for him). "Plain fellow--do what I can--make you happy--and all
-that."
-
-[Illustration: "'Sir Ascot Uppercrust, you do me too much honour.'"
-
-_Page 182_]
-
-Poor Blanche blushed crimson up to her eyes. Good heavens! then the
-man was in earnest after all! What had she done--she, the pet of
-"Cousin Charlie," and the _protegee_ of Frank Hardingstone--that such
-a creature as this should presume to ask her such a question? She
-hesitated--felt very angry--half inclined to laugh and half inclined
-to cry; and Sir Ascot went on, "Silence gives consent, Miss
-Kettering--'pon my soul, I'm immensely flattered--can't express
-what I feel--no poet, and that sort of thing--but I really
-am--eh!--very--eh!" It was getting too absurd; if she did not take
-some decisive step, here was a dandy quite prepared to affiance her
-against her will, and what to say or how to say it, poor little
-Blanche, who was totally unused to this sort of thing, and tormented,
-moreover, with an invincible desire to laugh, knew no more than the
-man in the moon.
-
-"You misunderstand, Sir Ascot," at last she stammered out; "I didn't
-mean--that is--I meant, or rather I intended--to--to--to--decline--or,
-I should say--in short, _I couldn't for the world_!" With which
-unequivocal declaration Blanche blushed once more up to her eyes, and
-to her inexpressible relief, put her arm within Major D'Orville's,
-that officer coming up opportunely at that moment; and seeing the
-girl's obvious confusion and annoyance, extricating her, as he seemed
-always to do, from her unpleasant dilemma and her matter-of-fact
-swain.
-
-And this was Blanche's first proposal. Nothing so alarming in it,
-young ladies, after all. We fear you may be disappointed at the blunt
-manner in which so momentous a question can be put. Here was no
-language of flowers--no giving of roses and receiving of
-carnations--no hoarding of locks of hair, or secreting of bracelets,
-or kidnapping of gloves--none of the petty larceny of courtship--none
-of the dubious, half-expressed, sentimental flummery which _may_
-signify all that mortal heart can bestow, or _may_ be the mere
-coquetry of conventional gallantry. When _he_ comes to the point, let
-us hope his meaning may be equally plain, whether it is couched in a
-wish that he might "be _always_ helping you over stiles," or a
-request that you will "give him a _right_ to walk with you by
-moonlight without being scolded by mamma," or an inquiry as to whether
-you "can live in the country, and _only_ come to London for three
-months during the season," or any other roundabout method of asking a
-straightforward question. Let us hope, moreover, that the applicant
-may be _the right one_, and that you may experience, to the extent of
-actual impossibility, the proverbial difficulty of saying--No.
-
-Now, it fell out that Major D'Orville arrived in the nick of time to
-save Blanche from further embarrassment, in consequence of his
-inability, in common with the rest of his fellow-creatures, "to know
-his own mind." The Major had got up the _fete_ entirely, as he
-imagined, with the idea of prosecuting his views against the heiress,
-and hardly allowed to himself that, in his innermost soul, there
-lurked a hope that Mrs. Delaval might accompany her former charge, and
-he might see her _just once more_. Had D'Orville been thoroughly
-_bad_, he would have been a successful man; as it was, there gleamed
-ever and anon upon his worldly heart a ray of that higher nature, that
-nobler instinct, which spoils the villain, while it makes the hero.
-Mary had pierced the coat-of-mail in which the _roue_ was encased;
-probably her very indifference was her most fatal weapon. D'Orville
-really loved her--yes, though he despised himself for the weakness
-(since weakness it is deemed in creeds such as his), though he would
-grind his teeth and stamp his foot in solitude, while he muttered,
-"Fool! fool! to bow down before a woman!" yet the spell was on him,
-and the chain was eating into his heart. In the watches of the night
-_her image_ sank into his brain and tortured him with its calm,
-indifferent smile. In his dreams _she_ bent over him, and her drooping
-hair swept across his forehead, till the strong man woke, and yearned
-like a child for a fellow-mortal's love. But not for him the childlike
-trust that can repose on human affection. Gaston had eaten of the tree
-of knowledge, the knowledge of good and evil; much did the evil
-predominate over the good, and still the galling thought goaded
-him almost to madness. "Suppose I should gain this woman's
-affections--suppose I should sacrifice my every hope to that sweet
-face, and find her, after all, like the rest of them! Suppose _I_,
-too, should weary, as I have wearied before of faces well-nigh as
-fair--hearts even far more kind--is there no green branch on earth? Am
-I to wander for ever seeking rest and finding none? Am I to be cursed,
-like a lost spirit, with longings for that happiness which my very
-nature will not permit me to enjoy? Oh that I were wholly good, or
-wholly bad! that I could loathe the false excitement and the dazzling
-charms of vice, or steep my better feelings in the petrifying waters
-of perdition! I _will_ conquer my weakness. What should I care for
-this stone-cold governess? I _will_ be free, and this Mrs. Delaval
-shall discover that _I_ too can be as careless, and as faithless, and
-as hard-hearted as--_a woman_!" With which laudable and manly
-resolution our dashing Major proceeded to make the agreeable to his
-guests, and to lose no opportunity of exchanging glances and mixing in
-conversation with the very lady he had sworn so stoutly to avoid. But
-with all his tactics, all his military proficiency in manoeuvring,
-he found it impossible to detach Mary from her party, or to engage her
-in a _tete-a-tete_ with himself. True-hearted and dignified, with her
-pure affection fixed upon another, she was not a person to descend to
-coquetry for the mere pleasure of a conquest, and she clung to the
-General for the purpose of avoiding the Major, till old Bounce became
-convinced that she was to add another name to the list of victims who
-had already succumbed before his many fascinations. The idea had been
-some time nascent in his mind, and as it now grew and spread, and
-developed itself into a certainty, his old heart warmed with a thrill
-he had not felt since the reign of the widow at Cheltenham, and he
-made the agreeable in his own way by pointing out to Mary all the
-peculiarities and arrangements of a barrack-yard, interspersed with
-many abrupt exclamations and voluminous personal anecdotes. Major
-D'Orville hovered round them the while, and perhaps the very
-difficulty of addressing his former love enhanced the charm of her
-presence and the fascination against which he struggled. It is amusing
-to see a thorough man of the world, one accustomed to conquer and
-enslave where he is himself indifferent, awkward as the veriest
-schoolboy, timid and hesitating as a girl, where he is _really_
-touched--though woman--
-
-              "Born to be controlled,
-    Stoop to the forward and the bold."
-
-She thereby gauges with a false measure the devotion for which she
-pines. Would she know her real power, would she learn where she is
-truly loved, let her take note of the averted eye, the haunting step,
-ever hovering near, seldom daring to approach, the commonplace remark
-that shrinks from the one cherished topic, and above all the quivering
-voice, which, steady and commanding to the world beside, fails only
-when it speaks to her. Mary Delaval might have noted this had her
-heart not been in Kaffirland, or had the General allowed her leisure
-to attend to anything but himself. "Look ye, my dear Mrs. Delaval, our
-stables in India were ventilated quite differently. Climate? how d'ye
-mean? climate makes no difference--why, I've had the Kedjerees
-picketed in thousands round my tent. What? D'Orville, you've been on
-the Sutlej--'gad, sir, your fellows would have been astonished if I'd
-dropped among you there."
-
-"And justly so," quietly remarked the Major; "if I remember right, you
-were in cantonments more than three thousand miles off."
-
-"Well, at any rate, I taught those black fellows how to
-look after their nags," replied the General. "I left them
-the best-mounted corps in the Presidency, and six weeks after my back
-was turned they weren't _worth a row of pins_. Zounds, don't tell me!
-jobbing--jobbing--nothing but jobbing! What? No _sore backs_ whilst I
-commanded them--at least among _the horses_," added our
-disciplinarian, reflectively; "can't say as much with regard to the
-_men_. But there is nothing like a big stick for a nigger--so let's go
-and see the riding-school."
-
-"I have still got the grey charger, Mrs. Delaval," interposed the
-Major, wishing old Bounce and his Kedjerees in a hotter climate than
-India; "poor fellow, he's quite white now, but as great a favourite
-still as he was in 'the merry days,'" and the Major's voice shook a
-little. "Would you like to see him?"
-
-Mary understood the allusion, but her calm affirmative was as
-indifferent as ever, and the trio were proceeding to the Major's
-stables, that officer going on before to find his groom, when he met
-Blanche, as we have already said, and divining intuitively what had
-taken place by her flushed countenance and embarrassed manner, offered
-his arm to conduct her back to her party, thereby earning her eternal
-gratitude, no less than that of Sir Ascot, who, as he afterwards
-confided to an intimate friend, "was _completely in the hole_, and
-didn't the least know what the devil to do next."
-
-And now D'Orville practically demonstrated the advantage in the game
-of flirtation possessed by an untouched heart. With the governess he
-had been diffident, hesitating, almost awkward; with the pupil he was
-eloquent and winning as usual. His good taste told him it would be
-absurd to ignore Blanche's obvious trepidation, and his knowledge of
-the sex taught him that the "soothing system," with a mixture of
-lover-like respect and paternal kindness, might produce important
-results. So he begged Blanche to lean on his arm and compose her
-nerves, and talked kindly to her in his soft, deep voice. "I can see
-you have been annoyed, Miss Kettering--you know the interest I take in
-you, and I trust you will not consider me presumptuous in wishing to
-extricate you from further embarrassment. I am an old fellow now," and
-the Major smiled his own winning smile, "and therefore a fit chaperon
-for young ladies. I have nobody to care for" (D'Orville, D'Orville!
-you would shoot a man who called you a liar), "and I have watched you
-as if you were a sister or a child of my own. Pray do not tell me more
-than if I can be of any service to you; and if I can, my dear Miss
-Kettering, command me to the utmost extent of my powers!" What could
-Blanche do but thank him warmly? and who shall blame the girl for
-feeling gratified by the interest of such a man, or for entertaining a
-vague sort of satisfaction that after all she was neither his sister
-nor his daughter. Had he been ten years older she would have thrown
-her arms round his neck, and kissed him in childlike confidence; as it
-was, she pressed closer to his side, and felt her heart warm to the
-kind, considerate protector. The Major saw his advantage, and
-proceeded--"I am alone in the world, you know, and seldom have an
-opportunity of doing any one a kindness. We soldiers lead a sadly
-unsatisfactory, desultory sort of life. Till you 'came out' this year,
-I had no one to care for, no one to interest myself about; but since I
-have seen you every day, and watched you enjoying yourself, and
-admired and sought after, I have felt like a different man. I have a
-great deal to thank you for, Miss Kettering; I was rapidly growing
-into a selfish, heartless old gentleman, but you have renewed my
-youthful feelings and freshened up my better nature, till I sometimes
-think I am almost happy. How can I repay you but by watching over your
-career, and should you ever require it, placing my whole existence at
-your disposal? It would break my heart to see you thrown away--no;
-believe me, Miss Kettering, you have no truer friend than myself, none
-that admires or loves you better than your old chaperon;" and as the
-Major spoke he looked so kindly and sincerely into the girl's face,
-that albeit his language might bear the interpretation of actual love,
-and was, as Hairblower would have said, "uncommon near the wind," it
-seemed the most natural thing in the world under the circumstances,
-and Blanche leaned on his arm, and talked and laughed, and told him to
-get the carriage, and otherwise ordered him about with a
-strangely-mixed feeling of childlike confidence and gratified vanity.
-The party broke up at an early hour, many of them having
-dinner-engagements in London; and as D'Orville handed Blanche into her
-carriage, he felt that he had to-day made a prodigious stride towards
-the great object in view. He had gained the girl's confidence, no
-injudicious movement towards gaining her heart _and_ her fortune. He
-pressed her hand as she wished him good-bye; and while he did so,
-shuddered at the consciousness of his meanness. Too well he knew he
-loved another--a word, a look from Mary Delaval, would have saved him
-even now; but her farewell was cold and short as common courtesy would
-admit of, and he ground his teeth as he thought those feet would spurn
-him, at which he would give his very life to fall. The worst passions
-of his nature were aroused. He swore, some day, to humble that proud
-heart in the dust, but the first step at all events must be to win
-the heiress. This morning he could have given up all for Mary, but
-_now_ he was himself again, and the Major walked moodily back to
-barracks, a wiser (as the world would opine), but certainly not a
-better man.
-
-Care, however, although, as Horace tells us, "she sits behind the
-horseman," is a guest whose visits are but little encouraged by the
-light dragoon. Our gallant hussars were not inclined to mope down at
-Hounslow after their guests had returned to town, and the last
-carriage had scarcely driven off with its fair freight, ere phaeton,
-buggy, riding-horse, and curricle were put in requisition, to take
-their military owners back to the metropolis; that victim of
-discipline, the orderly officer, being alone left to console himself
-in his solitude, as he best might, with his own reflections and the
-society of a water-spaniel. To-morrow morning they must be again on
-the road, to reach head-quarters in time for parade; but to-morrow
-morning is a long way off from gentlemen who live every hour of their
-lives; so away they go, each on his own devices, but one and all
-resolved to make the most of the present, and glitter, whilst they
-may, in the sunshine of their too brief noon.
-
-       *       *       *       *       *
-
-St. George's clock tolls one, and Blanche has been asleep for hours in
-her quiet room at the back of the house in Grosvenor Square. Pure
-thoughts and pleasant dreams have hovered round the young girl's
-pillow, and the last image present to her eyes has been the kind,
-handsome face of Major D'Orville--the hero who, commanding to all
-besides, is so gentle, so considerate, so tender with her alone.
-"Perhaps," thought she, as the midnight rain beat against her
-window-panes, "he is even now going his bleak rounds at Hounslow"
-(Blanche had a vague idea that the hussars spent the night in
-patrolling the heath), "wrapped in his cloak, on that dear white
-horse, very likely thinking of _me_. How such a man is thrown away,
-with his kindly feelings, and his noble mind, and his courageous
-heart. 'Nobody to care for,' he said; 'alone in the world';" and
-little Blanche sighed a sigh of that pity which is akin to a softer
-feeling, and experienced for an instant that startling throb with
-which love knocks at the door, like some unwelcome visitor, ere habit
-has emboldened him to walk up-stairs, unbidden, and make himself at
-home.
-
-Let us see how right the maiden was in her conjectures, and follow the
-Major through his bleak rounds, and his night of military hardships.
-
-As we perambulate London at our loitering leisure, and stare about us
-in the desultory, wandering manner of those who have nothing to do,
-now admiring an edifice, now peeping into a print-shop, we are often
-brought up, "all standing," in one of the great thoroughfares, by the
-magnificent proportions, the architectural splendour, of a building
-which our peaceful calling debars us from entering. Nevertheless we
-may gaze and gape at the stately outside; we may admire the lofty
-windows, with their florid ornaments, and marvel for what purpose are
-intended the upper casements, which seem to us like the bull's-eyes
-let into the deck of a three-decker, magnified to a gigantic
-uselessness; we may stare till the nape of our neck warns us to
-desist, at the classic ornaments raised in high relief around the
-roof, where strange mythological devices, unknown to Lempriere,
-mystify alike the antiquarian and the naturalist,--centaurs,
-terminating in salmon-trout, career around the cornices, more
-grotesque than the mermaid, more inexplicable than the sphinx. In vain
-we cudgel our brains to ask of what faith, what principle these
-monsters may be the symbols. Can they represent the _insignia_ of that
-corps so strangely omitted in the _Army List_--known to a grateful
-country as the horse marines? Are they a glorious emanation of modern
-art? or are they, as the Irish gentleman suggested of our martello
-towers, only intended to puzzle posterity? Splendid, however, as may
-be the outward magnificence of this military palace, it is nothing
-compared with the luxury that reigns within, and the heroes of both
-services enjoy a delightful contrast to the hardships of war, in the
-spacious saloons and exquisite repasts provided for its members by the
-"Peace and Plenty Club."
-
-"Waiter--two large cigars and another sherry-cobbler," lisps a voice
-which, although somewhat thicker than usual, we have no difficulty in
-recognising as the property of Captain Lacquers. That officer has
-dined "severely," as he calls it, and is slightly inebriated. He is
-reclining on three chairs, in a large, lofty apartment, devoid of
-furniture, and surrounded by ottomans. From its airy situation,
-general appearance, and pervading odour, we have no difficulty in
-identifying it as the smoking-room of the establishment. At our
-friend's elbow stands a small table, with empty glasses, and opposite
-him, with his heels above the level of his head, and a cigar of
-"_sesquipedalian_" length in his mouth, sits Sir Ascot Uppercrust.
-Gaston D'Orville is by his side, veiling his handsome face in clouds
-of smoke, and they are all three talking about the heiress. Yes; these
-are the Major's _rounds_, these are the hardships innocent Blanche
-sighed to think of. It is lucky that ladies can neither hear nor see
-us in our masculine retreats.
-
-"So she refused you, Uppy; refused you point blank, did she? 'Gad, I
-like her for it," said Lacquers, the romance of whose disposition was
-much enhanced by his potations.
-
-"Deuced impertinent, I call it," replied the repulsed; "won't have
-such a chance again. After all, she's not _half_ a nice girl."
-
-"Don't say that," vociferated Lacquers, "don't say that. She's
-_perfect_, my dear boy; she's enchanting--she's got _mind_, and
-that--what's a woman without intellect?--without the what-d'ye-call-it
-spark?--a--a--you recollect the quotation."
-
-"A pudding without plums," said Sir Ascot, who was a bit of a wag in a
-quiet way; and "A fiddle without strings," suggested the Major at the
-same moment.
-
-"Exactly," replied Lacquers, quite satisfied; "well, my dear fellow,
-I'm a man that adores all that sort of thing. 'Gad, I can't do without
-talent, and music, and so on. Do I ever miss an opera? Didn't I half
-ruin myself for Pastorelli, because she could dance? Now, I'll tell
-you what"--and the speaker, lighting a fresh cigar, forgot what he was
-going to say.
-
-"Then _you're_ rather smitten with Miss Kettering, too," observed
-D'Orville, who, as usual, was determined not to throw a chance away.
-"I thought a man of your many successes was _blase_ with that sort of
-thing;" and the Major smiled at Sir Ascot, whilst Lacquers went off
-again at score.
-
-"To be sure, I've gone very deep into the thing, old fellow, as you
-know; and I think I _understand_ women. You may depend upon it they
-like a fellow with brains. But I ought to settle; I 'flushed' a grey
-hair yesterday in my whiskers, and this is just the girl to suit. It's
-not her money I care for; I've got plenty--at least I can get plenty
-at seven per cent. No, it is her intellect, and her refusing Uppy,
-that I like. What did you say, my boy? how did you begin?" he added,
-thinking he might as well get a hint. "Did you tip her any poetry?
-Tommy Moore, and that other fellow, little What's-his-name?" Lacquers
-was beginning to speak very thick, and did not wait for an answer.
-"I'll show you how to settle these matters to-morrow after parade.
-First I'll go to----Who's that fellow just come in? 'Gad, it's
-Clank--good fellow, Clank. I say, Clank, will you come to my wedding?
-Recollect I asked you to-night; be very particular about the date. Let
-me see; to-morrow's the second Sunday after Ascot. I'll lay any man
-three to two the match comes off before Goodwood."
-
-D'Orville smiles calmly. He hears the woman whom he intends to make
-his wife talked of thus lightly, yet no feeling of bitterness rises in
-his mind against the drunken dandy. Would he not resent such mention
-of another name? But his finances will not admit of such a chance as
-the present wager being neglected; so he draws out his betting-book,
-and turning over its well-filled leaves for a clear place, quietly
-observes, "I'll take it--three to two, what in?"
-
-"Pounds, ponies, or hundreds," vociferates Lacquers, now decidedly
-uproarious; "thousands if you like. Fortune favours the brave. Vogue
-la thingumbob! Waiter! brandy-and-water! Clank, you're a trump: shake
-hands, Clank. We won't go home till morning. Yonder he goes:
-tally-ho!" And while the Major, who is a man of conscience, satisfies
-himself with betting his friend's bet in hundreds, Lacquers vainly
-endeavours to make a corresponding memorandum; and finding his fingers
-refuse their office, gives himself up to his fate, and with an
-abortive attempt to embrace the astonished Clank, subsides into a
-sitting posture on the floor.
-
-The rest adjourn to whist in the drawing-room; and Gaston D'Orville
-concludes his rounds by losing three hundred to Sir Ascot; "Uppy"
-congratulating himself on not having made such a bad day's work after
-all.
-
-As the Major walks home to his lodgings in the first pure
-flush of the summer's morning, how he loathes that man whose
-fresh unsullied boyhood he remembers so well. What is he now?
-Nothing to rest on; nothing to hope for--loving one--deceiving
-another. If he gain his object, what is it but a bitter perjury?
-Gambler--traitor--profligate--turn which way he will, there is nothing
-but ruin, misery, and sin.
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER XIII
-
-THE WORLD
-
-     SELLING THE COPYRIGHT--THE POLITICIAN'S
-     DAY-DREAMS--TATTERSALL'S AT FLOOD--A DANDY'S DESTINY
-
-
-"Can't do it, my lord--your lordship must consider--overwritten
-yourself sadly of late--your 'Broadsides from the Baltic' were
-excellent--telling, clever, and eloquent; but you'll excuse me--you
-were incorrect in your statistics and mistaken in your facts. Then
-your last novel, 'Captain Flash; or, the Modern Grandison,' was a dead
-loss to us--lively work--well reviewed--but it _didn't sell_. In these
-days people don't care to go behind the scenes for a peep at
-aristocratic ruffians and chivalrous black-legs--no, what we want is
-something original--hot and strong, my lord, and lots of nature. Now,
-these translations"--and the publisher, for a publisher it was who
-spoke, waved his sword of office, a huge ivory paper-cutter, towards a
-bundle of manuscripts--"these translations from the 'Medea' are
-admirably done--elegant language--profound scholarship--great
-merit--but the public won't look at them; and even with your
-lordship's name to help them off, we cannot say more than three
-hundred--in point of fact, I think we are hardly justified in going as
-far as that;" and the publisher crossed his legs and sat back in his
-arm-chair, like a man who had made up his mind.
-
-We have almost lost sight of Lord Mount Helicon since the Guyville
-ball, but he now turns up, attending to business, as he calls it, and
-is sitting in Mr. Bracketts' back-room, driving as hard a bargain as
-he can for the barter of his intellectual produce, and conducting the
-sale in his usual careless, good-humoured manner, although he has a
-bill coming due to-morrow, and ready money is a most important
-consideration. The little back-room is perfectly lined with
-newspapers, magazines, prospectuses, books, proof-sheets, and
-manuscripts, whilst the aristocracy of talent frown in engravings from
-the walls--faces generally not so remarkable for their beauty as for a
-dishevelled, untidy expression, consequent on disordered hair pushed
-back from off the temples, and producing the unbecoming effect of
-having been recently exposed to a gale of wind; nevertheless, the
-illegible autographs beneath symbolise names which fill the world.
-
-Mr. Bracketts, the presiding genius of the place, is a remarkable man;
-his broad, high brow and deep-set flashing eyes betray at once the man
-of intellect, the champion whose weapon is the brain, whilst his
-spare, bent frame is attenuated by that mental labour which produces
-results precisely the converse of healthy physical exertion. Mr.
-Bracketts might have been a great poet, a successful author, or a
-scientific explorer; but, like the grocer's apprentice who is clogged
-with sweets till he loathes the very name of sugar, our publisher has
-been surfeited with talent till he almost pines to be a boor, to
-exchange the constant intellectual excitement which wears him to
-shreds for placid ignorance, a good appetite, and fresh air. How can
-he find time to embody his own thoughts who is continually perusing,
-rejecting, perhaps licking into shape those of others? How can he but
-be disgusted with the puny efforts of the scribbler's wing, when he
-himself feels capable of flights that would soar far out of the ken of
-that every-day average authorship of which his soul is sick?--so
-beyond an occasional slashing review, written in no forbearing spirit,
-he seldom puts pen to paper, save to score and interline and correct;
-yet is he, with all his conscious superiority, not above our national
-prejudices in favour of what we playfully term _good_ society. We fear
-he had rather go to a "crush" at Lady Dinadam's than sup with Boz. He
-is an Englishman, and his heart warms to a peer--so he lets Lord Mount
-Helicon down very easy, and offers him three hundred for his
-manuscript.
-
-"Hang it, Bracketts," said his lordship, "it's worth more than
-that--look what it cost me; if it hadn't been for that cursed
-'Sea-breeze' chorus I should have been at Newmarket, when
-'Bowse-and-Bit' won 'The Column'--and I should have landed '_a Thou_'
-_at least_. But I was so busy at it I was late for the train. Come,
-Bracketts, spring a point, and I'll put you 'on' about 'Sennacherib'
-for the Goodwood Cup."
-
-"We should wish to be as liberal as possible, my lord," replied Mr.
-Bracketts, shaking his head with a smile, "but we have other interests
-to consult--if I was the only person concerned it would be
-different--but, in short, I have already rather exceeded my powers,
-and I can go no farther!"
-
-"Very well," said Lord Mount Helicon, looking at his watch, and seeing
-it was time for him to be at Tattersall's; "only if it goes through
-another edition, we'll have a fresh arrangement. It's time for me to
-be off. Any news among the fraternity? Anything _good_ coming out
-soon?"
-
-"Nothing but a novel by a lady of rank," returned Mr. Bracketts, with
-a meaning smile; "and we all know what that is likely to be. Capital
-title, though: 'Blue-bell; or, the Double Infidelity'--the name will
-sell it. Good-morning; good-morning, my lord. Pray look in again, when
-you are this way." And the publisher, having bowed out his noble
-guest, returned to his never-ending labours, whilst Lord Mount Helicon
-whisked into the street, with five hundred things to do, and, as
-usual, a dozen appointments to keep, all at the same time.
-
-Let us follow him down to Tattersall's, whither, on the principle of
-"business first and pleasure afterwards," he betakes himself at once,
-treading as it were upon air, his busy imagination teeming with a
-thousand schemes, and his spirits rising with that self-distilled
-elixir which is only known to the poetic temperament, and which,
-though springing to a certain extent from constitutional recklessness,
-owes its chief potency to the self-confidence of mental
-superiority--the reflection that, when all externals are swept away,
-when ruin and misfortune have done their wickedest, the productive
-treasure, the germ of future success, is still untouched within.
-
-"If the worst comes to the worst," thinks his lordship, "if
-'Sennacherib' breaks down, and Blanche Kettering fights shy, and the
-sons of Judah thunder at the door of the ungodly, and 'the pot boils
-over,' and the world says 'it's all up with Mount,' have I not still
-got something to fall back upon? Shall not my very difficulties point
-the way to overcome them? and when I am driven into a corner, _won't_
-I come out and astonish them all? I've got it _in_ me--I know I have.
-And the reviewers--pshaw! I defy them! Let them but lay a finger on my
-'Medea,' and I'll give them such a roasting as they haven't had since
-the days of the 'Dunciad.' Byron did it: why shouldn't I? If I could
-only settle down--and I _could_ settle down if I was regularly cleaned
-out--I think I am man enough to succeed. Bring out a work that would
-shake the Ministry, and scatter the moderate party--then for Progress,
-Improvement, Enfranchisement, and the March with the Times (rogue's
-march though it be), and Mount Helicon, at the head of an invincible
-phalanx, in the House, with unbounded popularity out of doors, an
-English peerage--fewer points to the coronet--a seat in the
-Cabinet--why not? But here we are at Tattersall's;" and the future
-statesman is infernally in want of a few hundreds, so now for "good
-information, long odds, a safe man, and a shot at the favourite!"
-
-As he walked down the narrow passage out of Grosvenor Place, now
-bowing to a peer, now nodding to a trainer, now indulging in quaint
-_badinage_, which the vulgar call "chaff," with a dog-stealer, who
-would have suspected the rattling, agreeable, off-hand Mount Helicon
-of deep-laid schemes and daring ambition? Nobody saw through him but
-old Barabbas, the Leg; and he once confided to a confederate on
-Newmarket Heath, "There's not one of the young ones as knows his
-alphabet, 'cept the Lively Lord; and take my word for it, Plunder,
-he's a deep 'un."
-
-If a foreigner would have a comprehensive view of our system of
-English society all at one glance, let him go into the yard at
-Tattersall's any crowded "comparing day," before one of our great
-events on the turf. There will he see, in its highest perfection, the
-apparent anomaly of aristocratic opinions and democratic habits, the
-social contradiction by which the peer reconciles his familiarity
-with the Leg, and his _hauteur_ towards those almost his equals in
-rank, who do not happen to be "of his own set." There he may behold
-Privy Councillors rubbing shoulders with convicted swindlers, noblemen
-of unstained lineage, themselves the "mirror of honour," passing their
-jests for the time, on terms of the most perfect equality, with
-individuals whose only merit is success; and that indescribable
-immunity some persons are allowed to enjoy, by which, according to the
-proverb, "one man is entitled to steal a horse, when another may not
-even look at a halter." But this apparent equality can only flourish
-in the stifling atmosphere of the ring, or the free breezes of
-Newmarket Heath. Directly the book is shut my lord is a very different
-man, and Tom This or Dick That would find it another story altogether
-were he to expect the same familiarity in the county-rooms or the
-hunting-field which he has enjoyed in that vortex of speculation,
-where, after all, he merely represents a "given quantity," as a layer
-of the odds, and where his money is as good as another man's, or, at
-least, is so considered. Nay, the very crossing which divides
-Grosvenor Place from the Park is a line of demarcation quite
-sufficient to convert the knowing, off-hand nod of our lordly
-speculator into the stiff, cold bow and studiously polite greeting of
-the "Grand Seigneur." Verily, would-be gentlemen, who take to racing
-as a means of "getting into society," must often find themselves
-grievously deceived. But Lord Mount Helicon is in the thick of it.
-Tattersall greets him with that respectful air which his good taste
-never permits him to lay aside, whether he is discussing a matter of
-thousands with Sir Peter Plenipo, or arranging the sale of a
-forty-pound hack for an ensign in the Guards; therefore is he himself
-respected by all. "_You_ should have bought two of the yearlings, my
-lord," says he, in his quiet, pleasant voice; "Colonel Cavesson never
-sent us up such a lot in his life before."
-
-"Ha! Mount!" exclaims Lord Middle Mile, with a hearty smack on his
-friend's shoulders, "the very man I wanted to see," and straightway he
-draws him aside, and plunges into an earnest conversation, in which,
-ever and anon, the whispered words--"Carry the weight," "Stay the
-distance," and "Stand _a cracker_ on Sennacherib," are distinctly
-audible.
-
-"I can afford to lay your lordship seven to one," observes an
-extra-polite individual, who seems to consider the laying and taking
-the odds as the normal condition of man, and whose superabundant
-courtesy is only equalled by the deliberate carefulness of his every
-movement, masking, as it does, the lightning perception of the hawk,
-and, shall we add, the insatiable rapacity of that bird of prey? Mount
-Helicon moves from one group to another, intent on the business in
-hand. He invests largely against "Nesselrode" (not the diplomatist nor
-the pudding, but the race-horse of that name), and backs "Sennacherib"
-heavily for the Goodwood Cup. He takes the odds to a hundred pounds,
-besides, from his polite friend, "who regrets he cannot offer him a
-point or two more," and, on looking over the well-filled pages of his
-book, hugs himself with the self-satisfied feeling of a man who has
-done a good day's work, and effected the crowning stroke to a
-flourishing speculation.
-
-As he walks up the yard a quick step follows close upon him, a hand is
-laid upon his shoulder, and a well-known voice greets him in drawling
-tones, which he recognises as the property of our military Adonis, the
-irresistible Captain Lacquers. "Going to the Park, Mount?" says the
-hussar, with more animation than he usually betrays. "If you've a mind
-for a turn, I'll send my cab away;" and the peer, who cultivates
-Lacquers, as he himself says, "for amusement, just as he goes to see
-Keeley," replying in the affirmative, a tiny child, in top-boots and a
-cockade, is with difficulty woke, and dismissed, in company with a
-gigantic chestnut horse, towards his own stables. How that urchin,
-who, being deprived of his natural rest at night, constantly sleeps
-whilst driving by day, is to steer through the omnibuses in
-Piccadilly, is a matter of speculation for those who love "horrid
-accidents"; but it is fortunate that the magnificent animal knows his
-own way home, and will only stop once, at a door in Park Lane, where
-he is used to being pulled up, and where, we are concerned to add, his
-master has no business, although he is sufficiently welcome. "The
-fact is, I want to consult you, Mount, about a deuced ticklish
-affair," proceeded the dandy, as he linked his arm in his companion's,
-and wended his way leisurely towards the Park.
-
-"Not going to call anybody out, are you?" rejoined Mount, with a
-quaint expression of countenance. "'Pon my soul, if you are, I'll put
-you up with your back to a tree, or along a furrow, or get you shot
-somehow, and then no one will ever ask me to be a 'friend' again."
-
-"Worse than that," replied Lacquers, looking very grave; "I'm in a
-regular fix--_up a tree_, by Jove. Fact is, I'm thinking of
-marrying--marrying, you know; devilish bad business, isn't it?"
-
-"Why, that depends," said his confidant; "of course you'll be a great
-loss, and all that; break so many hearts too; but then, think--the
-duty you owe your country. The breed of such men must not be allowed
-to become extinct. No; I should say you ought to make the sacrifice."
-
-Lacquers looked immensely comforted, and went on--"Well, I've
-made arrangements--that's to say, I've ordered some of the
-things--dressing-case, set of phaeton-harness, large chest of
-cigars--but, of course, it's no use getting everything till it's all
-settled. Now, _you_ know, Mount, I'm a deuced domestic fellow, likely
-to make a girl happy. I'm not one of your tearing dogs that require
-constant excitement; I could live in the country quite contentedly
-part of the year. I've got resources within myself--I'm fond of
-hunting and shooting and--no, I can't stand fishing, but still, don't
-you think I'm just the man to settle?"
-
-"Certainly; it's all you're fit for," replied his friend.
-
-"Well, now to the point. I've not asked the girl yet, you know, but I
-don't anticipate much difficulty there," and the suitor smoothed his
-moustaches with a self-satisfied smile; "but, of course, the relations
-will make a bother about settlements, 'love light as air,' you know,
-and 'human flies,' and that; still we must provide for everything.
-Well, _my_ lawyer informs me that I can't settle anything during my
-brother's lifetime, and he's just a year older than myself--that's
-what I call 'a stopper.' Now, Mount, you're a sharp fellow--man of
-intellect, you know--'gad, I wouldn't give a pin for a fellow without
-brains--what do you advise me to do?"
-
-This was rather a poser, even for a gentleman of Lord Mount Helicon's
-fertile resources; but he was never long at a loss, so as he took off
-his hat to a very pretty woman in a barouche, he replied, in his
-off-hand way, "Do? why, elope, my good fellow--run away with
-her--carry her off like a Sabine bride, only let her take all her
-clothes with her--save you a _trousseau_. Has she money?"
-
-"Plenty, I fancy; from what I hear, I should think Miss Kettering
-can't have less than----"
-
-"The devil!" interrupted Lord Mount Helicon, in a tone that would have
-made most men start. "You don't mean to say _you_ want to marry Miss
-Kettering?"
-
-"Well, I think _she_ wants to marry _me_," rejoined Lacquers,
-perfectly unmoved; "and you know one can't refuse a lady; but it's
-only fair to say she hasn't actually _asked_ me."
-
-Lord Mount Helicon felt for a moment intensely disgusted. Blanche's
-beauty, and her simple, pretty manner, had touched him, as far as a
-man could be touched who had so many irons in the fire as his
-lordship, but the impulse for _fun_, the delight he experienced in
-quizzing his unsuspecting friend, soon overcame all other feelings,
-and he proceeded to egg Lacquers on, and assure him of his undoubted
-success, for the express purpose of amusing himself with the hussar's
-method of courtship. "Besides," thought he, "such a flat as this
-hanging about her will keep the other fellows off; and with a girl
-like _her_, I shall have little difficulty in 'cutting _him_ out.'" So
-he advised his friend to take time, and "allow her to get accustomed
-to his society, and gradually entangled in his fascinations; and then,
-my dear fellow," he added, "when she finds she can't live without
-you--when she has got used to your engaging ways, as she is to her
-poodle's--when she can no more bear to be parted from you than from
-her bullfinch, then speak up like a man--bring all your science into
-play--come with a rush--and win cleverly at the finish!"
-
-"Ay, that's all very well," mused the captain, "that's just my idea;
-but in the meantime some fellow might cut me out. Now, there's our
-Major--D'Orville, you know ('gad, how hot it is! let's lean over the
-rails)--D'Orville seems to be always in Grosvenor Square. He's an old
-fellow, too, but he has a deuced taking way with women. I don't know
-what they see in him either. To be sure he _was_ good-looking; but
-he's a man of no education" (Lacquers himself could scarcely spell his
-own name), "and he must be forty, if he's a day. Look at this fellow
-on the black cob. By Jove! it's old Bounce, and talk of the
-devil--there's D'Orville riding with Miss Kettering next the rails.
-This _is_ a go."
-
-Now, the little guileless conversation we have here related was hardly
-more worthy of record than the hundred and one nothings by the
-interchange of which gentlemen of the present day veil their want of
-ideas from each other, save for the fact of its being overheard by
-ears into which it sank like molten lead, creating an effect far out
-of proportion to its own triviality. Frank Hardingstone was walking
-close behind the speakers, and unwittingly heard their whole dialogue,
-even to the concluding remark with which Lacquers, as he leaned his
-elbows on the rails, and passed the frequenters of "the Ride" in
-review before him, expressed his disapprobation of the terms on which
-Major D'Orville stood with Blanche Kettering. Poor Frank! How often a
-casual word, dropped perhaps in jest from a coxcomb's lips, has power
-to wring an honest, manly heart to very agony! Our man of action had
-been endeavouring, ever since the Guyville ball, to drive Blanche's
-image from his thoughts, with an energy worthy of better success than
-it obtained. He had busied himself at his country place with his farm
-and his library and his tenants and his poor, and had found it all in
-vain. The fact is, he was absurdly in love with Blanche--that was the
-long and short of it--and after months of self-restraint and
-self-denial and discomfort, he resolved to do what he had better have
-done at first, to go to London, mingle in society, and enter the lists
-for his lady-love on equal terms with his rivals. And this was the
-encouragement he received on his appearance in the metropolis. He had
-a great mind to go straight home again, so he resolved to call on the
-morrow in Grosvenor Square, to ascertain with his own eyes the utter
-hopelessness of his affection, and then--why, then make up his mind to
-the worst, and bear his destiny like a man, though the world would be
-a lonely world to him for evermore. Frank was still young, and would
-have repelled indignantly the consolation, had such been offered him,
-of brighter eyes and a happier future. No, at his age there is but one
-woman in the universe. Seared, callous hearts, that have sustained
-many a campaign, know better; but verily in this respect we hold that
-ignorance is bliss. Frank, too, leaned against the rails when Mount
-Helicon and Lacquers passed on, and gazed upon the sunshiny, gaudy
-scene around him with a wistful eye and an aching heart.
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER XIV
-
-TO PERSONS ABOUT TO MARRY
-
-     A LOUNGE IN THE PARK--THE NOON OF FASHION--THE FAIR
-     EQUESTRIAN--A LOVER ON FOOT--BOUNCE'S COMFORTERS--THE LAST ROSE
-     OF SUMMER--A FRIEND'S ADVICE
-
-
-It was high noon in the great world of London--that is to say, it was
-about half-past five P.M.--and the children of Mammon were in full
-dress. In the streets, gay, glittering, well-appointed carriages were
-bowling smoothly along, with sleek horses stepping proudly together,
-and turning, as coachmen say, on a sixpence, guided by skilful pilots
-who could drive to an inch. Inside, shaded by parasols of the most
-gorgeous hues, sat fair delicate women, dressed to the utmost
-perfection of the art, with aerial bonnets at the very back of their
-glossy hair and dainty heads, bent down as they reclined upon their
-cushions till every upward glance shot from beneath those sweeping
-eyelashes bore a tenfold shaft of conquest against the world. Anon
-taper fingers in white kid gloves were kissed to a dandy on the
-pavement, and the fortunate dandy bowed, and sprang erect again, a
-taller man by an inch. 'Tis always judicious to _appear_ on the best
-of terms with smart ladies in coroneted carriages. Bond Street was in
-a state of siege--"Redmayne's" looked like a beehive--"Hunt and
-Roskell's" resembled a flower-show--country cousins were bewildered
-and overcome--quiet old gentlemen like ourselves were pining for their
-strawberries and their roses--wearied servants meditated on the charms
-of beer--the narrow strip of sky overhead smiled blue as the
-Mediterranean, and the tide of carriages in Piccadilly was like the
-roar of the ocean. In the Park, though the space was greater, yet did
-the crowd appear no less--double lines of carriages blocked up the
-drive by the Serpentine, and unassuming broughams with provokingly
-pretty faces inside halted perforce amongst the matronage of England,
-defiant in the liveries and escutcheons of their lawful lords. In the
-Ride the plot was thickening still, and half a country seemed
-to be gathering on "the broad road"--we speak literally, not
-metaphorically--mounted on steeds worth a prince's ransom, we ought to
-say, but here our conscientious regard for verity compels us to stop
-short, and to remark that although every now and then our eye may be
-gladdened by that most beautiful of all spectacles, a handsome woman
-on a fine horse, yet in many sorry instances the gentlemen of England,
-who "sit at home at ease," effectually prevent their wives and
-daughters from enjoying a like sedentary composure, by mounting them
-on the veriest "_rips_" that ever disgraced a side-saddle. "He'll do
-to carry a lady," they say of some wretch that has neither pace nor
-strength nor action for themselves, and forthwith gentle woman, blest
-in her ignorance, tittups along, nothing doubting, upon this tottering
-skeleton. Fortune favours her own sex, but _if_ anything happens a
-woman is almost sure to be hurt. No--to carry a lady a horse ought to
-be as near perfection as it is possible for that animal to
-arrive--strong, fast, well-shaped, handsome, and fine-tempered, his
-good qualities and his value should correspond with the treasure and
-the charms which are confided to his charge. But we have said there
-are exceptions, and Blanche's bay horse, "Water King," was a bright
-particular star among his equine fellows. Humble pedestrians stopped
-to gaze open-mouthed on that shapely form--the marble crest, the silky
-mane, the small quivering ear, the wide proud nostril, and the game
-wild eye--the round powerful frame, hard and smooth and well-defined
-as sculptured marble, showing on the "off-side" its whole lengthy
-proportions uninterrupted save by girth and saddle-flap, and the
-little edge of cambric handkerchief peeping from the latter.
-High-couraged as he was gentle, few horses could canter up the Ride
-like "Water King," and as he bent himself to his mistress's hand,
-snorting in his pride, his thin black tail swishing in the air, and
-his glossy skin flecked with foam, many a smart philosopher of the
-"_nil admirari_" school turned upon his saddle to approve, and drawled
-to his brother idler, "'Gad, that's a monstrous clever horse, and
-_rather_ a pretty girl riding him." Major D'Orville thought they were
-a charming couple as he accompanied Miss Kettering and her steed with
-the careful air of proprietorship seldom assumed save by an accepted
-suitor. The Major was a delightful companion for the Park. He knew
-everybody, and everybody knew him. He had the knack of making that
-sort of quiet disjointed conversation which accords so well with an
-equestrian _tete-a-tete_. Defend us at all times from a long story,
-but especially on horse-back! The Major's remarks, however, were
-seldom too diffuse. "You see that man on the cream-coloured horse," he
-would say; "that's Discount, the famous money-lender. He gave a dinner
-yesterday to ten people that cost a hundred pounds, and he is telling
-everybody to-day all the particulars of the 'carte' and the 'bill.' Do
-you know that lady with the dark eyes and a netting all over her
-horse?--that's Lady Legerdemain--she keeps a legion of spirits, as she
-says, and will raise the dead for you any night you like to go to her
-house in Tyburnia proper." "How shocking!" Blanche replies, with a
-look of incredulity. "Fact, I assure you," returns the Major. "Sir
-Roger Rearsby asked to see an old brother-officer who was killed at
-Toulouse, and they showed him his own French cook! but Lady
-Legerdemain says the spirits are fallible, just like ourselves. Who is
-this in uniform?--why, it's 'Uppy'--he don't look very disconsolate,
-does he, Miss Kettering?" and the Major smiled a meaning smile, and
-Blanche looked down and blushed. "Some men would not 'wear the willow'
-so contentedly," proceeded D'Orville, lowering his voice to
-half-melancholy tone--"it's setting too much upon a cast to ask a
-question when a negative is to swamp one's happiness for life. I
-honour the man that has the courage to do it, but for my part I
-confess I have _not_." "I never knew you were deficient in that
-particular," replied Blanche, looking down again, and blushing deeper
-than before. Blanche! Blanche! you little coquette, you are indeed
-coming on in the atmosphere of London--you like the Major very much,
-but you do not like him well enough to marry him--yet you would be
-unhappy to lose him, you spoilt child!--and so you lead him on like
-this, and look more bewitching than ever with those downcast eyes and
-long, silky lashes. Notwithstanding their difference of years, our
-pair are playing a game very common in society, called "Diamond cut
-diamond." "I am a thorough coward in some things," returned D'Orville,
-not without a flush of conscious pride, as he remembered how his
-spirit used to rise with the tide of battle; "like all other cowards,
-nothing would make me bold but the certainty of success." He pressed
-closer to "Water King's" side, and sank his voice almost to a whisper
-as he added--"Could I but hope for _that_, I could dare anything.
-Could I but think that my devotion, my idolatry, was not entirely
-thrown away, I should be----" The Major stopped short, for Blanche
-turned pale as death, and her head drooped as if she must have fallen
-from her horse.
-
-What made the girl start and sicken as though an adder had stung her
-to the quick? What made her lean her little hand for support on "Water
-King's" strong, firm neck? Because her brain was reeling, and
-everything--joy--sunshine--existence--seemed to be passing away. Was
-it for the mute reproach conveyed by that pale face amongst the
-crowd--was it for the calm, broad eye, bent on her "more in sorrow
-than in anger," and seeming, as it gazed, to bid her an eternal
-farewell?
-
-Frank Hardingstone had seen it all. Unobserved himself among the
-pedestrians that thronged the footway, he had marked Blanche and her
-cavalier as they paced slowly down the Ride, had marked the girl's
-flush of triumph as her admirer drew closer and closer to her side,
-had marked that nameless "something" between the pair which people can
-never entirely conceal when they "understand each other," and had
-drawn his own conclusions from the sight. But the decencies of society
-must be preserved, though the heart is breaking, and Frank drew
-himself up and took his hat off with a bow that did honour to his
-qualities as an actor. The old gentleman in gaiters and the tall boy
-from Eton on either side of him never guessed the amount of mental
-agony undergone by a fellow-creature whom they actually touched!
-Civilisation has its tortures as well as barbarism. Blanche, too,
-returned the courtly gesture, but her weaker nature was scarcely equal
-to the effort, and had it not been that Uncle Baldwin had fidgeted up,
-on the instant, in more than his usual hurry to get home, she was
-conscious that her strength must have given way, and--feel for her,
-beautiful and daring Amazons who frequent the Ride!--that she must
-have burst into tears, and made a scene in the Park!
-
-Now old Bounce, albeit a gentleman of extremely punctual habits, as is
-often the case with those who have nothing to do, and, moreover, a man
-of healthy appetite and a strong regard for the dinner-hour, had never
-before betrayed such a morbid anxiety to get home and dress as on the
-occasion in question. The fact is, he, too, was restless and excited,
-although the sensation had its own peculiar charms for the veteran,
-who entertained at sixty a spice of that romance which is often
-erroneously considered peculiar to sixteen. Yes, "the boy with the
-bow" no more disdained to take a shot at Bounce than at Falstaff, and
-our old friend was even now balancing on the brink of that eventful
-plunge which, if not made before "the grand climacteric," it is
-generally thought advisable to postpone _sine die_. Mary Delaval had
-made an unconscious conquest. The feeling had been gradually but
-surely developed, and the constant presence of such a woman had been
-too much, even for a heart hardened by more than forty years of
-soldiering, baked by an Indian sun, and further defended by triple
-plies of flannel, worn for chronic rheumatism, and usually esteemed as
-effective a rampart against the assaults of love as the "aes triplex"
-of Horace itself. First the General thought, "This Mrs. Delaval was a
-very nice creature. Zounds! it's lucky for her I'm not a younger man!"
-then he arrived at "_Beautiful_ woman, begad. _Zounds!_ it's lucky for
-_me_ she's not half aware of her attractions!" and from that the
-transition was easy and natural to "Sensible person; such manners,
-such dignity; fit for any position in the world. Zounds! I'll make her
-Mrs. Bounce--do as I like--my own commanding-officer, nobody else to
-consult--of course _she_ won't throw such a chance away." This latter
-consideration, however, although he repeated it to himself twenty
-times a day, had hitherto prevented the General from making any
-decided attack. When a man, even an old one, _really_ cares for a
-woman, he is always somewhat diffident of success, and Mary's
-sexagenarian suitor, though bold as brass in theory, was like any
-other lover in practice. But the breakfast at the barracks had
-wonderfully encouraged the General. He found Mrs. Delaval constantly
-at his side. He knew nothing of her previous acquaintance with
-D'Orville, still less could he guess at the secret which lay buried in
-her heart, and which was fading her beauty and deepening her
-expression day by day. How could he tell whose tears they were that
-blistered the newspaper on that "African Mail" column?--so the natural
-conclusion at which he arrived was, that the same charms which had
-done such execution in India, and had driven the Cheltenham widow to
-the verge of despair, were again at their old tricks; and that, having
-succeeded in attaching the most adorable of her sex, it only remained
-for him, in common humanity, to present her with all that was left of
-his fascinating self. And now began in earnest the General's qualms
-and misgivings. It was a tremendous step; he had never done it before;
-though often on the brink, he had always drawn back in time, and yet
-many of his old friends had got through it. Mulligatawney had married
-a widow--by the by, was Mrs. Delaval a widow? he never thought of
-asking--perhaps her husband was alive! At any rate this state of
-uncertainty was not to be borne, and after consulting one or two of
-his old cronies, and getting their opinions, he would take some
-decided step--that he would--ask the question, and stand the shot like
-a man. The General agreed with Montrose--
-
-    "He either fears his fate too much,
-      Or his deserts are small,
-    Who dares not put it to the touch,
-      To win or lose it all."
-
-In pursuance of this doughty resolution, our veteran warrior took
-advantage of his niece's long _tete-a-tete_ with Major D'Orville to
-drop behind on the black cob, and sound his two old friends,
-Mulligatawney of the Civil Service, and Sir Bloomer Buttercup of no
-service at all, save that of the ladies, on the important step which
-he meditated taking.
-
-"Lonely place, London," said the General, reining in the cob, and
-settling himself into what he considered a becoming attitude, "at
-least for a bachelor. No solitude like that of a crowd.--What?"
-
-"Better be alone than bothered to death by women," growled
-Mulligatawney, a thin, withered, sour-looking individual, with a long
-yellow face. "I _like_ London, _en garcon_, only Mrs. Mulligatawney
-always _will_ come up whenever I do. Egad, you bachelors don't know
-when you're well off."
-
-"Poor bachelors," simpered Sir Bloomer Buttercup, riding up with his
-best air, he having dropped behind (a young rogue!) to make eyes at a
-very smart lady on the _trottoir_. "Poor fellows, nobody lets us
-alone, Bounce, and yet we're perfectly harmless--innocent as doves. I
-wish I was married, though, too; it fixes one, eh? keeps the butterfly
-constant to the rose;" and Sir Bloomer heaved his padded chest with an
-admirably got-up sigh, still shooting _oeillades_ at the nowise
-disconcerted lady on the _trottoir_. You would hardly have guessed Sir
-Bloomer to be sixty-five; at least, not as he appeared before the
-world on that cantering grey horse. To be sure, he had his riding
-costume on; riding hat, riding wig, riding coat, trousers, boots, and
-padding; not to mention a belt, the loosening of which let the whole
-fabric fall to pieces. They say he is lifted on his horse; we have
-reason to believe he could not _walk_ five yards in that dress to save
-his life. Perhaps if we saw him, as his valet does, divested of his
-beautiful white teeth, his dark hair and whiskers, his florid healthy
-colour, and that stalwart deep-chested figure of buckram and wadding
-which encases the real man within, we might not be disposed to
-question the accuracy of Burke's "Peerage and Baronetage" in point of
-dates. But as he sits now, on his high broke horse, in his
-well-stuffed saddle, the very youngest of the shavelings who aspire to
-dandyism call him "Buttercup" to his face, and plume themselves on
-his notice, and quote him, and look up to him, not as a beacon, but an
-example.
-
-"You're _right_, sir," says the General, with his accustomed energy,
-in a tone that makes the black cob start beneath him. "Don't tell
-me--should have married forty years ago. Never mind; better late than
-never. Now, I'll tell you, I've thought of it. We're not to live
-entirely for ourselves. How d'ye mean? I've thought of it, I tell
-you!"
-
-"_Thought_ of it, have you?" rejoined Mulligatawney, with a grim
-smile; "then at _your_ time of life, Bounce, I should recommend you to
-confine yourself to _thinking_ of it."
-
-"Not at all, my dear fellow," lisps Sir Bloomer. "Bounce, I
-congratulate you. Introduce me, _pray_. Is she charming? young?
-beautiful? graceful? Happy Bounce--lucky dog--irresistible warrior!"
-The General feels three inches taller, and resolves to settle the
-matter the instant he gets home. But Mulligatawney interposes with his
-sardonic grin. "No fool like an old one. You'll excuse me, but if you
-ask my advice, I'll give it you in three words, 'Do and Repent';
-you'll never regret it but once--_experto crede_." The General turns
-from one to the other, like the Wild Huntsman between his ghostly
-advisers, the Radiant Spirit on his white charger, and the Mocking
-Demon on his steed from hell--he feels quite incapable of making up
-his mind.
-
-"Delightful state," says Sir Bloomer;--"Always in hot water," growls
-Mulligatawney. "Lovely woman; affectionate nurse; take care of you
-when you're ill," pleads the one;--"Cross as two sticks; open carriage
-in an east wind; give a ball when you've got the gout," urges the
-other. "Interchange of sentiment; linked in rosy chains; heaven upon
-earth," lisps the ancient dandy;--"Always quarrelling; Kilkenny cats;
-if you _must_ go to the devil, go your own way, but not in double
-harness," grunts the world-worn cynic: and the General turns his cob's
-head and accompanies his niece home, more perplexed than ever, as is
-usually the case with a man when, bethinking him that "in the
-multitude of counsellors there is safety," he has been led into the
-hopeless labyrinth of "talking the matter over with a few friends."
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER XV
-
-PENELOPE AND HER SUITORS
-
-     RECONNOITRING--BLANCHE'S ALBUM--"SITTING HIM
-     OUT"--CROSS-PURPOSES--A SMITTEN DANDY--HAIRBLOWER IN
-     LONDON--THE TRUE-BLUE KAFFIRS--WETTING A PLANT--GOOD ADVICE--A
-     CURE FOR LOW SPIRITS--THE REAL GLASS SLIPPERS
-
-
-"Look who it is, Rosine!" exclaimed Blanche, as her maid rushed to the
-window of her dressing-room, commanding as it did a view of Grosvenor
-Square, and a peep at every visitor who came to that front door, which
-was even now reverberating from a knock applied by no feeble hand.
-
-"Il n'y a pas de voiture, mademoiselle," replied Rosine; "ce n'est
-qu'un monsieur a pied--mais il n'est pas mal, lui, je trouve." The
-latter observation escaped Rosine more as a private reflection of her
-own than a remark for her lady's ear, and was indeed no more than due
-to the general appearance of Frank Hardingstone, as he stood at that
-well-known door, his strong heart beating like a girl's.
-
-"Run, and say I'll be down directly, Rosine, if it's any one for me,"
-said Blanche, her colour rising as she thought _who_ it was likely to
-be, and wondered why he had not called before, and determined to
-punish him and keep him waiting, and be very cold when they _did_
-meet, and so show him that she did not choose to be accountable to
-_him_ indeed for her actions, and would ride in the Park with whom she
-pleased, and was utterly indifferent to his good opinion, and
-independent of him altogether--and thus resolving, our consistent
-young lady looked at herself in the glass, and was pleased to see that
-her eyes were bright and her hair smooth, and that she should
-confront Frank armed with her best looks, which proves how entirely
-careless she was of that gentleman's admiration.
-
-In the meantime the object of all this severity was kicking his heels
-in the spacious drawing-room appropriated to morning visitors, whither
-he had been conducted by an elaborately polite footman, who after
-informing him that "the General was _hout_, and Miss Kettering at
-_'ome_," made a precipitate retreat, leaving him to his own thoughts
-and the contemplation of his well-dressed figure in some half-dozen
-mirrors. Frank soon tired of these resources, and found himself driven
-to the table for amusement, where he found the usual litter of
-handsomely-bound books, costly work-boxes, grotesque paper-cutters,
-and miniatures painted in all the glowing colours of the rainbow. He
-was nervous (for him)--very nervous, and though he took one up after
-another, and examined them most minutely, he would have been sorely
-puzzled to explain what he was looking at. Nor did a contemplation of
-Blanche's portrait in ivory serve to restore the visitor's composure,
-albeit representing that young lady smiling with all her might under a
-heavy crimson curtain. He shut up the case with a savage _snap_, and
-replaced it with a bitter sneer. But if the representation of Miss
-Kettering's outward semblance met with so little favour, neither did
-her album, which we may presume was the index of her mind, seem to
-afford greater satisfaction to this discontented young man. It opened
-unfortunately at some lines by Lord Mount Helicon, "addressed to B----
-on being asked whether the disfigurement of the object was not a
-certain cure for any man's love," and was entitled--
-
-"THE FADED FLOWER.
-
-    "I spied a sweet Moss-rose my garden adorning,
-      With a blush at her core like the pink of a shell,
-    And I wrung from her petals the dewdrop of morning,
-      And gathered her gently and tended her well.
-    For the bee and the butterfly round her were humming,
-      To whisper their flattering love-tale, and fly;
-    And too surely I knew that the season was coming,
-      When the flower must fade and the insect must die.
-
-    So deep in the shade of my chamber I brought her,
-      And sheltered her safe from the wind and the sun,
-    And cared for her kindly and dipped her in water,
-      And vowed to preserve her when summer was done.
-    Though dark was my dwelling, this darling of Flora,
-      Like a spirit of beauty, enlivened the gloom;
-    Yet more than I loved her I seemed to adore her,
-      Less fond of her fragrance than proud of her bloom.
-
-    But long ere the brightness of summer was shaded,
-      My Moss-rose was drooping and withering away;
-    Her perfume had perished, her freshness had faded--
-      The very condition of life is decay.
-    And now more than ever I cherish and prize her,
-      For love shall not falter though beauty depart;
-    And far dearer to me, because others despise her,
-      That Moss-rose, all withered, lies next to my heart."
-
-"Rubbish," growled Frank; "that any man in his senses should write
-such infernal nonsense, and then have the face to put his name to it!
-_His_ moss-rose, indeed! and this is what women like. These are the
-coxcombs they prefer to a plain, sensible, true-hearted gentleman--put
-wisdom, talent, courage, faith, and truth in one scale, and weigh them
-against a soft voice, a large pair of whiskers, and varnished boots in
-the other--why, the boots have it twenty to one! and it is for this
-thoughtless, ungrateful, unfeeling, volatile, ill-judging sex that we
-are all prepared to go through fire and water, sacrifice friends,
-country, fame, position, honour itself! Blanche! Blanche is as bad as
-the rest, but _I_ at least will no longer be such a fool. I have no
-idea of becoming a _pis-aller_--a substitute--a stop-gap--if this
-hair-brained peer should change his mind, and that warlike _roue_ find
-some one he likes better than Miss Kettering. O Blanche! Blanche! that
-I had never known you, or having known you, could rate you at your
-real value, and give you up without a struggle!"
-
-"How do you do, Miss Kettering? What a beautiful day!" Only the last
-sentence of the foregoing, be it observed, was spoken aloud; Frank had
-just schooled himself to the point of separation for ever, when the
-door opened and Blanche entered, looking so exactly as she used, with
-the same graceful gestures, and the same kind smile, that her empire
-was, for the moment, completely re-established; and although she,
-too, had meant to be very reserved and very distant, she could not
-forbear greeting her old admirer with all the cordiality of bygone
-days. These young people loved one another very much; each would have
-given the world to pour forth hopes, and fears, and misgivings, and
-vows, and reproaches, and pardons, into the other's ear, but the lip
-_will_ tremble when the heart is full, and they got no further than
-"How do you do?" and "What a beautiful day!" Blanche was the first to
-regain her composure, as is generally the case with a lady, perhaps
-from her being more habituated to losing it--perhaps from her whole
-training being one of readier hypocrisy than that of man. Be this how
-it may, the deeper water, when stirred, is longer in smoothing its
-ruffled surface; and whilst the lover's lip shook, and his heart beat,
-the girl's voice was steady and tranquil, though she dared not trust
-herself, save with the commonplace topics and every-day
-conversation of society. They tried Chiswick--the new singer--the
-Drawing-room--Lady Ormolu's ball--the opera--and the Park; this last
-was tender ground, and Blanche coloured to the temples when Frank
-hesitated and stammered out (so different from his usual manly, open
-address) that he "_thought_ he had seen her yesterday, and her horse
-was looking remarkably well. By the by, was she not riding with----"
-
-"Major D'Orville," announced the polite footman, with the utmost
-stateliness; and our handsome hussar made his appearance, and paid his
-respects to Miss Kettering in his usual self-possessed and dignified
-manner, contrasting favourably with poor Frank's obvious embarrassment
-and annoyance, now heightened by the intrusion of so unwelcome a
-visitor at such an unlucky moment. A few seconds more might have
-produced an explanation, a reconciliation--possibly a scene--but that
-cursed door-knocker could not be still, even for so short a space; and
-Mr. Hardingstone was once more at a dead-lock.
-
-And now began another game at cross purposes, which, though not
-uncommon amongst ladies and gentlemen who are of opinion that "two
-form pleasanter company than three," is, nevertheless, a dull and
-dreary recreation when persisted in for any length of time. It is
-termed "sitting each other out," and was now performed by Frank
-Hardingstone and the Major in its highest perfection. But here again
-the man of war had an advantage over the civilian. Besides the
-occupation afforded him by his moustaches, of which ornaments even
-D'Orville acknowledged the value in a case like the present, he was
-thoroughly at his ease, and consequently good-humoured, lively, and
-agreeable; whereas Frank was restless, preoccupied, almost morose. He
-had never before appeared to such disadvantage in Blanche's eyes. But
-if he hoped to obtain her ear by dint of patient assiduity, and an
-obvious intention to remain where he was till dinner-time, he must
-have been grievously disappointed, for again a thundering knock shook
-the house to its foundations, and "Lord Mount Helicon" was announced
-by the polite footman, with an extra flourish on account of the title.
-His lordship greeted Blanche with the greatest _empressement_, nodded
-to the gentlemen with the most hearty cordiality, as though rivalry
-was a word unknown in his vocabulary, and settled himself in an
-arm-chair by the lady's side with a good-natured assurance peculiarly
-his own.
-
-"Do you ride to-day, Miss Kettering?" said he, with the most
-matter-of-course air. "I promised the General to show him my famous
-pony, so I have ordered 'Trictrac' (that's his name) to be here at
-five--perhaps you'll allow me to accompany you."
-
-Frank looked intensely disgusted: he had brought no hacks to town, and
-if he had, would never have proposed to ride with his lady-love in
-such an off-hand way. Even the Major opened his eyes wider than usual,
-and gave an extra twirl to his moustaches; but "Mount" rattled on,
-nothing daunted: "We shall have Lacquers here directly. I met him as I
-drove up Bond Street, coming out of Storr and Mortimer's, and I taxed
-him on the spot with the accusation that he was going to be married.
-He couldn't stand the test, Miss Kettering! he blushed--actually
-blushed--and tried to get rid of me by an assurance that he was very
-busy, and that we should meet again in the Park. But I know better;
-he's coming here, I can take my oath of it. His hair is curled in five
-rows, and he never wears more than four, save for particular
-occasions. He is very fidgety about his 'chevelure,' '_his_
-chevalier,' he calls it; and went the other night to hear 'The
-Barbiere,' as he himself acknowledged, 'to get a wrinkle, you know,
-about dressing and shaving and all that.'"
-
-Blanche laughed in spite of herself; and Frank, seizing his hat in
-ill-concealed vexation, bade her a hurried farewell, and rushed out of
-the house, just as the redoubtable Lacquers made his appearance, "got
-up," as Lord Mount Helicon had observed, with the greatest
-magnificence, and fully resolved in his own mind to push the siege
-briskly with the heiress, and at least to lose no ground in her good
-graces for want of attention to the duties, or rather, we should say,
-the pleasures of the toilette.
-
-Poor Frank was very wretched as he stalked down the sunshiny street,
-and almost vowed he would never enter _that_ house again. He felt a
-void at his heart that quite startled him. He had no idea he was so
-far gone. For a time he believed himself really and utterly miserable;
-nor did the reflection that such a feeling was a bitter satire on his
-boasted strength of mind--on that intellectual training of which he
-was so proud--serve to administer much consolation. Like the ruined
-gamester, who
-
-    "Damned the poor link-boy that called him a duke,"
-
-Frank felt inclined to quarrel with the world in general, and buttoned
-his coat with savage energy when the poor crossing-sweeper held out
-her toil-worn hand for a penny. He relented too, and gave her money,
-and felt ashamed that he should have thought for an instant of
-visiting his own afflictions on that hard-working creature, the more
-so as a sailor-looking man in front of him had evidently given a
-trifle to the poor industrious woman.
-
-Frank thought he recognised those broad shoulders, that large, loose
-frame and rolling gait; in another moment he was alongside Hairblower,
-and clasping the delighted seaman's hand with a warmth and cordiality
-by no means less vigorously returned.
-
-"The last person as I ever expected to come across hereaway," said
-Hairblower, his broad, honest face wrinkling with pleasure. "I little
-thought when I came cruising about this here place as I should fall
-in with friends at every corner; and pretty friends they've showed
-theirselves, some on 'em."
-
-As the seaman spoke these last words in bitter and desponding tones,
-Frank remarked that he looked pale and haggard; and though his clear
-eye and good-humoured smile were the same as ever, he had lost the
-well-to-do air and jovial manner which used to distinguish him at St.
-Swithin's. Frank asked if there was anything wrong: "You know I'm an
-old friend, Hairblower; I can see something has happened--can I assist
-you? At any rate, tell me what is the matter."
-
-The tears stood in Hairblower's eyes, and again he wrung Frank's hand
-with a grasp like a vice, and his voice came hoarse and thick as he
-replied, "God bless you, Mr. Hardingstone, you're a real gentleman,
-_you_ are, and though I'm a plain man and poor--_poor_, I haven't five
-shillings left in the world--you think it no shame to be seen walking
-and talking with the likes of me in the broad daylight, and that's
-what I call _manly_, sir: no more didn't Master Charlie--poor lad!
-he's far enough now; many's the time he's said to me, 'Hairblower,'
-says he--but that's neither here nor there. Well, Mr. Hardingstone,
-things has gone cross with me now for a goodish bit: the fishin' 's
-not what it used to be, nor the place neither. Bless ye, I've seen the
-day when I could take and put my ten-pound note on the old table at
-home, ay, and another to the back of that! but times is altered now,
-betterer for some, worserer for others. I've had my share, mayhap, but
-I've been drifting to leeward a long while back, and I've had a deal
-of way to fetch up. Well, sir, I'm pretty stiff and strong yet, and
-the Lord's above all, so I thought I might just get things together a
-bit, and streak up here to London town, and so look out for a berth in
-some of these here ships a-going foreign. I've neither chick nor child
-to care for me at home, and I reckoned as a voyage wouldn't hurt me no
-worse now than five-and-twenty years ago. Well, sir, to make a long
-story short, I got a bit o' money together, as much as would buy me an
-outfit and chest, and such like, for I meant to ship as second mate at
-the worst, and I always liked to be respectable; and when I'd got
-that I'd got _all_, but I didn't owe no man a farthing, and so would
-be ready to clear out with a clean breast. Lord, sir, what a place
-this here town is for sights: go where I would there was something to
-be seen. To be sure I hadn't many shillings to throw away, and I just
-looked straight afore me, and I never so much as winked at the mammon
-horse, nor the stuffed sea-serpent, nor the biggest man in Europe, nor
-the fattest woman, nor the world turned upside down, nor none on 'em,
-till I was brought up all standing by a board, where they offered to
-show me some True-blue Kaffirs, all alive and as dark as natur'. Well,
-sir, I knew a very respectable Kaffir family once, on the coast of
-Africa, where we used to land a boat's crew, at odd times, for fresh
-water and such like; and, thinks I, I'll just go and have a peep at
-the True-blues, and see if they remind me of my old friends. There
-they was, Mr. Hardingstone, sure enough. Old True-blue was a stampin',
-and yellin', and hissin', and makin' of such a disturbance as he never
-got leave to do at home, and his wives, five or six on 'em, was
-yowlin', and cryin', and kickin' up the devil's delight, as _I_ never
-see them when they was living decently in the bush. Well, sir, when
-the True-blues held on for a while to have their beer, the company was
-invited to go and inspect 'em closer, and pat 'em, and feel 'em, and I
-made no doubt they was Ingines myself, when I got the wind of 'em; but
-just as I was castin' about to see if I could fish up an odd word or
-two of their language, only to be civil, you know, to strangers,
-True-blue's wife--she comes up and lays hold of me by the whiskers,
-and grins, and smiles, and points, and pulls at 'em like grim Death;
-and old True-blue himself--he comes up and has a haul, too, and grins,
-and chatters, and looks desperation fierce, and so they holds me
-amongst 'em. You see, Mr. Hardingstone, they're not used to beards,
-'cos it's not their natur', nor whiskers neither. Well, I looked
-uncommon foolish, and the company all began to laugh; and I heard a
-voice behind me say, 'Why, it's Hairblower!' and I turns round, and
-who should I see but an old friend of mine, by name Blacke, as was a
-lawyer's clerk at St. Swithin's: _friend_, is he?" and Hairblower
-ground his teeth, and doubled a most formidable-looking fist, as he
-added, "if ever I catch him I'll give him his allowance; _friend_,
-indeed! I'll teach him who his friends are."
-
-For a while the seaman's indignation was too strong for him, and he
-walked on several paces without saying a word, forgetful apparently of
-his companion and his situation, and all but his anger at the unworthy
-treatment to which he had been subjected. As he cooled down, however,
-he resumed: "Well, Mr. Hardingstone, in course we went out together,
-and we turned into a Tom-and-Jerry shop to have some beer, and spin a
-bit of a yarn about old times; and I asked him about his missus, and
-he remembered all the ins-and-outs of the old place, and I liked to
-talk to him all about it, 'specially as I shouldn't see it again for a
-goodish while; and we had some grog and pipes, and was quite
-comfortable. After a time, a chap came in--a big chap, in a white
-jacket and ankle-boots--and he took no notice of us, but began
-braggin' and chaffin' about his strength, and his liftin' weights and
-playin' skittles and such like; and Blacke whispers to me,
-'Hairblower,' says he, 'you're a strong chap; put this noisy fellow
-down a bit, and perhaps he'll keep quiet.' Well, he kept eggin' of me
-on, and at last I makes a match, stupid like, to lift a heavier weight
-than the noisy one. So the landlord, he brings in half-a-dozen
-fifty-sixes, and I beats him all to rubbish. So he was somethin' mad
-at that, and offered to play me at skittles for five pounds, or ten
-pounds, or twenty pounds; and I said it was foolish to risk so much
-money for amusement, but I'd play him for a sovereign, 'cos, ye see,
-my blood was up, and I wasn't a-goin' to knock under to such a
-land-lubber as this here. 'Sovereign!' says he, 'I don't believe as
-you've got a sovereign,' and he pulls out a handful of notes and
-silver, and such like; and, says he, 'Afore I stake,' says he, 'let me
-see my money covered; it's my belief that this here's a plant.' 'You
-ought to be ashamed of yourself,' says Blacke, the first time he spoke
-to him; '_my_ friend's a gen'l'man, and can show _the ready_ against
-all you've got--coin for coin, and shillin' for shillin'.' With that I
-pulls out my purse and counts my money down on the table--eleven
-golden sovereigns and a five-pound note. So we gets to skittles quite
-contented, and I puts my purse back in my jacket pocket, and gives it
-to Blacke to hold. Well, sir, I polished him off at skittles, too, and
-he paid his wager up like a man, and treated us all round, and behaved
-quite sociable-like; so we got drinkin' again--him and me and
-Blacke--at the same table. After a time my head began to get bad--I
-never felt it so afore--and the mixture I was drinkin' of--gin it was
-and beer--seemed to taste queerish, somehow, but I thought nothing of
-it, and drank on, thinking as the stuff would soon settle itself; but
-it didn't though; for in a little while the room and the tables and
-the chairs seemed to be heavin' and turnin' and pitchin', and I felt
-all manner of ways myself, and broke out into a cold sweat, and says
-I, 'I think I'll go out into the fresh air a bit, for I'm taken bad,'
-says I, 'someway; but don't ye disturb yourselves, I'll soon be back
-again.' So Blacke he helped me out, and directly I got into the yard
-where the skittles was, I see the place all green-like, and after that
-I remember no more till I found myself on the landlord's bed
-up-stairs; and by that time it was ten o'clock at night, so I up and
-asked what was become of my friend; and the landlord he told me both
-the gentlemen was gone, and that they had said I didn't ought to be
-disturbed, and that I was _often so_; and they was goin' away without
-payin' the score, but the landlord was a deep cove, and he wouldn't
-let them off without settling, so they paid it all, and so walked
-away. Well, I got my jacket and walked away too; and all in a moment I
-thought I'd _heard_ of such things, and I'd feel in my pocket to see
-if my purse was safe. There was _the purse_ sure enough, but the
-_money_ was gone, every groat of it--there wasn't a rap left to jingle
-for luck, Mr. Hardingstone. Well, sir, it all came across me at
-once--I'd been hocussed, no doubt--they drugged my lush, the thieves,
-and then they robbed me--and my old friend Tom Blacke, as I've known
-from a boy, was at the bottom of it. The landlord, he thought so too;
-but he was in a terrible takin' himself for the character of his
-house, and he gave me half-a-crown, and begged I'd say nothin' about
-it; and that half-crown, all but sixpence I gave just now to a poor
-creatur' that wanted it more nor me, is the whole of my fortun', Mr.
-Hardingstone. But it's not the money I care for--thank God, I can work
-and get more--it's the meanness of a man I once thought well of.
-That's where it is, sir, and I can't bear it. Blacke by name, and
-black by natur'--he must be a rank bad 'un; and I'm ashamed of him,
-that I am!"
-
-Hairblower got better after making a clean breast of it. He had no
-friends in London--none to confide in, none to advise him; and his
-chance meeting with Frank Hardingstone "did him a sight of good," as
-he said himself, and "made a man of him again." Nor was the rencontre
-less beneficial to Frank. When a man is suffering from that imaginary
-malady (none the less painful for being imaginary) which originates in
-the frown of a pretty girl, there is nothing so likely to do him good
-as a stirring piece of real business, to which he must devote all his
-energies of body and mind. Byron recommends a sea-voyage, with its
-accompanying sea-sickness; the latter he esteems a more perfect cure
-than "purgatives," or "the application of hot towels." Not but that
-these unromantic remedies may be extremely effective; but, failing
-such counter-irritants, we question whether a visit to Scotland-yard,
-and an interview with those courteous and matter-of-fact gentlemen who
-preside over our well-organised metropolitan police force, be not as
-good a method of cauterising the wound as any other, more particularly
-when such a visit is undertaken for the express purpose of seeing a
-friend through an awkward scrape. Frank soon had Hairblower into a
-cab, and off on his way to the head-quarters of that detective justice
-which is anything but blind; where the seaman, having again told his
-unvarnished tale, and been assured that his grievances should meet
-with the promptest attention, was dismissed, not a little comforted,
-though at the same time most completely puzzled. Frank's assistance to
-his humble friend, however, did not stop here. He _liked_ Hairblower,
-partly, it must be confessed, because the seaman was so strong and
-plucky, and possessed such physical advantages as no man despises,
-though he who shares them himself often rates them higher than the
-rest of the world. Frank enjoyed associating with men of all sorts,
-but more especially he relished the society of such daring spirits as
-are accustomed to look death in the face day by day, in the earning of
-their very subsistence, and to trust their own cool heads and strong
-hands amidst all the turmoil of the deep, "blow high, blow low." Many
-a wild night had he been out in the Channel with his sailor friend,
-when an inch or two more canvas, or a moment's neglect of the helm,
-would have made the reckless couple food for those fishes after which
-they laboured so assiduously; and our two friends, for so we must call
-them, notwithstanding their difference of station, had learned to
-depend on each other, and to admire reciprocally the frame that labour
-could not subdue, the nerves that danger could not daunt. So now the
-gentleman talked the sailor's affairs over with him as if he had been
-a brother. He gave him the best advice in his power; he recommended
-him to go back to St. Swithin's to prosecute the fishing trade once
-more, and with the same delicacy which he would have thought due to
-one of his own rank, he offered to _lend_ him such a sum of money as
-would enable him to begin the world again, and expressly stipulated
-that he should be repaid by instalments varying with the price of
-mackerel and the success of the fishing.
-
-"If once you get your head above water, I know you can swim like a
-duck," said Frank, grasping the honest fellow's hand, "so say no more
-about it. We'll have rare times in the yawl before the summer's quite
-done with; and till then, God bless you, old friend, and good luck to
-you!"
-
-As Hairblower himself expressed it, "you might have knocked him down
-with a feather."
-
-How different the world looked to Frank when he parted with his old
-companion from what it had seemed some few hours before, as he left
-the great house in Grosvenor Square. There is an infallible recipe for
-lowness of spirits, nervousness, causeless misery, and mental
-irritation, which beats all Dr. Willis's restorative nostrums, and
-emancipates the sufferer more rapidly than even the famous "Ha! ha!
-Cured in an instant!" remedy. When oppressed with _ennui_, the poet
-says--
-
-    "Throw but a stone, the giant dies!"
-
-and so, when the bright sky above seems leaden to your eyes--when the
-song of birds, the prattle of children, or the gush of waters, fall
-dully upon your ear--when the outward world is all vanity of vanities
-and existence seems a burden, and, as Thackeray says, "Life is a
-mistake"--go and do a kindly action, no matter how or where or to
-whom; but, at any sacrifice, at any inconvenience, go and do it--and
-take an old man's word for it, you will not repent. Straightway the
-fairy comes down the kitchen chimney, and touches your whole being
-with her wand. Straightway the sun bursts out with a brilliant smile,
-the birds take up a joyous carol, the children's voices are like the
-morning hymn of a seraph choir, and the babbling of the stream woos
-your entranced ear with the silver notes of Nature's own melody. Those
-are now steeds from Araby which seemed but rats and mice an hour or
-two ago. That is a glittering equipage which you had scouted as a
-huge, unsightly pumpkin. You yourself, no longer crouching in dust and
-ashes, start upright, with your face to heaven, attired in the only
-robe that preserves eternal freshness, the only garment you shall take
-away with you when you have done with all the rest--the web of
-charity, that cloak which covers a multitude of sins. You have,
-besides, this advantage over Cinderella--that whereas her glass
-slippers and corresponding splendour must be laid aside before
-midnight, your enchantment shall outlast the morrow; your fairy's wand
-can reach from earth to heaven; your kindly action is entered in a
-book from which there is no erasure, whereof the pages shall be read
-before men and angels, and shall endure from everlasting to
-everlasting.
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER XVI
-
-FORGERY
-
-     OUR HUMBLE ACQUAINTANCES--THE SCRATCH OF A PEN--A SCOUT'S
-     INFORMATION--THE MAJOR'S MEDITATIONS, NOT FANCY-FREE
-
-
-In the meantime, whilst the higher characters of our drama are
-fluttering their gaudy hour in the bright sunshine of fashionable
-life, whilst the General and Blanche and Mary, and Mount Helicon and
-D'Orville and Lacquers, and all of that class are driving and dining,
-and dressing and flirting, and otherwise improving their time, grim
-Want is eating into the very existence of some amongst our humbler
-friends, and Vice, too often the handmaid of Penury, is shedding her
-poison even on the scanty morsel they wrest from the very jaws of
-danger and detection.
-
-Tom Blacke, as we have already seen, has overleapt the narrow boundary
-which separates dissipation from crime; and poor Gingham knows too
-well that opportunity alone is wanting to confer on him a notoriety
-infamous as that which is boasted of by his more daring associates. He
-is out now at all hours, chiefly, however, during the night, and
-obtains supplies of money for which she cannot account, and about
-which she has been taught it is better not to question him. He drinks,
-too, with more circumspection than was his wont, and has dreadful fits
-of despondency, during which he trembles like a child, and from which
-nothing seems to arouse him save the prattle of his infant. He is very
-diligent, too, in making inquiries as to the sailing of divers ships
-for the United States; and, being a sharp fellow, has acquainted
-himself thoroughly with the geography of that country, and the amount
-of capital requisite to enable a man to set up for himself under the
-star-spangled banner. He has already hinted to his wife that if he
-could but get hold of a little money he should certainly emigrate; and
-by dint of talking the matter over, Gingham, although she has a
-dreadful horror of the sea, contracted at St. Swithin's, is not
-entirely unfavourable to the plan. Poor woman! she has not much to
-regret in leaving England. Let us take a peep at their establishment
-in the Mews, as they sit by the light of a solitary tallow candle, the
-mother stitching as usual, though her eyes often fill with tears,
-whilst ever and anon she glances cautiously towards the cradle, to see
-if the child is asleep, and listening to its heavy, regular breathing,
-applies herself to the needle more diligently than before. This is the
-hour at which Tom usually goes out; but to-night he shows no signs of
-departure, sitting moodily with his chair resting against the wall,
-and his eyes fixed on vacancy. At length he rouses himself with an
-effort, and bids Rachel make him some tea.
-
-"I'm glad you're not going out to-night, Tom," says his wife; "I feel
-poorly, somehow, and its lonesome when you're away for long."
-
-"I'd never go out o' nights, lass," replies Tom--"never, if I wasn't
-drove to it. But what's a man to do?--this isn't a country for a poor
-man to live in--there's no liberty here. Ah, Rachel, you're made for
-something better than this; stitching away day after day, and not a
-gown or a bonnet fit to put on. You're losing your looks too--you that
-used to be so genteel every way." Mrs. Blacke smiles through her
-tears; he has not spoken to her so kindly for many a long day.
-"There's a country we might go to," he adds, looking sideways at her,
-to watch the effect of his arguments, "where a man as is a man, and
-knows his right hand from his left, needn't want a good house to cover
-him, nor good clothes to his back. We'd be there in six weeks at the
-farthest--what's that?--why, it's nothing; and the child all the
-better for the sea air. There's a ship to start next Thursday, first
-class, and all regular. In two months from this day we might be in
-America; and they don't _keep_ a man down there because he is down.
-Rachel, I'd like to see you dressed as you used to be; I'd like to
-bring up the little one to be as good as its parents, at least. I'd
-like to be there now; why, the dollars come in by handfuls, and silk's
-as cheap as calico."
-
-How could woman resist such an El Dorado? How could such an inducement
-fail to have its due weight? His wife feels that she could start
-forthwith, but there is one insuperable difficulty, and she rejoins--
-
-"Ah, that's all very well, Tom, and we might get our heads above water
-over there, it's likely enough. But how are we to get to
-America?--people can't travel nor do anything else without money; and
-where is it to come from?"
-
-"_You know_," replied Tom, with a meaning smile on his pale, anxious
-face; and while he speaks the clock of a neighbouring church strikes
-ten.
-
-"Any way but _that_, Tom," says his wife, with a shudder. "I'd do
-anything, and bear anything for you; but not _that_, Tom--not _that_,
-as you've a soul to be saved!"
-
-"It must be that way, or no way at all, missus," Tom hisses between
-his teeth, keeping down his anger and a rising oath with a strong
-effort. "I've done all _I_ can; it's time for _you_ to take your
-share. Why, look ye here, Rachel; a hundred pound's a vast of money--a
-hundred pounds is five hundred dollars. Oh, I'm not going blindly to
-work, you may depend. If we could begin life with half that, over the
-water, it would be the making of us. I'd leave off drinking--so help
-me heaven, I would!--take the pledge, and work like a new one. You'd
-have a house of your own, Rachel, instead of such a dog-hole as this;
-and I'd like to see one of them that would take the shine out of my
-wife on Sundays, when she was tidied up and dressed. Then we'd put the
-little one to school, when she's old enough, and we'd keep ourselves
-respectable, and attend to business, and be a sight happier than we've
-ever been in this miserable country. And all just for the scratch of a
-pen; Rachel, d'ye think I'd refuse _you_ a trifle like that, if you
-was to ask me?"
-
-"O Tom, I never could do it," says his wife; "good never would come of
-such a sin as that."
-
-"Well, Rachel," rejoins her husband, "there's some men would make ye.
-Well, you needn't draw up so; I'm not going to come it so strong as
-all that. Let's talk it over peaceably, any way. And first, where's
-the harm? There's Master Charlie, if ever he comes back from the wars,
-isn't he to marry Miss Blanche? And so it's six to one, and
-half-a-dozen to the other. And what's a hundred pounds out of all
-their thousands? Besides, didn't the old lady mean to leave you as
-much as that? and didn't you deserve it? And if she had lived,
-wouldn't she have signed her own name; and where's the harm of your
-doing it for her? You can write like your old mistress, Rachel," adds
-the tempter, with a ghastly smile; "there's pen and ink yonder on the
-mantelpiece. Come!" Rachel wavers; but education and good principles
-are still too strong within her, and she assumes an air of resolution
-she does not feel, as she takes up her work, and replies--
-
-"Never, Tom, never!--not if you was to go down upon your bended knees.
-O Tom, Tom! don't ask me, and don't look at me so, Tom. I've been a
-good wife to you; don't ask me to do such a thing, Tom; don't."
-
-Her husband pauses for a moment, as though nerving himself for a
-strong effort, and answers, speaking every word distinctly, and as if
-in acute physical pain--
-
-"Then it must come out, wife; you must know it all, sooner or later;
-and why not now? Rachel, _I'm wanted_--they're looking for me, the
-bloodhounds--it's my belief they were after me this very morning. If I
-don't cross the seas on my own account, the beaks will send me fast
-enough on theirs."
-
-"O Tom, Tom! what have you done?" interrupts his wife, clasping her
-hands, and straining her eyes, dilated with horror, upon her husband's
-working features. "It's not---- Tom, I can't bring myself to say it.
-You haven't lifted your hand against another?"
-
-"No, no, Rachel," says he; "not so bad as that, lass, not so bad as
-that; but it's fourteen years, anyhow, if they bring it home to me.
-_I_ must cut and run, whatever happens. Now, there's some men would be
-off single-handed, and never stop to say good-bye; but I'm not one of
-that sort. I couldn't bear to leave you and the child; and I won't
-neither. Rachel, do you mind the time when we sat on the beach at St.
-Swithin's, and what you said to me there? Well, dear, that's past and
-gone, now; but you're not changed, anyhow. Will you do it, Rachel, for
-_my sake_?"
-
-The poor woman wavers more and more; she is white as a sheet, and the
-perspiration stands in beads on her lip and forehead. Tom produces a
-pen and ink, and a certain document we recognise as having lain in
-Mrs. Kettering's writing-case the night she died at St. Swithin's. But
-his wife shrinks from the pen as from a serpent, and he has to force
-it into her fingers.
-
-"It's the _last time_, Rachel," he pleads; "I'll never ask you to do
-such a thing again. It's the _last time_ I'll do wrong myself, as I
-stand here. It's but a word, and it will be the saving of us both; ay,
-and the little one yonder, too--think what she'd be growing up to, in
-such a place as this. You sign, dear, and I'll witness--I can write my
-own name, and my old master's too; he's dead and gone now, but he
-didn't teach me law for nothing."
-
-She does not hear him; her whole being is absorbed in the
-contemplation of her crime. But she _does it_. Pale, scared, and
-breathless, she leans over the coarse deal table; and though the
-dazzling sheet is dancing beneath her eyes, and her hands are icy
-cold, and her frame shakes like a leaf, every letter grows distinct
-and careful beneath her fingers, and burns itself into her brain, the
-very facsimile of her old mistress's signature. The clock strikes
-eleven; and at the first clang she starts with the throb of
-newly-awakened guilt, and drops the pen from her failing grasp. But
-the deed is done. From that hour the once respectable woman is a
-felon; and she feels it. To-morrow morning, for the first time in her
-life, she will awake with the leaden, stupefying, soul-oppressive
-weight of actual law-breaking guilt; and from this night she will
-never sleep as soundly again.
-
-       *       *       *       *       *
-
-Tom prided himself, above all things, on being "up to trap," as he
-expressed it. He thought his own cunning more than a match for all the
-difficulties of his situation and the vengeance of the law. He was
-considered "a knowing hand" amongst his disreputable associates, and
-had the character of a man who was safe to keep his own neck out of
-the noose, whatever became of his comrades'. But, though a bold
-schemer, he was a very coward in action, and his nerves were now so
-shattered by hard drinking that he was almost afraid of his own
-shadow. A bad conscience is always the worst of company, but to a man
-not naturally brave it is a continual bugbear--a fiend that dogs his
-victim, sleeping or waking--sits with him at his meals, pledges him in
-his cups, and grins at him on his pillow. Tom possessed this familiar
-to perfection. Like all "suspected persons," he conceived his
-movements to be of more importance in the eyes of Justice than they
-really were; and although the "hocussing" and robbery of Hairblower
-richly deserved condign punishment, he was suffering from causeless
-alarm when he informed his wife that he was "wanted" on that score.
-The truth is, the police were on a wrong scent. The landlord either
-could not, or would not, give them any actual information as to his
-guests; he "remembered the circumstance of the gentleman being taken
-ill--did not know the parties with whom he was drinking--thought they
-were friends of the gentleman--the parties paid for their liquor, and
-went away, leaving the other party asleep--it was no business of
-his--had never been in trouble before, he could swear--commiserated
-the party who had got drunk, and gave him half-a-crown out of sheer
-humanity--had known what it was to want half-a-crown himself, and to
-get drunk too--was doing an honest business now, and thought publicans
-could not be too particular." So the blue-coated myrmidons of Scotland
-Yard got but little information from Boniface; and for once were
-completely at fault, more especially as Hairblower, _more suorum_, did
-not know the number of the note he had lost--could swear it was for
-five pounds, but was not quite clear as to its being Bank of England.
-Under these circumstances, Tom, had he only known it, might have
-walked abroad in the light of day, and put in immediate practice any
-schemes he had on hand. Instead of this he chose to lie in hiding, and
-only emerged in the evening, to take his indispensable stimulants at
-one or other of the low haunts which he frequented. Men cannot live
-without society; the most depraved must have friends, or such as they
-deem friends, on whom to repose their trust; and Tom Blacke, in an
-unguarded moment of gin and confidence, let out the whole story of the
-will (though he was cunning enough to omit the forgery) and boasted
-what an engine he could make of it to extort money from Miss Blanche's
-guardian, and how he was certain of getting _at least_ a hundred
-pounds, and detailed the proposed plan of emigration, and, in short,
-explained the general tenor of his future life and present fortunes to
-Mr. Fibbes; of all which matters, though by no means a gentleman of
-acute perception, that worthy did by degrees arrive at the meaning,
-quickening his intellects the while with many pipes and a prodigious
-quantity of beer. Now, Mr. Fibbes had been concerned in his earlier
-youth in a business from which his size and his stupidity had
-gradually emancipated him, but which, compared with his present trade,
-might almost be called an innocent and virtuous calling. It consisted
-in ascertaining by diligent and clandestine vigilance the relative
-merits of race-horses as demonstrated by their _private trials_, and
-is termed in the vernacular "touting." What may be the _moral_ guilt
-of such forbidden peeps we are not sufficient casuists to explain, but
-it is scarcely considered amongst the least particular classes a
-_respectable_ way of obtaining a livelihood. Nor did the association
-gain additional lustre from the adhesion of Mr. Fibbes, who, until his
-great frame grew too large to be concealed, and his hard head too
-obtuse to make the best of his information, was the most presuming, as
-he was least to be depended on, of the whole brotherhood. In this
-capacity, however, he had made the acquaintance of Major D'Orville, a
-man who liked to have tools ready to his hand for whatever purpose he
-had in view; and Mr. Fibbes had been careful to keep up the
-connection, by respectful bows whenever they met in the streets, or at
-races, or such gatherings as bring together sporting gentlemen of all
-ranks. On these occasions Mr. Fibbes would make tender inquiries after
-the Major's health, and his luck on the turf, and the well-being of
-his white charger, and sundry other ingratiating topics; or would
-inform him confidentially of certain rats in his possession which
-could be produced at half-an-hour's notice, without fail--of terriers,
-almost imperceptible in weight, which could be backed to kill the rats
-aforesaid in an incredibly short space of time--of toy-dogs surpassing
-in beauty and discreet in behaviour--or of the pending match against
-time which "The Copenhagen Antelope" meant to _square_ by running _a
-cross_, or, in other words, losing it on purpose to play booty. Primed
-with such conversation he amused the Major, who liked to study human
-nature in all its phases, and they seldom met without a lengthened
-dialogue and the transfer of a half-crown from the warrior's pocket
-into Mr. Fibbes' hand; the latter accordingly lost no opportunity of
-coming across his generous patron.
-
-Now, Mr. Fibbes had observed, by hanging about Grosvenor Square and
-making use of his early education, that Major D'Orville was a constant
-visitant at a certain house in that locality; indeed, on more than one
-occasion he had held the white horse at the very door which was
-honoured by the egress and ingress of Blanche Kettering herself. We
-may be sure he lost no time in discovering the name of the owner, and
-mastering such particulars of her fortune, position, general habits,
-and appearance as were attainable through the all-powerful influence
-of beer; so when Tom Blacke made his ill-advised confidences to his
-boon companion, omitting neither names, facts, nor dates, Mr. Fibbes,
-who, to use his own words, was "not such a fool as he looked," put
-_that_ and _that_ together quite satisfactorily enough, to be sure he
-had some information well worth a good round douceur, for the ear of
-his friend the Major. And he waylaid him in consequence, the first
-sunshiny afternoon on which, according to his wont, D'Orville appeared
-in the neighbourhood of his lady-love's domicile.
-
-"Want yer horse held, Major?" said he, leaning his huge, dirty hand on
-the white charger's mane. "Haven't seen your honour since we won so
-cleverly at Hampton--no offence, Major!"
-
-"None whatever, my good fellow," said the Major, who, by the way, was
-never in a hurry, though few men loved going _fast_ better; "none
-whatever; but I'm busy now, I've no time to stop. Good-day to you."
-
-"Well, but, Major, see," pleaded Mr. Fibbes, still smoothing the white
-horse's mane, "I've got something at my place you _would_ like to look
-at--she's a _real_ beauty, she is--I refused five sovereigns for her
-this blessed mornin'; for I said, says I, no, says I, not till the
-Major has seen her, 'cause she _is_ a rare one--not that you care for
-such in a general way, Major, but if once you clapped eyes on
-'Jessie,' you'd never rest till you got her down at the barracks. I
-never see such a one."
-
-"Such a what?" inquired D'Orville, gradually waxing curious about such
-manifold perfections.
-
-"Why, such an out-an'-outer," retorted Mr. Fibbes, half angrily; "none
-of your _brindles_--I can't abide a brindle--they may be good, but
-they look so _wulgar_. No, no, Jessie's none of your brindles."
-
-"Well, but _what_ is she, my good fellow?" said the Major; "I can't
-stay here all day."
-
-"_Bul_," replied Mr. Fibbes, throwing into the monosyllable an
-expression of mingled anger and contempt, which, having given the
-Major sufficient time to digest, he followed up by the real topic on
-which he was anxious to enlarge. "No offence, Major," he repeated,
-"but I've got something else to say--you'll excuse me, sir--but you've
-stood a friend to me, and I won't see you put upon. Major, there's a
-screw loose here--it's not _on the square_, you understand."
-
-"What do you mean?" said the Major, amused in spite of himself, at the
-ungainly nods and winks with which Mr. Fibbes eked out his mysterious
-communication.
-
-"Well, Major," replied his informant, "what I mean is this here. Some
-men would hold out in my place, and I've seen the day when my
-information was worth as much as my neighbours'; but when I've to do
-with a real gent, why, I trusts to him, and he gives _what he
-pleases_. Now, Major, look at that there house--it's a good house
-up-stairs and down, fixtures and furniture all complete, I make no
-doubt--Major, there's _a man of straw_ in that house." Mr. Fibbes
-paused, having delivered himself of this oracular piece of
-information; but, finding his listener less interested in the
-discovery of the artificial stranger than he had reason to expect, he
-proceeded in his own way to clear up his metaphor. "What I says is
-this--a bargain's a bargain; now the young woman as owns that house
-has got _the boot on the other leg_--my information's _good_, Major,
-you may depend on it; there's another horse in the stable,
-sir--there's a young gent as owns all the property they keep such a
-talk about; I won't ask ye to believe my naked word, Major" (such a
-request, indeed, would have been superfluous), "but what should you
-say if I was to tell you--I've spoke to the party as has _seen the
-will_?"
-
-"Why, I should say that if you have any information that is really
-well-authenticated, I'll pay you fairly for it, as I always have
-done," replied D'Orville, unmoved as usual, though in his innermost
-heart a tide of doubts and hopes and fears was swelling up, in strange
-tumultuous confusion.
-
-"Well, Major," whispered his informant, "as far as I can learn, for I
-ain't no scholar, you know--but _as_ far as I can learn, there's been
-a will found, and by that will the young lady as owns this here house
-don't own it by rights, and can't keep it much longer. There's a old
-gentleman as lives here, rayther a crusty old gentleman, so my mate
-tells _me_, and he knows _nothing_ good or bad; but it stands just as
-I've said, you may depend; and instead of Miss Kettering, if that's
-her name, being such a grand lady, why she's no better off than I am,
-and that's _where_ it is. My mate wouldn't deceive _me_ no more than
-I'm deceivin' you. Thank ye, Major, you always was a real gentleman;
-thank you, sir, and good-day to you. You won't come up and take a look
-at Jessie?" So saying, Mr. Fibbes put his dirty hand, not quite empty,
-however, into his pocket, and with a snatch at his rough hat, and an
-awkward obeisance, took his departure, his linen jacket and
-ankle-boots fading gradually in the direction of the nearest
-public-house, whither he proceeded incontinently to "wet his luck,"
-after the manner of his kind.
-
-D'Orville laid the rein on his favourite's neck, and paced along at a
-slow, thoughtful walk, the white horse wondering, doubtless, at his
-master's unusual fit of equestrian meditation. And what were the
-suitor's feelings as he pondered over the news he had just received,
-the downfall of his golden castles in the air, the blow which would
-surely fall heavy on that bright, happy girl, whom he had been
-endeavouring to attach to himself day by day? Did he mourn over his
-withered hopes of wealth and ease? did he regret the melting of the
-vision, and pine for the domestic future, now impossible, which he had
-contemplated so often of late? or did he chivalrously resolve to give
-his hand to a penniless bride where he had been wooing a wealthy
-heiress, and to love her even more in her misfortunes than he had
-admired her in her prosperity? Alas! far from it. Some fifteen years
-ago, indeed, young Gaston D'Orville would have sacrificed his all to a
-woman, almost to any woman, and been well pleased to throw his heart
-into the bargain; but fifteen years of the world have more effect on
-the inner than the outward man, and the boy of five-and-twenty thinks
-that a glory and a romance which the man who is getting on for forty
-deems a folly and a bore. The Major was not prepared to give up
-_everything_, at least for _Blanche_, and his first sensations were
-those of relief, almost of satisfaction, as he thought he was again
-free--for of course this arrangement couldn't go on; it would be
-madness to talk of it now: no, he would make his bow while it was yet
-time: how lucky he had never positively committed himself: nobody
-could say _he_ had behaved ill. Of course he would take proper
-measures to ascertain the truth of that rascal's report; and if it had
-foundation, why, he was once again at liberty. He had his sword and
-his debts, but India was open to him, as it had been before, and a
-vision stole over him (the hardened man of the world could scarce
-repress a smile at his own folly)--a vision stole over him of military
-distinction, active service, a return to England--and Mary Delaval. So
-the Major drew his rein through his fingers, pressed his good horse's
-sides, and cantered off, but did not, _that_ afternoon, pay his usual
-visit in Grosvenor Square.
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER XVII
-
-CLUB LAW
-
-     A VALID EXCUSE--AN ANONYMOUS LETTER--A RECIPE FOR
-     ANNOYANCES--THE GENERAL ON THE PAVE--SECOND CHILDHOOD--RUNNING
-     THE GAUNTLET--A SUIT OF CLUBS--SETTLED AT LAST--THE FRIEND IN
-     NEED
-
-
-"Who the deuce ever heard of 'military duty' interfering with dinner?
-and what's the use of being one's own commanding-officer if one can't
-give oneself leave?--What?--read that, Blanche!" We need hardly
-observe that it was General Bounce who spoke, as he tossed a note
-across the luncheon-table to his niece, and proceeded to bury himself
-in his other dispatches. The General was none of your dawdling,
-half-torpid, dressing-gown and slipper gentlemen, who consider London
-a fit place in which to spend the greater part of the day in
-_deshabille_--not a bit of it. The General was up, shaved, and rosy
-and breakfasted, and prepared to fuss through his day, every morning
-punctually at eight. On the one in question he had reviewed a
-battalion of Guards who were at drill in the Park, utterly unconscious
-of their inspection by such a martinet, and had been good enough to
-express his disapprobation of their dress, method, and general
-efficiency, to a quiet, unassuming bystander whom he had never set
-eyes on before, but who happened to be a peer of the realm, and whose
-son, indeed, commanded the very regiment under discussion. The peer
-was quite alarmed at the denunciations of a casual acquaintance, so
-fierce of demeanour and of such warlike costume, the General never
-stirring abroad, for these morning excursions, save in a military
-surtout, buttoned very tight, a stiff black stock and buckskin
-gloves, armed moreover with a bamboo walking-stick, which he
-brandished with great impartiality. After his strictures on the
-sovereign's body-guard he proceeded into the City by a hansom cab;
-there was no cab-rebellion in those days, but, nevertheless, Bounce
-succeeded in having a violent altercation with his driver, which
-resulted in that observer of human nature setting him down for a
-madman, and his own discomfiture on referring the dispute to an
-impartial policeman. From thence he visited his stables, and
-instructed divers helpers belonging to the adjoining mews in the
-proper method of washing a carriage, a lesson received by those
-worthies with much covert derision. The General was by this time ready
-for "tiffin," as he still called it--a meal at which, for the first
-time in the day, he met the ladies of his establishment, read his
-notes, letters, etc., and arranged with Blanche the details of the gay
-life they were every day leading. That young lady, in a very pretty
-morning-gown, now occupied the head of the table; Mary was up-stairs
-with a headache--she was very subject to them of late--yet a skilful
-practitioner might have guessed the malady lay elsewhere; and whilst
-the General, with his eyebrows rising into his very forehead, perused
-a dirty, ill-conditioned-looking missive, which seemed to afford him
-great astonishment, his niece glanced over her military suitor's
-excuse for not dining with them, in which he expressed his regret that
-duty and the absolute necessity of his presence in barracks would
-prevent his having that pleasure, but did not as usual suggest any
-fresh arrangements for rides, drives, or walks, which should insure
-him the charms of her society. Blanche was a little hurt and more than
-a little offended; yet, had she closely examined her own feelings, she
-would probably have been surprised to find how little she _really_
-cared whether he came or not. "Well, Uncle Baldwin," she said, with
-her usual merry smile, "you and I will dine _tete-a-tete_, for I don't
-think poor Mrs. Delaval will be able to come down. We shall not
-quarrel, I fancy--shall we?" The General was dumb. His whole soul
-seemed absorbed in the missive which hid his face, but, judging from
-the red swollen forehead peeping above, indignation appeared to be the
-prevailing feeling inspired by its contents. It was not badly
-written, though in an unsteady hand, nor was it incorrectly spelt; it
-bore no signature, and was to the following effect--
-
-     "GENERAL BOUNCE,
-
-      "Sir,--This from a friend.--Seeing that you would probably be
-      averse to an exposure of family matters, in which Miss
-      Blanche's name must necessarily appear, a well-wisher sends
-      these few lines to warn you that _all has been discovered_.
-      The late Mrs. K.'s will has been found, in which she devises
-      everything, with the exception of certain legacies, to C----.
-      The writer has seen it, and knows where it is to be found. His
-      own interests prompt him to make _everything_ public, but his
-      regard for the family would induce him to listen to terms,
-      could he himself be guaranteed from loss. General, time is
-      everything: to-morrow may be too late. If you should be
-      unwilling to disturb muddy water, an advertisement to X. Y.,
-      in the second column of the _Times_, or a line addressed to P.
-      Q., care of Mr. John Stripes, Bear and Bagpipes, corner of
-      Goat Street, Tiler's Road, Lambeth, would meet with prompt
-      attention. Be wise."
-
-We regret to state that the General's exclamation, on arriving at the
-conclusion of this mysterious document, was of a profane fervour,
-inexcusable under any provocation, and very properly amenable to a
-fine of five shillings by the laws of this well-regulated country. It
-was repeated, moreover, oftener than once; and without deigning to
-explain to his astonished niece the cause of his evident discomposure,
-was followed by his immediate departure to his own private
-snuggery--by the way, the very worst and darkest room in the house,
-whither our discomfited warrior made a tremulous retreat, banging
-every door after him with a shock that caused the very window-frames
-to quiver again.
-
-"Zounds! I won't believe it!--it's impossible--it's a forgery--it's a
-lie--it's an artifice of the devil! Why, it's written in a clerk's
-hand. 'Gad, if I thought there was a word of truth in it, I'd go to
-bed for a month!" burst out the General, as soon as he was safe in his
-own sanctuary, choking with passion, and tugging at the black stock
-and tight frock-coat as if to put his threat of retiring into
-immediate execution. It was one of his peculiarities, which we have
-omitted to mention, to adopt this method of avoiding the common
-annoyances and irritations of life. When anything went wrong in the
-household, the General made no more ado but incontinently proceeded to
-_strip and turn in_. When there was an _emeute_ below stairs, and
-Newton-Hollows was in a "state of siege"--a calamity which occurred
-about once in two years--the proprietor used to go to bed till the
-disturbance had completely blown over. When the news arrived of Mrs.
-Kettering's death, her brother gave vent to his feelings between the
-sheets, although he was obliged to get up within a few hours and
-travel post-haste to join the afflicted family at St. Swithin's; nay,
-it is related of him that, on one occasion, when an alarming fire
-happened to break out in a country-house where he was staying on a
-visit, nothing but the personal exertions of his friends, who hurried
-after him, and carried him off by force from his chamber, where he was
-rapidly undressing, prevented his being burnt alive in his nightcap.
-At the present crisis the General had already divested himself of
-coat, waistcoat, etc., ere the sight of a clean change of apparel,
-laid out ready for his afternoon wear, altered the current of his
-ideas, and he bethought him that it would be wiser to walk down to his
-club, amuse himself as usual in his habitual resorts, and thus drive
-this impertinent "attempt at extortion," for so he did not hesitate to
-call it, entirely from his mind, than place himself at once _hors de
-combat_ amongst the blankets. So, instead of his night-gear, the
-General struggled into a stiffer black stock and a tighter frock-coat
-even than those which he had discarded, and arming himself with his
-formidable bamboo (how he wished the head and shoulders of his unknown
-correspondent were within its range), strutted off to Noodles',
-feeling, as he cocked his chin up, and threw his chest out, and struck
-his cane against the sunny pavement, that he was still young and
-_debonnaire_, as in the _beaux jours_ at Cheltenham twenty, ay, thirty
-years ago.
-
-No place makes a man forget his years so much as London. In the great
-city, one unit of that circling population rapidly loses his
-individuality. There nothing seems extraordinary--nothing seems out of
-the common course of events--there, it is proverbial, people of all
-pretensions immediately find their own level. If a man thinks he is
-wiser, or better, or cleverer, or handsomer, or stronger, or more
-famous than his neighbours, in London he will be sure to meet those
-who can equal, if not excel him, in all for which he gives himself
-credit; and so if an elderly gentleman begins to feel at his
-country-place that all around him speaks of maturity, not to say
-decay--that his young trees, and his old buildings, and his missing
-contemporaries, and the boy to whom he gave apples standing for the
-county, and the village he remembers a hamlet growing into a town, and
-all such progressive arrangements of Father Time, hint rather
-personally at old-fellowhood--let him come to London, and take his
-diversion amongst a crowd of fools more ancient than himself: he will
-feel a boy again--Regent Street will not appear altered to his
-enchanted eye, though they _have_ taken down the colonnade in that
-well-remembered thoroughfare. Pall Mall is as much Pall Mall to him as
-it was when he trod it in considerably tighter boots, never mind how
-many years ago. At his club the same waiter (waiters never die) will
-bring him the paper, and stir the fire for him, just as he used to do
-when the Reform Bill was a thing unheard of, and he can contemplate
-his bald head in the very same mirror that once reflected locks of
-Hyacinthine cluster. He meets an old crony, and he is shocked (though
-but for the moment) to find him so dreadfully altered--it is possible
-the old crony, in his heart of hearts, may return the compliment, but
-in all human probability he will greet the friend of his boyhood as if
-he had seen him the day before yesterday. If a very demonstrative man,
-and it should be before two o'clock in the day--for in the afternoon
-our English manners are all squared to the same pattern--the old crony
-may perhaps exclaim, with languid rapture, "Why, I haven't seen you
-_for ages_; I don't think you were in London _all_ last season!" Why
-should our gentleman from the country undeceive him, and tell him they
-have not met for more than twenty years, and remind him with
-mellowing heart of boyhood's sunny hours and joyous escapades? The old
-crony will only think him _a twaddle_ and _a bore_, and thank his
-stars that he has stuck to London and the world, and his gods, such as
-they are, and is a much _younger_ man of his age than his rustic
-friend. And so our country mouse will find in a day or two that the
-artificial sits quite as easily upon _him_. When he has visited two or
-three of his old haunts he will feel as if he had never left them. He
-will go, perhaps, to some well-remembered palace of revelry, and find
-there, it may be, one contemporary out of a hundred with whom he once
-drank deep of dissipation and amusement, but he forgets the other
-ninety-nine. He feels as if the world had gone along with him, and
-that threescore years and odd were, after all, as the French king's
-courtiers said, _L'age de tout le monde_; so he lifts the cup of
-pleasure once more with shaking hands to his poor, dry old lips, and
-pours its flood, erst so luscious, over a palate, alas! deadened to
-all but the intoxication of the draught. Why is it that we so
-sedulously strive to deceive ourselves about the lapse of time? Why do
-we so wilfully close our eyes to that certainty that every passing
-moment brings an instant nearer? It must come! Why will we not look
-the shape steadily in the face? We are not afraid to front our
-fellow-man in the struggle for life and death; why should we shrink
-from the shadowy foe, from whom there is no escape? Perhaps, like all
-other distant horrors, it will lose half its terrors when it does
-approach--perhaps it will turn out a friend after all. Man lives in
-the future; can he not carry his future a little beyond life? Will it
-be such a bereavement to lose a poor, old, worn-out frame, with its
-gout and its rheumatism, and its hundred aches and pains, and burdens
-dragging it day by day towards the earth from whence it sprung? But
-where will the disembodied self find shelter? "Ay, there's the rub,"
-and so "conscience doth make cowards of us all."
-
-Well, young or old, boys will be boys, whether at one score or three,
-and all the sermonising in the world will not empty St. James's Street
-towards four o'clock on a summer's afternoon, or prevent one nose
-being flattened against those club-windows from which the _terrarum_
-_domini_ of the present day look upon the world with a mixture of
-good-humoured satire and careless contempt. Stoics are they in manners
-and principles, Epicureans in tastes and practice, and Philosophers of
-the Porch on the clear bright evenings--or rather midnights--when they
-assemble to smoke in gossiping brotherhood. But now, in the afternoon,
-laws human and divine would vote it "bad style" to have anything in
-their mouths save the tops of their canes and riding-whips, and these
-are scarcely removed to make a passing remark on the unconscious
-General as, having accomplished the crossing of Piccadilly, he sweeps
-under the guns of battery No 1, on his way to his own resort, where he
-too will stand at a window and make comments on the passers-by.
-Talking of these batteries, we can recollect, old as we are, when we
-preferred to thread the press of Piccadilly, and so dodging down Bury
-Street to bring up eventually opposite Arlington Street, rather than
-face the ordeal of passing under those great guns. Yet was our cab
-well hung and well painted, our tiger a pocket-Apollo, and our horse
-well-actioned and in good condition, while no one but ourselves and
-the dealer who sold him to us could be aware of his broken knee. What
-strategy wasted! What skill in charioteering thrown away! How should
-we then, in our shy and sensitive boyhood, have winced from the truth,
-that no one probably in that dreaded window would have thought it
-worth while to waste a single monosyllable on anything so
-insignificant as ourselves. Verily, _mauvaise honte_ is a
-contradictory foible; but of this weakness the General, like most men
-who have arrived at his time of life, has but a small leaven. He
-toddles boldly down, under the battery, masked as it is by the _Times_
-newspaper, and nods familiarly to a well-brushed hat and luxuriant
-pair of grey whiskers just peering above the broadsheet. The whiskers
-return the salutation, and a stout gentleman at the fireplace, where
-he has been standing for the last three-quarters of an hour, hatted,
-gloved, and umbrellaed, as though prepared for instant departure,
-carelessly remarks, "Old Bounce is getting devilish shaky;" to which
-the grey whiskers reply, "No wonder; he's an oldish fellow now. Why,
-Bounce'll be a lieutenant-general next brevet. By the by, when _are_
-we to have a brevet?" the whiskers forgetting, as after the lapse of
-so many years it is natural they should, that they were at school with
-"the oldish fellow," who was then a "younger fellow" than themselves.
-However, they have talked about him quite long enough, and pass on to
-a fresh topic by the time the General himself arrives at Noodles'.
-
-This very excellent and exclusive club seems to bear to institutions
-of a like nature much the same relation that Greenwich and Chelsea
-Hospitals do to the crews and battalions of our forces by land and
-sea. Should the warrior who enlists under the banner of Fashion have
-the good fortune to escape the various casualties common in his
-profession, such as absenteeism, imprisonment, marriage, or any other
-sort of ruin, he is pretty safe to anchor at Noodles' at last. There
-he brings up, after all his perils and all his triumphs, amongst a
-shattered remnant of those who set sail with him in the morning of
-life, when every wind was fair and every channel practicable. Many
-have been lured by the siren on to sunken rocks, and gone down "all
-standing"--many have lost their reckoning and drifted clean away, till
-they can "fetch up" no more--many have been captured by crafts trim
-and flaunting as themselves, and towed away as prizes into different
-havens, where they ride in somewhat wearisome monotony--and of many
-there is no account, save that which shall be rendered when the sea
-gives up its dead. Yet a few crazy old barks have made the haven at
-last--worn, leaky, and sea-worthless, with bulging ribs and warped
-spars, and tackle strained, yet are they still just buoyant enough to
-float--can still drift with the tide, and, above all, are still
-disposed to take in cargo on every available opportunity. As London is
-now constituted, you can almost tell a man's age by the clubs he
-frequents. "Tell me your associates, and I will tell you your
-character," says the ancient philosopher. "Tell me your club, and I
-will tell you your age," says the modern "ingenious youth," as that
-sporting Falstaff Mr. Jorrocks calls him, who begins with huge cigars,
-gin and soda-water, and billiards, much bemused, at Trappe's. Anon, as
-his collars get higher, and the down upon his cheek begins to justify
-a nobler ambition, he aspires to the science of numbers, and lays the
-odds to more experienced calculators at "The Short-Grass." But our
-youth is becoming a man-about-town, or thinks he is, and must have the
-_entree_ to more than one of these luxurious republics; so according
-to his rank, his profession, or his pretensions, he affects another
-afternoon club, esteeming it, whichever it may be, the best and _most
-select_ in London. Here he has a plentiful choice. If a professional
-or a politician, he will find associations purposely established for
-those of his own practice or opinions; and here they are looming like
-a city of palaces--the Conflagrative, the Anarchic, the Regency, the
-Hat-and-Umbrella, the Chelsea, and the Peace and Plenty. Is there not
-the Megatherium for the literary, and the Munchausen for the
-travelled? But peradventure our youth is fast, and aspires to be a man
-of figure; so shall his carriage be seen waiting at the Godiva, or
-himself shall face the ballot at Blight's. For a time all goes on
-smooth and sunny; but the young ones keep growing up, and they rather
-jostle him in his chair, and "people let in such boys now-a-days"; so
-in disgust he abdicates a sovereignty conferred by years, and retreats
-to quieter resorts, where the cutlet is equally well dressed and the
-wine a thought better. So we find him presiding over house-dinners at
-Alfred's, or winning the odd trick after a quiet _parti carre_ at
-Snookes's. But even from these celestial seats he must be ousted at
-last. Still that pressure from below keeps increasing year by year,
-"and the young men of the present day are so slangy, and so noisy, and
-so disagreeable," that he can stand it no longer, and puts his name
-down for the first vacancy in that last refuge recommended by his old
-friend Sapless. Behold him at length shouldered into the harbour, and
-safely landed at Noodles'.
-
-Thither we have likewise brought the General, and given him ample time
-to spell through the papers, and reconnoitre his acquaintance as they
-pass up and down St. James's Street. But the General is ill at
-ease--he cannot get that infernal anonymous letter out of his head; do
-what he will, he cannot prevent himself from glancing at the second
-column of the _Times_, and poring over a map of London in search of
-Goat Street, Tiler's Road, Lambeth. He fancies, too, as a man is apt
-to do when self-conscious of anything peculiar, that people look at
-him strangely; and if two men happen to whisper in a window, he cannot
-help thinking they must be talking about him. At last he gets nervous,
-and determines to take counsel of a friend; nor is he long in
-selecting a recipient for his sorrows, inasmuch as the most remarkable
-object in the room is Sir Bloomer Buttercup, who is standing in an
-attitude near the fireplace (Sir Bloomer, for certain mechanical
-reasons, cannot sit down in that particular pair of trousers), and to
-him the General resolves to confide his annoyances, and by his advice
-determines to abide. Although, probably, no man in this world ever
-managed his own affairs so badly as Sir Bloomer Buttercup--partly, it
-must be owned, in consequence of his having the most generous heart
-that ever beat under three inches of padding--yet in all matters
-unconnected with self, his judgment was as sound as his penetration
-was remarkable. No man had got his friends out of so many scrapes, no
-man had given such good counsel, and no man had probably done so many
-foolish things as kind, good-natured Sir Bloomer; and when he minced
-after the General into an empty room on those poor, gouty, shiny toes,
-he really felt as ready as he expressed himself, to "see his old
-friend through it, whatever it was."
-
-"I'll tell you what, Bounce," lisped the old beau, as the General
-concluded his tale with that most puzzling of questions, "What would
-you advise me to do?"--"I'll tell you what. I think I know a fellow
-that can sift this for us to the bottom. You know, my dear boy, that I
-have occasionally been in slight difficulties--merely temporary, of
-course, and entirely owing to circumstances over which I had no
-control" (Sir B. had spent two fortunes, and was now living on the
-recollection of them, and the possible reversion of a third)--"but
-still difficulties--eh?--a ten-knot breeze was always more to my fancy
-than a calm. Well, I've been brought in contact with all kinds of
-fellows, and I do know one man, a sort of a lawyer, that's in with
-every rogue in London. He could get to the rights of this in
-twenty-four hours if we made it worth his while. He's a clever
-fellow," added Bloomer reflectively, "a very clever fellow; in fact, a
-most consummate rascal. Shall I take you to him?"
-
-"This instant," burst out the General, with a terrific snatch at the
-bell; "I'll send for my brougham--what?--it'll be here in five
-minutes. Zounds! not go in a brougham? Why not?"
-
-Sir Bloomer had frightful misgivings as to the effects on his costume
-of the necessary attitude in which carriage exercise must be taken;
-but in the cause of friendship he was prepared to hazard even a
-rupture of the most important ties, and he replied heroically, "I'll
-see you through it, Bounce; what o'clock is it? Ah! I promised--never
-mind--they must be disappointed sometimes; and for the sake of your
-charming niece, I'd go through fire and water a good deal farther than
-the City. Bounce, Bounce, what an angel that girl is! She mustn't be
-told a syllable of this--not a syllable; with me, of course, it's
-secret as the grave." So the pair started, firmly persuaded that not a
-soul in London, save their two selves, knew a word about the letter,
-or the will, or the dethronement of poor little Blanche from her
-pedestal as an heiress.
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER XVIII
-
-THE STRICTEST CONFIDENCE
-
-     KEEPING A SECRET--LADY MOUNT HELICON "AT HOME"--A CHAPTER OF
-     FINANCE--WHY LACQUERS WENT TO THE BALL--EXOTICS IN A
-     CONSERVATORY--MRS. BLACKLAMB AND HER CAVALIER--IMPORTANT
-     DISCLOSURES--A LONG WAY OFF, AND FARTHER THAN THAT
-
-
-You must be an individual of an equally sanguine temperament and
-confiding disposition, if you believe that what you impart to your
-neighbour in the modern Babylon under seal of the strictest secrecy,
-might not as well be published in the leading article of the _Times_
-newspaper. How "things get about" is one of those inexplicable
-mysteries for which nobody is able or willing to account. Some people
-lay it to servants--some to the amiable generosity in imparting
-information for which the fair sex are so remarkable; the latter,
-again, say that "every bit of scandal in London originates at those
-horrid clubs!" but few will allow that Rumour owes a large portion of
-her ubiquity to that organisation of mankind which makes a secret
-utterly valueless unless shared with another. What is the use of
-knowing something we must not tell? In the strictest confidence, of
-course, it was told us under promise that we would not breathe a
-syllable to a single soul--we only make an exception in your favour
-under the same solemn obligation. You, of course, in mysterious
-conclave with Tom, will bear in mind our prohibition, and, acting as
-we have done, Tom shall become a party to the treason. Still upon
-oath, it will not be long, we think, before Jack and Harry are
-empowered to join chorus, and whilst our cherished mystery becomes
-patent to the world in general, we ourselves feel completely absolved
-from the consequences of our breach of trust. In the whole of Lady
-Mount Helicon's crowded rooms to-night, we believe Blanche herself is
-the only person that is not aware of her own precarious position; and
-the girl, happy in her ignorance, looks brighter and more blooming
-than usual, though _the world_ will admire her less on this occasion
-than it has ever done before. Yes, this is one of Lady Mount Helicon's
-"At Homes," with a small italicised "_Dancing_" in the corner; and a
-very brilliant affair it is, as the hostess herself is fully
-persuaded:--the front and back drawing-room, and the boudoir beyond
-that, are thrown open and lighted with dazzling brilliancy, whilst a
-softer lustre shed upon the conservatory and balcony, craftily covered
-in for the purpose, lures to those irresistible man-traps without
-betraying their insidious design. Below stairs, libraries and
-school-rooms and other resorts, devoted in every-day life to far more
-practical uses, are now cleared and emptied for the reception of
-shawls, cloaks, and coverings, and the production of countless cups of
-tea and glasses of lemonade. Lady Mount Helicon's own maid, in a
-toilette of gorgeous magnificence, presides over this department,
-casting the while glances of covert scorn and envy at a younger and
-prettier assistant in a more becoming cap, on whom the dandies, as
-they enter, impress with unnecessary circumlocution the propriety
-of taking great care of their gregos, paletots, and other
-sheep's-clothing. In the dining-room preparations are making for a
-"stand-up supper" of unparalleled luxury, but we think it right to
-warn the champagne-drinking guests, that on passing the door in the
-morning we spied several hampers of that popular fluid, labelled with
-the _maker's name_, and much as we admire its chemical preparation and
-laudable cheapness, we are concerned to admit that "the splendid
-sparkling of that house at 45_s._" always disarranges our internal
-economy for several days after an indulgence in its delights. Mount
-Helicon himself never drinks his mother's champagne, and to his
-abstinence he attributes his own unfailing health. At Dinadam's, or
-Lord Long-Acre's, or Wassailworth, he does not by any means practise
-the same self-denial. Still it is doubtless good enough for a ball,
-and what with the young ladies, and the old gentlemen, and the
-servants, will experience a very fair consumption. A bearded band
-meanwhile is in waiting up-stairs, elaborately dressed, and from the
-conductor in white kid gloves to _the Piccolo_ in a chin-tuft,
-rejoicing in boots of jetty brilliancy, and neckcloths dazzling with
-starch. The whole establishment is so utterly at variance with its
-usual routine, and the house looks so entirely changed when thus
-stripped and lighted for reception, that if the old lord, who never
-permitted these _bouleversements_, could but come back, he would
-scarcely recognise his former home, and would unquestionably be glad
-to return to the quiet of his family vault. The presiding genius of
-the scene, the hostess herself, is already at her post. A very capital
-dressmaker, an abundance of well-selected jewellery, and a mysterious
-compound much enhancing the beauty of the human hair, have turned her
-out a very personable dame, and as she stands in the middle of her
-ball-room, as yet "monarch of all she surveys," and spreads her
-rustling folds, and buttons her well-fitting gloves, the possibility
-of her marrying again seems no such absurdity after all, nor does she
-herself look upon such an event as by any means a remote contingency.
-But soon the knocker is at work, the chariot wheels are clattering in
-the street, and stentorian voices, louder in proportion to their
-indistinctness, announce the fast-arriving guests. Unlike a country
-ball, the feathers of the ladies require but little shaking after a
-short drive from the next street, nor, fresh from their own impartial
-mirrors, need they hazard the opinion of perhaps an unbecoming
-reflector; so they troop up-stairs with small delay, their glossy
-locks, white shoulders, and gossamer draperies showing to the greatest
-advantage in the well-lighted ball-room. The earliest arrivals of
-course receive the most affectionate greeting, proportionately
-decreased as the plot thickens, till the shake by both hands, and
-graceful little compliment about "looking so well," subsides into a
-stately courtesy and the coldest welcome good-breeding, not
-hospitality, will admit. At last all individual figures are well-nigh
-lost in the crush. A mass of charming dresses and well-made coats are
-swaying and struggling in the doorways, the band is pealing forth a
-melody of Paradise, and the votaries of the quadrille are striving to
-adhere to their superstitious evolutions by treading on each other's
-toes, entangling each other's dresses, begging each other's pardon,
-and generally complaining of the heat of the atmosphere and crowded
-state of the room. It is at this juncture that "General Bounce" and
-"Miss Kettering" make their appearance, the General having placed a
-guard upon his lips, and neither during the dinner nor the drive
-hinted at his misgivings and inner discomfiture. "Poor Blanche!" he
-mutters, as he follows her up the wide, stately staircase; "she'll
-know it soon enough, if it's true--zounds! a girl like that would be a
-prize without a penny--the young fellows now-a-days are not like what
-_we_ used to be." And as the General arrived at this conclusion he
-bowed his bald head nearly into Lady Mount Helicon's bosom, in return
-for her stately, measured greeting. That greeting, both to himself and
-Blanche, was colder than usual; the girl, frank and unconscious, did
-not perceive the change, but her uncle caught himself saying, almost
-aloud, "Zounds! is it possible that this old cat knows it too?" The
-music ceased, the dancers walked about, the wrongly-paired ones
-looking for "mamma," or "my aunt," inwardly longing to get rid of each
-other, and glancing in every direction for their own particular
-vanities, the more fortunate couples likewise keeping a sharp look-out
-for the chaperons, but this in order to avoid them, and hinting that
-"It's much cooler on the staircase," or "Have you seen the
-conservatory?" to prolong the delicious interview. The tea-room begins
-to fill, and incautious youth presses that domestic beverage on beauty
-nothing loth, nor reflects that charming as are those ringlets
-drooping over the cup, and rosy as are the lips that whisper their
-soft affirmative, it would be as well that he should distinctly know
-his own mind as to whether he would like this celestial being to make
-tea for him during the rest of his life, and whether it would be
-always as sweet as it is now. For the first time in her experience of
-a London season Blanche, begins to think it a "stupid ball." She has
-not yet been asked to dance; and spoilt by her previous successes, she
-feels hurt at the neglect. "The best men," as they are called, have
-not yet, indeed, arrived--if, as is somewhat uncertain, they will come
-at all, for they sometimes throw Lady Mount Helicon over; and "Mount"
-himself is still detained at the "House." But there are plenty of
-beardless dandies and gay young guardsmen, who are far more prone to
-dance; and yet they all seem to keep aloof. To be sure, whenever they
-_have_ asked her formerly she has always been "engaged"; but she would
-like to stand up now, even with young Deadlock, if it was only for
-"the look of the thing." However, she hangs contentedly on the
-General's arm, and "bides her time." It is not long coming. A tall,
-good-looking man, with features expressive only of a kind disposition
-and a general air of self-satisfaction, bows and sidles and screws
-himself towards Blanche and her chaperon, receiving as his natural
-homage the smiles of the old ladies on whose toes he is treading, and
-regardless of the imploring looks of the young ones who hope he is
-going to ask them to dance. His glossy hair is curled distinctly in
-five rows, which, according to Lord Mount Helicon's account, betokens
-weighty intentions; and it is no other than our friend Captain
-Lacquers, who has dined temperately, abjured his usual cigar, and come
-here for the especial purpose of meeting Miss Kettering. A bow, an
-indistinct murmur about "not engaged," and "honour," and "delighted,"
-and the couple are off, tripping gracefully round amongst the whirling
-confusion of the _Valse des Fantassins_, truly "a mighty maze, but not
-without a plan."
-
-To explain the intentions of our rotatory hussar, we must take the
-liberty of putting the clock back a few hours--an impossibility only
-permitted to the novelist--and record a conversation which took place
-between Lacquers and his friend Sir Ascot that very afternoon, in a
-secluded window of the Godiva Club.
-
-"Well out of this business about Miss Kettering," said the latter, who
-was becoming more communicative since he had found so little
-difficulty in speaking his mind to Blanche on a previous occasion.
-"You've heard of the smash? Not a penny, after all. Downright
-swindling, I call it--that old Bounce must be a deep one. They tell me
-that, except the life-interest of the house in Grosvenor Square, she
-hasn't a brass farthing. It's frightful to think of," added the old
-head on young shoulders, scanning with rigid attention his companion's
-face, in which concern was more apparent than surprise.
-
-"Poor thing, poor thing" rejoined Lacquers; "I had no idea it was so
-bad as that. They told me she was sure to have Newton-Hollows, at any
-rate. She must feel it sadly, poor girl; I wonder how she looks since
-it all came out."
-
-"Oh, I fancy very few people know it as yet," suggested Sir Ascot, who
-was somewhat uncharitable in his conclusions. "I daresay they'll try
-to brazen it out, at least till the end of the season. They may if
-they like, for all I care. I never knew any good come of these
-_half-bred_ ones, and _I'll_ have nothing more to do with them!"
-
-Lacquers heard as though he heard him not. He was trying to think, and
-his well-cut features were gathered into an expression of hopeless
-perplexity, at which his companion could scarce forbear laughing
-outright. At last he had recourse to the never-failing moustache; and
-drawing inspiration from its touch, he began--
-
-"Uppy, you're a safe fellow--eh?--wouldn't throw a fellow over, and
-put him in the hole, you know. You've got some brains, too--made a
-capital book on the Ascot Stakes. Now you understand finance and
-arithmetic, and that--what should _you_ say a married fellow could
-live upon? Of course he wouldn't require so many luxuries as a single
-one; but what do you think, now, a fellow like _me_, for instance,
-could do with?"
-
-Sir Ascot looked completely taken aback. "Why, you'd never be such a
-fool as to think of----"
-
-"That's neither here nor there, old boy," interrupted Lacquers; "of
-course if I _do_ you shall have the earliest intelligence. But come,
-here's a book and a pencil; let's see how the thing would work with
-good management and strict economy. _Strict economy_, you know, of
-course." Lacquers had a great idea, _in theory_, of strict economy. So
-the young man sat down, and went deep into the various items of rent,
-and stable expenses, and opera-boxes and pin-money, and cigars and
-travelling; Sir Ascot arriving at the conclusion that a quiet couple
-might manage to exist upon something over two thousand a year; whilst
-Lacquers thought it was to be done, with _strict economy_, of course,
-for about five hundred less; but as they both entirely overlooked an
-indispensable item termed "housekeeping," we think it needless to
-record their calculations for the benefit of the inexperienced.
-
-"Well," said Lacquers, when he had finished his arithmetic and put his
-betting-book once more into his pocket, "I think it can be done--I
-believe a fellow _ought_ to marry, you know; what does Shakespeare say
-about 'Solitude being born a twin'? it certainly sobers him"--(Sir
-Ascot smiled as he admitted that was undoubtedly a strong
-argument)--"and altogether married fellows get into more respectable
-habits. Look at a breakfast in a country-house; you see all the
-married ones up and dressed with the lark, while the single men come
-dawdling down at all hours. Yes, there's a good deal to be said on
-both sides, like a Chancery lawsuit; but I'll think it over, Uppy, my
-boy, I'll think it over." And Lacquers did think it over, and arrived
-at a conclusion as honourable to his heart as it was antagonistic to
-that worldly wisdom by which all with whom he associated thought it
-right to regulate their every action. Here was a man spoilt by the
-accident of personal beauty and good birth and position. From his
-earliest boyhood he had never been taught that there was any ulterior
-object in life save to shine in society, if not intellectually, why,
-physically, with a handsome person and fine clothes--a far more
-effectual passport than all the talents to the good graces of the
-world. What wonder that the tree grew up as it had been bent? what
-wonder that the hussar had scarcely two ideas beyond his uniform and
-his betting-book, and his seat upon a horse? that he looked on the
-world at large as the butterfly on the sunny square enclosed by the
-garden wall--a mere stage for display, a mere hot-bed for physical
-enjoyment, to be got the most out of during the bright, gaudy hours of
-noon; and afterwards--why, afterwards, when the sun goes down and the
-chill dews of evening clog his fading wings--the butterfly must do the
-best he can, and perish as he may. With such an education, the sole
-manly quality left was courage, and it was only the touchstone of a
-gentle face like Blanche's that brought out the latent generosity of a
-character overlaid with faults, for which its training was more to
-blame than its organisation. We are obliged to confess that Lacquers
-was vain, thoughtless, self-opinionated, frivolous, ignorant, and
-empty-headed, but there _was_ some good in him, and it was brought
-out, as it always will be when it exists at all, by a woman's smile,
-and, above all, by a woman's misfortunes.
-
-Lacquers made up his mind that he would marry Blanche Kettering
-without a sixpence. The young lady's consent he rather prematurely
-counted on as a matter of course, but in making this resolution he
-deserves some credit for the readiness with which he was prepared to
-sacrifice all that to him was precious in life, at the feet of his
-lady-love. He was a younger brother, and, it is needless to add,
-considerably involved--of course he must bid farewell to all those
-amusements and pursuits which have hitherto constituted his actual
-existence. No more Derbys and Hamptons, and Richmond breakfasts, and
-Greenwich dinners, all vanities enticing enough in their way--no more
-stalls at the opera, and supper-parties in the suburbs, likewise
-vanities of a more dangerous tendency--no more hunting in
-Leicestershire and deer-stalking in Scotland, yachting at Cowes and
-philandering at Paris--all these must be given up; and worse than all,
-the profession he delights in, the regiment he is devoted to, must be
-offered at the shrine of domestic respectability. That these would be
-privations no man could feel more keenly than Lacquers, yet was he
-prepared to go through with it, and had it been necessary, we firmly
-believe he would have cut off his very moustaches and laid them at the
-feet of Blanche Kettering! Therefore it was that he appeared on the
-evening in question at Lady Mount Helicon's ball; therefore it was
-that his manner had assumed a softness and diffidence which made
-Blanche confess to herself, as she leaned on his arm in the intervals
-of the dance, that he was "really very much improved"; and therefore
-it was that he suggested the old excuse of "looking at the flowers in
-the conservatory," and skilfully availing himself of a general rush
-down-stairs connected with supper, managed to entice his partner into
-a secluded corner of that love-making retreat, which had indeed been
-already occupied by several pairs for the same purpose, and having
-furnished her with a cup of tea, and himself with an ice to keep them
-both quiet, he entered with much circumlocution on one of those
-embarrassing interviews such as, we are quite sure, no lady who
-condescends to glance over these pages but must have experienced at
-least _once_ before she had been out two seasons.
-
-"That's a case," said Mrs. Blacklamb, as she swept down to supper on
-Lord Mount Helicon's arm, her dark, haughty features writhing with
-something between a smile and a sneer, while she caught a glimpse of
-Blanche's well-cut profile, and one of Lacquers's faultless boots in a
-mirror opposite their retreat. "Will it _be_, do you think?" she added
-with a softening expression, for all women warm towards a love-affair,
-and even Mrs. Blacklamb, with her many faults, was a very woman,
-perhaps rather too much so, in her heart of hearts.
-
-"I hope not," replied Mount, with a smile into his companion's face.
-"I'm very much in love with her myself. If it hadn't been for 'the
-Division' I should have been where Lacquers is at this moment. Look
-what my patriotism has cost me, but I don't regret it _now_," and he
-emphasised the monosyllable with an almost imperceptible pressure of
-the arm that hung upon his own, a movement that had little effect on
-Mrs. Blacklamb, with whom flirtation (whatever that comprehensive word
-may mean) was the daily business of life.
-
-"Why, you know you would have married her, and too happy if she had
-only been the catch you all thought she was," replied the lady. "I
-must say I could not help being delighted, though I was sorry for
-_her_, poor girl, to see you all 'getting out' just as you do when
-some racehorse breaks down, trying which could be first to pull
-himself clear of the scrape, and leave his neighbours in the lurch.
-Major D'Orville behaved _shamefully_, and you still worse, for she
-really was fond of _you_."
-
-"Mount's" imperturbable good-humour was proof against quizzing, so the
-sneer fell harmless, and he replied carelessly, "Fond? of course she
-was, but not so _very_ fond--no. Mrs. Blacklamb, I'm easily imposed
-on by ladies. I think it's my diffidence that stands so much in my
-way; even where my affections are most irrevocably engaged, where I
-worship is hopeless constancy, and I feel my heart breaking, and
-my--my--my hair coming out of curl, I dare not ask my enslaver more
-than whether she will have a glass of wine. Give Mrs. Blacklamb some
-champagne, and I'll have a little sherry, if you please;" so the pair
-went on jesting and philandering and making fools of each other and of
-themselves, but they troubled their heads no more about the couple in
-the conservatory; and when "Mount" deserted his fair companion and
-returned into the ball-room, as he said, "to dance just once with Miss
-Kettering, in common decency," he sought her in vain, for she was
-gone.
-
-"Uncle Baldwin," said Blanche, when they reached home, and lingered a
-moment in the drawing-room before retiring--"Uncle Baldwin, I've got
-something to say to you." Blanche blushed and hesitated, and looked at
-the little white satin shoe she was resting on the fender in every
-possible point of view. "To-night at the ball, I--that's to say,
-Captain Lacquers--in short, I dare say you remarked--in the
-conservatory, you know--Oh, Uncle Baldwin, _he proposed_ to me," and
-Blanche, half-laughing, half-crying, and blushing over her neck and
-shoulders, hid her face on the breast of the General's coat, as she
-used to do when she had been a naughty little girl and repented, ten
-years ago.
-
-"Zounds! Blanche, what did you say?" burst out the General, in a
-terrible taking, as he thought now everything must come out. "Yes or
-No, my darling, don't keep me in suspense--which is it, heads or
-tails? in or out? I mean, Yes or No?"
-
-"No!" whispered Blanche, to the General's inexpressible relief, who
-cooled down into a prolonged _whew_, like the escape of steam from a
-safety-valve; but it was rather difficult to say it, he seemed so
-sorry and so patient and considerate. "Do you know, Uncle Baldwin, I
-never thought so highly of Captain Lacquers as I do to-night."
-
-"Probably not, my dear," grunted the General, "you never knew before
-he thought so highly of you. But, Blanche, as we are here, and--and
-it's not very late--zounds! they've put that clock on again--well,
-dear, I too have got something to tell you; but mine, I am sorry to
-say, is bad news. Prepare yourself, my dear Blanche. I'm sure you will
-bear it well, my little pet, and as long as I have a roof over my head
-you will have a home; but, in short, it's no use mincing the matter,
-Blanche, you're not an heiress after all--you won't have a sixpence
-beyond what I can leave you, and that's little enough, heaven knows.
-They've found your mother's will, my dear, and a most unfair and
-unreasonable will it is; but still, my pretty Blanche, it makes you a
-penniless young lady, after all!"
-
-"Is that the worst?" answered Blanche, looking up with an air of
-immense relief, though she had turned deadly pale; "is that all, Uncle
-Baldwin? dear me, I'm not worse off than half the other girls I know.
-We shall leave this house, I suppose," she added, looking round at the
-ample room and its stately furniture, jumping at once to conclusions,
-as young ladies will do, "and we shall live entirely at
-Newton-Hollows, and I shall be there all the time my garden looks most
-beautiful; but we shan't have to send away Mrs. Delaval, shall we?"
-(The General winced.) "And when will it all be settled? and when shall
-we go?"
-
-"Blanche, you're a diamond," said the General, his eyes filling with
-tears; "you've the pluck of ten women. You ought to have commanded the
-Kedjerees. Go to bed now, my dear, and to-morrow we'll look things
-boldly in the face, and see what is best to be done." So the General
-stumped off with his bed-candle, more than ever doating on his niece,
-more than ever persuaded that she inherited her sterling qualities
-from his side of the house, and not from that "poor, foolish old
-Kettering," as he called him, and more than ever indignant with all
-the young men of his acquaintance, except Lacquers, for not being on
-their knees to Blanche. "They've no energy; they've no devotion;
-zounds! they've no chivalry amongst 'em--none whatever! If I was such
-a fellow as any one of these, 'gad, I'd go to bed and never get up
-again;" with which soliloquy the General proceeded to divest himself
-of his ball-going attire, and prepared for his refuge from all the
-ills of life.
-
-To those who are conversant with the habits of ladies, it is needless
-to mention that Blanche did not, by any means, follow her uncle's
-excellent advice and example, in betaking herself to immediate repose.
-The fair sex will easily comprehend how she sought Mrs. Delaval's
-room, and how the two ladies sat up in "their wrappers" and consoled
-each other, and talked it all over, backwards and forwards, and came
-to no very logical conclusions; and, above all, how the proposal and
-its reception were quite as engrossing a topic, and were quite as much
-dwelt on as the loss of Blanche's fine fortune; nor will it escape
-their observation that Mary's greater worldly experience would clearly
-foresee the substitution of one cousin for another in this revolution
-amongst the Kettering possessions, and how a marriage between the two
-was the only plan to make everything right; and how the fair young
-face, with its kind eyes, that had haunted her so long, was farther
-from her now than ever. She knew, of course, long ago, that it was
-hopeless and impossible--that must surely have been a great
-consolation! When a child cries for the moon, and a cloud comes and
-covers up the coveted bauble, and hides it away, the urchin has small
-comfort in being told that it is just as near the object of its
-desires as when it could see it, and look, and long, and stretch its
-tiny hands. When the beggar-maiden sets her affections on King
-Cophetua, without a hope, in these days, of the famous fabulous
-_mesalliance_ being perpetrated, the fact that it does not, in
-reality, remove him one iota farther than before from her humble self,
-helps but little to assuage the pang inflicted on her infatuated heart
-by his Majesty's nuptials with one of his own degree. The impossible
-may be increased in love, if not in logic, and Mary was lying awake
-and desponding, long after Blanche had forgotten all the excitement
-and changes of the evening in happy, dreamless slumbers.
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER XIX
-
-DISPATCHES
-
-     SOCIAL LIBERTY--DOMESTIC ECONOMY--A GAZETTE FROM THE CAPE--A
-     MAN OF MANY IRONS--A TRUE FRIEND--A REAL HERO--COUPLES, NOT
-     PAIRS--OH ME MISERUM!--GATHERED IN THE DEW
-
-
-Mary Delaval, in London, was one of the many flowers born to "waste
-their sweetness on the desert air," for London is, indeed, a desert to
-those who are in it and not of it, whose destiny seems to have been
-warped into a strange unfitness in the great, struggling, noisy,
-pompous town; whose proper place would seem to be in some quiet,
-secluded nook, the ornament and the joy of a peaceful home, instead of
-the ever-shifting surface of that seething tide which drifts them here
-and there in aimless restlessness. Verily, Fortune does sometimes
-shuffle the pack in most inexplicable confusion--_Ludum insolentem,
-ludere pertinax_--she seems to take a perverse pleasure in smuggling
-the court-cards into all sorts of incongruous places, and to carry out
-the Latin poet's metaphor, _trans-mutat incertos honores_, or, in
-plain English, palms the trumps, with dexterous sleight-of-hand, where
-they seem utterly valueless to influence the result of the game. As
-society is constituted, such a woman as Mary, with her queenly
-dignity, her charming manner, her striking beauty, and, above all, her
-noble, well-cultivated mind, was just as thoroughly _tabooed_ and
-excluded from the circle of her so-called superiors as if she had been
-a quadroon in the United States, whose very beauty owes its brilliance
-to that African stain which, in the Land of Freedom and Equality,
-makes a shade of colouring the badge that entitles man to lord it
-over his brother more despotically than over the beasts of the field.
-Thank God for it, we have no slavery in England; and the time cannot
-be very far distant when slavery shall be a word without a meaning in
-the dictionary of every language on the face of the globe. Already,
-from East to West, the trumpet-note has sounded, and those stir in
-their sleep who have drugged themselves into insensibility, and
-stopped their ears against the voice of the charmer, but cannot
-smother the still small whisper within. Scarcely has its last peal
-died away beneath the blushing Western wave, ere its echoes are caught
-up in the very heart of the Morning Land, and even now, while we
-write, a barbarian despot is quailing on his celestial throne, and the
-voice of Liberty--real Liberty, Civilisation, and Christianity--is
-thundering in the ears of millions and millions of immortal beings,
-hitherto held in thraldom, throughout that mysterious empire, which
-for ages has been a sealed book to all other nations upon earth. Shall
-not England still be in the van, as she has always been? Never yet has
-she failed in the good cause, and never will she. Has she not ever
-struck for Freedom and the Cross? inseparable watchwords, that the
-experience of the world has taught us must go hand in hand, or not at
-all; and where she strikes, good faith, she drives well home. Has she
-not ever been the first assailant in the breach? stood the outmost
-bulwark in the gap? and will she fail now? Believe it not. Her destiny
-would seem the brightest that Providence has yet ordained for any
-nation since the world began. Formidable and glorious without, she is
-setting her house in order within. Steadily and gradually the good
-cause--the universal brotherhood of the soul--is progressing
-everywhere; through wars and rumours of wars, through political clouds
-and private disappointments, there seems to be in all men's minds a
-settled conviction that "the good time's coming"; and if, as we firmly
-believe, England shall bear the glorious banner in the van, why, night
-and morning will we go down upon our knees and thank God that we are
-Englishmen! But what has all this to do with a penniless governess,
-sitting up two pair of stairs in Grosvenor Square? Thus much, as we
-think: our social system is yet a long way from perfection--there is
-yet much to be improved and much prejudice to be taken away--we have
-too much class-feeling and class-isolation, and, perhaps, on no people
-do these shortcomings in our charity fall so heavily as on those to
-whom we entrust the education of our children. What is it in which we
-are so superior to them that entitles us to hold ourselves thus aloof,
-and, for all the courtesy of our wayfaring salutation, virtually "to
-pass by on the other side"? What is it that constitutes the talismanic
-qualification for what we modestly term _good_ society? Is it birth,
-that accident on which we so rationally plume ourselves? They
-generally possess even that negative advantage. Is it education,
-intellect, cultivation of mind? We do not entrust our darlings to
-their care because they are _inferior_ to us in attainments, or we
-should teach the pupils ourselves. Is it manner? We do not quarrel
-with a peer for being gross, or a millionaire for being vulgar--and
-those of whom we are speaking generally show no want at least of
-decorum in their demeanour and conversation. Is it money? God forbid!
-Is it then mere frivolity and assumption in which we excel? For shame!
-No; the truth must out; there is a leaven still left in us of the very
-essence of vulgarity, the feeling that we are ill at ease with a
-so-called inferior, or the domineering spirit which every schoolboy
-knows too well, prompting us to exult in every chance advantage we may
-possess over a fellow-creature. Of these amiable causes we may take
-our choice; but one or other it is which leaves the governess to pine
-up-stairs in her school-room, while revelry and pleasure and
-good-fellowship are laughing below.
-
-Now, Mary had, indeed, little of this sort of neglect to complain of;
-yet was she lonely and sad during the London season which Blanche
-enjoyed so much. She could not, of course, accompany her to all the
-balls and "At Homes" which were fast becoming the business of the
-girl's life; if she had, we think the worshipful body of chaperons
-would have lost nothing in dignity, and gained a good deal in grace,
-beauty, and good-humour by her adhesion. So she felt she was too much
-separated from Blanche, whom she dearly loved; and it was with a
-sensation almost of satisfaction, for which she was, nevertheless,
-quite angry with herself, that she heard of the entire disturbance of
-all the family arrangements, and the loss of fortune sustained by the
-young heiress. "Ah," thought Mary, "perhaps I may be of some use to
-her now in her distress; at any rate, I can give her good counsel and
-practical instruction how to _bear_--none better;" and had it not been
-for a certain marriage, which seemed more than ever indispensable,
-Mary would have been ashamed to confess to herself how glad she was.
-
-The General, it is needless to say, was a man of vigorous execution
-when he had once made up his mind. He had ascertained, as he believed,
-the validity of the will, had paid Gingham her legacy, with a gratuity
-over and above on his own account, and now held a council of war with
-the two ladies, before breakfast, in which he discloses his plans with
-a degree of meekness nothing could ever have brought him to, save a
-misfortune affecting his beloved Blanche.
-
-"No going abroad this year, my dear," said the General, looking the
-while less warlike than usual; "glad of it--what? A German
-watering-place--bah! an association of blackguards in an overgrown
-village, robbing the public to soft music in the open air. No, my
-dear, we'll get to Newton-Hollows before the strawberries are
-done--and I'm glad of it. We'll let this great house--you're tired of
-it, Blanche, and so am I; what's the use of a house all up and
-down-stairs? You should have seen my bungalow at Simlah--a man could
-get about in that and hear himself speak. Well, we'll put down two of
-the carriages and one of the footmen--that pompous one. Zounds, if he
-had stayed a week longer I must have bastinadoed him--and we'll start
-Poulard: confound him, he never gives one a dinner fit to eat, and
-wouldn't dress a cutlet for Mrs. Delaval, only the day before
-yesterday, because we dined out--I'll trounce him before he goes.
-Then, my dear, we'll keep your scrubby pony for the little carriage,
-and 'Water King' can go down home with the others, and you'll ride a
-deal more there than in London, Blanche. Manage? I'll manage--how d'ye
-mean? I'm only a steward till Charlie comes back. I must write to
-Charlie by this mail, and we'll have him safe and sound from the
-Kaffirs--and rejoicings when he comes home, and a--who knows
-what?"--(Mary Delaval got up at this juncture, went to fetch her work,
-and sat majestically down to it, as the General went on.)--"Yes, we'll
-make it all right when Charlie comes back. Let me see, we ought to
-have a mail to-day. Zounds, these servants they read all the
-news--money market, foreign intelligence, every one of their own
-cursed advertisements for places they won't keep six months--and then,
-if I ask whether the paper's come, 'Please, sir, it's not ironed.'
-Ironed! 'Gad, I'll iron them--wish I'd my Kitmugar here--bamboozle
-them well on the soles of their feet--there's no liberty in this
-country. Blanche, ring the bell, there's a dear--oh, here it comes;"
-and the General's further strictures were cut short by the entrance of
-his old, pompous servant, who laid the paper out for his master's
-perusal with a strange air of mingled pity and concern. The General
-put on his spectacles, deliberately unfolded the sheet, and after a
-glance at the money market, in which consols had, as usual, fluctuated
-the fraction of a fraction, he turned to the well-known column in
-which the budget of the African mail was likely to be detailed;
-Blanche leaning over his shoulder the while, and Mary watching them
-with an eager glance that seemed almost prescient of evil.
-Suddenly the General's face flushed up to a purple hue. "Engagement
-with the Kaffirs," he muttered; "gallant repulse of the
-enemy--capture--loss--strong position--brilliant success of the Light
-Brigade--O my boy! my boy!" And, forgetful of all around, the old man
-leaned his head upon the table and gave way to a passion of grief that
-was frightful to contemplate. There it was, sure enough, in distinct,
-choicely-printed types--there was no mistaking the name, or the
-regiment, or the authenticity of the report, and Blanche, with
-bloodless lips and stony eyes, could see nothing but that one line of
-hopeless import--"Missing, Cornet Kettering, of the 20th Lancers."
-Yes, she had skimmed through killed and wounded, with the agonising
-fear of seeing her cousin returned in that awful list, and a deep sigh
-of relief was rising to her lips as she recognised no beloved name
-among the sufferers, when it was frozen back again by the startling
-truth. And there she stood, utterly colourless, her hair pushed back
-from her temples, and her eyes staring wildly and vacantly, as she
-kept her finger pressed on the dreadful line, of which she too well
-comprehended the meaning.
-
-The General rocked to and fro in an agony of grief, his broken
-exclamations of childish despair strangely mingled with those warlike
-sentiments of honour and resignation which become second nature in the
-soldier's character.
-
-"My boy, my boy! my gallant, handsome, light-hearted Charlie! I might
-have known it must be so--I've seen it a hundred times--the youngest,
-the fairest, the happiest, go down at the first shot. That pale,
-tender lad at the sortie from Bayonne--my subaltern at Quatre Bras--my
-_aide-de-camp_ in the Deccan, always the brightest and the most
-hopeful--and now my boy, my Charlie! Why did I let him go? a soldier's
-fate, poor lad. Well, well, every bullet has its billet--but, oh, he
-need never have gone to that savage country. O my boy, my boy! you
-were more than a son to me, and now you're lying mangled and rotting
-in the bush below the Anatolas."
-
-Mary alone preserved her presence of mind. Utter despair is the most
-powerful of sedatives; and she walked deliberately across the room,
-took the paper from Blanche's unresisting hands, and satisfied herself
-of the worst. A special paragraph of nearly six lines was devoted to
-the fate of "this gallant and promising young officer, who was last
-seen waving his men on in a brilliant attack which he led against a
-numerous horde of savages; the enemy were driven from their defences
-at all points; but we regret to learn Cornet Kettering was reported
-missing at nightfall, and we have reason to fear, from the barbarous
-and ferocious character of Kaffir warfare, it will be almost
-impossible to recover or identify his remains."
-
-And was this the end of all? Was this the fate of the
-bright, happy, beloved boy, whose image, as she last saw
-him, radiant in health and hope, had never since left her
-mind?--mangled--defaced--butchered--dead!--that awful word comprised
-everything--never to see him more, never to hear his voice; to feel as
-if it was all a dream, as if it had never been; as if there was no
-Past, and there would be no Future--that the deadening, heavy,
-soul-sickening Present was to be all! But she could not give him up
-like this: the report was dated immediately previous to the departure
-of the mail, and there might be a possibility of error. Steadily,
-calmly, closely, like a heroine as she was, Mary read through the
-whole official account of the engagement, word for word, and line for
-line; how "the Brigadier had received information of the enemy's
-movements, and had held himself in readiness, and had given such and
-such orders, and executed such and such movements," all detailed in
-the happy, self-satisfied style which characterises official accounts
-of the game of death; how in a previous report his Excellency had been
-apprised of the capture of so many head of cattle, and the submission
-of so many chiefs with hard names; and how the Brigadier had great
-pleasure in informing his Excellency of the further capture of several
-thousand oxen, and the discomfiture of more chiefs, and all with a
-loss of life trifling compared to the important results of this
-brilliant _coup-de-main_. How the troops, and the levies, and the
-Hottentots, had each and all reaped their share of laurels, by their
-gallantry in attack, their steadiness under fire, and general
-cheerfulness and good discipline through long, toilsome marches and
-harassing privations; and how the Brigadier's own thanks were due to
-officers commanding regiments, and officers commanding companies, and
-his _aides-de-camp_, and his quartermaster, and his medical staff, and
-all the brave fellows who had won their share in the triumph of the
-hour; and the report concluded with a few feeling words of manly
-regret for those who had earned a soldier's grave, amongst whom poor
-"Old Swipes," shot down as he led his men so gallantly to the attack,
-was not forgotten; whilst a line of concern for the uncertainty
-attending Cornet Kettering's fate (otherwise honourably mentioned in
-the dispatch) wound up the whole. All this Mary read with a painful
-distinctness that seemed to burn every word into her brain, and from
-it she gathered, indeed, small hope and small consolation. Truly, war
-is a fine thing in the abstract! The martial music, the flaunting
-colours, the steady tramp of bold, bronzed men, exulting in their
-freemasonry of danger, the enthusiasm of the spectators, the
-professional charlatanry (we use the word with no disrespectful
-meaning) which pervades the brotherhood,--all this is taking enough
-when the engine is in repose; and then the joys of a campaign, the
-continual change of scene, the never-flagging excitement, the little
-luxuries of the bivouac, the rough good-fellowship of the march, and
-the boiling, thrilling excitement of the encounter--all these
-doubtless have their charms when the machine is put into action; but
-there is a sad reverse to the picture, and those who read with the
-military enthusiasm of ignorance such captivating accounts of
-brilliant strategy and daring heroism, should recollect that the same
-Gazette which makes captains and colonels, makes also widows and
-orphans; that eyes are gushing and hearts breaking over those very
-lines that bid the uninterested peruser thrill with warlike ardour and
-half-envious pride in the deeds of arms of his countrymen. The
-greatest hero of the age has recorded his opinion of those scenes in
-which he reaped his own immortal laurels, when he said, "he prayed God
-he might never again see so frightful a calamity as a national war;"
-and his opinion has been often quoted, to the effect that a battle won
-was the next most horrible sight to a battle lost. Far and wide
-spreads the crop of misery that springs from that iron shower. Its
-effects are not confined to wasted fields and blackened houses, and
-devoted ranks stretched where they fell in all the ghastly distortions
-of violent death. Far, far away, in happy homes and peaceful families,
-women and children must wail and pine in vain for him whom they will
-never see again on earth; and the ounce of lead that carries death
-into that loyal, kind heart, scatters misery and grief, and penury,
-perhaps, and ruin, over the gentle dependents here at home in England,
-that have none to trust to, none to care for them, save him who lies
-cold and stiff upon the field of glory. Glory! when will men learn the
-right meaning of the word?
-
-Well, three lines in the Gazette had brought misery enough to the
-inmates of the house in Grosvenor Square. How paltry to them now
-seemed the household cares and little money arrangements that had
-occupied their morning consultation. What was there to arrange for
-now? What signified it how things went? He would never return to
-enjoy the fruits of their care. What mattered it who had the house,
-and the fortune, and the plate, and the personalities, and all the
-paltry dross, which now showed its real value?--to-morrow it will
-begin again to resume its fictitious appearance, for grief passes as
-surely as does the cloud. But to-day, the General and Blanche are
-almost stupefied, and can think of nothing but Charlie--dear, _dear_,
-lost Charlie. The old man sits rocking to and fro, in violent
-paroxysms, frightful in one of his age--who would have thought he had
-so much feeling left in him?--and Blanche is exhausted with weeping,
-and lies with her face buried, and her long golden hair trailing over
-the sofa cushions, incapable of thought or exertion. Mary alone
-retains her presence of mind; Mary alone vindicates her noble nature
-in the hour of trial; Mary alone is fit to command; and Mary alone
-resolves upon what is best to be done, and proceeds at once to put her
-schemes into execution. There is but one person to apply to for advice
-and assistance: there is but one friend in whom the bereaved family
-can confide; who should it be but kind, generous, bold-hearted Frank
-Hardingstone? Mary puts on her bonnet and shawl: out of the confused
-mass in the hall she selects Mr. Hardingstone's card, ascertains his
-address, and without saying a word about her intentions, sallies forth
-to seek him out, primed with the eloquence of a woman's hopeless,
-unselfish love.
-
-Frank has lingered on in London, he scarce knows why. He is training
-his strong, masculine mind to bear the loss of Blanche--for he feels
-that Blanche is lost to him--just as he would train to make any other
-effort, or endure any other suffering. His mornings are spent in close
-and severe study; his afternoons in those athletic exercises at which
-he is so proficient; and in the evening he goes into _men's_ society,
-as gentlemen do when they are sore about the other sex, and tries to
-be amused, and to enter into the frivolities and pastimes of his
-associates, and succeeds sometimes indifferently badly, sometimes not
-at all. Strange visitors are admitted to Frank's morning-room at the
-hotel where he puts up--the waiter cannot make him but at all. Now, an
-engineer, in his Sunday clothes, but with a rough chin and grimy
-hands, is closeted with him all the morning, and the waiter overhears
-casual expressions, such as "power," and "gradients," and "angles,"
-and "the motive," and "the bite," and "the catch," which, on the
-principle of _omne ignotum pro terribili_, make his hair stand on end.
-Then, just as he had made up his mind that Mr. Hardingstone is
-_professional_, and not a _real_ gent after all, some live Duke or
-magnificent Marquis comes in with his hat on, and says, "Frank, my
-dear fellow, how goes it?" and the waiter's conclusions are again
-completely upset. Then an archaeologian, with smooth white neckcloth
-and well-brushed beaver, steps gravely up-stairs, and remains for
-hours discussing the probable site of some problematic edifice which
-there is reason to suppose _might_ have been pulled down by the
-Confessor; and on this interesting topic they lavish a store of
-knowledge, penetration, and research rather disproportioned to the
-result arrived at, till the archaeologian stays to have luncheon, and
-shows no small energy even at that. The waiter begins to think Mr.
-Hardingstone is a gent connected with the British Museum (for which
-institution he entertains a superstitious reverence), and possibly a
-fellow-labourer with Layard and Rawlinson. But again, twice a week, an
-individual is admitted whose general appearance is so much the reverse
-of the respectable, sleek archaeologian, that the waiter finds it
-impossible to reconcile the contradiction of Mr. Hardingstone's being,
-as he terms it, "_in_ with both." This latter visitor is of athletic
-frame, and remarkably forbidding countenance, none the less so from an
-originally snub nose having been smashed into a sort of plaster over
-the adjoining territory. His hair is cut as short as is consistent
-with the use of scissors, and his arms, in very tight sleeves, hang
-down his sides as if they were in the last stage of powerless fatigue.
-He dresses as though he kept a horse, yet is his gait that of a man
-who is continually on his legs, active as a cat, and of no mean
-pedestrian powers. He remains with Mr. Hardingstone about an hour,
-during which time much shuffling of feet is heard, and much hard
-breathing, with occasional expectoration on the part of the visitor.
-The windows are invariably thrown wide open during the interview; and
-at its conclusion, the stranger being supplied with beer, for which
-fluid he entertains a remarkable predilection, wipes his mouth on his
-sleeve, and expresses his satisfaction at the hospitality of his
-entertainer, and the warmth of his reception, by stating, in
-reprehensibly strong language, that he has had "a--something--good
-bellyful." This too is a professor, and a scientific man; but his
-profession is that of pugilism, his science the noble one of
-self-defence. So the waiter is again all abroad: but when Mary Delaval
-puts up her veil, and taking out a plain card with her name written
-thereon, requests the astonished functionary to "take it up to Mr.
-Hardingstone, and tell him a lady wishes to see him," even a waiter's
-self-command is overcome, and he can only relieve his feelings by the
-execution of an infinity of winks for his own benefit, and the
-frequent repetition of "Well, this beats cock-fighting!" as he ushers
-the lady up the hotel stairs, and points out to her the rooms occupied
-by the mysterious guest.
-
-Most people would have considered Frank hardly prepared to receive
-visits from a lady, both in respect of his costume and the general
-arrangement of his apartment. He was sitting in his shirt-sleeves,
-unbraced, and with his neck bare; his large loose frame curled up on a
-short, uncomfortable sofa, in anything but a graceful position, and
-his broad manly countenance gathered into an expression of intense,
-almost painful attention. A short pipe between his strong white teeth
-filled the room with odours only preferable to that of _stale_
-tobacco-smoke, with which its atmosphere was generally laden; and the
-book on his knee was a ponderous quarto, to the full as heavy as it
-looked, and fit for even Frank's large intellect to grapple with. The
-furniture was simple enough; most of that which belonged to the hotel
-had been put away, and a set of boxing-gloves, two or three foils, a
-small black leather portmanteau, and a few books of the same stamp as
-that on the owner's knee, comprised almost the only objects in the
-apartment. The morning paper was lying unopened on the window-sill.
-When he saw who it was, Frank started up with a blush, snatched the
-short pipe out of his mouth, set a chair for his visitor, and sitting
-bolt upright on the short sofa, stared at her with a ludicrous
-expression of mingled shyness and surprise. He was glad to see her,
-too--for why?--she belonged in some sort to Blanche.
-
-"Have you seen the morning paper?" began Mary, in her low, measured
-tones, though her voice shook more than usual. "Have you seen those
-disastrous tidings from the Cape? Oh, Mr. Hardingstone, we are all in
-despair! Charles Kettering has, in all probability, been"--she could
-not bring herself to say it--"at least he is missing--missing,
-gracious Heaven! in that fearful country!--and we have only heard of
-it this morning. The General is incapable of acting; he is completely
-paralysed by the blow; and I have come--forgive me, Mr.
-Hardingstone--I have come to you as our only friend, to ask your
-advice and assistance; to entreat you to--to----" Poor Mary broke
-down, and went into a passionate fit of weeping, all the more violent
-from having been so long restrained.
-
-Frank was horrified at the intelligence; he made a grasp at the paper,
-and there, sure enough, his worst fears were confirmed. But this was
-no time for the indulgence of helpless regret; and when Mary was
-sufficiently composed, he asked her with a strange, meaning anxiety,
-"How Blanche bore the fatal tidings?" Heart of man! what depths of
-selfishness are there in thy chambers! At the back of all his sorrow
-for his more than brother, at the back of all his anxiety and horror,
-he hated himself to know that there was a vague feeling of relief as
-if a load had been taken off, an obstacle removed. He would have laid
-down his life for Charlie; had he been with him in the bush, he would
-have shed the last drop of his blood to defend him; yet now that his
-fate was ascertained, he shuddered to find that his grief was not
-totally unqualified; he loathed himself when he felt that through the
-dark there was a gleam somewhere that had a reflection of joy.
-
-"Blanche's feelings you may imagine," replied Mary, now strangely,
-almost sternly composed; "she has lost a more than brother" (Frank
-winced); "but of feelings it is not the time to talk. You may think me
-mad to say so, but something tells me there may still be a hope. He
-is not reported killed, or even wounded; he is 'missing'; there is a
-chance yet that he may be saved. These savages do not always kill
-their prisoners" (she shuddered as she spoke); "there is yet a
-possibility that he may have been taken and carried off to the
-mountains. An energetic man on the spot might even now be the means of
-preserving him from a hideous fate. These people must surely be
-amenable to bribes, like the rest of mankind. Oh, it is possible--in
-God's mercy it is possible--and we may get him back amongst us, like
-one from the dead."
-
-Frank grasped at her meaning in an instant; and even while he did so,
-he could not help remarking how beautiful she was--her commanding
-sorrow borne with such dignity and yet such resignation. He drew down
-his brows, set his teeth firm, and the old expression came over his
-face which poor Charlie used to admire so much--an expression of grim,
-unblenching resolve.
-
-"You're right, Mrs. Delaval, it might be done," he said, slowly
-and deliberately. "How long has the mail taken to come to
-England--twenty-eight days?--the same going out. It is a desperate
-chance!--yet would it be a satisfaction to know the worst. Poor
-boy!--poor Charlie!--game to the last, I see, in the general order.
-What think ye, Mrs. Delaval; would it be any use?"
-
-"If I was a man," replied Mary, "I should be in the train for
-Southampton at this moment."
-
-Frank rang the bell; the waiter appeared with an alacrity that looked
-as if he had been listening at the keyhole. "Bring my bill," said
-Frank to that astonished functionary, "and have a cab at the door in
-twenty minutes."
-
-"You are going, Mr. Hardingstone?" said Mary, clasping her hands; "God
-bless you for it!"
-
-"I am going," replied Frank, putting the short pipe carefully away,
-and pulling out the small black portmanteau.
-
-"You will start to-day?" asked Mary, with an expression of admiration
-on her sorrowing countenance for a decision of character so in
-accordance with her own nature.
-
-"In twenty minutes," replied Frank, still packing for hard life; and
-he was as good as his word. His things were ready; his bill paid; his
-servant furnished with the necessary directions during his master's
-absence; and himself in the cab, on his way to his bankers, and from
-thence to the railway station, in exactly twenty minutes from the
-moment of his making up his mind to go.
-
-"Tell Blanche I'll bring him back safe and sound," said he, as he
-shook hands with Mary on the hotel steps; "and--and--tell her," he
-added, with a deeper tint on his bronzed, manly cheek, "tell her that
-I--I had no time to wish her good-bye."
-
-We question whether this was exactly the message Frank intended to
-give; but this bold fellow, who could resolve at a moment's notice to
-undertake a long, tedious voyage, to penetrate to the seat of war in a
-savage country, and, if need were, to risk his life at every step for
-the sake of his friend, had not courage to send a single word of
-commonplace gallantry to a timid, tender girl. So it is--Hercules is
-but a cripple in sight of Omphale--Samson turns faint-hearted in the
-lap of Delilah--nor are these heroes of antiquity the only champions
-who have wittingly placed their brawny necks beneath a small white
-foot, and been surprised to find it could spurn so fiercely, and tread
-so heavily. Mary should have loved such a man as Frank, and _vice
-versa_--here was the _beau ideal_ that each had formed of the opposite
-sex. Frank was never tired of crying up a woman of energy and courage,
-one who could dare and suffer, and still preserve the queenly dignity
-which he chose to esteem woman's chiefest attraction; and so he
-neglected the gem, and set his great, strong heart upon the flower.
-Well, we have often seen it so; we _admire_ the diamond, but we _love_
-the rose. As for Mary, she was, if possible, more inconsistent still.
-As she walked back to Grosvenor Square she thought over the heroic
-qualities of Mr. Hardingstone, and wondered how it was possible he
-should yet remain unmarried. "Such a man as that," thought Mary,
-revolving in her own mind his manifold good qualities, "so strong, so
-handsome, so clever, so high-minded, he has all the necessary
-ingredients that make up a great man; how simple in his habits, and
-how frank and unaffected in his manner; a woman might acknowledge
-_him_ as a superior indeed! Mind to reflect; head to plan; and energy
-to execute! She would be _proud_ to love him, to cling to him, and
-look up to him, and worship him. And Blanche has known him from a
-child, and never seen all this!" and a pang smote Mary's heart, as she
-recollected _why_, in all probability, Blanche had been so blind to
-Frank Hardingstone's attractions; and how _she_, of all people, could
-not blame her for her preference of another: and then the fair young
-face and the golden curls rose before her mind's eye like a phantom,
-and she turned sick as she thought it might even now be mouldering in
-the earth. Then Mary pulled a letter from her pocket, and looked at it
-almost with loathing, as the past came back to her like the shade of a
-magic-lantern. She saw the gardens at Bishops'-Baffler; the officers
-in undress uniform, and the grey charger; the evening walks; the quiet
-summer twilight; the steeple-chase at Guyville; and her eyes filled
-with tears, and she softened to another's miseries as she reflected on
-her own. "Selfish, unprincipled as he is," thought Mary, "he must love
-me, or he never would make such an offer as this. And what am I, that
-I should spurn the devotion of any human being? Have not I, too, been
-selfish and unprincipled, in allowing my mind to dwell alone on him
-who in reality belonged to another? Have I not cherished and
-encouraged the poison?--have I not yielded to the temptation?--do I
-wish even now that it was otherwise?--and am I not rightly
-punished?--have I not suffered less than I deserve?--and yet how
-miserable I am--how lonely and how despairing!--there is not another
-being on earth as miserable as I am!"
-
-"By your leave, ma'am," said a rough, coarse voice; and Mary stepped
-aside to make way on the pavement for a little mournful procession
-that was winding gloomily along, in strange, chilling contrast to the
-bustle and liveliness of the street. It was a little child's funeral.
-The short black coffin, carried so easily on one man's shoulder,
-seemed almost like a plaything for Death. It was touching to think
-what a tiny body was covered by that scanty pall--how the little
-thing, once so full of life and laughter, all play and merriment and
-motion, could be lying stiff and stark in death! It seemed such a
-contradiction to the whole course of nature--a streamlet turning back
-towards its source--a rosebud nipped by the frost. Had the grim Reaper
-no other harvest whitening for his sickle? Was there not age, with its
-aches and pains and burdens, almost asking for release? Was there not
-manhood, full of years and honours, its appointed task done on earth,
-its guerdon fairly earned, itself waiting for the reward? Was there
-not crime, tainting the atmosphere around it, that to take away would
-be a mercy to its fellow-men, and a deserved punishment to its own
-hardened obstinacy, having neglected and set aside every opportunity
-of repentance and amendment? Was there not virtue willing to go, and
-misery imploring to be set free? And must he leave all these, and cut
-off the little creeping tendril that had wound and twisted itself
-round its mother's heart? There was the mother first in the slow
-procession--who had so good a right to be chief mourner as that poor,
-broken woman? Who can estimate the aching void that shall never be
-quite filled up in that sobbing, weary breast? She is not thinking of
-the funeral, nor the passers-by, nor the crape, nor the mourning; she
-does not hear rough condolences from neighbours, and well-meant
-injunctions "to keep up," and "not to give way so," from those who
-"are mothers themselves, and know what a mother's feelings _is_." She
-is thinking of her child--her child shut down in that deal box--yet
-still hers--she has got it still--not till it is consigned to the
-earth, and the dull clods rattle heavily on the lid, will she feel
-that she has lost it altogether, when there will come a fearful
-reaction, and paroxysms of grief that deaden themselves by their own
-violence; and then the wound will cicatrise, and she will clean her
-house, and get her husband's dinner, and sit down to her stitching,
-and neighbours will think that she has "got over her trouble," and she
-will seem contented, and even happy. But the little one will not be
-forgotten. When the flowers are blooming in the spring--when the
-voices of children are ringing in the street--when the strain of music
-comes plaintively up the noisy alley--when the sun is bright in
-heaven--when the fire is crackling on the hearth--then will her lost
-cherub stretch its little arms in Paradise, and call its mother home.
-
-As Mary made way for the poor afflicted woman, who for an instant
-withdrew from her mouth the coarse handkerchief that could not stifle
-her sobs, she recognised Blanche's former maid, poor Gingham. Yes, it
-was Mrs. Blacke, following her only child, her only treasure, her only
-consolation, to the grave. Poor thing! her sin had been too heavy for
-her to bear; with her husband's example daily before her eyes, what
-wonder that she strove to stifle her conscience in intoxication? Then
-came "from bad to worse, from worse to worst of all"; the child was
-neglected, and a rickety, sickly infant at all times, soon pined away,
-and sickened and died. The mother was well-nigh maddened with the
-thought that it _might_ have been saved. Never will she forgive
-herself for that one night when she left it alone for two hours, and
-coming back, found the fever had taken it. Never will she drive from
-her mind the little convulsed limbs, and the rolling eyes that looked
-upward, ever upward, and never recognised her again. And now her home
-is desolate, her husband is raving in the hospital, and her child is
-in that pauper-coffin which she is following to the grave. Mary
-Delaval, do you still think you are the most miserable being on the
-face of the earth?
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER XX
-
-DAWN IN THE EAST
-
-     MILITARY CRITICISMS--GARE LES FEMMES!--THE MAJOR AT HOME--A
-     BITTER PILL--"I'M A-WEARY"--VERY NEAR THE BORDER--DAY DAWNS IN
-     THE EAST--THE BETTER ANGEL--A BRAIN FEVER--A SICK-NURSE IN
-     SPURS
-
-
-"'Gad, I thought the Major was very crusty this morning," remarked
-Cornet Capon, as he removed a large cigar from his lips, and watched
-its fragrant volume curling away into the summer air. "How he gave it
-you, Clank, about leading the column so fast, and about riding that
-old trooper instead of your own charger! I can't help thinking
-D'Orville's altered somehow; used to be such a cheery fellow."
-
-"_You_ needn't talk, my boy," retorted Captain Clank to his subaltern;
-"I heard him tell you that if you would attend a little more to your
-_covering_, and less to your _overalls_, you would be quite as
-ornamental, and a good deal more useful to the regiment; but I agree
-with you--he _is_ altered. He's like all the rest of 'em--a capital
-fellow till you get him in command, and then he's crotchety and
-cantankerous and devilish disagreeable. Give us another weed."
-
-These young officers were not very busy; they were occupied in,
-perhaps, the most wearisome of all the duties that devolve on the
-dragoon, and their task consisted of lounging about a troop-stable,
-attired in undress uniform, to watch the men cleaning and "doing up"
-their respective horses. They could but smoke, and talk over the
-morning's field-day to while away the time. Neither of them was
-encumbered with an undue proportion of brains--neither of them could
-have engaged in a much deeper discussion than that which they now
-carried on; yet they did their duty scrupulously, they loved the
-regiment as a home, and looked upon the B Troop as their family; and
-although their thoughts ran a little too much on dress, fox-hunting,
-driving, and other less harmless vanities, they were, after all, good
-comrades and tolerably harmless members of society. Cornet Capon's
-ideas oozed out slowly, and only under great pressure, so he smoked
-half a cigar in solemn silence ere he resumed, with a wise look--
-
-"There's something at the bottom of all this about the Major, Clank.
-Did you notice where he halted us after the charge--all amongst that
-broken ground at the back of the Heath? We shall have half the horses
-in the troop lame to-morrow."
-
-"Old 'Trumpeter' was lame to-day," returned Clank, with a grim smile,
-"and that's why D'Orville was so savage with me for riding him. You're
-right, Capon. The Major's amiss--there's a screw loose somewhere, I'm
-sure of it, and I'm sorry for it."
-
-"He lost 'a cracker' at Newmarket last week, I _know_," said Capon,
-thoughtfully; "I shouldn't wonder if he was obliged to go--let me
-see--Lipstrap'll get the majority, and I shall get my lieutenancy.
-Well, I shall be sorry to lose him, though he _does_ blow me up."
-
-"Pooh! man, it's not _that_," rejoined Clank, who was a man of
-sentimental turn of mind, and kept Tommy Moore in his barrack-room.
-"You young ones are always thinking about racing. I've known D'Orville
-hit a deal harder than that, and never wince. Why, I recollect he
-played a civilian, at Calcutta, for his commission and appointments
-against the other's race-horses and a bungalow he had up in the hills.
-'Gad, sir, he won the stud and the crib too--and not only that, but I
-landed a hundred gold mohurs by backing his new lot for the
-Governor-General's Cup, and went and stayed a fortnight with him at
-his country-house besides--best billet _I_ ever had--furniture and
-fittings and fixings all just as t'other fellow left them.
-No--D'Orville's as game as a pebble about money--it isn't _that_."
-
-Cornet Capon opened his eyes, smoked sedulously for about five
-minutes, and then asked Clank, "What the devil there was to bother a
-fellow, if it wasn't money?"
-
-"Women!" replied the Captain, looking steadily at his companion;
-"women, my boy. I've watched the thing working now ever since I was a
-cornet, and I never knew a good fellow thoroughly broke down that
-there wasn't a woman at the bottom of it. Now, look at Lacquers; when
-Lacquers came to us, there wasn't such another cheery fellow in the
-Hussar Brigade--it did me good to see Lacquers drink that '34 we
-finished in Dublin--and as for riding, there wasn't another
-heavy-weight in that country could see _the way he went_--and now look
-what he's arrived at. Never dines at mess--horses gone to
-Tattersall's--sits and mopes in his barrack-room, or else off to
-London at a moment's notice--and closeted all day with agents and
-men-of-business--and what is it that's brought him to this pass? Why,
-that girl he wants to marry, who won't have anything to say to
-him--and why she won't is more than I can tell, unless she's got a
-richer chap in tow somewhere else. Capon, my boy, you're younger than
-me, and you've got most of your troubles to come. Take my advice, and
-stick to the regiment, and horses and hunting and that; but keep clear
-of women; they're all alike--only the top-sawyers are the most
-mischievous--you keep clear of 'em all, for if you don't you'll be
-sorry for it--mark my words if you're not."
-
-This was a long speech for the Captain, and he was quite out of breath
-at its conclusion; but the Cornet did not entirely agree with him. He
-had got a _tendresse_ down in the West--a saucy blue-eyed cousin,
-whose image often came before the lad's eyes in his barrack-room and
-his revelry and his boyish dissipation; so he contented himself with
-remarking profoundly that "Women were so different, it was impossible
-to lay down any general rule about them any more than horses;" and
-expressing his conviction that, whatever might be the secret grief
-preying upon the Major's spirits, it could have nothing to do with the
-fair sex, "for you know, Clank, D'Orville's a devilish _old_
-fellow--why, he must be forty if he's a day."
-
-So the pair jingled into the mess-room to have some luncheon, and
-ordered their buggy, to drive up to London afterwards, and spend the
-rest of the day in the delights of the metropolis--since this it is
-which makes Hounslow such a favourite quarter with these light-hearted
-sons of the sword.
-
-The Major was altered certainly, not only in temper, but even in
-appearance. He had got to look quite aged in the last few weeks. How
-strange it is that time, so gradual in its effects on the rest of
-creation, should make its ravages on man by fits and starts, by sudden
-assaults, so to speak, and _coups-de-main_, instead of the orderly and
-graduated process of blockade! We see a "wonderfully young-looking
-man"--we watch him year by year, still as fresh in colour, still as
-upright in figure and as buoyant in spirits as we recollect him when
-we were boys--we admire his vigour--we envy him his constitution, and
-we make minute inquiries as to his daily habits and mode of life--"he
-never drank anything but sherry," perhaps, and forthwith we resolve
-that sherry is the true _elixir vitae_. All at once something
-happens--he loses one that he loves--or he has a dangerous
-illness--or, perhaps, only meets with severe pecuniary losses and
-disappointments. When we see him again, lo! a few weeks have done the
-work of years. The ruddy cheek has turned yellow and wrinkled--the
-merry eye is dim--the strong frame bent and wasted--the man is old in
-despite of the sherry; and Youth, when once she spreads her wings,
-comes back no more to light upon the withered branch.
-
-Hair has turned grey in a single night. We ourselves can recall an
-instance of a young girl whose mother died suddenly, and under
-circumstances of touching pathos. Her daughter, who was devotedly
-attached to her, was completely stupefied by the blow. All night long
-she sat with her head resting on her hand, and her long black tresses
-falling neglected over the arm that supported her throbbing temples.
-When the day dawned she moved and withdrew her hand. One lock of hair
-that had remained pressed between her unconscious fingers had turned
-as _white as snow_. That single lock never recovered its natural hue.
-Like the Eastern virgins, it mourned in white for a mother.
-
-Well, the Major looked old and worn as he sat in his lonely
-barrack-room, surrounded by many a trophy of war-like triumph or
-sporting success. Here was the sabre he had taken from the body of
-that Sikh chief whom he cut down at the critical moment when, six
-horses' length ahead of the squadron he was leading, he had been
-forced to hew his way single-handed through his swarming foes. There,
-spread out on a rocking-chair, was the royal tiger-skin perforated by
-a single bullet, that vouched for the cool hand and steady eye which
-had stretched the grim brute on the earth as he crouched for his fatal
-bound. On the chimney-piece those enormous tusks recalled many a
-stirring burst over the arid plains of the Deccan, when the boldest
-riders in India thought it no shame to yield the "first spear" to the
-"Flying Captain," as they nicknamed our daring hussar. Nor were these
-exploits confined to the East alone. On the verdant plains of merry
-England had not Sanspareil, ridden by his owner, distanced the cream
-of Leicestershire in a steeple-chase, never to be forgotten whilst the
-Whissendine runs down from its source; and did not that spirited
-likeness of the gallant animal hang worthily above the cup that
-commemorated his fame? Yes, the Major had earned his share of the
-every-day laurels men covet so earnestly, and truly it was only
-opportunity that was wanting to twine an undying leaf or two amongst
-the wreath. Yet did he look haggard, and _old_, and unhappy. His hair
-and moustaches had become almost grey now, and as he sat leaning his
-head upon his hand, with an open letter on his knee, the strong
-fingers would clench themselves, and the firm jaw gnash ever and anon,
-as though the thoughts within were goading him more than he could
-bear. Like some gallant horse that feels the armed heel stirring his
-mettle the while he champs and frets against the light pressure of the
-restraining bit, a touch too yielding for him to face, too maddening
-for him to overcome, so the Major chafed and struggled, and while he
-scorned himself for his weakness, submitted to the power that was
-stronger than he; and though he strove and sneered, and bore it with a
-grim, sardonic smile, was forced to own the pang that ate into his
-very heart.
-
-"And this is what you have come to at last," he said, almost aloud, as
-he rose and paced the narrow room, and halted opposite the
-looking-glass that seemed to reflect the image of his bitterest enemy;
-"this is what you have come to at last. Fool--and worse than fool!
-After chances such as no man ever so threw away--after twenty years of
-soldiering, not without a certain share of distinction--with talents
-better than nine-tenths of the comrades who have far outstripped you
-in the race--with a brilliant start in life, and wind and tide for
-years in your favour--with luck, opportunities, courage, and above
-all, experience, what have you done? and what have you arrived at?
-Three words in a dispatch which is forgotten--a flash or two of the
-spurious, ephemeral fame that gilds a daring action or a sporting
-feat--the reputation of being a moderately good drill in the
-field--and a chance word of approbation from fools, whom you know that
-you despise. Truly a fair exchange--a most equal barter. This proud
-position you have purchased with a lifetime of energy spent in vain,
-and that thorough self-contempt which is now your bitterest
-punishment. Money, too; what sums you have wasted, lavished upon worse
-than trifles!--but let that pass. Had you the same fortune and the
-same temptations you would spend it all again. The dross is not to be
-regretted; but oh! the time--the time--the buoyancy of youth, the
-vigour of manhood that shall never come again. Fool! fool!" and the
-Major groaned aloud. "And what have I lived for?" he added, as he sat
-himself down and leaned his head once more upon his hand, looking into
-his past life as the exile looks down from a hill upon the lights and
-shades of the cherished landscape he shall see no more. "I have lived
-for self, and I have my reward. Have I ever done one single action for
-a fellow-creature, save to indulge my own feelings? have I not schemed
-and flattered, and worked and dared all for self? and this is the
-upshot. The first time I try to do a disinterested action--the first
-time I strive to break from the fetters of a lifetime, to be free, to
-be _a man_, I am foiled, and scouted, and spurned. Refused!--refused!
-by a poor governess--ha! ha!--it is, indeed, too good a joke. Gaston
-D'Orville on his knees, at forty, a grey old fool--on his knees to a
-wretched, dependent governess, and she refuses him. By all the demons
-in hell--if there _is_ a hell--it serves him right. Laugh! who can
-help laughing? And yet what a woman to lose--a woman who could write
-such a letter as this--a woman who knows me better, far better, than I
-know myself; she would have shared with me every dream of
-ambition--she would have appreciated and encouraged the few efforts I
-have ever made to be good--she would have understood me, and with her
-I could have been happy even in a cottage--but no! forsooth. Her
-mightiness, doubtless, thinks the poor major of hussars, pretty nearly
-ruined by this time, no such great catch. And is she not right? What
-am I, after all, that I should expect any human being to give up
-everything for _me_? Broken-down, old, worn-out, if not in body, at
-least utterly out-wearied and used-up in mind, why should I cumber the
-earth? Gaston, my boy, you have played out your part--you have got to
-the end of your tether--'tis time for the curtain to drop--'tis time
-to lie down and go to sleep--there is not much to regret here--you
-have seen everything this dull world has to show. Now for 'fresh
-fields and pastures new'--at all events the waking will be glorious
-excitement--to find out the grand secret at last--where will it be,
-and how? I might know in ten minutes--many an old friend is there
-now--not badly off for company at any rate--there was poor Harry, the
-night before we were engaged at Chillianwallah he thought he was
-_there_. How well I remember him, as he told me his dream just before
-we went into action! He thought he was disembodied--floating, floating
-away through the blue night sky--hovering over the sea--bathing in the
-moonlight--flitting amongst the stars, and ever he got lighter and
-lighter, and ever he rose higher and higher, till he reached a cool,
-quiet garden, without a breeze or a sound, and there he saw his mother
-walking, as he remembered her before she died, when he was yet a
-child. And she placed her hand upon his brow, and the thin transparent
-hand clove through him--for he, too, was a spirit--till it struck
-chill like ice around his heart, and he awoke. Poor Harry, I saw him
-go down with a musket-shot through his temples; and he knows all
-about it, too, now. Pain! the pain is nothing. A dislocated ankle is
-far more acute agony than it would take to kill an elephant--'tis but
-a touch to a trigger, and the thing's done."
-
-D'Orville got up coolly, and calmly walked across the room, took a
-certain oblong mahogany box from under his writing-table, and quietly
-unlocking it, drew his hand along the smooth, shining barrel of a
-pistol. He examined it well, pricked the touch-hole, shook the powder
-well up into the nipple, and then, having wiped the weapon almost
-caressingly, laid it down on the table at his elbow, and pursued his
-reflections, more at ease now that he had prepared everything for his
-escape.
-
-"Well, it can be done in a moment, so there need be no hurry about it.
-In the meantime, let me see--I should like to leave some remembrances
-to the fellows in the regiment. There's that sabre--how game the old
-white-bearded chief died!--I almost wish I hadn't cut him down.
-'Faith, I shall see him too. I expect he won't give me so warm a
-welcome as Harry--it's a pity I can't take him his sword back again.
-Well, Lacquers always admired it, and I'll leave it him. Poor
-Lacquers, he's a good fellow, though a fool. I'll leave a note, too,
-asking him to take care of the white horse, and shoot him when he's
-done with him: let him follow his master, poor old fellow! Yes;
-there's very little to arrange--one advantage in having got through a
-good property. I don't think there'll be much quarrelling over _my_
-will. And now, to consider the journey. I must have been very near it
-often before; and yet, somehow, I never looked at it in that light.
-'Tis a different thing in action, with the excitement of duty, and
-watching the enemy, and keeping the men in hand, and that confounded
-smoke preventing one from seeing what is going on. No, I've never been
-_quite_ so near as now; but I must some day, even if I should put it
-off--I _must_ go at last--and why not now? What matter whether at
-forty or seventy? Time is not to be reckoned by years. I am old, and
-fit for nothing else. When the fruit is ripe, it had better be
-plucked; why should people let it hang and rot, till it drops off the
-tree, all spoilt and decayed? How do I know I may not want some of
-my manly energy where I am going? _Going_--how strange it
-sounds! Well, now to ticket the sabre, and write a line to poor
-Lacquers"--(D'Orville indited a few words in his firm, bold hand; if
-anything, firmer and bolder than usual)--"and now for 'a leap in the
-dark'--face the Styx, if there be such a place, just like any other
-_yawner_; and so, steady, steady!"
-
-His hand was on the pistol--the lock clicked sharp and true up to the
-cock--one touch of the trigger, and where would Gaston D'Orville have
-been?--when his eye chanced to light upon the seal of Mary's letter.
-It was a casual seal, accidentally selected from a number of others,
-but the device was somewhat uncommon, and now struck D'Orville with a
-strange, painful distinctness that surprised him. It was but an eye,
-surrounded by an obliterated motto; yet it served for an instant to
-divert his attention; and--on such trifles turns the destiny of
-man--he laid down the pistol, and took up the letter to examine it
-more closely. The eye seemed to fascinate him. Turn which way he
-would, that eye seemed to watch him; steadily, unremittingly, an eye
-that never closes or slumbers seemed to be above him, around him, all
-about him; he rose from his chair, and still the eye followed him; he
-walked to the window, and the eye watched him steadily from out the
-blue summer sky. A trumpet-note pealed from the rear of the building;
-it was one of those merry stable-calls so dear to every cavalry
-soldier's heart. The familiar strain brought D'Orville to himself; the
-tension of his brain relaxed. As the excitement subsided, the
-visionary disappeared, and the real resumed its sway over strong
-nerves and a powerful intellect. Mechanically he put the pistols away,
-and carefully locked them in their case. Still the eye seemed to be
-watching him; and a vague feeling of shame began to take possession of
-him, as the suspicion rose in his mind that there was _cowardice_ at
-the bottom of the resolution which he had made, as he thought so
-boldly, a few minutes ago.
-
-D'Orville was a naturally brave man, and the force of habit and
-education had taught him to scorn anything in the shape of fear as the
-vilest of all degradation. To betray a woman in his code might be
-venial enough; but to shrink from aught in earth, or heaven, or hell,
-was a stain upon his honour _not_ to be thought of. In his career of
-active service he had seen the advantage of courage too often, had
-discovered too frequently how much more rare a quality it is than is
-generally supposed, not to appreciate its value and worship it as an
-idol, although conscious of possessing it himself. It now dawned upon
-him that suicide was after all but a desperate method of running
-away--that the sentry had no right to desert his post until regularly
-relieved. By the by, in Mary's letter was there not something about
-warfare as compared to religion?--some parallel drawn between the
-Christian and the soldier? Again he perused that letter carefully,
-attentively, word for word: but the bitterness was past; the writer
-was no longer the poor governess, spurning a suitor whom she ought to
-have been proud to accept, but the high-minded, pure-hearted woman,
-feeling for his sorrows, appreciating his good qualities, and pointing
-out to him those consolations which for her could take the sting from
-earth's most envenomed shafts. One or two expressions reminded him of
-his mother--the mother he had loved and lost as a boy. Again he seemed
-to see that gentle lady bending her graceful head over him, as she
-spoke of other worlds, and other duties, and other pleasures totally
-unconnected with this lower earth. He remembered the very gown she
-wore; he seemed to hear her low, sweet, serious tones, as she called
-him "my darling boy," and insisted on those miraculous stories which
-she was herself fully persuaded were truths, and which the boy drank
-in, childlike, nothing doubting. Ah! what if they should be true after
-all? What if the whole history should be something more than a legend
-of priestcraft, an old woman's fable? D'Orville had thought but little
-on such matters; he had heard them discussed by clever men of opposite
-opinions, and it never struck him that either side could demonstrate
-very satisfactorily the futility of the adversary's arguments; but he
-was wise enough to know that the boasted human intellect has but a
-narrow horizon, that "the two-foot dwarf" sees little beyond the
-garden-wall, and that "there are more things in heaven and earth than
-are dreamt of in our philosophy." Here were the only two beings he had
-ever _respected_ in the world, shaping their whole conduct, as they
-formed all their opinions, upon circumstances which they seemed to
-believe facts, as firmly as they believed in their own identity. Well,
-what of that? These might be facts or they might not. But stay: was
-there not something wanting in the whole scheme and constitution of
-life, as he had tried it? Could any man have had better chances of
-being happy here than he had had? Was he happy? Was he satisfied? Was
-there not always a shadow somewhere athwart the sunlight? Was there
-not always a craving for something more? As a boy, he longed to be an
-officer; no sooner was that distinction gained than he longed for
-fame, first in the boyish arena of mere field-sports, then in the
-daring exploits of real war. Had he not for a time drunk his fill of
-both? and was his thirst quenched? Could he sit down, "_uti conviva
-satur_," and say "Enough"? No, no, he knew it too well. Then came the
-daily craving for excitement--that longing for something unattainable,
-which, more than all besides, argues the inferiority of our present
-state--the necessity for a _to-morrow_, even when the sun of to-day
-has for us set its last. Well, had he not wooed excitement in all her
-haunts? Had he not gambled and raced and speculated, and shone in the
-world of fashion, and sunned himself in the smiles of Beauty? And had
-not the goddess ever fleeted away when just within his grasp? Was not
-his heart still empty, his desire unslaked? Even had he not endured
-this disappointment--had the only woman he really loved consented to
-be his--did he not feel in his innermost soul, was he not forced to
-confess to himself, that still there would have been a want?--still
-would to-morrow have been the goal, still to-day but the journey. Yes,
-disguise it how he might, deaden his sensations with what opiates he
-would, he could not but own that hitherto his world had been "stale,
-flat, and unprofitable." Had he not been so weary of life, that he had
-voluntarily, even now, been within the wag of a finger of laying it
-down, to go he cared not whither, so as it was anywhere but here?
-
-Then if there was nothing in the present that could satisfy his soul,
-might he not presume that there was a future for which it was
-specially created and intended? Yes, there might be something to live
-for after all--there might be a career in which to win more than fame
-and more than honour--which at any rate should satisfy those longings
-and aspirations here, and might be the portal to such a glorious
-hereafter as he could not even picture to his world-wearied
-imagination--and if so, what scheme so probable, what religion so well
-supported by historical proof and logical deduction, as that which he
-had learnt at his mother's knee? One by one, thoughts came back to him
-that had lain dormant for more than thirty years; one by one he
-recalled the miraculous facts, the touching sufferings that had awed
-his boyish imagination and moved his boyish heart. For the first time
-for more than thirty years, he thought as a reality of the Great
-Example who never quailed nor flinched, nor shrank one jot from His
-superhuman task. Did he admire courage? There was One who had faced
-the legions of hell, unaided and alone, with but human limbs and a
-human heart to support Him through the dread encounter. Did he admire
-constancy? There was One who voluntarily endured the obloquy of the
-world, the agonies of the most painful death, and moved not an eyelash
-in complaint or reproach. Did he admire self-denial--that most heroic
-of all heroism? What had that One given up to walk afoot through this
-miserable world, with such a prospect as the close of His earthly
-career!--and for whom?--even for him amongst the rest--for him who
-till this very moment had never thanked Him, never acknowledged Him,
-never so much as thought of Him. The strong man's heart was touched,
-the well was unsealed in the desert, and, as the tears gushed from his
-unaccustomed eyes, Gaston D'Orville bent the knees that had not bent
-for half a lifetime; and can we doubt that he was forgiven?
-
-       *       *       *       *       *
-
-In four-and-twenty hours D'Orville was laid upon his small
-camp-bedstead in a brain fever. The excitement of his late life; the
-reaction consequent on his abandonment of his awful resolution; the
-strong revulsion of feeling, into which we have no right to pry, had
-been too much for a constitution already shaken by years of
-dissipation and hard service beneath an Indian sun; and for days
-together life and death trembled in the balance so evenly that it
-seemed a single grain might turn the scale. And of all his comrades,
-who was it that watched at his bedside with the attention, almost the
-tenderness, of a woman--sitting up by him at night, giving him his
-medicine, smoothing his pillow, and tending him with a brother's
-love?--who but Lacquers! the unmeaning, empty dandy--the fellow with
-but two ideas, his dress and his horses--the ignorant, grown-up
-schoolboy that could scarcely write his own name; but, for all that,
-the staunch, unflinching comrade, the true-hearted, generous friend.
-When the lamp, after flickering and fading, and well-nigh dying out
-altogether, began once more to flame up pretty steadily, and the
-Major, gaunt and grim, with nearly white moustaches, and a black
-skull-cap, and haggard hollow cheeks, began to experience the
-superhuman appetite of convalescence, and the wonderful longing for
-open air and country scenery, and such simple natural pleasures, which
-invariably comes over those who have been near the confines of Life
-and Death, as though they brought back with them from that mysterious
-borderland the earlier instincts of childhood; when, in short, the
-Major was getting better, and could sit at his window and see the
-white charger go to exercise, or the regiment get under arms below,
-many and long were the conversations between him and Lacquers on the
-thoughts and feelings which almost insensibly had sprung up in each of
-them. Lacquers did not conceal his disappointment as regarded Blanche.
-Poor fellow, he had made her an honest, disinterested offer, and it
-had not entered into his calculations that he might be repulsed.
-
-"I know I'm not good enough for her, D'Orville," the humbled dandy
-would sigh, as he poured his griefs into his friend's ear. "I'm not
-very 'blue,' and that sort of thing, though I suppose I've got natural
-talents just like other fellows; but I stood by her when all the rest
-gave way, and I was the only one amongst 'em that really liked her for
-herself and not for her money. Why, you yourself, D'Orville" (the
-Major winced), "you yourself never made up to her after you heard of
-the smash, nor Mount Helicon, nor Uppy, nor any of 'em; to be sure she
-had refused Uppy; do you remember how glum he looked that night at
-'The Peace'? but I don't believe he'd have proposed to her ten days
-later. She might have liked me much better when she came to know
-me--mightn't she? and I would have read history and grammar, and Latin
-and Greek, and that, and made myself a scholar for her sake. I can't
-help feeling it, Major, and that's the truth. She's the only woman I
-ever really cared for; and what have I to live for now?"
-
-Then it was that D'Orville showed himself an altered man--then it was
-that the thoughts which had first flashed across him when he
-contemplated self-destruction, and had since been progressively
-developing themselves on a bed of sickness, bore their fruit, as such
-thoughts will sooner or later where a man has a heart to feel or a
-brain to reason. He explained to Lacquers the views he now entertained
-of life, its duties, and its charms--how different from those on which
-he had hitherto acted! He pointed out to him the utter insufficiency
-of everything on earth to constitute happiness, when unconnected with
-a grand object and a future state of being. He talked well, for he was
-in earnest; and he reasoned closely, for his was a penetrating
-intellect, ever ready to strip at a moment's notice the illusive from
-the real. He had all his life been an acute man--saw through a fallacy
-in an instant, and, to do him justice, never hesitated to expose it:
-
-    "Called knavery, knavery--and a lie, a lie."
-
-Such a mind, when convinced of truth, is doubly strong; and Lacquers
-listened, much admiring, though, it must be confessed, not always
-quite understanding the deductions of his mentor. Yet was he too, ere
-long, stirred with a noble ambition, a desire to fulfil his
-destiny in life with some credit to himself and benefit to his
-fellow-creatures--a longing to be useful in his generation--to feel
-that he was part of the great scheme, and, however humble might be his
-task, yet that its fulfilment was a fair condition of his very
-existence, and was conducive to the well-being of the whole.
-
-"But what can I do, however willing I am?" he would say. "An officer
-of hussars cannot be a Methodist preacher, or even a moral
-philosopher, without doing more harm than good. If I thought I had
-talents for it, and eloquence and learning, I'd sell out to-morrow,
-and go to South Africa as a missionary, or anywhere else--Gold Coast,
-Sierra Leone--anything rather than be a useless drone cumbering the
-earth in a life without an aim."
-
-"Not the least occasion for that," replied D'Orville.
-"Fortune--accident--call it rather Providence--has placed you in a
-certain station, and it is fit for you to fulfil the duties of that
-station without repining or restlessness, because, forsooth, it does
-not happen to square exactly with some vague notions of your own. You
-may do a deal of good, though you _are_ an officer of hussars. Why
-should a soldier be necessarily an irreligious or an immoral man? It
-is not his profession that should bear the blame, however convenient
-it may be to make the red coat a scapegoat. We must have troops. We
-cannot be secure from war. Do you suppose a man leading a squadron
-gallantly against an enemy, doing the best he can for all--cool,
-confident, and daring--is not fulfilling his duty every whit as well
-as he who is on his knees in the rear praying for his success the
-while? Our calling bids us look death in the face oftener than other
-men, and that very fact should give us trust in Him on whom alone we
-can depend at the last gasp. We are always nearer His presence than
-those who are not so exposed: and, for my part, I think it a proud and
-honourable privilege. Then, in barracks, may you not improve the
-_morale_ of all about you in a thousand ways? You may look to the
-bodily well-being of your troop. Why?--first, because it's your duty;
-and secondly, because it's a pleasure to you, and a credit to have
-them smart and clean and well-disciplined! Why should you totally
-neglect their minds? They, too, have a future as well as a present.
-The one is not less a reality than the other. Ay, it's startling
-enough, because people slur it over, and don't talk of it, or allow
-themselves to think of it; but it's none the less true for all that.
-You may shut your own eyes as close as you please, but you won't
-prevent the sun from shining just the same. I grant you that the task
-is a difficult one. So much the more credit in fulfilling it, by an
-effort that does require some sacrifice and some self-denial. I have
-lived forty years in this world for _myself_--the careless,
-thoughtless life that a tolerably sagacious dog might have led--and I
-have never been really happy. Come what may, I hope to do so no more.
-I have found out the true secret that turns everything to gold, and I
-don't grudge a share of my good fortune to my friends."
-
-"You're right, D'Orville," said Lacquers, shaking the Major by the
-hand; "you're right, though I never looked at it in that light before.
-I see that I have an object in life--that I have a task to perform;
-and I see--no, I don't see my way quite through it; but I trust I
-shall have courage and patience to do the best I can. D'Orville, I
-feel happier than I did. I'm not much of a book-worm, and I can't
-quite express what I feel; but, old fellow, you talked of exchanging,
-and going to India; well, I'll go too--we'll get appointed into the
-same corps--I'm good enough to be broiled in that country, at any
-rate--and I'll never leave you, old boy, for you're the best friend I
-ever had!" Little Blanche Kettering might have done worse than take
-poor, ignorant, good-looking, blundering, warm-hearted Lacquers.
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER XXI
-
-HOSPITAL
-
-     DOWN AMONGST THE DEAD MEN--CHARLIE'S PRESERVER--A SICK MAN'S
-     VISIONS--MENTAL PROSTRATION--THE DYING MAN'S GUESTS--DISCHARGED
-     WITHOUT A PENSION--LEADEN HOURS--HOW'S THE PATIENT?--"WELCOME,
-     FRANK"--HOMEWARD BOUND
-
-
-We left Cousin Charlie, some chapters back, in a sufficiently
-unpleasant predicament. His arm broken by a bullet, a Kaffir's assagai
-through his shoulder, stunned moreover by a crushing blow from the
-butt-end of a musket (Birmingham-made, and sold in the gross at
-nineteen shillings apiece), not to mention a roll of some fifty feet
-down an almost perpendicular ravine, the boy lay senseless, and to all
-appearance dead. The tide of war rolled far away from the _kloof_ that
-had been defended so fiercely, and won with such loss of life; and ere
-the young lancer had recovered his senses, an outlying band of the
-enemy, driven from their fastnesses far on the right, wound stealthily
-through this very ravine in full retreat. Fortunately they had that
-day got such a taste of English discipline as made them loth to
-improve any further acquaintance with "Brown Bess"; and although they
-stripped the lad from head to foot, believing him to be stone-dead,
-they had no time to stay and practise those horrid mutilations with
-which these demons signalise their triumph over a fallen foe. Not a
-shred of clothing, however, did they leave on the body; even his
-boots, the most useless articles conceivable to a Kaffir, were carried
-off as the spoils of war. For aught we know, to this day Charlie's
-smart jacket forms the ceremonial dress of some burly chief. Very
-tight, and worn with long, black legs, _au naturel_, it is doubtless a
-most imposing costume. Be that how it may, the white man was left
-naked and weltering in his wounds, whilst the routed party, who had
-wasted but little time in stripping him, made the best of their way to
-a more respectful distance from the British posts. Charlie never
-stirred for hours. The moon rose, and bathed in her cold light the
-crisp, rugged scenery and the ghastly accessories of that fatal glen.
-Here, a stunted jagged bush threw its smoke-blackened twigs athwart
-the clear night sky, and beneath it, bleached by the moonlight, lay
-some grinning corpse that had dragged itself there to die, whilst a
-clean musket-barrel shining in those pale beams showed it had been a
-British soldier when morning dawned. There, hurled in a fantastic
-heap, lay the swarthy bodies of some half-dozen Kaffirs, one balanced
-on the verge of a blank bare cliff, his arms and head dangling, limp
-and helpless, over the brink--his comrades piled above him, as they
-fell in their desperate efforts to escape. Yonder, where the moonbeams
-glimmered through the twinkling foliage, frosting the leaves with
-silver, and shedding peace and beauty over the unholy scene, a Fingoe
-auxiliary stirred and groaned in his last mortal agony, his dusky skin
-welling forth its very life-drops on the trampled sward. Shout and
-curse and clanging blow, all the riot and confusion of the strife, had
-long since died away. The writhing Fingoe groaned out his soul with a
-last gasping sigh, and save for the short yelp of a famished jackal in
-the adjoining thicket, silence slept upon the glen, and Night shared
-with Death her dominion over that blood-stained, devastated spot.
-Charlie came to himself--not that he knew where he lay, or was
-conscious of aught save a numbed sense of pain, and a confused
-stupefied idea, first that he was in bed, then that he was on the deck
-of a ship, heaving and plunging over the rolling waters. As sensation
-gradually returned, an intolerable thirst, so fierce as to amount to
-positive agony, began to rage in his dry, choking throat; then, with
-that unaccountable instinct to rise which is the first impulse of a
-man who is knocked down, he made a sort of abortive, staggering effort
-to get to his feet, it is needless to say in vain. The blood welled
-freshly from his wounds, the branches overhead spun round him, and he
-was again insensible. But the effort saved his life: the slight
-movement was seen, and in another instant a dark Fingoe girl was
-kneeling over him, with her hand upon his heart. The poor young savage
-had been stealing distractedly through the glen, looking for the body
-of her lover. She had missed him from his hut at nightfall. She knew
-there had been a severe engagement, and, like a very woman, faithful
-even unto death, she had glided away in the darkness to seek him out,
-succour him if wounded, and mourn over him if succour should come too
-late. It was a woman that alone recognised the body of the last of the
-Saxon kings, on the fatal field of Hastings. When earl and thane and
-liegeman saw but a mangled, mutilated corpse, Edith the swan-necked
-knew her lover and her lord. Keen was the eye, unerring was the
-instinct of affection, and Edith's fame lives in history and song; but
-our poor Fingoe girl was but a nameless savage, a wretched, ignorant
-heathen, debased almost to the level of the brute; yet she, too, had a
-woman's heart, and cherished a woman's love--she, too, recognised her
-barbarian lover, gashed and defaced by assagai and war-club, and it
-was whilst she wept and moaned over his mangled remains that her eye
-caught the stir of Charlie's white body, and her heart, softened by
-grief, bid her, woman-like, again come to the assistance of the
-suffering and the helpless. She threw a _kaross_ over his naked body.
-Light-footed as an antelope, she darted to a neighbouring spring,
-shuddering the while--for that, too, was polluted with blood--and
-returned with a skin of the clear, cold water. She bathed his brow and
-temples--she poured the grateful drops between his blackened lips--and
-as he groaned and stirred once more, she knew there was life in him
-yet. The huts of her countrymen (half-armed auxiliaries to the British
-force) were at no great distance, and, savage as she was, the maiden
-would not leave a fellow-creature, particularly such a good-looking
-one as Charlie, to die like a dog without assistance. Her shapely
-limbs bore her rapidly back to her people. Alas! there was scarce a
-family amongst them that had not lost a member, and she soon returned
-with four stalwart Fingoes, who carried Charlie's senseless frame to
-their encampment, where they tended him with such knowledge of surgery
-as they possessed, far more efficient, despite of sundry charms and
-superstitions, than our College of Surgeons at home would easily
-believe. There were other wounded soldiers in the encampment, and
-Charlie, though not recognised, was judged to be an officer, and met
-with all the attention from these poor fellows that they could spare
-from their own sufferings. But it was to the Fingoe girl that, under
-Providence, he owed his life. Night and day she tended him like a
-child, and when at length a convoy arrived from head-quarters with a
-train of waggons to carry off all the sick to Fort Beaufort, it was
-with difficulty the poor savage maiden was dissuaded from accompanying
-him even into the distant settlements, and long and wistfully she
-gazed after the waggon that bore her white charge out of her sight.
-Charlie had not yet recovered his consciousness, and had scarcely
-spoken; and when he did, muttered but a few incoherent words; yet the
-girl had saved his life, and nursed him in his agony, and it was hard
-to give him up!
-
-When our hapless lancer really came to himself he was lying on a
-comfortable bed, with all the necessary appliances and alleviations
-for sickness, nowhere so efficient as in an English military hospital.
-His first sensation was one of pleasing languor, almost of luxury, in
-the new feeling of complete repose; for, in the Fingoe hut, and yet
-more in the jolting, slow-moving waggon, his powerless limbs had never
-been able to dispose themselves in _real_ rest, and the change was
-positive delight. He was too weak to take any note of time or
-place--he was conscious of but one feeling, that of bodily ease; and
-he could no more undergo the mental exertion of recalling past events,
-or judging from present circumstances, than he could play the physical
-one of getting out of bed. He knew he was bandaged--he knew he had not
-strength to stir a finger were it to save his life, nor did he wish to
-do so--he knew he was lying between clean sheets, in a bed, somewhere;
-it seemed strange, for he had not been in a bed for so long, and he
-was quite satisfied to take things as they were, and gaze drowsily
-upon the wall, and hear a stealthy footfall in the room, far too
-languid to turn his head, and so drop off to sleep again quite
-contentedly. And when the surgeon of the Light-Bobs--a gallant fellow,
-whose only fault was that he never would keep his confounded lint and
-bandages and tourniquet far enough in the rear--saw his patient in
-this second slumber, and listened to his soft breathing, and placed
-his finger on the fluttering, scarce-perceptible pulse, he stroked his
-chin with a self-satisfied air, and smiled, and muttered to himself,
-"He'll do now, _I think_--not above twenty--young constitution--never
-drank, I'll be bound. It's been touch-and-go; but I believe now he'll
-pull through."
-
-So Charlie got over the crisis, and slept, and struggling hard with
-the ebbing tide, little by little gained ground and footing, and inch
-by inch, as it were, reached the shore.
-
-As consciousness returned with returning strength, memory began to
-unravel its tangled skein of dim fantastic recollections, and by
-degrees the march, the engagement, the last brilliant charge,
-separated themselves from the ghastly moonlight glen, the dark
-phantom-shape that had saved him, the strange huts of the savages, and
-above all those excruciating sufferings in that jolting waggon. But
-with convalescence came the weary longing to be well, the restlessness
-of protracted confinement, the loathing of those tedious, monotonous
-days--their only event that unvarying meal--their only amusement to
-gaze upon the sunlight brightening that white-washed wall. How Charlie
-pined to feel the free, fresh breeze of out-of-doors; how horse and
-hound and field-day, the bounding charger, the jovial march, the
-cheerful mess, seemed to mock him with their phantom-like delights, as
-his body lay pinioned and helpless on that loathed couch, and his mind
-went soaring away in vision after vision of waving woods and rugged
-hills, and, above all, the glorious summer air, that he would fain
-have bathed in like a lark--have drunk into his very being as the true
-_elixir vitae_!
-
-Of serious thoughts as to his late proximity to another world, of
-gratitude for his narrow escape from death, we fear we must confess
-our patient was altogether innocent. The sick-bed is the last place
-in the world to promote such grave reflections: and those who trust to
-an illness as a means of making them better and wiser men, will
-generally find that they have leant upon a broken reed. The exhaustion
-of physical pain acts little more upon the body than the mind. The
-latter partakes of the languor which pervades its tenement, and has
-generally but strength to pine in helpless inactivity, and gaze idly
-on the balance of life and death, with scarce a wish even to turn the
-scale. If a man never reflects when well, still less can he expect to
-have power to do so when sick; and many a death-bed, we fear, has
-owned its tranquillity to the mere prostration, intellectual as well
-as physical, which quiets the departing sufferer. 'Tis an
-uncomfortable notion; but we hold it too true, nevertheless. Charlie
-had an instance in his very next neighbour, a gallant private of the
-Light-Bobs, who occupied the adjoining bed to our young lancer. He,
-too, had been shot down in the fatal ravine, had been nursed in the
-Fingoe huts, and forwarded to Fort Beaufort in the waggon-train. For a
-time his wounds went on favourably enough, and he seemed to have a far
-better chance of recovery than poor Charlie. But he had been a
-drunkard in early life; his constitution was sapped with strong
-liquor; something unintelligible "supervened," as the medical officer
-said; and the man was doomed--doomed, as surely as if he had been
-sentenced to death by court-martial.
-
-In the earliest stages of his own recovery, Charlie would lie and
-listen to the poor fellow's ravings, till he shuddered at the wild
-imaginings of that delirious brain. Now the man would fancy himself
-back in England, amongst the low haunts of vice and debauchery which
-seemed most familiar to his mind. He would shout out ribald toasts and
-drinking-songs, and roar fierce oaths of mingled pain and exultation,
-till he roused every pale inmate of the ward. Then would a frightful
-reaction take place, and he would lie still as a corpse, hand and
-foot, but mutter and roll his eyes and gnash his teeth, like one
-possessed. He peopled the place, too, with frightful apparitions;
-amongst which a pale girl, with her throat cut from ear to ear, and
-the enemy of mankind, seemed, by his expressions, to be the most
-frequent visitors. With these he would hold long conversations,
-ludicrous even through their horrors, and would display much ingenuity
-in their imaginary questions, to which he poured forth voluble answers
-of abuse and blasphemy. Of his satanic disputant he generally seemed
-to get the better, by his own account; but the mutilated girl always
-brought on a fit of trembling that was frightful to behold. Once,
-after a visit from this spectre, which he detailed at considerable
-length, he tore all the bandages from his wounds, and was obliged to
-be pinioned in a strait-waistcoat. After this he got quieter, not so
-much from the restraint as the weakness and loss of blood consequent
-on his paroxysm. He would listen with marked attention to the
-chaplain, who visited him daily; and when the good man was gone, would
-mumble out incoherent words of repentance and amendment; but could
-never fix his mind upon their meaning for two seconds at a time. Then
-he would give it up in despair, and would shout and sing again more
-boisterously than ever. At length it became evident, even to Charlie's
-enfeebled perceptions, that he was sinking fast; and as the sand of
-life ebbed more and more rapidly, the dying man became more and more
-composed and tranquil, till he promised to make as peaceful an ending
-as ever did glorified saint in Popish calendar. The eye lost its
-unnatural glitter, the pain ceased entirely, and the pulse became
-quiet and regular--but oh, so weak for that active, muscular frame!
-The youngest tyro would not have been deceived by the change; it was
-obvious that his very hours were numbered; yet now, for the first
-time, he seemed to recognise place and people--called Charlie by his
-name, and asked Mr. Kettering after "the reg'ment," and whether the
-old major was shot dead when he forced the river so smartly, and the
-colour-sergeant (he never could abide that colour-sergeant) lost his
-life in the very middle of the stream; then he remembered how Charlie
-had led the assault, and from that time he seemed to confide in him,
-and whispered to him his plans, and his little spites against his
-comrades, and his longing for his old life; for he made no doubt of
-getting well. And so he slept for a few hours (the doctor came in and
-looked at him asleep, and shook his head), and woke about noon, and
-asked for something to drink; but his lips were quite black, and
-Charlie saw that he was somehow changed even before the man told him
-he was conscious of it himself.
-
-"It's all up, Mr. Kettering," said he, in a husky whisper, "it's all
-up with me this turn. What's the time o' day now? Twelve o'clock? I
-shall be a dead man at sundown;" and then he told Charlie how he had
-received a warning, and he knew there was no hope "_here_ nor yet
-_yonder_," he said, with a ghastly smile; for he had dreamt that he
-was standing sentry on a rampart over against the ocean, and the sun
-was setting in a golden haze, and the waters gleamed like molten gold;
-and he laid his firelock down, and rested and gazed with delight upon
-the scene; but a girl rose from the waves, far off between him and the
-sunset, and wrung the water from her long black hair, and pressed it
-with both hands to her throat, and seemed to staunch a ghastly wound
-that gaped at him even at that distance, and ever the blood flowed and
-flowed, and the sea became crimson, and the sun went down in blood-red
-streaks, and the sky darkened to the colour of blood, and everywhere
-there was blood, blood, nothing but blood; and the girl screamed to
-him in agony, saying, "Pray! pray!" and he knew that if he could speak
-a prayer before the sun went down he might be saved; and he strove and
-gasped, but he was choked; and still the sun dipped and dipped, and a
-fiery rim only was left above the sea, and still he could not speak;
-and it went down too; and the girl tossed up her arms with a shriek,
-and all was dark; and then with a convulsive effort he cried aloud,
-and his mouth was full of blood--and so he awoke. "And I shall never
-stand sentry nor carry a firelock again," he said; and from that time
-he spoke no more, but folded his hands and lay quiet, as if asleep.
-The afternoon shadows lengthened on the hospital-wall--the evening
-drew near--at half-past six the dying man muttered a request for
-drink--at seven the sun went down, and he was dead!--peacefully,
-quietly he parted, like a child going to its rest. Charlie never knew
-it was all over till the doctor came; and they took him away and
-buried him, and there was a vacant place by Charlie's bedside; and so
-Her Majesty lost a soldier, and a recruit was enlisted and sent to the
-_depot_ at home, and his place in the ranks was filled, and he was
-forgotten, just as peers, poets, conquerors, sovereigns, and sages are
-forgotten, only a little sooner--for the grim Reaper makes no
-distinction, and the monarch oak of the forest perishes as surely as
-the weed by the wayside.
-
-       *       *       *       *       *
-
-Week after week Charlie lay in that weary bed. One by one patients
-became convalescents, and convalescents went back to their duty, and
-still he was not allowed to move. A fresh action was fought, and more
-wounded were brought in, and yet Charlie was unfit for duty--in fact,
-was unable to rise. The doctor was hopeful and good-humoured, as
-doctors generally are, not being invalids themselves, and told him "he
-was going on most satisfactorily, and all that was wanted was a little
-time, and patience and quiet;" but at length even he hinted at
-sick-leave, and talked of a return to England, and the necessity of
-care and avoidance of exposure to weather, even after the wounds were
-healed; and Charlie's dearest hopes of rejoining his regiment, and
-tasting once more the excitement of warfare, were dashed to the
-ground. The kind doctor had written to his patient's friends in
-England, and assured them of his safety--on the rejoicings thereby
-created at Newton-Hollows we need not now enlarge--so that all anxiety
-on that score had passed away, and there was nothing to do now but to
-get well and embark for home. What a tedious process that same getting
-well was! Charlie began to pine, and grow dispirited and nervous. He
-had no friends, no one to speak to but the doctor; and the gallant
-boy, who would have faced a whole tribe of Kaffirs single-handed and
-never moved an eyelash, was now so completely weakened and broken down
-that he would lie and weep for hours, like a girl, he knew not why. At
-last he began to give way to despondency altogether. One day in
-particular, when the ward was again emptied of its recovered inmates,
-and the boy was left quite alone in that long, dull room, he lost
-heart entirely. "I shall never get well now," he said aloud in his
-despair; "I shall never see the bright blue sky again, nor the
-regiment, nor Blanche, nor Mrs. Delaval, nor any of them--sinking,
-sinking, day by day, and scarcely twenty! 'Tis a hard lot to die like
-a dog, in such a hole as this. Ah! Frank always talked of death as the
-ever-present certainty, and the next world will be a happier one than
-this, I do believe, though this has been a happy one to me. I used to
-think I shouldn't mind dying the least--no more I should, in the free,
-open air, leading a squadron, with the men hurraing behind me; or
-falling neck and crop into a grass-field with 'Haphazard,' alongside
-the leading hounds." (Charlie was barely twenty, and to him the
-hunting-field was just such an arena of glory as was the tilt-yard to
-a knight of the olden time.) "No, I could die like a man at home, but
-to rot away here in a hospital, thousands of miles from merry England,
-without a friend near me, it's hard to bear it pluckily, as it ought
-to be borne. Frank! Frank! I want some of your dogged resolution now.
-If I could see your dear old face once more, and shake you by the
-hand, I should be a different fellow. Ah! it's too late now; I shall
-never see you again, and you will hardly know what became of me. But
-you won't forget me, old boy, will you?" and poor Charlie gave way
-once more, and turned his wet cheek down upon his pillow, as he heard
-the doctor's step along the passage; for he was ashamed of his
-weakness, though he knew it was but the effect of his wounds. Hark!
-there is some one with him; the doctor is bringing a visitor to
-see him. He knows that firm, heavy tread. Is it one of his
-brother-officers?--how kind of them! No, that is no dragoon's step: it
-is familiar, too, and yet he cannot remember where he has heard it. Is
-he dreaming? Over the doctor's shoulder peers a well-known face,
-embrowned with travel, but with the old kind, frank expression beaming
-through those manly features. In another instant Charlie is clasping
-Frank Hardingstone's strong hand in his own two emaciated ones, and
-after an abortive "How are ye, old fellow?" and a vain effort to laugh
-off his emotion, is sobbing once more like a woman or a child.
-
-"So you came out all the way from England on purpose to look after
-me," said he, when the first burst of feeling had subsided; "how like
-you, old Frank--how kind of you!--and what did they say about me at
-home? and wasn't Blanche sorry for me when she thought I was killed?
-and did Uncle Baldwin and--and Mrs. Delaval read the dispatch? and
-where are they all now? You know I'm to have sick-leave, and we'll go
-back together. When does the doctor think I shall be able to sail?
-Frank, he's a shocking muff; I've been in this bed for thirteen weeks,
-but I shall get up to-day--of course he'll let me get up to-day;" and
-so Charlie ran on, and Frank was soon forcibly withdrawn from the
-patient, whose over-excitement was likely to be as prejudicial as his
-late despondency; but the maligned doctor whispered to him as he went
-out, "Your arrival, sir, has done more for my patient than the whole
-pharmacopoeia: he'll be well now in a fortnight."
-
-The doctor was right. From that day Charlie began to mend. Many a long
-hour Frank sat by his bedside, and talked to him of home, and of his
-prospects, and of his cousin (honest Frank), and settled over and over
-again their plans of departure, to which Charlie was never tired of
-listening; and after every one of these visits the boy's appetite was
-better and his sleep sounder, and in a few days he got out of bed, and
-then he was moved into the hospital-sergeant's room, who readily
-vacated his apartment for the young officer; and then he got out on
-Frank's arm into the summer air, for which he had so pined--pleasant
-it was, but yet not _so_ pleasant as he thought it would be, when he
-lay in that dull ward; and then his voracity became something
-ridiculous, and at the end of about three weeks Frank helped him up
-the companion-way of the _Phlegethon_, 200 horse-power,
-homeward-bound; and although wasted to a skeleton, his large eyes
-looked bright and clear, and now that he was really on his way to
-England he was well.
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER XXII
-
-THE WIDOW
-
-     FAMILY ARRANGEMENTS--MOTHER AND SON--SEPARATE INTERESTS--A
-     WIDOW'S DAY-DREAMS--FEMALE CONFIDENCES--THE RULE OF CONTRARY
-
-
-"My dear Mount, I think, after all, I shall spend the winter at
-Bubbleton," said Lady Mount Helicon to her hopeful son, as they sat
-one sunny afternoon in her well-furnished drawing-room. London was
-emptying fast; a few of the lingerers still contrived to keep up a
-semblance of gaiety, and those who stayed on, like Lady Mount Helicon,
-because they had no country-houses to go to, voted it _so_ much
-pleasanter now the crush and hurry of the season was over. But even
-these could not conceal from themselves that they were but "the last
-roses of summer," that "all the world" was rushing out of town, and
-they had no business here any longer. The water-carts were getting
-very slack, and the dust unbearable; the Ride and the ring were
-fitting haunts for a hermit, and the Serpentine was gloomy as the
-Styx. Dinadam was inhaling appetite in his deer-forest--Long-Acre was
-tempting Providence in his yacht--Mrs. Blacklamb was breaking hearts
-at Cowes--ministers had celebrated their many defeats during the
-session by their annual fish-dinner at Greenwich--and grouse were
-advertised at five shillings a brace in Leadenhall Market. Yes, the
-season was over, and Mount would not have been here instead of in
-Perthshire had it not been for the absolute necessity of his writing
-his autograph in person for the ulterior disappointment of a Hebrew,
-and his own immediate benefit. He was an excellent son when he had
-nothing better to do, and now sat for hours with his mother and talked
-over his own plans and hers with the most perfect open-heartedness.
-
-"Bubbleton," said he, "mother, and why Bubbleton?"
-
-"Can't you see, Mount?" replied her ladyship; "Bubbleton is within
-visiting distance of Newton-Hollows."
-
-"What then?" rejoined her son; "I thought you had made up your mind to
-drop them when you found they were of no use."
-
-"So I should, my dear," confessed the diplomatic lady, "if things had
-turned out as I expected; but don't you see that the game is not yet
-half played out? That unfortunate boy who went off to the Cape has
-been severely wounded; you know they put on mourning for him, thinking
-he was dead; and it is quite on the cards that he may not recover; he
-never looked strong; then our little friend is as great an heiress as
-ever; and I am sure, with _your_ eloquence, you could easily persuade
-her that it was jealousy, or pique, or something equally flattering,
-that made you so remiss for a time, and it would be all _on_ again.
-Besides, I have been making a good many inquiries lately in a
-roundabout way, and I find that, even if the 'beau cousin' should
-return safe and sound, there will be a large sum of ready money to
-which the girl will be entitled when she comes of age. You want money,
-Mount, I fancy?"
-
-"Not a doubt of it, my dear mother," replied he; "this has been my
-worst year for a long time, and you know I never holloa before I'm
-hurt. Goodwood _ought_ to have pulled me through, if 'Sennacherib'
-hadn't failed at the last stride. I am afraid to say, and I can
-believe you had rather not hear, what that odd six inches cost me. No,
-mother, I can't go on much longer; I don't see my way a bit. If a
-general election comes I shall have to bolt."
-
-"Listen to me, Mount," said her ladyship. "I have a plan that may save
-us all yet. I shall take a house at Bubbleton for the winter, and
-wherever I have a roof over my head you know I am too happy to give
-you a home. You can send down two or three horses, and hunt quietly
-in the neighbourhood, instead of going off to Melton with eight or
-ten, and losing a fortune at whist; and of all places I know,
-Bubbleton is the most likely for something to _turn up_--then _if_ we
-should arrange matters with Miss Kettering, everything will go
-smoothly; but there is one thing I must beg of you, my dear Mount, and
-that is to give up the turf. It is all I ask," said her ladyship, with
-tears in her eyes--"all I ask in return for my devotion to your
-interests is to sell those horrid race-horses, and give the thing up
-altogether."
-
-Mount made a wry face--"Sennacherib," notwithstanding his defeat,
-which, as usual, was from no lack of speed or stamina, but entirely in
-consequence of _the way the race was run_--"Sennacherib" was the very
-darling of his heart; and he had, besides, amongst his yearlings,
-_such_ a filly, that promised, as far as babies of that age can
-promise, to have the speed of the wind. Must these treasures go to
-Tattersall's? Must the hopes of Olympic triumphs and future mines of
-wealth be all knocked down to the highest bidder, as the stud of a
-nobleman declining racing? It was a bitter pill; but he knew his
-mother was a strong-minded woman--he knew that if she insisted on the
-sacrifice being made a part of the bargain, nothing would induce her
-to fulfil her share unless he fulfilled his. He recollected how, in
-his father's time, crabbed as that respectable nobleman undoubtedly
-was, my lady always got her own way in the long-run, and he determined
-to make a virtue of necessity and give in, consoling himself with the
-reflection that, when all was arranged, he could easily buy some more
-horses with his wife's money. So he promised with a good grace, and
-his mother kissed him, and called him "her own dear boy"; and the pair
-separated--my lord to get upon "Trictrac" and ride down to Richmond,
-whither there is no occasion for us to follow him--my lady to write
-sundry little notes to her friends, to consult with her agent about
-letting her house in London--and then, with a good book upon her knee,
-to indulge in dreamy castle-building schemes for upholding the
-integrity of the house of Mount Helicon, not unmixed with rosier
-visions as regarded her own prospects for the future.
-
-This pair, whatever might be their failings as regarded the rest of
-the world, seemed at all events blamelessly to fulfil their duties
-each towards the other. Yet behind this apparent sincerity and
-affection each was playing a separate game, totally irrespective of
-aught but self; each was actuated solely by motives of interest; each
-had a separate path to pursue, a separate object to attain. Mount
-Helicon came readily into his mother's views for the best of all
-reasons. Everything that could save the disbursement of a shilling was
-now of paramount importance to him. After a problematic trip to Norway
-in Long-Acre's yacht he would literally not have a roof to cover him.
-It was all very well to make a great merit of giving up Melton, and to
-dwell on the sacrifice he made on his mother's account in foregoing
-the delights of that very charming place; but Mount had now neither
-hunters nor the means of getting them, and a man at Melton without
-money or horses is like a fish out of water, or a teetotaller at an
-Irish wake. Everything had failed with him lately. Successful as were
-his literary schemes, their profits were but a drop in the ocean
-compared with his necessities. Goodwood had nearly finished him, and
-he hardly dared think of Doncaster, so unfortunate were his
-investments on the coming St. Leger. He could see only one way out of
-his difficulties--to sell himself and his title to some wealthy young
-lady, and he rather fancied giving Blanche the opportunity of becoming
-a purchaser; that which he would have considered a mere pittance some
-six months ago he now looked upon as a very fair competence; and the
-chance of young Kettering's death, with the reversion of that large
-property, was a contingency by no means to be despised; so he
-submitted, with as good a grace as he could, to selling his
-race-horses, and spending the winter at Bubbleton with his mother,
-inwardly resolving that when he had secured his object he would break
-out again into fresh extravagances, and shine with redoubled
-splendour.
-
-Lady Mount Helicon, too, had her own ends to further in her
-affectionate and hospitable invitation to her son. She had found out
-that his agreeable qualities, his large acquaintance, and his
-brilliant reputation, always succeeded in filling her house with
-those whom she was pleased to term "the best men," fastidious
-individuals who never condescended to dine with her when Mount and she
-kept separate establishments. Now my lady calculated that with her
-title, her cook, and her celebrated son, she would create a prodigious
-sensation at Bubbleton, where neither rank, talent, nor faultless
-cutlets are as common as in London; and that with these attractions in
-her house, she would have an opportunity of seeing all the male
-eligibles whom that salubrious locality might bring together. And she
-could thus judge of them at her leisure, and pick and choose at her
-caprice. That was the end in view. The idea of entering once more into
-the holy bonds of matrimony had long been present to her ladyship's
-mind; and when she consulted her looking-glass, and saw reflected her
-large, comely form, her still healthy complexion, and her
-well-arranged hair, by courtesy called auburn, but sufficiently red to
-lose little of its youthful appearance from an occasional silver line,
-she grudged more and more that all these charms should be wasted on a
-widow's lonely lot, and resolved that when the time came, and the
-_man_, it would be no fault of hers if she did not stand again at the
-altar in the coloured robes of a bride who adds the advantage of
-experience to the ripe maturity of autumnal beauty. Bubbleton, then,
-was the very place from which to select the fortunate man. Its
-frequenters were many of them steady-going, respectable gentlemen of
-middle age, and like all unmarried middle-aged men, unless completely
-ruined, sufficiently well-to-do in the world. Such are by no means
-ineligible matches for a widow; and then, should none of these be
-found willing to aspire to such happiness, might not General Bounce
-surrender at discretion, if properly invested--more particularly
-should the other matrimonial scheme progress favourably, and the
-relationship thus created afford opportunities for surprises,
-_coups-de-main_, or the tardier but no less fatal advances of a
-regular blockade? He certainly had paid her attention in London; he
-was a stout, soldier-like man for his years; above all, he had a
-charming place at Newton-Hollows, and a good fortune of his own. Yes,
-_faute de mieux_, the General would do very well; and then the two
-families might live together, and if Blanche _did_ succeed to
-everything, what a piece of luck it would be for them all! And her
-ladyship, with all her knowledge of the world, actually deluded
-herself into the idea that the two establishments could keep the peace
-for an hour together in the same house, or that Mount, after he had
-got all he could, and had no further use for his mother, would hear of
-such an arrangement for one single moment. So Lady Mount Helicon rose
-and smoothed her hair in the mirror over the chimney-piece, and looked
-at a miniature of herself, done before she married, and lying on the
-drawing-room table; and persuaded herself she was wonderfully little
-altered since then, and returned in haste to her good book and her
-seat with her back to the light, you may be sure, as a knock at the
-door announced an arrival, and her well-powdered figure-footman
-ushered in Lady Phoebe Featherhead.
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER XXIII
-
-"STOP HER"
-
-     THE VOYAGE HOME--"WHOM TO MARRY"--DISINTERESTED ADVICE--THE
-     LOOKER-ON SEES MOST OF THE GAME--A FOG IN THE CHANNEL--FRANK'S
-     STRIKING ARGUMENTS--LADIES FIRST--THE REMNANT ON THE
-     WRECK--HOPE ON THE HORIZON--HAIRBLOWER'S OFFER
-
-
-In these days of steam and perpetual locomotion everybody has been a
-voyage of some sort over the seas; and one of these uncomfortable
-expeditions is so like another, that it is needless to describe the
-transit of Frank Hardingstone and Cousin Charlie from the Cape home.
-There were but few passengers on board the _Phlegethon_, and those
-were as much bored with the length and monotony of their voyage as
-passengers usually are; they ate, drank, smoked, walked the deck,
-pestered the professionals with perpetual questions as to when they
-should make the Needles, and otherwise comported themselves so as to
-lengthen as much as possible the apparent duration of their
-imprisonment. Charlie was as idle and impatient as the rest. Frank
-alone seemed an exception to the general rule; when not reading hard
-in his cabin he was sure to be found studying steam in the
-engine-room, "shooting the sun" with the captain, or learning
-navigation with the mate. "There's a good man spoilt in making that
-chap a gentleman," was the constant remark of these worthies, who
-contracted an immense love and admiration for Frank. Yet of late he
-had maintained a grim reserve very foreign to his usual open
-demeanour, and more especially in the society of Cousin Charlie. He
-did not shun him, nor did that careless and good-humoured young
-gentleman perceive any difference in his friend's manner; but Frank
-could not conceal from himself that he was not thoroughly at ease with
-the boy for whom he had endured so much. He felt that he had given up
-his dearest hopes for his young _protege_--that he had sacrificed to
-him the inestimable treasure of Blanche Kettering's love; he had on
-one or two occasions even done such violence to his feelings as to
-touch upon the subject of their approaching marriage in his
-conversations with her cousin, and had been surprised and disgusted at
-the coldness with which so engrossing a topic was received by the
-young gentleman most concerned. Frank could have borne it better, he
-thought, had Charlie been worthy of the blessing in store for him--had
-he appreciated the unspeakable bliss which others would have given all
-on earth to enjoy; but to yield her to one who scarce seemed willing
-to stretch out his hand to receive her--to resign all that made life
-valuable to another, and to find that other appreciated the object as
-little as the sacrifice--this was indeed a hard task; but Frank
-thought it his duty so to act, and resolved, with his usual
-determination and forgetfulness of self, that he would lose no
-opportunity of forcing upon Charlie the absolute necessity of marrying
-the only woman he had himself ever loved. Thus the voyage drew to a
-close. Contrary winds were baffled by the power of steam; the good
-ship stemmed the mountain waves of the Bay of Biscay, and at length
-the coast of England was hailed; and, though labouring in a heavy gale
-of wind and a cross-pitching sea, they were steaming steadily up the
-Channel, and congratulating themselves that to-morrow they would once
-more set foot on English ground. Frank and Charlie were on deck,
-enjoying the broken gleams of an afternoon's sun, that shone fitfully
-through the mists and storm-rack driving fast overhead; and their
-conversation naturally enough turned upon their own plans and
-intentions when they should get ashore. Charlie was full of his horses
-and his anticipations of sport in game-preserve and hunting-field,
-with sundry speculations as to the state of "Haphazard's" legs, much
-damaged by the never-to-be-forgotten steeple-chase; and it was with
-difficulty Frank could command his attention whilst he made a final
-effort to impress upon him the absolute necessity of his making up
-his mind and marrying his pretty cousin forthwith.
-
-"It's not fair upon any one," said Frank, holding manfully on to the
-mizen-topmast stay, "it's not doing as you'd be done by, to keep a
-thing of this sort off and on; it's not fair upon your family; it's
-not fair upon your uncle; and, above all, it's not fair upon Miss
-Kettering herself. I conceive that you are bound, as a gentleman, to
-make all necessary arrangements, so that the business may be concluded
-within a month of your arrival at Newton-Hollows."
-
-Charlie looked rather aghast. "Well, but," said he, "I should have to
-leave the regiment. You wouldn't have me bring Blanche out to
-Kaffirland--poor little Blanche, she'd be frightened to death, and I
-know I should have to sell out--Frank, I couldn't bear to leave the
-regiment. I like soldiering better than anything."
-
-"We can't help that," rejoined his friend. "You've a duty to perform
-in life, and you must go through with it. You're not to live for
-yourself alone; and look how many people are interested in this
-question. In the first place, there's your cousin. In consequence of
-this will they've found, you have been the innocent cause of robbing
-her of a princely inheritance; this is the only method by which you
-can replace her in her former advantageous position. It was evidently
-intended all through by your uncle and your poor aunt that this
-marriage should take place, and their wishes ought to be your law.
-Then the General has set his heart upon it, I _know_, and you are both
-under great obligations to that kind old man. But all these
-considerations are as nothing compared with the feelings of Blanche
-herself. Charlie, would you begin by supplanting her in her
-birthright, and finish by breaking her heart?"
-
-Charlie looked wofully disconcerted. This was altogether a new light,
-and he stammered out, "Of course I should like to do what's right, but
-I don't want to give up the army;--and--and--I'm very fond of Blanche,
-you know, and all that, but I don't think I quite like her well enough
-to marry her."
-
-"Not like her!" exclaimed Hardingstone, to whom this latter reason
-was totally incomprehensible, "not like such a girl as that--the
-loveliest, the sweetest, the most angelic, the most ladylike creature
-on the face of the earth--I've never seen anything the least to be
-compared to her in _my_ experience; and you talk of not liking her!"
-
-"Hang it, Frank!" interposed the lad, "I wish you'd marry her
-yourself. I'll go shares with her in fortune; there's more than enough
-for us both, and you're much fitter to be a respectable man than I
-am."
-
-The shaft went deep into his heart, but the strong man never winced or
-failed for a moment. "What right have you," he broke in, almost
-fiercely, "what right have you to talk of giving her money, and laying
-her under obligations? Like Falstaff," he added, relapsing into his
-usual manner, "you owe her yourself and the money too. For Heaven's
-sake, Charlie, don't tamper with the happiness of a lifetime--honour,
-duty, expediency, all point one way--do not, for a mere whim, neglect
-that which, left undone, you will repent ever afterwards. Promise me,
-_now_ promise me, Charlie, that you will marry your cousin before you
-again leave Newton-Hollows."
-
-Charlie bit his lip, stroked his moustaches, looked first one way, and
-then another; and finally, blushing crimson over his wasted face,
-exclaimed, "Never, Frank--if you must know it, you had better know it
-now--never, I tell you, and for the best of all reasons; of course it
-goes no farther, but the fact is, I--I like somebody else much
-better."
-
-"And do you think you are the only person that has to sacrifice
-inclination--nay, happiness, existence itself--to duty? Do you think
-you are to be exempt from the common lot of man--to receive everything
-and give up nothing? Do you owe no duty to your cousin? Are you not
-all-in-all to her? And are you to destroy all the hopes of her
-lifetime, to break her young heart, as you have destroyed her
-prospects, for your own selfish gratification? Trust me, Charlie, she
-loves you, and whether you care for her or not, unless your word is
-irrevocably pledged to another, it is your duty to marry her, and
-marry her you must!"
-
-"You're wrong, Frank," said Charlie, with a roguish smile; "you're
-wrong--you're a sharp fellow generally, but you're out of your
-reckoning here. Blanche has exactly the same regard for me that a
-sister has for a brother--but love, as you and I understand the word,
-bless you, she hasn't a notion of it, as far as I am concerned; but
-I'll tell you whom I think she _does_ love, Frank--ah! you may wince
-and turn pale, but you ought to know, and I'll tell you. Frank, do you
-remember the Guyville ball?--why! you're not pale now--I should never
-have mentioned it if you hadn't driven me into a corner, but now out
-it shall come. Do you remember when you came up and turned away
-without asking her to dance, while we were waltzing together? Well,
-when Blanche looked up, her eyes were full of tears, and she said to
-me, 'What's the matter with Mr. Hardingstone? I'm afraid he's offended
-with us.' And I said, 'Blanche, you little flirt, he thinks you've
-jilted him.' And she blushed over her face and neck and shoulders--ay,
-redder than you are now, old boy; and she followed you with such a
-loving, piteous look--and I saw it all in a moment. Yes, Frank,
-Blanche is over head and ears in love with you, and I'm glad of it,
-for there's no other man in the world that's worthy of her; and _you_
-shall marry her, Frank, and _I_ won't, and I'll get drunk at the
-wedding--but let's go below now. These cold evenings make me cough,
-and I suppose the steward will manage some supper for us, though it
-_is_ blowing so hard;" with which gastronomic aspiration hungry
-Charlie disappeared down the hatchway, and left an altered man behind
-him, to pace the deck in a confused state of tumultuous, almost
-delirious happiness.
-
-Frank was anything but a vain man; he always considered himself as
-possessing no attractions for the other sex; and that such a girl as
-Blanche Kettering should look upon him favourably was a happiness he
-had scarcely allowed himself to picture in his dreams; but now that it
-was suggested by another, now that it appeared to impartial eyes
-neither an impossibility nor an absurdity, a thousand trifling
-circumstances rose in his recollection--a thousand little lights and
-shades of looks, and tones, and expressions, came back to him distinct
-and vivid, with a meaning and a colouring they had never possessed
-before, and he could hardly restrain the happiness that gushed up in
-his bosom and sparkled in his eye, as after a few minutes of delicious
-solitude on deck, he joined the party at supper in the cabin, and one
-and all remarked that now the voyage was nearly over, the grave Mr.
-Hardingstone appeared to be quite a different man. To their questions
-as to the weather, he stated that it was "a beautiful night"; which
-caused the captain to look at him as an undoubted lunatic, inasmuch as
-the sea was getting up rapidly, and a thick mist was driving over the
-face of the waters. With the passengers he joked and laughed, and
-played _vingt-et-un_, and made himself so universally popular and
-agreeable, that those very persons who had all along voted him an odd,
-reserved, uncomfortable sort of fellow, now almost regretted that they
-should so soon be parted from such a rand of good-humour and merriment
-as they discovered, all too late, in their fellow-passenger.
-
-The night grew blacker as the mist increased with the somewhat
-moderating gale, and a long, heaving swell came rolling up from the
-Atlantic, each succeeding sea appearing to rear its gigantic volume
-higher, farther, fiercer than its predecessor, and still the good ship
-steamed on through the darkness. A light at her foretop, and an
-indistinct glimmer at the binnacle, only made the surrounding
-obscurity appear more palpable, and through the dense fog, which
-seemed to pervade the very deck, and to hang around the spars and
-tackle, it was difficult to distinguish the two phantom figures at the
-wheel and the look-out man in the bows. The captain ever and anon
-dived to his cabin to consult his chart, and re-appearing on the wet,
-slippery deck, cast an anxious eye at the ship's compass, and the
-course she was lying--then glanced to windward, where some huge wave
-flung its crest of foam into the light, and sporting with that
-powerful steamer as with a plaything, dashed its beating spray, in
-wantonness of strength, high over the protecting bulwarks, till the
-very yards dripped and streamed with brine. A few gruff words,
-unintelligible to the landsmen, were addressed to the struggling
-steersmen, and again the captain glanced anxiously at the compass, and
-knit his brows and seemed ill at ease. Between the decks, confiding
-passengers snored in their berths and dreamt of home. Little thought
-they of darkness and fog and driving seas. They had paid their
-passage-money, and they were to be delivered safe at their
-destination--was it not in the bond? They were, besides, in the
-Channel; and the ladies on board derived unspeakable relief and
-consolation from the knowledge that they were once more in
-soundings--and they, too, slept the sleep of innocence and security.
-So midnight passed, and still the good ship held steadily on.
-
-But the captain grew more restless and disturbed, and he ordered the
-steam to be slackened, and a sailor to be slung over the side, and to
-heave the lead; and these were wise and seamanlike precautions, but
-they were a few minutes too late. As the words left his mouth, a shock
-that made that huge fabric shake again brought him to the deck. True
-to his seaman nature, he shouted to "back the engines," even as he
-fell; but she was aground, and it was too late. Ere he recovered his
-legs he knew too well what had happened. Sea after sea came pouring
-over the deck; one of the men at the wheel was washed overboard, the
-other barely saved as he clung for dear life to the helm: everything
-that was not secured went at once by the board, and the dashing waves
-plunging heavily into the engine-room, put out the fires, and reduced
-that triumph of man's ingenuity to a mere helpless log upon the
-waters. The seamen came tumbling up to the forecastle, every man as he
-had slept, half-dressed, and even now scarce awake; yet such is the
-force of habit, that confusion prevailed more than alarm, and here and
-there even a jest arose to lips which in a few hours might probably be
-silenced for ever. But if not sole mistress on deck, Fear could boast
-of undivided dominion below. Shrieks and sobs and wailing prayers
-burst from the affrighted passengers, as they rushed tumultuously from
-their respective berths into the saloon, and asked wildly what had
-happened, and inquired with white lips if there was any danger; one
-said, "Is there any hope?" and the panic increased as it spread, and
-wives clung upon their husbands' breasts, and pressed their children
-to their sides, and screamed in an unbearable agony of fear; and one,
-a strong, stout man, shouted for help as though terror had turned his
-brain, and raved of his wife and his little ones at home--that home,
-on firm dry land, that he had never known how to prize before; then a
-white-haired minister, one of honest John Wesley's followers, proposed
-in a calm, steady voice that each and all should kneel down and pray;
-but the affrighted mass, now wavering and struggling to the hatchway,
-paid no attention to the good man's suggestion; for each strove to
-reach the deck as though it were a haven of safety, each instinctively
-shrank from the idea of perishing in that dark, dreadful cabin, and
-the selfishness of man came out and developed itself even in that
-maddened crowd as they pushed each other aside and struggled who
-should be first to reach the door.
-
-"Charlie! where are you?" exclaimed Frank Hardingstone's unshaken
-voice, as he emerged already dressed from his cabin into the seething
-confusion of the saloon.
-
-"Here!" said Charlie, struggling to free himself from the embraces of
-a stout old Frenchwoman, who, wild with terror, was choking the lad as
-she clung round his neck and implored him to be her preserver--"Here!
-Frank, we're aground, I think; I want to get on deck and make myself
-useful, if this old woman would let me go!"
-
-Charlie freed himself from the venerable dame's embrace, but she clung
-hard to his garments, and he was forced to slip out of the
-dressing-gown which he had put on at the first moment of alarm, and
-leaving it in her grasp, to make his escape clad only in his shirt and
-trousers. When he reached the deck he found Frank already there,
-having put himself under the captain's orders, and now lending his
-assistance to restore discipline as far as possible, and to clear the
-wreck. The huge ship heaved and shivered in her throes, as wave after
-wave washed her farther on to the shoal; the fog, too, added to the
-confusion of the scene, and as it became doubtful whether her timbers
-could stand against the violence of these successive shocks, even the
-sturdy seamen began to hint at her going to pieces--and the cry,
-though none knew whence it first arose, thrilled from stem to stern,
-"The boats! the boats! Launch the boats!"
-
-"By Him that made me! I'll strike the first man dead that stirs
-without orders," cried the captain, heaving a broad axe above his
-head, his voice rising through the confusion of the crew and the dash
-of the leaping waves.
-
-"Can the boats live in such a sea?" whispered Frank, as he stood by
-the captain's side, prepared to lend him any assistance he might
-require.
-
-"Undoubtedly, sir!" was the reply; "it's our only chance. We'll get
-the women and children in first. Mr. Hardingstone, you're a _man_!
-take charge of the larboard boat--let no man into it without
-orders--we may save them all yet!" and the captain sprang to the
-starboard boat, laid hold of the "davits," and sang out, "Lower away,
-men, easy!" whilst Frank, in a hurried whisper, gave his orders to
-Charlie, who was as cool as a cucumber throughout.
-
-"Charlie, keep the hatchway with the steward--he's a bold
-fellow--don't let a single man up till the women and children are all
-on deck. If any fellow runs rusty, _knock him down_!"
-
-By this time order was to a certain degree restored--the passengers
-were indeed in a frightful state below, when they found their egress
-barred, as they thought, so arbitrarily, from all hopes of safety; but
-on deck every man had his own duty to perform, and the magic power of
-discipline, assisted by the dawn, which was now struggling into light,
-bid fair to give them every chance of safety that knowledge and
-experience could suggest. But one man was mutinous. A strong,
-black-bearded fellow, with a dogged, lowering countenance, who had
-been most assiduous in helping Hardingstone to lower away the larboard
-boat, no sooner found it launched than he made a rush for the side, to
-place himself, as he hoped, in safety, regardless of the helpless and
-the weak.
-
-"Stand back!" said Frank, in a voice of thunder; "wait for your turn."
-
-"Turn be ----," growled the man; "who made _you_ skipper? D'ye think
-I'd lose my life for a land-lubber like you?"
-
-"I warn you!" said Frank, clenching his fist, and looking dangerous.
-The man advanced as though to push him aside. Frank drew himself
-together and struck out. He knocked him clean off his legs on to the
-deck, where he lay stunned and bleeding.
-
-"Serve him right," cried Charlie from the hatchway--an observation
-which was echoed by the crew; and Frank had no further difficulty in
-preserving discipline at the station of which he had taken the
-command. One by one, pale trembling women, and bewildered little
-children, pattering on the deck with bare feet, and enveloped in
-shawls, petticoats, anything that had been first caught up in the
-hurry of the moment, were handed through the hatchway, and lowered
-carefully over the side into the heaving boats. There they clung
-together, shivering and drenched with spray, some of the women with
-scarce any other covering than their white night-dresses, their long
-wet hair hanging about their shoulders; but even in that extremity
-thinking only of their children, and regardless of their own
-sufferings and danger. Poor things! how scared they were by the first
-minute-gun that boomed from the wreck! for the captain, assisted by
-Frank Hardingstone's coolness, and now equal to any emergency, had not
-neglected the precaution of making every possible signal of distress.
-Then the male passengers were drafted singly, and handed over the side
-by the dauntless seamen. Some behaved gallantly enough, and offered to
-stand by the ship and the captain to the last; some trembled and
-cowered, submissively obeying every order given them, and apparently
-rendered totally helpless by fear. One sturdy little boy, of some ten
-or eleven years, clung manfully to a toy, the property of his infant
-sister; and when compelled to lay hold of the guiding-rope with both
-hands, seized the bauble between his teeth, and so reached his mother
-in the boat. The rough sailors gave him a cheer.
-
-At length the passengers were disposed of; a few cloaks and
-pea-jackets were thrown in to cover the women; the ship's compass was
-placed in one of the boats; a crew of seamen were told off, and seized
-the oars; the mate took the command; strict injunctions were given for
-the boats to keep together; and they shoved off into that heaving sea.
-It was now broad daylight, and the rain falling heavily.
-
-"Thank God, sir," said the captain, with a sigh of relief, "we've
-disposed of the passengers. The wind's falling now, with this wet,
-and they'll make the land in three or four hours. I trust in
-Providence every hair of their heads will be saved; and we've nothing
-to think of but ourselves."
-
-"There's a dozen of us left," said Frank, looking round on the
-dripping group, who were clinging to the different parts of the wreck,
-consisting of one or two subordinate officers, the boatswain, and a
-few old, weather-beaten seamen; "that boat will hold us all, if she
-will swim; but she's rather a cockle-shell for such a sea as this," he
-observed, pointing to a small, shallow skiff that hung at the stern,
-and which had not yet been lowered.
-
-"It's our best chance," said the captain, looking very grave, as
-another rolling sea made the wreck heave and quiver and strain, as if
-she must go to pieces; "but she'll never hold us all. I'll stand by
-the ship to the last; and you two gentlemen, to whose coolness, under
-Providence, the passengers owe their lives, will bear witness I did my
-duty. God bless you! Lower away, men; cheerily, oh!" So the boat was
-lowered, and as she touched the water she filled and sank, and
-appeared again, bottom uppermost, some fifty yards away; and so the
-last chance of escape was cut off. The little party looked at each
-other in blank dismay; even Frank's bold heart tightened itself for an
-instant in the pressure of despair. Only the gruff boatswain found
-words to say, "That bit plug, that didn't ought to have been
-neglected, 's worth exactly twelve men's lives. This here's a stopper
-over all, blessed if it ain't." There was nothing to be done now but
-to wait manfully for death. Poor Charlie was already half-dead with
-cold; but Frank took off his own pea-jacket and wrapped it round the
-lad, and lashed him to the foremast; for though the weather had
-moderated considerably, a sea came every now and then driving over the
-deck, and carrying everything before it. The wreck was by this time
-filling fast, and sinking gradually: already she had settled by the
-stern, and only her bows and a part of the forecastle remained above
-water. On this the sufferers were congregated, and few words did they
-interchange, for consolation or hope there was none in this world.
-Their powder was exhausted--true, there was plenty below, in the
-powder-magazine, but that was long ago swamped, so that their very
-cries for help must be silenced--that iron voice, their sole chance
-of rescue, must be dumb. The fog, too, began to clear away, and a
-bright gleam of sunshine ever and anon shone out upon the yellow,
-foam-crested waves, and glistened on the white wings of the dipping
-sea-gulls. By degrees the blue sky peered overhead, and the gap
-widened and widened, and the mists rising in wreaths from the waters,
-now heaving and subsiding into rest, floated lazily away, and the
-discoloured sea became bright and blue, and the sun burst forth into a
-glorious autumn day, and the warmth of his rays almost comforted those
-poor wet wretches, clinging hopelessly to the wreck. It seemed hard to
-die on such a day, but exhaustion was beginning to tell upon some of
-the sufferers, and the lassitude of despair was creeping over them
-with its drowsy influence, and the reason of more than one began to
-give way. So they waited and spoke not, and some strove to pray, and
-some shut their eyes as if in sleep; and noon came, and the day was
-bright and hot, and the sea-birds screamed and soared, and everything
-was full of joy and life, and only that little circle of twelve were
-doomed to die. Frank and Charlie were together, and every now and then
-each pressed the other's hand, but neither spoke. The captain, who was
-nearest them, seemed stupefied with despair; and he, too, spoke not.
-They were a silent company. The day crept on: every minute was
-precious, yet the minutes dragged on like lead. Once the captain
-stirred, and Frank, glancing eagerly at his face, was aware of a
-strange light upon it, and a gleam in his fixed eye that was almost
-unearthly. Was it insanity? Could it be hope? Frank's breath stopped
-as he followed the direction of the captain's gaze, but he could see
-nothing, save the glancing waters and the hopeless sky-line. But still
-the captain stared, and the old boatswain, too, was looking eagerly in
-the same direction, and another seaman seemed to wake from his stupor,
-and Frank strained his eyes, and at last he was aware of a black speck
-on the horizon, and, ere he could trust his sight, the stout old
-captain burst into tears, and a feeble cheer rose from the exhausted
-seamen, a cheer that thrilled through Frank's very marrow, for he knew
-that they were saved.
-
-"What is it?" said Charlie, faintly, opening his heavy eyes.
-
-"It's a boat," was the reply--"a boat; the bitterness of death is
-past, thank God! thank God!"
-
-Then came the painful suspense, the agony of hope and fear; it might
-after all be but a spar, or a black fish, or anything save what they
-wished. No--it was a boat, a real boat; but her crew might not see
-them--they might be fishing--they might never think of the wreck; then
-the poor exhausted fellows strained their throats in a feeble hail, or
-rather a hoarse, desperate shriek. But the boat is bearing down upon
-them--she nears them. "Wreck ahoy! hilli-ho!" Never was music like to
-this on mortal ear. Her sharp nose comes dancing and dipping over the
-waves, the glance of her oars flashes in the sun; now they can
-distinguish the forms of the rowers--now the cheery voices of their
-countrymen gladden their very heart's core--and now she is alongside;
-and despair is over--suspense and misery are forgotten--and the past
-is like a dream.
-
-The steamer had struck far nearer the shore than her reckoning had
-given the captain reason to suppose, and her guns had at length been
-heard by some fishermen on the beach at St. Swithin's. There was a
-heavy sea running; but the lifeboat was soon manned, and our old
-friend Hairblower himself took the stroke-oar, and manfully those
-gallant fellows pulled till they reached the wreck. They had fallen in
-with the ship's boats about half-way from the shore, and now brought
-the welcome news of their almost undoubted safety.
-
-"To think of you and Master Charles being aboard, sir," said
-Hairblower, who seemed to consider the whole matter of the wreck as an
-every-day occurrence. "This is, indeed, what may well be called 'a
-circumstance,' if ever there was 'a circumstance' hereaway;" and he
-settled his two friends comfortably in the stern of the lifeboat, ere
-he busied himself to place the rest of the rescued seamen where they
-would least interfere with the efforts of the oarsmen. They were soon
-safely disposed, and by sundown, wet, weary, and exhausted, they stood
-once more upon that shore which they had scarcely dared to hope they
-should ever see again.
-
-When Charlie woke the following morning in a comfortable room at the
-Royal Hotel, the first person that greeted his opening eyes was
-honest Hairblower. That worthy had taken entire possession of his
-former _protege_, and now made his appearance with a steaming glass of
-hot brandy-and-water, the only orthodox breakfast, in his opinion, for
-a man who had been wrecked the day before; though rather disgusted at
-Charlie's obstinacy in refusing this specific, he was extremely
-anxious to assist him through his toilet, and was only to be got rid
-of by an assurance that his young favourite would be down to
-breakfast, where he would answer all his questions, and listen to all
-his protestations, in an incredibly short space of time. Hairblower
-accordingly drank the brandy-and-water himself, and waited patiently
-during what appeared to him an unreasonably long period to spend in
-the process of adornment.
-
-When Frank and Charlie met in the coffee-room, the sailor too made his
-appearance, and, with much circumlocution, managed to deliver himself
-of a request which had evidently been all the morning brewing in his
-mind.
-
-"If it was not a liberty, Master Charles, and you, too, Mr.
-Hardingstone, I should make bold to ask of you both to let me join
-company in a cruise. I conclude as you're bound to London this
-afternoon at the latest--soon as ever you've got rigged out decent and
-presentable. Well, gentlemen, you see I've a little business, too, in
-London town. I haven't been there not since, Mr. Hardingstone, you
-lent me a hand so kind, and I've got to be there, sooner or later,
-about the fishing business; for, you see, my mates, they wish me to be
-spokesman like with our governor, and he can't leave London--so, in
-course, I must go to him. Now, if it wasn't too great a liberty, I
-should be proud if you gentlemen would let me wait upon you, just for
-the voyage like. I can't bear to part with you so soon: and though
-you've no luggage, seeing all your traps is still aboard, and spoilt
-by now, and I can't be useful to you, I should like just to see you
-and Master Charlie safe into London town, and shake you both by the
-hand there afore we part."
-
-Need we say the permission was joyfully granted, and that the
-afternoon train bore the trio in company to the metropolis, whence
-Charlie and Frank were to start next day together for Newton-Hollows?
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER XXIV
-
-KING CRACK
-
-     THE TOAD WITHOUT THE JEWEL--AN INCLINED PLANE--TWO HEADS ARE
-     BETTER THAN ONE--THE FIRST PARALLEL--THE FAMILY GONE OUT--A
-     PLAN OF THE CITADEL--HOW TO GET IN--NO QUARTER--A TRIP BY
-     RAIL--STRANGE COMPANY
-
-
-"Sweet are the uses of adversity" to some malleable natures, which,
-bending to the storm, rise from it softened and refreshed as from an
-April shower; but there are desperate and rebellious spirits on whom
-grief and misfortune seem to have an exactly opposite effect. Such are
-more prone to kindle into resistance or smoulder in despair, and
-whilst the humbled penitent kneels meekly to kiss the rod, the
-hardened offender gnashes his teeth in impotent fury, and glories in
-his mad career as he forces himself from bad to worse, even to the
-very threshold of destruction--"game," as the poor fool calls it,
-"game to the last."
-
-Such was the disposition of Tom Blacke. When his child died, the whole
-of his better nature seemed to have followed the infant to the grave.
-He had nothing now to care for in the world; and it is needless to
-enlarge upon the danger of such a state. His wife's misconduct--for
-she, poor woman, maddened by despair, had but followed her husband's
-example, in drowning sorrow with drunkenness--added fuel to the
-flames; and Tom was descending, just as gradually and as surely as one
-who walks step by step into a cellar, down into the lowest abyss of
-infamy and crime. The gradations are imperceptible, there are many
-windings in the path, but it never fails to terminate in the black
-gulf. At first the wayfarer may be easily checked and turned aside;
-but every onward step increases his velocity and his helplessness (the
-laws of gravitation are no less true in the moral than the physical
-world), and though a gossamer might have held him at starting, a chain
-of iron shall not break his fall as he nears the bottom. The
-beginning, too, is as insidious as it is effectual. The cheerful
-glass, the harbinger of good fellowship and kindliness, who would be
-such a churl as to deny a man the harmless pleasure of indulging in
-moderation with a friend? But one cheerful glass creates a craving for
-another, and ere long the liquor begins to have a charm of its own
-independent of the company. Then the dose must be increased, or it
-loses its power, and nightly indulgence begins to be followed by daily
-reaction; so a trifling stimulant is taken in the morning, just to
-steady the nerves and keep the cold out--a salutary precaution in this
-damp climate! Then the pleasure becomes a necessity, and partial
-intoxication begins to be the normal condition of the man. Meanwhile
-the habit is expensive, but who can doubt that the moral sense becomes
-blunted in so unnatural a state? and the drain on his means is
-supplied by the toper's application of his wages or other resources to
-his own brutal gratification. Self-indulgence soon destroys the sense
-of self-respect, and the temptation to procure money is irresistible,
-for without money how can he purchase drink? So the man first begins
-to lie, then to cheat, and lastly to steal. He has now arrived at the
-second stage in his downward journey. He has enlisted in a profession
-which has its rules, its customs, its triumphs--nay, to a certain
-extent, its pleasures--but from which there is no release. The
-drunkard is now a thief, and, to deaden the stings of conscience, no
-less a drunkard still. Then comes madness, for a state of habitual
-excitement can but be called madness, and visions of daring
-recklessness rise in the brandy-sodden brain--perhaps a sort of false
-ambition to triumph amongst his fellow-ruffians impels him to crimes
-of deeper dye than any he has yet contemplated, perhaps a vague
-longing for peril, perhaps a morbid thirst for blood. The wretch plots
-under the inspiration of brandy, and spurs himself to action with the
-same maddening stimulant. His nerves fail him at the critical moment,
-or the frenzy of despair dyes his hand with the ineffaceable stain of
-murder. In the one case a living death in the hulks separates him for
-ever from his fellow-men; in the other, the just retaliation of the
-law leaves his body quivering on the gallows, whilst his name becomes
-a byword and a curse in the mouths of generations yet unborn. This is
-the third and last stage of the downward journey; further we dare not
-follow the culprit; but few arrive at this awful ending without having
-gone regularly through all the previous gradations. Tom Blacke had
-only reached the second stage. He was now a professional thief and
-receiver of stolen goods. The lodgings in the Mews could now show
-curiosities and valuables that any one but a policeman would have been
-surprised to find in such a place. Gold watches, silks and shawls and
-trinkets, yards of brocade, ells of lace, and last, not least, a
-caldron always on the boil for the manufacture of that all-absorbing
-fluid which is called "white soup," and sold by the ounce, surrounded
-the once virtuous Gingham in her once respectable home. She, too, was
-on the downward track, and she drank to stupefy the sense of guilt,
-which she could not altogether stifle, and from which she had not
-energy to extricate herself. Mr. Blacke, however, as he began again to
-be called, allowed no conscientious scruples to interfere with
-business. He dressed well now, always had plenty of money at command,
-might be seen at many places of public resort, and though aware that
-the police had their eye on him--to use a common expression, that they
-were only giving him "rope enough to hang himself," and would
-undoubtedly "want" him ere long--he appeared resolved to live out his
-little hour with the usual blind recklessness and infatuation of his
-kind.
-
-Blacke was a plotting villain, and he had been for some time
-meditating a daring sweep that should eclipse all his previous doings,
-_and, if not thwarted_, realise a share of booty that would place him
-above want for the rest of his life. In order to discover and
-frustrate his plans, we must take the liberty of overhearing a
-conversation carried on between him and his confederate, in a small
-snug parlour off the bar of that very public-house in which
-Hairblower had been so shamefully hocussed and robbed on his former
-visit to the metropolis--an excursion he was not likely soon to
-forget.
-
-"Bring a quartern of gin," said Tom to the flaunting maid who waited
-on him, as he took his seat at the council-table, with a bloodshot eye
-and shaking hand, that showed such a stimulus was by no means
-unnecessary. "Shut the door, girl," he added, in a threatening voice,
-as the undiluted spirit was placed on the table between him and his
-companion; "this gentleman and me has matters of business to talk
-over; see that we're not disturbed--d'ye understand?" The girl gave a
-saucy smile of intelligence, and left the two worthies to their
-consultation.
-
-"My service to you," said Tom, abruptly, as he lifted a brimming
-wine-glass full of gin to his shaking lips.
-
-"Here's luck," laconically replied the gentleman addressed, wiping his
-mouth on the back of his hand, and turning his glass down upon the
-table to show how religiously he had drained every drop.
-
-There was an ominous silence--Tom felt the moment had arrived to
-explain the whole of his plans, and he paused a little, like some
-skilful general, as he ran over in his mind how he should impart them
-in the clearest manner to his companion, a man of somewhat obtuse
-intellect, though strong and resolute in action, and who was indeed no
-other than Mr. Fibbes. That worthy's appearance had decidedly changed
-for the worse since we had the honour of making his acquaintance at
-the truly British game of skittles, or even since we last took leave
-of him in earnest conversation with his patron, Major D'Orville. He
-had sustained two domestic afflictions, from each of which he had
-suffered severely: the one in the loss of his little black-eyed wife,
-who had been suddenly taken from him, and who, although, as he himself
-said, she was a "rum 'un when she was raised," had certainly kept him
-out of a deal of mischief; the other, in the premature death of his
-pride and prime favourite, Jessie, whose sufferings during distemper
-and subsequent dissolution he averred would have moved "a 'eart of
-stone." Under the influence of these combined sorrows Mr. Fibbes had
-neglected his person, and taken more decidedly to drinking than
-formerly, and was now seldom or never in his right senses; a fact
-sufficiently attested by his bloated red face, his dull leaden eye,
-and general appearance of dissolute recklessness. He was indeed ripe
-for mischief, or, to use his own words, "up to anythink, from skinning
-a pig to smothering a Harchbishop," a frame of mind very likely to
-lead to dangerous consequences. Tom filled his glass once more, and
-opened the plan of his campaign.
-
-"It must be done to-night, Mr. Fibbes," he remarked, with polite
-energy; "this is the last night we can manage it cleverly, on account
-of the moon. See now--I've been down in the neighbourhood to make
-sure. My missus, she knows the place as well as I know you. Bless you!
-she was bred and born there. But I wouldn't trust to that. I've been
-waiting down about there for a week. At last, the family they all goes
-out a hairin' in the phaeton or what not--I walks boldly up to the
-front door and rings the bell. Up comes the housekeeper, all in a
-fluster, settling of a clean cap--thinks I, the footman's gone with
-the carriage, and the butler's out shootin', and directly his back's
-turned, the under butler he's off courtin', and the boy when the
-coast's clear, he runs out to play cricket, so there's no one left but
-the women--trust me for managin' of _them_."
-
-"Good," said Mr. Fibbes, approvingly, as he filled and emptied his
-glass.
-
-"'Is the General at home?' says I, quite promiscuous, and looking up
-and down the portico like a harchitect.
-
-"'No, sir,' says she, politely enough; 'did you wish to see him?'
-
-"'It's of no consequence,' says I, pulling a bundle of prints and a
-measuring-line out of my pocket, 'merely a small matter of business;
-the General's confidential servant would do as well.' Ye see I knowed
-the butler was out, else he'd have answered the door.
-
-"'Perhaps you'll leave a message, sir,' says she.
-
-"'O ma'am,' says I, 'it's a matter of no importance, only I _am_ going
-to town by the train to-night. Perhaps, ma'am, as you seem to be the
-governess, or a relative of the family, you might give me permission
-to do all I want.'
-
-"'What is it?' says she, looking as pleased as Punch.
-
-"'Well, ma'am,' says I, 'the fact is, I'm engaged in preparing a work
-for publication that shall comprise all the principal seats of the
-nobility and gentry in the Midland Counties; would you oblige me by
-glancing over the proofs? and if there are any that strike your fancy,
-pray favour me by acceptin' of them,' says I. 'Your noble family owns
-one of the finest residences we have yet surveyed, and we shall be
-proud to do justice to it.'"
-
-"Good," again grunted Mr. Fibbes, who was beginning to weary of the
-detail, and wanted more gin to keep him awake.
-
-"Well," resumed Tom, "with that she takes me into the hall, and shows
-me over the drawing-room, and the dining-room, and the conservatories;
-and she stops and pints out a statue--rank indecent, I calls it,
-without a rag of clothin' to bless itself--and the pictures, and what
-not; but I wasn't satisfied with this here; what I wanted was to know
-where the plunder was stowed, and though pictures may be very
-profitable to them as sells 'em, the plate-basket's more in my line of
-business than those shammy gold frames that make such a show, and
-isn't worth half-a-crown a yard. 'You'll excuse me, miss,' says I
-(they likes to be called miss when the bloom's off 'em a little), 'but
-I've always understood as the offices in this house is a perfect
-pattern as regards servants' accommodation and general arrangement.
-Now, my governor, he's building a country residence for the Earl of
-Aircastle, and if it wasn't takin' too great a liberty, I might ask to
-be allowed to inspect the basement; I could get a hint or two that
-would please his lordship, who's a very particular man--uncommon.'
-With that she hesitated a little, and looked hard at me, so I goes at
-her again: 'I wouldn't detain _you_, miss,' says I, 'but perhaps you'd
-be so good as to ring for any of the hupper servants, and they could
-do all I want.'
-
-"'Oh,' says she, smiling again, 'I'll show you over the offices
-myself.' With that, blessed if she didn't take me down-stairs, and
-walk me through the sculleries, and the kitchen, and the
-pantry, and the servants' hall, and the back-kitchen, and the
-housemaid's closets--precious corners they was, too, for a game of
-hide-and-seek--and the butler's room, where he sleeps the nights he
-isn't off to Bubbleton on the sly; and I could put my hand on the
-plate-chest in the dark, and I know where the General keeps his money,
-and there's gold watches and such like in the drawing-room, that would
-make a matter of a hundred pounds directly they saw old Sharon's
-back-shop; and I kept my eyes open, as you may easily believe, and
-I've got it all in my head now, let alone a bit of a plan I've taken
-of the place just in the rough;" and with this Tom pulled a sheet of
-paper out of his pocket, and proposed with its aid to elucidate the
-manoeuvres he proceeded to put in practice. "You and I can do it
-all," said Tom, "just the same as we stripped the old hall near
-Devizes. I don't relish more than two, not if a job's any way
-ticklish, and I do like to finish off my work neatly, I confess. Now,
-look ye here, Mr. Fibbes, this is how we'll act--the station's not ten
-minutes' walk from the house, and the mail-train stops there about
-12.50. There's a luggage-train comes by about three in the mornin'
-that would bring us back quite handy, and we should have plenty of
-time to finish off handsome, and so be home to breakfast. Take another
-drain, Mr. Fibbes: talking's dry work."
-
-Mr. Fibbes seemed to think the same of listening, and acquiesced with
-great good-will.
-
-Tom Blacke got up, opened the door to see no one was eaves-dropping,
-peeped into the cupboard, and into a red-curtained snuggery off the
-bar, commanded by a small window in the room he now occupied; and
-having satisfied himself that both were empty, proceeded to unfold his
-plans.
-
-"We'll leave the trap behind us this turn, Mr. Fibbes. We can carry
-all _we_ shall want; there's my light valise and the blue bag will
-hold everything; we shan't take anything that's very hot, nor yet very
-heavy. You mind to put on the green spectacles, just for the journey,
-and I'll be the man with the prospectuses, the same as before, for the
-station-master's a smart chap, and maybe he'll know me again."
-
-"I mustn't forget the jemmy," grunted Mr. Fibbes.
-
-"The jemmy!" replied Tom, in a tone of injured feeling; "what's the
-use of the jemmy? This ain't a rough job, Mr. Fibbes; you seem to take
-no pride in your profession! No, no; you just put the centre-bit in
-your coat-pocket for a precaution, and leave the rest to me. The
-back-scullery's our place; it's got a regular sash window, and opens
-with a common hasp; there's a shutter, too, but I see a cobweb across
-it when I was there, and I think maybe they sometimes forget to fasten
-it. So you and me we alights at the station as though to walk into
-Bubbleton, then we come quietly up to the house, takes a bit of brown
-paper and treacle, and so breaks a pane in that scullery window
-without a chink of noise, then in goes a hand to unhasp it, and you
-and me, Mr. Fibbes, we walks in without a hinvitation. Now, look you
-here," and Tom produced his chart of the interior, "we goes quietly
-into the butler's room--he's safe to be at Bubbleton, because it's a
-theatre night--we takes a piece out of the cupboard with a
-centre-bit--none of your noisy jemmies--and we stows away the plate in
-the blue bag; then we creeps along the passage, and so up the
-back-stairs there" (pointing to the plan with his finger) "into the
-drawing-room; and here, Mr. Fibbes, I shall want your assistance, in
-case of haccidents. Ye see one of the ladies she sleeps above the
-drawing-room, and ladies is mostly light sleepers. Now, from what I've
-heard tell of this one--the governess she was--she's as likely as not
-to come down if she hears any disturbance. She might know _me_, for
-she's seen me along of my missus in Grosvenor Square. If she should
-walk in--. Take another drain, Mr. Fibbes--what's that noise?" broke
-off Tom, abruptly, his white face beaded with perspiration, and his
-lip working in guilty trepidation.
-
-"Noise? there's no noise," replied his confederate, looking doggedly
-up to him, though a strange light shone too in his bloodshot eyes; "if
-she _should_ walk in, what then?"
-
-"Why, run the long knife into her," hissed out the less daring
-villain; "it makes no noise, and she'll tell no tales."
-
-"Share and share alike, and it's a bargain," said Mr. Fibbes, dashing
-his great hand heavily down on the table. "D----n me, Tom, you're a
-deep 'un; you put me in front in that last job, and so help me I didn't
-clear five pounds. I'll have none of these games this turn, and if I
-_have_ to whip out the 'bread-winner,' I'll be allowed something
-handsome over and above, see if I won't."
-
-"Of course, Mr. Fibbes," replied Tom, "honour amongst gentlemen. You
-understand the plan now, I think, or would you like me to go over it
-once more?"
-
-"Bother the plan," remarked Mr. Fibbes, who was a man of action rather
-than a man of science; "let's have another quartern and be off--why,
-it's getting dark now."
-
-"Easy," said Tom, "we'll just call at my place for the instruments,
-and so walk on to the station. It's a nice fresh night for a jaunt
-into the country; but what a thing it is when gentlemen can combine
-business with pleasure!"
-
-Mr. Fibbes grunted a hoarse laugh of approbation, and, having finished
-their gin, these two worthy members of society walked off, arm-in-arm,
-on their nefarious expedition. It is needless to say that
-Newton-Hollows was the house for which they were bound. General Bounce
-and his unconscious family, resting peacefully and securely as usual,
-were to be robbed, and, if any resistance arose, were to be murdered
-before daylight, and this because Tom Blacke, being, as he said,
-connected with them by marriage, and having received many acts of
-kindness from the warm-hearted old General, had obtained a sufficient
-knowledge of the inside of his dwelling and the habits of his
-household to make a descent upon his property with every prospect of
-success. After a vehement discussion with Mr. Fibbes, who was
-extremely anxious to travel first class, and whose aristocratic
-prejudices were so shocked when he found his confederate would by no
-means consent to this imprudent arrangement, that he nearly threw up
-the job altogether, the worthy couple stowed themselves away in a
-roomy compartment of the second class, and were soon steaming along
-from the lights of London, into the dark, broken masses of the cool,
-fresh country.
-
-Though, in this instance, the power of steam seemed friendly to the
-purpose of these two finished ruffians, they could not divest
-themselves of certain superstitious misgivings, which probably they
-would not have entertained had they been bounding along on two
-free-going horses, like the gentlemen highwaymen of the olden time,
-or even bowling merrily down the road in the light spring-cart, and
-behind the "varmint" bay mare that made the pride of a cracksman in
-the early part of the present century. But the rail! there was a deal
-of insecurity about the rail. That electric telegraph, too, was the
-devil. At every station they almost expected to see the face of some
-too well-known detective glaring in behind the station-master's lamp,
-and to hear the unwelcome though civil greeting with which he would
-request the favour of their company. Then might he not be even now in
-the next carriage, separated from them by that half-inch of woodwork?
-Mr. Fibbes scowled as he contemplated the possibility of such
-proximity, and clutched more than once at the long knife. Still they
-sped on, uninterrupted; half the journey was already satisfactorily
-performed. A succession of respectable good-humoured second-class
-passengers got in and out, and handed their bundles and pattens and
-umbrellas across the two housebreakers, and entered into conversation
-with them, and thought the dark smaller man a vastly accommodating
-person, and his morose companion a stout well-to-do grazier coming
-home from Smithfield, judging of them just as we cannot help judging
-of our temporary companions, particularly when travelling, and making
-probably no worse shots than we all do in these fancy biographies _a
-la minute_. But there was a man in the next carriage to the two
-professionals who puzzled everybody. A stout fellow he was, with a
-shiny hat, but no power on earth could get him to utter a syllable.
-Some thought he was dumb, and some made sure he was drunk.
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER XXV
-
-"DULCE DOMUM"
-
-     HALF-ENGAGED--THE GREEN-EYED MONSTER--SELF-SACRIFICE--"DINNER'S
-     ON THE TABLE"--"THE MEMENTO MORI"--AN ADVOCATE FOR MATRIMONY--A
-     FAIR GOOD-NIGHT
-
-
-We must return to Newton-Hollows, now mellowing in the last tints of
-fading autumn, its dahlias already cut off by the morning frosts, its
-well-kept gravel-walks, despite the gardener and his staff, strewed
-here and there with the withered leaves of the declining year. A light
-mist, rising in smoke-wreaths from the sward, anticipates the early
-twilight of the shortening day, and the fire burning brightly in the
-library is none the less acceptable for its contrast to the gathering
-shades of out-of-doors, which seem to stalk nearer and nearer to the
-unshuttered windows.
-
-Blanche has just come in, fresh and blooming, from an errand of mercy
-amongst the poor in the adjoining village. Her bonnet is even now
-hanging on her arm, and her long clustering hair is damp and limp with
-the dews of evening. Is that a tear clinging to her eyelashes? or is
-it only the moisture of heaven caught as it fell, and prisoned in
-those silken meshes? Blanche is often in tears now, and loves to be
-alone. She and Mary ride and walk together as usual, but the
-unreserved confidence that used to exist between them is gone. It has
-been dying a natural death ever since the former paid her memorable
-visit at Frank Hardingstone's hotel; and though it has flickered up
-again with an expiring flash or two, it is now finally extinct. Our
-young lady has aged much since her thoughtless days of only last
-spring. Pique, disappointment, anxiety, and self-communing have been
-doing their work silently and surely, shading the fair young brow,
-indeed, but at the same time tempering and mellowing the careless,
-buoyant heart. Blanche has begun to find that life is not all _couleur
-de rose_, even for the young, and the lesson has not been without its
-usual salutary effect. Though no longer the wealthy heiress--and, to
-do her justice, she seldom dwells upon that as a misfortune--she is
-beginning to feel that she too has a part to act on the stage of life,
-or rather that, no longer acting the vain part of every-day frivolity,
-she has a _reality_ to fulfil. So she is never so happy now as when
-busying herself about her poor people, her decrepit old women, and her
-little ragged children, to whom she does acts of unassuming kindness,
-in the performance of which she forgets her own annoyances and
-heart-burnings, though her woman nature is as yet but half-trained,
-and she has occasional fits of despondency and bursts of reactionary
-sorrow, which make her very unhappy for the time. Blanche has had a
-fresh grievance, too, for the last few days, connected, of all things
-in the world, with Cousin Charlie's return--that return which was to
-have been such a jubilee of rejoicing, and which she now almost dreads
-to look forward to. The girl feels as if she had lost her
-self-respect, and turn which way she will, the sting ever rankles in
-her breast, ever reminds her of what she chooses to consider her
-degradation. The fact is, she has sustained an interview with Uncle
-Baldwin in the formidable study; and the General, who is not given to
-beat about the bush when he has an object in view, has developed to
-her, in as few words as possible, his projects for her future welfare,
-and proposed to her, point blank, that on her cousin's return from
-abroad she should marry him forthwith. Blanche, as in nature bound,
-made sundry hesitating objections, all of which her uncle chose to
-consider as mere maiden modesty, _de rigueur_ on such an occasion; and
-as Blanche could not say she _didn't like him_, and as Uncle Baldwin
-had always been so kind, in fact, a second father to her, and made
-such a point of it, and it would prevent Charlie going back to those
-horrid Kaffirs, and was to make them all so happy, and, above all, had
-been her dearest mother's wish--why, the girl gave in, as girls often
-do on the most important topic of their lives, paralysed, as it would
-seem, by the amount of the stake at issue, and yielded a sort of
-conditional half-promise, which, notwithstanding the bursts of
-applause that it met with from the General, the instant it passed her
-lips, she would have given worlds to be able to recall. But there was
-another consideration, buried deep in Blanche's little heart, which,
-although she would have been very angry to be told so, although she
-would not allow it even to herself, had far more weight in inducing
-her to listen favourably to these advances on the part of her
-unconscious cousin, than all the General's skilful sophistry and
-affectionate eloquence; and this was a feeling which, as it is the
-usual accompaniment of love, resembles that epidemic in so far that,
-where it rages most fiercely, it is invariably most stoutly denied.
-Men take it freely enough, and when under its influence commit sundry
-absurdities, which, if they make "angels weep," certainly make their
-fellow-mortals laugh, and of which they have generally the grace to be
-heartily ashamed; but with women, as we believe its seeds are never
-altogether dormant in those gentle beings, so its virulence, when
-unchecked, pervades their whole system, and one of its commonest and
-least startling effects is that species of moral suicide which is best
-described by the vulgar adage of "cutting off one's nose to spite
-one's face," and which produces that most incomprehensible of all
-vagaries termed "marrying out of pique."
-
-Now we need hardly say, that we have written in vain "for that dull
-elf who cannot picture to himself" how Blanche Kettering, from her
-very pinafore days, had been over head and ears in love with Frank
-Hardingstone: not a very sufficient reason, it may be said, for
-consenting to marry some one else; but yet a natural consequence of
-that inverted state of feelings we have described above, which under
-the name of jealousy is capable of more extravagant feats than this.
-And of whom was pretty Blanche jealous? Why, of her own fast friend
-and dearest associate, the peerless Mary Delaval! The more she thought
-over the characters of the two, so suited to each other in every
-possible way--which very similarity Blanche was not philosopher enough
-to perceive was an insuperable obstacle to any tenderer feeling than
-respect--the more she considered their corresponding strength of mind
-and hardihood of spirit, their equally high standard of worth and
-elevation of sentiment--the more she reflected on the opinions she had
-heard each of them express (the bass notes of that moral duet had sunk
-deep into her heart)--the more she thought over that memorable day,
-when, at a word from Mary, and at a moment's notice, Frank had started
-for South Africa, without so much as coming to wish her (Blanche)
-good-bye--the more her heart sank within her as she linked those two
-commanding figures in the halo of love, blurred even to her mental
-vision by the tears which filled her eyes as she contemplated the bare
-idea of such a union. Blanche had long struggled against this feeling;
-she had hoped against hope, as she firmly believed, rather than give
-Frank Hardingstone up; but now she would deceive herself no more; he
-was actually corresponding with Mrs. Delaval, which, to say the least
-of it, she must confess was very indelicate. This was the second
-letter Mary had received from him. Why had he written to Mary from the
-Cape? It was surely very strange; and Mary had never offered to show
-her either of the letters--of course she would rather die than _ask_
-to see them. Poor Blanche! little do you guess the cause of your
-friend's unusual reserve as regarded these important missives. Mary
-Delaval, quickened by her own experience of a hopeless love, saw it
-all--saw that her high-minded, manly correspondent was devoted heart
-and soul to Blanche; and she pitied him, even as she pitied herself,
-for a misplaced attachment. But it was not for _her_, of all people,
-to do aught that might shake Blanche's affection for Cousin
-Charlie--_she_ could not be so selfish, so traitorous, as to lend her
-assistance to anything, however slight, that might in the most remote
-manner wean Blanche from her cousin, and leave him free. So Mary,
-treasuring the letter, as containing oft-repeated mention of the
-beloved name, placed it in her bosom, but did not volunteer to show a
-single line of it to a living soul. Therefore is Blanche desponding
-and unhappy; therefore, as gloomy thoughts sweep like shadows across
-her mind, the tears gather in her eyes, as she leans her head upon the
-marble chimney-piece, and sorrows all alone in the deepening twilight.
-
-"And this is the day I thought I was to have been so happy," thinks
-poor Blanche--"the day I have been looking forward to ever since we
-heard Charlie was coming home. Ah! I wish I could meet him now as I
-used to do in the happy days when we knew nothing about marrying and
-money and family arrangements. And poor Charlie, after all his
-sufferings!--Uncle Baldwin says it will break his heart if I don't
-marry him. And dear mamma, if she had lived, she would have been so
-glad to see it all settled! And so I suppose it _must_ be; and then
-Mr. Hardingstone will very likely marry _her_, and everybody will be
-happy and contented but _me_. Ah! well, there must always be some one
-sacrificed; and I suppose I must be the victim this time; but it _is_
-hard to give up all my hope, all my sunshine--to have no future any
-more. Yes; I hear the autumn wind sighing round the house. I am not
-yet twenty; and it will be all autumn to me for the rest of my life.
-Oh, it _is_ hard--very hard!" and Blanche pressed her brow against the
-chimney-piece and wept bitterly.
-
-"Blanche, dearest Blanche, what is it?" whispered a gentle voice close
-beside her, and she felt Mary Delaval's arm passed caressingly round
-her waist. Blanche started up, and checked her tears. She could have
-borne anything but this. She could not endure to be consoled by her
-triumphant rival. "Nothing," she replied, withdrawing herself almost
-rudely from the encircling arm--"nothing; I'm only tired and nervous,
-waiting for these people. I think I'll go and dress, for it's getting
-late; and--I think--I think I'll go by myself, Mrs. Delaval," said
-Blanche; and she hurried away, leaving Mary surprised and hurt at the
-first unkind words she had ever heard from Blanche's lips. "Anything
-but that," said the girl as she walked up-stairs, swelling with
-indignation; "anything but that _she_ should come and _triumph_ over
-me." And she banged her door angrily; and Mary, in the drawing-room,
-heard it, and was grieved.
-
-_Triumph_, indeed!--was that poor pale face one of _triumph_? Were
-those deep eyes, hollowing day by day; that sad brow, on which care
-seemed visibly to rest, as a cloud rests upon the hill, and softens
-even while it darkens--were these the outward signs of satisfied
-affection and _triumphant_ love? Blanche, Blanche, you think yourself
-very unhappy; but little do you know the struggle going on in the
-bosom of that faithful friend with whom you are now so unjustly at
-variance. Little do you guess that she has torn the one only image,
-the fulfilment of the ideal of a lifetime, from her heart, and vowed
-to worship it no more; and prayed that the very thought which made the
-sunshine of her existence might pass away; and all for you. So it is
-in life: we make a sacrifice which costs us nothing; we give that
-which perhaps we are all well satisfied to get rid of; and the world
-says, "How noble! how generous! how disinterested!" or we yield up the
-one dear hope that has cheered us all our journey; we consent to
-travel the rest of the way in darkness and dreariness and listless
-despair, and the world thinks us only stupid and disagreeable; those
-who look below the surface perhaps suggest that we are bilious; and
-the one for whom we have made all this ruin, for whose well-being and
-security we are stretched helpless, exhausted, bleeding by the way,
-thanks us blandly at the most, and takes it much as a matter of
-course, and passes by, very likely, on the other side.
-
-But "fight who will and die who may," the outward world goes on much
-the same notwithstanding. The clock goes round, and dinner-time
-arrives; and whatever may be the sorrow brooded over and locked up in
-the inner life, we dress for dinner when the time comes, and look in
-the glass and dry our eyes, and have a glass of sherry after our soup;
-and the tyrant Custom, and the motley jester Society, bid us sit
-between them; and this woos from us a vapid smile, and that lays his
-iron hand upon our brow and dares us to stir; and we are all the
-better for the hypocrisy and the restraint.
-
-Thus, although the ringing of the door-bell that announced the
-long-expected arrival of the guests from Africa vibrated through the
-very hearts of the ladies in their dressing-rooms, even as it vibrated
-through the ground-floors and offices of Newton-Hollows, we are not to
-suppose that it crumpled a fold of muslin or moved a single ringlet
-out of its place with its agitating summons. Below-stairs, indeed, the
-old butler settled himself hastily into his coat, and rushed to the
-door with as hearty a welcome for the travellers as if it had been his
-own house; whilst from a gallery that overlooked the hall divers
-lighted candles might be seen glancing, and pretty faces looking down
-from beneath smart caps, all eager to get a glimpse at Cousin Charlie,
-whose wounds and exploits had made him a second Roland in the
-estimation of these admiring damsels; while sundry exclamations might
-have been overheard, as, "Which is him?" "That's Master Charles, him
-in the pea-jacket." "Lor', how thin he's growed!" and, "Well, he's a
-genteel figure, let alone those 'orrid moustaches," from the upper
-housemaid, who was a new acquisition since Charlie's departure, and
-having once been engaged to a journeyman glazier, thought herself a
-judge of young men. But the General had rushed from his den in the
-meantime, half-dressed as he was, and had pulled Charlie into the
-well-lighted drawing-room, and had shaken Frank Hardingstone a hundred
-times by the hand, and was never tired of reiterating his welcome, and
-his delight at seeing them both once more.
-
-"God bless you, Frank!" exclaimed the General for the twelfth time, as
-he fidgeted about the room in braces and shirt-sleeves. "What! you've
-brought him back safe and well? D----n me, sir (God forgive me for
-swearing), I tell you I'll _never_ forget it. Zounds, don't tell me!
-Brought him back, sir, like a resurrectionist! I never thought to see
-this day, sir--I tell ye--Gratitude! how d'ye mean? And you, Charlie,
-my trump of a boy--thanked in Orders--General Orders, by all the gods
-of war! Ah, I hadn't lectured you over the old port for nothing. You
-took 'em in flank, the rascals. _In flank_, or I'll eat 'em. Don't
-tell _me_; couldn't be done otherwise. Lads! lads! it's too much: you
-make me feel like a child again. What?" and the old General's eyes
-began to overflow with the fulness at his heart; so he relapsed into a
-state of unusual gruffness, and stirred the fire fiercely to conceal
-his emotion; and finally hurried them off to dress. "None of your
-licentious camp habits here, Charlie. Dine to a minute, you dog! I
-trust you'll find your room comfortable, Frank, my boy. I saw to the
-fire myself not half-an-hour ago. What? Ring for what you _want_, and
-my servants will bring you what they _have_." So the old gentleman
-toddled off to finish his own personal adornment, and the guests, with
-beating hearts, well concealed from each other, proceeded to dispatch
-theirs as quickly as might be.
-
-If ever there was a banquet that to all appearance should have been
-one of triumphant hilarity, it was the sumptuous dinner to which our
-party sat down that day in the bright, warm, cheerful dining-room at
-Newton-Hollows. Notwithstanding Lady Mount Helicon's sneers, no man
-understood better than the General that process which is
-conventionally called "doing things well." The servants glided about
-noiselessly as if shod with velvet--the doors were never left open,
-still less closed with a bang--no bumps and thumps of tray-corners
-against projecting wood-work disturbed the conversation, to irritate
-the host while they alarmed his guests. Nor as the different courses
-made their appearance, did a gush of cold air accompany them from
-below-stairs, tainted but not warmed by the odours borne with it from
-the kitchen. The soup was as hot as the plates, the champagne iced to
-a turn, even as the haunch was roasted. Glasses were filled
-noiselessly by the butler, as a matter of course (by the way, an
-immense pull for the ladies), and everything was handed to everybody
-at the instant it was wanted, and this, to our humble ideas, is no
-mean auxiliary to the general success of an entertainment. The old
-Roman _bon vivant_ evidently knew a thing or two about dinner-giving
-(he called them suppers), or he would not have so dilated on the
-necessity of attention to trifles, _vilibus in scopis_, _in mappis_,
-etc. The General, too, understood these details thoroughly, and
-therefore it was disrespectful youth voted _nem. con._ that
-Newton-Hollows was "a rare shop at feeding time," and that "old
-Bounce, if he was rather a bore out hunting, was nevertheless the boy
-to dine with, and no mistake!"
-
-"The boy," however, on this occasion seemed to have all the hilarity
-of the meeting to himself. Of the four individuals that constituted
-his party, each was acting a part, each had set a guard upon his and
-her lips, and was originating broken, disjointed sentences, vainly
-endeavouring to form a matter-of-course unrestrained conversation.
-The ladies were even more reserved than the gentlemen. Blanche was
-thinking how brown and handsome Frank looked after his voyage--so much
-more manly than her cousin--and wondering why he should say so little
-to _her_, and yet pay no attention whatever to Mary. That lady again
-was full of tender alarms and anxieties about Cousin Charlie, his
-wasted figure, and his frequent cough, and gulping down the tears she
-could scarcely repress, as she glanced ever and anon at his glittering
-eye and emaciated face. "Perhaps," she thought, "he will never live
-after all to be Blanche's husband." A thrill shot through her at the
-thought that then he would indeed be all her own: but if this was joy,
-good faith! it was a joy near akin to tears. As for Frank, he was more
-in love than ever. Nor indeed is this to be wondered at. If a
-gentleman having voluntarily surrendered himself to that epidemic,
-which, like the measles, we must all go through sooner or later, and
-which, like that indisposition of childhood, is prone to cure itself
-by its own progress--if a gentleman, then, having undergone a
-favourable eruption, and, at the very crisis of his disorder, shall
-voluntarily absent himself from his charmer, to return from a
-sea-voyage amongst rough companions, and contemplate her for the first
-time, attired in all the brilliancy of dinner costume, and further
-embellished by the favourable disposition of light, which sets off
-such entertainments, and which is generally considered highly
-conducive to female beauty, he need not be surprised to find that he
-is less a rational being than ever, or that the disease for which
-absence is considered so unfailing a cure should come out with
-redoubled virulence under such an interruption of that salutary
-course. But Frank, though in love, was also disappointed. His hopes
-had risen most unreasonably since Charlie's disclosures on the evening
-preceding their memorable shipwreck. He had indulged in such
-day-dreams as, for a sensible man--which, to do him justice, he
-generally was--were the acme of absurdity; and now because Blanche had
-neither thrown herself into his arms when they met--a feat, indeed,
-she could hardly have conveniently accomplished, "dinner" being
-announced at that interesting moment--nor had spoken to him more than
-she could possibly help--for which reserve she likewise had excellent
-reasons, the principal one being that she could by no means trust her
-voice--our philosophic gentleman was disappointed, forsooth, and
-consequently hurt, and the least thing sulky. Charlie, again, though
-more at ease in his mind than the others, was tired and exhausted: he
-was always tired now towards the evening; and although rejoiced to be
-once more at home, once more gazing his fill on the only face he had
-ever much cared to look at--an indulgence that partook, he knew not
-why, of the nature of a stolen pleasure--yet his satisfaction was of
-that inward kind which does not betray itself by outward signs of
-mirth, but which, more particularly in failing health, flows on in a
-deep silent current, that to the superficial observer has all the
-appearance of apathy and cold, selfish carelessness.
-
-But the General was in his glory. Fond of eating and drinking himself,
-his delight was to see his friends eat and drink too; and as he urged
-on his guests the different good things for both purposes that smoked
-on the table or sparkled on the sideboard, he monopolised the
-conversation with the same zest that he demolished a considerable
-share of the entertainment.
-
-"Charlie, you eat nothing, my boy," said the General: "that haunch was
-roasted a turn too much; let me give you a bit of the grouse. Zounds!
-we must fatten you up here--what? commissariat disgraceful at the
-Cape! 'Gad, sir, we wouldn't stand it in India. I broke three
-commissaries myself in the Deccan, because there was no soda-water in
-camp--fact, I pledge you my honour, Mrs. Delaval. I don't believe
-Charlie's had a morsel to eat since he went into training for the
-steeple-chase."
-
-"You wouldn't have said so if you'd seen him getting well at Fort
-Beaufort," remarked Frank, rousing himself from his fit of
-abstraction; "his voracity was perfectly frightful! I wish you could
-have seen him, Miss Kettering, in a black skull-cap, as thin as a
-thread-paper, on crutches, asking every ten minutes what o'clock it
-was, dreading to die of starvation between two o'clock dinner and five
-o'clock tea; you never beheld anything so thin and so hungry."
-
-Blanche laughed her old merry laugh; and Charlie, stealing a look at
-Mary Delaval, saw her eyes were full of tears. How his heart leapt
-within him, and how a chill seemed to gather round it the moment
-after, and curdle his very life-blood, as the possibility flashed
-across him, that even now it might be _too late_. Too late!--he was
-but twenty-one, yet something warned him that his was no secure
-tenure, that there might be truth in the startling suspicion that had
-of late obtruded itself like a death's head on his moments of
-enjoyment--that the world might be no world for him when autumn again
-shed her leaves, and the browning copses and cleared fields brought
-back the merry field-sports he loved so well. No more football--no
-more cricket--no more panting excitement and rosy out-of-doors
-exertion--no more sharp gun-shot ringing through the woodland, nor
-hound making music in the dale, nor airy steed careering after the
-pack, fleeting noiselessly o'er the upland. And though these were
-hard, bitter hard to leave, 'twas harder still to give up the opening
-dream of ambition, the budding promise of manhood; and harder, harder
-than all, the first glowing reality of woman's love. It is well to
-perish with trust unshaken in that glorious myth; to sleep before that
-too is discovered to be a dream. But Charlie shook off these moments
-of despondency with the elasticity of his age and character. In that
-bright, luxurious room, with those friendly faces around him,
-encircled by beauty, wealth, and refinement, death seemed
-_impossible_. Have we never felt thus wrapped in security ourselves;
-and when some "silver cord has been loosed--some golden bowl broken"
-from amongst our own immediate associates, have we not felt almost
-angry at the unmannerly visitor who intrudes thus without knocking,
-and pauses not to wipe his shoes for Turkey carpet more than sanded
-floor? "_Pauperum tabernas regumque turres_," he has the _entree_ of
-them all.
-
-The General was a little disappointed with his guests, when, on the
-retirement of the ladies, a magnum of undeniable claret exhaled its
-aroma for their immediate benefit, and he found it did not by any
-means disappear with that military rapidity to which he was accustomed
-in his younger days. Charlie's cough was a sufficient excuse for his
-abstemiousness; and Frank Hardingstone, though he could drink a
-bucketful on occasion, would not open his lips on compulsion; so the
-General found himself in consequence obliged to grapple with the giant
-almost single-handed. This, to do him justice, he undertook with
-considerable _gusto_, and by the time he had got to the bottom of his
-measure, had arrived at that buoyant state in which gentlemen are more
-prone to broach such matters of business as they may think it
-expedient to undertake, than to explain clearly the method by which
-their desired ends can most readily be attained. Accordingly, when
-Frank and Charlie rose to join the ladies in the drawing-room, our old
-soldier called the latter back to the fire-place, and filling himself
-a large bumper of sherry as an orthodox conclusion to the whole, bid
-his nephew sit down again for five minutes, and have a little quiet
-conversation on a subject which should not be too long postponed.
-"Just three words, Charlie," said the General, sipping his sherry;
-"won't you have a whitewash, my boy? Three hundred and sixty-five more
-glasses in the year, you know. You won't? Well, Charlie, I'm right
-glad to see you back again. To-morrow I must go over everything with
-you as regards money matters. Frank has told you all about the will.
-What? Zounds! it was very singular--I confess I expected it all
-along." The General was one of those truest of prophets whose
-predictions are reserved until the fulfilment of events. Finding that
-Charlie took this extraordinary instance of foresight very coolly, he
-proceeded, as he thought, to beat about the bush in a most skilful
-manner.
-
-"Well, Charlie, and how d'ye think we're all looking, eh? Wear well
-and struggle on, don't we? I've taken pretty good care of your cousin
-for you, my boy, during your absence. How d'ye think she's looking,
-eh?"
-
-Charlie, who had not thought about it at all, answered, "Very well."
-
-And the General filled himself another glass of sherry and went
-on--"By Jove, Charlie, I congratulate you on _that_, eh? Shake hands,
-my lad. Zounds! we'll drink Blanche's health. Now I've put everything
-_en train_. We can have the lawyers down at a moment's notice.
-Blanche's _things_, to be sure, will have to be got; women can't do
-without such a quantity of clothes. Why, when Rummagee Bang's widow
-was burnt--however, that's neither here nor there. Now tell me,
-Charlie, when do you think it ought to come off?"
-
-"My dear uncle, I can't think what you're talking about," replied
-Charlie, trying to look as if he didn't understand; "I don't see what
-I've got to do with Blanche's things."
-
-"Talking of?" resumed the General, "why, the wedding, to be sure. What
-else should I be talking of? You're quite prepared, I suppose. I've
-arranged it all with Blanche; she cried and all that, but _I_ know the
-sex, Charlie, and _I_ could see--zounds, sir! she's _de_-lighted.
-Never was such an arrangement--keeps all the money together, fulfils
-everyone's intentions. What?--and then it's been such a long
-attachment, ever since you were both children, corals and long
-petticoats. Petticoats! How d'ye mean?"
-
-"But, Uncle Baldwin," pleaded Charlie, with some difficulty getting in
-a word edgeways, "don't you think all this is somewhat premature?"
-
-"Premature! what the devil?" replied the General--"zounds, sir! not at
-all premature; quite the contrary, been put off too long, in fact.
-Never mind, better late than never. These things should be done out of
-hand. Why, sir, when I was at Cheltenham in '25, the very year of that
-claret, by the way," pointing to the empty magnum, "there was a
-handsome widow wanted to marry me at twelve hours' notice. Did I ever
-tell you how I got off, Charlie? 'Gad, sir, Mulligatawney, of the
-Civil Service, got me out of the town in a return hearse; but even
-death couldn't part us, my boy--zounds! she followed me to Bath, and I
-was laid up on the second-floor of the York House with the scarlet
-fever--_the scarlet fever!_ and I was as well as you are--till we
-starved her out; and when they said I was disfigured for life she gave
-in." The General chuckled till the tears came into his eyes; then,
-recollecting his moral was somewhat anti-matrimonial, checked himself
-into supernatural gravity, and resumed on the other tack. "But
-marriage is a respectable state, Charlie; there's nothing like it, so
-Mulligatawney tells me, to sober a man. Marriage, Charlie," said the
-General, oracularly, with a solemn shake of the head, "marriage is
-like that empty decanter. It comes in sparkling and blushing, like
-sunrise on a May morning. What?--You draw the cork, and the first
-glass is heaven upon earth--that's the honeymoon; then you fill
-another--same flavour, but not quite equal to the first. Never mind,
-try again; so you keep sipping and sipping, to analyse, if you can,
-the real taste of the beverage, and before you satisfy yourself you
-come to the end of the bottle; then, sir, when you get to the bottom
-you can see through it, and you find how empty it is! Not that I mean
-exactly that," said the General, again catching himself up, as he
-found that his metaphor, having taken a wrong turn, had led to a
-somewhat unexpected conclusion. "But we can't stop here all night,"
-added he; "so tell me, my boy, when I may begin to send out
-invitations for the breakfast."
-
-Charlie blushed up all over his emaciated face, as he replied, pulling
-vehemently at his moustaches, "Why, uncle, it's best to be explicit,
-and I like to be straightforward about everything, so I may as well
-tell you at once, I--I'm hardly prepared to marry--in fact, I'm rather
-adverse to it--in short," said Charlie, gaining courage as he went on,
-"I've no immediate idea of marrying at all, and, with all my respect
-and brotherly affection for her, certainly not Blanche."
-
-"_Certainly not Blanche!_" repeated the General, in something between
-a shriek and a moan. "_Certainly not Blanche!_--and why, in the name
-of all that's de--de--disgusting? _Certainly not Blanche!_ Zounds! I
-see it all now; you've got a _black wife_--don't deny it!--a black
-wife and a swarm of piebald picaninnies. Oh dear! oh dear! that I
-should live to see this day--I shall never get over it--it's killing
-me now;----, I feel it here, sir, in the pit of my stomach! I'll go to
-bed," he vociferated, untying his neckcloth on the spot; "I'll go to
-bed this instant, and never get up again!" With which lugubrious
-threat the General, regardless of Charlie's protestations and
-remonstrances, did in effect stump furiously off to his den, whence
-his dressing-room bell was forthwith heard pealing with alarming
-violence; nor did he appear any more that evening, leaving the
-gentlemen to drag out a weary sitting, still at cross purposes, each
-in the society of her he loved best in the world.
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER XXVI
-
-"EUDAEMON"
-
-     NIGHT-WALKERS--A "NICE JOB"--CLEARING THE PLATE-BASKET--JUST IN
-     TIME--DRUM-HEAD COURT-MARTIAL--FIRST LOVE--A RAT BEHIND THE
-     ARRAS--ON THE TRAIL--AN EFFECTUAL OPIATE
-
-
-It was a soft dark night--such a night as is peculiar to our temperate
-climate towards the close of autumn. There was no moon, and not a star
-to be seen, yet was it not _pitch_ dark, save under the gigantic trees
-or in the close shrubberies that surrounded Newton-Hollows. A man
-could see about ten yards before him, and one bound on an evil errand,
-by cat-like vigilance and circumspection, might have made out the
-figure of an honest man at that distance, and remained himself unseen.
-The night-wind sighed gently through the half-stripped hedges; and the
-fragrance of the few remaining autumnal flowers floated lightly on the
-breeze. It was a beautiful night for the purpose. "Quite
-providential," Mr. Fibbes said, as, clad in a long great-coat, he
-stumbled up the dark lane that led from Newton station to General
-Bounce's residence. His companion made no answer; Tom Blacke was
-pre-occupied and nervous. It may be that the stillness of the hour,
-the soothing tendency of all around him, brought back too painfully
-the innocent days of the past--it may be that he contemplated with
-some misgivings the hazardous undertaking of the immediate future. Mr.
-Fibbes, however, allowed no such gloomy reflections to influence his
-spirits, and the pair proceeded in silence, save where the latter,
-stumbling in some unseen rut, anathematised the slovenly finish of
-"these here country roads," and sighed for the gas-lit pavement of
-his beloved London. Once Tom halted, grasping his comrade's arm with a
-low "Hush!" and whispering in his ear, "that there was a step behind
-them, walking when they walked, and stopping when they stopped."
-
-"Hecho," replied Mr. Fibbes, accounting for the phenomenon by natural
-causes, but prefixing a superfluous aspirate to the name of the
-invisible nymph. "Hecho," said he; "I've often knowed it
-so--'specially at night. But, Tom, what's up, man? blessed if you
-ain't a-shakin' all over,--have a drain, man, have a drain!" and the
-never-failing remedy was forthwith produced in a goodly case-bottle
-from the great-coat pocket. Nor did the doctor neglect his own
-prescription, and much refreshed the twain proceeded on their way. A
-slight difficulty occurred in scaling the park-railings, Mr. Fibbes
-affirming with many oaths that nothing but his weight and the age of
-his nether garments saved him from being impaled there for life; and
-the tremendous disturbance occasioned by a panic-stricken
-cock-pheasant compelled a halt of several minutes' duration, lest the
-inmates of the Hall should have been aroused by the vociferous
-rooster. All was at length still--the church clock at Guyville chimed
-the half-hour after one. The night grew more cloudy, and the wind died
-away into a low, moaning whisper. The pair stole across the lawn, like
-two foul shades returning to the nether world. A heavy foot-mark
-crushed Blanche's last pet geranium into the mould. Tom shook like an
-aspen leaf, much to the covert indignation of Mr. Fibbes, and they
-reached the scullery window unheard and unsuspected.
-
-"Gently, now!" Why does Tom shake so, and even Mr. Fibbes, with his
-bull strength and iron nerves, feel so ill at ease, so willing even
-now to go back a guiltless trespasser, and leave the job undone? But
-no--it has been boasted of in anticipation at their flash resorts;
-what would the professionals think? Why, the very detectives would
-sneer to learn that "Leary Tom" and "the Battersea Big 'un" had been
-frightened at their own shadows, and after a long journey into
-the country had returned bootyless to London, the sleepers
-undisturbed--the "crib uncracked." "Gently, again!"--a jackdaw on the
-roof brings their hearts into their mouths; were it not for the
-case-bottle they would "drop it" even now. Another pause, and Mr.
-Fibbes, summoning all his energies, proceeds to act. Gently and
-stealthily he produces the brown paper, and the treacle with which it
-is to be smeared. Lightly he applies it to the selected pane, Tom
-turning the dark-lantern deftly on the job. How ghastly the white face
-on which a chance ray happens to gleam! Warily--gradually--the heavy
-hand presses harder, harder still, and the glass gives way; but the
-faithful treacle absorbs every stray fragment, and not a particle
-reaches the ground either without or within. Fortune favours the
-rogues; the shutters have not been put up. They are in for it now, and
-both gather confidence, Mr. Fibbes assuming the initiative. A large
-dirty hand gropes through the broken pane, and the hasp of the window
-is moved cautiously back; but with all their care it gives a slight
-click, and again they pause and listen with beating hearts. "The
-grease," whispers Mr. Fibbes to his confederate, and the sashes being
-plentifully smeared with that application, the window opens
-noiselessly to the top. Admittance thus gained to the body of the
-place, our housebreakers are now fairly embarked on their enterprise.
-Their shoes are pulled off and stowed away in their pockets. The
-centre-bit is got in readiness, and Mr. Fibbes feels the edge of his
-long knife with a grim sense of dogged, bloodthirsty resolution. All
-is, however, in their favour. The scullery door is left open, and they
-reach the passage on the ground-floor without the slightest noise or
-hindrance. And here we may remark for the benefit of those who are
-affected by nervous apprehensions of their houses being "burglariously
-entered and their property feloniously abstracted," to use the
-beautiful language of the law--that there is no precautionary measure
-better worth observing than that of carefully locking _on the outside_
-the door of every room on the ground-floor, and leaving the key in the
-lock. There are three things, it is said, of which the housebreaker
-has a professional horror--a little dog loose, an infant unweaned, and
-a sick person _in extremis_. The first is an abomination seldom
-permitted where there is anything worth stealing; the second, a
-misfortune which Nature kindly suffers only to exist at considerable
-intervals; the third, a calamity to which we may hope not to be
-subjected _very_ often in a lifetime. In the absence, then, of these
-unwelcome defences, every door secured as above makes an additional
-fortification against the enemy. The thief having perhaps effected a
-skilful and elaborate entrance into your dining-room, where he finds
-no booty but an extinguished lamp and a volume of family prayers, must
-commit a fresh burglary before he can reach your study, or wherever
-you keep your small stock of ready money for household expenses; and
-though he came in at the window, reversing the usual order of things
-with an unwelcome visitor, he finds it no easy matter to get out at
-the door. The probability is he will hardly work through three solid
-inches of mahogany, for he cannot conveniently pick the lock, if the
-key is left in it, without some little noise. Thus (although to the
-damage of your upholstery) you get an additional chance of being
-aroused, and a few minutes more time to betake yourself to your
-weapons, whether they consist of an unloaded blunderbuss, a
-twelve-barrelled revolver (out of order), or a hand-candlestick and a
-short brass poker. In the meantime, your _placens uxor_, uttering
-piercing shrieks out at the window, alarms the country for miles
-round, and, what is more to the purpose, frightens the robber out of
-his wits, who decamps incontinently, leaving no further marks of his
-visit than a window-frame spoilt, an inkstand or a jar of curry-powder
-upset, and a small box of lucifer-matches, his own property, and
-seized on by you as the _spolia opima_ of this bloodless victory.
-
-Stealthily, noiselessly, like the tiger on his velvet footfall, our
-two ruffians glide along the passage towards the butler's
-sleeping-room, where the plate is kept. Small need have they of the
-dark lantern, so accurately have they studied the plan of the house,
-so apt are they in their nefarious trade. But they have reckoned
-without their host upon that official's absence at Bubbleton; the late
-arrivals from Africa have kept him at home. However, he has been
-celebrating their return so cordially that, as far as being aroused
-and making an alarm goes, he might as well be a hundred miles off.
-They pass the lantern twice or thrice across his sleeping,
-open-mouthed face, and Fibbes feels the edge of his knife once more,
-with devilish ferocity, ere the centre-bit is brought into play, and a
-hole bored in the plate-cupboard, which soon makes the robbers masters
-of its contents. That receptacle is emptied, and its treasures
-transferred to the blue bag, with astonishing silence and celerity.
-The adepts, growing bold with impunity, almost regret the deep
-slumbers of the inmates, sufficiently attested by the prolonged snores
-resounding from that portion of the basement where the other male
-servants repose, and arguing that the jollifications of the evening
-have not been confined to the somnolent butler alone: had the garrison
-been more on the alert, think the invaders, there would have been more
-satisfaction in foiling them, and it would have been a "more
-creditable job" altogether. Hush! is that a footfall along the
-passage? They stop and listen intently. The kitchen clock ticks loudly
-throughout the darkness, but other sound is there none. They resume
-their labours. By this time the plate is packed; the great object of
-the foray has been attained--melted silver tells no tales--and there
-is nothing further to be done than to strip the drawing-room of such
-portable articles as are worth the carrying, and so decamp in triumph.
-Up the back-stairs they steal. The General hates a door to _slam_, in
-which aversion we cordially agree with him; and the green-baize one
-communicating with the offices revolves noiselessly on its hinges. So
-they glide through without hindrance, and on past that statue the
-nudity of which had shocked Tom's sense of propriety on a previous
-occasion. Mr. Fibbes, who is of a facetious humour when under
-excitement, seizes the dark-lantern, and turns its glare full upon
-this work of art, with a high-seasoned joke. They reach the
-drawing-room door; for the space of a minute they listen intently;
-prolonged snores from the direction of the General's apartment pervade
-the house; other sounds there are none. Cautiously the lock is turned,
-and the door thrown quickly open, that no creaking hinge may betray
-them by its moan. A gleam of light well-nigh blinds them, accustomed
-to the darkness of the passages through which they have been groping;
-and Mr. Fibbes, who enters first, starts back, paralysed for a moment
-by the unexpected apparition of a female figure robed in white, and
-shining like some unearthly being in the strong light of his lantern
-turned full upon the place she occupies. The figure starts up, and
-utters a long piercing shriek. There is no time for deliberation; Tom
-hisses a frightful oath into his confederate's ear, and the big
-ruffian gripes Blanche's white throat in one hand, whilst the other
-gropes in his dress for the long knife. Already the blade quivers
-aloft in the candle-light. Crash!--a terrific blow levels the villain
-to the floor. Tom, turning madly to escape, finds himself in the
-powerful grasp of Frank Hardingstone, who shakes him as a terrier
-would shake a rat--Frank's extremely airy costume being highly
-favourable to such muscular exertions. Bells peal all over the house;
-lights are seen glancing along the passages; female voices rise shrill
-and high, in scream and sob and voluble inquiry. Charlie and Mary
-Delaval meet on the stairs, and he only exclaims, "What is it? Thank
-God, _you_ are safe!" The General rushes tumultuously down in a scanty
-cotton garment, disclosing the greater portion of a pair of extremely
-sturdy supporters, and in which, crowned with a red nightcap, and
-armed moreover with a short brass poker, he presents the appearance of
-some ancient Roman of "the baser sort," inciting his brother-plebeians
-to an agrarian tumult. "Guard, turn out!" shouts the General, in a
-voice of thunder. "Murder, thieves! Let me get at 'em; _only let me
-get at 'em_!" And he bursts into the drawing-room, where he beholds
-Frank still shaking Tom Blacke, who is by this time nearly strangled;
-Blanche in a "dead faint" on the sofa; Mr. Fibbes' huge body extended
-senseless on the floor, and standing over him, apparently ready to
-knock him to shivers again the very instant he should show the
-slightest symptom of vitality, our old friend, rough, honest,
-undaunted Hairblower!
-
-       *       *       *       *       *
-
-"Drum-head court-martial!" exclaimed the General, as he struggled
-hastily into a somewhat warmer costume than that which he had worn
-during the brunt of the action--"drum-head court-martial at three in
-the morning. Zounds! I only wish I was in India, I'd have 'em hanged
-in front of the house before breakfast-time. Frank--hollo!--march the
-prisoners into my study, under escort, my boy, and be d----d to them.
-No, I will _not_ swear," and the General took his place at his
-study-table, with all the pomp and circumstance of a district
-court-martial, as the hapless housebreakers, with their arms pinioned
-behind them, and guarded by the whole male strength of the
-establishment, were paraded before him, Hairblower bringing up the
-rear, and keeping his eye steadily fixed on Mr. Fibbes, as if only
-watching his opportunity for an insubordinate movement on the part of
-that individual to knock him down again. Mr. Fibbes maintained a
-dogged silence throughout; save once, when he muttered a complimentary
-remark, containing the figurative expression, "white-livered son of a
-----," supposed to be explanatory of the state of prostration in which
-he saw his fellow-prisoner. Tom Blacke was utterly unnerved; he cried,
-and shook, and staggered like a man with the palsy, and would have
-gone down on his knees to the General, had he not been forcibly held
-up by the two tall footmen, who seemed to mistrust even the slightest
-movement as preparatory to a fresh outbreak of ferocity. "This once,"
-pleaded the wretched coward, "forgive me this once, General, for the
-sake of my poor wife--Miss Blanche's maid she was, sir--only this
-once, and I'll confess all--the forgery and everything--you might
-transport me for life, but you won't be hard upon me, General--this
-job wasn't my doing, 'twas him that set me on it; 'twas his plan, I'll
-swear," pointing to Mr. Fibbes, whose countenance was expressive of
-intense contempt and disgust. "Well," muttered that gentleman, as if
-this was indeed a climax, "well, I am ----," something which he
-certainly was _not_, however much the mode of life he affected might
-eventually lead to such a consummation. "Forgery!" exclaimed the
-General, "what? Zounds! here's something of importance! swear him--no,
-he's on his trial--take his words down in writing--forgery
-indeed!--here's a pretty discovery!" As Blacke became more composed,
-out it all came--how his wife had forged Mrs. Kettering's name, and
-obtained the legacy, and got the will proved, through that knowledge
-of the law which he was always ready to turn to evil account--the
-whole confession, which was indeed full and satisfactory, for he was
-frightened into telling the truth, closing with another earnest appeal
-for mercy, and another denunciation of his dogged confederate.
-
-The General was in raptures--Blanche was an heiress once more--even
-Charlie's contumacious refusal to be married against his will was now
-a matter of secondary importance. In his delight he would have let
-both the rogues go, and pledged himself not to prosecute them, had
-Frank Hardingstone not reminded him that the duty he owed to civilised
-society would hardly admit of such injudicious lenity; so the
-prisoners were marched off, still under a numerous and voluble escort,
-and carefully locked into a coal-house, whence, it is needless to
-observe, they made an easy escape within two hours, when their
-temporary gaolers, after beer all round, returned to their repose--nor
-should we omit to mention that they were retaken by the London police
-within five days, and eventually transported--Mr. Fibbes for fourteen
-years, and Tom Blacke, in consideration of divers little matters that
-came up against him, for the term of his natural life.
-
-But in the meantime, the General, his guests, and servants, returned
-to their respective couches. Blanche, after the administration of such
-restoratives as ladies alone understand, was put to bed by Mary
-Delaval, who would not leave her till she saw her sink into a quiet
-refreshing slumber--then the governess too sought her room, and oh!
-what a happy heart she carried with her to her rest. "Thank God, _you_
-are safe!" It was but five words--yet what depths of joy and hope and
-tenderness that short sentence opened up--what a different world it
-was now--true, they were far apart as ever in reality, but she felt
-that in the bright realms of fancy they were linked in a bond that
-could never be forgotten--"yes, he loved her." 'Twas _his cousin's_
-scream that had disturbed him in his chamber; 'twas _his cousin_, his
-betrothed wife, as she had once thought, who was in peril and
-distress; yet in all the hurry and confusion of the moment, _she_, the
-poor governess, was uppermost in his thoughts. "Thank God!" he said,
-"_you_ are safe!"--yes, he loved her, he loved her, and he was hers
-for evermore. They would never be united in the material world; other
-duties, other affections would supplant her in his outer life, his
-every-day existence--but when the cloud of sorrow overshadowed
-him--when joy more than common flooded him in its golden light--when a
-strain of music, or a gleam of sunshine, or the song of a bird, or the
-ripple of a stream touched his higher nature--whenever the springs of
-feeling gushed up in his inmost heart, then would her image rise to
-vindicate its sovereignty over its spiritual being--then would she
-claim him and possess him as her own, her _very_ own. First love is a
-fatal illusion--the plant may never come into full bloom--it may
-blossom but to be cut down--it may be nipped by bitter frosts or rent
-by the blustering gale--it may be trodden into the dirt by rude feet,
-and covered by grass mould, or spotted by the slime of trailing
-reptiles. For years it may be buried and forgotten, yet when the south
-wind breathes its fragrance over earth, when the gentle rain descends
-from heaven, its fibres will again put forth their leaves; from its
-burial-place the meek plant will again raise its head above the
-surface, and its perfume will steal over the senses like a sigh from
-Paradise. So thought Mary with regard to that superstition. To do them
-justice, women in general cling with wonderful tenacity to this
-article of their faith. Poor things! they seldom have it in their
-power to observe it practically, but their adoration in theory for the
-holiness and inviolability of first love is all the more disinterested
-and edifying. So Mary lay awake for hours in an ecstasy of happiness,
-and when she did close her eyes what wonder that her dreams, take
-whatever shape they would at first, invariably resolved themselves
-into a circle of merry-makers, and in the middle a figure on its knees
-before her, with fair, upturned face, and tender, smiling lips,
-whispering, "Thank God, _you_ are safe!"
-
-It is now high time that we should explain by what fortunate train of
-circumstances Hairblower and Blanche should have met at that critical
-moment, when the astonished girl found herself in the grasp of a
-ruffian, who but for the timely intervention of the seaman's arm,
-would in all probability have murdered her on the spot. Her champion's
-own account of his proceeding was so intermixed with professional
-terms and peculiar phrases, which in his vocabulary possessed an
-entirely different meaning from that which is found attached to them
-in Johnson's Dictionary, or any other standard authority on the
-English language, that we prefer giving it in our own words, merely
-observing that the whole robbery and rescue was a proceeding which he
-designated "special," and should, indeed, be considered, so he said,
-"a circumstance from beginning to end." Hairblower, then, having
-transacted his fishing affairs with his "governor," as he called him,
-in which interview, we have since been informed, the "governor," a
-shrewd, hard-headed man of business, got very much the better of the
-seaman; and having failed in his intention of making a ceremonious
-call on his foreign friends, "the True-blues," who were then making a
-tour of the provinces, was irresistibly impelled by a species of
-morbid curiosity to revisit the scene of his former misfortunes. So he
-actually turned into the very public-house where he had been robbed on
-his previous visit to London; and finding no one there but the
-bar-maid (a late acquisition), very quietly had his dinner and drank
-his beer in the small snuggery of the bar, which we have mentioned as
-being lighted by a window from the identical room in which Tom Blacke
-and Mr. Fibbes were in the habit of holding their nefarious
-consultations. The seaman had paid for his liquor, and was in the act
-of departing--in fact, the girl thought he had already gone, when the
-two housebreakers entered the door, and Hairblower, resisting his
-first impulse, which was to do battle on the spot with the twain, "one
-down, t'other come on," shrank back unobserved into the little room he
-had been occupying, and taking off his shoes, concealed himself behind
-an old-fashioned chest that stood against the wall. His first idea was
-to remain in hiding till the two worthies should have arrived at the
-height of their jollification, and then, bursting in upon their
-banquet, to administer to each what he termed "his allowance." The
-conversation, however, which he overheard was of such a nature as to
-modify considerably this desire for immediate blows, and when the
-horrid method of silencing the alarm likely to be raised by some
-female watcher was discussed in cold blood as a matter of regular
-business, the listener's hair stood on end as he resolved, come what
-might, to prevent this deliberate and inhuman murder.
-
-But Hairblower was completely in the dark still as to the "where" and
-the "when" of the intended burglary. He could not therefore warn the
-inmates, nor had he time to inform the police. He could but watch the
-plotters, lie still, and listen. Little thought Tom Blacke, when he
-looked outside the door and peeped through the red-curtained window,
-as he imagined to make all safe, that the avenger in the shape of his
-old sailor friend was within five yards of him; little thought Mr.
-Fibbes, in his acoustic speculations about "Hecho," that in this
-instance hers was a substantial frame dogging his every footstep, a
-strong heavy arm ready and willing to strike him to the earth. They
-thought they were secure at least of all _outside_ the house, and they
-took their measures accordingly.
-
-But honest Hairblower enjoyed one of those enviable organisations to
-which fear seems positively unknown, and when he reflected that, in
-his ignorance of where they were bound and when their plot was to be
-ripe, his only chance was never to let the ruffians out of his sight
-till he could place them in safe custody, it seemed to him the most
-natural thing in the world, alone and unarmed, to dog the footsteps of
-two desperate men, one of whom was an acknowledged murderer. He
-followed them accordingly from the house; he waited on the opposite
-side of the street whilst they got their implements from Tom's
-lodgings; he arrived at the station twenty yards behind them, stole up
-and heard them take tickets to "Newton," took a similar one himself,
-and sat down in the very next carriage to them, with the collar of his
-pea-jacket pulled high over his face, and a guard placed upon his
-lips, lest his old acquaintance should by any means overhear and
-recognise his voice. As he journeyed down, he thought over every
-possible plan by which he could frustrate the robbery. If he gave them
-into custody with the railway people, he could prove nothing; they
-were two to one; they would not hesitate to swear black was white, and
-they might easily turn the tables upon him, and perhaps succeed in
-transferring him to durance vile instead of themselves. If he asked
-for assistance from a fellow-passenger (and there was one stout-made
-countryman in whom Hairblower was sorely tempted to confide) he would
-probably not be believed, or at any rate the explanation and
-consequent watching would be very likely to place the ruffians on
-their guard. No, he would do it all himself. He could rely on his own
-stout heart and powerful frame; he would hunt them to the world's end.
-At Newton station great caution was necessary. He remained in the
-train till they had left the platform, then nimbly jumped out as it
-was on the point of starting, and delivering up his ticket, got clear
-of the building in time to distinguish their footsteps stealing up the
-lane not fifty yards ahead of him. This distance he cautiously
-diminished. Like most sailors, he could see pretty well in the dark,
-and was used to going barefoot, so taking his shoes off once more, he
-had no difficulty in keeping within earshot of the chase. At last they
-reached the house; Hairblower no more knew whose it was than the man
-in the moon; but he had determined, as soon as they were all safe
-inside, to make a dash at Tom Blacke, knock him senseless, close with
-Fibbes, and alarm the inmates; thus, he thought, they will be taken in
-the fact. Had he known his dear Miss Blanche was in jeopardy, perhaps
-he might not have been so cool. Fortunately, sailors are so used to
-every sort of difficulty that it is next to impossible to put one
-wrong, and Hairblower managed to creep through the scullery window
-nearly as deftly as either of the professionals, with whom proficiency
-in such exercises is a necessary part of their trade. Whilst they
-robbed the butler's pantry he stood behind the door; but the moment,
-he thought, had not yet arrived. In that small room, he calculated, he
-had hardly space to "tackle" with them properly, and with admirable
-coolness waited a better opportunity, and followed them up-stairs. As
-they entered the drawing-room he was close upon them; and had it not
-been that he was as much startled as Fibbes himself at the apparition
-of "Miss Blanche," his arm would have been raised an instant sooner,
-and might perhaps have saved that young lady a fainting-fit, as it did
-save her life. As he turned to seize Tom Blacke he beheld him in the
-grasp of Mr. Hardingstone, and then Hairblower felt indeed that he
-could have encountered a host; but by this time the house was alarmed,
-and further violence unnecessary.
-
-Now, although we are aware that it is not customary for well-nurtured
-damsels to sit with lighted candles in drawing-rooms at an hour when
-the rest of the family have retired to rest, yet allowances must be
-made for such as have the misfortune to be in love. This was Blanche's
-case, and being unable to sleep, she wisely slipped on her
-dressing-gown, and stole down-stairs for the purpose of getting the
-last new novel, then lying on the drawing-room table, and
-administering it as the never-failing soporific. When there, she found
-the room so much more comfortable than her own, that she lit the
-candles and sat quietly down to read, till disturbed by what she
-thought at the moment a frightful apparition. Her delight at
-recognising Hairblower when she came to her senses was only equalled
-by the enthusiasm of that formidable auxiliary himself, who with
-difficulty refrained from embracing her on the spot, a mode of worship
-in which Frank Hardingstone would willingly have joined. That
-gentleman, we have reason to think, was in love too; at least, on the
-night in question he was restless and fidgety, and courted slumber in
-vain. Then he heard a door open, and got up and put on a few clothes,
-and then he fancied he distinguished a stealthy footfall in the
-passage below; so he too left his room, and arrived on the scene of
-action in the nick of time. How the disturbance of that night
-influenced the destiny of several of the party it is not now necessary
-to state, nor can we tell what Frank saw, heard, or felt, to induce
-him the following morning to send to Bubbleton for his horses, and to
-make such arrangements as argued his intention of protracting his
-visit at Newton-Hollows during some considerable portion of the
-hunting-season. We are satisfied, however, although she did not say
-so, that this arrangement was by no means unwelcome to Blanche
-Kettering.
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER XXVII
-
-FLOOD AND FIELD
-
-     A FAMILY PARTY--A HUNTING MORNING!--HAND-AND-GLOVE--GONE
-     AWAY!--NEVER MORE--FOLLOW-MY-LEADER
-
-
-It was the last day of the Old Year, and he seemed to have resolved on
-making a peaceful ending, such as the thirty-first of December seldom
-vouchsafes in any climate but our own. Thoroughly English, too, was
-the party assembled round the breakfast-table at Newton-Hollows, from
-the red face of the old butler struggling in with the hissing urn, to
-the corresponding colour of Frank Hardingstone's coat, betokening that
-he meant to enjoy our national sport of fox-hunting. Blanche was
-already down, looking charming in a riding-habit, as all pretty women
-do; and Mary's quiet face showed more animation than usual, perhaps in
-consequence of an arrangement which was broached, apparently not for
-the first time.
-
-"I am _so_ glad we persuaded him not to ride," observed Blanche,
-appealing as usual to Mr. Hardingstone; "he will _not_ take care of
-that cough--men are such bad patients! Now with Mary to drive him in
-the pony-carriage, he can keep himself well wrapped up, and the air
-will do him good."
-
-"Undoubtedly," replied Frank, "Mrs. Delaval must take good care of her
-patient" (Mary looked as if she _rather_ thought she would); "and I
-shall be completely at your service, Miss Kettering; you know I am
-_not_ an enthusiast about hunting, like Charlie."
-
-"Oh, I shall do very well with old Thomas and Uncle Baldwin, if he can
-only keep up with me," replied Blanche; "so I won't ask you to stay
-with _me_."
-
-Frank seemed to think this would be no great sacrifice; but, as she
-spoke, the subject of their conversation entered the breakfast-room,
-and took his place as usual at Mrs. Delaval's side. Poor Charlie! he
-looked thinner than ever, and the cough, though not so violent, was
-every day more and more frequent. To be sure his eye was bright, and
-his colour at times brilliant; everybody seemed to think he was
-better, save the Bubbleton doctors, and they never would give an
-opinion one way or the other.
-
-"So Haphazard is to be disappointed of his gallop again," complained
-Charlie, as he stretched his wasted hand for his tea-cup. "I have had
-quite enough of being nursed, Blanche, even by you. I really think I
-might ride him, just to see them find. I could get off if I felt
-tired, you know."
-
-"Get off when the hounds are running!" replied Blanche, "not you. Now
-be a good boy just this once, Charlie. Mary has promised to drive you
-in my pony-carriage with Scrub: she says you shall see everything if
-you'll only trust yourself with her; and nobody will take such care of
-you as Mary, I know," added she, rather mischievously. Charlie made no
-further objections, and Mrs. Delaval kept her eyes immovably fixed on
-the pattern of her tea-cup.
-
-"Late, of course--servants always are late, except for dinner.
-Charlie, my boy, how are ye this morning? You've got no breakfast.
-Zounds! why is everything cold? Blanche, my sweet girl, ring all the
-bells, and kick that old fool into next week, if he don't bring hot
-mutton-chops instanter. I can't stay a moment. I must be off to
-Snaffles, or he'll make some cursed mistake. It's very singular that
-nobody ever understands my directions," said the General, bustling
-into the room in a state of more than usual ferment, as is generally
-the case with occasional sportsmen on a hunting-morning. The General
-had been up since daybreak, but had not yet succeeded in snatching a
-quiet five minutes for his own breakfast; and even now, as he fussed
-about in a short green coat and high Napoleon boots, it seemed
-doubtful whether he would settle down to his meal, or be off on
-another visit to the stables, for the further confusion of the
-unfortunate Snaffles. Hunger carried it for the moment, but the
-trampling of hoofs and grinding of wheels on the sweep at the
-front-door soon drew our party to the window, from which Blanche's
-eyes were delighted by the appearance of her favourite Water King, his
-fine coat glistening in the morning sun, his long thin tail whisking
-about as usual, and his rounded form seen in all its beauty under the
-unmounted side-saddle. "Isn't he a darling?" exclaimed Blanche from
-the window, as the horse stepped proudly round to the door, pointing
-his small ears and glancing in every direction as though looking for
-his mistress. Old Thomas on a steady brown; Frank's two hunters,
-well-bred, weight-carrying animals; the General's black cob, and the
-little pony-carriage, completed the cavalcade, which was at length got
-into marching order, not without much difficulty and the issue of
-several contradictory orders from Uncle Baldwin, who, what with his
-anxiety about Blanche's mounting and his care that Charlie should be
-properly wrapped up, to say nothing of his directions to every one
-concerning that undiscoverable passage, "the shortest way," was
-already in a white heat, and altogether in a state quite the reverse
-of what we should suppose anticipatory of a day's _pleasure_.
-
-However, Blanche was in the saddle at last, and pacing quietly on with
-Frank by her side. The General, too, was mounted, but by no means as
-yet under way--so much had to be impressed on the butler in case of
-the Field stopping to luncheon; so much on Snaffles, who remained at
-home, about sundry brood mares in the paddocks, all in an interesting
-situation; so much on the keepers, who neglected the earth-stopping
-generally; and so _very_ much on the bailiff, who invariably appeared
-at the last moment, that had it not been for the determination evinced
-by the black cob, his master would have remained at the front-door
-till dinner-time; that animal, however, a resolute Roman-nosed
-conveyance, seeing his stable companions rapidly deserting him, and
-rejoicing moreover in a stiff neck and perfectly callous mouth, made
-no more ado, but took the bit between his teeth, and lowering his head
-to the well-known angle of insubordination, rushed doggedly to the
-front, bearing the General rapidly past the pony-carriage in a manner
-more ludicrous than dignified. Charlie was in fits. Even quiet Mrs.
-Delaval laughed outright; and this simple incident, perhaps, made
-their drive far more lively--we will not say more agreeable--than it
-would otherwise have been, inasmuch as they had started in solemn
-silence; and, like all couples who feel that they are more to each
-other than either dares to confess, they might have remained
-unwillingly mute during the precious hours, from sheer inability to
-talk upon any topic but one, and a nervous dread of entering on that
-one lest an explanation should at once dispel the dream that had been
-the happiness of their lives. Now, however, they chatted gaily enough;
-and certainly if ever there was a situation calculated to raise the
-spirits of mortals, it was that in which our young lancer and his
-lady-love found themselves, on their way to Crop Hill, that
-thirty-first of December--a drive never afterwards to be effaced from
-the memory of the gentle charioteer. It was one of those beautiful
-balmy mornings that (when we get them) make an English winter more
-delightful than that of any other country in the world. It can only be
-described by the expression which it brought to every one's lips,
-"What a hunting morning!" There had been heavy rain in the night, and
-the freshened pastures seemed actually to smile in the sun, as ever
-and anon he shone out with chastened beams over copse and meadow and
-upland; the very hedges, leafless though they were, seemed to breathe
-the fragrance of spring; mid-winter as it was, Nature seemed to be not
-dead, but sweetly sleeping; the robin hopped merrily from twig to
-twig; the magpie jerked and chattered, and flew before the
-pony-carriage, lighting now on this side of the lane, now on that, now
-disturbing its mate, now soaring away over the high thick hedge
-towards the distant wood. As they emerged into a line of fair open
-pastures from which their view, unchecked by fence on either side,
-swept over a rich green vale, dotted with cattle and clothed with
-hedge-row trees, they caught sight of their mounted friends cantering
-merrily along the grass ahead of them, Blanche's habit fluttering in
-the soft, light breeze, her cavalier's red coat and shining
-stirrup-irons glistening in the sun, and the General bumping steadily
-behind them on the high-stepping black cob, who, albeit usually an
-animal of imperturbable sobriety, had contracted a fatal passion for
-the chase, which on occasions like the present put him into a state of
-rebellious excitement that lasted throughout the day, and produced a
-sad reaction in the stable on the morrow.
-
-"That's the best fellow in England," said Charlie, as he pointed out
-his friend to his companion. "I shall be glad when it's settled, Mrs.
-Delaval, as _I_ know it soon will be." Mary thought they were on
-tender ground, and applied herself diligently to her driving without
-producing any great increase of pace on the part of philosophical
-Scrub. "Ah!" said Charlie, and his voice trembled as he spoke, "I've
-envied Frank all my life, and I envy him more than ever now."
-
-"You _do_?" replied Mary, glancing quickly at him, while her heart for
-the moment seemed to stand still.
-
-"Not his bride, Mrs. Delaval," replied Charlie, "for his bride you'll
-see she will be. No, no; I'm very fond of Blanche, but not in that
-way." Mary was blushing crimson, and it was surprising what a deal of
-driving that little pony required as Charlie proceeded. "But I envy
-him all he has that I can never have again--health, strength, all that
-makes life enjoyable--all that was once mine, but that I feel I have
-now lost for ever."
-
-"Don't say so," replied Mary, though her rising tears almost choked
-her utterance, "don't say so. With care and good advice, and all of
-_us_ to nurse you, oh, you must, you _shall_ get well;" but even as
-she spoke she felt a sad foreboding at her heart. Charlie caught her
-glance, though it was almost instantly averted, and he proceeded as if
-half to himself--
-
-"I could bear it well enough if I was like Frank in one respect, if I
-knew my life was bound to another's, and that other the one I cared
-most for in the world. I could struggle on for _her_ sake; but no, I
-shall leave none such behind _me_, and perhaps it is better."
-
-"Do you think we are so heartless?" she burst forth; "do you think we
-can part with you without a murmur? With _you_, for whom we have
-watched and prayed and longed all those dreary months; dreary indeed
-whilst you were----" Mary stopped short. She felt she had said too
-much, but it was Charlie's turn to blush now. His breath came quick
-and short; the boy dared not look the woman in the face, but he put
-his hand into his bosom and drew out a glove--a white kid glove it was
-formerly, now sadly soiled and discoloured, for a gallant heart had
-been beating against it many a long month--but with a rim of velvet
-round the wrist; there was no doubt of its identity, nor of the fair
-hand it once had fitted. Charlie drew it out and pressed it to his
-lips. She turned on him one swimming glance. They understood each
-other; the moment had at length arrived when--
-
-"_Gently_, Ravager! back, hounds, back!"--and the loud crack of a
-hunting-whip disturbed their romantic _tete-a-tete_ at this critical
-moment, and announced the proximity of that well-known pack
-denominated the Hark-holloa Hounds, trotting gently on towards the
-place of meeting, and rapidly overtaking the pony-carriage and its
-pre-occupied inmates. The noble impulse of equine emulation, usually
-dormant in the shaggy form of Scrub, was now aroused by the inspiring
-influence of the passing pageant, and the clean, dainty-looking,
-motley-coloured pack; the neat, well-appointed servants in their
-bright scarlet coats and glossy velvet caps; the well-bred,
-well-groomed, hunting-looking horses they bestrode stepping airily
-along, jingling their bits, and snorting to the morning breeze. All
-these objects raised the mettle of Blanche's quiet pony, and Mary had
-now enough to do in earnest, as he tugged at the reins and drew them
-rapidly on in rear of the pack towards a slight elevation in the
-distance crowned by a windmill, and rejoicing in the dignified title
-of Crop Hill. A renewal of the tender subject was impossible, for as
-they neared the trysting-place the plot thickened rapidly, and
-sportsman after sportsman cantering by on his covert-hack had a bow
-for Mrs. Delaval, and a word to exchange with Charlie; now
-congratulating him on his return, now condoling with him for his
-inability to ride, now cordially hoping that he will soon be in the
-saddle, with an inquiry after the welfare of the celebrated Haphazard.
-Charlie's spirits rose as they proceeded, and ere they reached the
-windmill he was a boy again.
-
-"Yoi, over there!" holloaed the huntsman, standing in his stirrups and
-waving the willing pack into the cover, a patch of sunny gorse lying
-on the south side of the hill, and commanding a vale of large green
-pastures that to contemplate alone brought the light into Charlie's
-eye.
-
-"This way," said the General, sidling and piaffing and coming tail
-first towards the pony-carriage, for the double purpose of placing it
-in a favourable position for viewing the proceedings, and of
-exhibiting his own horsemanship before the eyes of Mrs. Delaval. The
-General was under the impression that if there was one thing in which
-more than another he excelled, it was the art of _manege_ equitation,
-and perhaps on an animal less self-willed than the black cob he might
-have been a very Bellerophon, but certainly at the present juncture he
-jerked, and fumed, and kicked, and wiped his brows in anything but a
-graceful mode of progression.
-
-"This way," said he, after a violent effort which brought the cob
-broadside on across Scrub, whose recognition, however, his excited
-friend disdained to acknowledge.
-
-"From the brow of this hill you can see for miles. If we don't find
-here--how d'ye mean, _don't_ find here? If there's no fox in the gorse
-I'll eat this hunting-whip!" eyeing his own iron-handled one as he
-spoke. "If you keep along the--(Stand _still_, you brute!)--if you
-keep along the brow, Mrs. Delaval--(Zounds! _will_ you stand
-still?)--you'll be able to--Tally-ho! he's away, d'ye see him, yonder
-by the oak! now they have it. Forward! forward!!" Charlie could not
-resist a prolonged screech of delight, though he coughed for five
-minutes afterwards, and the General went off at score, as eager for a
-start as if he had been riding the best horse in England, and bumped,
-and thumped, and scuttled, and slid down the hill, towards a friendly
-hand-gate, as only an elderly gentleman can, who has survived all his
-passions save this one alone! What a scurry there was over the vale
-below! Immediately in the foreground a group of foot-people, a keeper
-in velveteen, and a labourer with a terrier in his arms, laughed and
-gazed and vociferated, and made sundry uncomplimentary remarks on the
-sportsmen whose prowess they could so effectually overlook. Lower
-down careful grooms on second horses, a steady-going dark-coated
-array, had diverged nearly at right angles to the line of chase, and
-keeping studiously together, seemed to be holding perseveringly for
-some point of their own, well down-wind. At the bottom of the hill, a
-horse-breaker, on a four-year-old rearing straight on end, was
-endeavouring to make the passage of a white gate that had slammed to,
-unpropitiously, just in front of him. As the man had dropped his whip
-and did not dare get off, he was likely to remain there some little
-time longer. Just in front of him again came the Field, a motley mass
-of colours, red predominating--streaming like a flight of wild-fowl,
-as they crossed the enclosures, but huddling confusedly together as
-often as they reached the fence, under the mistaken notion that there
-is safety in numbers.
-
-Amongst them were men of all sorts and ages, ranks, weights, and
-sizes--some plying elbows and legs as they shot occasionally to the
-front, only to drop back to their native obscurity when the fatal
-necessity of jumping should arrive---some holding steadily on,
-satisfied to be in good company, with no more idea of where the hounds
-were than if they had been in the next county--discreet spirits
-breaking the hearts of valorous horses by keeping them back--eager
-enthusiasts rapidly finishing their too sorry steeds by urging them
-forward--but still one and all convinced that they were distinguishing
-themselves by their prowess, and prepared to swear over their wine
-that they had been all day in the front rank. To the right of these
-might be seen the General in a line of his own, leading him through a
-deep ridge and furrow field, in which he laboured like a boat in a
-heavy sea--already its inequalities had brought him to a slack rein,
-and even at that distance the rider's heels could be plainly
-distinguished in convulsive persuasion.
-
-Five minutes more at that pace would unquestionably reduce the black
-cob to a walk. A field farther forward than these, and released from
-the turmoil and confusion in their rear, struggled a devoted band, the
-forlorn hope of the chase--those adventurous spirits who "mean
-riding," but "don't know how"--though small in number, great in
-hairbreadth 'scapes and thrilling casualties. There a rood and a half
-of fence was seen tumbling into a field with a crash like the falling
-of a house, followed by a headlong biped describing a parabola in the
-air, and closely attended by a huge dark object which resolved itself
-into a rolling steed. Farther on again a crashing of rails was heard,
-and a reckless pair seen balanced across a strong piece of
-field-upholstery, only to subside dully into a fatal ditch gaping to
-receive them, not in vain--
-
-    "_Rider and horse in one red burial blent._"
-
-A wisp of scarlet lying motionless on the greensward, and a loose
-horse galloping furiously to the front, completed this ill-fated
-portion of the panorama, and carried the eye forward to where some
-half-dozen detached cavaliers were gradually diminishing till they
-looked like red balls bouncing over a billiard-table, as independent
-and nearly abreast each sped his own line across the distant fields.
-These were indeed the "chosen few"--the deacons of the craft, quick,
-quiet, wary, and resolute--they had surmounted all the obstacles of
-the commencement, all the struggle for a start, and were now enjoying
-their reward. Each man as he took his horse well by the head settled
-himself in his saddle, and scanning his ground with keen and practised
-eye, crashed through the impervious bullfinch or faced the
-uncompromising timber, enjoying a deep thrilling ecstasy totally
-incomprehensible to the rational portion of mankind. A Frenchman once
-remarked to us, anent this particular form of lunacy, "Monsieur, nous
-ne cherchons pas nos emotions, nous Francais, a nous casser le cou."
-But deep and stirring were the _emotions_ of our English enthusiasts
-as they strained after the fleeting pack, now diminished to a few
-white, scattered dots, glancing over the green surface a field ahead
-even of these.
-
-"Happy fellows!" exclaimed Charlie, watching the first flight, where
-his own place should have been, with straining eyes. "It looks
-uncommonly like a run!--but where's Frank? he ought to be forward with
-the hounds. Oh! he's philandering there on the right with Blanche;"
-and Charlie's mouth drew itself down into an expression of intense
-disgust--although in love himself, he could not understand Venus being
-allowed to interfere with Diana. "If we keep down this lane,"
-exclaimed he, still bending his gaze on the disappearing pack, "we
-shall come in upon them again, to a certainty, with this wind.
-Wilmington Copse is his point, I'll lay my life. Go along, Scrub!" and
-the pony-carriage was again set in motion, not without flagellation of
-Blanche's favourite, bumping and swaying down an extremely bad road at
-the best speed it could muster. Ever and anon the drivers cast a look
-over the vale at the fast-disappearing chase, but the excitement was
-rapidly subsiding. All the reds had by this time vanished, save one
-extremely cautious sportsman in a lane; the more sober colours were
-gradually fading into the distance. The horse-breaker was gone, the
-keeper in velveteen shouldered his gun, the labourer put down his
-terrier, and the pedestrians were lounging home to dinner. After two
-miles or so of severe exertion the panting Scrub was again pulled up
-at Stoney Cross, a place where four byroads met, commanding an
-extensive view of the surrounding country. Mary was almost as keen
-about the run as her companion, so catching is excitement,
-particularly hunting excitement. "Listen," said she, intently eyeing
-the distance, "can you hear anything?"
-
-"Nothing but Scrub blowing," replied Charlie; "no, they're having an
-_extraordinary_ run--we shall never see them again!"
-
-Both strained their eyes till they watered. Profound silence reigned
-over the landscape, save when the wintry wind moaned softly through
-the boughs of some leafless poplars overhead. The sun had disappeared;
-a dark grey haze was creeping over the distance; even Nature seemed to
-be suffering a reaction after the excitement of the last half-hour,
-and Charlie too felt despondent and melancholy; the air was moist and
-chill, the sky dark and lowering; it was the last day of the
-year--would he ever see another? Must he leave this pleasant world,
-pleasant even in the subdued melancholy of winter's russet garb, and
-lie in the damp, cold earth, whilst his friends and comrades were full
-of life and hope and energy? The last time--was this indeed the _last
-time_ for him of the sport he loved so passionately? No more to back
-his gallant steeds, and feel his life-blood thrill as they bounded
-beneath him in the real ecstasy of motion; no more to join the jovial
-scarlet throng, with bit and bridle ringing round him, and laugh and
-jest and cordial greeting passing from lip to lip in that merriest of
-merry meetings at the covert side; no more to stand in the deep
-fragrant woodland and cheer that chiming music to the echo, sweeter to
-him than the very symphony of heaven; and when silence, startling from
-its suddenness, succeeded to those maddening sounds, and warned him
-they were _away_! others would race with the racing pack, and revel in
-the whirlwind of _pace_, glancing over pastures like hawks upon the
-wing, but his place would be vacant in the front rank, and he--where
-would he be? Hard! hard! now that life was so sweet and sparkling, now
-that the cup was crowned with that last drop that bid it brim with
-happiness--the consciousness of love. And must it be put untasted by?
-Hard--hard, yet perhaps better so!
-
-"I hear them, I'm certain," said Mary, raising her taper hand in the
-air; "that must be the horn. We shall see the finish after all!"
-
-"Not yet," cried Charlie, all his melancholy reflections dispelled on
-the instant. "See, they've checked on the plough yonder. Now they
-acknowledge it. Well hunted, my beauties! Look! look! did you see
-him?--there, in the middle of that large field, beyond the spinney!"
-
-Mary looked and looked, and at length made out a dark speck stealing
-away in the distance too slowly for a crow, too smoothly for a dog;
-had she not been told she never would have suspected that minute
-object was the fox.
-
-"He's not killed YET," observed Charlie; "there'll be some _grief_
-before HE'S in hand! See, he's pointing straight for the forest--by
-Jove! they'll have to swim the Gushe. What a capital fox!" And now,
-once more, the pageant passed in full view of the pony-carriage; but
-oh! how altered! Despite the check there were but two men near the
-hounds, and even these were a full field behind them (after dinner
-they acknowledged to twenty yards); then came one solitary individual
-in a cap, who was indeed the huntsman, and who was now riding in the
-combined enjoyment of a horse completely exhausted, and a morbid dread
-lest the more fortunate twain in his front should press too much on
-his treasures--a needless fear, could he but have seen the mode in
-which these treasures were increasing the distance between themselves
-and their pursuers. Behind him again was a gentleman (clerical)
-standing by his horse, apparently investigating his stirrup-irons with
-minute interest. He never could be got to explain clearly why he had
-stopped at this exciting moment. Gaining gradually upon the latter
-came another red-coat, making the most of an extremely slow canter;
-and not a soul besides was to be seen on the line of the hounds. What
-had become of them all? Where was the Field? Why, pounding down the
-very lane in which the pony-carriage had drawn up, pulling and
-hustling, and grinning and clattering--coat-tails flying, neck-cloths
-streaming, the leaders' faces bathed in perspiration, the rearward
-horsemen plastered with mud, all riding like grim Death, all frantic
-with hurry and excitement--the General and his black cob not the least
-furious of the throng. Few noticed the carriage, all were intent on
-some object in the extreme distance, possibly the bridge at Deep-ford,
-inasmuch as the hounds were now pointing straight for the Gushe.
-
-It was quite a relief to watch Frank Hardingstone's unmoved face as he
-cantered quietly by, and smiled and spoke to them, without, however,
-relaxing in his vigilant care of Blanche. That young lady looked
-prettier than ever--her violet eyes dancing with excitement, and her
-long fair curls floating over her riding-habit.
-
-"He's going to _have_ it," screamed Charlie, in a state of tumultuous
-excitement, as they watched Frank turn away from his charge, and
-leaping the fence out of the lane, take a direct line for the calm,
-deep, silent river, and consequently for the hounds, who were already
-struggling in the stream, throwing their tongues occasionally as they
-were swept along by its force, to land considerably lower down than
-they had calculated. One of the foremost sportsmen went gallantly in
-with them, but his horse was already exhausted, and, after sinking
-twice, rider and steed emerged separately on the hither side, glad to
-get off with a ducking.
-
-"Blanche, you foolish girl, stop! I desire you to stop!" exclaimed
-the General, foaming with excitement, and himself with difficulty
-pulling the black cob across the road. But Blanche either would not or
-could not stop: Water King's mettle was excited; he had been following
-Frank Hardingstone's horse all day, and true to his name, he was not
-to be deterred by the perils of a swim. Taking the bit between his
-teeth, he bounded out of the lane at the spot where his leader had
-jumped the fence, and tore away over the level water-meadows,
-regardless of the volley of imprecations which the General sent after
-him as of the feeble grasp which strove to check him in vain.
-
-Frank meanwhile, all unconscious, sped steadily down to the stream.
-Already his cool resolute eye had marked the safest place at which to
-land. "If I can only get _out_," thought Frank, "there's never much
-difficulty about getting _in_." Already had he gathered his horse well
-up on his haunches, turned his stirrup-irons over his saddle-bow,
-knotted the thong of his whip to his rein in case of dissolving
-partnership on emergency, and sliding quietly down the bank, was
-immersed in deep water, laying his weight as much as possible along
-his horse's neck, when a faint scream, a rushing sound close behind
-him, and a tremendous splash by his side, made him turn wildly round
-and well-nigh pull his unfortunate steed over him in the water. How
-shall we describe his sensations at what he saw? Water King plunging
-and rearing himself above the surface; Blanche clinging helplessly to
-her horse's neck, her white face glancing on him for an instant with
-an expression of ghastly terror; another furious plunge, a faint,
-bubbling scream, and the limp skirt of a riding-habit disappearing
-beneath the whirling wave. The horror-stricken sportsmen in the lane
-saw a lady's hat floating on the stream some fifty yards lower down.
-But assistance was near at hand; twenty men were soon gathered on the
-bank. People never know how these things are done. Frank was away from
-his horse in an instant; he believes he dived for her twice; but two
-minutes had scarcely elapsed before he was hanging over her exhausted
-form on the bank, regardless of the surrounding crowd, regardless of
-his usual self-command and reserved demeanour, pouring forth the
-torrent of his feelings, so long dammed up, in words that were but
-little short of madness.
-
-It was fortunate, indeed, that Scrub's fatigue had prevented the
-pony-carriage from going any farther on the line of the crowd, who
-were by this time blocking up the narrow passage of Deep-ford Bridge,
-as Blanche, despite her wet clothes, was too much exhausted to attempt
-riding home, and was accordingly placed by Mary in her own little
-equipage. The pony made small difficulty about retracing his steps
-towards his stable, and the cavalcade proceeded rapidly to
-Newton-Hollows; Frank riding alongside in his dripping garments, with
-an expression of unspeakable joy on his manly features never seen
-there before or since; Mary praying inwardly with heart-felt
-gratitude, and the General sobbing like a child. As they turned in at
-the gates, Charlie was the only one of the party who retained his
-composure sufficiently to observe, with an expression of deep
-interest, "I wish we knew whether they've killed their fox."
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER XXVIII
-
-"THE SAD SEA WAVE"
-
-     THE HONEYMOON--OUTWARD-BOUND--A FULL REPORT--THE HOPES OF
-     SPRING--THE BLIGHT OF AUTUMN--ALL ALONE
-
-
-And of all places in the world, where did they choose to spend their
-honeymoon? Why, at St. Swithin's; there they had first met--there the
-girl had first seen her young ideal of manly perfection--there Frank
-had first surrendered the self-control he held so dear. When at the
-end of a twenty-seventh chapter the gentleman saves from drowning the
-lady after whom he has been hankering through the previous twenty-six,
-it is needless to specify how "bride-cake must be the issue." "Hot
-water" after cold is a fair conclusion; so the dressmaker in Old Bond
-Street was written to--and the man-of-business came down from
-Lincoln's Inn--and there was a gathering of friends and relatives--a
-breakfast to the grandees--a dinner to the tenants--a ball to the
-labourers--and the bells of Newton ringing almost without cessation
-for eight-and-forty hours--the bridesmaids smiled and sparkled--the
-bride wept and trembled--the bridegroom looked like a fool--everything
-was strictly orthodox, save the interference of the General, who
-wanted to set the clergyman right during the sacred ceremony, and very
-properly received a rap over the knuckles from that dignitary, which
-was no less than he deserved--the county paper devoted a column and a
-half to its description of the ceremony--the _Morning Post_ dismissed
-it in three lines under the head of "Fashionable Intelligence"; and so
-the knot was tied, and Frank Hardingstone, M., took Blanche
-Kettering, N., and they became man and wife.
-
-We must now shift the scene to where we first introduced the
-characters of our somewhat lengthened narrative; nor will we, after
-the fashion of sundry eminent divines, prolong our "in conclusion" to
-an indefinite abusing of the listener's patience and the Queen's
-English. The honeymoon is over--they never last more than a week
-now-a-days--and the relatives of the principal performers have broken
-up the _tete-a-tete_, and joined the happy pair at St. Swithin's. It
-is a mild sunny afternoon about the middle of February. At the
-sea-side, where there are no bare trees and leafless hedges to destroy
-the illusion, it might be midsummer, so soft and balmy is the air, so
-bright the beams glinting on the Channel, so hushed and peaceful the
-ripple of the ebbing tide; the fishing-boats seem asleep upon the
-waters; a large square-rigged vessel looms almost motionless in the
-offing; and a group of five persons are congregated about an invalid's
-couch on the beach. As Mary Delaval moves round it to place a cushion
-more comfortably at his back, we recognise the delicate features and
-waving moustaches of our young lancer. It is indeed the wasted face of
-Cousin Charlie, attenuated to an unearthly beauty, and wearing the
-calm, gentle expression of those who are ere long to be summoned home.
-
-"Outward-bound," says a stout seaman-like man, shutting up the glass
-with which he has been diligently conning the distant ship.
-"Outward-bound, and an Indiaman, as I make her, Miss Blanche; I beg
-your pardon." Hairblower never can call her by her matronly title.
-
-"If that's an Indiaman, I'll eat her," exclaims the General; "don't
-tell me--I should know something of that class of ship at any rate.
-Look at her spars! She's bound for the Baltic; I can take my oath.
-Indiaman!--if she's not a Dutchman, _I am_."
-
-The General's appearance indeed gave weight to this assertion. His
-stout, short frame enveloped in a jacket and trousers--for, out of
-compliment to the locality, he thought it necessary to appear in
-nautical costume--possessed that well-filled appearance which custom
-has chosen to consider indigenous to the Hollander. The General's
-love-making did not progress very rapidly, but he had still a
-hankering to stand well in the opinion of Mrs. Delaval; and when he
-considered the care and attention with which she tended poor Charlie,
-administering to all his wants and fancies as only a woman can, he
-thought that such a wife would indeed be a treasure for an elderly
-gentleman who was beginning to experience sundry twinges at the
-extremities, reminding him most unpleasantly of good things long since
-consumed, and claret bottles emptied in life's thirsty noon.
-
-"What do _you_ think, darling?" says Blanche, sidling up to her
-husband, and placing her arm confidingly within his. Like all
-newly-married women she is a little _gauche_, and wears her happiness
-with too demonstrative an air, appealing on all occasions to her lord,
-and hanging on his every word and look as if there were no one else in
-the universe. To do the sex justice, however, this is a fault of which
-they are invariably cured in less than a twelvemonth, and radically
-too--we cannot call to mind a single instance of a relapse.
-
-"How should I know, my dear?" replies Frank, awaking from deep
-thought; "yet stay, may it not be the very ship in which your old
-friend D'Orville was to sail?" with a malicious glance at Blanche, who
-looked up at him with such an open smile as showed how little
-impression the handsome Major's attentions had ever made on _her_
-young heart. "Let me see, what day was he to start? I've got his
-letter in my pocket."
-
-"Pocket!--letter!--what? read it!" exclaimed the General--"that will
-prove the thing at once--you'll see she's a Dutchman."
-
-Blanche glanced at Mary; and even that grave face brightened into a
-smile--while Frank, seating himself on the shingle, drew a letter from
-his pocket and began to read.
-
-"Cannot resist--hem--congratulations--hem--blessings in
-store--hem--leaving this country for a long absence." ("Ah! here it
-is.") "As I am going out in command of troops, I shall have the
-pleasure of once more rubbing up my seamanship by a voyage round the
-Cape. We embark at Gravesend on the --th, and shall probably sail
-when the tide suits the following day." ("'Gad--I believe it is the
-Indiaman!") "Lacquers accompanies me, having got the majority in my
-corps, and has become a _great_ soldier--perhaps thanks to your
-success in the attack on which I now write to congratulate you."
-("Here's a long story about _you_, Blanche--shall I read it?") Blanche
-passed her little hand over his mouth, and Frank proceeded. "As I
-shall probably not have another opportunity of writing to my English
-friends for four or five months, I will not apologise for the length
-of my present epistle, but give you all the news I can to enliven your
-honeymoon--a piece of presumption which, I conclude, is like refining
-refined gold or painting the lily. London is not very full, although
-Parliament has brought its regular quantum of members who stand in awe
-of their constituents--no small number in these reformed and reforming
-days. _I_ recollect, my dear Frank, though _you_ don't, when all the
-electors for a county met in the Justices' room, and returned the
-Lord-Lieutenant's nominee with as little discussion as my
-orderly-sergeant will make this afternoon when he reports 'the
-officers' baggage gone on board.' However, they won't stand that kind
-of thing now. Talking of Parliament, you read Mount Helicon's speech
-on the Tallow question, of course. It quite took the House by storm.
-Honourable members expected _something_ from the author of 'Broadsides
-from the Baltic,' and they were not disappointed. Not a word, however,
-taken from that exceedingly clear and voluminous pamphlet; and where
-he can have picked up such an additional store of information is a
-mystery to every one. The speech, however, has floored his party. Its
-whole tone, every sentiment it breathed, was so diametrically opposite
-to their policy, that they found themselves at its conclusion without
-a leg to stand on. Having selected him for their mouthpiece, they were
-furious, and no wonder. What can he be at? We soldiers are
-plain-dealing men, and cannot understand all this mining and
-counter-mining. His lady-mother, I understand, is still at Bubbleton.
-You must have seen something of her in the winter, unless you had only
-eyes and ears for one--particularly as I hear she gives out
-everywhere that she has refused General Bounce. If your abrupt uncle
-is the man I take him for, she never had an opportunity." (Frank was
-here obliged to pause, the General's delight at this portion of the
-letter venting itself in a series of chuckles that threatened to choke
-him. It was with difficulty he restrained himself from relating the
-whole story of the widow at Cheltenham, as a narrative bearing
-irresistibly on the case in point. He swallowed it, however, and Frank
-proceeded.) "We never thought her ladyship a great beauty, but they
-tell me now she is dreadfully altered--disappointed about her
-son--disappointed in her winter campaign--dreadfully sore at the
-slights she fancies she has received from the Dinadams, who passing
-through Bubbleton on their way to Wassailworth, had no time to return
-the visit she paid them at their hotel--and conscious of growing old,
-without having done the slightest good in her generation. No wonder
-the worn-out fine lady is sick of her wretched world, such as it
-is--no wonder she is startled to discover that she has spent a
-lifetime of illusions, and never found out the _real_ world after all.
-You will smile, my dear Frank, at my moralities, but I do begin to see
-things a little clearer than I used; and if I have reason so bitterly
-to regret the forty years I have spent in selfish uselessness, what
-must be the feelings of threescore years and odd, with the world
-slipping from under its feet, the waking moment rapidly approaching,
-and the feverish dream leaving not one solid reality behind it--not
-one satisfactory reflection to gild the past--not one well-grounded
-hope to hold a beacon through the dark cold voyage of the future?"
-
-[Illustration: "Frank ... drew a letter from his pocket, and began to
-read."
-
-_Page 376_]
-
-Hairblower, who had been listening attentively with a puzzled
-expression of countenance, brightened up considerably at a metaphor
-which had reference to his own daily occupations, and muttered
-something about "ballast aboard," and the "anchor apeak"; whilst Mrs.
-Delaval stole a longing, lingering look at poor Charlie, who had
-closed his eyes as if wearied out and half asleep. Frank read on.
-
-"Tell young Kettering I have many inquiries after his health from his
-friends here, amongst others an old fellow-campaigner in Kaffirland
-whose tent he shared, and who is full of Kettering's famous attack in
-support of the Rifles. He says it was one of the most dashing things
-of the war, and the service can ill afford to lose so gallant an
-officer. He sends his own and his terrier's kindest remembrances."
-
-Charlie's eyes opened wide; he did not seem drowsy now. The long
-wasted fingers of his right hand closed as if upon the handle of his
-sword, and a light stole over his countenance as if the sun had just
-gleamed athwart it--the soldier-spirit was stirring in that powerless
-frame. He looked handsomer than ever, poor boy, poor boy!
-
-"His admiring well-wisher," the letter went on to say, "who, by the
-way, is one of the best-looking fellows in London, got his promotion
-in that very action, and is now on leave, making up for past
-privations by every kind of dissipation which the village affords. I
-do not see much of him; but dining last night at the 'Peace and
-Plenty,' he told me that our mutual friend, Sir Ascot, was going to be
-married. Mrs. Hardingstone will be amused to hear this. The fortunate
-lady is a Miss Deeper, who threw over young Cashley, as in duty bound,
-for the baronet. Laurel, too, has carried off pretty Kate Carmine at
-last; they are the poorest couple in Christendom, and the happiest. I
-met Sir Bloomer Buttercup yesterday at the 'Godiva.' He and
-Mulligatawney were, as usual, discussing the matrimonial question; the
-latter more 'Malthusian' than ever, since Mrs. M. has taken up the
-Rapping theory. Sir Bloomer thinks that now he can only pretend to a
-widow, but is still determined to marry as soon as his affairs can be
-put 'on a footing.' We are all of opinion if he waits till then he
-will die a bachelor. You are aware I have got my promotion, and am
-going out to take the command of one of the smartest regiments in the
-service. I trust it will not deteriorate in any way whilst in my
-hands. Lacquers unites with me in congratulations and cordial good
-wishes to the whole of your party. If Mrs. Delaval is with you,
-remember me most kindly to her, and believe me," etc.
-
-"Well done the Colonel," said Frank, folding up his letter and putting
-it in his pocket. "I never saw a man so changed and so improved.
-Blanche, don't you regret now?--eh?" Blanche laughed, and called him
-"a goose"; but Mary applied herself more assiduously than ever to the
-invalid's cushions; and whatever may have been her thoughts, she kept
-them most carefully to herself. We can guess, however, that
-notwithstanding the many good qualities developing themselves in her
-old admirer, she never for an instant thought of comparing him with
-that poor helpless boy whom they were now obliged to carry into the
-house, lest even the soft evening breeze should strike too chill upon
-his lacerated lungs. Next to Mary, however, perhaps none tended the
-sufferer with such patience and gentleness as Hairblower--that
-worthy's view of the malady and its cause was peculiar to himself, and
-he clung to it with heroic obstinacy. "It all came of making him a
-soger," said the seaman, with a tear running down his weather-beaten
-cheek; "goin' about half-dressed in them monkey-jackets and sleepin'
-out o' nights without a dry thread to bless theirselves--it's enough
-to kill a cat, let alone a gentleman. Now, if he'd had a dry plank
-above and below, and a hammock to swing in, and watches to keep all
-regular and ship-shape, he'd have lived to be an admiral--see if he
-wouldn't. But he's better, is Master Charlie, much better, now the
-_salt_'s gettin' into him. Oh, he'll be well in no time now, will
-Master Charlie--not a doubt of it!"
-
-"Not a doubt of it," echoed the General, the illness of whose
-favourite was a sad cause of grief and anxiety, which vented
-themselves in a more than customary abruptness and irritation.
-"Better? How d'ye mean? Zounds, sir, don't talk to me of doctors! I
-tell ye the lad's rallying--rallying, sir. What? If that boy's not
-a-horseback in June, I 'll----" And here the warm-hearted old
-General's courage invariably gave way, and as he thought of the
-alternative he would burst into tears, and stump hastily off to hide
-his emotion.
-
-There never was such a February as that. Even inland people
-congratulated themselves on enjoying at last a _really_ mild winter;
-and in such a sheltered, sunshiny situation as St Swithin's, the
-weather would have borne comparison with any boasted climate of the
-warm Mediterranean. Like some poor, draggled, pining bird, the invalid
-seemed to drink in health and strength from the very sunbeams; and as
-he lay full-length upon his couch, drawn as near the waves as the tide
-would allow, and basked in the warmth, and inhaled the soft fresh
-breezes of the Channel, he looked so composed, so happy--and the
-cough, though frequent, became so much less violent, that all agreed
-there never was "anything so providential as bringing him down to St.
-Swithin's"--"these illnesses are only fatal when not taken in
-time"--"positively it was the very saving of the boy's life." But Mary
-looked very pale, and shook her head. She seldom spoke much now.
-
-One evening, just at sundown, Charlie begged to speak to Uncle Baldwin
-alone. He was lying as usual close to the open window, and as the
-breeze fanned his cheek he seemed to drink in its fragrance with a
-keener zest than he had shown for days. He felt better and stronger,
-too; he was able to sit up, and his voice was steadier and fuller than
-it had been since he came home. He spoke almost jestingly of his
-present state; but the words of hope which he thought it right to
-affect, in consideration of his uncle's feelings, were belied by the
-topic on which he sought an interview.
-
-"Uncle," said he, "you've been a father to me, and I've never been
-strong enough to thank you till to-day."
-
-"Stronger, my boy--to be sure you are--virtually, you're quite well.
-Don't tell----" There was something in Charlie's smile that checked
-the General, and the boy went on--
-
-"Life's very uncertain, uncle, and if--you know I only say _if_--I
-should not get over this business, I want you to arrange two or three
-little matters for me. This is a beautiful world, uncle, and a
-pleasant one; but I sometimes think I'd rather _not_ live now. I--I
-don't mind going. No, I don't seem as if I belonged so much to this
-earth--I can't tell why, but I _feel_ it, I'm sure I do. Well, dear
-Uncle Baldwin, when I'm _gone_, I want you to give as much of my money
-to poor Gingham as will enable her to go out and join her husband in
-Australia. I know she wishes it, and I think it would come better from
-me than any one. If I get well, I mean to do it myself; but I like to
-make sure; and--and--uncle"--a deep blush spread over Charlie's
-face--"all the rest I wish to go to Mrs. Delaval; but don't let her
-find out it's from me. Promise me, dear Uncle Baldwin--promise me
-this."
-
-The General started. He began to see what he now thought himself very
-blind not to have seen long ago, but he promised faithfully enough;
-and Charlie, lying back as if a weight had been taken off his mind,
-added, with a placid smile, "One thing more, uncle, and I will not
-trouble you any more--take care of poor Haphazard, and never let him
-run in a steeple-chase again." The General's heart was in his eyes,
-but he concealed his feelings from the invalid; and this too he
-promised, much to Cousin Charlie's satisfaction, who talked on so
-cheerfully, and avowed himself to feel so much better, that when at
-last Uncle Baldwin left him he joined the rest of the party more
-sanguine than any of them of his ultimate recovery, and vowed "he
-could not have believed what the sea-air would do." "You may sigh,
-Mrs. Delaval, and shake your head, but he's as strong to-day as ever
-he was in his life. Lungs!--his lungs are as good as mine. What?--he's
-only outgrown his strength--don't tell me, the lad's six feet high.
-Why, I saw Globus this very day, and he assures me confidently that he
-thinks Charlie will be quite well by the spring."
-
-       *       *       *       *       *
-
-Spring bloomed into summer and summer faded into autumn. When London
-became empty--that is to say, when some thousand or two of its
-millions took their departure from the swarm--we went, as is our
-custom, to court health and sea-breezes at St. Swithin's. Though we
-follow blindly the example of our kind, rushing tumultuously to
-crowded resorts and overflowing watering-places, yet do we love
-solitude in the abstract as do most men who have outlived their
-digestions, and consequently we were not disappointed to find the day
-after our arrival so gusty, gloomy, and disagreeable, that the
-fair-weather visitors were compelled to remain indoors, and we had the
-beach pretty well to ourselves. There was a thick haze over the
-Channel, and a small drizzling rain beat in our face. We may be
-peculiar, but we confess we have no objection to a fog, and rather
-like a drizzling rain; so we breasted the breeze, and walked boldly
-on till we got clear of the town, and keeping steadily along
-"high-water mark," could enjoy our humour of sulking undisturbed.
-
-But one figure shared our solitude--a tall, handsome woman, dressed in
-the deepest mourning, short of widow's weeds, that we ever saw. As we
-passed her, she was gazing steadily to seaward, and we caught but one
-glimpse of her countenance; yet that face we never have forgotten.
-Care had hollowed the eyes and wasted the pale cheek, and streaked the
-masses of dark hair with many a silver line, but the deep expression
-of holy beauty that sat on those marble features was that of an
-angel--some spirit sorrowing for the spirit-band from which it was
-parted, and yearning for its home. She was listening intently to the
-regular and monotonous gush of the Channel waves as they poured in
-their steady measured music, like a requiem for the dead. A
-well-beloved voice spoke to her on the sighing breeze, an old familiar
-strain was borne upon the rolling waters: she was communing with
-another world, and we left her, but not alone.
-
-Mary Delaval has never quitted St. Swithin's. Marble, wrought to
-warlike trophies, blazons in a lengthened inscription the blighted
-fame and early death of a blooming warrior, who dragged his sinking
-frame hither to gaze upon the shining waters, and so to die. But it is
-not in the stately aisle or over the speechless stone that Mary weeps
-for her lost hopes, and mourns her buried love. No, she had rather
-wander by the lonely shore and listen to the "sad sea waves," as they
-murmur their mournful tale of the unforgotten Past. Day by day, ay,
-night by night, she glides about amongst the poor, ever on errands of
-mercy--ever eager but for one thing on earth--to do good--to fulfil
-her destiny--to die _here_ where _he_ died--and so to go to _him_. By
-the bed of sickness, in the abode of misery--ay, in the very den of
-vice, if it be but hallowed by grief, that pale sad face is as well
-known as the High Church curate's or the parish doctor's; but the poor
-respect her sorrows; and the rough fishermen, the busy artisans, the
-very careless romping children will turn out of the path, and forbear
-to intrude upon the presence of the "dark lady," as she sits looking
-wistfully to seaward, or wanders dejectedly along the beach. They seem
-to feel that she is _with_ them, but not _of_ them--a sojourner here,
-but not for long.
-
-We love to gaze on the blooming merry faces of the young--we
-can admire the bright, hopeful girl--the contented, happy
-matron--childhood--prime--and old age. All have their beauties, all
-reflect more or less vividly the image of their Creator; but never in
-mortal features have we seen such a heavenly expression as that borne
-by Mary Delaval with her aching heart; deeper than hope, holier than
-joy, it hallows those alone whose every tie to lower earth is torn
-asunder, whose treasure is not here, whose home is beyond the
-grave--of whom Infinite Mercy has said, "Blessed are those that mourn,
-for they shall be comforted."
-
-
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