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diff --git a/old/51938-8.txt b/old/51938-8.txt deleted file mode 100644 index a036e30..0000000 --- a/old/51938-8.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,12779 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Daireen, by Frank Frankfort Moore - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world 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. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - - - -Title: Daireen - Complete - -Author: Frank Frankfort Moore - -Release Date: May 2, 2016 [EBook #51938] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK DAIREEN *** - - - - -Produced by David Widger from page images generously -provided by the Internet Archive - - - - - - - - - -DAIREEN - -By Frank Frankfort Moore - - -(Transcriber's Note: Chapters XX to XXIV were taken from a print -copy of a different edition as these chapters were missing from the 1889 -print edition from which the rest of the Project Gutenberg edition was -taken. In the inserted four chapters it will be noted that the normal -double quotation marks were printed as single quote marks.) - - - - -CHAPTER I. - - -`````A king - -```Upon whose property... - -```A damn'd defeat was made.= - -`````A king - -```Of shreds and patches.= - -The very conveyances of his lands will hardly lie in this box; and must -the inheritor himself have no more? _Hamlet._ - - -|MY son," said The Macnamara with an air of grandeur, "my son, you've -forgotten what's due"--he pronounced it "jew"--"to yourself, what's -due to your father, what's due to your forefathers that bled," and -The Macnamara waved his hand gracefully; then, taking advantage of its -proximity to the edge of the table, he made a powerful but ineffectual -attempt to pull himself to his feet. Finding himself baffled by the -peculiar formation of his chair, and not having a reserve of breath to -draw upon for another exertion, he concealed his defeat under a pretence -of feeling indifferent on the matter of rising, and continued fingering -the table-edge as if endeavouring to read the initials which had been -carved pretty deeply upon the oak by a humorous guest just where his -hand rested. "Yes, my son, you've forgotten the blood of your ancient -sires. You forget, my son, that you're the offspring of the Macnamaras -and the O'Dermots, kings of Munster in the days when there were kings, -and when the Geralds were walking about in blue paint in the woods -of the adjacent barbarous island of Britain"--The Macnamara said -"barbarious." - -"The Geralds have been at Suanmara for four hundred years," said -Standish quickly, and in the tone of one resenting an aspersion. - -"Four hundred years!" cried The Macnamara scornfully. "Four hundred -years! What's four hundred years in the existence of a family?" He felt -that this was the exact instant for him to rise grandly to his feet, -so once more he made the essay, but without a satisfactory result. As -a matter of fact, it is almost impossible to release oneself from the -embrace of a heavy oak chair when the seat has been formed of light -cane, and this cane has become tattered. - -"I don't care about the kings of Munster--no, not a bit," said Standish, -taking a mean advantage of the involuntary captivity of his father to -insult him. - -"I'm dead sick hearing about them. They never did anything for me." - -The Macnamara threw back his head, clasped his hands over his bosom, -and gazed up to the cobwebs of the oak ceiling. "My sires--shades of -the Macnamaras and the O'Dermots, visit not the iniquity of the children -upon the fathers," he exclaimed. And then there came a solemn pause -which the hereditary monarch felt should impress his son deeply; but -the son was not deceived into fancying that his father was overcome with -emotion; he knew very well that his father was only thinking how with -dignity he could extricate himself from his awkward chair, and so he -was not deeply affected. "My boy, my boy," the father murmured in a weak -voice, after his apostrophe to the shades of the ceiling, "what do you -mean to do? Keep nothing secret from me, Standish; I'll stand by you to -the last." - -"I don't mean to do anything. There is nothing to be done--at -least--yet." - -"What's that you say? Nothing to be done? You don't mean to say you've -been thrifling with the young-woman's affection? Never shall a son of -mine, and the offspring of The Macnamaras and the----" - -"How can you put such a question to me?" said the young man indignantly. -"I throw back the insinuation in your teeth, though you are my father. -I would scorn to trifle with the feelings of any lady, not to speak of -Miss Gerald, who is purer than the lily that blooms----" - -"In the valley of Shanganagh--that's what you said in the poem, my boy; -and it's true, I'm sure." - -"But because you find a scrap of poetry in my writing you fancy that I -forget my--my duty--my----" - -"Mighty sires, Standish; say the word at once, man. Well, maybe I was -too hasty, my boy; and if you tell me that you don't love her now, I'll -forgive all." - -"Never," cried the young man, with the vehemence of a mediaeval burning -martyr. "I swear that I love her, and that it would be impossible for me -ever to think of any one else." - -"This is cruel--cruel!" murmured The Macnamara, still thinking how he -could extricate himself from his uneasy seat. "It is cruel for a father, -but it must be borne--it must be borne. If our ancient house is to -degenerate to a Saxon's level, I'm not to blame. Standish, my boy, I -forgive you. Take your father's hand." - -He stretched out his hand, and the young man took it. The grasp of The -Macnamara was fervent--it did not relax until he had accomplished the -end he had in view, and had pulled himself to his feet. Standish was -about to leave the room, when his father, turning his eyes away from -the tattered cane-work of the chair, that now closely resembled the -star-trap in a pantomime, cried: - -"Don't go yet, sir. This isn't to end here. Didn't you tell me that your -affection was set upon this daughter of the Geralds?" - -"What is the use of continuing such questions?" cried the young man -impatiently. The reiteration by his father of this theme--the most -sacred to Standish's ears--was exasperating. - -"No son of mine will be let sneak out of an affair like this," said -the hereditary monarch. "We may be poor, sir, poor as a bogtrotter's -dog----" - -"And we are," interposed Standish bitterly. - -"But we have still the memories of the grand old times to live upon, -and the name of Macnamara was never joined with anything but honour. You -love that daughter of the Geralds--you've confessed it; and though the -family she belongs to is one of these mushroom growths that's springing -up around us in three or four hundred years--ay, in spite of the upstart -family she belongs to, I'll give my consent to your happiness. We -mustn't be proud in these days, my son, though the blood of kings--eh, -where do ye mean to be going before I've done?" - -"I thought you had finished." - -"Did you? well, you're mistaken. You don't stir from here until you've -promised me to make all the amends in your power to this daughter of the -Geralds." - -"Amends? I don't understand you." - -"Don't you tell me you love her?" - -The refrain which was so delightful to the young man's ears when he -uttered it alone by night under the pure stars, sounded terrible when -reiterated by his father. But what could he do--his father was now upon -his feet? - -"What is the use of profaning her name in this fashion?" cried Standish. -"If I said I loved her, it was only when you accused me of it and -threatened to turn me out of the house." - -"And out of the house you'll go if you don't give me a straightforward -answer." - -"I don't care," cried Standish doggedly. "What is there here that should -make me afraid of your threat? I want to be turned out. I'm sick of this -place." - -"Heavens! what has come over the boy that he has taken to speaking like -this? Are ye demented, my son?" - -"No such thing," said Standish. "Only I have been thinking for the past -few days over my position here, and I have come to the conclusion that I -couldn't be worse off." - -"You've been thinking, have you?" asked The Macnamara contemptuously. -"You depart so far from the traditions of your family? Well, well," -he continued in an altered tone, after a pause, "maybe I've been a bad -father to you, Standish, maybe I've neglected my duty; maybe----" here -The Macnamara felt for his pocket-handkerchief, and having found it, he -waved it spasmodically, and was about to throw himself into his chair -when he recollected its defects and refrained, even though he was well -aware that he was thereby sacrificing much of the dramatic effect up to -which he had been working. - -"No, father; I don't want to say that you have been anything but good to -me, only----" - -"But I say it, my son," said The Macnamara, mopping his brows earnestly -with his handkerchief. "I've been a selfish old man, haven't I, now?" - -"No, no, anything but that. You have only been too good. You have given -me all I ever wanted--except----" - -"Except what? Ah, I know what you mean--except money. Ah, your reproach -is bitter--bitter; but I deserve it all, I do." - -"No, father: I did not say that at all." - -"But I'll show you, my boy, that your father can be generous once of a -time. You love her, don't you, Standish?" - -His father had laid his hand upon his shoulder now, and spoke the words -in a sentimental whisper, so that they did not sound so profane as -before. - -"I worship the ground she treads on," his son answered, tremulous with -eagerness, a girlish blush suffusing his cheeks and invading the curls -upon his forehead, as he turned his head away. - -"Then I'll show you that I can be generous. You shall have her, Standish -Macnamara; I'll give her to you, though she is one of the new families. -Put on your hat, my boy, and come out with me." - -"Are you going out?" said Standish. - -"I am, so order round the car, if the spring is mended. It should be, -for I gave Eugene the cord for it yesterday." - -Standish made a slight pause at the door as if about to put another -question to his father; after a moment of thoughtfulness, however, he -passed out in silence. - -When the door had closed--or, at least, moved upon its hinges, for the -shifting some years previously of a portion of the framework made its -closing an impossibility--The Macnamara put his hands deep into -his pockets, jingling the copper coins and the iron keys that each -receptacle contained. It is wonderful what suggestions of wealth may be -given by the judicious handling of a few coppers and a bunch of keys, -and the imagination of The Macnamara being particularly sanguine, he -felt that the most scrupulous moneylender would have offered him at that -moment, on the security of his personal appearance and the sounds of his -jingling metal, any sum of money he might have named. He rather wished -that such a moneylender would drop in. But soon his thoughts changed. -The jingling in his pockets became modified, resembling in tone an -unsound peal of muffled bells; he shook his head several times. - -"Macnamara, my lad, you were too weak," he muttered to himself. "You -yielded too soon; you should have stood out for a while; but how could I -stand out when I was sitting in that trap?" - -He turned round glaring at the chair which he blamed as the cause of -his premature relaxation. He seemed measuring its probable capacities of -resistance; and then he raised his right foot and scrutinised the boot -that covered it. It was not a trustworthy boot, he knew. Once more he -glanced towards the chair, then with a sigh he put his foot down and -walked to the window. - -Past the window at this instant the car was moving, drawn by a -humble-minded horse, which in its turn was drawn by a boy in a faded -and dilapidated livery that had evidently been originally made for -a remarkably tall man. The length of the garment, though undeniably -embarrassing in the region of the sleeves, had still its advantages, not -the least of which was the concealment of a large portion of the bare -legs of the wearer; it was obvious too that when he should mount his -seat, the boy's bare feet would be effectually hidden, and from a -livery-wearing standpoint this would certainly be worth consideration. - -The Macnamara gave a critical glance through the single transparent -pane of the window--the pane had been honoured above its fellows by a -polishing about six weeks before--and saw that the defective spring of -the vehicle had been repaired. Coarse twine had been employed for this -purpose; but as this material, though undoubtedly excellent in its way, -and of very general utility, is hardly the most suitable for restoring -a steel spring to its original condition of elasticity, there was a good -deal of jerkiness apparent in the motion of the car, especially when -the wheels turned into the numerous ruts of the drive. The boy at the -horse's head was, however, skilful in avoiding the deeper depths, and -the animal was also most considerate in its gait, checking within itself -any unseemly outburst of spirit and restraining every propensity to -break into a trot. - -"Now, father, I'm ready," said Standish, entering with his hat on. - -"Has Eugene brushed my hat?" asked The Macnamara. - -"My black hat, I mean?" - -"I didn't know you were going to wear it today, when you were only -taking a drive," said Standish with some astonishment. - -"Yes, my boy, I'll wear the black hat, please God, so get it brushed; -and tell him that if he uses the blacking-brush this time I'll have his -life." Standish went out to deliver these messages; but The Mac-namara -stood in the centre of the big room pondering over some weighty -question. - -"I will," he muttered, as though a better impulse of his nature were -in the act of overcoming an unworthy suggestion. "Yes, I will; when I'm -wearing the black hat things should be levelled up to that standard; -yes, I will." - -Standish entered in a few minutes with his father's hat--a tall, -old-fashioned silk hat that had at one time, pretty far remote, been -black. The Macnamara put it on carefully, after he had just touched the -edges with his coat-cuff to remove the least suspicion of dust; then he -strode out followed by his son. - -The car was standing at the hall door, and Eugene the driver was beside -it, giving a last look to the cordage of the spring. When The Macnamara, -however, appeared, he sprang up and touched his forehead, with a smile -of remarkable breadth. The Macnamara stood impassive, and in dignified -silence, looking first at the horse, then at the car, and finally at the -boy Eugene, while Standish remained at the other side. Eugene bore the -gaze of the hereditary monarch pretty well on the whole, conscious of -the abundance of his own coat. The scrutiny of The Macnamara passed -gradually down the somewhat irregular row of buttons until it rested -on the protruding bare feet of the boy. Then after another moment of -impressive silence, he waved one hand gracefully towards the door, -saying: - -"Eugene, get on your boots." - - - - -CHAPTER II. - - -`````Let the world take note - -````You are the most immediate to our throne; - -```And with no less nobility of love - -```Than that which dearest father bears his son - -```Do I impart toward you.= - -```How is it that the clouds still hang on you?= - -```Affection! pooh! you speak like a green girl. - -`````Hamlet.= - - -|WHEN the head of a community has, after due deliberation, resolved upon -the carrying out of any bold social step, he may expect to meet with the -opposition that invariably obstructs the reformer's advance; so that -one is tempted--nay, modern statesmanship compels one--to believe that -secrecy until a projected design is fully matured is a wise, or at least -an effective, policy. The military stratagem of a surprise is frequently -attended with good results in dealing with an enemy, and as a friendly -policy why should it not succeed? - -This was, beyond a question, the course of thought pursued by The -Macnamara before he uttered those words to Eugene. He had not given -the order without careful deliberation, but when he had come to the -conclusion that circumstances demanded the taking of so bold a step, he -had not hesitated in his utterance. - -Eugene was indeed surprised, and so also was Standish. The driver took -off his hat and passed his fingers through his hair, looking down to -his bare feet, for he was in the habit of getting a few weeks of warning -before a similar order to that just uttered by his master was given to -him. - -"Do you hear, or are you going to wait till the horse has frozen to the -sod?" inquired The Macnamara; and this brought the mind of the boy out -of the labyrinth of wonder into which it had strayed. He threw down the -whip and the reins, and, tucking up the voluminous skirts of his -coat, ran round the house, commenting briefly as he went along on the -remarkable aspect things were assuming. - -Entering the kitchen from the rear, where an old man and two old women -were sitting with short pipes alight, he cried, "What's the world comin' -to at all? I've got to put on me boots." - -"Holy Saint Bridget," cried a pious old woman, "he's to put on his -brogues! An' is it The Mac has bid ye, Eugene?" - -"Sorra a sowl ilse. So just shake a coal in iviry fut to thaw thim a -bit, alana." - -While the old woman was performing this operation over the turf fire, -there was some discussion as to what was the nature of the circumstances -that demanded such an unusual proceeding on the part of The Macnamara. - -"It's only The Mac himsilf that sames to know--. knock the ashes well -about the hale, ma'am--for Masther Standish was as much put out as -mesilf whin The Mac says--nivir moind the toes, ma'am, me fut'll nivir -go more nor halfways up the sowl--says he, 'Git on yer boots;' as if it -was the ordinarist thing in the world;--now I'll thry an' squaze me fut -in." And he took the immense boot so soon as the fiery ashes had been -emptied from its cavity. - -"The Mac's pride'll have a fall," remarked the old man in the corner -sagaciously. - -"I shouldn't wondher," said Eugene, pulling on one of the boots. -"The spring is patched with hemp, but it's as loikely to give way as -not--holy Biddy, ye've left a hot coal just at the instep that's made -its way to me bone!" But in spite of this catastrophe, the boy trudged -off to the car, his coat's tails flapping like the foresail of a yacht -brought up to the wind. Then he cautiously mounted his seat in front of -the car, letting a boot protrude effectively on each side of the narrow -board. The Macnamara and his son, who had exchanged no word during the -short absence of Eugene in the kitchen, then took their places, the -horse was aroused from its slumber, and they all passed down the long -dilapidated avenue and through the broad entrance between the great -mouldering pillars overclung with ivy and strange tangled weeds, where a -gate had once been, but where now only a rough pole was drawn across to -prevent the trespass of strange animals. - -Truly pitiful it was to see such signs of dilapidation everywhere -around this demesne of Innishdermot. The house itself was an immense, -irregularly built, rambling castle. Three-quarters of it was in utter -ruin, but it had needed the combined efforts of eight hundred years of -time and a thousand of Cromwell's soldiers to reduce the walls to the -condition in which they were at present. The five rooms of the building -that were habitable belonged to a comparatively new wing, which was -supported on the eastern side by the gable of a small chapel, and on the -western by the wall of a great round tower which stood like a demolished -sugar-loaf high above all the ruins, and lodged a select number of -immense owls whose eyesight was so extremely sensitive, it required an -unusual amount of darkness for its preservation. - -This was the habitation of The Macnamaras, hereditary kings of Munster, -and here it was that the existing representative of the royal family -lived with his only son, Standish O'Dermot Macnamara. In front of the -pile stretched a park, or rather what had once been a park, but which -was now wild and tangled as any wood. It straggled down to the coastway -of the lough, which, with as many windings as a Norwegian fjord, brought -the green waves of the Atlantic for twenty miles between coasts a -thousand feet in height--coasts which were black and precipitous and -pierced with a hundred mighty caves about the headlands of the entrance, -but which became wooded and more gentle of slope towards the narrow -termination of the basin. The entire of one coastway, from the cliffs -that broke the wild buffet of the ocean rollers, to the little island -that lay at the narrowing of the waters, was the property of The -Macnamara. This was all that had been left to the house which had once -held sway over two hundred miles of coastway, from the kingdom of -Kerry to Achill Island, and a hundred miles of riverway. Pasturages -the richest of the world, lake-lands the most beautiful, mountains the -grandest, woods and moors--all had been ruled over by The Macnamaras, -and of all, only a strip of coastway and a ruined castle remained to -the representative of the ancient house, who was now passing on a -jaunting-car between the dilapidated pillars at the entrance to his -desolate demesne. - -On a small hill that came in sight so soon as the car had passed from -under the gaunt fantastic branches that threw themselves over the -wall at the roadside, as if making a scrambling clutch at something -indefinite in the air, a ruined tower stood out in relief against the -blue sky of this August day. Seeing the ruin in this land of ruins The -Macnamara sighed heavily--too heavily to allow of any one fancying that -his emotion was natural. - -"Ah, my son, the times have changed," he said. "Only a few years have -passed--six hundred or so--since young Brian Macnamara left that very -castle to ask the daughter of the great Desmond of the Lake in marriage. -How did he go out, my boy?" - -"You don't mean that we are now----" - -"How did he go out?" again asked The Macnamara, interrupting his son's -words of astonishment. "He went out of that castle with three hundred -and sixty-five knights--for he had as many knights as there are days -in the year."--Here Eugene, who only caught the phonetic sense of this -remarkable fact regarding young Brian Macnamara, gave a grin, which his -master detected and chastised by a blow from his stick upon the mighty -livery coat. - -"But, father," said Standish, after the trifling excitement occasioned -by this episode had died away--"but, father, we are surely not -going----" - -"Hush, my son. The young Brian and his retinue went out one August day -like this; and with him was the hundred harpers, the fifty pipers, and -the thirteen noble chiefs of the Lakes, all mounted on the finest of -steeds, and the morning sun glittering on their gems and jewels as if -they had been drops of dew. And so they rode to the castle of Desmond, -and when he shut the gates in the face of the noble retinue and sent -out a haughty message that, because the young Prince Brian had slain The -Desmond's two sons, he would not admit him as a suitor to his daughter, -the noble young prince burnt The Desmond's tower to the ground and -carried off the daughter, who, as the bards all agree, was the loveliest -of her sex. Ah, that was a wooing worthy of The Mac-namaras. These -are the degenerate days when a prince of The Macnamaras goes on a -broken-down car to ask the hand of a daughter of the Geralds." Here a -low whistle escaped from Eugene, and he looked down at his boots just as -The Macnamara delivered another rebuke to him of the same nature as the -former. - -"But we're not going to--to--Suanmara!" cried Standish in dismay. - -"Then where are we going, maybe you'll tell me?" said his father. - -"Not there--not there; you never said you were going there. Why should -we go there?" - -"Just for the same reason that your noble forefather Brian Macnamara -went to the tower of The Desmond," said the father, leaving it to -Standish to determine which of the noble acts of the somewhat impetuous -young prince their present excursion was designed to emulate. - -"Do you mean to say, father, that--that--oh, no one could think of such -a thing as----" - -"My son," said the hereditary monarch coolly, "you made a confession -to me this morning that only leaves me one course. The honour of The -Macnamaras is at stake, and as the representative of the family it's -my duty to preserve it untarnished. When a son of mine confesses his -affection for a lady, the only course he can pursue towards her is to -marry her, let her even be a Gerald." - -"I won't go on such a fool's errand," cried the young man. "She--her -grandfather--they would laugh at such a proposal." - -"The Desmond laughed, and what came of it, my boy?" said the Macnamara -sternly. - -"I will not go on any farther," cried Standish, unawed by the reference -to the consequences of the inopportune hilarity of The Desmond. "How -could you think that I would have the presumption to fancy for the least -moment that--that--she--that is--that they would listen to--to anything -I might say? Oh, the idea is absurd!" - -"My boy, I am the head of the line of The Munster Macnamaras, and the -head always decides in delicate matters like this. I'll not have the -feeling's of the lady trifled with even by a son of my own. Didn't you -confess all to me?" - -"I will not go on," the young man cried again. "She--that is--they -will think that we mean an affront--and it is a gross insult to her--to -them--to even fancy that--oh, if we were anything but what we are there -would be some hope--some chance; if I had only been allowed my own way I -might have won her in time--long years perhaps, but still some time. But -now----" - -"Recreant son of a noble house, have you no more spirit than a Saxon?" -said the father, trying to assume a dignified position, an attempt that -the jerking of the imperfect spring of the vehicle frustrated. "Mightn't -the noblest family in Europe think it an honour to be allied with The -Munster Macnamaras, penniless though we are?" - -"Don't go to-day, father," said Standish, almost piteously; "no, not -to-day. It is too sudden--my mind is not made up." - -"But mine is, my boy. Haven't I prepared everything so that there can -be no mistake?"--here he pressed his tall hat more firmly upon -his forehead, and glanced towards Eugene's boots that projected a -considerable way beyond the line of the car. "My boy," he continued, -"The Macnamaras descend to ally themselves with any other family only -for the sake of keeping up the race. It's their solemn duty.' - -"I'll not go on any farther on such an errand--I will not be such a -fool," said Standish, making a movement on his side of the car. - -"My boy," said The Macnamara unconcernedly, "my boy, you can get off -at any moment; your presence will make no difference in the matter. -The matrimonial alliances of The Macnamaras are family matters, not -individual. The head of the race only is accountable to posterity for -the consequences of the acts of them under him. I'm the head of the -race." He removed his hat and looked upward, somewhat jerkily, but still -impressively. - -Standish Macnamara's eyes flashed and his hands clenched themselves over -the rail of the car, but he did not make any attempt to carry out his -threat of getting off. He did not utter another word. How could he? It -was torture to him to hear his father discuss beneath the ear of the boy -Eugene such a question as his confession of love for a certain lady. -It was terrible for him to observe the expression of interest which -was apparent upon the ingenuous face of Eugene, and to see his nods -of approval at the words of The Macnamara. What could poor Standish do -beyond closing his teeth very tightly and clenching his hands madly as -the car jerked its way along the coast of Lough Suangorm, in view of a -portion of the loveliest scenery in the world? - - - - -CHAPTER III. - - -```How weary, stale, flat and unprofitable - -```Seem to me all the uses of this world.= - -````Gather by him, as he is behaved, - -````If't be the affliction of his love or no - -````That thus he suffers for.= - -````Break my heart, for I must hold my tongue. - -`````Hamlet.= - - -|THE road upon which the car was driving was made round an elevated part -of the coast of the lough. It curved away from where the castle of The -Macnamaras was situated on one side of the water, to the termination -of the lough. It did not slope downwards in the least at any part, but -swept on to the opposite lofty shore, five hundred feet above the great -rollers from the Atlantic that spent themselves amongst the half-hidden -rocks. - -The car jerked on in silence after The Macnamara had spoken his -impressive sentence. Standish's hands soon relaxed their passionate hold -upon the rail of the car, and, in spite of his consciousness of being -twenty-three years of age, he found it almost impossible to restrain his -tears of mortification from bursting their bonds. He knew how pure--how -fervent--how exhaustless was the love that filled all his heart. He had -been loving, not without hope, but without utterance, for years, and now -all the fruit of his patience--of his years of speechlessness--would be -blighted by the ridiculous action of his father. What would now be left -for him in the world? he asked himself, and the despairing tears of his -heart gave him his only answer. - -He was on the seaward side of the car, which was now passing out of the -green shade of the boughs that for three miles overhung the road. Then -as the curve of the termination of the lough was approached, the full -panorama of sea and coast leapt into view, with all the magical glamour -those wizards Motion and Height can enweave round a scene. Far beneath, -the narrow band of blue water lost itself amongst the steep cliffs. -The double coasts of the lough that were joined at the point of vision, -broadened out in undulating heights towards the mighty headlands of -the entrance, that lifted up their hoary brows as the lion-waves of -the Atlantic leapt between them and crouched in unwieldy bulk at their -bases. Far away stretched that ocean, its horizon lost in mist; and -above the line of rugged coast-cliff arose mountains--mighty masses -tumbled together in black confusion, like Titanic gladiators locked in -the close throes of the wrestle. - -Never before had the familiar scene so taken Standish in its arms, so to -speak, as it did now. He felt it. He looked down at the screen islands -of the lough encircled with the floss of the moving waters; he looked -along the slopes of the coasts with the ruins of ancient days on their -summits, then his eyes went out to where the sun dipped towards the -Atlantic, and he felt no more that passion of mortification which his -reflections had aroused. Quickly as it had sprung into view the scene -dissolved, as the car entered a glen, dim in the shadow of a great -hill whose slope, swathed in purple heather to its highest peak, made a -twilight at noon-day to all beneath. In the distance of the winding -road beyond the dark edge of the mountain were seen the gray ridges of -another range running far inland. With the twilight shadow of the glen, -the shadow seemed to come again over the mind of Standish. He gave -himself up to his own sad thoughts, and when, from a black tarn amongst -the low pine-trees beneath the road, a tall heron rose and fled -silently through the silent air to the foot of the slope, he regarded it -ominously, as he would have done a raven. - -There they sat speechless upon the car. The Macnamara, who was a short, -middle-aged man with a rather highly-coloured face, and features that -not even the most malignant could pronounce of a Roman or even of a -Saxon type, was sitting in silent dignity of which he seemed by no -means unconscious Standish, who was tall, slender almost to a point -of lankness, and gray-eyed, was morosely speechless, his father felt. -Nature had not given The Macnamara a son after his own heart. The young -man's features, that had at one time showed great promise of developing -into the pure Milesian, had not fulfilled the early hope they had raised -in his father's bosom; they had within the past twelve years exhibited -a downward tendency that was not in keeping with the traditions of The -Macnamaras. If the direction of the caressing hand of Nature over -the features of the family should be reversed, what would remain -to distinguish The Macnamaras from their Saxon invaders? This was a -question whose weight had for some time oppressed the representative -of the race; and he could only quiet his apprehension by the assurance -which forced itself upon his mind, that Nature would never persist in -any course prejudicial to her own interests in the maintenance of an -irreproachable type of manhood. - -Then it was a great grief to the father to become aware of the fact that -the speech of Standish was all unlike his own in accent; it was, indeed, -terribly like the ordinary Saxon speech--at least it sounded so to The -Macnamara, whose vowels were diphthongic to a marked degree. But of -course the most distressing reflection of the head of the race had -reference to the mental disqualifications of his son to sustain the -position which he would some day have to occupy as The Macnamara; for -Standish had of late shown a tendency to accept the position accorded -to him by the enemies of his race, and to allow that there existed -a certain unwritten statute of limitations in the maintenance of the -divine right of monarchs. He actually seemed to be under the impression -that because nine hundred years had elapsed since a Macnamara had been -the acknowledged king of Munster, the claim to be regarded as a royal -family should not be strongly urged. This was very terrible to The -Macnamara. And now he reflected upon all these matters as he held in -a fixed and fervent grasp the somewhat untrustworthy rail of the -undoubtedly shaky vehicle. - -Thus in silence the car was driven through the dim glen, until the slope -on the seaward-side of the road dwindled away and once more the sea came -in sight; and, with the first glimpse of the sea, the square tower of -an old, though not an ancient, castle that stood half hidden by trees at -the base of the purple mountain. In a few minutes the car pulled up at -the entrance gate to a walled demesne. - -"Will yer honours git off here?" asked Eugene, preparing to throw the -reins down. - -"Never!" cried The Macnamara emphatically. "Never will the head of the -race descend to walk up to the door of a foreigner. Drive up to the very -hall, Eugene, as the great Brian Macnamara would have done." - -"An' it's hopin' I am that his car-sphrings wouldn't be mindid with -hemp," remarked the boy, as he pulled the horse round and urged his mild -career through the great pillars at the entrance. - -Everything about this place gave signs of having been cared for. The -avenue was long, but it could be traversed without any risk of the -vehicle being lost in the landslip of a rut. The grass around the trees, -though by no means trimmed at the edges, was still not dank with weeds, -and the trees themselves, if old, had none of the gauntness apparent in -all the timber about the castle of The Macnamara. As the car went along -there was visible every now and again the flash of branching antlers -among the green foliage, and more than once the stately head of a red -deer appeared gazing at the visitors, motionless, as if the animal had -been a painted statue. - -The castle, opposite whose black oak door Eugene at last dropped his -reins, was by no means an imposing building. It was large and square, -and at one wing stood the square ivy-covered tower that was seen from -the road. Above it rose the great dark mountain ridge, and in front -rolled the Atlantic, for the trees prevented the shoreway from being -seen. - -"Eugene, knock at the door of the Geralds," said The Macnamara from his -seat on the car, with a dignity the emphasis of which would have been -diminished had he dismounted. - -Eugene--looked upward at this order, shook his head in wonderment, and -then got down, but not with quite the same expedition as his boot, which -could not sustain the severe test of being suspended for any time in the -air. He had not fully secured it again on his bare foot before a laugh -sounded from the balcony over the porch--a laugh that made Standish's -face redder than any rose--that made Eugene glance up with a grin and -touch his hat, even before a girl's voice was heard saying: - -"Oh, Eugene, Eugene! What a clumsy fellow you are, to be sure." - -"Ah, don't be a sayin' of that, Miss Daireen, ma'am," the boy replied, -as he gave a final stamp to secure possession of the boot. - -The Macnamara looked up and gravely removed his hat; but Standish having -got down from the car turned his gaze seawards. Had he followed his -father's example, he would have seen the laughing face and the graceful -figure of a girl leaning over the balustrade of the porch surveying the -group beneath her. - -"And how do you do, Macnamara?" she said. "No, no, don't let Eugene -knock; all the dogs are asleep except King Cormac, and I am too grateful -to allow their rest to be broken. I'll go down and give you entrance." - -She disappeared from the balcony, and in a few moments the hall door -was softly sundered and the western sunlight fell about the form of the -portress. The girl was tall and exquisitely moulded, from her little -blue shoe to her rich brown hair, over which the sun made light and -shade; her face was slightly flushed with her rapid descent and the -quick kiss of the sunlight, and her eyes were of the most gracious gray -that ever shone or laughed or wept. But her mouth--it was a visible -song. It expressed all that song is capable of suggesting--passion of -love or of anger, comfort of hope or of charity. - -"Enter, O my king-," she said, giving The Macnamara her hand; then -turning to Standish, "How do you do, Standish? Why do you not come in?" - -But Standish uttered no word. He took her hand for a second and followed -his father into the big square oaken hall. All were black oak, floor and -wall and ceiling, only while the sunlight leapt through the open door -was the sombre hue relieved by the flashing of the arms that lined the -walls, and the glittering of the enormous elk-antlers that spread their -branches over the lintels. - -"And you drove all round the coast to see me, I hope," said the girl, as -they stood together under the battle-axes of the brave days of old, when -the qualifications for becoming a successful knight and a successful -blacksmith were identical. - -"We drove round to admire the beauty of the lovely Daireen," said The -Macnamara, with a flourish of the hand that did him infinite credit. - -"If that is all," laughed the girl, "your visit will not be a long one." -She was standing listlessly caressing with her hand the coarse hide of -King Corrnac, a gigantic Wolf-dog, and in that posture looked like a -statue of the Genius of her country. The dog had been welcoming Standish -a moment before, and the young man's hand still resting upon its head, -felt the casual touch of the girl's fingers as she played with the -animal's ears. Every touch sent a thrill of passionate delight through -him. - -"The beauty of the daughter of the Geralds is worth coming so far to -see; and now that I look at her before me----" - -"Now you know that it is impossible to make out a single feature in this -darkness," said Daireen. "So come along into the drawing-room." - -"Go with the lovely Daireen, my boy," said The Macnamara, as the girl -led the way across the hall. "For myself, I think I'll just turn in -here." He opened a door at one side of the hall and exposed to view, -within the room beyond, a piece of ancient furniture which was not yet -too decrepit to sustain the burden of a row of square glass bottles -and tumblers. But before he entered he whispered to Standish with an -appropriate action, "Make it all right with her by the time come I -back." And so he vanished. - -"The Macnamara is right," said Daireen. "You must join him in taking a -glass of wine after your long drive, Standish." - -For the first time since he had spoken on the car Standish found his -voice. - -"I do not want to drink anything, Daireen," he said. - -"Then we shall go round to the garden and try to find grandpapa, if you -don't want to rest." - -With her brown unbonneted hair tossing in its irregular strands about -her neck, she went out by a door at the farther end of the square hall, -and Standish followed her by a high-arched passage that seemed to lead -right through the building. At the extremity was an iron gate which the -girl unlocked, and they passed into a large garden somewhat wild in its -growth, but with its few brilliant spots of colour well brought out -by the general _feeling_ of purple that forced itself upon every one -beneath the shadow of the great mountain-peak. Very lovely did that -world of heather seem now as the sun burned over against the slope, -stirring up the wonderful secret hues of dark blue and crimson. The peak -stood out in bold relief against the pale sky, and above its highest -point an eagle sailed. - -"I have such good news for you, Standish," said Miss Gerald. "You cannot -guess what it is." - -"I cannot guess what good news there could possibly be in store for -me," he replied, with so much sadness in his voice that the girl gave a -little start, and then the least possible smile, for she was well aware -that the luxury of sadness was frequently indulged in by her companion. - -"It is good news for you, for me, for all of us, for all the world, -for--well, for everybody that I have not included. Don't laugh at me, -please, for my news is that papa is coming home at last. Now, isn't that -good news?" - -"I am very glad to hear it," said Standish. "I am very glad because I -know it will make you happy." - -"How nicely said; and I know you feel it, my dear Standish. Ah, poor -papa! he has had a hard time of it, battling with the terrible Indian -climate and with those annoying people." - -"It is a life worth living," cried Standish. "After you are dead the -world feels that you have lived in it. The world is the better for your -life." - -"You are right," said Daireen. "Papa leaves India crowned with honours, -as the newspapers say. The Queen has made him a C.B., you know. -But--only think how provoking it is--he has been ordered by the surgeon -of his regiment to return by long-sea, instead of overland, for the sake -of his health; so that though I got his letter from Madras yesterday to -tell me that he was at the point of starting, it will be another month -before I can see him." - -"But then he will no doubt have completely recovered," said Standish. - -"That is my only consolation. Yes; he will be himself again--himself as -I saw him five years ago in our bungalow--how well I remember it and its -single plantain-tree in the garden where the officers used to hunt me -for kisses." - -Standish frowned. It was, to him, a hideous recollection for the girl to -have. He would cheerfully have undertaken the strangulation of each -of those sportive officers. "I should have learned a great deal during -these five years that have passed since I was sent to England to school, -but I'm afraid I didn't. Never mind, papa won't cross-examine me to see -if his money has been wasted. But why do you look so sad, Standish? You -do look sad, you know." - -"I feel it too," he cried. "I feel more wretched than I can tell you. -I'm sick of everything here--no, not here, you know, but at home. There -I am in that cursed jail, shut out from the world, a beggar without the -liberty to beg." - -"Oh, Standish!" - -"But it is the truth, Daireen. I might as well be dead as living as I -am. Yes, better--I wish to God I was dead, for then there might be at -least some chance of making a beginning in a new sort of life under -different conditions." - -"Isn't it wicked to talk that way, Standish?" - -"I don't know," he replied doggedly. "Wickedness and goodness have -ceased to be anything more to me than vague conditions of life in a -world I have nothing to say to. I cannot be either good or bad here." - -Daireen looked very solemn at this confession of impotence. - -"You told me you meant to speak to The Mac-namara about going away or -doing something," she said. - -"And I did speak to him, but it came to the one end: it was a disgrace -for the son of the------ bah, you know how he talks. Every person of any -position laughs at him; only those worse than himself think that he -is wronged. But I'll do something, if it should only be to enlist as a -common soldier." - -"Standish, do not talk that way, like a good boy," she said, laying her -hand upon his arm. "I have a bright thought for the first time: wait -just for another month until papa is here, and he will, you may be sure, -tell you what is exactly right to do. Oh, there is grandpapa, with his -gun as usual, coming from the hill." - -They saw at a little distance the figure of a tall old man carrying a -gun, and followed by a couple of sporting dogs. - -"Daireen," said Standish, stopping suddenly as if a thought had just -struck him. "Daireen, promise me that you will not let anything my -father may say here to-day make you think badly of me." - -"Good gracious! why should I ever do that? What is he going to say that -is so dreadful?" - -"I cannot tell you, Daireen; but you will promise me;" he had seized -her by the hand and was looking with earnest entreaty into her eyes. -"Daireen," he continued, "you will give me your word. You have been such -a friend to me always--such a good angel to me." - -"And we shall always be friends, Standish. I promise you this. Now let -go my hand, like a good boy." - -He obeyed her, and in a few minutes they had met Daireen's grandfather, -Mr. Gerald, who had been coming towards them. - -"What, The Macnamara here? then I must hasten to him," said the old -gentleman, handing his gun to Standish. - -No one knew better than Mr. Gerald the necessity that existed for -hastening to The Macnamara, in case of his waiting for a length of time -in that room the sideboard of which was laden with bottles. - - - - -CHAPTER IV. - - -```And now, Laertes, what's the news with you? - -```You told us of some suit: what is't, Laertes?= - -```He hath, my lord, wrung from me my slow' leave - -```By laboursome petition; and at last, - -```Upon his will I sealed my hard consent.= - -```Horatio. There's no offence, my lord. - -```Hamlet. Yes, by Saint Patrick, but there is, Horatio, - -```And much offence too. - -`````--Hamlet.= - - -|THE Macnamara had been led away from his companionship in that old oak -room by the time his son and Miss Gerald returned from the garden, -and the consciousness of his own dignity seemed to have increased -considerably since they had left him. This emotion was a variable -possession with him: any one acquainted with his habits could without -difficulty, from knowing the degree of dignity he manifested at any -moment, calculate minutely the space of time, he must of necessity have -spent in a room furnished similarly to that he had just now left. - -He was talking pretty loudly in the room to which he had been led by -Mr. Gerald when Daireen and Standish entered; and beside him was a -whitehaired old lady whom Standish greeted as Mrs. Gerald and the girl -called grandmamma--an old lady with very white hair but with large dark -eyes whose lustre remained yet undimmed. - -"Standish will reveal the mystery," said this old lady, as the young -man shook hands with her. "Your father has been speaking in proverbs, -Standish, and we want your assistance to read them." - -"He is my son," said The Macnamara, waving his hand proudly and lifting -up his head. "He will hear his father speak on his behalf. Head of the -Geralds, Gerald-na-Tor, chief of the hills, the last of The Macnamaras, -king's of Munster, Innishdermot, and all islands, comes to you." - -"And I am honoured by his visit, and glad to find him looking so well." -said Mr. Gerald. "I am only sorry you can't make it suit you to come -oftener, Macnamara." - -"It's that boy Eugene that's at fault," said The Macnamara, dropping so -suddenly into a colloquial speech from his eloquent Ossianic strain -that one might have been led to believe his opening words were somewhat -forced. "Yes, my lad," he continued, addressing Mr. Gerald; "that Eugene -is either breaking the springs or the straps or his own bones." Here -he recollected that his mission was not one to be expressed in this -ordinary vein. He straightened himself in an instant, and as he went on -asserted even more dignity than before. "Gerald, you know my position, -don't you? and you know your 'own; but you can't say, can you, that The -Macnamara ever held himself aloof from your table by any show of pride? -I mixed with you as if we were equals." - -Again he waved his hand patronisingly, but no one showed the least sign -of laughter. Standish was in front of one of the windows leaning his -head upon his hand as he looked out to the misty ocean. "Yes, I've -treated you at all times as if you had been born of the land, though -this ground we tread on this moment was torn from the grasp of The -Macnamaras by fraud." - -"True, true--six hundred years ago," remarked Mr. Gerald. He had been -so frequently reminded of this fact during his acquaintance with The -Macnamara, he could afford to make the concession he now did. - -"But I've not let that rankle in my heart," continued The Macnamara; -"I've descended to break bread with you and to drink--drink water with -you--ay, at times. You know my son too, and you know that if he's not -the same as his father to the backbone, it's not his father that's -to blame for it. It was the last wish of his poor mother--rest her -soul!--that he should be schooled outside our country, and you know that -I carried out her will, though it cost me dear. He's been back these -four years, as you know--what's he looking out at at the window?--but -it's only three since he found out the pearl of the Lough Suangorm--the -diamond of Slieve Docas--the beautiful daughter of the Geralds. Ay, he -confessed to me this morning where his soft heart had turned, poor -boy. Don't be blushing, Standish; the blood of the Macnamaras shouldn't -betray itself in their cheeks." - -Standish had started away from the window before his father had ended; -his hands were clenched, and his cheeks were burning with shame. He -could not fail to see the frown that was settling down upon the face of -Mr. Gerald. But he dared not even glance towards Daireen. - -"My dear Macnamara, we needn't talk on this subject any farther just -now," said the girl's grandfather, as the orator paused for an instant. - -But The Macnamara only gave his hand another wave before he proceeded. -"I have promised my boy to make him happy," he said, "and you know what -the word of a Macnamara is worth even to his son; so, though I confess -I was taken aback at first, yet I at last consented to throw over my -natural family pride and to let my boy have his way. An alliance between -the Macnamaras and the Geralds is not what would have been thought about -a few years ago, but The Macnamaras have always been condescending." - -"Yes, yes, you condescend to a jest now and again with us, but really -this is a sort of mystery I have no clue to," said Mr. Gerald. - -"Mystery? Ay, it will astonish the world to know that The Macnamara -has given his consent to such an alliance; it must be kept secret for -a while for fear of its effects upon the foreign States that have their -eyes upon all our steps. I wouldn't like this made a State affair at -all." - -"My dear Macnamara, you are usually very lucid," said Mr. Gerald, "but -to-day I somehow cannot arrive at your meaning." - -"What, sir?" cried The Macnamara, giving his head an angry twitch. -"What, sir, do you mean to tell me that you don't understand that I -have given my consent to my son taking as his wife the daughter of the -Geralds?--see how the lovely Daireen blushes like a rose." - -Daireen was certainly blushing, as she left her seat and went over to -the farthest end of the room. But Standish was deadly pale, his lips -tightly closed. - -"Macnamara, this is absurd--quite absurd!" said Mr. Gerald, hastily -rising. "Pray let us talk no more in such a strain." - -Then The Macnamara's consciousness of his own dignity asserted itself. -He drew himself up and threw back his head. "Sir, do you mean to put -an affront upon the one who has left his proper station to raise your -family to his own level?" - -"Don't let us quarrel, Macnamara; you know how highly I esteem you -personally, and you know that I have ever looked upon the family of the -Macnamaras as the noblest in the land." - -"And it is the noblest in the land. There's not a drop of blood in our -veins that hasn't sprung from the heart of a king," cried The Macnamara. - -"Yes, yes, I know it; but--well, we will not talk any further to-day. -Daireen, you needn't go away." - -"Heavens! do you mean to say that I haven't spoken plainly enough, -that----" - -"Now, Macnamara, I must really interrupt you----" - -"Must you?" cried the representative of the ancient line, his face -developing all the secret resources of redness it possessed. "Must you -interrupt the hereditary monarch of the country where you're but an -immigrant when he descends to equalise himself with you? This is the -reward of condescension! Enough, sir, you have affronted the family that -were living in castles when your forefathers were like beasts in caves. -The offer of an alliance ought to have come from you, not from me; but -never again will it be said that The Macnamara forgot what was due to -him and his family. No, by the powers, Gerald, you'll never have the -chance again. I scorn you; I reject your alliance. The Macnamara seats -himself once more upon his ancient throne, and he tramples upon you all. -Come, my son, look at him that has insulted your family--look at him for -the last time and lift up your head." - -The grandeur with which The Macnamara uttered this speech was -overpowering. He had at its conclusion turned towards poor Standish, and -waved his hand in the direction of Mr. Gerald. Then Standish seemed to -have recovered himself. - -"No, father, it is you who have insulted this family by talking as you -have done," he cried passionately. - -"Boy!" shouted The Macnamara. "Recreant son of a noble race, don't -demean yourself with such language!" - -"It is you who have demeaned our family," cried the son still more -energetically. "You have sunk us even lower than we were before." Then -he turned imploringly towards Mr. Gerald. "You know--you know that I am -only to be pitied, not blamed, for my father's words," he said quietly, -and then went to the door. - -"My dear boy," said the old lady, hastening towards him. - -"Madam!" cried The Macnamara, raising his arm majestically to stay her. - -She stopped in the centre of the room. Daireen had also risen, her pure -eyes full of tears as she grasped her grandfather's hand while he laid -his other upon her head. - -From the door Standish looked with passionate gratitude back to the -girl, then rushed out. - -But The Macnamara stood for some moments with his head elevated, the -better to express the scorn that was in his heart. No one made a motion, -and then he stalked after his son. - - - - -CHAPTER V. - - -```What advancement may I hope from thee - -```That no revenue hast... - -```To feed and clothe thee?= - -``Guildenstern. The King, sir,-- - -``Hamlet. Ay, sir, what of him? - -``Guild. Is in his retirement marvellous distempered. - -``Hamlet. With drink, sir? - -``Guild. No, my lord, rather with choler. - -``Hamlet. The King doth wake to-night and takes his - -`````rouse. - -``Keeps wassail, and the swaggering up-spring reels.= - -```Horatio. Is it a custom? - -```Hamlet. Ay, marry is't: - -``But to my mind, though I am native here, - -``And to the manner born, it is a custom - -``More honour'd in the breach than the observance. - -``This heavy-headed revel... - -``Makes us traduced and taxed.--Hamlet.= - - -|TO do The Macnamara justice, while he was driving homeward upon that -very shaky car round the lovely coast, he was somewhat disturbed in mind -as he reflected upon the possible consequences of his quarrel with -old Mr. Gerald. He was dimly conscious of the truth of the worldly and -undeniably selfish maxim referring to the awkwardness of a quarrel with -a neighbour. And if there is any truth in it as a general maxim, its -value is certainly intensified when the neighbour in question has been -the lender of sundry sums of money. A neighbour under these conditions -should not be quarrelled with, he knew. - -The Macnamara had borrowed from Mr. Gerald, at various times, certain -moneys which had amounted in the aggregate to a considerable sum; for -though Daireen's grandfather was not possessed of a very large income -from the land that had been granted to his ancestors some few hundred -years before, he had still enough to enable him from time to time -to oblige The Macnamara with a loan. And this reflection caused The -Macnamara about as much mental uneasiness as the irregular motion of the -vehicle did physical discomfort. By the time, however, that the great -hill, whose heather slope was now wrapped in the purple shade of -twilight, its highest peak alone being bathed in the red glory of the -sunset, was passed, his mind was almost at ease; for he recalled the -fact that his misunderstandings with Mr. Gerald were exactly equal in -number to his visits; he never passed an hour at Suanmara without what -would at any rate have been a quarrel but for Mr. Gerald's good nature, -which refused to be ruffled. And as no reference had ever upon these -occasions been made to his borrowings, The Macnamara felt that he had -no reason to conclude that his present quarrel would become embarrassing -through any action of Mr. Gerald's. So he tried to feel the luxury of -the scorn that he had so powerfully expressed in the room at Suanmara. - -"Mushrooms of a night's growth!" he muttered. "I trampled them beneath -my feet. They may go down on their knees before me now, I'll have -nothing to say to them." Then as the car passed out of the glen and he -saw before him the long shadows of the hills lying amongst the crimson -and yellow flames that swept from the sunset out on the Atlantic, and -streamed between the headlands at the entrance to the lough, he became -more fixed in his resolution. "The son of The Macnamara will never -wed with the daughter of a man that is paid by the oppressors of the -country, no, never!" - -This was an allusion to the fact of Daireen's father being a colonel -in the British army, on service in India. Then exactly between the -headlands the sun went down in a gorgeous mist that was permeated with -the glow of the orb it enveloped. The waters shook and trembled in the -light, but the many islands of the lough remained dark and silent in -the midst of the glow. The Macnamara became more resolute still. He had -almost forgotten that he had ever borrowed a penny from Mr. Gerald. He -turned to where Standish sat silent and almost grim. - -"And you, boy," said the father--"you, that threw your insults in my -face--you, that's a disgrace to the family--I've made up my mind what -I'll do with you; I'll--yes, by the powers, I'll disinherit you." - -But not a word did Standish utter in reply to this threat, the force of -which, coupled with an expressive motion of the speaker, jeopardised the -imperfect spring, and wrung from Eugene a sudden exclamation. - -"Holy mother o' Saint Malachi, kape the sthring from breakin' yit -awhile!" he cried devoutly. - -And it seemed that the driver's devotion was efficacious, for, without -any accident, the car reached the entrance to Innishdermot, as the -residence of the ancient monarchs had been called since the days when -the waters of Lough Suangorm had flowed all about the castle slope, for -even the lough had become reduced in strength. - -The twilight, rich and blue, was now swathing the mountains and -overshadowing the distant cliffs, though the waters at their base were -steel gray and full of light that seemed to shine upwards through their -depth. Desolate, truly, the ruins loomed through the dimness. Only -a single feeble light glimmered from one of the panes, and even this -seemed agonising to the owls, for they moaned wildly and continuously -from the round tower. There was, indeed, scarcely an aspect of welcome -in anything that surrounded this home which one family had occupied for -seven hundred years. - -As the car stopped at the door, however, there came a voice from -an unseen figure, saying, in even a more pronounced accent than The -Macnamara himself gloried in, "Wilcome, ye noble sonns of noble soyers! -Wilcome back to the anshent home of the gloryous race that'll stand -whoile there's a sod of the land to bear it." - -"It's The Randal himself," said The Macnamara, looking in the direction -from which the sound came. "And where is it that you are, Randal? Oh, I -see your pipe shining like a star out of the ivy." - -From the forest of ivy that clung about the porch of the castle the -figure of a small man emerged. One of his hands was in his pocket, the -other removed a short black pipe, the length of whose stem in comparison -to the breadth of its bowl was as the proportion of Falstaff's bread to -his sack. - -"Wilcome back, Macnamara," said this gentleman, who was indeed The -Randal, hereditary chief of Suangorm. "An' Standish too, how are ye, my -boy?" Standish shook hands with the speaker, but did not utter a word. -"An' where is it ye're afther dhrivin' from?" continued The Randal. - -"It's a long drive and a long story," said The Macnamara. - -"Thin for hivin's sake don't begin it till we've put boy the dinner. I'm -goin' to take share with ye this day, and I'm afther waitin' an hour and -more." - -"It's welcome The Randal is every day in the week," said The Macnamara, -leading the way into the great dilapidated hall, where in the ancient -days fifty men-at-arms had been wont to feast royally. Now it was black -in night. - -In the room where the dinner was laid there were but two candles, and -their feeble glimmer availed no more than to make the blotches on the -cloth more apparent: the maps of the British Isles done in mustard and -gravy were numerous. At each end a huge black bottle stood like a sentry -at the border of a snowfield. - -By far the greater portion of the light was supplied by the blazing log -in the fireplace. It lay not in any grate but upon the bare hearth, and -crackled and roared up the chimney like a demon prostrate in torture. -The Randal and his host stood before the blaze, while Standish seated -himself in another part of the room. The ruddy flicker of the wood -fire shone upon the faces of the two men, and the yellow glimmer of -the candle upon the face of Standish. Here and there a polish upon the -surface of the black oak panelling gleamed, but all the rest of the high -room was dim. - -Salmon from the lough, venison from the forest, wild birds from the moor -made up the dinner. All were served on silver dishes strangely worked, -and plates of the same metal were laid before the diners, while horns -mounted on massive stands were the drinking vessels. From these dishes -The Macnamaras of the past had eaten, and from these horns they had -drunken, and though the present head of the family could have gained -many years' income had he given the metal to be melted, he had never -for an instant thought of taking such a step. He would have starved with -that plate empty in front of him sooner than have sold it to buy bread. - -Standish spoke no word during the entire meal, and the guest saw that -something had gone wrong; so with his native tact he chatted away, -asking questions, but waiting for no answer. - -When the table was cleared and the old serving-woman had brought in a -broken black kettle of boiling water, and had laid in the centre of the -table an immense silver bowl for the brewing of the punch, The Randal -drew up the remnant of his collar and said: "Now for the sthory of the -droive, Macnamara; I'm riddy whin ye fill the bowl." - -Standish rose from the table and walked away to a seat at the furthest -end of the great room, where he sat hidden in the gloom of the corner. -The Randal did not think it inconsistent with his chieftainship to wink -at his host. - -"Randal," said The Macnamara, "I've made up my mind. I'll disinherit -that boy, I will." - -"No," cried The Randal eagerly. "Don't spake so loud, man; if this -should git wind through the counthry who knows what might happen? -Disinhirit the boy; ye don't mane it, Macnamara," he continued in an -excited but awe-stricken whisper. - -"But by the powers, I do mean it," cried The Macnamara, who had been -testing the potent elements of the punch. - -"Disinherit me, will you, father?" came the sudden voice of Standish -echoing strangely down the dark room. Then he rose and stood facing -both men at the table, the red glare of the log mixing with the sickly -candlelight upon his face and quivering hands. "Disinherit me?" he said -again, bitterly. "You cannot do that. I wish you could. My inheritance, -what is it? Degradation of family, proud beggary, a life to be wasted -outside the world of life and work, and a death rejoiced over by those -wretches who have lent you money. Disinherit me from all this, if you -can." - -"Holy Saint Malachi, hare the sonn of The Macnamaras talkin' loike a -choild!" cried The Randal. - -"I don't care who hears me," said Standish. "I'm sick of hearing about -my forefathers; no one cares about them nowadays. I wanted years ago to -go out into the world and work." - -"Work--a Macnamara work!" cried The Randal horror-stricken. - -"I told you so," said The Macnamara, in the tone of one who finds sudden -confirmation to the improbable story of some enormity. - -"I wanted to work as a man should to redeem the shame which our life -as it is at present brings upon our family," said the young man -earnestly--almost passionately; "but I was not allowed to do anything -that I wanted. I was kept here in this jail wasting my best years; but -to-day has brought everything to an end. You say you will disinherit me, -father, but I have from this day disinherited myself--I have cast off my -old existence. I begin life from to-day." - -Then he turned away and went out of the room, leaving his father and his -guest in dumb amazement before their punch. It was some minutes before -either could speak. At last The Randal took adraught of the hot spirit, -and shook his head thoughtfully. - -"Poor boy! poor boy! he needs to be looked after till he gets over this -turn," he said. - -"It's all that girl--that Daireen of the Geralds," said The Macnamara. -"I found a paper with poetry on it for her this morning, and when I -forced him he confessed that he was in love with her." - -"D'ye tell me that? And what more did ye do, Mac?" - -"I'll tell you," said the hereditary prince, leaning over the table. - -And he gave his guest all the details of the visit to the Geralds at -length. - -But poor Standish had rushed up the crumbling staircase and was lying -on his bed with his face in his hands. It was only now he seemed to feel -all the shame that had caused his face to be red and pale by turns in -the drawing-room at Suanmara. He lay there in a passion of tears, while -the great owls kept moaning and hooting in the tower just outside his -window, making sympathetic melody to his ears. - -At last he arose and went over to the window and stood gazing out -through the break in the ivy armour of the wall. He gazed over the tops -of the trees growing in a straggling way down the slope to the water's -edge. He could see far away the ocean, whose voice he now and again -heard as the wind bore it around the tower. Thousands of stars glittered -above the water and trembled upon its moving surface. He felt strong -now. He felt that he might never weep again in the world as he had just -wept. Then he turned to another window and sent his eyes out to where -that great peak of Slieve Docas stood out dark and terrible among -the stars. He could not see the house at the base of the hill, but he -clenched his hands as he looked out, saying "Hope." - -It was late before he got into his bed, and it was still later when he -awoke and heard, mingling with the cries of the night-birds, the sound -of hoarse singing that floated upward from the room where he had left -his father and The Randal. The prince and the chief were joining their -voices in a native melody, Standish knew; and he was well aware that -he would not be disturbed by the ascent of either during the night. The -dormitory arrangements of the prince and the chief when they had dined -in company were of the simplest nature. - -Standish went to sleep again, and the ancient rafters, that had heard -the tones of many generations of Macnamaras' voices, trembled for some -hours with the echoes from the room below, while outside the ancient -owls hooted and the ancient sea murmured in its sleep. - - - - -CHAPTER VI. - - -````What imports this song? - -```The wind sits in the shoulder of your sail - -```And you are stay'd for. There; my blessing with thee.= - -```Hamlet. I do not set my life at a pin's fee... - -``It waves me forth again: I'll follow it.= - -```Horatio. What if it tempt you toward the flood?... - -``Look whether he has not changed his colour. - -`````--Hamlet.= - - -|THE sounds of wild harp-music were ascending at even from the depths of -Glenmara. The sun had sunk, and the hues that had been woven round the -west were wasting themselves away on the horizon. The faint shell-pink -had drifted and dwindled far from the place of sunset. The woods of -the slopes looked very dark now that the red glances from the west were -withdrawn from their glossy foliage; but the heather-swathed mountains, -towering through the soft blue air to the dark blue sky, were richly -purple, as though the sunset hues had become entangled amongst the -heather, and had forgotten to fly back to the west that had cast them -forth. - -The little tarn at the foot of the lowest crags was black and still, -waiting for the first star-glimpse, and from its marge came the wild -notes of a harp fitfully swelling and waning; and then arose the still -wilder and more melancholy tones of a man's voice chanting what seemed -like a weird dirge to the fading twilight, and the language was the -Irish Celtic--that language every song of which sounds like a dirge sung -over its own death:--= - -``Why art thou gone from us, White Dove of the Irish - -````woods? - -``Why art thou gone who made all the leaves tremulous with - -````the low voice of love? - -``Love that tarried yet afar, though the fleet swallow had - -````come back to us-- - -``Love that stayed in the far lands though the primrose had - -````cast its gold by the streams-- - -``Love that heard not the voice sent forth from every new-````budded -briar-- - -``This love came only when thou earnest, and rapture thrilled - -````the heart of the green land. - -``Why art thou gone from us, White Dove of the Irish - -````woods?= - -This is a translation of the wild lament that arose in the twilight air -and stirred up the echoes of the rocks. Then the fitful melody of the -harp made an interlude:--= - -``Why art thou gone from us, sweet Linnet of the Irish - -````woods? - -``Why art thou gone from us whose song brought the Spring - -````to our land? - -``Yea, flowers to thy singing arose from the earth in bountiful - -````bloom, - -``And scents of the violet, scents of the hawthorn--all scents - -````of the spring - -``Were wafted about us when thy voice was heard albeit in - -````autumn. - -``All thoughts of the spring--all its hopes woke and breathed - -````through our hearts, - -``Till our souls thrilled with passionate song and the perfume - -````of spring which is love. - -``Why art thou gone from us, sweet Linnet of the Irish - -````woods?= - -Again the chaunter paused and again his harp prolonged the wailing -melody. Then passing into a more sadly soft strain, he continued his -song:--= - -``Why art thou gone from us, Soul of all beauty and joy? - -``Now thou art gone the berry drops from the arbutus, - -``The wind comes in from the ocean with wail and the - -````autumn is sad, - -``The yellow leaves perish, whirled wild whither no one can - -````know. - -``As the crisp leaves are crushed in the woods, so our hearts - -````are crushed at thy parting; - -``As the woods moan for the summer departed, so we mourn - -````that we see thee no more. - -``Why art thou gone from us, Soul of all beauty and joy?= - -Into the twilight the last notes died away, and a lonely heron standing -among the rushes at the edge of the tarn moved his head critically to -one side as if waiting for another song with which to sympathise. But -he was not the only listener. Far up among the purple crags Standish -Macnamara was lying looking out to the sunset when he heard the sound of -the chant in the glen beneath him. He lay silent while the dirge floated -up the mountain-side and died away among the heather of the peak. But -when the silence of the twilight came once more upon the glen, Standish -arose and made his way downwards to where an old man with one of the -small ancient Irish harps, was seated on a stone, his head bent across -the strings upon which his fingers still rested. Standish knew him to be -one Murrough O'Brian, a descendant of the bards of the country, and -an old retainer of the Gerald family. A man learned in Irish, but not -speaking an intelligible sentence in English. - -"Why do you sing the Dirge of Tuathal on this evening, Murrough?" he -asked in his native tongue, as he came beside the old man. - -"What else is there left for me to sing at this time, Standish O'Dermot -Macnamara, son of the Prince of Islands and all Munster?" said the bard. -"There is nothing of joy left us now. We cannot sing except in sorrow. -Does not the land seem to have sympathy with such songs, prolonging -their sound by its own voice from every glen and mountain-face?" - -"It is true," said Standish. "As I sat up among the cliffs of heather -it seemed to me that the melody was made by the spirits of the glen -bewailing in the twilight the departure of the glory of our land." - -"See how desolate is all around us here," said the bard. "Glenmara is -lonely now, where it was wont to be gay with song and laughter; when the -nobles thronged the valley with hawk and hound, the voice of the bugle -and the melody of a hundred harps were heard stirring up the echoes in -delight." - -"But now all are gone; they can only be recalled in vain dreams," said -the second in this duet of Celtic mourners--the younger Marius among the -ruins. - -"The sons of Erin have left her in her loneliness while the world is -stirred with their brave actions," continued the ancient bard. - -"True," cried Standish; "outside is the world that needs Irish hands -and hearts to make it better worth living in." The young man was so -enthusiastic in the utterance of his part in the dialogue as to cause -the bard to look suddenly up. - -"Yes, the hands and the hearts of the Irish have done much," he said. -"Let the men go out into the world for a while, but let our daughters be -spared to us." - -Standish gave a little start and looked inquiringly into the face of the -bard. - -"What do you mean, Murrough?" he asked slowly. - -The bard leant forward as if straining to catch some distant sound. - -"Listen to it, listen to it," he said. There was a pause, and through -the silence the moan of the far-off ocean was borne along the dim glen. - -"It is the sound of the Atlantic," said Standish. "The breeze from the -west carries it to us up from the lough." - -"Listen to it and think that she is out on that far ocean," said the old -man. "Listen to it, and think that Daireen, daughter of the Geralds, has -left her Irish home and is now tossing upon that ocean; gone is she, the -bright bird of the South--gone from those her smile lightened!" - -Standish neither started nor uttered a word when the old man had spoken; -but he felt his feet give way under him. He sat down upon a crag and -laid his head upon his hand staring into the black tarn. He could not -comprehend at first the force of the words "She is gone." He had thought -of his own departure, but the possibility of Daireen's had not occurred -to him. The meaning of the bard's lament was now apparent to him, and -even now the melody seemed to be given back by the rocks that had heard -it: - -Why art thou gone from us, Soul of all beauty and joy? - -The words moaned through the dim air with the sound of the distant -waters for accompaniment. - -"Gone--gone--Daireen," he whispered. "And you only tell me of it now," -he added almost fiercely to the old man, for he reflected upon the time -he had wasted in that duet of lamentation over the ruins of his country. -What a wretchedly trivial thing he felt was the condition of the country -compared with such an event as the departure of Daireen Gerald. - -"It is only since morning that she is gone," said the bard. "It was only -in the morning that the letter arrived to tell her that her father was -lying in a fever at some place where the vessel called on the way home. -And now she is gone from us, perhaps for ever." - -"Murrough," said the young man, laying his hand upon the other's arm, -and speaking in a hoarse whisper. "Tell me all about her. Why did they -allow her to go? Where is she gone? Not out to where her father was -landed?" - -"Why not there?" cried the old man, raising his head proudly. "Did a -Gerald ever shrink from duty when the hour came? Brave girl she is, -worthy to be a Gerald!" - -"Tell me all--all." - -"What more is there to tell than what is bound up in those three words -'She is gone'?" said the man. "The letter came to her grandfather and -she saw him read it--I was in the hall--she saw his hand tremble. She -stood up there beside him and asked him what was in the letter; he -looked into her face and put the letter in her hand. I saw her face grow -pale as she read it. Then she sat down for a minute, but no word or -cry came from her until she looked up to the old man's face; then she -clasped her hands and said only, 'I will go to him.' The old people -talked to her of the distance, of the danger; they told her how she -would be alone for days and nights among strangers; but she only -repeated, 'I will go to him.' And now she is gone--gone alone over those -waters." - -"Alone!" Standish repeated. "Gone away alone, no friend near her, none -to utter a word of comfort in her ears!" He buried his face in his hands -as he pictured the girl whom he had loved silently, but with all his -soul, since she had come to her home in Ireland from India where she -had lived with her father since the death of his wife ten years ago. He -pictured her sitting in her loneliness aboard the ship that was bearing -her away to, perhaps, the land of her father's grave, and he felt that -now at last all the bitterness that could be crowded upon his life had -fallen on him. He gazed into the black tarn, and saw within its depths a -star glittering as it glittered in the sky above, but it did not relieve -his thoughts with any touch of its gold. - -He rose after a while and gave his hand to Murrough. - -"Thank you," he said. "You have told me all better than any one else -could have done. But did she not speak of me, Murrough--only once -perhaps? Did she not send me one little word of farewell?" - -"She gave me this for you," said the old bard, producing a letter which -Standish clutched almost wildly. - -"Thank God, thank God!" he cried, hurrying away without another word. -But after him swept the sound of the bard's lament which he commenced -anew, with that query: - -Why art thou gone from us, Soul of all beauty and joy? - -It was not yet too dark outside the glen for Standish to read the letter -which he had just received; and so soon as he found himself in sight of -the sea he tore open the cover and read the few lines Daireen Gerald had -written, with a tremulous hand, to say farewell to him. - -"My father has been left ill with fever at the Cape, and I know that he -will recover only if I go to him. I am going away to-day, for the -steamer will leave Southampton in four days, and I cannot be there in -time unless I start at once. I thought you would not like me to go -without saying good-bye, and God bless you, dear Standish." - -"You will say good-bye to The Macnamara for me. I thought poor papa -would be here to give you the advice you want. Pray to God that I may be -in time to see him." - -He read the lines by the gray light reflected from the sea--he read them -until his eyes were dim. - -"Brave, glorious girl!" he cried. "But to think of her--alone--alone -out there, while I---- oh, what a poor weak fool I am! Here am I--here, -looking out to the sea she is gone to battle with! Oh, God! oh, God! I -must do something for her--I must--but what--what?" - -He cast himself down upon the heather that crawled from the slopes -even to the road, and there he lay with his head buried in agony at the -thought of his own impotence; while through the dark glen floated the -wild, weird strain of the lament: - -"Why art thou gone from us, Soul of all beauty and joy?" - - - - -CHAPTER VII. - - -```Hamlet. How chances it they travel? their residence, - -``both in reputation and profit, was better both ways. - -```Rosencrantz. I think their inhibition comes by the means - -``of the late innovation.= - -``Many, wearing rapiers, are afraid of goose-quills. - -``What imports the nomination of this gentleman? - -`````Hamlet.= - - -|AWAY from the glens and the heather-clad mountains, from the blue -loughs and their islands of arbutus, from the harp-music, and from the -ocean-music which makes those who hear it ripe for revolt; away from the -land whose life is the memory of ancient deeds of nobleness; away from -the land that has given birth to more heroes than any nation in the -world, the land whose inhabitants live in thousands in squalor and look -out from mud windows upon the most glorious scenery in the world; away -from all these one must now be borne. - -Upon the evening of the fourth day after the chanting of that lament -by the bard O'Brian from the depths of Glenmara, the good steamship -_Cardwell Castle_ was making its way down Channel with a full cargo and -heavy mails for Madeira, St. Helena, and the Cape. It had left its port -but a few hours and already the coast had become dim with distance. The -red shoreway of the south-west was now so far away that the level rays -of sunlight which swept across the water were not seen to shine upon the -faces of the rocks, or to show where the green fields joined the brown -moorland; the windmills crowning every height were not seen to be in -motion. - -The passengers were for the most part very cheerful, as passengers -generally are during the first couple of hours of a voyage, when only -the gentle ripples of the Channel lap the sides of the vessel. The old -voyagers, who had thought it prudent to dine off a piece of sea-biscuit -and a glass of brandy and water, while they watched with grim smiles the -novices trifling with roast pork and apricot-dumplings, were now sitting -in seats they had arranged for themselves in such places as they knew -would be well to leeward for the greater part of the voyage, and here -they smoked their cigars and read their newspapers just as they would be -doing every day for three weeks. To them the phenomenon of the lessening -land was not particularly interesting. The novices were endeavouring to -look as if they had been used to knock about the sea all their lives; -they carried their telescopes under their arms quite jauntily, and gave -critical glances aloft every now and again, consulting their pocket -compasses gravely at regular intervals to convince themselves that they -were not being trifled with in the navigation of the vessel. - -Then there were, of course, those who had come aboard with the -determination of learning in three weeks as much seamanship as should -enable them to accept any post of marine responsibility that they might -be called upon to fill in after life. They handled the loose tackle with -a view of determining its exact utility, and endeavoured to trace stray -lines to their source. They placed the captain entirely at his ease -with them by asking him a number of questions regarding the dangers of -boiler-bursting, and the perils of storms; they begged that he would let -them know if there was any truth in the report which had reached them to -the effect that the Atlantic was a very stormy place; and they left him -with the entreaty that in case of any danger arising suddenly he would -at once communicate with them; they then went down to put a few casual -questions to the quartermaster who was at the wheel, and doubtless felt -that they were making most of the people about them cheerful with their -converse. - -Then there were the young ladies who had just completed their education -in England and were now on their way to join their relations abroad. -Having read in the course of their studies of English literature the -poems of the late Samuel Rogers, they were much amazed to find that the -mariners were not leaning over the ship's bulwarks sighing to behold the -sinking of their native land, and that not an individual had climbed the -mast to partake of the ocular banquet with indulging in which the poet -has accredited the sailor. Towards this section the glances of several -male eyes were turned, for most of the young men had roved sufficiently -far to become aware of the fact that the relief of the monotony of a -lengthened voyage is principally dependent on--well, on the relieving -capacities of the young ladies, lately sundered from school and just -commencing their education in the world. - -But far away from the groups that hung about the stern stood a girl -looking over the side of the ship towards the west--towards the sun that -was almost touching the horizon. She heard the laughter of the groups of -girls and the silly questions of the uninformed, but all sounded to her -like the strange voices of a dream; for as she gazed towards the west -she seemed to see a fair landscape of purple slopes and green woods; -the dash of the ripples against the ship's side came to her as the -rustle of the breaking ripples amongst the shells of a blue lough upon -whose surface a number of green islets raised their heads. She saw them -all--every islet, with its moveless I shadow beneath it, and the light -touching the edges of the leaves with red. Daireen Gerald it was who -stood there looking out to the sunset, but seeing in the golden lands of -the west the Irish land she knew so well. - -She remained motionless, with her eyes far away and her heart still -farther, until the red sun had disappeared, and the delicate twilight -change was slipping over the bright gray water. With every change she -seemed to see the shifting of the hues over the heather of Slieve Docas -and the pulsating of the tremulous red light through the foliage of the -deer ground. It was only now that the tears forced themselves into her -eyes, for she had not wept at parting from her grandfather, who had gone -with her from Ireland and had left her aboard the steamer a few hours -before; and while her tears made everything misty to her, the light -laughter of the groups scattered about the quarter-deck sounded in her -ears. It did not come harshly to her, for it seemed to come from a world -in which she had no part. The things about her were as the things of a -dream. The reality in which she was living was that which she saw out in -the west. - -"Come, my dear," said a voice behind her--"Come and walk with me on the -deck. I fancied I had lost you, and you may guess what a state I was in, -after all the promises I made to Mr. Gerald." - -"I was just looking out there, and wondering what they were all doing -at home--at the foot of the dear old mountain," said Daireen, allowing -herself to be led away. - -"That is what most people would call moping, dear," said the lady who -had come up. She was a middle-aged lady with a pleasant face, though her -figure was hardly what a scrupulous painter would choose as a model for -a Nausicaa. - -"Perhaps I was moping, Mrs. Crawford," Daireen replied; "but I feel the -better for it now." - -"My dear, I don't disapprove of moping now and again, though as a habit -it should not be encouraged. I was down in my cabin, and when I came on -deck I couldn't understand where you had disappeared to. I asked the -major, but of course, you know, he was quite oblivious to everything but -the mutiny at Cawnpore, through being beside Doctor Campion." - -"But you have found me, you see, Mrs. Crawford." - -"Yes, thanks to Mr. Glaston; he knew where you had gone; he had been -watching you." Daireen felt her face turning red as she thought of this -Mr. Glaston, whoever he was, with his eyes fixed upon her movements. -"You don't know Mr. Glaston, Daireen?--I shall call you 'Daireen' -of course, though we have only known each other a couple of hours," -continued the lady. "No, of course you don't. Never mind, I'll show -him to you." For the promise of this treat Daireen did not express her -gratitude. She had come to think the most unfavourable things regarding -this Mr. Glaston. Mrs. Crawford, however, did not seem to expect an -acknowledgment. Her chat ran on as briskly as ever. "I shall point him -out to you, but on no account look near him for some time--young men are -so conceited, you know." - -Daireen had heard this peculiarity ascribed to the race before, and -so when her guide, as they walked towards the stern of the vessel, -indicated to her that a young man sitting in a deck-chair smoking a -cigar was Mr. Glaston, she certainly did not do anything that might -possibly increase in Mr. Glaston this dangerous tendency which Mrs. -Crawford had assigned to young men generally. - -"What do you think of him, my dear?" asked Mrs. Crawford, when they had -strolled up the deck once more. - -"Of whom?" inquired Daireen. - -"Good gracious," cried the lady, "are your thoughts still straying? Why, -I mean Mr. Glaston, to be sure. What do you think of him?" - -"I didn't look at him," the girl answered. - -Mrs. Crawford searched the fair face beside her to find out if its -expression agreed with her words, and the scrutiny being satisfactory -she gave a little laugh. "How do you ever mean to know what he is like -if you don't look at him?" she asked. - -Daireen did not stop to explain how she thought it possible that -contentment might exist aboard the steamer even though she remained in -ignorance for ever of Mr. Glaston's qualities; but presently she glanced -along the deck, and saw sitting at graceful ease upon the chair Mrs. -Crawford had indicated, a tall man of apparently a year or two under -thirty. He had black hair which he had allowed to grow long behind, and -a black moustache which gave every indication of having been subjected -to the most careful youthful training. His face would not have been -thought expressive but for his eyes, and the expression that these -organs gave out could hardly be called anything except a neutral one: -they indicated nothing except that nothing was meant to be indicated -by them. No suggestion of passion, feeling, or even thoughtfulness, did -they give; and in fact the only possible result of looking at this face -which some people called expressive, was a feeling that the man himself -was calmly conscious of the fact that some people were in the habit of -calling his face expressive. - -"And what _do_ you think of him now, my dear?" asked Mrs. Crawford, -after Daireen had gratified her by taking that look. - -"I really don't think that I think anything," she answered with a little -laugh. - -"That is the beauty of his face," cried Mrs. Crawford. "It sets one -thinking." - -"But that is not what I said, Mrs. Crawford." - -"You said you did not think you were thinking anything, Daireen; and -that meant, I know, that there was more in his face than you could read -at a first glance. Never mind; every one is set thinking when one sees -Mr. Glaston." - -Daireen had almost become interested in this Mr. Glaston, even though -she could not forget that he had watched her when she did not want to -be watched. She gave another glance towards him, but with no more -profitable conclusion than her previous look had attained. - -"I will tell you all about him, my child," said Mrs. Crawford -confidentially; "but first let us make ourselves comfortable. Dear old -England, there is the last of it for us for some time. Adieu, adieu, -dear old country!" There was not much sentimentality in the stout little -lady's tone, as she looked towards the faint line of mist far astern -that marked the English coast. She sat down with Daireen to the leeward -of the deck-house where she had laid her rugs, and until the tea-bell -rang Daireen had certainly no opportunity for moping. - -Mrs. Crawford told her that this Mr. Glaston was a young man of such -immense capacities that nothing lay outside his grasp either in art or -science. He had not thought it necessary to devote his attention to -any subject in particular; but that, Mrs. Crawford thought, was rather -because there existed no single subject that he considered worthy of an -expenditure of all his energies. As things unfortunately existed, there -was nothing left for him but to get rid of the unbounded resources of -his mind by applying them to a variety of subjects. He had, in fact, -written poetry--never an entire volume of course, but exceedingly clever -pieces that had been published in his college magazine. He was capable -of painting a great picture if he chose, though he had contented himself -with giving ideas to other men who had worked them out through the -medium of pictures. He was one of the most accomplished of musicians; -and if he had not yet produced an opera or composed even a song, -instances were on record of his having performed impromptus that would -undoubtedly have made the fame of a professor. He was the son of a -Colonial Bishop, Mrs. Crawford told Daireen, and though he lived in -England he was still dutiful enough to go out to pay a month's visit to -his father every year. - -"But we must not make him conceited, Daireen," said Mrs. Crawford, -ending her discourse; "we must not, dear; and if he should look over -and see us together this way, he would conclude that we were talking of -him." - -Daireen rose with her instructive companion with an uneasy sense of -feeling that all they could by their combined efforts contribute to the -conceit of a young man who would, upon grounds so slight, come to such a -conclusion as Mrs. Crawford feared he might, would be but trifling. - -Then the tea-bell rang, and all the novices who had enjoyed the roast -pork and dumplings at dinner, descended to make a hearty meal of -buttered toast and banana jelly. The sea air had given them an appetite, -they declared with much merriment. The chief steward, however, being an -experienced man, and knowing that in a few hours the Bay of Biscay -would be entered, did not, from observing the hearty manner in which the -novices were eating, feel uneasy on the matter of the endurance of the -ship's stores. He knew it would be their last meal for some days at -least, and he smiled grimly as he laid down another plate of buttered -toast, and hastened off to send up some more brandy and biscuits to -Major Crawford and Doctor Campion, whose hoarse chuckles called forth -by pleasing reminiscences of Cawnpore were dimly heard from the deck -through the cabin skylight. - - - - -CHAPTER VIII. - - -```An hour of quiet shortly shall we see; - -```Till then in patience our proceeding be.= - -```We'll put on those shall praise your excellence - -```And set a double varnish on the fame - -```The Frenchman gave you, bring you in fine together. - -```... I know love is begun by time.= - -```I know him well: he is the brooch indeed - -```And gem of all the nation.= - -````He made confession of you, - -```And gave you such a masterly report - -```For art...'twould be a sight indeed - -```If one could match you. - -`````--Hamlet.= - - -|MRS. Crawford absolutely clung to Daireen all this evening. When the -whist parties were formed in the cabin she brought the girl on deck and -instructed her in some of the matters worth knowing aboard a passenger -ship. - -"On no account bind yourself to any whist set before you look about you: -nothing could be more dangerous," she said confidentially. "Just think -how terrible it would be if you were to join a set now, and afterwards -to find out that it was not the best set. You would simply be ruined. -Besides that, it is better to stay on deck as much as possible during -the first day or two at sea. Now let us go over to the major and -Campion." - -So Daireen found herself borne onward with Mrs. Crawford's arm in her -own to where Major Crawford and Doctor Campion were sitting on their -battered deck-chairs lighting fresh cheroots from the ashes of the -expiring ends. - -"Don't tread on the tumblers, my dear," said the major as his wife -advanced. "And how is Miss Gerald now that we have got under weigh? You -didn't take any of that liquid they insult the Chinese Empire by calling -tea, aboard ship, I hope?" - -"Just a single cup, and very weak," said Mrs. Crawford apologetically. - -"My dear, I thought you were wiser." - -"You will take this chair, Mrs. Crawford?" said Doctor Campion, without -making the least pretence of moving, however. - -"Don't think of such a thing," cried the lady's husband; and to do -Doctor Campion justice, he did not think of such a thing. "Why, you -don't fancy these are our Junkapore days, do you, when Kate came out -to our bungalow, and the boys called her the Sylph? It's a fact, Miss -Gerald; my wife, as your father will tell you, was as slim as a lily. -Ah, dear, dear! Time, they say, takes a lot away from us, but by Jingo, -he's liberal enough in some ways. By Jingo, yes," and the gallant old -man kept shaking his head and chuckling towards his comrade, whose -features could be seen puckered into a grin though he uttered no sound. - -"And stranger still, Miss Gerald," said the lady, "the major was once -looked upon as a polite man, and politer to his wife than to anybody -else. Go and fetch some chairs here, Campion, like a good fellow," she -added to the doctor, who rose slowly and obeyed. - -"That's how my wife takes command of the entire battalion, Miss Gerald," -remarked the major. "Oh, your father will tell you all about her." - -The constant reference to her father by one who was an old friend, came -with a cheering influence to the girl. A terrible question as to what -might be the result of her arrival at the Cape had suggested itself to -her more than once since she had left Ireland; but now the major did not -seem to fancy that there could be any question in the matter. - -When the chairs were brought, and enveloped in karosses, as the old -campaigners called the furs, there arose a chatter of bungalows, and -punkahs, and puggarees, and calapashes, and curries, that was quite -delightful to the girl's ears, especially as from time to time -her father's name would be mentioned in connection with some -elephant-trapping expedition, or, perhaps, a mess joke. - -When at last Daireen found herself alone in the cabin which her -grandfather had managed to secure for her, she did not feel that -loneliness which she thought she should have felt aboard this ship full -of strangers without sympathy for her. - -She stood for a short time in the darkness, looking out of her cabin -port over the long waters, and listening to the sound of the waves -hurrying away from the ship and flapping against its sides, and once -more she thought of the purple mountain and the green Irish Lough. -Then as she moved away from the port her thoughts stretched in another -direction--southward. Her heart was full of hope as she turned in to -her bunk and went quietly asleep just as the first waves of the Bay of -Biscay were making the good steamer a little uneasy, and bringing about -a bitter remorse to those who had made merry over the dumplings and -buttered toast. - -Major Crawford was an officer who had served for a good many years in -India, and had there become acquainted with Daireen's father and mother. -When Mr. Gerald was holding his grandchild in his arms aboard the -steamer saying good-bye, he was surprised by a strange lady coming up to -him and begging to be informed if it was possible that Daireen was the -daughter of Colonel Gerald. In another instant Mr. Gerald was overjoyed -to know that Daireen would be during the entire voyage in the company -of an officer and his wife who were old friends of her father, and had -recognised her from her likeness to her mother, whom they had also known -when she was little older than Daireen. Mr. Gerald left the vessel with -a mind at rest; and that his belief that the girl would be looked after -was well-founded is already known. Daireen was, indeed, in the hands of -a lady who was noted in many parts of the world for her capacities for -taking charge of young ladies. When she was in India her position at -the station was very similiar to that of immigration-agent-general. Fond -matrons in England, who had brought their daughters year after year to -Homburg, Kissingen, and Nice, in the "open" season, and had yet brought -them back in safety--matrons who had even sunk to the low level of -hydropathic hunting-grounds without success, were accustomed to write -pathetic letters to Junkapore and Arradambad conveying to Mrs. Crawford -intelligence of the strange fancy that some of the dear girls had -conceived to visit those parts of the Indian Empire, and begging Mrs. -Crawford to give her valuable advice with regard to the carrying out of -such remarkable freaks. Never in any of these cases had the major's wife -failed. These forlorn hopes took passage to India and found in her a -real friend, with tact, perseverance, and experience. The subalterns -of the station were never allowed to mope in a wretched, companionless -condition; and thus Mrs. Crawford had achieved for herself a -certain fame, which it was her study to maintain. Having herself had -men-children only, she had no personal interests to look after. Her boys -had been swaddled in puggarees, spoon-fed with curry, and nurtured upon -chutney, and had so developed into full-grown Indians ready for the -choicest appointments, and they had succeeded very well indeed. Her -husband had now received a command from the War Office to proceed to -the Cape for the purpose of obtaining evidence on the subject of the -regulation boots to be supplied to troops on active foreign service; -a commission upon this most important subject having been ordered by -a Parliamentary vote. Other officers of experience had been sent to -various of the colonies, and much was expected to result from the -prosecution of their inquiries, the opponents of the Government being -confident that gussets would eventually be allowed to non-commissioned -officers, and back straps to privates. - -Of course Major Crawford could not set out on a mission so important -without the companionship of his wife. Though just at the instant of -Daireen's turning in, the major fancied he might have managed to get -along pretty well even if his partner had been left behind him in -England. He was inclined to snarl in his cabin at nights when his wife -unfolded her plans to him and kept him awake to give his opinion as -to the possibility of the tastes of various young persons becoming -assimilated. To-night the major expressed his indifference as to whether -every single man in the ship's company got married to every single woman -before the end of the voyage, or whether they all went to perdition -singly. He concluded by wishing fervently that they would disappear, -married and single, by a supernatural agency. - -"But think, how gratified poor Gerald would be if the dear girl could -think as I do on this subject," said Mrs. Crawford persistently, -alluding to the matter of certain amalgamation of tastes. At this point, -however, the major expressed himself in words still more vigorous than -he had brought to his aid before, and his wife thought it prudent to get -into her bunk without pursuing any further the question of the possible -gratification of Colonel Gerald at the unanimity of thought existing -between his daughter and Mrs. Crawford. - - - - -CHAPTER IX. - - -```How dangerous is it that this man goes loose... - -```He's loved of the distracted multitude, - -```Who like not in their judgment but their eyes: - -```And where 'tis so the offender's scourge is weigh'd, - -```But never the offence.= - -```Look here upon this picture, and on this.= - -``Thus has he--and many more of the same breed that I know the drossy age -dotes on--only got the tune of the time... a kind of yesty collection -which carries them through and through the most fond and winnowed -opinions; and do but blow them to their trial, the bubbles are -out.--_Hamlet_. - - -|THE uneasy bosom of the Bay of Biscay was throbbing with its customary -emotion beneath the good vessel, when Daireen awoke the next morning to -the sound of creaking timbers and rioting glasses. Above her on the deck -the tramp of a healthy passenger, who wore a pedometer and walked three -miles every morning before breakfast, was heard, now dilating and now -decreasing, as he passed over the cabins. He had almost completed his -second mile, and was putting on a spurt in order to keep himself up to -time; his spurt at the end of the first mile had effectually awakened -all the passengers beneath, who had yet remained undisturbed through the -earlier part of his tramp. - -Mrs. Crawford, looking bright and fresh and good-natured, entered -Daireen's cabin before the girl was ready to leave it. She certainly -seemed determined that the confidence Mr. Gerald had reposed in her with -regard to the care of his granddaughter should not prove to have been -misplaced. - -"I am not going in, my dear," she said as she entered the cabin. "I only -stepped round to see that you were all right this morning. I knew you -would be so, though Robinson the steward tells me that even the little -sea there is on in the bay has been quite sufficient to make about a -dozen vacancies at the breakfast-table. People are such fools when they -come aboard a ship--eating boiled paste and all sorts of things, and -so the sea is grossly misrepresented. Did that dreadfully healthy Mr. -Thompson awake you with his tramping on deck? Of course he did; he's a -dreadful man. If he goes on like this we'll have to petition the captain -to lay down bark on the deck. Now I'll leave you. Come aloft when -you are ready; and, by the way, you must take care what dress you put -on--very great care." - -"Why, I thought that aboard ship one might wear anything," said the -girl. - -"Never was there a greater mistake, my child. People say the same about -going to the seaside: anything will do; but you know how one requires to -be doubly particular there; and it's just the same in our little world -aboard ship." - -"You quite frighten me, Mrs. Crawford," said Daireen. "What advice can -you give me on the subject?" - -Mrs. Crawford was thoughtful. "If you had only had time to prepare -for the voyage, and I had been beside you, everything might have been -different. You must not wear anything pronounced--any distinct colour: -you must find out something undecided--you understand?" - -Daireen looked puzzled. "I'm sorry to say I don't." - -"Oh, you have surely something of pale sage--no, that is a bad tone -for the first days aboard--too like the complexions of most of the -passengers--but, chocolate-gray? ah, that should do: have you anything -in that to do for a morning dress?" - -Daireen was so extremely fortunate as to be possessed of a garment of -the required tone, and her kind friend left her arraying herself in its -folds. - -On going aloft Daireen found the deck occupied by a select few of the -passengers. The healthy gentleman was just increasing his pace for the -final hundred yards of his morning's walk, and Doctor Campion had got -very near the end of his second cheroot, while he sat talking to a -fair-haired and bronze-visaged man with clear gray eyes that had such -a way of looking at things as caused people to fancy he was making -a mental calculation of the cubic measure of everything; and it was -probably the recollection of their peculiarity that made people fancy, -when these eyes looked into a human face, that the mind of the man was -going through a similar calculation with reference to the human object: -one could not avoid feeling that he had a number of formulas for -calculating the intellectual value of people, and that when he looked at -a person he was thinking which formula should be employed for arriving -at a conclusion regarding that person's mental capacity. - -Mrs. Crawford was chatting with the doctor and his companion, but on -Daireen's appearing, she went over to her. - -"Perfect, my child," she said in a whisper--"the tone of the dress, I -mean; it will work wonders." - -While Daireen was reflecting upon the possibility of a suspension of the -laws of nature being the result of the appearance of the chocolate-toned -dress, she was led towards the doctor, who immediately went through a -fiction of rising from his seat as she approached; and one would really -have fancied that he intended getting upon his feet, and was only -restrained at the last moment by a remonstrance of the girl's. Daireen -acknowledged his courtesy, though it was only imaginary, and she was -conscious that his companion had really risen. - -"You haven't made the acquaintance of Miss Gerald, Mr. Harwood?" said -Mrs. Crawford. - -"I have not had the honour," said the man. - -"Let me present you, Daireen. Mr. Harwood--Miss Gerald. Now take great -care what you say to this gentleman, Daireen; he is a dangerous man--the -most dangerous that any one could meet. He is a detective, dear, and -the worst of all--a literary detective; the 'special' of the _Domnant -Trumpeter_." - -Daireen had looked into the man's face while she was being presented to -him, and she knew it was the face of a man who had seen the people of -more than one nation. - -"This is not your first voyage, Miss Gerald, or you would not be on deck -so early?" he said. - -"It certainly is not," she replied. "I was born in India, so that my -first voyage was to England; then I have crossed the Irish Channel -frequently, going to school and returning for the holidays; and I have -also had some long voyages on Lough Suangorm," she added with a little -smile, for she did not think that her companion would be likely to have -heard of the existence of the Irish fjord. - -"Suangorm? then you have had some of the most picturesque voyages one -can make in the course of a day in this world," he said. "Lough Suangorm -is the most wonderful fjord in the world, let me tell you." - -"Then you know it," she cried with a good deal of surprise. "You must -know the dear old lough or you would not talk so." She did not seem to -think that his assertion should imply that he had seen a good many other -fjords also. - -"I think I may say I know it. Yes, from those fine headlands that the -Atlantic beats against, to where the purple slope of that great hill -meets the little road." - -"You know the hill--old Slieve Docas? How strange! I live just at the -foot." - -"I have a sketch of a mansion, taken just there," he said, laughing. "It -is of a dark brown exterior." - -"Exactly." - -"It looks towards the sea." - -"It does indeed." - -"It is exceedingly picturesque." - -"Picturesque?" - -"Well, yes; the house I allude to is very much so. If I recollect -aright, the one window of the wall was not glazed, and the smoke -certainly found its way out through a hole in the roof." - -"Oh, that is too bad," said Daireen. "I had no idea that the -peculiarities of my country people would be known so far away. Please -don't say anything about that sketch to the passengers aboard." - -"I shall never be tempted to allude, even by the 'pronouncing of some -doubtful phrase,' to the--the--peculiarities of your country people, -Miss Gerald," he answered. "It is a lovely country, and contains the -most hospitable people in the world; but their talent does not develop -itself architecturally. Ah! there is the second bell. I hope you have an -appetite." - -"Have you been guarded enough in your conversation, Daireen?" said Mrs. -Crawford, coming up with the doctor, whose rising at the summons of the -breakfast-bell was by no means a fiction. - -"The secrets of the Home Rule Confederation are safe in the keeping of -Miss Gerald," said Mr. Harwood, with a smile which any one could see was -simply the result of his satisfaction at having produced a well-turned -sentence. - -The breakfast-table was very thinly attended, more so even than Robinson -the steward had anticipated when on the previous evening he had laid -down that second plate of buttered toast before the novices. - -Of the young ladies only three appeared at the table, and their -complexions were of the softest amber shade that was ever worked in -satin in the upholstery of mock-mediæval furniture. Major Crawford had -just come out of the steward's pantry, and he greeted Daireen with all -courtesy, as indeed he did the other young ladies at the table, for the -major was gallant and gay aboard ship. - -After every one had been seated for about ten minutes, the curtain that -screened off one of the cabin entrances from the saloon was moved aside, -and the figure of the young man to whom Mrs. Crawford had alluded as -Mr. Glaston appeared. He came slowly forward, nodding to the captain and -saying good-morning to Mrs. Crawford, while he elevated his eyebrows in -recognition of Mr. Harwood, taking his seat at the table. - -"You can't have an appetite coming directly out of your bunk," said the -doctor. - -"Indeed?" said Mr. Glaston, without the least expression. - -"Quite impossible," said the doctor. "You should have been up an hour -ago at least. Here is Mr. Thompson, who has walked more than three miles -in the open air." - -"Ah," said the other, never moving his eyes to see the modest smile that -spread itself over the features of the exemplary Mr. Thompson. "Ah, I -heard some one who seemed to be going in for that irrepressible thousand -miles in a thousand hours. Yes, bring me a pear and a grape." The last -sentence he addressed to the waiter, who, having been drilled by -the steward on the subject of Mr. Glaston's tastes, did not show any -astonishment at being asked for fruit instead of fish, but hastened off -to procure the grape and the pear. - -While Mr. Glaston was waiting he glanced across the table, and gave -a visible start as his eyes rested upon one of the young ladies--a -pleasant-looking girl wearing a pink dress and having a blue ribbon in -her hair. Mr. Glaston gave a little shudder, and then turned away. - -"That face--ah, where have I beheld it?" muttered Mr. Harwood to the -doctor. - -"Dam puppy!" said the doctor. - -Then the plate and fruit were laid before Mr. Glaston, who said quickly, -"Take them away." The bewildered waiter looked towards his chief and -obeyed, so that Mr. Glaston remained with an empty plate. Robinson -became uneasy. - -"Can I get you anything, sir?--we have three peaches aboard and a -pine-apple," he murmured. - -"Can't touch anything now, Robinson," Mr. Glaston answered. - -"The doctor is right," said Mrs. Crawford. "You have no appetite, Mr. -Glaston." - -"No," he replied; "not _now_," and he gave the least glance towards -the girl in pink, who began to feel that all her school dreams of going -forth into the world of men to conquer and overcome were being realised -beyond her wildest anticipations. - -Then there was a pause at the table, which the good major broke by -suddenly inquiring something of the captain. Mr. Glaston, however, sat -silent, and somewhat sad apparently, until the breakfast was over. - -Daireen went into her cabin for a book, and remained arranging some -volumes on the little shelf for a few minutes. Mr. Glaston was on deck -when she ascended, and he was engaged in a very serious conversation -with Mrs. Crawford. - -"Something must be done. Surely she has a guardian aboard who is not so -utterly lost to everything of truth and right as to allow that to go on -unchecked." - -These words Daireen could make out as she passed the young man and the -major's wife, and the girl began to fear that something terrible was -about to happen. But Mr. Harwood, who was standing above the major's -chair, hastened forward as she appeared. - -"Why, Major Crawford has been telling me that your father is Colonel -Gerald," he said. "Mrs. Crawford never mentioned that fact, thinking -that I should be able to guess it for myself." - -"Did you know papa?" Daireen asked. - -"I met him several times when I was out about the Baroda affair," said -the "special." - -"And as you are his daughter, I suppose it will interest you to know -that he has been selected as the first governor of the Castaways." - -Daireen looked puzzled. "The Castaways?" she said. - -"Yes, Miss Gerald; the lovely Castaway Islands which, you know, have -just been annexed by England. Colonel Gerald has been chosen by the -Colonial Secretary as the first governor." - -"But I heard nothing of this," said Daireen, a little astonished to -receive such information in the Bay of Biscay. - -"How could you hear anything of it? No one outside the Cabinet has the -least idea of it." - -"And you----" said the girl doubtfully. - -"Ah, my dear Miss Gerald, the resources of information possessed by the -_Dominant Trumpeter_ are as unlimited as they are trustworthy. You may -depend upon what I tell you. It is not generally known that I am now -bound for the Castaway group, to make the British public aware of the -extent of the treasure they have acquired in these sunny isles. But I -understood that Colonel Gerald was on his way from Madras?" - -Daireen explained how her father came to be at the Cape, and Mr. Harwood -gave her a few cheering words regarding his sickness. She was greatly -disappointed when their conversation was interrupted by Mrs. Crawford. - -"The poor fellow!" she said--"Mr. Glaston, I mean. I have induced him to -go down and eat some grapes and a pear." - -"Why couldn't he take them at breakfast and not betray his idiocy?" said -Mr. Harwood. - -"Mr. Harwood, you have no sympathy for sufferers from sensitiveness," -replied the lady. "Poor Mr. Glaston! he had an excellent appetite, but -he found it impossible to touch anything the instant he saw that fearful -pink dress with the blue ribbon hanging over it." - -"Poor fellow!" said Mr. Harwood. - -"Dam puppy!" said the doctor. - -"Campion!" cried Mrs. Crawford severely. - -"A thousand pardons! my dear Miss Gerald," said the transgressor. "But -what can a man say when he hears of such puppyism? This is my third -voyage with that young man, and he has been developing into the -full-grown puppy with the greatest rapidity." - -"You have no fine feeling, Campion," said Mrs. Crawford. "You have got -no sympathy for those who are artistically sensitive. But hush! here -is the offending person herself, and with such a hat! Now admit that to -look at her sends a cold shudder through you." - -"I think her a devilish pretty little thing, by gad," said the doctor. - -The young lady with the pink dress and the blue ribbon appeared, wearing -the additional horror of a hat lined with yellow and encircled with -mighty flowers. - -"Something must be done to suppress her," said Mrs. Crawford decisively. -"Surely such people must have a better side to their natures that one -may appeal to." - -"I doubt it, Mrs. Crawford," said Mr. Harwood, with only the least tinge -of sarcasm in his voice. "I admit that one might not have been in -utter despair though the dress was rather aggressive, but I cannot see -anything but depravity in that hat with those floral splendours." - -"But what is to be done?" said the lady. "Mr. Glaston would, no doubt, -advocate making a Jonah of that young person for the sake of saving the -rest of the ship's company. But, however just that might be, I do not -suppose it would be considered strictly legal." - -"Many acts of justice are done that are not legal," replied Harwood -gravely. "From a legal standpoint, Cain was no murderer--his accuser -being witness and also judge. He would leave the court without a stain -on his character nowadays. Meantime, major, suppose we have a smoke on -the bridge." - -"He fancies he has said something clever," remarked Mrs. Crawford when -he had walked away; and it must be confessed that Mr. Harwood had a -suspicion to that effect. - - - - -CHAPTER X. - - -````His will is not his own; - -```For he himself is subject to his birth: - -```He may not, as unvalued persons do, - -```Carve for himself; for on his choice depends - -```The safety and the health of this whole state, - -```And therefore must his choice be circumscribed - -```Unto the voice and yielding of that body, - -```Whereof he is the head.= - -_Osric_.... Believe me, an absolute gentleman, full of most excellent -differences, of very soft society and great showing; indeed, to speak -feelingly of him, he is the card... of gentry. - -_Hamlet_.... His definement suffers no perdition in you... But, in the -verity of extolment I take him to be a soul of great article.--_Hamlet._ - - -|THE information which Daireen had received on the unimpeachable -authority of the special correspondent of the _Dominant Trumpeter_ was -somewhat puzzling to her at first; but as she reflected upon the fact -hat the position of governor of the newly-acquired Castaway group must -be one of importance, she could not help feeling some happiness; only in -the midmost heart of her joy her recollection clasped a single grief---a -doubt about her father was still clinging to her heart. The letter her -grandfather had received which caused her to make up her mind to set out -for the Cape, merely stated that Colonel Gerald had been found too weak -to continue the homeward voyage in the vessel that had brought him from -India. He had a bad attack of fever, and was not allowed to be moved -from where he lay at the Cape. The girl thought over all of this as she -reflected upon what Mr. Harwood had told her, and looking over the long -restless waters of the Bay of Biscay from her seat far astern, her eyes -became very misty; the unhappy author represented by the yellow-covered -book which she had been reading lay neglected upon her knee. But soon -her brave, hopeful heart took courage, and she began to paint in her -imagination the fairest pictures of the future--a future beneath the -rich blue sky that was alleged by the Ministers who had brought about -the annexation, evermore to overshadow the Castaway group--a future -beneath the purple shadow of the giant Slieve Docas when her father -would have discharged his duties at the Castaways. - -She could not even pretend to herself to be reading the book she had -brought up, so that Mrs. Crawford could not have been accused of an -interruption when she drew her chair alongside the girl's, saying: - -"We must have a little chat together, now that there is a chance for it. -It is really terrible how much time one can fritter away aboard ship. I -have known people take long voyages for the sake of study, and yet never -open a single book but a novel. By the way, what is this the major has -been telling me Harwood says about your father?" - -Daireen repeated all that Harwood had said regarding the new island -colony, and begged Mrs. Crawford to give an opinion as to the -trustworthiness of the information. - -"My dear child," said Mrs. Crawford, "you may depend upon its truth if -Harwood told it to you. The _Dominant Trumpeter_ sends out as many arms -as an octopus, for news, and, like the octopus too, it has the instinct -of only making use of what is worth anything. The Government have been -very good to George--I mean Colonel Gerald--he was always 'George' with -us when he was lieutenant. The Castaway governorship is one of the -nice things they sometimes have to dispose of to the deserving. It was -thought, you know, that George would sell out and get his brevet long -ago, but what he often said to us after your poor mother died convinced -me that he would not accept a quiet life. And so it was Mr. Harwood that -gave you this welcome news," she continued, adding in a thoughtful tone, -"By the way, what do you think of Mr. Harwood?" - -"I really have not thought anything about him," Daireen replied, -wondering if it was indeed a necessity of life aboard ship to be able at -a moment's notice to give a summary of her opinion as to the nature of -every person she might chance to meet. - -"He is a very nice man," said Mrs. Crawford; "only just inclined to be -conceited, don't you think? This is our third voyage with him, so that -we know something of him. One knows more of a person at the end of a -week at sea than after a month ashore. What can be keeping Mr. Glaston -over his pears, I wonder? I meant to have presented him to you before. -Ah, here he comes out of the companion. I asked him to return to me." - -But again Mrs. Crawford's expectations were dashed to the ground. Mr. -Glaston certainly did appear on deck, and showed some sign in a -languid way of walking over to where Mrs. Crawford was sitting, but -unfortunately before he had taken half a dozen steps he caught sight -of that terrible pink dress and the hat with the jaundiced interior. He -stopped short, and a look of martyrdom passed over his face as he turned -and made his way to the bridge in the opposite direction to where -that horror of pronounced tones sat quite unconscious of the agony her -appearance was creating in the aesthetic soul of the young man. - -Daireen having glanced up and seen the look of dismay upon his face, and -the flight of Mr. Glaston, could not avoid laughing outright so soon as -he had disappeared. But Mrs. Crawford did not laugh. On the contrary she -looked very grave. - -"This is terrible--terrible, Daireen," she said. "That vile hat has -driven him away. I knew it must." - -"Matters are getting serious indeed," said the girl, with only the least -touch of mockery in her voice. "If he is not allowed to eat anything at -breakfast in sight of the dress, and he is driven up to the bridge by -a glimpse of the hat, I am afraid that his life will not be quite happy -here." - -"Happy! my dear, you cannot conceive the agonies he endures through his -sensitiveness. I must make the acquaintance of that young person and -try to bring her to see the error of her ways. Oh, how fortunate you had -this chocolate-gray!" - -"I must have thought of it in a moment of inspiration," said Daireen. - -"Come, you really mustn't laugh," said the elder lady reprovingly. "It -was a happy thought, at any rate, and I only hope that you will be able -to sustain its effect by something good at dinner. I must look over your -trunks and tell you what tone is most artistic." - -Daireen began to feel rebellious. - -"My dear Mrs. Crawford, it is very kind of you to offer to take so much -trouble; but, you see, I do not feel it to be a necessity to choose the -shade of my dress solely to please the taste of a gentleman who may not -be absolutely perfect in his ideas." - -Mrs. Crawford laughed. "Do not get angry, my dear," she said. "I admire -your spirit, and I will not attempt to control your own good taste; -you will never, I am sure, sink to such a depth of depravity as is -manifested by that hat." - -"Well, I think you may depend on me so far," said Daireen. - -Shortly afterwards Mrs. Crawford descended to arrange some matters in -her cabin, and Daireen had consequently an opportunity of returning to -her neglected author. - -But before she had made much progress in her study she was again -interrupted, and this time by Doctor Campion, who had been smoking with -Mr. Harwood on the ship's bridge. Doctor Campion was a small man, with -a reddish face upon which a perpetual frown was resting. He had a jerky -way of turning his head as if it was set upon a ratchet wheel only -capable of shifting a tooth at a time. He had been in the army for a -good many years, and had only accepted the post aboard the _Cardwell -Castle_ for the sake of his health. - -"Young cub!" he muttered, as he came up to Daireen. "Infernal young -cub!--I beg your pardon, Miss Gerald, but I really must say it. That -fellow Glaston is getting out of all bounds. Ah, it's his father's -fault--his father's fault. Keeps him dawdling about England without any -employment. Why, it would have been better for him to have taken to the -Church, as they call it, at once, idle though the business is." - -"Surely you have not been wearing an inartistic tie, Doctor Campion?" - -"Inartistic indeed! The puppy has got so much cant on his finger-ends -that weak-minded people think him a genius. Don't you believe it, my -dear; he's a dam puppy--excuse me, but there's really no drawing it mild -here." - -Daireen was amused at the doctor's vehemence, however shocked she may -have been at his manner of getting rid of it. - -"What on earth has happened with Mr. Glaston now?" she asked. "It is -impossible that there could be another obnoxious dress aboard." - -"He hasn't given himself any airs in that direction since," said the -doctor. "But he came up to the bridge where we were smoking, and after -he had talked for a minute with Harwood, he started when he saw a boy -who had been sent up to clean out one of the hencoops--asked if we -didn't think his head marvellously like Carlyle's--was amazed at our -want of judgment--went up to the boy and cross-questioned him--found out -that his father sells vegetables to the Victoria Docks--asked if it had -ever been remarked before that his head was like Carlyle's--boy says -quickly that if the man he means is the tailor in Wapping, anybody that -says his head is like that man's is a liar, and then boy goes quietly -down. 'Wonderful!' says our genius, as he comes over to us; 'wonderful -head--exactly the same as Carlyle's, and language marvellously -similar--brief--earnest--emphatic--full of powah!' Then he goes on -to say he'll take notes of the boy's peculiarities and send them to a -magazine. I couldn't stand any more of that sort of thing, so I left him -with Harwood. Harwood can sift him." - -Daireen laughed at this new story of the young man whose movements -seemed to be regarded as of so much importance by every one aboard the -steamer. She began really to feel interested in this Mr. Glaston; and -she thought that perhaps she might as well be particular about the tone -of the dress she would select for appearing in before the judicial eyes -of this Mr. Glaston. She relinquished the design she had formed in -her mind while Mrs. Crawford was urging on her the necessity for -discrimination in this respect: she had resolved to show a recklessness -in her choice of a dress, but now she felt that she had better take Mrs. -Crawford's advice, and give some care to the artistic combinations of -her toilette. - -The result of her decision was that she appeared in such studious -carelessness of attire that Mr. Glaston, sitting opposite to her, was -enabled to eat a hearty dinner utterly regardless of the aggressive -splendour of the imperial blue dress worn by the other young lady, -with a pink ribbon flowing over it from her hair. This young lady's -imagination was unequal to suggesting a more diversified arrangement -than she had already shown. She thought it gave evidence of considerable -strategical resources to wear that pink ribbon over the blue dress: it -was very nearly as effective as the blue ribbon over the pink, of the -morning. The appreciation of contrast as an important element of effect -in art was very strongly developed in this young lady. - -Mrs. Crawford did not conceal the satisfaction she felt observing the -appetite of Mr. Glaston; and after dinner she took his arm as he went -towards the bridge. - -"I am so glad you were not offended with that dreadful young person's -hideous colours," she said, as they strolled along. - -"I could hardly have believed it possible that such wickedness could -survive nowadays," he replied. "But I was, after the first few minutes, -quite unconscious of its enormity. My dear Mrs. Crawford, your young -protégée appeared as a spirit of light to charm away that fiend of evil. -She sat before me--a poem of tones--a delicate symphony of Schumann's -played at twilight on the brink of a mere of long reeds and water-flags, -with a single star shining through the well-defined twigs of a solitary -alder. That was her idea, don't you think?" - -"I have no doubt of it," the lady replied after a little pause. "But -if you allow me to present you to her you will have an opportunity of -finding out. Now do let me." - -"Not this evening, Mrs. Crawford; I do not feel equal to it," he -answered. "She has given me too much to think about--too many ideas to -work out. That was the most thoughtful and pure-souled toilette I ever -recollect; but there are a few points about it I do not fully grasp, -though I have an instinct of their meaning. No, I want a quiet hour -alone. But you will do me the favour to thank the child for me." - -"I wish you would come and do it yourself," said the lady. "But I -suppose there is no use attempting to force you. If you change your -mind, remember that we shall be here." - -She left the young man preparing a cigarette, and joined Daireen and -the major, who were sitting far astern: the girl with that fiction of -a fiction still in her hand; her companion with a cheroot that was -anything but insubstantial in his fingers. - -"My dear child," whispered Mrs. Crawford, "I am so glad you took your -own way and would not allow me to choose your dress for you. I could -never have dreamt of anything so perfect and----yes, it is far beyond -what I could have composed." - -Mrs. Crawford thought it better on the whole not to transfer to Daireen -the expression of gratitude Mr. Glaston had begged to be conveyed to -her. She had an uneasy consciousness that such a message coming to -one who was as yet unacquainted with Mr. Glaston might give her the -impression that he was inclined to have some of that unhappy conceit, -with the possession of which Mrs. Crawford herself had accredited the -race generally. - -"Miss Gerald is an angel in whatever dress she may wear," said the major -gallantly. "What is dress, after all?" he asked. "By gad, my dear, the -finest women I ever recollect seeing were in Burmah, and all the dress -they wore was the merest----" - -"Major, you forget yourself," cried his wife severely. - -The major pulled vigorously at the end of his moustache, grinning and -bobbing his head towards the doctor. - -"By gad, my dear, the recollection of those beauties would make any -fellow forget not only himself but his own wife, even if she was as fine -a woman as yourself." - -The doctor's face relapsed into its accustomed frown after he had given -a responsive grin and a baritone chuckle to the delicate pleasantry of -his old comrade. - - - - -CHAPTER XI. - - -````Look, with what courteous action - -```It waves you to a more removed ground: - -```But do not go with it.= - -```The very place puts toys of desperation, - -```Without more motive, into every brain.= - -_Horatio._ What are they that would speak with me?= - -_Servant_. Sea-faring men, sir.--_Hamlet_.= - - -|WHO does not know the delightful monotony of a voyage southward, broken -only at the intervals of anchoring beneath the brilliant green slopes of -Madeira or under the grim shadow of the cliffs of St. Helena? - -The first week of the voyage for those who are not sensitive of the -uneasy motion of the ship through the waves of the Bay of Biscay is -perhaps the most delightful, for then every one is courteous with every -one else. The passengers have not become friendly enough to be able to -quarrel satisfactorily. The young ladies have got a great deal of white -about them, and they have not begun to show that jealousy of each other -which the next fortnight so powerfully develops. The men, too, are -prodigal in their distribution of cigars; and one feels in one's own -heart nothing but the most generous emotions, as one sits filling a -meerschaum with Latakia in the delicate twilight of time and of thought -that succeeds the curried lobster and pilau chickens as prepared in the -galley of such ships as the _Cardwell Castle_. Certainly for a week of -Sabbaths a September voyage to Madeira must be looked to. - -Things had begun to arrange themselves aboard the _Cardwell Castle_. The -whist sets and the deck sets had been formed. The far-stretching arm of -society had at least one finger in the construction of the laws of life -in this Atlantic ship-town. - -The young woman with the pronounced tastes in colour and the large -resources of imagination in the arrangement of blue and pink had become -less aggressive, as she was compelled to fall back upon the minor -glories of her trunk, so that there was no likelihood of Mr. Glaston's -perishing of starvation. Though very fond of taking-up young ladies, -Mrs. Crawford had no great struggle with her propensity so far as this -young lady was concerned. But as Mr. Glaston had towards the evening of -the third day of the voyage found himself in a fit state of mind to be -presented to Miss Gerald, Mrs. Crawford had nothing to complain of. She -knew that the young man was invariably fascinating to all of her sex, -and she could see no reason why Miss Gerald should not have at least the -monotony of the voyage relieved for her through the improving nature -of his conversation. To be sure, Mr. Harwood also possessed in his -conversation many elements of improvement, but then they were of a more -commonplace type in Mrs. Crawford's eyes, and she thought it as well, -now and again when he was sitting beside Daireen, to make a third to -their party and assist in the solution of any question they might be -discussing. She rather wished that it had not been in Mr. Harwood's -power to give Daireen that information about her father's appointment; -it was a sort of link of friendship between him and the girl; but Mrs. -Crawford recollected her own responsibility with regard to Daireen too -well to allow such a frail link to become a bond to bind with any degree -of force. - -She was just making a mental resolution to this effect upon the day -preceding their expected arrival at Madeira, when Mr. Harwood, who had -before tiffin been showing the girl how to adjust a binocular glass, -strolled up to where the major's wife sat resolving many things, -reflecting upon her victories in quarter-deck campaigns of the past and -laying out her tactics for the future. - -"This is our third voyage together, is it not, Mrs. Crawford?" he asked. - -"Let me see," said the lady. "Yes, it is our third. Dear, dear, how time -runs past us!" - -"I wish it did run past us; unfortunately it seems to remain to work -some of its vengeance upon each of us. But do you think we ever had a -more charming voyage so far as this has run, Mrs. Crawford?" - -The lady became thoughtful. "That was a very nice trip in the P. & O.'s -_Turcoman_, when Mr. Carpingham of the Gunners proposed to Clara Walton -before he landed at Aden," she said. "Curiously enough, I was thinking -about that very voyage just before you came up now. General Walton -had placed Clara in my care, and it was I who presented her to young -Carpingham." There was a slight tone of triumph in her voice as she -recalled this victory of the past. - -"I remember well," said Mr. Harwood. "How pleased every one was, and -also how--well, the weather was extremely warm in the Red Sea just -before he proposed. But I certainly think that this voyage is likely to -be quite as pleasant. By the way, what a charming protégée you have got -this time, Mrs. Crawford." - -"She is a dear girl indeed, and I hope that she may find her father all -right at the Cape. Think of what she must suffer." - -Mr. Harwood glanced round and saw that Mr. Glaston had strolled up to -Daireen's chair. "Yes, I have no doubt that she suffers," he said. "But -she is so gentle, so natural in her thoughts and in her manner, I should -indeed be sorry that any trouble would come to her." He was himself -speaking gently now--so gently, in fact, that Mrs. Crawford drew her -lips together with a slight pressure. "Perhaps it is because I am so -much older than she that she talks to me naturally as she would to her -father. I am old enough to be her father, I suppose," he added almost -mournfully. But this only made the lady's lips become more compressed. -She had heard men talk before now of being old enough to be young -ladies' fathers, and she could also recollect instances of men who were -actually old enough to be young ladies' grandfathers marrying those very -young ladies. - -"Yes," said Mrs. Crawford, "Daireen is a dear natural little thing." -Into the paternal potentialities of Mr. Harwood's position towards this -dear natural little thing Mrs. Crawford did not think it judicious to go -just then. - -"She is a dear child," he repeated. "By the way, we shall be at Funchal -at noon to-morrow, and we do not leave until the evening. You will land, -I suppose?" - -"I don't think I shall, I know every spot so well, and those bullock -sleighs are so tiresome. I am not so young as I was when I first made -their acquaintance." - -"Oh, really, if that is your only plea, my dear Mrs. Crawford, we may -count on your being in our party." - -"Our party!" said the lady. - -"I should not say that until I get your consent," said Harwood quickly. -"Miss Gerald has never been at the island, you see, and she is girlishly -eager to go ashore. Miss Butler and her mother are also landing"--these -were other passengers--"and in a weak moment I volunteered my services -as guide. Don't you think you can trust me so far as to agree to be one -of us?" - -"Of course I can," she said. "If Daireen wishes to go ashore you may -depend upon my keeping her company. But you will have to provide a -sleigh for myself." - -"You may depend upon the sleigh, Mrs. Crawford; and many thanks for your -trusting to my guidance. Though I sleigh you yet you will trust me." - -"Mr. Harwood, that is dreadful. I am afraid that Mrs. Butler will need -one of them also." - -"The entire sleigh service shall be impressed if necessary," said the -"special," as he walked away. - -Mrs. Crawford felt that she had not done anything rash. Daireen would, -no doubt, be delighted with the day among the lovely heights of Madeira, -and if by some little thoughtfulness it would be possible to hit upon a -plan that should give over the guidance of some of the walking members -of the party to Mr. Glaston, surely the matter was worth pursuing. - -Mr. Glaston was just at this instant looking into, Daireen's face as he -talked to her. He invariably kept his eyes fixed upon the faces of -the young women to whom he was fond of talking. It did not argue any -earnestness on his part, Mrs. Crawford knew. He seemed now, however, -to be a little in earnest in what he was saying. But then Mrs. -Crawford reflected that the subjects upon which his discourse was most -impassioned were mostly those that other people would call trivial, -such as the effect produced upon the mind of man by seeing a grape-green -ribbon lying upon a pale amber cushion. "Every colour has got its soul," -she once heard him say; "and though any one can appreciate its meaning -and the work it has to perform in the world, the subtle thoughts -breathed by the tones are too delicate to be understood except by a -few. Colour is language of the subtlest nature, and one can praise God -through that medium just as one can blaspheme through it." He had said -this very earnestly at one time, she recollected, and as she now saw -Daireen laugh she thought it was not impossible that it might be at some -phrase of the same nature, the meaning of which her uncultured ear did -not at once catch, that Daireen had laughed. Daireen, at any rate, did -laugh in spite of his earnestness of visage. - -In a few moments Mr. Glaston came over to Mrs. Crawford, and now his -face wore an expression of sadness rather than of any other emotion. - -"My dear Mrs. Crawford, you surely cannot intend to give your consent -to that child's going ashore tomorrow. She tells me that that newspaper -fellow has drawn her into a promise to land with a party--actually a -party--and go round the place like a Cook's excursion." - -"Oh, I hope we shall not be like that, Mr. Glaston," said Mrs. Crawford. - -"But you have not given your consent?" - -"If Daireen would enjoy it I do not see how I could avoid. Mr. Harwood -was talking to me just now. He seems to think she will enjoy herself, as -she has never seen the island before. Will you not be one of our party?" - -"Oh, Mrs. Crawford, if you have got the least regard for me, do not -say that word party; it means everything that is popular; it suggests -unutterable horrors to me. No subsequent pleasure could balance the -agony I should endure going ashore. Will you not try and induce that -child to give up the idea? Tell her what dreadful taste it would be to -join a party--that it would most certainly destroy her perceptions of -beauty for months to come." - -"I am very sorry I promised Mr. Harwood," said the lady; "if going -ashore would do all of this it would certainly be better for Daireen to -remain aboard. But they will be taking in coals here," she added, as the -sudden thought struck her. - -"She can shut herself in her cabin and neither see nor hear anything -offensive. Who but a newspaper man would think of suggesting to cultured -people the possibility of enjoyment in a party?" - -But the newspaper man had strolled up to the place beside Daireen, -which the aesthetic man had vacated. He knew something of the art of -strategical defence, this newspaper man, and he was well aware that as -he had got the promise of the major's wife, all the arguments that might -be advanced by any one else would not cause him to be defrauded of the -happiness of being by this girl's side in one of the loveliest spots of -the world. - -"I will find out what Daireen thinks," said Mrs. Crawford, in reply to -Mr. Glaston; and just then she turned and saw the newspaper man beside -the girl. - -"Never mind him," said Mr. Glaston; "tell the poor child that it is -impossible for her to go." - -"I really cannot break my promise," replied the lady. "We must be -resigned, it will only be for a few hours." - -"This is the saddest thing I ever knew," said Mr. Glaston. "She will -lose all the ideas she was getting--all through being of a party. Good -heavens, a party!" - -Mrs. Crawford could see that Mr. Glaston was annoyed at the presence of -Harwood by the side of the girl, and she smiled, for she was too old a -tactician not to be well aware of the value of a skeleton enemy. - -"How kind of you to say you would not mind my going ashore," said -Daireen, walking up to her. "We shall enjoy ourselves I am sure, and Mr. -Harwood knows every spot to take us to. I was afraid that Mr. Glaston -might be talking to you as he was to me." - -"Yes, he spoke to me, but of course, my dear, if you think you would -like to go ashore I shall not say anything but that I will be happy to -take care of you." - -"You are all that is good," said Mr. Harwood. This was very pretty, the -lady thought--very pretty indeed; but at the same time she was making up -her mind that if the gentleman before her had conceived it probable that -he should be left to exhibit any of the wonders of the island scenery -to the girl, separate from the companionship of the girl's temporary -guardian, he would certainly find out that he had reckoned without due -regard to other contingencies. - -Sadness was the only expression visible upon the face of Mr. Glaston for -the remainder of this day; but upon the following morning this aspect -had changed to one of contempt as he heard nearly all the cabin's -company talking with expectancy of the joys of a few hours ashore. It -was a great disappointment to him to observe the brightening of the face -of Daireen Gerald, as Mr. Harwood came to tell her that the land was in -sight. - -Daireen's face, however, did brighten. She went up to the ship's bridge, -and Mr. Harwood, laying one hand upon her shoulder, pointed out with the -other where upon the horizon lay a long, low, gray cloud. Mrs. Crawford -observing his action, and being well aware that the girl's range of -vision was not increased in the smallest degree by the touch of his -fingers upon her shoulder, made a resolution that she herself would -be the first to show Daireen the earliest view of St. Helena when they -should be approaching that island. - -But there lay that group of cloud, and onward the good steamer sped. -In the course of an hour the formless mass had assumed a well-defined -outline against the soft blue sky. Then a lovely white bird came about -the ship from the distance like a spirit from those Fortunate Islands. -In a short time a gleam of sunshine was seen reflected from the flat -surface of a cliff, and then the dark chasms upon the face of each of -the island-rocks of the Dezertas could be seen. But when these were -passed the long island of Madeira appeared gray and massive, and with -a white cloud clinging about its highest ridges. Onward still, and the -thin white thread of foam encircling the rocks was perceived. Then the -outline of the cliffs stood defined against the fainter background -of the island; but still all was gray and colourless. Not for long, -however, for the sunlight smote the clouds and broke their gray masses, -and then fell around the ridges, showing the green heights of vines -and slopes of sugar-canes. But it was not until the roll of the waves -against the cliff-faces was heard that the cloud-veil was lifted and -all the glad green beauty of the slope flashed up to the blue sky, and -thrilled all those who stood on the deck of the vessel. - -Along this lovely coast the vessel moved through the sparkling green -ripples. Not the faintest white fleck of cloud was now in the sky, and -the sunlight falling downwards upon the island, brought out every brown -rock of the coast in bold relief against the brilliant green of the -slope. So close to the shore the vessel passed, the nearer cliffs -appeared to glide away as the land in their shade was disclosed, and -this effect of soft motion was entrancing to all who experienced it. -Then the low headland with the island-rock crowned with a small pillared -building was reached and passed, and the lovely bay of Funchal came in -view. - -Daireen, who had lived among the sombre magnificence of the Irish -scenery, felt this soft dazzling green as something marvellously strange -and unexpected. Had not Mr. Glaston descended to his cabin at the -earliest expression of delight that was forced from the lips of some -young lady on the deck, he, would have been still more disappointed with -Daireen, for her face was shining with happiness. But Mr. Harwood found -more pleasure in watching her face than he did in gazing at the long -crescent slope of the bay, and at the white houses that peeped from -amongst the vines, or at the high convent of the hill. He did not speak -a word to the girl, but only watched her as she drank in everything of -beauty that passed before her. - -Then the Loo rock at the farther point of the bay was neared, and as -the engine slowed, the head of the steamer was brought round towards the -white town of Funchal, spread all about the beach where the huge -rollers were breaking. The tinkle of the engine-room telegraph brought a -wonderful silence over everything as the propeller ceased. The voice of -the captain giving orders about the lead line was heard distinctly, and -the passengers felt inclined to speak in whispers. Suddenly with a harsh -roar the great chain cable rushes out and the anchor drops into the -water. - -"This is the first stage of our voyage," said Mr. Harwood. "Now, while I -select a boat, will you kindly get ready for landing? Oh, Mrs. Crawford, -you will be with us at once, I suppose?" - -"Without the loss of a moment," said the lady, going down to the cabins -with Daireen. - -The various island authorities pushed off from the shore in their boats, -sitting under canvas awnings and looking unpleasantly like banditti. -Doctor Campion answered their kind inquiries regarding the health of the -passengers, for nothing could exceed the attentive courtesy shown by the -government in this respect. - -Then a young Scotchman, who had resolved to emulate Mr. Harwood's -example in taking a party ashore, began making a bargain by signs with -one of the boatmen, while his friends stood around. The major and the -doctor having plotted together to go up to pay a visit to an hotel, -pushed off in a government boat without acquainting any one with their -movements. But long before the Scotchman had succeeded in reducing -the prohibitory sum named by the man with whom he was treating for the -transit of the party ashore, Mr. Harwood had a boat waiting at the -rail for his friends, and Mrs. Butler and her daughter were in act to -descend, chatting with the "special" who was to be their guide. Another -party had already left for the shore, the young lady who had worn the -blue and pink appearing in a bonnet surrounded with resplendent flowers -and beads. But before the smiles of Mrs. Butler and Harwood had passed -away, Mrs. Crawford and Daireen had come on deck again, the former with -many apologies for her delay. - -Mr. Harwood ran down the sloping rail to assist the ladies into the -boat that rose and fell with every throb of the waves against the ship's -side. Mrs. Crawford followed him and was safely stowed in a place in the -stern. Then came Mrs. Butler and her daughter, and while Mr. Harwood was -handing them off the last step Daireen began to descend. But she had not -got farther down than to where a young sailor was kneeling to shift the -line of one of the fruit boats, when she stopped suddenly with a great -start that almost forced a cry from her. - -"For God's sake go on--give no sign if you don't wish to make me -wretched," said the sailor in a whisper. - -"Come, Miss Gerald, we are waiting," cried Harwood up the long rail. - -Daireen remained irresolute for a moment, then walked slowly down, and -allowed herself to be handed into the boat. - -"Surely you are not timid, Miss Gerald," said Harwood as the boat pushed -off. - -"Timid?" said Daireen mechanically. - -"Yes, your hand was really trembling as I helped you down." - -"No, no, I am not--not timid, only--I fear I shall not be very good -company to-day; I feel----" she looked back to the steamer and did not -finish her sentence. - -Mr. Harwood glanced at her for a moment, thinking if it really could -be possible that she was regretting the absence of Mr. Glaston. Mrs. -Crawford also looked at her and came to the conclusion that, at the last -moment, the girl was recalling the aesthetic instructions of the young -man who was doubtless sitting lonely in his cabin while she was bent on -enjoying herself with a "party." - -But Daireen was only thinking how it was she had refrained from crying -out when she saw the face of that sailor on the rail, and when she heard -his voice; and it must be confessed that it was rather singular, taking -into account the fact that she had recognised in the features and voice -of that sailor the features and voice of Standish Macnamara. - - - - -CHAPTER XII. - - -```Your visitation shall receive such thanks - -```As fits... remembrance.= - -```... Thus do we of wisdom and of reach, - -```With windlasses and with assays of bias, - -```By indirections find directions out.= - -```More matter with less art.--_Hamlet._= - - -|THE thin white silk thread of a moon was hanging in the blue twilight -over the darkened western slope of the island, and almost within the -horns of its crescent a planet was burning without the least tremulous -motion. The lights of the town were glimmering over the waters, and the -strange, wildly musical cries of the bullock-drivers were borne faintly -out to the steamer, mingling with the sound of the bell of St. Mary's on -the Mount. - -The vessel had just begun to move away from its anchorage, and Daireen -Gerald was standing on the deck far astern leaning over the bulwarks -looking back upon the island slope whose bright green had changed to -twilight purple. Not of the enjoyment of the day she had spent up among -the vines was the girl thinking; her memory fled back to the past days -spent beneath the shadow of a slope that was always purple, with a robe -of heather clinging to it from base to summit. - -"I hope you don't regret having taken my advice about going on shore, -Miss Gerald," said Mr. Harwood, who had come beside her. - -"Oh, no," she said; "it was all so lovely--so unlike what I ever saw or -imagined." - -"It has always seemed lovely to me," he said, "but to-day it was very -lovely. I had got some pleasant recollections of the island before, but -now the memories I shall retain will be the happiest of my life." - -"Was to-day really so much pleasanter?" asked the girl quickly. "Then I -am indeed fortunate in my first visit. But you were not at any part of -the island that you had not seen before," she added, after a moment's -pause. - -"No," he said quietly. "But I saw all to-day under a new aspect." - -"You had not visited it in September? Ah, I recollect now having heard -that this was the best month for Madeira. You see I am fortunate." - -"Yes, you are--fortunate," he said slowly. "You are fortunate; you are a -child; I am--a man." - -Daireen was quite puzzled by his tone; it was one of sadness, and she -knew that he was not accustomed to be sad. He had not been so at any -time through the day when they were up among the vineyards looking down -upon the tiny ships in the harbour beneath them, or wandering through -the gardens surrounding the villa at which they had lunched after being -presented by their guide--no, he had certainly not displayed any sign of -sadness then. But here he was now beside her watching the lights of the -shore twinkling into dimness, and speaking in this way that puzzled her. - -"I don't know why, if you say you will have only pleasant recollections -of to-day, you should speak in a tone like that," she said. - -"No, no, you would not understand it," he replied. If she had kept -silence after he had spoken his previous sentence, he would have been -tempted to say to her what he had on his heart, but her question made -him hold back his words, for it proved to him what he told her--she -would not understand him. - -It is probable, however, that Mrs. Crawford, who by the merest accident, -of course, chanced to come from the cabin at this moment, would have -understood even the most enigmatical utterance that might pass from his -lips on the subject of his future memories of the day they had spent -on the island; she felt quite equal to the solution of any question of -psychological analysis that might arise. But she contented herself now -by calling Daireen's attention to the flashing of the phosphorescent -water at the base of the cliffs round which the vessel was moving, and -the observance of this phenomenon drew the girl's thoughts away from the -possibility of discovering the meaning of the man's words. The major and -his old comrade Doctor Campion then came near and expressed the greatest -anxiety to learn how their friends had passed the day. Both major and -doctor were in the happiest of moods. They had visited the hotel they -agreed in stating, and no one on the deck undertook to prove anything to -the contrary--no one, in fact, seemed to doubt in the least the truth of -what they said. - -In a short time Mrs. Crawford and Daireen were left alone; not for long, -however, for Mr. Glaston strolled languidly up. - -"I cannot say I hope you enjoyed yourself," he said. "I know very well -you did not. I hope you could not." - -Daireen laughed. "Your hopes are misplaced, I fear, Mr. Glaston," she -answered. "We had a very happy day--had we not, Mrs. Crawford?" - -"I am afraid we had, dear." - -"Why, Mr. Harwood said distinctly to me just now," continued Daireen, -"that it was the pleasantest day he had ever passed upon the island." - -"Ah, he said so? well, you see, he is a newspaper man, and they all look -at things from a popular standpoint; whatever is popular is right, is -their motto; while ours is, whatever is popular is wrong." - -He felt himself speaking as the representative of a class, no doubt, -when he made use of the plural. - -"Yes; Mr. Harwood seemed even more pleased than we were," continued the -girl. "He told me that the recollection of our exploration to-day would -be the--the--yes, the happiest of his life. He did indeed," she added -almost triumphantly. - -"Did he?" said Mr. Glaston slowly. - -"My dear child," cried Mrs. Crawford, quickly interposing, "he has got -that way of talking. He has, no doubt, said those very words to every -person he took ashore on his previous visits. He has, I know, said them -every evening for a fortnight in the Mediterranean." - -"Then you don't think he means anything beyond a stupid compliment to -us? What a wretched thing it is to be a girl, after all. Never mind, I -enjoyed myself beyond any doubt." - -"It is impossible--quite impossible, child," said the young man. -"Enjoyment with a refined organisation such as yours can never be -anything that is not reflective--it is something that cannot be shared -with a number of persons. It is quite impossible that you could have -any feeling in common with such a mind as this Mr. Harwood's or with -the other people who went ashore. I heard nothing but expressions of -enjoyment, and I felt really sad to think that there was not a refined -soul among them all. They enjoyed themselves, therefore you did not." - -"I think I can understand you," said Mrs. Crawford at once, for she -feared that Daireen might attempt to question the point he insisted on. -Of course when the superior intellect of Mr. Glaston demonstrated that -they could not have enjoyed themselves, it was evident that it was their -own sensations which were deceiving them. Mrs. Crawford trusted to the -decision of the young man's intellect more implicitly than she did her -own senses: just as Christopher Sly, old Sly's son of Burton Heath, came -to believe the practical jesters. - -"Should you enjoy the society and scenery of a desert island better -than an inhabited one?" asked the girl, somewhat rebellious at the -concessions of Mrs. Crawford. - -"Undoubtedly, if everything was in good taste," he answered quietly. - -"That is, if everything was in accordance with your own taste," came the -voice of Mr. Harwood, who, unseen, had rejoined the party. - -Mr. Glaston made no reply. He had previously become aware of the -unsatisfactory results of making any answers to such men as wrote for -newspapers. As he had always considered such men outside the world -of art in which he lived and to the inhabitants of which he addressed -himself, it was hardly to be expected that he would put himself on a -level of argument with them. In fact, Mr. Glaston rarely consented to -hold an argument with any one. If people maintained opinions different -from his own, it was so much the worse for those people--that was all he -felt. It was to a certain circle of young women in good society that -he preferred addressing himself, for he knew that to each individual -in that circle he appeared as the prophet and high priest of art. His -tone-poems in the college magazine, his impromptus--musical _aquarellen_ -he called them--performed in secret and out of hearing of any earthly -audience, his colour-harmonies, his statuesque idealisms--all these were -his priestly ministrations; while the interpretation, not of his -own works--this he never attempted--but of the works of three poets -belonging to what he called his school, of one painter, and of one -musical composer, was his prophetical service. - -It was obviously impossible that such a man could put himself on that -mental level which would be implied by his action should he consent -to make any answer to a person like Mr. Harwood. But apart from these -general grounds, Mr. Glaston had got concrete reasons for declining to -discuss any subject with this newspaper man. He knew that it was -Mr. Harwood who had called the tone-poems of the college magazine -alliterative conundrums for young ladies; that it was Mr. Harwood who -had termed one of the colour-harmonies a study in virulent jaundice; -that it was Mr. Harwood who had, after smiling on being told of the -_aquarellen_ impromptus, expressed a desire to hear one of these -compositions--all this Mr. Glaston knew well, and so when Mr. Harwood -made that remark about taste Mr. Glaston did not reply. - -Daireen, however, did not feel the silence oppressive. She kept her eyes -fixed upon that thin thread of moon that was now almost touching the -dark ridge of the island. - -Harwood looked at her for a few moments, and then he too leaned over the -side of the ship and gazed at that lovely moon and its burning star. - -"How curious," he said gently--"how very curious, is it not, that the -sight of that hill and that moon should bring back to me memories of -Lough Suangorm and Slieve Docas?" - -The girl gave a start. "You are thinking of them too? I am so glad. It -makes me so happy to know that I am not the only one here who knows all -about Suangorm." Suddenly another thought seemed to come to her. -She turned her eyes away from the island and glanced down the deck -anxiously. - -"No," said Mr. Harwood very gently indeed; "you are not alone in your -memories of the loveliest spot of the world." - -Mrs. Crawford thought it well to interpose. "My dear Daireen, you must -be careful not to take a chill now after all the unusual exercise you -have had during the day. Don't you think you had better go below?" - -"Yes, I had much better," said the girl quickly and in a startled -tone; and she had actually gone to the door of the companion before -she recollected that she had not said good-night either to Glaston or -Harwood. She turned back and redeemed her negligence, and then went down -with her good guardian. - -"Poor child," thought Mr. Glaston, "she fears that I am hurt by her -disregard of my advice about going ashore with those people. Poor child! -perhaps I was hard upon her!" - -"Poor little thing," thought Mr. Harwood. "She begins to understand." - -"It would never do to let that sort or thing go on," thought Mrs. -Crawford, as she saw that Daireen got a cup of tea before retiring. -Mrs. Crawford fully appreciated Mr. Harwood's cleverness in reading the -girl's thought and so quickly adapting his speech to the requirements of -the moment; but she felt her own superiority of cleverness. - -Each of the three was a careful and experienced observer, but there are -certain conditional influences to be taken into account in arriving at a -correct conclusion as to the motives of speech or action of every human -subject under observation; and the reason that these careful analysts of -motives were so utterly astray in tracing to its source the remissness -of Miss Gerald, was probably because none of the three was aware of -the existence of an important factor necessary for the solution of the -interesting problem they had worked out so airily; this factor being the -sudden appearance of Standish Macnamara beside the girl in the morning, -and her consequent reflections upon the circumstance in the evening. - -But as she sat alone in her cabin, seeing through the port the effect -of the silver moonlight upon the ridge of the hill behind which the moon -itself had now sunk, she was wondering, as she had often wondered during -the day, if indeed it was Standish whom she had seen and whose voice she -had heard. All had been so sudden--so impossible, she thought, that -the sight of him and the hearing of his voice seemed to her but as the -memories of a dream of her home. - -But now that she was alone and capable of reflecting upon the matter, -she felt that she had not been deceived. By some means the young man to -whom she had written her last letter in Ireland was aboard the steamer. -It was very wonderful to the girl to reflect upon this; but then she -thought if he was aboard, why should she not be able to find him and ask -him all about himself? - - - - -CHAPTER XIII. - - -`````Providence - -``Should have kept short, restrained, and out of haunt - -``This mad young man... - -````His very madness, like some ore - -``Among a mineral of metals base, - -``Shows itself pure.= - -``Pity me not, but lend thy serious hearing - -``To what I shall unfold.= - -```It is common for the younger sort - -``To lack discretion.= - -``_Queen_.... Whereon do you look?= - -``_Hamlet_. On him, on him! look you, how pale he glares. - -`````... It is not madness - -``That I have uttered: bring me to the test.--_Hamlet_= - - -|THE question which suggested itself to Daireen as to the possibility of -seeing Standish aboard the steamer, was not the only one that occupied -her thoughts. How had he come aboard, and why had he come aboard, were -further questions whose solution puzzled her. She recollected how he -had told her on that last day she had seen him, while they walked in the -garden after leaving The Macnamara in that side room with the excellent -specimen of ancient furniture ranged with glass vessels, that he was -heartily tired of living among the ruins of the castle, and that he had -made up his mind to go out into the world of work. She had then begged -of him to take no action of so much importance until her father should -have returned to give him the advice he needed; and in that brief -postscript which she had added to the farewell letter given into the -care of the bard O'Brian, she had expressed her regret that this counsel -of hers had been rendered impracticable. Was it possible, however, that -Standish placed so much confidence in the likelihood of valuable advice -being given to him by her father that he had resolved to go out to the -Cape and speak with him on the subject face to face, she thought; but -it struck her that there would be something like an inconsistency in the -young man's travelling six thousand miles to take an opinion as to the -propriety of his leaving his home. - -What was she to do? She felt that she must see Standish and have from -his own lips an explanation of how he had come aboard the ship; but -in that, sentence he had spoken to her he had entreated of her to keep -silence, so that she dared not seek for him under the guidance of Mrs. -Crawford or any of her friends aboard the vessel. It would be necessary -for her to find him alone, and she knew that this would be a difficult -thing to do, situated as she was. But let the worst come, she reflected -that it could only result in the true position of Standish being-known. -This was really all that the girl believed could possibly be the result -if a secret interview between herself and a sailor aboard the steamer -should be discovered; and, thinking of the worst consequences so -lightly, made her all the more anxious to hasten on such an interview if -she could contrive it. - -She seated herself upon her little sofa and tried to think by what means -she could meet with Standish, and yet fulfil his entreaty for secrecy. -Her imagination, so far as inventing plans was concerned, did not seem -to be inexhaustible. After half an hour's pondering over the matter, no -more subtle device was suggested to her than going on deck and walking -alone towards the fore-part of the ship between the deck-house and the -bulwarks, where it might possibly chance that Standish would be found. -This was her plan, and she did not presume to think to herself that its -intricacy was the chief element of its possible success. Had she been -aware of the fact that Standish was at that instant standing in the -shadow of that deck-house looking anxiously astern in the hope of -catching a glimpse of her--had she known that since the steamer had left -the English port he had every evening stood with the same object in -the same place, she would have been more hopeful of her simple plan -succeeding. - -At any rate she stole out of her cabin and went up the companion and -out upon the deck, with all the caution that a novice in the art of -dissembling could bring to her aid. - -The night was full of softness--softness of gray reflected light from -the waters that were rippling along before the vessel--softness of air -that seemed saturated with the balm of odorous trees growing upon the -slopes of those Fortunate Islands. The deck was deserted by passengers; -only Major Crawford, the doctor, and the special correspondent were -sitting in a group in their cane chairs, smoking their cheroots and -discussing some action of a certain colonel that had not yet been fully -explained, though it had taken place fifteen years previously. The -group could not see her, she knew; but even if they had espied her and -demanded an explanation, she felt that she had progressed sufficiently -far in the crooked ways of deception to be able to lull their suspicions -by her answers. She could tell them that she had a headache, or put them -off with some equally artful excuse. - -She walked gently along until she was at the rear of the deck-house -where the stock of the mainmast was standing with all its gear. She -looked down the dark tunnel passage between the side of the house and -the bulwarks, but she felt her courage fail her: she dared do all that -might become a woman, but the gloom of that covered place, and the -consciousness that beyond it lay the mysterious fore-cabin space, caused -her to pause. What was she to do? - -Suddenly there came the sound of a low voice at her ear. - -"Daireen, Daireen, why did you come here?" She started and looked around -trembling, for it was the voice of Standish, though she could not see -the form of the speaker. It was some moments before she found that he -was under the broad rail leading to the ship's bridge. - -"Then it is you, Standish, indeed?" she said. "How on earth did you come -aboard?--Why have you come?--Are you really a sailor?--Where is your -father?--Does he know?--Why don't you shake hands with me, Standish?" - -These few questions she put to him in a breath, looking between the -steps of the rail. - -"Daireen, hush, for Heaven's sake!" he said anxiously. "You don't know -what you are doing in coming to speak with me here--I am only a sailor, -and if you were seen near me it would be terrible. Do go back to your -cabin and leave me to my wretchedness." - -"I shall not go back," she said resolutely. "I am your friend, Standish, -and why should I not speak to you for an hour if I wish? You are not the -quartermaster at the wheel. What a start you gave me this morning! Why -did you not tell me you were coming in this steamer?" - -"I did not leave Suangorm until the next morning after I heard you had -gone," he answered in a whisper. "I should have died--I should indeed, -Daireen, if I had remained at home while you were gone away without any -one to take care of you." - -"Oh, Standish, Standish, what will your father say?--What will he -think?" - -"I don't care," said Standish. "I told him on that day when we returned -from Suanmara that I would go away. I was a fool that I did not make up -my mind long ago. It was, indeed, only when you left that I carried -out my resolution. I learned what ship you were going in; I had as much -money as brought me to England--I had heard of people working their -passage abroad; so I found out the captain of the steamer, and telling -him all about myself that I could--not of course breathing your name, -Daireen--I begged him to allow me to work my way as a sailor, and he -agreed to give me the passage. He wanted me to become a waiter in the -cabin, but I couldn't do that; I didn't mind facing all the hardships -that might come, so long as I was near you--and--able to get your -father's advice. Now do go back, Daireen." - -"No one will see us," said the girl, after a pause, in which she -reflected on the story he had told her. "But all is so strange, -Standish," she continued--"all is so unlike anything I ever imagined -possible. Oh, Standish, it is too dreadful to think of your being a -sailor--just a sailor--aboard the ship." - -"There's nothing so very bad in it," he replied. "I can work, thank God; -and I mean to work. The thought of being near you--that is, near the -time when I can get the advice I want from your father--makes all my -labour seem light." - -"But if I ask the captain, he will, I am sure, let you become a -passenger," said the girl suddenly. "Do let me ask him, Standish. It is -so--so hard for you to have to work as a sailor." - -"It is no harder than I expected it would be," he said; "I am not afraid -to work hard: and I feel that I am doing something--I feel it. I should -be more wretched in the cabin. Now do not think of speaking to me for -the rest of the voyage, Daireen; only, do not forget that you have a -friend aboard the ship--a friend who will be willing to die for you." - -His voice was very tremulous, and she could see his tearful eyes -glistening in the gray light as he put out one of his hands to her. -She put her own hand into it and felt his strong earnest grasp as he -whispered, "God bless you, Daireen! God bless you!" - -"Make it six bells, quartermaster," came the voice of the officer on -watch from the bridge. In fear and trembling Daireen waited until the -man came aft and gave the six strokes upon the ship's bell that hung -quite near where she was standing--Standish thinking it prudent to -remain close in the shade of the rail. The quartermaster saw her, but -did not, of course, conceive it to be within the range of his duties -to give any thought to the circumstance of a passenger being on deck at -that hour. When the girl turned round after the bell had been struck, -she found that Standish had disappeared. All she could do was to hasten -back to her cabin with as much caution as it was possible for her to -preserve, for she could still hear the hoarse tones of the major's voice -coming from the centre of the group far astern, who were regaled with a -very pointed chronicle of a certain station in the empire of Hindustan. - -Daireen reached her cabin and sat once more upon her sofa, breathing a -sigh of relief, for she had never in her life had such a call upon her -courage as this to which she had just responded. - -Her face was flushed and hot, and her hands were trembling, so she threw -open the pane of the cabin port-hole and let the soft breeze enter. -It moved about her hair as she stood there, and she seemed to feel the -fingers of a dear friend caressing her forehead. Then she sat down once -more and thought over all that had happened since the morning when she -had gone on deck to see that gray cloud-land brighten into the lovely -green slope of Madeira. - -She thought of all that Standish had told her about himself, and she -felt her heart overflowing, as were her eyes, with sympathy for him who -had cast aside his old life and was endeavouring to enter upon the new. - -As she sat there in her dreaming mood all the days of the past came back -to her, with a clearness she had never before known. All the pleasant -hours returned to her with even a more intense happiness than she had -felt at first. For out of the distance of these Fortunate Islands the -ghosts of the blessed departed hours came and moved before her, looking -into her face with their own sweet pale faces; thus she passed from a -waking dream into a dream of sleep as she lay upon her sofa, and the -ghost shapes continued to float before her. The fatigue of the day, the -darkness of the cabin, and the monotonous washing of the ripples against -the side of the ship, had brought on her sleep before she had got into -her berth. - -With a sudden start she awoke and sprang to her feet in instantaneous -consciousness, for the monotony of the washing waves was broken by a -sound that was strange and startling to her ears--the sound of something -hard tapping at irregular intervals upon the side of the ship just at -her ear. - -She ran over to the cabin port and looked out fearfully--looked out and -gave a cry of terror, for beneath her--out from those gray waters there -glanced up to her in speechless agony the white face of a man; she -saw it but for a moment, then it seemed to be swept away from her and -swallowed up in the darkness of the deep waters. - - - - -CHAPTER XIV. - - -`````... Rashly, - -```And praised be rashness for it.... - -````Up from my cabin, - -```My sea-gown scarf'd about me, in the dark - -```Groped I to find out them... making so bold, - -```My fears forgetting manners.= - -``Give me leave: here lies the water; good: here stands the man; good. - -`````Let us know - -```Our indiscretion sometimes serves us well - -````... and that should learn us - -```There's a divinity that shapes our ends - -```Rough-hew them how we will.--_Hamlet._= - - -|A SINGLE cry of terror was all that Daireen uttered as she fell back -upon her berth. An instant more and she was standing with white lips, -and hands that were untrembling as the rigid hand of a dead person. -She knew what was to be done as plainly as if she saw everything in a -picture. She rushed into the saloon and mounted the companion to the -deck. There sat the little group astern just as she had seen them an -hour before, only that the doctor had fallen asleep under the influence -of one of the less pointed of the major's stories. - -"God bless my soul!" cried the major, as the girl clutched the back of -his chair. - -"Good heavens, Miss Gerald, what is the matter?" said Harwood, leaping -to his feet. - -She pointed to the white wake of the ship. - -"There--there," she whispered--"a man--drowning--clinging to -something--a wreck--I saw him!" - -"Dear me! dear me!" said the major, in a tone of relief, and with a -breath of a smile. - -But the special correspondent had looked into the girl's face. It was -his business to understand the difference between dreaming and waking. -He was by the side of the officer on watch in a moment. A few words were -enough to startle the officer into acquiescence with the demands of the -"special." The unwonted sound of the engine-room telegraph was heard, -its tinkle shaking the slumbers of the chief engineer as effectively as -if it had been the thunder of an alarum peal. - -The stopping of the engine, the blowing off of the steam, and the -arrival of the captain upon the deck, were simultaneous occurrences. The -officer's reply to his chief as he hurried aft did not seem to be very -satisfactory, judging from the manner in which it was received. - -But Harwood had left the officer to explain the stoppage of the vessel, -and was now kneeling by the side of the chair, back upon which lay -the unconscious form of Daireen, while the doctor was forcing some -brandy--all that remained in the major's tumbler--between her lips, and -a young sailor--the one who had been at the rail in the morning--chafed -her pallid hand. The major was scanning the expanse of water by aid of -his pilot glass, and the quartermaster who had been steering went to the -line of the patent log to haul it in--his first duty at any time on the -stopping of the vessel, to prevent the line--the strain being taken off -it--fouling with the propeller. - -When the steamer is under weigh it is the work of two sailors to take -in the eighty fathoms of log-line, otherwise, however, the line is of -course quite slack; it was thus rather inexplicable to the quartermaster -to find much more resistance to his first haul than if the vessel were -going full speed ahead. - -"The darned thing's fouled already," he murmured for his own -satisfaction. He could not take in a fathom, so great was the -resistance. - -"Hang it all, major," said the captain, "isn't this too bad? Bringing -the ship to like this, and--ah, here they come! All the ship's company -will be aft in a minute." - -"Rum, my boy, very rum," muttered the sympathetic major. - -"What's the matter, captain?" said one voice. - -"Is there any danger?" asked a tremulous second. - -"If it's a collision or a leak, don't keep it from us, sir," came a -stern contralto. For in various stages of toilet incompleteness the -passengers were crowding out of the cabin. - -But before the "unhappy master" could utter a word of reply, the sailor -had touched his cap and reported to the third mate: - -"Log-line fouled on wreck, sir." - -"By gad!" shouted the major, who was twisting the log-line about, and -peering into the water. "By gad, the girl was right! The line has fouled -on some wreck, and there is a body made fast to it." - -The captain gave just a single glance in the direction indicated. . - -"Stand by gig davits and lower away," he shouted to the watch, who had -of course come aft. - -The men ran to where the boat was hanging, and loosened the lines. - -"Oh, Heaven preserve us! they are taking to the boats!" cried a female -passenger. - -"Don't be a fool, my good woman," said Mrs. Crawford tartly. The major's -wife had come on deck in a most marvellous costume, and she was already -holding a sal-volatile bottle to Daireen's nose, having made a number of -inquiries of Mr. Harwood and the doctor. - -All the other passengers had crowded to the ship's side, and were -watching the men in the boat cutting at something which had been reached -at the end of the log-line. They could see the broken stump of a mast -and the cross-trees, but nothing further. - -"They have got it into the boat," said the major, giving the result of -his observation through the binocular. - -"For Heaven's sake, ladies, go below!" cried the captain. But no one -moved. - -"If you don't want to see the ghastly corpse of a drowned man gnawed by -fishes for weeks maybe, you had better go down, ladies," said the chief -officer. Still no one stirred. - -The major, who was an observer of nature, smiled and winked sagaciously -at the exasperated captain before he said: - -"Why should the ladies go down at all? it's a pleasant night, and begad, -sir, a group of nightcaps like this isn't to be got together more -than once in a lifetime." Before the gallant officer had finished his -sentence the deck was cleared of women; but, of course, the luxury of -seeing a dead body lifted from the boat being too great to be missed, -the starboard cabin ports had many faces opposite them. - -The doctor left Daireen to the care of Mrs. Crawford, saying that she -would recover consciousness in a few minutes, and he hastened with a -kaross to the top of the boiler, where he had shouted to the men in the -boat to carry the body. - -The companion-rail having been lowered, it was an easy matter for the -four men to take the body on deck and to lay it upon the tiger-skin -before the doctor, who rubbed his hands--an expression which the seamen -interpreted as meaning satisfaction. - -"Gently, my men, raise his head--so--throw the light on his face. By -George, he doesn't seem to have suffered from the oysters; there's hope -for him yet." - -And the compassionate surgeon began cutting the clothing from the limbs -of the body. - -"No, don't take the pieces away," he said to one of the men; "let them -remain here Now dry his arms carefully, and we'll try and get some air -into his lungs, if they're not already past work." - -But before the doctor had commenced his operations the ship's gig had -been hauled up once more to the davits, and the steamer was going ahead -at slow speed. - -"Keep her at slow until the dawn," said the captain to the officer on -watch. "And let there be a good lookout; there may be others floating -upon the wreck. Call me if the doctor brings the body to life." - -The captain did not think it necessary to view the body that had been -snatched from the deep. The captain was a compassionate man and full of -tender feeling; he was exceedingly glad that he had had it in his power -to pick up that body, even with the small probability there was of being -able to restore life to its frozen blood; but he would have been much -more grateful to Providence had it been so willed that it should have -been picked up without the necessity of stopping the engines of the -steamer for nearly a quarter of an hour. It was explained to him that -Miss Gerald had been the first to see the face of the man upon the -wreck, but he could scarcely understand how it was possible for her to -have seen it from her cabin. He was also puzzled to know how it was that -the log-line had not been carried away so soon as it was entangled in -such a large mass of wreck when the steamer was going at full speed. -He, however, thought it as well to resume his broken slumbers without -waiting to solve either of these puzzling questions. - -But the chief officer who was now on watch, when the deck was once more -deserted--Daireen having been taken down to her cabin--made the attempt -to account for both of these occurrences. He found that the girl's cabin -was not far astern of the companion-rail that had been lowered during -the day, and he saw that, in the confusion of weighing anchor in the -dimness, a large block with its gear which was used in the hauling of -the vegetable baskets aboard, had been allowed to hang down the side of -the ship between the steps of the rail; and upon the hook of the block, -almost touching the water, he found some broken cordage. He knew then -that the hook had caught fast in the cordage of the wreck as the steamer -went past, and the wreck had swung round until it was just opposite the -girl's cabin, when the cordage had given way; not, however, until some -of the motion of the ship had been communicated to the wreck so that -there was no abrupt strain put on the log-line when it had become -entangled. It was all plain to the chief officer, as no doubt it would -have been to the captain had he waited to search out the matter. - -So soon as the body had been brought aboard the ship all the interest of -the passengers seemed to subside, and the doctor was allowed to pursue -his experiments of resuscitation without inquiry. The chief officer -being engaged at his own business of working out the question of the -endurance of the log-line, and keeping a careful lookout for any other -portions of wreck, had almost forgotten that the doctor and two of the -sailors were applying a series of restoratives to the body of the man -who had been detached from the wreck. It was nearly two hours after he -had come on watch that one of the sailors--the one who had been kneeling -by the side of Daireen--came up to the chief officer presenting Doctor -Campion's compliments, with the information that the man was breathing. - -In accordance with the captain's instructions, the chief officer knocked -at the cabin door and repeated the message. - -"Breathing is he?" said the captain rather sleepily. "Very good, Mr. -Holden; I'm glad to hear it. Just call me again in case he should -relapse." - -The captain had hitherto, in alluding to the man, made use of the neuter -pronoun, but now that breath was restored he acknowledged his right to a -gender. - -"Very good, sir," replied the officer, closing the door. - - - - -CHAPTER XV. - - -```Be thou a spirit of health, or goblin damn'd, - -```Bring with thee airs from heaven or blasts from hell, - -```Be thy intents wicked or charitable, - -```Thou com'st in such a questionable shape.= - -````What may this mean - -```That thou, dead corse, again... - -```Revisit'st thus...?= - -````I hope your virtues - -```Will bring him to his wonted way again.--_Hamlet._= - - -|IT was the general opinion in the cabin that Miss Gerald--the young -lady who was in such an exclusive set--had shown very doubtful taste in -being the first to discover the man upon the wreck. Every one had, -of course, heard the particulars of the matter from the steward's -assistants, who had in turn been in communication with the watch on -deck. At any rate, it was felt by the ladies that it showed exceedingly -bad taste in Miss Gerald to take such steps as eventually led to the -ladies appearing on deck in incomplete toilettes. There was, indeed, a -very pronounced feeling against Miss Gerald; several representatives of -the other sections of the cabin society declaring that they could not -conscientiously admit Miss Gerald into their intimacy. That dreadful -designing old woman, the major's wife, might do as she pleased, they -declared, and so might Mrs. Butler and her daughter, who were only the -near relatives of some Colonial Governor, but such precedents should -be by no means followed, the ladies of this section announced to each -other. But as Daireen had never hitherto found it necessary to fall back -upon any of the passengers outside her own set, the resolution of the -others, even if it had come to her ears, would not have caused her any -great despondency. - -The captain made some inquiries of the doctor in the morning, and -learned that the rescued man was breathing, though still unconscious. -Mr. Harwood showed even a greater anxiety to hear from Mrs. Crawford -about Daireen, after the terrible night she had gone through, and he -felt no doubt proportionately happy when he was told that she was now -sleeping, having passed some hours in feverish excitement. Daireen had -described to Mrs. Crawford how she had seen the face looking up to her -from the water, and Mr. Harwood, hearing this, and making a careful -examination of the outside of the ship in the neighbourhood of Daireen's -cabin, came to the same conclusion as that at which the chief officer -had arrived. - -Mrs. Crawford tried to make Mr. Glaston equally interested in her -protégée, but she was scarcely successful. - -"How brave it was in the dear child, was it not, Mr. Glaston?" she -asked. "Just imagine her glancing casually out of the port--thinking, it -maybe, of her father, who is perhaps dying at the Cape"--the good -lady felt that this bit of poetical pathos might work wonders with Mr. -Glaston--"and then," she continued, "fancy her seeing that terrible, -ghastly thing in the water beneath her! What must her feelings have been -as she rushed on deck and gave the alarm that caused that poor wretch to -be saved! Wonderful, is it not?" - -But Mr. Glaston's face was quite devoid of expression on hearing this -powerful narrative. The introduction of the pathos even did not make him -wince; and there was a considerable pause before he said the few words -that he did. - -"Poor child," he murmured. "Poor child. It was very -melodramatic--terribly melodramatic; but she is still young, her taste -is--ah--plastic. At least I hope so." - -Mrs. Crawford began to feel that, after all, it was something to have -gained this expression of hope from Mr. Glaston, though her warmth of -feeling did undoubtedly receive a chill from his manner. She did not -reflect that there is a certain etiquette to be observed in the saving -of the bodies as well as the souls of people, and that the aesthetic -element, in the opinion of some people, should enter largely into every -scheme of salvation, corporeal as well as spiritual. - -The doctor was sitting with Major Crawford when the lady joined them a -few minutes after her conversation with Mr. Glaston, and never had Mrs. -Crawford fancied that her husband's old friend could talk in such an -affectionate way as he now did about the rescued man. She could almost -bring herself to believe that she saw the tears of emotion in his eyes -as he detailed the circumstances of the man's resuscitation. The doctor -felt personally obliged to him for his handsome behaviour in bearing -such testimony to the skill of his resuscitator. - -When the lady spoke of the possibilities of a relapse, the doctor's -eyes glistened at first, but under the influence of maturer thought, -he sighed and shook his head. No, he knew that there are limits to the -generosity of even a half-strangled man--a relapse was too much to hope -for; but the doctor felt at that instant that if this "case" should -see its way to a relapse, and subsequently to submit to be restored, it -would place itself under a lasting obligation to its physician. - -Surely, thought Mrs. Crawford, when the doctor talks of the stranger -with such enthusiasm he will go into raptures about Daireen; so she -quietly alluded to the girl's achievement. But the doctor could see no -reason for becoming ecstatic about Miss Gerald. Five minutes with the -smelling-bottle had restored her to consciousness. - -"Quite a trifle--overstrung nerves, you know," he said, as he lit -another cheroot. - -"But think of her bravery in keeping strong until she had told you all -that she had seen!" said the lady. "I never heard of anything so -brave! Just fancy her looking out of the port--thinking of her father -perhaps"--the lady went on to the end of that pathetic sentence of hers, -but it had no effect upon the doctor. - -"True, very true!" he muttered, looking at his watch. - -But the major was secretly convulsed for some moments after his wife had -spoken her choice piece of pathos, and though he did not betray himself, -she knew well all that was in his mind, and so turned away without a -further word. So soon as she was out of hearing, the major exchanged -confidential chuckles with his old comrade. - -"He is not what you'd call a handsome man as he lies at present, -Campion," remarked Mr. Harwood, strolling up later in the day. "But you -did well not to send him to the forecastle, I think; he has not been a -sailor." - -"I know it, my boy," said the doctor. "He is not a handsome man, you -say, and I agree with you that he is not seen to advantage just now; -but I made up my mind an hour after I saw him that he was not for the -forecastle, or even the forecabin." - -"I dare say you are right," said Harwood. "Yes; there is a something in -his look that half drowning could not kill. That was the sort of thing -you felt, eh?" - -"Nothing like it," said the mild physician. "It was this," he took out -of his pocket an envelope, from which he extracted a document that he -handed to Harwood. - -It was an order for four hundred pounds, payable by a certain bank in -England, and granted by the Sydney branch of the Australasian Banking -Company to one Mr. Oswin Markham. - -"Ah, I see; he is a gentleman," said Harwood, returning the order. It -had evidently suffered a sea-change, but it had been carefully dried by -the doctor. - -"Yes, he is a gentleman," said the doctor. "That is what I remarked when -I found this in a flask in one of his pockets. Sharp thing to do, -to keep a paper free from damp and yet to have it in a buoyant case. -Devilish sharp thing!" - -"And the man's name is this--Oswin Markham?" said the major. - -"No doubt about it," said the doctor. - -"None whatever; unless he stole the order from the rightful owner, and -meant to get it cashed at his leisure," remarked Harwood. - -"Then he must have stolen the shirt, the collar, and the socks of Oswin -Markham," snarled the doctor. "All these things of his are marked as -plain as red silk can do it." - -"Any man who would steal an order for four hundred pounds would not -hesitate about a few toilet necessaries." - -"Maybe you'll suggest to the skipper the need to put him in irons as -soon as he is sufficiently recovered to be conscious of an insult," -cried the doctor in an acrid way that received a sympathetic chuckle -from the major. "Young man, you've got your brain too full of fancies--a -devilish deal, sir; they do well enough retailed for the readers of the -_Dominant Trumpeter_, but sensible people don't want to hear them." - -"Then I won't force them upon you and Crawford, my dear Campion," said -Harwood, walking away, for he knew that upon some occasions the doctor -should be conciliated, and in the matter of a patient every allowance -should be made for his warmth of feeling. So long as one of his "cases" -paid his skill the compliment of surviving any danger, he spoke well of -the patient; but when one behaved so unhandsomely as to die, it was with -the doctor _De mortuis nil nisi malum_. Harwood knew this, and so he -walked away. - -And now that he found himself--or rather made himself--alone, he thought -over all the events of the previous eventful day; but somehow there did -not seem to be any event worth remembering that was not associated with -Daireen Gerald. He recollected how he had watched her when they had been -together among the lovely gardens of the island slope. As she turned her -eyes seaward with an earnest, sad, _questioning_ gaze, he felt that he -had never seen a picture so full of beauty. - -The words he had spoken to her, telling her that the day he had spent on -the island was the happiest of his life, were true indeed; he had -never felt so happy; and now as he reflected upon his after-words his -conscience smote him for having pretended to her that he was thinking of -the place where he knew her thoughts had carried her: he had seen from -her face that she was dreaming about her Irish home, and he had made her -feel that the recollection of the lough and the mountains was upon his -mind also. He felt now how coarse had been his deception. - -He then recalled the final scene of the night, when, as he was trying -to pursue his own course of thought, and at the same time pretend to be -listening to the major's thrice-told tale of a certain colonel's conduct -at the Arradambad station, the girl had appeared before them like a -vision. Yes, it was altogether a remarkable day even for a special -correspondent. The reflection upon its events made him very thoughtful -during the entire of this afternoon. Nor was he at all disturbed by the -information Doctor Campion brought vo him just when he was going for his -usual smoke upon the bridge, while the shore of Palma was yet in view -not far astern. - -"Good fellow he is," murmured the doctor. "Capital fellow! opened his -eyes just now when I was in his cabin--recovered consciousness in a -moment." - -"Ah, in a moment?" said Harwood dubiously. "I thought it always needed -the existence of some link of consciousness between the past and -the present to bring about a restoration like this--some familiar -sight--some well-known sound." - -"And, by George, you are right, my boy, this time, though you are a -'special,'" said the doctor, grinning. "Yes, I was standing by the -fellow's bunk when I heard Crawford call for another bottle of soda. -Robinson got it for him, and bang went the cork, of course; a faint -smile stole over the haggard features, my boy, the glassy eyes opened -full of intelligence and with a mine of pleasant recollections. That -familiar sound of the popping of the cork acted as the link you talk of. -He saw all in a moment, and tried to put out his hand to me. 'My boy,' -I said, 'you've behaved most handsomely, and I'll get you a glass of -brandy out of another bottle, but don't you try to speak for another -day.' And I got him a glass from Crawford, though, by George, sir, -Crawford grudged it; he didn't see the sentiment of the thing, sir, and -when I tried to explain it, he said I was welcome to the cork." - -"Capital tale for an advertisement of the brandy," said Harwood. - -Then the doctor with many smiles hastened to spread abroad the story -of the considerate behaviour of his patient, and Harwood was left to -continue his twilight meditations alone once more. He was sitting in -his deck-chair on the ship's bridge, and he could but dimly hear the -laughter and the chat of the passengers far astern. He did not remain -for long in this dreamy mood of his, for Mrs. Crawford and Daireen -Gerald were seen coming up the rail, and he hastened to meet them. The -girl was very pale but smiling, and in the soft twilight she seemed very -lovely. - -"I am so glad to see you," he said, as he settled a chair for her. "I -feared a great many things when you did not appear to-day." - -"We must not talk too much," said Mrs. Crawford, who had not expected to -find Mr. Harwood alone in this place. "I brought Miss Gerard up here in -order that she might not be subjected to the gaze of those colonists -on the deck; a little quiet is what she needs to restore her completely -from her shock." - -"It was very foolish, I am afraid you think--very foolish of me to -behave as I did," said Daireen, with a faint little smile. "But I had -been asleep in my cabin, and I--I was not so strong as I should have -been. The next time I hope I shall not be so very stupid." - -"My dear Miss Gerald," said Harwood, "you behaved as a heroine. There -is no woman aboard the ship--Mrs. Crawford of course excepted--who would -have had courage to do what you did." - -"And he," said the girl somewhat eagerly--"he--is he really safe?--has -he recovered? Tell me all, Mr. Harwood." - -"No, no!" cried Mrs. Crawford, interposing. "You must not speak a word -about him. Do you want to be thrown into a fresh state of excitement, my -dear, now that you are getting on so nicely?" - -"But I am more excited remaining as I am in doubt about that poor man. -Was he a sailor, Mr. Harwood?" - -"It appears-not," said Harwood. "The doctor, however, is returning; he -will tell all that is safe to be told." - -"I really must protest," said Mrs. Crawford. "Well, I will be a good -girl and not ask for any information whatever," said Daireen. - -But she was not destined to remain in complete ignorance on the subject -which might reasonably be expected to interest her, for the doctor on -seeing her hastened up, and, of course, Mrs. Crawford's protest was weak -against his judgment. - -"My dear young lady," he cried, shaking Daireen warmly by the hand. "You -are anxious to know the sequel of the romance of last night, I am sure?" - -"No, no, Doctor Campion," said Daireen almost mischievously; "Mrs. -Crawford says I must hear nothing, and think about nothing, all this -evening. Did you not say so, Mrs. Crawford?" - -"My dear child, Doctor Campion is supposed to know much better than -myself how you should be treated in your present nervous condition. -If he chooses to talk to you for an hour or two hours about drowning -wretches, he may do so on his own responsibility." - -"Drowning wretches!" said the doctor. "My dear madam, you have not been -told all, or you would not talk in this way. He is no drowning wretch, -but a gentleman; look at this--ah, I forgot it's not light enough for -you to see the document, but Harwood there will tell you all that it -contains." - -"And what does that wonderful document contain, Mr. Harwood?" asked Mrs. -Crawford. "Tell us, please, and we shall drop the subject." - -"That document," said Harwood, with affected solemnity; "it is a -guarantee of the respectability of the possessor; it is a bank order -for four hundred pounds, payable to one Oswin Markham, and it was, -I understand, found upon the person of the man who has just been -resuscitated through the skill of our good friend Doctor Campion." - -"Now you will not call him a poor wretch, I am sure," said the doctor. -"He has now fully recovered consciousness, and, you see, he is a -gentleman." - -"You see that, no doubt, Mrs. Crawford," said Harwood, in a tone that -made the good physician long to have him for a few weeks on the sick -list--the way the doctor had of paying off old scores. - -"Don't be sarcastic, Mr. Harwood," said Daireen. Then she added, "What -did you say the name was?--Oswin Markham? I like it--I like it very -much." - -"Hush," said Mrs. Crawford. "Here is Mr. Glaston." And it was indeed Mr. -Glaston who ascended the rail with a languor of motion in keeping with -the hour of twilight. With a few muttered words the doctor walked away. - -"I hear," said Mr. Glaston, after he had shaken hands with Daireen--"I -hear that there was some wreck or other picked up last night with a man -clinging to it--a dreadfully vulgar fellow he must be to carry about -with him a lot of money--a man with a name like what one would find -attached to the hero of an East End melodrama." - -There was a rather lengthened silence in that little group before -Harwood spoke. - -"Yes," he said; "it struck me that it showed very questionable taste in -the man to go about flaunting his money in the face of every one he met. -As for his name--well, perhaps we had better not say anything about his -name. You recollect what Tennyson makes Sir Tristram say to his Isolt--I -don't mean you, Glaston, I know you only read the pre-Raphaelites-- - -"Let be thy Mark, seeing he is not thine." - -But no one seemed to remember the quotation, or, at any rate, to see the -happiness of its present application. - - - - -CHAPTER XVI. - - -```It beckons you to go away with it, - -```As if it some impartment did desire - -```To you alone.= - -`````... Weigh what loss - -```If with too credent ear you list his songs - -```Or lose your heart... - -```Fear it, Ophelia, fear it.--_Hamlet._= - - -|IT could hardly be expected that there should be in the mind of Daireen -Gerald a total absence of interest in the man who by her aid had been -rescued from the deep. To be sure, her friend Mrs. Crawford had given -her to understand that people of taste might pronounce the episode -melodramatic, and as this word sounded very terrible to Daireen, as, -indeed, it did to Mrs. Crawford herself, whose apprehension of its -meaning was about as vague as the girl's, she never betrayed the anxiety -she felt for the recovery of this man, who was, she thought, equally -accountable for the dubious taste displayed in the circumstances of -his rescue. She began to feel, as Mr. Glaston in his delicacy carefully -refrained from alluding to this night of terror, and as Mrs. Crawford -assumed a solemn expression of countenance upon the least reference -to the girl's participation in the recovery of the man with the -melodramatic name, that there was a certain bond of sympathy between -herself and this Oswin Markham; and now and again when she found the -doctor alone, she ventured to make some inquiries regarding him. In the -course of a few days she learned a good deal. - -"He is behaving handsomely--most handsomely, my dear," said the doctor, -one afternoon about a week after the occurrence. "He eats everything -that is given to him and drinks in a like proportion." - -The girl felt that this was truly noble on the part of the man, but it -was scarcely the exact type of information she would have liked. - -"And he--is he able to speak yet?" she asked. - -"Speak? yes, to be sure. He asked me how he came to be picked up, and -I told him," continued the doctor, with a smile of gallantry of which -Daireen did not believe him capable, "that he was seen by the most -charming young lady in the world,--yes, yes, I told him that, though -I ran a chance of retarding his recovery by doing so." This was, of -course, quite delightful to hear, but Daireen wanted to know even more -about the stranger than the doctor's speech had conveyed to her. - -"The poor fellow was a long time in the water, I suppose?" she said -artfully, trying to find out all that the doctor had learned. - -"He was four days upon that piece of wreck," said the doctor. - -The girl gave a start that seemed very like a shudder, as she repeated -the words, "Four days." - -"Yes; he was on his way home from Australia, where he had been -living for some years, and the vessel he was in was commanded by some -incompetent and drunken idiot who allowed it to be struck by a tornado -of no extraordinary violence, and to founder in mid-ocean. As our friend -was a passenger, he says, the crew did not think it necessary to invite -him to have a seat in one of the boats, a fact that accounts for his -being alive to-day, for both boats were swamped and every soul sent to -the bottom in his view. He tells me he managed to lash a broken topmast -to the stump of the mainmast that had gone by the board, and to cut the -rigging so that he was left drifting when the hull went down. That's all -the story, my dear, only we know what a hard time of it he must have had -during the four days." - -"A hard time--a hard time," Daireen repeated musingly, and without a -further word she turned away. - -Mr. Glaston, who had been pleased to take a merciful view of her recent -action of so pronounced a type, found that his gracious attempts to -reform her plastic taste did not, during this evening, meet with that -appreciation of which they were undoubtedly deserving. Had he been aware -that all the time his eloquent speech was flowing on the subject of -the consciousness of hues--a theme attractive on account of its -delicacy--the girl had before her eyes only a vision of heavy blue skies -overhanging dark green seas terrible in loneliness--the monotony of -endless waves broken only by the appearance in the centre of the waste -of a broken mast and a ghastly face and clinging lean hands upon it, -he would probably have withdrawn the concession he had made to Mrs. -Crawford regarding the taste of her protégée. - -And indeed, Daireen was not during any of these days thinking about much -besides this Oswin Markham, though she never mentioned his name even -to the doctor. At nights when she would look out over the flashing -phosphorescent waters, she would evermore seem to see that white face -looking up at her; but now she neither started nor shuddered as she was -used to do for a few nights after she had seen the real face there. It -seemed to her now as a face that she knew--the face of a friend looking -into her face from the dim uncertain surface of the sea of a dream. - -One morning a few days after her most interesting chat with Doctor -Campion, she got up even earlier than usual--before, in fact, the -healthy pedestrian gentleman had completed his first mile, and went on -deck. She had, however, just stepped out of the companion when she heard -voices and a laugh or two coming from the stern. She glanced in the -direction of the sounds and remained motionless at the cabin door. -A group consisting of the major, the doctor, and the captain of the -steamer were standing in the neighbourhood of the wheel; but upon a -deck-chair, amongst a heap of cushions, a stranger was lying back--a -man with a thin brown face and large, somewhat sunken eyes, and a short -brown beard and moustache; he was holding a cigar in the fingers of -his left hand that drooped over the arm of the chair--a long, white -hand--and he was looking up to the face of the major, who was telling -one of his usual stories with his accustomed power. None of the other -passengers were on deck, with the exception of the pedestrian, who came -into view every few minutes as he reached the after part of the ship. - -She stood there at the door of the companion without any motion, looking -at that haggard face of the stranger. She saw a faint smile light up his -deep eyes and pass over his features as the major brought out the full -piquancy of his little anecdote, which was certainly not _virginibus -puerisque_. Then she turned and went down again to her cabin without -seeing how a young sailor was standing gazing at her from the passage -of the ship's bridge. She sat down in her cabin and waited until the -ringing of the second bell for breakfast. - -"You are getting dreadfully lazy, my dear," said Mrs. Crawford, as she -took her seat by the girl's side. "Why were you not up as usual to get -an appetite for breakfast?" Then without waiting for an answer, she -whispered, "Do you see the stranger at the other side of the table? That -is our friend Mr. Oswin Markham; his name does not sound so queer when -you come to know him. The doctor was right, Daireen: he is a gentleman." - -"Then you have----" - -"Yes, I have made his acquaintance this morning already. I hope Mr. -Glaston may not think that it was my fault." - -"Mr. Glaston?" said Daireen. . - -"Yes; you know he is so sensitive in matters like this; he might -fancy that it would be better to leave this stranger by himself; but -considering that he will be parting from the ship in a week, I don't -think I was wrong to let my husband present me. At any rate he is a -gentleman--that is one satisfaction." - -Daireen felt that there was every reason to be glad that she was not -placed in the unhappy position of having taken steps for the rescue of a -person not accustomed to mix in good society. But she did not even once -glance down towards the man whose standing had been by a competent judge -pronounced satisfactory. She herself talked so little, however, that she -could hear him speak in answer to the questions some good-natured people -at the bottom of the table put to him, regarding the name of his ship -and the circumstances of the catastrophe that had come upon it. She also -heard the young lady who had the peculiar fancy for blue and pink beg of -him to do her the favour of writing his name in her birthday book. - -During the hours that elapsed before tiffin Daireen sat with a novel in -her hand, and she knew that the stranger was on the ship's bridge with -Major Crawford. The major found his company exceedingly agreeable, for -the old officer had unfortunately been prodigal of his stories through -the first week of the voyage, and lately he had been reminded that he -was repeating himself when he had begun a really choice anecdote. This -Mr. Markham, however, had never been in India, so that the major found -in him an appreciative audience, and for the satisfactory narration of -a chronicle of Hindustan an appreciative audience is an important -consideration. The major, however, appeared alone at tiffin, for Mr. -Markham, he said, preferred lying in the sun on the bridge to eating -salad in the cabin. The young lady with the birthday book seemed a -little disappointed, for she had just taken the bold step of adding to -her personal decorations a large artificial moss-rose with glass beads -sewed all about it in marvellous similitude to early dew, and it would -not bear being trifled with in the matter of detaching from her dress. - -Whether or not Mrs. Crawford had conferred with Mr. Glaston on the -subject of the isolation of Mr. Markham, Daireen, on coming to sit down -to the dinner-table, found Mrs. Crawford and Mr. Markham standing in -the saloon just at the entrance to her cabin. She could feel herself -flushing as she looked up to the man's haggard face while Mrs. Crawford -pronounced their names, and she knew that the hand she put in his thin -fingers was trembling. Neither spoke a single word: they only looked at -each other. Then the doctor came forward with some remark that Daireen -did not seem to hear, and soon the table was surrounded with the -passengers. - -"He says he feels nearly as strong as he ever did," whispered Mrs. -Crawford to the girl as they sat down together. "He will be able to -leave us at St. Helena next week without doubt." - -On the same evening Daireen was sitting in her usual place far astern. -The sun had set some time, and the latitude being only a few degrees -south of the equator, the darkness had already almost come down upon -the waters. It was dimmer than twilight, but not the solid darkness of -a tropical night. The groups of passengers had all dispersed or gone -forward, and the only sounds were the whisperings of the water in the -wake of the steamer, and the splashing of the flying fish. - -Suddenly from the cabin there came the music of the piano, and a low -voice singing to its accompaniment--so faint it came that Daireen knew -no one on deck except herself could hear the voice, for she was sitting -just beside the open fanlight of the saloon; but she heard every word -that was sung: - - -I. - - -```When the vesper gold has waned: - -````When the passion-hues of eve - -````Breathe themselves away and leave - -```Blue the heaven their crimson stained, - -````But one hour the world doth grieve, - -````For the shadowy skies receive - -```Stars so gracious-sweet that they - -```Make night more beloved than day.= - - -II - - -```From my life the light has waned: - -````Every golden gleam that shone - -````Through the dimness now las gone. - -```Of all joys has one remained? - -````Stays one gladness I have known? - -````Day is past; I stand, alone, - -```Here beneath these darkened skies, - -```Asking--"Doth a star arise?"= - - -|IT ended so faintly that Daireen Gerald could not tell when the last -note had come. She felt that she was in a dream and the sounds she had -heard were but a part of her dream--sounds? were these sounds, or -merely the effect of breathing the lovely shadowy light that swathed the -waters? The sounds seemed to her the twilight expressed in music. - -Then in the silence she heard a voice speaking her name. She turned and -saw Oswin Markham standing beside her. - -"Miss Gerald," he said, "I owe my life to you. I thank you for it." - -He could hardly have expressed himself more simply if he had been -thanking her for passing him a fig at dinner, and yet his words thrilled -her. - -"No, no; do not say that," she said, in a startled voice. "I did -nothing--nothing that any one else might not have done. Oh, do not talk -of it, please." - -"I will not," he said slowly, after a pause. "I will never talk of -it again. I was a fool to speak of it to you. I know now that you -understand--that there is no need for me to open my lips to you." - -"I do indeed," she said, turning her eyes upon his face. "I do -understand." She put out her hand, and he took it in his own--not -fervently, not with the least expression of emotion, his fingers closed -over it. A long time passed before she saw his face in front of her own, -and felt his eyes looking into her eyes as his words came in a whisper, -"Child--child, there is a bond between us--a bond whose token is -silence." - -She kept her eyes fixed upon his as he spoke, and long after his words -had come. She knew he had spoken the truth: there was a bond between -them. She understood it. - -She saw the gaunt face with its large eyes close to her own; her -own eyes filled with tears, and then came the first token of their -bond--silence. She felt his grasp unloosed, she heard him moving away, -and she knew that she was alone in the silence. - - - - -CHAPTER XVII. - - -````Give him heedful note; - -```For I mine eyes will rivet to his face, - -```And after we will both our judgments join.= - -``Thou wouldst not think how ill all's here about my heart: but it is no -matter.= - -```You must needs have heard, how I am punish'd - -```With sore distraction. What I have done - -```I here proclaim was madness.--_Hamlet._= - - -|IT was very generally thought that it was a fortunate circumstance -for Mr. Oswin Markham that there chanced to be in the fore-cabin of -the steamer an enterprising American speculator who was taking out -some hundred dozens of ready-made garments for disposal to the diamond -miners--and an equal quantity of less durable clothing, in which he had -been induced to invest some money with a view to the ultimate adoption -of clothing by the Kafir nation. He explained how he had secured the -services of a hard-working missionary whom he had sent as agent in -advance to endeavour to convince the natives that if they ever wished -to gain a footing among great nations, the auxiliary of clothing towards -the effecting of their object was worth taking into consideration. When -the market for these garments would thus be created, the speculator -hoped to arrive on the scene and make a tolerable sum of money. In rear -of his missionary, he had scoured most of the islands of the Pacific -with very satisfactory results; and he said he felt that, if he could -but prevail upon his missionary in advance to keep steady, a large work -of evangelisation could be done in South Africa. - -By the aid of this enterprising person, Mr. Markham was able to clothe -himself without borrowing from any of the passengers. But about the -payment for his purchases there seemed likely to be some difficulty. The -bank order for four hundred pounds was once again in the possession of -Mr. Markham, but it was payable in England, and how then could he effect -the transfer of the few pounds he owed the American speculator, when he -was to leave the vessel at St. Helena? There was no agency of the bank -at this island, though there was one at the Cape, and thus the question -of payment became somewhat difficult to solve. - -"Do you want to leave the craft at St. Helena, mister?" asked the -American, stroking his chin thoughtfully. - -"I do," said Mr. Markham. "I must leave at the island and take the first -ship to England." - -"It's the awkwardest place on God's footstool, this St. Helena, isn't -it?" said the American. - -"I don't see that it is; why do you say so?" - -"Only that I don't see why you want so partickler to land thar, mister. -Maybe you'll change yer mind, eh?" - -"I have said that I must part from this ship there," exclaimed Mr. -Markham almost impatiently. "I must get this order reduced to money -somehow." - -"Wal, I reckon that's about the point, mister." said the speculator. -"But you see if you want to fly it as you say, you'll not breeze about -that it's needful for you to cut the craft before you come to the Cape. -I'd half a mind to try and trade with you for that bit of paper ten -minutes ago, but I reckon that's not what's the matter with me now. No, -_sir_; if you want to get rid of that paper without much trouble, just -you give out that you don't care if you do go on to the Cape; maybe a -nibble will come from that." - -"I don't know what you mean, my good fellow," said Markham; "but I can -only repeat that I will not go on to the Cape. I shall get the money -somehow and pay you before I leave, for surely the order is as good as -money to any one living in the midst of civilisation. I don't suppose a -savage would understand it, but I can't see what objection any one in -business could make to receiving it at its full value." - -The American screwed up his mouth in a peculiar fashion, and smiled in -a still more peculiar fashion. He rather fancied he had a small piece -of tobacco in his waistcoat pocket, nor did the result of a search show -that he was mistaken; he extracted the succulent morsel and put it into -his mouth. Then he winked at Mr. Markham, put his hands in his pockets, -and walked slowly away without a word. - -Markham looked after him with a puzzled expression. He did not know -what the man meant to convey by his nods and his becks and his wreathed -smiles. But just at this moment Mr. Harwood came up; he had of course -previously made the acquaintance of Markham. - -"I suppose we shall soon be losing you?" said Harwood, offering him a -cigar. "You said, I think, that you would be leaving us at St. Helena?" - -"Yes, I leave at St. Helena, and we shall be there in a few days. You -see, I am now nearly as strong as ever, thanks to Campion, and it is -important for me to get to England at once." - -"No doubt," said Harwood; "your relatives will be very anxious if they -hear of the loss of the vessel you were in." - -Markham gave a little laugh, as he said, "I have no relatives; and as -for friends--well, I suppose I shall have a number now." - -"Now?" - -"Yes; the fact is I was on my way home from Australia to take up a -certain property which my father left to me in England. He died six -months ago, and the solicitors for the estate sent me out a considerable -sum of money in case I should need it in Australia--this order for four -hundred pounds is what remains of it." - -"I can now easily understand your desire to be at home and settled -down," said Harwood. - -"I don't mean to settle down," replied Markham. "There are a good many -places to be seen in the world, small as it is." - -"A man who has knocked about in the Colonies is generally glad to settle -down at home," remarked Harwood. - -"No doubt that is the rule, but I fear I am all awry so far as rules -are concerned. I haven't allowed my life to be subject to many rules, -hitherto. Would to God I had! It is not a pleasant recollection for a -son to go through life with, Harwood, that his father has died without -becoming reconciled to him--especially when he knows that his father has -died leaving him a couple of thousands a year." - -"And you----" - -"I am such a son," said Markham, turning round suddenly. "I did all that -I could to make my father's life miserable till--a climax came, and I -found myself in Australia three years ago with an allowance sufficient -to keep me from ever being in want. But I forget, I'm not a modern -Ancient Mariner, wandering about boring people with my sad story." - -"No," said Harwood, "you are not, I should hope. Nor am I so pressed for -time just now as the wedding guest. You did not go in for a sheep-run in -Australia?" - -"Nothing of the sort," laughed the other. "The only thing I went in for -was getting through my allowance, until that letter came that sobered -me--that letter telling me that my father was dead, and that every penny -he had possessed was mine. Harwood, you have heard of people's hair -turning white in a few hours, but you have not often heard of natures -changing from black to white in a short space; believe me it was so with -me. The idea that theologians used to have long ago about souls passing -from earth to heaven in a moment might well be believed by me, knowing -as I do how my soul was transformed by that letter. I cast my old life -behind me, though I did not tell any one about me what had happened. I -left my companions and said to them that I was going up country. I did -go up country, but I returned in a few days and got aboard the first -ship that was sailing for England, and--here I am." - -"And you mean to renew your life of wandering when you reach England?" -said Harwood, after a pause. - -"It is all that there is left for me," said the man bitterly, though a -change in his tone would have made his words seem very pitiful. "I am -not such a fool as to fancy that a man can sow tares and reap wheat. The -spring of my life is over, and also the summer, the seed-time and the -ripening; shall the harvest be delayed then? No, I am not such a fool." - -"I cannot see that you might not rest at home," said Harwood. "Surely -you have some associations in England." - -"Not one that is not wretched." - -"But a man of good family with some money is always certain to make new -associations for himself, no matter what his life has been. Marriage, -for instance; it is, I think, an exceedingly sure way of squaring a -fellow up in life." - -"A very sure way indeed," laughed Markham. "Never mind; in another week -I shall be away from this society which has already become so pleasant -to me. Perhaps I shall knock up against you in some of the strange -places of the earth, Harwood." - -"I heartily hope so," said the other. "But I still cannot see why you -should not come on with us to the Cape. The voyage will completely -restore you, you can get your money changed there, and a steamer of this -company's will take you away two days after you land." - -"I cannot remain aboard this steamer," said Markham quickly. "I must -leave at St. Helena." Then he walked away with that shortness of -ceremony which steamer voyagers get into a habit of showing to each -other without giving offence. - -"Poor beggar!" muttered Harwood. "Wrecked in sight of the haven--a -pleasant haven--yes, if he is not an uncommonly good actor." He turned -round from where he was leaning over the ship's side smoking, and saw -the man with whom he had been talking seated in his chair by the side -of Daireen Gerald. He watched them for some time--for a long time--until -his cigar was smoked to the very end. He looked over the side -thoughtfully as he dropped the remnant and heard its little hiss in -the water; then he repeated his words, "a wreck." Once more he glanced -astern, and then he added thoughtfully, "Yes, he is right; he had much -better part at St. Helena--very much better." - -Mr. Markham seemed quite naturally to have found his place in Mrs. -Crawford's set, exclusive though it was; for somehow aboard ship a man -amalgamates only with that society for which he is suited; a man is -seldom to be found out of place on account of certain considerations -such as one meets on shore. Not even Mr. Glaston could raise any protest -against Mr. Markham's right to take a place in the midst of the elect -of the cabin. But the young lady in whose birthday book Mr. Markham had -inscribed his name upon the first day of his appearance at the table, -thought it very unkind of him to join the band who had failed to -appreciate her toilet splendours. - -During the day on which he gave Harwood his brief autobiographical -outline, Mr. Oswin Markham was frequently by the side of Miss Gerald and -Mrs. Crawford. But towards night the major felt that it would be -unjust to allow him to be defrauded of the due amount of narratory -entertainment so necessary for his comfort; and with these excellent -intentions drew him away from the others of the set, and, sitting on the -secluded bridge, brought forth from the abundant resources of his memory -a few well-defined anecdotes of that lively Arradambad station. But -all the while the major was narrating the stories he could see that -Markham's soul was otherwhere, and he began to be disappointed in Mr. -Markham. - -"I mustn't bore you, Markham, my boy," he said as he rose, after having -whiled away about two hours of the night in this agreeable occupation. -"No, I mustn't bore you, and you look, upon my soul, as if you had been -suffering." - -"No, no, I assure you, I never enjoyed anything more than that story -of--of--the Surgeon-General and the wife of--of--the Commissary." - -"The Adjutant-General, you mean," interrupted the major. - -"Of course, yes, the Adjutant; a deucedly good story!" - -"Ah, not bad, is it? But there goes six bells; I must think about -turning in. Come and join me in a glass of brandy-and-water." - -"No, no; not to-night--not to-night. The fact is I feel--I feel queer." - -"You're not quite set on your feet yet, my boy," said the major -critically. "Take care of yourself." And he walked away, wondering if it -was possible that he had been deceived in his estimate of the nature of -Mr. Markham. - -But Mr. Markham continued sitting alone in the silence of the deserted -deck. His thoughts were truly otherwhere. He lay back upon his seat and -kept his eyes fixed upon the sky--the sky of stars towards which he had -looked in agony for those four nights when nothing ever broke in -upon the dread loneliness of the barren sea but those starlights. The -terrible recollection of every moment he had passed returned to him. - -Then he thought how he had heard of men becoming, through sufferings -such as his, oblivious of everything of their past life--men who were -thus enabled to begin life anew without being racked by any dread -memories, the agony that they had endured being acknowledged by Heaven -as expiation of their past deeds. That was justice, he felt, and if this -justice had been done to these men, why had it been withheld from him? - -"Could God Himself have added to what I endured?" he said, in passionate -bitterness. "God! did I not suffer until my agony had overshot its -mark by destroying in me the power of feeling agony--my agony consumed -itself; I was dead--dead; and yet I am denied the power of beginning my -new life under the conditions which are my due. What more can God want -of man than his life? have I not paid that debt daily for four days?" He -rose from his chair and stood upright upon the deck with clenched hands -and lips. "It is past," he said, after a long pause. "From this hour -I throw the past beneath my feet. It is my right to forget all, and--I -have forgotten all--all." - -Mr. Harwood had truly reason to feel surprised when, on the following -day, Oswin Markham came up to him, and said quietly: - -"I believe you are right, Harwood: after all, it would be foolish for me -to part from the ship at St. Helena. I have decided to take your advice -and run on to the Cape." - -Harwood looked at him for a few moments before he answered slowly: - -"Ah, you have decided." - -"Yes; you see I am amenable to reason: I acknowledge the wisdom of my -counsellors." But Harwood made no answer, only continued with his -eyes fixed upon his face. "Hang it all," exclaimed Markham, "can't -you congratulate me upon my return to the side of reason? Can't you -acknowledge that you have been mistaken in me--that you find I am not so -pig-headed as you supposed?" - -"Yes," said Harwood; "you are not pig-headed." And, taking all things -into consideration, it can hardly be denied that Mr. Oswin Markham's -claim to be exempted from the class of persons called pig-headed was -well founded. - - - - -CHAPTER XVIII. - - -```'Tis told me he hath very oft of late - -```Given private time to you: and you yourself - -```Have of your audience been most free and bounteous.= - -```Do you believe his tenders, as you call them?--_Hamlet_. - - -|MRS. Crawford felt that she was being unkindly dealt with by Fate in -many matters. She had formed certain plans on coming aboard the steamer -and on taking in at a glance the position of every one about her--it was -her habit to do so on the occasion of her arrival at any new station in -the Indian Empire--and hitherto she had generally had the satisfaction -of witnessing the success of her plans; but now she began to fear that -if things continued to diverge so widely from the paths which it was -natural to expect them to have kept, her skilful devices would be -completely overthrown. - -Mrs. Crawford had within the first few hours of the voyage communicated -to her husband her intention of surprising Colonel Gerald on the arrival -of his daughter at the Cape; for he could scarcely fail to be surprised -and, of course, gratified, if he were made aware of the fact that his -daughter had conceived an attachment for a young man so distinguished -in many ways as the son of the Bishop of the Calapash Islands and -Metropolitan of the Salamander Archipelago--the style and titles of the -father of Mr. Glaston. - -But Daireen, instead of showing herself a docile subject and ready to -act according to the least suggestion of one who was so much wiser -and more experienced than herself, had begun to think and to act -most waywardly. Though she had gone ashore at Madeira contrary to Mr. -Glaston's advice, and had even ventured to assert, in the face of Mr. -Glaston's demonstration to the contrary, that she had spent a pleasant -day, yet Mrs. Crawford saw that it would be quite possible, by care and -thoughtfulness in the future, to overcome all the unhappy influences her -childishness would have upon the mind of Mr. Glaston. - -Being well aware of this, she had for some days great hope of her -protégée; but then Daireen had apparently cast to the winds all her -sense of duty to those who were qualified to instruct her, for she -had not only disagreed from Mr. Glaston upon a theory he had expressed -regarding the symbolism of a certain design having for its -chief elements sections of pomegranates and conventionalised -daisies--Innocence allured by Ungovernable Passion was the parable -preached through the union of some tones of sage green and saffron, Mr. -Glaston assured the circle whom he had favoured with his views on this -subject--but she had also laughed when Mr. Harwood made some whispered -remark about the distressing diffusion of jaundice through the floral -creation. - -This was very sad to Mrs. Crawford. She was nearly angry with Daireen, -and if she could have afforded it, she would have been angry with Mr. -Harwood; she was, however, mindful of the influence of the letters she -hoped the special correspondent of the _Dominant Trumpeter_ would be -writing regarding the general satisfaction that was felt throughout -the colonies of South Africa that the Home Government had selected -so efficient and trustworthy an officer to discharge the duties in -connection with the Army Boot Commission, so she could not be anything -but most friendly towards Mr. Harwood. - -Then it was a great grief to Mrs. Crawford to see the man who, though -undoubtedly well educated and even cultured, was still a sort of -adventurer, seating himself more than once by the side of Daireen on the -deck, and to notice that the girl talked with him even when Mr. Glaston -was near--Mr. Glaston, who had referred to his sudden arrival aboard -the ship as being melodramatic. But on the day preceding the expected -arrival of the steamer at St. Helena, the well-meaning lady began to -feel almost happy once more, for she recollected how fixed had been Mr. -Markham's determination to leave the steamer at the island. Being almost -happy, she thought she might go so far as to express to the man the -grief which reflecting upon his departure excited. - -"We shall miss you from our little circle, I can assure you, Mr. -Markham," she said. "Your coming was so--so"--she thought of a -substitute for melodramatic--"so unexpected, and so--well, almost -romantic, that indeed it has left an impression upon all of us. Try and -get into a room in the hotel at James Town that the white ants haven't -devoured; I really envy you the delicious water-cress you will have -every day." - -"You will be spared the chance of committing that sin, Mrs. Crawford, -though I fear the penance which will be imposed upon you for having even -imagined it will be unjustly great. The fact is, I have been so weak as -to allow myself to be persuaded by Doctor Campion and Harwood to go on -to the Cape." - -"To go on to the Cape!" exclaimed the lady. - -"To go on to the Cape, Mrs. Crawford; so you see you will be bored with -me for another week." - -Mrs. Crawford looked utterly bewildered, as, indeed, she was. Her smile -was very faint as she said: - -"Ah, how nice; you have been persuaded. Ah, very pleasant it will be; -but how one may be deceived in judging of another's character! I really -formed the impression that you were firmness itself, Mr. Markham!" - -"So I am, Mrs. Crawford, except when my inclination tends in the -opposite direction to my resolution; then, I assure you, I can be led -with a strand of floss." - -This was, of course, very pleasant chat, and with the clink of -compliment about it, but it was anything but satisfactory to the lady to -whom it was addressed. She by no means felt in the mood for listening -to mere colloquialisms, even though they might be of the most brilliant -nature, which Mr. Markham's certainly were not. - -"Yes, I fancied that you were firmness itself," she repeated. "But you -allowed your mind to be changed by--by the doctor and Mr. Harwood." - -"Well, not wholly, to say the truth, Mrs. Crawford," he interposed. "It -is pitiful to have to confess that I am capable of being influenced by a -monetary matter; but so it is: the fact is, if I were to land now at St. -Helena, I should be not only penniless myself, but I should be obliged -also to run in debt for these garments that my friend Phineas F. Fulton -of Denver City supplied me with, not to speak of what I feel I owe to -the steamer itself; so I think it is better for me to get my paper money -turned into cash at the Cape, and then hurry homewards." - -"No doubt you understand your own business," said the lady, smiling -faintly as she walked away. - -Mr. Oswin Markham watched her for some moments in a thoughtful way. He -had known for a considerable time that the major's wife understood -her business, at any rate, and that she was also quite capable of -comprehending--nay, of directing as well--the business of every member -of her social circle. But how was it possible, he asked himself, that -she should have come to look upon his remaining for another week aboard -the steamer as a matter of concern? He was a close enough observer to be -able to see from her manner that she did so; but he could not understand -how she should regard him as of any importance in the arrangement of her -plans for the next week, whatever they might be. - -But Mrs. Crawford, so soon as she found herself by the side of Daireen -in the evening, resolved to satisfy herself upon the subject of the -influences which had been brought to bear upon Mr. Oswin Markham, -causing his character for determination to be lost for ever. - -Daireen was sitting alone far astern, and had just finished directing -some envelopes for letters to be sent home the next day from St. Helena. - -"What a capital habit to get into of writing on that little case on -your knee!" said Mrs. Crawford. "You have been on deck all day, you see, -while the other correspondents are shut down in the saloon. You have had -a good deal to tell the old people at that wonderful Irish lake of yours -since you wrote at Madeira." - -Daireen thought of all she had written regarding Standish, to prevent -his father becoming uneasy about him. - -"Oh, yes, I have had a good deal of news that will interest them," she -said. "I have told them that the Atlantic is not such a terrible place -after all. Why, we have not had even a breeze yet." - -"No, _we_ have not, but you should not forget, Daireen, the tornado that -at least one ship perished in." She looked gravely at the girl, -though she felt very pleased indeed to know that her protégée had not -remembered this particular storm. "You have mentioned in your letters, I -hope, how Mr. Markham was saved?" - -"I believe I devoted an entire page to Mr. Markham," Daireen replied -with a smile. - -"That is right, my dear. You have also said, I am sure, how we all hope -he is--a--a gentleman." - -"_Hope?_" said Daireen quickly. Then she added after a pause, "No, -Mrs. Crawford, I don't think I said that. I only said that he would be -leaving us to-morrow." - -Mrs. Crawford's nicely sensitive ear detected, she fancied, a tinge of -regret in the girl's last tone. - -"Ah, he told you that he had made up his mind to leave the ship at St. -Helena, did he not?" she asked. - -"Of course he is to leave us there, Mrs. Crawford. Did you not -understand so?" - -"I did indeed; but I am disappointed in Mr. Markham. I thought that he -was everything that is firm. Yes, I am disappointed in him." - -"How?" said Daireen, with a little flush and an anxious movement of her -eyes. "How do you mean he has disappointed you?" - -"He is not going to leave us at St. Helena, Daireen; he is coming on -with us to the Cape." - -With sorrow and dismay Mrs. Crawford noticed Daireen's face undergo a -change from anxiety to pleasure; nor did she allow the little flush that -came to the girl's forehead to escape her observation. These changes of -countenance were almost terrifying to the lady. "It is the first time I -have had my confidence in him shaken," she added. "In spite of what Mr. -Harwood said of him I had not the least suspicion of this Mr. Markham, -but now----" - -"What did! Mr. Harwood say of him?" asked Daireen, with a touch of scorn -in her voice. - -"You need not get angry, Daireen, my child," replied Mrs. Crawford. - -"Angry, Mrs. Crawford? How could you fancy I was angry? Only what right -had this Mr. Harwood to say anything about Mr. Markham? Perhaps Mr. -Glaston was saying something too. I thought that as Mr. Markham was a -stranger every one here would treat him with consideration, and yet, you -see----" - -"Good gracious, Daireen, what can you possibly mean?" cried Mrs. -Crawford. "Not a soul has ever treated Mr. Markham except in good taste -from the day he came aboard this vessel. Of course young men will talk, -especially young newspaper men, and more especially young _Dominant. -Trumpeter_ men. For myself, you saw how readily I admitted Mr. Markham -into our set, though you will allow that, all things considered, I need -not have done so at all." - -"He was a stranger," said Daireen. - -"But he is not therefore an angel unawares, my dear," said Mrs. -Crawford, smiling as she patted the girl's hand in token of amity. "So -long as he meant, to be a stranger of course we were justified in making -him as pleasant as possible; but now, you see, he is not going to be a -stranger. But why should we talk upon so unprofitable a subject? Tell me -all the rest that you have been writing about." - -Daireen made an attempt to recollect what were the topics of her -letters, but she was not very successful in recalling them. - -"I told them about the--the albatross, how it has followed us so -faithfully," she said; "and how the Cape pigeons came to us yesterday." - -"Ah, indeed. Very nice it will be for the dear old people at home. Ah, -Daireen, how happy you are to have some place you can look back upon and -think of as your home. Here am I in my old age still a vagabond upon the -face of the earth. I have no home, dear." The lady felt that this piece -of pathos should touch the girl deeply. - -"No, no, don't say that, my dear Mrs. Crawford," Daireen said gently. -"Say that your dear kind goodnature makes you feel at home in every part -of the world." - -This was very nice Mrs. Crawford felt, as she kissed the face beside -her, but she did not therefore come to the conclusion that it would be -well to forget that little expression of pleasure which had flashed over -this same face a few minutes before. - -At this very hour upon the evening following the anchors were being -weighed, and the good steamer was already backing slowly out from the -place it had occupied in the midst of the little fleet of whale-ships -and East Indiamen beneath the grim shadow of that black ocean rock, St. -Helena. The church spire of James Town was just coming into view as -the motion of the ship disclosed a larger space of the gorge where the -little town is built. The flag was being hauled down from the spar -at the top of Ladder Hill, and the man was standing by the sunset gun -aboard H.M.S. _Cobra_. The last of the shore-boats was cast off from the -rail, and then, the anchor being reported in sight, the steamer put on -full speed ahead, the helm was made hard-a-starboard, and the vessel -swept round out of the harbour. - -Mr. Harwood and Major Crawford were in anxious conversation with an -engineer officer who had been summoned to the Cape to assist in a -certain council which was to be held regarding the attitude of a Kafir -chief who was inclined to be defiant of the lawful possessors of the -country. But Daireen was standing at the ship's side looking at that -wonderful line of mountain-wall connecting the batteries round the -island. Her thoughts were not, however, wholly of the days when -there was a reason why this little island should be the most strongly -fortified in the ocean. As the steamer moved gently round the dark -cliffs she was not reflecting upon what must have been the feelings of -the great emperor-general who had been accustomed to stand upon these -cliffs and to look seaward. Her thoughts were indeed undefined in their -course, and she knew this when she heard the voice of Oswin Markham -beside her. - -"Can you fancy what would be my thoughts at this time if I had kept to -my resolution--and if I were now up there among those big rocks?" he -asked. - -She shook her head, but did not utter a word in answer. - -"I wonder what would yours have been now if I had kept to my -resolution," he then said. - -"I cannot tell you, indeed," she answered. "I cannot fancy what I should -be thinking." - -"Nor can I tell you what my thought would be," he said after a pause. He -was leaning with one arm upon the moulding of the bulwarks, and she had -her eyes still fixed upon the ridges of the island. He touched her and -pointed out over the water. The sun like a shield of sparkling gold -had already buried half its disc beneath the horizon. They watched the -remainder become gradually less and less until only a thread of gold was -on the water; in another instant this had dwindled away. "I know now -how I should have felt," he said, with his eyes fixed upon the blank -horizon. - -The girl looked out to that blank horizon also. - -Then from each fort on the cliffs there leaped a little flash of light, -and the roar of the sunset guns made thunder all along the hollow shore; -before the echoes had given back the sound, faint bugle-calls were -borne out to the ocean as fort answered fort all along that line of -mountain-wall. The girl listened until the faintest farthest thin -sound dwindled away just as the last touch of sunlight had waned into -blankness upon the horizon. - - - - -CHAPTER XIX. - - -```_Polonius_. What treasure had he, my lord? - -```_Hamlet_. Why, - -````"One fair daughter and no more, - -````The which he loved passing well."= - - -O my old friend, thy face is valanced since I saw thee last.... What, -my young lady and mistress! By'r lady, your ladyship is nearer to heaven -than when I saw you last.... You are all welcome.--_Hamlet._ - - -|HOWEVER varying, indefinite, and objectless the thoughts of Daireen -Gerald may have been--and they certainly were--during the earlier days -of the voyage, they were undoubtedly fixed and steadfast during the last -week. She knew that she could not hear anything of her father until she -would arrive at the Cape, and so she had allowed herself to be buoyed up -by the hopeful conversation of the major and Mrs. Crawford, who seemed -to think of her meeting with her father as a matter of certainty, and by -the various little excitements of every day. But now when she knew that -upon what the next few days would bring forth all the happiness of her -future life depended, what thought--what prayer but one, could she have? - -She was certainly not good company during these final days. Mr. Harwood -never got a word from her. Mr. Glaston did not make the attempt, though -he attributed her silence to remorse at having neglected his artistic -instructions. Major Crawford's gallantries received no smiling -recognition from her; and Mrs. Crawford's most motherly pieces of pathos -went by unheeded so far as Daireen was concerned. - -What on earth was the matter, Mrs. Crawford thought; could it be -possible that her worst fears were realised? she asked herself; and -she made a vow that even if Mr. Harwood had spoken a single word on the -subject of affection to Daireen, he should forfeit her own friendship -for ever. - -"My dear Daireen," she said, two days after leaving St. Helena, "you -know I love you as a daughter, and I have come to feel for you as -a mother might. I know something is the matter--what is it? you may -confide in me; indeed you may." - -"How good you are!" said the child of this adoption; "how very good! You -know all that is the matter, though you have in your kindness prevented -me from feeling it hitherto." - -"Good gracious, Daireen, you frighten me! No one can have been speaking -to you surely, while I am your guardian----" - -"You know what a wretched doubt there is in my mind now that I know -a few days will tell me all that can be told--you know the terrible -question that comes to me every day--every hour--shall I see him?--shall -he be--alive?" - -Even the young men, with no touches of motherly pathos about them, had -appreciated the girl's feelings in those days more readily than Mrs. -Crawford. - -"My poor dear little thing," she now said, fondling her in a way whose -soothing effect the combined efforts of all the young men could never -have approached. "Don't let the doubt enter your mind for an instant--it -positively must not. Your father is as well as I am to-day, I can assure -you. Can you disbelieve me? I know him a great deal better than you do; -and I know the Cape climate better than you do. Nonsense, my dear, no -one ever dies at the Cape--at least not when they go there to recover. -Now make your mind easy for the next three days." - -But for just this interval poor Daireen's mind was in a state of -anything but repose. - -During the last night the steamer would be on the voyage she found it -utterly impossible to go to sleep. She heard all of the bells struck -from watch to watch. Her cabin became stifling to her though a cool -breeze was passing through the opened port. She rose, dressed herself, -and went on deck though it was about two o'clock in the morning. It -was a terrible thing for a girl to do, but nothing could have prevented -Daireen's taking that step. She stood just outside the door of the -companion, and in the moonlight and soft air of the sea more ease of -mind came to her than she had yet felt on this voyage. - -While she stood there in the moonlight listening to the even whisperings -of the water as it parted away before the ship, and to the fitful -flights of the winged fish, she seemed to hear some order as she -thought, given from the forward part of the vessel. In another minute -the officer on watch hastened past her. She heard him knock at the -captain's cabin which was just aft of the deck-house, and make the -report. - -"Fixed light right ahead, sir." - -She knew then that the first glimpse of the land which they were -approaching had been obtained, and her anxiety gave place to peace. That -message of the light seemed to be ominous of good to her. She returned -to her cabin, and found it cool and tranquil, so that she fell asleep at -once; and when she next opened her eyes she saw a tall man standing with -folded arms beside her, gazing at her. She gave but one little cry, and -then that long drooping moustache of his was down upon her face and her -bare arms were about his neck. - -"Thank you, thank you, Dolly; that is a sufficiently close escape from -strangulation to make me respect your powers," said the man; and at the -sound of his voice Daireen turned her face to her pillow, while the man -shook out with spasmodic fingers his handkerchief from its folds and -endeavoured to repair the injury done to his moustache by the girl's -embrace. - -"Now, now, my Dolly," he said, after some convulsive mutterings which -Daireen could, of course, not hear; "now, now, don't you think it might -be as well to think of making some apology for your laziness instead of -trying to go asleep again?" - -Then she looked up with wondering eyes. - -"I don't understand anything at all," she cried. "How could I go asleep -when we were within four hours of the Cape? How could any one be so -cruel as to let me sleep so dreadfully? It was wicked of me: it was -quite wicked." - -"There's not the least question about the enormity of the crime, -I'm afraid," he answered; "only I think that Mrs. Crawford may be -responsible for a good deal of it, if her confession to me is to be -depended upon. She told me how you were--but never mind, I am the -ill-treated one in the matter, and I forgive you all." - -"And we have actually been brought into the dock?" - -"For the past half-hour, my love; and I have been waiting for much -longer. I got the telegram you sent to me, by the last mail from -Madeira, so that I have been on the lookout for the _Cardwell Castle_ -for a week. Now don't be too hard on an old boy, Dolly, with all of -those questions I see on your lips. Here, I'll take them in the lump, -and think over them as I get through a glass of brandy-and-water with -Jack Crawford and the Sylph--by George, to think of your meeting with -the poor old hearty Sylph--ah, I forgot you never heard that we used to -call Mrs. Crawford the Sylph at our station before you were born. There, -now I have got all your questions, my darling--my own darling little -Dolly." - -She only gave him a little hug this time, and he hastened up to the -deck, where Mrs. Crawford and her husband were waiting for him. - -"Now, did I say anything more of her than was the truth, George?" cried -Mrs. Crawford, so soon as Colonel Gerald got on deck. - -But Colonel Gerald smiled at her abstractedly and pulled fiercely at the -ends of his moustache. Then seeing Mr. Harwood at the other side of -the skylight, he ran and shook hands with him warmly; and Harwood, -who fancied he understood something of the theory of the expression of -emotion in mankind, refrained from hinting to the colonel that they had -already had a chat together since the steamer had come into dock. - -Mrs. Crawford, however, was not particularly well pleased to find that -her old friend George Gerald had only answered her with that vague -smile, which implied nothing; she knew that he had been speaking for -half an hour before with Harwood, from whom he had heard the first -intelligence of his appointment to the Castaway group. When Colonel -Gerald, however, went the length of rushing up to Doctor Campion -and violently shaking hands with him also, though they had been in -conversation together before, the lady began to fear that the attack of -fever from which it was reported Daireen's father had been suffering had -left its traces upon him still. - -"Rather rum, by gad," said the major, when his attention was called -to his old comrade's behaviour. "Just like the way a boy would behave -visiting his grandmother, isn't it? Looks as if he were working off his -feelings, doesn't it? By gad, he's going back to Harwood!" - -"I thought he would," said Mrs. Crawford. "Harwood can tell him all -about his appointment. That's what George, like all the rest of them -nowadays, is anxious about. He forgets his child--he has no interest in -her, I see." - -"That's devilish bad, Kate, devilish bad! by Jingo! But upon my soul, -I was under the impression that his wildness just now was the effect of -having been below with the kid." - -"If he had the least concern about her, would he not come to me, when he -knows very well that I could tell him all about the voyage? But no, he -prefers to remain by the side of the special correspondent." - -"No, he doesn't; here he comes, and hang me if he isn't going to shake -hands with both of us!" cried the major, as Colonel Gerald, recognising -him, apparently for the first time, left Harwood's side and hastened -across the deck with extended hand. - -"George, dear old George," said Mrs. Crawford, reflecting upon the -advantages usually attributed to the conciliatory method of -treatment. "Isn't it like the old time come back again? Here we stand -together--Jack, Campion, yourself and myself, just as we used to be -in--ah, it cannot have been '58!--yes, it was, good gracious, '58! It -seems like a dream." - -"Exactly like a dream, by Jingo, my dear," said the major pensively, for -he was thinking what an auxiliary to the realistic effect of the scene a -glass of brandy-and-water, or some other Indian cooling drink, would be. -"Just like a vision, you know, George, isn't it? So if you'll come -to the smoking-room, we'll have that light breakfast we were talking -about." - -"He won't go, major," said the lady severely. - -"He wishes to have a talk with me about the dear child. Don't you, -George?" - -"And about your dear self, Kate," replied Colonel Gerald, in the -Irish way that brought back to the lady still more vividly all the old -memories of the happy station on the Himalayas. - -"Ah, how like George that, isn't it?" she whispered to her husband. - -"My dear girl, don't be a tool," was the parting request of the major as -he strolled off to where the doctor was, he knew, waiting for some sign -that the brandy and water were amalgamating. - -"I'm glad that we are alone, George," said Mrs. Crawford, taking Colonel -Gerald's arm. "We can talk together freely about the child--about -Daireen." - -"And what have we to say about her, Kate? Can you give me any hints -about her temper, eh? How she needs to be managed, and that sort of -thing? You used to be capital at that long ago." - -"And I flatter myself that I can still tell all about a girl after a -single glance; but, my dear George, I never indeed knew what a truly -perfect nature was until I came to understand Daireen. She is an angel, -George." - -"No," said the colonel gently; "not Daireen--she is not the angel; but -her face, when I saw it just now upon its pillow, sent back all my soul -in thought of one--one who is--who always was an angel--my good angel." - -"That was my first thought too," said Mrs. Crawford. "And her nature is -the same. Only poor Daireen errs on the side of good nature. She is a -child in her simplicity of thought about every one she meets. She wants -some one near her who will be able to guide her tastes in--in--well, -in different matters. By the way, you remember Austin Glaston, who was -chaplain for a while on the _Telemachus_, and who got made Bishop of the -Salamanders; well, that is his son, that tall handsome youngman--I must -present you. He is one of the most distinguished men I ever met." - -"Ah, indeed? Does he write for a newspaper?" - -"Oh, George, I am ashamed of you. No, Mr. Glaston is a--a--an artist and -a poet, and--well, he does nearly everything much better than any one -else, and if you take my advice you will give him an invitation to -dinner, and then you will find out all." - -Before Colonel Gerald could utter a word he was brought face to face -with Mr. Glaston, and felt his grasp responded to by a gentle pressure. - -"I'm very glad to meet you, Mr. Glaston; your father and I were old -friends. If you are staying at Cape Town, I hope you will not neglect to -call upon my daughter and myself," said the colonel. - -"You are extremely kind," returned the young man: "I shall be -delighted." - -Thus Daireen on coming on deck found her father in conversation with -Mr. Glaston, and already acquainted with every member of Mrs. Crawford's -circle. - -"Mr. Glaston has just promised to pay you a visit on shore, my dear," -said the major's wife, as she came up. - -"How very kind," said Daireen. "But can he tell me where I live ashore, -for no one has thought fit to let me know anything about myself. I will -never forgive you, Mrs. Crawford, for ordering that I was not to be -awakened this morning. It was too cruel." - -"Only to be kind, dear; I knew what a state of nervousness you were in." - -"And now of course," continued the girl, "when I come on deck all the -news will have been told--even that secret about the Castaway Islands." - -"Heavens':" said the colonel, "what about the Castaway Islands? Have -they been submerged, or have they thrown off the British yoke already?" - -"I see you know all," she said mournfully, "and I had treasured up all -that Mr. Harwood said no one in the world but himself knew, to be the -first to tell you. And now, too, you know every one aboard except--ah, -I have my secret to tell at last. There he stands, and even you don't -remember him, papa. Come here, Standish, and let me present you. -This, papa, is Standish Macnamara, and he is coming out with us now to -wherever we are to live." - -"Good gracious, Daireen!" cried Mrs. Crawford. - -"What, Standish, Prince of Innishdermot!" said the colonel. "My dear -boy, I am delighted to welcome you to this strange place. I remember you -when your curls were a good deal longer, my boy." - -Poor Standish, who was no longer in his sailor's jacket, but in the best -attire his Dublin tailor could provide, blushed most painfully as every -one gazed at him--every one with the exception of Daireen, who was -gazing anxiously around the deck as though she expected to see some one -still. - -"This is certainly a secret," murmured Mrs. Crawford. - -"Now, Daireen, to the shore," said Colonel Gerald. "You need not say -good-bye to any one here. Mrs. Crawford will be out to dine with us -to-morrow. She will bring the major and Doctor Campion, and Mr. Harwood -says he will ride one of my horses till he gets his own. So there need -be no tears. My man will look after the luggage while I drive you out." - -"I must get my bag from my cabin," Daireen said, going slowly towards -the companion. In a few moments she reappeared with her dressing-bag, -and gave another searching glance around the deck. - -"Now," she said, "I am ready." - - - - - -CHAPTER XX. - - -````Something have you heard - -```Of Hamlet's transformation; so call it-- - -````... What it should be... - -```I cannot dream or - -`````... gather - -```So much as from occasion you may glean - -```Whether aught to us unknown afflicts him.= - -````At night we'll feast together: - -````Most welcome home! - -````Most fair return of greetings._Hamlet._= - - -|WHAT an extraordinary affair!' said Mrs. Crawford, turning from where -she had been watching the departure of the colonel and his daughter and -that tall handsome young friend of theirs whom they had called Standish -MacDermot. - -'I would not have believed it of Daireen. Standish MacDermot--what a -dreadful Irish name! But where can he have been aboard the ship? He -cannot have been one of those terrible fore-cabin passengers. Ah, I -would not have believed her capable of such disingenuousness. Who is -this young man, Jack?' - -'My dear girl, never mind the young man or the young woman just now. -We must look after the traps and get them through the Custom-house.' -replied the major. - -'Mr. Harwood, who is this young man with the terrible Irish name?' she -asked in desperation of the special correspondent. She felt indeed in an -extremity when she sought Harwood for an ally. - -'I never was so much astonished in all my life,' he whispered in answer. -'I never heard of him. She never breathed a word about him to me.' - -Mrs. Crawford did not think this at all improbable, seeing that Daireen -had never breathed a word about him to herself. - -'My dear Mr. Harwood, these Irish are too romantic for us. It is -impossible for us ever to understand them.' And she hastened away to -look after her luggage. It was not until she was quite alone that she -raised her hands, exclaiming devoutly, 'Thank goodness Mr. Glaston had -gone before this second piece of romance was disclosed! What on earth -would he have thought!' - -The reflection made the lady shudder. Mr. Glaston's thoughts, if he had -been present while Daireen was bringing forward this child of mystery, -Standish MacDermot, would, she knew, have been too terrible to be -contemplated. - -As for Mr. Harwood, though he professed to be affected by nothing that -occurred about him, still he felt himself uncomfortably surprised by the -sudden appearance of the young Irishman with whom Miss Gerald and her -father appeared to be on such familiar terms; and as he stood looking up -to that marvellous hill in whose shadow Cape Town lies, he came to the -conclusion that it would be as well for him to find out all that could -be known about this Standish MacDermot. He had promised Daireen's father -to make use of one of his horses so long as he would remain at the Cape, -and it appeared from all he could gather that the affairs in the colony -were becoming sufficiently complicated to compel his remaining here -instead of hastening out to make his report of the Castaway group. The -British nation were of course burning to hear all that could be told -about the new island colony, but Mr. Harwood knew very well that -the heading which would be given in the columns of the '_Dominant -Trumpeter_' to any information regarding the attitude of the defiant -Kafir chief would be in very much larger type than that of the most -flowery paragraph descriptive of the charms of the Castaway group; and -so he had almost made up his mind that it would be to the advantage of -the newspaper that he should stay at the Cape. Of course he felt that he -had at heart no further interests, and so long as it was not conflicting -with those interests he would ride Colonel Gerald's horse, and, perhaps, -walk with Colonel Gerald's daughter. - -But all the time that he was reflecting in this consistent manner the -colonel and his daughter and Standish were driving along the base of -Table Mountain, while on the other side the blue waters of the lovely -bay were sparkling between the low shores of pure white sand, and far -away the dim mountain ridges were seen. - -'Shall I ever come to know that mountain and all about it as well as -I know our own dear Slieve Docas?' cried the girl, looking around her. -'Will you, do you think, Standish?' - -'Nothing here can compare with our Irish land,' cried Standish. - -'You are right my boy,' said Daireen's father. 'I have knocked about a -good deal, and I have seen a good many places, and, after all, I have -come to the conclusion that our own Suangorm is worth all that I have -seen for beauty.' - -'We can all sympathise with each other here,' said the girl laughing. -'We will join hands and say that there is no place in the world like our -Ireland, and then, maybe, the strangers here will believe us.' - -'Yes,' said her father, 'we will think of ourselves in the midst of a -strange country as three representatives of the greatest nation in, the -world. Eh, Standish, that would please your father.' - -But Standish could not make any answer to this allusion to his father. -He was in fact just now wondering what Colonel Gerald would say when he -would hear that Standish had travelled six thousand miles for the sake -of obtaining his advice as to the prudence of entertaining the thought -of leaving home. Standish was beginning to fear that there was a flaw -somewhere in the consistency of the step he had taken, complimentary -though it undoubtedly was to the judgment of Colonel Gerald. He could -hardly define the inconsistency of which he was conscious, but as the -phaeton drove rapidly along the red road beside the high peak of the -mountain he became more deeply impressed with the fact that it existed -somewhere. - -Passing along great hedges of cactus and prickly-pear, and by the side -of some well-wooded grounds with acres of trim green vineyards, the -phaeton proceeded for a few miles. The scene was strange to Daireen and -Standish; only for the consciousness of that towering peak they were -grateful. Even though its slope was not swathed in heather, it still -resembled in its outline the great Slieve Docas, and this was enough to -make them feel while passing beneath it that it was a landmark breathing -of other days. Half way up the ascent they could see in a ravine a large -grove of the silver-leaf fir, and the sun-glints among the exquisite -white foliage were very lovely. Further down the mighty aloes threw -forth their thick green branches in graceful divergence, and then along -the road were numerous bullock waggons with Malay drivers--eighteen -or twenty animals running in a team. Nothing could have added to the -strangeness of the scene to the girl and her companion, and yet the -shadow of that great hill made the land seem no longer weary. - -At last, just at the foot of the hill, Colonel Gerald turned his horses -to where there was a broad rough avenue made through a grove of pines, -and after following its curves for some distance, a broad cleared space -was reached, beyond which stood a number of magnificent Australian -oaks and fruit trees surrounding a long low Dutch-built house with an -overhanging roof and the usual stoëp--the raised stone border--in front. - -'This is our house, my darling,' said the girl's father as he pulled up -at the door. 'I had only a week to get it in order for you, but I hope -you will like it.' - -'Like it?' she cried; 'it is lovelier than any we had in India, and then -the hill--the hill--oh, papa, this is home indeed.' - -'And for me, my own little Dolly, don't you think it is home too?' he -said when he had his arms about her in the hall. 'With this face in my -hands at last I feel all the joy of home that has been denied to me for -years. How often have I seen your face, Dolly, as I sat with my coffee -in the evening in my lonely bungalow under the palms? The sight of it -used to cheer me night after night, darling,' but now that I have it -here--here----' - -'Keep it there,' she cried. 'Oh, papa, papa, why should we be miserable -apart ever again? I will stay with you now wherever you go for ever.' - -Colonel Gerald looked at her for a minute, he kissed her once again upon -the face, and then burst into a laugh. - -'And this is the only result of a voyage made under the protection of -Mrs. Crawford!' he said. 'My dear, you must have used some charm to have -resisted her power; or has she lost her ancient cunning? Why, after a -voyage with Mrs. Crawford I have seen the most devoted daughters desert -their parents. When I heard that you were coming out with her I feared -you would allow yourself to be schooled by her into a sense of your -duty, but it seems you have been stubborn.' - -'She was everything that is kind to me, and I don't know what I should -have done without her,' said the girl. 'Only, I'll never forgive her -for not having awakened me to meet you this morning. But last night -I suppose she thought I was too nervous. I was afraid, you know, -lest--lest--but never mind, here we are together at home--for there is -the hill--yes, at home.' - -But when Daireen found herself in the room to which she had been shown -by the neat little handmaiden provided by Colonel Gerald, and had seated -herself in sight of a bright green cactus that occupied the centre of -the garden outside, she had much to think about. She just at this moment -realised that all her pleasant life aboard the steamer was at an end. -More than a touch of sadness was in her reflection, for she had come to -think of the good steamer as something more than a mere machine; it -had been a home to her for twenty-five days, and it had contained her -happiness and sorrow during that time as a home would have done. Then -how could she have parted from it an hour before with so little concern? -she asked herself. How could she have left it without shaking hands -with--with all those who had been by her side for many days on the good -old ship? Some she had said goodbye to, others she would see again on -the following day, but still there were some whom she had left the ship -without seeing--some who had been associated with her happiness during -part of the voyage, at any rate, and she might never see them again. The -reflection made her very sad, nor did the feeling pass off during the -rest of the day spent by her father's side. - -The day was very warm, and, as Daireens father was still weak, he did -not stray away from the house beyond the avenue of shady oaks leading -down to a little stream that moved sluggishly on its way a couple of -hundred yards from the garden. They had, of course, plenty to talk -about; for Colonel Gerald was somewhat anxious to hear how his friend -Standish had come out. He had expressed the happiness he felt on meeting -with the young man as soon as his daughter had said that he would go -out to wherever they were to live, but he thought it would increase his -satisfaction if his daughter would tell him how it came to pass that -this young man was unacquainted with any of the passengers. - -Daireen now gave him the entire history of Standish's quarrel with his -father, and declared that it was solely to obtain the advice of Colonel -Gerald he had made the voyage from Ireland. - -The girl's father laughed when he heard of this characteristic action -on the part of the young man; but he declared that it proved he meant -to work for himself in the world, and not be content to live upon -the traditions of The Mac-Dermots; and then he promised the girl that -something should be done for the son of the hereditary prince. - - - - -CHAPTER XXI. - - -```The nights are wholesome; - -```No fairy takes, nor witch hath power to charm, - -```So hallowed and so gracious is the time.= - -```What, has this thing appeared again to-night?--Hamlet.= - - -|WHEN evening came Daireen and her father sat out upon their chairs on -the stoëp in front of the house. The sun had for long been hidden by the -great peak, though to the rest of the world not under its shadow he had -only just sunk. The twilight was very different from the last she had -seen on land, when the mighty Slieve Docas had appeared in his purple -robe. Here the twilight was brief and darkly blue as it overhung the -arched aloes and those large palm plants whose broad leaves waved not -in the least breeze. Far in the mellow distance a large star was -glittering, and the only sound in the air was the shrill whistle of one -of the Cape field crickets. - -Then began the struggle between moonlight and darkness. The leaves of -the boughs that were clasped above the little river began to be softly -silvered as the influence of the rising light made itself apparent, and -then the highest ridges of the hill gave back a flash as the beams shot -through the air. - -These changes were felt by the girl sitting silently beside her -father--the changes of the twilight and of the moonlight, before the -full round shield of the orb appeared above the trees, and the white -beams fell around the broad floating leaves beneath her feet. - -'Are you tired, Dolly?' asked her father. - -'Not in the least, papa; it seems months since I was at sea.' - -'Then you will ride with me for my usual hour? I find it suits me better -to take an hour's exercise in the cool of the evening.' - -'Nothing could be lovelier on such an evening,' she cried. 'It will -complete our day's happiness.' - -She hastened to put on her habit while her father went round to the -stables to give directions to the groom regarding the saddling of a -certain little Arab which had been bought within the week. In a short -time Standish was left to gaze in admiration at the fine seat of the old -officer in his saddle, and in rapture at the delicately shaped figure of -the girl, as they trotted down the avenue between those strange trees. - -They disappeared among the great leaves; and when the sound of their -horses' hoofs had died away, Standish, sitting there upon the raised -ground in front of the house, had his own hour of thought. He felt that -he had hitherto not accomplished much in his career of labour. He had -had an idea that there were a good many of the elements of heroism in -joining as he did the vessel in which the girl was going abroad. Visions -of wrecks, of fires, of fallings overboard, nay of pirates even, had -floated before his mind, with himself as the only one near to save the -girl from each threatening calamity. He had heard of such things taking -place daily, and he was prepared to risk himself for her sake, and to -account himself happy if the chance of protecting her should occur. - -But so soon as he had been a few days at sea, and had found that such -a thing as danger was not even hinted at any more than it would be in -a drawing-room on shore--when in fact he saw how like a drawing-room on -shore was the quarter-deck of the steamer, he began to be disappointed. -Daireen was surrounded by friends who would, if there might chance to be -the least appearance of danger, resent his undertaking to save the girl -whom he loved with every thought of his soul. He would not, in fact, be -permitted to play the part of the hero that his imagination had marked -out for himself. - -Yes, he felt that the heroic elements in his position aboard the steamer -had somehow dwindled down to a minimum; and now here he had been so weak -as to allow himself to be induced to come out to live, even though only -for a short time, at this house. He felt that his acceptance of the -sisterly friendship of the girl was making it daily more impossible for -him to kneel at her feet, as he meant one day to do, and beg of her to -accept of some heroic work done on her behalf. - -'She is worthy of all that a man could do with all his soul,' Standish -cried as he stood there in the moonlight. But what can I do for her? -What can I do for her? Oh, I am the most miserable wretch in the whole -world!' - -This was not a very satisfactory conclusion for him to come to; but on -the whole it did not cause him much despondency. In his Irish nature -there were almost unlimited resources of hope, and it would have -required a large number of reverses of fortune to cast him down utterly. - -While he was trying in vain to make himself feel as miserable as he knew -his situation demanded him to be, Daireen and her father were riding -along the road that leads from Cape Town to the districts of Wynberg and -Constantia. They went along through the moonlight beneath the splendid -avenue of Australian oaks at the old Dutch district of Bondebosch, and -then they turned aside into a narrow lane of cactus and prickly pear -which brought them to that great sandy plain densely overgrown with -blossoming heath and gorse called The Mats, along which they galloped -for some miles. Turning their horses into the road once more, they then -walked them back towards their house at Mowbray. - -Daireen felt that she had never before so enjoyed a ride. All was so -strange. That hill whose peak was once again towering above them; that -long dark avenue with the myriads of fire-flies sparkling amongst the -branches; the moonlight that was flooding the world outside; and then -her companion, her father, whose face she had been dreaming over daily -and nightly. She had never before so enjoyed a ride. - -They had gone some distance through the oak avenue when they turned -their horses aside at the entrance to one of the large vineyards that -are planted in such neat lines up the sloping ground. - -'Well, Dolly, are you satisfied at last?' said Colonel Gerald, looking -into the girl's face that the moonlight was glorifying, though here and -there the shadow of a leaf fell upon her. - -'Satisfied! Oh, it is all like a dream,' she said. 'A strange dream of a -strange place. When I think that a month ago I was so different, I -feel inclined to--to--ask you to kiss me again, to make sure I am not -dreaming.' - -'If you are under the impression that you are a sleeping beauty, dear, -and that you can only be roused by that means, I have no objection.' - -'Now I am sure it is all reality,' she said with a little laugh. 'Oh, -papa, I am so happy. Could anything disturb our happiness?' - -Suddenly upon the dark avenue behind them there came the faint sound -of a horses hoof, and then of a song sung carelessly through the -darkness--one she had heard before. - -The singer was evidently approaching on horseback, for the last notes -were uttered just opposite where the girl and her father were standing -their horses behind the trees at the entrance to the vineyard. The -singer too seemed to have reined in at this point, though of course he -could not see either of the others, the branches were so close. Daireen -was mute while that air was being sung, and in another instant she -became aware of a horse being pushed between the trees a few yards from -her. There was only a small space to pass, so she and her father backed -their horses round and the motion made the stranger start, for he had -not perceived them before. - -'I beg you will not move on my account. I did not know there was anyone -here, or I should not have----' - -The light fell upon the girl's face, and her father saw the stranger -give another little start. - -'You need not make an apology to us, Mr. Markham,' said Daireen. 'We had -hidden ourselves, I know. Papa, this is Mr. Oswin Markham. How odd it is -that we should meet here upon the first evening of landing! The Cape is -a good deal larger than the quarterdeck of the "Cardwell Castle."' - -'You were a passenger, no doubt, aboard the steamer my daughter came out -in, Mr. Markham?' said Colonel Gerald. - -Mr. Markham laughed. - -'Upon my word I hardly know that I am entitled to call myself a -passenger,' he said. 'Can you define my position, Miss Gerald? it was -something very uncertain. I am a castaway--a waif that was picked up in -a half-drowned condition from a broken mast in the Atlantic, and -sheltered aboard the hospitable vessel.' - -'It is very rarely that a steamer is so fortunate as to save a life -in that way,' said Colonel Gerald. 'Sailing vessels have a much better -chance.' - -'To me it seems almost a miracle--a long chain of coincidences was -necessary for my rescue, and yet every link was perfect to the end.' - -'It is upon threads our lives are constantly hanging,' said the colonel, -backing his horse upon the avenue. 'Do you remain long in the colony, -Mr. Markham?' he asked when they were standing in a group at a place -where the moonlight broke through the branches. - -'I think I shall have to remain for some weeks,' he answered. 'Campion -tells me I must not think of going to England until the violence of the -winter there is past.' - -'Then we shall doubtless have the pleasure of meeting you frequently. -We have a cottage at Mowbray, where we would be delighted to see you. By -the way, Mrs. Crawford and a few of my other old friends are coming -out to dine with us to-morrow, my daughter and myself would be greatly -pleased if you could join us.' - -'You are exceedingly kind,' said Mr. Markham. 'I need scarcely say how -happy I will be.' - -'Our little circle on board the good old ship is not yet to be -dispersed, you see, Mr. Markham,' said Daireen with a laugh. 'For once -again, at any rate, we will be all together.' - -'For once again,' he repeated as he raised his hat, the girl's horse -and her father's having turned. 'For once again, till when goodbye, Miss -Gerald.' - -'Goodbye, Mr. Markham,' said the colonel. 'By the way, we dine early I -should have told you--half past six.' - -Markham watched them ride along the avenue and reappear in the moonlight -space beyond. Then he dropped the bridle on his horse's neck and -listlessly let the animal nibble at the leaves on the side of the -road for a long time. At last he seemed to start into consciousness of -everything. He gathered up the bridle and brought the horse back to the -avenue. - -'It is Fate or Providence or God this time,' he muttered as if for his -own satisfaction. 'I have had no part in the matter; I have not so much -as raised my hand for this, and yet it has come.' - -He walked his horse back to Cape Town in the moonlight. - -'I don't think you mentioned this Mr. Markham's name to me, Dolly,' said -Colonel Gerald as they returned to Mowbray. - -'I don't think I did, papa; but you see he had gone ashore when I came -on deck to you this morning, and I did not suppose we should ever meet -again.' - -'I hope you do not object to my asking him to dinner, dear?' - -'I object, papa? Oh, no, no; I never felt so glad at anything. He does -not talk affectedly like Mr. Glaston, nor cleverly like Mr. Harwood, so -I prefer him to either of them. And then, think of his being for a week -tossing about the Atlantic upon that wreck.' - -'All very good reasons for asking him to dine to-morrow,' said her -father. 'Now suppose we try a trot.' - -'I would rather walk if it is the same to you, papa,' she said. 'I don't -feel equal to another trot now.' - -'Why, surely, you have not allowed yourself to become tired, Daireen? -Yes, my dear, you look it. I should have remembered that you are just -off the sea. We will go gently home, and you will get a good sleep.' - -They did go very gently, and silently too, and in a short time Daireen -was lying on her bed, thinking not of the strange moonlight wonders of -her ride, but of that five minutes spent upon the avenue of Australian -oaks down which had echoed that song. - -It seemed that poor Mrs. Crawford was destined to have enigmas of the -most various sorts thrust upon her for her solution; at any rate she -regarded the presence of Mr. Oswin Markham at Colonel Crawford's little -dinner the next, evening as a question as puzzling as the mysterious -appearance of the young man called Standish MacDermot. She, however, -chatted with Mr. Markham as usual, and learned that he also was going to -a certain garden party which was to be held at Government House in a few -days. - -'And you will come too, Daireen?' she said. 'You must come, for Mr. -Glaston has been so good as to promise to exhibit in one of the rooms a -few of his pictures he spoke to us about. How kind of him, isn't it, to -try and educate the taste of the colony?' The bishop has not yet arrived -at the Cape, but Mr. Glaston says he will wait for him for a fortnight.' - -'For a fortnight? Such filial devotion will no doubt bring its own -reward,' said Mr. Harwood. - - - - -CHAPTER XXII. - - -`````Being remiss, - -```Most generous and free from all contriving. - -```A heart unfortified, - -```An understanding simple and unschooled.= - -```A violet in the youth of primy nature.= - -````O'tis most sweet - -```When in one line two crafts directly meet.= - -````Soft,--let me see:-- - -```We'll make a solemn wager on your cunnings.--_Hamlet._ - - -|THE band of the gallant Bayonetteers was making the calm air of -Government House gardens melodious with the strains of an entrancing -German valse not more than a year old, which had convulsed society at -Cape Town when introduced a few weeks previously; for society at Cape -Town, like society everywhere else, professes to understand everything -artistic, even to the delicacies of German dance music. The evening was -soft and sunny, while the effect of a very warm day drawing near its -close was to be seen everywhere around. The broad leaves of the feathery -plants were hanging dry and languid across the walks, and the grass was -becoming tawny as that on the Lion's Head--that strangely curved hill -beside Table Mountain. The giant aloes and plantains were, however, -defiant of the heat and spread their leaves out mightily as ever. - -The gardens are always charming in the southern spring, but never so -charming as when their avenues are crowded with coolly dressed girls of -moderate degrees of prettiness whose voices are dancing to the melody of -a German valse not more than a year old. How charming it is to discuss -all the absorbing colonial questions--such as how the beautiful Van -der Veldt is looking this evening; and if Miss Van Schmidt, whose papa -belongs to the Legislative Council and is consequently a voice in the -British Empire, has really carried out his threat of writing home to the -War Office to demand the dismissal of that young Mr. Westbury from the -corps of Royal Engineers on account of his conduct towards Miss Van -Schmidt; or perhaps a question of art, such as how the general's -daughters contrive to have Paris bonnets several days previous to the -arrival of the mail with the patterns; or a question of diplomacy, such -as whether His Excellency's private secretary will see his way to making -that proposal to the second eldest daughter of one of the Supreme Court -judges. There is no colony in the world so devoted to discussions of -this nature as the Cape, and in no part of the colony may a discussion -be carried out with more spirit than in the gardens around Government -House. - -But upon the afternoon of this garden party there was an unusual display -of colonial beauty and colonial young men--the two are never found in -conjunction--and English delicacy and Dutch _gaucherie_, for the spring -had been unusually damp, and this was the first garden party day that -was declared perfect. There were, of course, numbers of officers, the -military with their wives--such as had wives, and the naval with other -people's wives, each branch of the service grumbling at the other's luck -in this respect. And then there were sundry civil servants of exalted -rank--commissioners of newly founded districts, their wives and -daughters, and a brace of good colonial bishops also, with their -partners in their mission labours, none of whom objected to Waldteufel -or Gung'l. - -On the large lawn in front of the balcony at the Residence there was a -good deal of tennis being played, and upon the tables laid out on the -balcony there were a good many transactions in the way of brandy and -soda carried on by special commissioners and field officers, whose -prerogative it was to discuss the attitude of the belligerent Kafir -chief who, it was supposed, intended to give as much trouble as he could -without inconvenience to himself. And then from shady places all around -the avenues came the sounds of girlish laughter and the glimmer of -muslin. Behind this scene the great flat-faced, flat-roofed mountain -stood dark and bold, and through it all the band of the Bayonetteers -brayed out that inspiriting valse. - -Major Crawford was, in consequence of the importance of his mission to -the colony, pointed out to the semi-Dutch legislators, each of whom -had much to tell him on the burning boot question; and Mr. Harwood -was naturally enough, regarded with interest, for the sounds of the -'Dominant Trumpeter' go forth into all the ends of the earth. Mr. -Glaston, too, as son of the Metropolitan of the Salamander Archipelago, -was entitled to every token of respectful admiration, even if he had not -in the fulness of his heart allowed a few of his pictures to be hung -in one of the reception rooms. But perhaps Daireen Gerald had more eyes -fixed upon her than anyone in the gardens. - -Everyone knew that she was the daughter of Colonel Gerald who had -just been gazetted Governor-General of the new colony of the Castaway -Islands, but why she had come out to the Cape no one seemed to know -exactly. Many romances were related to account for her appearance, the -Cape Town people possessing almost unlimited resources in the way of -romance making; but as no pains were taken to bring about a coincidence -of stories, it was impossible to say who was in the right. - -She was dressed so perfectly according to Mr. Glaston's theories of -harmony that he could not refrain from congratulating her--or rather -commending her--upon her good taste, though it struck Daireen that there -was not much good taste in his commendation. He remained by her side for -some time lamenting the degradation of the colony in being shut out from -Art--the only world worth living in, as he said; then Daireen found -herself with some other people to whom she had been presented, and who -were anxious to present her to some relations. - -The girl's dress was looked at by most of the colonial young ladies, -and her figure was gazed at by all of the men, until it was generally -understood that to have made the acquaintance of Miss Gerald was a -happiness gained. - -'My dear George,' said Mrs. Crawford to Colonel Gerald when she -had contrived to draw him to her side at a secluded part of the -gardens,--'My dear George, she is far more of a success than even -I myself anticipated. Why, the darling child is the centre of all -attraction.' - -'Poor little Dolly! that is not a very dizzy point to reach at the Cape, -is it, Kate?' - -'Now don't be provoking, George. We all know well enough, of course, -that it is here the same as at any place else: the latest arrival has -the charm of novelty. But it is not so in Daireen's case. I can see at -once--and I am sure you will give me credit for some power of perception -in these things--that she has created a genuine impression. George, -you may depend on her receiving particular attention on all sides.' The -lady's voice lowered confidentially until her last sentence had in it -something of the tone of a revelation. - -'That will make the time pass in a rather lively way for Dolly,' said -George, pulling his long iron-grey moustache as he smiled thoughtfully, -looking into Mrs. Crawford's face. - -'Now, George, you must fully recognise the great responsibility resting -with you--I certainly feel how much devolves upon myself, being as I am, -her father's oldest friend in the colony, and having had the dear child -in my care during the voyage.' - -'Nothing could be stronger than your claims.' - -'Then is it not natural that I should feel anxious about her, George? -This is not India, you must remember.' - -'No, no,' said the colonel thoughtfully; 'it's not India.' He was trying -to grasp the exact thread of reasoning his old friend was using in her -argument. He could not at once see why the fact of Cape Town not being -situated in the Empire of Hindustan should cause one's responsible -duties to increase in severity. - -'You know what I mean, George. In India marriage is marriage, and a -certain good, no matter who is concerned in it. It is one's duty there -to get a girl married, and there is no blame to be attached to one if -everything doesn't turn out exactly as one could have wished.' - -'Ah, yes, exactly,' said the colonel, beginning to comprehend. 'But I -think you have not much to reproach yourself with, Kate; almost every -mail brought you out an instalment of the youth and beauty of home, and -I don't think that one ever missed fire--failed to go off, you know.' - -'Well, yes, I may say I was fortunate, George,' she replied, with a -smile of reflective satisfaction. 'But this is not India, George; we -must be very careful. I observed Daireen carefully on the voyage, and I -can safely say that the dear child has yet formed no attachment.' - -'Formed an attachment? You mean--oh Kate, the idea is too absurd,' said -Colonel Gerald. 'Why, she is a child--a baby.' - -'Of course all fathers think such things about their girls,' said the -lady with a pitying smile. 'They understand their boys well enough, and -take good care to make them begin to work not a day too late, but their -girls are all babies. Why, George, Daireen must be nearly twenty.' - -Colonel Gerald was thoughtful for some moments. 'So she is,' he said; -'but she is still quite a baby.' - -'Even so,' said the lady, 'a baby's tastes should be turned in the right -direction. By the way, I have been asked frequently who is this young -Mr. MacDermot who came out to you in such a peculiar fashion. People are -beginning to talk curiously about him.' - -'As people at the Cape do about everyone,' said the colonel. 'Poor -Standish might at least have escaped criticism.' - -'I scarcely think so, George, considering how he came out.' - -'Well, it was rather what people who do not understand us call an Irish -idea. Poor boy!' - -'Who is he, George?' 'The son of one of our oldest friends. The -friendship has existed between his family and mine for some hundreds of -years.' - -'Why did he come out to the Cape in that way?' - -'My dear Kate, how can I tell you everything?' said the puzzled colonel. -'You would not understand if I were to try and explain to you how -this Standish MacDermot's father is a genuine king, whose civil list -unfortunately does not provide for the travelling expenses of the -members of his family, so that the young man thought it well to set out -as he did.' 'I hope you are not imposing on me, George. Well, I must -be satisfied, I suppose. By the way, you have not yet been to the room -where Mr. Glaston's pictures are hung; we must not neglect to see them. -Mr. Glaston told me just now he thought Daireen's taste perfect.' - -'That was very kind of Mr. Glaston.' - -'If you knew him as I do, George--in fact as he is known in the most -exclusive drawing-rooms in London--you would understand how much his -commendation is worth,' said Mrs. Crawford. - -'I have no doubt of it. He must come out to us some evening to dinner. -For his father's sake I owe him some attention, if not for his remark to -you just now.' - -'I hope you may not forget to ask him,' said Mrs. Crawford. 'He is -a most remarkable young man. Of course he is envied by the less -accomplished, and you may hear contradictory reports about him. But, -believe me, he is looked upon in London as the leader of the most -fashionable--that is--the most--not most learned--no, the most artistic -set in town. Very exclusive they are, but they have done ever so much -good--designing dados, you know, and writing up the new pomegranate -cottage wall-paper.' - -'I am afraid that Mr. Glaston will find my Hutch cottage deficient in -these elements of decoration,' remarked the colonel. - -'I wanted to talk to you about him for a long time,' said Mrs. Crawford. -'Not knowing how you might regard the subject, I did not think it -well to give him too much encouragement on the voyage, George, so that -perhaps he may have thought me inclined to repel him, Daireen being in -my care; but I am sure that all may yet be well. Hush! who is it that -is laughing so loud? they are coming this way. Ah, Mr. Markham and -that little Lottie Vincent. Good gracious, how long that girl is in the -field, and how well she wears her age! Doesn't she look quite juvenile?' - -Colonel Gerald could not venture an answer before the young lady, who -was the eldest daughter of the deputy surgeon-general, tripped -up to Mrs. Crawford, and cried, clasping her four-button -strawberry-ice-coloured gloves over the elder lady's plump arm, -'Dear good Mrs. Crawford, I have come to you in despair to beg your -assistance. Promise me that you will do all you can to help me.' 'If -your case is so bad, Lottie, I suppose I must. But what am I to do?' - -'You are to make Mr. Markham promise that he will take part in our -theatricals next month. He can act--I know he can act like Irving or -Salvini or Terry or Mr. Bancroft or some of the others, and yet he will -not promise to take any part. Could anything be more cruel?' - -'Nothing, unless I were to take some part,' said Mr. Markham, laughing. - -'Hush, sir,' cried the young lady, stamping her Pinet shoe upon -the ground, and taking care in the action to show what a remarkably -well-formed foot she possessed. - -'It is cruel of you to refuse a request so offered, Mr. Markham,' said -Mrs. Crawford. 'Pray allow yourself to be made amenable to reason, and -make Miss Vincent happy for one evening.' - -'Since you put it as a matter of reason, Mrs. Crawford, there is, I -fear, no escape for me,' said Mr. Markham. - -'Didn't I talk to you about reason, sir?' cried the young lady in very -pretty mock anger. - -'You talked _about_ it,' said Markham, 'just as we walked about that -centre bed of cactus, we didn't once touch upon it, you know. You talk -very well about a subject, Miss Vincent.' - -'Was there ever such impertinence? Mrs. Crawford, isn't it dreadful? But -we have secured him for our cast, and that is enough. You will take a -dozen tickets of course, Colonel Gerald?' - -'I can confidently say the object is most worthy,' said Markham. - -'And he doesn't know what it is yet,' said Lottie. - -'That's why I can confidently recommend it.' - -'Now do give me five minutes with Colonel Gerald, like a good dear,' -cried the young lady to Mrs. Crawford! 'I must persuade him.' - -'We are going to see Mr. Glaston's pictures,' replied Mrs. Crawford. - -'How delightful! That is what I have been so anxious to do all the -afternoon: one feels so delightfully artistic, you know, talking about -pictures; and people think one knows all about them. Do let us go with -you, Mrs. Crawford. I can talk to Colonel Gerald while you go on with -Mr. Markham.' - -'You are a sad little puss,' said Mrs. Crawford, shaking her finger at -the artless and ingenuous maiden; and as she walked on with Mr. Markham -she could not help remembering how this little puss had caused herself -to be pretty hardly spoken about some ten years before at the Arradambad -station in the Himalayahs. - -How well she was wearing her age to be sure, Mrs. Crawford thought. -It is not many young ladies who, after ten years' campaigning, can -be called sad little pusses; but Miss Vincent still looked quite -juvenile--in fact, _plus Arabe qu'en Arabie_--more juvenile than a -juvenile. Everyone knew her and talked of her in various degrees of -familiarity; it was generally understood that an acquaintanceship of -twenty-four hours' duration was sufficient to entitle any field officer -to call her by the abbreviated form of her first name, while a week was -the space allowed to subalterns. - - -END OF THE FIRST VOLUME. - - - - -CHAPTER XXIII. - - -```I have heard of your paintings too.= - -``_Hamlet_. His form and cause conjoined, preaching to stones, - -```Would make them capable. Do not look upon me, - -```Lest... what I have to do - -```Will want true colour.... - -````Do you see nothing there?= - -``_Queen_. No, nothing but ourselves.= - -``_Hamlet_. Why, look you there... - -```Look, where he goes, even now, out at the portal. - -`````_Hamlet._= - - -|I AM so glad to be beside some one who can tell me all I want to know' -said Lottie, looking up to Colonel Gerald's bronzed face when Mrs. -Crawford and Markham had walked on. - -'My dear Lottie, you know very well that you know as much as I do,' he -answered, smiling down at her. - -'Oh, Colonel Gerald, how can you say such a thing?' she cried -innocently. 'You know I am always getting into scrapes through my -simplicity.' - -'You have managed to get out of a good many in your time, my dear. Is it -by the same means you got out of them, Lottie-your simplicity?' - -'Oh, you are as amusing as ever,' laughed the young thing. 'But you must -not be hard upon poor little me, now that I want to ask you so much. -Will you tell me, like a dear good colonel--I know you can if you -choose--what is the mystery about this Mr. Markham?' - -'Mystery? I don't hear of any mystery about him.' - -'Why, all your friends came out in the some steamer as he did. They must -have told you. Everybody here is talking about him. That's why I want -him for our theatricals: everyone will come to see him.' - -'Well, if the mystery, whatever it may be, remains unrevealed up to the -night of the performance, you will have a house all the more crowded.' - -'But I want to know all about it for myself. Is it really true that he -had fallen overboard from another ship, and was picked up after being -several weeks at sea?' - -'You would be justified in calling that a mystery, at any rate,' said -Colonel Gerald. - -'That is what some people here are saying, I can assure you,' she cried -quickly. 'Others say that he was merely taken aboard the steamer at St. -Helena, after having been wrecked; but that is far too unromantic.' - -'Oh, yes, far too unromantic.' - -'Then you do know the truth? Oh, please tell it to me. I have always -said I was sure it was true that a girl on the steamer saw him floating -on the horizon with an unusually powerful pilot-glass.' - -'Rather mysterious for a fellow to be floating about on the horizon with -a pilot-glass, Lottie.' - -'What a shame to make fun of me, especially as our performance is in -the cause of charity, and I want Mr. Markham's name to be the particular -attraction! Do tell me if he was picked up at sea.' - -'I believe he was.' - -'How really lovely! Floating about on a wreck and only restored after -great difficulty! Our room should be filled to the doors. But what I -can't understand, Colonel Gerald, is where he gets the money he lives -on here. He could not have had much with him when he was picked up. But -people say he is very rich.' - -'Then no doubt people have been well informed, my dear. But all I know -is that this Mr. Markham was on his way from New Zealand, or perhaps -Australia, and his vessel having foundered, he was picked up by the -"Cardwell Castle" and brought to the Cape. He had a note for a few -hundred pounds in his pocket which he told me he got cashed here without -any difficulty, and he is going to England in a short time. Here we are -at the room where these pictures are said to be hanging. Be sure you -keep up the mystery, Lottie.' - -'Ah, you have had your little chat, I hope,' said Mrs. Crawford, waiting -at the door of Government House until Colonel Gerald and Lottie had come -up. - -'A delightful little chat, as all mine with Colonel Gerald are,' said -Lottie, passing over to Mr. Markham. 'Are you going inside to see the -pictures, Mrs. Crawford?' - -'Not just yet, my dear; we must find Miss Gerald,' said Mrs. Crawford, -who had no particular wish to remain in close attachment to Miss Vincent -for the rest of the evening. - -'Mr. Markham and I are going in,' said Lottie. 'I do so dote upon -pictures, and Mr. Markham can explain them I know; so _au revoir_.' - -She kissed the dainty tips of her gloves and passed up to the small -piazza at the House, near where Major Crawford and some of the old -Indians were sitting drinking their brandy and soda and revolving many -memories. - -'Let us not go in for a while, Mr. Markham,' she said. 'Let us stay here -and watch them all. Isn't it delightfully cool here? How tell me all -that that dreadful old Mrs. Crawford was saying to you about me.' - -'Upon my word,' said Markham smiling, 'it _is_ delightfully cool up -here.' - -'I know she said ever so much; she does so about everyone who has at any -time run against her and her designs. She's always designing.' - -'And you ran against her, you think?' - -'Of course I did,' cried Lottie, turning round and giving an almost -indignant look at the man beside her. 'And she has been saying nasty -things about me ever since; only of course they have never injured me, -as people get to understand her in a very short time. But what did she -say just now?' - -'Nothing, I can assure you, that was not very much in favour of the -theatrical idea I have just promised to work out with you, Miss Vincent: -she told me you were a--a capital actress.' - -'She said that, did she? Spiteful old creature! Just see how she is all -smiles and friendliness to Mr. Harwood because she thinks he will say -something about her husband's appointment and the satisfaction it is -giving in the colony in his next letter to the "Trumpeter." That is -Colonel Gerald's daughter with them now, is it not?' - -'Yes, that is Miss Gerald,' answered Markham, looking across the lawn -to where Daireen was standing with Mr. Harwood and some of the -tennis-players as Mrs. Crawford and her companion came up with Mr. -Glaston, whom they had discovered and of whom the lady had taken -possession. The girl was standing beneath the broad leaf of a plantain -with the red sunlight falling behind her and lighting up the deep ravine -of the mountain beyond. Oswin thought he had never before seen her look -so girlishly lovely. - -'How people here do run after every novelty!' remarked Miss Vincent, who -was certainly aware that she herself was by no means a novelty. 'Just -because they never happen to have seen that girl before, they mob her -to death. Isn't it too bad? What extremes they go to in their delight at -having found something new! I actually heard a gentleman say to-day that -he thought Miss Geralds face perfect. Could anything be more absurd, -when one has only to see her complexion to know that it is extremely -defective, while her nose is--are you going in to the pictures so soon?' - -'Well, I think so,' said Markham. 'If we don't see them now it will be -too dark presently.' - -'Why, I had no idea you were such a devotee of Art,' she cried. 'Just -let me speak to papa for a moment and I will submit myself to your -guidance.' And she tripped away to where the surgeon-general was smoking -among the old Indians. - -Oswin Markham waited at the side of the balcony, and then Mrs. Crawford -with her entire party came up, Mr. Glaston following with Daireen, who -said, just as she was beside Mr. Markham, 'We are all going to view the -pictures, Mr. Markham; won't you join us?' - -'I am only waiting for Miss Vincent,' he answered. Then Daireen and her -companion passed into the room containing the four works meant to be -illustrative of that perfect conception of a subject, and of the only -true method of its treatment, which were the characteristics assigned -to themselves by a certain section of painters with whom Mr. Glaston -enjoyed communion. - -The pictures had, by Mr. Glaston's direction, been hung in what would -strike an uncultured mind as being an eccentric fashion. But, of course, -there was a method in it. Each painting was placed obliquely at a -window; the natural view which was to be obtained at a glance outside -being supposed to have a powerful influence upon the mind of a spectator -in preparing him to receive the delicate symbolism of each work. - -'One of our theories is, that a painting is not merely an imitation of -a part of nature, but that it becomes, if perfectly worked out in its -symbolism, a pure creation of Nature herself,' said Mr. Glaston airily, -as he condescended to explain his method of arrangement to his immediate -circle. There were only a few people in the room when Mrs. Crawford's -party entered. Mr. Glaston knew, of course, that Harwood was there, -but he felt that he could, with these pictures about him, defy all the -criticism of the opposing school. - -'It is a beautiful idea,' said Mrs. Crawford; 'is it not, Colonel -Gerald?' - -'Capital idea,' said the colonel. - -'Rubbish!' whispered Harwood to Markham, who entered at this moment with -Lottie Vincent. - -'The absurdity--the wickedness--of hanging pictures in the popular -fashion is apparent to every thoughtful mind,' said the prophet of Art. -'Putting pictures of different subjects in a row and asking the public -to admire them is something too terrible to think about. It is the act -of a nation of barbarians. To hold a concert and perform at the same -instant selections from Verdi, Wagner, Liszt, and the Oxford music-hall -would be as consistent with the principles of Art as these Gallery -exhibitions of pictures.' - -'How delightful!' cried Lottie, lifting up her four-buttoned gloves in -true enthusiasm. 'I have often thought exactly what he says, only I have -never had courage to express myself.' - -'It needs a good deal of courage,' remarked Harwood. - -'What a pity it is that people will continue to be stupid!' said Mrs. -Crawford. 'For my own part, I will never enter an Academy exhibition -again. I am ashamed to confess that I have never missed a season when I -had the chance, but now I see the folly of it all. What a lovely scene -that is in the small black frame! Is it not, Daireen?' - -'Ah, you perceive the Idea?' said Mr. Glaston as the girl and Mrs. -Crawford stood before a small picture of a man and a woman in a -pomegranate grove in a grey light, the man being in the act of plucking -the fruit. 'You understand, of course, the symbolism of the pomegranate -and the early dawn-light among the boughs?' - -'It is a darling picture,'said Lottie effusively. - -'I never saw such carelessness in drawing before,' said Harwood so soon -as Mr. Glaston and his friends had passed on to another work. - -'The colour is pretty fair, but the drawing is ruffianly.' - -'Ah, you terrible critic!' cried Lottie. - -'You spoil one's enjoyment of the pictures. But I quite agree with you; -they are fearful daubs,' she added in a whisper. 'Let us stay here and -listen to the gushing of that absurd old woman; we need not be in the -back row in looking at that wonderful work they are crowding about.' - -'I am not particularly anxious to stand either in the front or the -second row,' said Harwood. 'The pavement in the picture is simply an -atrocity. I saw the thing before.' - -So Harwood, Lottie, and Markham stood together at one of the open -windows, through which were borne the brazen strains of the distant -band, and the faint sounds of the laughter of the lawn-tennis players, -and the growls of the old Indians on the balcony. Daireen and the rest -of the party had gone to the furthest window from which at an oblique -angle one of the pictures was placed. Miss Vincent and Harwood soon -found themselves chatting briskly; but Markham stood leaning against the -wall behind them, with his eyes fixed upon Daireen, who was looking in -a puzzled way at the picture. Markham wondered what was the element that -called for this puzzled--almost troubled expression upon her face, but -he could not see anything of the work. - -'How very fine, is it not, George?' said Mrs. Crawford to Colonel Gerald -as they stood back to gaze upon the painting. - -'I think I'll go out and have a smoke,' replied the colonel smiling. - -Mrs. Crawford cast a reproachful glance towards him as he turned away, -but Mr. Glaston seemed oblivious to every remark. - -'Is it not wonderful, Daireen?' whispered Mrs. Crawford to the girl. - -'Yes,' said Daireen, 'I think it is--wonderful,' and the expression upon -her face became more troubled still. - -The picture was composed of a single figure--a half-naked, dark-skinned -female with large limbs and wild black hair. She was standing in a -high-roofed oriental kiosk upon a faintly coloured pavement, gazing -with fierce eyes upon a decoration of the wall, representing a battle -in which elephants and dromedaries were taking part. Through one of -the arched windows of the building a purple hill with a touch of sunset -crimson upon its ridge was seen, while the Evening Star blazed through -the dark blue of the higher heaven. - -Daireen looked into the picture, and when she saw the wild face of the -woman she gave a shudder, though she scarcely knew why. - -'All but the face,' she said. 'It is too terrible--there is nothing of a -woman about it.' - -'My dear child, that is the chief wonder of the picture,' said Mr. -Glaston. 'You recognise the subject, of course?' - -'It might be Cleopatra,' said Daireen dubiously. - -'Oh, hush, hush! never think of such a thing again,' said Mr. Glaston -with an expression that would have meant horror if it had not been -tempered with pity. 'Cleopatra is vulgar--vulgar--popular. That is -Aholibah.' - -'You remember, of course, my dear,' said Mrs. Crawford; 'she is a young -woman in the Bible--one of the old parts--Daniel or Job or Hezekiah, you -know. She was a Jewess or an Egyptian or something of that sort, like -Judith, the young person who drove a nail into somebody's brain--they -were always doing disagreeable things in those days. I can't recollect -exactly what this dreadful creature did, but I think it was somehow -connected with the head of John the Baptist.' - -'Oh, no, no,' said Daireen, still keeping her eyes fixed upon the face -of the figure as though it had fascinated her. - -'Aholibah the painter has called it,' said - -Mr. Glaston. 'But it is the symbolism of the picture that is most -valuable. Wonderful thought that is of the star--Astarte, you know ---shedding the light by which the woman views the picture of one of her -lovers.' - -'Oh!' exclaimed Mrs. Crawford in a shocked way, forgetting for the -moment that they were talking on Art. Then she recollected herself and -added apologetically, 'They were dreadful young women, you know, dear.' - -'Marvellous passion there is in that face,' continued the young man. -'It contains a lifetime of thought--of suffering. It is a poem--it is a -precious composition of intricate harmonies.' - -'Intricate! I should think it is,' said Harwood to Lottie, in the -distant window. - -'Hush!' cried the girl, 'the high-priest is beginning to speak.' - -'The picture is perhaps the only one in existence that may be said to be -the direct result of the three arts as they are termed, though we prefer -to think that there is not the least distinction between the methods of -painting, poetry, and music,' said Mr. Glaston. 'I chanced to drop in to -the studio of my friend who painted this, and I found him in a sad state -of despondency. He had nearly all of the details of the picture filled -in; the figure was as perfect as it is at present--all except the -expression of the face. "I have been thinking about it for days," -said the poor fellow, and I could see that his face was haggard with -suffering; "but only now and again has the expression I want passed -across my mind, and I have been unable to catch it." I looked at the -unfinished picture,' continued Mr. Glaston, 'and I saw what he wanted. -I stood before the picture in silence for some time, and then I composed -and repeated a sonnet which I fancied contained the missing expression -of passion. He sprang up and seized my hand, and his face brightened -with happiness: I had given him the absent idea, and I left him painting -enthusiastically. A few days after, however, I got a line from him -entreating me to come to him. I was by his side in an hour, and I found -him in his former state of despondency. "It has passed away again," -he said, "and I want you to repeat your sonnet." Unfortunately I had -forgotten every line of the sonnet, and when I told him so he was in -agony. But I begged of him not to despair. I brought the picture and -placed it before me on a piano. I looked at it and composed an impromptu -that I thought suggested the exact passion he wanted for the face. The -painter stood listening with his head bowed down to his hands. When I -ended he caught up the picture. "I see it all clearly," he cried; "you -have saved me--you have saved the picture." Two days afterwards he sent -it to me finished as it is now.' - -'Wonderful! is it not, Daireen?' said Mrs. Crawford, as the girl turned -away after a little pause. - -'The face,' said Daireen gently; 'I don't want ever to see it again. Let -us look at something else.' - -They turned away to the next picture; but Markham, who had been -observing the girl's face, and had noticed that little shudder come over -her, felt strangely interested in the painting, whatever it might be, -that had produced such an impression upon her. He determined to go -unobserved over to the window where the work was hanging so soon as -everyone would have left it. - -'It requires real cleverness to compose such a story as that of Mr. -Glaston's,' said Lottie Vincent to Mr. Harwood. - -'It sounded to me all along like a clever bit of satire, and I daresay -it was told to him as such,' said Harwood. 'It only needed him to -complete the nonsense by introducing another of the fine arts in the -working out of that wonderfully volatile expression.' - -'Which is that?' said Lottie; 'do tell me, like a good fellow,' and she -laid the persuasive finger of a four-buttoned glove upon his arm. - -'Certainly. I will finish the story for you,' said Harwood, giving the -least little imitation of the lordly manner of Mr. Glaston. 'Yes, -my friend the painter sent a telegram to me a few years after I had -performed that impromptu, and I was by his side in an hour. I found him -at least twenty years older in appearance, and he was searching with -a lighted candle in every corner of the studio for that expression of -passion which had once more disappeared. - -What could I do? I had exhausted the auxiliaries of poetry and music, -but fortunately another art remained to me; you have heard of the poetry -of motion? In an instant I had mounted the table and had gone through a -breakdown of the most æsthetic design, when I saw his face lighten--his -grey hairs turned once more to black--long artistic oily black. "I have -found it," he cried, seizing the hearthbrush and dipping it into the -paint just as I completed the final attitude: it was found--but--what -is the matter, Miss Vincent?' - -'Look!' she whispered. 'Look at Mr. Markham.' - -'Good heavens!' cried Harwood, starting up, 'is he going to fall? No, he -has steadied himself by the window. I thought he was beside us.' - -'He went over to the picture a second ago, and I saw that pallor come -over him,' said Lottie. - -Harwood hastened to where Oswin Markham was standing, his white face -turned away from the picture, and his hand clutching the rail of a -curtain. - -'What is the matter, Markham?' said Harwood quietly. 'Are you faint?' - -Markham turned his eyes upon him with a startled expression, and a smile -that was not a smile came upon his face. - -'Faint? yes,' he said. 'This room after the air. I'll be all right. -Don't make a scene, for God's sake.' - -'There is no need,' said Harwood. 'Sit down here, and I'll get you a -glass of brandy.' - -'Not here,' said Markham, giving the least little side glance towards -the picture. 'Not here, but at the open window.' - -Harwood helped him over to the open window, and he fell into a seat -beside it and gazed out at the lawn-tennis players, quite regardless of -Lottie Vincent standing beside him and enquiring how he felt. - -In a few minutes Harwood returned with some brandy in a glass. - -'Thanks, my dear fellow,' said the other, drinking it off eagerly. 'I -feel better now--all right, in fact.' - -'This, of course, you perceive,' came the voice of Mr. Glaston from the -group who were engrossed over the wonders of the final picture,--'This -is an exquisite example of a powerful mind endeavouring to subdue the -agony of memory. Observe the symbolism of the grapes and vine leaves.' - -In the warm sunset light outside the band played on, and Miss Vincent -flitted from group to group with the news that this Mr. Markham had -added to the romance which was already associated with his name, by -fainting in the room with the pictures. She was considerably surprised -and mortified to see him walking with Miss Gerald to the colonel's -carriage in half an hour afterwards. - -'I assure you,' she said to some one who was laughing at her,--'I -assure you I saw him fall against the window at the side of one of the -pictures. If he was not in earnest, he will make our theatricals a great -success, for he must be a splendid actor.' - - - - -CHAPTER XXIV. - - -````Rightly to be great - -```Is not to stir without great argument.= - -````So much was our love - -```We would not understand what was most fit.= - -```She is so conjunctive to my life and soul - -```That, as the star moves not but in his sphere, - -```I could not but by her.= - -```How should I your true love know - -````From another one?--_Hamlet_.= - - -|ALL was not well with Mr. Standish MacDermot in these days. He was -still a guest at that pleasant little Dutch cottage of Colonel Gerald's -at Mowbray, and he received invitations daily to wherever Daireen -and her father were going. This was certainly all that he could have -expected to make him feel at ease in the strange land; but somehow he -did not feel at ease. He made himself extremely pleasant everywhere he -went, and he was soon a general favourite, though perhaps the few words -Mrs. Crawford now and again let fall on the subject of his parentage had -as large an influence as his own natural charm of manner in making the -young Irishman popular. Ireland was a curious place most of the people -at the Cape thought. They had heard of its rebellions and of its -secret societies, and they had thus formed an idea that the island was -something like a British colony of which the aborigines had hardly been -subdued. The impression that Standish was the son of one of the kings of -the land, who, like the Indian maharajahs, they believed, were allowed -a certain revenue and had their titles acknowledged by the British -Government, was very general; and Standish had certainly nothing -to complain of as to his treatment. But still all was not well with -Standish. - -He had received a letter from his father a week after his arrival -imploring him to return to the land of his sires, for The MacDermot -had learned from the ancient bard O'Brian, in whom the young man had -confided, that Standish's destination was the Cape, and so he had been -able to write to some address. The MacDermot promised to extend his -forgiveness to his son, and to withdraw his threat of disinheritance, if -he would return; and he concluded his letter by drawing a picture of -the desolation of the neighbourhood owing to the English projectors of -a railway and a tourists' hotel having sent a number of surveyors to -the very woods of Innishdermot to measure and plan and form all sorts of -evil intentions about the region. Under these trying circumstances, The -Mac-Dermot implored his son to grant him the consolation of his society -once more. What was still more surprising to Standish was the enclosure -in the letter of an order for a considerable sum of money, for he -fancied that his father had previously exhausted every available system -of leverage for the raising of money. - -But though it was very sad for Standish to hear of the old man sitting -desolate beside the lonely hearth of Innishdermot castle, he made up his -mind not to return to his home. He had set out to work in the world, and -he would work, he said. He would break loose from this pleasant life -he was at present leading, and he would work. Every night he made this -resolution, though as yet the concrete form of the thought as to what -sort of work he meant to set about had not suggested itself. He would -work nobly and manfully for her, he swore, and he would never tell her -of his love until he could lay his work at her feet and tell her that it -had been done all for her. Meantime he had gone to that garden party at -Government House and to several other entertainments, while nearly every -day he had been riding by the side of Daireen over The Flats or along -the beautiful road to Wynberg. - -And all the time that Standish was resolving not to open his lips in an -endeavour to express to Daireen all that was in his heart, another man -was beginning to feel that it would be necessary to take some step to -reveal himself to the girl. Arthur Harwood had been analyzing his own -heart every day since he had gazed out to the far still ocean from the -mountain above Funchal with Daireen beside him, and now he fancied he -knew every thought that was in his heart. - -He knew that he had been obliged to deny himself in his youth the luxury -of love. He had been working himself up to his present position by his -own industry and the use of the brains that he felt must be his capital -in life, and he knew he dared not even think of falling in love. But, -when he had passed the age of thirty and had made a name and a place for -himself in the world, he was aware that he might let his affections -go fetterless; but, alas, it seemed that they had been for too long in -slavery: they refused to taste the sweets of freedom, and it appeared -that his nature had become hard and unsympathetic. But it was neither, -he knew in his own soul, only he had been standing out of the world of -softness and of sympathy, and had built up for himself unconsciously an -ideal whose elements were various and indefinable, his imagination only -making it a necessity that not one of these elements of his ideal should -be possible to be found in the nature of any of the women with whom he -was acquainted and whom he had studied. - -When he had come to know Daireen Gerald--and he fancied he had come to -know her--he felt that he was no longer shut out from the world of love -with his cold ideal. He had thought of her day by day aboard the steamer -as he had thought of no girl hitherto in his life, and he had waited -for her to think of him and to become conscious that he loved her. -Considering that one of the most important elements of his vague ideal -was a complete and absolute unconsciousness of any passion, it was -scarcely consistent for him now to expect that Daireen should ever -perceive the feeling of his secret heart. - -He had, however, made up his mind to remain at the Cape instead of going -on to the Castaway Islands; and he had written long and interesting -letters to the newspaper which he represented, on the subject of the -attitude of the Kafir chief who, he heard, had been taking an attitude. -Then he had had several opportunities of riding the horse that Colonel -Gerald had placed at his disposal; but though he had walked and -conversed frequently with the daughter of Colonel Gerald, he felt that -it would be necessary for him to speak more directly what he at least -fancied was in his heart; so that while poor Standish was swearing every -night to keep his secret, Mr. Harwood was thinking by what means he -could contrive to reveal himself and find out what were the girl's -feelings with regard to himself. - -In the firmness of his resolution Standish was one afternoon, a few days -after the garden party, by the side of Daireen on the furthest extremity -of The Flats, where there was a small wood of pines growing in a sandy -soil of a glittering whiteness. They pulled up their horses here amongst -the trees, and Daireen looked out at the white plain beyond; but poor -Standish could only gaze upon her wistful face. - -'I like it,' she said musingly. 'I like that snow. Don't you think it is -snow, Standish?' - -'It is exactly the same,' he answered. 'I can feel a chill pass over me -as I look upon it. I hate it.' - -'Oh!' cried the girl, 'don't say that when I have said I like it.' - -'Why should that matter?' he said sternly, for he was feeling his -resolution very strong within him. - -She laughed. 'Why, indeed? Well, hate it as much as you wish, Standish, -it won't interfere with my loving it, and thinking of how I used to -enjoy the white winters at home. Then, you know, I used to be thinking -of places like this--places with plants like those aloes that the sun is -glittering over.' - -'And why I hate it,' said Standish, 'is because it puts me in mind of -the many wretched winters I spent in the miserable idleness of my -home. While others were allowed some chance of making their way in the -world--making names for themselves--there was I shut up in that gaol. -I have lost every chance I might have had--everyone is before me in the -race.' - -'In what race, Standish? In the race for fame?' - -'Yes, for fame,' cried Standish; 'not that I value fame for its own -sake,' he added. 'No, I don't covet it, except that--Daireen, I think -there is nothing left for me in the world--I am shut out from every -chance of reaching anything. I was wretched at home, but I feel even -more wretched here.' - -'Why should you do that, Standish?' she asked, turning her eyes upon -him. 'I am sure everyone here is very kind.' - -'I don't want their kindness, Daireen; it is their kindness that makes -me feel an impostor. What right have I to receive their kindness? Yes, I -had better take my father's advice and return by next mail. I am useless -in the world--it doesn't want me.' - -'Don't talk so stupidly--so wickedly,' said the girl gravely. 'You are -not a coward to set out in the world and turn back discouraged even -before you have got anything to discourage you.' - -'I am no coward,' he said; 'but everything has been too hard for me. I -am a fool--a wretched fool to have set my heart--my soul, upon an object -I can never reach.' - -'What do you mean, Standish? You haven't set your heart upon anything -that you may not gain in time. You will, I know, if you have courage, -gain a good and noble name for yourself.' - -'Of what use would it be to me, Daireen? It would only be a mockery to -me--a bitter mockery unless--Oh, Daireen, it must come, you have forced -it from me--I will tell you and then leave you for ever--Daireen, I -don't care for anything in the world but to have you love me--a little, -Daireen. What would a great name be to me unless----' - -'Hush, Standish,' said the girl with her face flushed and almost angry. -'Do not ever speak to me like this again. Why should all our good -friendship come to an end?' She had softened towards the close of her -sentence, and she was now looking at him in tenderness. - -'You have forced me to speak,' he said. 'God knows how I have struggled -to hold my secret deep down in my heart--how I have sworn to hold it, -but it forced itself out--we are not masters of ourselves, Daireen. Now -tell me to leave you--I am prepared for it, for my dream, I knew, was -bound to vanish at a touch.' - -'Considering that I am four miles from home and in a wood, I cannot -tell you to do that,' she said with a laugh, for all her anger had been -driven away. 'Besides that, I like you far too well to turn you away; -but, Standish, you must never talk so to me again. Now, let us return.' - -'I know I must not, because I am a beggar,' he said almost madly. 'You -will love some one who has had a chance of making a name for himself in -the world. I have had no chance.' - -'Standish, I am waiting for you to return.' - -'Yes, I have seen them sitting beside you aboard the steamer,' continued -Standish bitterly, 'and I knew well how it would be.' He looked at her -almost fiercely. 'Yes, I knew it--you have loved one of them.' - -Daireen's face flushed fearfully and then became deathly pale as she -looked at him. She did not utter a word, but looked into his face -steadily with an expression he had never before seen upon hers. He -became frightened. - -'Daireen--dearest Daireen, forgive me,' he cried. I am a fool--no, -worse--I don't know what I say. Daireen, pity me and forgive me. Don't -look at me that way, for God's sake. Speak to me.' - -'Come away,' she said gently. 'Come away, Standish.' - -'But tell me you forgive me, Daireen,' he pleaded. - -'Come away,' she said. - -She turned her horse's head towards the track which was made through -that fine white sand and went on from amongst the pines. He followed her -with a troubled mind, and they rode side by side over the long flats -of heath until they had almost reached the lane of cactus leading to -Mowbray. In a few minutes they would be at the Dutch cottage, and yet -they had not interchanged a word. Standish could not endure the silence -any longer. He pulled up his horse suddenly. - -'Daireen,' he said. 'I have been a fool--a wicked fool, to talk to you -as I did. I cannot go on until you say you forgive me.' - -Then she turned round and smiled on him, holding out her hand. - -'We are very foolish, Standish,' she said. 'We are both very foolish. -Why should I think anything of what you said? We are still good friends, -Standish.' - -'God bless you!' he cried, seizing her hand fervently. 'I will not make -myself a fool again.' 'And I,' said the girl, 'I will not be a fool -again.' - -So they rode back together. But though Standish had received forgiveness -he was by no means satisfied with the girl's manner. There was an -expression that he could not easily read in that smile she had given -him. He had meant to be very bitter towards her, but had not expected -her to place him in a position requiring forgiveness. She had forgiven -him, it was true, but then that smile of hers--what was that sad wistful -expression upon her face? He could not tell, but he felt that on the -whole he had not gained much by the resolutions he had made night -after night. He was inclined to be dissatisfied with the result of his -morning's ride, nor was this feeling perceptibly decreased by seeing -beneath one of the broad-leaved trees that surrounded the cottage the -figure of Mr. Arthur Harwood by the side of Colonel Gerald. - -Harwood came forward as Daireen reined up on the avenue. - -'I have come to say good-bye to you,' he said, looking up to her face. - -'Good-bye?' she answered. 'Why, you haven't said good-morning yet.' - -Mr. Harwood was a clever man and he knew it; but his faculty for reading -what was passing in another person's mind did not bring him happiness -always. He had made use of what he meant to be a test sentence to -Daireen, and the result of his observation of its effect was not wholly -pleasant to him. He had hoped for a little flush--a little trembling of -the hand, but neither had come; a smile was on her face, and the pulses -of the hand she held out to him were unruffled. He knew then that the -time had not yet come for him to reveal himself. - -But why should you say good-bye?' she asked after she had greeted him. - -'Well, perhaps I should only say _au revoir_, though, upon my word, the -state of the colony is becoming so critical that one going up country -should always say good-bye. Yes, my duties call me to leave all this -pleasant society, Miss Gerald. I am going among the Zulus for a while.' - -'I have every confidence in you, Mr. Harwood,' she said. 'You will -return in safety. We will miss you greatly, but I know how much the -people at home will be benefited by hearing the result of your visit; so -we resign ourselves to your absence. But indeed we shall miss you.' - -'And if a treacherous assegai should transfix me, I trust my fate will -draw a single tear,' he said. - -There was a laugh as Daireen rode round to dismount and Harwood went -in to lunch. It was very pleasant chat he felt, but he was as much -dissatisfied with her laugh as Standish had been with her smile. - - - - -CHAPTER XXV. - - -```Sure, He that made us with such large discourse, - -```Looking before and after, gave us not - -```That capability and godlike reason - -```To fust in us unused.= - -`````Yet do I believe - -```The origin and commencement of his grief - -```Sprung from neglected love.= - -````... he repulsed--a short tale to make-- - -```Fell into a sadness, then into a fast, - -```Thence to a watch, thence into a weakness, - -```Thence to a lightness; and by this declension - -```Into the madness.--_Hamlet._= - - -|THE very pleasantness of the lunch Harwood had at the Dutch cottage -made his visit seem more unsatisfactory to him. He had come up to the -girl with that sentence which should surely have sounded pathetic even -though spoken with indifference. He was beside her to say good-bye. He -had given her to understand that he was going amongst the dangers of a -disturbed part of the country, but the name of the barbarous nation had -not made her cheek pale. It was well enough for himself to make light -of his adventurous undertaking, but he did not think that her smiles in -telling him that she would miss him were altogether becoming. - -Yes, as he rode towards Cape Town he felt that the time had not yet -come for him to reveal himself to Daireen Gerald. He would have to be -patient, as he had been for years. - -Thus far he had found out negatively how Daireen felt towards himself: -she liked him, he knew, but only as most women liked him, because -he could tell them in an agreeable way things that they wanted to -know--because he had travelled everywhere and had become distinguished. -He was not a conceited man, but he knew exactly how he stood in the -estimation of people, and it was bitter for him to reflect that he -did not stand differently with regard to Miss Gerald. But he had not -attempted to discover what were Daireen's feelings respecting any one -else. He was well aware that Mrs. Crawford was anxious to throw Mr. -Glaston in the way of the girl as much as possible; but he felt that it -would take a long time for Mr. Glaston to make up his mind to sacrifice -himself at Daireen's feet, and Daireen was far too sensible to be -imposed upon by his artistic flourishes. As for this young Mr. Standish -Macnamara, Harwood saw at once that Daireen regarded him with a -friendliness that precluded the possibility of love, so he did not fear -the occupation of the girl's heart by Standish. But when Harwood began -to think of Oswin Markham--he heard the sound of a horse's hoofs behind -him, and Oswin Markham himself trotted up, looking dusty and fatigued. - -"I thought I should know your animal," said Markham, "and I made an -effort to overtake you, though I meant to go easily into the town." - -Harwood looked at him and then at his horse. - -"You seem as if you owed yourself a little ease," he said. "You -must have done a good deal in the way of riding, judging from your -appearance." - -"A great deal too much," replied Markham. "I have been on the saddle -since breakfast." - -"You have been out every morning for the past three days before I have -left my room. I was quite surprised when I heard it, after the evidence -you gave at the garden party of your weakness." - -"Of my weakness, yes," said Markham, with a little laugh. "It was -wretchedly weak to allow myself to be affected by the change from the -open air to that room, but it felt stifling to me." - -"I didn't feel the difference to be anything considerable," said -Harwood; "so the fact of your being overcome by it proves that you are -not in a fit state to be playing with your constitution. Where did you -ride to-day?" - -"Where? Upon my word I have not the remotest idea," said Markham. "I -took the road out to Simon's Bay, but I pulled up at a beach on the -nearer side of it, and remained there for a good while." - -"Nothing could be worse than riding about in this aimless sort of way. -Here you are completely knocked up now, as you have been for the past -three evenings. Upon my word, you seem indifferent as to whether or not -you ever leave the colony alive. You are simply trifling with yourself." - -"You are right, I suppose," said Markham wearily. "But what is a fellow -to do in Cape Town? One can't remain inactive beyond a certain time." - -"It is only within the past three days you have taken up this roving -notion," said Harwood. "It is in fact only since that Government House -affair." Markham turned and looked at him eagerly for a moment. "Yes, -since your weakness became apparent to yourself, you have seemed bound -to prove your strength to the furthest. But you are pushing it too far, -my boy. You'll find out your mistake." - -"Perhaps so," laughed the other. "Perhaps so. By the way, is it true -that you are going up country, Harwood?" - -"Quite true. The fact is that affairs are becoming critical with regard -to our relations with the Zulus, and unless I am greatly mistaken, this -colony will be the centre of interest before many months have passed." - -"There is nothing I should like better than to go up with you, Harwood." - -Harwood shook his head. "You are not strong enough, my boy," he said. - -There was a pause before Markham said slowly: - -"No, I am not strong enough." - -Then they rode into Cape Town together, and dismounted at their hotel; -and, certainly, as he walked up the stairs to his room, Oswin Markham -looked anything but strong enough to undertake a journey into the Veldt. -Doctor Campion would probably have spoken unkindly to him had he seen -him now, haggard and weary, with his day spent on an exposed road -beneath a hot sun. - -"He is anything but strong enough," said Harwood to himself as he -watched the other man; and then he recollected the tone in which Markham -had repeated those words, "I am not strong enough." Was it possible, he -asked himself, that Markham meant that his strength of purpose was not -sufficiently great? He thought over this question for some time, and the -result of his reflection was to make him wish that he had not thought -the conduct of that defiant chief of such importance as demanded the -personal observation of the representative of the _Dominant Trumpeter_. -He felt that he would like to search out the origin of the weakness of -Mr. Oswin Markham. - -But all the time these people were thinking their thoughts and making -their resolutions upon various subjects, Mr. Algernon Glaston was -remaining in the settled calm of artistic rectitude. He was awaiting -with patience the arrival of his father from the Salamander Archipelago, -though he had given the prelate of that interesting group to understand -that circumstances would render it impossible for his son to remain -longer than a certain period at the Cape, so that if he desired the -communion of his society it would be necessary to allow the mission work -among the Salamanders to take care of itself. For Mr. Glaston was by no -means unaware of the sacrifice he was in the habit of making annually -for the sake of passing a few weeks with his father in a country far -removed from all artistic centres. The Bishop of the Calapash Islands -and Metropolitan of the Salamander Archipelago had it several times -urged upon him that his son was a marvel of filial duty for undertaking -this annual journey, so that he, no doubt, felt convinced of the fact; -and though this visit added materially to the expenses of his son's mode -of life, which, of course, were defrayed by the bishop, yet the bishop -felt that this addition was, after all, trifling compared with the value -of the sentiment of filial affection embodied in the annual visit to the -Cape. - -Mr. Glaston had allowed his father a margin of three weeks for any -impediments that might arise to prevent his leaving the Salamanders, but -a longer space he could not, he assured his father, remain awaiting his -arrival from the sunny islands of his see. Meantime he was dining out -night after night with his friends at the Cape, and taking daily drives -and horse-exercise for the benefit of his health. Upon the evening when -Harwood and Markham entered the hotel together, Mr. Glaston was just -departing to join a dinner-party which was to assemble at the house of -a certain judge, and as Harwood was also to be a guest, he was compelled -to dress hastily. - -Oswin Markham was not, however, aware of the existence of the hospitable -judge, so he remained in the hotel. He was tired almost to a point of -prostration after his long aimless ride, but a bath and a dinner revived -him, and after drinking his coffee he threw himself upon a sofa and -slept for some hours. When he awoke it was dark, and then lighting a -cigar he went out to the balcony that ran along the upper windows, and -seated himself in the cool air that came landwards from the sea. - -He watched the soldiers in white uniform crossing the square; he saw -the Malay population who had been making a holiday, returning to their -quarter of the town, the men with their broad conical straw hats, the -women with marvellously coloured shawls; he saw the coolies carrying -their burdens, and the Hottentots and the Kafirs and all the races -blended in the motley population of Cape Town. He glanced listlessly at -all, thinking his own thoughts undisturbed by any incongruity of tongues -or of races beneath him, and he was only awakened from the reverie into -which he had fallen by the opening of one of the windows near him and -the appearance on the balcony of Algernon Glaston in his dinner dress -and smoking a choice cigar. - -The generous wine of the generous judge had made Mr. Glaston -particularly courteous, for he drew his chair almost by the side of -Markham's and inquired after his health. - -"Harwood was at that place to-night," he said, "and he mentioned -that you were killing yourself. Just like these newspaper fellows to -exaggerate fearfully for the sake of making a sensation. You are all -right now, I think." - -"Quite right," said Markham. "I don't feel exactly like an elephant -for vigour, but you know what it is to feel strong without having any -particular strength. I am that way." - -"Dreadfully brutal people I met to-night," continued Mr. Glaston -reflectively. "Sort of people Harwood could get on with. Talking -actually about some wretched savage--some Zulu chief or other from whom -they expect great things; as if the action of a ruffianly barbarian -could affect any one. It was quite disgusting talk. I certainly would -have come away at once only I was lucky enough to get by the side of a -girl who seems to know something of Art--a Miss Vincent--she is quite -fresh and enthusiastic on the subject--quite a child indeed." - -Markham thought it prudent to light a fresh cigar from the end of the -one he had smoked, at the interval left by Mr. Glaston for his comment, -so that a vague "indeed" was all that came through his closed lips. - -"Yes, she seems rather a tractable sort of little thing. By the way, she -mentioned something about your having become faint at Government House -the other day, before you had seen all my pictures." - -"Ah, yes," said Markham. "The change from the open air to that room." - -"Ah, of course. Miss Vincent seems to understand something of the -meaning of the pictures. She was particularly interested in one of them, -which, curiously enough, is the most wonderful of the collection. Did -you study them all?" - -"No, not all; the fact was, that unfortunate weakness of mine interfered -with my scrutiny," said Markham. "But the single glance I had at one -of the pictures convinced me that it was a most unusual work. I felt -greatly interested in it." - -"That was the Aholibah, no doubt." - -"Yes, I heard your description of how if came to be painted." - -"Ah, but that referred only to the marvellous expression of the face--so -saturate--so devoured--with passion. You saw how Miss Gerald turned away -from it with a shudder?" - -"Why did she do that?" said Markham. - -"Heaven knows," said Glaston, with a little sneer. - -"Heaven knows," said Markham, after a pause and without any sneer. - -"She could not understand it," continued Glaston. "All that that face -means cannot be apprehended in a glance. It has a significance of its -own--it is a symbol of a passion that withers like a fire--a passion -that can destroy utterly all the beauty of a life that might have been -intense with beauty. You are not going away, are you?" - -Markham had risen from his seat and turned away his head, grasping the -rail of the balcony. It was some moments before he started and looked -round at the other man. "I beg your pardon," he said; "I'm not going -away, I am greatly interested. Yes, I caught a glimpse of the expression -of the face." - -"It is a miracle of power," continued Glaston. "Miss Gerald felt, but -she could not understand why she should feel, its power." - -There was a long pause, during which Markham stared blankly across the -square, and the other leant back in his chair and watched the curling of -his cigar clouds through the still air. From the garrison at the castle -there came to them the sound of a bugle-call. - -"I am greatly interested in that picture," said Markham at length. "I -should like to know all the details of its working out." - -"The expression of the face----" - -"Ah, I know all of that. I mean the scene--that hill seen through the -arch--the pavement of the oriental apartment--the--the figure--how did -the painter bring them together?" - -"That is of little consequence in the study of the elements of the -symbolism," said Mr. Glaston. - -"Yes, of course it is; but still I should like to know." - -"I really never thought of putting any question to the painter about -these matters," replied Glaston. "He had travelled in the East, and the -kiosk was amongst his sketches; as for the model of the figure, if I do -not mistake, I saw the study for the face in an old portfolio of his he -brought from Sicily." - -"Ah, indeed." - -"But these are mere accidents in the production of the picture. The -symbolism is the picture." - -Again there was a pause, and the chatter of a couple of Malays in the -street became louder, and then fainter, as the speakers drew near and -passed away. - -"Glaston," said Markham at length, "did you remove the pictures from -Government House?" - -"They are in one of my rooms," said Glaston. "Would you think it a piece -of idle curiosity if I were to step upstairs and take a look at that -particular work?" - -"You could not see it by lamplight. You can study them all in the -morning." - -"But I feel in the mood just now, and you know how much depends upon the -mood." - -"My room is open," said Glaston. "But the idea that has possessed you is -absurd." - -"I dare say, I dare say, but I have become interested in all that you -have told me; I must try and--and understand the symbolism." - -He left the balcony before Mr. Glaston had made up his mind as to -whether there was a touch of sarcasm in his voice uttering the final -sentence. - -"Not worse than the rest of the uneducated world," murmured the Art -prophet condescendingly. - -But in Mr. Glaston's private room upstairs Oswin Markham was standing -holding a lighted lamp up to that interesting picture and before that -wonderful symbolic expression upon the face of the figure; the rest of -the room was in darkness. He looked up to the face that the lamplight -gloated over. The remainder of the picture was full of reflections of -the light. - -"A power that can destroy utterly all the beauty of a life," he said, -repeating the analysis of Mr. Glaston. He continued looking at it before -he repeated another of that gentleman's sentences--"She felt, but could -not understand, its power." He laid the lamp on the table and walked -over to the darkened window and gazed out. But once more he returned -to the picture. "A passion that can destroy utterly all the beauty of -life," he said again. "Utterly! that is a lie!" He remained with his -eyes upon the picture for some moments, then he lifted the lamp and went -to the door. At the door he stopped, glanced at the picture and laughed. - -In the Volsunga Saga there is an account of how a jealous woman listens -outside the chamber where a man whom she once loved is being murdered in -his wife's arms; hearing the cry of the wife in the chamber the woman at -the door laughs. A man beside her says, "Thou dost not laugh because thy -heart is made glad, or why moves that pallor upon thy face?" - -Oswin Markham left the room and thanked Mr. Glaston for having gratified -his whim. - - - - -CHAPTER XXVI. - - -``... What he spake, though it lacked form a little, - -``Was not like madness. There's something in his soul - -``O'er which his melancholy sits on brood.= - -``Purpose is but the slave to memory. - -``Most necessary 'tis that we forget.--_Hamlet._= - - -|THE long level rays of the sun that was setting in crimson splendour -were touching the bright leaves of the silver-fir grove on one side of -the ravine traversing the slope of the great peaked hill which makes -the highest point of Table Mountain, but the other side was shadowy. The -flat face of the precipice beneath the long ridge of the mountain was -full of fantastic gleams of red in its many crevices, and far away a -thin waterfall seemed a shimmering band of satin floating downwards -through a dark bed of rocks. Table Bay was lying silent and with hardly' -a sparkle upon its ripples from where the outline of Robbin Island was -seen at one arm of its crescent to the white sand of the opposite shore. -The vineyards of the lower slope, beneath which the red road crawled, -were dim and colourless, for the sunset bands had passed away from them -and flared only upon the higher slopes. - -Upon the summit of the ridge of the silver-fir ravine Daireen Gerald sat -looking out to where the sun was losing itself among the ridges of the -distant kloof, and at her feet was Oswin Markham. Behind them rose the -rocks of the Peak with their dark green herbage. Beneath them the soft -rustle of a songless bird was heard through the foliage. - -But it remains to be told how those two persons came to be watching -together the phenomenon of sunset from the slope. - -It was Mrs. Crawford who had upon the very day after the departure of -Arthur Harwood organised one of those little luncheon parties which are -so easily organised and give promise of pleasures so abundant. She had -expressed to Mr. Harwood the grief she felt at his being compelled by -duty to depart from the midst of their circle, just as she had said to -Mr. Markham how bowed down she had been at the reflection of his leaving -the steamer at St. Helena; and Harwood had thanked her for her kind -expressions, and made a mental resolve that he would say something -sarcastic regarding the Army Boot Commission in his next communication -to the _Dominant Trumpeter_. But the hearing of the gun of the mail -steamer that was to convey the special correspondent to Natal was the -pleasantest sensation Mrs. Crawford had experienced for long. She had -been very anxious on Harwood's account for some time. She did not by -any means think highly of the arrangement which had been made by Colonel -Gerald to secure for one of his horses an amount of exercise by allowing -Mr. Harwood to ride it; for she was well aware that Mr. Harwood would -think it quite within the line of his duty to exercise the animal at -times when Miss Gerald would be riding out. She knew that most girls -liked Mr. Harwood, and whatever might be Mr. Harwood's feelings towards -the race that so complimented him, she could not doubt that he admired -to a perilous point the daughter of Colonel Gerald. If, then, the girl -would return his feeling, what would become of Mrs. Crawford's hopes for -Mr. Glaston? - -It was the constant reflection upon this question that caused the sound -of the mail gun to fall gratefully upon the ears of the major's wife. -Harwood was to be away for more than a month at any rate, and in a month -much might be accomplished, not merely by a special correspondent, but -by a lady with a resolute mind and a strategical training. So she had -set her mind to work, and without delay had organised what gave promise -of being a delightful little lunch, issuing half a dozen invitations -only three days in advance. - -Mr. Algernon Glaston had, after some persuasion, promised to join the -party. Colonel Gerald and his daughter expressed the happiness they -would have at being present, and Mr. Standish Macnamara felt certain -that nothing could interfere with his delight. Then there were the two -daughters of a member of the Legislative Council who were reported to -look with fond eyes upon the son of one of the justices of the Supreme -Court, a young gentleman who was also invited. Lastly, by what Mrs. -Crawford considered a stroke of real constructive ability, Mr. Oswin -Markham and Miss Lottie Vincent were also begged to allow themselves to -be added to the number of the party. Mrs. Crawford disliked Lottie, -but that was no reason why Lottie should not exercise the tactics Mrs. -Crawford knew she possessed, to take care of Mr. Oswin Markham for the -day. - -They would have much to talk about regarding the projected dramatic -entertainment of the young lady, so that Mr. Glaston should be left -solitary in that delightful listless after-space of lunch, unless -indeed--and the contingency was, it must be confessed, suggested to the -lady--Miss Gerald might chance to remain behind the rest of the party; -in that case it would not seem beyond the bounds of possibility that the -weight of Mr. Glaston's loneliness would be endurable. - -Everything had been carried out with that perfect skill which can be -gained only by experience. The party had driven from Mowbray for a -considerable way up the hill. The hampers had been unpacked and the -lunch partaken of in a shady nook which was supposed to be free from the -venomous reptiles that make picnics somewhat risky enjoyments in sunny -lands; and then the young people had trooped away to gather Venus-hair -ferns at the waterfall, or silver leaves from the grove, or bronze-green -lizards, or some others of the offspring of nature which have come into -existence solely to meet the requirements of collectors. Mr. Glaston and -Daireen followed more leisurely, and Mrs. Crawford's heart was happy. -The sun would be setting in an hour, she reflected, and she had great -confidence in the effect of fine sunsets upon the hearts of lovers--. -nay, upon the raw material that might after a time develop into the -hearts of lovers. She was quite satisfied seeing the young people -depart, for she was not aware how much more pleasant than Oswin Markham -Lottie Vincent had found Mr. Glaston at that judge's dinner-party a -few evenings previous, nor how much more plastic than Miss Gerald Mr. -Glaston had found Lottie Vincent upon the same occasion. - -Mrs. Crawford did not think it possible that Lottie could be so clever, -even if she had had the inclination, as to effect the separation of -the party as it had been arranged. But Lottie had by a little manouvre -waited at the head of the ravine until Mr. Glaston and Daireen had -come up, and then she had got into conversation with Mr. Glaston upon a -subject that was a blank to the others, so that they had walked quietly -on together until that pleasant space at the head of the ravine was -reached. There Daireen had seated herself to watch the west become -crimson with sunset, and at her feet Oswin had cast himself to watch her -face. - -Had Mrs. Crawford been aware of this, she would scarcely perhaps have -been so pleasant to her friend Colonel Gerald, or to her husband far -down on the slope. - -It was very silent at the head of that ravine. The delicate splash of -the water that trickled through the rocks far away was distinctly heard. -The rosy bands that had been about the edges of the silver leaves had -passed off. Daireen's face was at last left in shadow, and she turned to -watch the rays move upwards, until soon only the dark Peak was enwound -in the red light that made its forehead like the brows of an ancient -Bacchanal encircled with a rose-wreath. Then quickly the red dwindled -away, until only a single rose-leaf was upon the highest point; an -instant more and it had passed, leaving the hill dark and grim in -outline against the pale blue. - -Then succeeded that time of silent conflict between light and -darkness--a time of silence and of wonder. - -Upon the slope of the Peak it was silent enough. The girl's eyes went -out across the shadowy plain below to where the water was shining in its -own gray light, but she uttered not a word. The man leant his head upon -his hand as he looked up to her face. - -"What is the 'Ave' you are breathing to the sunset, Miss Gerald?" he -said at length, and she gave a little start and looked at him. "What is -the vesper hymn your heart has been singing all this time?" - -She laughed. "No hymn, no song." - -"I saw it upon your face," he said. "I saw its melody in your eyes; and -yet--yet I cannot understand it--I am too gross to be able to translate -it. I suppose if a man had sensitive hearing the wind upon the blades -of grass would make good music to him, but most people are dull to -everything but the rolling of barrels and such-like music." - -"I had not even a musical thought," said the girl. "I am afraid that if -all I thought were translated into words, the result would be a jumble: -you know what that means." - -"Yes. Heaven is a jumble, isn't it? A bit of wonderful blue here, and -a shapeless cloud there--a few faint breaths of music floating about a -place of green, and an odour of a field of flowers. Yes, all dreams are -jumbles." - -"And I was dreaming?" she said. "Yes, I dare say my confusion of thought -without a single idea may be called by courtesy a dream." - -"And now have you awakened?" - -"Dreams must break and dissolve some time, I suppose, Mr. Markham." - -"They must, they must," he said. "I wonder when will my awaking come." - -"Have you a dream?" she asked, with a laugh. - -"I am living one," he answered. - -"Living one?" - -"Living one. My life has become a dream to me. How am I beside you? How -is it possible that I could be beside you? Either of two things must -be a dream--either my past life is a dream, or I am living one in this -life." - -"Is there so vast a difference between them?" she asked, looking at him. -His eyes were turned away from her. - -"Vast? Vast?" he repeated musingly. Then he rose to his feet and looked -out oceanwards. "I don't know what is vast," he said. Then he looked -down to her. "Miss Gerald, I don't believe that my recollection of my -past is in the least correct. My memory is a falsehood utterly. For it -is quite impossible that this body of mine--this soul of mine--could -have passed through such a change as I must have passed through if -my memory has got anything of truth in it. My God! my God! The -recollections that come to me are, I know, impossible." - -"I don't understand you, Mr. Markham," said Daireen. - -Once more he threw himself on the short tawny herbage beside her. - -"Have you not heard of men being dragged back when they have taken a -step beyond the barrier that hangs between life and death--men who have -had one foot within the territory of death?" - -"I have heard of that." - -"And you know it is not the same old life that a man leads when he -is brought from that dominion of death. He begins life anew. He knows -nothing of the past. He laughs at the faces that were once familiar to -him; they mean nothing to him. His past is dead. Think of me, child. -Day by day I suffered all the agonies of death and hell, and shall I not -have granted to me that most righteous gift of God? Shall not my past -be utterly blotted out? Yes, these vague memories that I have are the -memories of a dream. God has not been so just to me as to others, for -there are some realities of the past still with me I know, and thus I am -at times led to think it might be possible that all my recollections are -true--but no, it is impossible--utterly impossible." Again he leapt to -his feet and clasped his hands over his head. "Child--child, if you knew -all, you would pity me," he said, in a tone no louder than a whisper. - -She had never heard anything so pitiful before. Seeing the agony of the -man, and hearing him trying to convince himself of that at which his -reason rebelled, was terribly pitiful to her. She never before that -moment knew how she felt towards this man to whom she had given life. - -"What can I say of comfort to you?" she said. "You have all the sympathy -of my heart. Why will you not ask me to help you? What is my pity?" - -He knelt beside her. "Be near me," he said. "Let me look at you now. Is -there not a bond between us?--such a bond as binds man to his God? You -gave me my life as a gift, and it will be a true life now. God had no -pity for me, but you have more than given me your pity. The life you -have given me is better than the life given me by God." - -"Do not say that," she said. "Do not think that I have given you -anything. It is your God who has changed you through those days of -terrible suffering." - -"Yes, the suffering is God's gift," he cried bitterly. "Torture of days -and nights, and then not utter forgetfulness. After passing through -the barrier of death, I am denied the blessings that should come with -death." - -"Why should you wish to forget anything of the past?" she asked. "Has -everything been so very terrible to you?" - -"Terrible?" he said, clasping his hands over one of his knees and gazing -out to the conflict of purple and shell-pink in the west. "No, nothing -was terrible. I am no Corsair with a hundred romantic crimes to give -me so much remorseful agony as would enable me to act the part of Count -Lara with consistency. I am no Lucifer encircled with a halo of splendid -wickedness. It is only the change that has passed over me since I felt -myself looking at you that gives me this agony of thought. Wasted time -is my only sin--hours cast aside--years trampled upon. I lived for -myself as I had a chance--as thousands of others do, and it did not seem -to me anything terrible that I should make my father's days miserable to -him. I did not feel myself to be the curse to him that I now know myself -to have been. I was a curse to him. He had only myself in the world--no -other son, and yet I could leave him to die alone--yes, and to die -offering me his forgiveness--offering it when it was not in my power -to refuse to accept it. This is the memory that God will not take away. -Nay, I tell you it seems that instead of being blotted out by my days of -suffering it is but intensified." - -He had bowed down his face upon his hands as he sat there. Her eyes were -full of tears of sympathy and compassion--she felt with him, and his -sufferings were hers. - -"I pity you--with all my soul I pity you," she said, laying her hand -upon his shoulder. - -He turned and took her hand, holding it not with a fervent grasp; but in -his face that looked up to her tearful eyes there was a passion of love -and adoration. - -"As a man looks to his God I look to you," he said. "Be near me that the -life you have given me may be good. Let me think of you, and the dead -Past shall bury its dead." - -What answer could she make to him? The tears continued to come to her -eyes as she sat while he looked into her face. - -"You know," she said--"you know I feel for you. You know that I -understand you." - -"Not all," he said slowly. "I am only beginning to understand myself; I -have never done so in all my life hitherto." - -Then they watched the delicate shadowy dimness--not gray, but full of -the softest azure--begin to swathe the world beneath them. The waters -of the bay were reflecting the darkening sky, and out over the ocean -horizon a single star was beginning to breathe through the blue. - -"Daireen," he said at length, "is the bond between us one of love?" - -There was no passion in his voice, nor was his hand that held hers -trembling as he spoke. She gave no start at his words, nor did she -withdraw her hand. Through the silence the splash of the waterfall above -them was heard clearly. She looked at him through the long pause. - -"I do not know," she said. "I cannot answer you yet----No, not yet--not -yet." - -"I will not ask," he said quietly. "Not yet--not yet." And he dropped -her hand. - -Then he rose and looked out to that star, which was no longer smothered -in the splendid blue of the heavens, but was glowing in passion until -the waters beneath caught some of its rays. - -There was a long pause before a voice sounded behind them on the -slope--the musical voice of Miss Lottie Vincent. - -"Did you ever see such a sentimental couple?" she cried, raising her -hands with a very pretty expression of mock astonishment. "Watching the -twilight as if you were sitting for your portraits, while here we have -been searching for you over hill and dale. Have we not, Mr. Glaston?" - -Mr. Glaston thought it unnecessary to corroborate a statement made with -such evident ingenuousness. - -"Well, your search met with its reward, I hope, Miss Vincent," said -Oswin. - -"What, in finding you?" - -"I am not so vain as to fancy it possible that you should accept that as -a reward, Miss Vincent," he replied. - -The young lady gave him a glance that was meant to read his inmost soul. -Then she laughed. - -"We must really hasten back to good Mamma Crawford," she said, with a -seriousness that seemed more frivolous than her frivolity. "Every one -will be wondering where we have been." - -"Lucky that you will be able to tell them," remarked Oswin. - -"How?" she said quickly, almost apprehensively. - -"Why, you know you can say 'Over hill, over dale,' and so satisfy even -the most sceptical in a moment." - -Miss Lottie made a little pause, then laughed again; she did not think -it necessary to make any reply. - -And so they all went down by the little track along the edge of the -ravine, and the great Peak became darker above them as the twilight -dwindled into evening. - - - - -CHAPTER XXVII. - - -````I have remembrances of yours-- - -```... words of so sweet breath composed - -```As made the things more rich.= - -``Hamlet.... You do remember all the circumstance? - -``Horatio. Remember it, my lord? - -``Hamlet. Sir, in my heart there was a kind of fighting - -```That would not let me sleep.= - -`````... poor Ophelia, - -``Divided from herself and her fair judgment.= - -````Sleep rock thy brain, - -``And never come mischance.--_Hamlet._= - - -|MRS. Crawford was not in the least apprehensive of the safety of the -young people who had been placed under her care upon this day. She had -been accustomed in the good old days at Arradambad, when the scorching -inhabitants had lifted their eyes unto the hills, and had fled to their -cooling slopes, to organise little open-air tiffins for the benefit of -such young persons as had come out to visit the British Empire in the -East under the guidance of the major's wife, and the result of her -experience went to prove that it was quite unnecessary to be in the -least degree nervous regarding the ultimate welfare of the young persons -who were making collections of the various products of Nature. It was -much better for the young persons to learn self-dependence, she thought, -and though many of the maidens under her care had previously, through -long seasons at Continental watering-places, become acquainted with -a few of the general points to be observed in maintaining a course of -self-dependence, yet the additional help that came to them from the -hills was invaluable. - -As Mrs. Crawford now gave a casual glance round the descending party, -she felt that her skill as a tactician was not on the wane. They were -walking together, and though Lottie was of course chatting away as -flippantly as ever, yet both Markham and Mr. Glaston was very silent, -she saw, and her conclusions were as rapid as those of an accustomed -campaigner should be. Mr. Glaston had been talking to Daireen in the -twilight, so that Lottie's floss-chat was a trouble to him; while Oswin -Markham was wearied with having listened for nearly an hour to her -inanities, and was seeking for the respite of silence. - -"You naughty children, to stray away in that fashion!" she cried. "Do -you fancy you had permission to lose yourselves like that?" - -"Did we lose ourselves, Miss Vincent?" said Markham. - -"We certainly did not," said Lottie, and then Mrs. Crawford's first -suggestions were confirmed: Lottie and Markham spoke of themselves, -while Daireen and Mr. Glaston were mute. - -"It was very naughty of you," continued the matron. "Why, in India, if -you once dared do such a thing----" - -"We should do it for ever," cried Lottie. "Now, you know, my dear good -Mrs. Crawford, I have been in India, and I have had experience of -your picnics when we were at the hills--oh, the most delightful little -affairs--every one used to look forward to them." - -Mrs. Crawford laughed gently as she patted Lottie on the cheek. "Ah, -they were now and again successes, were they not? How I wish Daireen had -been with us." - -"Egad, she would not be with us now, my dear," said the major. "Eh, -George, what do you say, my boy?" - -"For shame, major," cried Mrs. Crawford, glancing towards Lottie. - -"Eh, what?" said the bewildered Boot Commissioner, who meant to be very -gallant indeed. It was some moments before he perceived how Miss Vincent -could construe his words, and then he attempted an explanation, which -made matters worse. "My dear, I assure you I never meant that your -attractions were not--not--ah--most attractive, they were, I assure -you--you were then most attractive." - -"And so far from having waned," said Colonel Gerald, "it would seem that -every year has but----" - -"Why, what on earth is the meaning of this raid of compliments on poor -little me?" cried the young lady in the most artless manner, glancing -from the major to the colonel with uplifted hands. - -"Let us hasten to the carriages, and leave these old men to talk their -nonsense to each other," said Mrs. Crawford, putting her arm about one -of the daughters of the member of the Legislative Council--a young lady -who had found the companionship of Standish Macnamara quite as pleasant -as her sister had the guidance of the judge's son up the ravine--and so -they descended to where the carriages were waiting to take them towards -Cape Town. Daireen and her father were to walk to the Dutch cottage, -which was but a short distance away, and with them, of course, Standish. - -"Good-bye, my dear child," said Mrs. Crawford, embracing Daireen, while -the others talked in a group. "You are looking pale, dear, but never -mind; I will drive out and have a long chat with you in a couple of -days," she whispered, in a way she meant to be particularly impressive. - -Then the carriage went off, and Daireen put her hand through her -father's arm, and walked silently in the silent evening to the house -among the aloes and Australian oaks, through whose leaves the fireflies -were flitting in myriads. - -"She is a good woman," said Colonel Gerald. "An exceedingly good woman, -only her long experience of the sort of girls who used to be sent out to -her at India has made her rather misjudge the race, I think." - -"She is so good," said Daireen. "Think of all the trouble she was at -to-day for our sake." - -"Yes, for our sake," laughed her father. "My dear Dolly, if you could -only know the traditions our old station retains of Mrs. Crawford, you -would think her doubly good. The trouble she has gone to for the sake of -her friends--her importations by every mail--is simply astonishing. But -what did you think of that charming Miss Van der Veldt you took such -care of, Standish, my boy? Did you make much progress in Cape Dutch?" - -But Standish could not answer in the same strain of pleasantry. He was -thinking too earnestly upon the visions his fancy had been conjuring up -during the entire evening--visions of Mr. Glaston sitting by the side -of Daireen gazing out to that seductive, though by no means uncommon, -phenomenon of sunset. He had often wished, when at the waterfall -gathering Venus-hair for Miss Van der Veldt, that he could come into -possession of the power of Joshua at the valley of Gibeon to arrest -the descent of the orb. The possibly disastrous consequences to -the planetary system seemed to him but trifling weighed against the -advantages that would accrue from the fact of Mr. Glaston's being -deprived of a source of conversation that was both fruitful and -poetical. Standish knew well, without having read Wordsworth, that the -twilight was sovereign of one peaceful hour; he had in his mind quite a -store of unuttered poetical observations upon sunset, and he felt that -Mr. Glaston might possibly be possessed of similar resources which he -could draw upon when occasion demanded such a display. The thought of -Mr. Glaston sitting at the feet of Daireen, and with her drinking in of -the glory of the west, was agonising to Standish, and so he could not -enter into Colonel Gerald's pleasantry regarding the attractive daughter -of the member of the Legislative Council. - -When Daireen had shut the door of her room that night and stood alone in -the darkness, she found the relief that she had been seeking since she -had come down from the slope of that great Peak--relief that could not -be found even in the presence of her father, who had been everything to -her a few days before. She found relief in being alone with her thoughts -in the silence of the night. She drew aside the curtains of her window, -and looked out up to that Peak which was towering amongst the brilliant -stars. She could know exactly the spot upon the edge of the ravine where -she had been sitting--where they had been sitting. What did it all mean? -she asked herself. She could not at first recollect any of the words -she had heard upon that slope, she could not even think what they should -mean, but she had a childlike consciousness of happiness mixed with -fear. What was the mystery that had been unfolded to her up there? What -was the revelation that had been made to her? She could not tell. It -seemed wonderful to her how she could so often have looked up to that -hill without feeling anything of what she now felt gazing up to its -slope. - -It was all too wonderful for her to understand. She had a consciousness -of nothing but that all was wonderful. She could not remember any of his -words except those he had last uttered. The bond between them--was it -of love? How could she tell? What did she know of love? She could not -answer him when he had spoken to her, nor was she able even now, as she -stood looking out to those brilliant stars that crowned the Peak and -studded the dark edges of the slope which had been lately overspread -with the poppy-petals of sunset. It was long before she went into her -bed, but she had arrived at no conclusion to her thoughts--all that -had happened seemed mysterious; and she knew not whether she felt happy -beyond all the happiness she had ever known, or sad beyond the sadness -of any hour of her life. Her sleep swallowed up all her perplexity. - -But the instant she awoke in the bright morning she went softly over to -the window and looked out from a corner of her blind to that slope and -to the place where they had sat. No, it was not a dream. There shone -the silver leaves and there sparkled the waterfall. It was the loveliest -hill in the world, she felt--lovelier even than the purple heather-clad -Slieve Docas. This was a terrible thought to suggest itself to her mind, -she felt all the time she was dressing, but still it remained with her -and refused to be shaken off. - - - - -CHAPTER XXVIII. - - -```Since my dear soul was mistress of her choice - -`````... her election - -```Hath sealed thee for herself.= - -```Adieu, adieu, adieu! Remember me.= - -```Yea, from the table of my memory - -```I'll wipe away all trivial fond records... - -```That youth and observation copied there, - -```And thy commandment all alone shall live - -```Unmixed with baser matter; yes, by heaven!--_Hamlet_.= - - -|COLONEL Gerald was well aware of Mrs. Crawford's strategical skill, and -he had watched its development and exercise during the afternoon of that -pleasant little luncheon party on the hill. He remembered what she had -said to him so gravely at the garden-party at Government House regarding -the responsibility inseparable from the guardianship of Daireen at the -Cape, and he knew that Mrs. Crawford had in her mind, when she organised -the party to the hill, such precepts as she had previously enunciated. -He had watched and admired her cleverness in arranging the collecting -expeditions, and he felt that her detaining of Mr. Glaston as she had -under some pretext until all the others but Daireen had gone up -the ravine was a master stroke. But at this point Colonel Gerald's -observation ended. His imagination had been much less vivid than either -Mrs. Crawford's or Standish's. He did not attribute any subtle influence -to the setting sun, nor did he conjure up any vision of Mr. Glaston -sitting at the feet of Daireen and uttering words that the magic of the -sunset glories alone could inspire. - -The fact was that he knew much better than either Mrs. Crawford or -Standish how his daughter felt towards Mr. Glaston, and he was not in -the least concerned in the result of her observation of the glowing west -by the side of the Art prophet. When Mrs. Crawford looked narrowly into -the girl's face on her descent Colonel Gerald had only laughed; he did -not feel any distressing weight of responsibility on the subject of the -guardianship of his daughter, for he had not given a single thought -to the accident of his daughter's straying up the ravine with Algernon -Glaston, nor was he impressed by his daughter's behaviour on the day -following. They had driven out together to pay some visits, and she had -been even more affectionate to him than usual, and he justified -Mrs. Crawford's accusation of his ignorance and the ignorance of men -generally, by feeling, from this fact, more assured that Daireen had -passed unscathed through the ordeal of sunset and the drawing on of -twilight on the mount. - -On the next day to that on which they had paid their visits, however, -Daireen seemed somewhat abstracted in her manner, and when her father -asked her if she would ride with him and Standish to The Flats she, for -the first time, brought forward a plea--the plea of weariness--to be -allowed to remain at home. - -Her father looked at her, not narrowly nor with the least glance of -suspicion, only tenderly, as he said: - -"Certainly, stay at home if you wish, Dolly. You must not overtax -yourself, or we shall have to get a nurse for you." - -He sat by her side on the chair on the stoep of the Dutch cottage and -put his arm about her. In an instant she had clasped him round the neck -and had hidden her face upon his shoulder in something like hysterical -passion. He laughed and patted her on the back in mock protest at her -treatment. It was some time before she unwound her arms and he got upon -his feet, declaring that he would not submit to such rough handling. -But all the same he saw that her eyes were full of tears; and as he rode -with Standish over the sandy plain made bright with heath, he thought -more than once that there was something strange in her action and still -stranger in her tears. - -Standish, however, felt equal to explaining everything that seemed -unaccountable. He felt there could be no doubt that Daireen was wearying -of these rides with him: he was nothing more than a brother--a dull, -wearisome, commonplace brother to her, while such fellows as Glaston, -who had made fame for themselves, having been granted the opportunity -denied to others, were naturally attractive to her. Feeling this, -Standish once more resolved to enter upon that enterprise of work which -he felt to be ennobling. He would no longer linger here in silken-folded -idleness, he would work--work--work--steadfastly, nobly, to win her who -was worth all the labour of a man's life. Yes, he would no longer -remain inactive as he had been, he would--well, he lit another cigar and -trotted up to the side of Colonel Gerald. - -But Daireen, after the departure of her father and Standish, continued -sitting upon the chair under the lovely creeping plants that twined -themselves around the lattice of the projecting roof. It was very cool -in the gracious shade while all the world outside was red with heat. The -broad leaves of the plants in the garden were hanging languidly, and the -great black bees plunged about the mighty roses that were bursting into -bloom with the first breath of the southern summer. From the brink of -the little river at the bottom of the avenue of Australian oaks the -chatter of the Hottentot washerwomen came, and across the intervening -space of short tawny grass a Malay fruitman passed, carrying his baskets -slung on each end of a bamboo pole across his shoulders. - -She looked out at the scene--so strange to her even after the weeks she -had been at this place; all was strange to her--as the thoughts that -were in her mind. It seemed to her that she had been but one day at this -place, and yet since she had heard the voice of Oswin Markham how great -a space had passed! All the days she had been here were swallowed up in -the interval that had elapsed since she had seen this man--since she had -seen him? Why, there he was before her very eyes, standing by the side -of his horse with the bridle over his arm. There he was watching her -while she had been thinking her thoughts. - -She stood amongst the blossoms of the trellis, white and lovely as a -lily in a land of red sun. He felt her beauty to be unutterably gracious -to look upon. He threw his bridle over a branch and walked up to her. - -"I have come to say good-bye," he said as he took her hand. - -These were the same words that she had heard from Harwood a few days -before and that had caused her to smile. But now the hand Markham was -not holding was pressed against her heart. Now she knew all. There -was no mystery between them. She knew why her heart became still after -beating tumultuously for a few seconds; and he, though he had not -designed the words with the same object that Harwood had, and though -he spoke them without the same careful observance of their effect, in -another instant had seen what was in the girl's heart. - -"To say good-bye?" she repeated mechanically. - -"For a time, yes; for a long time it will seem to me--for a month." - -He saw the faint smile that came to her face, and how her lips parted as -a little sigh of relief passed through them. - -"For a month?" she said, and now she was speaking in her own voice, -and sitting down. "A month is not a long time to say good-bye for, Mr. -Markham. But I am so sorry that papa is gone out for his ride on The -Flats." - -"I am fortunate in finding even you here, then," he said. - -"Fortunate! Yes," she said. "But where do you mean to spend this month?" -she continued, feeling that he was now nothing more than a visitor. - -"It is very ridiculous--very foolish," he replied. "I promised, you -know, to act in some entertainment Miss Vincent has been getting up, and -only yesterday her father received orders to proceed to Natal; but as -all the fellows who had promised her to act are in the company of the -Bayonetteers that has also been ordered off, no difference will be -made in her arrangements, only that the performance will take place at -Pietermaritzburg instead of at Cape Town. But she is so unreasonable -as to refuse to release me from my promise, and I am bound to go with -them." - -"It is a compliment to value your services so highly, is it not?" - -"I would be glad to sacrifice all the gratification I find from thinking -so for the sake of being released. She is both absurd and unreasonable." - -"So it would certainly strike any one hearing only of this," said -Daireen. "But it will only be for a month, and you will see the place." - -"I would rather remain seeing this place," he said. "Seeing that hill -above us." She flushed as though he had told her in those words that he -was aware of how often she had been looking up to that slope since they -had been there together---- - -There was a long pause, through which the voices and laughter of the -women at the river-bank were heard. - -"Daireen," said the man, who stood up bareheaded before her. "Daireen, -that hour we sat up there upon that slope has changed all my thoughts -of life. I tell you the life which you restored to me a month ago I -had ceased to regard as a gift. I had come to hope that it would end -speedily. You cannot know how wretched I was." - -"And now?" she said, looking up to him. "And now?" - -"Now," he answered. "Now--what can I tell you? If I were to be cut off -from life and happiness now, I should stand before God and say that I -have had all the happiness that can be joined to one life on earth. I -have had that one hour with you, and no God or man can take it from me: -I have lived that hour, and none can make me unlive it. I told you I -would say no word of love to you then, but I have come to say the word -now. Child, I dared not love you as I was--I had no thought worthy to -be devoted to loving you. God knows how I struggled with all my soul to -keep myself from doing you the injustice of thinking of you; but that -hour at your feet has given me something of your divine nature, and with -that which I have caught from you, I can love you. Daireen, will you -take the love I offer you? It it yours--all yours." - -He was not speaking passionately, but when she looked up and saw his -face haggard with earnestness she was almost frightened--she would -have been frightened if she had not loved him as she now knew she did. -"Speak," he said, "speak to me--one word." - -"One word?" she repeated. "What one word can I say?" - -"Tell me all that is in your heart, Daireen." - -She looked up to him again. "All?" she said with a little smile. "All? -No, I could never tell you all. You know a little of it. That is the -bond between us." - -He turned away and actually took a few steps from her. On his face was -an expression that could not easily have been read. But in an instant he -seemed to recover himself. He took her hand in his. - -"My darling," he said, "the Past has buried its dead. I shall make -myself worthy to think of you--I swear it to you. You shall have a true -man to love." He was almost fierce in his earnestness, and her hand that -he held was crushed for an instant. Then he looked into her face with -tenderness. "How have you come to answer my love with yours?" he said -almost wonderingly. "What was there in me to make you think of my -existence for a single instant?" - -She looked at him. "You were--_you_," she said, offering him the only -explanation in her power. It had seemed to her easy enough to explain as -she looked at him. Who else was worth loving with this love in all the -world, she thought. He alone was worthy of all her heart. - -"My darling, my darling," he said, "I am unworthy to have a single -thought of you." - -"You are indeed if you continue talking so," she said with a laugh, for -she felt unutterably happy. - -"Then I will not talk so. I will make myself worthy to think of you -by--by--thinking of you. For a month, Daireen,--for a month we can only -think of each other. It is better that I should not see you until the -last tatter of my old self is shred away." - -"It cannot be better that you should go away," she said. "Why should you -go away just as we are so happy?" - -"I must go, Daireen," he said. "I must go--and now. I would to God I -could stay! but believe me, I cannot, darling; I feel that I must go." - -"Because you made that stupid promise?" she said. - -"That promise is nothing. What is such a promise to me now? If I had -never made it I should still go." - -He was looking down at her as he spoke. "Do not ask me to say anything -more. There is nothing more to be said. Will you forget me in a month, -do you think?" - -Was it possible that there was a touch of anxiety in the tone of his -question? she thought for an instant. Then she looked into his face and -laughed. - -"God bless you, Daireen!" he said tenderly, and there was sadness rather -than passion in his voice. - -"God keep you, Daireen! May nothing but happiness ever come to you!" - -He held out his hand to her, and she laid her own trustfully in his. - -"Do not say good-bye," she pleaded. "Think that it is only for a -month--less than a month, it must be. You can surely be back in less -than a month." - -"I can," he replied; "I can, and I will be back within a month, and -then---- God keep you, Daireen, for ever!" - -He was holding her hand in his own with all gentleness. His face was -bent down close to hers, but he did not kiss her face, only her hand. -He crushed it to his lips, and then dropped it. She was blinded with -her tears, so that she did not see him hasten away through the avenue of -oaks. She did not even hear his horse's tread, nor could she know that -he had not once turned round to give her a farewell look. - -It was some minutes before she seemed to realise that she was alone. She -sprang to her feet and stood looking out over those deathly silent -broad leaves, and those immense aloes, that seemed to be the plants in -a picture of a strange region. She heard the laughter of the Hottentot -women at the river, and the unmusical shriek of a bird in the distance. -She clasped her hands over her head, looking wistfully through the -foliage of the oaks, but she did not utter a word. He was gone, she knew -now, for she felt a loneliness that overwhelmed every other feeling. -She seemed to be in the middle of a bare and joyless land. The splendid -shrubs that branched before her eyes seemed dead, and the silence of the -warm scented air was a terror to her. - -He was gone, she knew, and there was nothing left for her but this -loneliness. She went into her room in the cottage and seated herself -upon her little sofa, hiding her face in her hands, and she felt it good -to pray for him--for this man whom she had come to love, she knew not -how. But she knew she loved him so that he was a part of her own life, -and she felt that it would always be so. She could scarcely think what -her life had been before she had seen him. How could she ever have -fancied that she loved her father before this man had taught her what it -was to love? Now she felt how dear beyond all thought her father was to -her. It was not merely love for himself that she had learnt from Oswin -Markham, it was the power of loving truly and perfectly that he had -taught her. - -Thus she dreamed until she heard the pleasant voice of her friend Mrs. -Crawford in the hall. Then she rose and wondered if every one would not -notice the change that had passed over her. Was it not written upon her -face? Would not every touch of her hand--every word of her voice, betray -it? - -Then she lifted up her head and felt equal to facing even Mrs. Crawford, -and to acknowledging all that she believed the acute observation of that -lady would read from her face as plainly as from the page of a book. - -But it seemed that Mrs. Crawford's eyes were heavy this afternoon, -for though she looked into Daireen's face and kissed her cheek -affectionately, she made no accusation. - -"I am lucky in finding you all alone, my dear," she said. "It is so -different ashore from aboard ship. I have not really had one good chat -with you since we landed. George is always in the way, or the major, you -know--ah, you think I should rather say the colonel and Jack, but indeed -I think of your father only as Lieutenant George. And you enjoyed our -little lunch on the hill, I hope? I thought you looked pale when you -came down. Was it not a most charming sunset?" - -"It was indeed," said Daireen, straining her eyes to catch a glimpse -through the window of the slope where the red light had rested. - -"I knew you would enjoy it, my dear. Mr. Glaston is such good -company--ah, that is, of course, to a sympathetic mind. And I don't -think I am going too far, Daireen, when I say that I am sure he was in -company with a sympathetic mind the evening before last." - -Mrs. Crawford was smiling as one smiles passing a graceful compliment. - -"I think he was," said Daireen. "Miss Vincent and he always seemed -pleased with each other's society." - -"Miss Vincent?--Lottie Vincent?" cried the lady in a puzzled but -apprehensive way. "What do you mean, Daireen? Lottie Vincent?" - -"Why, you know Mr. Glaston and Miss Vincent went away from us, among the -silver leaves, and only returned as we were coming down the hill." - -Mrs. Crawford was speechless for some moments. Then she looked at the -girl, saying, "_We_,--who were _we?_" - -"Mr. Markham and myself," replied Daireen without faltering. - -"Ah, indeed," said the other pleasantly. Then there was a pause before -she added, "That ends my association with Lottie Vincent. The artful, -designing little creature! Daireen, you have no idea what good nature it -required on my part to take any notice of that girl, knowing so much as -I do of her; and this is how she treats me! Never mind; I have done with -her." Seeing the girl's puzzled glance, Mrs. Crawford began to recollect -that it could not be expected that Daireen should understand the nature -of Lottie's offence; so she added, "I mean, you know, dear, that that -girl is full of spiteful, designing tricks upon every occasion. And -yet she had the effrontery to come to me yesterday to beg of me to take -charge of her while her father would be at Natal. But I was not quite so -weak. Never mind; she leaves tomorrow, thank goodness, and that is the -last I mean to see of her. But about Mr. Markham: I hope you do not -think I had anything to say in the matter of letting you be with him, -Daireen. I did not mean it, indeed." - -"I am sure of it," said Daireen quietly--so quietly that Mrs. Crawford -began to wonder could it be possible that the girl wished to show that -she had been aware of the plans which had been designed on her behalf. -Before she had made up her mind, however, the horses of Colonel Gerald -and Standish were heard outside, and in a moment afterwards the colonel -entered the room. - -"Papa," said Daireen almost at once, "Mr. Markham rode out to see you -this afternoon." - -"Ah, indeed? I am sorry I missed him," he said quietly. But Mrs. -Crawford stared at the girl, wondering what was coming. - -"He came to say good-bye, papa." - -Mrs. Crawford's heart began to beat again. - -"What, is he returning to England?" asked the colonel. - -"Oh, no; he is only about to follow Mr. Harwood's example and go up to -Natal." - -"Then he need not have said good-bye, anymore than Harwood," remarked -the colonel; and his daughter felt it hard to restrain herself from -throwing her arms about his neck. - -"Ah," said Mrs. Crawford, "Miss Lottie has triumphed! This Mr. Markham -will go up in the steamer with her, and will probably act with her in -this theatrical nonsense she is always getting up." - -"He is to act with her certainly," said Daireen. "Ah! Lottie has made -a success at last," cried the elder lady. "Mr. Markham will suit her -admirably. They will be engaged before they reach Algoa Bay." - -"My dear Kate, why will you always jump at conclusions?" said the -colonel. "Markham is a fellow of far too much sense to be in the least -degree led by such a girl as Lottie." - -Daireen had hold of her father's arm, and when he had spoken she turned -round and kissed him. But it was not at all unusual for her to kiss him -in this fashion on his return from a ride. - - - - -CHAPTER XXIX. - - -```Haply the seas and countries different - -```With variable objects shall expel - -```This something-settled matter in his heart, - -```Whereon his brain still beating puts him thus - -```From fashion of himself.--_Hamlet_ - - -|HE had got a good deal to think about, this Mr. Oswin Markham, as he -stood on the bridge of the steamer that was taking him round the coast -to Natal, and looked back at that mountain whose strange shape had never -seemed stranger than it did from the distance of the Bay. - -Table Mountain was of a blue dimness, and the white walls of the houses -at its base were quite hidden; Robbin Island lighthouse had almost -dwindled out of sight; and in the water, through the bright red gold -shed from a mist in the west that the falling sun saturated with light, -were seen the black heads of innumerable seals swimming out from the -coastway of rocks. Yes, Mr. Oswin Markham had certainly a good deal -to think about as he looked back to the flat-ridged mountain, and, -mentally, upon all that had taken place since he had first seen its -ridges a few weeks before. - -He had thought it well to talk of love to that girl who had given him -the gift of the life he was at present breathing--to talk to her of love -and to ask her to love him. Well, he had succeeded; she had put her hand -trustfully in his and had trusted him with all her heart, he knew; and -yet the thought of it did not make him happy. His heart was not the -heart of one who has triumphed. It was only full of pity for the girl -who had listened to him and replied to him. - -And for himself he felt what was more akin to shame than any other -feeling--shame, that, knowing all he did of himself, he had still spoken -those words to the girl to whom he owed the life that was now his. - -"God! was it not forced upon me when I struggled against it with all my -soul?" he said, in an endeavour to strangle his bitter feeling. "Did not -I make up my mind to leave the ship when I saw what was coming upon me, -and was I to be blamed if I could not do so? Did not I rush away from -her without a word of farewell? Did not we meet by chance that night in -the moonlight? Were those words that I spoke to her thought over? -Were not they forced from me against my own will, and in spite of my -resolution?" There could be no doubt that if any one acquainted with -all the matters to which he referred had been ready to answer him, -a satisfactory reply would have been received by him to each of his -questions. But though, of course, he was aware of this, yet he seemed to -find it necessary to alter the ground of the argument he was advancing -for his own satisfaction. "I have a right to forget the wretched past," -he said, standing upright and looking steadfastly across the glowing -waters. "Have not I died for the past? Is not this life a new one? It -is God's justice that I am carrying out by forgetting all. The past is -past, and the future in all truth and devotion is hers." - -There were, indeed, some moments of his life--and the present was one of -them--when he felt satisfied in his conscience by assuring himself, as -he did now, that as God had taken away all remembrance of the past -from many men who had suffered the agonies of death, he was therefore -entitled to let his past life and its recollections drift away on that -broken mast from which he had been cut in the middle of the ocean; but -the justice of the matter had not occurred to him when he got that bank -order turned into money at the Cape, nor at the time when he had written -to the agents of his father's property in England, informing them of -his escape. He now stood up and spoke those words of his, and felt their -force, until the sun, whose outline had all the afternoon been undefined -in the mist, sank beneath the horizon, and the gorgeous colours drifted -round from his sinking place and dwindled into the dark green of the -waters. He watched the sunset, and though Lottie Vincent came to his -side in her most playful mood, her fresh and artless young nature found -no response to its impulses in him. She turned away chilled, but no more -discouraged than a little child, who, desirous of being instructed -on the secret of the creative art embodied in the transformation of a -handkerchief into a rabbit, finds its mature friend reflecting upon a -perplexing point in the theory of Unconscious Cerebration. Lottie knew -that her friend Mr. Oswin Markham sometimes had to think about matters -of such a nature as caused her little pleasantries to seem incongruous. -She thought that now she had better turn to a certain Lieutenant -Clifford, who, she knew, had no intricate mental problems to work out; -and she did turn to him, with great advantage to herself, and, no doubt, -to the officer as well. However forgetful Oswin Markham may have been -of his past life, he could still recollect a few generalities that had -struck him in former years regarding young persons of a nature similar -to this pretty little Miss Vincent's. She had insisted on his fulfilling -his promise to act with her, and he would fulfil it with a good grace; -but at this point his contract terminated; he would not be tempted into -making another promise to her which he might find much more embarrassing -to carry out with consistency. - -It had been a great grief to Lottie to be compelled, through the -ridiculous treatment of her father by the authorities in ordering him -to Natal, to transfer her dramatic entertainment from Cape Town to -Pietermaritzburg. However, as she had sold a considerable number of -tickets to her friends, she felt that "the most deserving charity," the -augmentation of whose funds was the avowed object of the entertainment, -would be benefited in no inconsiderable degree by the change of venue. -If the people of Pietermaritzburg would steadfastly decline to supply -her with so good an audience as the Cape Town people, there still would -be a margin of profit, since her friends who had bought tickets on the -understanding that the performance would take place where it was at -first intended, did not receive their money back. How could they expect -such a concession, Lottie asked, with innocent indignation; and begged -to be informed if it was her fault that her father was ordered to Natal. -Besides this one unanswerable query, she reminded those who ventured to -make a timid suggestion regarding the returns, that it was in aid of a -most deserving charity the tickets had been sold, so that it would be an -act of injustice to give back a single shilling that had been paid for -the tickets. Pursuing this very excellent system, Miss Lottie had to the -credit of the coming performance a considerable sum which would provide -against the contingencies of a lack of dramatic enthusiasm amongst the -inhabitants of Pietermaritzburg. - -It was at the garden-party at Government House that Markham had by -accident mentioned to Lottie that he had frequently taken part in -dramatic performances for such-like objects as Lottie's was designed to -succour, and though he at first refused to be a member, of her company, -yet at Mrs. Crawford's advocacy of the claims of the deserving object, -he had agreed to place his services and experience at the disposal of -the originator of the benevolent scheme. - -At Cape Town he had not certainly thrown himself very heartily into the -business of creating a part in the drama which had been selected. He was -well aware that if a good performance of the nature designed by Lottie -is successful, a bad performance is infinitely more so; and that any -attempt on the side of an amateur to strike out a new character from an -old part is looked upon with suspicion, and is generally attended with -disaster; so he had not given himself any trouble in the matter. - -"My dear Miss Vincent," he had said in reply to a pretty little -remonstrance from the young lady, "the department of study requiring -most attention in a dramatic entertainment of this sort is the -financial. Sell all the tickets you can, and you will be a greater -benefactress to the charity than if you acted like a Kemble." - -Lottie had taken his advice; but still she made up her mind that Mr. -Markham's name should be closely associated with the entertainment, and -consequently, with her own name. Had she not been at pains to put into -circulation certain stories of the romance surrounding him, and -thus disposed of an unusual number of stalls? For even if one is not -possessed of any dramatic inclinations, one is always ready to pay a -price for looking at a man who has been saved from a shipwreck, or who -has been the co-respondent in some notorious law case. - -When the fellows of the Bayonetteers, who had been indulging in a number -of surmises regarding Lottie's intentions with respect to Markham, -heard that the young lady's father had been ordered to proceed to -Natal without delay, the information seemed to give them a good deal -of merriment. The man who offered four to one that Lottie should not be -able to get any lady friend to take charge of her in Cape Town until her -father's return, could get no one to accept his odds; but his proposal -of three to one that she would get Markham to accompany her to Natal was -eagerly taken up; so that there were several remarks made at the mess -reflecting upon the acuteness of Mr. Markham's perception when it was -learned that he was going with the young lady and her father. - -"You see," remarked the man who had laid the odds, "I knew something of -Lottie in India, and I knew what she was equal to." - -"Lottie is a devilish smart child, by Jove," said one of the losers -meditatively. - -"Yes, she has probably cut her eye-teeth some years ago," hazarded -another subaltern. - -There was a considerable pause before a third of this full bench -delivered final judgment as the result of the consideration of the case. - -"Poor beggar!" he remarked; "poor beggar! he's a finished coon." - -And that Mr. Oswin Markham was, indeed, a man whose career had been -defined for him by another in the plainest possible manner, no member of -the mess seemed to doubt. - -During the first couple of days of the voyage round the coast, when Miss -Lottie would go to the side of Mr. Markham for the purpose of consulting -him on some important point of detail in the intended performance, -the shrewd young fellows of the regiment of Bayonetteers pulled their -phantom shreds of moustaches, and brought the muscles of their faces -about the eyes into play to a remarkable extent, with a view of assuring -one another of the possession of an unusual amount of sagacity by -the company to which they belonged. But when, after the third day -of rehearsals. Lottie's manner of gentle persuasiveness towards them -altered to nasty bitter upbraidings of the young man who had committed -the trifling error of overlooking an entire scene here and there in -working out the character he was to bring before the audience, and to a -most hurtful glance of scorn at the other aspirant who had marked off in -the margin of his copy of the play all the dialogue he was to speak, -but who, unfortunately, had picked up a second copy belonging to a young -lady in which another part had been similarly marked, so that he had, -naturally enough, perfected himself in the dialogue of the lady's rôle -without knowing a letter of his own--when, for such trifling slips as -these, Lottie was found to be so harsh, the deep young fellows made -their facial muscles suggest a doubt as to whether it might not be -possible that Markham was of a sterner and less malleable nature then -they had at first believed him. - -The fact was that since Lottie had met with Oswin Markham she had been -in considerable perplexity of mind. She had found out that he was in by -no means indigent circumstances; but even with her guileless, careless -perceptions, she was not long in becoming aware that he was not likely -to be moulded according to her desires; so, while still behaving in a -fascinating manner towards him, she had had many agreeable half-hours -with Mr. Glaston, who was infinitely more plastic, she could see; but -so soon as the order had come for her father to go up to Natal she had -returned in thought to Oswin Markham, and had smiled to see the grins -upon the expressive faces of the officers of the Bayonetteers when -she found herself by the side of Oswin Markham. She rather liked these -grins, for she had an idea--in her own simple way, of course--that there -is a general tendency on the part of young people to associate when -their names have been previously associated. She knew that the fact of -her having persuaded this Mr. Markham to accompany her to Natal would -cause his name to be joined with hers pretty frequently, and in her -innocence she had no objection to make to this. - -As for Markham himself, he knew perfectly well what remarks people would -make on the subject of his departure in the steamer with Lottie Vincent; -he knew before he had been a day on the voyage that the Bayonetteers -regarded him as somewhat deficient in firmness; but he felt that there -was no occasion for him to be utterly broken down in spirit on account -of this opinion being held by the Bayonetteers. He was not so blind but -that he caught a glimpse now and again of a facial distortion on the -part of a member of the company. He felt that it was probable these -far-seeing fellows would be disappointed at the result of their -surmises. - -And indeed the fellows of the regiment were beginning, before the voyage -was quite over, to feel that this Mr. Oswin Markham was not altogether -of the yielding nature which they had ascribed to him on the grounds of -his having promised Lottie Vincent to accompany her and her father -to Natal at this time. About Lottie herself there was but one opinion -expressed, and that was of such a character as any one disposed to -ingratiate himself with the girl by means of flattery would hardly have -hastened to communicate to her; for the poor little thing had been so -much worried of late over the rehearsals which she was daily conducting -aboard the steamer, that, failing to meet with any expression of -sympathy from Oswin Markham, she had spoken very freely to some of the -company in comment upon their dramatic capacity, and not even an amateur -actor likes to receive unreserved comment of an unfavourable character -upon his powers. - -"She is a confounded little humbug," said one of the subalterns to Oswin -in confidence on the last day of the voyage. "Hang me if I would have -had anything to say to this deuced mummery if I had known what sort of a -girl she was. By George, you should hear the stories Kirkham has on his -fingers' ends about her in India." - -Oswin laughed quietly. "It would be rash, if not cruel, to believe all -the stories that are told about girls in India," he said. "As for Miss -Vincent, I believe her to be a charming girl--as an actress." - -"Yes," said the lieutenant, who had not left his grinder on English -literature long enough to forget all that he had learned of the -literature of the past century--"yes; she is an actress among girls, and -a girl among actresses." - -"Good," said Oswin; "very good. What is it that somebody or other -remarked about Lord Chesterfield as a wit?" - -"Never mind," said the other, ceasing the laugh he had commenced. "What -I say about Lottie is true." - - - - -CHAPTER XXX. - - -```This world is not for aye, nor'tis not strange - -```That even our loves should with our fortunes change; - -```For'tis a question left us yet to prove, - -```Whether love lead fortune, or else fortune love.= - -````Diseases desperate grown - -```By desperate appliance are relieved, - -```Or not at all. - -````... so you must take your husbands.= - -```It is our trick. Nature her custom holds - -```Let shame say what it will: when these are gone - -```The woman will be out.--_Hamlet._= - - -|OF course," said Lottie, as she stood by the side of Oswin Markham -when the small steamer which had been specially engaged to take the -field-officers of the Bayonetteers over the dreaded bar of Durban -harbour was approaching the quay--"of course we shall all go together up -to Pietermaritzburg. I have been there before, you know. We shall have a -coach all to ourselves from Durban." She looked up to his face with only -the least questioning expression upon her own. But Mr. Markham thought -that he had made quite enough promises previously: it would be unwise -to commit himself even in so small a detail as the manner of the journey -from the port of Durban to the garrison town of Pietermaritzburg, which -he knew was at a distance of upwards of fifty miles. - -"I have not the least idea what I shall do when we land," he said. "It -is probable that I shall remain at the port for some days. I may as well -see all that there is on view in this part of the colony." - -This was very distressing to the young lady. - -"Do you mean to desert me?" she asked somewhat reproachfully. - -"Desert you?" he said in a puzzled way. "Ah, those are the words in a -scene in your part, are they not?" - -Lottie became irritated almost beyond the endurance of a naturally -patient soul. - -"Do you mean to leave me to stand alone against all my difficulties, Mr. -Markham?" - -"I should be sorry to do that, Miss Vincent. If you have difficulties, -tell me what they are; and if they are of such a nature that they can be -curtailed by me, you may depend upon my exerting myself." - -"You know very well what idiots these Bayonetteers are," cried Lottie. - -"I know that most of them have promised to act in your theatricals," -replied Markham quietly; and Lottie tried to read his soul in another of -her glances to discover the exact shade of the meaning of his words, but -she gave up the quest. - -"Of course you can please yourself, Mr. Markham," she said, with a -coldness that was meant to appal him. - -"And I trust that I may never be led to do so at the expense of -another," he remarked. - -"Then you will come in our coach?" she cried, brightening up. - -"Pray do not descend to particulars when we are talking in this vague -way on broad matters of sentiment, Miss Vincent." - -"But I must know what you intend to do at once." - -"At once? I intend to go ashore, and try if it is possible to get a -dinner worth eating. After that--well, this is Tuesday, and on Thursday -week your entertainment will take place; before that day you say -you want three rehearsals, then I will agree to be by your side at -Pietermaritzburg on Saturday next." - -This business-like arrangement was not what Lottie on leaving Cape Town -had meant to be the result of the voyage to Natal. There was a slight -pause before she asked: - -"What do you mean by treating me in this way? I always thought you were -my friend. What will papa say if you leave me to go up there alone?" - -This was a very daring bit of dialogue on the part of Miss Lottie, but -they were nearing the quay where she knew Oswin would be free; aboard -the mail steamer of course he was--well, scarcely free. But Mr. Markham -was one of those men who are least discomfited by a daring stroke. He -looked steadfastly at the girl so soon as she uttered her words. - -"The problem is too interesting to be allowed to pass, Miss Vincent," he -said. "We shall do our best to have it answered. By Jove, doesn't that -man on the quay look like Harwood? It is Harwood indeed, and I thought -him among the Zulus." - -The first man caught sight of on the quay was indeed the special -correspondent of the _Dominant Trumpeter_. Lottie's manner changed -instantly on seeing him, and she gave one of her girlish laughs on -noticing the puzzled expression upon his face as he replied to her -salutations while yet afar. She was very careful to keep by the side -of Oswin until the steamer was at the quay; and when at last Harwood -recognised the features of the two persons who had been saluting him, -she saw him look with a little smile first to herself, then to Oswin, -and she thought it prudent to give a small guilty glance downwards and -to repeat her girlish laugh. - -Oswin saw Harwood's glance and heard Lottie's laugh. He also heard the -young lady making an explanation of certain matters, to which Harwood -answered with a second little smile. - -"Kind? Oh, exceedingly kind of him to come so long a distance for the -sake of assisting you. Nothing could be kinder." - -"I feel it to be so indeed," said Miss Vincent. "I feel that I can never -repay Mr. Markham." - -Again that smile came to Mr. Harwood as he said: "Do not take such a -gloomy view of the matter, my dear Miss Vincent; perhaps on reflection -some means may be suggested to you." - -"What can you mean?" cried the puzzled little thing, tripping away. - -"Well, Harwood, in spite of your advice to me, you see I am here not -more than a week behind yourself." - -"And you are looking better than I could have believed possible for any -one in the condition you were in when I left," said Harwood. "Upon my -word, I did not expect much from you as I watched you go up the stairs -at the hotel after that wild ride of yours to and from no place in -particular. But, of course, there are circumstances under which fellows -look knocked up, and there are others that combine to make them seem -quite the contrary; now it seems to me you are subject to the influence -of the latter just at present." He glanced as if by accident over to -where Lottie was making a pleasant little fuss about some articles of -her luggage. - -"You are right," said Markham--"quite right. I have reason to be -particularly elated just now, having got free from that steamer and my -fellow-passengers." - -"Why, the fellows of the Bayonetteers struck me as being particularly -good company," said Harwood. - -"And so they were. Now I must look after this precious portmanteau of -mine." - -"And assist that helpless little creature to look after hers," muttered -Harwood when the other had left him. "Poor little Lottie! is it possible -that you have landed a prize at last? Well, no one will say that you -don't deserve something for your years of angling." - -Mr. Harwood felt very charitably inclined just at this instant, for his -reflections on the behaviour of Markham during the last few days they -had been at the same hotel at Cape Town had not by any means been -quieted since they had parted. He was sorry to be compelled to leave -Cape Town without making any discovery as to the mental condition of -Markham. Now, however, he knew that Markham had been strong enough to -come on to Natal, so that the searching out of the problem of his former -weakness would be as uninteresting as it would be unprofitable. If -there should chance to be any truth in that vague thought which had been -suggested to him as to the possibility of Markham having become attached -to Daireen Gerald, what did it matter now? Here was Markham, having -overcome his weakness, whatever it may have been, by the side of Lottie -Vincent; not indeed appearing to be in great anxiety regarding the -welfare of the young lady's luggage which was being evil-treated, but -still by her side, and this made any further thought on his behalf -unnecessary. - -Mr. Markham had given his portmanteau into the charge of one of the -Natal Zulus, and then he turned to Harwood. - -"You don't mind my asking you what you are doing at Durban instead of -being at the other side of the Tugela?" he said. - -"The Zulus of this province require to be treated of most carefully -in the first instance, before the great question of Zulus in their own -territory can be fully understood by the British public," replied the -correspondent. "I am at present making the Zulu of Durban my special -study. I suppose you will be off at once to Pietermaritzburg?" - -"No," said Markham. "I intend remaining at Durban to study the--the Zulu -characteristics for a few days." - -"But Lottie--I beg your pardon--Miss Vincent is going on at once." - -There was a little pause, during which Markham stared blankly at his -friend. - -"What on earth has that got to say to my remaining here?" he said. - -Harwood looked at him and felt that Miss Lottie was right, even on -purely artistic grounds, in choosing Oswin Markham as one of her actors. - -"Nothing--nothing of course," he replied to Markham's question. - -But Miss Lottie had heard more than a word of this conversation. She -tripped up to Mr. Harwood. - -"Why don't you make some inquiry about your old friends, you most -ungrateful of men?" she cried. "Oh, I have such a lot to tell you. -Dear old Mrs. Crawford was in great grief about your going away, you -know--oh, such great grief that she was forced to give a picnic the -second day after you left, for fear we should all have broken down -utterly." - -"That was very kind of Mrs. Crawford," said Harwood; "and it only -remains for me to hope fervently that the required effect was produced." - -"So far as I was concerned, it was," said Lottie. "But it would never do -for me to speak for other people." - -"Other people?" - -"Yes, other people--the charming Miss Gerald, for instance; I cannot -speak for her, but Mr. Markham certainly can, for he lay at her feet -during the entire of the afternoon when every one else had wandered -away up the ravine. Yes, Mr. Markham will tell you to a shade what her -feelings were upon that occasion. Now, bye-bye. You will come to our -little entertainment next week, will you not? And you will turn up on -Saturday for rehearsal?" she added, smiling at Oswin, who was looking -more stern than amused. "Don't forget--Saturday. You should be very -grateful for my giving you liberty for so long." - -Both men went ashore together without a word; nor did they fall at once -into a fluent chat when they set out for the town, which was more than -two miles distant; for Mr. Harwood was thinking out another of the -problems which seemed to suggest themselves to him daily from the fact -of his having an acute ear for discerning the shades of tone in which -his friends uttered certain phrases. He was just now engaged linking -fancy unto fancy, thinking if it was a little impulse of girlish -jealousy, meant only to give a mosquito-sting to Oswin Markham, that had -caused Miss Lottie Vincent to make that reference to Miss Gerald, or if -it was a piece of real bitterness designed to wound deeply. It was -an interesting problem, and Mr. Harwood worked at its solution very -patiently, weighing all his recollections of past words and phrases that -might tend to a satisfactory result. - -But the greatest amount of satisfaction was not afforded to Mr. Harwood -by the pursuit of the intricacies of the question he had set himself -to work out, but by the reflection that at any rate Markham's being at -Natal and not within easy riding distance of a picturesque Dutch cottage -at Mowbray, was a certain good. What did it signify now if Markham had -previously been too irresolute to tear himself away from the association -of that cottage? Had he not afterwards proved himself sufficiently -strong? And if this strength had come to him through any conversation -he might have had with Miss Gerald on the hillside to which Lottie -had alluded, or elsewhere, what business was it to anybody? Here was -Markham--there was Durban, and this was satisfactory. Only--what did -Lottie mean exactly by that little bit of spitefulness or bitterness? - - - - -CHAPTER XXXI. - - -``_Polonius_. The actors are come hither, my lord.= - -``_Hamlet_. Buz, buz.= - -``_Polonius_. Upon my honour.= - -``_Hamlet. Then came each actor on his ass._= - -``_Polonious_. The best actors in the world, either for tragedy, comedy, -history, pastoral-comical, historical-pastoral, scene individable or -poem unlimited... these are the only men.= - -```Being thus benetted round with villanies,-- - -```Or I could make a prologue to my brains, - -```They had begun the play,--I sat me down. - -````... Wilt thou know - -```The effect...?--_Hamlet_.= - - -|UPON the evening of the Thursday week after the arrival of that -steamer with two companies of the Bayonetteers at Durban, the town of -Pietermaritzburg was convulsed with the prospect of the entertainment -that was to take place in its midst, for Miss Lottie Vincent had not -passed the preceding week in a condition of dramatic abstraction. -She was by no means so wrapped up in the part she had undertaken -to represent as to be unable to give the necessary attention to the -securing of an audience. - -It would seem to a casual _entrepreneur_ visiting Pietermaritzburg that -a large audience might be assured for an entertainment possessing even -the minimum of attractiveness, for the town appears to be of an immense -size--that is, for a South African town. The colonial Romulus and -Remus have shown at all times very lordly notions on the subject of -boundaries, and, being subject to none of those restrictions as to -the cost of every square foot of territory which have such a cramping -influence upon the founders of municipalities at home, they exercise -their grand ideas in the most extensive way. The streets of an early -colonial town are broad roads, and the spaces between the houses are so -great as almost to justify the criticism of those narrow-minded visitors -who call the town straggling. At one time Pietermaritzburg may have been -straggling, but it certainly did not strike Oswin Markham as being so -when he saw it now for the first time on his arrival. He felt that it -had got less of a Dutch look about it than Cape Town, and though that -towering and overshadowing impression which Table Mountain gives to Cape -Town was absent, yet the circle of hills about Pietermaritzburg seemed -to him--and his fancy was not particularly original--to give the town -almost that nestling appearance which by tradition is the natural -characteristic of an English village. - -But if an _entrepreneur_ should calculate the probable numerical value -of an audience in Pietermaritzburg from a casual walk through the -streets, he would find that his assumption had been founded upon -an erroneous basis. The streets are long and in fact noble, but the -inhabitants available for fulfilling the duties of an audience at a -dramatic entertainment are out of all proportion few. Two difficulties -are to be contended with in making up audiences in South Africa: the -first is getting the people in, and the second is keeping people out. As -a rule the races of different colour do not amalgamate with sufficient -ease to allow of a mixed audience being pervaded with a common sympathy. -A white man seated between a Hottentot and a Kafir will scarcely be -brought to admit that he has had a pleasant evening, even though the -performance on the stage is of a choice character. A single Zulu will -make his presence easily perceptible in a room full of white people, -even though he should remain silent and in a secluded corner; while a -Hottentot, a Kafir, and a Zulu constitute a _bouquet d'Afrique_, the -savour of which is apt to divert the attention of any one in their -neighbourhood from the realistic effect of a garden scene upon the -stage. - -Miss Lottie, being well aware that the audience-forming material in the -town was small in proportion to the extent of the streets, set herself -with her usual animation about the task of disposing of the remaining -tickets. She fancied that she understood something of the system to be -pursued with success amongst the burghers. She felt it to be her duty to -pay a round of visits to the houses where she had been intimate in the -days of her previous residence at the garrison; and she contrived to -impress upon her friends that the ties of old acquaintance should be -consolidated by the purchase of a number of her tickets. She visited -several families who, she knew, had been endeavouring for a long time -to work themselves into the military section of the town's society, and -after hinting to them that the officers of the Bayonetteers would -remain in the lowest spirits until they had made the acquaintance of the -individual members of each of those families, she invariably disposed of -a ticket to the individual member whose friendship was so longed for at -the garrison. As for the tradesmen of the town, she managed without any -difficulty, or even without forgetting her own standing, to make them -aware of the possible benefits that would accrue to the business of the -town under the patronage of the officers of the Bayonetteers; and so, -instead of having to beg of the tradesmen to support the deserving -charity on account of which she was taking such a large amount of -trouble, she found herself thanked for the permission she generously -accorded to these worthy men to purchase places for the evening. - -She certainly deserved well of the deserving charity, and the old -field-officers, who rolled their eyes and pulled their moustaches, -recollecting the former labours of Miss Lottie, had got as imperfect -a knowledge of the proportions of her toil and reward as the less -good-natured of their wives who alluded to the trouble she was taking as -if it was not wholly disinterested. Lottie certainly took a vast amount -of trouble, and if Oswin Markham only appeared at the beginning of each -rehearsal and left at the conclusion, the success of the performance was -not at all jeopardised by his action. - -For the entire week preceding the evening of the performance little -else was talked about in all sections of Maritzburgian society but the -prospects of its success. The ladies in the garrison were beginning -to be wearied of the topic of theatricals, and the colonel of the -Bayonetteers was heard to declare that he would not submit any longer to -have the regimental parades only half-officered day by day, and that -the plea of dramatic study would be insufficient in future to excuse -an absentee. But this vigorous action was probably accelerated by the -report that reached him of a certain lieutenant, who had only four lines -to speak in the play, having escaped duty for the entire week on the -grounds of the necessity for dramatic study. - -At last the final nail was put in the fastenings of the scenery on the -stage, which a number of the Royal Engineers, under the guidance of -two officers and a clerk of the works, had erected; the footlights were -after considerable difficulty coaxed into flame. The officers of the -garrison and their wives made an exceedingly good front row in the -stalls, and a number of the sergeants and privates filled up the back -seats, ready to applaud, without reference to their merits at the -performance, their favourite officers when they should appear on the -stage; the intervening seats were supposed to be booked by the general -audience, and their punctuality of attendance proved that Lottie's -labours had not been in vain. - -Mr. Harwood having tired of Durban, had been some days in the town, and -he walked from the hotel with Markham; for Mr. Markham, though the part -he was to play was one of most importance in the drama, did not think -it necessary to hang about the stage for the three hours preceding the -lifting of the curtain, as most of the Bayonetteers who were to act -believed to be prudent. Harwood took a seat in the second row of stalls, -for he had promised Lottie and one of the other young ladies who was -in the cast, to give each of them a candid opinion upon their -representations. For his own part he would have preferred giving his -opinion before seeing the representations, for he knew what a strain -would be put upon his candour after they were over. - -When the orchestra--which was a great feature of the performance--struck -up an overture, the stage behind the curtain was crowded with figures -in top-boots and with noble hats encircled with ostrich feathers--the -element of brigandage entering largely into the construction of the -drama of the evening. Each of the figures carried a small pamphlet which -he studied every now and again, for in spite of the many missed parades, -a good deal of uncertainty as to the text of their parts pervaded the -minds of the histrionic Bayonetteers. Before the last notes of the -overture had crashed, Lottie Vincent, radiant in pearl powder and -pencilled eyebrows, wearing a plain muslin dress and white satin shoes, -her fair hair with a lovely white rose shining amongst its folds, -tripped out. Her character in the first act being that of a simple -village maiden, she was dressed with becoming consistency, every detail -down to those white satin shoes being, of course, in keeping with the -ordinary attire of simple village maidens wherever civilisation has -spread. - -"For goodness' sake leave aside your books," she said to the young men -as she came forward. "Do you mean to bring them out with you and read -from them? Surely after ten rehearsals you might be perfect." - -"Hang me, if I haven't a great mind not to appear at all in this rot," -said one of the gentlemen in the top-boots to his companions. He had -caught a glimpse of himself in a mirror a minute previously and he did -not like the picture. "If it was not for the sake of the people who have -come I'd cut the whole affair." - -"She has done nothing but bully," remarked a second of these desperadoes -in top-boots. - -"All because that fellow Markham has shown himself to be no idiot," said -a third. - -"Count Rodolph loves her, but I'll spare him not: he dies to-night," -remarked another, but he was only refreshing his memory on the dialogue -he was to speak. - -When the gentleman who was acting as prompter saw that the stage was -cleared, he gave the signal for the orchestra to play the curtain up. At -the correct moment, and with a perfection of stage management that would -have been creditable to any dramatic establishment in the world, as -one of the Natal newspapers a few days afterwards remarked with great -justice, the curtain was raised, and an excellent village scene was -disclosed to the enthusiastic audience. Two of the personages came on -at once, and so soon as their identity was clearly established, the -soldiers began to applaud, which was doubtless very gratifying to -the two officers, from a regimental standpoint, though it somewhat -interfered with the progress of the scene. The prompter, however, -hastened to the aid of the young men who had lost themselves in that -whirlwind of applause, and the dialogue began to run easily. - -Lottie had made for herself a little loophole in the back drop-scene -through which she observed the audience. She saw that the place was -crowded to the doors--English-speaking and Dutch-speaking burghers -were in the central seats; she smiled as she noticed the aspirants to -garrison intimacies crowding up as close as possible to the officers' -wives in the front row, and she wondered if it would be necessary to -acknowledge any of them for longer than a week. Then she saw Harwood -with the faintest smile imaginable upon his face, as the young men on -the stage repeated the words of their parts without being guilty either -of the smallest mistake or the least dramatic spirit; and this time she -wondered if, when she would be going through her part and she would look -towards Harwood, she should find the same sort of smile upon his face. -She rather thought not. Then, as the time for her call approached, she -hastened round to her entrance, waiting until the poor stuff the two -young men were speaking came to an end; then, not a second past her -time, she entered, demure and ingenuous as all village maidens in satin -slippers must surely be. - -She was not disappointed in her reception by the audience. The ladies -in the front stalls who had spoken, it might be, unkindly of her in -private, now showed their good nature in public, and the field officers -forgot all the irregularities she had caused in the regiment and -welcomed her heartily; while the tradesmen in the middle rows made their -applause a matter of business. The village maiden with the satin shoes -smiled in the timid, fluttered, dovelike way that is common amongst the -class, and then went on with her dialogue. She felt altogether happy, -for she knew that the young lady who was to appear in the second scene -could not possibly meet with such an expression of good feeling as she -had obtained from the audience. - -And now the play might be said to have commenced in earnest. It was by -no means a piece of French frivolity, this drama, but a genuine work of -English art as it existed thirty years ago, and it was thus certain to -commend itself to the Pietermaritzburghers who liked solidity even when -it verged upon stolidity. - -_Throne or Spouse_ was the title of the play, and if its incidents were -somewhat improbable and its details utterly impossible, it was not the -less agreeable to the audience. The two young men who had appeared in -top-boots on the village green had informed each other, the audience -happily overhearing, that they had been out hunting with a certain -Prince, and that they had got separated from their companions. - -They embraced the moment as opportune for the discussion of a few court -affairs, such as the illness ot the monarch, and the Prince's prospects -of becoming his successor, and then they thought it would be as well to -try and find their way back to the court; so off they went. Then Miss -Vincent came on the village green and reminded herself that her name was -Marie and that she was a simple village maiden; she also recalled the -fact that she lived alone with her mother in Yonder Cottage. It seemed -to give her considerable satisfaction to reflect that, though poor, she -was, and she took it upon her to say that her mother was also, strictly -virtuous, and she wished to state in the most emphatic terms that though -she was wooed by a certain Count Rodolph, yet, as she did not love him, -she would never be his. Lottie was indeed very emphatic at this part, -and her audience applauded her determination as Marie. Curiously enough, -she had no sooner expressed herself in this fashion than one of the -Bayonetteers entered, and at the sight of him Lottie called out, "Ah, -he is here! Count Rodolph!" This the audience felt was a piece of subtle -constructive art on the part of the author. Then the new actor replied, -"Yes, Count Rodolph is here, sweet Marie, where he would ever be, by the -side of the fairest village maiden," etc. - -The new actor was attired in one of the broad hats of the -period--whatever it may have been--with a long ostrich feather. He had -an immense black moustache, and his eyebrows were exceedingly heavy. He -also wore top-boots, a long sword, and a black cloak, one fold of which -he now and again threw over his left shoulder when it worked its way -down his arm. It was not surprising that further on in the drama -the Count was found to be a dissembler; his costume fostered any -proclivities in this way that might otherwise have remained dormant. - -The village maiden begged to know why the Count persecuted her with his -attentions, and he replied that he did so on account of his love for -her. She then assured him that she could never bring herself to look -on him with favour; and this naturally drew from him the energetic -declaration of his own passion for her. He concluded by asking her to be -his: she cried with emphasis, "Never!" He repeated his application, and -again she cried "Never!" and told him to begone. "You shall be mine," he -cried, catching her by the arm. "Wretch, leave me," she said, in all her -village-maiden dignity; he repeated his assertion, and clasped her round -the waist with ardour. Then she shrieked for help, and a few simple -villagers rushed hurriedly on the stage, but the Count drew his sword -and threatened with destruction any one who might advance. The simple -villagers thought it prudent to retire. "Ha! now, proud Marie, you are -in my power," said the Count. "Is there no one to save me?" shrieked -Marie. "Yes, here is some one who will save you or perish in the -attempt," came a voice from the wings, and with an agitation pervading -the sympathetic orchestra, a respectable young man in a green -hunting-suit with a horn by his side and a drawn sword in his hand, -rushed on, and was received with an outburst of applause from the -audience who, in Pietermaritzburg, as in every place else, are ever on -the side of virtue. This new actor was Oswin Markham, and it seemed that -Lottie's stories regarding the romance associated with his appearance -were successful, for not only was there much applause, but a quiet hum -of remark was heard amongst the front stalls, and it was some moments -before the business of the stage could be proceeded with. - -So soon as he was able to speak, the Count wished to know who was the -intruder that dared to face one of the nobles of the land, and the -intruder replied in general terms, dwelling particularly upon the -fact that only those were noble who behaved nobly. He expressed an -inclination to fight with the Count, but the latter declined to -gratify him on account of the difference there was between their social -standing, and he left the stage saying, "Farewell, proud beauty, we -shall meet again." Then he turned to the stranger, and, laying his hand -on his sword-hilt after he had thrown his cloak over his shoulder, he -cried, "We too shall meet again." - -The stranger then made some remarks to himself regarding the manner in -which he was stirred by Marie's beauty. He asked her who she was, and -she replied, truthfully enough, that she was a simple village maiden, -and that she lived in Yonder Cottage. He then told her that he was a -member of the Prince's retinue, and that he had lost his way at the -hunt; and he begged the girl to conduct him to Yonder Cottage. The girl -expressed her pleasure at being able to show him some little attention, -but she remarked that the stranger would find Yonder Cottage very -humble. She assured him, however, of the virtue of herself, and again -went so far as to speak for her mother. The stranger then made a nice -little speech about the constituents of true nobility, and went out with -Marie as the curtain fell. - -The next scene was laid in Yonder Cottage; the virtuous mother being -discovered knitting, and whiling away the time by talking to herself -of the days when she was nurse to the late Queen. Then Marie and the -stranger entered, and there was a pleasant family party in Yonder -Cottage. The stranger was evidently struck with Marie, and the scene -ended by his swearing to make her his wife. The next act showed the -stranger in his true character as the Prince; his royal father has heard -of his attachment to Marie, and not being an enthusiast on the subject -of simple village maidens becoming allied to the royal house, he -threatens to cut off the entail of the kingdom--which it appeared he -had power to do--if the Prince does not relinquish Marie, and he dies -leaving a clause in his will to this effect. - -The Prince rushes to Yonder Cottage--hears that Marie is carried off -by the Count--rescues her--marries her--and then the virtuous mother -confesses that the Prince is her own child, and Marie is the heiress to -the throne. No one appeared to dispute the story--Marie is consequently -Queen and her husband King, having through his proper treatment of the -girl gained the kingdom; and the curtain falls on general happiness, -Count Rodolph having committed suicide. - -"Nothing could have been more successful," said Lottie, all tremulous -with excitement, to Oswin, as they went off together amid a tumult of -applause, which was very sweet to her ears. - -"I think it went off very well indeed," said Oswin. "Your acting was -perfection, Miss Vincent." - -"Call me Marie," she said playfully. "But we must really go before the -curtain; hear how they are applauding." - -"I think we have had enough of it," said Oswin. - -"Come along," she cried; "I dislike it above all things, but there is -nothing for it." - -The call for Lottie and Oswin was determined, so after the soldiers had -called out their favourite officers, Oswin brought the girl forward, and -the enthusiasm was very great. Lottie then went off, and for a few -moments Markham remained alone upon the stage. He was most heartily -applauded, and, after acknowledging the compliment, he was just stepping -back, when from the centre of the seats a man's voice came, loud and -clear: - -"Bravo, old boy! you're a trump wherever you turn up." - -There was a general moving of heads, and some laughter in the front -rows. - -But Oswin Markham looked from where he was standing on the stage down -to the place whence that voice seemed to come. He neither laughed nor -smiled, only stepped back behind the curtain. - -The stage was now crowded with the actors and their friends; everybody -was congratulating everybody else. Lottie was in the highest spirits. - -"Could anything have been more successful?" she cried again to Oswin -Markham. He looked at her without answering for some moments. "I don't -know," he said at last. "Successful? perhaps so." - -"What on earth do you mean?" she asked; "are you afraid of the Natal -critics?" - -"No, I can't say I am." - -"Of what then?" - -"There is a person at the door who wishes to speak to you, Mr. Markham," -said one of the servants coming up to Oswin. "He says he doesn't carry -cards, but you will see his name here," and he handed Oswin an envelope. - -Oswin Markham read the name on the envelope and crushed it into his -pocket, saying to the servant: - -"Show the--gentleman up to the room where I dressed." - -So Miss Lottie did not become aware of the origin of Mr. Markham's doubt -as to the success of the great drama _Throne or Spouse_. - - - - -CHAPTER XXXII. - - -``Good my lord, what is your cause of distemper? You do surely bar the -door upon your own liberty if you deny your griefs to your friend.= - -````... tempt him with speed aboard; - -```Delay it not; I'll have him hence to-night.= - -````Indeed this counsellor - -```Is now most still, most secret, and most grave, - -```Who was in life a foolish prating knave.= - -```This sudden sending him away must seem - -```Deliberate.--_Hamlet._= - - -|IN the room where he had assumed the dress of the part he had just -played, Oswin Markham was now standing idle, and without making any -attempt to remove the colour from his face or the streaks from his -eyebrows. He was still in the dress of the Prince when the door was -opened and a man entered the room eagerly. - -"By Jingo! yes, I thought you'd see me," he cried before he had closed -the door. All the people outside--and there were a good many--who -chanced to hear the tone of the voice knew that the speaker was the man -who had shouted those friendly words when Oswin was leaving the stage. -"Yes, old fellow," he continued, slapping Markham on the back and -grasping him by the hand, "I thought I might venture to intrude upon -you. Right glad I was to see you, though, by heavens! I thought I should -have shouted out when I saw you--you, of all people, here. Tell us how -it comes, Oswin. How the deuce do you appear at this place? Why, what's -the matter with you? Have you talked so much in that tall way on the -boards that you haven't a word left to say here? You weren't used to be -dumb in the good old days---good old nights, my boy." - -"You won't give me a chance," said Oswin; and he did not even smile in -response to the other's laughter. - -"There then, I've dried up," said the stranger. "But, by my soul, I tell -you I'm glad to see you. It seems to me, do you know, that I'm drunk -now, and that when I sleep off the fit you'll be gone. I've fancied -queer things when I've been drunk, as you well know. But it's you -yourself, isn't it?" - -"One need have no doubt about your identity," said Oswin. "You talk in -the same infernally muddled way that ever Harry Despard used to talk." - -"That's like yourself, my boy," cried the man, with a loud laugh. "I'm -beginning to feel that it's you indeed, though you are dressed up like -a Prince--by heavens! you played the part well. I couldn't help shouting -out what I did for a lark. I wondered what you'd think when you heard -my voice. But how did you manage to turn up at Natal? tell me that. You -left us to go up country, didn't you?" - -"It's a long story," replied Oswin. "Very long, and I am bound to change -this dress. I can't go about in this fashion for ever." - -"No more you can," said the other. "And the sooner you get rid of those -togs the better, for by God, it strikes me that they give you a wrong -impression about yourself. You're not so hearty by a long way as you -used to be. I'll tell you what I'll do; I'll go on to the hotel and -wait there until you are in decent rig. I'll only be in this town until -to-morrow evening, and we must have a night together." - -For the first time since the man had entered the room Oswin brightened -up. - -"Only till to-morrow night, Hal?" he cried. "Then we must have a few -jolly hours together before we part. I won't let you even go to the -hotel now. Stay here while I change, like a decent fellow." - -"Now that sounds like your old form, my boy; hang me if I don't stay -with you. Is that a flask in the portmanteau? It is, by Jingo, and -if it's not old Irish may I be--and cigars too. Yes, I will stay, old -fellow, for auld langsyne. This is like auld langsyne, isn't it? Why, -where are you off to?" - -"I have to give a message to some one in another room," said Oswin, -leaving the man alone. He was a tall man, apparently about the same age -as Markham. So much of his face as remained unconcealed by a shaggy, -tawny beard and whiskers was bronzed to a copper colour. His hair -was short and tawny, and his mouth was very coarse. His dress was not -shabby, but the largeness of the check on the pattern scarcely argued -the possession of a subdued taste on the part of the wearer. - -He had seated himself upon a table in the room though there were plenty -of chairs, and when Oswin went out he filled the flask cup and emptied -it with a single jerk of his head; then he snatched up the hat which had -been worn by Oswin on the stage; he threw it into the air and caught it -on one of his feet, then with a laugh he kicked it across the floor. - -But Oswin had gone to the room where Captain Howard, who had acted as -stage manager, was smoking after the labours of the evening. "Howard," -Said Markham, "I must be excused from your supper to-night." - -"Nonsense," said Howard. "It would be too ridiculous for us to have -a supper if you who have done the most work to-night should be away. -What's the matter? Have you a doctor's certificate?" - -"The fact is a--a--sort of friend of mine--a man I knew pretty -intimately some time ago, has turned up here most unexpectedly." - -"Then bring your sort of friend with you." - -"Quite impossible," said Markham quickly. "He is not the kind of man who -would make the supper agreeable either to himself or to any one else. -You will explain to the other fellows how I am compelled to be away." - -"But you'll turn up some time in the course of the night, won't you?" - -"I am afraid to say I shall. The fact is, my friend requires a good deal -of attention to be given to him in the course of a friendly night. If I -can manage to clear myself of him in decent time I'll be with you." - -"You must manage it," said Howard as Oswin went back to the room, where -he found his friend struggling to pull on the green doublet in which the -Prince had appeared in the opening scene of the play. - -"Hang me if I couldn't do the part like one o'clock," he cried; "the -half of it is in the togs. You weren't loud enough, Oswin, when you came -on; you wouldn't have brought down the gods even at Ballarat. This is -how you should have done it: 'I'll save you or----'" - -"For Heaven's sake don't make a fool of yourself, Hal." - -"I was only going to show you how it should be done to rouse the people; -and as for making a fool of myself----" - -"You have done that so often you think it not worth the caution. Come -now, stuff those things into the portmanteau, and I'll have on my mufti -in five minutes." - -"And then off to the hotel, and you bet your pile, as we used to say at -Chokeneck Gulch, we'll have more than a pint bottle of Bass. By the way, -how about your bronze; does the good old governor still stump up?" - -"My allowance goes regularly to Australia," said Os win, with a stern -look coming to his face. - -"And where else should it go, my boy? By the way, that's a tidy female -that showed what neat ankles she had as Marie. By my soul, I envied you -squeezing her. 'What right has he to squeeze her?' I said to myself, and -then I thought if----" - -"But you haven't told me how you came here," said Oswin, interrupting -him. - -"No more I did. It's easily told, my lad. It was getting too warm for me -in Melbourne, and as I had still got some cash I thought I'd take a run -to New York city--at least that's what I made up my mind to do when I -awoke one fine morning in the cabin of the _Virginia_ brig a couple -of hundred miles from Cape Howe. I remembered going into a saloon one -evening and finding a lot of men giving general shouts, but beyond that -I had no idea of anything." - -"That's your usual form," said Oswin. "So you are bound for New York?" - -"Yes, the skipper of the _Virginia_ had made Natal one of his ports, -and there we put in yesterday, so I ran up to this town, under what you -would call an inspiration, or I wouldn't be here now ready to slip the -tinsel from as many bottles of genuine Moët as you choose to order. But -you--what about yourself?" - -"I am here, my Hal, to order as many bottles as you can slip the tinsel -off," cried Oswin, his face flushed more deeply than when it had been -rouged before the footlights. - -"Spoken in your old form, by heavens!" cried the other, leaping from the -table. "You always were a gentleman amongst us, and you never failed -us in the matter of drink. Hang me if I don't let the _Virginia_ -brig--go--to--to New York without me; I'll stay here in company of my -best friend." - -"Come along," said Oswin, leaving the room. "Whether you go or stay -we'll have a night of it at the hotel." - -They passed out together and walked up to the hotel, hearing all the -white population discussing the dramatic performance of the evening, for -it had created a considerable stir in the town. There was no moon, but -the stars were sparkling over the dark blue of the hills that almost -encircle the town. Tall Zulus stood, as they usually do after dark, -talking at the corners in their emphatic language, while here and there -smaller white men speaking Cape Dutch passed through the streets smoking -their native cigars. - -"Just what you would find in Melbourne or in the direction of Geelong, -isn't it, Oswin?" said the stranger, who had his arm inside Markham's. - -"Yes, with a few modifications," said Oswin. - -"Why, hang it all, man," cried the other. "You aren't getting -sentimental, are you? A fellow would think from the way you've been -talking in that low, hollow, parson's tone that you weren't glad I -turned up. If you're not, just say so. You won't need to give Harry -Despard a nod after you've given him a wink." - -"What an infernal fool you do make of yourself," said Oswin. "You know -that I'm glad to have you beside me again, old fellow,--yes, devilish -glad. Confound it, man, do you fancy I've no feeling--no recollection? -Haven't we stood by each other in the past, and won't we do it in the -future?" - -"We will, by heavens, my lad! and hang me if I don't smash anything -that comes on the table tonight except the sparkling. And look here, the -_Virginia_ brig may slip her cable and be off to New York. I'll stand by -you while you stay here, my boy. Yes, say no more, my mind is made up." - -"Spoken like a man!" cried Oswin, with a sudden start. "Spoken like a -man! and here we are at the hotel. We'll have one of our old suppers -together, Hal----" - -"Or perish in the attempt," shouted the other. - -The stranger went upstairs, while Oswin remained below to talk to the -landlord about some matters that occupied a little time. - -Markham and Harwood had a sitting-room for their exclusive use in the -hotel, but it was not into this room that Oswin brought his guest, it -was into another apartment at a different quarter of the house. The -stranger threw his hat into a corner and himself down upon a sofa with -his legs upon a chair that he had tilted back. - -"Now we'll have a general shout," he said. "Ask all the people in the -house what they'll drink. If you acted the Prince on the stage to-night, -I'll act the part here now. I've got the change of a hundred samples of -the Sydney mint, and I want to ease myself of them. Yes, we'll have a -general shout." - -"A general shout in a Dutchman's house? My boy, this isn't a Ballarat -saloon," said Oswin. "If we hinted such a thing we'd be turned into -the street. Here is a bottle of the sparkling by way of opening the -campaign." - -"I'll open the champagne and you open the campaign, good! The sight of -you, Oswin, old fellow--well, it makes me feel that life is a joke. -Fill up your glass and we'll drink to the old times. And now tell me all -about yourself. How did you light here, and what do you mean to do? Have -you had another row in the old quarter?" - -Oswin had drained his glass of champagne and had stretched himself upon -the second sofa. His face seemed pale almost to ghastliness, as persons' -faces do after the use of rouge. He gave a short laugh when the other -had spoken. - -"Wait till after supper," he cried. "I haven't a word to throw to a dog -until after supper." - -"Curse that Prince and his bluster on the stage; you're as hoarse as a -rook now, Oswin," remarked the stranger. - -In a brief space the curried crayfish and penguins' eggs, which form -the opening dishes of a Cape supper, appeared; and though Oswin's friend -seemed to have an excellent appetite, Markham himself scarcely ate -anything. It did not, however, appear that the stranger's comfort was -wholly dependent upon companionship. He ate and drank and talked loudly -whether Oswin fasted or remained mute; but when the supper was removed -and he lighted a cigar, he poured out half a bottle of champagne into a -tumbler, and cried: - -"Now, my gallant Prince, give us all your eventful history since you -left Melbourne five months ago, saying you were going up country. Tell -us how you came to this place, whatever its infernal Dutch name is." - -And Oswin Markham, sitting at the table, told him. - -But while this _tète-à-tète_ supper was taking place at the hotel, the -messroom of the Bayonetteers was alight, and the regimental cook had -excelled himself in providing dishes that were wholly English, without -the least colonial flavour, for the officers and their guests, among -whom was Harwood. - -Captain Howard's apology for Markham was not freely accepted, more -especially as Markham did not put in an appearance during the entire of -the supper. Harwood was greatly surprised at his absence, and the story -of a friend having suddenly turned up he rejected as a thing devised as -an excuse. He did not return to the hotel until late--more than an -hour past midnight. He paused outside the hotel door for some moments, -hearing the sound of loud laughter and a hoarse voice singing snatches -of different songs. - -"What is the noisy party upstairs?" he asked of the man who opened the -door. - -"That is Mr. Markham and his friend, sir. They have taken supper -together," said the servant. - -Harwood did not express the surprise he felt. He took his candle, and -went to his own room, and, as he smoked a cigar before going to bed, he -heard the intermittent sounds of the laughter and the singing. - -"I shall have a talk with this old friend of Mr. Markham's in the -morning," he said, after he had stated another of his problems to sleep -over. - -Markham and he had been accustomed to breakfast together in their -sitting-room since they had come up from Durban; but when Harwood awoke -the next morning, and came in to breakfast, he found only one cup upon -the table. - -"Why is there not a cup for Mr. Markham?" he asked of the servant. - -"Mr. Markham, sir, left with his friend for Durban at four o'clock this -morning," said the man. - -"What, for Durban?" - -"Yes, sir. Mr. Markham had ordered a Cape cart and team to be here at -that time. I thought you might have awakened as they were leaving." - -"No, I did not," said Mr. Harwood quietly; and the servant left the -room. - -Here was something additional for the special correspondent of the -_Dominant Trumpeter_ to ponder over and reduce to the terms of a -problem. He reflected upon his early suspicions of Oswin Markham. Had -he not even suggested that Markham's name was probably something very -different from what he had called himself? Mr. Harwood knew well that -men have a curious tendency to call themselves by the names of the -persons to whom bank orders are made payable, and he believed that such -a subtle sympathy might exist between the man who had been picked up at -sea and the document that was found in his possession. Yes, Mr. Harwood -felt that his instincts were not perhaps wholly in error regarding Mr. -Oswin Markham, cleverly though he had acted the part of the Prince in -that stirring drama on the previous evening. - -On the afternoon of the following day, however, Oswin Markham entered -the hotel at Pietermaritzburg and walked into the room where Harwood -was working up a letter for his newspaper, descriptive of life among the -Zulus. - -"Good heavens!" cried the "special," starting up; "I did not expect you -back so soon. Why, you could only have stayed a few hours at the port." - -"It was enough for me," said Oswin, a smile lighting up his pale face; -"quite enough for me. I only waited to see the vessel with my friend -aboard safely over the bar. Then I returned." - -"You went away from here in something of a hurry, did you not, Markham?" - -Oswin laughed as he threw himself into a chair. - -"Yes, something of a hurry. My friend is--let us say, eccentric. We left -without going to bed the night before last. Never mind, Harwood, -old fellow; he is gone, and here I am now, ready for anything -you propose--an excursion across the Tugela or up to the -Transvaal--anywhere--anywhere--I'm free now and myself again." - -"Free?" said Harwood curiously. "What do you mean by free?" - -Oswin looked at him mutely for a moment, then he laughed, saying: - -"Free--yes, free from that wretched dramatic affair. Thank Heaven, it's -off my mind!" - - - - -CHAPTER XXXIII. - - -``_Horatio_. My lord, the King your father. - -``_Hamlet_. The King--my father? - -``_Horatio_. Season your admiration for a while.= - -```In what particular thought to work I know not; - -```But in the gross and scope of mine opinion - -```This bodes some strange eruption to our state.= - -````Our last King, - -```Whose image even but now appear'd to us, - -````... by a sealed compact - -```Did forfeit... all those his lands - -```Which he stood seized of, to the conqueror.= - -`````_Hamlet._= - - -|MY son," said The Macnamara, "you ought to be ashamed of your -threatment of your father. The like of your threatment was never known -in the family of the Macnamaras, or, for that matter, of the O'Dermots. -A stain has been thrown upon the family that centuries can't wash out." - -"It is no stain either upon myself or our family for me to have set -out to do some work in the world," said Standish proudly, for he felt -capable of maintaining the dignity of labour. "I told you that I would -not pass my life in the idleness of Innishdermot. I-----------" - -"It's too much for me, Standish O'Dermot Macnamara--to hear you talk -lightly of Innishdermot is too much for the blood of the representative -of the ancient race. Don't, my boy, don't." - -"I don't talk lightly of it; when you told me it was gone from us I felt -it as deeply as any one could feel it." - -"It's one more wrong added to the grievances of our thrampled counthry," -cried the hereditary monarch of the islands with fervour. "And yet you -have never sworn an oath to be revenged. You even tell me that you -mean to be in the pay of the nation that has done your family this -wrong--that has thrampled The Macnamara into the dust. This is the -bitterest stroke of all." - -"I have told you all," said Standish. "Colonel Gerald was kinder to me -than words could express. He is going to England in two months, but only -to remain a week, and then he will leave for the Castaway Islands. -He has already written to have my appointment as private secretary -confirmed, and I shall go at once to have everything ready for his -arrival. It's not much I can do, God knows, but what I can do I will for -him. I'll work my best." - -"Oh, this is bitter--bitter--to hear a Macnamara talk of work; and just -now, too, when the money has come to us." - -"I don't want the money," said Standish indignantly. - -"Ye're right, my son, so far. What signifies fifteen thousand pounds -when the feelings of an ancient family are outraged?" - -"But I can't understand how those men had power to take the land, if you -did not wish to give it to them, for their railway and their hotel." - -"It's more of the oppression, my son--more of the thrampling of our -counthry into the dust. I rejected their offers with scorn at first; -but I found out that they could get power from the oppressors of our -counthry to buy every foot of the ground at the price put on it by a man -they call an arbithrator--so between thraitors and arbithrators I knew -I couldn't hold out. With tears in my eyes I signed the papers, and now -all the land from the mouth of Suangorm to Innishdermot is in the hands -of the English company--all but the castle--thank God they couldn't -wrest that from me. If you'd only been by me, Standish, I would -have held out against them all; but think of the desolate old man -sitting amongst the ruins of his home and the tyrants with the gold--I -could do nothing." - -"And then you came out here. Well, father, I'm glad to see you, and -Colonel Gerald will be so too, and--Daireen." - -"Aye," said The Macnamara. "Daireen is here too. And have you been -talking to the lovely daughter of the Geralds, my boy? Have you been -confessing all you confessed to me, on that bright day at Innishdermot? -Have you----" - -"Look here, father," said Standish sternly; "you must never allude to -anything that you forced me to say then. It was a dream of mine, and now -it is past." - -"You can hold your head higher than that now, my boy," said The -Macnamara proudly. "You're not a beggar now, Standish; money's in the -family." - -"As if money could make any difference," said Standish. - -"It makes all the difference in the world, my boy," said The Macnamara; -but suddenly recollecting his principles, he added, "That is, to some -people; but a Macnamara without a penny might aspire to the hand of -the noblest in the land. Oh, here she comes--the bright snowdhrop of -Glenmara--the arbutus-berry of Craig-Innish; and her father too--oh, why -did he turn to the Saxons?" - -The Macnamara, Prince of Innishdermot, Chief of the Islands and Lakes, -and King of all Munster, was standing with his son in the coffee-room of -the hotel, having just come ashore from the steamer that had brought him -out to the Cape. The patriot had actually left his land for the first -time in his life, and had proceeded to the colony in search of his son, -and he found his son waiting for him at the dock gates. - -That first letter which Standish received from his father had indeed -been very piteous, and if the young man had not been so resolute in his -determination to work, he would have returned to Innishdermot once more, -to comfort his father in his trials. But the next mail brought a second -communication from The Macnamara to say that he could endure no longer -the desolation of the lonely hearth of his ancestral castle, but would -set out in search of his lost offspring through all the secret places -of the earth. Considering that he had posted this letter to the definite -address of his offspring, the effect of the vagueness of his expressed -resolution was somewhat lessened. - -Standish received the letter with dismay, and Colonel Gerald himself -felt a little uneasiness at the prospect of having The Macnamara -quartered upon him for an uncertain period. He was well aware of the -largeness of the ideas of The Macnamara on many matters, and in regard -to the question of colonial hospitality he felt that the views of the -hereditary prince would be liberal to an inconvenient degree. It was -thus with something akin to consternation that he listened to the -eloquent letter which Standish read with flushed face and trembling -hands. - -"We shall be very pleased to see The Macnamara here," said Colonel -Gerald; and Daireen laughed, saying she could not believe that -Standish's father would ever bring himself to depart from his kingdom. -It was on the next day that Colonel Gerald had an interview of -considerable duration with Standish on a matter of business, he said; -and when it was over and the young man's qualifications had been judged -of, Standish found himself in a position either to accept or decline the -office of private secretary to the new governor of the lovely Castaway -group. With tears he left the presence of the governor, and went to -his room to weep the fulness from his mind and to make a number of firm -resolutions as to his future of hard work; and that very evening Colonel -Gerald had written to the Colonial Office nominating Standish to the -appointment; so that the matter was considered settled, and Standish -felt that he did not fear to face his father. - -But when Standish had met The Macnamara on the arrival of the mail -steamer a week after he had received that letter stating his intentions, -the young man learned, what apparently could not be included in a letter -without proving harassing to its eloquence, that the extensive lands -along the coastway of the lough had been sold to an English company of -speculators who had come to the conclusion that a railway made through -the picturesque district would bring a fortune to every one who might be -so fortunate as to have money invested in the undertaking. So a railway -was to be made, and a gigantic hotel built to overlook the lough. The -shooting and fishing rights--in fact every right and every foot of -ground, had been sold for a large sum to the company by The Macnamara. -And though Standish had at first felt the news as a great blow to him, -he subsequently became reconciled to it, for his father's appearance at -the Cape with several thousand pounds was infinitely more pleasing to -him than if the representative of The Macnamaras had come in his former -condition, which was simply one of borrowing powers. - -"It's the snowdhrop of Glenmara," said The Macnamara, kissing the hand -of Daireen as he met her at the door of the room. "And you, George, my -boy," he continued, turning to her father; "I may shake hands with you -as a friend, without the action being turned to mean that I forgive the -threatment my counthry has received from the nation whose pay you are -still in. Yes, only as a friend I shake hands with you, George." - -"That is a sufficient ground for me, Macnamara," said the colonel. "We -won't go into the other matters just now." - -"I cannot believe that this is Cape Town," said Daireen. "Just think of -our meeting here to-day. Oh, if we could only have a glimpse of the dear -old Slieve Docas!" - -"Why shouldn't you see it, white dove?" said The Macnamara in Irish to -the girl, whose face brightened at the sound of the tongue that brought -back so many pleasant recollections to her. "Why shouldn't you?" he -continued, taking from one of the boxes of his luggage an immense bunch -of purple heather in gorgeous bloom. "I gathered it for you from the -slope of the mountain. It brings you the scent of the finest hill in the -world." - -The girl caught the magnificent bloom in both her hands and put her face -down to it. As the first breath of the hill she loved came to her in -this strange land they saw her face lighten. Then she turned away and -buried her head in the scents of the hills--in the memories of the -mountains and the lakes, while The Macnamara spoke on in the musical -tongue that lived in her mind associated with all the things of the land -she loved. - -"And Innishdermot," said Colonel Gerald at length, "how is the seat of -our kings?" - -"Alas, my counthry! thrampled on--bethrayed--crushed to the ground!" -said The Macnamara. "You won't believe it, George--no, you won't. They -have spoiled me of all I possessed--they have driven me out of the -counthry that my sires ruled when the oppressors were walking about in -the skins of wild beasts. Yes, George, Innishdermot is taken from me and -I've no place to shelter me." - -Colonel Gerald began to look grave and to feel much graver even than he -looked. The Macnamara shelterless was certainly a subject for serious -consideration. - -"Yes," said Standish, observing the expression on his face, "you would -wonder how any company could find it profitable to pay fifteen thousand -pounds for the piece of land. That is what the new railway people paid -my father." - -Once more the colonel's face brightened, but The Macnamara stood up -proudly, saying: - -"Pounds! What are pounds to the feelings of a true patriot? What can -money do to heal the wrongs of a race?" - -"Nothing," said the colonel; "nothing whatever. But we must hasten out -to our cottage. I'll get a coolie to take your luggage to the railway -station. We shall drive out. My dear Dolly, come down from yonder -mountain height where you have gone on wings of heather. I'll take out -the bouquet for you." - -"No," said Daireen. "I'll not let any one carry it for me." - -And they all went out of the hotel to the carriage. - -The _maître d'hôtel_, who had been listening to the speech of The -Macnamara in wonder, and had been finally mystified by the Celtic -language, hastened to the visitors' book in which The Macnamara had -written his name; but this last step certainly did not tend to make -everything clear, for in the book was written: - -"Macnamara, Prince of the Isles, Chief of Innish-dermot and the Lakes, -and King of Munster." - -"And with such a nose!" said the _maître d'hôtel_. - - - - -CHAPTER XXXIV. - - -```Tis sweet and commendable in your nature, - -```To give these... duties to your father.= - -```In that and all things we show our duty.= - -``_King_. What wouldst thou beg, Laertes? - -```What wouldst thou have?= - -``_Laertes_. Your leave and favour to ret urn--_Hamlet_.= - - -|TO these four exiles from Erin sitting out on the stoep of the Dutch -cottage after dinner very sweet it was to dream of fatherland. The soft -light through which the broad-leaved, motionless plants glimmered was, -of course, not to be compared with the long dwindling twilights that -were wont to overhang the slopes of Lough Suangorm; and that mighty peak -which towered above them, flanked by the long ridge of Table Mountain, -was a poor thing in the eyes of those who had witnessed the glories of -the heather-swathed Slieve Docas. - -The cries ot the bullock wagoners, which were faintly heard from the -road, did not interfere with the musings of any of the party, nor with -the harangue of The Macnamara. - -Very pleasant it was to hear The Macnamara talk about his homeless -condition as attributable to the long course of oppression persisted -in by the Saxon Monarchy--at least so Colonel Gerald thought, for in a -distant colony a harangue on the subject of British tyranny in Ireland -does not sound very vigorous, any more than does a burning revolutionary -ode when read a century or so after the revolution has taken place. - -But poor Standish, who had spent a good many years of his life breathing -in of the atmosphere of harangue, began to feel impatient at his sire's -eloquence. Standish knew very well that his father had made a hard -bargain with the railway and hotel company that had bought the land; -nay, he even went so far as to conjecture that the affectionate yearning -which had caused The Macnamara to come out to the colony in search -of his son might be more plainly defined as an impulse of prudence -to escape from certain of his creditors before they could hear of his -having received a large sum of money. Standish wondered how Colonel -Gerald could listen to all that his father was saying when he could not -help being conscious of the nonsense of it all, for the young man was -not aware of the pleasant memories of his youth that were coming back to -the colonel under the influence of The Macnamara's speech. - -The next day, however, Standish had a conversation of considerable -length with his father, and The Macnamara found that he had made rapid -progress in his knowledge of the world since he had left his secluded -home. In the face of his father he insisted on his father's promising to -remove from the Dutch cottage at the end of a few days. The Macnamara's -notions of hospitality were very large, and he could not see why Colonel -Gerald should have the least feeling except of happiness in entertaining -a shelterless monarch; but Standish was firm, and Colonel Gerald did not -resist so stoutly as The Macnamara felt he should have done; so that at -the end of the week Daireen and her father were left alone for the first -time since they had come together at the Cape. - -They found it very agreeable to be able to sit together and ride -together and talk without reserve. Standish Macnamara was, beyond doubt, -very good company, and his father was even more inclined to be sociable, -but no one disputed the wisdom of the young man's conduct in curtailing -his visit and his father's to the Dutch cottage. The Macnamara had his -pockets filled with money, and as Standish knew that this was a strange -experience for him, he resolved that the weight of responsibility -which the preservation of so large a sum was bound to entail, should be -reduced; so he took a cottage at Rondebosch for his father and himself, -and even went the length of buying a horse. The lordliness of the ideas -of the young man who had only had a few months' experience of the world -greatly impressed his father, and he paid for everything without a -murmur. - -Standish had, at the intervals of his father's impassioned discourses, -many a long and solitary ride and many a lengthened reverie amongst the -pines that grow beside The Flats. The resolutions he made as to his life -at the Castaway group were very numerous, and the visions that floated -before his eyes were altogether very agreeable. He was beginning to feel -that he had accomplished a good deal of that ennobling hard work in -the world which he had resolved to set about fulfilling. His previous -resolutions had not been made carelessly: he had grappled with adverse -Fate, he felt, and was he not getting the better of this contrary power? - -But not many days after the arrival of The Macnamara another personage -of importance made his appearance in Cape Town. The Bishop of the -Calapash Islands and Metropolitan of the Salamander Archipelago had at -last found a vessel to convey him to where his dutiful son was waiting -for him. - -The prelate felt that he had every reason to congratulate himself upon -the opportuneness of his arrival, for Mr. Glaston assured his father, -after the exuberance of their meeting had passed away, that if the -vessel had not appeared within the course of another week, he would -have been compelled to defer the gratification of his filial desires for -another year. - -"A colony is endurable for a week," said Mr. Glaston; "it is wearisome -at the end of a fortnight; but a month spent with colonists has got a -demoralising effect that years perhaps may fail to obliterate." - -The bishop felt that indeed he had every reason to be thankful that -unfavourable winds had not prolonged the voyage of his vessel. - -Mrs. Crawford was, naturally enough, one of the first persons at the -Cape to visit the bishop, for she had known him years before--she had -indeed known most Colonial celebrities in her time--and she took the -opportunity to explain to him that Colonel Gerald had been counting the -moments until the arrival of the vessel from the Salamanders, so great -was his anxiety to meet with the Metropolitan of that interesting -archipelago, with whom he had been acquainted a good many years before. -This was very gratifying to the bishop, who liked to be remembered by -his friends; he had an idea that even the bishop of a distant colony -runs a chance of being forgotten in the world unless he has written an -heretical book, so he was glad when, a few days after his arrival at -Cape Town, he received a visit from Colonel Gerald and an invitation to -dinner. - -This was very pleasing to Mrs. Crawford, for, of course, Algernon -Glaston was included in the invitation, and she contrived without any -difficulty that he should be seated by the side of Miss Gerald. Her -skill was amply rewarded, she felt, when she observed Mr. Glaston -and Daireen engaged in what sounded like a discussion on the musical -landscapes of Liszt; to be engaged--even on a discussion of so subtle a -nature--was something, Mrs. Crawford thought. - -In the course of this evening, she herself, while the bishop was smiling -upon Daireen in a way that had gained the hearts, if not the souls, -of the Salamanderians, got by the side of Mr. Glaston, intent upon -following up the advantage the occasion offered. - -"I am so glad that the bishop has taken a fancy to Daireen," she said. -"Daireen is a dear good girl--is she not?" - -Mr. Glaston raised his eyebrows and touched the extreme point of -his moustache before he answered a question so pronounced. "Ah, she -is--improving," he said slowly. "If she leaves this place at once she -may improve still." - -"She wants some one to be near her capable of moulding her tastes--don't -you think?" - -"She _needs_ such a one. I should not like to say _wants,_" remarked Mr. -Glaston. - -"I am sure Daireen would be very willing to learn, Mr. Glaston; she -believes in you, I know," said Mrs. Crawford, who was proceeding on -an assumption of the broad principles she had laid down to Daireen -regarding the effect of flattery upon the race. But her words did not -touch Mr. Glaston deeply: he was accustomed to be believed in by girls. - -"She has taste--some taste," he replied, though the concession was not -forced from him by Mrs. Crawford's revelation to him. "Yes; but of what -value is taste unless it is educated upon the true principles of Art?" - -"Ah, what indeed?" - -"Miss Gerald's taste is as yet only approaching the right tracks of -culture. One shudders, anticipating the effect another month of life -in such a place as this may have upon her. For my own part, I do not -suppose that I shall be myself again for at least a year after I return. -I feel my taste utterly demoralised through the two months of my stay -here; and I explained to my father that it will be necessary for him -to resign his see if he wishes to have me near him at all. It is quite -impossible for me to come out here again. The three months' absence from -England that my visit entails is ruinous to me." - -"I have always thought of your self-sacrifice as an example of true -filial duty, Mr. Glaston. I know that Daireen thinks so as well." - -But Mr. Glaston did not seem particularly anxious to talk of Daireen. - -"Yes; my father must resign his see," he continued. - -"The month I have just passed has left too terrible recollections behind -it to allow of my running a chance of its being repeated. The only -person I met in the colony who was not hopelessly astray was that Miss -Vincent." - -"Oh!" cried Mrs. Crawford, almost shocked. "Oh, Mr. Glaston! you surely -do not mean that! Good gracious!--Lottie Vincent!" - -"Miss Vincent was the only one who, I found, had any correct idea of -Art; and yet, you see, how she turned out." - -"Turned out? I should think so indeed. Lottie Vincent was always turning -out since the first time I met her." - -"Yes; the idea of her acting in company of such a man as this Markham--a -man who had no hesitation in going to view a picture by candlelight--it -is too distressing." - -"My dear Mr. Glaston, I think they will get on very well together. You -do not know Lottie Vincent as I know her. She has behaved with the most -shocking ingratitude towards me. But we are parted now, and I shall take -good care she does not impose upon me again." - -"It scarcely matters how one's social life is conducted if one's -artistic life is correct," said Mr. Glaston. - -At this assertion, which she should have known to be one of the articles -of Mr. Glaston's creed, Mrs. Crawford gave a little start. She thought -it better, however, not to question its soundness. As a matter of fact, -the bishop himself, if he had heard his son enunciate such a precept, -would not have questioned its soundness; for Mr. Glaston spake as one -having authority, and most people whose robustness was not altogether -mental, believed his Gospel of Art. - -"No doubt what you say is--ah--very true," said Mrs. Crawford. "But I -do wish, Mr. Glaston, that you could find time to talk frequently to -Daireen on these subjects. I should be so sorry if the dear child's -ideas were allowed to run wild. Your influence might work wonders with -her. There is no one here now who can interfere with you." - -"Interfere with me, Mrs. Crawford?" - -"I mean, you know, that Mr. Harwood, with his meretricious cleverness, -might possibly--ah--well, you know how easily girls are led." - -"If there would be a possibility of Miss Gerald's being influenced in a -single point by such a man as that Mr. Harwood, I fear not much can be -hoped for her," said Mr. Glaston. - -"We should never be without hope," said Mrs. Crawford. "For my own -part, I hope a great deal--a very great deal--from your influence over -Daireen; and I am exceedingly happy that the bishop seems so pleased -with her." - -The good bishop was indeed distributing his benedictory smiles freely, -and Daireen came in for a share of his favours. Her father wondered at -the prodigality of the churchman's smiles; for as a chaplain he was not -wont to be anything but grave. The colonel did not reflect that while -smiling may be a grievous fault in a chaplain, it can never be anything -but ornamental to a bishop. - -A few days afterwards Mrs. Crawford called upon the bishop, and had an -interesting conversation with him on the subject of his son's future--a -question to which of late the bishop himself had given a good deal -of thought; for in the course of his official investigations on the -question of human existence he had been led to believe that the -duration of life has at all times been uncertain; he had more than -once communicated this fact to dusky congregations, and by reducing the -application of the painful truth, he had come to feel that the life of -even a throned bishop is not exempt from the fatalities of mankind. - -As the bishop's son was accustomed to spend half of the revenues of -his father's see, his father was beginning to have an anxiety about the -future of the young man; for he did not think that his successor to -the prelacy of the Calapash Islands would allow Mr. Glaston to draw, -as usual, upon the income accruing to the office. The bishop was not -so utterly unworldly in his notions but that he knew there exist other -means of amassing wealth than by writing verses in a pamphlet-magazine, -or even composing delicate impromptus in minor keys for one's own -hearing, His son had not felt it necessary to occupy his mind with any -profession, so that his future was somewhat difficult to foresee with -any degree of clearness. - -Mrs. Crawford, however, spoke many comforting words to the bishop -regarding a provision for his son's future. Daireen Gerald, she assured -him, besides being one of the most charming girls in the world, was -the only child of her father, and her father's estates in the South of -Ireland were extensive and profitable. - -When Mrs. Crawford left him, the bishop felt glad that he had smiled -so frequently upon Miss Gerald. He had heard that no kindly smile was -bestowed in vain, but the truth of the sentiment had never before so -forced itself upon his mind. He smiled again in recollection of his -previous smiles. He felt that indeed Miss Gerald was a charming girl, -and Mrs. Crawford was most certainly a wonderful woman; and it can -scarcely be doubted that the result of the bishop's reflections proved -the possession on his part of powerful mental resources, enabling him to -arrive at subtle conclusions on questions of perplexity. - - - - -CHAPTER XXXV. - - -```Too much of water had'st thou, poor Ophelia.= - -```How can that be unless she drowned herself?= - -``If the man go to this water... it is, will he, nill he, he goes; mark -you that.--_Hamlet_.= - - -|STANDISH Macnamara had ridden to the Dutch cottage, but he found it -deserted. Colonel Gerald, one of the servants informed him, had early in -the day driven to Simon's Town, and had taken Miss Gerald with him, but -they would both return in the evening. Sadly the young man turned away, -and it is to be feared that his horse had a hard time of it upon The -Flats. The waste of sand was congenial with his mood, and so was the -rapid motion. - -But while he was riding about in an aimless way, Daireen and her father -were driving along the lovely road that runs at the base of the low -hills which form a mighty causeway across the isthmus between Table -Bay and Simon's Bay. Colonel Gerald had received a message that the -man-of-war which had been stationed at the chief of the Castaway group -had called at Simon's Bay; he was anxious to know how the provisional -government was progressing under the commodore of those waters whose -green monotony is broken by the gentle cliff's of the Castaways, and -Daireen had been allowed to accompany her father to the naval station. - -The summer had not yet advanced sufficiently far to make tawny the dark -green coarse herbage of the hillside, and the mass of rich colouring -lent by the heaths and the prickly-pear hedges made Daireen almost -jealous for the glories of the slopes of Glenmara. For some distance -over the road the boughs of Australian oaks in heavy foilage were -leaning; but when Constantia and its evenly set vineyards were passed -some distance, Daireen heard the sound of breaking waves, and in an -instant afterwards the road bore them down to the water's edge at Kalk -Bay, a little rocky crescent enclosing green sparkling waves. Upon a -pebbly beach a few fishing-boats were drawn up, and the outlying spaces -were covered with drying nets, the flavour of which was much preferable -to that of the drying fish that were near. - -On still the road went until it lost itself upon the mighty beaches of -False Bay. Down to the very brink of the great green waves that burst -in white foam and clouds of mist upon the sand the team of the wagonette -was driven, and on along the snowy curve for miles until Simon's Bay -with its cliffs were reached, and the horses were pulled up at the hotel -in the single street of Simon's Town at the base of the low ridge of the -purple hill. - -"You will not be lonely, Dolly," said Colonel Gerald as he left the -hotel after lunch to meet the commander of the man-of-war of which the -yellow-painted hull and long streaming pennon could be seen from the -window, opposite the fort at the farthest arm of the bay. - -"Lonely?" said the girl. "I hope I may, for I feel I would like a little -loneliness for a change. I have not been lonely since I was at Glenmara -listening to Murrough O'Brian playing a dirge. Run away now, papa, and -you can tell me when we are driving home what the Castaways are really -like." - -"I'll make particular inquiries as to the possibilities of lawn-tennis," -said her father, as he went down the steps to the red street. - -Daireen saw a sergeant's party of soldiers carry arms to the colonel, -though he wore no uniform and had not been at this place for years; but -even less accustomed observers than the men would have known that he was -a soldier. Tall, straight, and with bright gray eyes somewhat hollower -than they had been twenty years before, he looked a soldier in every -point--one who had served well and who had yet many years of service -before him. - -How noble he looked, Daireen thought, as he kissed his hand up to her. -And then she thought how truly great his life had been. Instead of -coming home after his time of service had expired, he had continued at -his post in India, unflinching beneath the glare of the sun overhead -or from the scorching of the plain underfoot; and here he was now, not -going home to rest for the remainder of his life, but ready to face -an arduous duty on behalf of his country. She knew that he had -been striving through all these years to forget in the work he was -accomplishing the one grief of his life. She had often seen him gazing -at her face, and she knew why he had sighed as he turned away. - -She had not meant to feel lonely in her father's absence, but her -thoughts somehow were not of that companionable kind which, coming to -one when alone, prevent one's feeling lonely. - -She picked up the visitors' book and read all the remarks that had been -written in English for the past years; but even the literature of an -hotel visitor's book fails at some moments to relieve a reader's mind. -She turned over the other volumes, one of which was the Commercial -Code of Signals, and the other a Dutch dictionary. She read one of Mr. -Harwood's letters in a back number of the _Dominant Trumpeter_, and she -found that she could easily recall the circumstances under which, in -various conversations, he had spoken to her every word of that column -and a quarter. She wondered if special correspondents write out every -night all the remarks that they have heard during the day. But even the -attempt to solve this problem did not make her feel brisk. - -What was the thought which was hovering about her, and which she was -trying to avoid by all the means in her power? She could not have -defined it. The boundaries of that thought were too vague to be outlined -by words. - -She glanced out of the window for a while, and then walked to the door -and looked over the iron balcony at the head of the steps. Only a few -people were about the street. Gazing out seawards, she saw a signal -flying from the peak of the man-of-war, and in a few minutes she saw a -boat put off and row steadily for the shore near the far-off fort at the -headland. She knew the boat was to convey her father aboard the vessel. -She stood there watching it until it had landed and was on its way back -with her father in the stern. - -Then she went along the road until she had left the limits of the town, -and was standing between the hill and the sea. Very lovely the sea -looked from where it was breaking about the rocks beneath her, out to -the horizon which was undefined in the delicate mist that rose from the -waters. - -She stood for a long time tasting of the freshness of the breeze. She -could see the man-of-war's boat making its way through the waves until -it at last reached the ship, and then she seemed to have lost the object -of her thoughts. She turned off the road and got upon the sloping beach -along which she walked some distance. - -She had met no one since she had left the hotel, and the coast of the -Bay round to the farthest headland seemed deserted; but somehow her -mood of loneliness had gone from her as she stood at the brink of those -waters whose music was as the sound of a song of home heard in a strange -land. What was there to hinder her from thinking that she was standing -at the uttermost headland of Lough Suangorm, looking out once more upon -the Atlantic? - -She crossed a sandy hollow and got upon a ledge of rocks, up to which -the sea was beating. Here she seated herself, and sent her eyes out -seawards to where the war-ship was lying, and then that thought which -had been near her all the day came upon her. It was not of the Irish -shore that the glad waters were laving. It was only of some words that -had been spoken to her. "For a month we will think of each other," were -the words, and she reflected that now this month had passed. The month -that she had promised to think of him had gone, but it had not taken -with it her thoughts of the man who had uttered those words. - -She looked out dreamily across the green waves, wondering if he had -returned. Surely he would not let a day pass without coming to her side -to ask her if she had thought of him during the month. And what answer -would she give him? She smiled. - -"Love, my love," she said, "when have I ceased to think of you? When -shall I cease to think of you?" - -The tears forced themselves into her eyes with the pure intensity of -her passion. She sat there dreaming her dreams and thinking her thoughts -until she seemed only to hear the sound of the waters of the distance; -the sound of the breaking waves seemed to have passed away. It was this -sudden consciousness that caused her to awake from her reverie. She -turned and saw that the waves were breaking on the beach _behind -her_--the rock where she was sitting was surrounded with water, and -every plunge of the advancing tide sent a swirl of water through the -gulf that separated the rocks from the beach. - -In an instant she had started to her feet. She saw the death that was -about her. She looked to the rock where she was standing. The highest, -ledge contained a barnacle. She knew it was below the line of high -water, and now not more than a couple of feet of the ledge were -uncovered. A little cry of horror burst from her, and at the same -instant the boom of a gun came across the water from the man-of-war; -she looked and saw that the boat was on its way to the shore again. In -another half-minute a second report sounded, and she knew that they were -firing a salute to her father. They were doing this while his daughter -was gazing at death in the face. - -Could they see her from the boat? It seemed miles away, but she took off -her white jacket and standing up waved it. Not the least sign was made -from the boat. The report of the guns echoed along the shore mingling -with her cries. But a sign was given from the water: a wave flung its -spray clear over the rock. She knew what it meant. - -She saw in a moment what chance she had of escape. The water between the -rock and the shore was not yet very deep. If she could bear the brunt of -the wild rush of the waves that swept into the hollow she could make her -way ashore. - -In an instant she had stepped down to the water, still holding on by the -rocks. A moment of stillness came and she rushed through the waves, but -that sand--it sank beneath her first step, and she fell backwards, then -came another swirl of eddying waves that plunged through the gulf and -swept her away with their force, out past the rock she had been on. One -cry she gave as she felt herself lost. - -The boom of the saluting gun doing honour to her father was the sound -she heard as the cruel foam flashed into her face. - -But at her cry there started up from behind a rock far ashore the figure -of a man. He looked about him in a bewildered way. Then he made a rush -for the beach, seeing the toy the waves were heaving about. He plunged -in up to his waist. - -"Damn the sand!" he cried, as he felt it yield. He bent himself against -the current and took advantage of every relapse of the tide to rush -a few steps onward. He caught the rock and swung himself round to the -seaward side. Then he waited until the next wave brought that helpless -form near him. He did not leave his hold of the rock, but before the -backward sweep came he clutched the girl's dress. Then came a struggle -between man and wave. The man conquered. He had the girl on one of his -arms, and had placed her upon the rock for an instant. Then he swung -himself to the shoreward side, caught her up again, and stumbling, -and sinking, and battling with the current, he at last gained a sound -footing. - -Daireen was exhausted but not insensible. She sat upon the dry sand -where the man had placed her, and she drew back the wet hair from her -face. Then she saw the man stand by the edge of the water and shake his -fist at it. - -"It's not the first time I've licked you singlehanded," he said, "and -it'll not be the last. Your bullying roar won't wash here." Then he -seemed to catch sight of something on the top of a wave. "Hang me if -you'll get even her hat," he said, and once more he plunged in. The -hat was farther out than the girl had been, and he had more trouble in -securing it. Daireen saw that his head was covered more than once, and -she was in great distress. At last, however, he struggled to the beach -with the hat in his hand. It was very terrible to the girl to see him -turn, squeezing the water from his hair, and curse the sea and all that -pertained to it. - -Suddenly, however, he looked round and walked up to where she was now -standing. He handed her the hat as though he had just picked it up from -the sand. Then he looked at her. - -"Miss," he said, "I believe I'm the politest man in this infernal -colony; if I was rude to you just now I ask your pardon. I'm afraid I -pulled you about." - -"You saved me from drowning," said Daireen. "If you had not come to me I -should be dead now." - -"I didn't do it for your sake," said the man. "I did it because that's -my enemy"--he pointed to the sea--"and I wouldn't lose a chance of -having a shy at him. It's my impression he's only second best this time -again. Never mind. How do you feel, miss?" - -"Only a little tired," said Daireen. "I don't think I could walk back to -the hotel." - -"You won't need," said the man. "Here comes a Cape cart and two ancient -swells in it. If they don't give you a seat, I'll smash the whole -contrivance." - -"Oh!" cried Daireen joyfully; "it is papa--papa himself." - -"Not the party with the brass buttons?" said the man. "All right, I'll -hail them." - -Colonel Gerald sprang from the Cape cart in which he was driving with -the commodore of the naval station. - -"Good God, Daireen, what does this mean?" he cried, looking from the -girl to the man beside her. - -But Daireen, regardless of her dripping condition, threw herself into -his arms, and the stranger turned away whistling. He reached the road -and shook his head confidentially at the commodore, who was standing -beside the Cape cart. - -"Touching thing to be a father, eh, Admiral?" he said. - -"Stop, sir," said the commodore. "You must wait till this is explained." - -"Must I?" said the man. "Who is there here that will keep me?" - -"What can I say to you, sir?" cried Colonel Gerald, coming up and -holding out his hand to the stranger. "I have no words to thank you." - -"Well, as to that, General," said the man, "it seems to me the less -that's said the better. Take my advice and get the lady something to -drink--anything that teetotallers won't allow is safe to be wholesome." - -"Come to my house," said the commodore. "Miss Gerald will find -everything there." - -"You bet you'll find something in the spirituous way at the admiral's -quarters, miss," remarked the stranger, as Daireen was helped into the -vehicle. "No, thank you, General, I'll walk to the hotel where I put -up." - -"Pray let me call upon you before I leave," said Colonel Gerald. - -"Delighted to see you, General; if you come within the next two hours, -I'll slip the tinsel off a bottle of Moët with you. Now, don't wait -here. If you had got a pearly stream of salt water running down your -spine you wouldn't wait; would they, miss? Aw revaw." - - - - -CHAPTER XXXVI. - - -``I shall, first asking your pardon thereunto, recount the occasion of -my sudden and more strange return.= - -```O limèd soul, that, struggling to be free, - -```Art more engaged.= - -``Lord, we know what we are, but know not what we may be.--_Hamlet._= - - -|QUITE three hours had passed before Colonel Gerald was able to return -to the hotel. The stranger was sitting in the coffee-room with a tumbler -and a square bottle of cognac in front of him as the colonel entered. - -"Ah, General," cried the stranger, "you are come. I was sorry I said -two hours, you know, because, firstly, I might have known that at the -admiral's quarters the young lady would get as many doses as would make -her fancy something was the matter with her; and, secondly, because I -didn't think that they would take three hours to dry a suit of tweed -like this. You see it, General; this blooming suit is a proof of the low -state of morality that exists in this colony. The man I bought it from -took an oath that it wouldn't shrink, and yet, just look at it. It's a -wicked world this we live in, General. I went to bed while the suit -was being dried, and I believe they kept the fire low so that they may -charge me with the bed. And how is the young lady?" - -"I am happy to say that she has quite recovered from the effects of -her exhaustion and her wetting," said Colonel Gerald. "Had you not been -near, and had you not had that brave heart you showed, my daughter -would have been lost. But I need not say anything to you--you know how I -feel." - -"We may take it for granted," said the man. - -"Nothing that either of us could say would make it plainer, at any rate. -You don't live in this city, General?" - -"No, I live near Cape Town, where I am now returning with my daughter," -said Colonel Gerald. - -"That's queer," said the man. "Here am I too not living here and just -waiting to get the post-cart to bring me to Cape Town." - -"I need scarcely say that I should be delighted if you would accept a -seat with me," remarked the colonel. - -"Don't say that if there's not a seat to spare, General." - -"But, my dear sir, we have two seats to spare. Can I tell my man to put -your portmanteau in?" - -"Yes, if he can find it," laughed the stranger. "Fact is, General, I -haven't any property here except this tweed suit two sizes too small for -me now. But these trousers have got pockets, and the pockets hold a good -many sovereigns without bursting. I mean to set up a portmanteau in Cape -Town. Yes, I'll take a seat with you so far." - -The stranger was scarcely the sort of man Colonel Gerald would have -chosen to accompany him under ordinary circumstances, but now he felt -towards the rough man who had saved the life of his daughter as he would -towards a brother. - -The wagonette drove round to the commodore's house for Daireen, and the -stranger expressed very frankly the happiness he felt at finding her -nothing the worse for her accident. - -And indeed she did not seem to have suffered greatly; she was a -little paler, and the commodore's people insisted on wrapping her up -elaborately. - -"It was so very foolish of me," she said to the stranger, when they -had passed out of Simon's Town and were going rapidly along the road to -Wynberg. "It was so very foolish indeed to sit down upon that rock and -forget all about the tide. I must have been there an hour." - -"Ah, miss," said the man, "I'll take my oath it wasn't of your pa you -were thinking all that time. Ah, these young fellows have a lot to -answer for." - -This was not very subtle humour, Colonel Gerald felt; he found himself -wishing that his daughter had owed her life to a more refined man; but -on the whole he was just as glad that a man of sensitiveness had not -been in the place of this coarse stranger upon that beach a few hours -before. - -"I don't think I am wrong in believing that you have travelled a good -deal," said Colonel Gerald, in some anxiety lest the stranger might -pursue his course of humorous banter. - -"Travelled?" said the stranger. "Perhaps I have. Yes, sir, I have -travelled, not excursionised. I've knocked about God's footstool since -I was a boy, and yet it seems to me that I'm only beginning my travels. -I've been----" - -And the stranger continued telling of where he had been until the oak -avenue at Mowbray was reached. He talked very freshly and frankly of -every place both in the Northern and Southern hemispheres. The account -of his travels was very interesting, though perhaps to the colonel's -servant it was the most entertaining. - -"I have taken it for granted that you have no engagement in Cape Town," -said Colonel Gerald as he turned the horses down the avenue. "We shall -be dining in a short time, and I hope you will join us." - -"I don't want to intrude, General," said the man. "But I allow that -I could dine heartily without going much farther. As for having an -appointment in Cape Town--I don't know a single soul in the colony--not -a soul, sir--unless--why, hang it all, who's that standing on the walk -in front of us?--I'm a liar, General; I do know one man in the colony; -there he stands, for if that isn't Oswin Markham I'll eat him with -relish." - -"It is indeed Markham," said Colonel Gerald. "And you know him?" - -"Know him?" the stranger laughed. "Know him?" Then as the wagonette -pulled up beside where Markham was standing in front of the house, the -stranger leapt down, saying, as he clapped Oswin on the shoulder, "The -General asks me if I know you, old boy; answer for me, will you?" - -But Oswin Markham was staring blankly from the man to Daireen and her -father. - -"You told me you were going to New York," he said at last. - -"And so I was when you packed me aboard the _Virginia_ brig so neatly -at Natal, but the _Virginia_ brig put into Simon's Bay and cut her cable -one night, leaving me ashore. It's Providence, Oswin--Providence." - -Oswin had allowed his hand to be taken by the man, who was the same that -had spent the night with him in the hotel at Pietermaritzburg. Then he -turned as if from a fit of abstraction, to Daireen and the colonel. - -"I beg your pardon a thousand times," he said. "But this meeting with -Mr. Despard has quite startled me." - -"Mr. Despard," said the colonel, "I must ever look on as one of my best -friends, though we met to-day for the first time. I owe him a debt that -I can never repay--my daughter's life." - -Oswin turned and grasped the hand of the man whom he had called Mr. -Despard, before they entered the house together. - -Daireen went in just before Markham; they had not yet exchanged a -sentence, but when her father and Despard had entered one of the rooms, -she turned, saying: - -"A month--a month yesterday." - -"More," he answered; "it must be more." - -The girl laughed low as she went on to her room. But when she found -herself apart from every one, she did not laugh. She had her own -preservation from death to reflect upon, but it occupied her mind less -than the thought that came to her shaping itself into the words, "He has -returned." - -The man of whom she was thinking was standing pale and silent in a room -where much conversation was floating, for Mr. Harwood had driven out -with Markham from Cape Town, and he had a good deal to say on the Zulu -question, which was beginning to be no question. The Macnamara had also -come to pass the evening with Colonel Gerald, and he was not silent. -Oswin watched Despard and the hereditary monarch speaking together, and -he saw them shake hands. Harwood was in close conversation with Colonel -Gerald, but he was not so utterly absorbed in his subject but that he -could notice how Markham's eyes were fixed upon the stranger. The terms -of a new problem were suggesting themselves to Mr. Harwood. - -Then Daireen entered the room, and greeted Mr. Harwood courteously--much -too courteously for his heart's desire. He did not feel so happy as he -should have done, when she laughed pleasantly and reminded him of her -prophecy as to his safe return. He felt as he had done on that morning -when he had said good-bye to her: his time had not yet come. But what -was delaying that hour he yearned for? She was now standing beside -Markham, looking up to his face as she spoke to him. She was not smiling -at him. What could these things mean? Harwood asked himself--Lottie -Vincent's spiteful remark with reference to Daireen at the lunch that -had taken place on the hillside in his absence--Oswin's remark about not -being strong enough to leave the associations of Cape Town--this quiet -meeting without smiles or any of the conventionalities of ordinary -acquaintance--what did all these mean? Mr. Harwood felt that he had at -last got before him the terms of a question the working out of which was -more interesting to him than any other that could be propounded. And -he knew also that this man Despard was an important auxiliary to its -satisfactory solution. - -"Dove of Glenmara, let me look upon your sweet face again, and say that -you are not hurt," cried The Macnamara, taking the girl by both her -hands and looking into her face. "Thank God you are left to be the pride -of the old country. We are not here to weep over this new sorrow. What -would life be worth to us if anything had happened to the pulse of our -hearts? Glenmara would be desolate and Slieve Docas would sit in ashes." - -The Macnamara pressed his lips to the girl's forehead as a condescending -monarch embraces a favoured subject. - -"Bravo, King! you'd make a fortune with that sort of sentiment on the -boards; you would, by heavens!" said Mr. Despard with an unmodulated -laugh. - -The Macnamara seemed to take this testimony as a compliment, for he -smiled, though the remark did not appear to strike any one else as being -imbued with humour. Harwood looked at the man curiously; but Markham was -gazing in another direction without any expression upon his face. - -In the course of the evening the Bishop of the Calapash Islands dropped -in. His lordship had taken a house in the neighbourhood for so long as -he would be remaining in the colony; and since he had had that interview -with Mrs. Crawford, his visits to his old friend Colonel Gerald were -numerous and unconventional. He, too, smiled upon Dairecn in his very -pleasantest manner, and after hearing from the colonel--who felt -perhaps that some little explanation of the stranger's presence might -be necessary--of Daireen's accident, the bishop spoke a few words to Mr. -Despard and shook hands with him--an honour which Mr. Despard sustained -without emotion. - -In spite of these civilities, however, this evening was unlike any that -the colonel's friends had spent at the cottage. The bishop only remained -for about an hour, and Harwood and Markham soon afterwards took their -departure. - -"I'll take a seat with you, Oswin, my boy," said Despard. "We'll be at -the same hotel in Cape Town, and we may as well all go together." - -And they did all go together. - -"Fine fellow, the colonel, isn't he?" remarked Despard, before they had -got well out of the avenue. "I called him general on chance when I -saw him for the first time to-day--you're never astray in beginning at -general and working your way down, with these military nobs. And the -bishop is a fine old boy too--rather too much palm-oil and glycerine -about him, though--too smooth and shiny for my taste. I expect he does -a handsome trade amongst the Salamanders. A smart bishop could make a -fortune there, I know. And then the king--the Irish king as he calls -himself--well, maybe he's the best of the lot." - -There did not seem to be anything in Mr. Despard's opening speech -that required an answer. There was a considerable pause before Harwood -remarked quietly: "By the way, Mr. Despard, I think I saw you some time -ago. I have a good recollection for faces." - -"Did you?" said Despard. "Where was it? At 'Frisco or Fiji? South -Carolina or South Australia?" - -"I am not recalling the possibilities of such faraway memories," said -Harwood. "But if I don't mistake, you were the person in the audience at -Pietermaritzburg who made some remark complimentary to Markham." - -The man laughed. "You are right, mister. I only wonder I didn't shout -out something before, for I never was so taken aback as when I saw him -come out as that Prince. A shabby trick it was you played on me the next -morning, Oswin--I say it was infernally shabby. You know what he did, -mister: when I had got to the outside of more than one bottle of Moët, -and so wasn't very clear-headed, he packed me into one of the carts, -drove me to Durban before daylight, and sent me aboard the _Virginia_ -brig that I had meant to leave. That wasn't like friendship, was it?" - -But upon this delicate question Mr. Harwood did not think it prudent to -deliver an opinion. Markham himself was mute, yet this did not seem to -have a depressing effect upon Mr. Despard. He gave a _résumé_ of -the most important events in the voyage of the _Virginia_ brig, and -described very graphically how he had unfortunately become insensible -to the fact that the vessel was leaving Simon's Bay on the previous -morning; so that when he awoke, the _Virginia_ brig was on her way to -New York city, while he was on a sofa in the hotel surrounded by empty -bottles. - -When Markham was alone with this man in a room at the hotel at Cape -Town, Despard became even more talkative. - -"By heavens, Oswin," he said, "you have changed your company a bit since -you were amongst us; generals, bishops, and kings--kings, by Jingo--seem -to be your chums here. Well, don't you think that I don't believe you to -be right. You were never of our sort in Australia--we all felt you to be -above us, and treated you so--making a pigeon of you now and again, but -never looking on ourselves as your equal. By heavens, I think now that I -have got in with these people and seem to get on so well with them, I'll -turn over a new leaf." - -"Do you mean to stay here longer than this week?" asked Oswin. - -"This week? I'll not leave for another month--another six months, maybe. -I've money, my boy, and--suppose we have something to drink--something -that will sparkle?" - -"I don't mean to drink anything," Oswin replied. - -"You must have something," Despard insisted. "You must admit that though -the colonel is a glorious old boy, he didn't do the hospitable in the -liquid way. But I'll keep in with the lot of them. I'll go out to see -the colonel and his pretty daughter now and again. Ah, by George, that -pretty daughter seems to have played the mischief with some of the young -fellows about here. 'Sir,' says the king of Ireland to me, 'I fale more -than I can till ye: the swate girl ye saved is to be me sonn's broide.' -This looked well enough for the king, and we got very great friends, as -you saw. But then the bishop comes up to me and, says he, 'Sir, allow me -to shake you by the hand. You do not know how I feel towards that young -lady who owes her life to your bravery.' I looked at him seriously: -'Bishop,' said I, 'I can't encourage this sort of thing. You might be -her father.' Well, my boy, you never saw anything so flustered as that -bishop became; it was more than a minute before he could tell me that it -was his son who had the tender heart about the girl. That bishop didn't -ask me to dine with him; though the king did, and I'm going out to him -to-morrow evening." - -"You are going to him?" said Markham. - -"To be sure I am. He agreed with me about the colonel's hospitality in -the drink way. 'You'll find it different in my house,' said the king; -and I think you know, Oswin, that the king and me have one point in -common." - -"Good-night," said Markham, going to the door. "No, I told you I did not -mean to drink anything." - -He left Mr. Despard on the sofa smoking the first of a box of cigars he -had just ordered. - -"He's changed--that boy is," said Despard. "He wouldn't have gone out in -that fashion six months ago. But what the deuce has changed him? -that's what I'd like to know. He wants to get me away from here--that's -plain--plain? by George, it's ugly. But here I am settled for a few -months at least if--hang that waiter, is he never going to bring me that -bottle of old Irish?" - - - - -CHAPTER XXXVII. - - -Why, look you now, how unworthy a thing you make of me! You would play -upon me; you would seem to know my stops; you would pluck out the heart -of my mystery; you would sound me from my lowest note to the top of my -compass....'S blood, do you think I am easier to be played on than a -pipe? Call me what instrument you will, though you can fret me, yet you -cannot play upon me.--_Hamlet_. - - -|OSWIN Markham sat in his own room in the hotel. The window was open, -and through it from the street below came the usual sounds of Cape -Town--terrible Dutch mingling with Malay and dashed with Kafir. It was -not the intensity of a desire to listen to this polyglot mixture that -caused Markham to go upon the balcony and stand looking out to the -night. - -He reflected upon what had passed since he had been in this place a -month before. He had gone up to Natal, and in company of Harwood he had -had a brief hunting expedition. He had followed the spoor of the gemsbok -over veldt and through kloof, sleeping in the house of the hospitable -boers when chance offered; but all the time he had been possessed of -one supreme thought--one supreme hope that made his life seem a joyous -thing--he had looked forward to this day--the day when he would have -returned, when he would again be able to look into the face that moved -like a phantom before him wherever he went. And he had returned--for -this--this looking, not into her face, but into the street below him, -while he thought if it would not be better for him to step out beyond -the balcony--out into the blank that would follow his casting of himself -down. - -He came to the conclusion that it would not be better to step beyond -the balcony. A thought seemed to strike him as he stood out there. He -returned to his chamber and threw himself on his bed, but he did not -remain passive for long; once more he stepped into the air, and now he -had need to wipe his forehead with his handkerchief. - -It was an hour afterwards that he undressed himself; but the bugle at -the barracks had sounded a good many times before he fell asleep. - -Mr. Harwood, too, had an hour of reflection when he went to his room; -but his thoughts were hardly of the excitable type of Markham's; they -had, however, a definite result, which caused him to seek out Mr. -Despard in the morning. - -Mr. Despard had just finished a light and salutary breakfast consisting -of a glass of French brandy in a bottle of soda-water, and he was -smoking another sample of that box of cigars on the balcony. - -"Good-morning to you, mister," he said, nodding as Harwood came, as if -by chance, beside him. - -"Ah, how do you do?" said Harwood. "Enjoying your morning smoke, I see. -Well, I hope you are nothing the worse for your plunge yesterday." - -"No, sir, nothing; I only hope that Missy out there will be as sound. I -don't think they insisted on her drinking enough afterwards." - -"Ah, perhaps not. Your friend Markham has not come down yet, they tell -me." - -"He was never given to running ties with the sun," said Mr. Despard. - -"He told me you were a particular friend of his in Australia?" continued -Mr. Harwood. - -"Yes, men very soon get to be friends out there; but Oswin and myself -were closer than brothers in every row and every lark." - -"Of which you had, no doubt, a good many? - -"A good few, yes; a few that wouldn't do to be printed specially as -prizes for young ladies' boarding-schools--not but what the young ladies -would read them if they got the chance." - -"Few fellows would care to write their autobiographies and go into the -details of their life," said Harwood. "I suppose you got into trouble -now and again?" - -"Trouble? Well, yes, when the money ran short, and there was no balance -at the bank; that's real trouble, let me tell you." - -"It certainly is; but I mean, did you not sometimes need the friendly -offices of a lawyer after a wild few days?" - -"Sir," said Despard, throwing away the end of his cigar, "if your idea -of a wild few days is housebreaking or manslaughter, it wasn't ours, I -can tell you. No, my boy, we never took to bushranging; and though -I've had my turn with Derringer's small cannons when I was at Chokeneck -Gulch, it was only because it was the custom of the country. No, sir; -Oswin, though he seems to have turned against me here, will still have -my good word, for I swear to you he never did anything that made the -place too hot for him, though I don't suppose that if he was in a -competitive examination for a bishopric the true account of his life in -Melbourne would help him greatly." - -"There are none of us here who mean to be bishops," laughed Harwood. -"But I understood from a few words Markham let fall that--well, never -mind, he is a right good fellow, as I found when we went up country -together a couple of weeks ago. By the way, do you mean to remain here -long, Mr. Despard?" - -"Life is short, mister, and I've learned never to make arrangements very -far in advance. I've about eighty sovereigns with me, and I'll stay here -till they're spent." - -"Then your stay will be proportionate to your spending powers." - -"In an inverse ratio, as they used to say at school," said Despard. - -When Mr. Harwood went into the room he reflected that on the whole -he had not gained much information from Mr. Despard; and Mr. Despard -reflected that on the whole Mr. Harwood had not got much information by -his system of leading questions. - -About half an hour afterwards Markham came out upon the balcony, and -gave a little unaccountable start on seeing its sole occupant. - -"Hallo, my boy! have you turned up at last?" cried Despard. "Our good -old Calapash friend will tell you that unless you get up with the lark -you'll never do anything in the world. You should have been here a short -time ago to witness the hydraulic experiments." - -"The what?" said Markham. - -"Hydraulic experiments. The patent pump of the _Dominant Trumpeter_ was -being tested upon me. Experiments failed, not through any incapacity -of the pump, but through the contents of the reservoir worked upon not -running free enough in the right direction." - -"Was Mr. Harwood here?" - -"He was, my boy. And he wanted to know all about how we lived in -Melbourne." - -"And you told him----" - -"To get up a little earlier in the morning when he wants to try his -pumping apparatus. But what made you give that start? Don't you know -that all I could tell would be some of our old larks, and he wouldn't -have thought anything the worse of you on account of them? Hang it -all, you don't mean to say you're going into holy orders, that you mind -having any of the old times brought back? If you do, I'm afraid that -it will be awkward for you if I talk in my ordinary way. I won't bind -myself not to tell as many of our larks as chime in with the general -conversation. I only object on principle to be pumped." - -"Talk away," said Oswin spasmodically. "Tell of all our larks. How could -I be affected by anything you may tell of them?" - -"Bravo! That's what I say. Larks are larks. There was no manslaughter -nor murder. No, there was no murder." - -"No, there was no murder," said Markham. - -The other burst into a laugh that startled a Malay in the street below. - -"By heavens, from the way you said that one would fancy there had been a -murder," he cried. - -Then there was a long pause, which was broken by Markham. - -"You still intend to go out to dine with that man you met yesterday?" he -said. - -"Don't call him a man, Oswin; you wouldn't call a bishop a man, and why -call a king one. Yes, I have ordered a horse that is said to know the -way across those Flats without a pocket compass." - -"Where did you say the house was?" - -"It's near a place called Rondebosch. I remember the locality well, -though it's ten years since I was there. The shortest way back is -through a pine-wood at the far end of The Flats--you know that place, of -course." - -"I know The Flats. And you mean to come through the pine-wood?" - -"I do mean it. It's a nasty place to ride through, but the horse always -goes right in a case like that, and I'll give him his head." - -"Take care that you have your own at that time," said Markham. "The -house of the Irishman is not like Colonel Gerald's." - -"I hope not, for a more thirsty evening I never spent than at your -friend's cottage. The good society hardly made up for the want of drink. -It put me in mind of the story of the man that found the pearls when he -was starving in the desert. What are bishops and kings to a fellow if he -is thirsty?" - -"You will leave the house to return here between eleven and twelve, I -suppose?" said Oswin. - -"Well, I should say that about eleven will see me on my way." - -"And you will go through the pine-wood?" - -"I will, my boy, and across The Flats until I pass the little -river--it's there still, I suppose. And now suppose I buy you a drink?" - -But Oswin Markham declined to be the object of such a purchase. He went -back to his own room, and threw himself on his bed, where he remained -for more than an hour. Then he rose and wiped his forehead. - -He pulled down some books that he had bought, and tried to read bits of -one or two. He sat diligently down as if he meant to go through a day's -reading, but he did not appear to be in the mood for applying himself to -anything. He threw the books aside and turned over some newspapers; but -these did not seem to engross him any more than the books had done. He -lay back in his chair, and after a while his restlessness subsided: he -had fallen asleep. - -It was the afternoon before he awoke with a sudden start. He heard the -sound of voices in the street below his window. He went forward, and, -looking out, was just in time to see Harry Despard mounting his horse at -the hotel door. - -"I will be back about midnight," he said to the porter of the hotel, and -then he trotted off. - -Markham heard the sound of the horse's hoofs die away on the street, and -he repeated the man's words: "About midnight." - - - - -CHAPTER XXXVIII. - - -```To desperation turn my trust and hope.= - -````What if this cursed hand - -```Were thicker than itself with brother's blood, - -```Is there not rain enough in the sweet heavens - -```To wash it white as snow?= - -````I'll have prepared him - -```A chalice for the nonce whereon but sipping - -`````... he... - -````Chaunted snatches of old tunes, - -```As one incapable.= - -```The drink--the drink--... the foul practice - -```Hath turned itself on me; lo, here I lie... - -```I can no more: the King--the King's to blame.--_Hamlet_.= - - -|OSWIN Markham dined at the hotel late in the evening, and when he was -in the act Harwood came into the room dressed for a dinner-party at -Greenpoint to which he had been invited. - -"Your friend Mr. Despard is not here?" said Harwood, looking around -the room. "I wanted to see him for a moment to give him a few words of -advice that may be useful to him. I wish to goodness you would speak to -him, Markham; he has been swaggering about in a senseless way, talking -of having his pockets full of sovereigns, and in the hearing of every -stranger that comes into the hotel. In the bar a few hours ago he -repeated his boast to the Malay who brought him his horse. Now, for -Heaven's sake, tell him that unless he wishes particularly to have a -bullet in his head or a khris in his body some of these nights, he had -better hold his tongue about his wealth--that is what I meant to say to -him." - -"And you are right," cried Oswin, starting up suddenly. "He has been -talking in the hearing of men who would do anything for the sake of a -few sovereigns. What more likely than that some of them should follow -him and knock him down? That will be his end, Harwood." - -"It need not be," replied Harwood. "If you caution him, he will most -likely regard what you say to him." - -"I will caution him--if I see him again," said Markham; then Harwood -left the room, and Markham sat down again, but he did not continue -his dinner. He sat there staring at his plate. "What more likely?" he -muttered. "What more likely than that he should be followed and murdered -by some of these men? If his body should be found with his pockets -empty, no one could doubt it." - -He sat there for a considerable time--until the streets had become -dark; then he rose and went up to his own room for a while, and finally -he put on his hat and left the hotel. - -He looked at his watch as he walked to the railway station, and saw that -he would be just in time to catch a train leaving for Wynberg. He took -a ticket for the station on the Cape Town side of Mowbray, where he got -out. - -He walked from the station to the road and again looked at his watch: -it was not yet nine o'clock; and then he strolled aside upon a little -foot-track that led up the lower slopes of the Peak above Mowbray. The -night was silent and moonless. Upon the road only at intervals came the -rumbling of bullock wagons and the shouts of the Kafir drivers. The hill -above him was sombre and untouched by any glance of light, and no breeze -stirred up the scents of the heath. He walked on in the silence until he -had come to the ravine of silver firs. He passed along the track at the -edge and was soon at the spot where he had sat at the feet of Daireen a -month before. He threw himself down on the short coarse grass just as -he had done then, and every moment of the hour they had passed together -came back to him. Every word that had been spoken, every thought that -had expressed itself upon that lovely face which the delicate sunset -light had touched--all returned to him. - -What had he said to her? That the past life he had lived was blotted out -from his mind? Yes, he had tried to make himself believe that; but now -how Fate had mocked him! He had been bitterly forced to acknowledge -that the past was a part of the present. His week so full of bitterest -suffering had not formed a dividing line between the two lives he -fancied might be his. - -"Is this the justice of God?" he cried out now to the stars, clasping -his hands in agony above his head. "It is unjust. My life would have -been pure and good now, if I had been granted my right of forgetfulness. -But I have been made the plaything of God." He stood with his hands -clasped on his head for long. Then he gave a laugh. "Bah!" he said; "man -is master of his fate. I shall do myself the justice that God has denied -me." - -He came down from that solemn mount, and crossed he road at a nearer -point than the Mowbray avenue. - -He soon found himself by the brink of that little river which flowed -past Rondebosch and Mowbray. He got beneath the trees that bordered its -banks, and stood for a long time in the dead silence of the night. The -mighty dog-lilies were like pictures beneath him; and only now and again -came some of those mysterious sounds of night--the rustling of certain -leaves when all the remainder were motionless, the winnowing of the -wings of some night creature whose form remained invisible, the sudden -stirring of ripples upon the river without a cause being apparent--the -man standing there heard all, and all appeared mysterious to him. He -wondered how he could have so often been by night in places like this, -without noticing how mysterious the silence was--how mysterious the -strange sounds. - -He walked along by the bank of the slow river, until he was just -opposite Mowbray. A little bridge with rustic rails was, he knew, at -hand, by which he would cross the stream--for he must cross it. But -before he had reached it, he heard a sound. He paused. Could it be -possible that it was the sound of a horse's hoofs? There he waited until -something white passed from under the trees and reached the bridge, -standing between him and the other side of the river--something that -barred his way. He leant against the tree nearest to him, for he seemed -to be falling to the ground, and then through the stillness of the night -the voice of Daireen came singing a snatch of song--his song. She was on -the little bridge and leaning upon the rail. In a few moments she stood -upright, and listlessly walked under the trees where he was standing, -though she could not see him. - -"Daireen," he said gently, so that she might not be startled; and she -was not startled, she only walked backwards a few steps until she was -again at the bridge. - -"Did any one speak?" she said almost in a whisper. And then he stood -before her while she laughed with happiness. - -"Why do you stand there?" he said in a tone of wonder. "What was it sent -you to stand there between me and the other side of that river?" - -"I said to papa that I would wait for him here. He went to see Major -Crawford part of the way to the house where the Crawfords are staying; -but what can be keeping him from returning I don't know. I promised not -to go farther than the avenue, and I have just been here a minute." - -He looked at her standing there before him. "Oh God! oh God!" he said, -as he reflected upon what his own thoughts had been a moment before. -"Daireen, you are an angel of God--that angel which stood between the -living and the dead. Stay near me. Oh, child! what do I not owe to you? -my life--the peace of my soul for ever and ever. And yet--must we speak -no word of love together, Daireen?" - -"Not one--here," she said. "Not one--only--ah, my love, my love, why -should we speak of it? It is all my life--I breathe it--I think it--it -is myself." - -He looked at her and laughed. "This moment is ours," he said with -tremulous passion. "God cannot pluck it from us. It is an immortal -moment, if our souls are immortal. Child, can God take you away from -me before I have kissed you on the mouth?" He held her face between his -hands and kissed her. "Darling, I have taken your white soul into mine," -he said. - -Then they stood apart on that bridge. - -"And now," she said, "you must never frighten me with your strange words -again. I do not know what you mean sometimes, but then that is because -I don't know very much. I feel that you are good and true, and I have -trusted you." - -"I will be true to you," he said gently. "I will die loving you better -than any hope man has of heaven. Daireen, never dream, whatever may -happen, that I shall not love you while my soul lives." - -"I will believe you," she said; and then voices were heard coming down -the lane of aloes at the other side of the river--voices and the sound -of a horse's hoofs. Colonel Gerald and Major Crawford were coming along -leading a horse, across whose saddle lay a black mass. Oswin Markham -gave a start. Then Daireen's father hastened forward to where she was -standing. - -"Child," he said quickly, "go back--go back to the house. I will come to -you in a few minutes." - -"What is the matter, papa?" she asked. "No one is hurt?--Major Crawford -is not hurt?" - -"No, no, he is here; but go, Daireen--go at once." - -She turned and went up the avenue without a word. But she saw that Oswin -was not looking at her--that he was grasping the rail of the bridge -while he gazed to where the horse with its burden stood a few yards away -among the aloes. - -"I am glad you chance to be here, Markham," said Colonel Gerald -hurriedly. "Something has happened--that man Despard----" - -"Not dead--not murdered!" gasped Oswin, clutching the rail with both -hands. - -"Murdered? no; how could he be murdered? he must have fallen from his -horse among the trees." - -"And he is dead--he is dead?" - -"Calm yourself, Markham," said the colonel; "he is not dead." - -"Not in that sense, my boy," laughed Major Crawford. "By gad, if we -could leave the brute up to the neck in the river here for a few hours I -fancy he would be treated properly. Hold him steady, Markham." - -Oswin put his hand mechanically to the feet of the man who was lying -helplessly across the saddle. - -"Not dead, not dead," he whispered. - -"Only dead drunk, unless his skull is fractured, my boy," laughed the -major. "We'll take him to the stables, of course, George?" - -"No, no, to the house," said Colonel Gerald. - -"Run on and get the key of the stables, George," said the major -authoritatively. "Don't you suppose in any way that your house is to be -turned into an hospital for dipsomaniacs. Think of the child." - -Colonel Gerald made a little pause, and then hastened forward to awaken -the groom to get the key of the stables, which were some distance from -the cottage. - -"By gad, Markham, I'd like to spill the brute into that pond," whispered -the major to Oswin, as they waited for the colonel's return. - -"How did you find him? Did you see any accident?" asked Oswin. - -"We met the horse trotting quietly along the avenue without a rider, -and when we went on among the trees we found the fellow lying helpless. -George said he was killed, but I knew better. Irish whisky, my boy, was -what brought him down, and you will find that I am right." - -They let the man slide from the saddle upon a heap of straw when the -stable door was opened by the half-dressed groom. - -"Not dead, Jack?" said Colonel Gerald as a lantern was held to the man's -face. Only the major was looking at the man; Markham could not trust -himself even to glance towards him. - -"Dead?" said the major. "Why, since we have laid him down I have heard -him frame three distinct oaths. Have you a bucket of water handy, my -good man? No, it needn't be particularly clean. Ah, that will do. Now, -if you don't hear a choice selection of colonial blasphemy, he's dead -and, by gad, sir, so am I." - -The major's extensive experience of the treatment of colonial complaints -had, as the result proved, led him to form a correct if somewhat hasty -diagnosis of the present case. Not more than a gallon of the water had -been thrown upon the man before he recovered sufficient consciousness -to allow of his expressing himself with freedom on the subject of his -treatment. - -"I told you so," chuckled the major. "Fill the bucket again, my man." - -Colonel Gerald could only laugh now that his fears had been dispelled. -He hastened to the house to tell Daireen that there was no cause for -alarm. - -By the time the second bucketful had been applied, in pursuance of the -major's artless system of resuscitation, Despard was sitting up talking -of the oppressions under which a certain nation was groaning. He was -sympathetic and humorous in turn; weeping after particular broken -sentences, and chuckling with laughter after other parts of his speech. - -"The Irish eloquence and the Irish whisky have run neck and neck for the -fellow's soul," said the major. "If we hadn't picked him up he would -be in a different state now. Are you going back to Cape Town to-night, -Markham?" - -"I am," said Oswin. - -"That's lucky. You mustn't let George have his way in this matter. This -brute would stay in the cottage up there for a month." - -"He must not do that," cried Markham eagerly. - -"No, my boy; so you will drive with him in the Cape cart to the hotel. -He will give you no trouble if you lay him across the floor and keep -your feet well down upon his chest. Put one of the horses in, my man," -continued the major, turning to the groom. "You will drive in with Mr. -Markham, and bring the cart back." - -Before Colonel Gerald had returned from the house a horse was harnessed -to the Cape cart, Despard had been lifted up and placed in an easy -attitude against one of the seats. And only a feeble protest was offered -by the colonel. - -"My dear Markham," he said, "it was very lucky you were passing where my -daughter saw you. You know this man Despard--how could I have him in my -house?" - -"In your house!" cried Markham. "Thank God I was here to prevent that." - -The Cape cart was already upon the avenue and the lamps were lighted. -But a little qualm seemed to come to the colonel. - -"Are you sure he is not injured--that he has quite recovered from any -possible effects?" he said. - -Then came the husky voice of the man. - -"Go'night, king, go'night. I'm alright--horse know's way. We're -tram'led on, king--'pressed people--but wormil turn--wormil turn--never -mind--Go save Ireland--green flag litters o'er us--tread th' land that -bore us--go'night." - -The cart was in motion before the man's words had ceased. - - - - -CHAPTER XXXIX. - - -````Look you lay home to him: - -```Tell him his pranks have been too broad to bear with.= - -```What to ourselves in passion we propose, - -```The passion ending, doth the purpose lose.= - -````I must leave thee, love... - -```And thou shalt live in this fair world behind, - -```Honour'd, belov'd, and haply one as kind - -```For husband shalt thou--= - -```Both here and hence pursue me lasting strife.--_Hamlet_.= - - -|OSWIN Markham lay awake nearly all that night after he had reached the -hotel. His thoughts were not of that even nature whose proper sequence -is sleep. He thought of all that had passed since he had left the -room he was lying in now. What had been on his mind on leaving this -room--what had his determination been? - -"For her," he said; "for her. It would have been for her. God keep -me--God pity me!" - -The morning came with the sound of marching soldiers in the street -below; with the cry of bullock-wagon-drivers and the rattle of the rude -carts; with the morning and the sounds of life--the breaking of the -deadly silence of the night--sleep came to the man. - -It was almost midday before he awoke, and for some time after opening -his eyes he was powerless to recollect anything that had happened during -the night; his awakening now was as his return to consciousness on board -the _Cardwell Castle_,--a great blank seemed to have taken place in his -life--the time of unconsciousness was a gulf that all his efforts of -memory could not at first bridge. - -He looked around the room, and his first consciousness was the -recollection of what his thoughts of the previous evening had been when -he had slept in the chair before the window and had awakened to see -Despard ride away. He failed at once to remember anything of the -interval of night; only with that one recollection burning on his brain -he looked at his right hand. - -In a short time he remembered everything. He knew that Despard was in -the hotel. He dressed himself and went downstairs, and found Harwood in -the coffee-room, reading sundry documents with as anxious an expression -of countenance as a special correspondent ever allows himself to assume. - -"What is the news?" Markham asked, feeling certain that something -unusual had either taken place or was seen by the prophetical vision of -Harwood to be looming in the future. - -"War," said Harwood, looking up. "War, Markham. I should never have left -Natal. They have been working up to the point for the last few months, -as I saw; but now there is no hope for a peaceful settlement." - -"The Zulu chief is not likely to come to terms now?" said Markham. - -"Impossible," replied the other. "Quite impossible. In a few days there -will, no doubt, be a call for volunteers." - -"For volunteers?" Markham repeated. "You will go up country at once, I -suppose?" he added. - -"Not quite as a volunteer, but as soon as I receive my letters by the -mail that arrives in a few days, I shall be off to Durban, at any rate." - -"And you will be glad of it, no doubt. You told me you liked doing -war-correspondence." - -"Did I?" said Harwood; and after a little pause he added slowly: "It's -a tiring life this I have been leading for the past fifteen years, -Markham. I seem to have cut myself off from the sympathies of life. I -seem to have been only a looker-on in the great struggles--the great -pleasures--of life. I am supposed to have no more sympathies than -Babbage's calculator that records certain facts without emotion, and -I fancied I had schooled myself into this cold apathy in looking at -things; but I don't think I have succeeded in cutting myself off from -all sympathies. No, I shall not be glad of this war. Never mind. By the -way, are you going out to Dr. Glaston's to-night?" - -"I have got a card for his dinner, but I cannot tell what I may do. I am -not feeling myself, just now." - -"You certainly don't look yourself, Markham. You are haggard, and -as pale as if you had not got any sleep for nights. You want the -constitution of your friend Mr. Despard, who is breakfasting in the -bar." - -"What, is it possible he is out of his room?" cried Markham, in -surprise. - -"Why, he was waiting here an hour ago when I came down, and in the -meantime he had been buying a suit of garments, he said, that gallant -check of his having come to grief through the night." - -Harwood spoke the words at the door and then he left the room. - -Oswin was not for long left in solitary occupation, however, for in -a few moments the door was flung open, and Despard entered with a -half-empty tumbler in his hand. He came forward with a little chuckling -laugh and stood in front of Oswin without speaking. He looked with his -blood-shot eyes into Oswin's cold pale face, and then burst into a laugh -so hearty that he was compelled to leave the tumbler upon the table, -not having sufficient confidence in his ability to grasp it under the -influence of his excitement. Then he tapped Markham on the shoulder, -crying: - -"Well, old boy, have you got over that lark of last night? Like the old -times, wasn't it? You did the fatherly by me, I believe, though hang -me if I remember what happened after I had drunk the last glass of old -Irish with our friend the king. How the deuce did I get in with the -teetotal colonel who, the boots has been telling me, lent me his cart? -That's what I should like to know. And where were you, my boy, all the -night?" - -"Despard," said Markham, "I have borne with your brutal insults long -enough. I will not bear them any longer. When you have so disgraced both -yourself and me as you did last night, it is time to bring matters to a -climax. I cannot submit to have you thrust yourself upon my friends as -you have done. You behaved like a brute." - -Despard seated himself and wiped his eyes. "I did behave like a brute," -he said. "I always do, I know--and you know too, Oswin. Never mind. Tell -me what you want--what am I to do?" - -"You must leave the colony," said Oswin quickly, almost eagerly. "I -will give you money, and a ticket to England to-day. You must leave this -place at once." - -"And so I will--so I will," said the man from behind his handkerchief. -"Yes, yes, Oswin, I'll leave the colony--I will--when I become a -teetotaller." He took down his handkerchief, and put it into his pocket -with a hoarse laugh. "Come, my boy," he said in his usual voice, "come; -we've had quite enough of that sort of bullying. Don't think you're -talking to a boy, Master Oswin. Who looks on a man as anything the worse -for getting drunk now and again? You don't; you can't afford to. How -often have I not helped you as you helped me? Tell me that." - -"In the past--the accursed past," said Oswin, "I may have made myself a -fool--yes, I did, but God knows that I have suffered for it. Now all is -changed. I was willing to tolerate you near me since we met this time, -hoping that you would think fit, when you were in a new place and -amongst new people, to change your way of life. But last night showed -me that I was mistaken. You can never be received at Colonel Gerald's -again." - -"Indeed?" said the man. "You should break the news gently to a fellow. -You might have thrown me into a fit by coming down like that. Hark you -here, Mr. Markham. I know jolly well that I will be received there and -welcomed too. I'll be received everywhere as well as you, and hang me, -if I don't go everywhere. These people are my friends as well as yours. -I've done more for them than ever you did, and they know that." - -"Fool, fool!" said Oswin bitterly. - -"We'll see who's the fool, my boy. I know my advantage, don't you be -afraid. The Irish king has a son, hasn't he? well, I was welcome with -him last night. The Lord Bishop of Calapash has another blooming male -offspring, and though he hasn't given me an invite to his dinner this -evening, yet, hang me, if he wouldn't hug me if I went with the rest of -you swells. Hang me, if I don't try it at any rate--it will be a lark at -least. Dine with a bishop--by heaven, sir, it would be a joke--I'll go, -oh, Lord, Lord!" Oswin stood motionless looking at him. "Yes," continued -Despard, "I'll have a jolly hour with his lordship the bishop. I'll -fill up my glass as I did last night, and we'll drink the same toast -together--we'll drink to the health of the Snowdrop of Glenmara, as the -king called her when he was very drunk; we'll drink to the fair Daireen. -Hallo, keep your hands off!--Curse you, you're choking me! There!" -Oswin, before the girl's name had more than passed the man's lips, had -sprung forward and clutched him by the throat; only by a violent effort -was he cast off, and now both men stood trembling with passion face to -face. - -"What the deuce do you mean by this sort of treatment?" cried Despard. - -"Despard," said Oswin slowly, "you know me a little, I think. I tell you -if you ever speak that name again in my presence you will repent it. You -know me from past experience, and I have not utterly changed." - -The man looked at him with an expression that amounted to wonderment -upon his face. Then he threw himself back in his chair, and an -uncontrollable fit of laughter seized him. He lay back and almost yelled -with his insane laughter. When he had recovered himself and had wiped -the tears from his eyes, he saw Oswin was gone. And this fact threw him -into another convulsive fit. It was a long time before he was able to -straighten his collar and go to the bar for a glass of French brandy. - -The last half-hour had made Oswin Markham very pale. He had eaten no -breakfast, and he was reminded of this by the servant to whom he had -given directions to have his horse brought to the door. - -"No," he said, "I have not eaten anything. Get the horse brought round -quickly, like a good fellow." - -He stood erect in the doorway until he heard the sound of hoofs. Then -he went down the steps and mounted, turning his horse's head towards -Wynberg. He galloped along the red road at the base of the hill, and -only once he looked up, saying, "For the last time--the last." - -He reached the avenue at Mowbray and dismounted, throwing the bridle -over his arm as he walked slowly between the rows of giant aloes. In -another moment he came in sight of the Dutch cottage. He paused under -one of the Australian oaks, and looked towards the house. "Oh, God, God, -pity me!" he cried in agony so intense that it could not relieve itself -by any movement or the least motion. - -He threw the bridle over a low branch and walked up to the house. His -step was heard. She stood before him in the hall--white and flushed in -turn as he went towards her. He was not flushed; he was still deadly -white. He had startled her, he knew, for the hand she gave him was -trembling like a dove's bosom. - -"Papa is gone part of the way back to Simon's Town with the commodore -who was with us this morning," she said. "But you will come in and wait, -will you not?" - -"I cannot," he said. "I cannot trust myself to go in--even to look at -you, Daireen." - -"Oh, God!" she said, "you are ill--your face--your voice----" - -"I am not ill, Daireen. I have an hour of strength--such strength as is -given to men when they look at Death in the face and are not moved at -all. I kissed you last night----" - -"And you will now," she said, clasping his arm tenderly. "Dearest, do -not speak so terribly--do not look so terrible--so like--ah, that night -when you looked up to me from the water." - -"Daireen, why did I do that? Why did you pluck me from that death to -give me this agony of life--to give yourself all the bitterness that can -come to any soul? Daireen, I kissed you only once, and I can never kiss -you again. I cannot be false to you any longer after having touched -your pure spirit. I have been false to you--false, not by my will--but -because to me God denied what He gave to others--others to whom His gift -was an agony--that divine power to begin life anew. My past still clings -to me, Daireen--it is not past--it is about and around me still--it is -the gulf that separates us, Daireen." - -"Separates us?" she said blankly, looking at him. - -"Separates us," he repeated, "as heaven and hell are separated. We have -been the toys--the playthings, of Fate. If you had not looked out of -your cabin that night, we should both be happy now. And then how was -it we came to love each other and to know it to be love? I struggled -against it, but I was as a feather upon the wind. Ah, God has given us -this agony of love, for I am here to look on you for the last time--to -beseech of you to hate me, and to go away knowing that you love me." - -"No, no, not to go away--anything but that. Tell me all--I can forgive -all." - -"I cannot bring my lips to frame my curse," he said after a little -pause. "But you shall hear it, and, Daireen, pity me as you pitied me -when I looked to God for hope and found none. Child--give me your eyes -for the last time." - -She held him clasped with her white hands, and he saw that her passion -made her incapable of understanding his words. She looked up to him -whispering, "The last time--no, no--not the last time--not the last." - -She was in his arms. He looked down upon her face, but he did not kiss -it. He clenched his teeth as he unwound her arms from him. - -"One word may undo the curse that I have bound about your life," -he said. "Take the word, Daireen--the blessed word for you and -me--_Forget_. Take it--it is my last blessing." - -She was standing before him. She saw his face there, and she gave a -cry, covering her own face with her hands, for the face she saw was that -which had looked up to her from the black waters. - -Was he gone? - -From the river bank came the sounds of the native women, from the -garden the hum of insects, and from the road the echo of a horse's hoofs -passing gradually away. - -Was it a dream--not only this scene of broad motionless leaves, and -these sounds she heard, but all the past months of her life? - -Hours went by leaving her motionless in that seat, and then came the -sound of a horse--she sprang up. He was returning--it was a dream that -had given her this agony of parting. - -"Daireen, child, what is the matter?" asked her father, whose horse it -was she had heard. - -She looked up to his face. - -"Papa," she said very gently, "it is over--all--all over--for ever--I -have only you now." - -"My dear little Dolly, tell me all that troubles you." - -"Nothing troubles me now, papa. I have you near me, and I do not mind -anything else." - -"Tell me all, Daireen." - -"I thought I loved some one else, papa--Oswin--Oswin Markham. But he is -gone now, and I know you are with me. You will always be with me." - -"My poor little Dolly," said Colonel Gerald, "did he tell you that he -loved you?" - -"He did, papa; but you must ask me no more. I shall never see him -again!" - -"Perfectly charming!" said Mrs. Crawford, standing at the door. "The -prettiest picture I have seen for a long time--father and daughter in -each other's arms. But, my dear George, are you not yet dressed for the -bishop's dinner? Daireen, my child, did you not say you would be ready -when I would call for you? I am quite disappointed, and I would be angry -only you look perfectly lovely this evening--like a beautiful lily. The -dear bishop will be so charmed, for you are one of his favourites. Now -do make haste, and I entreat of you to be particular with your shades of -gray." - - - - -CHAPTER XL. - - -````... A list of... resolutes - -```For food and diet, to some enterprise - -```That hath a stomach in't.= - -```My news shall be the fruit to that great feast.= - -```Why, let the stricken deer go weep, - -````The hart ungalléd play; - -```For some must watch, while some must sleep; - -````Thus runs the world away.--_Hamlet_.= - - -|THE Bishop of the Calapash Islands and Metropolitan of the Salamander -Archipelago was smiling very tranquilly upon his guests as they arrived -at his house, which was about two miles from Mowbray. But the son of the -bishop was not smiling--he, in fact, seldom smiled; there was a certain -breadth of expression associated with such a manifestation of feeling -that was inconsistent with his ideas of subtlety of suggestion. He was -now endeavouring to place his father's guests at ease by looking only -slightly bored by their presence, giving them to understand that he -would endure them around him for his father's sake, so that there should -be no need for them to be at all anxious on his account. A dinnerparty -in a colony was hardly that sort of social demonstration which Mr. -Glaston would be inclined to look forward to with any intensity of -feeling; but the bishop, having a number of friends at the Cape, -including a lady who was capable of imparting some very excellent advice -on many social matters, had felt it to be a necessity to give this -little dinnerparty, and his son had only offered such a protest against -it as satisfied his own conscience and prevented the possibility of his -being consumed for days after with a gnawing remorse. - -The bishop had his own ideas of entertaining his guests--a matter which -his son brought under his consideration after the invitations had been -issued. - -"There is not such a thing as a rising tenor in the colony, I am sure," -said Mr. Glaston, whose experience of perfect social entertainment was -limited to that afforded by London drawing-rooms. "If we had a rising -tenor, there would be no difficulty about these people." - -"Ah, no, I suppose not," said the bishop. "But I was thinking, Algernon, -that if you would allow your pictures to be hung for the evening, and -explain them, you know, it would be interesting." - -"What, by lamplight? They are not drop-scenes of a theatre, let me -remind you." - -"No, no; but you see your theories of explanation would be understood -by our good friends as well by lamplight as by daylight, and I am sure -every one would be greatly interested." Mr. Glaston promised his father -to think over the matter, and his father expressed his gratitude for -this concession. "And as for myself," continued the bishop, giving his -hands the least little rub together, "I would suggest reading a -few notes on a most important subject, to which I have devoted some -attention lately. My notes I would propose heading 'Observations on -Phenomena of Automatic Cerebration amongst some of the Cannibal Tribes -of the Salamander Archipelago.' I have some excellent specimens of -skulls illustrative of the subject." - -Mr. Glaston looked at his father for a considerable time without -speaking; at last he said quietly, "I think I had better show my -pictures." - -"And my paper--my notes?" - -"Impossible," said the young man, rising. "Utterly Impossible;" and he -left the room. - -The bishop felt slightly hurt by his son's manner. He had treasured up -his notes on the important observations he had made in an interesting -part of his diocese, and he had looked forward with anxiety to a moment -when he could reveal the result of his labours to the world, and yet his -son had, when the opportunity presented itself, declared the revelation -impossible. The bishop felt slightly hurt. - -Now, however, he had got over his grievance, and he was able to smile as -usual upon each of his guests. - -The dinner-party was small and select. There were two judges present, -one of whom brought his wife and a daughter. Then there were two members -of the Legislative Council, one with a son, the other with a daughter; -a clergyman who had attained to the dizzy ecclesiastical eminence of -a colonial deanery, and his partner in the dignity of his office. The -Macnamara and Standish were there, and Mr. Harwood, together with the -Army Boot Commissioner and Mrs. Crawford, the last of whom arrived with -Colonel Gerald and Daireen. - -Mrs. Crawford had been right. The bishop was charmed with Daireen, and -so expressed himself while he took her hand in his and gave her the -benediction of a smile. Poor Standish, seeing her so lovely as she was -standing there, felt his soul full of love and devotion. What was all -the rest of the world compared with her, he thought; the aggregate -beauty of the universe, including the loveliness of the Miss Van der -Veldt who was in the drawing-room, was insignificant by the side of a -single curl of Daireen's wonderful hair. Mr. Harwood looked towards -her also, but his thoughts were somewhat more complicated than those of -Standish. - -"Is not Daireen perfection?" whispered Mrs. Crawford to Algernon -Glaston. - -The bishop's son glanced at the girl critically. - -"I cannot understand that band of black velvet with a pearl in front of -it," he said. "I feel it to be a mistake--yes, it is an error for which -I am sorry; I begin to fear it was designed only as a bold contrast. It -is sad--very sad." - -Mrs. Crawford was chilled. She had never seen Daireen look so lovely. -She felt for more than a moment that she was all unmeet for a wife, so -child-like she seemed. And now the terrible thought suggested itself to -Mrs. Crawford: what if Mr. Glaston's opinion was, after all, fallible? -might it be possible that his judgment could be in error? The very -suggestion of such a thought sent a cold thrill of fear through her. No, -no: she would not admit such a possibility. - -The dinner was proceeded with, after the fashion of most dinners, in a -highly satisfactory manner. The guests were arranged with discrimination -in accordance with a programme of Mrs. Crawford's, and the conversation -was unlimited. - -Much to the dissatisfaction of The Macnamara the men went to the -drawing-room before they had remained more than ten minutes over their -claret. One of the young ladies of the colony had been induced to sing -with the judge's son a certain duet called "La ci darem la mano;" and -this was felt to be extremely agreeable by every one except the bishop's -son. The bishop thanked the young lady very much, and then resumed his -explanation to a group of his guests of the uses of some implements -of war and agriculture brought from the tribes of the Salamander -Archipelago. - -Three of the pictures of Mr. Glaston's collection were hung in the room, -the most important being that marvellous Aholibah: it was placed upon a -small easel at the farthest end of the room, a lamp being at each side. -A group had gathered round the picture, and Mr. Glaston with the utmost -goodnature repeated the story of its creation. Daireen had glanced -towards the picture, and again that little shudder came over her. - -She was sitting in the centre of the room upon an ottoman beside Mrs. -Crawford and Mr. Harwood. Standish was in a group at the lower end, -while his father was demonstrating how infinitely superior were the -weapons found in the bogs of Ireland to the Salamander specimens. The -bishop moved gently over to Daireen and explained to her the pleasure -it would be giving every one in the room if she would consent to sing -something. - -At once Daireen rose and went to the piano. A song came to her lips as -she laid her hand upon the keys of the instrument, and her pure earnest -voice sang the words that came back to her:--= - -```From my life the light has waned: - -````Every golden gleam that shone - -````Through the dimness now has gone: - -```Of all joys has one remained? - -````Stays one gladness I have known? - -```Day is past; I stand, alone, - -```Here beneath these darkened skies, - -```Asking--"Doth a star arise?"= - -She ended with a passion that touched every one who heard her, and then -there was a silence for some moments, before the door of the room was -pushed open to the wall, and a voice said, "Bravo, my dear, bravo!" in -no weak tones. - -All eyes turned towards the door. Mr. Despard entered, wearing an -ill-made dress-suit, with an enormous display of shirt-front, big studs, -and a large rose in his button-hole. - -"I stayed outside till the song was over," he said. "Bless your souls, -I've got a feeling for music, and hang me if I've heard anything that -could lick that tune." Then he nodded confidentially to the bishop. -"What do you say, Bishop? What do you say, King? am I right or wrong? -Why, we're all here--all of our set--the colonel too--how are you, -Colonel?--and the editor--how we all do manage to meet somehow! Birds of -a feather--you know. Make yourselves at home, don't mind me." - -He walked slowly up the room smiling rather more broadly than the bishop -was in the habit of doing, on all sides. He did not stop until he was -opposite the picture of Aholibah on the easel. Here he did stop. He -seemed to be even more appreciative of pictorial art than of musical. He -bent forward, gazing into that picture, regardless of the embarrassing -silence there was in the room while every one looked towards him. He -could not see how all eyes were turned upon him, so absorbed had he -become before that picture. - -The bishop was now certainly not smiling. He walked slowly to the man's -side. - -"Sir," said the bishop, "you have chosen an inopportune time for a -visit. I must beg of you to retire." - -Then the man seemed to be recalled to consciousness. He glanced up from -the picture and looked into the bishop's face. He pointed with one hand -to the picture, and then threw himself back in a chair with a roar of -laughter. - -"By heavens, this is a bigger surprise than seeing Oswin himself," he -cried. "Where is Oswin?--not here?--he should be here--he must see it." - -It was Harwood's voice that said, "What do you mean?" - -"Mean, Mr. Editor?" said Despard. "Mean? Haven't I told you what I mean? -By heavens, I forgot that I was at the Cape--I thought I was still -in Melbourne! Good, by Jingo, and all through looking at that bit of -paint!" - -"Explain yourself, sir?" said Harwood. - -"Explain?" said the man. "That there explains itself. Look at that -picture. The woman in that picture is Oswin Markham's wife, the Italian -he brought to Australia, where he left her. That's plain enough. A -deucedly fine woman she is, though they never did get on together. -Hallo! What's the matter with Missy there? My God! she's going to -faint." - -But Daireen Gerald did not faint. Her father had his arm about her. - -"Papa," she whispered faintly,--"Papa, take me home." - -"My darling," said Colonel Gerald. "Do not look like that. For God's -sake, Daireen, don't look like that." They were standing outside waiting -for the carriage to come up; for Daireen had walked from the room -without faltering. - -"Do not mind me," she said. "I am strong--yes--very--very strong." - -He lifted her into the carriage, and was at the point of entering -himself, when the figure of Mrs. Crawford appeared among the palm -plants. - -"Good heavens, George! what is the meaning of this?" she said in a -whisper. - -"Go back!" cried Colonel Gerald sternly. "Go back! This is some more of -your work. You shall never see my child again!" - -He stepped into the carriage. The major's wife was left standing in the -porch thunderstruck at such a reproach coming from the colonel. Was this -the reward of her labour--to stand among the palms, listening to the -passing away of the carriage wheels? - -It was not until the Dutch cottage had been reached that Daireen, in the -darkness of the room, laid her head upon her father's shoulder. - -"Papa," she whispered again, "take me home--let us go home together." - -"My darling, you are at home now." - -"No, papa, I don't mean that; I mean home--I home--Glenmara." - -"I will, Daireen: we shall go away from here. We shall be happy together -in the old house." - -"Yes," she said. "Happy--happy." - -"What do you mean, sir?" said the _maître d'hôtel_, referring to a -question put to him by Despard, who had been brought away from the -bishop's house by Harwood in a diplomatically friendly manner. "What do -you mean? Didn't Mr. Markham tell you he was going?" - -"Going--where?" said Harwood. - -"To Natal, sir? I felt sure that he had told you, though he didn't speak -to us. Yes, he left in the steamer for Natal two hours ago." - -"Squaring everything?" asked Despard. - -"Sir!" said the _maître_; "Mr. Markham was a gentleman." - -"It was half a sovereign he gave you then," remarked Despard. Then -turning to Harwood, he said: "Well, Mr. Editor, this is the end of all, -I fancy. We can't expect much after this. He's gone now, and I'm -infernally sorry for him, for Oswin was a good sort. By heavens, didn't -I burst in on the bishop's party like a greased shrapnel? I had taken -a little better than a glass of brandy before I went there, so I was in -good form. Yes, Paulina is the name of his wife. He had picked her up -in Italy or thereabouts. That's what made his friends send him off to -Australia. He was punished for his sins, for that woman made his life a -hell to him. Now we'll take the tinsel off a bottle of Moët together." - -"No," said Harwood; "not to-night." - -He left the room and went upstairs, for now indeed this psychological -analyst had an intricate problem to work out. It was a long time before -he was able to sleep. - - - - -CHAPTER XLI. - - -CONCLUSION. - - -```What is it you would see? - -```If aught of woe or wonder, cease your search.= - -***** - -```And let me speak to the yet unknowing world - -```How these things came about: so shall you hear - -```Of accidental judgments... - -`````purposes mistook.= - -```... let this same be presently performed - -````... lest more mischance - -```On plots and errors happen.--_Hamlet._= - - -|LITTLE more remains to be told to complete the story of the few months -of the lives of the people whose names have appeared in these pages in -illustration of how hardly things go right. - -Upon that night, after the bishop's little dinnerparty, every one, -except Mr. Despard, seemed to have a bitter consciousness of how -terribly astray things had gone. It seemed hopeless to think that -anything could possibly be made right again. If Mrs. Crawford had not -been a pious woman and a Christian, she would have been inclined to say -that the Fates, which had busied themselves with the disarrangement of -her own carefully constructed plans, had become inebriated with their -success and were wantoning in the confusion of the mortals who had been -their playthings. Should any one have ventured to interpret her thoughts -after this fashion, however, Mrs. Crawford would have been indignant -and would have assured her accuser that her only thought was how hardly -things go right. And perhaps, indeed, the sum of her thoughts could not -have been expressed by words of fuller meaning. - -She had been careful beyond all her previous carefulness that her plans -for the future of Daireen Gerald should be arranged so as to insure -their success; and yet, what was the result of days of thoughtfulness -and unwearying toil, she asked herself as she was driving homeward under -the heavy oak branches amongst which a million fire-flies were flitting. -This feeling of defeat--nay, even of shame, for the words Colonel -Gerald had spoken to her in his bitterness of spirit were still in her -mind--was this the result of her care, her watchfulness, her skill of -organisation? Truly Mrs. Crawford felt that she had reason for thinking -herself ill-treated. - -"Major," she said solemnly to the Army Boot Commissioner as he partook -of some simple refreshment in the way of brandy and water before -retiring for the night--"Major, listen to me while I tell you that I -wash my hands clear of these people. Daireen Gerald has disappointed me; -she has made a fool both of herself and of me; and George Gerald grossly -insulted me." - -"Did he really now?" said the major compassionately, as he added another -thimbleful of the contents of the bottle to his tumbler. "Upon my soul -it was too bad of George--a devilish deal too bad of him." Here the -major emptied his tumbler. He was feeling bitterly the wrong done to his -wife as he yawned and searched in the dimness for a cheroot. - -"I wash my hands clear of them all," continued the lady. "The bishop is -a poor thing to allow himself to be led by that son of his, and the son -is a----" - -"For God's sake take care, Kate; a bishop, you know, is not like the -rest of the people." - -"He is a weak thing, I say," continued Mrs. Crawford firmly. "And his -son is--a--puppy. But I have done with them." - -"And _for_ them," said the major, striking a light. - -Thus it was that Mrs. Crawford relieved her pent-up feelings as she went -to her bed; but in spite of the disappointment Daireen had caused her, -and the gross insult she had received from Daireen's father, before she -went to sleep she had asked herself if it might not be well to forgive -George Gerald and to beg of him to show some additional attention to Mr. -Harwood, who was, all things considered, a most deserving man, besides -being a distinguished person and a clever. Yes, she thought that this -would be a prudent step for Colonel Gerald to take at once. If Daireen -had made a mistake, it was sad, to be sure, but there was no reason -why it might not be retrieved, Mrs. Crawford felt; and she fell asleep -without any wrath in her heart against her old friend George Gerald. - -And Arthur Harwood, as he stood in his room at the hotel and looked out -to the water of Table Bay, had the truth very strongly forced upon him -that things had gone far wrong indeed, and with a facility of error -that was terrifying. He felt that he alone could fully appreciate how -terribly astray everything had gone. He saw in a single glance all of -the past; and his scrupulously just conscience did not fail to give him -credit for having at least surmised something of the truth that had -just been brought to light. From the first--even before he had seen -the man--he had suspected Oswin Markham; and, subsequently, had he not -perceived--or at any rate fancied that he perceived--something of the -feeling that existed between Markham and Daireen? - -His conscience gave him ample credit for his perception; but after all, -this was an unsatisfactory set-off against the weight of his reflections -on the subject of the general error of affairs that concerned him -closely, not the least of which was the unreasonable conduct of the -Zulu monarch who had rejected the British ultimatum, and who thus -necessitated the presence of a special correspondent in his dominions. -Harwood, seeing the position of everything at a glance, had come to the -conclusion that it would be impossible for him, until some months had -passed, to tell Daireen all that he believed was in his heart. He knew -that she had loved that man whom she had saved from death, and who had -rewarded her by behaving as a ruffian towards her; still Mr. Harwood, -like Mrs. Crawford, felt that her mistake was not irretrievable. But if -he himself were now compelled by the conduct of this wretched savage -to leave Cape Town for an indefinite period, how should he have an -opportunity of pointing out to Daireen the direction in which her -happiness lay? Mr. Harwood was not generously disposed towards the Zulu -monarch. - -Upon descending to the coffee-room in the morning, he found Mr. Despard -sitting somewhat moodily at the table. Harwood was beginning to think, -now that Mr. Despard's mission in life had been performed, there could -be no reason why his companionship should be sought. But Mr. Despard -was not at all disposed to allow his rapidly conceived friendship for -Harwood to be cut short. - -"Hallo, Mr. Editor, you're down at last, are you?" he cried. "The -colonel didn't go up to, your room, you bet, though he did to me--fine -old boy is he, by my soul--plenty of good work in him yet." - -"The colonel? Was Colonel Gerald here?" asked Harwood. - -"He was, Mr. Editor; he was here just to see me, and have a friendly -morning chat. We've taken to each other, has the colonel and me." - -"He heard that Markham had gone? You told him, no doubt?" - -"Mr. Editor, sir," said Despard, rising to his feet and keeping himself -comparatively steady by grasping the edge of the table,--"Mr. Editor, -there are things too sacred to be divulged even to the Press. There are -feelings--emotions--chords of the human heart--you know all that sort -of thing--the bond of friendship between the colonel and me is something -like that. What I told him will never be divulged while I'm sober. Oswin -had his faults, no doubt, but for that matter I have mine. Which of us -is perfect, Mr. Editor? Why, here's this innocent-looking lad that's -coming to me with another bottle of old Irish, hang me if he isn't a -walking receptacle of bribery and corruption! What, are you off?" - -Mr. Harwood was off, nor did he think if necessary to go through the -formality of shaking hands with the moraliser at the table. - -It was on the day following that Mrs. Crawford called at Colonel -Gerald's cottage at Mowbray. She gave a start when she saw that the -little hall was blocked up with packing-cases. One of them was an old -military camp-box, and upon the end of it was painted in dimly white -letters the name "Lieutenant George Gerald." Seeing it now as she had -often seen it in the days at the Indian station, the poor old campaigner -sat down on a tin uniform-case and burst into tears. - -"Kate, dear good Kate," said Colonel Gerald, laying his hand on her -shoulder. "What is the matter, my dear girl?" - -"Oh, George, George!" sobbed the lady, "look at that case there--look at -it, and think of the words you spoke to me two nights ago. Oh, George, -George!" - -"God forgive me, Kate, I was unjust--ungenerous. Oh, Kate, you do not -know how I had lost myself as the bitter truth was forced upon me. You -have forgiven me long ago, have you not?" - -"I have, George," she said, putting her hand in his. "God knows I have -forgiven you. But what is the meaning of this? You are not going away, -surely?" - -"We leave by the mail to-morrow, Kate," said the colonel. - -"Good gracious, is it so bad as that?" asked the lady, alarmed. - -"Bad? there is nothing bad now, my dear. We only feel--Dolly and -myself--that we must have a few months together amongst our native Irish -mountains before we set out for the distant Castaways." - -Mrs. Crawford looked into his face earnestly for some moments. "Poor -darling little Dolly," she said in a voice full of compassion; "she has -met with a great grief, but I pray that all may yet be well. I will -not see her now, but I will say farewell to her aboard the steamer -to-morrow. Give her my love, George. God knows how dear she is to me." - -Colonel Gerald put his arms about his old friend and kissed her -silently. - -Upon the afternoon of the next day the crowd about the stern of the mail -steamer which was at the point of leaving for England was very large. -But it is only necessary to refer to a few of the groups on the deck. -Colonel Gerald and his old friend Major Crawford were side by side, -while Daireen and the major's wife were standing apart looking together -up to the curved slopes of the tawny Lion's Head that half hid the dark, -flat face of Table Mountain. Daireen was pale almost to whiteness, and -as her considerate friend said some agreeable words to her she smiled -faintly, but the observant Standish felt that her smile was not real, -it was only a phantom of the smiles of the past which had lived upon her -face. Standish was beside his father, who had been so fortunate as to -obtain the attention of Mr. Harwood for the story of the wrongs he had -suffered through the sale of his property in Ireland. - -"What is there left for me in the counthry of my sires that bled?" -he inquired with an emphasis that almost amounted to passion. "The -sthrangers that have torn the land away from us thrample us into the -dust. No, sir, I'll never return to be thrampled upon; I'll go with my -son to the land of our exile--the distant Castaway isles, where the -flag of freedom may yet burn as a beacon above the thunderclouds of our -enemies. Return to the land that has been torn from us? Never." - -Standish, who could have given a very good guess as to the number of -The Macnamara's creditors awaiting his return with anxiety, if not -impatience, moved away quickly, and Daireen noticed his action. She -whispered a word to Mrs. Crawford, and in another instant she and -Standish were together. She gave him her hand, and each looked into the -other's face speechlessly for a few moments. On her face there was a -faint tender smile, but his was full of passionate entreaty, the force -of which made his eyes tremulous. - -"Standish, dear old Standish," she said; "you alone seem good and noble -and true. You will not forget all the happy days we have had together." - -"Forget them?" said Standish. "Oh, Daireen, if you could but know -all--if you could but know how I think of every day we have passed -together. What else is there in the world worth thinking about? Oh, -Daireen, you know that I have always thought of you only--that I will -always think of you." - -"Not yet, Standish," she whispered. "Do not say anything to me--no, -nothing--yet. But you will write every week, and tell me how the -Castaway people are getting on, until we come out to you at the -islands." - -"Daireen, do all the days we have passed together at home--on the -lough--on the mountain, go for nothing?" he cried almost sadly. "Oh, my -darling, surely we cannot part in this way. Your life is not wrecked." - -"No, no, not wrecked," she said with a start, and he knew she was -struggling to be strong. - -"You will be happy, Daireen, you will indeed, after a while. And you -will give me a word of hope now--one little word to make me happy." - -She looked at him--tearfully--lovingly. "Dear Standish, I can only give -you one word. Will it comfort you at all if I say _Hope_, Standish?" - -"My darling, my love! I knew it would come right in the end. The world I -knew could not be so utterly forsaken by God but that everything should -come right." - -"It is only one word I have given you," she said. - -"But what a word, Daireen! oh, the dearest and best word I ever heard -breathed. God bless you, darling! God bless you!" - -He did not make any attempt to kiss her: he only held her white hand -tightly for an instant and looked into her pure, loving eyes. - -"Now, my boy, good-bye," said Colonel Gerald, laying his hand upon -Standish's shoulder. "You will leave next week for the Castaways, and -you will, I know, be careful to obey to the letter the directions of -those in command until I come out to you. You must write a complete -diary, as I told you--ah, there goes the gun! Daireen, here is Mr. -Harwood waiting to shake hands with you." - -Mr. Harwood's hand was soon in the girl's. - -"Good-bye, Miss Gerald. I trust you will sometimes give me a thought," -he said quietly. - -"I shall never forget you, Mr. Harwood," she said as she returned his -grasp. - -In another instant, as it seemed to the group on the shore, the good -steamer passing out of the bay had dwindled down to that white piece of -linen which a little hand waved over the stern. - -"Mr. Harwood," said Mrs. Crawford, as the special correspondent brought -the major's wife to a wagonette,--"Mr. Harwood, I fear we have been -terribly wrong. But indeed all the wrong was not mine. You, I know, will -not blame me." - -"I blame you, Mrs. Crawford? Do not think of such a thing," said -Harwood. "No; no one is to blame. Fate was too much for both of us, Mrs. -Crawford. But all is over now. All the past days with her near us are -now no more than pleasant memories. I go round to Natal in two days, and -then to my work in the camp." - -"Oh, Mr. Harwood, what ruffians there are in this world!" said the lady -just before they parted. Mr. Harwood smiled his acquiescence. His own -experience in the world had led him to arrive unassisted at a similar -conclusion. - -Arthur Harwood kept his work and left by the steamer for Natal two -days afterwards; and in the same steamer Mr. Despard took passage -also, declaring his intention to enlist on the side of the Zulus. -Upon reaching Algoa Bay, however, he went ashore and did not put in an -appearance at the departure of the steamer from the port; so that Mr. -Harwood was deprived of his companionship, which had hitherto been -pretty close, but which promised to become even more so. As there was in -the harbour a small vessel about to proceed to Australia, the anxiety of -the special correspondent regarding the future of the man never reached -a point of embarrassment. - -The next week Standish Macnamara, accompanied by his father, left for -the Castaway Islands, where he was to take up his position as secretary -to the new governor of the sunny group. Standish was full of eagerness -to begin his career of hard and noble work in the world. He felt that -there would be a large field for the exercise of his abilities in the -Castaways, and with the word that Daireen had given him living in his -heart to inspire all his actions, he felt that there was nothing too -hard for him to accomplish, even to compelling his father to return to -Ireland before six months should have passed. - -It was on a cool afternoon towards the end of this week, that Mrs. -Crawford was walking under the trees in the gardens opposite Government -House, when she heard a pleasant little musical laugh behind her, -accompanied by the pat of dainty little high-heeled shoes. - -"Dear, good Mrs. Crawford, why will you walk so terribly fast? It quite -took away the breath of poor little me to follow you," came the voice of -Lottie Vincent Mrs. Crawford turned, and as she was with a friend, she -could not avoid allowing her stout hand to be touched by one of Lottie's -ten-buttoned gloves. "Ah, you are surprised to see me," continued the -young lady. "I am surprised myself to find myself here, but papa would -not hear of my remaining at Natal when he went on to the frontier with -the regiment, so I am staying with a friend in Cape Town. Algernon is -here, but the dear boy is distressed by the number of people. Poor Algy -is so sensitive." - -"Poor who?" cried Mrs. Crawford. - -"Oh, good gracious, what have I said?" exclaimed the artless little -thing, blushing very prettily, and appearing as tremulous as a fluttered -dove. "Ah, my dear Mrs. Crawford, I never thought of concealing it -from you for a moment. I meant to tell you the first of any one in the -world--I did indeed." - -"To tell me what?" asked the major's wife sternly. - -"Surely you know that the dear good bishop has given his consent -to--to--do help me out of my difficulty of explaining, Mrs. Crawford." - -"To your becoming the wife of his son?" - -"I knew you would not ask me to say it all so terribly plainly," said -Lottie. "Ah yes, dear Algy was too importunate for poor little me to -resist; I pitied him and promised to become his for ever. We are -devoted to each other, for there is no bond so fast as that of artistic -sympathy, Mrs. Crawford. I meant to write and thank you for your dear -good-natured influence, which, I know, brought about his proposal. It -was all due, I frankly acknowledge, to your kindness in bringing us -together upon the day of that delightful lunch we had at the grove -of silver leaves. How can I ever thank you? But there is darling Algy -looking quite bored. I must rush to him," she continued, as she saw Mrs. -Crawford about to speak. Lottie did not think it prudent to run the -risk of hearing Mrs. Crawford refer to certain little Indian affairs -connected with Lottie's residence at that agreeable station on the -Himalayas; so she kissed the tips of her gloves, and tripped away to -where Mr. Algernon Glaston was sitting on one of the garden seats. - -"She is a wicked girl," said Mrs. Crawford to her companion. "She has -at last succeeded in finding some one foolish enough to be entrapped by -her. Never mind, she has conquered--I admit that. Oh, this world, this -world!" - -And there can hardly be a doubt that Miss Lottie Vincent, all things -considered, might be said to have conquered. She was engaged to marry -Algernon Glaston, the son of the Bishop of the Calapash Islands and -Metropolitan of the Salamander Group, and this to Lottie meant conquest. - -Of Oswin Markham only a few words need be spoken to close this story, -such as it is. Oswin Markham was once more seen by Harwood. Two months -after the outbreak of the war the special correspondent, in the -exercise of his duty, was one night riding by the Tugela, where a fierce -engagement had taken place between the Zulus and the British troops. -The dead, black and white, were lying together--assagai and rifle -intermixed. Harwood looked at the white upturned faces of the dead men -that the moonlight made more ghastly, and amongst those faces he saw the -stern clear-cut features of Oswin Markham. He was in the uniform of a -Natal volunteer. Harwood gave a start, but only one; he stood above the -dead man for a long time, lost in his own thoughts. Then the pioneers, -who were burying the dead, came up. - -"Poor wretch, poor wretch!" he said slowly, standing there in the -moonlight. "Poor wretch!... If she had never seen him... if... Poor -child!" - - - - - - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Daireen, by Frank Frankfort Moore - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK DAIREEN *** - -***** This file should be named 51938-8.txt or 51938-8.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/1/9/3/51938/ - -Produced by David Widger from page images generously -provided by the Internet Archive - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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