On reaching Downside, Harry and Julia were told that Miss Jane was in
the house, and that Miss Mary and May were in the garden.
"Go in and see cousin Jane," said Harry to his sister, as he assisted
her to dismount. "I will go into the garden."
Without giving Julia the option of accompanying him, he hurried off in
search of his blind cousin and her companion. He saw them seated on a
bench under the shade of some overhanging trees. May was reading with
her eyes bent down on the book. She was so absorbed in the subject that
she did not hear Harry's approach.
Miss Mary's quick ear, however, soon detected the sound of his
footsteps.
"Who is coming?" she asked abruptly.
May looked up, and uttering Harry's name in a tone of joy, sprang
forward to meet him.
"Why, Harry, I had not expected to see you so soon," she exclaimed,
gazing up into his face.
Holding her hand, he advanced to Miss Mary, who smiled kindly as she
greeted him. He told them that it was the first day the doctor had
allowed him to ride out.
"Did Sir Ralph know that you were coming here?" asked Miss Mary.
"No; I conclude he did not suppose I was able to ride so far."
"Then you have not acted against his orders."
"Certainly not," answered Harry; "he has not prohibited me from coming
here."
"I am truly glad of that," observed Miss Mary, with marked emphasis. "I
will leave you young people here, and go in and have a talk with Julia.
I daresay you will have something to say to each other."
Harry and May offered to accompany the kind lady to the house.
"No, no," she answered; "I can find my way perfectly well alone, and
shall not meet with an accident if there are no wheelbarrows or rakes in
the way," and rising, she proceeded at a slow pace towards the house.
May told Harry how anxious she had been on hearing of his being wounded
by highwaymen--how grateful she felt to him for having endeavoured to
recover Jacob. Then Harry told her how, day by day, he had heard of her
from the doctor, and how the knowledge that she was getting better did
more to restore him than anything else. He refrained from telling her,
as long as he could, what he knew would give her pain--that he was
appointed to a ship which he must soon join. At length, however, he had
to communicate the information.
"But May," he added, "if you will consent at once to be mine, we would
marry before I go, and then no human power can separate us."
"Harry," she exclaimed, gazing at him fixedly as they sat on the bench
together, "I had not thought that the time for parting would be so soon.
You know my regard; but I must not tempt you to act contrary to what I
fear are your father's wishes, and by so doing run the risk of injuring
your prospects in life, and your advancement in your profession. Your
father has been here, and has expressed his opinions strongly to Miss
Jane, and she has told me all he said. I shall be as truly yours as if
we were married, and you will thus avoid offending him, whose wishes you
are bound to respect. My thoughts will be ever with you, my prayers
hourly offered up for your safety, and I shall live in hopes that the
obstacles which now exist to our union will be removed when you return.
Your father may relent when he finds that you are constant, and I know
you will be;" and she smiled as she gazed at his countenance, and felt
the impossibility of his changing.
"But I know him so well that even then I am sure he will refuse his
consent on the same grounds that he does now. Will you still believe
that you ought not to marry me?" exclaimed her lover.
"Oh, Harry, do not press me for an answer," answered May. "I wish to do
what is right, and your cousins tell me, and my conscience assures me
that they are right, that I must not become yours while your parents
object to your marrying me. I must not encourage you to do what is
wrong, and expose you to your father's anger. And, Harry, though I am
not proud, I could not consent to enter a family who would treat me with
contempt, and consider that you had lowered yourself by marrying me."
"Oh, May, I did not expect to have this reply from you," he exclaimed at
last, in a tone of bitter disappointment.
"I have spoken as I believe to be right, and therefore it must be for
the best," said May, trying to calm her agitation. "How I might have
acted without wise counsellors, I cannot say. Do not urge me further; I
dare not, I cannot give a different reply."
In vain Harry endeavoured to induce May to alter her determination,
although he reasoned as an ardent lover who was not willing to be
convinced. May was not surprised that Harry should argue the point,
perhaps she was pleased at his doing so; but, being satisfied that she
was right, the very fact that her feelings prompted her to act
differently assisted her to hold to her resolution. Harry was inclined
to be angry, not with her, that seemed impossible, but with his cousins
for advising her as they had done. He considered his father tyrannical
and unjust in the matter, and he was even less disposed than ever to
obey him. May endeavoured to soothe him. She succeeded at last. She
spoke of the future when there might be no impediment to their
happiness. They were both still very young, and when Harry had become a
commander, or obtained his post rank, they might realise their wish of
living in just such a cottage as Downside, and enjoy all the happiness
their mutual love could afford.
They were interrupted by the appearance of Miss Jane and Julia. The
latter had taken more note of time than had Harry, and considered that
they ought to be on their return to Texford.
Julia led May to a distance.
"Your sister will tell you our wishes, Harry," said Miss Jane. "You
know how May is situated, and you know how affectionately we regard you.
Though we do not consider that your father is right in withholding his
consent, we feel bound to obey his commands, and as he has insisted on
our not encouraging you to come to the house, and as we understand you
are to join a ship as soon as possible, we must beg you to bid May
farewell. I say this with regret, but I am sure it will be the best for
both of you."
"What! do you forbid me from coming here again?" exclaimed Harry.
"Would you deny me the only happiness I prize on earth?"
"You must, I understand, in a few days join your ship, and though we
would rather for your sake in the meantime that you did not come, we
cannot turn you from our doors," answered Miss Jane, somewhat relenting.
"Only you must promise not to try to induce May to waver in her
resolution. You will then part with the consciousness that you have
acted rightly, and may hope for your reward when you return from sea."
Though Harry would have lingered, Julia wisely considered that they
ought to return homewards without delay.
May did not refuse to allow him to press her to his heart, and his
cousins wished him an affectionate farewell, and he and Julia mounting
their horses commenced their ride back to Texford.
Julia did her best to raise his spirits. Never could brother and sister
more completely sympathise with each other.
The next morning Harry received a note from his cousin Jane, saying that
she and Mary had resolved to pay a visit to some friends residing about
forty miles away to the north of Hurlston, and that as, of course, May
would accompany them, though they were grieved at his disappointment he
must consider his visit of the previous day a farewell one. They hoped,
however, that nothing would prevent them seeing him on his return from
sea. A note was enclosed from May, giving him every assurance of her
unalterable affection which he could desire, and expressing her grief at
not seeing him again, though she endeavoured to persuade herself with
his cousins that it was for the best.
This was indeed an unexpected and bitter disappointment. Harry,
however, with right manly spirit, felt that it must be endured.
He was as eager now to set off from home as he had before been anxious
to remain. He had, however, one duty to perform. As he had missed
meeting the lawyer at Downside, he must ride over to Morbury to him.
The general heard him order his horse.
"In which direction are you going?" he asked.
Harry told him.
"If you will accept me as a companion, I shall be happy to ride with
you," said the general. "You, I suspect, must not put your horse to
greater speed than I have been accustomed of late years to jog along the
road?"
Harry's politeness compelled him to say that he was happy to have his
company.
General Sampson could make himself agreeable to old and young alike. He
had seen a great deal of the world, knew all that was going forward, and
seasoned his conversation with numerous anecdotes. Harry could not help
being amused.
Harry had not ridden over to Downside day after day without the general
suspecting the object of his visits, and he had managed to obtain pretty
accurate information of the state of the case. He really liked Harry
more than he did any other young man, and his present object was to draw
him out of himself. He would have been glad to gain Harry's confidence,
and to hear from him how matters stood, though he very well knew he
should fail if he asked the question point-blank. He therefore beat
about the bush for some time, talking of his own love affairs when he
was a young man, and of those of several of his friends.
"You see, my dear Harry, we must all be prepared for trials in this
rugged world, but then, according to my experience, we are the better
for them in the end. If the lady is obdurate or coy, or if her friends
throw obstacles in the way, or if want of means exist, we must try to
win her by greater attention, or sometimes by pretended indifference, or
we must set to work to overcome the obstacles, or to gain the means
which are wanting, and we shall enjoy double satisfaction when we
triumph. I sometimes wish that I were young again to take advantage of
the experience I possess, but as that is an impossibility, I have great
satisfaction in enabling others to benefit by it. You understand me,
Harry, _nil desperandum_ is the motto I advise you to adopt."
"Thank you, general," said Harry. "You seem to suppose that I am in a
position to require your advice."
"Of course I do," said the general. "I know something about your love
affair. Though my friend Sir Ralph and Lady Castleton may not see with
your eyes, and may have other views for you, I can sympathise with you,
and as far as my respect to them will allow me, I shall be glad to give
you all the assistance in my power."
Harry thanked the general for his kind feelings, and supposing that he
knew from Sir Ralph and his mother exactly how things stood enlightened
him yet further on the subject.
"You should not be surprised at their objecting on the score of the
lady's want of birth, charming as I doubt not she is," observed the
general. "I regret, as she has gone away, that I shall not have the
pleasure of being introduced to her, and by pouring her praises into Sir
Ralph's ear, perhaps assist in softening his heart. However, as I said
before, don't despair, but keep up your spirits, and you will soon be
too busy in your professional duties to allow your thoughts time to
dwell on the subject."
Harry again thanked him, and promised to follow his advice.
They reached Morbury. Harry proposed putting up their horses, and
begged the general to take a few turns on the esplanade, as he had
business which would occupy him some little time.
Harry was absent longer than he expected, and the general, after looking
at his watch two or three times, began to wonder what he could be about.
"Can the fair lady have come to the place," he thought. "Perhaps the
young fellow has been making a cat's-paw of me all the time, and has
gone to church and got married, ha! ha! ha! that would be a joke; but
by-the-bye it's out of canonical hours; he cannot have done that then."
He took another turn or two, exchanged a few words with the boatmen on
the beach, looked about in the hopes of meeting an acquaintance, and
resumed his seat on a bench facing the sea.
At last Harry made his appearance.
"What have you been about?" exclaimed the general. "I began to fear
that you had given me the slip altogether, and that I should hear of you
next at Gretna Green, or find that you had had a licence in your pocket
all the time, and had been laughing in your sleeve while I was bestowing
my sage advice on you."
"No, indeed," answered Harry, who did not like the general's joke. "To
confess the truth, I have been making my will. I thought it was a
matter which would occupy five or ten minutes at the utmost, but found
that there were all sorts of complications, of which I had not dreamed."
"Make your will, my dear boy! What could induce you to do that?"
exclaimed the general.
"When a man is going to run the risk of being shot or drowned, or cut
down by fever, or finished in some other way, he naturally wishes to
make such arrangements that his property may benefit those in whom he is
most interested. I should have asked you to be a witness, but the
lawyer found those who would answer as well, and I therefore did not
think it necessary to trouble you."
"Well, we will talk about it as we ride homewards," observed the
general. "It is time that we should be in the saddle, or we may be late
for dinner."
The general, as they rode along, pumped Harry, curious to know how he
had disposed of his property. He suspected from poor Algernon's
condition that the younger brother would himself soon become heir of
Texford, and would thus, should Sir Ralph die, have no inconsiderable
amount of property to leave.
He succeeded in satisfying himself that should Harry Castleton be
killed, Miss Pemberton's protege would succeed to all the property he
could leave.
"I hope, my young friend, you will be able to endow her with it in a
different way," he observed, "and though I do not know what some may say
to your intentions, for my part I think it is a very right thing to do.
Supposing Algernon were to die, and you be killed, and I heartily hope
that won't happen, your sister Julia will inherit Texford, and I shall
be very much mistaken if your friend Headland does not some day become
its master. Mrs Appleton and I agree that the young people are
admirably matched. By the way, Harry, I want you and Headland to come
and pay me a visit at a little box I have got near Portsmouth, if you
can manage to get away from your ships before they sail, or when you
come into port. I had thought of going to take a few weeks' shooting
with my friend, Sir Pierce Berrington, but I have made up my mind to go
home direct, and if you will give me your company we will travel
together. You will find posting pleasanter than the coach, and we shall
give a good account of any highwaymen who may think fit to cry, `Halt;
your money or your lives.'"
Harry gladly accepted the general's last offer, and promised to deliver
his message to Headland. He was glad to secure so amusing a companion
for his journey. He hoped also to pay the general a visit, for unless
May and his cousins returned to Downside, he should have no wish to go
home.