In this delightful society Philip’s time flew rapidly and happily; he
was fond of the chase and of shooting, and in the noble stud of
Beechwood, and over its broad manors and preserves, there were ample
resources for both pursuits, and the young men became intimate and
inseparable companions. Among themselves they often talked of Herbert as
of a departed brother, and Philip at length unreservedly opened his
heart to them on the subject which, except one of later growth, was
nearest to it.
Our hearts often take strong impressions from the veriest trifles;—how
much more when they are assisted or coloured by adventitious
circumstances! As Philip listened to the sweet voice he had heard
singing as he rode up to the rectory on the evening he first arrived
there, his sensibilities had been powerfully excited towards the
songstress, either because she might be the affianced, or the sister of
his friend.
He had been introduced to all the family in succession on that evening,
and he was at once struck with the beauty of one of the young ladies,
and her great likeness to his friend; she had the same large and
expressive blue eye, regular features, and brown hair, falling upon her
shoulders in luxuriant curling tresses; she was taller in proportion
than he was, but her figure was remarkable for its grace and beauty of
contour. He then hoped she might be the songstress; why, he could hardly
have told.
He heard her repeat the air to which he had first listened, for it was
often afterwards sung by the small but well-trained band, and
distinguished by the name of Captain Dalton’s favourite; night after
night did Philip sit listening with increasing delight to Ellen’s rich
voice as she sang either alone or in parts. Indeed she was a thorough
mistress of the art, in which she had from the first been well grounded;
and her execution evinced a pure taste, which, entering into the spirit
of the composer, sought rather to draw gratification from giving
expression to his thoughts, than to indulge in the poor vanity of
exhibiting her own powers. She was by no means insensible to the marked
pleasure which her singing gave to the young soldier; and from this
commencement, there gradually sprang up a warm and increasing
attachment, which her parents observed with sincere pleasure.
Philip found, on a further knowledge of her character, that she
possessed many tastes and feelings in common with his own; and he
observed with delight her extensive charity, her visits with Amy to the
sick and poor of the neighbourhood, and their close and affectionate
friendship. Somehow or other, he oftener spoke to her than to the rest,
and she listened (so he thought) with more interest than the others to
his tales of foreign climes and hard service; he oftener found something
to do for her, oftener walked with her, or escorted her and Amy upon
their charitable visits. A thousand kindnesses passed between them,
which in others would have been forgotten, but with them were treasured
up, and remembered vividly when they were separated.
We do not intend to be the chroniclers of this tale of mutual
attachment, which steadily increased, and—as there was no opposition
from her parents, but on the contrary the utmost desire that it should
progress steadily and uninterruptedly—was in the end successful. Philip
waited, however, until he had known her for nearly a year; and when he
felt sure that his offer would be accepted, he made it, and was
rewarded. The gentle and lovely girl had long been his, and she now gave
herself up to the ardent feelings of her loving heart.
They were married: early in the spring of the year succeeding the one in
which Philip had arrived, the joyous bridal took place—on one of those
bright and sunny days when hardly a cloud dims the serenity of the sky,
when the buds are just bursting into life, and nature, having rested
through the winter, is about to resume her robe of luxuriant foliage,
ere she rejoices in the genial sun and the warm winds of summer.
Amy consented, with much fear and many doubts of her ability, to go
through her simple duties as one of the bride’s-maids; and she appeared
that day in more than her usual beauty, having thrown off her garb of
mourning. Ellen’s sisters, and Philip’s only one, were the others; and
as the joyous procession wound down the broad aisle of the old church,
and the light streaming through the painted windows rested upon the
group collected around the altar, assuredly on a gayer bridal party, or
one whose hearts were more linked together by affection, the bright and
glowing sun never shone. Nevertheless, there were a few among them on
whom the hand of sorrow had lain heavily, and who, if they did not join
in the exuberant joy of the rest, were as sincere and as fervent in
their prayers and wishes for the happiness of those who plighted their
vows in their presence.
Some months—nearly a year—passed, and, what Philip had wished so much,
the purchase of a majority in a regiment then in India, was at last
within his attainment; for he had not concealed from Mr. Compton nor
from his wife, that he still looked to that land for distinction and
advancement in his profession, and also for the chance of sooner or
later discovering a clue to the fate of him whom all still mourned. The
handsome portion which he had received with Ellen had enabled him to
meet the outlay for this advancement with perfect convenience, and in a
short time he was gazetted as Major in the —th, then serving in the
Madras Presidency; and being anxious to join his regiment, he prepared
without delay.
This was, however, productive of another incident in the family circle
of Beechwood. In the mind of the youngest of Amy’s brothers, Philip’s
wild tales of adventure—of battles, of marches, of the gorgeous country,
and its curious and interesting inhabitants—of their ceremonies and
their various faiths—of tiger and wild-boar hunts—had excited a restless
curiosity to behold them, and to become an actor in the stirring scenes
which were every day taking place. But when Philip spoke of Herbert, and
of his own hope that he would be eventually recovered, Charles Hayward’s
enthusiasm was warmed by his affection, and his waking thoughts and
dreams were alike incessantly occupied with speculations upon the
subject, which unfitted him for study, and rendered him restless and
uneasy. Long before Philip had declared his intention of returning to
India, Charles had determined upon requesting his father’s permission to
enter the army in a regiment serving as near the scene of Herbert’s
disappearance as possible.
Charles, too, loved his sister with an intensity which would have urged
him to make any sacrifice for her sake, and it was anguish to him to see
her bowed down by mental suffering, and clinging with fond tenacity to
the memory of the dead, when his own exertions, guided by the experience
of their friend Dalton, might, under the aid of Providence, be
instrumental in restoring her to her usual health and joyous spirits. It
was true she had expressed no thought or hope of Herbert’s existence to
any of them; and the youth, as he roamed with her through the park, or
sat with her in her own little study, where she was surrounded by
precious memorials of Herbert, often longed to tell her of Philip’s
suspicions, and his own wild yearnings towards that distant land.
Had he done so, there is little doubt that she would have disclosed to
him, sooner than she did, the hope she secretly cherished, that Herbert
still existed and would return. No sooner had Philip openly declared his
intention of revisiting India, than Charles’ determination was formed to
break the matter at once to his father, and to proceed with Philip,
should no opposition be made—some objections he certainly anticipated,
but he thought he could overcome them. Before he broached the subject to
his parents, he held a long and anxious conversation with Philip, and
was delighted to find that he not only coincided in his views, but was
prepared to aid them by his interest in the purchase of an ensigncy in
the regiment to which he now belonged, in which there was a vacant
commission.
His proposal, as he had anticipated, was met by many objections and much
distress on the part of his parents and sister. Loving him tenderly as
she did, Amy could not bear the thought which at first obtruded upon
her, that India would be his grave, as it had been that of Herbert. But
the young man was resolute; and, after exhausting all his arguments, he
called Philip Dalton to his aid, who not only promised to be a guardian
to him, but declared he would let slip no opportunity of bettering his
station and prospects in his profession. All opposition, therefore,
ceased gradually, partly because Charles appeared to relish the
prospects of a military life more than any other, and partly because
there appeared a likelihood of rapid advancement in the regiment while
it remained on its eastern service.
The day at last arrived when he was to leave home for his long absence;
to all it was a source of bitter grief, but the most so to his mother
and to Amy; and ere the hour came when he was to depart from them, Amy
led him away from the house, and, wandering together, they talked over
the future—to him bright with promise—a contrast, and a sad one to hers,
which was so overcast. They wandered on through the parks, and by the
stream, where years before she had roamed with Herbert. Charles knew
that she must be thinking of him whose fate was wrapt in mystery, and he
longed to know and to share all her thoughts and feelings on the
subject. Gradually he led her to speak of Herbert; and as their
conversation warmed, the devoted girl could no longer refrain from
unburdening her heart, and confessing the hopes which only her God, to
whom she addressed them night and morning in fervent prayer, knew to
exist.
Still, however, Charles was sorely perplexed, and his judgment and
affection were at variance; but the latter prevailed under her artless
confidence, and he told her in hesitation and fear of Philip Dalton’s
hopes of the chances of Herbert’s life, spoke to her of the folly of
cherishing hope only because they had not heard he was dead, but
nevertheless declared how this had preyed on his mind till it almost
amounted to an earnest of success.
She listened with breathless interest to his narrative—it was too much
in accordance with her own thoughts to be slighted. She did not blame
her brother that he had kept it from her, and she could not have borne
it from Dalton: now she believed all—not rashly, however—for her mind
was strong and tempered by affliction; but there was more room for hope
than ever, and she felt as though the hand of Providence was discernible
in the matter, guiding her brother onward in the track of her lost
Herbert. Now that their most secret thoughts were in common, she felt
that she could part with Charles more easily; and he left her at last in
their little summer-house, where she loved to sit, and where they had
been conversing—afflicted, yet with hope in her heart.
His mother bade him farewell, with many tears and many prayers for his
safety; and, accompanied by his father and his elder brother, Charles
was rapidly whirled away from his home, to enter upon the life of danger
and adventure he had chosen for himself. In another week, he, with
Philip Dalton and his wife, had left their native shores for a long and
perhaps perilous absence.
Six months had now passed at Seringapatam, during much of which time
Kasim Ali had been absent on the various duties connected with his new
situation. He had risen in rank, and from the steadiness of his conduct,
the Khan would have been glad to have kept Kasim always with him; but
this was impossible, for the Sultaun’s eye was upon him, although,
remembering the scene in the Durbar, he had wished to see little of one
who had behaved so boldly before him, yet whom he respected from the
lucky appearances he believed Kasim to possess, and which he had given
himself credit for having discovered. He would often say to his
favourite, Syud Sahib, that he was sure Kasim Ali, notwithstanding he
was in disgrace, would be of service to him in the end, and that it was
better he should be checked at first, and thus inspired with a thirst
for distinguishing himself, than spoiled by too early notice or
promotion.
But he had nevertheless given a strong proof of his reliance on the
young man’s ability and courage. Hardly a month had passed after his
disgrace, and Kasim was fast sinking into a state of apathy at his dim
prospects, which at first were so brilliant, when the Sultaun entrusted
him with a mission requiring much delicacy and tact in its execution. It
will be remembered that the Khan had stated in the Durbar, that he had
heard of an embassy to Seringapatam being meditated at the Nizam’s
court; and this Tippoo so earnestly desired, that his restless mind was
in a constant state of irritation upon the subject. Could he only detach
the Nizam from the alliance of the hated English—could the Afghan
monarch only see the two great Mahomedan powers of the south united in a
close alliance—his would pour his hardy followers upon their northern
possessions—there might be a second battle of Paniput! And, with such a
result, what was to prevent the northern army joining with the
Nizam’s—with his own—and, falling in one overwhelming mass upon the
English possessions,—their driving the hated race into the sea for ever?
A month passed, and still no embassy arrived, nor was there any
intelligence of one; to gain news therefore of the Nizam’s court, he
dispatched Kasim, attended only by a horseman or two, to travel by rapid
marches to Hyderabad, and to discover, as far as lay in his power, the
sentiments of the Court and the feeling of the people.
Kasim was gratified beyond expression by the selection of him above
others of known sagacity for such a mission, and he determined to spare
neither exertion nor zeal in his master’s cause, in order to regain his
favour. By the most rapid marches he traversed the nearest road to
Bellary—that to the westward of Nundidroog; and resting only a night at
his own humble but not less dear home, where he found his mother well
and his affairs continuing prosperous, he pushed on to Hyderabad; where,
as soon as he arrived, he set himself to work to gain information.
For nearly three months did he wait there, expecting with anxiety the
determination of the vacillating prince. At one time he heard that an
embassy would soon set off, and that a nobleman was appointed
ambassador; this was again contradicted, and it was rumoured that the
Nizam had entered into a fresh league with the English. But in the end
there was no doubt that an embassy would be sent to try the temper of
the Mysore chief; and Kasim, hearing from undoubted authority the name
of the gentleman who had been nominated, Ali Reza, waited on him,
disclosed the subject of his mission, and having given such an account
as he was able of the Sultaun’s anxiety, received in return the purport
of the proposed embassy, which was in effect what Tippoo looked for.
Having obtained this, and being assured by Ali Reza that they should
meet again in a short time, Kasim left Hyderabad, and, with the same
expedition, returned to Seringapatam. Again, on his way, he stayed with
his mother; again he visited the spot, which continued dear to him from
the memorable night’s adventure,—the trees were growing up, and the tomb
of the poor soldier was neatly kept. He had to answer a thousand
questions to his mother respecting their journey and Ameena, of whom
Kasim could now tell her nothing, except that the Khan, whenever he
inquired after her health, said she was well and happy.
-------