A MARRIAGE, AND AN ELOPEMENT.
In a few minutes we reached the mine. As there was no one in sight, the
policeman concluded to give the signal at the entrance of the shaft that
the owner was wanted, and as the mine was not very deep, we were not
kept waiting any length of time for his appearance. The tackle for
lowering and raising the miners was worked, and first the head and then
the body of a man appeared in view.
"Here's two gentlemen--they want to see you, Mr. Henrets," the officer
said.
"My name is Herrets," the miner said, "and why you will persist in
calling me Henrets is beyond my comprehension."
"One name is as good as the other--what is the difference?--both begin
with H and end with s."
We found that the officer's description of the man answered very well.
His hair was sandy, his eyes were blue, and his skin was very fair and
beardless. He was about five feet six inches, and not very stout.
Dressed as he was, in mining clothes, stained with many a stratum of
earth, we could form but a poor opinion of his good looks, even had we
been disposed to estimate his beauty before his understanding.
"What can I do for you?" he asked, addressing Fred and myself, in a tone
that was intended to be excessively conciliatory.
"Before we answer that question we must ask one," Fred replied. "Were
you ever an apprentice to a cordwainer in London?"
The man's face flushed scarlet, and he seemed extremely agitated at the
question--but at length he replied,--
"I was an apprentice to a cordwainer, but my indentures were given up
before I left England, sir."
"And your master had an only daughter, whose hand you demanded in
marriage," Fred continued.
"Yes, but I meant nothing wrong; upon my word, gents, I didn't," he
exclaimed, hastily, evidently considering Fred and myself in some way
connected with the law, as we were under the guidance of a police
officer.
"That remains to be seen," returned Fred, in a mysterious manner,
evidently taking some delight in frightening the simple-minded young man
all he could.
"O, I can tell you all about it," Herrets exclaimed with eagerness.
"That is unnecessary," Fred replied. "We know all, or nearly all; but
what we wish to discover is, why you did not join the lady at Melbourne,
as you promised in your letter?"
"Join the lady at Melbourne?" the young fellow repeated, hardly knowing
what to say; "why, I wrote to her that if she would come to Australia I
would pay her expenses, and marry her, besides. That was fair, wasn't
it? But she didn't write me that she would come; so of course I thought
that my hundred pounds were a dead loss, and that the girl had got
another feller, which I don't call exactly fair; do you?"
We did not commit ourselves by any opinion, as we did not know but that
some day it would be brought against us.
We formed an opinion, however, respecting the mental capacity of the
youth, for whose sake the poor girl had wandered so many miles; and I no
longer wondered that she saw a difference between her lover and Fred.
"Then you received no letter from Miss Purcel, announcing that she would
sail on such a day, and requesting you to be on the lookout for her?"
asked Fred.
"Of course I didn't," responded the young man, with commendable
eagerness. "That is just what I am finding fault with."
"Then you will be rejoiced to learn that, after great suffering and
privation, Miss Purcel has arrived, and is in Ballarat," Fred said.
The news almost deprived him of the power of articulation, and for a
moment I thought that he would faint, but he didn't. He was too eager to
see her, and welcome her to her new home.
"Where is she?" he asked.
"Not far distant," Fred answered.
"Take me to her without delay," he cried; "I shall die with joy."
"Softly," replied Fred; "there are some things to be explained before we
comply with your request;" and briefly he went over the girl's
narrative, as told by herself, until he gave an account of her narrow
escape from the hands of the miners who suspected her of stealing their
dust.
The lover moaned piteously as he heard the hardships that his mistress
had suffered; and after we had persuaded him to change his clothes and
remove the stains from his skin, we let him accompany us on our return
to the store.
"You must promise us one thing," I said, as we walked along, hardly able
to keep up with the lover's impetuous strides, "that you will be married
this very day."
I stole a look at Fred's face, but he appeared to approve of the plan,
and I could see no traces of disappointment.
If the girl is not obdurate, I thought, I shall save Fred many unhappy
days.
"O, I'm willing to agree to that," replied the lover, with a chuckle.
"You have the mean's to support a wife?" I asked.
"I've got money enough to support her after we are married. I've waited
too long for her arrival to waste time with silly delays," he answered,
earnestly.
"And you love her well enough to overlook all of her faults, if she has
any, and to be a kind, affectionate husband?" asked Fred.
"Of course I do," ejaculated Herrets. "I ain't a particular man, by any
means; and if she will only look out for my tent while I am absent, and
have my dinner ready when I get home, we shall get along as happy as
pigs."
I saw that Fred gave the man a look of intense disgust, and perhaps he
also thought what chance of happiness a girl would have with a man who
compared his matrimonial life with a pigsty.
"Your intended wife," I said, "has been well educated, and never known
hardships or misery until she reached this country and you must
carefully consider that she requires the society of her own sex to pass
her time pleasantly so far from the land of her birth. You say that you
have money enough to support her; then take my advice, and remove to
Melbourne or Sydney, and enter into business, and where you can form new
associations. The mines of Ballarat are no place for a young wife."
"O, I shall be company enough for her," he answered, carelessly, and
with an air that plainly betokened that he considered I was meddling
with things that did not concern me.
"You fool," I muttered, "stay here and you will be wifeless in less than
a month. The girl will never be contented with such affection as you are
disposed to give."
Not another word was spoken until we reached the store, and ushered Mr.
Herrets into the room where the girl was seated. The latter looked up,
smiled, but did not appear very enthusiastic or particularly overjoyed.
"Hullo, Molly," cried the lover, roughly, rushing frantically towards
her, and throwing his arms around her neck; and in spite of a slight
struggle, he succeeded in imprinting half a dozen kisses upon her cheeks
and lips.
We noted that the interview was too interesting for us to witness, and
we retired and left them together.
"Poor girl," muttered Fred, with a sigh; "what chance for happiness does
she possess with a man whose education has been neglected, and whose
manners have been blunted by a lengthy residence in the mines?"
"He is better than he appears," I replied, "and I have no doubt that
they will soon understand each other's ways, and get along quite
happily. We have no right to interfere."
"I think that we have. She is a _protégee_ of ours, and as such it is
our duty to see lest she comes to harm. I think that I shall object to
this marriage."
Confound it. I feared as much all the time, but I was not disposed to
relinquish all hope of getting Fred from committing himself to such a
course. I know that if my friend but gave the least encouragement to the
girl she would repudiate her lover, and then I could readily foresee
what would follow. Clergymen were not abundant at Ballarat, and Fred, I
knew, had no thought of marriage.
I reasoned with Fred for a long time, and told him (God forgive me for
the lie) that great affection existed between the parties, and that they
were not disposed to show it before us, as we were comparatively
strangers, and had no right to judge of their hearts or their heads; and
at last I so worked on the mind of my friend that he readily accompanied
me to the police office, where we were directed to a clergyman's, and
with the reverend gentleman returned to the store, where our appearance
created some surprise in the heart, at least, of one of the parties.
We insisted upon the girl's changing her clothes--the trunk which she
spoke of having been found and taken to our place of business; and while
she was doing so behind a screen of sail-cloth, we commenced making
preparations for the wedding.
Mary presented an entirely different aspect when she appeared, dressed
in her well-fitting garments; and although her face and hands were
sunburned, and her manners were embarrassed, we did not fail to
compliment her on her beauty, and to congratulate her on her near
approaching nuptials.
"Let me speak with you for a moment," she said, turning to Fred just
before the knot was tied.
Fred stepped a few paces from the group, and waited to hear her
commands.
"When I made a promise to that man," she said, pointing to her lover, "I
thought that I loved him. I was much younger than I am now, and knew but
little of the world. Even when I reached these shores, I thought that my
heart was entirely possessed by Mr. Herrets, and perhaps I should have
continued to think so had not accident revealed to me what real love
is."
Fred looked astonished and remained silent. He did not suspect the state
of her heart.
"It would be unmaidenly," she continued, with a slight air of vexation
to think that Fred remained cool, "for me to speak plainer, and if you
cannot solve my meaning I must remain silent."
"I don't think that I understand you distinctly," my friend said, his
face slightly flushing under a suspicion of her meaning.
"Do you wish to comprehend me?" she said, and her face was cast down
while she asked the question.
Fred hesitated for a moment, and only for a moment. He glanced towards
me and saw that I was watching the struggle that was going on in his
mind, and his decision was instantly formed.
"We must not pursue this subject further," he said. "Believe me, it is
better that we should not; for the sake of Mr. Herrets, and your own
sake, do not ask me more questions."
"One word," she cried, hurriedly, as Fred turned away, and it seemed as
though she could no longer control her emotion; "do you wish me to marry
that man?" she demanded, with an earnestness that showed how much she
had at stake.
"I do," he answered; and without waiting for another question he joined
us.
The girl turned deadly pale, and for a few seconds was silent; but she
rallied at length, and signified that she was ready to vow to love and
cherish a man that I knew she had already commenced hating in her heart,
and looked upon as the author of her misery. The clergyman, who was
impatient to get his dinner, soon united the parties, and we saluted the
bride.
"Let me go," she exclaimed, as her husband folded her in his rough
embrace and covered her face with kisses. "Let me go, for I stifle in
this place."
"Take your wife home," I said, "and be a kind husband to her. She will
need all your care and attention."
They left the store, and I breathed a sigh of gratitude at the result.
Fred's face, however, looked black and threatening, as though he was not
entirely satisfied with his course.
"We have played a mean part in that marriage," he said, at length, "and
I don't feel that I have acted justly. The girl detests her husband, and
you know it."
"Of course I do," I replied, with great nonchalance; "but that is
something she will outgrow in a few days, and if she does not he alone
is to blame."
"I am not so sure of that," he replied, gloomily.
"Neither am I, but it will not affect your position or mine. We have
done the best that we could, under the circumstances, to keep her
honest, and I will ask you, in all candor, if she would have been
virtuous ten days from hence had she lived under this roof?"
He did not answer me, but lighted his pipe and puffed away in silence.
"The girl liked you," I continued, "and you at length discovered it. She
is not a suitable wife for you, and I think too highly of your honor to
suppose that you would blast her prospects for life and make her your
mistress. Your residence here is short, and when you felt disposed to
return home, would you desire to present the girl to your friends as a
specimen of Australian beauty? Come, Fred, consider all things, and
remember that you cannot accuse yourself of her ruin, even if she is not
disposed to remain with her husband."
"You are right," he said; "passion blinded me for a moment, but now I
can see that, your advice is good. Let us talk no more on the subject,
but hope for her happiness."
But we did talk on the subject frequently and earnestly; and as Mary's
career was much as I supposed that it would be, I will follow it and
give the reader the sequel.
Mr. Herrets removed his wife to his tent, and after the first week of
his marriage paid but little attention to her comfort or her wants. A
coldness soon sprang up between them, and then bitter quarrels ensued.
The husband, while grasping for gold in the bowels of the earth, little
thought that his neighbor was paying court to his wife, and that she
received those attentions with eagerness. Women in Ballarat commanded a
premium, for there were but few, and those principally of the lowest
class. A few of the highest officers under government had their wives
with them, but the husbands guarded them with more than Oriental
jealousy, and it was a rare sight to see them in the street or at
windows. There was little cause for wonder, then, that a man, whose good
looks were a passport, should have ingratiated himself into the
affections of Mrs. Herrets, and that one day they should leave Ballarat
in company. We were in the store one afternoon, about a month after the
marriage, when Mr. Herrets rushed in.
"Is she here?" he demanded, his face looking like a demon's.
"Who here?" I asked, calmly, although I suspected his errand.
"My wife," he shouted. "Darn her, I don't know where she is. She is
playing some of her pranks, and I'll fix her for it."
He rushed out of the store frantically, and uttered a profusion of oaths
as he dashed through the streets, making inquiries of every one that he
met respecting his wife. Some laughed at him, while others, after
questioning him until they had arrived at the facts, would gravely shake
their heads, and express an entire ignorance of the woman's whereabouts.
Herrets then made application to the police office, but was curtly
informed that the police had something to attend to besides hunting
after men's wives.
Desperate with rage, and vowing all sorts of vengeance upon the frail
woman, the baffled husband once more sought our store and implored our
aid. He even offered a considerable sum of money if we would unite with
him and make search for her; but we refused his money, and declined for
a long time to interfere, until at length his importunities caused us to
yield, and after we extracted promises that he would be likely to keep,
we concluded to help him.
We sent the young husband back to his tent, and bade him make
arrangements to be gone at least two days, and to bring back with him
some article of clothing that had belonged to the runaway. He obeyed our
instructions, and by the time he had returned our three horses were
saddled and ready for a start. We lost no time in getting under way, and
in less than an hour we were seven miles from Ballarat, on the road to
Melbourne, the nearest city that the runaways could reach. Sydney we
considered as out of the question, for its distance of five hundred
miles was not likely to attract travellers who were journeying for speed
and flying for safety.
We pushed on, stopping only long enough to make inquiries of men on the
road, and at length we got on the trail of the fugitives. They were
travelling on horseback, like ourselves, but were mounted on worthless
animals, that threatened to break down at every step; so we were told.
The last farmer that gave us information said that he had spoken to
them, and supplied them with bread, and that he did not think they were
more than ten miles in advance of us.
This information gave us renewed life, and we spurred on until our
horses were in a foaming sweat; and just as we began to think that the
runaways had diverged from the beaten path, we caught sight of them
riding along as leisurely, and with as munch independence, as man and
wife.
Herrets rushed forward, and uttered oath after oath as he caught sight
of his wife, while the latter applied her riding whip to the sides of
her steed, in the vain endeavor to escape; but finding that we gained on
her and her paramour, she suffered her horse to fall into a walk, and
apparently took no further notice of us.
Not so with her companion, whose name was Delvin, a young and
good-looking fellow; and had we not been present, he would have laughed
at the demands of Herrets, for he was as bold as a lion, and was just
the kind of a man that a romantic girl like Mary would take a fancy to.
"Villain!" shouted Herrets, presenting an old horse pistol, that looked
as though it had seen service in the war of Cromwell, "stop, and account
to me for the seduction of my wife, or I'll shoot you as you fly!"
"Shoot and be d----d!" replied Delvin, with a sneer; "but remember, I
can use a pistol as well as you." And as he spoke, he drew from his belt
a six inch revolver, and coolly waited for Herrets to commence
hostilities.
This the latter was in no hurry to do, when he saw that his opponent was
better armed than himself; so he checked his horse, and waited for us to
come up.
We rode leisurely towards the runaways, and did not think it worth our
while to make a show of hostilities, for while we had promised the
husband to assist him, we did not consider that we were bound to fight
his battles.
"Put up your pistol," said Fred, calmly, when we had reached the woman
and her paramour; "there will be no use for it at present."
Delvin hesitated for a moment, and only for a moment; then, with an
oath, he returned his pistol to its case, and waited our proceedings.
As for the woman, she appeared the most indifferent person in the
group, and instead of being overwhelmed with shame, actually smiled at
the expression of misery depicted upon her husband's face.
"We shall have to relieve you of your fair charge," Fred said,
addressing Mr. Delvin; "civilization has hardly arrived at such a point
in Australia that a man can run off with another's wife, and expect to
escape punishment."
"The woman goes with me!" cried Delvin, fiercely, and his hand again
sought his pistol; but seeing that we took no notice of the movement, he
withdrew it slowly, and appeared undecided what to do.
"Of course, you are not in earnest when you speak thus," replied Fred,
quite coolly; "you must be aware, if you enter Melbourne in company with
this man's wife, and we are disposed to lodge information against you,
that a long residence at the hulks would be your portion."
Delvin remained silent, but he looked as though he would like to try the
issue of the affair with an exchange of shots.
"We have promised this man to help recover his wife, and we mean to keep
our word. We have nothing against you, and therefore do not think it
worth while to risk our lives exchanging shots; but Herrets, here--"
"Ah, then he can meet me," cried Delvin, eagerly.
"By no means," replied Fred, with great distinctness; "you have injured
him sufficiently already, and it appears to me strange that the world
should think a husband bound to demand reparation by receiving the
contents of a pistol, and then consider that satisfaction has been
accorded."
"Then you deny me a chance to satisfy the husband of this woman?"
demanded Delvin, and his looks showed how eagerly he would have shot
Herrets had he been allowed.
"Certainly we do, and we have a piece of advice to give you--don't
return to Ballarat for a few months, or you might fare badly. The miners
have a prejudice against people who run off with wives not belonging to
them, and but little agitation would be necessary to serve you as men of
your kind are served in California."
"May I ask now that is?" Delvin inquired.
"They are tried by Lynch law," was Fred's laconic answer.
The seducer glared at us as though he would like to encounter each
individual singly, and I did not, know but that he would charge upon us,
and risk the odds, great as they were.
"What have I done, Mary Ann, that you should run off and leave me?"
cried Herrets, speaking for the first time.
His wife maintained a profound silence.
"Didn't I do all that I could to make you happy and comfortable?" he
continued.
"No," she replied, with a defiant air, "you did not. You never spoke to
me kindly, or asked if I was contented. I went to your tent with but
little love for you, and now I have less. Did you seek to gain my
affections, or to banish from my mind the image of a man that I felt I
could die for?"
She looked hard at Fred, but the latter avoided her glance.
"I may have to go back with you, but I warn you that I feel only
loathing and contempt for your home, for you, and every one in
Ballarat."
We did not seek to check her, for we knew that her outburst of rage
would end in tears, and we were not mistaken. She wept bitterly, and
upbraided Fred and myself as the authors of her misfortunes; and even
while she was lamenting her fate, we turned her horse's head in the
direction of Ballarat.
Her paramour sat upon his animal sullen, and undecided what to do; and
without stopping to exchange words with him, we commenced our journey
homeward.
Even after we were miles distant, we could see him still motionless,
standing upon the broad prairie, as though he had not determined upon
what course he should pursue. But he never renewed his attempts on the
virtue of Mrs. Herrets, and when next we heard of him he was in the
mines of Bathney, where he was killed by the caving in of a shaft.
As for Herrets and his wife, they took our advice, and moved to
Melbourne, where there was society and enjoyment. The husband went into
business there, and became quite wealthy; and Mrs. Herrets was noted for
her lively disposition and fondness of company. She became a patron of
the Theatre Royal, and gave many a hungry actor a good dinner; and once,
when I had run down to Melbourne from the mines, to transact a little
business, she sent me a pressing invitation to visit the theatre, and
witness her _début_ in the "Honeymoon," she playing "Juliana," for the
benefit of some actor who wished to insure a good house, and took that
method to accomplish it.
I accepted the invitation, but did not consider her acting as likely to
redound to the credit of the profession; and that is the end of the
history, so far as my knowledge extends, of Mrs. Herrets and husband.