Dinner over, I did not hesitate about leaving the gentlemen
to themselves. I declined a cigar, and followed Francis to the
drawing-room. Rolf soon joined us, and demanded humbly--
"What says my Major--do I not deserve a word of praise?"
"Yes, certainly," she replied, but her face clouded.
Guessing the reason, I whispered to the Captain--
"Don't you perceive you annoy my cousin by always addressing her by
that hateful nickname? Can't you see by her elegant dress she desires
to appear herself--Miss Mordaunt?"
"Indeed I am a blockhead not to pay better attention; but the truth
is, Jonker--excuse me, Freule--the custom is such an inveterate one."
"You and I must break with old customs, Captain," she said softly,
but with emphasis, "for we have been on the wrong track--have we
not, Jonker?"
"May I say one word," interposed the Captain, "before the Freule and
the Jonker begin to philosophise; should the General come in I cannot
say it. You know the day after to-morrow is the General's seventy-sixth
birthday. I had intended the celebration to be a brilliant affair;
but when I hear of wrong tracks, changes, and such farrago, I begin
to fear all my plans will fall through."
"Oh! was that the reason you brought in all those dainties this
morning?"
"Yes, and I thought the Jonker would be an agreeable addition to
our party."
"I give you full leave to arrange it all in your own way,
Rolf. Grandfather must be feted."
"Hurrah! of course!" he cried merrily; and off he went to make his
arrangements, carefully shutting the folding-doors behind him so as
to isolate us from the dining-room.
I was just going to compliment Francis on the change in her style of
dressing, when she complained of the closeness of the room, and skipped
off into the garden. Left thus to my own resources, I lit a cigar
and walked out in front of the house, where I soon espied my lady;
and when I joined her she proposed to walk as far as the ruin to see
the sun set. Instead of taking the regular path, Francis preferred
making direct for the object in view; and we had to trample through
the underwood, and were many times tripped by the roots of felled
trees. In answer to my remarks on this whim of hers, she replied--
"People say my education was neglected, which is not quite correct. I
am not altogether a child of the wilderness. In fact, much trouble
was given to my training, only it was not of the right sort. I was
brought up as a boy. As you know already, my mother died a few days
after my birth, and Rolf's sister was my nurse. Her own child had
died, and I replaced it for her. She had a blind affection for me,
almost bordering on fanaticism; she obeyed all my wishes, giving as
an excuse to any remonstrances that she was the only person in the
world who loved me. This was an exaggeration, for my grandfather, who
lived in the same house with us, made much of me, though it is true
Sir John Mordaunt took little notice of his child. He had previously
had a son called Francis, like myself, on whom all his hopes were
fixed during the six months the child lived. I was a disappointment,
as he wished to have a son to take the place of the lost infant; and
he received me with so little welcome that I have heard the last hours
of my poor mother's life were embittered by this knowledge. My nurse,
who could no longer bear the indifference with which he treated me,
one day took me into his room, to show him what a healthy, strong
child I was. 'Indeed,' she said, 'it might have been a boy.'
"Rolf has since told me that my father seemed suddenly struck by an
idea. From that day forth he devoted much attention to my training,
and this has made me what I am. Under pretext of hygiene and English
custom, I was dressed in a loose costume, 'a boy's suit,' as my nurse
called it, and I was taught all kinds of gymnastic exercises. They
hardened me against heat and cold like a young Spartan. Rolf taught
me the military exercise, and made me quite an adept at fencing,
and all the young officers who dined with us were invited to have a
bout with me. Out of complaisance to papa, they allowed me to come
off victor; and Sir John was sure to reward me splendidly for any
praise I won. At this time grandfather held the rank of Major, and
I suppose it was an idea of Rolf's to give me the title of 'Little
Major,' with which my father was so pleased that he often addressed
me by this sobriquet, and so gave it the stamp of his authority. I
well remember, on one occasion, an officer, evidently a stranger,
addressed me as Miss Francis, which so much surprised me that I
uttered a good round oath in English--it was Sir John's favourite
expression; whereupon my father took me in his arms and kissed me,
so far as I can recollect for the first time in my life."
"It is less to be wondered at that the bad habit has clung to you
even to this day."
"My nurse of course told me it was wrong, and tried to break me
of it; but in my childish way I was a match for her, replying,
'But papa does so--is it a sin, then?'
"'Oh, for gentlemen it is different.'
"'Very well, I will be a gentleman; I won't be a girl.'
"Indeed, my childhood was embittered by the idea that I was a girl
and could never become a man. I never went to children's parties; I
was always with grown-up people, officers, and lovers of the chase,
and at eight years of age I was no bad match for some of them on
horseback. When my nurse acknowledged she had lost all control over me,
a tutor was engaged--yes, a tutor: don't be surprised. Sir John had
never either announced the death of his son or the birth of a daughter
to his relations in England. For this reason I was isolated from my
own sex, and even learned to regard it with somewhat of an aversion,
owing to the conversation of Sir John and Dr. Darkins. I profited by
such training, though perhaps not exactly as they desired, for I hated
a lie, and my chief desire was to show myself such as I was, proud
and frank in all my dealings with men. I am convinced grandfather
had no hand in this plot, but he was too weak to speak out and set
his face against it. Sometimes, however, he gave me needlework to do,
and he had a strong aversion to Dr. Darkins. Disputes arose between
him and Sir John, and he shortly after moved to another garrison,
taking Rolf with him. When I was close upon my fourteenth year,
Dr. Darkins was suddenly cashiered, and it was announced to me that
I should be sent to an aristocratic ladies' boarding-school. There I
played all sorts of pranks, smoked like a grenadier, and had always
a supply of extra-fine cigarettes wherewith to tempt my schoolfellows.
"The cause of this great change in my life was brought about in this
way. Aunt Ellen, a sister of my father's, had come over to Scheveningen
with her husband for the bathing season, and thence she made a flying
visit to see her brother, taking everybody by surprise--nobody more
so than Sir John himself.
"'Francis must be a big boy now; what are you going to make of him?' I
heard her ask my father.
"'There's nothing to be made of him,' my father answered angrily in
his embarrassment, 'for Francis is only a girl. The eldest child,
a son, is dead. I have only this one.'
"'John, John,' cried the lady reproachfully, 'the whole family believed
you had a son, and you have done nothing to undeceive us; and the
old baronet, who pays you the yearly income set apart for his heir,
is expecting to see you both in England very soon. What do you mean
by it? Have you acted like a gentleman?'
"Papa lisped something about 'absolute necessity,' and seemed anxious
to induce her to co-operate in his schemes. The proud lady burst
forth in indignation--
"'Can you imagine I would become a party to such deception?'
"Sir John, to relieve his disappointment, uttered his usual oath,
and ordered me out of the room, as he now perceived I was listening
with all my ears.
"I obeyed very unwillingly, and not until I had spoken to Aunt
Ellen. He ordered me to hold my tongue, and there was a mingling
of menace, of anxiety, and embarrassment in his looks which drove me
sheer out of the room. I had never seen him look like that before. What
passed between them I cannot say. Aunt Ellen afterwards gave me fifty
pounds, and promised to make me that yearly allowance if my conduct
was satisfactory at school. I told her I hated girls' schools, and
that I should much prefer going to England with Dr. Darkins, as had
been promised me.
"'That's out of the question, my child.' More she did not say, and
I knew better than to ask Sir John any questions.
"Well, as you may imagine, I did not stay a whole year at school. In
some things I had the advantage of the eldest girls, whilst in others I
was more stupid and ignorant than the children in the lowest class. My
knitting was always in confusion; I broke my needles in my impatience;
I spoilt the silk and sampler if I had any marking to do; and, to
make matters worse, if any one laughed at me for my awkwardness,
or punished me for my carelessness, I flew into the most violent
passion. I fought with the assistant-mistress, and boxed the ears
of any girl who called me Major Frank--a girl from the same town as
myself having betrayed me. Before I had been there six weeks I ran
away, and had to be taken back by Sir John himself; but six months
later I was dismissed as an untractable, incorrigible creature, whose
conduct was pernicious in its effect on the rest of the school. The
dismissal, however, was an injustice to me. Music was the only thing
I liked at school, and the music master was the only teacher who had
never had reason to complain of me; on the contrary, he praised me,
he flattered me, and one day he even gave me a kiss."
"The wretch!"
"Yes, this liberty aroused all my feelings of feminine dignity,
and I boxed his ears for him."
"That was just like you!"
"The other girls rushed into the room; the headmistress followed
to inquire into the cause of the disturbance. Of course the master
had the first word, and he was base enough to say I had become so
violent on account of his correcting my fingering. When asked for my
explanation, I answered that I would not contradict a liar--it was
beneath my dignity.
"I declined to apologize, and was threatened with the severest
punishments known in the school. They shut me up in a room and fed
me on bread and water, but all in vain; the mistress was obliged to
write for my father.
"He sent my old nurse to fetch me away, and I confided the truth
to her with many tears. She was very anxious to make a scene, give
'madame' a piece of her mind in the presence of her pupils; but I was
so glad to get away from the school that I prevented her carrying out
her intentions. I told her I should not be believed. The fact was,
one of the elder girls told me I was very foolish to make so much fuss
about a kiss. The music master kisses me,' she continued, 'and all the
others who are pretty,' as he says. Still, we are much too sensible
to tell any one, for he lends us French novels forbidden by madame,
and improvises invitations for us when we want to go out: in short,
he is ready to do us all kinds of services that we could not trust to a
servant of the establishment. What folly to make such a man your enemy!
"I have since met this same girl--Leontine was her name--in society,
and experienced the advantages of her education. She was ever
very polite to my face, and calumniated me directly my back was
turned. Thus, you see, under these forms of decorum all kinds of lies
and infamy are hidden."
"Francis, I am quite of your opinion that a man's fine manners are
no guarantee of his morality or uprightness; but do you think society
would be improved by turning all its sin, wretchedness, and ugliness
to the surface?"
"It is certain we should then fly from it in disgust and horror."
"But every one cannot fly from it. There are people who are obliged
to live in society; and, provided that we do not become its dupe,
it is better that what you call the mantle of decorum should give to
social life an aspect which renders it supportable."
As we returned from the ruin the sky had become misty, and the sun
was setting behind the clouds, its presence being only marked by the
orange and purple rays struggling through the mist; the fields were
already invisible under this wet sheet of nature's procuring. It
was time for us to seek shelter from such humidity as surrounded
us. Francis proposed to enter the house with all speed.