COUSINS
Steve’s cousin and namesake had proceeded to the Transvaal some months
before this.
We have mentioned the young man before as Steve’s tutor in the art of
smoking. A few words as regards him will not be out of place here,
as we may hear, off and on, of his doings, as affecting Steve. We
have said before that he was a vacillating young man; a fact which he
showed in every act of his life. Years before he surprised Steve’s
constant young heart, during the Transvaal war of independence, by
declaring--while the issue was as yet uncertain--that the English would
give the Boers such a licking as they would never forget. He declared
the Boers were cowards. He was one of those that took up the saying,
that the Boers would run away at the first cannon shot. He changed his
mind when the Boers were successful. _Now_ he composed songs, in which
he celebrated the victory of the Republicans in glowing terms, and
abused the English tyrants enough to suit the taste of the most fiery
Republican. Such was his nature. He was inconstant to his friends, he
was inconstant to his sweethearts (mind the plural), he was inconstant
to himself!
Like all such natures, he was a braggart and boaster. When he was
amongst strangers he was a Crœsus in wealth, a king in power. Amongst
his friends, he had always seen and done things wonderful to relate.
But not one of them seemed ever to have the luck to be present
when he saw and did these things. But his acquaintances knew him,
and generally treated his stories with derision and contempt. Their
ironical questions and looks appeared to his vanity questions and looks
of belief and wonder.
He was not actually ill-natured or unkind. He had his tender spots.
Real pain and grief greatly affected him, and brought pity into his
heart, and at such times he was always amongst the first to render aid.
In this respect only he resembled Steve. In all else he was his direct
opposite. His vanity, love of boasting, and wish to thrust himself
into a prominent part of whatever was taking place, together with a
weakness to be on the side of the stronger party, was the bane of his
life. The worst of him was that he did not seem to realise the shame
and dishonour of deserting his party when it seemed to be on the losing
side and taking up with the stronger.
Steve hated these faults in his cousin, and tried to reason sense and
honour into him. But, being several years the junior of his cousin, his
opinions were considered as childish, and disregarded. So Steve could
only view his cousin’s backslidings with patience and grief; which he
did; as he was thrown into daily contact with his cousin through force
of circumstances. In one thing or another he had to do with him every
day, and really bore him a sort of cousinly affection, but this was
unaccompanied by any respect.