THE LEWES CARNIVAL.
Mrs. Shelley was quite right in saying Fairy’s sorrows were
short-lived. For one whole day she had been very miserable, the day
after Rex had asked her, and she had promised, to be his wife, when Mr.
Leslie had called and told her she was not to see Rex any more till the
carnival. Coming so soon after her great happiness, Fairy could not
bear this sudden reverse with equanimity, and so, as Reginald had told
the baroness, she had cried all day, until John had meekly yielded and
allowed another interview.
After this Fairy was quite satisfied; Rex loved her, and that was in
itself happiness. That he would be true to her she no more doubted
than she doubted the sun would rise the next day, and so, though of
course she would have preferred him to remain at Oafham and spend his
afternoons with her, she acquiesced cheerfully in Mr. Leslie’s plan,
and was as bright and happy during the months of October and November
as it was possible for even such a little sunbeam to be.
When November dawned, and it was arranged that Fairy should go to the
Leslies on the 3rd for a week or two, her excitement was so great that
Mrs. Shelley told her if she did not take care she would be ill and
unable to go, at which she only laughed, and said there was no fear of
her being ill, and as for eating, she was much too happy to be hungry.
One little thing was rather troubling Fairy; she was half afraid her
dress was not quite all it ought to be for such a grand gentleman as
Rex’s father, whose acquaintance she was to make on the 5th. If it
had only been summer-time it would not have mattered, for nothing
could be prettier than one of her simple white frocks; they would do
for anyone or anything; but she could not wear a thin white dress in
November. Her best winter dress was a red merino, new for the occasion,
and as she dressed herself in it when it came home, she could not help
acknowledging inwardly, as she glanced at her dainty little self in the
glass, her delicate complexion set off to the best advantage by the
dark red merino, if she only had some lace to put round the throat, her
toilet would compare favourably with the blue silks of the Leslie girls.
[Illustration: THE LEWES CARNIVAL.]
Perhaps there was some lace among the things she had on when John
Shelley found her; she believed there was, so, unlocking the drawer in
which she had always kept these relics, she pulled them out and glanced
at them. There on the top lay the blue satin quilt, the large piece
missing which she had cut out years ago to make a shaving-case for
Jack. Poor Jack! Where was he now? What would he say to her engagement?
Would he be pleased at it? Somehow Fairy feared he would not. But there
was enough of the quilt left to make a shaving-case for Rex; it would
be just the thing for him, and nice work to do at the Leslies’, so the
remains of the quilt were packed up to go with her. Then came the red
Indian shawl, in which the baron had wrapped his little daughter. How
handsome it was! Why, not one of the Leslie girls had such a handsome
shawl as this, all embroidered with gold. She would certainly take this
with her; it would do beautifully to wrap round her in the balcony from
which they were to watch the carnival. Rex would like this shawl, she
was sure, so that, too, was packed up. All the other little garments,
yellow with being laid up so long, were now looked through to see if
there was any lace that would do, but no, it was all too narrow, and
Fairy was about to shut the drawer when she caught hold of the lace
handkerchief which had been tucked into her dress under her chin as
a feeder when she was found. She looked at it with a critical eye.
How fine it was, and what lovely lace, and how pretty that crest and
coronet worked in the corner were! This handkerchief was the very
thing; she would fold it so that the corner with the crest showed, and
wear it round her throat instead of a lace tucker.
So the handkerchief was packed up with the other things, and on Monday
afternoon Fairy went to the Leslies to stay. The carnival was not till
Wednesday evening, but she hoped to see Rex on Tuesday, as she knew he
was expected to reach Oafham before then. Nor was she disappointed, for
on Tuesday morning Rex arrived to lunch, and spent a long afternoon.
Fairy found he was most anxious she should make a conquest of his
father, and seemed to think their future happiness depended in a great
measure upon the effect she produced upon Mr. de Courcy, so that Rex
was looking forward to the carnival with somewhat mixed feelings, and,
to the disappointment of the Leslies, could not be persuaded to appear
in fancy dress, which they assured him was the correct thing for young
men in all ranks of life on this unique occasion. But Rex refused,
declaring he only intended to be a spectator, and his time would be
fully occupied in taking care of Fairy, which no one for one moment
doubted. Since masks were considered indispensable, he agreed to wear a
wire mask to protect his face from the squibs and crackers, which are
recklessly flung in all directions, often doing serious injury to some
of the passers-by, but this was the utmost he would concede, and Fairy
seconded him, declaring that though she liked him very much as he was,
she was by no means sure how she would like him if he were dressed up
like another person.
The Leslies had hired a window in the High-street, and here Mr.
de Courcy and Rex were to meet them at seven o’clock to watch the
revelry, and then they were all to return to the rectory to supper.
Fairy, who had of course often seen the carnival before, was full of
childish delight at the prospect, and kept assuring Rex it was the most
wonderful sight he had ever seen; there was nothing like it in England;
she was sure he would be enchanted; the only drawback was there were
sure to be one or two riots, as some turbulent spirits always insulted
the Roman Catholics before the evening was over.
“Well, I hope they won’t insult my father; he is a Roman Catholic,”
said Rex.
“Your father a Roman Catholic, Rex! Are you one, too?” asked Fairy,
turning a little pale.
“No, I am a Protestant, so is my mother, but I don’t think it right
to make game of other people’s religion, and insult them because it
differs from ours, do you?”
“You are like John. He says it is very wicked, and that the carnival
does more harm than good. He only goes to try and help to keep order,
but I like it, it is such a pretty sight,” replied Fairy, eagerly.
In Lewes the preparations began early in the afternoon, when the shops
were closed, and all the lower windows in the High-street, through
which the procession was to pass, were boarded up—a very necessary
precaution, for the reckless flinging of lighted torches, squibs, and
crackers would otherwise have broken the windows, and perhaps set fire
to the houses.
In the Market-place arrangements were made for the making of an
enormous bonfire, in which the effigies of Guy Faux, the Pope, and any
public person, whether of local or of wider fame, who happened just
then to be in bad odour with the Lewes people, were to be burnt at
midnight—the closing scene in the drama.
A little after seven o’clock the Leslies’ carriage drove up to the
house in which they had hired the drawing-room balcony to view the
proceedings. At present all that was to be seen were young men and boys
with lighted torches in their hands, and most of them in fancy dress,
rushing wildly about the streets, shouting and singing and throwing
squibs and crackers in all directions.
Mr. Leslie hurried his party into the house as quickly as possible, and
then sent the carriage home, for later on all traffic would be stopped,
and the girls had come prepared to walk back.
On reaching the drawing-room they found Mr. de Courcy and Rex had just
arrived; a large fire was blazing on the hearth, but there were no
other lights in the room, interior darkness being the rule at the Lewes
carnival, in order that the outside festivities may be all the more
brilliant.
Mr. Leslie introduced Mr. de Courcy to his wife and daughters, and then
to Fairy, who was looking so bewitchingly pretty with her red Indian
shawl twisted round her head in some wonderful way which exactly suited
her, that it was evident Mr. de Courcy was struck by her beauty, the
flickering light of the fire and the shawl which hid her lovely golden
hair, and partly veiled her slight figure, only piquing his curiosity.
He began to talk to her at once in his broken English, and her charming
manners fascinated him almost as much as they did his son, and when
he found she spoke French fluently, and with the prettiest accent
possible, Fairy’s triumph was complete. Mr. de Courcy, always a great
admirer of girls, was quite captivated, and Rex whispered to Fairy she
had succeeded already. The procession was to leave the Market-place
at eight, and go round the town, but even now it was a weird scene,
the masqueraders passing up and down the streets in their costumes,
some of them excellently got up, others so grotesquely as to be quite
as amusing as the elaborate fancy dresses prepared by costumiers, the
torches carried by them throwing a weird, uncertain light on their
wild, uncertain antics. From time to time a passage of arms occurred
between some passing Cavaliers and Roundheads, but at present all was
harmless fun, everyone being in a good temper at this early stage of
the proceedings.
Fairy and Rex managed to get a corner of the balcony to themselves,
from which she tried to explain the various costumes, oftener, as Rex
told her, discovering the original people than the characters they
were intended to represent. These two alone were not impatient for the
procession to pass, being so much occupied with themselves as to pay
but little attention to what was going on in the street. Occasionally
a grand excitement was caused by the rolling past of a lighted
tar-barrel, which illuminated the whole street, its attendant youths,
many of whom were dressed like demons, looking in their black masks
and asses’ ears more like fiends than men as they lashed their blazing
barrels with their torches, sending the sparks far and wide.
“This is the Bournemer barrel, and that is Charlie with an axe,
dressed as an executioner. I made his black mask for him. Look, Rex,”
cried Fairy, as another and the last of the barrels rolled into the
Market-place, to return presently with the procession.
A few minutes later there passed a riotous group of violent
anti-papists, bearing a banner with “No popery” on it, carried
reluctantly by a scarlet woman, or rather a man dressed in woman’s
clothes of bright red, supposed to represent the Church of Rome. On one
side of her was a man in Geneva gown and bands, on the other another in
a long surplice, hood, and stole, carrying a large book, and these two,
with a great deal of rough horseplay, kept the scarlet woman up to the
mark. This centre group was surrounded by men and boys carrying torches
and screaming, “Down with popery!” at the top of their voices.
“That group will have a row before they are satisfied,” said Rex,
turning away, and looking in the opposite direction, as the group
passed on to the Market-place. “But look, Fairy, who is this
good-looking man masquerading without a mask as a shepherd? See, he is
looking up here,” said Rex.
Fairy looked, and saw by the light of the torches cast behind by the
anti-papist group, a tall, handsome man, dressed in a smock-frock and
carrying a crook, a face which, in spite of a beard and moustache, she
knew very well.
“Why, Rex, it is Jack; it is, it is! I must speak to him. Jack, Jack,
where do you come from? Come up and speak to me directly. Fancy Jack
being here! I must go, Rex, and let him in. Oh, Mr. Leslie, here is
Jack!” and Fairy ran into the drawing-room, the red shawl falling off
her head, and her beautiful hair, which was disarranged by the shawl,
streaming down her shoulders in wild confusion. Her cheeks were flushed
with excitement, her great brown eyes sparkling with delight, as she
went forward with both hands outstretched, to meet Jack at the top of
the stairs.
Rex was at first quite put out of countenance by this unfortunate
_contretemps_, as he could not help thinking it; it would undo all the
good impression Fairy had made upon his father; for not knowing Jack,
Rex supposed he was like the rest of his family, and trembled for the
consequences if his father now discovered Fairy was the foster-daughter
of a shepherd. How he wished he had not called Fairy’s attention to
the young man, and how pleased they were to see each other again.
There really was no occasion for that very long handshaking. But here
Mr. Leslie, seeing Rex looked very crestfallen, went up to him and
whispered it was all right; Mr. de Courcy would only suppose the truth,
that Jack was masquerading. Moreover, he added, he is an excellent
young fellow—very superior, too, to his family; he might pass very well
in a crowd.
Rex was somewhat reassured; and when Fairy drew him to Jack, whispering
that this was her _fiancé_, he tried to be as pleased as Fairy could
wish to make his acquaintance, but somehow both young men felt
instinctively they were rivals, and their intercourse was constrained
on both sides. Indeed, Jack was anxious to get away as quickly as
possible, although he had come all the way from America to see Fairy,
and judge for himself if the stories he had heard in his mother’s last
letter were true. It did not require long to see that they were, and
his errand accomplished, he felt his only safety was in flight. That
demon of jealousy which, two years ago, had changed the whole course of
his life, and so nearly caused him to be guilty of a terrible crime,
was again rising in his bosom, as he watched the tender protecting air
which Rex assumed over Fairy. Though he had learnt a severe lesson
in self-control, and had so far profited by it that he was able to
subdue the feeling of envy towards his rival, and to mask from Fairy
the bitter sense of disappointment he felt on seeing her the betrothed
bride of another, he felt the strain he was putting upon himself would
not last long, and so he hastened to find an excuse in order to be
gone, inwardly resolving that when he left the room he would never of
his own free will set eyes on Fairy again.
She had drawn him out on to the balcony, where he had a few minutes’
conversation with Mr. Leslie, to whom he confided in an undertone that
he was going to Liverpool the next day with his mother, on a visit to
an uncle, where he would remain until the next mail sailed for America,
where he had now decided to remain for the rest of his life. He had
excellent prospects out there, and was already getting on far better
than he had ever hoped to do in so short a time. Already he had been
made cashier, and he had no doubt in a few years he would be appointed
manager of the bank, as Mr. Leslie’s friend had taken a great fancy to
him. He was now able to carry on his natural history studies, and was
making great progress, and had hopes of one day becoming a naturalist,
for he now had the means of procuring books which were before far out
of his reach, and the new country opened out to him a new field of
research.
All this he managed to tell Mr. Leslie while the procession was still
preparing to start. He did not tell him what had brought him to
England, but Mr. Leslie knew without being told that Fairy was the
motive power which had induced him to cross the Atlantic, in the vain
hope of persuading her to return with him as his wife. One glance at
Rex and Fairy had told Jack this hope was futile, but still it was
a satisfaction to see for himself; and he would now go back to his
mother, and persuade her to accompany him to Liverpool the next day if
possible.
He had only arrived at Lewes that morning, and on finding that Fairy
was staying at the Leslies to go to the carnival with them and Mr. de
Courcy, he had settled to go too in the hope of seeing her without
being seen. He had chosen to wear his smock-frock for the first and
only time in his life, partly to please his father, for whom Jack felt
he could not do enough to repay his kindness, when he was under that
black cloud which had cast a shadow over all his life; partly he wore
it because Fairy made it, and partly because he would attract less
attention among the masqueraders, who would imagine he was a shepherd
come from some of the neighbouring sheep farms to see the carnival,
and would not interfere with him; whereas if he had walked about in
plain clothes—and he had no others with him—he would probably have been
mobbed.
He could not have settled in America until he saw for himself that
there was no chance for him of winning Fairy. Now he saw his fate was
sealed, his boyish dream shattered; there was nothing left for him but
to live it down; and in a distant country, where there was nothing
to remind him of the love of his youth, and where he had plenty to
interest and occupy him, he would in time learn, not to forget her—that
was impossible, she was his first love, and could never be altogether
driven out of his heart; one little secret chamber, never peeped into
even by himself, would always remain sacred to her memory—but he would
learn to live without her; and since the sooner he began this lesson
the better, he looked about for an excuse to say good-bye.
(_To be continued._)
EVERY GIRL A BUSINESS WOMAN.
A PRACTICAL GUIDE TO THE WORLD OF INDUSTRY AND THRIFT.
BY JAMES MASON.