COMING HOME FROM HUNTING.
Lord Hampstead had been discussing with Mr. Amblethwaite the
difficult nature of hunting in such a county as Cumberland. The
hounds were in the road before them with John Peel in the midst of
them. Dick with the ragged pony was behind, looking after stragglers.
Together with Lord Hampstead and the Master was a hard-riding, rough,
weather-beaten half-gentleman, half-farmer, named Patterson, who
lived a few miles beyond Penrith and was Amblethwaite's right hand in
regard to hunting. Just as Crocker joined them the road had become
narrow, and the young lord had fallen a little behind. Crocker had
seized his opportunity;--but the lord also seized his, and thrust
himself in between Mr. Patterson and the Master. "That's all true,"
said the Master. "Of course we don't presume to do the thing as you
swells do it down in the Shires. We haven't the money, and we haven't
the country, and we haven't the foxes. But I don't know whether for
hunting we don't see as much of it as you do."
"Quite as much, if I may take to-day as a sample."
"Very ordinary;--wasn't it, Amblethwaite?" asked Patterson, who was
quite determined to make the most of his own good things.
"It was not bad to-day. The hounds never left their scent after they
found him. I think our hillsides carry the scent better than our
grasses. If you want to ride, of course, it's rough. But if you like
hunting, and don't mind a scramble, perhaps you may see it here as
well as elsewhere."
"Better, a deal, from all I hear tell," said Patterson. "Did you ever
hear any music like that in Leicestershire, my lord?"
"I don't know that ever I did," said Hampstead. "I enjoyed myself
amazingly."
"I hope you'll come again," said the Master, "and that often."
"Certainly, if I remain here."
"I knew his lordship would like it," said Crocker, crowding in on a
spot where it was possible for four to ride abreast. "I think it was
quite extraordinary to see how a stranger like his lordship got over
our country."
"Clever little 'orse his lordship's on," said Patterson.
"It's the man more than the beast, I think," said Crocker, trying to
flatter.
"The best man in England," said Patterson, "can't ride to hounds
without a tidy animal under him."
"Nor yet can't the best horse in England stick to hounds without
a good man on top of him," said the determined Crocker. Patterson
grunted,--hating flattery, and remembering that the man flattered was
a lord.
Then the road became narrow again, and Hampstead fell a little
behind. Crocker was alongside of him in a moment. There seemed to
be something mean in running away from the man;--something at any
rate absurd in seeming to run away from him. Hampstead was ashamed
in allowing himself to be so much annoyed by such a cause. He had
already snubbed the man, and the man might probably be now silent on
the one subject which was so peculiarly offensive. "I suppose," said
he, beginning a conversation which should show that he was willing to
discuss any general matter with Mr. Crocker, "that the country north
and west of Penrith is less hilly than this?"
"Oh, yes, my lord; a delightful country to ride over in some parts.
Is Roden fond of following the hounds, my lord?"
"I don't in the least know," said Hampstead, curtly. Then he made
another attempt. "These hounds don't go as far north as Carlisle?"
"Oh, no, my lord; never more than eight or ten miles from Penrith.
They've another pack up in that country; nothing like ours, but still
they do show sport. I should have thought now Roden would have been
just the man to ride to hounds,--if he got the opportunity."
"I don't think he ever saw a hound in his life. I'm rather in a
hurry, and I think I shall trot on."
"I'm in a hurry myself," said Crocker, "and I shall be happy to
show your lordship the way. It isn't above a quarter of a mile's
difference to me going by Pooley Bridge instead of Dallmaine."
"Pray don't do anything of the kind; I can find the road." Whereupon
Hampstead shook hands cordially with the Master, bade Mr. Patterson
good-bye with a kindly smile, and trotted on beyond the hounds as
quickly as he could.
But Crocker was not to be shaken off. The flea-bitten roan was as
good at the end of a day as he was at the beginning, and trotted
on gallantly. When they had gone some quarter of a mile Hampstead
acknowledged to himself that it was beyond his power to shake off his
foe. By that time Crocker had made good his position close alongside
of the lord, with his horse's head even with that of the other.
"There is a word, my lord, I want to say to you." This Crocker
muttered somewhat piteously, so that Hampstead's heart was for the
moment softened towards him. He checked his horse and prepared
himself to listen. "I hope I haven't given any offence. I can assure
you, my lord, I haven't intended it. I have so much respect for your
lordship that I wouldn't do it for the world."
What was he to do? He had been offended. He had intended to show that
he was offended. And yet he did not like to declare as much openly.
His object had been to stop the man from talking, and to do so if
possible without making any reference himself to the subject in
question. Were he now to declare himself offended he could hardly do
so without making some allusion to his sister. But he had determined
that he would make no such allusion. Now as the man appealed to him,
asking as it were forgiveness for some fault of which he was not
himself conscious, it was impossible to refrain from making him some
answer. "All right," he said; "I'm sure you didn't mean anything. Let
us drop it, and there will be an end of it."
"Oh, certainly;--and I'm sure I'm very much obliged to your lordship.
But I don't quite know what it is that ought to be dropped. As I am
so intimate with Roden, sitting at the same desk with him every day
of my life, it did seem natural to speak to your lordship about him."
This was true. As it had happened that Crocker, who as well as Roden
was a Post Office Clerk, had appeared as a guest at Castle Hautboy,
it had been natural that he should speak of his office companion to
a man who was notoriously that companion's friend. Hampstead did not
quite believe in the pretended intimacy, having heard Roden declare
that he had not as yet formed any peculiar friendship at the Office.
He had too felt, unconsciously, that such a one as Roden ought not
to be intimate with such a one as Crocker. But there was no cause of
offence in this. "It was natural," he said.
"And then I was unhappy when I thought from what you said that there
had been some quarrel."
"There has been no quarrel," said Hampstead.
"I am very glad indeed to hear that." He was beginning to touch again
on a matter that should have been private. What was it to him whether
or no there was a quarrel between Lord Hampstead and Roden. Hampstead
therefore again rode on in silence.
"I should have been so very sorry that anything should have occurred
to interfere with our friend's brilliant prospects." Lord Hampstead
looked about to see whether there was any spot at which he could make
his escape by jumping over a fence. On the right hand there was the
lake rippling up on to the edge of the road, and on the left was a
high stone wall, without any vestige of an aperture through it as
far as the eye could reach. He was already making the pace as fast
as he could, and was aware that no escape could be effected in that
manner. He shook his head, and bit the handle of his whip, and looked
straight away before him through his horse's ears. "You cannot think
how proud I've been that a gentleman sitting at the same desk with
myself should have been so fortunate in his matrimonial prospects. I
think it an honour to the Post Office all round."
"Mr. Crocker," said Lord Hampstead, pulling up his horse suddenly,
and standing still upon the spot, "if you will remain here for
five minutes I will ride on; or if you will ride on I will remain
here till you are out of sight. I must insist that one of these
arrangements be made."
"My lord!"
"Which shall it be?"
"Now I have offended you again."
"Don't talk of offence, but just do as I bid you. I want to be
alone."
"Is it about the matrimonial alliance?" demanded Crocker almost in
tears. Thereupon Lord Hampstead turned his horse round and trotted
back towards the hounds and horsemen, whom he heard on the road
behind him. Crocker paused a moment, trying to discover by the light
of his own intellect what might have been the cause of this singular
conduct on the part of the young nobleman, and then, having failed
to throw any light on the matter, he rode on homewards, immersed in
deep thought. Hampstead, when he found himself again with his late
companions, asked some idle questions as to the hunting arrangements
of next week. That they were idle he was quite aware, having resolved
that he would not willingly put himself into any position in which it
might be probable that he should again meet that objectionable young
man. But he went on with his questions, listening or not listening
to Mr. Amblethwaite's answers, till he parted company with his
companions in the neighbourhood of Pooley Bridge. Then he rode alone
to Hautboy Castle, with his mind much harassed by what had occurred.
It seemed to him to have been almost proved that George Roden must
have spoken to this man of his intended marriage. In all that the
man had said he had suggested that the information had come direct
from his fellow-clerk. He had seemed to declare,--Hampstead thought
that he had declared,--that Roden had often discussed the marriage
with him. If so, how base must have been his friend's conduct! How
thoroughly must he have been mistaken in his friend's character! How
egregiously wrong must his sister have been in her estimate of the
man! For himself, as long as the question had been simply one of his
own intimacy with a companion whose outside position in the world
had been inferior to his own, he had been proud of what he had done,
and had answered those who had remonstrated with him with a spirit
showing that he despised their practices quite as much as they
could ridicule his. He had explained to his father his own ideas of
friendship, and had been eager in showing that George Roden's company
was superior to most young men of his own position. There had been
Hautboy, and Scatterdash, and Lord Plunge, and the young Earl of
Longoolds, all of them elder sons, whom he described as young men
without a serious thought in their heads. What was it to him how
Roden got his bread, so long as he got it honestly? "The man's
the man for a' that." Thus he had defended himself and been quite
conscious that he was right. When Roden had suddenly fallen in love
with his sister, and his sister had as suddenly fallen in love with
Roden,--then he had begun to doubt. A thing which was in itself
meritorious might become dangerous and objectionable by reason of
other things which it would bring in its train. He felt for a time
that associations which were good for himself might not be so good
for his sister. There seemed to be a sanctity about her rank which
did not attach to his own. He had thought that the Post Office clerk
was as good as himself; but he could not assure himself that he was
as good as the ladies of his family. Then he had begun to reason with
himself on this subject, as he did on all. What was there different
in a girl's nature that ought to make her fastidious as to society
which he felt to be good enough for himself? In entertaining the
feeling which had been strong within him as to that feminine
sanctity, was he not giving way to one of those empty prejudices of
the world, in opposition to which he had resolved to make a life-long
fight? So he had reasoned with himself; but his reason, though it
affected his conduct, did not reach his taste. It irked him to think
there should be this marriage, though he was strong in his resolution
to uphold his sister,--and, if necessary, to defend her. He had not
given way as to the marriage. It had been settled between himself
and his sister and his father that there should be no meeting of the
lovers at Hendon Hall. He did hope that the engagement might die
away, though he was determined to cling to her even though she clung
to her lover. This was his state of mind, when this hideous young
man, who seemed to have been created with the object of showing
him how low a creature a Post Office clerk could be, came across
him, and almost convinced him that that other Post Office clerk had
been boasting among his official associates of the favours of the
high-born lady who had unfortunately become attached to him! He would
stick to his politics, to his Radical theories, to his old ideas
about social matters generally; but he was almost tempted to declare
to himself that women for the present ought to be regarded as exempt
from those radical changes which would be good for men. For himself
his "order" was a vanity and a delusion; but for his sister it must
still be held as containing some bonds. In this frame of mind he
determined that he would return to Hendon Hall almost immediately.
Further hope of hunting with the Braeside Harriers there was none;
and it was necessary for him to see Roden as soon as possible.
That evening at the Castle Lady Amaldina got hold of him, and asked
him his advice as to her future duties as a married woman. Lady
Amaldina was very fond of little confidences as to her future life,
and had as yet found no opportunity of demanding the sympathy of her
cousin. Hampstead was not in truth her cousin, but they called each
other cousins,--or were called so. None of the Hauteville family felt
any of that aversion to the Radicalism of the heir to the marquisate
which the Marchioness entertained. Lady Amaldina delighted to be Amy
to Lord Hampstead, and was very anxious to ask him his advice as to
Lord Llwddythlw.
"Of course you know all about my marriage, Hampstead?" she said.
"I don't know anything about it," Hampstead replied.
"Oh, Hampstead; how ill-natured!"
"Nobody knows anything about it, because it hasn't taken place."
"That is so like a Radical, to be so precise and rational. My
engagement then?"
"Yes; I've heard a great deal about that. We've been talking about
that for--how long shall I say?"
"Don't be disagreeable. Of course such a man as Llwddythlw can't be
married all in a hurry just like anybody else."
"What a misfortune for him!"
"Why should it be a misfortune?"
"I should think it so if I were going to be married to you."
"That's the prettiest thing I have ever heard you say. At any rate
he has got to put up with it, and so have I. It is a bore, because
people will talk about nothing else. What do you think of Llwddythlw
as a public man?"
"I haven't thought about it. I haven't any means of thinking. I am so
completely a private man myself, that I know nothing of public men. I
hope he's good at going to sleep."
"Going to sleep?"
"Otherwise it must be so dull, sitting so many hours in the House of
Commons. But he's been at it a long time, and I dare say he's used to
it."
"Isn't it well that a man in his position should have a regard to his
country?"
"Every man ought to have a regard to his country;--but a stronger
regard, if it be possible, to the world at large."
Lady Amaldina stared at him, not knowing in the least what he meant.
"You are so droll," she said. "You never, I think, think of the
position you were born to fill."
"Oh yes, I do. I'm a man, and I think a great deal about it."
"But you've got to be Marquis of Kingsbury, and Llwddythlw has got to
be Duke of Merioneth. He never forgets it for a moment."
"What a nuisance for him,--and for you."
"Why should it be a nuisance for me? Cannot a woman understand her
duties as well as a man?"
"Quite so, if she knows how to get a glimpse at them."
"I do," said Lady Amaldina, earnestly. "I am always getting glimpses
at them. I am quite aware of the functions which it will become me to
perform when I am Llwddythlw's wife."
"Mother of his children?"
"I didn't mean that at all, Hampstead. That's all in the hands of the
Almighty. But in becoming the future Duchess of Merioneth--"
"That's in the hands of the Almighty, too, isn't it?"
"No; yes. Of course everything is in God's hands."
"The children, the dukedom, and all the estates."
"I never knew any one so provoking," she exclaimed.
"One is at any rate as much as another."
"You don't a bit understand me," she said. "Of course if I go and get
married, I do get married."
"And if you have children, you do have children. If you do,--and I
hope you will,--I'm sure they'll be very pretty and well behaved.
That will be your duty, and then you'll have to see that Llwddythlw
has what he likes for dinner."
"I shall do nothing of the kind."
"Then he'll dine at the Club, or at the House of Commons. That's my
idea of married life."
"Nothing beyond that? No community of soul?"
"Certainly not."
"No!"
"Because you believe in the Trinity, Llwddythlw won't go to heaven.
If he were to take to gambling and drinking you wouldn't go to the
other place."
"How can you be so horrid."
"That would be a community of souls,--as souls are understood. A
community of interests I hope you will have, and, in order that you
may, take care and look after his dinner." She could not make much
more of her cousin in the way of confidence, but she did exact a
promise from him, that he would be in attendance at her wedding.
A few days afterwards he returned to Hendon Park, leaving his sister
to remain for a fortnight longer at Castle Hautboy.