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Henry Ancrum: A Tale of the Last War in New Zealand, Volume 2

Chapter X

page 127

Chapter X.

Months and months passed away; the action of Koheroa had been succeeded by the brilliant battle of Rangiriri. Two hundred prisoners had been taken and forwarded to Auckland; it was thought that the neck of the rebellion was broken. White flags were flying all over the Waikato in token of Maori submission, and so there was delay and negotiation—diplomacy had its chance.

The end was, as might have been imagined, a further advance of the troops on Ngaruawahia and the upper country. But in the meantime, during the temporary page 128suspension of hostilities, many officers got leave of absence and proceeded to Auckland, where gaiety became the order of the day. The Mandevilles gave frequent parties. Mr. and Mrs. Mandeville were both fond of society, and they now had an object in view in opening their house to their friends—namely, in the hope of making Edith forget the past and take more enjoyment in the present.

Edith herself took little pleasure in these gatherings; nothing could induce her to dance, but still she thought that it would be wrong to throw a gloom over the enjoyments of others, and so she affected a gaiety which she did not feel, and moved about amongst her friends so calm and collected that few suspected the sad feelings which were concealed beneath that composed exterior.

Adelaide Brown was constantly at the page 129Mandevilles.' Her character amused Edith: she was such a rattle, so careless of what she said, so proud of being considered fast, and of using slang terms, and at the same time, under all this, so really good-natured and kind-hearted.

One evening Edith discovered her sitting in a corner by herself whilst a dance was going on, and looking actually melancholy.

"Why, Adelaide," said Edith, "what can have happened to make you sad?"

"Sad!" said Adelaide, "sad!—not a bit of it. I know a thing worth two of that. But you see I am engaged to that fellow Algernon Neville, and the animal has not come yet. I have a great mind to dance with some one else."

"Well, I would, Adelaide, if I were you; that would be what you call the correct page 130thing, would it not?—the regular aggravating dodge?"

"Well, I suppose it would," laughed Adelaide; "but you see it is so difficult to aggravate Algernon. If he arrived while the dance was going on he probably would ask some one else, and come and dance opposite to me. Oh, the other night, at Mrs. De Courcy's, he behaved to me like a brute—what are you making faces at? do you think 'brute' too strong a word?—I tell you it is the truth; he did, he did behave like a brute. I'm sure I don't know why I stand it. I ought not to speak to him—I ought to cut him dead. But somehow I think we women like to be trampled on, if only the right person does the trampling business. Well, at Mrs. De Courcy's, Algernon and I had been talking a great deal about hunting—in fact he is very fond of telling me all the wonderful things he page 131used to do in England in the hunting line—and you know there is no hunting here, and I know nothing about it, and I like to get well posted-up in all these things, so as to be able to talk about them. Well, he was taking a five-barred gate, or I don't know how many feet of water, when a waltz struck up. I jumped up, and so did he: there was no 'Miss Brown, may I have the honour of dancing with you?' or 'are you engaged for this waltz?' or any of those pretty things said, but he just put his arm round my waist, and I leant my hand on his shoulder, and off we floated. Oh my—was it not nice? for he waltzes like an angel, and I flatter myself that I am not so bad on my pins neither. Well, we had made several turns round the room, when we came in contact with that horrid Miss Furbelow and young Pumpkin, and her long dress got entangled round Algernon's page 132legs, and we came down on the floor—such a cropper! Well, I was up in a moment, as fresh as a daisy, but Algernon was pitched ever so far, and came on his head, and the great big blundering fellow thought he would say something very witty, so instead of getting up, he sat on the floor, looked wildly around him, and roared out, 'Oh, catch my horse! oh, catch my horse!' How the people laughed! and then that abominable old Indian Major screamed out that there had never been a better thing said, even at Hansnabad, and then they all laughed again, and I was in such a rage and went off to mamma, and would not speak to Algernon for—oh, ever so long; until the hypocrite pretended to be so sorry that I was obliged to forgive him, and I actually was induced to waltz with him again after supper. And as we were passing a group of men near the door, I heard some page 133wretch say, that 'The Brown Filly did not seem inclined to stray away far;' and another said, 'Oh, no; she was easily caught again.'——Oh, I declare! here is young Babington. I think I'll condescend to dance with him; it will annoy Algernon so. Algy can't bear him; he says he is a fool——Ah, Charlie! how do——"

"How do you do, Miss Brown?" said Mr. Babington, in a very solemn manner.

"Oh, Miss Brown presents her respectful compliments to Mister Babington, and begs to inform him that her present condition is perfectly salubrious. She would also add, that she trusts that Mr. Babington did not catch cold after Mrs. De Courcy's party, and that it put a little comforter round its little neck when seeking the retirement of its little barrack room; and she would page 134further inquire why Mr. Babington did not honour Miss Brown with any of his conversation on the evening in question?"

"Why, Miss Brown, I did bow to you, and you hardly recognised me; and you seemed so engaged that I could not venture to—that is—that I——"

"You felt shut up, eh? Well, that was very wrong, for you should not be so easily shut up; for you are not a bad boy, after all."

"Miss Brown, I——"

"There, there—man, I mean; great big man. You know you told me you were five feet five inches and a half high, and I made a note of it in my journal; and besides, you might grow, you know."

"Grow, Miss Brown! Really this is——"

page 135

"Oh, yes, I know you are as old as Methuselah. But I forgot! Mamma gave me a message to give you: she said she was so much obliged to you for sending those wild ducks you shot; she said you were a perfect duck to send them, and that was a great thing for mamma to say. Poor dear mamma!—you know she does not often make puns; and I (looking up, and letting her eyes dwell upon him), I thank you too."

"Oh, Miss Brown—oh, Adelaide, that was nothing."

"Oh, yes, you think it nothing because you are so good. But I am keeping you from dancing."

"Oh no, I have not got a partner; but if you would favour me, I——"

"Would be delighted, eh? Well, come along, Charlie."

"Ah," she said, stopping and whisper-page 136ing into Edith's ear, "is not this good; two dodges at once, eh?—sentimental to one, aggravating to the other. Oh, I wish Algernon would come." And off she tripped.

"Fine girl, that; deuced fine girl!" said a voice near Edith; "just the girl for Calcutta. I'll tell you what she would do there. Flirt, of course, flirt to any extent—break at least half a dozen fellows' hearts, and then marry some rich old collector or judge, and have a splendid house, and no end of servants, and such a love of a phaeton, with two high-stepping horses, which she would drive round the racecourse herself. And then the band stand! Ah, there she would be in her glory, talking to a little mob of fellows; ha, ha, ha! And when it got dark—it does get dark so suddenly in India, you know—just letting her hand slip, quite by accident of course, page 137over the side of the carriage, and feeling it gently pressed by young Fitz Foozle of the Lancers, whom she had really liked, but had been obliged to refuse, because he had no private means, you know."

"Really, Major Brennan" (for it was our old friend), "if you talk in this way, I cannot listen to you," said Edith.

"Oh, no, beg pardon — mum as a mouse. But I can't help it, can't help it—must tell the truth sometimes. Hallo, here's that pompous old fool of a Doctor. Well, Doctor, saw you out riding very early this morning. Suppose you were out on business, eh? Had you a pleasant ride?"

"No, sir; the tardiness of my quadruped, added to the insalubrity of the morning air, combined to render my matutinal perambulations altogether injocund."

"Injocund!—capital word that; ha, ha, page 138ha! Well, Doctor, I'm injocund myself, for I went down to Napier the other day to see some land a brother of mine had purchased for me, and I find it is not worth a rupee. I'm regularly ruined, by Jove! ho, ho, ho! Yes, I'm injocund—I'm decidedly injocund myself.——Well, Mrs. Smith, how are you? Oh, you pinched my little finger."

"Pinched your finger, sir?" said Mrs. Smith, in great wrath, "I would not do anything so ungenteel."

"Ungenteel," said the Major to himself—"ungenteel and injocund. Which is the better word of the two I wonder?"

"Oh, Mrs. Smith!" said Mrs. Singleton, who at this moment joined the group, together with Mrs. Mandeville and Mrs. Brennan, "I hear you had a great fright last night."

page 139

"Oh! how could you have heard that, dear?" replied Mrs. Smith. "I'm sure I hardly told any one about it."

"Oh, as to that, all Auckland knows it! But it was not anything very dreadful, was it, after all?"

"Oh no, dear!" giggled Mrs. Smith. "Perhaps it would not have been very dreadful to you; but as I have not got the nerves of a horse, or—ahem!—of any animal of that description, I did feel a little frightened. We had retired to rest, and were both asleep, when we were awoke by the most tremendous noise upstairs. My husband got up and put on his—his—trousers, you know, and——"

"Yes," said the Doctor, pompously, "having donned my habiliments, I summoned my domestic, and addressed him thus: 'John, ascend; and, having ascended, ascertain the cause of this nocturnal page 140riot.' John ascended, and I followed. On reaching the upper story, we found our landlord and his wife engaged in a pugilistic encounter. Just as we entered, the former, who was evidently overcome by vinous influences, fell to the ground, and his wife, who was in a similar state, subsided into an arm-chair, weeping copiously, and ejaculating, 'Flo—flo—flo—o—red at last.' We carried the landlord to his bed, and leaving the lady in the armchair, returned down stairs."

"Well, I am glad it is not a long story," said Mrs. Singleton.

"Not quite as long as your stories about those poor Irish estates," retorted Mrs. Smith, in great wrath.

"Poor Irish estates, indeed!" said Mrs. Singleton. "I——"

But at this moment a weak-eyed young Ensign, with a straw-coloured moustache, page 141came up and claimed Mrs. Singleton for a dance, and that lady was obliged to quit the field without being able to make any reply to her enemy.