Chapter XXXIX. I Am Delirious—A Remunerative Speculation—A Double Wedding.

As soon as we arrived at home I had, with Harry's assistance, to be put to bed. He confided in me the fact that he had at last persuaded his dear girl to fix that day two months for the consummation of his bliss. Although it struck him that the date was too distant, yet it pleased him to know that it was fixed. Later in the evening uncle, the doctor, and Charlie came in, the latter having carefully escorted ‘Dot-and-go-oner,’ as he now called her, to her box, ‘Oner’ signifying in his language an extraordinary rate of speed. The other events, from their report, passed off very successfully. Charlie won the trotting match with his old stock pony Twister, and was in great glee at having ridden two winners. The doctor soon arrested his vivid description of the way Twister slid over the ground.

‘I'll make you slide over the ground, Master Charlie, if you don't cease that clatter. Frank is worse than I expected, and must be kept perfectly quiet. Now, Miss Fanny,’ he continued, as she entered the room, ‘I put this invalid under your charge. Do not allow anyone but your stepmother, and perhaps Harry, in till I see him again, and give him his medicine regularly at the times specified on the bottles. I look to you to kill or cure him, according to how you obey my instructions.’

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Of the next few days I remember little save a sense of extreme pain and weariness. Harry afterwards informed me that I was delirious the greater part of the time, and raved about all sorts of t hings, mixing up in an incomprehensible manner racing and love making, the mare Dot and my cousin, Grosvenor and Hurricane. In my raving I had evidently facied that the horse was ridden by Grosvenor, and that he had knocked me over on purpose, and ridden on in triumph to marry Fany My agony was intense. Harry and Fanny had to exert their utmost strength to prevent me jumping out of bed to rush after my rival. The first thing that I remember was the sensation of exquisite comfort and calm that came over me as I heard Fanny's voice, ‘I am here, darling; you were only dreaming,’ and felt her cool, quiet touch as she gently removed the bandages from my fevered head and replaced them with fresh ones. I firmly believe those few kind words had more to do with curing me than all the doctor's treatment put together. It was the first time I had been so affectionately addressed by her, and hence their mystic power. When I completely recovered my senses I could scarcely believe she had used that fond word. I thought it must have been a part, though truly a very pleasant one, of my delirious dream; but no, it stood out in my memory too plainly, her look of pitying love, her low, sweet tone, the rosy blush which suffused her face, previously pale with watching, when she reflected that Harry must have overheard her—all, all assured me that I had not been mistaken. I had long felt that she was beginning to love me as I would have her, but now I was certain that the fulfillment of my hopes of happiness was not far distant. I thanked God, and went off into the only quiet sleep I had enjoyed since the accident; and the next morning, when Fanny came in, I was up and dressed, and so much improved that she exclaimed:

‘You will not want my services much longer. I shall not let you waste your time in a sick room when you ought to be out at work.’

Now I felt was my chance, but should I spoil it, as I had so often done before when trying to approach the same subject with her? I felt very little confidence in my powers of love-making, but I would do my best, bad though it might be.

‘Not require your services any longer?’ I blurted out, seizing her hands. ‘God above us knows there is nothing on earth I require one thousandth part as much as your tender, loving services for the rest of my life. If you will but grant them me it shall be my greatest honour and delight to return them tenfold.’

‘No thank, you, my boy, I don't feel much like wasting my life making gruel for you and forcing it down with a spoon, medicines ditto,’ answered this wilful girl, but the tremor in her bantering voice showed that she was trying to hide her real feelings.

‘Oh, Fanny, do be serious. I know that I don't express myself well, but I mean that I love you with all my heart and soul, and want to hear one little word of encouragement in return.’

‘Well, you shall hear several. You are a nice sort of boy, and I like you very much now you take your food properly’

‘Ah, I see you are only playing with me, as you have always done. I may give up all hopes. I never could understand women. I must give it up. Would to Heaven I had done so long ago!’ This counterfeited bit of agony served its purpose as well as a genuine one would have one.

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‘Yes, Frank, I was playing with you, but will do so no longer, a you seem to take it so to heart.’

‘Then, darling, say may I take you to heart?’

She did not say, but it was immaterial. I did it, and caresses—this time untinged with an atom of cousinliness—passed between us, and we felt, in the exquisite language of Tennyson, that ‘Our spirits rush't together at the touching of our lips.’ Could there possibly be bliss in heaven or on earth compared to mine, as I sat on a comfortable lounge in that cosy little room, and heard her at last own that she loved me more than life itself; as I saw those glorious eyes, lit up with this wonderful love she bore me, gazing tenderly into mine, until the delicate fringes would drop to hide a tear of joy; as I saw that dewy little rosebud of a mouth diffidently raised to meet mine. Now I understood what it was to be intoxicated with joy. Truly, latterly I had been travelling from height to height in this respect. Oh, ye careless ones who crush down the true feelings of the heart, and, flinging ruthlessly aside pure love and affection, marry for a position, for wealth, or any other base motive, ye can neither know nor understand what we felt, and may well say in your well-deserved ignorance,’ ‘This is bosh. This is sentimental nonsense.’ It is as far out of your cold scheming reach as the pure stars above.

In the quiet half-hour that followed before we were disturbed Fanny confided in me that she could now plainly feel that she had loved me best all along (I could hardly have credited this had I not been so deeply in love); but that having accepted Grosvenor in a weak moment, she had imagined that she loved him. Imagination truly goes a long way with young ladies when it has to do with a young man whose appearance pleases, whose purses are reported lengthy, and ancestors titled. Then her pride or obstinacy, call it which you will, had prevented her owning even to herself that had she to choose again, she would have chosen differently. At times she was really disgusted with him, and on several occasions felt very tenderly towards me, she admitted; but my unfortunate manner of pleading my cause by running down my, rival, at once caused her to take his part, and stifle her truer feelings. Here I stopped her further confession by a method of my own, not quite original, and at this moment aunt came in with the quiet step, so natural to her, and so essential in a sick room. She was utterly astonished to see me up and dreased, and looking so much better, and was intensely pleased and amused to note what had evidently taken place.

‘Ah, Fanny, I fancied myself at nursing, but after this I grant you the palm. How exquisitely you have brought back his colour. How did you manage to get him round so quickly?’

‘Now, that's too bad, aunt. I have done nothing to get him round. Indeed, he quite surprised me when he said what he did.’

‘I dare say he did! I dare say he did! Agreeably though, he?’ replied aunt, mischievously enjoying a laugh at her niece's confused mistake and naive confession. ‘Now, be quick and hide your blushes, and perhaps it would look better if you would brush those long black hairs off Frank's coat collar, Fanny, for the doctor will be here in a few minutes.’

The worthy gentleman soon strode in, and looking from one to another of us with his keen, penetrating eyes, felt my pulse, looked at my tongue, then in slow, solemn tones, and without a twinkle in his eye, he slowly prescribed the following advice:—‘The mixture to be page 169 taken, as before, from Miss Fanny's own lips. Best thing out. Wish I had a dose of it. Restores circulation, increases the action of the ‘heart, and raise the tone of the system generally. Shan't come again. Good-bye,’ and the door closed after him.

I was soon about again. Charlie one day brought me a note containing an offer of seventy pounds for Dot, and I determined to let her go, for although she might soon win me more than that, I reflected that, perhaps on the other hand, she might not, and as Fanny had made me promise never to ride her in a race again, there would be no pleasure in running her, for I did not care an atom for the sport unless I could ride my own horses. So I quietly pocketed the price, and adding it to my winnings, and deducting what I had promised Charlie and a very generous fee to the jockey, I expended the balance in purchasing a nice little mob of cattle to turn on the run. I also persuaded uncle to give the jockey a billet, and I did my best to reform him by keeping him as much as possible out of the way of drink.

On informing my uncle that Fanny had at last consented to become my wife at some future date, he did not appear altogether displeased. I raved on about my delight in having caused her bright smiles to return, and similar rhapsodical rubbish.

‘But Frank,’ he asked, bluntly, ‘you can't live on bright smiles. How are you going to live? That's the question.’

‘Well, uncle, we must wait as others have had to do before us; and as for bright smiles, if we can't live on them, I think even you will admit that they make life far more pleasant, won't you?’

‘They do, my boy, they do. Have a little patience. We'll see what's to be done.’

I went back to my lonely hut on the up-country run and commenced work again, but with renewed energy. It was pleasant to see my own cattle grazing with uncle's, and feel that I was reaping no inconsiderable reward for my labours. We had quietly made up our minds that it would be some time before we could marry, as uncle was peremptory on one point, namely, that his daughter should not leave her home until she could go to one nearly as comfortable as the one she quitted.

A few weeks elapsed and Harry's wedding day was fast approaching. One Saturday evening, just after I had arrived, as usual, at the old home, Miss Grave remarked to Fanny, ‘How I do wish we could both be married on the same day. It would be so nice.’

‘Yes, it would be nice, but we must have patience. No chance of such a thing, I should have liked it so much, though,’ replied Fanny, with a sigh.

I was sitting on the sofa behind them looking over an Auckland paper which I had picked up, and they did not think I heard them. The rest came in to tea, and moving up to the table, they called me to take my seat, surprised that I had neglected to get Fanny her chair as usual. But a greater surprise was coming.

‘Hurrah! Bright Smiles are up!’ I shouted out suddenly, in an excited tone, electrifying them all. Every knife dropped, and every gaze centered on me.

‘What on earth is up with the boy?’ Aunt. ‘What do you mean, Frank?’

‘Gone cranky about Bright Smiles. Always raving about 'em,' said uncle, gruffly.

‘Mean, aunt! I mean what I say. “Bright Smiles are up.” They page 170 were only worth a few shillings a share when I bought, now they are worth pounds.’

This was still more inexplicable to all of them except Harry, who was laughing immoderately.

‘It will be “One more lunatic from Wanganui” in the Wellington papers next week, for I'm certain he's off his chump,' ain't you, Frank?’

I now thought it time to explain matters, and told them for the first time of my speculation in the Bright Smile Goldmining Company, and how, when I found it was likely to be a bad one, I had resolved not to say a word about it to anyone. In fact, the whole family took so little interest in the Thames share list reports that they were not even aware there was a mine bearing that name. I immediately sent word to a broker, with whom I was acquainted, to sell out at once. I was quite satisfied with the proceeds of the sale, as they amounted to nearly twenty times as much as I had paid for the same shares, viz., almost two thousand pounds for the one hundred I had invested. This I thought better than holding them on for the dividends which might accrue, should the rise in price prove to be justified by a good find of gold. This, however, was not the case, for it turned out a duffer. There certainly was gold, but comparatively little of it, for the reef of auriferous quartz narrowed as they followed it up till it was pinched into a mere vein by the masses of superincumbent rock. In a few weeks prices were down again. But I had sold. My bad luck, which I had so often anathematized, where was it? It was gone. I showed uncle the cheque when it arrived.

‘There, uncle, a few days since you said we could not live on Bright Smiles. I think we might manage to exist for a while on the proceeds of them, eh?’

I also convinced Fanny that if she liked we could now get married on the same day as our friends, and as the principal part of her trousseau had been already prepared for the former occasion, she agreed that it should be so. Carpenters were set to work, and a neat, weatherboard house erected in front of my bachelor hut, which was to be turned into a kitchen, and various other arrangements made. My uncle, with a generosity worthy of him, had promised to hand over to us on our wedding-day the title deeds of the run I had been lately looking after.

It was raining heavily when I woke on our wedding morning, and continued to do so until ten o'clock. The lamentations were excessive—dresses would be spoilt, for no covered carriages were to be obtained, and other awful consequences would doubtless ensue. But the clouds, which poured their copious discharge on the thirsty earth that morning, had something better than the proverbial silver lining; they had a golden one, and when we saw it we heard no more of spoilt dresses, but a good deal about ‘the beautiful day, and how exquisitely the rain had cooled the air.’

At my particular request my brother-in-law, Stubbs, had persuaded a clerical friend to discharge his duties, and again braved the briny ocean and its concomitant terrors to take part in the interesting ceremony. The church was even more elaborately decorated than on a former occasion. If all those flowers the children had in their baskets were to be dropped on our path as we marched out, we should have some trouble wading through them. Smiling faces of kind friends greeted us on all sides. Fanny and I were married first, Harry acting page 171 as my best man; then Charlie did the same duty for him. The service on this occasion went on without an interruption from start to finish, our old friend, the clergyman, performing it, assisted by the Rev. Walter Stubbs. We drove back to the house with four greys in the waggon. Charlie had been industriously engaged of late in breaking in a pair of grey leaders so that we might do it in style. My luck in New Zealand had reached its climax.

* * * * * * * *

And now we have followed the changing fortunes of myself and friends so far on the river of life, and have got them safely past that bar, which, if taken when the smiling sun of love is shining, the waters calm, and all things propitious, and the trusty pilot, conscience, assures us it is safe, then a favourable voyage may be faithfully expected. But if the discordant elements of unholy motives—of love of wealth, or position are ascendant, the sun of love entirely obscured by black clouds of worldliness, or the storms and gusts of unworthy passion, and conscience signals the bar unsafe, then most assuredly the chances are there will be a total wreck, or the barque will be so strained and battered by the conflicting breakers, that the rest of the journey will be but poorly performed.

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