What He Cost Her

Chapter I. Wellingtons In Embryo

Above all the sounds that human ingenuity has invented to stir the heart of man, the bugle-call stands pre-eminent. It does not require for its appreciation imagination in the hearer, nor a particular phase of mind, nor a taste for music. The very charger pricks his ears and dilates his nostrils as he listens to it; and through the misty morning air it rings its reveille bright and clear, and spirit-stirring as the " breezy call of incense breathing morn " itself. And yet there was no sound so hateful to the gentlemen-cadets of the Military Academy at Woolwich, when it awoke them for extra drill. We are speaking, it must be premised, of a far, vol. i. B WE AT EE COST HER. far-back time — not in years, indeed, but as respects the progress of Humanity, which, as every body knows, has taken such prodigious strides of late as to leave, not only our forefathers, but our very fathers, aghast at the perfection of their descendants.

We have no doubt that in these days the bugle-call to early drill, being the call of duty—albeit a disagreeable one — is eagerly wel comed by the Woolwich cadet. He has doubtless marched step by step with the rest of the great army of our youth — and presumably in much better time — on the road to what one of the greatest philosophers of the age has denominated " bestness," ancl is highly principled, deeply religious, though competitive — " a Christian first and a gentleman afterAvards ; " in brief, a sort of personified " Whole Duty of Man," gilt-edged, and bound in dark blue, and always pronounced by his reviewer, who is the Commander-in-Chief, " in habit studious, and in conduct exemplary." We all know the story of that unconsciously cynical child, who asked of his mamma in the churchyard, "Where are all the bad people buried ?

" and, like him, when I read the narra tives, put forth nowadays, descriptive of our young gentlemen at school — all, I suppose, more or less trustworthy — I am tempted to incpiire, " Where are all the bad boys brought up ? " WELLINGTONS IN EMBRYO. 3 What becomes of them ? Is the race extinct or do they all run away to 'sea, as only the very Avorst of them used to clo, ancl become "* stow aways " in over-insured ancl presently-to-be scuttled vessels ? The question becomes as interesting as that of " hybernation " used to be in White-of-Selborne's time. They are not here. Where have they got to ? Even if one offered a reAvard for a bad boy — we are speaking, of course, of boys of the upper classes only, though even the lower ones are being made angels of by the school boards at the rate of a thousand a week — we doubt whether we should secure a specimen.

At the period of which we write, the good boy was about as rare a creature as the kingfisher or the otter ; while the goody-goody boy, now so common as to be some what obtrusive, was almost as unknoAvn as the dodo. One or tAvo of these latter, driven by stress of circumstances, Avere indeed known to stray into the very spot we are now describing — the Royal Military Academy at Woolwich ; but they AA'ere treated Avith such barbarity by the aborigines, Avho had a distaste amounting to fanaticism for anything of the sort, that they fled away immediately, or perished as martyrs. It is half-past five on a fine summer morning, and the sun is shining brightly into a high, B WEAT EE COST EEE. AA'hite-walled apartment, in wliich Gentleman cadet Cecil Henry Landon, " head of the room," and three others are lying, each on their "narrow beds " of iron, after the pattern of that patro nised by the great Duke of Wellington, whose well-known figure, with uplifted finger, Avas at that epoch still to be seen in London streets.

They are asleep, and therefore out of mischief; nor do their upturned faces, even in that poAver ful light, exhibit any signs of marked deformity. That of Landon is a very handsome one, though the handsomest part of it, his soft hazel eyes, are at present closed. His features are regular, and, if rather large, it must be said in their excuse that he is a tall young fellow. He has symptoms of a dark moustache, upon which the military authorities have already passed censure — for in those days moustachios were not per mitted except to the cavalry — ancl on his sun burnt cheeks there is that amount of clown, for the removal of AA'hich wags recommend the cat's tongue instead of the razor. One arm, as white as a girl's and as strong as a navvy's, is thrown upon the coverlet, and with the other he supple ments the pillow, AA'hich is of " regulation " size — that is, about half the proper dimensions.

There is a smile upon his face, so let us hope he is dreaming of his mother, who has, however WELLINGTONS IN EMBEYO. 5 been dead these ten years, and does not recur very often to his Avaking thoughts. In the next corner — all the beds are placed in the angles of the room, as though they were playing at puss in the corner— lies Hugh Darall, Landon's chief friend and ally. In character they are the antipodes of one another, which is, perhaps, one of the bonds of their friendship. Darall is diligent and painstaking, ancl, though a year junior to his friend, is much more distinguished as a student. It is almost time for Landon to pass for his commission, and he will doubtless do so when that period arrives, for he has plenty of brains ; but he will not take a high place. He is too fond of pleasure to have much time for study ; and he regrets his backwardness for one reason only — he will be in the artillery, whereas Darall is " safe to get the sappers " {the engineers), Avhich will deprive him of his companionship.

The trifling advantage in the way of pay that the one service offers above the other is of no consequence to Landon, who is the only son of a rich City merchant ; but it is of great importance to Darall, who is the only son of his mother, who is a poor widow. Darall is a strong, well-built young fellow, but not so handsome as his friend ; his complexion WEAT EE COST SEE. 6 is one of those delicate ones wliich will not take the sun-burn, ancl his hair is of that colour which, though it grows tawny with years, has in youth a fluffy appearance. A disciple of Lavater would, however, give this lad the preference over his felloAv in the way of moral qualities : his mouth is firmer, his chin is squarer, and his blue eyes, as they open for a moment Avhile the bugle blares and shrills in the parade-ground without, are much more steadfast.

For a moment they open, as clo those of the other two occupants of the apartment — younger lads, who are in subjection to their seniors — then close in serene content. Those three are in the happy position of that retired naval officer, Avho made his servant call him at some small number of " bells " every morning, that he might have the pleasure of throwing a boot at him, and going to sleep again. They had not to get up ; whereas Landon Avas in for "extra drill." His eyes remain open, and in his reluctant ears the martial music continues to blare on. "Confound the bugle!" exclaims he, pas sionately ; then puts forth a hand to the socks upon the chair beside him, and proceeds to attire himself in his regimentals. Even they are old-Avorld and forgotten uoav ; somethin"- WELLINGTONS IN EMBRYO. 7 between the famous "Windsor uniform" and that of the telegraph boys — light-blue trousers with a red stripe; a dark-blue coat, turned up with red, and with metal buttons ; and a reaUy becoming forage-cap with a gold band.

If anybody is ever good-looking at 5.45 A.M., and before he has washed himself, Cecil Henry Landon might claim to be so, as he stands equipped for drill. He has a minute or two stUl to spare, and " never waste time " is the family motto engraved upon his gold watch. He takes up the regulation pillow, ancl, moving towards Darall, poises it above his head ; but a troubled look in the sleeper's face arrests his attention, and causes him to change his purpose. " No, Hugh, you shall sleep on," he mutters ; " this wUl be an ugly day for you — a monstrous unpleasant case of ' yes ' or ' no ' you avUI have to settle — and it shan't trouble you before it is time. But as for these young beggars "■ — and he turned rather savagely to wards the two younger lads — "it is not to be endured that they should be thus enjoying themselves while their senior officer — at least, I was an officer till the governor broke me — encounters aU the hardships of his profession."

At the middle syUable of the word pro- WE AT EE COST SER, 8 session, he brought the pillow down with a thAvack upon the nose of the nearest sleeper. « Eh— Avhat the deA'il ! Oh, it's you, Landon ! " exclaimed the suddenly-aAvakened youth, running the whole gamut of expression from wrath to conciliation in a breath. " Yes ; it's me, Trotter," answered the other, mimicking; "ain't I a second father to you? Here you aro oversleeping yourself ancl running the risk of arrest, AA'hen the bugle is just going to sound for the second time for extra drill." " But I'm not cIoaati for extra drill," ex postulated Trotter. " Then you're a deuced lucky fellow," observed Landon, coolly. " It must be this lazy Whymper that Avants to be Avoke ;" and, with a sharp and adroit movement, Avhich shoAved practice in the art, he pulled away the pillow, on which the other young gentleman was sleep ing the sleep of innocence — or at all events of forgetfulness of his crimes — and brought his head down, with a bang, upon the iron frame work of the bed.

" Hullo — oh dear me — did you please to Avant anything, Landon ?" said Whymper, rubbing his eyes and the back of his head coin cidently, yet at the same time contriving to present a respectful air. WELLINGTONS IN EMBRYO. 9 " Yes, I clo. I want to know what the deuce you mean by destroying the property of Her Majesty's Master- General of the Ordnance by dashing your thick head against your bed bars ; I clo believe you have obliterated the broad arrow. There's the second bugle ! It's too late now for you to be at extra drill, you young sluggard." « "But, indeed, Landon, though I am much obliged to you for waking me, I am not doAvn for What an abominable ruffian ! Did you ever see such an unmitigated beast, Trotter ? " The last part of the sentence was spoken by Gentleman-cadet Whymper, after Gentleman cadet Landon had rushed from the room to the parade-ground, and in a tone that bore every mark of genuineness and deep feeling.

The speaker was a fat and rosy youth, with projecting eyes, which had gained for him the, appellation of the Lobster. " Your sentiments are mine,' Lobby, to a T," responded Trotter, whose frame was still quiver ing with mirth at his companion's discomfiture ; " but let us be thankful that our friend is uoav being tormented by two drill-sergeants Avhile we are lying at ease." " But I am not at ease," answered the other WHAT HE COST HER. testily; "I have a lump on my head as big as a hen's egg." " WeU, let me be thankful, Lobby, and have my sleep out;" ancl without waiting for the desired permission, off he went at once into the land of dreams. Gentleman-cadet Whymper picked up his bolster, but found it little to his liking; the lump in his head had become one of the finest organs that ever met the eye of a phrenologist.

" Confound that Landon ! " exclaimed he passionately ; " of all the vile, abominable, and hateful wretches — of all the monsters in human form — if you can call him human — I do think " " Who is it that you are talking about, sir V inquired the authoritative voice of Senior cadet DaraU, whom Landon's onslaught upon the two " neuxes," as the last-joined cadets were called, had awakened, in spite of his solicitude to avoid disturbing him. " I was thinking of those infamous scoundrels who mauled poor Bright and Jefferson, at Charlton Fair, yesterday," observed the Lobster, in his most dulcet tone. Darall smiled lugubriously. The smUe, and, WELLINGTONS IN EMBRYO. 11 perhaps, the melancholy also, encouraged Mr. Whymper to continue the conversation. " I suppose, Darall, there is to be no change in the arrangements for two o'clock drill to-day ; we are to obey orders ?" ' Whose orders ?

" inquired the other dryly, " those of the officer in command, or of the old cadets ? " " Of the old cadets, of course," answered the Lobster. He had not only come out of his shell by this time, and was all softness, but was in addition, as it were, oiled, as if for a mayonnaise ; " no one cares about the officers, I should hope." " Why I expect to be an officer myself, you young scoundrel, or at least to go down to the Arsenal, Avithin the next six months." " Oh, then of course that will be different," answered the other unblushingly. " If all the officers Avere like you, nobody Avould wish to disobey them. It is only the governor and the captain of the company, and those two dis gusting lieutenants " " One of them is my first cousin, sir," in terrupted Darall, sternly. " Nay, I like that one ; we all like that one," observed Whymper obsequiously; "it is the other that is such a beast."

WEAT EE COST SEE. 12 " Which of the two lieutenants of the Cadet Company do you call a beast, Mr. Whymper ? " Mr. Whymper was to the last degree dis concerted. The chances Avere exactly even that he should get himself into a hole, by picking out the wrong lieutenant. But fortunately for him, Darall was a good-natured fellow, slow to anger, and with a touch of humour Avhich — except in the case of great A'illains, when it takes a grim ancl cruel form — has always a softening influence upon character. He Avas called by the younger cadets, or " snookers " — the poor creatures had many a derogatory alias — " Gentleman Darall," and by his contemporaries, we are afraid some what in derision, "the Snookers' Friend." It Avas not, hoAvever, his friendliness that protected Mr. Whymper on this occasion so much as his indifference.

He seemed to have forgotten that he had put that crucial question about his first cousin at all, ancl was gazing earnestly out of the AvindoAV, through which came the abrupt sounds of command from the drill-ground, as though the familiar AA'ords had some new interest for him. " There avUI be a precious lot of extra drill, I expect, after to-day's business ? " observed Whymper interrogatively. For a neux to ask frivolous questions of an old cadet was in general a dangerous imperti- WELLINGTONS IN EMBEYO. 13 nence — something like playing Avith a tiger's tail; but there Avas a certain fascination about it to Mr. Whymper, Avho belonged to that large order of persons who had rather the king said to them, " Go to the devil," than receive no notice from majesty Avhatever ; and, moreover, this tiger Avas a tame tiger.

"I suppose so," answered Darall, abstractedly. " Ancl are Ave to remain at the fair till night, or return for evening parade ? " continued the other. " One might just as well be hung for a sheep as a lamb, ancl I shall certainly vote for staying. " " You vote ! " ejaculated Darall, in a tone of scorn equal to a folio. No Tory peer could have uttered " You vote ! " to a costermonger Avith more contempt. You Avould have imagined that Gentleman-cadet Whymper was not a vertebrate animal, and indeed he wished himself a snail that he might have had a shell to creep into. It did not mitigate his embarrassment to perceive his friend Trotter alive to the situation, and making faces at him expressive of lively enjoy ment of it. "This is Avhat comes, my dear fellow," said the faces, " of ' sponging,' " a word indicative, in the Royal Military Academy, of an attempt to conciliate one's superiors, and of such extensive application there that any devotional WHAT EE COST SEE. observance, or rather the bare idea of it, Avas stigmatised as " sponging on Providence."

The return of Landon from extra drill at that moment was a positive relief to Mr. Whymper, notwithstanding that that gentleman's presence generally brought some inconvenience Avith it, as indeed it did on the present occasion. " Now you snookers ! " cried he, skimming his forage-cap, with skilful accuracy, on Mr. Trotter's nose, and unbuckling his belt Avith a certain vicious snap, the significance of which was weU understood by those whom he addressed ; " it's a lovely morning, and you must go out and enjoy it. 'Better to hunt the field for health unbought, than fee the doctor for a nauseous draught,' says the poet. I want to have some private talk with Darall." Neither young gentleman needed any further recommendation of this healthful suggestion, but each — with his eyes furtively fixed upon the belt, Avhich seemed to have a sort of basilisk attraction for them — rose from his couch, and commenced his toilette.

" You can Avash afterwards," observed Landon curtly; "go and stand under the window, and Avhen I chuck the soap-dish or something at you, then you will know that you may come upstairs again. WELLINGTONS IN EMBEYO. 15 " All right," said Trotter, as he vanished through the door. " Thank you very much," said Whymper, meaning doubtless to acknowledge the considera tion of Landon's arrangement. A clothes-brush from that gentleman's unerring hand hissed through the air, and smote his retreating figure as he followed his more agile companion.

Chapter II. The Tempter

" What a Avretched sneak and sycophant that Whymper is," ejaculated Landon, as he sat down by his friend's pillow. " Hoav can it be otherAvise under such a system," observed the other coldly. " He will be open and brutal enough, you may be sure, when he conies to have the upper hand." " Well, the system is good enough for me, Hugh, so long as it lasts, which will not be very long in my case. I only hope it Avon't be equally short in yours ; that is what I am going to talk to you about." " So I guessed," answered Darall, gravely. " I am obliged to you, my clear sello av, for I know you mean me well ; but all the talkinoin the world Avon't help me — that is if this Charlton business is to go on." TEE TEMPTEE. 17 " Well, I am afraid it is. Those two young beggars — Bright and What's-his-name — really got it very hot from the Fair people.

The neAvs from hospital is that What's-his-name's leg is broken." "Jefferson's? I am sorry for it; but I don't believe he was Avorse beaten than when Rayner thrashed him Avith a Avicket the other day." " Very likely not ; but then that Avas ad ministered by authority." " Authority ! " echoed Darall, impatiently. *' He was beaten Avithin an inch of his life, because Rayner has a bad temper, and happens to have been at ' the shop ' a certain number of years." "Just so, he is an old cadet, a position whicli •confers certain privileges. Old families are looked up to in the country, and their cadets permitted to do pretty much what they please upon ex actly the same ground. They haA'e existed a certain number of years, and that is put down to their credit. One can't preA'ent people being idiots."

" We needn't make the world worse than it is, Landon, that is my argument. HoAvever, I don't 'want to debate the matter. It is probable, as you say, that after to-day's work you and I may not have any personal interest in any system in vogue in this Academy. It will be very little VOL. I. C satisfaction to my poor mother to knoAV that the roughs at Charlton Fair have been paid out for what they have done to Bright and Jefferson, when she learns at the same time that I have lost my chance in life." " Pooh, pooh, Darall, you Avon't lose it. I shaU lose it, of course ; I have had too many bad marks against me, already, to alloAv of old Pipeclay giving me quarter. He will be glad of the opportunity of getting rid of me. But you — why, you are a pattern cadet. If they send you away, where are their good young gentlemen to come from ?

He daren't clo it. I don't think he avUI even put you back on the list ; for he must put others in front of you, avIio will have transgressed as much as yourself, ancl Avithout half so good a character. He Avon't make a corporal of Whymper, for instance, I suppose ; if he does, I'll throttle the fellow the very first time I see him in his embroidered collar." " That Avould help me a good deal," said Darall, bitterly. " Well, it would, you know, because it would make a vacancy, and discourage others from superseding you. But, seriously, I think you needn't be apprehensive of anything serious." " Sir Hercules told me only last week," said Darall, slowly, " that he looked to me to set a TEE TEMPTEE. 19 good example, and that if I failed him, by com mitting any act of insubordination, he would be down upon me more than on others, since it was plain that I knew better."

" That's Avhat comes of being virtuous," observed Landon, gravely. " He never ventured to threaten me in that way. Give old Pipeclay an inch — in the way of good conduct — and he's apt to expect an eU. Therefore I never gave him so much as a barley-corn. Nobody, can say I have not been prudent in that way. I have aroused no expectations from the first. I came into " the Shop " low in my batch — played under my game as it were — on purpose that I might always take it easy as to work ; and as to morals — I have not left a great deal of margin. I was made an under-ofiicer, only to be broken the next fortnight, ancl have got into all sorts of rows besides. But; then, my dear felloAv, you have ne idea how I have enjoyed myself ! " The naivete" of this remark, uttered as it was in a tone of cheerful frankness, brought a smile into Darall's face in spite of himself.

It was hard to be angry with Landon ; even the neuxes (with one or two exceptions, however) admired this handsome, reckless young fellow, full of gaiety and good spirits, and forgot his sharp treatment more quickly than they forgave that c of others. It had always somewhat of the flaA'our of a practical joke. " You have a happy nature, Landon," said Darall, Avith a half sigh ; " and, besides, you are in a position to clo as you like. If you were ' bunked ' to-morroAv, it would make no difference to you — or very little." " Well, no ; I do believe that the governor — I don't mean old Pipeclay, but my governor — Avould be rather pleased than otherwise to hear 1 was expelled, as in that case there Avould be some chance of my becoming a business man. But it avUI be a horrid bore for me ; the notion of a high desk, Avith a box full of red wafers — they use Avafers in that hole in the City, for I have seen them — ledgers, day-books, and mail-days, is any thing but agreeable to me.

But there, what is my trouble, as you are doubtless thinking, com pared Avith yours ? " " No, Landon, I am making no comparisons. But Avhat makes it very bitter to me is the thought that my prospects — and someone else's (one's mother is one's mother, you knoAv) — are about to be sacrificed for a shadow, if indeed there is a shadow of cause for it. This Charlton business has ahvays been prohibited, since thc last row there five years ago. These two youno rascals knew it ; knew how we were hated — and THE TEMPTER, 21 not without reason — -by the Fair people ; and yet they must go there and kick up a toav. If the truth Avere known, they doubtless deserved all they got." " I have no doubt they did," ansAvered the other with mock gravity, " but the insult must be avenged. Bex is quite fixed upon that point. ' The honour of the Avhole Cadet Company,' said he, at our meeting of the heads of rooms last night, 'is at stake, and must be preserved at any cost' You knoAV what an enormous fool Bex is, and can imagine his manner.

I was called to order for laughing at it ! " " I can easily believe that," ansAvered Darall, gloomily. " I must say for Bex, hoAvever," continued Landon, " that he sacrifices himself to his notion of esprit de corps. For being the senior cadet of the Company, who will giAre us the word of com mand to disobey standing orders, he is quite certain to get his conge. It is a case of very determined suicide indeed." " I don't suppose Bex has anybody dependent upon him, as I have," observed Darall, coldly. " I should think not," answered Landon ; " it would be altogether contrary to the fitness of things that anyone should be dependent upon Bex. The Cadet Company Avill lose in him the WEAT EE COST SEE. soul of (mistaken) chivalry, though not one pennyweight of common sense. But as for you, Darall, it can't afford to lose you; and I have a plan to preserve you to it.

Look here, my good feUoAV, you must go down to hos pital." " Go down to hospital ! " repeated DaraU ; " what for ? " " Because you are very ill. You have not been able to sleep all night for neuralgia ; that's always the safest thing, being invisible, un comeatable — and also because they know nothing about it— to stump the doctors. You have been suffering torments from neuralgia, as I will certify upon the Evangels, if my word as a gentleman-cadet should prove insufficient. There are tAvo Avitnesses — there they are under the window — Avho avUI corroborate my testimony in every particular, or I will know the reason why. Not, of course, that any such evidence will be necessary. A man of your character and ante cedents has only to say to the medical officer, ' I have neuralgia,' and off you go — in a litter if you like — to Ward No. 2 ; it looks out upon the garden, and there's a man on the premises, I know, who avUI send you up some rum-shrub in a basket.

You can come back again to-morrow, when all this business is over — TEE TEMPTER. 23 why shouldn't you? neuralgia comes and goes in an hour — and be complimented by old Pipeclay, perhaps by the Master of the Ordnance himself, for not having ' sullied a career of promise by so flagrant a disobedience of orders as, he was sorry to say, has disgraced nineteen twentieths of your contemporaries.' The sen tence would be much longer, but that's his style. Then, so far from being placed lower cIoavu in the list for promotion, you will be at the top of it — vice Bex himself, perhaps, ancl a precious good thing for everybody too." " And do you really think, Landon, that I am the kind of fellow to get out of a difficulty of this kind by a paltry evasion — that I would stoop to 'malinger' and sham " " I say ' easy over the stones,' my dear fellow," put in Landon, gravely.

" I've shammed half-a dozen times myself to get off church-parade and lots of things." " Perhaps ; but not to avoid the responsi bility of doing right — or wrong. If I had the pluck to say, ' This going clown to Charlton Fair is contrary to orders, and therefore I won't do it,' that would be all very well " " Oh, would it ? " interrupted Landon, dis dainfully. " It would be one of the most contemptible attempts at sponging that ever happened. WHAT EE COST SER. 24 A thing that Whymper would have done, and I hope only Whymper amongst us all." "I am not so sure that it would not be the right thing, Landon," continued the other ; " I o oJ ** mean, as respects one's regimental duty. How ever, I am not strong enough — or Aveak enough, if you will — to adopt such a course. On the other hand, I ask you again, do you think I am the sort of man to shirk a great clanger, and at the same time get an advantage over my com panions, by an acted lie ?