An Oak of Chivaby

Front matter

F._ MRS. JOHN PROCTER "A very oak of chivalry." Tennyson OLonbon DIGBY, LONG & CO., PUBLISHERS 1 8 Bouverie Street, Fleet Street, E.C. Zo MY DEAR MOTHER AND MANY SCENES AND MEMORIES CONTENTS CHAPTER PA_- I. The Garden Scene . ... 9 II. Good-bye, Sweetheart . . . . 18 III. Snares and Victims . . . . 30 IV. "The Girl I left behind Me" . . . 38 V. Drawing a Blank . . . . 42 VI. Love's Golden Dream . . . . 50 VII. The old Seyton War-cry, "Set on!" . . 57 VIII. Nightshade and Bryony . . . . 64 IX. Gibes . . . • ■ • 7S X. Fair Devonia . . ... 81 XI. In Bridal Array. . . . . 85 XII. Sans Tache . . • • • 93 XIII. Hero and Heroine . ... 103 XIV. The Darling of the Court . . .114 XV. The Light of other Days . . .123 XVI. The Morning Star . ... 132 XVII. Belladonna . . ... 142 XVIII. The Braes of Derwent . . . . 150 XIX.

The Magic Spell . . . . 162 XX. An Unappropriated Blessing . . .174 XXI. Northwards . . . . . 186 XXII. Sparring . . ... 192 XXIII. Sir Lancelot of the Lake , . . 197 XXIV. Divided . . . ... 206 XXV. By the River . , , . . CONTENTS VIII CHAPTER PAGE XXVI. Christmas Roses . . . 221 XXVII. The Queen's Letter .228 XXVIII. True till Death . . ■ 235 XXIX. Past and Present . . .247 XXX. Coals of Fire . • 253 XXXI. Henbane on the Crater . 261 XXXII. Amico Mio . . ... 267 XXXIII. Aut Cæsar aut Nihil . ... 280 XXXIV. Mignonette . . 288 XXXV. The Meet . 295 XXXVI. Adieu, Northumbria . 300 XXXVII. Pressure . . . 309 XXXVIII. Widowhood . . 3 15 XXXIX. On the Riviera . . 322 XL. Noontide . ... 332 XLI. After long Years . ...

Chapter I. The Garden Scene

WHAT was the song? Who the singer? That he — for it was a baritone — had an unusually rich and powerful voice was evident. 1 ' I think of all thou art to me, I dream of what thou canst not be ; My life is curst with thoughts of thee For ever and for ever ! ' ' Perchance, if we had never met, I had been spared this mad regret, This endless striving to forget, For ever and for ever ? " Ah ! no ! I could not bear the pain Of never seeing thee again ; I cling to thee with might and main For ever and for ever ! " Ah ! leave me not ! I love but thee ; Blessing or curse which e'er thou be. O ! be as thou hast been to me For ever and for ever ! " Passion and pathos rang in every note of that rich, melodious voice, quivering as it fondly dwelt with mingled love and pain on the sweet lines he sang, then ceased with a sigh of intense sadness.

The bow-window of the drawing-room was open to admit the breeze of a sultry June morning, and the words floated distinctly on the calm air to a lady gathering roses in the garden. She was an imposing personage, every inch thoroughbred, from her small feet to her white hands flashing with gems. Snowy hair, dressed a la Pompadour, keen blue eyes, and an aquiline nose gave dignity to a regal deportment, while an exquisitely fitting black dress was evidence to her love of fashion ; but a haughty frown contracted her brow as she exclaimed, "Ridiculous!" "The song, or the singist?" Mrs. Langley met the merry eyes of a young man who stood beside her. "I mean the singing; perhaps, more correctly speaking, the person who sings." " Why can't he amuse himself as he likes," retorted Arthur Langley, " and ' dally on ' the primrose path ?

" "Your vulgar habit of quotation is very objectionable to me, Arthur ; it reminds me of a Mechanic's Institute." Her son laughed. " I see no cause for merriment," his mother continued ; "it is perfectly intolerable that Major Chichester should presume to make love, as it is called, to your sister, especially when he is well aware she is all but engaged." " If she is, it is your doing. Vera doesn't care a rap for I'Anson : he is rich and you are ambitious ; allow me to say, you stand in her light." " Of all human ingratitude, the hardest to bear is from one's own children. I have been fighting with difficulties, worries, and injustice until I have no more strength or energy left, and then you revile me with selfishness. I am ashamed of you, Arthur." " Come, come, mother, draw it mild : why this deeply rooted aversion to Chichester ?

" " Because I rate my daughter high. Mr. I'Anson is as handsome a man as a girl can desire, is rich, and owns extensive collieries. What set-off has your friend to offer but a red tunic and an ugly pug face ? " " You are sarcastic," replied Arthur, angrily. " Cannot your heart for once dominate your head ? " " I cannot expect you to enter into a mother's feelings ; but, at least, spare them," Mrs. Langley answered with frosty dignity. " Vera will never, with my consent, throw herself away." "Yes, yes; but if she prove un peu difficilel She has 'a touch of your condition, madam, and will not brook the accent of reproof.' " Mrs. Langley looked annoyed. " I suppose you consider you have given a Roland for an Oliver, but I intend her to occupy a good position, nor will I be thwarted. I have given her the best education I could possibly afford, and crippled myself to do so ; she is proficient in music, painting, languages, and all those minor acquirements calculated to make her shine in Society.

Her birth, at least on my side the house, is unquestionable. I don't, of course, insinuate anything derogatory to your late father's family, which is highly respectable ; but I never forget I have the blood of the old noblesse of France, nor will I allow my child to lower herself by an unworthy alliance with a man who cannot rub two sixpences together." "Just so, and you have a neat Uttle income and a Government pension]" said Arthur, significantly. "Cannot you employ the town crier to lower my position?" answered Mrs. Langley, angrily. "We argue in a circle," her son rephed with equal warmth. "You want I'Anson for greed of riches; I pretty well guess the game. I admit he is a perfect gentleman — a university man — has lots of tin, and will come down handsomely in settlements, &c, &c." — with emphasis — "and— well — he is a trifle gay."

" Marriage will sober him." Mrs. Langley spoke incisively. " Cela depend. Chichester would remain the steadfast friend he is if he became the greatest commander in Europe." " Many stand between Major Chichester and that exalted post," Mrs. Langley answered, with a hard laugh. " I have yet to learn he has the genius of Marlborough or Wellington, not mentioning lesser hghts." "The Victoria Cross and the Ribbon of the Bath are not to be despised," Arthur retorted. " Where could you find a more genial, genuine fellow ; he is kindness and generosity to a fault." " I dislike the man ; he is playing a double game : my instinct is unerring," replied Mrs. Langley, with proud insistence. The piano began again. Vera was singing the well known French romance so popular with Russians : " Si vous n'avez rien a me dire, Pourquoi venir aupres de moi ?

Pourquoi me faire ce sourire Qui tournerait la tete au roi ? " Si vous n'avez rien a m'apprendre, Pourquoi me pressez vous la main Sur le reve angelique et tendre Auquel vous songez au chemin ? " Si vous voulez que je m'en ailie, Pourquoi passez-vous par ici ? Lorsque je vous vois, je tressaille, C'est ma joie et c'est mon souci." " If he had aspired to your cousin Esme it would have been suitable, and I should not have been surprised," Mrs. Langley resumed, ignoring her son's encomiums ; "she is really a very likely girl, and decidedly taking." " But he does not take to my cousin Esme, though she would, as the French say, 'jump to the eyes.' For my own part, I can't imagine why you should plant out Vera among the Border frumps. County society is excessively exclusive and confoundedly slow."

"You only look to the present moment, Arthur. The FAnson's are very wealthy, they fairly roll in money ; and, for your own sake, think what such a connection means. Anyway, Mr. I'Anson is not sentimental, and your friend is." " I don't think you need distress yourself, dear Auntie," said a tall, fair girl, elegantly attired in pink, who approached them ; "if I am not greatly mistaken in my estimate of Major Chichester's character, he is not a marrying man, except for an interested motive he poses for a nineteenth century Lancelot. I don't place faith in this immaculate knight, for, having lived the life he has, it is improbable he has gone through the world without swearing devotion to a Guinevere." " You believe him to be either a regular woman-hater, a misogynist — like the poor King of Bavaria, which I am sure he is not — or is entangled with one, therefore in eligible for others, as he may not, cannot, dare not, free himself?" questioned Mrs. Langley.

The girl laughed, her picture face aglow with meaning. "Vera is an innocent girl and romantic," she said, after a pause. " Romantic ! nonsense," replied Mrs. Langley, sharply. "I have brought her up in French ideas; marriages of sentiment are most unreliable. You would have been more fit for this man, my dear ; your mind is too well regulated to have notions of romance and being a first love ; so if, as you say, he has a past, you would over look it." Esme' Preston made no reply ; it had been her ambition to enslave Gerald Chichester, but her Argus eyes saw he cared more for Vera's little finger than for her whole body. To be the wife of a celebrity, if only to derive reflected lustre, had an unconquerable fascination to her order of mind. She was a clever, scheming, up-to-date girl, and saw a career for him opening in the future ; she gauged his abilities acutely, and recognized the stuff which makes an English soldier a hero ; so she resolved, with Machiavelian policy, to crush the faintest spark of liking her aunt might be led to feel for him.

She would assist her very utmost to hurry on the marriage with I'Anson to keep an open field for herself. " It 's humbug, Esme ; you want him yourself," said Arthur, bluntly to the point. " II " she cried, with well-feigned scorn ; " how many shillings a day am I to live on ? " " The grapes are sour because they are above your reach ; you're pretty, but not his style, my cousin." "You are rude, Arthur," said Mrs. Langley, as Esme walked away in displeasure ; " but I am really vexed he does not pay court to her. When Vera is married, Esme will be a permanent fixture here, and she cannot aspire to a bon parti like I'Anson." Vera had finished singing. "You surpassed yourself in that song," said a loud, resonant voice, evidently owned by the first singer — a cheery, ringing, hilarious voice, whose musical though manly tones rejoiced the heart.

"You could have made your fortune in opera ; you have more than talent — genius." " Marchesi told me in Paris I had le don." " If you had been a public favourite, you would have scorned my admiration." The words were simple, the tone a caress. Between these two had been love at first sight — that strange, inexplicable fact so often ridiculed as theory by the prosaic, yet so true; and he knew without her, life was empty to him — " all other women shadows." Just passing on a public promenade, while the band of his regiment was playing, their eyes met; and, unconscious of each other's names, they loved : he determined to seek her out and obtain an introduction; then Mrs. Langley barred the gate. It was a short romance, but a pathetic one. "The light which lies In woman's eyes Was his undoing.' Sir Arthur Helps says, "Love at first sight is the surest love, and for this reason — that it does not depend on any one merit or quality, but embraces in its view the whole being.

That is the love likely to last — incom prehensible, indefinable, unarguable about." "Who can tell when we shall meet again?" he said, in the persuasive, melodious tones, which thrilled her heart; "you will probably be Mrs. I'Anson." " In a hundred years it will be all the same," she answered unsteadily, for being a maiden she had yet to learn to conceal her emotion. " Do you beheve Doctor Johnson spoke truly, " that marriages arranged by the Lord Chancellor would be as happy as they are now?" he asked, fixing his deep blue eyes earnestly on her. " I have no experience," she answered, turning over the music hurriedly. "Anyway, Mr. I'Anson ought to be very proud to have found such a nice wife," he said. " You are too flattering." " It is not flattery, for I mean it. You have my best my most sincere wishes for your happiness."

Major Chichester's voice shook with suppressed feeling ; but he continued with a visible effort at calmness " He is a lucky dog, and I envy him." Your mother tells me he has wealth to give you all your heart can desire. You have made a wise choice ; you are not fit for a poor man's wife ; ' love in a cottage ' is a delusion — ' when poverty comes in at the door, love flies out at the window ' ; that is a sentiment worthy of Mrs. Langley." Major Chichester twisted a handsome gipsy ring, set with diamonds and rubies, on his little finger, as if deliberating with his thoughts, then leaned over the piano; his blue eyes gazed into Vera's with unutterable love, for it was his last chance ; he was leaving in a few hours, and he forgot all his resolution in the passion which consumed him. Prudence had flown to the winds ; burning words hovered on his lips which would have changed the current of two lives, when Esme, with her dainty personality and flower-like face, like a Dresden shepherdess, entered at the open window. E

Chapter II. Good-bye

SWEETHEART! THE first impression of the drawing-room at The Cedars was, " How beautiful ! " This glorious June morning it looked its best from the subdued light of the grey and red sun-awnings which stretched over the balcony, giving on a closely-shaven lawn of velvet turf. The garden was gay with flower beds ; masses of heliotropes scented the balmy air ; scarlet geraniums, bordered with blue lobelia, suggested the Guards' colours ; Gloire de Dijon and Devoniensis roses twined over floral arches ; and lines of golden calceolarias added a brilliancy to the background of thick shrubs, beyond which there was a distant view of the blue waters of the English Channel sparkling in the summer sunshine, bounded by red sandstone cliffs clothed with greenery. The room itself was crowded with costly bibelots, everything in perfect harmony with its surroundings, the whole " composing well," in art jargon, as a scene for a genre painter; an interior which poor Bastien Lepage would have delighted to reproduce ; choice oil paintings, priceless little Corots and Me"issonniers.

Vieux-Saxe and Sevres china adorned the sage-green walls; there were photo graphs everywhere, silver statuettes, enamels, Venetian iS glass from Murano, a mantelpiece draped with old rose point, carved wood and ivories, Persian rugs, peacocks' feathers, the whole air heavy with the scent of roses and chypre. There was a table in the window, with a blue Nankin bowl of fragrant Gloires ; a gold-topped smelling bottle, a veritable Watteau fan, a French novel, and gaily coloured needlework left in careless disorder. Vera Langley sat before the piano ; she was not strictly handsome, rather disposed towards a brunette ; but like her mother, distinctly well-bred in every inch. She wore a white dress, and a soft fringe of curly hair over a broad, low forehead ; she was a figure to dream about, to admire, to love.

So Major Chichester thought ; something more, nearer, dearer, one whose tastes and feelings sympathized with his own ; one who appealed to his inner nature ; the woman of his ideal realized ; the one in all the world he longed to call by the beloved word "wife." Yet, in calmer moments, his honour denied him, for she was all but pledged to another ; and his motto was sans peur et sans reproche, for Sainte Beuve tells us Bayard was the " flower of chivalry." "He loved one only, and he clave to her"; but his love was unspoken ; it was locked in his breast ; but so deep, so true, it was almost more than he could conquer. Frequently the fatal words had been on his lips and as often repressed, though the longing to fold her to his beating heart, and press hot, passionate kisses on her lips was beyond endurance; but where duty and honour are combined, sans tache is the keynote of victory.

He was forty, perhaps more than less, without, as Mrs. Langley remarked, the trace of a good feature, beyond the merry sparkle of magnificent deep blue eyes, like Neapolitan violets, which showed every thought and passing emotion ; a thoroughly good-natured face, beaming with fun and laughter ; dark hair parted in the middle, so closely cut that his head resembled a convict's from the regulation shearing ; a dark moustache and clean-shaven face, with square jaw, showing determination to do and dare ; a will not to be trifled with ; an inflexibility of purpose where he deemed it right ; yet a countenance dog-like from its fidelity, such as inspires confidence and wins women's love. Brave as he was, decorated across the left breast for service in India, and having earned the Victoria Cross and red ribbon of the Bath by his brilliant success in Zululand, he turned coward when he thought what one word from him would bring to Vera.

Let her marry the wealthy coal-owner her mother desired ; she would in the opulence such a union brings forget a passing fancy. For he had but a small income beyond his pay as major of the — th Dragoons; and having burdened himself with the education of his sister's children, who had married a country clergyman, how could he under such circum stances ask a girl, cradled in affluence, to be his wife? So far he had been staunch to his principles. Two years before these events recorded he returned from Zululand, flushed with honours and decorations bestowed by his Sovereign's hand for his gallantry under fire when accom panying the flying column, congratulated by his regiment, and popular with all ranks of the battalion. Yet while the country was sounding his heroism, he went to his sick mother, who was dying in London lodgings, and nursed her day and night with a woman's tenderness, anticipating her every wish, while she dragged out a few more weary weeks.

And this selfforgetfulness was the inner nature of the regiment's idol, universally popular, liberal, open handed, and generous to his subordinates ; his pay sufficient for his bachelor needs, and resolution strong enough to resist all thoughts of marriage. "Never" he would say to his friends who urged a rich parti on him, " never, my dear fellows, will I sell myself to be dependent on my wife's bread and butter ; no cursed slavery for me ! " " The fact is, Major, novelty is life, and you 're too erratic to accustom yourself to the monotony of marriage." " Probably," he would reply with energy ; " a wife would be as upsetting to my domestic constitution as champagne for breakfast to my physical. I should weary of being tete-a-tete with one woman and one set of ideas." So not being keen about getting married, he came to be pronounced not a marrying man.

To-day, however, the temptation was stronger than ever, for Vera's thrilling notes had found an echo in every fibre of his being. Heaving a sigh, he sauntered on to the balcony, and as he threw himself into a lounging chair and caressed his blue boarhound, no one guessed what thoughts were hidden in his heart. "This lotus-eating existence is demoralizing," he said, absently pulling Diana's ears ; " it is well, my lass, I leave this afternoon." " I wish you would change your mind and stay," said Arthur. "My dear fellow, inclination says 'Remain,' prudence whispers ' Go.' " " I wish you to remain," Arthur urged. "I appreciate your kindness, but sometimes a fellow can best judge for himself." " I 'm sorry," said Arthur," " for our partie carree has been very pleasant." "Too much so for one's peace."

" You are morbid." "Bosh!" cried Major Chichester, with an impatient gesture. "Your mother hates me, Langley; her ruling passion is for the pieces, and she classes me with beetles and worms." Arthur repeated demi-voix : To be, or not to be, that is the question : Whether 't is nobler in the mind to suffer The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune Or to take arms against a sea of troubles, And by opposing, end them ? " Gerald rose abruptly, and leaned over the balcony ; he had become very grave ; his eyes were fixed on the fair prospect, but his thoughts were far away. He was, as the phrase goes, " an eminently successful man," justly proud of his distinctions, for he had determined from boyhood to carve a career and win laurels ; but with all his popularity he never lost sight of the fact that a favourite holds an unstable position, and many abler men had sunk into obscurity.

So far none seemed likely to supplant him, and now he was about to return to the mess-room, with its worn-out sallies and questionable wit — these were his lot till he retired and spent the remainder of his days in obscurity, when, too old for service, and probably aged by work, his country ! 23 would gracefully inform him he must be shelved to make way for others. Loving his profession with a passionate devotion, he yet wearied of the ceaseless turmoil, and longed to form a home for himself; and for a brief space a fierce conflict raged within his breast. Rousing himself with an effort, he leaned over the balcony and absently gathered a white rose, which he placed in his buttonhole. " From off this briar pluck a white rose with me. I pluck this pale and maiden blossom here, Giving my verdict on the white rose side," said Arthur.

" I know you are considered inaccessible, don't deny it ; you are spoken of as a ' splendid dancer,' that you ' waltz divinely,' that your ' voice is fit for a primo tenore since you took lessons in Malta,' and yet the girls are dying for one of those radiant smiles which makes your hideous countenance resplendent as the sun god." Gerald laughed hilariously, and his white teeth gleamed; but the mirth was forced. " I begin to think I 'm too old for dancing, and my singing days are over; the youngsters take the shine out of me, and I 've arrived at the age when it 's best to accept the inevitable gracefully." "Why is this thus, my friend? you speak as though you had crossed the Rubicon." " Make charitable allowance if I drivel on, considering how persistently your respected parent takes down the small amount of personal pride I possess," he answered.

" She has an idee fxe, I'Anson on the brain," said Arthur. "'There's something rotten in the state of Denmark,' and she adores money " "You need not remind me she is a mammon worshipper," Gerald interrupted, in his impatient way, as he tossed his head back with an impetuous gesture. " Would to God I had been here years ago ! 'Si setais Roi'; as King Coal I should have been all right ; however, one person's loss is another's gain." He spoke bitterly, rapidly. He was every inch a soldier, standing at his full height, determination marked in his square jaw, yet softened by a genial smile, which flooded his countenance like sunshine as he turned his bold, fearless eyes on Arthur, and seemed to read his very soul. " I have told you, Chichester, you have my entire support ; I don't wish my sister to be Queen Coal.

My mother has her private and particular reasons, which I divine. In being your wife, Vera would have an enviable lot ; you are strong as a lion. This coal business does not commend itself to me, ' le jeu ne vaut pas la chandelle.' It is a thousand pities you are not of the Moravian persuasion, to draw lots from the hat ; your chances would then be fair and even — King Coal and Richard Cceur de Lion fighting for the crown." " I thank you," laughed Chichester, satirically, " if you call me a lion in love ! Your sister is another feather dropped from my arrow ; I adore her, and worship the very ground on which she treads." " Then pop the question." " My dear fellow, your mother would show me the door, and make me 'sing small ' precious quick." Major Chichester lighted a cigar and became very thoughtful.

"To have 'oof is better sometimes than the V.C. and Ich Dien on one's breast," he said, in a tone of concentrated bitterness. "Why so?" demanded Arthur; "don't hundreds put their fortune to the touch to win or lose it all? Why should you, of all men, hold back — brave, dashing, celebrated, joined at barely seventeen and seen so much service ? " The lines on Gerald's face deepened. He knew his own value among women, felt himself flattered, courted, caressed. " The ' duchess ' would delight — she would revel in giving me the sack," he said. " I can picture the drum head court-martial when she asked what settlements I could make. No, I have pride ; I can't stand being treated as her flunkey ! Duty isn't pleasant," he continued, after a pause ; " duty and candour are the most hateful words in the dictionary.

My duty is not agreeable when I go round the outposts on a pouring winter night from ten o'clock till midnight. It's rot to call a soldier's life beer and skittles ; don't believe it ; we work like niggers. And things look so bad in Egypt, I expect we shall be ordered there for a certainty." "Well, England expects every man to do his duty; and, if the word is repellent, when the time comes you are the one to be always found under the enemy's fire," said Arthur. The dogcart came round, and Mrs. Langley approached. She looked like a French marquise of the last century, with her stately carriage, her white hair, her costly lace, and glittering rings ; but her manner was proudly un bending, as if she deemed she was in the presence of an inferior. Major Chichester shook himself together. " Good bye, and thanks for all your kind hospitality," he said.

" If I am potted in Egypt, give me a passing regret." " We will say as of Sir Hem-)- Lawrence at Lucknow ; ' Here lies one who tried to do his duty,' " replied Arthur. " Don't be serio-comic, Arthur," said his mother, reprovingly; "jesting on such a subject is wretched taste." " I won't say good-bye to you, at any rate," Gerald said to Vera, holding her hand as if he would never let it go. " I hate the word, it 's ghastly, like a merry Christmas, when who feels merry ? It 's aus wiedersehn, isn't it," he repeated, " aus wiedersehn"! Mrs. Langley signalled to Vera with a telegraphic look in her stern eyes, and a frown deepened on her brow. " I regret to hurry you, but trains cannot be delayed. Come, Vera, come, EsmeV' she said authoritatively, as she bowed adieu. A set expression overspread Gerald's features, half defiant, proud, angry.

" You do well to remind me of my duty and place," he replied impatiently, as he raised his hat with distant politeness, sprang into the dogcart, called his boarhound, and drove away without a backward glance. " Really, your friend is without the semblance of good manners when the veneer of the mess-room is rubbed off," said Mrs. Langley, tartly; " one can see he is a raised man." "As to that, his birth is as aristocratic as our own," replied Arthur. " His grandfather served in the Penin sula, and charged with the Scots Greys at Waterloo; and his father was a gunner. Anyway, if it only takes three generations to make a gentleman, he may claim the distinction." " Certainly those were days of purchase," Mrs. Langley admitted. " But I am an old stager, and don't credit all I hear. I reserve my judgment."