First Flight, or, what a Hunting-Crop saw [A novel.], etc

Front matter

st a *- sc j /f o nr* Vjiaf a-flunfmj, (fop saws BY MYRA SWAN.' 18 9 1. YORK, JOHN SAMPSON, LON DON. SI MPKIN, MARSHALL, HAM I LTON.KENT& CO. LT.» Carriage Works, .^ kittle Monegate, iiiimiiiiiiituiHiiiiiiiintiii iiiiiiiiiimtiiiniiiiii sl&essrs. press & Mra\> Beg to inform the Nobility, Gentry. and the General Public of York and surrounding Districts, that they build Carriages of every description to order, from the latest designs, combined with Elegance, Lightness, and Dura bility, at moderate prices, from Well-seasoned and Selected Materials, by Practical Workmen, and Furnished in a, First-class Style. Messrs. PRESS & WRAY having had over 30 years' practical experience with some ol the best firms in London and the Provinces in the construction of Carriages of every description, are confident that they will give satisfaction to all purchasers.

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Introduction

. A short time ago I was asked to tell the story of my life, and I am bound to say that the request astonished me not a little, for I had always regarded my short career as uneventful, and uninteresting to anybody except myself, in fact, at first I thought my friend must be joking, for he is of a jovial turn of mind. The reader (that is to say if anybody will - ever favour this with a perusal) will wonder who he is and who I am. He is an old, but very strong switch-whip, and lives on the horse-shoe rack in our master's study ; I, on the other hand, am a malacca hunting-crop, and although not very ancient, am never used now, but am enjoying a well-earned rest. I, too, live in the study, but not on the rack with my friend ; I repose on the top of a picture-frame, which hangs on the wall over the writing-table.

I have always considered the study the most comfort able room at Denver, which is the old Yorkshire home of Sir William Denver, M.F.H. The others are larger and ir Introduction. X furnished in excellent taste with the most beautiful things money can buy, but they always look so desolate and lonely, which is hardly to be wondered at, for Sir William is the sole inhabitant of the old house. His parents have long since gone the way of all flesh, and his only brother is a Captain in the Horse Artillery, and seldom visits Denver, except now and then on long leave. It is true that the popular young Master of the old Grassdale Hunt often has several of his sporting friends to stay with him, but they, like their host, prefer the cosy little study to the more elegant drawing-room, especially if it is the hunting-season, and their limbs are weary after their day's sport.

From the top of my picture-frame I have often watched them lying back in the arm-chairs smoking their after dinner cigars, or just as often the pipe of peace, and have heard them say, " By Jove, Denver, this is far and away the most comfortable den I have ever seen." I silently agreed with them, and every time I heard its praises sung I inwardly rejoiced, for I knew what trouble the master had taken over it ; there was not a picture that had not been hung by his own hand, and an observer could see at a glance what a thorough sportsman the owner of that room must be. Introduction. XI The walls were panelled half-way with oak, which was perfectly black with age, and known to be at least five hundred years old, above that there was quite a gallery of sporting prints, and on a ledge which ran round the room about a couple of feet below the ceiling, were innumerable cases of stuffed birds.

Over the mantel-shelf hung the whip-rack I have already mentioned, also fishing-rods, a case of butterflies, all neatly named by the ardent young collector in his Eton days, and brushes and masks ad libitum. The book-cases at either side of the fire-place were also devoted to sport, Whyte Melville. Hawley Smart, Surtees, Beckford, " Nimrod," and the Badminton Library being well represented, to say nothing of " Ruff's Guide to the Turf," the Racing Calendar and other books, as valuable to the sportsman for reference, as the thousands of old volumes in the British Museum or Lincoln's Inn are to our men of letters. There was a little door in one corner of the room which led to the Kennels, only a few yards distant. The writing-table was placed against the wall, and was always covered with a wilderness of papers, and generally with Sir William's hunting-diary, which he had kept carefully since he had left Cambridge, ten years before.

Opposite was the window, from which there was a charming view, although not so fine as the one from Introduction. XII the front of the house, which looked over the park with its huge oaks and long stretch of bright green grass, and was almost unrivalled for beauty. Immediately beneath the study window was a lovely rosery, in years gone by the pride of Lady Denver's heart, but tended since her death by the young Squire himself, who was no mean gardener. Beyond, were two beautifully kept grass tennis-courts, and still further away, through a small opening in the dark mass of pines and firs, could be seen the East window of the village church, which was of historical interest, having been built seven hundred years before by Sir Geoffrey Denver as a penance on his return from the wars, after which it is said he died in peace, and was buried with his fathers in the old vault, which can also be seen from the house, standing in the midst of the peaceful God's acre, which forms the last resting place of Sir William's parents, who died within a year of one another, just at the time when their two high-spirited boys were growing into manhood and most required their care and super vision ; yes, at the ages of twenty and eighteen, William and Neville were left orphans, to fight their way through this wicked world alone, to brave its many temptations without a kind father's words of counsel or a loving mother's advice.

How they turned out must be seen Introduction. XIII by degrees, but look back with me into the study on that night when my friend, the whip, asked me to tell him my history, and judge for yourself what you think of Sir William, the elder brother. It was, I remember, the end of March, which having come in like a lamb, seemed to signify every intention of making its exit like the King of Beasts. The rain was coming down in torrents and a perfect hurricane was blowing outside, but I think the wildness of the weather made me appreciate the cosy little study all the more. Although past ten o'clock, Sir William had only just finished dinner, and I noticed how tired he looked as he flung himself into his arm-chair and sighed wearily. He had had a long day I was sure, and when I glanced at the Hunting Appointment Slate which I could just see on the writing table by stretching my thong a little, and saw that the meet had been at Overton village, a distance of fifteen miles, and also situated in the worst part of the Grass dale country, I felt quite sorry for him, for we all love our master dearly.

People look upon whips and sticks as bits of wood and nothing more, but little do they think that beneath the paint and silver mountings there is a something not unlike the human heart, and just as sensitive, and I think that one reason of my lasting friendship with the switch-whip is that we are both Introduction. agreed on one point, and that is, that not in Great Britain and Ireland, nay in the whole world, is there such a true-hearted, kind, considerate man as Sir William Denver. He was at the time I am writing of (and it is only a few months ago) about thirty-two years of age, he was very tall, six foot two, I think, and although by no means an Adonis, had a good-natured, honest face that charmed everybody. His brown hair was abundant, and grew in refractory little curls all over his head, his nose was neither Roman, Grecian or Aquiline, and was too long to be ornamental, the mouth also was not of the smallest, although it wore a loveable expression that spoke well for its owner's temper ; but if you could have seen the eyes, which were closed then from sheer weariness, you would have forgotten every7 other defect in his face.

I have never seen their equal in man, woman or child, it is not only the colour that is so attractive, although they are a bright clear blue, it is the expression, a sort of appealing look that one of his own hounds would have if he saw his master's hand raised to whip him, a look that tells of loneliness and sorrow, and seems to crave for love. Sir William is naturally broad-shouldered and strong, and his face, which is quite clean-shaven, is very thin. The high cheek-bones make it look still more emaciated, and Introduction. XV there are a few grey hairs amongst the brown curls, just a very few, but still there they are, as if to show that the Master of the O.G.H., although so young, is not really the light-hearted boy the members sometimes consider him. As I looked at him on that cold March night, I could not help wishing that his cheery, boyish laugh might be heard more frequently in the old house, for of late it had seemed more ghostly than ever.

The fire by that time was very low, and looked as if another gust of wind might extinguish it altogether. I could hear by the Squire's regular breathing that he was asleep, and I gazed at him from my picture-frame for a long time, and then at the two beautiful deer-hounds which lay on the hearth-rug. Suddenly I heard my name called quietly, and recog nized the voice of my friend the whip asking me to tell him all about my past life from the very beginning. As I said before, the proposal quite startled me, but after all I could but try to oblige him, so I took a pinch of pipe-clay (human beings prefer clay pipes but we crops reverse matters) and began.

Chapter I

Bondage. ■'Story! God bless you, I've none to tell, Sir." " QO you want to hear my history, do you?" I said, *J "well I expect you could tell me far more about one week of your life than I could of the whole of mine, for alas, I know nothing of the excitement of the turf, nothing of trainers or the interior of racing-stables. I couldn't give you the price of a single horse at any meeting, and that paradise, Newmarket, of which you have often told me is quite strange to me. Have I ever accompanied the master in a steeple-chase, have I ever been privileged, like you, to lift the winner of the Whip over the Cottenham water-jump ? Why, my friend, your reminiscences would fill a good-sized book, while mine . . . and yet, I too have had fun in my day, and in my prime I would not have changed places with you, or even with poor Fred Archer's whip himself.

Our vocations have been very different, and I really almost think mine the : or, what a Hunting-crop saw. 2 more preferable, although you with your book-making propensities would laugh the idea to scorn. It is true your life has been one of excitement and change of scene, for from what you say the master in his Cambridge days must have ridden all over the country, whilst my time has been devoted to the good, old English sport, which, thank goodness, seems to increase every year, instead of diminishing. I have had plenty of hard work and knocking about without too much responsibility, for if the hunters I have had to do with did not answer to my touch, it meant nothing worse than their riders losing a good place in the run, not an enviable position certainly, but still it harmed nobody, whereas, in your case, if you did not work hard and indefatigably to liven up your master's horse and bring him in first, think of the misery his defeat brought to the hundreds, perhaps thousands of poor souls who, five minutes before, had seen him start first favourite, and been sure of his success.

Well, well, I am not going to lecture you, for nobody knows better than I do, that your post was no sinecure, and that you have honestly earned the rest you are now enjoying." "By Ruff, I have," he replied, "and now the flag's down so fire away." "That's easier said than done," I answered, "for I am by no means a good starter, and never before having entered for the Literary Stakes, I doubt very much if I shall ever get well into my stride, but I must ask you to forgive all errors, and remember that Spoit and School ing are not always stable-companions." : or, what a Hunting-crop saw. 3 " I suppose I am really a Cockney, for London was the place where I first saw the light, not that there was much of it, but, now and then the sun's rays did condescend to penetrate even into Bond Street, for it was there, in a well-known saddler's shop, where I was raised, as our cousins over the herring-pond say."

And it is by no means an inappropriate term, for nearly every day I was raised with my companions from the shelf in the window to be shown to some customer who required a new whip. We were then handled first by one, then by another, until life became a burden. I shouldn't have minded so much if somebody had only bought me, but although several of the others were sold and taken away, I was always left, and put back again on to my shelf to be stared at by any of the passers-by who might happen to be of a sporting turn of mind. I think it was the great Beaconsfield who once said of Bond Street, " There is no street in the world that can furnish such a collection filled with so many objects of beauty, curiosity and interest," but I wonder how it would have impressed him if he had but changed placeswith one of the very objects he admired so much.

It is one thing to walk leisurely along and stop before a window for perhaps five minutes when one feels inclined, but imagine spending several months behind that hateful glass, with but little prospect of doing anything else all one's life. And yet such was my position, no fresh air, no variety ; oh, shall I everforget what I endured for three whole months ? When I was first put there I confess I enjoyed myself extremely, for I was very conceited in those days and or, what a Hunting-crop saw. 4 thought of little else but my silver mountings and white thong, and I might have been contented with my monotonous existence for a much longer period, only one day an incident occurred which made me very dissatisfied indeed. I was lying on the counter just where I had been put down by a customer, and longing for somebody to come in and admire me, when I heard somebody speaking to me, and looking round saw an enormous crop, decidedly the worse for wear but with a look of satisfaction on his carved bone handle that made me envy him.

We very soon made friends and he told me that he had met with a fall at the end of last season, and had been sent up to town to be put to rights. He was going back to Leicestershire that very day and was quite ready for the cub-hunting which was to begin shortly. He belonged to a country Squire who put in four days a week, and for two hours he talked to me about the excitement and glory of the chase, until I began to wonder how I had ever managed to exist in town at all. Then, to my great grief he was taken away, and I was once more placed in the window. For a whole week I remained there without being taken out once, and the recollection of that time is more like a horrible nightmare than anything else. It was the end of August, London was very empty and the beautiful weather we had had all the season had changed into incessant rain.

As I have said it was a week since my friend's departure, and I was feeling unusually morbid and depressed. Outside the rain was coming down in torrents, and with : or, what a Hunting-crop saw. 5 the exception of a few uninteresting cabs and an occasional carriage Bond Street was quite deserted. " If only somebody would come in and look at me, that would be better than nothing," I said to myself, for I had quite given up the idea of any one wishing to buy me. I had hardly uttered the words when a smart britska and pair pulled up at the door and the next moment two people got out and walked into the shop.

Chapter II

" Free from his fetters grim." " Done say I, clench we at once the bargain. '• Es ist ein Kommen und ein Gehen Ein Scheiden und oft Kein Wiedersehen.'' Goethe. WILL you show me some hunting-crops, please ? " I heard a cheery masculine voice say. Oh joy ! there might be a chance of liberty at last, a chance of seeing the beautiful green fields, of breathing the fresh country air. My spirits rose at the very thought of change of scene, but I had no time for reflection, for the next moment No. 5, the shopman whose duty it was to sell the whips, took me and several others out of the window and placed us on the counter. Opposite me were a ladv and a gentleman. The latter looked about sixty. He was tall and erect, and although his hair was nearly white, his handsome, aristocratic face was almost boyish still, and looked so cheerful and good humoured, that it was easy to see that he and trouble were not well acquainted.

I only took one glance at him, but that glance pleased me and then I looked at his companion whom I rightly guessed to be his daughter. I felt as if I could gaze at her for ever without tiring, for like all young things 1 appreciated and : or, what a Hunting-crop saw. 7 worshipped beauty. She was standing by the door watching the rain while we were being shown to her father, and I saw that she was unusually tall almost six foot high I should think, but she carried her height gracefully and was the happy possessor of one of the prettiest figures I ever saw, which looked its best in the neat blue ulster which she wore. " Molly, come here and choose yourself a hunting-crop," said her father. In those words I was sure I heard my death-knell ; it was for her one of us was wanted, and I alas was not a lady's crop, I was too big, too heavy.

" Oh if I had only been smaller and prettier," I thought bitterly, " I would give anything to belong to such a lovely creature." She turned round when she heard her father's voice and came over to the counter. Never before or since have I seen such a beautiful face. Her eyes, which perhaps were her chief charm, although to me every feature seemed faultless, were of the most perfect blue and were fringed with drooping black lashes which greatly enhanced their beauty, they had a wistful ■ almost sad expression in them, accompanied by a straight forward honest look which said plainly " Trust me and I will not betray your trust." Her nose was rather long and very straight, and as for the mouth it is difficult to describe it, not wilful, yet by no means weak, but just the happy medium, and shaped like Cupid's bow.

She had an abundance of lovely fair hair, tinged here and there with gold, which curled naturally over the white brow and or, what a Hunting-crop saw. 8 could be seen peeping from under the blue sailor-hat which suited her style of beauty a merveille. Add to this a pair of black, arched eyebrows, and a complexion more pink and lovely than any of those which can be seen daily in the Park, and which owe most of their beauty to " cream of lilies " and other pigments, and you will have a fairly good idea of Marion Hamilton (generally known as Molly) at the delightful age of eighteen. " Father, how good of you," she said in answer to his request, " a crop is just the very thing I want." " This is a nice one Madame, " said the shopman hand ing her a pretty, little, light whip mounted in gold. " Oh no, that's not at all what I want, is it Father?" and she took it up and began swaying it to and fro " Why this little toy could no more open a gate than an umbrella, in fact I should be inclined to back the umbrella."

" It's very hornamental Madame " replied the man, thinking of the price on the ticket which was forty-two shillings. " That I don't deny, so it may stay to ornament your window" she said with a smile, " but I want something more business-like, now that Malacca one (pointing to me) looks better." " That one," replied No. 5 scornfully, is not a lady's whip, its far too big and 'eavy." " I think it would suit me rather well," she said quietly, and she stretched over and took me up in her pretty little gloved hand, " What do you think, Father ? " Of course there is no doubt that the other one is prettier, but please yourself dear." : or, what a Hunting-crop saw. 9 " Oh don't you know me by this time ? " she said laugh ingly, "why I would not be seen using that flimsy gilded crop that has ' lady' plainly written on it, any more than I would ride a lady's stupid, sleepy, old hack."

" The Malacca one is certainly neat " said her father and will stand more of the knocking about you are certain to give it. " Why it is worth twenty of it, and it's not a bit too heavy, do you think I might try how it cracks, there's nobody here but ourselves " ? Mr. Hamilton gave his consent in an amused voice, and the next minute his pretty daughter with me in her hand, walked into the middle of the shop, and raising me high above her head cracked me repeated iy with such force that the result sounded more like the report of a gun than any thing else. Opposite us was a long glass, and I caught sight of Marion's graceful form reflected in it, her face was flushed with the exertion, and she held her pretty head a little on one side. She paused for a moment to take breath, and during that pause I looked in the glass again.

I saw Marion as I had seen her before, and myself dangling by her side, but who was that in the back-ground gazing at her with such admiration ? Not her father who was sitting at the counter, not the shopman who was behind it, but a very tall } oung fellow with a face which without being very handsome was good tempered and honest to a degree. Hetoohad large blue eyes, and they were very wide open and were concentrated on one person, and that was Marion. Now everybody who has tried, knows that it is by no means an easy matter to crack a hunting-crop, and apart c : or, what a Hunting-crop saw. 10 from admiration, of which there was plenty, the look on the tall man's face clearly said— " By Jove, I wish I could crack a whip as well as that girl." I think that Marion must have felt that she was being watched, at any rate she stopped and turned round to find herself face to face with the stranger.

They both looked rather confused which perhaps was natural, he turned abruptly away and began looking at some saddles, and she, blushing becomingly, went up to the counter. " I should like to have this one if I may," she said to her father. That was how I became the property of the sweetest girl in the whole world, and a minute later I had bidden farewell to that hateful shop for ever. Mr. Hamilton and his daughter got into the carriage and I was placed on the opposite seat. As we drove off I caught sight of the tall young fellow with the blue eyes, and that time he was not looking at the saddles.

Chapter III

Money versus Love. " I hate him from the bottom of my soul In my whole life has nothing given my heart so deep a wound as that man's alien visage. to most men i feel kindliness, but him Do I DETEST, AND WITH A FEELING STRONG." Faust. FOR a few minutes I could hardly realise what had happened, it seemed to be too good to be true that I had left Bond Street never to return, and yet I certainly had, for we were now in Piccadilly, which I beheld for the first time. It was still pouring with rain so that it looked its worst, but even in its most unbecoming garb it struck me as being a wonderful sight. I found a great deal to interest me during the drive ; to begin with, there were three horses down between Hatchett's and Hyde Park Corner, and there the Life Guards passed on their way back to Knightsbridge.

The sight seemed to please Molly as much as it did me, she was evidently a high spirited girl and talked gaily to her father until we stopped at a large house in Belgrave Square. She then took me in her hand, not liking to trust me to the footman, and jumping lightly out of the carriage ran across the wet pavement into the house, and then up three flights : or, what a Hunting-crop saw. 12 of stairs to her own room. She threw me on the bed and then after glancing at her watch, rang for her aunt's maid. " I had no idea it was so late, Janet," she said, "it's half past seven, we dine at eight, and I must look my best at Lady Mayfair's ball." " I am sure you always look nice, whatever you wear Miss," replied Janet, looking admiringly at her as she hastily uncoiled her pretty hair and let it fall loosely over her shoulders.

Then the dressing began in earnest, and by eight o'clock Marion was quite ready. If possible she looked prettier than ever ; she wore a dress of pure white satin made very simply, and edged with a Grecian border embroidered in gold, a plain, gold band not unlike the fillet of bye-gone days adorned her wavy hair, which was dressed a la grecque far back on her head ; her lovely white neck and arms were quite devoid of jewellery, her only ornament being a diamond and moon-stone brooch which she always wore for luck. Just as she was about to leave the room there was a knock at the door and a maid came in carrying an enormous posy of Marechal Niel roses. ' This has just come for you Miss with Lord Vandeleur's compliments." " It is very kind of him," said Marion quietly, " Janet, will you sprinkle a little water over them to keep them fresh ?