rnia il UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT LOS ANGELES FLIRTATION. VOL. T. 3 LONDON : PHINTBD BY S. AND R. BENTLEV, DORSET STREET. FLIRTATION A NOVEL. "Are not they in the actual practice of Guilt, who care not whether they are thought Guilty or notV'-Spectator. ■^1 lA/iA.- IN THREE VOLUMES. VOL. I. , :^ ti » !• ' <» 9 m a LONDON : HENRY COLBURN, NEW BURLINGTON STREET. 1827. e « — «' ' * » t V * • 1 * « t 1 ^ « t 4 4, 4 3l!_ ^- i VJ FLIRTATION. CHAPTER I. " It seems to be true, that no plenitude of present gratifications can make the possessor happy for a con- tinuance, unless he have something in reserve — some- thing to hope for and look forward to. This I con- clude to be the case, from comparing the alacrity and spirits of men who are engaged in any pursuit which interests them, with the dejection and ennui of almost aU who are either born to so much that they want nothing more, or who have used up their satisfac- tions too soon, and drained the sources of them." Pali;y. " So, the old boy is off at last !" said loung- ing Lepel to Lord Mowbray, as he entered the room. " I give you joy, Mowbray, with all my heart f (had he any ?) " I thought that the VOL. I. B 2 FLIRTATION. unconscionable fellow had taken an everlasting lease of life, and never would have the grace to part with it ! Well, and so now you have nothing to do but to make the contents of his coffers fly ; and enjoy yourself with all your friends : an enviable situation, truly ! Nothing but amusement, and with your own set ; delight- ful ! Well, my dear Lord, always remember there is not one among the number more truly attached to you than myself." " Friends" and " attached" — these two words were curiously conned over by Lord Mowbray, who, besides feeling the terms in which Captain Lepel so flippantly spoke of his deceased rela- tive, to be repugnant to him, was a nice appre- ciator of real elegance, and contemned the fa- shionable slang, which confounds the true mean- ing of language^ and is the refuge of inferiority to hide its emptiness ; added to which, Lord Mowbray could not coolly speculate on worldly advantages, whilst the memory of one connect- ed, though distantly, with him by ties of con- sanguinity, and with whom he had lived in habits of intimacy and reciprocal kindness, was FLIRTATION. 3 Still fresh in his bosom. Restraining, however, all expression of his feelings, after a consider- able pause, he rejoined — "No — very true, I have nothing to do— nothing, absolutely, ex- cept to amuse myself; neither have I ever had: but, then, how shall I do that?'' and he sighed as he took up a newspaper which lay on the table, and run his eye carelessly over the page. " Ah ! what," rejoined Captain Lepel, " al- ways singular ? Nobody like you at saying an odd thing. Very excellent, 'faith ! I will sport it at Brookes's. A man with twenty thousand a year, young too, and of rank, not know how to amuse himself! Capital. upon my honour 1 ' How shall I do that ?' Ha ! ha ! ha ! Well, perhaps it might afford you some diversion, or at least put you in the way to find some, to go to the rehearsal at the Opera this morning. I have always the eutrte at the rehearsals; there will be Cosl Fan Tutte, a delicious opera, in which the new Prima Donna, Rosalinda Lorenzi, makes her dehutr B 2 4 FLIRTATION. "" Rosalinda!" echoed Lord Mowbray ; " what Rosalinda ?" " Why the Rosalinda, to be sure ; have you not heard of her ? have you been in Italy so long and not heard the Rosalinda ?" " Impossible !" exclaimed Lord Mowbray. " Why impossible, my dear Lord ? Depend upon it, it is so ; come, and you'll see. But, by tlie way, have you looked at the famous Arabian ponies which have been brought over for his Majesty ? They are not publicly shown, but I can take you to the stables ; I am sure, that any friend of mine may see them at any time. I take care never to be without a friend at court. Ha ! ha ! ha ! Will you go, my Lord ?'' " To the rehearsal, or to the stables, which do you mean ? Either will do for me — yes — no — stay. Yes ; I think I may as well walk towards the stables as any other way." This matter arranged, Lepel passed his arm familiarly through Lord Mowbray's ; and hav- ing conducted the latter to a noted fruit-shop by the way, ate peaches when they were at the price of gold ; and then, feeling in his pocket, FLIRTATION. O carelessly observed that he had forgotten his purse — " but never mind," turning to the shop- woman, " put it down to my account : you know me, Mrs. Florimel, I am always an exact man ; put it to my account" That meant to any other person's except his own, whom he might chance to persuade to become her customer : the way that the bills of many an honourable gentle- man and lady are paid ; and, as it answered Mrs. Florimel's purpose precisely as well, no observations were ever made, and the tacit im- derstanding was duly preserved and acted upon. " Oh ! dear Sir," she replied, smilingly, — " don't mention payment ; certainly, Sir, I am always happy to serve you any time; mucii obliged for all favours ; won't my Lord take another peach ? always happy to have the ho- nour of serving any of your friends, Sir. As often as you pass this way, pray look in ; shall have some choice grapes next week." Having managed this little difficulty after a fashion usual with Captain Lepel, (and in which, as in similar manoeuvring, practice had made him perfect,) he was proceeding to conduct 6 rLIRTATION. Lord Mowbray to the King's stables, when, as if suddenly recollecting himself, he pulled out his watch, and observed — " If we go there now, we may be perhaps too late for the rehearsal.'" And perhaps, too, he apprehended his interest in that quarter would prove less powerful than he had vaunted it to be, and therefore dexterously avoided a discovery, by turning his companion''s footsteps towards the Opera House. " Now, you will be enchanted, my dear Lord ! Never was any thing altogether like the Rosalinda, nor ever will be again; she has two notes in her voice beyond any voice that was ever heard before." Lord Mowbray instinctively put his hands on his ears — " I hate screaming."" " Ha, ha, ha ; you are just the same, 1 see ; just the same queer, eccentric fellow! but I was giving you an account of Rosalinda." Lord Mowbray sighed, and stared at Captain Lepel. " She is wondrous handsome, my I^ord, I do assure you ; even your fastidious \ \ FLIRTATION. 7 taste would acknowledge this. Her hair quite black, her skin of the most delicate texture, as white as snow, — that is to say, a sort of rich cream-coloured skin, that looks like marble ; such a carriage ! and then sings like forty thou- sand angels." " That is too many at once to please me : too many to be agreeable, I should conceive, to any one," interrupted Lord Mowbray. " Pshaw, my Lord, it is impossible to tell you any thing. You always make a joke." *' Why there are some persons, indeed, whose conversation one must always either se- riously contradict, or laugh at ; and upon the whole I prefer doing the latter, Lepel, and con- clude my friends must do so likewise." " Very true, very true ; ha, ha, ha ! I had always rather laugh for one, I never saw any use in contradiction, not I : quite of your Lord- ship"'s opinion, upon my honour !" " Strange," said Lord Mowbray vacantly ; *' very, very unaccountable !" And then sudden- ly stopping, he added : " I must bid you good 8 FLIRTATION. morning, for I recollect I have an engagement in Brook-street. They are all waiting for me to give some orders about the funeral." " Who is waiting for you ? what, all ? non- sense ! Why do you go into that melancholy hole ? Stay till they have cleared it of its black velvet and its escutcheons, and pvn-ified it from the undertakers. I hate going to such scenes ; why it only serves to give a man the blue devils." " It is not the gayest thing in the world, to be sure; but I promised old Davies, and will not disappoint him.'" " Old Davies ! why you do not mind your promise to him ? As if they could not screw up my Lord just as well without your or- ders." This was too coarse. Lord Mowbray was disgusted, and showed that he was so, Lepel quickly rejoined — " Oh ! you need not look grave. You know I always liked the old gen- tleman. He was the best bred man I ever was in company with, — understood horses better than any body, — kept an excellent table, the FLIRTATION. 9 best quality (talking of qualities) that any body can have, and includes every other that ensures a man many friends. I was only in joke — wouldn't for the world say any thing to offend your good heart, which I value too highly to wound for a moment. Meant no- thing at all, I assure you ; — nobody I esteemed more than the late Lord INIowbray — except the present : — the present company, you know, are always excepted." " You are very obliging," replied the latter, dryly ; '• I wish you a good morning :" and bowing, he walked away, leaving Captain Lepel to study his part more thoroughly for another opportunity. When Lord Mowbray knocked at the door in Brook-street, his languid step and serious brow afforded a melancholy satisfaction to the faithful old servant who ushered the young heir into the house of mourning. After some preliminary discourse, he ventured to hope that his Lordship meant to attend his noble relative's remains, in person, to their place of interment. B 5 10 FLIRTATION. Lord Mowbray's heart was good : it is diffi- cult for a very youthful heart to be otherwise. He laid his hand on the old man's shoulder, that shoulder which in his infancy had so often borne him to his sports, and with an affec- tionate feeling of respect and sympathy he said, " Certainly, Davies, certainly : I always intended to do so." " Thank God !" said Davies, and he wept for joy now, as he had lately done for sorrow — joy to see what he considered so fair a promise of good qualities in the successor of his late master. Lord Mowbray felt all this — and thought "Would that I were indeed every thing this good man gives me the credit of being .' But if I am otherwise, is it my fault ? can I help it ? who can help being what they are, whatever that may be ?'' The still small voice which replied to his questions he heard not, because he refused to hear; and passing on through a suite of apartments, one more sump- tuous than another, he looked around with a vacant gaze, and throwing himself into a large, tapestried chair, said, " So all this is mine .'" FLIRTATION. li then relapsing into an indefinite reverie, he re- mained the sport of many visions which floated upon his fancy, but left no distinct impression on his mind. From this state he was aroused by the en- trance of Colonel Pennington, the oldest friend of his late relative, and the friend of his own very early years. After briefly stating to him the orders he had given to the household, in accordance with the last desire of his kinsman, it was finally arranged that they should set out together on the following day for Dorsetshire, and be in readiness at Mowbray Castle, to at- tend the remains of their departed friend to the burial-place of his ancestors. There is no situation in which a person can be placed, which is perhaps more favourable to tranquil thought than the corner of a carriage travelling over roads where no very strikino- ob- jects attract the attention; but where at the same time a smiling, well-cultivated country puts the mind in good humour with itself; unless, indeed, that mind be very hard to please, or is affected by some violent passion ; neither of which was exactly 12 FLIRTATION. the case with Lord Mowbray, who had leisure, therefore, while Colonel Pennington, lulled in complete forgetfulness, was asleep by his side, to indulge in calm reflection, and to take a survey of his present situation, together with the pains and penalties attached to its great- ness : for of the former there was, and ever will be, some alloy mingled with the sweets of the latter. While his mind retraced the events which had befallen him, he felt the responsibility which now attached to his station, and he thought more deeply and seriously than he had ever done before ; yet he asked himself, " Would I resign my station to forego the pleasure with the pain ? — I would not. No monarch that ever abdicated the throne but repented him of the deed : even the tradesman who quits his calling to enjoy at ease the fruits of his long and laborious toil, pines for the stimulus of its progressive increase, and misses his daily task ; and the individual who abandons the station assigned him by birth or circum- stances, would feel the same degrading convic- FLIRTATION. 13 tion, the same vacancy. Why do I, therefore, torment myself with speculations on what is, and must be, my destiny? — Those dried leaves that I see rolling about, now taken up in eddies by the wind, and floating in mazy circles in mid air — now scattered far and wide to mingle with the dust, are doubtless made to fulfil their destiny ; and I shall, I conclude, fill mine, just like them, just like every body and every thing else, without know- ing why or wherefore." Lord Mowbray forgot he was endowed with other faculties than the leaf of the desert, or the breath of the blast. As the carriage passed through the little hamlet of Abbotsbury, composed chiefly of fishermen's huts, many of its hardy inhabitants, with their wives and families, prompted by curiosity, thronged the highway to catch a glimpse of the new lord of the Castle, and to in- dulge in conjecture whether they should be the better for his presence. No advantages cer- tainly had accrued to them, or the surrounding district, from his immediate predecessor, who, whether from dislike to the residence, or from 14 FLIRTATION. indolence, had never lived among them ; and had scarcely even visited this property, though de- rived from an ancient line of noble ancestry, and justly therefore entitled to his care. The con- sequences of such an absence, and the apparent neglect attached to it, had long been felt, and at length became visible in an almost hereditary dislike to the very name of Mowbray; so that the present successor to its wealth and honours found himself at the same time doomed, however innocently, to inherit a proportion of the odium thus unfortunately incurred. As the gathering crowd gazed at the equipage on its way to the humble inn, this feeling evinced itself in a thousand little incidents — and Lord Mowbray, descending from the carriage, walked forward whilst the horses were refreshed. At a cottage on the skirts of the hamlet, he perceived an elderly woman standing on the threshold, who called loudly to a man that fol- lowed close behind Lord Mowbray. " I say, Jem, hast seen um.^^ — I wonder what thou''st been at the pains to come so far for. This new one will be just as bad as the old, FLIRTATION. 15 I doubt not. You know, the new leases are to be set, and he 's only cum'd to see what he can get. I would not stir a step to look on him, not I ; for all the good we have ever got from t'other is his dead bones, that are brought home to be buried in the family vault to-morrow." " One may hear something worth hearing," said Lord Mowbray to himself, * even where one least expects it." At that moment, the outriders and the car- riage came up — it stopped — the step was let down. Its splendour and that of the servants dazzled the eyes of the old cottager. She dropped many obsequious curtseys ; and, as Lord Mowbray returned her civility with a low bow, she stood rooted to the spot v/ith amazement, and something too of terror, at the idea that the new Lord, as she called him, of the Castle had overheard her conversation. At a very short distance, Mowbray Castle be- came visible, standing finely upon a bold and pro- jecting rock which jutted into the sea; its situa- tion being rendered still more magnificent and 16 FLIRTATION. commanding from the flatness of the surround- ing ground. It had been a place of strength in the days of the Eighth Harry, whose prudence caused the coast towards France to be guarded with many a fortress of similar description ; and it had continued so till the jealousy of the Puritans, during the Civil Wars, had led to the dismantling of every strong hold wrested from the Cavaliers, lest the fortune of war might again place them in the hands of their former owners. Nothing now remained, therefore, of the original warlike greatness of Mowbray Castle, save a few vestiges, which were only to be traced by the antiquary ; but, as a castellated building, it had an imposing air, and, standing forth in fearless defiance of the raging element of waters to which it was exposed, it claimed a tribute of admiration from its very loneli- ness : time too, with its magic hand, had spread over the ruins that vague and indefi- nite interest which it ever sheds, even over the beauty it destroys; and recollection, there- fore, was busy in association. The park at- tached to the Castle, though it had small FLIRTATION. 17 title to the name, was a vast, barren piece of land, with here and there a stunted tree, bent from the blasts of the sea, that made deso- lation appear more desolate. A few patches of yellow blossomed furze were interspersed among the white rocks that lay scattered over its surface, with a sprinkling of the sea-daisy raising its hardy flower in that short thymy herbage, where the sheep found sweet but scanty pasture. A pretty steep descent led through this barren scene to a piece of marshy flat ground, which at certain times of the tide was completely covered by the sea, and must have cut off all communication with the fortress except by water. The ruins of a draw- bridge, which lay scattered around, told that this circumstance had once been a valuable de- fence to its inhabitants ; but now a little boat, fastened to the stump of some decayed tree, afforded a ready access to every passenger, when, during the high tides, it might not be safe to cross the inlet. " I do not wonder," said Lord Mowbray, as the carriage jolted alternately over the huge 18 FLIRTATIOX. Stones imbedded in the sand, and then sank half-way up the wheels in water — " I do not wonder that my kinsman did not choose to re- side here ; nothing short of a wild-duck would voluntarily inhabit these regions." *' I don't know that, my Lord. I am not of your opinion : first, because there is a pleasure in property exceeding most pleasures ; secondly, because, even in indolent characters, there is a pride in doing good, when that good can be done easily ; and where beneficial power may be most extensively exerted, and its effects most sensibly and immediately acknowledged, this is a pleasure equalled by few others, and is one that is tacitly felt by all. Believe me, it would have been better if the late Lord Mowbray had resided more here."" *■' Better ?''"' said his companion, in replying to him by a species of interrogation ; and then added, after a pause — " Perhaps, it tvould have been better." No sooner did the carriage begin to ascend the hill on which the Castle stood, than a number of persons, whom they had not per- FLIRTATION. 91 and both in voice and appearance excited Lord Mowbray's disgust. His eyes, twisted in every possible direction, looked across a nose of ex- traordinary length, which, dyed of the deepest red, showed the pale and sallow complexion of his face, by contrast made more hideous ; while a perpetual grin seemed to distort his countenance, as he endeavoured to make him- self heard in the general confusion of tongues. " I wish the fellow would not torment me so,"" said Lord Mowbray; " Who is he .?" This question, asked at random, was quickly answered by a little, square-set man, with a black hanging brow and a deep scar on one cheek, who pushed his head over Lord Mow- bray's shoulder ! " Oh that, your Lordship, is the Gentle Shepherd, well known in the^e parts, and in many distant ones. Every body knows Smiling Bill. He 's the man, and please you, my Lord, who has the care of all your honour's cattle ; there 's not a sheep-path over the country that he does not know as well as the sheep themselves." " And, pray/' asked Lord Mowbray, per- 22 FLIRTATION. ceiving that Smiling Bill had given place to his informant, and willing to protect himself from the former by continuing his inquiries, — " and, pray, what is your post in these parts — who are vou ?" " Oh ! they calls me, my Lord, the Wander- ing Sailor ; but my real name is Ben Hardy. I have been here and hereabouts, man and boy, these forty years. I am a lone man, your Lord- ship ; have no soul of kith or kin to speak a word for me, or to give me a kind look. I have eaten my bread in the sweat of my brow ; I have made my bed where I might ; I have done a job here and a job there, first for one, then for t"" other : nobody ever thanked poor Ben. Now, if your Honour would only take my hard case into your thoughts, I might be made watchman or errand-man, and get an honest livelihood." *' Have you not always done so, then ?"" ques- tioned Lord Mowbray, looking hard at him, as if he doubted the fact. " Always, your Honour ? Have I not alzmys done so ? Why there 's a puzzling question. FLIRTATION. 23 now. As if I could go back forty years, and re member what I have always done ! Your Ho- nour has not lived so long, I doubt, by some few ; and could you remember all the days and every day of your life ^ no, to be sure ! A gentleman's memory is not to be ransacked in such a manner as that ; and if not a gentle- man's, who knows so much better, why, then, surely not a poor man's, of whom less is ex- pected !" "' You are an ingenious fellow, at least," said Lord Mowbray ; — " I will not forget you." " Thank you, my Lord ; thank your Lord- ship i" vociferated Ben, as he made his way back into the crowd, shouting another loud welcome in acknowledgment of the success of his suit. There is no saying where the number of applicants would have stopped, after the gra- cious reception given to Ben Hardy, had not the steward, turning round as he reached the top of the ascent, perceived the throng striving with each other, and struggling who should be 24 FLIRTATION. the first to approach Lord Mowbray. Call- ing to them with a tremendous voice, and brandishing the staff that he held ex officio, in his right hand, he bade them stand off; then moving at the same moment a few steps for- ward, appeared ready to enforce his orders in a still more peremptory manner. To those who happen to have witnessed the lashing-off a pack of hounds, when running dead in upon the object of their pursuit, the sudden check produced on the yelping and wranglhig crew at Lord Mowbray's heels may perhaps be intelligible. In an instant all was silent, except the grinding of the teeth, and a low muttering, which proceeded from some few of the boldest and most forward of the group, and whose looks showed that they rather re- spected the presence of their future lord, than the command of the man in authority. Colonel Pennington took Lord Mowbray's arm, and as they quickened their pace to reach the summit, whispered in his ear, " A sad raggamuffin band ! — but I am glad to see, at any rate, that they are under some control." FLIRTATION. 25 They now stood upon the greensward that surrounded the Castle on every side save one : on that, the building rose abruptly from the very edge of the rock, and seemed to form a part of it. The head grew dizzy, as the eye, looking on the diminished waves beneath, measured the height of the precipice; and the vessels, spread over the vast expanse of ocean, appeared, as their Mhite sails turned to the sun, like pearls set in an outspread mantle of azure. Lord Mowbray cast a glance over the pre- cipice, and, stepping hastily back, turned to- wards the entrance. A low arch led by a few steps into a sort of porch, at the end of which appeared a massive weatherbeaten door open- ing into a spacious hall, where damp and mil- dew hung in large patches upon the bare and neglected wall. Here and there remained the rusty fastenings Avhich formerly had held the armour and warlike weapons of the inmates of the Castle ; and above, suspended from the beams of the ceiling, tattered and clad with cobwebs, waved the remnants of banners once VOL. I. c 26 FLIRTATION. proudly liorne by Lord Mowbray's ancestry in the field of battle, or planted in defiance on the ramparts of their fortress. It was impossible that Lord Mowbray should not feel sad at these signs of departed great- ness ; and if his spirit had been of a turn to pass lightly over the reflections which they suggested, the very gloom of the place would have inspired him with melancholy. A wide and ample staircase, of the stone found in the neighbouring Isle of Portland, ascended from the middle of the hall, and branching off* right and left, terminated in a length of gallery com- municating with the different apartments above. The broad and massive railing, on each side the steps, was ornamented with fretwork of quatre Jeuil ; and at intervals were placed escutcheons, sculptured with the bearings of different families allied to the Mowbrays. As his eye rested on these frail emblems of pride, and saw the distinctions, thus vainly endea- voured to be preserved, mutilated and crum- bling into dust, Lord Mowbray sighed, and FLIRTATION. 27 the occasion of his visit was recalled forcibly to his mind. " Let a few years pass," he said inwardly, " and some one will be here to fulfil the same duty to my remains : what then avail all this parade, and tliese distinctions of earthly gran- deur r Many of the rooms, as they advanced, ap- peared going fast to total decay ; the wind whistled from between the shutters, which, shrunk and rotten, no longer fitted the apertures ; and some, suspended by one hinge only, left uncontrolled entrance to the storms of heaven. The torn arras, the remnants of rich brocade, hanging in shreds upon the walls ; the empty picture-frames, robbed of the ani- mated forms that once had spoken in mute intelligence to the spectator ; the broken ar- ticles of massive furniture piled up in the fire- place, or standing tottering and leaning against the walls ; the squalid state of the floors and ceilings ; the birds'' nests, built in the angles and recesses of the cornices and mouldings : all 28 FLIETATION. showed the approaching ruin of this once proud structure, and the evident neglect which had allowed destruction to make such inroads upon it. The steward hastened Lord Mowbray for- ward as quickly as he dared, and urged his reaching the eastern apartments, which had been prepared for his reception, and were by far the best preserved in the building. " Better, I hope, at any rate, than those we have passed," said Colonel Pennington, " or, by my faith ! we are likely to be badly off in this Castle of yours, my Lord." As they entered the room, it offered an ap- pearance of comparative comfort, after what th.ey had witnessed. Some decorations painted on the walls were still perfect, and maintained their colouring : the furniture, of antique form, seemed to bid defiance to the hand of time ; and the black oak table, planted in the middle of the apartment and screwed to the floor, looked as if it could fall only with the Castle walls. The upper part of the window was decorated with some very richly painted glass, which here FLIRTATION. 29 and there cast an increased lustre on the colours of the walls; while its own brilliancy was con- trasted with the coarse, blue-knotted panes that had, from time to time, supplied deficiencies in the orif^inal casements. The steward, having ushered Lord IMowbray into this and the adjoining apartments, with- drew to attend the wants of his domestics ; and his Tiordship and Colonel Pennington had an opportunity of commenting on the strange recep- tion, and altogether curious class of dependents, who appeared in possession of his late kinsman's property. " We shall know more about the matter," said Lord Mowbray, " when I have seen the agent of the estate in the neighbourhood. Meanwhile, the person who commands here seems active and obliging, and he cannot help the ruined state of things, I suppose." " I feel certain,'' replied Colonel Pennington, " that these apartments are usually tlie resi- dence of the gentleman who has just left us, or they would not be as comfortable as they are : and see here," as he fixed his eye on a telescope 30 FLIRTATION. that was hanging against the wall, " it appears he fills up his idle hours with counting the vessels at sea. Very pretty pastime : I give him credit for his taste ; I should do the same myself if I lived here :" and so saying he took down the glass, and proceeded to examine it. " A very fine glass, upon my honour, my Lord,'"* added Colonel Pennington, as he looked through it ; "I can almost tell the colours of that little brig that you can scarcely see with the naked eye. What a constant source of amusement, picking up all the vessels that go by ! This window commands the whole of Portland Reach, my Lord ; and, seated at a little distance, you may fancy yourself on board a man of war. What an inexhaustible source of interest !" " Heaven forbid !" said Lord Mowbray, " that I should be doomed to such an enter- tainment. It puts me in mind of all the horrors of being at sea ; and hearing some one tell me, ' that is the coast of Spain — that is the island of Minorca — there is such and such a promon- tory ;' when at best they only look like little black streaks in the horizon. It is just the FLIRTATION. 31 same to see ships through a glass, passing and repassing on their trackless way. It conveys no feeling to me but that of profound melan- choly." " You have never been long enough at sea, my Lord, to try it fairly," " I never shall, I hope, my dear Colonel. Come, lay aside your glass and walk out with me; I want to look more about, and to see the Chapel and the burial-place. I imagine all that ragged crew that beset us on our arrival will be elsewhere now — perhaps with the ser- vants in the kitchen, if they have such a place.'' " Oh ! I'll answer for that," said Colonel Pen- nington, " and a cellar to boot ; or my friend has a nose which does him wondrous wronsr I" They now repassed the desolate gallery, and reached the entrance, where, to the dismay of Lord Mowbray, he encountered Smiling Bill. " What, ho ! my friend, go fetch the steward, and tell him I wish to see the Chapel." This he did as much to get rid of him, as to find the way thither ; and while he paced the platform in front of the Castle, and looked S2 FLIRTATION. round him on every side, he exclaimed to Colo- nel Pennington, " Where can the Chapel be situated ? We seem to be perched high enough to see every thing for twenty miles round, and not a vestige of Chapel or Holyrood can I dis- cover." At that moment Smilina; Bill came from the porch, with a bunch of large keys in his hand. " Please you, my Lord, the steward sent me Avith these keys to conduct your Lordship to the Chapel. He will be with your Lordship in a twinkling; but he's seeing your Lordship's cattle are well foddered up ; for the stabling isn't over good, my Lord. This way, if your Lordship pleases." And before Lord Mow- bray could demand the keys, or enforce his absence, Smiling Bill had strode half-way to the edge of the cliff, and was, or pretended to be, beyond hearing. Lord Mowbray followed ; bvit in another moment his guide had almost disappeared, and nothing but his head was to be seen above the precipice. FLIRTATION. 33 Another step forward, and Lord Mowbray found that a steep stair cut in the rock afforded a dangerous path along its sides ; and on follow- ing this, about half-way down, they came to a ledge of even ground, on which the Chapel was built. It was in good preservation, and, though small, of beautiful and most curious workman- ship of the richest and most elaborate Gothic order. There it stood, like a lovely gem cast on a desert shore. It was a thing of beauty, dropped as it were from Heaven, to lead the soul back from earth and earthly vanities to its divine source. Not a word was said. Smiling Bill opened the doors, and with reverential awe Lord Mow- bray entered. The vault was open which was to receive his kinsman's remains; he paused, and, sitting down on a stone bench near it, listened to the sound of the dashino; waves beneath, whicli were in unison with the scene and witli his own feelings. " One might well choose to be laid at rest here," said Lord IVIowbray to Colonel Penning- c5 34 FLIRTATION. ton, at length breaking silence ; " I never saw so tranquil, and, at the same time, so appro- priate a spot for the quiet of a last sleep." '* What signifies the spot ?*" answered Colonel Pennington, in his highest tone, to master the womanish feelings which he felt rising to his eyes — " what signifies the spot ? all places are alike good to the good. It is where one is when ahve, and above all what one does, that is of consequence. Many of your ancestors lie here, and some of them deserve to be remem- bered by you, looked up to by you ; but whe- tlier their bones whiten on the beach below, or crumble in these vaults, it is all one." " It is so," replied Lord Mowbray, with a sigh ; " and yet there are feelings — " " Which had better be all put in requisition for active service," interrupted Colonel Pen- nington, " than be allowed to evaporate in useless sentiment. Come, my good Lord, there are many things to be thought of, believe me, which it imports you to consider. Let us be- gone :" and Lord Mowbray suffered himself to be conducted back to the Castle. FLIKTATION. 35 The mournful procession arrived that night, and the next day the clergyman of the parish performed the funeral service, at which Lord Mowbray, Colonel Pennington, the agent of the estate, the steward, and a few domestics, alone attended. All the persons he had seen the day before had vanished, and Lord Mow- bray accounted for it, in his own mind, by the sentiment he had heard the old woman express at Abbotsbury. He had generally professed, and perhaps still continued to do so, tliat lie valued not the opinion of the world, and cared not what was said of him; yet the remem- brance of that old woman's words often re- curred to him. . 'Tis true that " Many a shaft at random sent. Finds aim the archer never meant ; And many a woi'd at random spoken May wonndj or heal, a heart that 's broken." And in after life Lord Mowbray could trace the beneficial train of reflection (he even did so now) which a casual hearing of rebuke to his ancestor's memory had given rise to. 36 FLIRTATION. In the arrangement of his affairs, which oc- cupied him incessantly during his stay at Mow- bray Castle, a wish to conciliate the good opinion of all dependent upon him seemed the prevailing feeling in the orders which he issued ; and many an abuse and encroachment on the part of his tenantry was overlooked, or but slightly noticed, in the accomplishment of this object ; while all grievances were instantly re- dressed, complaints listened to with patience, even when unreasonable in themselves, and })romises of reward held out to laudable and proper exertions of industry. The Castle was to be repaired, the roads improved, and the Park and its vicinity brought into better order, so that abundance of employment was marked out to the neighbouring poor. Lord Mowbray felt happy in the idea that he was thus the cause of happiness in others. He might have done what he was then doing, perhaps, without any other impulse than that of self-interest, — for what he did was only what another in his situation v/ould have found it advantageous to do ; but Lord Mowbray felt an inward con- FLIRTATION. 37 sciousness that the words which had reached him at hazard, when walking through the lone- ly village of Abbotsbury, were the true source of his actions on the present occasion ; and the being who had so unconsciously awakened him to a sense of duty, he felt, ought not to go un- rewarded. Under this impression, he one morning left the Castle to walk to Abbotsbury and visit the cottage of the old woman, from whose lips he considered he had received so salutary a lesson. It was a bright, blowing, healthful May morn- ing : the absence of trees and shrubs prevented that recognition of approaching summer, which in woodland scenes bursts so deliciously on the eye in every swelling bud and every fragrant blossom :, yet Nature left not Spring, her loved first-born, unhonoured, even in this tree- less, flowerless, barren region. The perfumed spirit of the season met the senses ; and the fresh, peculiar odours of the ocean, with its briny plants, came delicately borne upon the gusty breeze. The white, flickering clouds, their edges slightly tinged with a roseate hue, chased 38 FLIRTATION. each other in quick succession through the tran- quil firmament. The skylarks, poised high in air, gave out their triumphant melody of song, which, in verity, seems music that is mid-way to heaven ; and the fresh, sweet smell of the new-turned earth sent forth that steaming fragrance, which forms a part of the general in- cense with which creation gratulates the Creator. Lord Mowbray was in good humour with himself, enlivened by exercise, and made rich by the dispensing of his riches — that only way in which they ever make their possessor truly happy. He seemed to tread on air, and mur- mured something about his native soil being the most glorious in the world, which it would have delighted some of his friends to hear. As he stepped cheerfully onwards, he half whistled as he went, yet not for want of thought — no ! his mind was full and his fancy busy : — but it was called from indefinite wanderings to a de- finite object. Just as he reached the boundaries of the Park, and turned down the road that led to Abbots- FLIRTATION. 39 bury, a lady on a white steed came galloping towards him. The riding-habits and hats of the present day are assuredly not a becoming or feminine costume ; and it would be well if, in this age of innovation, some improve- ment were made in a department of the toilette so much requiring it. Yet, the lady whom Lord Mowbray thus unexpectedly encountered looked graceful and lovely, spite of the disad- vantages of her dress, and sat her horse without masculine assurance, though wthout the least appearance of timidity. Some white and dove- coloured greyhounds followed her course, and one of these she reined in her horse to notice ; for it seemed to have picked up a thorn in its rambles, and came limping to her call. In stooping down to caress and examine her favourite, as it stood on its hind paws, and rested on her foot, a sudden gust of wind carried off her hat, and away it rolled. In an instant she lightly leapt from her saddle, and, giving her horse's reins into her attendant's hand, pursued the truant hat ; but every time 40 FLIRTATION. she stooped to catch it, away it went again, as though winged by magic, and away after it flew its mistress, as if she too had wings ; the faster it rolled, the faster she ran, laughing gaily as the prize eluded her grasp. For a minute Lord Mowbray was immovable — but in another he joined the chase, and found it no easy matter to rival in fleetness the agile step of the beautiful creature that flitted before him. Fortunately, another breeze of wind bore the hat fairly over a hedge, and here the lady was at fault. Laughing and breathless, her cheeks blooming with the most vivid, yet most delicate colour, such as the healthful breath of morning alone imparts, she now in her turn stood motionless ; while Lord Mowbray, leaping the barrier, secured the object of pursuit. And as he restored it, said with much animation, that, indeed, it did not merit the honour of belong- ing to one so fair, and was unworthy of its happy destiny. Had the lady known how seldom any com- pliment escaped the lips of the person who ad- dressed her, she would perhaps have appeared more flattered at this homage. But confusion FLIRTATJON. 41 or carelessness, it was impossible to say which, marked her reply ; and thanking him courteous- ly, though briefly, she vaulted into her saddle as she spoke ; and the offending thorn having been removed from the greyhound's foot by her attendant, lady and dogs and servant were soon lost to the view of Lord Mowbray. In the days of faery, he would have fancied himself under the influence of some enchant- ment, and that the bright vision he had seen was a being called from the region of spirits ; but, as it was, he quickened his step towards the village to inquire concerning the name and condition, if possible, of this beautiful and fleet- ing visitant. It might be, that the original purport of his walk to Abbotsbury was a lit- tle diverted by the circumstances that had oc- curred on his way thither ; but he stopped, not- withstanding, at the cottage (it is possible it might also have been the first he met with on his road) of the old woman who had so un- wittingly taught such a useful lesson to him ; and, putting a purse well filled into her hand, asked whether or not she had seen a lady pass by mounted on a white horse that morning ? 42 FLIRTATION. " Lauk, Sir ! I never has no time, not I, to look at the folks as goes by. But I did see Mrs. Carter Koing; to market on White Sail. It couldn't be her, I 'm thinking ? But what 's the purse for, and this power of silver ?" " The purse is for you, my good woman, — keep it : and ask of your neighbours, if they have better eyes, whether they have seen such a lady as I describe, go by, and who she is — and let me know the next time I come this way." And so saying, he escaped the profession of her thanks, and hastened forward to make inquiries elsewhere ; but everywhere those inquiries fail- ed, and everywhere he received the same answer in effect. Nobody had seen the lady on a white horse, nobody knew any thing about her, and, moreover, nobody seemed to care. At length, wearied and provoked, he returned to the Castle. The end of a walk is not always as pleasant as the commencement. Lord Mowbray was partly fatigued, partly provoked : the land- scape became darkened by the overcasting of the weather — a strong north-east wind blew ' FLIRTATION. 43 cuttingly — the skylarks dropped into their nests; and all the aroma of the earth passed away with the sunshine. Lord Mowbray entered his Castle, certainly with very different sensations from those with which he had left it ; and declaring there was no dependance upon English climate for foiir hours together, drew his chair close to the fire, and cowering over it, indulged in his usual ma- lady — ennui. He was disturbed from nursing this humour by a loud noise, in which the shrill voice of his valet, Le Brun, was heard pre-emi- nently acute. " Milor, — Monseigneur !" cried the enraged Le Brun, " I never once did present me before your Lorship, pour vous deranger vid my complaints, quoique souvent j'ai souffert peines et maityresde Messieurs les Anglois; et si ce n'etoit mon attachement pour Monseig- neur, Milor, il y a bien long-temps que je ne servais plus ici. Mais, Monseigneur, si je con- tinuois de supporter les affronts de vos gens, mon honneur serait eternellement compromis, et ma confusion serait extreme." 4-Ji FLIRTATION. " What is the matter ? — what is all this noise about ?" asked Lord Mowbray, seeing Le Brun pursued by the cook ; and he himself bearing a dirty towel in his hand, which he waved around his head with furious gestures. " Voyez ce torchon, Milor ! Vat is de mat- ter ? De matter lie here in dis — in dis dirty tor- chon. It was attache, Milor, — oui, vraiment ! — ^it vas attache ames culottes; and all de house- hold point dere finger at me, and grin. lis rient, ma foi ! ils riront, mais ce sera d'une autre fa^on !"" " Silence, 1 command you, Le Brun ! What is the meaning of all this noise ?" " My Lord," replied the cook, " may it please your Lordship, Mounseer has ruined my roast, and your Lordship can have no dinner to-day ; so I threatened to put him on the spit instead of the beef which he spoiled, that 's all." " Vous ! me mettrez a la broche ! Je vous •t grillerais a la crapaudine premierement. But dat is not all : — I vas preparing une tasse de caffe, when Madame Betti, sa chere amie, m'a applique ce cadeau que voila. I am very sorry, Milor, to quit Monseigneur, but I come to FLIRTATION. 45 resign — e'en est fait ! mon honneur est souilli : — I am all covered vid ridicule, and I depart at de soonest.'' Lord Mowbray could hardly help laughing, while he ordered the cook to compromise the matter. " Not till I have pulled his French ears well, and be hanged to him," muttered the cook : " has he not spoiled my top dish, and scalded my legs.?" " Well, but you provoked him first." " I provoked him, my Lord ! I scorn to touch him with a pair of tongs, a frog-eatino- rascal." " Milor, it vas Madame Betti, his chere amie, who did put de affron upon me : and dat was de same you know, Milor." " Well, Le Brun," interrupted l]is Lordship, " they shall beg your pardon, and for my sake I hope you will agree with them. I have a little 9 commission for you to execute, which will take you away for a day or two, and by that time you will return, and all this will be^blown over." " Oh, oh ! dat alters de all, cela change tout : when Milor command, his servant must obey.'" 46 FLIRTATION. " And as for you, Harris," said his Lordship, " show yourself better-hearted than to affront a friendless foreigner. If I do not care about the loss of my roast beef, you need not." The cook did not seem wilHng to admit the truth of Lord Mowbray's conclusion on this point ; but as the cause was going against him, he retired : muttering, however, as he went some- thing about foreigners, and partiality, and re- pent it, &c. &c. " Le Brun," said Lord Mowbray, calling to his valet as he began bowing, and was preparing to follow his adversary ; " stop, I want to speak with you." " Me voici, Milor." " Do you know the names of any of the noble- men's seats in this neighbourhood ? You are generally apt to make yourself master of the carte du pays pretty quickly." *' Oh, yes ! Milor, Monseigneur scait qu'il y a Milor Neville, et le Due de Godolphin, qui sont assez proches voisins. Dere chateaux be only some few miles off." " Do any of their inhabitants ride out ?" FLIRTATION. 47 It is astonishing what foolish questions sen- sible men sometimes ask. " Milor, vats your pleasure? Excusez me, I no onderstand. Les Dames de ces lieux vont elles souvent prendre Tair a cheval.^ Oh, oh! il me semble, Monseigneur — " smiling, and then suddenly becoming grave again : " il me semble qu'en efFet je comprends a present. Si les dames se promenent a cheval, — walk upon de horseback ? Oh ! Milor wish to know, Le Brun will make his business to ascertain. Mi- lor saura cela au plus vite: wheder de ladies walk in a carriage or upon top de horseback." " Exactly! and what is their name, and how long they remain in this part of the country." " How long dey fix here ? combien de temps ils comptent sejqurner ici? how long dey count to stay in dese parts ? Dat shall be known to Mi- lor vidout fail. I shall be on de return as quick as de vind. He blow brisk here, Monseigneur knows." Le Brun's wrath was entirely laid, in the pro- spect of having a commission to execute quite 48 FLIRTATION. to his taste. Now, he thought, if my Lord be- gins to take any interest in the society of ladies, he will become quite an improved and altered man. Some days, however, elapsed before the information could be procured ; and when it was, it only amounted to this: — that a lar^'e party had been at Lord Barnstaple's, among whom were General Montgomery and his two nieces, both of whom were very fond of riding, and frequently took that amusement. One of them rode on a white horse. *' Bravo, Le Brun !" said Lord Mowbray, when his servant had given him this account. " Mais je regrette d'ajouter," Le Brun con- tinued, with a melancholy air; " que ces dames sont parties, elles demeurent a ce que j'ai pu saToir, pres de Soutamton — " " Southampton ? " " Oui, precisement. Milor Barnstaple's valet said Soutamton. Monseigneur a-t-il d'autres ordres a, me donner? Any command to lay upon me?" " Nothing more at present." Le Brun bowed, and felt quite satisfied that FLIRTATIOK. 49 he should now become an indispensable requisite to Lord jVIowbray, since there was a lady in the case. Colonel Pennington had been agreeably sur- prised to observe the deep interest that Lord Mowbray appeared to take in JNIowbray Castle, and in the future management of the extensive property around it ; but he began to fear that this feeling was gradually dying away, and that with the novelty of the pursuit, its pleasure was expiring. Under this impression, and with the conviction that to maintain such a Teelino; was of vital importance to the happiness of a man of Lord Mowbray's turn of character, he studied with the most friendly zeal the best means of keeping it alive. Observation and reflection led him to think that a temporary absence from the scene, before satiety should destroy the re- lish of its pleasures and pursuits. Avould be the most likely course to ensure success to his wishes : and he made proposals to Lord Mow- bray, in consequence, to accompany him in a visit which he had engaged to make in Hampshire. " As soon, my Lord, as you have put things VOL. I. D 50 FLIRTATIOX. in train here, I do not see that your actual pre- sence will be wanted for some time : not that I wish you to neglect this place," continued Colo- nel Pennington, " quite the contrary ; but I believe we are all the better for changing the scene, and you will return with more interest when you think you are to see your improve- ments in a state of more forwardness.'^ " But where is it you are going to take me ?" replied Lord Mowbray. " Oh, it is to the house of the oldest and the very kindest friend I have— to General Mont- gomery's, not very far from Southampton." " Montgomery ! Southampton !"" ejaculated Lord Mowbray, with some surprise ; " are you acquainted with General Montgomery ?" " Yes, to be sure, and have been these fifty years and more — why do you look so surprised ? — but will you go with me V " Oh ! certainly,"" said Lord Mowbray, with more than usual alacrity — " with much plea- sure." " Wei], then, I will write to Montgomery to say, he may expect you with me— when shall FLIRTATION. 51 I say ? will a fortnight suffice for the arrange- ments still to be made at this Castle of yours ?'' " Oh, undoubtedly," answered Lord Mow- bray ; " sooner, if you like." " Why what the deuce makes the man in such a hurry, and what made him look so astonished just now?" said Colonel Pennington to himself as he took up his pen, and was sitting down to write to his friend, with the information that Lord Mowbray would accom- pany him to Montgomery Hall. The prospect held out in the approaching visit seemed to inspire both parties with renewed spirits. Lord Mowbray was elated with the idea of change ; his curiosity in regard to the fair incognita (if Le Brun's information were correct) might perhaps have added to the satis- faction he experienced, although, till the name of Montgomery recalled the circumstance, he had almost forgotten whatever interest that circumstance had excited. Colonel Penning- ton, too, was delighted to observe this change in his friend, which he attributed to his feeling that his stay at the Castle was no longer as a D 2 53 FLIRTATION. duty he was called on to perform and which he could not evade. The days preceding their departure passed rapidly aAvay — final orders were to be given, and arrangements definitively made — certain ameliorations in the condition of the tenantry immediately in the vicinity of the Castle were to be carried into effect under Lord Mowbray's eye ; for even in the ennui which had at times taken possession of him, he had never aban- doned the object that first roused him to exer- tion on coming there. Arid as the period of his leaving the Castle approached, he proved himself more anxious than ever that his inten- tions in this respect should be realized. His time, therefore, was fully occupied ; and he found in Colonel Pennington an active and able coadjutor in all the plans and proposals he suofo^ested for the comfort of those around him. As they were talking over, on the evening preceding their departure, what had been done, and what still remained to do, to complete the improvements, Colonel Pennington started from his chair, exclaiming, " Do come to the window, • FLIRTATION. 53 Lord Mowbray, and see that blaze of light — what can it be ?" They approached close to the casements, and perceived a lurid glare of fire which, though its source was hidden from them, proceeded evidently from some large conflagra- tion on the shore immediately beneath ; for its red light gleamed far across the waves, and, mingling with the silvery moonshine, afforded a combination of colours that was perfectly ma- gical ; while the cliff, circling on either side the building, was shrouded in obscurity, or showed only its ragged outline illuminated at intervals as the flames shot upwards. " Let us inquire what all this means," said Lord Mowbray. " Let us go and see rather," said Colonel Pennington ; " for your people will be too indolent to inquire, or perhaps some of them here may not be overwilhng that you should know the truth." And so saying, they left the apartment. Lord Mowbray called to the ser- vant usually in attendance near the door, but no answer was returned. " The fellow is gone to see the fire, my Lord, 54 FLIRTATION. depend upon it," said Colonel Pennington ; " but how he should have caught sight of it through that thick door, or have known it was in existence, I do not understand." They crossed the hall, and, opening the portal, found themselves on the grassy sward white with dew, and glittering in the fresh and pure moonlight. The atmosphere towards the coast, however, appeared glowing with fire, and the Castle presented a solemn mass of shade where opposed to it. Lord Mowbray walked to the edge of the cliff, towards the path leading to the Chapel. Still nothing appeared to satisfy them as to the cause of the illumination, which they saw rising more strongly than ever from beneath the butting rock on which they stood. The moon afforded them light enough to guide them in their descent, and Lord Mowbray, followed by his companion, proceeded down the winding declivity. " What can it be ?"" said Lord Mowbray, " Why, I rather suspect," replied Colonel Pennington, " that it is a signal to smugglers FLIRTATION. 55 on the coast ; and if our appearance does not disturb tlie party, we may have an opportunity of seeing liow they manage these affairs — keep close, my Lord, to the side of the cliff, for otherwise our figures will catch the reflection from the fire." They had already reached the platform, whicli stood before the entrance to the Chapel, when Lord Mowbray stopped — '' I think I hear voices," he said, in a whisper. " Hush ! hush !" answered Colonel Penning- ton, and they stood quite still : " I also hear voices," resumed the Colonel; "and music too, or else my ears deceive me : why, the rascals have run their cargo, I suppose, and are now making merry over it : let us go and try to get a peep at them." Tliey stole gently down the continuation of the path ; though, as the ostensible reason for its formation seemed at an end when they had reached the Chapel, it was narrower and more difficult; and then, too, Lord Mowbray's ac- quaintance with its turnings and windings had ceased. By the help of the flame below, how- 56 FLIRTATION. ever, which beoran to illuminate the rock now very generally, they made their way well enough till, at a sudden turn, not many fathoms above the shore, they came abruptly in sight of a deep cavern on the beach ; its dark recesses gleamed with torches, and at its entrance was burning the fire that had first attracted their attention from the Castle windows. Lord Mow- bray started back a few paces, and, laying his finger on his lips, led Colonel Pennington to the spot. By advancing a little, they had now a full view of what was passing within; and the Colonel, making signs to Lord Mowbray to fol- low his example, placed himself on his knees, and stooping down, they remained effectually concealed from observation by the rude parapet left in the rock. It would be difficult to de- scribe the group and the scene that they wit- nessed ; but from the mixture of foreign dresses, and the circumstance of many of the party being attired in seamen's habits. Colonel Pen- nington's suspicion, that it was altogether an affair of smugglers, did not appear improbable. FLIRTATION 57 However, there were females in the company, and Lord Mowbray's surprise and entertain- ment were extreme, as he saw his man, Le Brun, with all his airs and graces, lead out a remark- ably pretty girl, French apparently by her dress, and perform a minuet with her in the midst of the surrounding party : the man play- ing the fiddle too, though partly obscured by a projecting side of the rock, he thought was his old acquaintance, Ben Hardy; and he re- collected the fellow's casuistry when he ques- tioned him about having always earned an honest livehhood. The minuet received creat applause, and a song was called for ; but before this began, the liquor was served round; and Lord Mowbray's dismay was extreme, as he saw the person who officiated as steward at the Castle step forward, attended by a fellow in his own livery, bearing a reeking bowl of some hot liquor, which the steward served out to each guest in rotation, and then the song commenced ; it was very easy to any one who had once heard his voice, to recognize, in the strain that fol- lowed, the powerful note of smiling Bill ; and D 5 58 FLIRTATION. as the whole company joined in chorus, and seemed too much taken up with their entertain- ment to observe any movement made by the party in ambush, Lord Mowbray jogged Colonel Pennington''s elbow, and they crept away • in silence. It was well they had thought of moving, for the dying embers of the fire now scarcely sent up light enough to direct them in their path; and the moon had already passed behind the Castle, and left the shore in obscurit}^ They paused when they left the platform in front of the Chapel. " A pretty rascal that steward, my Lord, to be leagued with such a band !*" observed Colonel Pennington : " they are, depend upon it, one- half of them smugglers from the opposite coast, and the other half their confederates on this side the water." " I confess I am more sorry than surprised," said Lord Mowbray ; " for I did not augur well of the characters who surrounded us on our arrival here. Do you remember, Penning- ton, the hang-dog countenance of that fellow FLIRTATION'. 59 "vvhora they call Smiling Bill ? It becomes, however, a serious matter, indeed, Avhen I find the man holding chief authority in the Castle at the head of them : there is no saying ex- actly what may be in his power, or how far this misrule extends ; it will require considera- tion before I act." " True,"" replied Colonel Pennington, begin- ning to ascend the path Avhich led to the Cas- tle — " true enough, and I will give you my opinion on that point presently ; meanwhile, I think, we had better regain our apartment quiet- ly, and as quickly as we can ; the party will else be separating : and should our knowledge of their proceedings be suspected, it may prove a means of preventing a full discovery of the facts :— depend upon it, you have artful knaves to deal with." Lord Mowbray assented to this advice, but added, " I shall see my agent to-morrow, before we go ; and I shall leave directions with him, to have the path from the Chapel to the beach, as well as every other access to it, blocked up. This will be one means of cutting off communi- 60 FLIRTATION. cation, and can excite no wonderment. The privacy of the immediate neighbourhood of the Castle requires the precaution." . By tins time they had reached the summit of the chff, and in a few moments re-entered the Castle walls. Every thing wore the same re- pose ; and the same stillness reigned as when they crossed its dreary portal. It was clear that every inmate had forsaken it, and, with the exception of themselves, had been bidden to the festival of the cavern. This circumstance added still more to the conviction which both Lord Mov/bray and Colonel Pennington felt, that the proceedings of the evening, from some motive or other, were intended to remain a secret ; and although no immediate step was taken against the parties concerned, Lord Mowbray issued such orders on the morrow previous to his departure, as would probably render a recurrence of the same scenes difficult, if not impossible. FLIRTATION. 61 CHAPTER II. The soote season that bud and bloom forth bringS;, Witli green hath clad the hill, and eke the vale ; The nightingale with feathers new she sings ; The turtle to her mate hath told her tale ; Summer is come ! for every spray now springs ; The hart hath hung his old head o'er the pale ; The buck in brake his winter coat he flinsTS : The fishes float with new repaired scale ; The adder all her slough away she flings ; The swift swallow pursueth the flies small ; The busy bee her honey new she brings ; Winter is gone that was the flowers bale ; And thus I see, among those pleasant things, Each care decays, and yet my sorrow springs. Loiii) Surrey. Lord Mowbray felt, when he set ofl' the next morning, that bleak and barren as he had thought this spot when he first came to it, he nevertheless could attach himself to its wild scenery. We grow to like those on whom we confer benefits, or to whom we are of use ; 62 FLIRTATION. and we become fond of a place which we feel to be our own, and to which our presence can be of material consequence ; besides, a change which we look forward to anxiously in distant prospect, we frequently dread as it approaches nearer, and fifty times ere Lord Mowbray reached Montgomery Hall, he repented him of having consented to go there. " Perhaps," thought he, " this beautiful vision which haunts my imagination may prove different from what my fancy painted her when seen on the wilds of Dorsetshire ; and should she prove, in fact, ever so beautiful, what is that to me?" With these and similar wayward thoughts, Lord Mowbray entered Montgomery Hall. It was late in the evening Avhen they arrived, and he had to pass through a tedious ordeal ; for, after having been introduced to General Montgomery, he was in due order presented to every individual of the society there assembled, by the General himself. " My niece, Lady Emily Lorimer ; my niece, Lady Frances Lorimer ; my friend and kins- I'LIETATION. 63 woman, Miss Marian Macalpine — I beg her pardon for having forgotten to name lier be- fore. Her friend, Miss Paterson ; both of them near relations of my mother's. Mr. Sam- son Skinner, and Mr. Abraham Aldget, my friends and agents; and though last, not least, my worthy Knight of the Thistle, Sir Richard Townley." Lord Mowbray, always shy, was peculiarly so on the present occasion. One glance had told him that his fair huntress was Lady Emily Lorimer, but she did not seem to recognise him ; and though at first this had been rather a relief, yet afterwards it was not flattering to his feelings ; and, looking at her more leisurely, he thought she was not so handsome as he had fancied her to be ; neither perhaps was she, in fact, as beautiful at this moment as when exercise and the fresh air, and the excitement of pursuing her hat when blown away by the wind, had lent to her all those graces of action and emotion, which give to beauty its greatest, but at the same time its most evanescent charm. 64 FLIRTATION. While General Montgomery continued to go throuo;h the regular routine of introduction, Lord Mowbray merely bowed in silence ; and the General, having fulfilled what he conceived to be an indispensable part of polite hospitality, hastened to his rubber of whist, the clock having struck nine; and the habit of por- tioning out time having become a part of his nature, nothing discomposed him so much as being obliged to forego the regular occupations at the regular hours : and happy are those whose youth has been so spent, that this blessed love of order gradually settles into a fixed habit in declining years; — it is seldom or ever seen, where a life of vicious pleasure or idleness has previously unfitted the mind for those serene enjoyments, which attend a dignified and vir- tuous old age. In General Montgomery, this was beautifully exemplified. He had passed gradually, and without any violent or abrupt transition, from active and healthful youth into the vale of honoured years : all the finest pleasures of existence remained to him still, vivid and un- FLIRTATION. 65 impaired; and when die hour came at which the card-table was set out, and his loved niece, Emily, was waiting for him with her gay de- fiance, the General felt that youth of spirit which continues to find interest in the simplest enjoyment. Lord Mowbray having declined playing at cards, the usual party, consisting of Miss Mac- alpine, Sir R. Townley, the General and Lady Emily sat down to whist. Mr. Aldget engaged Colonel Pennington at backgammon ; Mr. Skin- ner was busily employed in examining a plan of the estate, with some proposed improvements annexed ; and while Lady Frances worked some gold embroidery. Lord Mowbray pleased his eyes with looking at her white fingers ; and now and then agreeing to some commonplace ob- servation she made, or merely half dissenting by the interrogatory, " Do you think so ?"" " What a tiresome thing it is," said Lady Frances, after a long pause, and looking towards the card-table, " to do the same dull things at the same dull hour ! That everlasting whist makes me quite sick. One of the reasons 66 FLIUTATION. which induces me to hate the country is, that I see it takes effect upon every body more or less, and renders them stupid, at least silent, which is much the same thing. I am afraid at last that I shall grow into a clock, and never say any thing but tic-tic." " A clock !" rejoined Lord Mowbray, with a smile ; " one might as well be a clock as any thing else, for aught I know ; it would save one a deal of trouble to be wound up regu- larly, and set a-going for the four-and-twenty hours ; besides, after all, few people say any thing better worth listening to than tic-tic !" Lady Frances raised her eyes to the speaker, to see if it were possible this speech could have been pointed at her : but his Lordship's eyes were closed or nearly so; and he seemed to have forgotten that it was necessary to speak at all, so long a sile^ice followed this effort at conversation. " Doublets, by all that is unlucky!" suddenly exclaimed Colonel Pennington in a voice which made them all start. " Softly ! my good friend," cried General FLIRTATION. 67 Montgomery, looking over his shoulder ; " I believe he thinks he is storming a fort !" " Bless me, Lady Emily ! I wish you would mind what you are about !" cried Miss Macalpine ; why you have trumped my queen, and lost the odd trick, and they are at nine ; and that 's a double and single, and the rubber, and there 's eighteen-pence lost to me for ever : it 's so much the mair provoking, that if ye would but mind, ye are no so bad at it ; but ye 're aye thinkino; o' something- or anither — that 's no the game o' whist ; what made you so heedless, lassie ? you can play well enough when you mind what you are about; but that little head is running upon something else, I 'm thinking !" '' Ah ! do not scold me, my dear Alpinia l"^ (the name of affection which Lady Emily save her.') " We shall beat them well another evening." " Pay me my half-crown, Emily !" said the General ; " you know you would have a bet."" " There it is, dear uncle," said she, laugh- ing ; " but I will have two for it at some future time." 6*8 FLIRTATION. " Dearest and best !"" cried the General, kissing her, " you shall have your revenge now, if you like it." " Oh, no ! not now, if you please ; you know it is time for a little music." " Ay, very true : let us have that deli- cious Di Piacer r and, to the regret of Miss Macalpine, music banished cards : not that she disliked music, only she liked cards better. " Is your Lordship fond of our Scottish airs ?■" said Miss INIacalpine, addressing Lord Mowbray. " I like them now and then, when they are sung with taste and spirit and in the true Scot- tish style ; but I am afraid," (smiling) " that my real predilection is for Italian music." " Well, you shall hear Lady Emily sing ' Will ye go to the Ewebuchts, Marian ?' and tell me true if ever ye heard the like, far or near !" They now adjourned to the music-room: Lady Frances sat down to the piano ; Lady Emily drew the harp towards her ; the Gene- ral took his flute, and the concert commenced. FLIRTATION. 69 There is something in a family concert, even when the performers are only moderately skill- ed in music, which is peculiarly harmonious, owing to a kindred touch and feeling ; and also perhaps to the habit of studying and playing to- gether : and if this be the case in merely instru- mental pieces, how much more decidedly is it so in vocal music. Is there any thing more strik- ing than the similar tones which harmonize so divinely together in the voices of near relations who sing in parts ? they are like shades of the same colours, all differing, yet all agreeing, fading, mingling, contrasting, and blending in one perfectly harmonious whole. When lis- tening to the concord of sweet sounds thus poured forth from fraternal and filial song, it is difficult to conceive that a moral concord should not always continue to exist between the parties ; and that the soft melody of sweetly attuned voices should not pervade the whole of their intercourse Avith each other. J3ut, alas ! relations are parted — sometimes cruelly part- ed, by the jealous or evil passions of others : absence produces estrangement ; estrangement 70 FLIRTATION. leads to forgetfulness ; and all the sweet in- fluences of natural affection are dispersed and vanish like those dulcet sounds which die in their very birth. It is, however, some consola- tion to think, that the ties of consanguinity cannot be broken by mortal hatred or mortal malice ; they will, every now and then, make themselves to be felt : and the sound of a well- known voice, or the melody of an oft-sung air, will frequently bring back the tenderness of recollected love, after long years of cold neg- lect and apparent oblivion. It was impossible, when hearing General Montgomery and his nieces tuning their voices together in song, not to feel soothed into a for- getfulness of worldly evil ; and even those per- sons who were least ahve to tender impressions, acknowledged somewhat of this balmy sen- sation, — at least during its immediate influ- ence. The General's voice was most peculiar : it still retained much of the power and charm it had once possessed, and was a clear deep tenor, as singular in its quality of tone, as he was him- FLIRTATION. 71 self unlike any being that ever lived in the union of sweetness with nobility of disposition. Lady Frances was a perfect musician ; the ear found no fault with her execution and skill, but there was a touching richness in her sister's voice which spoke to every heart. Music was as necessary a mental aliment to this family as any other food is to common existence ; and the General required from his nieces the tribute of a song every evening. Those who had no particular taste for music had ample freedom to absent themselves, and found abundant means of amusement in the library or the billiard- room. Lord Mowbray having got over the first in- ' troductjon, and being comfortably established on a sofa, was pleased with what he conceived to be the usual routine of the house. It suited him exactly : there was an absence of form, and a tranquillity in the manners of General Mont- gomery, which were precisely according to his ideas of comfort. The visionary admiration which he had entertained in his fancy for Lady Emily was considerably lowered in tone ; but 72 FLIRTATION. Lady Frances's beauty was splendid, and he found no great difficulty in transferring his pen- chant from the one sister to the other. As he sat, therefore, during that first evening of his arrival, admiring the graceful bend of her well- turned neck, and watching the motion of her fairy fingers, he thought inwardly that, pro- viding a woman could always look as beauti- ful, he should care very little whether she ever did any thing better worth doing than net silk purses. From this wise reverie he was disturbed ra- ther unpleasantly by Miss Macalpine's affirma- tion that he had never heard any thing so charming as " Will ye go to the Ewebuchts, Marian ?" He prepared, however, with as good a grace as he could, to have his ears ex- cruciated by a drawling Scotch tune. In this he had been agreeably disappointed ; it was a charming air, sung with exquisite feeling and simplicity ; and Lady Emily afterwards prov- ed that, though she sung Scotch airs to please Miss Macalpine, and Handel to please the Gene- ral, she was not insensible to the power of FLIIITATION. 73 Italian music. On the contrary, she sang Caraffa's exquisite airs with a style and ex- pression which enchanted even the delicate and practised ear of Lord Mowbray ; and as music was declared to be the rulino^ taste and srand business of the house, he felt reheved to think that his complaisance would not be put to the rack while he listened to it. General Montgomery at length drew out his watch, and pronounced the hour to be come for retiring. " Before you all go," he said, " I must call a Council of War to know what plans are formed for the amusement of the morrow — we must do the honours to Lord Mowbray, and show him the beauties of our forest.'' Colonel Pennington immediately proposed a fishing-party, and Lady Emily warmly se- conded it : " Because," she said, " we must go by the famous bed where the lilies of the valley grow in such profusion ; and I want to pro- cure some, roots and all — so, if you please, dear uncle, I will take Rose to help me." Lady Frances observed sneerlngly, " Emily VOL. I. E 74 FLIRTATION. cannot go any where without Rose, you know ; — Rose is one of her most obsequious slaves, and Emily cannot do without a slave : I am sure, if my place is wanted, I shall very joyfully resign it, for I am not particularly fond of either fishing or flower-gathering." " No, no ! my Queen," cried General Mont- gomery, " I cannot do without you ; but there is plenty of room for pretty Rose, if Emily wants her : besides, you know, we shall pass close to the Duke of Godolphin's, and you can pay a visit to your friend Lady Arabella." " I thank you, my dear uncle," replied Lad}' Frances, brightening up ; " I shall extremely en- joy seeing Lady Arabella." And now every thing seemed to be easily arranged. Miss Macalpine, from certain associa- tions and recollections, had conceived the idea that she had a right to appropriate Lord Mow- bray to herself: she had formed a design upon him, which, though in itself quite innocent, gave an amusing importance and mystery to her manner, as she began counting heads, and FLIRTATION. 75 arranging the different persons in the different carriages after her own wishes, finishing thus: — " And then, Lord Mowbray, I 'm thinking, will like to go in the pony phaeton, and it 's just the same to me where I ""m placed. I can just go with him, you know." General Montgomery winked to Lady Emily; for he always saw through these little contri- vances, and enjoyed them. — " But you forget. Miss Macal pine," he said, turning to her, " that we all want to enjoy Lord Mowbray's society, and we are not going to resign him to you en tete-d-tete.'''' " Oh weel,"" said Miss Macalpine, defeated but not put out of temper, " have it just as you please. General : I only thought the other car- riages would be filled, and that you would like to have Lady Emily to yourself. Ge- neral." " As you would like to have Lord Mowbray all to yourself— eh ! Miss Macalpine ?"" said the General, archly — " but leave us to marshal our troops our own way."" E 2 76 FLIRTATION. Lord Mowbray, who knew nothing of the genuine goodness and singleness of heart which distinguished Miss Macalpine, just understood enough of this dialogue to be alarmed at the prospect held out to him, for the ensuing day, of being imprisoned in a pony phaeton, with a very plain and rather formal old maid, who spoke with a Scotch accent, and took snufF; he therefore really felt grateful to the General for making a diversion in his favour, while Poor Miss Macal- pine, a little disconcerted, walked out of the room. " Confess," said the General laughing, " that was what you call taking the place by storm — was it not, my Lord ? But if poor Miss Macal- pine hr.3 her little foibles, they are so amply compensated for by her noble qualities, that one may the more readily allow oneself a little laugh now and then at her expense. Do not, however, suffer this desperate attempt of the enemy to discompose your slumbers — depend upon it, there are carriages enough and to spare for all our party." Then followed the parting compliments for FLIRTATION'. 77 the night, the hophig Lord Mowbray would feel himself at home, the kindly trust that Colonel Pennington had long done so, and they retired to their several apartments. " What sort of a day is it?'' were the first words of Lady Emily as her maid entered her room the next morning-. " Rather overcast, my Lady," was the reply : and many were the anxious looks she gave to- wards the window, during the time she was dress- ing, to ascertain whether it would or would not I'ain. " Always the rain and the fine weather, Emily ?" said her sister to her : " when will you learn to forget there is such a thing as weather ?" " Never — sister, till I forget there are such things as pleasant fields and woods and walks to ramble through, and which I cannot en- joy when the wet prevents my resorting to them." " Well, upon the whole," said Ladv Frances, yawning as she too prepared to rise, " I do sometimes envy you in the country, because you find so much amusement in things that 78 ' FLIRTATION. don't amuse me in the least ; but then you have not come out yet, though you are a year older than I was when I was presented ; and I have a notion, Emily, that a season in London would make a wondrous change in your ideas — cure you, in short, of this sentimental rusticity."" " If you mean to say that I should enjoy the amusements of London excessively, I have no doubt of it ; but why should you doubt that my delight also in the country is ge- nuine ?" " Why ? why, because it is so unnatural."" " O Frances, love, say rather that you are unnatural. Do not, however, let us dispute about it, but, on the contrary, try how well you can entertain yourself this day, and I will do every thing in my power to please you." So saying, with light heart and bounding step, she descended to the breakfast-room. " I am sure it will not rain to-day," said Lady Emily, after the salutations of the morn- ing had passed. " Do you think it will, dear uncle .'' '' " No, my Emily !" he replied, tapping the FLIRTATION. 79 tube of the weather-glass ; " I can answer for it, it will not." " It is just the very day for fishing,"" observ- ed the Colonel : " the fish will rise beautifully : such a mild atmosphere, neither dark nor light ; and such a dappled grey in the East." " Oh ! what a charming day we shall have V cried Lady Emily. " Come, Alpinia, make haste, put on your walking-shoes, and arm yourself for an expedition with me. I am going lily-hunting with Rose, and we must not be baulked of our enjoyment for want of a few sensible preparations and common com- forts. You see I practise as I preach :"" and she pointed, laughing, to her walking-boots, which could not disguise all the beauty of the small feet they defended ; and her dark silk pelise, which showed to advantage her fair and delicate complexion, sparkling with added colour from the excitement of the moment : " and now," said she, " we can brave ditches and brambles, and pursue our recreation unimpeded by finery, at least." Lady Frances cast a contemptuous glance at 80 FLIETATION. her sister. " You really have made yourself a proper figure," said she. " I wonder how my uncle can allow it !"" Not so Lady Frances herself, whose attire was a light summer costume, as costly and fashion- able as though she had been going to seme fete in town. Beautiful she was, undoubtedly ; but as Lord Mowbray's eyes dwelt on her, and then turned to her sister, he could not help reading a transcript of the character of each in their choice of an habiliment for the morning's di- version ; and the silent comparison was in fa- vour of Emily. It was decided, however, that he should accompany Lady Frances in one carriage, with General Montgomery and Sir Richard Townley ; while the Colonel, Lady Emily, Miss Macalpine, and Miss Paterson, oc- cupied the other. Rose Delvin was to follow in the pony phaeton ; where, as they were going a considerable distance, and did not ex- pect to be back till dark, arrangements had been made to convey sundry cold refreshments, of which Lady Emily had undertaken the charge. " But," said General Montgomery, " we FLIRTATION. 81 should be badly off, I fear, if I trusted entirely to my sweet Emily in this department of the day's business; for I am sure, at any time, a flower v/ould carry it over cold ham and chickens. — Are the refreshments put into the phaeton ?" asked the General, turning to the servant who announced the carriages. Lady Emily looked rather mortified at this observation of her uncle; and said half play- fully, half reproachfully, " Why, my dear uncle, with all my romance, I do not really ima- gine myself sufficiently spiritualised to live upon flowers and air: but suppose I did, do you think that your giddy Emily would forget her uncle's wishes and comforts.?" The General, affectionately pressing Lady Emily's hand, kissed her, and said gaily, " Come, we are all ready, I beheve ; let us be off. The day will not be too long." In their drive through the New Forest, the General frequently caused the carriages to stop, in order that he might point out some beauti- ful combination of trees, or some peep of the distant country seen through them. On these E 5 82 FLIRTATION. occasions, as on all similar ones, Lady Frances seemed wholly unconscious of what was passing ; but when they moved on again, and that the General's attention was engaged in convers- ing upon some agricultural matter with Sir Richard Townley, she talked to Lord Mow- bray of the Opera,— of the last presentation at Court,' — of the debuts of fashionable singers and admired dancers ; discussing the merits of each with rather more assurance than seemed properly to belong to her age and sex. Lord Mowbray professed his ignorance upon most of these subjects, and his indifference to others, in a way provoking to Lady Frances ; though it served to give an additional stimulus to her finding a topic of discourse which might engage his attention. " Are the operas better in Italy," at last said Lady Frances, " than in London .f"' " Far better," was the short reply. '* How so ?" " Why, because, in the first place, music is indigenous to the soil of Italy; and in the next. FLIRTATION. 83 we never have an opera performed in this country as it is written ; there is always some- thing rejected or something interpolated, in order to suit it, as it is called, to the genius of an English audience; its own genius evapo- rates. Perhaps, after all, it is not that the opera in Italy is in itself so superior ; for, I think, I have not seen on any stage in Italy the combination of musical talent I have occa- sionally seen on the opera-stage in London ; but there is something in the air of the coun- try which renders us more susceptible of en- joyment; we feel we are in the land of song, and give ourselves up to a mere existence of indolent and pleasurable sensation." " You speak of Italy as if you loved it bet- ter than your own country — that is, better than London ?" Lord Mowbray smiled at the idea of London being one's own country, and standing specifi- cally for the whole British nation. " Are the ladies of Italy," continued his fair catechist, " much handsomer than those of Eng- land .>" 84 FLIRTATION. " That depends upon taste ; Italian beauty is all dark, forcible, and natural ; I never saw an affected Italian woman — a vain one ? yes — but their vanity is as undisguised as their other sentiments; they are less employed about the fashions of the day — I should say, generally speaking, less taken up about the frivolous pursuits of the toilette; they unconsciously imbibe something of the taste they see around them ; and the mere cares of dress and per- sonal appearance have less power over their minds." Lady Frances coloured, and looked displeased. " Your Italians, my Lord," said she, " are, perhaps, more secure in their own charms- — more sure of conquest — they can afford to be negligent ; we Englishwomen pay at least a high- er compliment to your sex, by our very anxiety and mistrust of our unassisted attractions." " It is a compliment I, for one, could well dispense with," replied Lord Mowbray. " Lady Frances bit her lip almost through with vexation, but was not to be foiled by this unusual language. A thought of her own tran- FLIRTATION. 85 scendent beauty inspired her with new courage, and the absence of all objects to try her power on — nay, the very difficulty she experienced iu extracting any thing in the shape of a compli- ment, gave her an additional stimulus to exert all her wiles, and not to allow Lord Mowbray's heart to escape the snares she set for it. She remained silent, however, as if reflecting upon what he had said ; and contented herself with lifting her eyes occasionally to Lord jNIowbray's, with a sort of imploring gentleness, which she well knew how to make them assume, and by- degrees their silent eloquence regained for her the power she had nearly lost within the last few minutes. The party had now left the New Forest, and passed through Stock Bridge. As the carriages were to be left there, they prepared to alight and proceed on foot. Lady Emily was the first to spring forth, like a bird from a cage, and, running to General Montgomery, gave him her arm as he was alighting. " Ah ! there you are, dearest and best, ever ready to cheer and delight me ; well, how looks 86 FLIRTATION- the Stream, Tom ?'' addressing Colonel Pen- nington. " Never was in better order, by what I can see, than at this moment, General ; it has ga- thered just enough weeds during winter, and not too many ; see how they float upon the current — fine buoyant weeds ; none of your heavy scum, or standing mantling green." It was indeed a beautiful day for the sport they had chosen ; clear, calm, not a sunbeam to drive the finny tribe to take shelter under the banks, and no lowering clouds to scare them ; a light ripple just crimped the surface of the transparent stream, and the flies darted in multitudes along its surface ; Old Walton himself would have been enchanted with such a day; and Colonel Pennington, who scarcely yielded to that master-angler in his keenness for the sport, was in the highest spirits. " Now, my Lord Mowbray," he exclaimed, " follow me ; here is your basket, and here," taking out a complete set of flies from one of his many side-pockets, — " here is as fine a fly as FLIRTATION. 87 ever was seen. Now this is the way in which I find it most convenient to strap on my basket :'' and he proceeded to equip Lord Mowbray in all the honourable accoutrements of an angler. " Now, my Lord, follow me ; you shall take your station down there, beyond these willows : there is a fine deep pool, in which it will be hard indeed if we do not catch some delicate trout. As to myself, I shall try my fortune at the eddy, just by that large black stone ; for fish, like men, have various tastes — some affect the sliallows, and some the deeper waters; and pray let us lose no more time ; the General will, I dare say, take a rod himself ?" " Thank you, Tom," replied the General, " but I have sport of my own to follow ; I want to look at a field of lucerne, which the Dvike of Godolphin's bailiff' mentioned the other day ; I should like to introduce it on my estate, if I find it answers. Do you follow your craft while I follow mine. But what say the ladies ? must we leave them to pursue their own de- vices r'" S8 FLIRTATION. Lady Emily at once decided on accom- panying her uncle towards the wood, " WTiere grew the lily and the eglantine." " And you, my queen," said the General, turning to Lady Frances, " so long a walk would weary you ; neither you nor Miss Paterson, I suspect, are very keen anglers ; will you take one of the carriages and drive on to the Duke of Godolphin^s ?'' "No, uncle, thank you," replied Lady Frances, with a sentimental air ; " it is such a sweet day, 1 think I will rove about here and look at the fishers ; besides, I have brought a volume of poetry with me to read, and can sit very pleasantly under the shade of the willows till your sports are over." " Well," cried Lady Emily, laughing, " I do not despair of you yet, sister. Sit by a stream and read poetry ! This is the very first time in your life that you ever did any thing so romantic, I do believe." Though this was uttered in the unaifected surprise of the moment. Lady Frances did not FLIRTATION. 89 relish the truth ; and answered her, by saying, that good company made many dull things palatable. Her eyes appealed to Lord Mow- bray to confirm this assertion; and his silence seemed to imply the approbation she sought; for there never yet was a man who did not like to be courted, and every man can pardon follies and faults committed in his own individual favour. " Do not be displeased, Frances," said Lady Emily ; " I did not mean to offend you. You know, I should enjoy staying with you of all things, were it not that you can do with- out, and that the lilies of the valley are waiting for, me." As, she spoke with a kind of innocent arch- ness, she looked so like one of the lilies she was going in quest of, that Lord Mowbray felt a divided admiration arise in his breast, as the childish eagerness of Lady Emily to follow her flowery sport contrasted strikingly with Lady Frances's evident desire to attract his at- tention. Lord Mowbray, however, presented his arm to the latter, though his eyes pursued 90 FLIRTATION. the bounding step of Lady Emily, as she flew hither and thither, playfully sporting round her uncle; while General Montgomery, following her with eyes of beaming affection, seemed to grow young again in the contemplation of her artless delight. All this, Lord Mowbray saw and felt, as the fishing party strolled along the birink of the river, and the rest hastened across the plain to reach the beech- wood. " I mind the time when I could fly ow'r our Scottish braes just like Lady Emily yonder," said Miss Macalpine, as she too, with an affec- tionate smile, gazed after the nymph- like figure which gradually lessened on their view. " Do you not remember, Colonel, those days when I was a lassie, at Heat her sden, and we used to gang up to the Craig Point V " Do I remember ? to be sure I do," re- plied the Colonel abruptly. " I have not lost my memory ! Sometimes I wish I had," he added, in an under tone and with a softened expression. " Ah, well, those days are past and over ; I wish they had never been," said Miss Macalpine. FLIRTATION. 91 " And SO do I, Miss Macalpine, perhaps ; but what then ?" " I 'm thinking," she went on to say, with- out heeding his observation — " I 'm thinking it's hard we canna just remain young sC the days we hae to bide below, there's no so mony o' them ; I never could find the use o' growing auld." " Ah !"" rejoined Colonel Pennington, " we are not able to see the pleasure of growing old, I grant you ; but the use of it is another question."" Their conversation was interrupted by a call from Lord Mowbray. " Do come and sup- port Lady Frances,'' he cried, " for her shoe has stuck in this muddy ground :" and at the same moment they beheld Lady Frances, with one foot in the air, and the delicate silk shoe covered with dirt and sticking in the mire. " Hech, Sirs! the lassie's come out in a pair o' silk slippers to the fishing," exclaimed Miss Mac- alpine ; " did you ever see the like o' that ?" " What made you do such a silly thing ?" cried Colonel Pennington, angrily. " Here you 92 FLIRTATION. are now without shoes ; and somebody must walk back to get you a pair, and the day will be lost in going and coming : that is always the way when one has any thing to do with women." Luckily one of the servants was within call, and he was despatched to buy a pair of shoes, such as could be found at the neiohbourinjj village : in the mean time, Lord Mowbray spread his cloak upon the banks of the river ; and on this, Lady Frances was obliged to repose, and take to her book with the best grace she could, in default of other amuse- ment ; for, to her disappointment, Lord Mow- bray, after paying her compliments on her poetical studies, betook himself, though with- out much alacrity, to his fishing station. " I wish," said Miss Macalpine, with a glance at Lady Frances''s book, " that ye had brought a wiser-like companion wi' ye, my Lady ; yon chiel, wi' a' the glaiiier o** his genius, has turned more heads and hearts tapsalterie than eneugh."" " Pooh !" said liady Frances, " do not fall FLIRTATION. 93 into the cant of old Reviews — ^he is divine — which of our poets is read with more pleasure ?" " And do you never read for peace and im- provement? Pleasure is a'e thing and profit's anither; thae twa dinna \vhiles haud theoither ; better a mutchkin o' the ane than a pint stoup o^ t'ither." " Dear Miss Macalpine, a truce with tru- isms and moral sentences ; I want something more than peace, if you please ; I am not come to such a low ebb as to want peace. When I read, I read for pleasure : I like Lord Byron and JMoore better than Young's Night Thoughts."" " Lady Frances," replied Miss Macalpine, with infinite gravity, " I was young once myseP, and had aye a turn to the reading, when reading wasna in vogue as it is now ; or rather I should say, when ilka bodie didna think it need for to be ca'd a reader, let alane a writer ; but this I ken, that if ye dinna read mair purposelike works than yon, ye''ll fare the v/aur when ye 're an auld woman."" '* When I am an old woman .'" said Lady Frances, looking up. — " Really, Miss Macalpine, 94 FLIRTATION. you have such — a — a — very odd, abrupt way of expressing yourself — an old woman, in- deed !" " Yes, we must e'en take up in that same, like it or no,"" continued the simple-minded Miss Macalpine : "we never stand still ; mind or bodie, we're aye going back or fore : if ye dinna feel that every day, as it hurtles past, has na put some good intiU ye, be assured it has ta'en some awa. But ye luke tired-like, my bon- nie birdie." " I am very sorry," said Lady Frances pee- vishly, " that I ever came at all upon this horrid expedition : I wonder how I could be such a fool !" " Hech, Sir!" cried Miss Macalpine, jump- ing up, " if Lord Mowbray hasna hooked a fine salmon !" A fish he had most certainly ; and away went Miss Macalpine to see him bring it to land ; while Lady Frances, thanks to her silk shoes, could not move a step, having lost the one, and the other being sent on by the servant as a pattern. There she was obliged to sit ; and she FLIRTATION. 95 had the mortification to behold Miss Macalpine standing by Lord Mowbray, and directing him how to let the fish run, and how to wind it up again: when, in the midst of her learned directions, crack went rod and line and all ! and the favourite fishing apparatus of Colonel Pennington, owing to Lord Mowbray's want of skill, was utterly destroyed. Colonel Pennington, who had been an ob- server of what was going on, threw down his own rod, and came as fast as he could to Lord Mowbray's assistance, but all too late ! so that when he saw the fragments of his famous tackle lying broken on the margin of the stream, he could not contain his vexation, but gave way to the natural ebullition of his temper. " Why, my Lord, what have you been about here ! Miss Marian, I thought I had instructed yoii better than that ! and if he never went a-fishing before, that at least you could have told him something better than to let him break my very best rod into a thou- sand pieces ! Why in the name of common 96 FLIRTATION. sense did you not let out your line? What a day's sport you have lost, and broken my very best rod ! the rod that played so beau- tifully, and would almost bear to have been bent double in skilful hands !" " My dear Colonel, pray forgive me ! I never will put your patience to the test again : and I will write to town for the very best fishing-rod that can be made." "Forgive you, my Lord? that is not the question ; but it 's enough to put a man in a passion to see people so foolish." He then gathered up the broken fragments and went off jumbling something about wo- men being always in the way, and always spoil- ing any rational scheme of amusement ; and muttering something too about men being as bad, when they attempted what they knew nothing about. Lord Mo'.vbra}', completely tired of the whole thing, felt really glad to take refuge by the side of Lady Frances ; and as the servant had now arrived with a pair of shoes for her, she was once more enabled to walk, which be- FLIRTATION. 97 came doubly necessary, as the deceitful winds of an English spring had chilled her. " I am afraid, Lady Frances," said TiOrd Mowbray, *' that you are suffering from cold. Suppose we take a quick walk and pursue Ge- neral Montgomery ; there cannot be a better method of warming yourself." Lady Frances, after a few exclamations against the clumsy substitutes she had found for her delicate shoes, acceded to the proposal ; and Lord Mowbray, offering one arm to her and the other to Miss Macalpine, set off with the two ladies at a quicker pace than Miss jMa- calpine thought it possible Lady Frances could ever have attained to. "That's right ; it 's just a pity my Lady Frances hadna your arm to gar her tak' a brisk walk every day o"" her life," said Miss Macal- pine ; " that would put a rose in her cheek ! There's nothing in the warld like air and exercise for that." When they joined Lady Emily, she display- ed what she called her treasures — a basket which Rose could scarcely carry, laden with lily roots. vol.. 1. V 98 FLIRTATIOX. " I fear me,"" (said Miss Macalpine, shakinjj her head,) they 11 no' do : this is no' the sea- son for transplanting." " Nay, dear Alpinia, say not so: I will make it the season. You know the French maxim, ce qui est dijfert est perdu ! To plant a flower or a pleasure, give me the present moment ! What do you say, Lord Mowbray .^" she added gaily. To a mind not wholly sophisticated, there was something; deliohtful in this wholesome appetite for innocent enjoyment ; and Lord Mowbray felt it renovate his being, as he replied, " "Well, Lacly Emily, I must con- fess that I should like to sun myself in the at- mosphere of your happy nature ! But" (turn- ing to Lady Frances) " these are only the sus- ceptibilities of the moment : — they cannot last." Lord Mowbray did not know that, on the contrary, they were the healthful principles of an innocent m.ind ; susceptibilities indeed they were, arising out of a much more stable source than he dreamt of in all his philosophy. FLIRTATION. 99 " What nonsense !" said Lady Frances, shrug- ging her shoulders. " I am not so sure of that either," rejoined Lord Mowbray ; "I only regret my inability to share the feelinsr." "Indeed!" rejoined Lady Frances coldly; and, at the same time, Sir Richard Townley and the General appeared in sight. " Well," said the good General, " what have you been about, and what sport have you had ? Frances has doubtless read her book twice over, and Lord Mowbray has caught me a famous dish of fish." Both parties pleaded guilty of omission, but assigned many weighty circumstances in ex- tenuation ; Lady Frances w^as frozen with the cold; Lord ISIowbray had certainly caught his fish — but then the fish had broken his rod, and thus put a final end to his attempts for that day. "Oh! it's all just as it should be," ex- claimed the General ; " we have had a day's harmless diversion ; and if it has tried my F 2 100 FLIRTATION. honest friend Tom Pennington's temper ; that 's all the harm, in fact, that has been done. I beg Frances's pardon though; I forgot her fine shoes! And now it is time that we return home, for more sweet hours have been wiled away than we have taken account of. The happy, they say, never count the hours ; yet that is not my opinion either ; we grow misers, I am certain, of our treasures, and learn a wonderful pre- cision, on the contrary, in our estimate of time, in proportion as we truly enjoy it." "' Oh yes I dear uncle," said Lady Emily ; " I have been asking every moment what o'clock it was, I was so afraid that we should not have been able to have dug up the lilies ; but we have effected every thing that I wanted to do, and the day has completely answered to me." " I wish every day may so answer to you, my dearest and best !" " A kind, kind wish !" replied Lady Emily ; " and one that I am sure will be fulfilled, so long as you love me!" And thus saying, she passed the General's arm through her FLIRTATIOX. 101 own, and the whole party took the road to the carriages. When they readied them, it was found that Colonel Pennington still loitered behind ; and after waiting a full hour for him, he sent word that he had hocked a fine salmon-trout ; and Avere he to attempt to land it in a hurry, he should break another rod. He begged the party, therefore, to return home, and promised to follow as soon as he had finished his day's sport. The pony phaeton was accordingly left to convey him, and the produce of his skill, back to the hall ; while the remainder of the party, being disposed of in the other carriages, com- menced their route homewards. 102 FLIRTATION. CHAPTER III. *' Awake ! the morning shines, and the fresh field Calls us — we lose the prime, to mark how spring Our tender plants, how blow the citron groves, "What drops the myrrh, and what the balmy reed ; How Nature paints her colours ; how the bee Sits on the bloom, extracting liquid sweet." Milton's Par. Lost. Notwithstanding the fatigues of the pre- ceding day, Lady Emily, " with spirits pure, and slumbers light, that fly the approach of morn,"" was early up. " April showers bring May flowers," 'tis said ; " and so they have," cried she, opening her window, and looking out at a scene not less fresh and fair than herself. " Come, Frances, rise ! it is a shame to lose this beautiful morning. Sister ! sister ! awake I" as she undrew the curtains of her bed. — " What, FLIRTATION. 103 still asleep, or only feigning? I think I see your eyelids twinkling. • Aiid winking Mary-buds begin To ope their golden eyes ; With every thing that pretty bin : My lady sweet, arise !' " *■* Oh ! how tiresome you are, Emily ; you have just awakened me from the nicest dream ; — do close the bed-curtain, and let me dream it over again." " Oh, no ! I will not for the world. I want to take you from the nicest dreams to the sweet- est reality. It is the last day of May, and it is a day worthy to be enjoyed in the clear, cool hour of prime: haste, Frances, haste! let us bring my uncle home a lapful of violets, before he breakfasts ; you know how much he enjoys the fragrance of those wild flowers." " Nonsense, Emily ! as if the gardener could not gather those which grow in the garden. They are infinitely sweeter, and one has no trouble ; besides, I do not care about flowers — they are as insipid as every thing is that pertains to the country. Give me a splen- 104 FLIRTATION. did equipage, such as I was driving in, in idea, and in which one appears to so much advantage, precisely hke a fine picture in a handsome frame ; there is no situation in which a lady's beauty is so well displayed ; while a thousand hovering beaux pace around, waiting for a look, a nod, a smile, though they affect to have their eyes fixed on vacancy, and die with envy when the favoured flirt leans his gloved hand upon the carriage-door, perfumed with the last es- sences imported from Paris, which are superior to all the mawkish natural sweets in the world ; — and then the soft nothings addressed to one's ear, that are so vivifying and so new, because it is impossible to remember of what they con- sist — all this is only to be found in dear London. And of all this, you cruelly deprived me, by waking me with your dull, prozy, school-girl sen- timent about a ditch, and nettles, and violets, and di-y sticks in a half-green hedge — oh ! it is provoking : do draw the curtains — the light puts my eyes out. Go, go like a good girl to your violets, and Rose Delvin, the farmer's daugh- ter ; she will suit you much better than I shall ; and leave me to dream, since" (with a yawn and FLIRTATION. 105 a sigh) " it is all one can do here." And Frances buried her face in the down of her pillow. Emily sighed as she obeyed her sister ; but when she walked into the garden, a sense of delight came over her that banished reflection, and she bounded along as gay as the insect that courted the sunbeam. From the formal- dressed garden, Emily passed on to an open grove, and thence into the chase, (as it was still called,) overspread with wild flowers of a thou- sand hues. " Though I am no longer a child," said she, as she stooped to gather a knot of crimson-tipped daisies, " I think I love them as much as when I used to fill my frock with them long years ago." And she went on and on, culling as she went, till she came to the boundary of the enclosure. Here a row of willows bordered a streamlet that divided the chase from the road ; but when she reached the spot, where a little wooden bridge usually af- forded passage to the neighbouring villagers, she found it broken down and impassable, and se- veral of the trees hacked and hewn in a mer- ciless manner around it. " How is t!)is ?" said Emily to herself, and F 5 106 FLIRTATION. pausing ; " what has occasioned all this mis- chief ? how is this and how shall I pass ?" and she half-sprung forward to leap the streamlet ; then checked herself, seeing the attempt Avould be fruitless ; when, looking and perceiving no one nigh, she hastily drew off her shoes, and then her stockings, and prepared to ford the water. In another moment, she put in one foot, then the other, its coldness catching her breath ; but in she went, notwithstanding; and, as she saw her white feet shining through the current of the limpid water, she laughed in the gaiety of her heart — it might be at their beauty, it might be at doing a thing she had never done before. Who can account for the mirth of a youthful, innocent spirit ? " What would Frances say now, if she saw me r " She would say that you are surely very ad- venturous, Lady Emily,'"' cried a voice which was familiar to her. Emily started, looked around, and beheld, sauntering behind the willows, their guest Lord Mowbray ! She coloured, dropped her garments FLIRTATION. 107 in the water, and, hastening to the opposite bank, sat clown. " My Lord ! pray leave me," she exclaimed, breathless with surprise and confusion ; " I re- quest you to leave me directly." " Accident alone brought me here ; I can only beg a thousand pardons for my unintentional intrusion," replied Lord Mowbray, bowing as he spoke. He took the path towards the hall, but not, as Emily observed, till he had ga- thered up the flowers she had dropped. This accidental meeting greatly discomposed her and disturbed the promised pleasure of her walk ; but, replacing her dress, she made an effort to forget its occurrence, and hastened on to Delvin's cottage. When she lifted the latch of the garden-door, Emily beheld Ambrose Philips, a young farmer, who, to use a village phrase, kept company with Rose, leaning over the low Avicket, and holding her hand in his. So deeply were they engaged in conversation that they did not perceive her approach. — " Rose, Rose, good morning, Rose !" was seve- ral times repeated in vain : at last Ambrose 108 FLIRTATION. started and turned round ; down rolled his hat ; he pulled his thick brown locks with one hand, in token of respect, while he sprawled with the other for the fallen hat, and bowing, slunk away. *' Why, Rose," said Lady Emily smiling, " I am afraid I am come at an unlucky mo- ment ; I am earlier than you expected — where is your mother ? and Andrew .?'' " Very true, my Lady ; I did not expect your Ladyship quite so soon ; but we are always glad to see you — won't you come in and rest a bit, ray Lady ? But, bless me, here is all the tail of your Ladyship's gown daggled up to the knees ; well, it is lucky we have got a spark of fire, for I was just going to boil father's milk for his breakfast :" — but when Rose turned to the large fire-place, fire there was none. " You have been engaged with other sparks, I believe. Rose, and forgot the milk." *' Sparks !" repeated Rose with a conscious blush ; " what does your Ladyship mean ? I am only engaged to Ambrose ; your Ladyship knows it is all fixed. Farmer Philips has pro- mised to give up his farm to his son ; and so father and mother have given their consent, and we're FLIRTATION. 109 to be married next Midsummer, my Lady, if you please." " It pleases me very much iudeed, Rose, for your sake ; every body says Ambrose is a good, industrious young man. Remember, Rose, I will give you your wedding-gown."" " Your Ladyship is always good and kind ; but, excuse my freedom, I wish we could hear of your buying your own !" " All in good time, Rose; but I am so happy now, that I do not wish for any change ; I can fancy none happier than my present lot !" " No, sure ! well your Ladyship must be right ; — but I thought every body liked to be married — that is, but, dear me, how wet you are !" she added, wringing the gown. " No wonder. Rose, that I am wet :" — and Lady Emily related what had occurred. " Why, there now," said Rose, " did not fa- ther say that something vexatious would befall ? Do you know that that wicked black Giles, mere- ly because he had a spite against Ambrose, who was hired to finish tlic bridge, while t'other was out of work, and no one would employ him, is suspected of having broken it down, and cut 110 FLIRTATION. and hacked the willows there, out of mere wickedness. My father is gone to depose, I think they call it — yes, depose before Mr. Allen all he knows of this business, and my mother has gone with him, and that is why they are not at home:" but just as Rose spoke, the old couple approached, and Emily listened with great patience to a long detail of the story over again, which was summed up by a declaration that if the Magistrate could lind it in law, to clap Giles in prison, till such time as he was sent beyond seas, it would be doing the whole village a service. Lady Emily equally endeared herself to her humble friends, as she did to those of her own sphere, by listening with a kind and unaffected sympathy to the subject of their interests; and, in the present case, comforted the Delvins, by saying, she was sure her uncle would assist in repairing their bridge, as well as in making good any other mischief that had been done to their little property. " Ay, dear young lady,'"* replied the old man, " we are all sure that the good General will do every thing that is kind : but we old folks, FLIRTATION. Ill some how, like old things ; and there is no say- ing when once an old friend is broke down, how he may look when he is patched up again. I remember that bridge now, man and boy, these last fifty years : and my heart misgives me that its downfal bodes no good : well, patience and time, patience and time — I 've seen enough of the one, but jNIaud there says I hav'nt always enough of the other." " We have all our faults, you know, good Delvin,"" replied Lady Emily, smiling ; " and I am sure your wife loves you, faults and all ; that is the only way to love and be loved ! And my uncle will take care that your bridge is mended, take my word for it. In the mean time, I want Rose to accompany me: will you let her come with me ?" " Ay ! to be sure, my Lady ; and proud to ■ attend your Ladyship." Rose's hat was tied on in a moment ; and she was not the less a rose, though a rustic one, than the aerial and sylph-like being whom she was called upon to attend. Nature seemed gaily awake this fine May morning ; every thing was joyously busy ; the 112 FLIRTATION. thruslies and black-birds were flitting from bush to busli, and sending forth at intervals their exulting note of happiness, more thrillingly delicious even than their continuous song, which, while it told their own felicity, begot de- light in others. The bee flitted past in many a returning circle, sounding his tiny horn ; here and there a yellow butterfly, like a winged flower, settled on the new spring daisy ; the lambs bleated and gambolled around their dams, as though the Creator's gift of mere existence were sufficient joy ; and the unpanniered ass, relieved from its burthen for awhile, was suf- fered to taste the dainties of the dewy herbage unmolested and at peace. But, in the midst of this joyousness, Emily was thoughtful. " I am sorry," she said aloud, though she was rather speaking to herself than addressing her companion — " I am sorry Lord Mowbray saw me fording the rivulet. Frances will think I did it on purpose to be seen by him ; but how could I dream of his being up at this early hour.''"' Rose meanwhile was busy gathering the vio- lets, and her apron was full of purple sweets. FLIRT ATION. 113 " Bless me ! my Lady, look here !" she exclaim- ed ; " see what a lovely nest I have found !" Emily ran to look at it. " What a beau- tiful thing is a bird's nest ! ' she exclaimed, con- templating it, as Kose drew aside the bushy screen which shaded it ; " how wonderful ! what pains the parent bird has taken to weave all those curious materials together. There, let the branches close over it again ; look at it no more, for they say that strange hands dis- turb the quiet purity of the nest, and the bird ceases to love it when polluted by the touch." At that moment they were startled by a large spaniel, which brushed past them ; and the next, by the appearance of a young man, of very hand- some figure, who was approaching Rose in a fa- miliar manner; but, on seeing Lady Emily, stopped, and, bowing with the air of one versed in the manners of the world, said, " I hope you will forgive my intrusion. Lady Emily ; I came to inquire of Rose Delvin, whether her father thinks I have any chance of finding trout in the stream to-day : for Andrew is my Isaac Wal- ton, and I submit, as a scholar should do, with all due deference to his opinion." 114 FLIRTATION. While speaking thus to Lady Emily, his eyes were talking another language to Rose. She blushed scarlet through the clear brown of her sun-dyed cheek, and dropped the thick fringes of her eyelids, as she replied, — " Fa- ther is at home, and he will be glad. Sir, to be of any use to you." Again the latter apologised to Lady Emily ; and, whistling his dog after him, leaped lightly over a broken part of the hedge, and passed on. " Who is that young gentleman, Rose ? He seems to be well acquainted with my name ; but I do not recollect ever to haA'e seen him."" " La ! my lady, I thought every one knew the handsome Squire Carlton, of the Manor- House ! it is the second spring he has been here. He has been kind to Ambrose, and is a very civil gentleman. He promises to be very kind to me too, and it is not long ago that he brought me a nice new ribbon, and gave me a new, beautiful, golden sovereign. But I don't know how it is, I have never worn the ribbon, and the sovereign has given me bad dreams of nights — so I put my pockets from under my FLIRTATION. 115 head. But pray — pray, my Lady — don't tell this to father and mother, for it's all a great, great secret !" " Why so, Rose ? " " Why only because," stripping a bit of May-flower to pieces as she spoke ; " why only because father — that is to say, Ambrose — that is to say — to tell you the truth, my Lady, mo- ther said she didn't altogether like the Squire coming so often to our cottage ; and talked something about Flirtations ; and said as how that young Avomen of my station had better not be talking to great gentlemen folks : and so I was afeard to tell them of my ribbon and my sovereign." " Indeed, Rose, I believe that your mother was very right : she loves you better than any body else can, and has your true interest at heart. Oh ! if my mother were but alive — I am sure I should hide nothinjj from her." " But what can I do, my Lady .'''" " I advise you, my dear Rose, by no means to have any secret from your mother. Tell her what you have told me ; give her Mr. Carlton's 116 FLIRTATION. gifts to return to him, and I will buy you a ribbon that you may wear on Sunday proudly before any body ; yes, and give you a golden sovereign into the bargain, that will lie under your pillow without disturbing your rest." In the eagerness of this conversation, they turned a corner of the lane, and came unex- pectedly upon a numerous company of gipsies. There were so many of this wandering crew, that Emily, though interested in their mysterious race, felt somewhat alarmed, and was hastily retreating, when one of them cried out, " Never fear, pretty lasses, do not run away ; we '11 never harm you ! Come now, and we'll give you news of your sweethearts." " Hush !"" said another, in the jargon of their tribe — " Puro Baros Riahs — Behee." " And here is moon-eyed Rose," said another, " the prettiest girl in the village. Come, cross our hands, lady, — there's a sweet lady ! — with a bit of silver, and we will tell you your fortune — all that M'ill befall you. There 's good fortune, lady, in your eye, and there's a fine family and a great lord awaits you."" " And you^ too," said another man to Rose, FLIUTATION. 11 r- " don't you be envious now of the handsome lady for you, too, will ride in your coach, and be as gay as the best, and as fine as the finest, and laugh at all your poor neighbours." " Come," said Emily, somewhat distressed by their crowding round her — '' come, good people ! I Avill have my fortune told, if you will send out some of your women to tell it me. Are there none in your tents ?" " Yes; there's women enow, I warrant you. Call out little Lushee Lovel. Lushee, Lushee ! the lady wants thee, thou be'est well-read in pal- mistry ! Come forth." Upon this, a half-naked girl, with long, straight, black hair, that hung quite over her e3^es, and reached below her waist, crawled from be- p.eath one of the tents, and leaping up, and part- insr her hair with her two hands, came forward. A small, wire-haired, lean, sharp-faced cur, with a long tail, and ])ointed ears standing straight up, followed her on three legs, the fourth being crippled, and contracted under its body ; and yelped so, for some minutes, that no other voice could be heard. " Silence Jukel ! silence her nasty tongue,'' 118 FLIllTATIOX. cried a fierce-looking man, as he threw a stick at it. " Nav, now do not hurt the dog, master, or it shall not go well with thee," said Lushee, snatching the creature up in her arms ; " Lushee can work in the night or in the day, and has a bit for her friends and a buffet for her foes. What do ye want with me, Riena ?" softening her voice as she addressed Emily ; " shall I tell thee thy destiny .?" and she cast her lo7tg cut glittering eyes around, pausing for assist- ance from her comrades. *' Lushee," said one of the company, in an under voice, '' Riena Burtsee Gurho, Dai a Bshee ;" and the speaker, evidently not wish- ing to be understood, or to be heard speaking, by Lady Emily or her companion, turned away to stir a kettle, which, suspended be- tween two sticks, was steaming with savory smell over the fire, and b}' which sat a venerable-lookiniT man, who e\cr and anon blew the flame widi his breath, and kept feeding it with dried leaves and turf. At the same time, another woman, coming from beneath FLIRTATION'. 119 the tent, cried — " No rup — sonnikey — sonni- key," and jogged Lushee's elbow. " Thou art a great lady," continued Lushee, looking intensely at Lady Emily till she coloured again, " and a good lady ; I hope no offence, sweet .^" srailins; and showing- her white teeth. " Be not afraid, Lushee will do thee no harm, nor dirty thy pretty pink fingers, though her's be so black. Now dost see, lady, thou wilt have some troubles to go through, and there be many crosses in thy path ; thou hast an enemy where thou thinkest thou hast a friend. Hast no friend, lady .''" looking up to know if she had guessed right. " Many, I hope,"" answered Emily. " Ah ! many is ofttimes w^orse than none — look carefully, lady sweet, for the adder is under thy threshold; but thou'lt come out of all thy troubles at last : and a great, great lady thou art, and a greater yet shall be. Now put a little silver in Lushee'shand, and I will tell thee a power of fine things."" Lady Emily, laugh- ing incredulously, endeavoured to withdraw her hand. " Do not fear!" said the gypsy girl, 120 FLIRTATION. " Lushee will do thee no harm, nor stain thy pretty white hand with her brown fingers. Now as I was telling thee— where was I? — thou wilt have some troubles to go through, and there be many crosses in thy path, but thou wilt come out of them all at last. Now put a little silver in the palm of my hand, and I have a great deal more to tell thee. There is a dark lady wishes thee no good, and there is a dark gentleman that loves thee dearly. Do ye now cross my hand with another sixpence, and Lushee will tell thee yet more ; I see the lines plainer under a sixpence^ And Lushee laughed, displaying the full extent of her pearly teeth. " I have no silver or gold with me at pre- sent,"" replied Emily ; " but if you will come to the Hall an hour hence, I will pay you hand- somely. You know my uncle is always kind to your race." " General Montgomery, the good and the brave ?" said an aged man coming forward ; " ay ! that he always was, Lady, and all my race shall bless all lils race. — Not a sheaf of his corn or a fowl in his roost was ever the worse for FLIRTATION. 121 Corrie Lovel — nor ever shall be. We are poor, and we are wanderers, but we know when to stay our hand, and when to let it drive. Go, Lady, go in peace, and Lushee shall come after you and claim your bounty." " Rose, Rose !" called Lady Emily, " let us be gone — I am late." But Rose's senses were so absorbed in listen- ing to the fortune that was predicted to her, that she could not for some time understand Lady Emily's repeated commands — her eyes were distended beyond their usual size, her cheeks dyed crimson, and her mouth, half apart, seemed to catch the words of the men, who were busily whispering to her. Lady Emilv looked distressed. « " Come, Rose ! are you bewitched? Come with me quickly." " Eleazer," said Corrie Lovel, " let the girl go directly — let her go, I command thee." When Lady Emily and Rose had advanced some way out of sight of the gang, the former said — " I would have given the world that we had not been alone. Hitherto, I have con- VOL I. G 122 FLIRTATIOX. sidered these gipsies to be a harmless race, with nothing but their wandering and way- ward life to object against them ; but the countenances of some of these were terrific. Oh ! I am truly thankful we are safe out of their hands." " La ! they be very civil gentry, my Lady, I 'm sure ! they told me such surprising things as I never heard in my life. Why, they know all about me, and Ambrose !" '' And do you wonder at that. Rose ? Does not all the village know that he has long wished to have you for his wife ? This cunning tribe make it their business to inquire into the histories of every body in and about the place whjere they sojourn ; and if this were all, it were no great harm innocently to apply their knowledge to their calling, and to retail the information they thus gather up, with the addition of such imaginary circumstances as tlieir subtlety and ingenious wit may supply ; but to pretend to read the future, to tell seriously what is known to God alone, is wicked. God only foresees the future, you know — and FLIRTATION. 12S how miserable we should be, if we knew it, the least reflection will show you : it is therefore weak and wrong to indulge in so idle a cu- riosity, and I am sorry that what I did, partly in fear, partly in joke, should have set you so bad an example.'' " But it is very diverting, my Lady, to hear them gipsy folks talk ; and who knows but they may tell true sometimes.''" Emily saw that Kose's wishes lent faith to all that had been said to her relative to her future good fortune, and she thought it best not to press the matter further; but quickened her footsteps to return to the Hall, with her spirits flurried by the unforeseen incidents which had disturbed her mornins""* walk. As she reached the garden, she found how late it was ; and, anticipating the gentle rebuke of her uncle for having missed prayers, waited not to adjust her dress, but flew into the house, flushed with exercise, and all the glow of health blooming on her cheeks, to which her dishevelled ringlets added fresh graces, hke the moss G 2 124 FLIRTATION. around a beautiful rose. She entered the breakfast- room. There, every person residing at the Hall, except Lady Frances, was assem- bled. General Montgomery, looking grave, said, " You were not at prayers this morning, my child ; were you not well ?'"' " Oh, quite — quite well, dear uncle ! and I am ashamed to have no good excuse to offer ; but the truth is, the morning was so beautiful, and the hedges were so green and shining, with their patches of May-flower smelling so fragrantly ! — and I went to gather some wild violets for you, dear uncle ; and then we met some gipsies, for Rose was with me; and then we had our for- tunes told — and then, in short, I forgot how the hours flew." " Iwent out to gather violets for you," was the sweet part of this speech in General Montgo- mery's ears, and he pressed her to his heart, kiss- ing her forehead, and; saying, " Dearest, best !"" Then turning to Miss Macalpine : " Make some fresh tea for Emily, if you please, Miss Macalpine; Lord Mowbray, be so obliging as to touch the beil. Bring some toast for FLIRTATION, 125 Lady Emily. Here, my love, are some of the freshest es^s ; I charged Fenton to send only those that were laid this morning — they will please even you." At this moment Lady Frances entered : her cornette of the finest Brussels lace, her morning- robe of pale lavender silk, her little feet in her little slippers, fresh smiles called up to her ver- meil-tinctured lips — the person and its decora- tion were alike faultless. She approached with a sliding step and an air of studied grace, to her uncle. " How have you passed the night ?"" said she *' Dear uncle, I must apologize for being so late, but I have had such a bad head-ache !" and, as she spoke, she poured some Eau de delices upon her handkerchief and held it to her temples ; then bowed gracefully round the table, and took, or rather sunk into an easy chair. " I trust you did not catch cold yesterday ?" said the General affectionately. " Miss Mac- alpine, take care of our queen." When the bustle of the breakfast-arrange- 126 FLIRTATION. ments had subsided. Lady Frances lifted her eyes languidly around ; and then, as if for the first time she had discovered that her sister was present, she exclaimed, " Heavens ! Emily, what a figure you are ! You are not fit to appear — positively indelicate ; — pray go and arrange your toilette ! Why, there 's your collar all torn to pieces, and your bonnet swinging behind your neck like a Billingsgate- woman's, — and your hair ! it is quite decrepe, hanging about like a Naiad's," " Poor dear ! do not teaze her," said the General ; " she is fatigued." " Really, my uncle is too indulgent!'' (and that was true.) General Montgomery did the reverse of what most other people do : — he constantly practised what he seldom preached. Rebuke, however gentle, was with him an effort ; and to give the slightest pain to any person or thing, was of as rare occurrence, as it is for the generality of people to confer pleasure. " Let me cut you some of this French FLIRTATION. 127 loaf;" and he busily cut the bread in - pearing under his black silk inexpressibles, a drawn sword in one hand, and a taper in the other. These, with sundry servants of the household and ladies' maids, were assembled and assembling round the infuriated Colonel, ' who, half ashamed at the mischief he had caused, and the disturbance he had created, for, per- haps, only a silly, inquisitive intrusion on the part of some of the domestics of the family, scarcely knew what to say or how to explain what had happened ; but his wrath was not sufficiently appeased for him to be rational, and therefore turning the tide of his displea- sure against the parties who stood before him, FLIRTATION. 195 he inquired, angrily, " What the deuce they all meant by such confusion and dismay ?" " Why, did you not call for help. Sir ?'' said half a dozen voices at once. " And isn't here the Avindow all smattered to pieces, and the furniture tossed about, as if Old Nick had been playing at nine-pins ?" said Mrs. Fenton, the housekeeper. " Keep me ! what 's all this clatter about ?" inquired Miss Macalpine, in a somewhat peevish tone. " Can your Lordship explain ?" " Indeed !" cried Mr. Sampson Skinner, " the case seems to speak for itself; there has been an attempt at forcible entrance against the peace of our Sovereign Lord the King. Ob- serve, Gentlemen, the whole window is de- stroyed, and even the window-frames and their appurtenances much injured." " Pshaw ! man ! I know that ! what signi- fies talking about it .'' but the thing to discover is, who were the impertinent rascals who thrust their noses in here where they had no business ; perhaps, as you say, with an intention of break- ino; into the house, but for me." K 2 19() FLIRTATION. " They must have climbed up with some dif- ficulty, and doubtless with bad intention," said Mr. Sampson Skinner, examining the window ; *' the quo animo, you know, is always to be con- sidered;" Mr. Aldget, who arrived at this moment, came forward rubbing his eyes, and exclaiming, as he caught the drift of his partners observa- tion, " How ! have we had house-breakers here ? that"'s death by the law, and no bad job for us." " Hush! man, you are asleep?" whispered Mr. Skinner ; and shaking him roughly as he spoke, the eager lawyer was on his guard in a moment : — " Has search been made in the premises ?" he continued. " Yes, Sir ; we have looked every where," quickly answered two or three of the men-ser- vants : " and besides, the dogs were loose, and we cannot understand how ant/ one could have come near the house." " Do you mean to insinuate," cried Colonel Pennington, his anger returning at the imputa- tion that he had been mistaken, and had unne- cessarily raised the alarm—" Do you mean to say—" FLIRTATION. 197 *' Leave the business to us, my dear Sir — leave it to us, we will take proper measures," said Mr. Aldget ; " and it will be hard, indeed, if the delinquents escape our vigilance." His eyes now wide open, and sparkling at the thoughts of professional employment. " Pshaw !" cried the Colonel, turning to Lord Mowbray. What Lord Mowbray thought all this time, it was not easy to discover ; but he stood appa- rently an amused, though quiet spectator of the scene. At length walking to the window, and examining the facilities of approach, he con- tented himself with observing, that " detected house-breakers would scarcely go off tittering and laughing ; that the voices they heard were not those of men ; and that it was probably some of the female-servants, or some of the gipsies they had heard of, who, for a frolic, or from curiosity, had thus alarmed them." And, smiling at Colonel Pennington, he wished all a good night. Most of the disturbed persons assembled in the drawing-room were of the same opinion, and one by one they stole away. 198 FLIRTATION. " Allow me, Miss Macalpine, to conduct you," said Colonel Pennington, who was one of the last, with the exception of the domestics, to leave the scene of confusion : — " allow me to see you safe to the door of your apartment — I hope you will take no cold. These insolent intruders who have been at work to-night shall rue the hour, and pay dearly for their temerity, if we can but lay hold of them, or my name is not Pennington. Ay, Miss Marian, I was talking over old times to the young Lord, when these curious, ill-mannered vagabonds, whoever they were, climbed the window to overhear what was saying. I know them to have been eves-droppers, and nothing else; though the crafty knaves. Skinner and Aldget, (I wish Montgomery read their cha- racters as I do,) would magnify the thing into burglary, and heaven knows what, because such things are harvests to them : be assured, how- ever, the parties were mere idle listeners, which is bad enough, certainly : I wish the chairs and tables had fallen on their heads, instead of on the windows ; I trust their sconces will yet be broken ; and, by the Lord ! " FLIRTATION. 199 " Dear Colonel, dinna speak so loud, you '11 waken the General; and don't swear. Good nio-ht — we'll talk the matter over to-morrow — good night." " Good night ! I am sorry I have been the means of disturbing your rest, Miss Macalpine," said the Colonel, as he kissed the withered hand he held, with something of the gallantry of former times, and left her at her chamber door. The servants still lingered in the apartment ; for servants, even Vv^hen roused from their warm beds, and but half awake, still love to gossip. Margery, one of the house-maids, stood lament- ins: over the ruin of the damask curtains, or rather over her labour of the morrow, which she foresaw would be endless in removing the shower of wax that had fallen from the ColoneFs projectile candle and candlestick ; while Mrs. Fenton, the housekeeper, angrily observed, that Colonel Pennington's boisterous ways were enough to alarm a regular family out of their wits. " But never mind," said little Mr. Aldget, who, with his partner, remained to learn all he 200 FLIRTATION. could from all parties — " never mind, Mrs. Fen- ton ; it is an ill wind that blows nobody good. Your friend Humphreys the glazier, and Squab the upholsterer, will be the better for this ; and your friend Sampson Skinner there, and your humble servant, none the worse : and it is of no consequence to the General — what"*s a few guineas to him, eh ! Mrs. Fenton ? we must all, you know, have an eye to the main chance, or we shall lay by nothing for old age." " Very true. Sir ; I, for one, always thinks of laying by — -that's a fav'rite rule of mine, you know, Mr. Aldget : well. Sir, good night. Sir." " Good night, ma'am — but where's my light.''" " Here's a candle. Sir." " Oh ! thank you — good night. Come, Skin- ner :" and so saying, the sprightly lawyer laid hold of his partner, and at last all the disturbed inhabitants were once more safe and quiet within their apartments. FLIRTATION. 201 CHAPTER VI. " A lawyer art thou ! come not nigh ; Go, carry to some other place The hardness of thy coward eye — The falsehood of thy sallow face !" WoRDSWOJiTlI. Mk. Abraham Aldget was a country solicitor, who acted as the General's law-agent; he was not, it is hoped, a fair specimen of his tribe — but afforded rather an instance of anomaly in the profession to which he belonged. By early dawn, he was mounted on the General's piebald pony Surefoot, and set off, as he ex- pressed it, to take cognizance of the affairs of the preceding evening; — he might have said of the affairs of the neighbourhood in general, for his attention was seldom confined in any of his morning circuits to one single object. The ruling maxim, indeed, of the indefatiga- ble Abraham, was to make a journey in behalf k5 202 FLIRTATION. of one client, furnish opportunities by which he turned to account the affairs of h alf a dozen others ; a word here, and a word there, given in due season, in his perambulations, would, he found, often transfoim petty feuds and trifling jealousies into serious disputes, and thus lay the foundation of a profitable suit ; while friendly offers of assistance and accommodation to his more peaceable neighbours, in regard to their purchases, contracts, bargains, &c. served his purpose equally well in another way. It is true this latter concern in their interests ended, like the more hostile proceedings of the law, in long bills with the items : " Letters read, attendance given, interviews with A. and counter-interviews withB. ; detained a long time. Journey to C, and expenses the whole day, &c. &c." But though the catastrophe removed the veil and left the astonished clie^its, in both instances, without ground to dispute the accuracy of such a diary, and probably, with no substantial benefit derived to them beyond their dear- bought experience, still they were invariably glad to pay, to escape the last and great FLIRTATION. 203 misfortune of all, — an action for the bill ; — and thus lived and became rich, Abraham Aldget and his partner. Actively however, and with a zeal and gra- vity becoming the duty he was upon, Mr. Aldget bestrode his pony on the present occa- sion, and he quitted Montgomery-hall with an assurance that he would not return and leave the offenders who had so boldly disturbed the repose of its inhabitants undiscovered. The first house in the village which caught his at- tention was the barber's shop, being also the coffee-house of the place. Mr. John Corabie, its occupier and master, was well calculated for the double post which he held of tonsor and host. He was at once civil and loquacious, a deep politician, and a fellow of infinite jest and humour; equally at home in settling the affairs of the nation or of his neighbours over a glass of punch, as in amusing a customer when operating on his chin ; and such his popu- larity for talent and conviviality, that he was invariably called to the chair at every village festival, where he shone the Swift of his circle. 204 FLIRTATION. To this person, Abraham Aldget determined to address his first inquiries, persuaded that if aught were known of the last night's proceed- ing, he was the man to be acquainted with it, and the^ very man of all others to disclose what he knew. He made up, therefore, to the shop door, and, leaning over his pony's neck, ,called in a cracked voice, which he tried to modulate into a tone of condescending fami- liarity to its inmate, " Is Mr. John at home? I say — any one in the shop ?" when John Combie in propria persona, with well-powdered wig (fit emblem of his art,) and smirking face, popped out of the back parlour, the caffe apartment of the house. " Oh ! Mr. Aldget, Sir, is it you ? won't you please, Sir, to unlight ? here, Ralph, take the gentleman's horse : — a cup of coffee, Mr. Aldget ? pray Sir, do." "No, thank ye, no thank ye, my good friend Combie, I am in haste. I am sorry to say there was a sad affair at the Hall last night:" and he related the disturbance. " You must have some bad folks amongst you — cannot you look about FLIRTATION. 205 you and give a guess at the delinquents ? To inform against evil doers, is a praiseworthy ac- tion, and is always rewarded. I myself, you know, am not backward at drawing my purse- strings when a discovery of the kind is to be made." " Ah !"" said John Combie, with a knowing look, " that takes one penny out and brings two pennies in, Mr. Aldget." " Well, well," rejoined the lawyer, " but do you know of no bad characters in these bounds ? I shall keep the secret of your having any hand in informing, rest assured of that, Mr. Combie."" " Indeed, Mr. Aldget, you may well do so, for I have nothing to inform about. I am truly sorry the good General has been disturbed, and would gladly name the offenders if I knew 'em, but I really do not, 'pon honour, Mr. Aid- get. 'Tis a sad story truly, and seems to be of a piece with the broken bridge, and the felled trees, and the other depravities committed lately, but I could not precisely say as how I could fix the deed on any one ; but there is a family of the Giles's lives down near 206 FLIRTATION. Love-lane, that they say are a very worthless set ; but Squire Carlton has taken a great fancy to Jem, and always has him along v/ith him in his fishing and sporting excursions whenever he 's at the Hall ; and is going to make him his gamekeeper, people says ; but I could never positively fix nothing evil upon 'em, not I ; and for the matter of suspicion, there be the gip- sies, who are always coming about these parts. The General is too kind, Mr. Aldget, to these vagabonds, and mayhap it's some of them." " Ay, very likel}^, very likely, as you say, Mr. Combie ; but what is the story of the broken bridge you spoke of just now ?" The latter having made himself master of that affair, remarked, with symptoms of astonish- ment, '• that it was strange the General had not commanded him to take active measures about it ; but if the General goes to sleep, it is my business to be awake, Mr. Combie ; I shall look to the matter without loss of time — is there no other news, Mr. John ?" " Let me see : — why, yes — they say Squire Carlton wants to obtain Andrew's cottage for FLIRTATION. 207 his gamekeeper, and pretends he has a right to the ground ; he has been at him about it ever since he comed down this time," " Is Mr. Carlton arrived at the Manor-house, then ?" said Mr. Aldget, apparently astonished, " and I not acquainted with it — impossible l"" " Yes, but he is, though ; he came there these five days ago. Well, but as I was saying, the Squire, to show his generosity, has offered the old man twice the value of his lease ; but An- drew will not hear of removing ; and thougli he used to be a great favourite heretofore, this affair has altered things completely, and Mr. Carlton don't call any more when he passes the cottage as he used to do, nor gives no pre- sents to Ambrose, who is going to be married to Rose, you know ; and they say as how that Andrew swears he '11 go to law and spend his last penny rather than yield up his right to the tenement. It requires only half an eye to see the why and wherefore of all this; though, Mr. Aldget: — foohsh, eh ! (between ourselves)," said John Combie, with one of his archest looks. " A spirited resolve, I should rather say," 208 FLIRTATION. rejoined Mr. Aldget: "Andrew Delvin is right — quite right ; I '11 give him my advice upon that subject, though Mr. Carlton, the Honourable Mr. Carlton, ought to have his way, too, if pos- sible. Good morning to you, Mr. John. No more news stirring at present, I think you say ? Well, I must not waste time, but haste to busi- ness. Good day — good day, Mr. Combie."" And away trotted Mr. Aldget, his brains filled with laudable resolves not to neglect any opportunity of making a job from the cobler's stall to the princely palace : though his original errand, it must be confessed, was somewhat forgotten in the prospect just opened to him of fresh occupation in the affair of the broken bridge, and in An- drew Delvin's quarrel with Mr. Carlton ; and then, by the idea which occurred of keeping up interests by waiting personally on the latter gentleman, whose agency, and his father's before him, had been a lucrative concern to Sampson Skinner and himself. In this resolu- tion, he was strengthened as he reflected on Mr. Carlton's very unexpected return to the Manor-house; occasioned perhaps by some sud- FLIRTATION. 209 den event, which it was his duty, for his client's sake, to take cognizance of, as his phrase ran ; but it was too early yet for the visit, and he turned to Delvin's cottage, therefore, in his way, where alighting, and passing the pony's bri- dle over the paling, he entered the little garden. Assuming an air of protecting kindness, he accosted Andrew, who was busy at his work, with a ^ How goes it, master ? it is some months since I have had the pleasure of seeing you. Why, how your little plantation is grown ! and your garden ! Bless me ! how thriving every thing looks ! And there 's the pretty moon-eyed Rose, the pride of the village, just as beautiful as ever ! Well ! my good An- drew, I give you joy of this little paradise : })ossessing these, you need envy no man." " Nor do I, Mr. Abraham ; I can assure you of that. Sir. I have lived here these forty vears, and here, please God ! I will die. But though I envy no man, there 's some do envy me !" " Oh ! many, Andrew. Many, I shovdd sup- pose, must envy you." " Very true, Sir ! very true ; but that is not 210 FLIRTATION. as I meant it, do ye see. I didn't mean that some may say, ' I wish I were as well ofF as old Andrew Delvin;' for that is an honest, na- tural wish ; and I wish they were, with all my heart ! But there 's a great Squire, not an hun- dred miles off, that wants to ferret a poor man out of his house : the more shame for 'un — but I '11 see him hang'd upon one of his own trees first." ** How's this, Andrew.? you seem warm,— ex- plain, explain, I beg. State your case ; but don't be in a passion, Mr. Delvin — don't be in a passion : I have known more causes lost by loss of temper, than by any other way in the world." " I be rather a hot one, that 's sure ; but its enough to put a man in a passion, to see the rich and great, who have a power more money than they know what to make use on, wanting to deprive a poor man of his lawful rights, and turn him out of his own house, in his old days, to seek a new place to die in. Why, there be shame on the very face of such proceedings !" "But instead of getting into a passion, I FLIRTATION. 211 wish you would explain matters coolly, Mr. Del- vin ; and then I shall see what to make of them." " Why, Mr. Abraham, there 's Squire Carl- ton has the impudence to say he has the power, and will use it if I don't agree to his terms, as he calls them, to turn me out of this bit of ground, that I have worked in these forty years and upwards ! He has the power to do this, truly ? dang me ! if I believe one word of it. Do you think he has ? You know the law, Mr. Aldget," continued Andrew, wiping his fore- head. " You have a lease, haven't you ?" inquired the lawyer. " Yes, Sir, to be sure, from his own father ! he can 't deny that. His father lived among us as a father ; but this here Squire, whom we never saw till last year, used to come here when he was at the Hall every day, cajoling my daughter, and telling her how he would give her a great portion, and make me a rich man too ; and wanted me at that time to ex- change my farm of Delvin Side, for one of his new houses out upon the moor yonder. I 212 FLIRTATION. thought it all mighty civil then, though I did not know the reason on''t ; but now I knows for why it is, and I despise him for his cunning : 'tis that he may settle Jem Giles, the biggest villain in the country, in my place. But I told him a bit of my mind ; and I think he '11 not come here again in a hurry !" "Why, Andrew, you have a good tough spirit 6f your own, and seem to feel, (and let me tell you you are right, my friend,) that in this country the peasant is as secure in his cottage as the king on his throne, and so it should be ; but, remember, if ever you stand in need of any assistance in this affair, or any other, I am at hand and will counsel you for the best — but don't give up your rights, man, whatever you do."" " No, I won't ; I '11 go to the workhouse afore that !" said the old man, striking his spade into the ground. " And Rose, hark ye/' continued Mr. Aldget, " are you not going to be married ?''"' " Yes, if you please, Sir," said Rose, curt- seying. FLIRTATION. 213 " Well, take care, child, and have a bit of a deed drawn up, to secure you your own. Your father, you know, has got something, and that will be yours ; won't it, Andrew ?" " Ay, God bless her ! to be sure. She is the joy of her old parents' eyes, Mr. Aldget ; and I wish it were more for her sake." " Well, whatever it may be, it is always better to look to these things in time. Apply to us, and we will do that job for you : it costs but a trifle." " I am sure we are all much obliged to you, Sir," .said the old man, bowing. Abraham remounted Surefoot, and turned the pony's head as though he were going to the Hall ; but once out of siglit of the cottage, he set off at a smart canter towards the Manor- house. " Let your master know Mr. Aldget is come," said he to the servant. And the next moment he was ushered into the room where Mr. Carlton was still at breakfast. " I am glad to see you, Mr. Aldget ; I was going to send for you, as I did not 214 FLIRTATION. think you could know of my return ; it is rather unexpected to myself." *' Oh ! pardon me, Sir," replied the wily lawyer, " that were impossible ! Your arrival among your people causes too much happiness for me not to hear of it ; and the moment I did so, I could not forget my duty." " Well ! sit down. Sir ; sit down, you are welcome. Will you take breakfast.-^" " With much pleasure. Sir ; a fine, sharp spring air begets a good appetite." And when he had appeased his hunger, which seemed by no means an assumed one, spite of the cold ham and chocolate provided for him ere he quitted Montgomery-hall, Mr. Carlton ad- dressed him : *' Now we must to business, if you please, Mr. Aldget. You will be astonished when I tell you, that Old Delvin has refused to give up the lease of the few paltry acres on which his house stands, though I have offered him handsomely for doing so ; full double what his term is worth ; but he spurns my offer and defies me : and yesterday, when I spoke to him, and at last. ^ FLIRTATION. 215 angry with his obstinacy and unmannerly be- haviour, hinted that the affair was in my power, he swore he would pull the Manor-house about my ears, before he allowed me to turn him out of his tenement : this is language I cannot suffer, and I desire, therefore, Mr. Aldget, that you will instantly examine his lease, and see what can be done. I have some faint recollection, in old Sarah Woodruffe''s case, whom you removed last IMichaelmas, that you or Mr. Skinner, told me I could eject her, owing to some clause in her lease. I do not remember whether you availed yourself of this; but all the leases, I believe, are on the same tenure, *' Yes, Sir !" replied Mr. Aldget ; " yes, we did : or otherwise the old woman would have been there still. But we succeeded in turning; her out — let me see, it was two days before Christmas Day, the snow was on the ground, — and she died soon after, in the workhouse." " Well, Sir ; never mind that now," resumed Mr. Carlton ; '* this old Delvin must be served in the same way if he will not hear reason." " Most undoubtedly, Mr. Carlton, I will look 216 FLIRTATION. to the lease immediately. I must be for the next two days at General Montgomery's : but I will send for the papers. You did make known to him your generous intention, I think you said, Sir, of indemnification for loss or re- moval, &c. ?" " To be sure I did ; but he is as intractable as a mule, and as viciously inclined, it appears, to me. Right or wrong, however, Mr. Aldget, I desire to know — is it not your opinion that I can force him to law with me, and so ruin him ?" " Nothing is easier than that,'' rejoined Mr. Aldget ; " but then, you know, Sir, with men of character, like Mr. Sampson Skinner and myself, if this intention appeared upon the face of our proceedings, we should be ruined ourselves." " Bah ! don't talk to me in that tone, Sir; is it not the very essence of your calling to make the worse appear the better reason, and to take every thing in hand, however desperate, provided it promises to give you employment.? At all events, I am determined the thing shall be tried. If a clause in the lease of the other tenant enabled FLIRTATION. 217 me to eject her, it is more than probable the same will be found in old Delvin's, if you look into it narrowly." Abraham Aklget saw clearly enough, that Mr. Carlton's mind was made up on the point ; and though the recollection of the odium he had undergone in poor Sarah Woodruff's bu- siness made him reluctant to engaffe in a similar affiiir, yet this feeling was nothing in the balance against Mr. Carlton's agency ; the loss of which, he foresaw, might follow a refusal to meet his wishes. " True, Sir ! true !" he replied hastily ; and as if recollecting himself, " I had for- gotten the possibility of the lease helping us. If we find sufficient grounds in Delvin's lease, the case is altered entirely. Nothing can be more fair or proper, than to take ad- vantage — honourable advantage, I mean — of such a circumstance ; especially when your overtures in the first instance have been so very liberal — princely, I may say. If we find this clause, there can be no difficulty what- ever."" VOL. I. 218 FLIRTATION. " Be it so then, and set about the matter instantly ; remember I have the thing much at heart, and it must be carried through without any of the law's delays. I flatter myself you have always found me liberal ; and you will do so in the present instance, if, after iiaving ex- plained my wishes, I find you attend properly to them."" Mr. Carlton laid a marked emphasis on the latter words, which produced in his hearer a conviction that something worse than «o reward would attend his neelect of them. Quickly, therefore, he replied, " Depend upon my services. Sir; they shall be exerted to the uttermost :"" and so saying, he made his bow and retired, well pleased, notwithstanding the scruples he had at first professed, with the issue of his visit. As soon as he had crossed his pony, this indefatigable person recollected another claim upon liis attention. The apothecary of the neighbouring post-town had a dispute with his next neighbour, the grocer, about a cer- tain bay-window, built to enlarge his shop, whereby the premises of the latter were con- FLIRTATION. 219 siderably darkened, and his property injured ; so, in the behef, therefore, that an indictment against this nuisance would probably be the fruit of a short conversation with his friend, Joseph Drench, he turned a mile and a-half out of his direct road to make the experi- ment. " At any rate,"" said he to himself, " if Drench has not spirit enough to go to law, I may talk to Figg on tlie subject, and bring matters in this way to an issue, that will require our interference." Pursuing these and other reflections, he rode slowly on ; but his restless mind was always on the alert for fresh objects ; and the thought struck him, that the Carlton manors, lying contiguous to the Montgomery estate, would, if united to it, form a property of such value, as to render the annexation a matter of the highest importance to their possessor. It was a thought not to be hastily dismissed ; and though Abraham Aldget saw not clearl}^ liow any par- ticular advantage would accrue to himself in the matter, (beyond what the changes and an- nexations of property arc sure to afford his l2 220 FLIRTATION. profession,) still he went on ruminating upon an idea, which in itself was life and aliment to his spirit. " I have it," he said, at length, (and the Grecian philosopher pronounced his triumph- ant Eureka with no prouder feelings than did Abraham Aldget this solution of his problem,) — " I have it ! Mr. Carlton must marry Lady Emily. Yes, it must be so : — and no small bene- fit is to be derived from the very drawing up of the settlements in an affair so complicated. Let me see : first, we have Montgomery estate in en- tail ; then, failing issue, in entail, to children of next heir— but failing male heir only to Carlton estate, both said properties devolve in right to female issue of marriage— and so, estates joined in perpetuity to heirs male and female in succession." A deep reverie followed this soliloquy, dur- ing which Abraham Aldget conjured up as many fair visions as ever lover did in dreaming; of his mistress; but his pony, meanwhile, had not entered into the motives which induced the rider to turn from the direct road home ; and, FLIRTATION. 221 availing himself of the liberty which the bridle hanging loosely on his neck had given him, he crept unperceived into a by-path conduct- ing more immediately to the Hall. Down this, he was proceeding at a quick amble, such as horses voluntarily adopt as they move home- ward, when suddenly his off-leg slipped in- to a tremendous hole, and the shock had nearly brought poor Surefoot and his bur- then into the mire together. The former struggled to recover his lost equilibrium ; and the latter, thoroughly roused from his reverie by a sense of the danger he had escaped, now hastily descended, resolved to place his neck no longer in jeopardy, but to reconnoitre before he pro- ceeded farther. As he looked round, he dis- covered that he had left almost all track of the beaten path, and stood in a kind of slough, which formed a boundary between the estates of his two clients, Carlton and Montgomery, and from which, on the right hand or left, there appeared to be no hope of extricating himself. In this dilemma, doubting whether to pro- 222 FLIRTATION. ceed or to turn back, his attention was sud- denly roused by hearing voices that were fami- liar to him ; and, from some words that came distinctly to his hearing, his curiosity was sti- mulated to listen to the discourse of the speak- ers. Leaving Surefoot to indulge his propen- sity for some long, fresh-budding grass which grew on the farther side of the bank, he stepped en, softly screened from observation by a thick quick-set hedge, and soon ascertained that the colloquy was passing between Mr. Carlton and Rose Delvin. " Indeed, Mr. Carlton, I cannot stop with you no longer ; I promised father not to speak to you, and I must not break my promise, you know." " Break your promise ! nonsense, pretty one ! — why don't you know what a promise means ? Why, a promise is made to be broken, except it is voluntarily given with all your heart and soul. Now, I am sure your promise was not a willing one in the present instance. Rose, dear Rose, do not say it was." " What a pity it is," thought Mr. Aldget, " that he is not a lawyer !" \ FLIRTATION. 223 " Willing or not willing, Mr. Carlton,'' re- joined Rose, you know I must obey my pa- rents, else what did I learn my catechism for? Pray, pray let go my hand." " Nay, now. Rose, my moon-eyed Rose, do not be so coy. Hear me you shall, whether you like it or not : I will not lose this opportu- nity. I advise you, for your own sake, to let me speak quietly to you ; why, dear one ! you have nothing to fear from me. Sit down on this bank, and let us have a little conversation."" " Well, Sir, remember it is not my fault ; I did not agree to meet you : you have caught me and — and I must listen to you ; but pray take your arm away, Mr. Carlton." " Your fault, sweet Rose.? no — you can com- mit no fault. Young, gentle, beautiful, and en- chanting as you are, you must be in the right. I vow, as you sit there on that bank, you look more fit to be a queen on a throne than a coun- try maiden." " La, now, Mr. Carlton ! don't ye speak so ; it makes me quite ashamed to hear ye." " Listen to me. Rose. It is quite impossible £2i FLIRTATIOIN. that you should be designed to become the partner of a country boor, to churn butter and feed poultry ; those beautiful eyes were formed for very different purposes than to open on a farm-yard, or attract the louts at a coun- try fair ; that divine figure cannot be destined to coarse hard work ; nor those delicate fingers, which tempt a kiss, be doomed only to knit and to spin ! Rose, my sweetest Rose, leave off such low pursuits. Dismiss Ambrose, and trust to me ; you shall see to what a rank I will elevate you ! You shall never hear any thing but the sweetest sounds ; never wear any thing but the richest jewels ; your beauties shall be arrayed in the most costly attire : ' Ecstatic powers shall your whole life employ, And every sense be lost in every joy.' '' " Goodness gracious, Sir ! what signifies talk- ing to me so ? just like what one reads in a printed book. You know I'm engaged to Am- brose Philips ; we have kept company these two years, and he'll break his heart if I leave him, that 's sure." FLIRTATION'. 225 " Ha, ha, ha .'" replied I\Ir. Carlton, laugh- ing ; " break his heart ! no, no, men's hearts don't break, pretty one ; ' Men have died from time to time, and worms have eaten them, but not for love.' — Break his heart ! no, no, believe me, he'll go on breaking stones and mending roads just as usual, whether you dismiss him or not, as he ought to do, for he is fit for nothing else ; but if it were not so, better fifty such hearts were broken, than that you should become the prey of a country loon — a CaUban — a monster, such as he. " " No, indeed, he's not a monster, and he loves me better than you, perhaps ; — let go my hand, Mr. Carlton." '•' Well, well, be calm, and don't spoil your beauty by frowning so, and I will do exactly as you desire, pretty one." " O Mr. Carlton, I am much troubled in mind ; let me go home : — oh ! v.hat if father and mother could see me now, what would thev say to me ? what could I say to them ?" " Why, laugh to be sure, love, and tell them you had found a lover more suited to you than L 5 226 FLIRTATION. the coarse Caliban they design for your hus- band." " Indeed I could not do that, Mr. Carl- ton ; mother would pierce me through with a look, and father would strike me dead at his feet." " Good God ! Rose, it is you who now alarm me !" exclaimed Mr. Carlton, in affected hor- ror. — " What, are they such unnatural parents ? then, indeed, you should have no scruple in telling them you have placed yourself under my protection." " Oh, Sir, my mother and " " What ! Rose, am I to be refused and des- pised, and all my offers disregarded for a hun- dred of your relations ! — Pray how many uncles and aunts and cousins to the hundred and fourth generation of the noble family of Delvins am I yet to contend with in your favour .?" " Sir, none of my family are noble ; that is to say, they be none of them lords or ladies, and that 's what you call noble, I believe ; but they be all good people : I have two uncles and one aunt, and " FLIRTATIO^r. ii2T (( Oh ! my silly Rose, now could I find it in my heart to be out of all patience with you, but that you are so lovely :" and Mr. Carlton passed his arm round her waist. *' So lovely," cried Ambrose furiously, who had come upon them unperceived, " that you nor no villain shall take her from me :" — and he pushed Mr. Carlton aside violently with one arm, while he snatched Rose to his bosom with the other. Mr. Carlton staggered to regain his feet. — " How now, fellow ! am I to speak to no one on my own estate without yonr leave and authority "^ things are come to a pretty pass, indeed, when the clown is to give law to the man who supports him : — away with you, fellow ! or it shall go ill with you." " Mr. Carlton," said Ambrose, trying to sup- press his passion, " I find it very hard to keep my hands from off you : if you were any other than you are, I would tell you, if you be a man, to give me fair play, and "" " Take that," said Mr. Carlton—" take that, insolent hind !" and lie struck him a blow which 228 FLIRTATION. would have brought one of less stout frame than Ambrose to the ground. " Nay, if you be for that work, have at ye !'' exclaimed Ambrose, driven past his patience : and springing upon Mr. Carlton, he would liave borne him down with the impetuosity of his attack, but his foot slipped and he fell. " Villain !" cried Mr. Carlton, as he tore a stake from the hedge-row and brandished it over the prostrate Ambrose — " villain ! you are in my power !" Rose screamed loudly ; but her lover, springing once more on his feet, flung himself upon Mr. Carlton, wrested the stick from his hand, and hurling it away, cried " There's for ye, coward !" while at the same time raising his arm, with one blow he felled him to the earth. " Murder ! murder ! help, help, murder !"" cried Mr. Aldget, coming forth from his con- cealment, and muttering to himself, as he scrambled through the hedge, " here are fine doings : here is assault and battery on one hand — a plea of self-defence on the other — a seduced maiden, and a breach of promise of FLIRTATIOK. 231 Aldget is very cautious, and the pony is very steady, and I am under no alarm. Mr. Hum- phreys, a little bit of the fat, if you please,'' whispered Mr. Skinner to the servant, who was carving : " a very fine haunch, indeed, my friend Aldget has missed," he added, turning to the General. But he was not doomed to miss it, for at that very moment Mr. Aldget entered. " I hope you will excuse me, General, and all the ladies and gentlemen," (bowing to them) " I hope you will excuse my being so late, and my dirty boots; but I have been so busy — hardly time to turn round, I assure you, so busy." " Ah ! there you are at last, my good Sir ; well, what has detained you so many hours ? give us an account of your adventures." " Directly, General — ^you shall be obey- ed directly ; only suffer me to take one mouth- ful, if you please ; I have hardly tasted food to- day." " You must have some dinner first, to be sure, my good Sir. Humphreys, let Mr. Aid- 232 FLIRTATION. get have some soup, and the fish ; I desired some to be kept ready for you, and,"' (a pause,) " you look fatigued ; a glass of sherry or Ma^ deira, meanwhile, which do you prefer ? — a glass of Madeira, Humphreys, to Mr. Aldget." " I thank you. General, a glass of wine will be most welcome — but no soup — no fish, I thank you. I'll take a slice of that haunch, Mr. Humphreys, if you please." In truth, the haunch had filled Abraham's eye from his entering the room ; and salutations and offerings of every kind were lost upon him, in the contemplation of this dish of his affec- tions. " You may give me another slice, Mr. Hum- phreys, the keen air has made me hungry ; I have had hard work, Skinner," as he jogged the elbow of his partner; but his eye was still on the plate, Avhich Humphreys, knowing whom he served, continued loading with choice morsels. The General, in the interval, addressed his inquiry to Mr. Skinner, asking him if he knew whether his friend had been detained by any discovery obtained of the intruders of FLIIITATION. 2S3 last night; when the latter, without turning his head from the point of attraction, and with knife and fork erect in either hand, an- swered — " Directly, General — you shall be obeyed directly ; suffer me only to eat a mouthful, for I am quite exhausted. Such dreadful events — such awful" — but here the eagerly expected plate was handed to him, and all other con- siderations became absorbed in the enjoyment of its contents. A few minutes well employed, how- ever, sufficed to the rapid Mr. Aldget; when turning to the General, he said — " I have been detained upon a very unlucky — a very dreadful business. Poor Mr. Carl- ton has been rudely assaulted by a fellow that resides in the village — one of his labourers, I believe, who works on his grounds : he is grievously wounded, and I really can hardly say whether he will recover." " Good heavens ! how very shocking V re- echoed round the table. " But tell us how .'' — where .'' — in open daylight too ? — do let us hear, Mr. Aldget.'" 234 FLIRTATION. ''Was he robbed to any great amount?" inquired Mr. Skinner, before his partner could reply to the numerous questions put to him. The company sat eager for explanation. " You shall hear," said Mr. Aldget, pom- pously — " you shall hear. The story runs thus:" and he began as though he fancied he was stat- ing the case in Court : — " Mr. Carlton, the ho- nourable Mr. Carlton, was going fishing — yes', fishing; — he is very fond of fishing, it is his favourite sport ; — and he chanced to come to a style, — no, a hedge, — yes, it was a hedge, — at the same time that Rose Delvin, a pretty looking girl, was getting over the said hedge. Somehow the girl tripped, and was very near having a bad fall, when Mr. Carlton caught her by the arm and saved her ; but at the same moment, this rude fellow — Ambrose Philips, I believe, is his name — came up, and without a word passing, or any apparent reason for such mad conduct, flew upon Mr. Carlton," (pause) "knocked him dowm," (pause) " and while on the ground, then and there proceeded to farther acts of violence. My FLIRTATION. 235 providential arrival alarmed him, and he made off; but my attention was of course directed to the sufferer, who lay extended, apparently with- out life, and the villain escaped. We shall soon, however, hear of his apprehension, for consta- bles are already in pursuit of him, and " " Where did you get the warrant ?" said Skinner eagerly. " Why, man ! from the nearest magistrate, to be sure ;" he had almost said " from Mr. Carlton himself;" but as the name hung on his lips, (for the fact was indeed so,) he reflected on this want of tact which was so near betraying him, and destroying the interest of his auditors, in a person whom he desired they should consider at the point of death ; and he stopped abrupt- ly, while he kicked his partner Skinner's legs under the table, to enforce his silence also. Mr. Aldget's embarrassment did not escape Lady Emily. " Surely," she said, " there must be some mistake : are you certain tliat your alarm at the moment allowed you to understand this matter aright ? there must be some mistake."" 236 FLIRTATION. " Oh, no mistake, Lady Emily ! — no mis- take : I can make deposition both as to person and circumstances." " Ambrose Phihps could not have acted as he is represented to have done !" exclaimed Lady Emily warmly. " There is not a man in the vil- lage who bears such a character as Ambrose for industry and quiet demeanour and kindly dis- position : but if it be so "" " I assure your Ladyship, I am correct," said Mr. Aldget drily, as if he had made up his mind not to be cross-questioned, or unne- cessarily drawn into farther details — " I am quite correct : it is as I have said, I can assure your Ladyship."" " Poor Rose ! I am truly sorry for her," said Lady Emily ; " her affections were bound up in Ambrose, and they were just going to be married. I will still hope your account is exaggerated, Mr. Aldget, and that you are not yet thoroughly acquainted with the parti- culars."" " I wish I could believe so, since I perceive your Ladyship so distressed on the subject," FLIRTATION. 237 said Mr. Aldget ; and anxious to give a turn to an affair that would not bear examination, he took advantage of the allusion to Rose's name, as he added, " It is my province now to correct your Ladyship; I am afraid the partiality you entertain for Rose Delvin renders you perhaps blind to her defects ; but it is well known in the village that she is a light girl : and, if I may be allowed to say so, unworthy of the favour your Lady- ship bestows upon her; and I am sure, know- ing as I do the truth, that in this affair Mr. Carlton deserves sympathy more than either Ambrose Philips or Rose Delvin herself."" " I am very sorry, Mr. Aldget," replied Lady Emily, " for any body who is in a state of suffering ; but I cannot believe that Ambrose could have been the perpetrator of such vio- lence, unprovoked, and, I rather suspect " " What does your Ladyship suspect ?" said Mr. Aldget quickly. " Why, that there has been some reason or other, of which you may be possibly ignorant, that, when known, will remove the load of guilt 538 FLIRTATIOX. from Ambrose. You know, Mr. Aldget, there are at least two ways of telling a story." " I always thought Emily's engouement for this girl would end in something disagreeable," whispered Lady Frances to Lord Mowbray ; " it will cure her, I hope, of taking up people in a sphere of life so beneath her own ; one is sure to suffer for it in some way or other." " Lady Emily will learn experience and attend to your warning voice another time I"" said Lord Mowbray ironically, and casting a glance at Emily, who sat with downcast eyes and flushed cheek, as she heard herself the ob- ject of these remarks. The General looked at her kindly. " I do not wonder you feel this, my dear love, and we must all confess you plead the cause of your protegee well ; but I fear it is a bad case : we will not, however, prej udge poor Rose, but will wait to hear farther." " My dear uncle !" exclaimed Lady Emily. " Hech, Sirs !" said Miss Macalpine, " I wouldna wist. Gin Rose Delvin 's fause, there 's no' that countenance living I would pin my FLIRTATION. 239 faith on— puir lassie ! — but she was aye a da- tied bairn ; and I mind me ye were afttimes craiklng at her, for ye spied mony fairiies in her, that ye cared na to allow o\ Weel-a-weel ! wha can hinder the wind to blaw — no' a bit but its a pity." " A pity, indeed !" said Lady Frances ; " and while we are discussing and yjitying her, Mr. Carlton perhaps is on his death-bed, and no one seems to think of him. But Emily af- fects a sort of radicahsm in her sentiments: and if all the aristocracy were swept away at once — like the old devote in Moliere, elle ne s'eii soucitra pas plus que ca — but let one of the people suifer, — and then we hear of nothing but persecution, oppression, and injustice — and the whole force of her sympathies is at once awakened." " You are mistaken, Frances — you know you are,"" said Emily, throwing back her lovely head with the look of a princess. " I am per- haps too sensible of the pride of birth. I would not for a thousand worlds, any more than yourself, disgrace it ; but what has that to do 240 FLIRTATION. with the present question ? Rose Delvin's good name is as dear to her and her parents as if she were descended from a nobler race ; and I will not sit by and hear her so spoicen of ; I will do as I would be done by." " What a tirade ! my dear Emily ; surely this is one of the speeches you used to learn by heart in the school-room. Miss Devenish would be delighted, could she hear how well you quote ; but I only meant to laugh at your romance. You know you are always talking about love in a cottage." liady Emily looked distressed. " And pray what is the chief subject oi your conversation, Lady Frances, if I may take the liberty of asking ?" questioned Lord Mowbray. " Love in a palace, perhaps," was her reply ; " at all events, certainly nothing sentimental: I do not deal in sentiment ; I leave that to Emily." " I believe you are right," he rejoined; "it's best repenting in a coach and six." " But why must we repent at all?" Siud Emily. FLinXATION. 243 called for music at an earlier hour than he was wont. It suited with his gentle spirit to dispel the painful feelings which chequer life, by the harmony of sweet sounds, and music in his domestic circle was ever at hand to soothe the ruffled mind when any passing sorrow occurred to disturb its tranquillity. But, although Lady Emily acknowledged the power of this charm in all its force — for she resembled her uncle in the heavenly sweetness of her disposition — she found its influence on her mind that night exerted in vain. In vain she endeavoured to banish the remembrance of Rose and her lover from her thoughts; the sad history returned again and again to trouble her, and haunted her dr-eams long after she had retired to rest. " Emily ! Emily !" cried Lady Frances, calling from her bed to her sister ; " it is now my turn to waken you,^ — what is the matter ? you are moaning so fearfully, it makes me quite ner- vous to hear you." " O dear Frances, I have had such a terrible vision — there — there it is still !" M 2 244 FLIRTATION'. « What is there ?" " Oh, I cannot bear to tell you — do you not see it ?" " Poh ! poll ! how childish you are ; sit up in your bed and look about you ; you are not thoroughly awake yet." " Well, Frances, I do look, and oh, fearful sight, there it still is ! — do you not see it?" Lady Frances drew aside her bed-curtains, — a small lamp shed a glimmering light in the room — which was one of those large, wainscotted apartments of the Elizabethan time, that with its dark oak panelHng was sombrous even in daylight, and, in the present flickering of the lamp, rendered it scarcely possible to distin- guish objects at the farther end, — but Lady Frances thought she beheld a figure moving through the doubtful gloom ; and, while she gazed intently to ascertain whether such was the fact, or whether it was her fancy which deceived her, the figure glided between her and the light ! Instantly she sprang up and in terror rang her bell. In another minute, their female FLIUTATIOX. 24)5 attendants, who slept in an apartment adjoining, entered the room. " Watson," said Lady Frances, " did you hear footsteps in the gallery as you passed, and was our room-door closed ?"" " My Lady ?" said the abigail, hardly awake, and as if she had obeyed the summons from habit in her sleep — " What did your Ladyship say ?" " Did you hear any noise like people moving, and was my door open or shut ?" " Oh ! open — my Lady — no, shut." " Which do you mean ?"" asked Lady Frances with impatience. " Why really, my Lady, I cannot say, I came in in such haste." " Nonsense !" replied Lady Frances. " That some being or other, however, walked through the room just now, I cannot doubt. Go, one of you, and desire Mrs. Fenton to come to me instantly." " PTas my Lady seen a ghost .''" asked Lady Emily's attendant of her mistress. 246 FLIRTATION. " Ghaists?" cried Miss Macalpine, whose restless disposition generally kept her awake half through the night, and who, alarmed at a repetition, as she imagined, of the preceding evening's disturbance, hastily entered the room. " What, is all this about ghaists ?"" " I don't know," said Lady Emily, who shook from head to foot with nervous agita- tion ; " but Frances saw it too, or I should think I had been dreaming " *' It ? what ? my dear Lady Emily P" " O, pray. Miss Macalpine, do not alarm yourself," said Lady Frances ; " you only make Emily more nervous. I wanted the housekeeper." Mrs. Fenton now made her appearance, rather displeased at this recurring interrup- tion of her nio;ht's rest ; but she listened as a person to whom power was delegated, while Lady Frances directed that the men-servants might look narrowly through the house; for ihat some evil-disposed persons, for the sake of plunder or some other cause, were certainly wandering about it. " And let two of them FLIETATION. 247 afterwards sit up in the hall, at the bottom of the staircase," added Lady Frances; "our doors shall be carefully bolted, and, I dare say, we shall have no more apparitions. — Emily, come — go to sleep again — how foolish you are to be so frightened *" " Dinna speak sae proud like, Lady Fran- ces, I canna say that I just believe in spirits, but I 'm no' that sure either that there is nane — we canna speak to thae things, it's best to let them alane athegither." " Dear Miss Macalpine, I am too sleepy to dispute with you ; pray leave us now, — I shall have the headach all to-morrow, if I am not left to get some quiet repose." But though her sister appeared thus to make light of their recent alarm. Lady Emily had been too much agitated to compose herself again to sleep. " Alpinia, I wish you would sit up with me," she whispered, " in my dress- ino"-room : we shall not disturb Frances, and I shall be better talking with you than lying restless in my bed." The pleasure derived from listening to Miss 248 FLIRTATION. Macalpine's long stories made Lady Emily, in some measure, forget her fears ; and in their lengthened tete-u-tete, the time was beguiled till the morning dawned. As soon, however, as it appeared sufficiently advanced, she de- clared her intention of going to the Delvins, and endeavouring to learn the particulars of yesterday"'s fatal occurrence. " I shall be back shortly, Alpinia," pressing the hand of her warm-hearted friend as she spoke ; and then stealing gently through her sister's apartment, and hastening across the park. Lady Emily was soon at the gate of Delvin's farm. She opened the wicket and knocked at the door; there was a murmuring of voices, as if in consultation whether she was to be admitted or not. " Oh ! 'tis Lady Emily," said Maude Del- vin, opening to give her entrance : but instead of the gladsome welcome she was wont to receive, the old couple stood silent, with countenances expressive of shame and distress ; and Rose was sitting sulkily, balancing herself on her chair, and a half-knit stocking in her hand. She rose abruptly, but evidently put on a hardened FLIRTATION. 249 look, as much as to say, I shall not own myself in the wrong. Lady Emily now^ addressed Maude. " I have heard a terrible story, but I am come to inquire into the truth of it from yourselves, and to know if there is any thing in which I can serve you."' There was a dead silence ; — Maude looked at old Andrew, as if she wished him to speak. " Sit down, my good friends,*" said Lady Emily kindly, " and let us talk over this affair quietly : be quite open with me ; you know I only desire to think as favourably as possible of every body.'' " Dear Lady," cried the old man, " your kindness quite upsets me ; my words will not come out of my throat ; would to God that Rose were as dutiful a child as ye be a kind and excellent Lady ! O Lady Emily, that girl — that we took so much pride in — too much, it may be, — and so we are punished for't, and she's become our shame — and then Squire Carl- ton — big a villain as he is — yet would I give this very farm, and ray whole stock along 250 FLIETATION. with 't, to know that he were ahve and well this minute." " Yes, your Ladyship must know," said Maude, (taking vipon her to spare her hus- band the rest of the tale,) " that I have all along told Rose no good would or could come of that Mister Carlton's hankering about our doors, and I positively forbade her taking pre- sents ; but she, foolish thing, was quite set up on high, and said I talked like an old woman that did not know nothing of the ways of the world, or what folks did, now-a-days ; every body, she said, walked and talked and sat with every body, and folks were not so proud now as they used to be.'' " O mother !" interrupted Rose, endeavour- ing to say something in extenuation. " Hold your tongue, girl ; don't say another word — you have said too much already : but you see, my Lady, what has come of it all — Rose went out, and I fear me she went out by promise to meet the gentleman." " Lord ! mother, I told you before I did no such thing !" FLIRTATION. 251 " O hush, Rose !" said Lady Emily ; " I fear you have acted imprudently — do not an- swer your mother in that tone." " Hold your tongue, hardened girl ; I have no patience with you," cried her father : — " and so, my Lady, poor Ambrose came by where they two were sitting, and seeing the Squire, as he told us, with his arm round Rose's waist, he just chucked him to one side, and caught the girl away on the other ; upon which. Squire Carlton provoked and taunted un, till at last they fell to fisty-cufFs, and Philip got the bet- ter of him, as I 'm glad he did, and hit him a stroke behind the ear which knocked him down. It served him right, an' that it did : but then the law — the law will come in, I am afeared ; and if he should die ! oh, what will become of Ambrose ? And for that hussy there, what will wipe off her disgrace .'* And how shall we ever show our faces again ?" " I didn't do nothing, indeed I didn't, my Lady," said Rose, at last moved to tears, " that I need to be ashamed of; and if father and mother is so hard, it 's enough to make me do 252 FLIRTATION. wrong. Philips is a cruel cross fellow, and that ""s what he is, and I 'm glad I 've found him out before I 'm tied for life. What ! he pretend, indeed, that he wouldn't marry me ! I wouldn't marry him, and so there ""s for him :"" and she burst into passionate weeping. " How you astonish and shock me, Rose !" said Emily compassionately : " why, have you not pledged your faith to become Ambrose's wife ? and, after a courtship of two years, will you thus let a slight quarrel separate you for ever ?'''' " I don't care for him,"" said Rose ; " he treated me like — no, I '11 never speak to him again !" " O Rose, think what provocation he had ; remember what cause he had for forgetting him- self ; and think, too, who gave him that pro- vocation. You will never be happy again — never. Rose, if you do not think better of this matter." Rose made no answer, but sobbed violently. " O my Lady, she is harder than our hearth-stone. We must piay God will please FLIUTATION. 253 to turn her in time ; but it seems just as if we were to be punished for having thought too much of her. O my Lady, we were far, far too proud of her .'" At this moment the father of Ambrose enter- ed; he took off his hat to Lady Emily, who eagerly inquired for his son. " They have taken him away this very morn- ing, and clapped him up in the county gaol," said the old man, with a sort of imnatural com- posure : " but I am not afraid ; he shall have the best counsel in the land'' (striking his stick on the ground) " to defend him, and every honest man will stand by him, for standing by his own. Yes, I be sorrier far for my friends here, than for myself! My child is a good child, but their child — I will not say what she is." " Well, "Mr. Phihps," interrupted Rose, sul- lenly, " I will say this — that if you have no- thing but ill to say of me, you had better say it to some one else, and not set father and mother against their own child : I repeat, that I did not do nothing I need to be ashamed on, and your son is a most brutal, ill-tempered man, 254 FLIRTATION. and I'm exceeding glad that I have nothing more to say to him." Lady Emily, seeing that matters were likely to come to a still worse understanding between the parties if they remained longer to- gether under the present excitement of their feelings, desired Rose to leave her alone with her parents and Ambrose's father. " My good friends," she said, as soon as Rose had retired, " we should at all times be merci- ful to each other, as we hope for mercy, and not aggravate each other's faults : if any body is more to blame in this affair than another, as far as I can see, it is Mr. Carlton. Rose is very young, and vain of her beauty; her head has been turned perhaps for the moment, but let us hope that what has occurred will be a lesson to her: I grieve that she should be so humbled ; yet her mortification, properly felt, may turn out a blessing ; and when the sting of the reproof and humiliation she has undergone wears away, she will, I am sure, reflect and be- come sensible of the value of Ambrose's afFec- FLIRTATION, 255 tion, and the worthlessness of the admiration excited merely by her pretty face." " May be so," said fanner Philips, " but your Ladyship cannot suppose as how I should ever let Ambrose take her to wife." " Why not, Mr. Philips .? a moment's error on Rose's part will not destroy your son's affection for her, nor can it have undermined her's for him ; if you decide thus harshly in the first impulse of your anger, you will repent having done so when it is too late; you have too good a heart, I know, to witness misery in others, which a little forbearance on your part could have saved them, and not feel sorry." " Very like, my Lady, very like," said the sturdy old man ; " but Ambrose's mother was a good woman, and so was my mother, and so was her mother before her ; we have all come of respectable parents, from father to son, and I can't, no I can't bear the thoughts that Am- brose should disgrace vis all at last by marrying . I be sorry for you, neighbour Andrew," continued the farmer, suddenly checking him- 256 FLIRTATION. self, " and I will not say the word uppermost on ray lips; though I am afraid, my Lady, I loses all hopes of your interest for my poor boy as to getting him out of prison, which a while ago I was thinking of asking, but Nathan Phi- lips was always a plain spoken man, and so, once more, there 's an end on 't, my Lady/' Farmer Philips moved towards the door to go. " I be sorry for you," he said, stopping on the threshold, and turning to Andrew — " I be sorry for you," and tendering him his hand ; but the latter drew back, " No, Philips, you have taunted me with my calamity, you have heaped shame on my face, and I cannot take you by the hand." " Good heavens !" said Emily, alarmed ; " this is too cruel a business. Forgive each other : consider the youth of Rose ; the temp- tation she may have been exposed to ; the want of any the slightest proof of actual guilt ; and then the future misery of your son, when he finds Rose is lost to him for ever ! Consider this, good Mr. Philips: think were she your daughter !" FLIRTATION 257 " My Lady, you are a good lady, and every body ought to attend to your advice : and I hope I shall; but not now." And as if afraid to listen farther to her appeal, he abruptly quitted the cottage. Having endeavoured, though she feared, in vain, to speak peace to this distressed family, Lady Emily now returned as quickly as pos- sible to the Hall, revolving how she might best obtain the liberation of Ambrose Philips from gaol : for this purpose, she sought Colonel Pen- nington, whom she had known from a child, and in whose warm and active spirit she ever met a kind coadjutor in all her little plans for the good of others. She found him in the garden watching a community of bees, and aa much interested in the wonderful instinct im- planted in these little insects, as though the business of his life were that of a contemplative philosopher. He called her to observe with him some of the manoeuvres of that winged tribe, — " Come and learn," he said, " even of these, some of that wisdom which God teaches us in all his works." 258 FLIRTATION. " O dear Colonel," said Emily, a little impatiently, " this is not the moment when I can enter into such speculations. At another time I could take delight in them ; but I have something on my mind which calls for imme- diate attention, and leaves no place for other thoughts.'" She then passed her arm through his, and, as she led him slowly towards the house, related the scene she had witnessed at Delvin's cottage. " I dread the consequences that may ensue," she added : " what with Rose's excited temper, who feels, or fancies herself wronged ; and the fury of old Philips, and the wretchedness of her parents, unless something is done to libe- rate Ambrose from prison, and to marry the young couple immediately, I fear tJiey will never come together ; and then her reputation as a good and virtuous girl is gone for ever ! Do, dear Colonel, do go, and seek to procure the instant liberation of Ambrose. You who are 80 good will feel happy to be the means of re- storing peace to this distracted family— pray, I beseech you to go directly." FLIRTATION. 259 " What is all this praying and beseeching about ?" questioned General IMontgomery ; who at that moment joined them. " What in the world," said he, with his own benevolent smile, " are you so eagerly talking about ; as if life and death depended upon it, Emily ?" " And so they do," she replied ; and pass- ing her arm through the General's, as she had already done through Colonel Pennington's, she looked, with her beaming expression of live- ly interest, alternately in their countenances, telling her story rapidly over again ; and be- seeching them to save Rose Delvin, by using their influence to marry her directly to Am- brose. " But, hear me, Emily ! hear me, my dear, impetuous love ! you forget, in your anxiety to do good, that the thing is impossible. Philips must undergo the course of the law : I fear he is charged with an offence which may turn out to be serious ; and for which, at all events, he must stand his trial." "Well, at all events," said I^ady Emily, " I must know how Mr. Carlton is. " Do pray, 260 FLIRTATION. dear uncle, ask Colonel Pennington to go over to the Manor-house to-day, and we shall hear the truth from him." " It shall be done, dearest," said the Gene- ral ; " every thing shall be done : only do not make yourself too anxious. I am sure you never wish any thing that is not reasonable and right ; and I heartily desire that you may not be disappointed in this affair of Rose — I de- sire it, indeed, on all accounts." Lady Emily was obliged for the moment to be content with the promise of her uncle, for she had observed in his calm steady manner, when speaking on the subject, that his mind was already made up upon it. The party pro- ceeded, therefore, in silence towards the Hall, and, entering the breakfast-room, found all its inmates assembled. " Well, Emily," cried Lady Frances, " I think you must be pretty well fatigued after having been up half the night." " Oh ! very true," she cried, " but I had quite forgotten that.^^ Lady Emily was one of those persons who FLIRTATION. 261 did forget self when the interest of others was concerned. '* I had forgotten that, and now you mention it, I do feel rather tired ; but, dear uncle, I must tell you I never will sleep in King Charles's room again, — indeed, I cannot. I had such dreadftd dreams, it makes me shudder but to think of them. Besides, what is still more dreadftd, I saw a fiorure o-lidino; about the room." " What is all this, child ?" asked the Ge- neral. Lady Frances, who seldom gave herself the trouble to speak when any body would do it for her, though she had been unfeignedly alarmed at the events of the past night, and was by no means disposed to let them pass by in silence, looked at her sister, as much as to say, " Do you tell the story." And Lady Emily, accordingly related how they had been disturbed ; and wound up the whole his- tory by saying, half seriously, " I do really think that some misfortune is about to befall the family, — that is what you would think in Scotland, Alpinia, is it not.?" " Dinna be boding mischief," replied 262 FLIRTATION. Miss Macalpine, " dinna speak o' thae freaks at a'." " It would be a misfortune, indeed," rejoined Lady Frances, " if the plate Avere stolen, or the house haunted ; but it is, doubtless, some of the gipsies who infest the neighbourhood, and who cause these nightly disturbances." " Very true ; for when it is coupled with the ColonePs story of the other night, it must be confessed it looks a little suspicious; though, had not you, Frances, been a witness in the business, I should have supposed Emily's ima- gination had conjured up the figure: however, I will cite Corrie Lovel before me, who is head of the gipsies, now in the neighbourhood ; we shall hear what he has to say to it ; and if, after speaking to him, these apparitions are not laid, we must take other means to banish them. As to Corrie himself, I do not believe that any thing would induce him to rob me even of a straw ; but some of his gang may not be so scrupulous: by the way, that man is an ex- traordinary being ; about forty years ago I saved his life, and he has never forgotten it. FLIRTATION. 263 During the American war, when we were en- camped near Boston, he was taken, and though it afterwards proved a groundless suspicion, was near being hung for a spy. I believed him, from his own account at the time, to be inno- cent ; and, pitying the poor lad, who was then little more than seventeen, I used all my in- fluence at head-quarters, and obtained his life. Many times since, in various countries, it has occurred to me to meet with him ; and generally, since I have resided at this place, he has paid me a visit once a year. I have, hitherto, never had a complaint to make either against him or his people ; but I do not like these recent ghost- stories, I confess. I do not suspect any of my own servants, neither do I suspect Corrie him- self; but I do suspect some of his attendants; and I shall give him a hint to be off, or to keep his subjects in better order." " Yes," observed Colonel Pennington, " the gipsies are more under subjection to their chief than is imagined : they are a very won- derful race. I have taken some pains to make myself intimate with their peculiarities ; and as 264 FLIRTATION. they are scattered over the face of the whole habitable globe, I have, in all my wanderings, had opportunities of observing them. Though their different tribes all appear to have distinct languages, and as many distinct religions (as far as they profess any), each approaching more or less to the language and religion of the people among whom they sojourn ; yet, this adoption of language and religious opinions arises, I am inclined to think, from motives of policy merely, as they have in fact a language, if not a peculiar worship, of their own. Ask them to tell you what language they speak, and they reply in gibberish ; but this is only to evade inquiry ; for a very little attention and ha- bit will soon enable any one to distinguish their common parlance with the natives, from their regular and unmixed discourse amongst them- selves. They are also full of peculiarities. I remember that the gipsies in Hungary have the greatest passion for any thing shining or glittering, however worthless in itself : this pro- pensity is, to be sure, common to all ignorant and barbarous races ; indeed, it may be said to FLIRTATION. 265 be inherent to human nature — to the weaker part, at least, for we remark it in women and children :" turning, as he spoke, to Lady Emily. " Nay, no harsh reflections, dear Colonel I" exclaimed Lady Emily, or we shall not listen to you." " You are truly an exception ;" laying his rough hand on her arm, as he continued : " It must be said in favour of their taste, however, ihat the Hungarian gipsies now and then show a partiality for shining substances of sterling value — gold and silver plate, for instance — which they hesitate not to purloin when occasion offers ; and of this, with jewels, and other ornaments of price, each family of a tribe have generally a sacred store handed down from one generation to another, which is preserved as a precious in- heritance unalienable under whatever reverses of distress or poverty. Although it is difficult to ascertain what mode of worship they follow, the Hungarian gipsies have a translation of the Lord's Prayer, in their own tongue. And as far as my own observations can warrant the VOL. I. N ^66 FLIRTATION. remark, I think them in general a harmless, wandering race ; but it is a lamentable consi- deration, that so numerous a body of people should be suffered to exist without any syste- matic attempt at ameliorating their condition. In Hungary, prejudice is strongly against them, and the belief is current that they are canni- bals. It may be, however, and most probably is, without foundation, for I cannot imagine — "" The entrance of a servant here broke off the Colonel's account of the gipsy tribes, or, with his })ropensity to dwell on any subject that he had once undertaken, there is no saying to what length he might have led his auditors in the discussion. " Farmer Philips, Sir," said the servant, to General Montgomery, " presents his duty, and begs to say a few words, if you will be pleased to see him." " Philips !"" said the General, as if at a loss for the reason of this request; why, what does he want ? Oh ! I know. Well, show Farmer Philips into my room ; I will speak to him directly. General Montgomery remained for a moment silent, then rose and walked to- FLIBTATION. 267 wards the door which led to his study ; Lady Emily, whose eyes had been fixed on his coun- tenance from the instant she had caught the name of the person inquiring for her uncle, fol- lowed, and taking him affectionately by the hand, said, " Dearest uncle, pray do all you can for Ambrose, and for the poor Delvins." " I will do all that I can, dear," said the General, kissing her forehead ; and he hastily left the room. Lady Emily walked to the window, to hide the emotion which the renewal of this painful subject had caused her, and waited long in anxious expectation of the Gene- ral's return. He came not, however ; and when they met he was silent, and she failed not to augur confirmation of her worst fears from this unusual mystery. V 2 268 FLIRTATION. CHAPTER VIII. " 1 lent my back unto an aik, I thought it was a trusty tree ; But first it bowed, and syne it brak, Sae my fause luve's forsaken me." Old Ballad. "Do any of you wish to see my friend, Corrie Lovel ?''"' said General Montgomery, as he half-opened the library-door, and perceived the family party assembled there ; "he is in the court-yard in his carriage, and I am going to speak to him." " Oh 1 yes, I will go," said Lady Emily : and every body prepared to follow the General, except Lady Frances. " In his carriage, indeed ! My uncle really humours those people too much ; at least, if FLIRTATION. 271 little transformation from the original fashion which it had worn on the back of its first bleat- ing owner, for it loosely enveloped the body only down to the waist; was without sleeves, and was confined by a strong girdle of leather, and a large silver buckle of antique form. His arms were clad in the undressed skins of some animal, apparently the deer, and fitted nearly to the shape, reaching, however, but little below the elbow, where the linen was seen again in its bril- liant whiteness, and opposed itself to his dark- toned skin, like a picture of the Italian school, where white is rejected in the carnation, and employed only where the object really is white. Lord Mowbray was struck with it ; for it brought back to his mind, scenes, where every common beggar in the streets looks like a figure stepped out from one of the impressive and deep-coloured works of Sebastian del Piombo or Guercino. Corrie Lovel, besides this body covering, wore a large wrapping cloak, somewhat resembling the Spanish in its fashion, hanging from his shoulders, apparently to be closed or thrown 272 FLIRTATION. back, as occasion required ; its texture showed the service it had done ; and, as he threw it from him when descending from his vehicle to make obeisance to the party, the large clasp that attached it caught General Montgomery's eye, and he exclaimed—" Well, Corrie, I see that the token of times past is still in existence, and I hope you need never be driven to seek its value by its weight." " It must go hard with Corrie Lovel, ho- noured General, before he parts with what he values next to life itself." " Why man, you won it, and may wear it proudly; but had you followed the career it opened to you at the time, you had been bet- ter off now." The facts connected with the clasp in ques- tion were associated with a circumstance already alluded to by General Montgomery, after the eventful escape of Corrie from a halter. He had devoted himself for some time to the ser- vice of his benefactor, under an impression that, in that scene of danger, opportunity might be FLIRTATION. 273 afforded to render back the debt he had in- curred. With this impression, he solicited the General, then a young aid-de-camp, to remain with him as one of his attendants, and followed him to the field on all occasions. In a particular instance, he was eminently successful : — they had been surprised by a recruiting party, and nearly overwhelmed by superior numbers ; the General's horse was wounded, and, to save him, Corrie had given up his own, and engaged hand to hand with an officer of the American troops, whom he overcame, and the cloak and clasp which he now wore had been the spoils of his fallen enemy. The daring and intrepidity he displayed on this and other occasions were so great, that a very favourable idea began to be entertained of him, and his patron would have found little difficulty in promoting his interests as a soldier; but no inducement beyond grati- tude could ever prevail on Corrie to continue in the service ; and when the General returned, on the conclusion of the war, to England, his at- tendant quitted him, but he remained ever 274 FLIRTATION. after, as circumstances proved, gratefully alive to the remembrance of what he owed his bene- factor. Corrie Lovel now stood on his feet before the party. " How are you ?" said General Mont- gomery ; " I am sorry to see you not quite so active as when our acquaintance first began." " Ay, honoured Sir, youth cannot be staid, and I know not that I would go back for mine, were it in my power to do so." " There is hardly any thing that I know which is worth the trouble of going back for," said Lord Mowbray to Lady Emily, " not even youth ; but if it would always last as it is, it would be pleasant enough." " Oh, yes," she replied, gaily, " I am so very happy, I desire no change ; I do not conceive how I could be happier than at the present moment, only for poor Rose." " You are very young, indeed," was Lord Mowbray's reply, looking at her doubtingly, as if he knew not whether she spoke really in the innocence of her heart. If he had looked at her again, as she turned with the simplicity of FLIRTATION. 275 youthful enthusiasm to listen while Corrie Lo- vel continued speaking to the General, Lord Mowbray would have acquitted her of all af- fectation ; but her sister had spoken from the window above, and he was engaged in replying to her; for, spite of his better judgment, Lady Frances never addressed him without fasci- nating his attention. General Montgomery continued talking to Lovel, and at length said, " I have a question or two to put to you, Corrie, which you must answer on your allegiance." " Your servant is ready to answer," was the prompt reply : and it would have been difficult for the keenest cross-questioner in a court of justice to have discovered, in the features of the party addressed, the slightest symptom of anxiety at this approaching examination, or the smallest variation in the fixed gaze which he turned on the General, while he awaited his in- terrogatories." The General proceeded. " Do you hold yourself responsible, Corrie, for all the people in your company ? are they all honest ?" Corrie 276 FLIRTATION. started at the word honest, and paused ; then said, " I will be responsible, General, that none of mine shall ever harm or intrude upon what is yours. But, honoured Sir, wrong me not by half words and doubts, for I owe you everlast- ing gratitude ; if you have suffered loss or cross from any of my people, tell me," (and Corrie Lovel raised his hand, and his features bespoke all the vehemence of indignation ;) " for redress you shall have, and vengeance shall fall on the guilty." " My good Lovel, I do not doubt you^ and I may wrong those about you; but circum- stances have occurred, and my own servants are too trusty and too attached, I am willing to be- lieve, for me to suspect them, to render inquiry necessary. I speak to you without attaching, for an instant, any suspicion to yourself, because I know you well ; but in the best ordered so- cieties rogues sometimes will gain admittance, and it may be — here, step aside that I may speak to you apart :" (and Corrie followed Gene ral Montgomery as he moved towards the end of the flight of steps,) — " it may be some of your FLIRTATION. 277 followers are to blame." They continued talking for some time alone ; and Emily, meanwhile, with Colonel Pennington, and Miss Macalpine, were amused with the little Lushee's vivacity, who had always a ready answer to their questions. At length Lady Emily, who had con- quered the alarm she had felt on first seeing Corrie Lovel, held out her hand to Lushee, and said, " Come, tell my fortune, Lushee. I pro- mised, some days ago, that you should do so :" alluding to her meeting them in her morning's walk with Rose. Lushee sprang forward, but not before she had directed her quick glance towards her grandfather, who still remained in conversation with the General ; and at the same time, in a sharp, shrill voice, which made Colonel Penning- ton start, as if he recognized in it something famiUar to his ear, she uttered the following words: — " Ick — dwi — try — schtar ;" and spread- ing open the fingers of both her hands, seemed waitinff for his answer. Corrie answered the youthful sibyl in the same unintelligible gib- berish, in an under voice. S78 FLIRTATION. Before Lushee approached, however, to per- form her task of palmistry, she first wiped her hand on her shabby garments, then held it out to take the fair hand of Lady Emily ; but her arm, dark as it was, might have disputed the superiority ; for in hands, as in countenances, colour is the least part of beauty, and the long slender fingers and acorn-shaped nails of Lushee's tiny hand, rendered it beautiful of its kind ; nor was she, it may be presumed, wholly unconscious of this charm. " Now, lady," said she, "let me see the lines on that pretty palm at leisure ; do not be in such haste as the last time, for I have a deal to say, lady ; but," (speaking to Lord Mowbray, who had turned from Lady Frances to observe what was passing,) " if you please, young gentleman, keep away — for all things are not for your hearing, you know. There, now, lady love, I see that by this line which crosses that one, you will have a journey, and very soon ; it will give you much pain, but some pleasure too, for here is the line of life sweetly inter- woven with a mazy thread of blue veins ; they FLIRTATION. 279 are the pleasures and fountains of life which give joy and peace. Do you take me, sweet lady ? Now, be heedful, and mark Lushee's words, and do not look about you, nor at the young lord there : for though, true, he be so tall, so handsome, so courtly, you must not let your fancy wander there. He '11 but deceive thee, and leave thee to tears and sorrow," continued the little prophetess, in a half-whisper to Emily, who began to be evidently distressed. " He has won many hearts, and all' as easily as Lushee gathers nuts, and has cracked them as easily too :" (here her penetrating gaze was directed full on the young lord.) " Now, look, lady, please to look in my face, and tell me if Lushee has not said a true word ; hast not set thy fancy on one who has not set his fancy on thee ? Isn't it as Lushee tells thee ?" " No, indeed," said Lady Emily, very inno- cently ; " I have set my heart on nobody yet." "Hast not.?" said Lushee, quite put out in her story by this simple answer, which she had wit enough to know must be true, by the seal of sincerity which it bore : when pausing again, 280 FLIRTATION. she took up another thread of her story. " Thou needest be very watchful, not only for thyself but others ; there are those anigh thee would work thee harm ! Look to thyself, sweet lady ! and, above all, look to those thou lovest most, for danger is hovering round them ; and yon bird which I see in mid-air, carries a sword and digs graves for the unburied dead ! Thou lookest pale and tremblest ! why dost thou ?" and the penetrating glance which the girl gave her, combined with her words of fearful import, caused Lady Emily to shudder involuntarily as she retreated from Lushee. " Nay ! yet stop awhile, lady ! There are three things I must warn thee against : — love, poverty, and stratagem r " The first two things,"" answered Lady Emily, " I know nothing about ; and the latter reminds me, Lushee, to leave you to exercise your eloquence and your art upon others !" " How, Reyena ! how ? Lushee has no stra- tagems ; she does not deceive thee ! no, no ! but dost not thou deceive Lushee ? Thy heart, is it really fixed on no one yet ?"" FLIRTATION. S83 Lushee went on : "But thou 'It be a sorrow- ful man yet ! a sinful one thou art. Think upon the gardens of Sorento ; think upon the caves on its shores !" Lord Mowbray, roused for a moment to an eagerness he had never before displayed to those by whom he was surrounded, here ut- tered a sudden exclamation, and seized the girl's hand, while he looked at her as though he would have dived into her very soul ; but Lushee returned his gaze, and her eyes assumed a fiery sparkling brightness as she continued : — " If the stars tell me these things, why, noble Lord, question my knowledge and my power as thou didst but now, and turnedst me to de- rision ? Thou knowest that I have uttered words that are like daggers to thy heart !" Lord Mowbray, though evidently startled by what had fallen from the gipsy, made an effort to be calm. " In the multiplicity of nonsense the girl talks, it is no marvel that she stumbles acciden- tally on what gives pain or pleasure !" said he as he turned to Lady Emily ; and then seemed 284 FLIRTATION. to relapse into his usual nonchalance of manner, as he added, "but it matters not, you may talk, child !" Lushee laughed : " I believe I have talked more than enough already ; and will not add to my words, save to remind thee. Lord, that, though the eagle's nest be high, the winds of heaven are higher still, and may hurl it low ; and to warn thee, that thou Hngerest not here ! Away, noble Lord ! away ! loiter not in indo- lence ! Blush, since poor Lushee can reprove thy inactivity.*" " To tell rae of my indolence and inactivity requires no conjuror,*" replied Lord Mowbray, with a forced smile ; " here — here is silver for you !" and he walked away, nearer to the win- dow where Lady Frances sat. " I have been paying a great deal of money, Lady Frances; and what do you think it is for ? to be told that ' I pass my life in doing nothing !'" Lushee had followed Lord Mowbray, and was beginning to speak : " Get along ! go, go !" said he angrily, " and learn your trade better !" FLIRTATION. 285 " Thou art no judge how well I know my trade, proud Lord ! but some day or other perhaps thou mayest remember Lushee^s words ; there are many ways of deceiving — thou 'It learn that to thy cost." " Away with you, child !" cried Lord Mow- bray peevishly, as he threw her another crown; " begone."" '• She is an amusing little black-eyed things- said Colonel Pennington ; " it is quite pitiable to see such a child in the ways of destruc- tion." " Puir bit lassie !" said Miss Macalpine, " it makes me wae to see sic an a bonnie bairn sae ill guided ; she '11 no' be aweel doing ; I fear me, you " " Guided !" repeated Lord Mowbray, who misunderstood her Scotch dialect : " I should never have imagined she was guided at all." General Montgomery now approached the group ; and Lushee Lovell ran to her grand- father, and appeared to be whispering in his ear an account of her proceedings with Lady ^6 FLIRTATION. Emilj, and her warning to Lord Mowbray. The old man broke off from her, saying with an air of command, " Tshib, Tshib !" and, ap- proaching within a respectful distance, seemed to wish to speak again with the General. " Well, have you any thing more to say ?"" asked General IVIontgomery, as he observed him still lingering ere he departed ! — " what is it 'r " Honoured Sir ! in the press of other mat- ters, I had forgotten a boon I would fain ask : there are certain sheep of your's have died in the western pasture, there ; and your people know not what to make of them. Eat them they will not, and to bury them they are afraid, for the dogs will harrow them up again. Give them, General, if it please vou, to Corrie, they 'il serve him and his people for a feast. I might have taken them, or have bought them for the carrying them away, but Corrie knows his duty too well to touch aught of your's save with especial leave; not a bit of wool would be disturbed from off their backs, but with FLIRTATION. 28T your consent, honoured General, by me or mine." Corrie Lovel waited for his answer, while General Montgomery looked around with asto- nishment. — "Why, Lovel, the sheep, if dead, as you say, are your's ; and I shall thank you, as my people will too, for their removal ; but in truth we ourselves are fearful in such cases how to dispose of them, lest their disease should spread. But are you in earnest, man.? You will not eat of them, surely, unless you lack other food indeed, and then " " We think not that which God kills is un- clean," replied Lovel, " and we love the flesh that bleeds not bv the knife." A feehno- of horror appeared to pervade the whole party as Corrie Lovel urged his request ; and Gene^ ral Montgomery, putting a piece of gold into his hand as he ascended the steps, recommended him to provide a festival for his people with it, rather than from that which he proposed. Lady Emily, as she reentered the hall, felt her spirits depressed; and though her natural good sense rejected the idea of attaching im- 288 FLIRTATION. portance to any mysterious words that had fallen from Lushee, yet their import left an un- comfortable impression on her mind, and she wished more than once that she had remained with Frances in the library. The idea of Rose, and the misery of her family, again recurred to her ; and she determined to visit their cottage, though with faint hopes of finding its inmates more at pe^ce than she had left them. With this intention, instead of following the party back to the library, Emily equipped her- self for her walk ; and hastening through the garden, and across the chase, soon reached the objects of her anxiety. Her worst fears were but confirmed by what she learnt from the Delvins ; Rose was not at home ; but her wretched parents represented her as remaining still the same un- moved and hard creature that she had shown her- self since the first of this miserable affair ; and the old couple assured Lady Emily that it re- quired their utmost forbearance, and the strong- est recollection that she was their child, to with- hold them from turning her into the street. Their agony of tears, when speaking of the FLIUTATION. !:, but what I choose to give you ; and I don't know, after what has happened, that I shall choose to see you never no more !"" " Not me ! not see me never no more ! Well 298 FLIRTATION. now, Rose, you have done for it ! Oh ! father ! father !"" clenching his two hands and striking his breast : " you were right then, after all ! she is a worthless one ! and my heart is all turned to stone. Rose, give me your hand ?"" (she suffered him to take it.) " A short time agone, do ye see, I shouldn't have given up this hand to the King on his throne ! and that I wouldn't, but for why ? Why, because I thought you had given it to me with a true heart and an honest will ; but now — now that I know you, rotten at the core, like bad fruit with a fair outside, I wouldn't take it, no ! not if you were Queen, and courted me !" and he flung her hand from him. Rose affected to laugh, and sang as she turned away, "Oh, ho ! Mr. Jackanapes: — ' But I'll make as light of he As he made of me ; And I'll be his love no longer. So farewell he.' '' " One word more. Rose !" and his voice trem- bled as he spoke : " when you come to a bad FLIRTATION. 299 end, as the end of such as you will be ! — bethink thee then of him who would have cherished and loved thee in youth and age ; and with whom thou could st have lived in respectable wedlock : and then look to thy state — despised and trodden down ! Oh Rose, even now, I al- most weep for thee ! Go ! go thy ways, un- happy, wicked Rose !"" Here they were startled by the sound of music, and a small party of soldiers were seen advancing: the little spruce drummer marched fiercely before the serjeant and his men ; while the merry fife sounded its light shrill voice to make men think that war is a gay pageant, and foolish maidens conceive that it is a plea- sant pastime to follow a soldier's fortunes. The recruiting serjeant and his party — for it was indeed no less — now actually crossed the foot of the lane where Ambrose had been left alone by his fickle mistress ; and it is no shame to his manhood to declare, that he had wept out his sorrow in an agony of bitter tears. These gay sounds, the sight of the brilhant regimentals, the clamour of the village-throng hurraing in 300 FLIRTATION. thoughtless, ignorant admiration, awoke a sud- den sentiment, hitherto unknown, in the breast of the forsaken Ambrose. " Dang it," he said, " I have been insulted, braved by a man who's above me in life, and below me in heart ; I have been put in prison by him"" — and he ground his teeth together — " for defending one, who — ay, that's the worst on't, — a worthless, wanton jade, whom I did so love — whom I do so love — Oh ! oh !" and he burst afresh out into loud sobbing. — " No, — I'll go for a soldier, and serve my king and country; and if a bullet goes through my heart, so much the better: for Rose, yes Rose, has broken it. But I'll be a man — yes. III be a man ; so there's an end on't :" and away he went, swinging his arms and striding along till he reached the Wel- lington public-house, where he found the Ser- jeant and his recruiting-party enjoying a cool tankard with a number of idle clowns standins: with open mouths around, listening to the in- sidious speeches of the man of war. *' Come, mv brave bovs .'" he cried ; " come FLIRTATION. SOI and see a little of life ! don't stay here, tied to your mammy's apron-strings ; come and fight for your sovereign, and see the world ; it's a pity such fine fellows as you should be stooping- all day over a plough or a spade ; better list with me. See here's this youngster," (pointing to the drummer,) " he's as jolly a little dog as ever handled a drumstick, and in time will do brave service; why, he's as happy a little fellow as is in the land, and that's saying a good deal. Jim's a glorious pickle — a'n't you, Jim; and you can take off your ale with the best of us." One or two of the women who had been standing gazing around, now pulled away their young boys; and, lifting their eyes to heaven, devoutly prayed, that if such alone were a sol- dier's life, her precious child might never be- come one : but the younger and more thought- less members of the community had different wishes and ideas ; and when the serjcant called to one of his men to give them a song, a larger circle again collected round the porch-door of the public- house. 302 FLIRTATION. SOLDIER'S SONG. A Soldier's life 's a jolly thing : He serves his countiy, serves his king; Aud when he 's fought on foreign strand. Again he comes to British land. With money in his pockets, boys. Oh, money gives us many joys : Good ale, good cheer, and what not, boys, A draught and pipe that never cloys. Oh, then we rant, and then we sing, Britannia rule, God bless the King ! AFith my fal, la, la, brave boys ! There 's money chinking in my purse. You. may go farther and fare worse : A brimming tankard foaming o'er ; Drain it, my lads, and ask for more. Here 's colours ! come, my hearties, say. Will you not wear them ? yea, or nay ? I know your hearts, how brave they be : I drink to thee, come di-ink to me. Oh ! thus we'll rant, and thus we'U sing, Britannia rule, God save the King ! With my fal, la, la, brave boys ! A Soldier's life's the life for me ; Try it and see how gay we be : Not a care to vex or teaze us. And no wife to come and seize us. FLIRTATION., 303 When with our gay comrades drinking. We are spared the pains of thinking What may be our hap to-morrow. Since to-day we're free from sorrow. Come, brave fellows, join our crew ! Will you, my hearty ? you, or you ? With my fal, la, la, brave boys ! " I will !" said Ambrose, half-drunk with ale, and wholly stupified with sorrow. " What! Ambrose Phihps leave Rose?" cried many voices. " Silence, I say ! or I will silence you after another sort ! am I to be questioned by such as you .?" *' What !" said one old man with white hair, and in a tremulous voice, leaning on a stick, " Ambrose leave his old feather ?"" "Father!" repeated Ambrose, with an ago- nized look ; and staggering to his feet he seemed about to depart, when the scrjeant tipped the wink to one of his men, who dashed a glass of spirits into the tankard he handed to him. " Come, my brave fellow ! you will not part without a farewell cup, at least." And now fol- U04 FLIRTATION. lowed story upon stoiy, song upon song, till Ambrose, fired at the confused images of plea- sure that the serjeant and his men represented on one liand, and those of pain and disgrace which overwhelmed him on the other, held out his hand to the former, who, putting a guinea into it, which Ambrose unconsciously grasped, declared him enlisted ; and the poor victim of disappointed love and intoxication was marched off, between two men of the party, to quarters. There, on the morrow, he awoke too late to reason and a sense of his folly ; the most wi-etched w-ight tliat dazzling glory tind a worthless woman had ever cozened to his own undoing. KSD Of THE IlKST VOLL.ME. LUNUOX: l-KlNTiiU IIY a. AM> R. BENTLhY, DOilSLl illltLT. ^his book is DUE on the last date stamped below v/ f 1 2 1959 MAR 2 2 ]9W K'pR H ^1W rormL-9-10m-2,'31 3 1158 01127 6820 M^ 000 University of California SOUTHERN REGIONAL LIBRARY FACILITY 405 Hilgard Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90024-1388 Return this material to the library from which it was borrowed. ft. APft|9j9!)j, R^;-- -w Univ Sc I