John Kirkwood Leys

“ The conversation at table was not very brilliant.
‘Are you fond of pictures, Miss Sewell?’ inquired Mr. Semple from the foot of the table.
Miss Sewell glanced slowly round at Laura, as if for enlightenment as to the purpose of so absurd a question, before she tranquilly replied:
‘Everyone is, I suppose, Mr. Semple.’
But it was nearly impossible to make that gentleman feel that one was even trying to snub him.
‘I don’t know,’ he replied; ‘I know a lot of men, very intelligent men, who don’t know a single one of the points of a picture. ”

“ Laura did not know what to say in answer to this speech; but Mrs. Crosby remarked with the utmost composure:
‘Law, Mr. Crosby, how can you say so? I’m sure everything’s very comfortable, though at present a little unsettled. But you must never mind Mr. Crosby, my dear. All men grumble and find fault; and if you just let them alone, it never does anyone any harm.’
Life at Richmond Villa was certainly uneventful; but very much to her own surprise Laura found that it interested her. ”

“ He had an income which rendered it unnecessary for him to devote himself to the ordinary aim of an Englishman—the making of money; and to set himself to charm sovereigns which he did not need out of the pockets of his fellow-creatures into his own, for the mere love of gold or of luxury, was an idea which he would have despised as heartily as Alec Lindsay himself would have done. Blake had also great contempt for the brassy self-importance and self-conceit which is the most useful of all attributes for one who means to get on in the world. ”

“ The gleam of hope died out in MacGowan’s watery eyes, and he turned once more to contemplate the dying fire.
‘What are you thinking of doing?’ asked Beattie after a pause.
‘Nothing.’
‘But you must do something, or starve.’
‘I don’t care.’
‘Oh, nonsense, man! I’ll tell you what you ought to do—emigrate! In a new country, where there are fewer public-houses than there are in London, and no temptations to spend money, you might make a fresh start, and end by becoming a rich man.’
MacGowan made no answer. ”

“ There is comfort in that.’
‘Of course there is. There is more than comfort in it. There is everything in it. And yet men go on saying they believe in God, and grumbling at every stone they strike their foot against.’
A long pause followed.
Alec was hardly able to speak, but a faint smile crossed his face.
‘You are always the same, Cameron.’
‘And if you talk any more I will leave the house this instant. If you have any peace in your mind, keep it, and thank God. But don’t say another syllable, unless you want to kill yourself.’
All through that night Cameron and Margaret watched by turns. ”

“ Alec was shocked and surprised at the news; but the thought that was uppermost in his mind was that in all probability he would never see Laura Mowbray again. Now that her uncle was dead she would go back to her friends in London; and in a few months she would forget him. Not until that moment had Alec realized how constantly the thought of this girl had been in his mind, how he had made her image play a part in all his dreams. And now it was over! The world which had seemed so fair and bright but an hour ago was dull and lifeless now. ”

“ It was a new experience for Alec. Everything at Grove House seemed daintier, more delicate, and more precise than what he had been accustomed to. Never in his life had he seen so much money and trouble lavished upon the petty details of existence; never had he seen the art of comfortable living carried to such perfection.
When the little party adjourned to the drawing-room after dinner, this impression was strengthened. ”

“ The sun was not visible at all. In every street and building gas was flaming, as if it had been midnight. Rain or snow would have been a relief from the stifling yellow vapour; but neither fell. The cold, clammy, omnipresent fog reigned supreme.
As it happened, Hubert Blake had slept at his uncle’s the night before. He had, of course, determined to be present at the trial; and when he came down to breakfast, an hour [Pg 108] earlier than usual, he was surprised to see that both Sophy Meredith and Miss Elmwood were dressed ready to go out. ”

“ Laura shook her head, but smiled at the same time.
‘You must give me an answer,’ said Alec, rising to his feet. He was dreadfully in earnest.
‘And I say that at your age and mine it is ridiculous to talk of such things.’
‘Nonsense! We are not too young to love each other. Can you love me, Laura? What you have said is no answer at all.’
‘I’m afraid it’s the only answer I can give you,’ said Laura, with a saucy smile, rising in her turn, and gliding past her companion. ‘Don’t be absurd; and don’t be unkind or disagreeable when we meet again, after we come back from our tour. ”

“ After a time the conversation changed again, for Alec began to talk to Cameron about their old College friends, and Blake walked on in silence. He was comparing, in his own mind, his lot in life with that of the two young men beside him. His advantages had been so much greater than theirs, and his performances had been so trifling! He had seen, and admired, and copied: they had struggled and acted. He was already feeling wearied of life, while Cameron was beginning what promised to be a successful career of great usefulness, and Alec was bravely setting out to battle with the world. ”

“ For the rest of his stay at Castle Farm he avoided meeting her alone, and only spoke to her when ordinary politeness required it. And yet, whenever she addressed him, he felt that the fascination of her beauty was as strong as ever. When Alec came home on the day of the curling-match, and shouted out in triumph that Muirburn had won, Margaret’s eyes flashed, and her cheek flushed in sympathy; and Cameron, watching her, forgot that she had not forgiven him for his lack of sympathy with the men of Drumclog. ”

“ Take humility, the power of self-sacrifice, kindness to the sick, to the aged, to dumb animals, and so on. Self-sacrifice does not naturally tend to the survival of the fittest, say what you like. Do stags become less fit to survive because they butt a wounded deer out of the herd, or leave it to die of starvation? Why should men who nurse the sick and tend the aged become stronger than those who do not?’
‘There’s sense in what you say, Alec; and of course, if we find a fact that natural principles won’t explain, and religious principles will explain, that is a great matter. ”

“ Alec flushed up, opened his lips, and closed them again without speaking. He could not tell his father that the insinuation conveyed by his words was untrue.
‘Ah, Alec!’ pursued the old man, in a softer tone, ‘think what an opportunity you are throwing away! An opportunity that will never come again. What life could be higher or nobler than that spent in saving souls?’ To this Alec made no reply. ‘What are all the honours and wealth of the world compared to being the instrument of saving one soul?’ asked Mr. Lindsay. ”

“ Laura shook her head gravely.
‘I fear you would be offended if I were to speak of it,’ she said.
‘Indeed I would not. Nothing you could say could offend me.’
‘Well, if you will promise to forgive me if I should offend you——’
‘You couldn’t offend me if you tried,’ said Alec warmly.
‘Then I will tell you what I was thinking of. I don’t think you should neglect your grand-uncle as you do.’
‘Neglect!’
‘Yes. It is not kind or dutiful.’
‘Neglect! My dear Miss Mowbray, you are altogether mistaken. We can’t neglect those who don’t want us. ”

“ But Laura was not satisfied with this. If he would only turn and look at her! But he stood there, gazing at the red embers without seeing them.
‘Surely,’ thought Laura, ‘he has not ceased to love me? He is not one who easily forgets.’
‘Won’t you sit down?’ she said gently. But he did not seem to hear her. She was determined that he should speak.
‘Miss Lindsay is going north sooner than she intended,’ she said, almost sharply. ”

“ It happened that that very evening Alec Lindsay called at his uncle’s, and as soon as the old man was aware that his nephew was in the house, he sent for him.
‘Alec,’ he said, ‘sit down. I have something to say to you.’
Alec obeyed, wondering what was coming.
‘I am decidedly of opinion,’ said Mr. Lindsay, in his old pragmatical way, ‘that it is not a good thing for a young man to be made suddenly rich. If he has enough to give him a start in life, that is all he needs. Wealth is often the occasion of a young man’s ruin. ”

“ They threw themselves down on the heather, and tasted the delicious sense of rest to strained muscles and panting lungs.
‘I am afraid this is rather too much for you,’ said Alec to Laura, noticing her look of weariness.
‘Oh, I shall get on after I have rested,’ she replied; ‘but it is so tiresome to imagine, every now and then, that the crest before you is the top of the hill, and to find when you arrive there that the real summit seems farther off than ever.’
‘The finest views are always to be had half-way up a mountain,’ said Blake. ”

“ The two men sat looking steadily at each other.
‘Lindsay,’ said Beattie at length, ‘is it not better that you should hear the truth from a friend’s lips, rather than from an enemy’s? Look at the facts. You made an ugly blunder, by which you stand to make a large profit. Giving up the money will only be taken as a confession of guilt. ”

“ But fate had decreed that in both of these points Laura was to be disappointed.
The girl’s heart sank within her as the cab stopped at ‘Richmond Villa,’ which was, in fact, nothing more than a shabby, stucco-fronted cottage. The crying of a baby reached her ears before she had time to raise the knocker; and no sooner had she done so than she became conscious that two dirty children were peering at her from the window at her left hand.
Mrs. Crosby was a large, flabby, good-natured woman, who seemed incapable of being injuriously affected by any domestic troubles whatever. ”

“ Imagine one great stretch of pasture barely reclaimed from moorland, with the heather and stony ground cropping up every here and there, divided into fields, not by generous spreading hedgerows, but by low walls of blue stone, built without mortar. The only wood to be seen was narrow belts of firs, planted here and there behind a farmhouse, or between two fields, and somehow their long bare stems and heavy mournful foliage did not add to the brightness of the scene, though they gave it a character of its own. But the country is not all moor and pasture. ”

“ Afterwards Alec came to know London well, for he was never tired of wandering about the streets. He came to know that Cheapside and the Strand were not ‘London,’ nor even Westminster or Piccadilly. He lost himself, over and over again, in labyrinths of small, grimy streets, each twenty feet of which made a separate home. He found that in the East End there were miles and miles of land covered with manufactories, warehouses, and houses of repulsive ugliness filled with hardworking people. He came to the conclusion at last that the one thing in which London was unique was its unsearchableness. ”

“ Blake, you are very good, but you may as well let me alone. To tell the truth, I don’t care much what happens. I feel as if my life were ended. I don’t consider,’ he went on, speaking rapidly, as if he were anxious to finish what he had to say, ‘that my name can ever be cleared of the taint of the Old Bailey. I fancy men look askance at me. I have no desire to begin life again. My ambitions are dead, and I don’t want them to come to life again. ”

“ Beattie burst into a hoarse laugh.
‘My dear fellow, you have the simplest notions. Never mind; you’ll know better in time. Learning! Now, look here. Take our own profession. That little drunken beggar in our office, MacGowan, knows more law than most men with wigs on their heads I have come across—more than many a Q.C. I dare say he told you as much himself.’
‘He did,’ said Alec, with a laugh.
‘And he gets eighty or ninety pounds a year. Take my own case. I know as much, and am as good a man of business (though I say it myself) as any of my governors. ”

“ Life does not seem worth living when you are not near me.’ And then, hardly knowing what he said, he poured out the story of his love. He seized her hands, as they lay idly in her lap, and seemed unconscious of the efforts she made to withdraw them. He gazed into her face, and repeated his words with passionate earnestness, again and again:—‘I love you, Laura; I love you; I love you!’
Laura threw a glance around, to make sure that no one was in sight; and then, slipping her hands away, she covered with them her blushing face. When she looked up, she met Alec’s passionate gaze with a smile. ”

“ As Alec had been speaking, Mr. Corker kept looking at him with a curious, half-amused, half-admiring expression in his beady black eyes; and when the young man ended his speech he turned slowly away, without answering a word, and began to tell an interesting story to the counsel on the other side. This was Mr. Champneys, a middle-aged man, with a hard, keen face, finely-cut features, and firmly-set thin lips. Mr. Champneys wore well-made clothes and fine linen, and looked like a gentleman. ”

“ They hang on to what men they do know, and flatter or bother them into giving them the opportunity they want. Then, when they have got it, they make the most of it. They never lose a chance of advertising themselves. Better, they say, be spoken of as a cad or a fool, than not be spoken of at all. They never lose an opportunity of sticking a spoke in a rival’s wheel; and they will half ruin a man one minute, and meet him with a “Well, old man,” the next, as if they were the greatest friends in the world.’
Alec’s face wore an expression of deep disgust. ”

“ He is a grand-nephew, too. I shouldn’t wonder if he makes him his heir; and I don’t care. I don’t want to be a Glasgow merchant, any more than I want to be a Kyleshire farmer.’
‘Ah! Alec, are you smitten too?’ I said. ‘You want to climb, and you will not think that you may fall. I didn’t know you were ambitious.’
‘I want to go into a wider world than this one;’ said the lad, and his eyes flashed, and his voice trembled with excitement. ‘I want to learn, first of all; then I want to find what I can do best, and try to make a name for myself. I want to rise to the level of—oh! ”

“ Presently Sophy reappeared, bearing a tray on which was a pile of letters and newspapers. Hubert sprang up to relieve her of it.
‘I had no idea there could be so many, or I wouldn’t have troubled you,’ he said, looking at the heap with an air of disgust.
Then he lit a cigar, and sat down again.
‘Aren’t you going to open your letters, Hubert?’ said his uncle, after a pause.
‘No; there’s such a heap of them, and some are sure to be annoying. It will do quite as well to-morrow.’
‘Some of them may be important,’ rejoined the old man, after another pause. ”

“ Beattie was congratulating himself already on his success, when the news that Mr. Lindsay specially desired that his nephew should prepare his will fell on him like a thunderbolt. Should he abandon the scheme? Abandon a hundred thousand pounds! It was not to be thought of. Was there any other method of carrying out the fraud? Beattie could think of none. On the spur of the moment he told Alec Lindsay not to send the draft to be settled by counsel, and not to send it to the law-stationers, hoping that some change in the old man’s plans might yet enable him to carry out his scheme. ”

“ Trim gravelled walks are but a poor substitute for a grass-grown lane; a neglected hedgerow, a bit of moorland, or even a corner of a common, will hold more that is beautiful, more that is interesting to one who loves the open country, than acres of park, with all their flower-plots and ticketed specimens of foreign shrubs; for in a thorn hedge or a mound of furze one recognises the inexpressible charm that Nature only possesses when she is left to work by herself. ”