John Kirkwood Leys

“ Beyond the western hills the sky was still bright, with a glow that seemed less that of the sunken sun, than some mysterious halo of the northern night. A faint phosphorescence lingered about the drops of sea-water upon the oars. Nothing but the distant lights in the cottage windows seemed to be in any way connected with the commonplace, everyday world.
‘Hadn’t we better go back? It is really getting dark,’ said Laura, as gently as before; and Alec obediently dipped his oars and turned the bow of the boat towards Glendhu. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ The end of the session drew near; and the April sun shone clear and fair through the smoke-cloud of Glasgow. It was a Saturday afternoon, and Alec determined to console himself for the loss of a long walk, for which he could not afford time, by putting a book in his pocket, and taking a stroll in the park.
Those who are most attached to the country care least for parks. A piece of enclosed and tended pleasure-ground, whether it is large or small, always affects the lover of nature with a sense of restraint, of formality, of the substitution of an imitation for a reality. ”

“ 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! ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ Lindsay never married, I believe,’ said Miss Mowbray.
‘No; he has no relations nearer than’—‘nearer than I am,’ he was going to have said; but he stopped and substituted—‘nearer than nephews and nieces.’
‘And he has plenty of them, I suppose? All Scotch people seem to have so many relations; it is quite bewildering.’
‘Uncle James is my father’s uncle, you understand,’ said Alec; ‘and there are only two in our family, my sister and I; that is not so very many.’
‘No. But have you really a sister?’ exclaimed Laura, turning round so as to face her companion for an instant. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ It is a bit of the valley of the Kelvin; and it includes one side of a steep rising-ground which is crowned by handsome houses of stone. The little river itself is always dirty, and in summer is little better than a sewer with the roof off; but seen from a little distance it is picturesque, and lends variety to the scene.
Alec was wandering along one of the pathways, watching the sunlight playing in the yet leafless branches, and trying to cheat himself into the idea that his mind was filled with Roman history; when suddenly he found himself face to face with—Laura Mowbray. ”

“ In another moment we were off, the sturdy old mare between the shafts carrying us along at a very fair pace.
There are some people, Sophy, who wear their characters written on their faces, and Alec Lindsay is one of them. I could see, even as we drove together along that solitary lane in the autumn twilight, that his was a frank, ingenuous nature, shy, sensitive, and reserved. I mean that his shyness made him reserved, but his thoughts and feelings showed themselves in his face without his knowing it, so little idea had he of purposely concealing himself. Such a face is always interesting ”

“ What sense is there in that, can ye tell me?’
‘That’s all very well,’ said Alec, ‘but it seems to me that if a man finds a poor religion around him, he ought to stick to it as well as he can till he finds a better one.’
‘There’s sense in that, Alec,’ said Cameron; ‘and I’ll no just say I’ve no had my endeavours to find a better.’
‘Where can ye find a better?’ asked Alec, shocked at this latitudinarianism.
‘I didna say I had succeeded, did I? But I’ve tried. I went a good deal among the Methodists in my first year at College. ”

“ Cameron smiled grimly.
‘You’ll have to go, Alec,’ he repeated; ‘and you needn’t be afraid of appearing ridiculous. Do as you see others do, and keep a lown sail; better seem blate than impident.’
‘My father would be in a fine way if he heard that my uncle had invited me, and that I had refused the invitation,’ said Lindsay.
‘And quite right too,’ rejoined Cameron. ‘Besides, Alec, the old man is your father’s uncle, and you ought to show him some respect.’
‘That wasn’t the reason you put in the forefront,’ said Alec slyly. ”

“ Did you ever see a perfectly beautiful woman, Sophy? I doubt it. I never did till I saw Margaret Lindsay. I was so astonished to see a lady at the Castle Farm that I positively stared at the girl for a moment, but she came forward and shook hands with the utmost self-possession.
‘I’m afraid you have had a cold drive, Mr. Blake,’ she said; and though she spoke in a very decidedly Scotch accent, the words did not sound so harshly from her lips as they had done when spoken by her father. For the first time I thought that the Doric might have an agreeable sound. ”

“ If he had lingered a minute or two longer he would have heard Miss Lindsay’s voice calling out in some anxiety, and Laura Mowbray’s silvery accents replying:
‘Yes; here I am, Miss Lindsay—it is so much cooler out of doors. My headache is almost quite gone, thank you; the cool sea-breeze has driven it away. How did you enjoy your party? How I wish I could have gone with you!’
But before Laura reached the house, Alec was once more far out in the loch. He wished to be alone, to indulge the sweet intoxication which was burning in his veins. ”

“ Lindsay, was loftily condescending to Alec, and treated Margaret as if she ought to have been highly flattered by the admiration of so fine a gentleman.
‘Your respected cousin seemed to me as if he were greatly in need of a kicking,’ I said to Alec.
‘If he gets even a share of Uncle James’s property he will be a rich man,’ said Alec thoughtfully. ‘My father would think it a sin for Maggie to refuse a man with a hundred thousand pounds.’
‘So would a good many fathers, I suppose,’ said I.
I am sorry to see Alec’s attitude to his father; yet I fear he judges the old man only too accurately. ”

“ Alec waited till they came up, and then he said:
‘I have borrowed Mr. Fraser’s light skiff; suppose we all go for a row? You can row one skiff and I the other,’ he added, turning to Semple.
‘Oh, delightful!’ cried Laura. ‘It is just the evening for a row. You will come, Miss Lindsay, won’t you?’
‘I have no objections,’ said Margaret, quite indifferently.
Laura turned and ran into the house for wraps, while a rather awkward silence fell upon the rest of the party. ”

“ Don’t deny it.’
‘I said it was stupid; and so it was,’ said Alec, reddening. ‘Nobody said anything worth listening to, so far as I heard.’
‘That means nobody took much notice of you, eh?’
‘What an ill-conditioned, sneering fellow you are, Cameron,’ replied Alec tranquilly. ‘You’ll never get on in the world unless you learn to be civil.’
‘It isn’t worth my while to be civil to you,’ said Cameron. ‘Wait till I’m in practice and have to flatter and humour rich old women. ”

“ Strange, he thought to himself, as he gazed on the shadow of a cloud passing like a spirit over a lonely peak—strange that the sight of masses of mere dead earth and stone, the dullest and lowest forms of matter, should be able to touch us more profoundly than all the lovely sights and sweet sounds of the animated world! ”

“ Meanwhile one of the players from his own side had gone to the other side of the rink, and holding his broom upright in the tee-hole, enabled Alec to form a more accurate idea of the distance.
Swinging his stone, Alec stooped down, and with no apparent effort ‘placed’ it on the ice. Away it sailed with a loud humming sound, sweet to a curler’s ear.
Every man eagerly watched its rate of speed, while some, running alongside, accompanied it on its course. ”

“ Wandering through the streets, which at that hour were almost deserted, he at last heard a church bell begin to ring, and following the sound he came to a stone building, surmounted by a belfry. After a little hesitation, Alec Lindsay entered, and was conducted by the pew-opener to a seat. The area of the building was filled with very high-backed pews, set close together, and a large gallery ran round three of the walls; but the chapel was evidently not a Presbyterian place of worship, for on either side of the lofty pulpit was a reading-desk, nearly as high as the pulpit itself. ”

“ The rocky shore was adorned with groups of girls who were drying their hair after their morning’s dip in the sea, and dividing their attention between their novels, their little brothers in the boats just mentioned, and the approaching steamer. The water being deep close to the edge of the rocky coast, the pier was a very short one; and Alec Lindsay, looking over the edge, through the green water swirling round the piles of the pier, could see the pebbles on the shore twenty feet below. ”

“ Lord Bantock, the chief landowner in that part of Kyleshire, was there, his red, good-humoured face beaming on everybody, his hands thrust into the pockets of his knickerbockers, the regulation green broom under his arm. Next him stood a little spare man in a tall hat. This was Johnnie Fergus, draper, ironmonger, guardian of the poor, and Free Church deacon in the neighbouring village of Auchinbyres.
Nothing was ever done at Auchinbyres without Johnnie Fergus having a hand in it. He was a man of importance, and he knew it. No man had ever seen Johnnie in a round hat. ”

“ Gazing at its weather-beaten rocks and its sketches of silent moorland, one could hardly help tasting that renovating draught—the sense that one has reached a place where man is as nothing, a sphere which is but nominally under his sway, where he comes and goes, but leaves behind him no mark upon the face of nature. ”

“ The one event of the day in the village was the arrival of the steamer and the departure of the coach which carried passengers to Tarbert on Loch Lomond. It was a favourite amusement of the inhabitants to lounge about the landing-place on these occasions, ostensibly coming for their letters and newspapers, but really pleased to see new faces and make comments about the appearance of the tourists. Laura Mowbray generally found it necessary to go to the post-office about the time of the steamer’s arrival; and Alec was not long in turning the custom to his own advantage. ”