He was taking advantage of the cessation of dancing, to supply the aspiring musicians with sundry articles of good cheer. A rope, armed with a hook, was dropped from their lofty aerie, and promptly drawn up, on the youngster"s obtaining from the neighbouring tents, wherewithal to fill satisfactorily the basket which he attached.
Sir Henry Delme and George had been so much abroad, and Emily"s attachment to Clarendon was of so early a date, that it happened that the members of the Delme family had mixed little in the festivities of the county in which they resided; and were not intimately known, nor perhaps fully appreciated, in the neighbourhood.
But the family was one of high standing, and had ever been remarkable for its kind-heartedness; and what _was_ known of its individuals, was so much to their credit, that it kept alive the respect and consideration that these circ.u.mstances might of themselves warrant.
Sir Henry, on the other hand, regarded his sister"s marriage as an event, at which it might be proper to show, that neither hauteur nor want of sociability, had precluded their friendly intercourse with the neighbouring magnates; and consequently, most of the princ.i.p.al families were present at Emily"s wedding.
While this large a.s.semblage increased the gaiety of the scene, it was somewhat wearisome to Delme, who was too truly attached to his sister, to be otherwise than thoughtful during the ceremony, and the breakfast that succeeded it.
At length the time came when Emily could escape from the gay throng; and endeavour, in the quiet of her own room, to be once more calm, before she prepared to leave her much-loved home.
The preparations made, a note was despatched to her brother, begging him to meet her in the library. As he did so, a fresh pang shot through Delme"s heart.
As he looked on Emily"s flushed face--her dewy cheek--and noted her agitated manner; he for the first time perceived, her very strong resemblance to poor George, and wondered that he had never observed this before.
Clarendon announced the carriage.
"G.o.d bless you! dear Henry!"
"G.o.d bless and preserve you! my sweet! Clarendon! good bye! I am sure you will take every care of her!"
In another moment, the carriage was whirling past the library window; and Sir Henry felt little inclined, to join the formal party in the drawing-room. Sending therefore a brief message to Mrs. Glenallan, he threw open the library window, and with hurried steps reached a summer-house, half hidden in the shrubbery. He there fell into a deep reverie, which was by no means a pleasurable one.
He thought of Emily--of George--of Acme,--and felt that he was becoming an isolated being.
And had _he_ not loved too? As this thought crossed him, his ambitious dreams were almost forgotten.
Sir Henry Delme was aroused by the sound of voices. A loving couple, too much engaged to observe _him_, pa.s.sed close to the summer-house.
It was the "Queen of the May," the prettiest and one of the poorest girls in the parish, walking arm in arm with her rural swain. They had left the "roasted beeves," and the "broached casks," for one half-hour"s delicious converse.
There was some little coquettish resistance on the part of the girl, as they sat down together at the foot of a fir tree.
Her lover put his arm round her waist.
"Oh! Mary! if father would but give us a cow or so!"
This little incident decided the matter. Delme at once resolved that Mary Smith _should_ have a cow or so; and also that his own health would be greatly benefited, by a short sojourn at Leamington.
Chapter XV.
The Meeting.
"Oh ever loving, lovely, and beloved!
How selfish sorrow ponders on the past, And clings to thoughts now better far removed, But Time shall tear thy shadow from me last."
We know not whether our readers have followed us with due attention, as we have incidentally, and at various intervals, made our brief allusion to the gradual change of character, wrought on Delme, by the eventful scenes in which he so lately played a prominent part.
When we first introduced him to our reader"s notice, we endeavoured to depict him as he then really was,--a man of strong principles, warm heart, and many n.o.ble qualities; but one, p.r.o.ne to over-estimate the value of birth and fortune--with a large proportion of pride and reserve--and with ideas greatly tinctured with the absurd fallacies of the mere man of the world.
But there was much in the family events we have described, to shake Delme"s previous convictions, and to induce him to recal many of his former opinions.
He had seen his brother form a connection, which set at naught all those convenances, which _he_ had been accustomed to regard as essential to, and as indeed forming the very ingredient of, domestic happiness.
And yet Sir Henry Delme could not disguise from himself, that if, in George"s short-lived career, there had been much of pain and sorrow, they were chiefly engendered by George"s mental struggle, to uphold those very opinions to which he himself was wedded; and that to this alone, might be traced much of the suffering he had undergone. This was it that had so weakened mind and body, as to render change of scene necessary;--this was it that exposed Acme to the air of the pestiferous marshes, and which left George himself--a broken hearted man--totally incapable of bearing his bereavement.
On the other hand, the sunny happiness his brother had basked in,--and it was very great,--had sprung from the natural out-pourings of an affection, which,--unfettered as it had been by prudential considerations,--had yet the power to make earth a heaven while Acme shared it with him, and the dark grave an object of bright promise, when hailed as the portal, through which _he_ must pa.s.s, ere he gazed once more on the load-star of his hopes.
In the case, too, of Emily and Clarendon, although their union was far more in accordance with his earlier theories, yet he could not but note, how little their happiness seemed to rest on their position in society, and how greatly was it based on their love for each other.
These considerations were strengthened, by a growing feeling of isolation, which the death of George and of Acme,--the marriage of his sister,--and probably the time of life he had arrived at, were all calculated to awaken.
With the knowledge of his disease, sprung up the hope of an antidote; and it may be, that the little episode of the May Queen in our last chapter, came but as a running comment, to reflections that had long been cherished and indulged.
The thoughts of Sir Henry Delme anxiously centred in Julia Vernon; and as he recalled her graceful emotion when they last parted, the unfrequent blush,--it might be of shame, it might be of consciousness,--coloured his sun-burnt cheek.
At length,--the guests being dismissed, Delme was at leisure to renew an acquaintance, which had already proved an eventful one to him. He had heard little of Miss Vernon since his return to England. His sister had thought it better to let matters take their own course; and Julia, who knew that in the eyes of the world, her circ.u.mstances were very different to what they had been previous to her uncle"s death; had from motives of delicacy, shunned any intercourse that might lead to a renewed intimacy with the family.
Her health, too, had been precarious, and her elasticity of mind was gone.
Slowly wasting from day to day, she had sought to banish all thoughts that were not of a world less vain than this--and her very languor of body--while it gave her an apology for declining all gaieties, induced a resigned spirit, and a quiet frame of mind.
When Sir Henry Delme was announced, Julia was alone in the drawing-room.
At that name, she attempted to rise from the sofa; but she was weak, and her head fell back on the white pillow.
Delme stood for a moment irresolute,--a prey to the deepest pangs of remorse.
Well might he be shocked at that altered form!
Her figure was greatly attenuated,--her cheeks sunken,--her eyes bright and large; while over the forehead and drooping eyelid branched the sapphire veins, with their intricate windings so clearly marked, that Delme almost thought, that he could trace the motion of the blood beneath.
That momentary pause, and the one mutual glance of recognition, told a more accurate tale than words could convey.
As Sir Henry pressed that small transparent hand, Julia"s thin lip quivered convulsively. She attempted to speak, but the exertion of utterance was too great, and she burst into a flood of tears.
"Julia! my own Julia! forgive me! we will never part more!"
After this interview, it is needless to say that there was little else to be explained. Mrs. Vernon was delighted at Julia"s happy prospects, and it was settled that their marriage should take place in the ensuing August.
Such arrangements as could be made on the spot to facilitate this, were at once entered on.
At the end of two months, it became necessary that Delme should proceed to town, for the purpose of seeing the Commander-in-Chief, in order to withdraw a previous application to be employed on active service. He was anxious also to consult a friend, whom he proposed appointing one of the trustees for his marriage settlement; and Clarendon and Emily had exacted a promise, that he would pay them a visit on his way to Delme Park; which he had determined to take on his route to town, that he might personally inspect some alterations he had lately planned there.
It was with bright prospects before him, that Delme kissed off the big tear that coursed down Julia"s cheek; as she bade him farewell, with as much earnestness, as if years, instead of a short fortnight, were to elapse before they met again.