Leslie Ross Part 6

"Imagination follows the boy to his happy home, where his father welcomes him with a hearty shake of the hand, his mother with a fond clinging embrace, and his sisters with smiles and kisses; while his younger brothers, who have been on the watch for hours, greet him with shouts of delight, and hurry him away to see their favourite rabbits, and pet guinea-pigs, and mice. Who so happy as a school-boy home for the holidays!

"But amid all the excitement, and hurry, and joy, and noise, and confusion, how unutterably miserable is that boy who has no home to go to, and is to remain at school during the holidays; his face is like a cloud amid the sunshine, a frown amid smiles; he views the preparations of each departing boy with envy, and, try all he can, he cannot a.s.sume a _nonchalant_ or I-don't-care kind of air, nor prevent a lump rising in his throat, and an occasional dimness gathering over his eyes. May be he hides himself away that he may not see the general departure of all his school-fellows, and as their joyous shouts reach him in his hiding-place, he puts his fingers in his ears to shut out the noise which means such loneliness for himself.

"It so chanced that one Michaelmas I was the one unfortunate boy who was left 'sole monarch of all I surveyed.' My parents were away on the Continent, and, unable to reach home in time, had requested the master, as a favour, to allow me to remain at Ascot House during the holidays. I was anything but pleased myself at the arrangement, but was compelled to grin and bear it.

"I will not be _too_ sure, but I think I hid myself and cried, after Willie Wilc.o.x, the last boy to leave, had shaken me by the hand, saying, 'Cheer up, old fellow; I'm sorry for you, but I suppose it can't be helped. I'll write you a line while I am away.' It was all very well to say 'Cheer up,' but my spirits had gradually sunk at each boy's departure, until they were far below zero when I found myself alone. I wandered aimlessly about the playground, which had never before appeared so deserted or silent, kicking stones about with my feet, and making holes in the ground with the heels of my boots. I sauntered up to the school-room windows, and stared in at the empty room, and at the long desks, which looked strange and unfamiliar. Even the doctor's wife did not raise my spirits when she kindly said, 'You may go into the garden, Hall, whenever you like, and pick some fruit, but be sure you do not eat too much, so as to make yourself unwell.' I availed myself of the privilege, and ate more fruit than I have ever done since. No, nothing could banish the cloud from my face, nor the gloom from my heart. I never knew what loneliness was before. Even night did not wrap me in forgetfulness, for although by way of variety I lay in a different bed each night, sleep seemed to have gone home for a holiday as well as the boys, for it would seldom visit my couch.

"This state of things went on for a week. I took long walks, but the zest seemed to have gone out of them since I was alone, for they were nothing like so pleasant as when my companions were with me. A change came, however, which made the remaining days a little more bright and cheery.

"On the first day of the second week of the holidays, I had sauntered away from the house, and was hunting for nuts in a little wood or plantation, not far from the grounds of Squire Aveling. I was absorbed in my occupation until I heard a scream in the adjoining lane, and the terrified voice of a girl exclaim, 'Oh! papa! papa! do come!' and then another scream, followed by the deep bay of a dog. I bounded from the wood, cleared the old palings which separated it from the lane with one jump, and was just in time to throttle a big brute of a dog round the neck, as it was in the very act of springing upon a little girl, who, in terror, was crouching down in the road.

"The dog was strong, and I found it no easy matter to hold the brute, and restrain its savage attempts to catch some part of my person between its jaws. But just at the moment when I thought I could hold on no longer, and should be compelled to relinquish my grasp, and while tumbling over and over in the dust, a voice cried out--while I could hear rapid steps approaching,--'Hold on; I'll be with you in a minute;' and almost at the same instant the dog was pulled from my grasp, and a heavy whip descended upon its back and flanks, causing it to yell out so l.u.s.tily that the wood echoed again.

"By the time I had risen to my feet, and shaken some of the dust from my clothes, the dog had run howling away, while as pretty a looking little girl as ever I saw was clinging round the neck of a tall gentleman, who was endeavouring to hush her terrified sobs. This was soon accomplished, for what child does not feel safe in its father's arms? and the gentleman, turning to me, held out his hand, and, with a smile, said,--

"'Let me thank you heartily and warmly for saving my little girl from that savage dog.'

"'Oh, sir,' I replied, blushing up to the roots of my hair, 'it was not much; I should have been a coward had I not done as I did.'

"'My little maid here does not think it was a mere nothing, neither do I. I don't think many boys would have had the courage to do what you did.'

"'I think, sir, that you can't know much about boys to say that, for I could bring no end of a number who would have done the same thing; aye, and better than I did.'

"'Well, I won't contradict you; but what is your name? and where do you come from?'

"'My name, sir,' I replied, 'is Hall--Arthur Hall, and I am one of the boys from Ascot House.'

"'But how is it you are here--I thought it was holiday-time?'

"'So it is, sir; but my friends are away on the Continent, and I am staying at the school through the holidays.'

"How do you like it?'

"'Not at all; I am as lonely and miserable as a rat that has lost its hole.'

"'Well, come up to the house and give your clothes a brush. I suppose you know who I am?'

"'Yes, sir; you are Squire Aveling.'

"When we arrived at the house, Squire Aveling introduced me to his wife, as beautiful and kind a lady as I have ever known, who, when she heard what I had done, fairly kissed me as if I had been her own son.

Both the squire and his wife would not hear of my going away until evening; so I stayed and had dinner with them, while their little girl--Alice, they called her--took me round the gardens and grounds to show me all the beauties of the place. Some preparations were going on at the end of the lawn, which was opposite the front of the house; a marquee was being erected, several swings were being put up, while the lawn itself was being mowed. My conductress informed me these preparations were to celebrate her birthday, which was the day after.

"In the evening, the squire himself walked to Ascot House with me, where he saw the doctor's wife, and asked her to allow me to visit them on the morrow, as his little girl was going to entertain a host of young friends, the number of which would not be complete unless I made one of them. Permission was given, and I went to bed to dream of the pleasures the morrow was to bring.

"I was up early enough on the following morning, no such thing as oversleeping one's-self when there was a prospect of pleasure in view.

(How well it would be if we--you and I, young reader--could be as active when duty and not pleasure calls!) I oiled and scented my hair to perfection, put on my best frilled shirt, made Jim, our odd boy, polish my boots until he could see his face in them; discarded my straw hat and took to the chimney-pot (_i.e._ my best beaver), saw that there was not a speck of dirt on my clothes, viewed myself all over in the gla.s.s, nearly dislocated my neck in trying to get a glimpse of my back, but found my efforts fruitless; and finally put on my best kid gloves, after which I found I had still two hours to spare, and dinner to eat in the meantime.

"The time went by, and at length I set out for my destination, with both a bounding heart and a bounding step, the one keeping pace with the other, as though there existed some private agreement by which they acted in unison, and fulfilled the requirements of the old proverb, 'A light heart, a light step.'

"I was kindly welcomed by the squire and his lady, and by them introduced to their two sons, who had returned the same day from visiting friends; they both thanked me heartily for the service I had rendered to their sister, whom, they said, they 'would not have had hurt for the world.' This I could well believe, as I watched her darting hither and thither, like a good little fairy, in and out among her friends, with a word for one, a kiss for another, and a caress for a third.

"'I am so glad you are come,' said the fairy Allie, taking me by the hand; 'come and be introduced to all my friends.'

"I thought the introducing would never come to an end, so many were the friends with whom I had to shake hands; there were boys from school, and boys who never had been to school; there were short boys and tall boys, fat boys and lean boys; square boys and round boys; in fact, there were boys of all sorts and sizes; some who said very languidly, 'Ah! how d'ye doo?' and others who seized me by the hand and vowed I was a 'brick.'

"But the girls!--I beg their pardon, I mean young ladies!--how shall I describe them in all their loveliness and witchery! I never saw any like them before, with their long golden, or black, or silken curls, their white dresses and blue sashes, their bright faces and rosy lips!

and their eyes! how can I describe them? I have seen a few diamonds in my time, but never any that sparkled so brightly as the eyes that flashed on me on this memorable day; indeed to compare them to diamonds was to offer them an insult. On early summer mornings, when the sun was shining over land and sea, I have seen the dew sparkling on every blade of gra.s.s, or in the cup or bell of every flower, with a whole rainbow of colours mirrored in their tiny globes, and such were the eyes that beamed on me each time that Allie said, 'Flo,' or 'Clara,' or 'Kate,' as the name chanced to be, 'this is the gentleman who saved me from the dog.'

"I may say I felt extremely uncomfortable during the process of introduction, and was glad when it all ended; for what with eyes, and the being called 'quite a hero,' and 'a darling brave boy,' and so on _ad infinitum_, I experienced as queer sensations, as if I had been birched by Price, or one of the under-masters.

"But it came to an end at last, and the eldest young Aveling invited me to see his live creatures. I never knew a boy so well off for pets as I found him to be; fine lop-eared rabbits that nibbled out of the palm of his hand, guinea-pigs, white mice, a large Newfoundland dog, which would carry anything he wanted it to carry, or go any where, or fetch anything from a distance; a pony came trotting out of the stable, as soon as it heard his voice, neighing with pleasure. There were plenty of pigeons flying about, and I inquired whether he also claimed them, in reply to which he said,--

"'No, they are my sister Allie's; you should see her come into the yard; they fly round her, perch on her shoulders, pick food from between her lips, and coo with delight. Indeed, every live thing about the place knows and loves Allie. But come, let us be off, and give some of the girls a swing.'

"It was rare fun swinging the girls; the hesitation with which each one seated herself, the injunction not to be sent 'too high;' the terrified scream given when sent off, the flutter of the light dress and the streaming of the curls in the wind, were things worth remembering. When tired with swinging, we started a game of kiss-in-the-ring, in which all heartily joined, except a few languid, swellish-looking fellows who thought it beneath their dignity, and begged to be excused, saying the game was 'too vulgar.'

"'Don't think of those noodles,' said the elder Aveling; 'it is not because the game is "too vulgar," but because they have tight boots, and can't run. Come along, it's rare fun!'

"We had tea in the marquee; no end of cake and fruit, and jam and preserves. It looked, and was, a little different to school-fare: no one was stinted, and the good things disappeared like magic; indeed he must have been a clever magician who could have made them vanish as quickly. Two or three of the youngsters had smothered their faces all over with marmalade and jam, and were sights to behold. One cried because he could not eat any more of the nice things.

"'It strikes me very forcibly,' whispered the younger Aveling, 'that that youngster over there will find himself under the necessity of having an additional spoonful of jam with a powder in it to-morrow.'

"After tea, when it was dark, there was a dance on the lawn by torchlight, the torches being held by the servants; the music consisted of a flute, cornet, and violin, but the cornet proved of no use, as some urchin had bunged it up with a cork before the dance commenced. No particular dances were called for; the musicians played just what they chose, the dancers danced whatever they knew best.

Some, and these were the majority, knew nothing of dancing whatever, but threw their legs about just as fancy suggested; nevertheless the pleasure derived from this singular and altogether unique method of performing, was as intense as if done in the most scientific and approved manner.

"We had supper in the large dining-hall. Such a spread! It did one's heart good merely to see it. The pyramids of tarts! the mountains of jelly, shaking their sides like so many jolly, fat old men! the chickens, and ducks, and game, each one of which appeared to be saying, 'Yes, come and eat me, I am willing to sacrifice myself for your pleasure!' I need not say what terrific inroads we made into such eatables, how we piled our fair partners' plates with the good things, until we were obliged to help eat them (the good things I mean, not the partners, although some of them looked good enough to eat).

"Squire Aveling sat at the head of the long dining-table, and his fair lady at the bottom, each pressing their guests to make a good supper.

No pressing was needed. When all had eaten as much as was possible, and nuts, oranges, and grapes and bon-bons took the places of the already vanished delicacies, Squire Aveling rose from his chair, and with the rap of a knife upon a plate commanded silence. He then, much to my discomfiture, spoke as follows:--

"'With the exception of one, all now present are old friends of my darling Allie, and this is not the first time I have seen you seated at this table, and I hope it will not be the last. ('Hear, hear!') I hope you have all enjoyed yourselves. ('We have!' from all a.s.sembled.) I am glad to think so, and so is Mrs Aveling. But there is one here to-day whom most of you have never seen before--Arthur Hall. (Here all eyes were directed to me.) Yesterday, by his bravery and courage, he saved my darling Allie from a great danger, of which you have all heard. I cannot thank him sufficiently for what he has done. I want you all to help me. Now, each of you fill your gla.s.s. Now stand up.

Let us drink to Arthur Hall with a three times three!'

"I did not know whether I was on my head or my heels; I am sure I blushed, and must have looked anything but heroic. When the cheers were ended, the elder Herbert Aveling whispered that I must make a speech. I stood on my feet, and tried to say something in reply, but what I said I never could remember; all I know is that my health was again drunk in lemonade, which some imbibed so hurriedly that it went down the wrong way, and a chorus of coughing followed, under cover of which I resumed my seat.

"And so the party ended. I a.s.sisted several fair ladies to their hats and shawls, and then went back to Ascot House to enact all the scenes over again in my dreams."

As Hall finished his story, the room door opened and one of the under-masters entered to ascertain if the boys were in bed and the lights out. "What! not asleep yet, boys?" he exclaimed, as he heard some one commenting on the story.

"No, sir," one replied, "we are story-telling, and don't feel much inclined for sleep."

"Story-telling, eh!" said the master, who was a general favourite with the boys; "suppose I were to tell you a story, what would you say?"

"Say? why, say it would be first-cla.s.s," exclaimed Hall, jumping out of bed.

"Yes, yes, do Mr Arnold," echoed the rest. Mr Arnold entered, and, closing the door, seated himself on Leslie's bed, while all the boys crowded round him, dressed in nothing but their night-shirts.

"Well, now for a start," said Mr Arnold; "you may call it, '_Our Ned_'."