WOOING AND WAITING.

Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume 13, Issue 1081, 7 September 1869, Page 4

WOOING AND WAITING.

(Froift^efßße^'s,Magazsne/('i for June.) . .\ . , ; ' , i The season had. w^nAt^ineariits; close, and a. few^ofjite- boarders ..had already, left Steinbad before gig jpjcrymgequr, announced his mtentionj.ofr.etu.rrung at, once to Eag-; land and to.hiSvCQuntjpyihouse near Seven; Oaks. Herbert had already written t^ bis father, telling him about the Marstons, and saying ihaiS'-WxaranT^TOturn with them to England.; ;_ Miles. ; Castleton answered this letter briefly, expressing the pleasure he should have in calling on the Marstons as soon as they shpuld arrive. "But," wrote he, in conclusion, " you must, not return withjtUem.;^/! have f already toldi you there is aline which you cannot cross with-: out the most serious 1 consequences to yourself. I pidd your debts • I sent you to the Continent\that '^ou f 'might be; away from disreputab'l6 companions. . \ I placed money. in plenty *.$?. your service, and put it in, yourpowe J r,,to; I go where you pleased and ; how you pleased. .Andllexpected that. till twelve months :had passed from the time you left England ! y6u'w, quid riot '.seek s to return to it. i(i But I find that the attractions of your old life and your old. acquaintances are too strong fojr. your resplution. 1 put two courses pefore you: .either stay away for a year and then return to me, or return when youplease ; but don't attempt to see me eithe^at Seven Qaks or elsewhere." . There, was something in this ' letter that annoyed and. yi&ed /Herbert! deeply for a Bhort time.'.V !Hu old I companions w?re not disreputable.; ; A number, of. them, to be. sure, were undeniable Bohemians, and in the eyes of Miles Castleton they mighfe .as well have been thimble-riggers or strolling showmen. v '" But worse than all, what wity he say," thbu^ht Herbert, "when he hears of my engagement ito Sylvia ? He will then tell me that I have f crossed ithe line' at last with a vengeance 1" ... > / . Herbert had already asked Sir Scrymgeour's permission to pay his addresses to his daughter—a" permission; which that gentleman was only ;too;ready. to grant f and now, after receiving hia father's ''letter, he again repaired to the baronet, and laid before him the exact circumstances in .. which he found : himself placed. ';-• Between these two it was agreed that Mr,. Miles' Castleton should not be informed of the engageihent entered into between S^lyiaafid I Herbert until the return of the latter ; jto, England in the following spring. ..f'Jßy that, time,", said Herbert, "my father will have known her weil-r-will have seen how good she is, and will be proud to own her as his daughter." Perhaps Sir Scrymgebur felt now for the first time that Mr. Miles Castleton's consent to the engagement should, have been obtained at a much earlier stage of the proceedings ; but seeing that that consent had not already been'sought, it might be as well to defer asking for it till Herbert should come in person and ! obtain it next spring, before which time the young gentleman dare not return. ,';" • A day', or two; after, the Margtonsleft Steinbad, And went westward and homeward to England ;< while Herbert, not with the lightest of hearts, took his way in an opposite direction to see the wonders of the East, and to complete , his year's probation of travel... V : .\ []'.' ■ ' ' . , It is not important, so far as the present purpose^ is concerned, to relate Herbert's adventures during his 1 year of travel abroad •—to tell {what he thought of the Towers of Florence, the canals and palaces of Venice, or the minarets of Stamboul. , It is enough to say that .when the early spring came, the youth, tired of the scenes and the, habits of Continental lands and peoples, and even inclined to loathe everything foreign simply because $was foreign^ eagerly set out for England, and lost not an hour in hurrying down to his father's mansion in Surrey., Herbert found. that at home all things had progressed to the utmost satisfaction of everybody. Miles Castleton had no sooner been informed of the return of the baronet and his daughter to their home, than he crossed over the stream thai ran between the two estates, walked up to the Marston mansion, and sent in his card;? Hefound Sir Scrymgeour a tall, spare, gentlemanly man, whose elaborate politehess'of manner became painful after a little; from the fact that one could not, help seeing that it was some- .! what obsequious. „ , "Your son, Sir Miles — I mean Mr. Castleton," said the baronet, determined that bis visitor should know from the first the ground they were to meet upon — if wealth on ; the one side, then title on the other— "yqur son. is the most excellent of young men; handsome and chivalrous as another King Arthur. Had it, not been for him, we could hot have endured half so long the ennui of life at Steinbad." "He is an impracticable good-for.-noth-ing of the' truest type," ; answered the planter, "and I, fear yo,u have been petting him most unreasonably. , But: I had. almost forgotten that to ,yous Sir. Scrymgeour, my j son is indebted for the preservation of his life. Let'me thank you most heartily for the kindneasyou showed him." Of course, a^this point Sir Scrymgeour disclaimed aU credit for. what he had done, or if he had "done, anything, it was merely his duty as a gentleman to a gentleman ;" while Sylviajvlookihg more lovely than ever, because of the • glow on Her cheek and the sparkle in her eyes, murmured something about " the pleasure she had in being able to serve any ,oiqe in. distress." "Do you know Seven Oaks, Miss Marston ?" asked the lord of that manors "I know every. dump of wood, every farm, and every meadow in it," answered Sylvia witn enthusiasm. ' "Last year, when we came Ijome'for a monjth. or two in the autumn,, Seven .oaks was untehanted, and my greatest'Selight at that time was to run down, cross, the .stream at, the steppingstones, and have, a long wander in the woods." '^f'i ■••- •■■'• •: : - ■ •■' " Might' sueh ■ excursions have any attraction for. you; sf ill?" ; IVi ' ; ' "At much fIJ3 I iwe*. I do, enjoy * woo«l, and, indeed/i£i ijipag^fc. your keepers were not too honesfc in tW discharge qt their duty, X Bhoj^ld, to trespass some day, and visit My : favourite nooks again/ > "I shall /f&in them : not to shoofc"you^rat least, I^|UVfurther orders," said the planter, ,^mMn^ ; ; "But ? your best plan would niQ^ith you on your fi>at excura|on,.;a|^M;,of gqarantee, and after being seen^^^metbyi my. people, you will be free of theiwdodsi and may come and go Ai^\^&MsS' - % '■.; ' - .--■-■': ■-■'-■■ yia,^ who, iemeMievmg Hubert's adyice, to :^r^

of making a good beginning. 7 I aliall certainly come, soon,"; added she, "and. bring papa^itb.rae." - : , :„ ... ■. ; V. ,-.. . "Ah, yes, .certainly," exclaimed the planter, -who had. left, the baronet for. the moment «ntirely. put of ; bis calculations ; " I, shall be delighted to see you both." 'O their, civilities having passed, the visitor departed., pleased, on the whole, with his neighbors, while they their turn were j delighted with him. y, '„ . ; "A week after this, Miles Castleton, together 'w.ith the baronet and his daughter, were walking among the woods . of Seven Oaks, and a happier trio one could rarely see. Sylvia glanced like a sunbeam from grove to glade, pointing out the most picturesque spots, and leading to the hilly Tjreaks where the finest views might be had. Miles Castleton was pleased with the compliments of his friends, and their expressions of delight when the more charming points were reached, and Sir Scrymgebur, ifor reasons of his own, hardly yet made put to himself, felt more hopeful than he had done, perhaps, since the day when his daughter was : betrothed^: Herbert. This pleasant intercourse^ o^.jw.hjch the chief incidents were made.jS\p lv mainly of morning calls, afternoon strolls, and dinners, went on for a long time. — :to the early spring, in fact. Sylvia was delighted. Miles Castleton evidently looked upon her with favor, , and sometimes, she permitted herself to imagine, with a grave, distant, fatherly. affection. „ ;"In: these balmy mornings of early spring," said Sylvia to Miles, "the woods and the open country road seem to me exquisitely beautiful." " You are perfectly right, Miss Marston. A mild spring, morning has a singular beauty of its own." "Bah! these raw spring mornings are detestable," said Sir Scrymgeour, to the ' .same gentleman on the same day. " They m ake me ache with rheumatism on every joint." «>' Very true, Sir Scrymgeour," returned the .accommodating planter; "your English swings are really abominable.", On t hat and on many other days the ow.ner of, k Seven Oaks and Sylvia Marston walked out alone. It was aO ascertained fact that at this time, though unable to accompany bis daughter through the grounds of Seven ; Oaks or the noighbourhood — unable even \ to ride out in tho carriage owing to rheu- : matic pains in Jiis right shoulder — the baronet found no difficulty in writing numerous letters daily. These letters referred mainly to the engrossing subject of money. They were addressed for the most part to i tradesmen and lawyers in London, and the majority of them contained a statement which, however verbose in expression, amounted practically to a " promise to pay" at an early date. One is inclined to speculate upon what was the .character of Sir Scrymgeour's thoughts at this period. He had lately taken a great inff rest in Indian manufactures, especially in. that of indigo. He had read up the question as far as it was possible to do so from a cyclopaedia, and he bored Mr. Castleton o.n all favourable and unfavourable occasions for information on the subject Had not S/lvia also evinced a lively interest in the manners and employments of the natives of India, the irritable planter would very summarily have put an end to the baronet's inquiries with a brusque rebuff. As it was, he answered the questions of m' 3 fair inquirer amply and readily. He astonished her by informing her that a Hindu laborer could go to market with no larger a sum than a penny, and, after purchasing an ample dinner for his wife and his family of half a dozen, would return with several small pieces of change in his pocket — that is, if he had a pocket. He went on to speak of the cheapness of labor in India, and the consequent advantage to European planters ; and he gave illustrations from the condition of his indigo-factories in Kurnul and Dinapore, and his tea plantations on the hills. All this was very wondrous and interesting to Sylvia, and very delightful to Sir Scrymgeour, who, after this, had a much more acute attack of rheumatism, was confined more closely to his room, and wrote higher piles of letters. Could it be that the needy baronet wishe d to secure the father instead of the son for his daughter? The elder Castleton was decidedly the better match. Herbert would certainly be heir, but then, as Sir Scrymgeour had heard and read, according to the laws of succession in India, property ia not entailed as it is with us. Then who could tell what might occur between the irascible Miles of Seven Oaks and the stubborn Herbert of nowhere ? And if anything did occur, what of all these factories in Bengal?' Miles Castleton did not, to speak the truth, show many of the marks of a lover. He was always perfectly self-possessed and punctiliously polite towards Sylvia. And when sitting smoking with the baronet, watching the girl moving among his flowerbeds, it was not with a rapturous gaze, but rather with a look of interested, piqued curiosity. The baronet was often annoyed when, on such occasions, he would address remarks to Miles, and receive no answer whatever ; but he balanced the annoyance with the reflection that at least it was his daughter Sylvia that was the object of the nabob's absorbed attention at the moment. Such was the position of affairs when, having a day or two before announced his intention of returning immediately to Seven Oaks, Herbert Castleton drove up the broad avenue leading to the great house of that estate. His arrival was expected, and certain preparations had been made. Sir Scrymgeour and Sylvia had been invited to dinner, and already were sitting in the cosy parlour awaiting the arrival of the banished Y<£oth. Sylvia was flushed, excited, joyous. Her heart was singing songs of gladness to itself. She could not remain quietly on the sofa, and was not content till she had got to the wiacW, where she stood watching and waiting. Sir Scrymgeour looked pale and nervous. He was always either crushing his hands the one within the; other, or making his fingers wander and flutter nervously about his mouth. Miles Castleton was the only one of the trio who was perfectly self-possessed. His portly, tall figure was ensconced in a large easy-chair, and from this comfortable resting-place he talked gravely and pleasantly to Sylvia, or amused himself in an indolent way by bantering the baronet, waose scheming, plotting nature ho now pretfcy well ahderstoodi " Here he ia !" cried Sylvia, as a hackuey,coacb, bearing a box or two, swept round the. curving ; road that led to, the porch.

Miles Castleton how walked to the door, followed by his two guests,. and when Herbert.had spriing up the steps f aud grasped Mis father's not uncordial hand, . he caught sight of Sylvia, and in, an instant Steinbad, with its lake, its undulating hills, its linden avenues, swept into his vision, and he could scarcely see his betrothed for the mist that rose into his eyes. . That was an evening of bliss for the two lovers., The rose that glowed in Sylvia's cheek, the lambent light that flashed in her eyes whenever Herbert said anything that had a special meaning for her, though only a general meaning for the others, told him that her heart was all his own. He was filled with a joy that was deep and stable, and with a great contentment that needed nothing to be perfect. His chief anxiety was fully allayed, and he saw that his promised bride had won his father's favour, for throughout that happy evening Miles Castleton spoke to Miss Marston in accents that were full of kindness and confident trust. A.ndwhen, after tea, she went to the piano and played soft and slow airs, the hot-tempered planter — abrupt, impatient, and irascible to all others- — seemed subdued with a fine sympathy, and his musing eyes told that memories ef the early and tender days of his youth, when he listened to music from hands that long had been stilled, were filling his whole being like the broad and still waters of a great and deep river that flow on soundless but profound. Herbert had never before seen this side of his father's character, never before had he seen him so tamed and molified ; and he drew, from the influence which Sylvia eueently possessed over him, the happy augury that when he shonld explain to him bis engagement to Miss Marston, the proposed match would be looked upon with favour, if not with delight.