A LITTLE SNOB.

Otago Witness, Issue 2390, 21 December 1899, Page 60

A LITTLE SNOB.

BY DONACLONEY.

[Prize Competition*, 189&.

" If ever I many, I shall expect my husband to support me in comfort ai.d luxury, ?nd not to transport me to the backwoods to herd with farm labourers, as you do." " The potatoes are here, Mrs Inglis," came in a man's voice from the neighbourhood of the back door.

"Thank you, Mr Campbell."

As the sound of retreating footsteps died away, Mrs Inglis, looking tip from the bakeboard, said anxiously to the first speaker, " Oh, Kat°, I hope he did not hear you."

Her sister-in-law was sitting idly on the bioa.d window-sill of the old-fashioned kitchen ■window. She looked up ior a moment to inquire, in a tone of supreme indifference, " Why?"'

"• Because he must have known you were leftrring to him, and I don't want his feeling* to be hurt."

Then, changing her tone, and speaking more quietly, but firmly, " Kale, while you are here, m.ike the best of us, and our eclcnial ways, even though your pride should suffer a little. On a small station like this, master and man must sit at the sume table, if I am to get through my work at all, so bear it patiently, my dear, and keep your aristocratic notions in the background till you leave Oratui."

" Here endeth the first lesson," quoth Miss Raynor. " And now let me set the table ; that is not above nvy comprehension, though bread-making may be."

Kate Raynor, being early orphaned, had been brought up with her cousin, Flora, in the luxurious home of the latter. This home the elder cousin had quitted to share thi fortunes of Jack Inglis, who thought himself fortunate in being appointed to the managership of the small sheep station of Oratui, located among the "back blocks" of Otago.

Mrs Inglis' s father — one of the merchant princes of Glasgow — offered no objection to the marriage, but persuaded Kate to remain with him until her half-brother and his wife had made fair trial of the land of their adoption.

Two years having elapsed, Mr Raynor proposed that his niece should pay a visit to New Zealand in general, and Oratui in particular, and send to him a full, true, and particular account of the state of affairs there.

Kate's preconceived notions of colonial life were more picturesque than exact. She had imagined Flora, robed, as of yore, in the daintiest of gowns, lounging in a hammock swung between two orange trees, while obsequious Maoris, fantastically attiied, anticipated her every wish. —

And she found her — how? Baking, sw eeping, scrubbing, dusting, jet blithe and happy a"s in the days of luxury and ease. The cousins were a great contrast to each other. Mrs Inglis was tall, and dark, and silent. Kate was a "Pocket Venus." She was only saved from insignificance by a grace and. beauty of figure which made one forget her lack of inches. Her eyes were of that intense blue, which sometimes deepens into violet, and her hair was a mass of golden rings, and twirls, and " kiss-me-quicks," fresh from the hands of that queen of hairdressers — old Mother Nature — every morning. For the rest, her features were good, but not striking, yet the tout ensemble was charming. II " Kate objects to Mr Campbell's society at table," Mrs Inglis said lightly to her husband, as he washed his hands before the midday meal. Mr Inglis stared^ then broke into a laugh. "Objects to Campbell! 1 Wel!. that is good. Did you tell her anything about him?" "No; I thought it better not." " Quite right. The Little Snob ! Let her have a lesson." "Don't be too hard on hei, Jack. She is very young, and things aie very different here from what phe has been accustomed to. " And, of course, my wife has never beon accustomed to anything better than this?" he demanded with seiio-comic fierceness. '• Oh ! but I have you," Mrs Inglis answered laughingly, and led the way to the little dining room.

Neither of them had remembered lhat Mr Campbell was also performing his ablutions in the room adjoining theirs, and, so thin were the partitions of the old house, that eveiy word of the foregoing conversation was distinctly audible to a most unwilling listener. " I seem to be in the way of. eavesdropping to-day," lan Campbell said to himself, somewhat ruefully, as he plied a hair brush vigorously. " Xot that I learned anything new. Miss Kate's demeanour at breakfast plainly showed that hhe resented the close proximity of the 'hired man..'" fie

chuckled as he remembered Mr Inglis's tirade. "Little Snob," he called her, and hoped she would get a lesson. Suppose we have a colonial '' Taming of the Shrew,'' and I will play Petruchio to her Katherine ! thought he.

The sound of the dinner-bell disturbed Mr Campbell's meditations, and presently he was taking his seat at the table, smiling inwardly as he imagined Miss Raynor's probable feelings, had she the gift of thought-reading.

•Fortunately, for both, she was no clairvoyant, so continued to treat the " farm labourer,'.' as- she termed him, with a haughty coldness, which he did not seem to notice, far less to resent.

Even to an unprejudiced mind, lan Campbell was not one whom "to see was to love." The sterner virtues seemed to look out at you through- these clear, grey eyes, and if there were any soft curves about the lips, they were hidden by the fair moustache. In figure he was tall and stalwart. Strength, rather than grace,- characterised him, both mentally and physically. He made friends slowly, being essentially Scctch, but his friendship once given, stood thp test of time, of adversity, and — strongest test of all— of prosperity.

He Avas an omniverous reader, and Mrs Inglis fondly hoped that this similarity of taste would form o bond between the " hired man " and her sister-in-law, but in this she was disappointed. A glacial coldness on the one side, a polite indifference on the other, such was the state of matters, until a domestic earthquake in the early summer time completely altered the attitude of each.

What happened was this : —

Mr Inglis was called to Wellington on business, and, shortly after her husband's departure, Mrs Inglis fell into the clutches of the dread fiend — influena.

" Send for Mrs Nicol to help you," she paid, ere she turned her face to the wall, and resigned herself to the pain and fey«. that followed.

Mrs Nicol professed her inability to come, and the doctor, being informed of the fact,

said brusquely,

"Do the best you can, and don't worry Mrs Inglis. She has been over-working, and is in a bad way ; must be kept easy in mind." Kate had no lack of courage, so she rejected all My Campbell's offers of help, saw him ride -off on his usual tour of inspection round the sheep, then bravely attacked her work.

Lan Compbell's thoughts were often with hei 1 that morning, as he rode from paddock to paddock. Nor was he altogether surpiised to find, an he entered the house at dinner time, no midday meal in readiness fo/ him.

A stifled sound from the dairy made him turn in that direction. After a moment's hesitation he entered, and at the sound of his step, Miss Raynor lifted a tear-stained face from the level of the churn, and exclaimed,

" Oh ! Mr Campbell, I forgot all about dinner. 1 have been working at this thing for hours!, and the butter won't come." Here a rush of tears seemed imminent.

Mr Campbell affected not to notice these signals of distress. Knowing that, in general, Miss Raynor was by no means a Niobe, he concluded that fatigue as well as despair had brought hei to that pass.

" The weather has been cold lately, and that affects the cream. If you could get me a thermometer, Miss Raynor, I'll wash my hands and bring the kettle. I think I can manage the butter."

Within half-an-hour the butter had not only " come, ' but was lying in cool spring water, ready to be made up into roll? of marketable size.

Kate repaired her forgetfulness by the crispness of the bacon and the golden brownness of the " praties " she speedily prepared and set before Mr Campbell, glad to be able thus practically to demonstrate her gratitude for his timely aid.

' How is Mrs Inglis?" lan asked, as he sat down to table.

" Much about the same. She sleeps most of the time. She thinks Mrs Nicol is here, and asked how she got on."

" Rather awkward. How did you get out of it?"

" I said ' Right enough ' — a colonial phrase, which I hoped was, in this instance not devoid of truth."

"It answers to the 'No that bad ' of Diumtochty," responded her companion, with a smile, glad to see that she had regained her spirits. The ice thus broken by the incident of the morning, they chatted freely of books and authors during the whole of the meal, and at its clos-e Kate was pledged to accept Mr Campbell's help in any domestic difficulty that should arise, he. on his part, declaring his willingness to aid in any and c\try way. So the compact was made, and faithfully was it kept, much to Kate's benefit, and ti that of the invalid also.

During the days that followed, Miss Raynor and lan Campbell were thrown much together and new relations were naturally enough established between them. Kate became conscious that she longed for the hour " 'twixt the twilight and the mirk," when the " hired man " and she had time for a quiet talk together. Each day levealed to lier some new grace of mind or manner which proclaimed him, she thought, one of " Nature's gentlemen." And lan Campt' B 'l? Time will show. Meanwhile Mrs Inglis grew slowly better, and began to take an inteiest in tilings beyond the horizon of her sick room. Siie wished to see Mrs ' Nicol, but that worthy woman never happened to be at leisure when Mrs Inglis dei-ired her presence, and this happened so frequently that at length the invalid's suspicions weie aroused. Being anxious to have them either confiimed or proved to be unfounded, she despatched Kate one sunny afternoon to the neighbouring bush in search of a spray of rata, for Avhich Mrs Inglis professed a sudden passion.

Lan Campbll, seeing Kate passing, immediately put himself and his knife at her seivice. When their quest had been brought to a .tmimpluint issue, they re-entered the

house together, and to their mingled horror and surprise beheld Mrs Inglis comfortably ensconced in a big armchair before the kitchen fireplace. She surveyed them somewhat amusedly, as they stood stock-still in their amazement, then queried a little sharply, " Where is Mrs Nicol, Kate?"

Miss Raynor threw a helpless glance around the i % oom, as if she expected the rotund form of Mrs Nicol to emerge from the shelter of press-door or window curtain.

" I — don't — know," she answered, at last, hesitating, but truthful.

Mr Campbell came to the rescue. "The fact of the matter is, Mrs Inglis, that, like Mrs Harris of old, there ' ain't no sich a person,' so far as we are concerned, "out we have managed very well without her. And now let me congratulate you on being downstairs again."

But Mrs Inglis was not to be- put off in this manner. She scolded them roundly fo.- their duplicity, but finally a truce was declared, and in all amity they partook of te i together.

Then the mistress of the house declared her intention of staying up till the milk come in, and as she saw how adroitly, but unobtrusively, lan managed that Miss Raynor should have no heavy lifting of milk bucket or kettle, she said softly, " I hope you took care of her all the time, Ian?"

" Yes,"' he answered. Then added daringly, with a swift glance at Kate's flushing face, " And she is going to let me' take care of her altogether for the future." "Are you, Kate?" demanded Mrs Inglis, amazedly.

" Yes, ma'am," returned her sister-in-law, demurely.

"I am very glad. Kate; you are more fortunate than, you know." A little later, as the tea-dishes were being washed in the small back kitchen, Mrs Inglis and Mr Campbell conversed together in tones too low to reach the fair Phyllis. They were evidently at variance on some point, for as Mrs Inglis rose to say " Goodnight," she remarked with some decision. " I think you are making a mistake, lan." With equal firmness, but very quietly, her companion answered,

" I think not. She is going to visit ncr relations in town, and I would like "

"To test her loyalty?" " Not exactly ; that is unneeded, out," with a twinkle in his eye, "we must have a denouement, even if I am not ' Lord of Burleigh, fair and free.' "

Kate's entrance stopped the conversation and soon after the girl friends left him to meditate on his new-found happiness, and all it meant to him.

"Well, my dear, if you think ib was worth while coming 12,000 miles in order to marry a ' rouseabout ' I have no more to say."

Kate Raynor's eyes blazed, but with a strong effort she controlled herself sufficiently to say calmly, "I am glad of that, Aunt Mary, for I think you have said enough."

Mrs Durville was about to reply indignantly, but her husband — a meek, but kindly-looking little man — hastily and nervously interposed. "My dear, is it not time for you to be dressing for the garden party? It is," consulting his watch, "now 2 o'clock, and I understand that the Governor and his party are to be at the Vanity Fair grounds at 3 precisely."

Mrs Durville's face resumed its wonted placidity. Society was her god, and the very thought of a social function was soothing.

Much to her good husband's relief, she adopted his suggestion, and soon both ladies were on their way to the beautifully iaid-out grounds in which the Vanity Fair Club were, that day, to have the honour of entertaining the new Governor — Sir James Stewart— and his suite. Scarcely had Mrs Durville and her niece reached the scene of the entertainment than they became aware that the vice-regal party had arrived, and was advancing in their direction. Thus they had an exceedingly good view of his Excellency and hip companions, and you can imagine' Kate's surprise, and wonder, and delight when she recognised in the man walking on the Governor's right hand her lover, lan Campbell.

Their eyes met, and in a moment he was at her side.. A few seconds later, and Mrs Durville was amazedly, but courteously, acknowledging the introduction to the " rouseabout. ' Her husband's -appearance afforded her an excuse for leaving them, and soon the lovers* were alone.

Kate regarded Mr Campbell questioningly, and he answered the unspoken inquiry.

" I am not a prince in disguise, " he said laughingly. "My father's land at Home marched with that of the Stewarts', who had not then come in to the title. We were all boys together." ', Then, with a quick change of voice, he asked, " Have you repented of your promise since coming to town?" " Certainly not." "Then listen to a secret. Ido aspire to a managership ; but on my own station. I have just been working on Oratui in order to gain experience, and because Jack and I have been friends for years. Jack wanted to surprise you with this some day — (" In order to punish me," said Kate softly) ; " but I asked him to let me tell you myself."

The girl sat silent foi a moment. " llow badly I behaved to you at first, lan ! What did you think of me then?"

" I thought you just what Jack called you, until I saw the real Kate shine out, freed frqm the trammels of conventionality and pride."

" You left us rather suddenly, lan," said a voice close beside them.

Mr Campbell sprang up : " This >'s my excuse, Sir James," he said, presenting Kate, who made the prettiest little salute imaginable.

" A very fair excuse, indeed," murmured his Excellency, as he acknowledged her reverence. "I do not wish to interrupt you now, lan," he continued ; " but I should like to see you later.' 1

— — —iiim ■■ ..^—^ So saying, Sir James moved on, and tL4 lovers were free to resume their interrupted conversation. "What did Jack call me, Ian?" Kate asked somewhat curiously.

"Never mind that now. It's only wliafc I call you' that matters, and I call you «..."; but the faithful historian spares his readers. ■•• « • *

Months afterwards, when the eventful garden party had become a thing of the past, and a much more important event was just about to take place, Kate approached Mr Inglis as he strapped the two portmanteaus which Mr and Mrs lan Campbell were to take with them on the morrow.

" Jack, what did you call me when I first came out from Home, and was- so nasty to Ian?"

" What did I call you? Just what you were then, my dear," he answered, with beautiful fraternal candour, "A Little Snob."