LITERATURE.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 5554, 27 February 1886, Page 1

LITERATURE.

FAT'S BEVENGE. A TALE OF THK "BOCK." Fay Enderby was the brightest and happiest little wife that the sun shone on ; at all events, Bhe thought herself such, and looked the part to perfection. Married for love to a man devoted to her, with a *' perfect " two year-old boy in her nursery, and a very fair amount of money, what more could a woman desire ? Fay was popular to a degree amongst men, and adored by her female friends, who, strango as it uiay Beem, were almost all the women Bhe knew, though some very superior and advanced ladies did pronounce her a " silly, heartless little thing, steeped to the lipa in frivolity, whoße doll-like prettineas and flippant manners were her sole claims to admiration." When our story begins, Captain and Mra Enderby had just finished breakfast, and as he rose from the table Captain Enderby said, " By the way, Fay dear, if you can manage it to-day, I wish you'd call on Julia Glancy. Her husband has exchanged into the — th, and they arrived here two days ago, and, till they find a house or quarters, are at the hotel. I met her yesterday, to my utter suiprise, on the Alameda." Fay glanced at him with a startled look, as if about to speak, then quietly listened as her husband went on : " Poor girl ! She caught a Tartar when Bhe married Wilmot Glancy. Naturally enough, I never liked him j still, even I never thought he would treat his wife as he clearly does Julia. By the way, she Bpoke of him yesterday, though even to such an old friend as I am she was most guarded ; but one can't help reading between the lines, you know." " I Bupp.se not, dear," was the answer. "Well, I'll call on her as you wish, and see if I can be useful in any way. But about this picnic on Thursday ;" and then the talk turned on a picnic to the Cork Woods, to he given by the Enderbys on the fourth anniversary of their weddingday, which would occur on the following Thursday. For all she apparently took so little notice of Mrs Glancy's advent, and duly called on that lady, aa on any other fresh arrival, Mrs Enderby could not take things mentally bo coolly. Julia Glancy had been an old love of Captain Enderby's —in fact, for some monthß, was engaged to him, until the "presßureof circumstances" (i.e., a moro eligible suitor, in the shape of Captain Glancy, with a large fortune) made her dismiss handaome, penniless Jack Enderby, who waa long before he recovered her cruel treatment of him. This, in itself, did not raise her in Fay's estimation, to whom the whole affair had been honestly told by Jack j for women Beldom forgive, or forget, any disrespect or unkindness to their idol, however much they themselves are gainers by it. But, in addition to thiß, though personally unacquainted with Mrs Glancy, Fay had heard more of that lady than she had gathered from her husband. A cousin, and great friend, of Mrs Enderby's had been at school with the fascinating Julia, and, continuing the intimacy begun there, had suffered pretty severely in her married life from her schoolfellow's insatiable thirst for admiration and " consolation." Said consolation being required by the cruel conduct of Major Glancy, who, having married a handsome wife as an ornament and a head for his establishment, had no idea of his house being made the lounge of all the idle mon about, or hiß name a byword, for the pleasure of that lady, whose character, by the way, being unblinded by love, he could read like a book. Meantime matters went on in the usual course. Bored to extinction, and having few, if any, resources in herself, Mrs Glancy was overjoyed to meet her old lover, and had not been in the place twenty-four hours beforo she determined to have him at her feet as of old ; in fact, she quite convinced herself it was an act of charity towards "poor Jack, who must be bored to death by that Billy little wife of hiB!" Meanwhile tho " silly little wife," seeing the whole game with those bright eyes of hers, kept quiet, unwilling to admit even to herself how much her darling was hurring her, and trying to counteract the witcheries, of which she wa3 only too conscious, by increased love and unselfish thoughtfulness. Poor arirl! it was very hard work, the hardness not being lecaened hy tho officious sympathy (?) of some of her friends, who persisted in trying to open the eyes she was bo anxiously endeavouring to koep shut. For a whilo sho was successful, and, mercifully, the time required to school a charger into sufficient form to allow of hiß being entered for the regimental cup entirely absorbed Major Glancy. So things ran their course unchecked. Mrs Grundy nodded, and looked unutterable things when Mrs Glancy and Captain Enderby rode together at picnics, or when he hovered around her pretty pony carriage at the band or the Eastern Beach. But the two most concerned making no sign, the dear old lady dared do no more. As to the culprits, the lady enjoyed the whole thing, and as long as her huaband was in the dark, cared not one straw what the rest of the world saw or said j while Jack, deceived by hi 3 wife's unselfish love, and bewildered by the tricks of his enchantress, never thought of the precipice on whose edge he waß standing. However, thiß calm could not laßt. Tho charger had been trained and had not won the race j so Major Glancy waa at leisure to look about him and to discover that his wife seemed extremely fond of tiie society of Mrs Enderby. This Budden affection for a woman, and a young and pretty one, waa a sufficiently novel development of his wife's caprice to attract his attention. Of her old engagement to Captain Enderby he was ignorant ; buc some foolish chaff from one of hiß fellow-oilicorß, whose good taste was not hia most prominent attribute, Boon opened hiß eyes, and he set himself seriously to watch his wife. Led on and excited by Mrs Glancy, who, becoming interested in her game, and piqued by Fay's well-acted indifference, was by thiß timo utterly and recklessly bent on conquest, Jack completely lost his head. The very uncomplaining devotion by which poor Fay hopod to win him back was used against her by her unscrupulous rival, who taught Jack to bolievo it the frigid indifference of a heartlesß prude. Heaven knows thero wero plenty of women about who could have shown him clearly enough at what a cost, both mentally and bodily, hia wife wore her mask. In fact, that maßk could nover have been kept on _i day but for the Hilent, unacknowledged help of her women friendß, who, seeing and pitying the feelings they might not Bhare perhaps, sought in every way to lighten a burden that otherwise would have been unbearable. At last the storm burst. At a large picnic, to which almost thu entire garrieon was invited, Jack's madness and Mrs Glancy's folly, to call it by no harder name, were plain to all, Fay alone excepted. On the plea of a headache (a heartache would have been truer), she had rambled away from the party, and had not seen how thingß were going. A hand on her ahoulder and a voice at h or ear made her start. The wife of an old friend of her husband's was at her side. The woman waa a vulgar, handsome, clever garrison hack — poor Fay's special horror — but irommou civility obliged her to respond to the greeting, After two or threo desultory remarks, which mado Fay wonder what the lady's obiect in stopping her was, she suddenly bent over Fay, and whispered. " Do you know where your husband is P" "My huaband ! Why ? "

"Look here, Mrs Enderby, it's no nse putting on that look of surprise with me. ■ What your game may be I can't tell ; but ' that you know as much as most of ns (and truly your husband and his fair friend are none of the most discreet) I am certain. So I repeat, do you know where Captain Enderby is ? " "No, I do not. My head ha 3 ached badly all day from tho heat, and I have spent most of the time in this glen." " Well, if you don't, Major Glancy does 1 and ia not best pleased to find his wife has been admiring the scenery of the Cork Wood, and studying Andalusian farmmanagement, tcte-d-Ute witli your husband all day." I "Major Glancy! Why, I thought he ■■ conld not join the picnic on account of some '• regimental work or other !" I "Ah, yes 5 and so did his wife. Bnt ! ladies who wish to utilise their lords' I absence should look after their correspondence and their maids." " What on earth do you mean ?" " Simply that Mrs Glancy has had a row with her maid, who, in revenge, has given 1 her master a couple of letters from her mistress's desk, with her own notes and annotations ; all of which will not tend to soothe his temper when he comes on them, as he will do before long, if they are not warned, in the most sequestered part of the crags up yonder." Struggling a second or two with her disgust at the speaker, Fay said, "Why do you tell me this P What can Ido ?" "Well, that you know best. Do you wish to save your husband (whom you still love pretty dearly, I fancy) from a ruinous scandal ? or will you let things slide, and so have your revenge on the pair of them, like the cold-hearted cat some people think you are ? There are the cards, play them as you please; only remember Major Glancy knowa nothing of his wife's old engagement, and the letters he ha. -received are undated and belongiug to that time." So saying, and with a malicious laugh, the speaker disappeared. As soon as she could recover from her bewilderment, Pay hastily made her way to tho glen indicated. It was a hidden, lonely spot, sheltered from the sun and from intruders by the interlacing branches of the cork trees, carpeted with the softest moss and maidenhair fern, whilo from every tree-stem waved masses of gloriously green hare's-foot fern. She knew it well ; it had been a favourite goal for many a pleasant ride with her husband, and I think this recollection added a sting to the pain she felt when, parting the branches, she saw her husband — her own Jack — sitting in the old place, but, alas! with another companion. Both started to their feet at her approach, looking disconcerted and angry. "Sit down," commanded Fay quietly, interrupting the questions both hastily began. "Major Glancy' is close at hand, and, as he is not likely to understand the situation as I do, may not be in the pleasantest mood ! " "My husband!" shrieked Julia. "0 my God ! he will kill me ! " She turned as if to fly, but, terrified and trembling, would have fallen had not Fay caught her. "Stay where you are, and sit down/ repeated Fay. "I tell you fairly, were it only your danger," she continued contemptuously, "I doubt if I would stir a finger to save you ; but you have mixed up Jack in this business, and for him, as you know, I'd give life and soul any day ! " Hardly hai they reseated themselves, Julia shading her tear-stained eyes with a large fern-leaf, Fay mending a rent in her flounce (torn while making her way through the wood), which Jack, still stupefied, held for her mechanically, when an angry voice was heard, and Major Glancy dashed through the thicket, followed by two friend*., who tried to restrain him. Ihe quiet scene that met his eyes evidently confused him, which confusion was increased as, looking np from her work at the new-comers. Fay quietly said, "Is it so late ? lam ashamed that you had to oome for us, but my head ached so, and as your wife waa as glad of the shade and quiet aa myself, we tyrannised over Jack, and kept him to amuse us." A muttered something, which may have been an apology, from Major Glancy, and a stifled sound, which certainly was a Bmothered laugh, from his companions, and the party rose, each lady escorted by her proper lord, and so regained the rest of tho company, amongst whom the news of the Major's discomfiture soon spread. Mrs Glancy's innocence vas not gonerally believed in ; but as Major Glancy, to whom she gave the version of her engagement to Jack and the envelopes ofthe stolen letters, appeared satisfied, every ono else had to be the same. The Enderbys had always been an attached couple, and only their most intimate friends could tell that the halfpatronising fondness of old days on Jack's part had grown into a passionate reverence for the wife who had so forgotten herself and her griefs to save him from the consequences of his own folly and sin.