登陆注册
4593700000037

第37章

"Indeed!" and Kicklebury had never told her! He laughed at her when she talked about great people: he told her all sorts of ridiculous stories when upon this theme. But, at any rate, the acquaintance was made: Lady Kicklebury would not leave Lady Knightsbridge; and, even in the throes of sea-sickness, and the secret recesses of the cabin, WOULD talk to her about the world, Lord Pimlico, and her father, General Guff, late aide-de-camp to the Duke of York.

That those throes of sickness ensued, I need not say. A short time after passing Ramsgate, Serjeant Lankin, who had been exceedingly gay and satirical--(in his calm way; he quotes Horace, my favorite bits as an author, to myself, and has a quiet snigger, and, so to speak, amontillado flavor, exceedingly pleasant)--Lankin, with a rueful and livid countenance, descended into his berth, in the which that six foot of serjeant packed himself I don't know how.

When Lady Knightsbridge went down, down went Kicklebury. Milliken and his wife stayed, and were ill together on deck. A palm of glory ought to be awarded to that man for his angelic patience, energy, and suffering. It was he who went for Mrs. Milliken's maid, who wouldn't come to her mistress; it was he, the shyest of men, who stormed the ladies' cabin--that maritime harem--in order to get her mother's bottle of salts; it was he who went for the brandy-and-water, and begged, and prayed, and besought his adored Lavinia to taste a leetle drop. Lavinia's reply was, "Don't--go away--don't tease, Horace," and so forth. And, when not wanted, the gentle creature subsided on the bench, by his wife's feet, and was sick in silence.

[Mem--In married life, it seems to me, that it is almost always Milliken and wife, or just the contrary. The angels minister to the tyrants; or the gentle, hen-pecked husband cowers before the superior partlet. if ever I marry, I know the sort of woman I will choose; and I won't try her temper by over-indulgence, and destroy her fine qualities by a ruinous subserviency to her wishes.]

Little Miss Fanny stayed on deck, as well as her sister, and looked at the stars of heaven, as they began to shine there, and at the Foreland lights as we passed them. I would have talked with her; Iwould have suggested images of poesy, and thoughts of beauty; Iwould have whispered the word of sentiment--the delicate allusion--the breathing of the soul that longs to find a congenial heart--the sorrows and aspirations of the wounded spirit, stricken and sad, yet not QUITE despairing; still knowing that the hope-plant lurked in its crushed ruins--still able to gaze on the stars and the ocean, and love their blazing sheen, their boundless azure. Iwould, I say, have taken the opportunity of that stilly night to lay bare to her the treasures of a heart that, I am happy to say, is young still; but circumstances forbade the frank outpouring of my poet soul: in a word, I was obliged to go and lie down on the flat of my back, and endeavor to control OTHER emotions which struggled in my breast.

Once, in the night-watches, I arose, and came on deck; the vessel was not, methought, pitching much; and yet--and yet Neptune was inexorable. The placid stars looked down, but they gave me no peace. Lavinia Milliken seemed asleep, and her Horace, in a death-like torpor, was huddled at her feet. Miss Fanny had quitted the larboard side of the ship, and had gone to starboard; and I thought that there was a gentleman beside her; but I could not see very clearly, and returned to the horrid crib, where Lankin was asleep, and the German fiddler underneath him was snoring like his own violoncello.

In the morning we were all as brisk as bees. We were in the smooth waters of the lazy Scheldt. The stewards began preparing breakfast with that matutinal eagerness which they always show. The sleepers in the cabin were roused from their horse-hair couches by the stewards' boys nudging, and pushing, and flapping table-cloths over them. I shaved and made a neat toilette, and came upon deck just as we lay off that little Dutch fort, which is, I dare say, described in "Murray's Guide-book," and about which I had some rare banter with poor Hicks and Lady Kicklebury, whose sense of humor is certainly not very keen. He had, somehow, joined her ladyship's party, and they were looking at the fort, and its tri-colored flag--that floats familiar in Vandevelde's pictures--and at the lazy shipping, and the tall roofs, and dumpy church towers, and flat pastures, lying before us in a Cuyplike haze.

I am sorry to say, I told them the most awful fibs about that fort.

How it had been defended by the Dutch patriot, Van Swammerdam, against the united forces of the Duke of Alva and Marshal Turenne, whose leg was shot off as he was leading the last unsuccessful assault, and who turned round to his aide-de-camp and said, "Allez dire an Premier Consul, que je meurs avec regret de ne pas avoir assez fait pour la France!" which gave Lady Kicklebury an opportunity to placer her story of the Duke of York, and the bombardment of Valenciennes; and caused young Hicks to look at me in a puzzled and appealing manner and hint that I was "chaffing.""Chaffing indeed!" says I, with a particularly arch eye-twinkle at Miss Fanny. "I wouldn't make fun of you, Captain Hicks! If you doubt my historical accuracy, look at the 'Biographie Universelle.'

I say--look at the 'Biographie Universelle.'"He said, "O--ah--the 'Biogwaphie Universelle' may be all vewy well, and that; but I never can make out whether you are joking or not, somehow; and I always fancy you are going to CAWICKACHAW me. Ha, ha!" And he laughed, the good-natured dragoon laughed, and fancied he had made a joke.

I entreated him not to be so severe upon me; and again he said, "Haw haw!" and told me, "I mustn't expect to have it all MY OWNWAY, and if I gave a hit, I must expect a Punch in return. Haw haw!" Oh, you honest young Hicks!

同类推荐
  • 梦幻居画学简明

    梦幻居画学简明

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 雨阳气候亲机

    雨阳气候亲机

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 赤崁集

    赤崁集

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 明伦汇编人事典洒扫部

    明伦汇编人事典洒扫部

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 无生诀经

    无生诀经

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
热门推荐
  • 皇家六少恋上千金女

    皇家六少恋上千金女

    一个微带嚣张气息的拽丫头——宫希然;一个只会死读书的书呆子——玉兮寒;一个美国回归的野蛮女生——莫薰;一个文静内敛的上流淑女——蓝紫昕。四个别致不一样的女生,会在伯莱亚皇家贵族学院掀起一阵怎么样的巨浪?六个男生对上四个女生,他们会擦出怎么样的火花呢?
  • 成方切用

    成方切用

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 魔皇战天

    魔皇战天

    血脉苏醒,少年不受控制,嗜血成瘾,魔皇纹身扩张,魔羽悄然绽放!
  • The Silent Bullet

    The Silent Bullet

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 万元修身

    万元修身

    一次意外的穿越,让地球上天道门的修炼天才柳天赐,莫名其妙地来到了天衍大陆。一部无人问津的武学经典,为何会在来到异世后大放异彩?而那一颗造成主角时空穿行的师门重宝,无名的宝珠,又会在陌生的世界中,为刘天赐带来哪些意想不到的变故。神奇的魔兽,奥妙的武学,绚丽的魔法,精彩绝伦的神奇际遇,即将会在天衍大陆上掀起怎样的滔天巨浪?
  • The Moon Pool

    The Moon Pool

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 挂着泪的微笑:最感人的情感散文

    挂着泪的微笑:最感人的情感散文

    有多少故事让您眷恋一生?有多少情景让您深受感动?有多少故事在您记忆的海洋中永远闪烁着光芒?最优美华丽的文字,最温馨动人的故事,最睿智的人生哲理,最经典的“时文选粹”。
  • 十载之后

    十载之后

    二零二八,西南亚某国,科技发展促使下层人民和上层人士彻底割裂。下层人民在人工智能的挤压下苟且偷生,上层人士却肆意利用人工智能争权夺利。安元致原本是上层人士之子,却阴差阳错跌落下层。情场势急,职场失意,阶层升级无望,一次看似良机的调查任务,却让他成了失踪人口。失踪的,不只是自己,还有庞大的人群,熟悉的,陌生的……一次次奇遇,一次次成长。他能否夺回原本属于自己的社会地位?
  • 蜘蛛男

    蜘蛛男

    《蜘蛛男》是“江户川乱步作品集”第七卷。故事开头,怪绅士稻桓租下了一间事务所,把它重新装修成美术艺品店。第二天开业时聘用了一名十八岁的美少女,但当天晚上就奸杀了这名少女。接下来的几天内报纸社会版头条陆续刊登了“碎尸案”、“美人鱼案”。民间犯罪学者畔柳博士接手此案,在与蓝胡子稻桓正面交锋的过程中屡屡败下阵来,直到环游归来的明智加入侦破阵营……,故事从读者预测不到的角度展开,是一部名探与杀人狂的斗智故事。
  • 婚丧喜庆指南(中国民间文化丛书)

    婚丧喜庆指南(中国民间文化丛书)

    本书主要从以下几方面的新旧习俗对比来介绍中国的婚丧喜庆文化:结婚、丧葬、寿诞、节日。