Читать книгу The Last of the Foresters - John Esten Cooke - Страница 34

The voice which they heard first was that of Mr. Jinks; and that gentleman was apparently engaged in the pleasant occupation of complimenting a lady.

"Fairest of your sex!" said the enthusiastic Mr. Jinks, "how can I express the delight which your presence inspires me with—ahem!"

The sound of a fan coming in contact with a masculine hand was heard, and a mincing voice replied:—

"Oh, you are a great flatterer, Mr. Jinks. You are really too bad. Let us view the beauties of nature."

"They are not so lovely as those beauties which I have been viewing since I saw you, my dearest Miss Sallianna."

("That's old Scowley's sister, he said so," whispered Verty.)

"Really, you make me blush," replied the mincing and languishing voice—"you men are dreadful creatures!"

"Dreadful!"

"You take advantage of our simplicity and confidence to make us believe you think very highly of us."

"Highly! divinest Miss Sallianna! highly is not the word; extravagantly is better! In the presence of your lovely sex we feel our hearts expand; our bosoms—hem!—are enlarged, and we are all your slaves."

("Just listen, Redbud!" whispered Verty, laughing.)

"La!" replied the voice, "how gallant you are, Mr. Jinks!"

"No, Madam!" said Mr. Jinks, "I am not gallant!"

"You?"

"Far from it, Madam—I am a bear, a savage, with all the rest of the female sex; but with you—you—hem! that is different!"

("Don't go, Redbud!—"

"But, Verty—"

"Just a minute, Redbud.")

"Yes, a savage; I hate the sex—I distrust them!" continued Mr. Jinks, in a gloomy tone; "before seeing you, I had made up my mind to retire forever from the sight of mankind, and live on roots, or something of that description. But you have changed me—you have made me human."

And Mr. Jinks, to judge from his tone of voice, was looking dignified.

The fair lady uttered a little laugh.

"There it is!" cried Mr. Jinks, "you are always happy—always smiling and seducing—you are the paragon of your sex. If it will be any satisfaction to you, Madam, I will immediately die for you, and give up the ghost."

Which Mr. Jinks seemed to consider wholly different from the former.

"Heigho!" said the lady, "you are very devoted, sir."

"I should be, Madam."

"I am not worthy of so much praise."

"You are the pearl of your sex, Madam."

"Oh, no! I am only a simple young girl—but twenty-five last

January—and I have no pretensions in comparison with many others.

Immured in this quiet retreat, with a small property, and engaged in

the opprobrious occupation of cultivating the youthful mind—"

"A noble employment, Madam."

"Yes, very pleasing; with this, and with a contemplation of the beautiful criterions of nature, I am happy."

"Fairest of your sex, is this all that is necessary for happiness?" observed Mr. Jinks.

"What more!"

"Is solitude the proper sphere of that divine sex which in all ages of the world—ahem!—has—"

"Oh, sir!"

And the flirting of the fan was heard.

"Should not woman have a companion—a consoler, who—"

The fan was evidently used to hide a number of blushes.

"Should not such a lovely creature as yourself," continued the enthusiastic Jinks, "choose one to—"

Redbud rose quickly, and said, blushing and laughing:—

"Oh, come, Verty!"

"No, no—listen!" said Verty, "I do believe—"

"No, no, no!" cried Redbud, hurriedly, "it was very wrong—"

"What?—courting."

"Oh, no! It's mean in us to listen!"

And she went out of the arbor, followed by Verty, who said, "I'm glad courting ain't wrong; I think I should like to court you, Redbud."

Redbud made no reply to this innocent speech of Mr. Verty, but walked on. The noise which they made in leaving the arbor attracted the attention of the personages whose conversation we have been compelled to overhear; and Mr. Jinks and his companion passed through an opening in the shrubbery, and appeared in full view.

Miss Sallianna was a young lady of thirty-two or three, with long corkscrew curls, a wiry figure—a smile, of the description called "simper," on her lips, and an elegant mincing carriage of the person as she moved. She carried a fan, which seemed to serve for a number of purposes: to raise artificial breezes, cover imaginary blushes, and flirt itself against the hands or other portions of the persons of gentlemen making complimentary speeches.

She displayed some temporary embarrassment upon seeing Redbud and

Verty; and especially stared at that young gentleman.

Mr. Jinks was more self-possessed.

"Ah, my dear sir!" he said, stalking toward Verty, and grimacing, at the same time, at Redbud, "are you there, and with the fairest of her—hem!"

And Mr. Jinks stopped, nearly caught in the meshes of his gallantry.

"Yes, this is me, and I've been talking with Redbud," said Verty; "is that Miss Sallianna?"

The lady had recovered her simper; and now flirted her fan as gracefully as ever.

"See how your reputation has gone far and wide," said Mr. Jinks, with a fascinating grimace.

"You know you were talking of her when—how do you do, Miss

Sallianna," said Verty, holding out his hand.

"La!" said the fair one, inserting the points of her fingers into Verty's palm, "and Mr. Jinks was talking of me? What did he say, sir—I suppose it was in town."

"No, ma'am," said Verty, "it was at the gate, when I came to see

Redbud—the pigeon showed me the way. He said you were something—but

I've forgot."

"The paragon of beauties and the pearl of loveliness," suggested Mr.

Jinks.

"I don't think it was that," Verty replied, "but it was something pretty—prettier than what you said just now, when you were courting Miss Sallianna, you know."

Mr. Jinks cleared his throat—Miss Sallianna blushed.

"Really—" said Mr. Jinks.

"What children!" said the lady, with a patronizing air; "Reddy, do you know your lesson?"

By which question, Miss Sallianna evidently intended to reduce Miss

Redbud to her proper position of child.

"Yes, ma'am," said Redbud "and Mrs. Scowley said I might come in here."

"With this—young man?"

"Yes, ma'am. He is a very old friend of mine."

"Indeed!" simpered the lady.

"Are you not, Verty?"

But Verty was intently watching Longears, who was trying to insert his nose between two bars of the garden gate.

"Anan?" he said.

"La, what does he mean?" said the lady; "see! he's looking at something."

Verty was only making friendly signs to Longears to enter the garden. Longears no sooner understood that he was called, than he cleared the fence at one bound, and came up to his master.

Mr. Jinks had not heard his own voice for at least half a minute; so he observed, loftily:

"A handsome dog! a very handsome dog, sir! What did you say his name was? Longears? Yes? Here, Longears!"

And he made friendly signs of invitation to the hound. Longears availed himself of these indications of friendship by rearing up on Mr. Jinks, and leaving a dust-impression of his two paws upon that gentleman's ruffled shirt-bosom.

Verty laughed, and dragged him away.

"Longears," he said, "I'm surprised at you—and here, too, where you should conduct yourself better than usual!"

Miss Sallianna was about to say something, when a bell was heard to ring.

"Oh!" said Redbud, "there's school. Playtime's over."

"Over?" said Verty, with an exhibition of decided ill-humor.

"Yes, sir," said Miss Sallianna, "and my young pupil must now return to her studies. Mr. Jinks—"

And the lady threw a languishing glance on her cavalier.

"You will come soon again, and continue our discussion—of—of—the beauties of nature? We are very lonely here."

"Will I come?" cried the enthusiastic Jinks; and having thus displayed, by the tone in which his words were uttered, the depth of his devotion, the grasshopper gentleman gallantly pressed the hand held out to him, and, with a lofty look, made his exit out of the garden.

Verty followed. But first he said to Redbud, smiling:

"I'm going to see Miss Lavinia this very day, to ask her to let me come to see you. You know I must come to see you, Redbud. I don't know why, but I must."

Redbud blushed, and continued to caress Longears, who submitted to this ceremony with great equanimity.

"Come!" said Miss Sallianna, "let us return, Miss Summers."

"Yes, ma'am," said Redbud; "good-bye, Verty," she added, looking at the boy with her kind, smiling eyes, and lowering her voice, "remember what you promised me—to read your Bible."

And smiling again, Redbud gave him her hand, and then followed Miss Sallianna, who sailed on before—her head resting languidly on one shoulder—her fan arranged primly upon her maiden chin—her eyes raised in contemplation to the sky.

Poor Verty smiled and sighed, and followed Redbud with his eyes, and saw her disappear—the kind, tender eyes fixed on him to the last. He sighed again, as she passed from his sight; and so left the garden. Mr. Jinks was swaggering amiably toward town—Cloud was standing, like a statue, where his master had left him. Verty, leaning one arm on the saddle, murmured:

"Really, Redbud is getting prettier than ever, and I wonder if I am what Mr. Roundjacket calls 'in love' with her?"

Finding himself unable to answer this question, Verty shook his head wisely, got into the saddle, and set forward toward the town, Longears following duly in his wake.