... I know love is begun by time. I know him well: he is the brooch indeed And gem of all the nation. He made confession of you, And gave you such a masterly report For art...'twould be a sight indeed If one could match you. --Hamlet. |MRS. Crawford absolutely clung to Daireen all this evening. When the whist parties were formed in the cabin she brought the girl on deck and instructed her in some of the matters worth knowing aboard a passenger ship. “On no account bind yourself to any whist set before you look about you: nothing could be more dangerous,” she said confidentially. “Just think how terrible it would be if you were to join a set now, and afterwards to find out that it was not the best set. You would simply be ruined. Besides that, it is better to stay on deck as much as possible during the first day or two at sea. Now let us go over to the major and Campion.” So Daireen found herself borne onward with Mrs. Crawford's arm in her own to where Major Crawford and Doctor Campion were sitting on their battered deck-chairs lighting fresh cheroots from the ashes of the expiring ends. “Don't tread on the tumblers, my dear,” said the major as his wife advanced. “And how is Miss Gerald now that we have got under weigh? You didn't take any of that liquid they insult the Chinese Empire by calling tea, aboard ship, I hope?” “Just a single cup, and very weak,” said Mrs. Crawford apologetically. “My dear, I thought you were wiser.” “You will take this chair, Mrs. Crawford?” said Doctor Campion, without making the least pretence of moving, however. “Don't think of such a thing,” cried the lady's husband; and to do Doctor Campion justice, he did not think of such a thing. “Why, you don't fancy these are our Junkapore days, do you, when Kate came out to our bungalow, and the boys called her the Sylph? It's a fact, Miss Gerald; my wife, as your father will tell you, was as slim as a lily. Ah, dear, dear! Time, they say, takes a lot away from us, but by Jingo, he's liberal enough in some ways. By Jingo, yes,” and the gallant old man kept shaking his head and chuckling towards his comrade, whose features could be seen puckered into a grin though he uttered no sound. “And stranger still, Miss Gerald,” said the lady, “the major was once looked upon as a polite man, and politer to his wife than to anybody else. Go and fetch some chairs here, Campion, like a good fellow,” she added to the doctor, who rose slowly and obeyed. “That's how my wife takes command of the entire battalion, Miss Gerald,” remarked the major. “Oh, your father will tell you all about her.”