CHAPTER XIV -- THE BALL

"I could be pleased with any one, Who entertained my sight with such gay shows As men and women, moving here and there, That coursing one another in their steps, Have made their feet a tune."

--Dryden.

"And run through fire I will for thy sweet sake."

"Come now, what... shall we have, To wear away this long age of three hours, Between our after-supper and bed-time?"

--Midsummer Night's Dream.

"By Jove! this is hot work!" exclaimed Lawless, flinging himself down on a sofa so violently as to make an old lady, who occupied the farther end of it, jump to an extent which seriously disarranged an Anglo-Asiatic -123--nondescript, believed in by her as a turban, wherewith she adorned her aged head. "If I have not been going the pace like a brick for the last two hours, it's a pity; what a girl that Di Clapperton is to step out!--splendid action she has, to be sure, and giving tongue all the time too. She's in first-rate training, 'pon my word: I thought she'd have sewn me up at one time--the pace was terrific. I must walk into old Coleman's champagne before I make a fresh start; when I've recovered my wind, and got a mouthful of hay and water, I'll have at her again, and dance till all's blue before I give in."

"My dear fellow," said I, "you must not dance all the evening with the same young lady; you'll have her brother call upon you the first thing to-morrow morning to know your intentions."

"He shall very soon learn them as far as he is concerned, then," replied Lawless, doubling his fist. "Let me have him to myself for a quiet twenty minutes, and I'll send him home with such a face on him that his nearest relations will be puzzled to recognise him for the next month to come at least. But what do you really mean?"

"That it's not etiquette to go on dancing with one young lady the whole evening; you must ask some one else."

"Have all the bother to go over again, eh? what a treat! Well, we live and learn; it will require a few extra gla.s.ses of champagne to get the steam up to the necessary height, that's all. And there they are going down to supper; that's glorious!" and away he bounded to secure Miss Clapperton's arm, while I offered mine to the turbaned old lady, to compensate for her late alarm.

After supper the dancing was resumed with fresh energy, the champagne having produced its usual exhilarating effects upon the exhausted frames of the dancers. Notwithstanding my former repulse, I made a successful attempt to gain Miss Saville's hand for a quadrille, though I saw, or fancied I saw, the scowl on Mr. Vernor's sour countenance grow deeper as I led her away. My perseverance was not rewarded by any very interesting results, for my partner, who was either distressingly shy, or acting under constraint of some kind, made monosyllabic replies to every remark I addressed to her, and appeared relieved when the termination of the set enabled her to rejoin her grim protector.

"Of all the disagreeable faces I ever saw, Mr. Vernor's is the most repulsive," said I to Coleman; "were I a believer in the power of the 'evil eye,' he is just the sort -124--of looking person I should imagine would possess it. I am certain I have never met him before, and yet, strange to say, there is something which appears familiar to me in his expression, particularly when he frowns."

"He is a savage-looking old Guy," replied Freddy, "and bullies that sweet girl shockingly, I can see. I should feel the greatest satisfaction in punching his head for him, but I suppose it would be hardly the correct thing on so short an acquaintance, and in my father's house too; eh?"

"Not exactly," replied I, turning away with a smile.

When Lawless made his appearance after supper it was evident by his flushed face, and a slight unsteadiness in his manner of walking, that he had carried his intentions with regard to the champagne into effect; and, heedless of my warning, he proceeded to lay violent siege to Miss Clapperton, to induce her to waltz with him. I was watching them with some little amus.e.m.e.nt, for the struggle in the young lady's mind between her sense of the proper, and her desire to waltz with an Honourable, was very apparent, when I was requested by Mrs. Coleman to go in search of a cloak appertaining to the turbaned old lady whom I had escorted down to supper, and who, being delicate in some way or other, required especial care in packing up. Owing to a trifling mistake of Mrs. Coleman's (who had described a red, worsted shawl as a blue cloth cloak, which mistake I had to discover and rectify) my mission detained me some minutes. As I re-entered the ball-room, shawl in hand, I was startled by the crash of something heavy falling, followed by a shriek from several of the ladies at the upper end of the room; and on hastening to the scene of action I soon perceived the cause of their alarm.

[Ill.u.s.tration: page124 Fall of the Cadelabrum]

During my absence Lawless, having succeeded in overcoming Miss Clapperton's scruples, had recommenced waltzing with the greatest energy; but unfortunately, after going round the room once or twice, "the pace," as he called it, becoming faster at every turn, the combined effects of the champagne and the unaccustomed exercise rendered him exceedingly giddy, and just before I entered the room he had fallen against a small table supporting a handsome China candelabrum, containing several wax lights, the overthrow of which had occasioned the grand crash which I heard. The cause of the shriek, however, still remained to be discovered, and a nearer approach instantly rendered it apparent. One of the wax candles, which had not been extinguished in its fall, had rolled against the ball-dress of Miss Saville, who happened to -125--be seated next the table, and set it on fire. After making an ineffectual attempt to put it out with her hands, she became alarmed, and as I approached started wildly up, with the evident intention of rushing out of the room. Without a moment's hesitation I sprang forward, caught her in my arms, and, flinging the worsted shawl over her dress, which was just beginning to blaze, enveloped her in it, and, telling her if she only remained quiet she would be perfectly safe, laid her on the floor, while I continued to hold the thick shawl tightly down, till, to my very great delight, I succeeded in extinguishing the flames.

By this time several gentlemen had gathered round us, eager with their advice and offers of a.s.sistance. Having satisfied myself that the danger was entirely over I raised Miss Saville from the ground, and, making way through the crowd, half led, half carried her to the nearest sofa. After placing her carefully upon it I left her to the care of Mrs. Coleman and Lucy Markham, while I sought out the turbaned old lady whose shawl I had so unceremoniously made use of, and succeeded in making my peace with her, though, I believe, in her own secret breast, she considered Miss Saville's safety dearly purchased at the expense of her favourite whittle. As I approached the sofa again, the following words, in the harsh tones of Mr. Vernor's voice, met my ear:--

"I have ascertained our carriage is here; as soon, therefore, as you feel strong enough to walk, Clara, my dear, I should advise your accompanying me home; quiet and rest are the best remedies after such an alarm as this".

"I am quite ready, sir," was the reply, in a faint tone of voice.

"Nay, wait a few minutes longer," said Lucy Markham kindly; "you are trembling from head to foot even yet."

"Indeed I am quite strong; I have no doubt I can walk now," replied Miss Saville, attempting to rise, but sinking back again almost immediately from faintness.

"Can I be of any a.s.sistance?" inquired I, coming forward.

"I am obliged to you for the trouble you have already taken, sir,"

answered Mr. Vernor coldly, "but will not add to it. Miss Saville will be able to proceed with the a.s.sistance of my arm in a few minutes."

After a short pause the young lady again announced her readiness to depart; and, having shaken hands with Mrs. Coleman and Lucy Markham, turned to leave the -126--room, leaning on Mr. Vernor's arm. As I was standing near the door I stepped forward to hold it open for them, Mr.

Vernor acknowledging my civility by the slightest imaginable motion of the head. Miss Saville, as she approached me, paused for a moment, as if about to speak, but, apparently relinquishing her intention, merely bowed, and pa.s.sed on.

"Well, if it's in that sort of way fashionable individuals demonstrate their grat.i.tude for having their lives saved, I must say I don't admire it," exclaimed Coleman, who had witnessed the cool behaviour of Mr.

Vernor and his ward; "it may be very genteel, but, were I in your place, I should consider it unsatisfactory in the extreme, and allow the next inflammable young lady who might happen to attract a spark in my presence to consume as she pleased, without interfering; and peace be to her ashes!"

"It was most fortunate that I happened to have that thick shawl in my hand," said I; "in another minute her whole dress would have been in a blaze, and it would have been next to impossible to save her. What courage and self-command she showed! she never attempted to move after I threw the shawl around her, till I told her all danger was over."

"Very grand, all that sort of thing," returned Freddy; "but for my own part I should like to see a little more feeling. I've no taste for your 'marble maidens'; they always put me in mind of Lot's wife."

"Eh! Mrs. Lot?" interrupted Lawless, coming up to us: "why was she like me? do you give it up? Because she got into a pretty pickle--there's a riddle for you. I say, I made a nice mess of it just now, didn't I?

that's what comes of going to these confounded b.a.l.l.s. The fact was,"

he continued, sinking his voice, "the filly bolted with me; she took uncommon kindly to the champagne at supper; in consequence, she was so fresh when we started that I couldn't hold her; she kept pushing on faster and faster, till at last she was fairly off with me; we did very well as long as we stuck to the open country, but at last we contrived to get among some very awkward fences; the first stiff bit of timber we came to she made a rush at, and down we came, gate--I mean table, candlestick, and all, a regular smash; and to make matters worse, one of the candles set the other young woman's petticoat alight."

"In fact, after a very severe run, you were nearly being in at the death," suggested Coleman.

-127--"By Jove, it was nothing to laugh at, though!" remarked Lawless; "she'd have been regularly cooked, if Prank Fairlegh hadn't put her out when he did, and I should have been tried for 'Unjustifiable Girl-icide,' or 'Maliciously setting fire to a marriageable female,' or some such thing; and I daresay the young woman wasn't insured anywhere: I should have got into a pretty mess; it would have been a worse job than breaking Shrimp."

"Frederick, look here!" cried Lucy Markham, who was pa.s.sing the place where we stood; "see how Mr. Fairlegh's sleeve is scorched; surely," she continued, turning to me, "your arm must be injured."

"It begins to feel rather painful," replied I; "but I daresay it's nothing to signify."

"Come to my room," exclaimed Freddy anxiously; "why did you not mention it before?"

"Really I scarcely felt it in the excitement of the moment," returned I; "it can't be of any consequence."

On removing the coat-sleeve, however, a somewhat considerable burn was apparent, extending about half way from the wrist to the elbow, and which, the moment it was exposed to the air, became excessively painful.

Fortunately, among the guests who had not yet taken their departure was the surgeon of the neighbourhood, who was speedily summoned, and who, after having applied the proper remedies, recommended me to carry my arm in a sling for a few days, at the end of which time, he a.s.sured me, it would cause me little inconvenience.

As it was, by great good luck, my left arm which was injured, I submitted to this mandate with tolerable resignation, and returned to the drawing-room to be pitied by the tongues of the old, and the bright eyes of the young ladies, to an extent which (as at that time of day I was somewhat addicted to the vice of shyness) was more flattering than agreeable.

It was between two and three o'clock when Lawless and I prepared to take our departure for the inn at which we were to sleep. Being a lovely night Coleman volunteered to accompany us for the sake of the walk, telling the servants not to sit up for him, as he had a latch-key in his pocket--an article, regarding the possession of which a constant civil war was carried on between his mother and himself, wherein by dint of sundry well-contrived stratagems, and deeply laid schemes, he invariably gained the victory.

"I tell you what," said Lawless, "the row and bother, -128--and the whole kick-up altogether, has made me alarmingly hungry; the only decent bit of chicken I managed to lay hands on at supper Di Clapperton ate: precious twist that girl has, to be sure; even after all the ground she's been over to-night, going a topping pace the whole time too, she wasn't a bit off her feed; didn't she walk into the ham sandwiches--that's all! I'd rather keep her for a week than a fortnight, I can tell you; she'd eat her head off in a month, and no mistake. Here, waiter," he continued, "have you got anything to eat in the house?"

"Yes, sir, splendid barrel of oysters down by coach last night; capital brown stout, sir--real Guinness's!"

"That's it, my man," was the rejoinder; "trot 'em out, by all means.

Freddy, old boy," he continued, "come along in with us, and have some."

"Well, I don't mind astonishing the natives for once in a way," replied Freddy; "but it's dreadfully debauched, eating oysters and drinking porter at this time of day or night, whichever you are pleased to call it; you'll ruin my morals."

"The devil fly away with your morals, and he won't be overloaded either," was the polite rejoinder; and in we all went together. The oysters and porter soon made their appearance, and had ample justice done them; then, as a matter of course, spirits and water and cigars were produced, "just to prevent the oysters from disagreeing with us"; and we sat talking over old times, and relating various adventures which had occurred to us since, without troubling our heads about the flight of minutes. At length Coleman, pulling out his watch, exclaimed: "Past four o'clock, by the powers! I must be getting to bed--I've got a lease to draw to-morrow, and my head won't be over-clear as it is."

"Nonsense," replied Lawless; "bed's all a popular delusion; we can't be better off than we are--sit still." But on Coleman's persisting in his wish to depart, Lawless continued: "Well, take another gla.s.s, and then Frank and I will walk home with you, and see you safe, for it's my belief that you're getting 'screwed.,' or you'd never think of going to bed". Freddy and I exchanged glances, for if any of our party were in the condition expressed by the mysterious word "screwed," it certainly was Lawless himself. After sitting some little time longer, we once more sallied forth, with the avowed intention of seeing Coleman home. -129--