Good God!
My dear boy, do restrain yourself, laughed the other.
I cant help it. I do like a man to be a man, and for goodness sake look at that thing.
That thing, as Magnus so contemptuously dubbed him, was certainly striking in appearance, as the open carriage in which he was riding came to a standstill, and he signed to the footman to let him out. For as he descended it was to stand upon a very thin pair of legs that in no sense corresponded with his plump, white, boyish face.
It was a handsome, well-appointed carriage from whose front seat he had alighted, the back being occupied by two ladies of between twenty and thirty, who looked as if their costume
passed on.
Feel better? said Magnus, cynically.
Better? yes, cried the young man, turning to him flushed and with a gratified smile upon his face. There, dont laugh at me, old fellow, I cant help it.
Im not going to laugh at you. But you seem to have got it badly.
Awfully, replied the other.
Shouldnt have thought it of you, Harry. So those are the Mallow girls, eh?
Yes. Isnt she charming?
What, that girl with the soft dreamy eyes? Yes, she is attractive.
No, man, cried Artingale, impatiently; thats Julia. I mean the other.
What, the fair-haired, bright-looking little maiden who looks as if she paints?
Paints be hanged! cried Artingale, indignantly, its her own sweet natural colour, bless her.
Oh, I say, my dear boy, said Magnus, with mock concern, I had no idea that you were in such a state as this.
Chaff away, old fellow, I dont care. Call me in a fools paradise, if you like. Ive flirted about long enough, but I never knew what it was before.
Then, said Magnus, seriously, you are what they call in love?
Dont I tell you, Mag, that I dont care for your chaff. There, yes: in love, if you like to call it so, for Ive won the sweetest little girl that ever looked truthfully at a man.
And the lady does she reciprocate, and that sort of thing?
I dont know: yes, I hope so. Im afraid to be sure; it seems so conceited, for Im not much of a fellow, you see.
Lets see, it happened abroad, didnt it?
Well, yes, I suppose so. I met them at Dinan, and then at Baden, and afterwards at Rome and in Paris.
Which means, old fellow, that you followed them all over the Continent.
Well, I dont know; I suppose so, said the young man, biting his moustache. You see, Mag, I used to know Cynthia when she was little and I was a boy when the governor was alive, you know. I was at Harrow, too, with her brothers awful cads though, by the by. She cant help that, Mag, he said, innocently.
Why, Artingale, it makes you quite sheepish, laughed the artist. I wish I could catch that expression for a Corydon.
For a what?
Corydon gentle shepherd, my boy.
Get out! Well, as I was telling you, old fellow, I met them abroad, and now theyve come back to England, and theyve been down at the rectory Lawford Rectory, you know, six miles from my place. And now theyve come up again.
So it seems, said Magnus, drily.
Chaff away, I dont mind, said Artingale.
Not I; I wont chaff you, Harry, said the other, quietly. Pon my soul I should miss you, for you and I have been very jolly together; but I wouldnt wish you a better fate than to have won some really sweet, lovable girl. Its a fate that never can be mine, as the song says, and I wont be envious of others. Come along.
No, no, dont lets go, old fellow. Theyll only drive as far as the corner, and then come back on this side. Perhaps theyll stop to speak. If they do, Ill introduce you to Julia; shes a very nice girl.
But not so nice as, as
Cynthia, said the other, innocently. No: of course not.
Magnus burst out laughing, and his friend looked at him inquiringly.
I could not help it, old fellow, exclaimed Magnus; you did seem so innocent over it. But never mind that. Plunge head foremost into the sweetest life idyll you can, and, worldly-minded old sinner as I am, I will only respect you the more.
He spoke so sincerely, and in such a feeling tone, that the younger man half turned and gazed at him, saying directly after
Thank you, old fellow; Im not demonstrative, so just consider that I have given you a hearty grip of the hand.
All right, was the gruff reply. Hallo! here comes my brigand. By Jove, hes a fine-looking specimen of the genus homo . Hes six feet two, if hes an inch.
Jock Morrison, who seemed at home beneath the trees, came slouching along with his hands deep in his pockets, with a rolling gait, the whole of one side at a time; there was an end of his loose cotton neckerchief between his teeth, and a peculiar satisfied smile in his eye which changed to a scowl of defiance as he saw that he was observed.
I say, my man, said Magnus, would you give me a sitting, if I paid you?
Would I give you what? growled the fellow. I dont let out cheers.
Before Magnus could explain himself, the man had turned impatiently away, and gone on towards Kensington Gardens.
Ha! ha! ha! laughed Artingale. Our friend is not a model in any way. Have a cigarette, old fellow?