Shall I assist you? said Miles, stepping into the shed and seizing a loaf and a knife.
Thank you. Go ahead, said Brown.
Put another lump of butter near the fire, said the missionary to our hero; not too close. I melted the last lump altogether.
A cup o coffee for my Terence, an wan for mesilf, my dear, exclaimed a loud voice outside.
There was no mistaking the speaker. Some of the men who crowded round the counter laughed, others partially choked, when the strapping Terence said in a hoarse whisper, Whist, mother, be civil; dont ye see that its ladies, no less, is sarvin of us?
Please, maam, can I ave some coffee? asked a modest soldiers wife, who looked pale and weary after the long voyage, with three children to look after.
A cup was promptly supplied, and three of the newly-arrived buns stopped the mouths of her clamorous offspring.
Can ye give me a cup o tea? demanded another soldiers wife, who was neither so polite nor so young as the previous applicant.
It is probable that the ladies did not observe the nature of her demand, else they would doubtless have explained that they had no tea, but a cup of coffee was silently handed to her.
Ah! this is real home-tea, this is, she said, smacking her lips after the first sip. A mighty difference tween this an what weve bin used to in the ship.
Yes, indeed, assented her companion. Whether it was tea she had been accustomed to drink on board the troop-ship we cannot tell, but probably she was correct as to the mighty difference. It may be that the beverages supplied in foreign lands had somewhat damaged the power of discrimination as to matters of taste in these soldiers wives. At all events an incident which occurred about the same time justifies this belief.
Mr Miles, said the missionary, pausing a moment to wipe his brow in the midst of his labours, will you fetch the butter now?
Miles turned to obey with alacritywith too much alacrity, indeed, for in his haste he knocked the plate over, and sent the lump of butter into the last prepared brew of coffee!
Hallo! I say! exclaimed Brown, in consternation. More coffee, Brown, demanded the ladies simultaneously, at that inauspicious moment.
Yes, Miss, IIm comingdirectly, cried Brown.
Do be quick, please!
Whats to be done? said Brown, making futile endeavours to fish out the slippery mass with the stirring-stick.
Shove it down and stir it well about, suggested Miles.
Whether conscience was inoperative at that moment we know not, but Brown acted on the suggestion, and briskly amalgamated the butter with the coffee, while the crowd at the port-hole politely but continuously demanded more.
Dont be in a urry, Tom, cried a corporal, removing his pith helmet in order to run his fingers through his hair; its a eavenly state o things now to what it was a few years ago, wen we an our poor wives ad to sit ere for hours in the heat or cold, wet or dry, without shelter, or a morsel to eat, or a drop to drink, till we got away up town to the grog-shops.
Well, this is civilisation at last! remarked a handsome and hearty young fellow, who had apparently been ignorant of the treat in store for him, and who sauntered up to the shed just as the butter-brew was beginning to be served out.
Why, I declare, its chocolate! exclaimed one of the women, who had been already served with a cup, and had resolved to go in, as she said, for another pennyworth.
So it is. My! aint it nice? said her companion, smacking her lips.
Whether the soldiers fell into the same mistake, or were too polite to take notice of it, we cannot tell, for they drank it without comment, and with evident satisfaction, like men of simple tastes and uncritical minds.
We turn now to a very different scene.
In one of the private sitting-rooms of the Institute sat poor young Mrs Martin, the very embodiment of blank despair. The terrible truth that her husband had died, and been buried at sea, had been gently and tenderly broken to her by Miss Robinson.
At first the poor girl could notwould notbelieve it. Then, as the truth gradually forced itself into her brain, she subsided into a tearless, expressionless, state of quiescence that seemed to indicate a mind unhinged. In this state she remained for some time, apparently unconscious of the kind words of Christian love that were addressed to her.
At last she seemed to rouse herself and gazed wildly round the room.
Let me go, she said. I will find him somewhere. Dont hinder me, please.
But you cannot go anywhere till you have had food and rest, dear child, said her sympathetic comforter, laying her hand gently on the girls arm. Come with me.
She sought to lead her away, but the girl shook her off.
No, she exclaimed, starting up hastily, so that the mass of her dark hair fell loose upon her shoulders, contrasting forcibly with the dead whiteness of her face and lips. No. I cannot go with you. Fred will be getting impatient. Dyou think Ill ever believe it? Dead and buried in the sea? Never!
Even while she spoke, the gasp in her voice, and the pressure of both hands on her poor heart, told very plainly that the young widow did indeed believe it.
Oh! may God Himself comfort you, dear child, said the lady, taking her softly by the hand. Comecome with me.
Mrs Martin no longer refused. Her spirit, which had flashed up for a moment, seemed to collapse, and without another word of remonstrance she meekly suffered herself to be guided to a private room, where she was put to bed.
She never rose from that bed. Friendless, and without means, she would probably have perished in the streets, or in one of the dens of Portsmouth, had she not been led to this refuge. As it was, they nursed her there, and did all that human skill and Christian love could devise; but her heart was broken. Towards the end she told them, in a faint voice, that her Fred had been stationed at Alexandria, and that while there he had been led to put his trust in the Saviour. She knew nothing of the details. All these, and much more, she had expected to hear from his own lips.
But he will tell me all about it soon, thank God! were the last words she uttered as she turned her eyes gratefully on the loving strangers who had found and cared for her in the dark day of her calamity.
Chapter Five.
Difficulties met and overcome
Miles and his friend Brown, after their work at the jetty, had chanced to return to the Institute at the moment referred to in the last chapter, when the poor young widow, having become resigned, had been led through the passage to her bedroom. Our hero happened to catch sight of her face, and it made a very powerful impression on himan impression which was greatly deepened afterwards on hearing of her death.
In the reception-room he found Armstrong still in earnest conversation with his wife.
Hallo, Armstrong! still here? Have you been sitting there since I left you? he asked, with a smile and look of surprise.
Oh no! answered his friend; not all the time. We have been out walking about town, and we have had dinner herean excellent feed, let me tell you, and cheap too. But where did you run off to?
Sit down and Ill tell you, said Miles.
Thereupon he related all about his days experiences. When he had finished, Armstrong told him that his own prospect of testing the merits of a troop-ship were pretty fair, as he was ordered for inspection on the following day.