CHAPTER THIRTY.
LOVE--OLD MR. KENNEDY PUTS HIS FOOT IN IT.
One morning, about two weeks after Charley's arrival at Red River, HarrySomerville found himself alone in Mr Kennedy's parlour. The oldgentleman himself had just galloped away in the direction of the lowerfort, to visit Charley, who was now formally installed there; Kate wasbusy in the kitchen, giving directions about dinner; and Jacques wasaway with Redfeather, visiting his numerous friends in the settlement:so that, for the first time since his arrival, Harry found himself atthe hour of ten in the morning utterly lone, and with nothing verydefinite to do. Of course, the two weeks that had elapsed were notwithout their signs and symptoms, their minor accidents and incidents,in regard to the subject that filled his thoughts. Harry had fiftytimes been tossed alternately from the height of hope to the depth ofdespair, from the extreme of felicity to the uttermost verge of sorrow,and he began seriously to reflect, when he remembered his desperateresolution on the first night of his arrival, that if he did not "do" hecertainly would "die." This was quite a mistake, however, on Harry'spart. Nobody ever did _die_ of unrequited love. Doubtless many peoplehave hanged, drowned, and shot themselves because of it; but, generallyspeaking, if the patient can be kept from maltreating himself longenough, _time_ will prove to be an infallible remedy. O youthfulreader, lay this to heart; but, pshaw! why do I waste ink on so hopelessa task? _Every_ one, we suppose, resolves once in a way to _die_ oflove; so--die away, my young friends, only make sure that you don't_kill_ yourselves, and I've no fear of the result.
But to return. Kate, likewise, was similarly affected. She behavedlike a perfect maniac--mentally, that is--and plunged herself,metaphorically, into such a succession of hot and cold baths, that itwas quite a marvel how her spiritual constitution could stand it.
But we were wrong in saying that Harry was _alone_ in the parlour. Thegrey cat was there. On a chair before the fire it sat, lookingdishevelled and somewhat _blase_ in consequence of the ill-treatment andworry to which it was continually subjected. After looking out of thewindow for a short time, Harry rose, and sitting down on a chair besidethe cat, patted its head--a mark of attention it was evidently notaverse to, but which it received, nevertheless, with marked suspicion,and some indications of being in a condition of armed neutrality. Justthen the door opened, and Kate entered.
"Excuse me, Harry, for leaving you alone," she said, "but I had toattend to several household matters. Do you feel inclined for a walk?"
"I do indeed," replied Harry; "it is a charming day, and I amexceedingly anxious to see the bower that you have spoken to me aboutonce or twice, and which Charley told me of long before I came here."
"Oh, I shall take you to it with pleasure," replied Kate; "my dearfather often goes there with me to smoke. If you will wait for twominutes I'll put on my bonnet," and she hastened to prepare herself forthe walk, leaving Harry to caress the cat, which he did soenergetically, when he thought of its young mistress, that it instantlydeclared war, and sprang from the chair with a remonstrative yell.
On their way down to the bower, which was situated in a picturesque,retired spot on the river's bank about a mile below the house, Harry andKate tried to converse on ordinary topics, but without success, and wereat last almost reduced to silence. One subject alone filled theirminds; all others were flat. Being sunk, as it were, in an ocean oflove, they no sooner opened their lips to speak than the waters rushedin, as a natural consequence, and nearly choked them. Had they butopened their mouths wide and boldly, they would have been pleasantlydrowned together; but as it was, they lacked the requisite courage, andwere fain to content themselves with an occasional frantic struggle tothe surface, where they gasped a few words of uninteresting air, andsank again instantly.
On arriving at the bower, however, and sitting down, Harry plucked upheart, and heaving a deep sigh, said--
"Kate, there is a subject about which I have long desired to speak toyou--"
Long as he had been desiring it, however, Kate thought it must have beennothing compared with the time that elapsed ere he said anything else;so she bent over a flower which she held in her hand, and said in a lowvoice, "Indeed, Harry; what is it?"
Harry was desperate now. His usually flexible tongue was stiff as stoneand dry as a bit of leather. He could no more give utterance to anintelligible idea than he could change himself into Mr Kennedy's greycat--a change that he would not have been unwilling to make at thatmoment. At last he seized his companion's hand, and exclaimed, with aburst of emotion that quite startled her--
"Kate, Kate! O dearest Kate, I love you! I _adore_ you! I--"
At this point poor Harry's powers of speech again failed; so, beingutterly unable to express another idea, he suddenly threw his arms roundher, and pressed her fervently to his bosom.
Kate was taken quite aback by this summary method of coming to thepoint. Repulsing him energetically, she exclaimed, while she blushedcrimson, "O Harry--Mr Somerville!" and burst into tears.
Poor Harry stood before her for a moment, his head hanging down, and adeep blush of shame on his face.
"O Kate," said he, in a deep, tremulous voice, "forgive me; do--doforgive me! I knew not what I said. I scarce knew what I did" (here heseized her hand). "I know but one thing, Kate, and tell it you I_will_, if it should cost me my life. I love you, Kate, to distraction,and I wish you to be my wife. I have been rude, very rude. Can youforgive me, Kate?"
Now, this latter part of Harry's speech was particularly comical, thecomicality of it lying, in this, that while he spoke he drew Kategradually towards him, and at the very time when he gave utterance tothe penitential remorse for his rudeness, Kate was infolded in a muchmore vigorous embrace than at the first; and, what is more remarkablestill, she laid her little head quietly on his shoulder, as if she hadquite changed her mind in regard to what was and what was not rude, andrather enjoyed it than otherwise.
While the lovers stood in this interesting position, it became apparentto Harry's olfactory nerves that the atmosphere was impregnated withtobacco smoke. Looking hastily up, he beheld an apparition that tendedsomewhat to increase the confusion of his faculties.
In the opening of the bower stood Mr Kennedy, senior, in a state ofinexpressible amazement. We say _inexpressible_ advisedly, because theextreme pitch of feeling which Mr Kennedy experienced at what he beheldbefore him cannot possibly be expressed by human visage. As far as thecountenance of man could do it, however, we believe the old gentleman'scame pretty near the mark on this occasion. His hands were in his coatpockets, his body bent a little forward, his head and neck outstretcheda little beyond it, his eyes almost starting from the sockets, andcertainly the most prominent feature in his face; his teeth firmlyclinched on his beloved pipe, and his lips expelling a multitude oflittle clouds so vigorously that one might have taken him for a sort ofself-acting intelligent steam-gun that had resolved utterly toannihilate Kate and Harry at short range in the course of two minutes.
When Kate saw her father she uttered a slight scream, covered her facewith her hands, rushed from the bower, and disappeared in the wood.
"So, young gentleman," began Mr Kennedy, in a slow, deliberate tone ofvoice, while he removed the pipe from his mouth, clinched his fist, andconfronted Harry, "you've been invited to my house as a guest, sir, andyou seize the opportunity basely to insult my daughter!"
"Stay, stay, my dear sir," interrupted Harry, laying his hand on the oldman's shoulder and gazing earnestly into his face. "Oh, do not, evenfor a moment, imagine that I could be so base as to trifle with theaffections of your daughter. I may have been presumptuous, hasty,foolish, mad if you will, but not base. God forbid that I should treather with disrespect, even in thought! I love her, Mr Kennedy, as Inever loved before. I have asked her to be my wife, and--she--"
"Whew!" whistled old Mr Kennedy, replacing his pipe between his teeth,gazing abstractedly at the ground, and emitting clouds innumerable.After standing thus a few second
s, he turned his back slowly upon Harry,and smiled outrageously once or twice, winking at the same time, afterhis own fashion, at the river. Turning abruptly round, he regardedHarry with a look of affected dignity, and said, "Pray, sir, what did mydaughter say to your very peculiar proposal?"
"She said ye--ah! that is--she didn't exactly _say_ anything, but she--indeed I--"
"Humph!" ejaculated the old gentleman, deepening his frown as heregarded his young friend through the smoke. "In short, she saidnothing, I suppose, but led you to infer, perhaps, that she would havesaid yes if I hadn't interrupted you."
Harry blushed, and said nothing.
"Now, sir," continued Mr Kennedy, "don't you think that it would havebeen a polite piece of attention on your part to have asked _my_permission before you addressed my daughter on such a subject, eh?"
"Indeed," said Harry, "I acknowledge that I have been hasty, but I mustdisclaim the charge of disrespect to you, sir. I had no intentionwhatever of broaching the subject to-day, but my feelings, unhappily,carried me away, and--and--in fact--"
"Well, well, sir," interrupted Mr Kennedy, with a look of offendeddignity, "your feelings ought to be kept more under control. But come,sir, to my house. I must talk further with you on this subject. I mustread you a lesson, sir--a lesson, humph! that you won't forget in ahurry."
"But, my dear sir--" began Harry.
"No more, sir--no more at present," cried the old gentleman, smokingviolently as he pointed to the footpath that led to the house. "Leadthe way, sir; I'll follow."
The footpath, although wide enough to allow Kate and Harry to walkbeside each other, did not permit of two gentlemen doing soconveniently--a circumstance which proved a great relief to Mr Kennedy,inasmuch as it enabled him, while walking behind his companion, to winkconvulsively, smoke furiously, and punch his own ribs severely, by wayof opening a few safety-valves to his glee, without which there is nosaying what might have happened. He was nearly caught in theseeccentricities more than once, however, as Harry turned half round withthe intention of again attempting to exculpate himself--attempts whichwere as often met by a sudden start, a fierce frown, a burst of smoke,and a command to "go on." On approaching the house, the track became abroad road, affording Mr Kennedy no excuse for walking in the rear, sothat he was under the necessity of laying violent restraint on hisfeelings--a restraint which it was evident could not last long. At thatmoment, to his great relief, his eye suddenly fell on the grey cat,which happened to be reposing innocently on the doorstep.
"_That's_ it! there's the whole cause of it at last!" cried Mr Kennedy,in a perfect paroxysm of excitement, flinging his pipe violently at theunoffending victim as he rushed towards it. The pipe missed the cat,but went with a sharp crash through the parlour window, at which Charleywas seated, while his father darted through the doorway, along thepassage, and into the kitchen. Here the cat, having first capsized apyramid of pans and kettles in its consternation, took refuge in anabsolutely unassailable position. Seeing this, Mr Kennedy violentlydischarged a pailful of water at the spot, strode rapidly to his ownapartment, and locked himself in.
"Dear me, Harry, what's wrong? my father seems unusually excited," saidCharley, in some astonishment, as Harry entered the room and flunghimself on a chair with a look of chagrin.
"It's difficult to say, Charley; the fact is, I've asked your sisterKate to be my wife, and your father seems to have gone mad withindignation."
"Asked Kate to be your wife!" cried Charley, starting up and regardinghis friend with a look of amazement.
"Yes, I have," replied Harry, with an air of offended dignity. "I knowvery well that I am unworthy of her, but I see no reason why you andyour father should take such pains to make me feel it."
"Unworthy of her, my dear fellow!" exclaimed Charley, grasping his handand wringing it violently; "no doubt you are, and so is everybody, butyou shall have her for all that, my boy. But tell me, Harry, have youspoken to Kate herself?"
"Yes, I have."
"And does she agree?"
"Well, I think I may say she does."
"Have you told my father that she does?"
"Why, as to that," said Harry, with a perplexed smile, "he didn't needto be told; he made _himself_ pretty well aware of the facts of thecase."
"Ah! I'll soon settle _him_," cried Charley. "Keep your mind easy, oldfellow; I'll very soon bring him round." With this assurance, Charleygave his friend's hand another shake that nearly wrenched the arm fromhis shoulder, and hastened out of the room in search of his refractoryfather.
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