The Love Ring

by Max Howell

  “I certainly do, sir, assuming my military duties do not interfere.”

  “That is understood, Lieutenant Pride.”

  So the following Wednesday he went to dinner with Lin and her family, as well as her friend Ping. As they were walking towards her house after the Bible readings, Lin confided: “Lieutenant, my father likes you a great deal. He told me and my mother that you remind him of the young Englishmen he met when he was studying at Oxford. You are the very first westerner of your age to ever visit our home. They are usually older merchants or Legation officials.”

  “Then I am doubly honoured, Lin”, said Robert.

  They were met at the door by a servant, who bowed as they entered. Robert took in the rooms as he walked through them with a sweep of his eyes. The house was one of elegance, as he expected, with Chinese paintings, vases and distinctive furniture enhancing the ambience. There was a piano in one room, where doubtless Lin practised, and on the walls of that room there were framed lithographs of Oxford University.

  Lin’s father strode forward to meet Robert. “Lieutenant”, he said, “we are honoured to have you in our humble home.”

  Robert replied: “It is I who am honoured, sir. And you have a wonderful house, it is not so very humble.”

  “Because of the lateness of the hour, Lieutenant, we will forego the western custom of a preliminary drink, and with your permission proceed with the dinner”, said her father.

  Dishes of sumptuous food followed other dishes as the evening wore on, and he even accepted some rice wine from the host, which made his whole body feel warm. Lin’s mother rarely spoke, as she knew little English, but the others maintained an animated conversation. All the food was served by family servants, which Robert estimated to number about eight. Virtually no Australian family had a single servant, he thought to himself.

  After the meal was concluded he thanked his hosts and departed. Lin, at the door, put out her hand to wish him good-bye. It was the first time he had actually touched her, and the sensation of warmth remained with him the remainder of the evening. When he reflected on the night, he thought of the magnificent house, superb food, and the grace and humility of her family.

  It was some weeks later, after a Bible reading class, that the three of them, oblivious to everything, walked toward her home. As they turned a corner, they saw a mass of people outside Lin’s house, which they immediately saw was engulfed in flames. The three of them started running, Lin searching the crowd in vain looking for her parents.

  Without heed for his own personal safety, Robert handed his jacket to Lin, and rushed into the flaming house, calling out for her parents. Then he saw them lying on the floor, covered in blood, their heads completely severed from their bodies. In a fraction of a second, enveloped in smoke and the flames dangerously close, he decided not to attempt to retrieve their bodies. The possibility of getting them out would have been slim in any case in his judgement.

  Coughing, his eyes smarting, he reeled towards Lin as he got out, her face ashen. “I don’t know to tell you in any other way, Lin, but your parents have been murdered. There was no way of getting them out.”

  Her eyes glazed and her body went limp. Robert leaped forward, and grabbed her before she hit the ground. All around them people were bringing buckets of water in a hopeless endeavour to douse the flames. With its wooden construction, the fire leaped hungrily from one room to the next. What was left was nothing but a smouldering hulk.

  Lin regained her consciousness, still held by Robert, and he reiterated what he had told her, that her parents had both been killed. It was obviously the work of the Boxers, who linked her family with the foreign element. She cried helplessly, the tears streaming down her face. “How can it be?” she implored, “How can it be?”

  There was nothing he could say.

  Ping was anxious about her own home, and excused herself. “But you must stay with me and my family, Lin, you must, and we will figure out what happens from here on.”

  “I must stay here now, Ping, I must, in case I am needed”, Lin implored her. “I will be all right on my own, Lieutenant Pride, you may leave.”

  “No way, Lin, I am here to help you, and I will wait and take you to Ping’s home when you are ready.” In all this time, Robert had held on to her, his arm around her waist, so she could feel his support.

  After a few hours, when it was obvious that nothing could be done and what remained of the bodies of her parents had been taken away, she quietly said, in a voice so sad that it was heart-rending for him to hear: “I would like to go to Ping’s home now.”

  They walked together, his arm around her waist. She was pale and distraught, and had to stop once because she could not stop crying. He then drew her to him, and she sobbed on his shoulder. Gently, he lifted her head and said: “I am so terribly sorry, Lin, so terribly sorry.” Then he bent down and kissed her. There was a momentary recoil, and then she moved towards him and returned the kiss.

  Flushed, she turned to him and said: “I have wanted to do that for so long, Lieutenant Pride, for so long. Do you know, that is my first kiss ever. It is unbelievable that such a wonderful thing happened on such a tragic, terrible day!”

  “Lin, you can call me Robert now.”

  “Robert”, she said, “I like saying that… Robert, Robert.”

  “Lin, I know how terrible all this has been, but I want you to know I will do everything I can to help you. One other thing I have to say, despite all this shock and horror, because it is the first opportunity that has presented itself. I love you, Lin.”

  “And I love you, Robert. I fell in love with you the first time I saw you.”

  “Then we will always be one, Lin, always. I will be with you the rest of your life.”

  “I hope so, Robert, I pray so. But we must hurry. Ping will be getting worried about me.”

  Robert and the Australians searched for the Boxers who were responsible for the tragedy for the next two days, and finally cornered them. There were only about twenty, and with their antiquated equipment they were no match for the Australians, though one Australian was killed in the combat. As for the Boxers, no prisoners were taken. Though it was somewhat ruthless, Robert felt no remorse as he personally killed two of them. An eye for an eye, he thought, as he bayoneted them.

  As soon as he could, after the military engagement, he sought out Lin, paying a call at Ping’s house. Lin had obviously been crying a lot, her eyes were red and her complexion was pale. Robert was pleased to hear that the Reverend Alcaster, at the Mission, had almost immediately offered her a position as a teacher and accommodation there, which she gladly accepted. After a few days she settled in at the Mission, finding out that the teaching took her mind temporarily off her own personal problems.

  She had a certain amount of free time, and whenever it was possible she and Robert would go for walks, though they both observed that an officer walking with a Chinese girl was not viewed warmly, by the whites or Chinese.

  They felt uncomfortable in public, but his friend George Morrison came to the rescue. His home was near the Mission, so he gave Robert a key that he could use as often as he wished.

  “Before you arrived”, George said, “I bought this 26-room house for one hundred and fifty three pounds. It was in the Chinese quarter, away from the Legations. I wanted to feel the pulse of the people, so I wanted to be away from the foreign element. I got a cart, horse and driver for two pounds a week, a number one boy for one pound a month, same for number one cook. Number two cook got twelve shillings a month, a coolie fourteen shillings a month. Two horses and two grooms cost three pounds a month. Not bad by Australian standards, eh?”

  “The bloody Japanese burnt my previous house to the ground before you Aussies arrived, to protect their own legation, believe it or not. My present house was a Manchu prince’s house at Wangfujing. The Imperial Court had fled, so I took it over. I dug up the garden and discovered two chests with gold ornaments. That’s why I named the place ‘Klondik
e’. When and if the Dowager Empress comes back, I’m suing her for the house I lost and the wounds I got.”

  “You were wounded?” asked Robert.

  “Wounded? I almost carked it, mate, almost carked it. I was shot once in the leg, and another bullet hit me and fragmented. Killed six of the Boxers myself in another action. Anyhow, my wounds led to an amusing incident. The Times carried my obituary. Must be worth a raise, for they wrote: ‘No newspaper anxious to serve the best interests of the country has ever had a more devoted, a more fearless, and a more able servant than Morrison.’ Bit embarrassing reading your own obituary, I can tell you. Doesn’t happen to many people. When I do die they will be saying I died twice. I like the sound of that ! The man who died twice.”

  Robert laughed. “We have all heard what a hero you were during the siege.”

  Modestly, George said: “Anyone would have done the same thing.”

  Lin and Robert would go to his house, and in the ensuing months they began to make sexual love, exploratory at first but soon deepening to total commitment. They would lie naked together, each admiring the other, totally and completely in love.

  When they left the Mission to visit George Morrison’s house they always passed a jewellery store, and they both became entranced with a beautiful ring on display. It was made of precious old jade, and in an unusual touch in China there were diamonds surrounding the stone. They both entered the shop, and met the jeweller, who explained that he had personally made it, and showed them his actual mark on the inside of the stunning ring. He had Lin try it on, and it not only fitted perfectly but it completely suited her beautiful complexion. To her utter surprise, Robert bought it then and there, and they left it on her finger.

  She was in a daze as she left the jeweller’s shop, and as he walked out he looked in her eyes and said: “Lin, the ring epitomises my deep love for you. I hope you will do me the honour of being my wife.”

  She wanted to fling herself into his arms, but they were in public and it would have been unwise. She stammered out: “Marrying you will be marrying my ideal person. I would like nothing more than to marry you, Lieutenant Pride.”

  When they got back to George Morrison’s house they made love once more, and when they had finished they lay on the bed, both gazing at the ring.” It represents our eternal love, Lin, our eternal love. It is a ring of love. I will never love anyone but you, Lin, never.”

  “Nor I, Robert, nor I”, and she fell once more into his arms, at perfect peace with the man she loved.

  The next day Robert went to see his superior, Captain Hixson, and told him of his love for Lin and that he wanted to marry her. Captain Hixson sat impassively, and listened intently to his earnest young lieutenant. When Robert had finished he said: “Lieutenant Pride, I am of course aware that you have been attracted to this Chinese lady, and she appears to be everything you say she is. She is obviously from a superior Chinese family, and is highly educated. I do not know what to say, but you surely must be aware that there is much prejudice in the British Legation, of which we are a part, towards mixed marriages!”

  “But sir”, Robert protested, “I love her!”

  “I know that, Lieutenant, and I feel deeply for you. But my hands are tied!”

  “But sir, you are a Captain, and a Captain has the right to perform a marriage. Surely you can marry us?”

  “Lieutenant, in theory I can marry people on my ship, but we are ashore, and I come under the British staff here. I am afraid they would not approve!”

  “But, Sir, would you try to convince them?”

  “I will, Lieutenant, you know me well enough to know that I have no personal prejudice against a mixed marriage. But I am not confident of my success. And I do not like to bring one other thing up, but Australia now has a White Australia Policy, which was established to keep non-whites out of Australia, particularly Chinese. So even if I gained permission for you to marry, I honestly doubt that she would be admitted to Australia. I am sorry, Lieutenant, but I am pointing out the facts as I see them.”

  “Sir, I prefer to take just one thing at a time. I would appreciate it if you would represent my case, so that I am able to marry. After that, I will concern myself with endeavouring to solve the problem of entry into Australia.”

  “Let’s leave it there, Lieutenant. After all we are here for a war, you know. And by the way, in four days we are going to attack another Boxer camp approximately ten miles from Peking. It is a clean-up mission, and it may be our last engagement, as the war is winding down. We are a nation on January 1, 1901, so we will be here in Peking on that day to celebrate. The next day we are out on this campaign. As a matter of fact, looking at our overall commitment, we might even be returning to Australia inside of three weeks.”

  “Thank you, Sir, for letting me know, please do what you can.”

  “I will, Lieutenant, I will.”

  That very night was a solemn one for the two lovers, as Robert told Lin everything that had transpired. The realism of it all was a shock to both of them. Neither one had believed that they could not be married, and neither had even considered that Lin might be denied permission to come to Australia with him. She cried in his arms, expressing her undying love for him again and again. It was all very moving.

  “Do not worry, Lin. I feel in my heart that everything will work out. Surely the authorities will approve my request and when we are man and wife it seems to me they must allow us to live in the country of my birth.”

  “I love you, my Robert, I love you.”

  “And I love you, Lin. We will be together the rest of time, I promise you that.”

  In three days time, on January 1, 1901, the Commonwealth of Australia was founded. There was a parade of allied troops on that day in front of the Imperial Palace, and the Australians attended a lunch to commemorate the occasion, a Colonel O’Sullivan making a frivolous speech out of line with the importance of the occasion. In the evening, George had a party in his home with special guests: Robert and Lin, the American Tom Mix and journalist and writer ‘Banjo’ Paterson were the principals. Morrison, a shy man despite his evident good looks, was unaccompanied.

  It was a wonderful evening, full of nostalgia. Tom Mix sang some cowboy songs, and Lin was prevailed on to sing some traditional Chinese love songs, which she translated before singing. One was called a’ Love Song from the Keng-Dang Village’, which went:

  Beautiful mountains covered with white clouds,

  The girl from the Lee family is so pretty and smart,

  The boy from the Zhang family loves her so much.

  Girls in the world are so beautiful,

  Boys in the world are loved by pretty girls.

  The moon in the sky is so bright.

  It was ‘Banjo’ Paterson however who stole the show. He presented a rendition of their favourite, ‘Waltzing Matilda’, then regaled all with some of his other poetry, such as ‘Clancy of the Overflow’, ‘Conroy’s Gap’, ‘The Man from Ironbark’, ‘How the Favourite Beat Us’, and ‘Hay and Hell and Booligal’. What perhaps moved them most was ‘The Man From Snowy River’.

  There was movement at the station, for the word had passed around

  That the colt from Old Regret had got away,

  And had joined the wild bush horses – he was worth a thousand pound,

  So the cracks had gathered to the fray.

  All the tried and noted riders from the stations near and far

  Had mustered at the homestead overnight,

  For the bushmen love hard riding where the wild bush horses are,

  And the stockhorse snuffs the battle with delight, etc.

  ……….

  The poem concluded:

  And down by Kosciusko, where the pine-clad ridges raise

  Their torn and rugged battlements on high,

  Where the air is clear as crystal, and the white stars fairly blaze

  At midnight in the cold and frosty sky,

  And where around the Overflow the reed be
ds sweep and sway

  To the breezes, and the rolling plains are wide,

  The man from Snowy River is a household word today,

  And the stockmen tell the story of his ride.

  George Morrison took a few photos to commemorate the occasion, and one was of Lin and Robert.

  The following day, after making love, Robert bade farewell. “I have to go now, Lin, as you know this is our one final push at some Boxers holding out. Au revoir, my darling.”

  “Au revoir, Robert.”

  He glanced back at her as he left. What a beautiful woman, he thought. She waved at him, and he blew her a kiss.

  Two days later, she was working at the Mission, and she saw Robert’s friend George Morrison approaching.

  Perplexed, she walked towards him.

  “Lin”, he said, choking back the tears. “I have great difficulty telling you this, but Robert was killed yesterday, in a battle against the Boxers!”

  “Killed?” she said, “Robert is dead? It can’t be true.” She fainted into his arms, and he carried her back to the Mission, where the Reverend Alcaster and his wife Agnes looked after her. It had been a terrible period in her life, her parents both killed, and now her Robert. What was she to do? She cried until she could cry no more. All she had was her ring, which she looked at and fingered constantly. The ring was the sole object left emblematic of their love.

  Her troubles did not end there, as she realised not long afterwards that she had missed her menstrual cycle. At first she thought it might have been caused by the emotion of the events surrounding her, but when she did not menstruate the following month she went to a doctor, who confirmed that she was indeed pregnant. Distraught, she tried to figure out what she should do next.

  She decided to discuss it with the Reverend Alcaster and his wife, who had helped her after the death of her parents, and had been sympathetic to her relationship with the young Australian lieutenant. Abortion was not even considered because of the position of the church on such matters, and the three of them, after prolonged discussions, agreed that she should not remain in Peking. It was felt that the stigma on her and for that matter her late parents would be too great.