The Little Ball O' Fire; or, the Life and Adventures of John Marston Hall

by G. P. R. James

  CHAPTER VII.

  When all these affairs were settled, and my young Lord Masterton andfair lady were looking as pleased as heart could wish, going aboutwith each other from morning till night, and seeming perfectlycontented in every respect, the house began to grow tedious enough;for though, perhaps, in the wide range of human enjoyments there is nogreater pleasure than that of contributing to render other peoplehappy, there are few things more tiresome than looking on after thework is complete. I loved Lord Masterton, it is true, as sincerely asit was possible; for dangers encountered with him, and services bothrendered to him and received from him, had of course made him verydear to me. I loved Lady Emily, too, just enough less dearly than Idid my lord to make my affection distant and respectful; and they bothloved me, very much, from the same motives that I loved them.Nevertheless, I acknowledge again that the time hung very heavy uponmy hands; and after the first week of the honeymoon, with all itsbustle and its gaiety was over, I began to long for something new.

  I have no doubt that Lord Masterton, who was keen enough in perceivingother people's feelings, had no difficulty in understanding that thehappiness of himself and his wife was too quiet and tranquil in itsnature to be very amusing to other people; and knowing perfectly thatI was of a disposition to which activity, either mental or corporeal,was absolutely necessary, he took no small pains, as soon as he couldthink of anything besides his bride, to give me full occupation, insupplying, what he called, the defects in my education. I was taughtFrench thoroughly, which, to say truth, has been of great use to me;but, at the same time, I was filled with a great deal more Latin thanI ever knew what to do with; and an attempt was made to cram me withGreek, which I resisted with all the repugnance of a child for anemetic. Still Lord Masterton, thinking himself bound to act the partof an elder brother to the orphan boy he had taken under hisprotection, persevered in the attempt, and several other branches ofscience were added to my daily routine of instruction; but I needhardly tell the reader, that this sort of occupation was the leastpalatable that it is possible to conceive in the estimation of a boybrought up as I had been.

  I believe, and indeed, am sure, that my good young lord saw howdistasteful the whole was to me; for I have often remarked, when hecasually entered my place of study, that a slight smile would playupon his lip, as he noticed any of the fretful and impatient movementswith which I accompanied my lessons. He persevered for nearly ninemonths, however, thinking it absolutely necessary, I imagine, both togive me such instructions, and to tame, in some degree, my wild andrestless spirit. For my part I was too grateful for all that he haddone for me, too sensible of the kindness of his motives, and too wellaware of the superiority of his mind, to complain aloud of anythingthat he might think beneficial for me to do. Repine, I did, in secret,and that most heartily; but nevertheless, as I was quick and active inmind as well as body, and applied myself diligently to learn while Iwas about it, I probably gained more in the same space of time thanmany other people would have done. At length, one day, to my surprise,my usual masters did not appear from Paris, and I received directionsfrom my lord to prepare to accompany him on a long ride.

  This was all very pleasant to me, especially as it seemed to augursomething new; and no language that ever yet I heard is adequate todescribe the sort of thirst for some novelty--some change in mysituation--which then consumed me. Gladly did I get myself ready,gladly did I mount my horse; and, riding forward with Lord Mastertonalone, while the grooms remained at a good distance behind, I gave wayto all the wild gladness of my heart.

  Lord Masterton suffered the first burst of joy to have its fullcourse, and smiled as he remarked it; but in a few minutes he assumeda more serious tone, saying, "Come come, Little Ball-o'-Fire, let usride on calmly, and converse like rational people, for I havesomething serious to say to you."

  In a moment I was all attention, and he proceeded:--

  "I was in hopes," he said, "to have kept you with me yet for severalyears--till such time, indeed, as young men usually set forth in theworld; and even then only to have parted with you in order to haveplaced you in some station where you might win honour, and make yourway to fame. For such a purpose, however, it was necessary that allthose points which circumstances had caused your father to neglect inyour education should be supplied here, and I consequently haveendeavoured to obtain for you every sort of instruction which thiscountry can afford."

  "Indeed, my lord," I cried, as he paused for a moment, "I am not ofthe wood of which men make a scholar, and I am afraid, if my gettingon in the world is ever to depend upon my learning, that I shall dropby the wayside from pure weariness."

  "I have come to the same conclusion too," he answered, in a tone whichexpressed some degree of mortification, but not a touch of anger,--"Ihave come to the same conclusion too; for you must not suppose that Ihave been blind to your impatience. I had hoped, indeed, that it wouldwear away, though Lord Langleigh assured me that it would not; but nowhaving given you a trial, having added something to your stock ofknowledge, and having found that your distaste to study increasedrather than diminished, I have determined to abandon the attempt, andto let you follow out that way of life for which nature seems to haveformed you, and in which Fortune herself had placed you."

  Never did such joyful words ring in my ears before; and had we notbeen on horseback, I should have thrown myself at his feet to pourforth the gratitude that swelled in my heart. Words, however, were notwanting; and although I never made use of more than served my purpose,yet I contrived to make him understand how very happy he had made me.

  "Well, well," he replied, "all I can wish is to advance yourinterests; but you are of course aware, that such a change ofprospects implies that you must leave me."

  Although I had thought the matter over a thousand times, and picturedto myself all I should like to do, yet I had certainly nevercontemplated the necessity of quitting a friend and protector that Iloved, as a part of the scheme; and when he placed it thus plainlybefore me the tears rose in my eyes.

  "Such, nevertheless, must be the case," he continued; "for, of course,to pass your time in idleness here would be as disagreeable to you asto pass it in dry study."

  "But cannot you go to the wars," I cried, "and let me go with you?"Lord Masterton smiled.--"I am afraid," he replied, "that I cannotmingle in the scenes of civil strife that are going on here, solely tofind occupation for your active spirit. No, no, my good boy, LordLangleigh and myself agree in thinking, that foreigners, castingthemselves upon the protection and hospitality of a nation like this,should take no part in the factious intrigues that agitate thecountry; and we have determined to remain as quiet as possible tillthey are all over, which we both hope and believe will be the case eremany years be past; for the most turbulent cannot long remain blind tothe dreadful evils which such a state of distrust, uncertainty, andapprehension inflicts upon every class in the community. But to returnto our subject: it becomes us now to think of how we can place you tothe best advantage. You are too young, of course, to serve in any ofthe regiments at present in activity, and if we place you as page toany one else, it must solely be with a view to your military promotionhereafter. A gentleman who was here the other day, with our goodfriend Monsieur de Vitray, was pleased with your history, andexpressed a desire for just such a boy as you, to bring up in his ownsteps, which have ever been foremost in the field of battle."

  "Who, who was that?" I cried, eagerly. "I saw them all. Was it thedark man with the heavy hanging brow? I do not like him."

  "No, no," he answered. "It was Monsieur de Villardin, who sat at tableon Lord Langleigh's left, with dark hair, just mingled with grey, anda scar across his forehead."

  "I like him," I replied, "I like him!" and Lord Masterton wenton.--"Well," he said, "he luckily liked you and your character; andafter a long consultation with myself upon the subject, and thefullest consideration of your interests and your happiness, LordLangleigh is now gone to speak with Monsieur de Villardi
n on youraccount, and to see whether he is willing to receive you in thecapacity which we wish you to fill. Although the usages of thiscountry would render it in no degree degrading for the son of thefirst nobleman in the land to become the page of the Duc de Villardin,yet we wish you, as it were, in quitting me, to gain a step in life.Lord Langleigh, therefore, will tell him that if he will receive youas superior to his common pages, and promise to obtain for you acommission in the service of the state, when you reach the usual age,we are willing to place you under his care. At the same time, toenable you always to maintain the station which we wish you to take,we have determined to grant you a pension of a thousand crowns perannum, chargeable upon a farm of Lord Langleigh's in Normandy. Youwill thus be independent of any one, for the deed of gift shall bedrawn out, giving you that revenue irrevocably."

  The confused whirl of joyful ideas that took place in my brain atthese tidings, would be difficult to express. The idea of seeing the_world_, and mingling in scenes of warlike activity once more, was alljoy; and if there had been anything which could have given me amoment's uneasiness in the prospect of going forth again into thatworld alone, it was the chance of being reduced to the state ofpoverty and destitution which I had suffered for one whole year. I donot mean to say that I did fear it, for I was not of a character tofear any of earth's evils, or even to take them into consideration inmy lookings forward towards the future; but the memory of some painsand some degradations which I had suffered did certainly cross my mindfor a single moment, though without any power to affect my hopes orpurposes. By the liberality, however, of my kind protectors, all suchapprehensions were entirely removed. I had now always a resource, andthat resource greater in amount than the pecuniary means of many anobleman's son. Sorry I am to say, that for the time these joyfulfeelings, and all the gay dreams to which they gave rise, very nearlywiped away the grief I had felt at the prospect of quitting LordMasterton; and although I was deeply grateful, and expressed mygratitude for the new proofs of his generous kindness which he hadjust given me, I could not help, as we rode home, raving upon all thebright anticipations which I entertained in regard to the future.

  He smiled at my delight; and though perhaps another man might havebeen offended at the little regret I expressed at leaving him, he hadhimself known what the spirit of adventure was too well not to makefull allowance for the passionate desire of novelty that I felt, andfor the restless love of change which habit had, in my case, renderedsecond nature.

  To hear the success of Lord Langleigh's mission was now my thirst. Buthe did not return for several hours, and I was obliged to bridle myimpatience the best way I could. When he did appear, however, hiscountenance, which was a very expressive one, showed me at once thathe was well pleased with the event of his errand. Nevertheless, hesaid nothing to me on the subject; and as Lord Masterton was out ofthe way, I was still compelled to digest my curiosity till the nextmorning. Before breakfast, however, I observed them in closeconference for some time; and Lord Langleigh, whose custom it wasnever to talk upon any subject of importance sitting still, called meto him as he rose from the breakfast-table, and in a walk through thepark informed me, with his usual prompt but somewhat sparkling manner,that the Duc de Villardin had very willingly agreed to all that heproposed.

  "You are not to think," he added, "from his readiness to take you,urchin,"--the name by which he always called me,--"that you are anygreat acquisition, after all. Nevertheless, you are a good,quick-handed boy; and if you go on as you have begun, you are in afair way to get yourself hanged, shot, or made a field-marshal of. Myson-in-law tells me, what indeed I very well knew without his telling,that your heart is all on fire for activity and new scenes. Now, withMonsieur de Villardin, it is probable that you will have as much asyou could well desire; for he is one of those men who let no momentfly by them unmarked by some deed or some event. He is in the midst ofall the Parisian factions, too; and, if one-half of the rumours of theday be true, they will soon bring down Spanish cunning to aid Frenchintrigue, and make a mess of it fit for the palate of the devilhimself. So, now you will be in your right element, urchin, and I willonly give you one piece of advice before you go. Never let your zealfor any one's service make you act ill, even to his greatest enemy."

  I felt myself turn as red as fire, for, to say the truth, the good oldlord had touched upon a tender point; and, though I was young enoughto think of such matters lightly, yet, during the nine months which Ihad lately passed in a much more contemplative manner than pleased me,a suspicion would now and then come across my mind, that one or twothings in my past life might as well have been left undone. LordLangleigh observed me colour, and adding, with a nod, "It is worthyour thinking of," he left me, and returned to the house. I did thinkof his advice long and eagerly; and his words sunk down into my heart,producing therein the first of many changes which I shall yet have tonotice in my principles and conduct, as in passing through life Ievery now and then gained a lesson or an admonition, which taught memy own weaknesses, or restrained my wild passions. It was in vain, Isoon felt, to look back and regret the past; but from that moment Iformed my determination for the future, and tried never to forget,that no cause could ever justify an evil action.

  All after arrangements were soon concluded. My dress was already moresplendid than was at all necessary. My purse was well furnished by theliberality of my kind benefactors; and a pass having been procured forme to enter Paris, I took leave of the family at St. Maur three daysafter the conversation I have just detailed, and was delivered overinto the hands of Monsieur de Villardin himself by the chief _?cuyer_of Lord Langleigh, who accompanied me into Paris.

  My new lord received me very graciously, and promised me great thingsif I attached myself to him as zealously as I had done to LordMasterton. His countenance, I have already said, had pleased me fromthe first; and it certainly was one well calculated to command bothrespect and regard. Nevertheless, as I came to know him better, Iremarked occasionally two expressions which I had not at firstobserved, but which were strongly indicative of his real character,or, rather, of his faults. The first was a quick, sharp, inquiring,perhaps fierce expression, when anything was said in an under tone bythe persons around him. This, however, passed away in a minute; butthe second, which consisted in a tremendous gathering together of thebrows when any one seriously offended him, would last for some hours,and it was evidently with difficulty that he could reassume his usualgay and cheerful manner, through the whole of the rest of the day.

  I had early learned to watch people's countenances as theweather-glasses of their minds, and thence to judge, not only of whatwas passing within at the moment, but also of their habitual feelingsand inherent disposition. This had been taught me by my father, whohad established his criterions for judging by long experience; and Ihad not seen the fierce, sharp look, and the deep, heavy scowl, uponthe face of the Duke more than twice, when I established it in my ownmind, as a fact beyond doubt, that he was both suspicious andrevengeful. At the same time I discovered, by other circumstances,that he was highly sensitive to ridicule; and that, knowing well tohow many jests he would expose himself if he suffered his irritablejealousy to appear, he laboured strenuously to cover it by the samelight and witty manner of treating everything, which in that day wasuniversally affected by all Frenchmen. In this he was not particularlysuccessful; for, though his mind was quick and brilliant enough, hisheart was too full of deep and powerful feelings to harmonise wellwith that playful badinage which alone affects the surface.

  So much for my new master; but there are other members of his familywho yet remain to be noticed. The first of these, of course, is Madamela Duchesse, to whom he led me immediately after I had been presentedto himself, and introduced me as his new page, of whom she had heardso much. She was a very lovely woman, and at heart a most amiable one;considerably younger than her husband, perhaps about four-and-twentyyears of age; and though, I believe, it would be doing Diana herselfno injustice to compare her to Madame de Villardin in po
int ofchastity, yet at the time I was first presented to her, ere sorrow ordomestic discomfort had tamed the light heart and banished thevanities of youth, she had decidedly that love of admiration which hasoften, in this world, done more harm to a woman's character thanhalf-a-dozen _faux pas_. It mattered not with whom she was incompany--rank, station, age, made no difference--admired she wasdetermined to be by every one who came within the sphere of herinfluence: a thousand little airs would she assume to exciteattention; and bright and sparkling was the triumph which lighted upher eyes when she had succeeded in captivating or attracting. In thecase of myself even, a boy of twelve years old, she could not resistthe desire of displaying the same graces which she spread out beforeothers; and when her husband brought me forward to her, the smile thatplayed around her lips, the flash that glistened from her fine eyes,and the elegant attitude with which she held me by the arm, and gazedfor a moment in my face, were all a little more than natural, andvery, very different from the calm, sweet manners of the beautifulEmily Langleigh.

  Besides herself, I found in the saloon where she was sitting her onlychild, a fine lively girl of little more than six years old, whoafterwards became my frequent playfellow. Having introduced me to hislady, and told her several particulars of my history, adding no smallcommendations thereunto on my own behaviour, the Duke summoned hismajor-domo, to whose hands he consigned me, bidding him make mefamiliar with the house, and all that it contained. The old man, whohad been in the family of De Villardin from infancy, took me by thehand kindly enough, and led me away to his own apartment, whichconsisted of two small, neat chambers, on the lower story, looking outinto the court. Excellent old Jerome Laborde, for such was the name ofthe major-domo, took care, as we went along, to give me many aconsolatory assurance of my being well taken care of, and renderedvery happy, in the mansion of his master, conceiving me to be one ofthose young and inexperienced boys who are generally preferred to theplace of page in a nobleman's house at a tender age, and who,commencing with timidity and innocence, generally end in impudence andintrigue. His compassion was also moved towards me from themisfortune, as he thought it, of my being an Englishman. But by thistime I had learned to speak French almost as fluently as my nativetongue; and, before I had been half an hour with the old major-domo, Ihad convinced him thoroughly that I was a person to make myself verymuch at home anywhere, and in any circumstances. His ideas of a page,however, did not permit him to imagine that, as I had not the bashfulfears of the earlier stages of pagehood, I could have anything betterin my character than the pert sauciness of its latter epoch; and,having conceived this bad opinion of me, the good old man very sooncivilly told me, that he would lead me to the pages' room, where Iwould find three others, as gay and bold as myself. But before Iproceed to this new theatre on which my young abilities were destinedto display themselves, let me add that, ere many days had passed, Ifound means to convince worthy Jerome Laborde that the circumstancesof my former life had rendered me a very different creature from anyhe had yet met with in all his long experience of pages. The injusticethat he found he had done me, added to the favourable impression heafterwards received, gained me a place in his good will, which I didnot lose till his death.

  A scene, however, was yet to take place which was to signalise myentrance into the house of Monsieur de Villardin, and to place me, bymy own exertions, in that station in his family which Lord Langleighhad previously stipulated that I should enjoy. On entering the pages'room, as it was called, I found, indeed, three boys as gay and bold asmyself, full of saucy conceit and pert jocularity. They were all olderthan I was, and one seemed little less than fifteen years of age. Nosooner was I left there by the major-domo, than, of course, I becamethe subject of their raillery, and for some time submitted to affordthem matter for amusement. Their first employment was, naturally, theexamination of my dress, which I could see, by a frequent shrug of theshoulders, and the words _mauvais go?t_, did not particularly pleasethese juvenile _petit-ma?tres_. Going from that, however, to othermatters, they carried their jocularity so far, that I soon found itwould be necessary to exert one or two of the qualities which I hadacquired in a harder school than any to which they had ever beensubjected, in order to put them in that place which I intended them tooccupy during the rest of my stay in the family. I consequently tookadvantage of the first insolent word spoken by the eldest--whoappeared to have a right prescriptive to tyrannise--and, havingdrubbed him more heartily than ever he was drubbed before, I proceededto reduce the two others to a complete state of discipline andsubordination.

  It may easily be supposed that all this was not effected withoutconsiderable noise; for though we were all small enough to have lainquiet in any house, my three companions were very vociferous. Just asI was putting what may be called the finishing stroke to the affair,by once more knocking down the eldest, who--on finding that his twofellow-pages, notwithstanding all they had suffered from him in formertimes, were now willing to espouse his cause against the new comer,had roused himself again to the combat--I perceived that the door ofthe apartment was ajar, and that the face of Monsieur de Villardin(with two or three _?cuyers_ behind) was gazing in upon the conflict.This discovery, however, did not prevent my giving full force to myblow, and my antagonist measured his length upon the floor at hismaster's feet.

  "Very well struck for a _coup d'essai_" cried the Duke, walking in;"every fresh dog must of course fight his way through the pack; butnow, young gentlemen, as your new comrade seems to have satisfied youpretty well that his must be the first station amongst you, by rightof superior strength and activity, I also tell you that it is by mywill, Gaspard," he continued, turning to his eldest page, "you are buta boy, and not fit to cope with one who has slain men. So submit witha good grace, and give him your hand."

  The boy, who had by this time risen from the floor, obeyed; but, as hedid so, he eyed me from under his bent brows with a look that wassufficient warning that I had gained an enemy. This was an acquisitionnot particularly disagreeable to me; for, to tell the truth, I had atthat time been so much more accustomed to deal with enemies thanfriends, that I hardly felt in my element without them; and, indeed,as I looked upon man's natural position to be a state of warfare, Iwas always prepared to bear my share in it with good will. Theseopinions, it is true, changed greatly afterwards; but how thealteration was brought about is to be found in the history of my afterlife.

  The mortification of Gaspard de Belleville, which was the name of mychief opponent, was rendered complete by the Duke selecting me as thecompanion of his ride to the _palais_, where the Parliament was thensitting. But I must speak of the events which occurred to me in Parisby themselves; nor, indeed, should I have mentioned the childishsquabble which took place between me and the other pages, had it notbeen necessary to explain the origin of a good solid hatred whichGaspard de Belleville conceived towards me, and which lasted,undiminished, through life, rendering his own days miserable, andhaving quite sufficient effect upon my fate to show me that we shouldnever make an enemy when we can make a friend.