Strange Stories

a plain, and I was to stop in cantonments with the Major's wife, fat little Mrs. Venn, who had promised my mother that she would undertake to chaperon me to this my earliest military party. I won't

o accompany me, I might have waited till Doomsday, or probably later. So I was glad enough to accept fat little Mrs. Venn's proffered protection, and to go up the hills on

horse-paths in the Port Royal mountains are very narrow, being mere zigzag ledges cut half-way up the precipitous green slopes of fern and club-moss, so that there is seldom room for two horses to pass abreast, and it is necessary to wait at some convenient corner whenever you see another rider coming

rule of these mountain-paths always to give a lady the lead. If I go first and my mare breaks into a cante

laying in the dustheaps, not a human habitation, except a few huts embowered in mangoes, hibiscus-bushes, and tree-ferns. At first we kept a decorous silence, not having been introduced to one another; but the stranger's mare followed close at my pony's heels, pull her in as he would, and it seemed really too ridiculous to be solemnly pacing after one another, single file, in this way for a couple of hours, without speaking a word, out of pure punctiliousness. So at last we broke the ice, and long before we got to Newcastle w

conversation, he kept me amused the whole way by his bright sketchy talk about the petty dignitaries of a colonial capital. There was his Excellency for the time being, and there was the Right Reverend of that day, and there was the Honourable Colonial Secretary, and there was the Honourable Director of Roads, and there were a number of other assorted Honourables, whose queer little peculiarities he hit off dexterously in the quaintest manner. Not that there was any unkindly satire in his brilliant con

, of course," I said, as

a Jamaican born and bred, I ha

se, most of whom had never opened a book, apparently, in the course of their lives, while Mr. C

, comes by nature, and I got enough Spanish to dip into Cervantes from the Cuban refugees. Latin one has to grind up out of books, naturally; and as for Greek, I'm sorry to say I know very little, though, of course, I can spell out Homer a bit, and even ?schyl

inspired at once with a secret admiration for Mr. Carvalho. He was so handsome and so clever that I think I was half-inclined to fall in love with him at

Newcastle stands, "unless you will allow me to see you safely as far as Mrs. Venn's. The path to the right leads

dedly; "Isaac is escort enough.

to ask you now, but we shall be formally introduced no doubt to-night, and I'm afraid if you lunch at the Venns'

; "what shall it be

pencil. "You know my name-Carvalho; what may

," I replied,

pression. "Miss Hazleden! Then, perhaps, I'd better-well, why not? why not, indeed? Palmettos-Yes, I will." Turning to me, h

wondered, which made him so e

ion to her this romantic episode of the handsome stranger. However, during the course of lunch, I ve

in the island; Jews; live down Savannah-la-Mar way; been here ever sin

ce and dark eyes; but, why, yes, surely I heard him speak several times of havi

em Christians?

y dear. Good old Jewish family; Jews in Jamaic

who ride from a distance get to and fro safely over the breakneck mountain horse-paths. The windows, which open down to the ground, were flung wide for the sake of ventilation; and thus the terrace and garden were made into a sort of vestibule wh

en the liberty of filling in three later waltzes (unasked) with Mr. Carvalho's name, for I knew by his very look that he could waltz divinely, and I do love a good partner. He did waltz divinely, but at the end of the dance I was really afraid he didn't mean to ask me again. When he did, a lit

arded as rather a catch; but, for my part, I could never care for any man who has only three subjects of conversation-himself, vacuum-pan sugar, and the wickedness of the French bounty system, which ke

soft green light of that tropical moon, when Harry Verner came from one of the windows directly upon us. "I suppose you've forgotten, Edith," he said,

e, Harry turned round to me fiercely and said in a low angry voice, "You shall not dance this la

he regimental band and the dancers, and then sat himself dow

," he said in a tone of suppressed anger, "with that fellow C

assure me that my clever new acquaintance was a no

d angrily. "I'll tell you. He's a co

prise; "why, he's as white as you an

ave in him; you can never breed the nigger out. Confound his impudence, asking you to dance four times with him in a single eve

my feelings to have a certain innate horror of coloured blood, and I was really

to go and actually marry her. So now you see what a pretty mess you've gone and been and made of it. We shall have it all over Kingston to-morrow, I suppose, that Miss Haz

t gentleman in his manners and conversation, so ver

'd never send one of 'em home, not I. You go over there, and you get enlightened, as you call it, and you learn a lot of radical fal-lal about equality and a-man-and-a-brother, and all that humbug: and then you come back and despise your own people,

his arm quietly. "Let us go back into the ballroom, Harry," I said as persuasively as I was able, for I loathed the man

you go down again to Liguanca with this fever on you, my dear," she said, "you'll get yellow Jack as

asant well-intentioned young fellows. But I made up my mind that if I stayed I would take particular care to see no more of Mr. Carvalho. He was

f our sub-lieutenants, to dine this evening, and I've had to invite his guest, young Carvalho, as well. By the way, Edie, if I were you,

evening, and then Harry Verner told me. I wouldn't

ook; "devilish odd. Son of old Jacob Carvalho: Jacob left him all his coin, not very much; picked up his ABC some

Mrs. Venn, "why do w

and for this regiment. Always picks up some astronomer fellow, or some botanist fellow, or some fellow who understands fortification or something. Competit

y grew naturally. He told us all about them so enthusiastically, and of how he used to employ almost all his holidays in the mountains hunting for specimens. "I'm afraid the fellows at the office think me a dreadful muff for it," he said, "but I can't help it, it's born in me. My mother is a descendant of Sir Hans Sloane's, wh

e studiously avoid any reference to their social disabilities. I liked him all the better, however, for the perfect frankness w

gold and silver ferns, and Mr. Carvalho was bound in the same direction, to look for some rare hill-top flowers. At the Walk we dismounted, and, while the two officers went hunting about among

ce evidently tends to increase the total amount of brain power. There are peculiar gains of brain on the one side, and other peculiar gains, however small, on the other; and the mix

example," I said, "for your name s

sh, though of course the Jews acknowledge nobody who isn't a pure-blooded descendant of Abraham in both lines; and for that reason I have been brought up a Christia

," I said, "for yo

d a little demure b

reputation of being a clever girl, and, as Mr. Cameron was by common consent the clever man of his regiment, it was considered proper that he (and by inference his guest) should be always asked to entertain me. The more I saw of Mr. Carval

the regular plural, I'm sure, but no matter). "I know his mother when she was a slave of your grandfather's," she said; "an upstanding proud octaroon girl, who thought herself too good for her place because she was nearly a white woman. She left the estate immediately after that horrid emancipation, to keep a school of brown girls in Kingston. A

amma I talked to him too. One day I went over to a ball at Government House, and there I saw both him and Harry Ve

sugar. He wants sympathy and intellectual companionship." (This was quite an effort for Harry.) "Now, I've not been in a hurry to get married. I've waited till I could find some one whom I could thoroughly respect and admire as well as love. I've looked at all the girls in Jamaica, before making my choice, and I've determined not to be guided by mone

him. But I told him plainly I could not marry him because I did not love him. Harry seemed quite surprised at my refusal, but answered politely that perhaps I might learn to love him hereafter, that he wou

eyes, asked leave to take me for a few turns in the garden. We sat down on a bench

r, Miss Hazleden," he said, "th

ruth," I answered,

, that my mother was once a slave on your grandfather's estate. Now, it is a theory of mine-a little Quixotic, perhaps, but still a theory of mine-that the guilt and the shame of slavery lay with the slave-owners (forgive me if I must needs speak against your own class), and not wit

o," I answered; "and I respect you for the boldnes

woman. I come on one side from the oldest and greatest among civilized races, the Jews; and on the other side from many energetic English, French, and Dutch families whose blood I am vain enough to prize as a precious inheritance even though it came to me through the veins of an octaroon girl. I have lately arrived at the conclusion that

thing for your own happiness, and the best opening for your great talents; sorry

dare think himself fit for you, or dare plead his own cause before you without feeling his own unworthiness and pettiness of soul beside you. Yet just because I know how infinitely better and nobler and higher you are than I am, I cannot resist trying, just once, whether I may not hope that perhaps you will consider my appeal, and count my earnestness to me for rig

nature. Yet I dared not say so. The spectre of the race-prejudice rose instinctively like a dividing wall b

ask you to take me now, and as I am; I will do all I can to make myself more worthy of you. Only let me hope; don't answer me no without considering it. I know how little I deserve such happ

told him that I loved him, but I dared not. "Mr. Carvalho," I said, "let us go back now. I will w

know two things. He has proposed to you and you have refused him, I'm certain of that; an

d not

d you an

uld reply

n, and write a

ow how very shameful and wrong it was of me; but I was only eighteen, and I was accustomed t

. On thinking it over, I can only say I am astonished you should have supposed such a thing as you suggested lay within the bounds of possibility. In future, it will be

s abominable. It isn't

said my mot

l break my heart, mamma," I said. "

y mother, taking no notice of my words. "An