Vellenaux A Novel by Edmund William Forrest (phonics reading books TXT) π
Sending A Flood Of Soft, Mellow Rainbow Tinted Light Through The
Quaintly Curved And Deeply Mullioned Windows Which Adorned A Portion Of
The Eastern Wing Of That Grand Old Baronial Residence, Vellenaux, On A
Fine September Morning, At The Period During Which Our Story Opens. This
Handsome Pile, Now The Property Of Sir Jasper Coleman, Had Been Erected
By One Of His Ancestors, Reginald De Coleman, During The Reign Of The
Fifth Henry.
This Gallant Knight Had Rendered That Monarch Great Service During His
Wars In France, Especially At Agincourt, Where His Skill And Bravery Was
So Conspicuous, And Used To So Great Advantage, That King Henry, On His
Return To England, Rewarded His Faithful Follower With A Grant Of Land
In Devonshire, On Which He Was Enabled, With The Spoils He Had Acquired
And The Ransoms Received From His French Prisoners Of Note, To Erect A
Magnificent Chateaux, Which He Called Vellenaux, After Francois, Count
De Vellenaux, A French Noble, Whose Ransom Contributed Largely To Its
Construction. Here He Continued To Reside Until His Death, Which
Occurred Several Years After.
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- Author: Edmund William Forrest
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The Bartons Were Delighted To Have Edith With Them Again, For Nothing
Had Gone Right During Her Absence. Mrs. Barton Had Not Been Accustomed
To Take Any Part In The Household Arrangements Or Keeping The Servants
In Order, Consequently Everything Had Gone Wrong.
Edith Grew Eloquent When Describing The Dauntless Courage Of Carlton In
Rescuing Her From A Fate Too Horrible To Be Thought Of. On Hearing This,
Arthur Rose At Least Fifty Per Cent. In The Estimation Of Mrs. Barton,
With Whom He Had Always Been A Great Favourite, And She Warmly Thanked
Him For The Exertion He Had Made In Behalf Of Her Young Friend. Taking
Advantage Of The Opportunity Thus Afforded Him, Arthur, On The Spur Of
The Moment, Disclosed To Her Everything Concerning His Engagement To
Edith, And Solicited Their Approval To The Union On His Attaining The
Rank Of Captain. He Was Warmly Supported By Edith, Who Did Not Hesitate
To Declare Her Affection For One Whom She Had Known So Long, And Who Had
Risked So Much For Her. And When Mrs. Barton Found That The Wedding Was
Not To Take Place For Some Time, And That Edith Was To Return With Them
To England, She Professed Herself To Be Satisfied On The Subject,
Whereupon It Was Arranged That The Party Should Proceed To The Sea
Coast. On Reaching Doollia, The Lovers Parted In Hopes Of Meeting Again
At No Distant Day In England, For The Ratification Of Those Vows That
Were Exchanged During Their Ride For Life Through The Goozeratte.
Independent Of The Inward Satisfaction Felt By Edith, That Her
Engagement To Arthur Had Met The Approval Of The Kind Friends To Whom
She Owed So Much, She Experienced A Great Deal Of Pleasure During The
Overland Journey To Europe. Both Horace And Pauline Had Twice Traversed
The Route, And Therefore Were Enabled To Point Out The Various Objects
Of Interest That Were Met With In The Different Places They Passed
Through. The Egyptian Pyramids, Cleopatra's Needle, And The Far-Famed
Catacombs At Alexandria, With Many A New And Strange Sight, Encountered
During Their Short Sojourn At Malta And Gibraltar, Which Had Been
Unheeded On Her Passage Out, So Depressed And Sad At Heart Had She Felt
Chapter 11 Pg 78At The Death Of Her Uncle. But, Time Having Healed That Mental Wound,
And A Bright Future Opening Before Her, She Could Now Fully Enjoy Those
Scenes And The Associations They Usually Call Up.
Chapter 12 Pg 79
Arthur Carlton Lost No Time In Making His Way To The Capital And
Reporting Himself To The Commander-In-Chief. His Excellency Was Pleased
To Accept Graciously His Reasons For Throwing Up His Appointment On The
Staff Of General D----, At Goolampore. Our Hero Had Expected To Get A
Good Rap Over The Knuckles For Acting As He Had Done Without First
Applying To Headquarters, And This, Doubtless, Would Have Been The Case
At Any Other Time, But The Blind Folly And General Mismanagement Of The
Late Brigadier Had Already Been Commented Upon And Censured By The
Authorities, And No Doubt If Death Had Not Interfered To Prevent It, A
Court Martial And Dismissal From The Service Would Have Been The Result.
As It Was, Another Officer Was Sent Up And Appointed To The Command At
Goolampore, And Lieutenant Carlton Ordered To Join His Regiment At The
Earliest Opportunity, Which, Of Course, Meant That He Should Proceed
With Any Corps, Detachment, Or Party That Might Be Moving In That
Direction. But Arthur Was Too Anxious For Active Employment To Brook Any
Such Delay; So, After A Few Days' Sojourn At The Capital, Attended Only
By His Servants, Took The Road To Runjetpoora, Where His Regiment Was
Reported To Be Stationed. Nothing, Of Interest Occurred On The Route,
Until Within A Few Miles Of His Destination Where He Expected To Join
His Corps.
It Being His Last Day's March, He Had Sent His Servants And Baggage On
Several Hours In Advance, And Being Well Armed And Well Mounted, He
Started From His Halting Place About Daylight, Alone, And Pursued His
Course Along The High Road, In The Best Possible Spirits, Feeling Well
Contented With The Position Of Things In General, And His Own In
Particular.
About Noon, Being Somewhat Heated And Thirsty, He Turned His Horse's
Head To The Right, And Rode Quietly Some Distance Into The Jungle, And
Finding A Cool Shady Spot By A Small Running Stream, Dismounted, And
Taking Off The Saddle From His Charger, Gave Him A Feed Of Gram Or Corn,
And Allowed A Sufficient Length Of Tether To Enable Him To Crop The Soft
Grass Which Grew In The Immediate Vicinity Of The Running Stream Just
Alluded To, While He Rested And Regaled Himself With Some Biscuits,
Brandy Punnee, And His Favourite German Pipe. He Had Taken Up His
Chapter 12 Pg 80Position At The Foot Of A Small Tree, With His Back Against The Trunk,
His Famous Tiger-Rifle Lying By His Side And The Hilt Of His Sabre
Within Convenient Handling Distance, For The Time And Place Was Such
That These Precautions Could Not, With Safety, Be Neglected. While Thus
Resting, He Sank Into A Deep Reverie; His Thoughts Wandering Back To His
School Boy Days, In Merry Old England, Ere He Had Sighed For A Sword And
Feather Or Longed To Seek The Bubble Reputation At The Cannon's Mouth,
Or Dreamed Of Scenes By Flood And Field, Beneath The Scorching Suns,
Over The Arid Plains, Or Amid The Wild Trackless Jungles Of Industan.
Then Vellenaux, The Home Of His Happy Youth With Its Architectural
Grandeurs, Its Magnificent Parks And Rich Woodland Scenery, Passed In
Review Like A Panorama Before His Mental Vision, But Fair As These
Visions Were, Another Far Brighter Rose Before Which All Others Paled
Or Faded By Comparison. Edith, In All Her Glorious Beauty, Now Riveted
His Every Thought, Engrossed The Whole Stretch Of His Imagination, And
For The Time Rendered All Else Opaque And Obscure; For Had She Not
Promised To Become His Wife, To Share With Him The Varied Fortunes Of A
Soldiers' Life, To Be The Joy And Solace Of His Riper Years, And Heart
In Heart And Hand In Hand, To Glide Together, As It Were, Almost
Imperceptibly Into The Yellow Leaf Of Ripe Old Age. Again, Like The Ever
Varying Pictures Of Light And Shade, His Thoughts Turned On The
Present,--This Campaign Over, The Mutiny Crushed Out, And The Command Of
A Troop Conferred Upon Him, He Would Be In A Position To Return To
England, Claim His Bride, And Thus Would The Dearest Wishes Of His Heart
Be Fully Realized. From This Delightful Train Of Thought, He Was Aroused
By The Cracking And Breaking Of The Dry Leaves And Brush Wood At Some
Little Distance, Yet Immediately In Front Of Him, And Ere He Had Time To
Rise, An Enormous Tiger, A Regular Bengalle, Sprang Over The Intervening
Bushes On The Open Space, Within A Few Yards Of Where Carlton Was
Quietly Smoking. This Sudden Appearance Was As Unlooked For By Our Hero
As Was Carlton's Figure By The Royal Beast Himself, And, For A Few
Seconds, They Gazed On Each Other. But Arthur's Presence Of Mind On Such
Occasions Never Deserted Him. Instantly Bringing To His Shoulder The
Rifle That Lay Handy By His Side, And Without Moving His Position, He
Covered And Took Deliberate Aim At His--To Say The Least Of It--Just
Then Unwelcome Visitor. Until The Cocking Of The Rifle, The Enormous
Brute Seemed Undecided As To What Course To Pursue. But No Sooner Did
This Sound Reach The Tiger, Than His Long Tail Began To Sway Slowly
Backwards And Forwards Two Or Three Times; And, With A Low Growl, Fierce
And Deep, Settled Himself Gradually Back On His Haunches, Preparatory To
Making That Spring Which This Class Of Animals Are So Famous For, And
Which In Many Instances Prove So Fatal To Those Who Pursue Or Oppose
Them. But Arthur Was A Cool And Energetic Hunter, And Had Scoured The
Jungles For Weeks Together, And Had Brought In More Trophies Of His
Skill, As A Shirkarree, Than Any Other Man In The Regiment, And Ere The
Spring Could Be Completed, For The Animal Had Risen In The Air, Arthur
Had Planted A Brace Of Bullets In The Chest Of The Monster, Literally
Cracking, In Their Progress, The Heart Of The Tiger, Who Fell Forward
Stone Dead Within Six Feet Of Where Our Hero Was Seated. His Practical
Eye In An Instant Convinced Him That No Danger Was To Be Apprehended
From His Late Foe, And Without Changing His Attitude, Resumed The Pipe,
He Had Let Fall From His Lips Prior To Firing, And, As Unconcerned As
Chapter 12 Pg 81Caught Sight Of The Brute About A Mile From Here, And Dorville, Being
Green At This Kind Of Sport, Took A Shot At Him At Too Great A Range,
And, Of Course, Missed, Sending The Creature In Your Direction, And So
Gave You The Opportunity Of Bagging Him, Which You Have Most
Successfully Accomplished."
"I Am Sorry, Gentlemen, To Have Deprived You Of Your Day's Sport, But
Under The Circumstances, I Really Could Not Have Done Anything Less, For
The Tiger Came So Suddenly Upon Me, That There Was Nothing Else For It;
But This Really Will Be Capital Fun, The Expedition To The Hill Fort You
Speak Of," Replied Arthur As He Tossed Off The Remaining Portion Of His
Brandy Punnee, Exclaiming At Same Time, "Here's All Success To Our New
Undertaking."
"You Will Give Up All Idea, Of Course, Of Going On To Runjetpoora, And
Return With Us To Our Camp And Join Our Troop, For We Are To Attack
These Gentry To-Morrow Evening, I Believe.
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