The Soldier's Wife — page 35: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

2 THE SOLDIER'S WIFE: geant took down the names of his two recruits, |besought the terrible sergeant not to v ait them together with such other particulars as he re-|with his wrath, Mr, Langley consented to par- quired: and then he told them that they might|don them on condition that no attempt was stay at the Royal Oak and enjoy themselves as|made by any member of the family to see tha they had been doing. He directed them to|young man for two whole days; and with this retire into the tap-room, where he ordered them |intimation, he stalked away from the cottage, to be supplied with pipes and tobaeco; and | Bleeding hearts did he leave behind him there; bidding them entertain no fear as to what their and he was followed by the widow’s curse that friends or relations might say, he very kindly jhe had taken away her favorite son, But the undertook to yo and uequaint them with the fact }anathema was silendy expressed within her of their enlistment, own bosom as he turned away, though even if A few minutes afterwards the sergeant was |it had been proclaimed aloud in his presence he, ,. seen wending his way through the village. | would have recked notefor it. guided by the hostler of the Royal Oak ; and wl) The reader may perhaps wish for information the little girls and boys shrank back im mingled jas to Mr, Langley’s motive in keeping his reeruita awe and admiration from the presence of the jaltogether apart from their relations during two stately soldier in his brilliant accoutrements, asfwhole days. According to the law, it is requi- ‘ae passed along, The hostler eoudueted him to|site that within forty-eight hours after the en- the eottage where dwelt the father, mother, |listment, a written notice is to be given to the and brothers of one of the new recrui's. The recruit, informing him that he has so enlisted; brothers had gone out to their work: but to the| when, if he receives the notice and admits in old people Mr. Langley gradually, carefully, the presence of-a witness that the proceeding is ane dexterously broke the intelligence. At first|fair and correet, he debars himseif from the the father and mother were cruelly frightened privilege of self emancipation (save on payment and distressed at the idea of their son SOIDE of smart-money ) when taken before the nmagis- away fora soldier: but the sergeant 6 eloquence trate and questioned 48 to whether his enlist- overruled their scruples; and so brillant init was voluntary. Sergeant Langley was the picture that he diew of military life In ge-! therefore desirous to prevent the representationg, neral, as well as the glorious prospects that |the tears and entreaties of frrends and relatives awaited their son in particular, tha’ the old | from being brought to play upon his eucetiitn people became appeased, and even satisfied at) during those forty-eight hours; and therefore he the lad’s enlistment. The sergeant intimated to kept them under his eye at the Royal*Oak. them that he bad invited their SON to stay with W hen they were sober on the following day, he him a couple of days at the Royal Oak, during served them with the notices in the presence of which period they (the parents) had better not] Bushell the landlord; and they being little loth come to see them, as they would be very much | to accept them, the enlistment was thus far occupied; and having thus comfortably settled | complete Thereupon they were taken up te the business in this quarter, he repaired to the) Redburn Manor, where the legal formalities _eottage where dwelt the relatives of his other were duly fulfilled in the presence of Sir Arehi- recruit. bald in his capacity of a.county magistrate. These consisted of a widowed mother, a . , daughter, and twe sons, The lads were at home ’ Wels at the time, waiting for the byother who had : just enlisted, to join them and go to work, and CHAPTER VIL wondering why he remaied so long away. . The presence of the recruiting-sergeant at once | FREDERICK LONSDALE : ‘explained the cause’ of his absence; and the : | | bitterest lamentations speedily arose. The wi-| A wrerx had elapsed since the arrival of Ser dowed mother aud the daughter threw -them- eeant Langley in the village of Oakleigh: and selves on their knees at the feet of the sergeant, durlug this period he had suceeeded in ensnar: beseeching him to restore-the lad; while the | ipo half-a-dozen of the finest young men of the brothets overwhelmed him with reproaches, anid. place, including the two whose enlistment we even threatened bin with violence. Mr. Lany-) have specially described. Through the officious ley was too much accustomed to such scenes tol intervention of Mr. Bates the barber, Fredenex be at all moved by the présen: one; the tears} Lonsdale bad been pointed out to the ree: uiting- of the females aud the wemaces of We men, sergeant 5 and when this lndividual beheld the Were regaided by hina with equal indifference. | fine person of the young man, his erect carriage, He accordingly had recourse to menaces iM his|and his superior air, he felt that his visit to turn, teliug the young men thot they had better! Oakleigh would scarcely be regarded as com- leave off that kind of nonsense as soon as pos-) pletely successful unless he took away Frederick gible ov he should know how to treat them; and] Lonsdale along with the sother recruits. He he went on to deciare that if they took’ any |coveted that young man for the military service measures lo dissuade them brother from the with as ardent a lofiging as a sportsman covets eourse he had adopted, all the terrors of the}a particular horse or dog, or as a schoolboy law would be invoked against them, ‘Then he|covets a particular cake in a. pastry-cook's Wib- blustered and vapered ubout coustables and|dow, This being the case Mr. Langley was ree prisons With so much ipparent consclousness Of | solved to* leave no stone unturned to the accom- power, that the young men were overawed ; plishment of his purpose. wand the mother and sister, fearing that these But during this week, what had Frederick youths might also be snatched Away from them,! Lonsdale been doing ¢ From morning to bisbt ‘ Eomicbooks . * &. oe