"It is the last night of our undergraduate life, the last night we shall
meet in Oxford as students. To-morrow we make our bow to youth and
become men. We have not seen much of each other this term at any rate,
and I daresay that is my fault. But at least let us part as friends. Surely our friends are not so many that we can afford to fling them
lightly away." He held out his hand frankly, and his voice trembled a little as he
spoke--partly perhaps from real emotion, but more probably from the
feeling of reluctance which I have noticed men always exhibit to
discovering any sentiment deeper than those usually deemed conventional
in correct society. My brother was moved by his obvious wish to renew
their former friendship, and grasped the proffered hand. There was a minute's pause, and then the conversation was resumed, a
little stiffly at first, but more freely afterwards. They spoke on many
indifferent subjects, and Mr. Gaskell congratulated John on the prospect
of his marriage, of which he had heard. As he at length rose up to take
his departure, he said, "You must have practised the violin diligently
of late, for I never knew anyone make so rapid progress with it as you
have done. As I came along I was spellbound by your music. I never
before heard you bring from the instrument so exquisite a tone: the
chorded passages were so powerful that I believed there had been
another person playing with you. Your Pressenda is certainly a finer
instrument than I ever imagined." My brother was pleased with Mr. Gaskell's compliment, and the latter
continued, "Let me enjoy the pleasure of playing with you once more in
Oxford; let us play the 'Areopagita.'" And so saying he opened the pianoforte and sat down. John was turning to take out the Stradivarius when he remembered that he
had never even revealed its existence to Mr. Gaskell, and that if he now
produced it an explanation must follow. In a moment his mood changed,
and with less geniality he excused himself, somewhat awkwardly, from
complying with the request, saying that he was fatigued. Mr. Gaskell was evidently hurt at his friend's altered manner, and
without renewing his petition rose at once from the pianoforte, and
after a little forced conversation took his departure. On leaving he
shook my brother by the hand, wished him all prosperity in his marriage
and after-life, and said, "Do not entirely forget your old comrade, and
remember that if at any time you should stand in need of a true friend,
you know where to find him!" John heard his footsteps echoing down the passage and made a
half-involuntary motion towards the door as if to call him back, but did
not do so, though he thought over his last words then and on a
subsequent occasion. CHAPTER X


The summer was spent by us in the company of Mrs. Temple and Constance,
partly at Royston and partly at Worth Maltravers. John had again
hired the cutter-yacht _Palestine_, and the whole party made several
expeditions in her. Constance was entirely devoted to her lover; her
life seemed wrapped up in his; she appeared to have no existence except
in his presence. I can scarcely enumerate the reasons which prompted such thoughts, but
during these months I sometimes found myself wondering if John still
returned her affection as ardently as I knew had once been the case. I can certainly call to mind no single circumstance which could justify
me in such a suspicion. He performed punctiliously all those thousand
little acts of devotion which are expected of an accepted lover; he
seemed to take pleasure in perfecting any scheme of enjoyment to amuse
her; and yet the impression grew in my mind that he no longer felt the
same heart-whole love to her that she bore him, and that he had himself
shown six months earlier. I cannot say, my dear Edward, how lively was
the grief that even the suspicion of such a fact caused me, and I
continually rebuked myself for entertaining for a moment a thought so
unworthy, and dismissed it from my mind with reprobation. Alas! ere long
it was sure again to make itself felt. We had all seen the Stradivarius
violin; indeed it was impossible for my brother longer to conceal it
from us, as he now played continually on it. He did not recount to us
the story of its discovery, contenting himself with saying that he had
become possessed of it at Oxford. We imagined naturally that he had
purchased it; and for this I was sorry, as I feared Mr. Thoresby, his
guardian, who had given him some years previously an excellent violin by
Pressenda, might feel hurt at seeing his present so unceremoniously laid
aside. None of us were at all intimately acquainted with the fancies of
fiddle-collectors, and were consequently quite ignorant of the enormous
value that fashion attached to so splendid an instrument. Even had
we known, I do not think that we should have been surprised at John
purchasing it; for he had recently come of age, and was in possession of
so large a fortune as would amply justify him in such an indulgence had
he wished to gratify it. No one, however, could remain unaware of the
wonderful musical qualities of the instrument. Its rich and melodious
tones would commend themselves even to the most unmusical ear, and
formed a subject of constant remark. I noticed also that my brother's
knowledge of the violin had improved in a very perceptible manner, for
it was impossible to attribute the great beauty and power of his present
performance entirely to the excellence of the instrument he was using. He appeared more than ever devoted to the art, and would shut himself
up in his room alone for two or more hours together for the purpose of
playing the violin--a habit which was a source of sorrow to Constance,
for he would never allow her to sit with him on such occasions, as she
naturally wished to do. So the summer fled. I should have mentioned that in July, after going up
to complete the _viva-voce_ part of their examination, both Mr. Gaskell
and John received information that they had obtained "first-classes." The young men had, it appears, done excellently well, and both had
secured a place in that envied division of the first-class which was
called "above the line." John's success proved a source of much pleasure
to us all, and mutual congratulations were freely exchanged. We were
pleased also at Mr. Gaskell's high place, remembering the kindness which
he had shown us at Oxford in the previous year. I desired to send him
my compliments and felicitations when he should next be writing to him. I did not doubt that my brother would return Mr. Gaskell's
congratulations, which he had already received: he said, however, that
his friend had given no address to which he could write, and so the
matter dropped. On the 1st of September John and Constance Temple were married. The
wedding took place at Royston, and by John's special desire (with which
Constance fully agreed) the ceremony was of a strictly private and
unpretentious nature.