Tales and Fantasies | Page 4

feast to him; but his son's empty guffaws over a broken plate, and
empty, almost light-hearted remarks, struck him with pain as the
indices of a weak mind.
Outside the family John had early attached himself (much as a dog may
follow a marquis) to the steps of Alan Houston, a lad about a year older
than himself, idle, a trifle wild, the heir to a good estate which was still
in the hands of a rigorous trustee, and so royally content with himself
that he took John's devotion as a thing of course. The intimacy was gall
to Mr. Nicholson; it took his son from the house, and he was a jealous
parent; it kept him from the office, and he was a martinet; lastly, Mr.
Nicholson was ambitious for his family (in which, and the Disruption
Principles, he entirely lived), and he hated to see a son of his play
second fiddle to an idler. After some hesitation, he ordered that the
friendship should cease - an unfair command, though seemingly
inspired by the spirit of prophecy; and John, saying nothing, continued
to disobey the order under the rose.
John was nearly nineteen when he was one day dismissed rather earlier
than usual from his father's office, where he was studying the practice
of the law. It was Saturday; and except that he had a matter of four
hundred pounds in his pocket which it was his duty to hand over to the
British Linen Company's Bank, he had the whole afternoon at his
disposal. He went by Princes Street enjoying the mild sunshine, and the
little thrill of easterly wind that tossed the flags along that terrace of
palaces, and tumbled the green trees in the garden. The band was
playing down in the valley under the castle; and when it came to the
turn of the pipers, he heard their wild sounds with a stirring of the
blood. Something distantly martial woke in him; and he thought of
Miss Mackenzie, whom he was to meet that day at dinner.
Now, it is undeniable that he should have gone directly to the bank, but

right in the way stood the billiard-room of the hotel where Alan was
almost certain to be found; and the temptation proved too strong. He
entered the billiard-room, and was instantly greeted by his friend, cue
in hand.
'Nicholson,' said he, 'I want you to lend me a pound or two till
Monday.'
'You've come to the right shop, haven't you?' returned John. 'I have
twopence.'
'Nonsense,' said Alan. 'You can get some. Go and borrow at your
tailor's; they all do it. Or I'll tell you what: pop your watch.'
'Oh, yes, I dare say,' said John. 'And how about my father?'
'How is he to know? He doesn't wind it up for you at night, does he?'
inquired Alan, at which John guffawed. 'No, seriously; I am in a fix,'
continued the tempter. 'I have lost some money to a man here. I'll give
it you to-night, and you can get the heir-loom out again on Monday.
Come; it's a small service, after all. I would do a good deal more for
you.'
Whereupon John went forth, and pawned his gold watch under the
assumed name of John Froggs, 85 Pleasance. But the nervousness that
assailed him at the door of that inglorious haunt - a pawnshop - and the
effort necessary to invent the pseudonym (which, somehow, seemed to
him a necessary part of the procedure), had taken more time than he
imagined: and when he returned to the billiard-room with the spoils, the
bank had already closed its doors.
This was a shrewd knock. 'A piece of business had been neglected.' He
heard these words in his father's trenchant voice, and trembled, and
then dodged the thought. After all, who was to know? He must carry
four hundred pounds about with him till Monday, when the neglect
could be surreptitiously repaired; and meanwhile, he was free to pass
the afternoon on the encircling divan of the billiard-room, smoking his
pipe, sipping a pint of ale, and enjoying to the masthead the modest
pleasures of admiration.
None can admire like a young man. Of all youth's passions and
pleasures, this is the most common and least alloyed; and every flash of
Alan's black eyes; every aspect of his curly head; every graceful reach,
every easy, stand-off attitude of waiting; ay, and down to his
shirt-sleeves and wrist-links, were seen by John through a luxurious

glory. He valued himself by the possession of that royal friend, hugged
himself upon the thought, and swam in warm azure; his own defects,
like vanquished difficulties, becoming things on which to plume
himself. Only when he thought of Miss Mackenzie there fell upon his
mind a shadow