The Channings | Page 8

over now. They be all in there, but you two," pointing with her finger to the parlour on the left of the hall; "and you had better go in to them. Master Hamish--"
"Well?" returned Hamish, in a tone of abstraction.
"You must every one of you just make the best of it, and comfort the poor master. You are young and strong; while he--you know what he is. You, in special, Master Hamish, for you're the eldest born, and were the first of 'em that I ever nursed upon my knee."
"Of course--of course," he hastily replied. "But, oh, Judith! you don't know half the ill this must bring upon us! Come along, Charley; let us hear the worst."
Laying his arm with an affectionate gesture round the boy's neck, Hamish drew him towards the parlour. It was a square, light, cheerful room. Not the best room: that was on the other side the hall. On a sofa, underneath the window, reclined Mr. Channing, his head and shoulders partly raised by cushions. His illness had continued long, and now, it was feared, had become chronic. A remarkably fine specimen of manhood he must have been in his day, his countenance one of thoughtful goodness, pleasant to look upon. Arthur, the second son, had inherited its thoughtfulness, its expression of goodness; James, its beauty; but there was a great likeness between all the four sons. Arthur, only nineteen, was nearly as tall as his brother. He stood bending over the arm of his father's sofa. Tom, looking very blank and cross, sat at the table, his elbows leaning on it. Mrs. Channing's pale, sweet face was bent towards her daughter's, Constance, a graceful girl of one and twenty; and Annabel, a troublesome young lady of nearly fourteen, was surreptitiously giving twitches to Tom's hair.
Arthur moved from the place next his father when Hamish entered, as if yielding him the right to stand there. A more united family it would be impossible to find. The brothers and sisters loved each other dearly, and Hamish they almost reverenced--excepting Annabel. Plenty of love the child possessed; but of reverence, little. With his gay good humour, and his indulgent, merry-hearted spirit, Hamish Channing was one to earn love as his right, somewhat thoughtless though he was. Thoroughly well, in the highest sense of the term, had the Channings been reared. Not of their own wisdom had Mr. and Mrs. Channing trained their children.
"What's the matter, sir?" asked Hamish, smoothing his brow, and suffering the hopeful smile to return to his lips. "Judith says some outrageous luck has arrived; come express, by post."
"Joke while you may, Hamish," interposed Mrs. Channing, in a low voice; "I shrink from telling it you. Can you not guess the news?"
Hamish looked round at each, individually, with his sunny smile, and then let it rest upon his mother. "The very worst I can guess is not so bad. We are all here in our accustomed health. Had we sent Annabel up in that new balloon they are advertising, I might fancy it had capsized with her--as it will some day. Annabel, never you be persuaded to mount the air in that fashion."
"Hamish! Hamish!" gently reproved Mrs. Channing. But perhaps she discerned the motive which actuated him. Annabel clapped her hands. She would have thought it great fun to go up in a balloon.
"Well, mother, the worst tidings that the whole world could bring upon us cannot, I say, be very dreadful, while we can discuss them as we are doing now," said Hamish. "I suppose the Lord Chancellor has pronounced against us?"
"Irrevocably. The suit is for ever at an end, and we have lost it."
"Hamish is right," interrupted Mr. Channing. "When the letter arrived, I was for a short time overwhelmed. But I begin to see it already in a less desponding light; and by to-morrow I dare say I shall be cheerful over it. One blessed thing--children, I say advisedly, a 'blessed' thing--the worry will be over."
Charley lifted his head. "The worry, papa?"
"Ay, my boy. The agitation--the perpetual excitement--the sickening suspense--the yearning for the end. You cannot understand this, Charley; you can none of you picture it, as it has been, for me. Could I have gone abroad, as other men, it would have shaken itself off amidst the bustle of the world, and have pressed upon me only at odd times and seasons. But here have I lain; suspense my constant companion. It was not right, to allow the anxiety so to work upon me: but I could not help it; I really could not."
"We shall manage to do without it, papa," said Arthur.
"Yes; after a bit, we shall manage very well. The worst is, we are behindhand in our payments; for you know how surely I counted upon this. It ought