The Secret of Whitmore Chase.

Hawke's Bay Weekly Times, Volume 1, Issue 35, 26 August 1867, Page 209

The Secret of Whitmore Chase.

•; A TALE OE ENGLAND & AUSTBALTA.. '"‘By R;'E. Author, of ,‘ C A. : - Tangled Skein.”.,.: ' ; .VnUTTEK SOB XUS HAWKE’S.BAY WSSKX.T TIMES. Tlic right of translation is reserved ly .theauthor. ,■ • y ■ CHAPTER IX. /■ ' A'COLOXIAI. PROPUCTIOS. X the first fey .days after leaving port, iilip had no leisure.to reflpetupon his ist reverses or future prospects; liavg to succumb to'the unromantic, but evitable landsman’s penalty, sea-sick-:ss, and forgetting-all Ms troubles* in sical prostration attending that malady, fe old.proverb lias it, “ all things HaVe ,j ; an ena,;- and when the vessel was well out of the J English channel Philip liad gained his “ sea legs,*’ and began toformamestimate of his fellow-passen-geTS.; '' Many’ speculations have been made as to the future destinies of boys at school, and. other heterogenous assemblies, but ‘were Asmodeus again to pay some, fortunate scribe a .visit, he could select no subject more interesting for his theme than an emigrant ship. Probably not one person in a hundred who emigrates is in the position of Canning’s needy knife-grinder—-“story, bless you, I’ve none to tell yet though their antecedents are wonderfully diversified, they are remarkably unanimous in the ideas they entertain as to their future prospects; the prineipal feature in the said; ideas being the speedy acquisition of. a. “ pile.” Kris a matter of regret , that Dickens took-leave of 'Wilkins Micawber in port; the chronicle of that eccentric individual’s passagerwould no doubt have resulted in " “ something turning up’ ?r that would have ranked • among our .great .npyehst’s happiest efforts.: • ; *.(.The,. “ yelqcipede” -ipadea. fair 1 trip;’tb! Port Phillip,-and soon got rid pf : her paMenger?,. most of . whom were anxious to proceed at. once to the diggings concerning. ’ which they/ had ’ formed ;such golden ideas.*; 'Philip alone was any. exception. Kisily as he, liad the instincts of a gentleman, aud recoiled ficom the coarse individuals with whom he, had so long been associated." Want of money on hoard the ship had exercised a bene- . ficial influence on him by restraining his propensity for liquor,'and the grave position in which lie found himselfledhim. for once in his life to reflect ,setioiislyjj and. the. conclusion',he arrived Jajfj was gloomy: enough.! He liad to receive his two jhunMelbourne; and with .that sum, niiaccustomed*to physical or mental labor, to carve oht bfe future career.. •’ 'V /•' • ' -

7JEEis.; first'; impressions of/Melbourne' were not very prepossessingiVAt Y?s "gold -..^i.\i^4;hißsiengi:p^ssipg^jffiem^and^w&n:X!eTCryt£i^ ' partook of digging 'element!Muck'has'been said of theektraoidinary proceeding r of.successful 'yfet'.the most fertile' imagination,could not 'so- incredible:; as ' the feats performed by.tliqse individuals in “ knocking down theirpiles.” It' may be imagined; therefore, that Philip found sufficient’to astonish him while proceeding to; deliver the' letter of introduction Grabbe had given him,' which-was addressed “Mr. Simeon Mdses’ Elizabeth-street.” Philip Had some difficulty, in finding the house, which he at length discovered to be a dirty-looking shop, having a placard in the window bearing the comprehensive announceGold bought, and everything soldhere.” A dirty-looking individual was standing; at " the door, to whom Philip addressed himself. “ Can I tee Mr. Simeon Moses ?”. he asked., “ Yell, that all 1 depends on wether you use your eyes,” was tlie polite reply. “If you-can see nie, you are looking at him.” :! indignant .at’. this style of answer, Philip’s first, thought was to turn on his heel and leave the Jew to the,enjoyment of his own. acute- , ness; but a recollection of his position erdssed his mind, and subduing his ire, hepresented the letter, which Mr. Simeon Moses opened and read, taking a survey of the young naan after doing so, . ! , . “ Can you .let me have the amount at oiice ?” the V- latter asked;:: : . Moses lifted his. hands ’in apparent astonishment. “ Vere dp you think! vould get such a sum?” he asked. ' ", / .’. ; “ But Mr. Grabbe told, me there would' heno difficulty, and lam in urgent want of it;” replied Philip, unconsciously making' his chance worse by stating liis need to the rapacious Israelite. 1 p '■ •“ Yell,” returned .the Jew, after; some consideration, “T teli yon vat I vill do; Ivill giveyou a hnndred, and-.fifty,;an4 a iig-out for .the diggings. I suppose you are off to them ?”. V , - -Philip replied in the negative, and exhibited such a strong disinclination to the proposed “ rig-out” . inlieii of cash, that Moses at-length’ generously' advanced one hundred and seventy' pounds, only deducting thirty-pounds for, commission,"!,and insistirigton Philip’s receipt for two hundred. . . Considerably disgusted, the latter at last con-sented-to these terms, aM'.left.the shop, Mr. Simeon ' Moses ;devoutly’ wishing for a few more customers ■ofihesame'sort.' . .. After some time spent iudboking for a suitable . lodgings Philip, entered the; most Tespectable.in appearance of the numerous hotels, and Reeling considerably fatigued, br to a room'; indulging in the li6pe/thafc.a.gopd,mglft’p Test would yeiidpr, him j more fit to deeide ’uppn his ; ffituie' : cb.in'se,,m' t thc! morning; He ;was greatly-surprised at ■ the mean j * appearanee;pf the bedroom to whicli he was shown; ..; : and strohgly ,objected-to J pay a-pay- a pound in ad- • , yance!orjme accpmmpdationl. . replied tlipinde^ . ■/ pendent Host'; ‘ptakp it;or.leave,it. : Ypn-rp anew . . chum; I guess; you won’t be so, particular, about ; .Bepara£te‘.rPOms>-and all’ that' stuff when ryou get ...'/ - cbloinzedf' 'Pethslps ybn’d like your 1 hoots blacked ~: in th^,,ffiormhgP’ ,i “- 'f'. ! ;.v •, v ., ' . ,lieen.>asked seri--6usly^:,PHßip*rj^lmd,in the tliakin consequence of , the '«■ Haying boots being ■:: at;a; discountj.ihe jwpultt^^i'd’^f 1 ;;.; wi&' he jefosed the meditations. <:.<■' ij , J i ip■ ririii! . ~ ' -SunMKnmg'allrlns* aid,>‘Philip . 'sleep^putj V sn shove - Head 5 of bisbedfcaused;him:to,staitupi,s*j!he:Toomwas . Hi darkhess-'lbufeaaightshbnelhrohghawide'cfaPk in

theroom-was aperture, he, lifei ! : i.-? 0 !“ roen, ; skirts,'; aoiddpng; were; seatedat liable, engaged iii the mysteries of- a game of cards; and garnishing- their' conversation witlr language which if: hot select, at any rate -manifested- considerable energy.' Two of these men were apparently; too intoxicated to,'care much for the interest of the game, which was fortunate for the preservation of peace, ; inasmuch as their opponents did-not scruple' to'cheat in such a bare-faced manuefi.that it-would' have’ been’ immediately -perceptible to more-sober, men; .. At another table an individual was engaged in, the interesting occupation of-.. con r suming raw brandy against time, for a wager while;round,him stood an eager circle, anxious for the result,din which they had large bets' depending: '"Bat'the noise which had roused' Philip a man. with'a villarious. expression of countenance,.'who appeared tb be laboring under the impression that be-was lost in the bush ; : for he was “ cooeying”:with the most practised and ear piercing skill. i At length,' receiving from/pM of the others a-gentle hihtfe “ j stowthat/ y “i£ the shape of.a blpw in the face,. scientifically delivered, he fell on his back,rand,being too "drunk to rise, began howling.axhoice ballad while in that position; the burden-'of whichjbtfre reference to Botany Bay aud-a men” who sailed for -that place, oU a. certain occasion. Philip had sufficient sense to he aware that he could not remedy, this- evil, and he remained awake, with throbbing; head,, until daylight. As the morning dawned -the noisy mob, one after another, adopted a primitive mode of going tb bed, by stretching themselves op. the floor; and Philip, his brain,confused w r ith the! night’s clamour, endeavoured to sleep,. but in vain. At length he rose, determined to seek a quieter lodging, feeling assured that a few nights like the last would effectually dispose of him. Strange to say, he had not felt an inclination for liquor; he had been so tired that rest was, his jSrstr-consideration, and now lie resolved to find a more icongenial abode before doing anything else.-; ; ■' Melbourne was not at that time the magnificent city! it‘has since become. The plbce was crowded with 'all'descriptions of people—‘‘. old hands”, from Sydney, hew chums, and; representatives of every nation under the sun contributed to its population. Money was abundant, and numbers spent it;; when gained, in the iriost insane manner, imagining themselves on the 'ground described in the nursery legend,.where gold can be had for picking up.f < It cost-Philip along search and much-jexe&ise of patience before he found , what he wanted at lengthily great good fortune he sncceededin-get-ting a room in a house.belonging to \a 'man- ’.who had hot. long arrived.' from f E n gland'with his family.; JETere he resolved to remain until deciding upon;his ifuture course.. Philip;soon found-that, liis scanty funds were rapidly diminishing, without-any -apparent' prdspect'of replenishing them. •’ He strolled about.with no .definite idea, and'though he did not exactly .indulge in the same excess, tliah he had dpne ; in England, he. still spent more of ibis, money- than he should have;done-in the- numerous- hotels. -He wrote Grahbe, ; enclosing a letter for his wife, in -which he expressed a more sanguine idea ofeihis fqture'prospbßtotthah; hA. rSidlyconstitutional dislike, to hard work prevented hiifi 1 from going to the diggings,- while Ids money lasted; -he still hoped that- something would offer before he' became penniless. He formed many visionary schemes,' andinyested some of ins scanty capital in attempting to. realize, thefe, but failed in idl. The : result of bis endeavor to, teach drawing proved to ;him that tlio fine arts -were at a discount in a city of diggers; and he'envied thorough tradesmen whose mechanical skill was realizing rapid-'fortunes-for them. .

Time appears to. pass rapidly, when, a man can foresee the day when he will be flung on the world without a shilling, and Philip was rapidly approaching this crisis. Though sufficient time had elapsed for .him -to receive an answer from Grabbe, lie called at the shop of - Simeon Moses in vain; that individual had no letter for liim, though he did not lose sight .of him. The Jew several times endeavored to persuade him to go to the diggings, but could not succeed.

At - length Philip found himself possessed of only one five-pound note; and after .a sleepless night, resolved, to callupon the Jew that morning, and endeavor to persuade him to find some occupation for him. It was a forlorn hope, bat he clung to it as a drowning man will to a straw; he could think of no other plan. , ' His ideasof success were, however, soon dispelled Moses grinned sardonically at. his request, and after bantering him until something in Philip’s expression warned'him that further irritation would he dangerous, he offered the young man assistance if he would at once go up country. Withoutrpausing to consider the Jew’s probable motive for doing this, Philip promised to deeide whether he would accept, the offer before the end of the day, and’left the 1 shop, Moses feeling confident that he would return before long. In this, however, he was doomed to' .disappointment. Philip left the Jew’s shop, and walked away greatly agitated; to.leave the town was to destroy all hope of securing any easy occupation. 1 No doubt many who believe in - Kingsley’s doctrine of •‘muscular Christianity” will feel a ? profound contempt for. Plrilip’s character. It is the fashion in novels of the present day to. depict a hero who combines the. accomplishments of a Crichton with, the strength, and endurance of a gladiator; hut Philip was not one of these extraordinary, individuals who appear qualified, to, thrash Heenan, distance Deerfobt, or puzzle Professor Jowett with equal ease: He had .led an idle life, had never.lacked money for., life’.pleasures, and now thakthe storm haa enveloped him; he ’ was unable to; make headway against it. Undoubtedly his early training had much to‘do with this';, lie had reeeived ; ari. excellent education;; . but his., father had a dislike to public schools, and.- therefore provided a resident, tutor; for his sons; A hoy who has been to a .public school-has a great" advantage over one who has been educated at home ; he becomes' early inured to thinking, ;uid. acting for himself, and fighting his .own battles;. and can form a better ; estimate of.what lie, has to expect in Ms struggle yrith the World- than 'one who is plunged info the contest fresh' ? frbm. home. - ‘ ’ Philip talked into' tiie hotel' where he had slept when he first landed, aqd sat down-, to think over his nifended .aMwer.tb .Moses. i A coiiple of individuals were, seated near, him,, carrying-on a conversation in a loud tone, but he' paid too attention until arreinarlr, which■-bnd !: ;of them nkde cbuMd'him to what followed;'...\; •.":??'■, ■' ' % ’Wjflli-1 don’t..know how; yomstoodiitleven :fbr apnonth,”. said one .of. theimeh;: “-I.thonghteyou' were: upafc the White HiUs, and I little' - expected tb'hear of yon turning tutor.” ! ' . qnt my.mafes.sloped' withoureffiects; and

I fellin' with old Neill,'a squatter tip the Murray,’ on my. road down *to 'Melbourne. We got into conversation; and finding I was well educated,- he offered me,the billet as tutor to his sons so long as I behaved myself.” . “ Which of course you promised to do ?” replied his companion,,with a grin. “ Rather,’’ was the .answer. “ Well, I stuck to it for about- three weeks, and precious tiresome work.lfourid.it, cramming a pair of young wretches who were as wild as unbroken colts. At last I got so savage that I Used to let out at them in real colonial style, and my oath, I got as good as 1 gave them. - One day the old man sent for me; it appeared.his daughter had heard me. swearing at them, and he told me I must travel, he wanted Some one who would form their minds, and a lot of trash of that sort; so I pitched pupils and books to Old Nick, humped my swag, and came down to town on spec.” _ “ Did he get any one in your place ?” inquired Thompson. . “ I don’t think so,” was the answer. “Men with any pluck in them would not stick at a station for-a paltry,pittance when piles are to be made at the diggings. I only intended, to staylong enough to raise a few pounds for a fresh start, for I’m precious hard up at present, I can tell you.” - • Philip resolved to seize the chance. He addressed the last speaker, saying, “Yon will pardon my rudeness in listening to your conversation, but lam greatly interested in what you have said. I possess but a small sum, yet I will gladly share it- with you if you can procure me the situation you have left.”

The stranger eyed him.' for a second or two* then stretched out his hand, exclaiming, “Dorifi'f shake hands on the bargain ; if you - are qualified for the position you are sure -to get it; hut you must be able to drum the, rudiments of Greek and Latin into the youug .beggars’, and undertake to polish them up into : trim'for some future Parliament. If you can tgach them ' enough Greek to help them through “.The Birds,” or can instruct tlieir sister iri drawing, so much the better.” . “ And were you qualified to teach these subjects, may Pask P” inquired Philip, surveying the rough extejior of the man with surprise. “As fer asthe classics were concerned,” was the reply.; “Pam’ not fond of talking of my antecedents ; tut I was once a Caius man, and not the lowest in the list. Never mind that, however, can' yeu-come up to the mark % in Latin ? If so, let me hear-you construe,” and to Philip’s surErise he.produ.ced a tattered volume of Juvenal . ; om'his.'pockct. - Piiihpjrncquitted himself creditably, and after hearing Him repeat a portion of Aristophanes, his singular Mentor himself satisfied, and ready to start. • * ,

Do you accompany me, then ?” asked Philip. ,“ I am.going past Burreep Station,”" was the reply, “and will leave you there, although it may he' as well mot to let old Neill see us together. ‘Birds of a feather,- you know.” ' “ Aou have said nothing concerning the money Ipromised you,” Philip observed. “I have only about five pounds, whole is at your service if I .succeed.” .

mind, that for the present,” was the Wei can arrange matters on our way, we ,qf timrijto talk. Let us. have a and.pack your swag, and Philip felt rather doubtful concerning the swagcarrying of the business ; but his companion, who-gave his name as Sutherland, laughed away his scruples,'and he at length fonnd himself tramping through the bush on an errand which was at best bat a doubtful one; and with no very brilliant prospect before him even if lie succeeded.

Though lie" felt ashamed of his present position, tramping throngh the country in-search of-em-ployment, Pliilip made _no complaint, from the fear of giving offence to his companion, who trudged along, smoking Iris pipe with philosophical composure. - Though he had declared himsltf averse to talking of his antecedents, Sutherland related a portion of his history to his' companion. It was the old story—a good position voluntarily abandoned, opportunities neglected, terminating in his friends sending him abroad to get rid of him. People are generally more alive to other’s follies than their own. and Philip could not help expressing his wonder that his companion when he appeared so well aware of the value of that which lie had lost, did not, attempt to retrieve his position. ' ' .

Sutherland replied with a laugh, “ Aye, it’s all very well.to moralise, butj what benefit null that be to ariyone ? No, they wish" me to remain here, and-1 will not thwart tHeir hopes. What good could I do, at; home ?. ! I could not try for anything without finding a. dozen' applicants better qualified than myself, to say nothing of recommendations, securities, and other tilings generally required; while here: I have no relatives to tell me that I am disgracing my family, no kind friends to shrug tlieir shoulders, and say “We thought it would come to that.”

Do you never communicate with your relations?” Philip asked. “ They have.saved me that trouble long since,” Sutherland .replied, “by remaining, silent as to the receipt of my letters; all I regret is that I ever gave them the chance of doing so. It is always the same; -if you are down in the world it is' generally your friends who are the readiest to administer the precipitating kick.” ; After enduring much,'discomfort, resting at night in outlying huts, and on one occasion under a red gum tree, they reached the outskirts of Burreep Station. Here Sutherland parted from his companion. . -

“Yon cau’t miss your way,” he said, when taking leave, “ you will find the. stockmen’s .hut across the hill, and one of them wiil take you up to the house. You can say that you overheard me mention the place; but 1 advise yon not to say too much, or the old fellow may take a dislike to you oil my account.” Philip insisted on Sutherland accepting nearly all his stock of money, and took leave of him, with a heavy heart. SBght as their acquaintance had been, it’sriemed something to cling to in a land where he was literally friendless, and he remained gazing after the ex-.tutor as he strode away antil a heavy hand laid on his shoulder caused him to start.. v - ■ -■

■ “ Hallo:!:mate, what’s up ? Lost your way, or looking-for a job?” asked a deep, voice, the proprietor thereof being attired in a dirty Crimean shirt,’rusty hoots.-. arid a dilapidated’, cabbage-tree hat;' holding in' his hand an; instrument new to Philip, a: stock-whip; <. with the lash curled round ms arm." ” ‘'///' r • Philip expressed life wish to -’see the proprietor of ;the:run-.v; ft vifJ " »•'» l::‘.*All. right; come, qiong; with me,” ,was. .the reply ; ‘‘Tm goirigtrip to huh to see about'Lrariding ‘SbmeiyoiMgteattleV"-L; i ... - - ■, -V ,

PhiLp replied in the affirmative. honinWrnKfew someinformation from his companion, whocSH" w . eU > y ou, ll have a nice tone of it. The old man is right enough, and so m the gal, but the two boys are regular born devils; Ive seen some runi-uns in my time, but they beat aU I ever came across, by long chalks!” I suppose they have been allowed their own way too much; Philip remarked.

Allowed!” replied the stockman, “there never was any allowance about it: they’ve always taken it. You see the old man has been so busy until lately that ,he had no time to keep them m order, and the consequence was that when he did get time to attend to them they were past his management. Notbut what there are some

good points about ’em; there’s Joe, the elder one, he s only fourteen, and he can ride with any one in the country ; and the other one, Tom, can knock over a bird to a dead certainty, and lie isu’t twelve yet; but their tempers are awful. It’s a precious good job for the gal she was brought up m Sydney, or she might have been as bad as her brothers. 111 tell you what one of ’em did only last \yeek. There was an old stock-horse”— liut the anecdote concerning the stock-horse was not destiued to be related at that time, for the narrator suddenly paused, and directed Philip’s attention to a horseman at some distance. “It’s young paster Joe,” he said, “now you’ll see the truth of what. I’ve told you; he’s in a tantruin about something, 1 can tell by the rate he is coming.

The new-comer was a hue looking youth, very manly for hmage, if the stockman had stated it correctly. He did not wait to get close to them : but like Virgils hero,

“Sent Ms voice before him as he flew.” Philip was astounded at the scene that ensued. Without taking the slightest notice of the stranger the youth opened a volley of abuse, thickly studded with objectionable expletives, upon the stockman-, who returned the fire with interest, so that ‘Philip had* ample time to study the relations of master and servant as exemplified by the pair: At length with a parting burst,. for which he appeared to have reserved his choicest expressions, the youngster rode off; and the stockman turned to his companion, and thrusting his tongue into his cheek, looked at him for a few seconds. Finding Philip remained silent, he asked him what he thought of his future pupil. Phihpwas too dismayed to give an immediate repls. He despaired of effecting any good with such unpromising soil to work upon, and had lie not been destitute lie would have returned to Melbourne and accepted the Jew’s offer. Indeed, he was seriously meditating doing so at all hazards when his coinpauion exclaimed, cc Here conies the old man. Now’s your time to speak to him, if vou still fancy the job.” Before Philip could decide, Mr. Neill rode up to them. ■ ■

Here s. a chap wants to see you, sir, so I was bringing him up to the house,” said the man. The squatter, recognizing sometliiug of the gontlemau. m Philip’s appearance, bowed, and the young man briefly explained that, having accidentally heard of the situation, he was desirous of obtaining-it. —''M?"Neiii shook his-head:- “I - consider mvself a good judge of a man’s disposition from his "personal appearance,” lie replied, “ and I am afraid you are not stern enough to control my wild lads.” Then, seeing the despairing look on Philip’s countenance at this implied rejection, he’added, “However, c'>me with me to the house, and we can talk over tlm matter.- Have you seen Joe, to-day, Harry ? ” he enquired, addressing the stockman. te -“ I should rather think so,” growled the man; he was here not many minutes ago, cussing me .nil lie could lay his tongue to about his new bridle, and after all he didn’t look for it where I saw him put it yesterday. A man ain’t to be sworn at like that for nothing, mind you.” “ Come, come, Harry,” said the old gentleman, “you know he is hasty, and should not provoke him. There take my horse, and go on before us to the house, and get something to drink. Tell them I am bringing a gentleman home with me to dinner,” and dismounting, he walked by Philip’s side towards the station.

(To be continued.)