The regiment indeed adopted her with acclamation.
The Captains approved, the Lieutenants applauded,
the Ensigns admired. Old Cutler, the Doctor,
made one or two jokes, which, being professional,
need not be repeated; and Cackle, the Assistant M.D.
of Edinburgh, condescended to examine her upon leeterature,
and tried her with his three best French quotations.
Young Stubble went about from man to man whispering,
“Jove, isn’t she a pretty gal?”
and never took his eyes off her except when the negus
came in.
As for Captain Dobbin, he never so much as spoke to
her during the whole evening. But he and Captain
Porter of the 150th took home Jos to the hotel, who
was in a very maudlin state, and had told his tiger-hunt
story with great effect, both at the mess-table and
at the soiree, to Mrs. O’Dowd in her turban
and bird of paradise. Having put the Collector
into the hands of his servant, Dobbin loitered about,
smoking his cigar before the inn door. George
had meanwhile very carefully shawled his wife, and
brought her away from Mrs. O’Dowd’s after
a general handshaking from the young officers, who
accompanied her to the fly, and cheered that vehicle
as it drove off. So Amelia gave Dobbin her little
hand as she got out of the carriage, and rebuked him
smilingly for not having taken any notice of her all
night.
The Captain continued that deleterious amusement of
smoking, long after the inn and the street were gone
to bed. He watched the lights vanish from George’s
sitting-room windows, and shine out in the bedroom
close at hand. It was almost morning when he
returned to his own quarters. He could hear
the cheering from the ships in the river, where the
transports were already taking in their cargoes preparatory
to dropping down the Thames.
CHAPTER XXVIII
In Which Amelia Invades the Low Countries
The regiment with its officers was to be transported
in ships provided by His Majesty’s government
for the occasion: and in two days after the
festive assembly at Mrs. O’Dowd’s apartments,
in the midst of cheering from all the East India ships
in the river, and the military on shore, the band
playing “God Save the King,” the officers
waving their hats, and the crews hurrahing gallantly,
the transports went down the river and proceeded under
convoy to Ostend. Meanwhile the gallant Jos had
agreed to escort his sister and the Major’s
wife, the bulk of whose goods and chattels, including
the famous bird of paradise and turban, were with
the regimental baggage: so that our two heroines
drove pretty much unencumbered to Ramsgate, where
there were plenty of packets plying, in one of which
they had a speedy passage to Ostend.
