The sun was just rising as the march began—it
was a gallant sight— the band led the column,
playing the regimental march—then came the
Major in command, riding upon Pyramus, his stout charger—then
marched the grenadiers, their Captain at their head;
in the centre were the colours, borne by the senior
and junior Ensigns—then George came marching
at the head of his company. He looked up, and
smiled at Amelia, and passed on; and even the sound
of the music died away.
In Which Jos Sedley Takes Care of His Sister
Thus all the superior officers being summoned on duty
elsewhere, Jos Sedley was left in command of the little
colony at Brussels, with Amelia invalided, Isidor,
his Belgian servant, and the bonne, who was maid-of-all-work
for the establishment, as a garrison under him.
Though he was disturbed in spirit, and his rest destroyed
by Dobbin’s interruption and the occurrences
of the morning, Jos nevertheless remained for many
hours in bed, wakeful and rolling about there until
his usual hour of rising had arrived. The sun
was high in the heavens, and our gallant friends of
the —th miles on their march, before the
civilian appeared in his flowered dressing-gown at
breakfast.
About George’s absence, his brother-in-law was
very easy in mind. Perhaps Jos was rather pleased
in his heart that Osborne was gone, for during George’s
presence, the other had played but a very secondary
part in the household, and Osborne did not scruple
to show his contempt for the stout civilian.
But Emmy had always been good and attentive to him.
It was she who ministered to his comforts, who superintended
the dishes that he liked, who walked or rode with
him (as she had many, too many, opportunities of doing,
for where was George?) and who interposed her sweet
face between his anger and her husband’s scorn.
Many timid remonstrances had she uttered to George
in behalf of her brother, but the former in his trenchant
way cut these entreaties short. “I’m
an honest man,” he said, “and if I have
a feeling I show it, as an honest man will. How
the deuce, my dear, would you have me behave respectfully
to such a fool as your brother?” So Jos was
pleased with George’s absence. His plain
hat, and gloves on a sideboard, and the idea that
the owner was away, caused Jos I don’t know
what secret thrill of pleasure. “He
won’t be troubling me this morning,” Jos
thought, “with his dandified airs and his impudence.”
“Put the Captain’s hat into the ante-room,”
he said to Isidor, the servant.
“Perhaps he won’t want it again,”
replied the lackey, looking knowingly at his master.
He hated George too, whose insolence towards him
was quite of the English sort.
“And ask if Madame is coming to breakfast,”
Mr. Sedley said with great majesty, ashamed to enter
with a servant upon the subject of his dislike for
George. The truth is, he had abused his brother
to the valet a score of times before.
