第72章

Heusedtotakehimoutofmorningswhentheywouldgotothestablestogetherandtothepark。LittleLordSouthdown，thebest-naturedofmen，whowouldmakeyouapresentofthehatfromhishead，andwhosemainoccupationinlifewastobuyknick-knacksthathemightgivethemawayafterwards，boughtthelittlechapaponynotmuchbiggerthanalargerat，thedonorsaid，andonthislittleblackShetlandpygmyyoungRawdon’sgreatfatherwaspleasedtomounttheboy，andtowalkbyhissideinthepark。Itpleasedhimtoseehisoldquarters，andhisoldfellow-guardsmenatKnightsbridge：

hehadbeguntothinkofhisbachelorhoodwithsomethinglikeregret。Theoldtroopersweregladtorecognizetheirancientofficeranddandlethelittlecolonel。

ColonelCrawleyfounddiningatmessandwithhisbrother-officersverypleasant。”Hangit，Iain’tcleverenoughforher——Iknowit。Shewon’tmissme。”heusedtosay：andhewasright，hiswifedidnotmisshim。

Rebeccawasfondofherhusband。Shewasalwaysperfectlygood-humouredandkindtohim。Shedidnotevenshowherscornmuchforhim；perhapsshelikedhimthebetterforbeingafool。Hewasherupperservantandmaitred’hotel。Hewentonhererrands；obeyedherorderswithoutquestion；droveinthecarriageintheringwithherwithoutrepining；tookhertotheopera-box，solacedhimselfathisclubduringtheperformance，andcamepunctuallybacktofetchherwhendue。Hewouldhavelikedhertobealittlefonderoftheboy，buteventothathereconciledhimself。”Hangit，youknowshe’ssoclever。”hesaid，“andI’mnotliteraryandthat，youknow。”For，aswehavesaidbefore，itrequiresnogreatwisdomtobeabletowinatcardsandbilliards，andRawdonmadenopretensionstoanyothersortofskill。

Whenthecompanioncame，hisdomesticdutiesbecameverylight。Hiswifeencouragedhimtodineabroad：shewouldlethimoffdutyattheopera。”Don’tstayandstupefyyourselfathometo-night，mydear。”

shewouldsay。”Somemenarecomingwhowillonlyboreyou。Iwouldnotaskthem，butyouknowit’sforyourgood，andnowIhaveasheep-dog，Ineednotbeafraidtobealone。”

“Asheep-dog——acompanion！BeckySharpwithacompanion！Isn’titgoodfun？”thoughtMrs。Crawleytoherself。Thenotiontickledhugelyhersenseofhumour。

OneSundaymorning，asRawdonCrawley，hislittleson，andtheponyweretakingtheiraccustomedwalkinthepark，theypassedbyanoldacquaintanceoftheColonel’s，CorporalClink，oftheregiment，whowasinconversationwithafriend，anoldgentleman，whoheldaboyinhisarmsabouttheageoflittleRawdon。ThisotheryoungsterhadseizedholdoftheWaterloomedalwhichtheCorporalwore，andwasexaminingitwithdelight。

“Goodmorning，yourHonour。”saidClink，inreplytothe“Howdo，Clink？”oftheColonel。”ThisereyounggentlemanisaboutthelittleColonel’sage，sir。”

continuedthecorporal。

“HisfatherwasaWaterlooman，too。”saidtheoldgentleman，whocarriedtheboy。”Wasn’the，Georgy？”

“Yes。”saidGeorgy。Heandthelittlechapontheponywerelookingateachotherwithalltheirmight——solemnlyscanningeachotheraschildrendo。

“Inalineregiment。”Clinksaidwithapatronizingair。

“HewasaCaptaininthe——thregiment。”saidtheoldgentlemanratherpompously。”CaptainGeorgeOsborne，sir——perhapsyouknewhim。Hediedthedeathofahero，sir，fightingagainsttheCorsicantyrant。”

ColonelCrawleyblushedquitered。”Iknewhimverywell，sir。”hesaid，“andhiswife，hisdearlittlewife，sir——howisshe？”

“Sheismydaughter，sir。”saidtheoldgentleman，puttingdowntheboyandtakingoutacardwithgreatsolemnity，whichhehandedtotheColonel。Onitwritten——

“Mr。Sedley，SoleAgentfortheBlackDiamondandA