A certain Colonel Prioleau commanded the regiment at the time when Herbert Larkins enlisted6 into it; a soldier of the old school, at times fussy7, testy8, and sharp-spoken, but really a good-natured easy-going[76] man. He was without much strength of character however, and not over-burthened with brains. It was not strange, therefore, that he should suffer his authority to slip a little out of his own hands. He was far from supreme9 in the body of which he was the ostensible10 head. English regiments are very variously governed. This is ruled by the sergeant-major, that by the colonel’s wife; in another, the general of the brigade or district, with his staff-officers, works his own wicked will. Some are, so to speak, self-governed, and the Duke’s Own was one of these. In it, the will of the body corporate11, of the officers banded together like a joint-stock company, and trading under the name of ‘the regiment’ was absolute law. By and for ‘the regiment,’ everything was settled and decided12. The regimental idea was a species of impalpable but all-pervading[77] essence, which no one could resist. To quote regimental custom; to invoke13 regimental prestige; to talk of the credit of the regiment; to insist upon the maintenance of esprit de corps, were so many irresistible14 appeals, so many precepts15 of a powerful unwritten code universally accepted, and admitted to be binding16 upon all. In its highest form, this thorough-going devotion might be productive, as indeed it has often proved to be, of extraordinary good; but it was possible to develop it in the wrong direction, and this was to some extent the case with the Duke’s Own Fusiliers. It was generally understood in the regiment that its credit depended less upon its military proficiency17 than upon the dash it cut in the world.
Military matters, in fact, were not held[78] in the highest esteem18 in the Duke’s Own. Nobody cared much about them. They were left to be managed by anybody, anyhow. Now and again Colonel Prioleau raised a feeble protest, but nobody listened to him or cared. He was told that the regiment wished this, or thought that, and he immediately succumbed19. Those next senior to him, his two majors, were of little assistance to him in driving the coach. One, Major Diggle, of whom more directly, did not pretend to be a soldier at all. According to his own ideas, he was always much better engaged. The other, Major Byfield, had, unfortunately, been raised in another regiment, and was so unpopular that he was worse than a cipher20; the Duke’s Own knew too well what was due to itself to allow an outsider to dictate21 to it or interfere22 in its affairs. The only person who did[79] anything in the regiment was the adjutant, and he had come by degrees to monopolise the whole of the power. The colonel gave in to him more and more, till presently he abdicated23 his functions to him altogether. After all, Mr. Wheeler was a smart young gentleman, not without military aptitudes24. He had no dread25 of responsibility, and having a fair knowledge of the red-books and routine, disposed of his work daily in an airy off-hand fashion which was always refreshing26, and which, in the face of any serious difficulty, would have been absolutely sublime27. He pulled all the strings28, decided all the moot29 points, gave all orders, drafted all letters, which his humble30 slave, the colonel, obediently signed; it was he, practically, who man?uvred the battalion31, although his puppet, the colonel, nominally32 gave the word of command. It saved everybody[80] else a great deal of trouble. The men perhaps were not quite as well cared for and commanded as they ought to have been, the sergeants33 looking to the adjutant rather than to their officers, sometimes exceeded their powers, and carried matters with rather a high hand. Complaints of tyranny and ill-usage, however, seldom cropped up, and no suspicion ever arose that the condition of the regiment was otherwise than perfectly34 sound.
It was not difficult to understand why the officers as a body rather neglected their duties. They were too fully35 occupied in maintaining the credit of the regiment according to their own interpretation36 of the phrase. This meant that it should be renowned37—not for marching and man?uvres, for demeanour, discipline, and drill—but for its ostentation38 and display, for the grand[81] balls and entertainments it gave, for its mess perfectly appointed, its artistic39 chefs, its exquisite40 wines. It was for the credit of the regiment that it should keep up a regimental drag, a cricket and lawn tennis club, and give weekly afternoon teas; that during the season six or seven at least of the Duke’s Own should turn out in scarlet41 to hunt with the nearest hounds, that some one amongst their number should take a shooting or a river, which the regimental sportsmen might honour in turn; that half the regiment at least should rush up to town from Friday to Monday every week, and enjoy themselves in loafing about the park and the Burlington Arcade42, or idling away the hours at the club, and devoutly43 wishing they were back at their own regimental mess.
These high-flown ideas very rapidly developed[82] into extravagant44 tastes, which had reached their highest point about the time when Herbert Larkins became one of the Duke’s Own. The regiment had only returned a year or two previously45 from a lengthened46 tour of foreign service, and after their long exile in outer darkness everyone with any spirit or capacity for enjoyment47 had been resolved to take his pleasure to the full. It was expected of the officers of the Duke’s Own to come well to the front, and this they pretended was a more potent48 inducement to them to spend money than any hankering after personal gratification. So, with but few exceptions, they launched forth49 freely enough. It was, with many, a case of the earthen pots swimming with the brass50; but all, or nearly all, were determined51 to do their duty to the regiment and go the pace, or as Mr. Crouch52, the sporting quartermaster[83] styled it, ‘go to the devil hands down.’ What if any serious financial crisis supervened? Their people would have to stump53 up; their fathers—probably by drawing upon a wife’s provision or daughter’s portion, and always by impoverishing54 themselves—would pay their debts, but they would have had ‘a high old time,’ and the imperishable credit of the Duke’s Own Fusiliers would have been most brilliantly maintained.
The leading spirit and showman of the regiment at this particular epoch55 was the junior major Cavendish-Diggle. Diggle was, in his way, a man of parts, young, pushing, ambitious, passably rich. No one knew exactly where he came from, or who were his belongings56 or his people. One of his patronymics was decidedly patrician57, the other as unmistakeably commonplace. He[84] might be a cousin of the Duke of Devonshire; and again he might not. When anyone asked him the question—and it was one he liked to have put to him—he smiled pleasantly, and said that the Cavendishes were all related, as everybody knew. But he was not so well pleased when people, envious58 or cynical59, or both, remarked casually60 that Diggle was the name of the great grocers in Cheapside. There was no connection on that side of course, but the allusion61 was far from agreeable to him, as a shrewd observer might have noticed from his face and his avowed62 hostility63 to anyone who dared to make the remark.
There were not many who were bold enough to attack him however. He could hold his own always. Nature had endowed him with a good presence and abundance of self-confidence; he could talk well, had a[85] good voice, and was an excellent raconteur64. These gifts were naturally of great service to him; not alone for purposes of repartee65 and self-defence; they were also exceedingly useful in assisting him to obtain that social success which had ever been one of the principal aims of his life. In his boyhood, when he had made his début as a second lieutenant66 in the Duke’s Own Fusiliers, he had had an uphill game to play. The regiment was then, as it still aspired67 to be, eminently68 aristocratic, and no one was disposed to welcome a Diggle with rapturous effusion. There was nothing against the lad, however, except the possible obscurity of his origin; on the contrary, there was much in his favour. He was modest and unpretending, fully impressed with the ‘greatness’ of ‘the regiment’ he had joined, falling down readily to worship the principal[86] personages who were its idols69 at the time. He sought to attach himself to one or two of the most distinguished cadets of noble houses, who were nobodies at home, but made a good deal of in the Duke’s Own. Diggle’s hero worship, accompanied as it was by a willingness to bet, play écarté, and do good turns to his superiors—he thought them so himself—met with its reward, and he soon found himself in the position to enjoy the daily companionship and friendship of one or two baronets and several lords’ sons. It was long, however, before he advanced himself beyond the rather undignified status of a ‘hanger-on.’ His friends and comrades were very affectionate—with the regiment—but they were not so fond of him in town; nor did they help him into society, or get him invitations to their homes. But as time passed, and he gained[87] promotion70 and seniority, his persistent71 efforts gradually achieved a certain success. He now took a prominent part in regimental entertainments, was willing to accept all the drudgery72 of managing balls and parties, because he thus came more to the front. At one rather dull country station he struck out the happy idea of giving dances on his account in his own quarters, which happened to be large, and at his own expense, and this gained for him great popularity in the neighbourhood. It was about this time that he began to lay much stress upon the Cavendish prefix73 to his proper name; he always called himself Cavendish-Diggle, had it so put in the Army List and upon his cards. Then the regiment went on foreign service, and while stationed in an out-of-the-way colony, he had the good fortune to be selected to act upon the personal staff of[88] the governor and commander-in-chief. He turned this appointment to excellent account. He was soon the life and soul of Government House, developing at once into a species of diplomatic major-domo, who was simply indispensable to his chief. In this way he made many new and valuable friends; a young royalty74 on his travels, who was charmed with Captain Cavendish-Diggle’s devotion to his person; several heirs apparent also, and itinerant75 legislators, who took Barataria in their journey round the world, and who could not be too grateful for all he did for them, or too profuse76 in their promises of civilities whenever he might be in England. All this bore fruit in the long run, when the regiment returned. He experienced many disappointments, no doubt; for your notable on his travels, so cordial and so gushing77, is apt to[89] give you the cut direct if you meet him in his own hunting-grounds, at home. Still there were some did not quite forget the hospitable78 and obliging A.D.C.; and Major Cavendish-Diggle, at the invitation of one, went into Norfolk to shoot; of another to Scotland to fish; in the London season he found several houses open to him; and he was finally raised to a pinnacle79 of satisfaction by Royal commands to attend a garden party and a court ball.
In the Duke’s Own he was now a very great personage indeed. As both the Colonel and Major Byfield were married he was the senior member of the mess; always its most prominent figure; the chief host in all impromptu80 parties at home; the great man at all entertainments abroad. He had now a following of his own; a band of personal adherents81 who imitated him in his[90] dress and talk and ways, who deferred82 to him, flattered him, and admired him fully as much as he had the shining lights around which he had himself revolved83 when he was young. This homage84 did not do him any great good. It confirmed him in the high opinion he had formed of himself: it indorsed and justified85 his aspirations86, which were now by no means unambitious, although very carefully concealed87. Why should he not make a brilliant marriage? There were plenty of heiresses about; if he could but find one in whom the charms of blood and beauty were united, why should he not go in and win? He was still comparatively young; he had kept his figure; he was répandu in the best society and appreciated wherever he went. Who should have a better chance? And what might he not achieve in the way of future[91] distinction with a rich and well-born wife to help him in climbing the tree?
These ideas had been uppermost in his mind for some time past. It was in obedience88 to them that he had been at some pains to inform himself whether any likely partis were running loose about Triggertown or in the country round. But he had so far met with little success. Hopshire is a county owning many families of antiquity89 and repute, but none were especially renowned for their wealth. Diggle would have gone further afield and commenced his chase in London, or at one of the great watering places, but he wished first to exhaust the resources of the neighbourhood. The gay major was not wrong in supposing that he showed off to the best advantage upon his own territory, doing the honours of his own mess, backed up and supported[92] by so many brilliant comrades and disciples90. Just when he began to despair of finding any young lady who from substantial reasons was entitled to receive his addresses, he came across the Farringtons. They lived at the other end of the county. There was a daughter in the house—a very charming girl, he thought, who, having one brother only and no sisters, would assuredly be well portioned. This led him to consolidate91 his acquaintance with Sir Rupert, to accept many invitations and pay frequent visits to Farrington Hall.
It was entirely92 through his advice and intervention93 that Sir Rupert sent young Ernest into the Duke’s Own. The regiment would probably remain at Triggertown for a year or two longer, and this would break Lady Farrington gradually to the separation from her beloved son. Besides,[93] Major Cavendish-Diggle would have the young fellow especially under his wing—a precious advantage no doubt, as we shall presently see.
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1
distinguished
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| adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的 | |
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regiments
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| （军队的）团( regiment的名词复数 )； 大量的人或物 | |
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regiment
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| n.团，多数，管理；v.组织，编成团，统制 | |
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corps
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| n.(通信等兵种的)部队；(同类作的)一组 | |
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gulf
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| n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂 | |
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6
enlisted
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| adj.应募入伍的v.（使）入伍， （使）参军( enlist的过去式和过去分词 )；获得（帮助或支持） | |
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fussy
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| adj.为琐事担忧的，过分装饰的，爱挑剔的 | |
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testy
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| adj.易怒的；暴躁的 | |
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supreme
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| adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的 | |
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ostensible
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| adj.(指理由)表面的，假装的 | |
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corporate
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| adj.共同的，全体的；公司的，企业的 | |
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decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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invoke
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| v.求助于(神、法律)；恳求，乞求 | |
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irresistible
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| adj.非常诱人的，无法拒绝的，无法抗拒的 | |
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precepts
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| n.规诫，戒律，箴言( precept的名词复数 ) | |
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binding
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| 有约束力的，有效的，应遵守的 | |
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proficiency
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| n.精通，熟练，精练 | |
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esteem
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| n.尊敬，尊重；vt.尊重，敬重；把…看作 | |
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succumbed
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| 不再抵抗（诱惑、疾病、攻击等）( succumb的过去式和过去分词 )； 屈从； 被压垮； 死 | |
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cipher
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| n.零；无影响力的人；密码 | |
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dictate
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| v.口授；(使)听写；指令，指示，命令 | |
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interfere
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| v.(in)干涉，干预；(with)妨碍，打扰 | |
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abdicated
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| 放弃（职责、权力等）( abdicate的过去式和过去分词 )； 退位，逊位 | |
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aptitudes
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| （学习方面的）才能，资质，天资( aptitude的名词复数 ) | |
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dread
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| vt.担忧，忧虑；惧怕，不敢；n.担忧，畏惧 | |
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refreshing
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| adj.使精神振作的，使人清爽的，使人喜欢的 | |
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sublime
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| adj.崇高的，伟大的；极度的，不顾后果的 | |
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strings
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| n.弦 | |
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moot
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| v.提出；adj.未决议的；n.大会；辩论会 | |
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humble
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| adj.谦卑的，恭顺的；地位低下的；v.降低，贬低 | |
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battalion
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| n.营；部队；大队(的人) | |
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nominally
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| 在名义上，表面地； 应名儿 | |
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sergeants
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| 警官( sergeant的名词复数 )； （美国警察）警佐； （英国警察）巡佐； 陆军（或空军）中士 | |
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perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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interpretation
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| n.解释，说明，描述；艺术处理 | |
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renowned
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| adj.著名的，有名望的，声誉鹊起的 | |
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ostentation
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| n.夸耀，卖弄 | |
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artistic
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| adj.艺术(家)的，美术(家)的；善于艺术创作的 | |
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exquisite
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| adj.精美的；敏锐的；剧烈的，感觉强烈的 | |
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scarlet
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| n.深红色，绯红色，红衣；adj.绯红色的 | |
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arcade
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| n.拱廊；(一侧或两侧有商店的)通道 | |
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43
devoutly
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| adv.虔诚地，虔敬地，衷心地 | |
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44
extravagant
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| adj.奢侈的；过分的；(言行等)放肆的 | |
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45
previously
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| adv.以前，先前（地） | |
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46
lengthened
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| （时间或空间）延长，伸长( lengthen的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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47
enjoyment
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| n.乐趣；享有；享用 | |
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48
potent
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| adj.强有力的，有权势的；有效力的 | |
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forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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50
brass
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| n.黄铜；黄铜器，铜管乐器 | |
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51
determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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52
crouch
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| v.蹲伏，蜷缩，低头弯腰；n.蹲伏 | |
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53
stump
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| n.残株，烟蒂，讲演台；v.砍断，蹒跚而走 | |
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54
impoverishing
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| v.使（某人）贫穷( impoverish的现在分词 )；使（某物）贫瘠或恶化 | |
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55
epoch
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| n.(新)时代；历元 | |
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56
belongings
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| n.私人物品，私人财物 | |
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57
patrician
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| adj.贵族的，显贵的；n.贵族；有教养的人；罗马帝国的地方官 | |
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58
envious
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| adj.嫉妒的，羡慕的 | |
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cynical
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| adj.(对人性或动机)怀疑的，不信世道向善的 | |
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casually
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| adv.漠不关心地，无动于衷地，不负责任地 | |
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61
allusion
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| n.暗示，间接提示 | |
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62
avowed
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| adj.公开声明的，承认的v.公开声明，承认( avow的过去式和过去分词) | |
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63
hostility
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| n.敌对，敌意；抵制［pl.］交战，战争 | |
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raconteur
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| n.善讲故事者 | |
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65
repartee
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| n.机敏的应答 | |
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66
lieutenant
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| n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员 | |
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aspired
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| v.渴望，追求( aspire的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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eminently
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| adv.突出地；显著地；不寻常地 | |
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69
idols
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| 偶像( idol的名词复数 )； 受崇拜的人或物； 受到热爱和崇拜的人或物； 神像 | |
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70
promotion
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| n.提升，晋级；促销，宣传 | |
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71
persistent
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| adj.坚持不懈的，执意的；持续的 | |
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72
drudgery
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| n.苦工，重活，单调乏味的工作 | |
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73
prefix
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| n.前缀；vt.加…作为前缀；置于前面 | |
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74
royalty
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| n.皇家，皇族 | |
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itinerant
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| adj.巡回的；流动的 | |
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76
profuse
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| adj.很多的，大量的，极其丰富的 | |
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gushing
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| adj.迸出的；涌出的；喷出的；过分热情的v.喷，涌( gush的现在分词 )；滔滔不绝地说话 | |
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78
hospitable
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| adj.好客的；宽容的；有利的，适宜的 | |
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79
pinnacle
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| n.尖塔，尖顶，山峰；(喻)顶峰 | |
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80
impromptu
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| adj.即席的，即兴的；adv.即兴的(地)，无准备的(地) | |
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81
adherents
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| n.支持者，拥护者( adherent的名词复数 )；党羽；徒子徒孙 | |
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82
deferred
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| adj.延期的，缓召的v.拖延，延缓，推迟( defer的过去式和过去分词 )；服从某人的意愿，遵从 | |
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83
revolved
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| v.（使）旋转( revolve的过去式和过去分词 )；细想 | |
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84
homage
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| n.尊敬，敬意，崇敬 | |
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85
justified
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| a.正当的，有理的 | |
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86
aspirations
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| 强烈的愿望( aspiration的名词复数 )； 志向； 发送气音； 发 h 音 | |
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87
concealed
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| a.隐藏的，隐蔽的 | |
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88
obedience
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| n.服从，顺从 | |
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89
antiquity
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| n.古老；高龄；古物，古迹 | |
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90
disciples
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| n.信徒( disciple的名词复数 )；门徒；耶稣的信徒；（尤指）耶稣十二门徒之一 | |
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91
consolidate
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| v.使加固，使加强；(把...)联为一体，合并 | |
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92
entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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93
intervention
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| n.介入，干涉，干预 | |
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