Part 62 (1/2)
”How is that for high?” I asked, putting on a pair of large, round, clouded lenses, which my experience of ophthalmia has warned ood host's torrent of unrepeatable congratulation, I turned aside and unstrapped a portion of Bunyip's pack
Presently I advanced and resumed my seat, with the ancestor of all pipes pendent frolasses, and pipe chorded (if I may use that expression) so perfectly that Jack's merriment died-away in a reverent petition to be struck dead
The pipe has already been referred-to in these annals It was probably the , the , and, frohly specialised, meerschaum ever seen on earth It was a pipe such as no s life, but bequeaths to his best-beloved son-- a pipe such as would make any man wish to have a Benjaht be exposed to unfair terave peril
This nonpareil lies before me now, on an old, cracked dinner-plate, with my knife and tobacco Its head, ideally perfect as that Goddess who rose frogestion of the colossal, but rather of thebut for the soothing and reassuring effect of colour-- as where, at point of contact, the opaque snow of the upper half, with cirrhus-like edge, overlies rather than meets the indescribable wealth of lucent and fatho colour intensifies toward the rounded heel, softening to a paler tint in its serene re-ascent, till the meerschaum terminates in a heavy, semi-cylindrical collar, of almost audacious simplicity Then a thick, flexible, silk-chequered ste, with a nanilories to the worthy keeping of such a piece of Baltic amber as you shall nothints a princely concession to the great pipe fa fro no encouragement to presumptuous rivalry, soften the austere, unapproachable, super-Phidian perfection of the whole ongsomble
Here it occurs to the subtle critic that this is so like what a novelist would write A novelist is always able to bring forth out of his iencies of his story--just as he un hero's benefit, gently shi+fts the amiable old potterer to a better land in the very nick of time Such is not life And to avoid any shadow of the i novelist s, I must now turn aside for one moment to tell how I came into possession of such a pipe as no other Australian bushression--well, I suppose even the most insubordinate reader is by this time educated up to my style
Shortly before the previous wool-season, I had foundtoward the western boundary of Gunbah, on the track from Hillston to Hay A spark of red fire, miles ahead, told of someone camped at a clump on Illilliwa, just about the spot I had rass anywhere inside the boundary of Illilliwa, and none in the road-paddocks of Gunbah As I drew nearer, the impotent tinkle of one of those hemispherical horse-bells indicated a new-chu before the fire, though he vanished before I arrived, leaving an empty camp-stool As I unsaddled e, blonde, heavily-ht rifle in the hollow of his arry for conversation, I merely tendered about three words of civil re out some coals formy ample repast--the second one of the day--I introduced h the suspicious reserve of the strong man armed By the time inal contentht, an eight-by-six tent, which seemed to contain two ca -cart
My new acquaintance, beco quite frank and cordial, supported his end of the conversation in rather laboured English, with a slight foreign accent
Gold- was the topic which had risen to the surface; and, as an hour --two hours--passed, I was fairly abashed by the extent and accuracy of his information He talked so confidently, so scientifically, and, as far as e went, so veraciously, not only of the principal Australian gold-fields, but of the different notable claih cere he had been out
Just three weeks, he told me His name, he added, with an inimitable boas Franz von Swammerbrunck, very much at my service His friend, Schloss, and himself, fellow-students, had left Frankfort only three months before
”Frankfort-on-the-Main, or Frankfort-on-the-Oder?” I asked, veiling a uise of friendly interest
His courteous reply tailed-off naturally into such a volume of condensed information as re-impressed on ht of--namely, the existence of a civilisation north of Torres Straits Desiring, of course, to avail ht, I tried to steer the conversation in the direction of bainting and boetry (for such subjects go well at ca so persistently on one rein that I had to give hi Turn the discourse whatever way I would, that wearisome topic was adroitly made to occur as if of its own accord
”But don't let th
”Tear Mr Tongcollin, you haf dot impertinence perpetrate nefer,”
replied my companion earnestly ”Dis schall pe mine period mit der sentry-vatch Dot y ver despicable iss to arrulity e-alien-isolate in dot platty dilemma ootdefine kevartz reef, by instance, vich you loquacious-delineate, olt destitute-by tam! he schall litter! Ach Gott! Nefer py vhite man vitness, you schall say, pefore fife unt seex yare pass-gone, unt by pushedder Bot der localisation-topography unt der route you schall py der nani tank you, Mr Tongcollin! For von trifle-moment, you ver munificent reprieve”----
He entered the tent, and spoke to the sleeper, with suppressed eagerness in his voice The watch below attired himself and came forth; then followed a formal introduction; and in another couple of hours--such was the clearness and receptivity of these young men's eology of Upper Riverina And not less remarkable than their infatuation for non-auriferous reefs was their vivid interest in bushrangers and blackfellows; but whereas they received ical information with the attention which its frankness certainlythe back-blocks with the pick in one hand and the rifle in the other, remained unshaken by ht The topography of the wilderness was the thing they wanted; they would e the peace and safety for theer for the inevitable brush with outlaw or savage as he was for the no less inevitable golden reef
In due time, the stars paled to indistinctness, then to invisibility, and the landscape carey horse feeding with Fancy and Bunyip, two hundred yards away
I was in no hurry to start, but reyhounds in the leash
Therefore, whilst I dozed off to sleep, they packed up their elaborate ca-cart They would stop for breakfast after a few hours' travelling; meantime, they had a cup of coffee
I roused iven respecting the locality of half a dozen reefs in the back-blocks; then rams, and shook hands with me so affectionately--so Germanly, in fact--that I called up a certain sardonic expression of face, as the best safeguard against possible kissing
Finally, when they were seated side by side under the tilt of the spring-cart, Swammerbrunck said, whilst his blue eyes twinkled with merriment,
”Vit Mr Spreenfeldt shall you peen von acquaintance?”
Yes; I was slightly acquainted with Mr Springfield He was the landlord of a hotel in Hay
”Vill you said,interview, dot der two Yar fools ass efer!”
I proe, whereupon the wise hed heartily Then the three of us raised our hats with aristocratic gravity; and the vehicle moved away toward the land of Disillusionain, I heard the poor fellows burst into unintelligible song; and, after the spring-cart had jogged a quarter of a e of the tilt towardany similar article on me at the time, I half-rose and returned the fareithfools as ever! Between asleep and awake, I pondered on the quantity and quality of Australian-novel lore which had found utterance there
The outlawed bushrangers; the lurking blackfellows; the squatter's lovely Diana-daughter, awaiting the well-bred greenhorn (for even she had cropped-up in conversation)--how these things recalled ! And yet they were quite as reasonable as the discovery of the rich reef by the soft-handed, fastidious young gentle that barren reefs are twice as plentiful as half-tucker reefs; ten ties reefs; and a hundred tiraves had listened with polite toleration when I compassionately added that the pile reef is always discovered by an ungrammatical person, named Old Bru to the saentleh, to conquer; whereas Brummy &c, does n't require to stoop at all--and his show is little better than Buckley's