Edward had a huge map of
his lands in his harness-room and Major Basil did not seem to
mind. I believe that people do not mind much in lonely stations.
It might have lasted for ever if the Major had not been made what
is called a brevet-colonel during the shuffling of troops that went
on just before the South African War. He was sent off somewhere
else and, of course, Mrs Basil could not stay with Edward.
Edward ought, I suppose, to have gone to the Transvaal. It would
have done him a great deal of good to get killed. But Leonora
would not let him; she had heard awful stories of the extravagance
of the hussar regiment in war-time--how they left hundred-bottle
cases of champagne, at five guineas a bottle, on the veldt and so
on. Besides, she preferred to see how Edward was spending his
five hundred a year. I don't mean to say that Edward had any
grievance in that. He was never a man of the deeds of heroism sort
and it was just as good for him to be sniped at up in the hills of
the North Western frontier, as to be shot at by an old gentleman in
a tophat at the bottom of some spruit. Those are more or less his
words about it. I believe he quite distinguished himself over there.
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