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Designer Drafting and Visualizing for

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Woodbridge
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Designer Drafting and Visualizing


Pee 1 HE ENTERTAINMENT WORDD

PATRICIA WOODBRIDGE
HAL TINE
Designer Drafting and Visualizing
Onn "(enne= See Nee Ral As eNGVBEeNE lee Oman
Designer Drafting and Visualizing
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Second Edition

Focal Press
Taylor & Francis Group

NEW YORK AND LONDON


Second edition first published 2013 Practitioners and researchers must always rely on their
by Focal Press own experience and knowledge in evaluating and using
70 Blanchard Road, Suite 402, Burlington, any information, methods, compounds, or experiments
MA 01803 described herein. In using such information or methods
they should be mindful of their own safety and the
Simultaneously published in the UK safety of others, including parties for whom they have a
by Focal Press professional responsibility.
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon,
Oxon OX14 4RN Product or corporate names may be trademarks
or registered trademarks, and are used only for
Focal Press is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis identification and explanation without intent to
Group, an informa business infringe.

© 2013 Taylor & Francis


Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
The right of Patricia Woodbridge and Hal Tiné
Woodbridge, Patricia, 1946—
to be identified as author of this work has been
Designer drafting and visualizing for the
asserted by them in accordance with sections 77
entertainment world / Patricia Woodbridge and Hal
and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act
Tiné. — 2nd ed.
1988.
p. cm.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be 1. Mechanical drawing. 2. Theaters—Stage-setting

reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or and scenery. |. Tiné, Hal. Il. Title.
by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, T357.W56 2012
now known or hereafter invented, including pho- 792.02’5—dc23
tocopying and recording, or in any information 2012020358
storage or retrieval system, without permission in
ISBN 978-0-240-81891-7 (pbk.)
writing from the publishers.
ISBN 978-0-08-050398-1 (ebk)
Notices
Typeset in NewsGothicMT Regular
Knowledge and best practice in this field are con-
Project Managed and Typeset by diacriTech.
stantly changing. As new research and experience
broaden our understanding, changes in research Printed in China by C&C Offset Printing Co., Ltd
methods, professional practices, or medical treat-
ment may become necessary.
3 Dedication
To our teachers, who help us achieve our dreams.
Introduction

PART | PRINCIPLES AND CONVENTIONS OF SCENIC DRAFTING


Pencil Drafting Tools

Paper, Pencils, and Reproduction

Drafted Lines
Geometric Construction
Scale
Hand Lettering

Orthographic Projection
The Section
Dimensioning

_—ey
NOS
SS)
ESS
Ga
en
SS
feo
Wey Labeling, Coding, and Multi-Sheet Sets 123
ia) Surveying and Sight Lines sre.

12 Axonometric Views 149

1s Principles of Perspective Drawing 139

14 Forced Perspective 181


15 Period Shapes and Scenic Details ROD
16 Computer Drafting and Illustration 223

PART Il PROFESSIONAL APPLICATIONS


ny Sketch Design 208
18 Theater Design 267
IRS) Television Scenery yal
20 Feature Film CR)
aA Scenery Graphics 300
a2 Corporate Design 369
23 Virtual Scenery or

Index 389

viii
” a ( Introduction

The first edition of Designer Drafting for the Entertainment World was published in 2000. Like the

first, this edition is for students studying the field of set design and beginning to work profession-

ally as production designers, set designers, or assistant designers in theater, film, and television.

Itexplains the elements of scenic drafting with simple illustrations from the world of set design and

shows examples of high-level professional work from outstanding designers and assistant designers.

It's not a textbook with exercises but a resource book for students and teachers of scenic draft-
ing. It concentrates on the basics of scenic pencil drafting and visualizing, but gives an overview of

digital programs and applications used by set designers and shows many examples of professional

computer drafting and 3D modeling. The examples feature work that students can emulate from out-

standing set and production designers in the venues of theater, film, television, and corporate design.

There are selected short biographies with the varied backgrounds that professional designers come

| from and the different routes they followed to their current positions.
The first edition came from my 14 years of teaching scenic pencil drafting and begin-
ning set design in the graduate program of New York University TISCH School of the
Arts, combined with a career as a theatrical set designer and assistant art director and
art director for television and film. At the time of its publication, computer drafting and
illustration were just beginning to be used in our industry. Today we're in the middle of
the digital revolution. In scenery art departments, computer drafting has replaced hard
pencil drafting and digital 3D models are replacing physical models and set illustration.
Two major digital trends are starting to impact scenery design for television and film:
previsualization, digital animations that act like story boards to visualize key dramatic
sequences, and green-screen technology, where digital environments are added in post-
production. How production designers and art departments will integrate with these two
departments is still evolving, but it is clear that high-level digital set design skills are
required.

In 2011, United Scenic Artists, Local 829 sent me to a United States Institute for Tech-
nology conference to be on a panel on 21st Century Training for the Film, Television, and
Entertainment Industry. Teachers of set design have always had a delicate balance act.
between expanding a student’s creative vision while teaching the craft skills to communi-
cate that vision. The way that we communicate affects what we communicate. That has
always been so but today, the technological tool of the computer is extremely powerful
and its engineering aspects extremely controlling.

At the USITT conference, talking to students and teachers, it became clear that teachers
are uncertain how best to teach young set designers and how to prepare them for lifetime
careers in an industry in flux.

When | started updating the first edition, | wasn’t clear how to best position the new
book. Should set design students still learn pencil skills? Could they jump right into
computer drafting? Is physical model making still important? Should students learn 3D
modeling programs? You can now purchase incredibly complex off-the-rack software
for 3D modeling that includes animation and lighting control down to a particular bulb.
Is it important that students learn these programs as part of their education? Or does
the amount of time required to become facile with such technology require sacrificing
more important learning? At the USITT conference, teachers were clear that they had
an enormous amount of information and experiences they wanted to offer students in a
limited time. The heart of set design is still the creation of a temporary physical environ-
ment in which a story takes place. It’s a collaborative art form in which a set or produc:
tion designer works with the director and others at the creative core, to arrive at a single
vision for a production. Script interpretation, concept development, and learning to work
together collaboratively toward a common goal are educationally as important as learning
how to communicate ideas to others on paper or digitally.

Teachers of set design are at a crux right now and have to figure out what part of the
old ways of teaching and communicating are worth preserving while engaging with the
exciting and promising new technologies. Scenic design has always been a unique col-
laborative stew of art and engineering and good design teachers have always figured out
how to teach technology with art. In universities, technical directors used to teach scenic
pencil drafting separately from design courses. Design teachers grew to understand the
importance of integrating the teaching of scenic drafting with teaching set design. Today
at many universities digital drafting and modeling skills are taught separately from set
design.

In thinking how to teach scenic drafting and illustration today, it helps to divide it into soft
and hard. Soft sketching and drafting is what Marjorie Bradley Kellogg so beautifully calls
“thinking with a pencil.” Eye-hand coordination and learning how to draw what you see
and what you imagine with a soft, exploratory gestural fine or multiline is still the core of
set design. Soft pencil orthographic drafting in scale with a few overall important dimen-
sions offers the flexibility to evolve an idea without exactly knowing what it looks like. It’s
slightly messy or very messy drawing that allows what Tony Walton calls “unexpected
happy accidents,” things you drew on paper that weren’t what you thought you needed
but come to see as valuable additions.

A quick white model is often part of the set design process, a tactile, sculpted explora-
tion of physical space. Unlike a finished, painted model, often a “sales tool” shown to the
director and the producer, the rough model may be only for the designer. In this edition
of Designer Drafting we've included many examples of soft, preliminary pencil perspec-
tive sketches and sketch/drafting the kind the designers would say of, “Oh, that’s just a
rough,” the ones that often were thrown in the trash. We feel that set designers still need
to learn these soft hand skills of perspective and orthographic sketching.

Soft pencil drafting used to be followed by hard pencil drafting with complete, fully
dimensioned views and tight, exact lines. Today it’s no longer necessary to teach
hard pencil drafting. But it is important to teach scenic computer drafting as it is now
expected that entering set design professionals can do scenic drafting using AutoCAD or
Vectorworks. As set design teachers become comfortable with the new technology, they’ll
learn how to integrate it with teaching set design. One way to start is to teach beginning
scenic pencil drafting integrated with Adobe I///ustrator, a relatively simple vector-based
program and a good precursor to CAD. Learning the basics of drafting by combined
pencil and computer can choreograph and establish the process of fluidly moving back
and forth between the two tools. Similarly, learning about the section in beginning pencil
drafting can be combined with cutting through digital shapes using SketchUp, a simple
3D modeling program. Instead of thinking about digital technology as a separate entity, t
can be taught as part of the design process.

Working as an art director in the front lines of our industry, | see many portfolios of
young people wanting to enter our industry. The bifurcation of technology and design in
the universities has now resulted in young professionals trying to enter the profession
having digital skills but weak design skills. Years ago, pretty much anyone with digital
drafting and modeling skills could find assistant work in theater, television, and film.
Things are different now that everyone can click some points and generate an exact line
with an attached measurement. What is wanted and lacking now in the industry are
scenic computer draftsmen who are also good set designers, with a good sense of pro-
portion, an understanding of scenic construction, and the ability to design in a specific
period style with its proportions and detailing.

Increasingly, 3D digital modeling and rendering is a required skill set for professionals.
Software is available for quick 3D modeling, and set design students should be exposed
to it. It’s not that difficult to model a digital set, choose some digital dressing from a
library, pick some textures for the walls, click on sun or moonlight, a time of day, and

xi
and
a weather condition like “cloudy.” Throw in a few practical lights, pick a good angle
print out a perspective illustration. But now that many people can make a digital model,
what is rare and valued is the digital set illustrator who understands the qualities of light
and form and how to manipulate them for dramatic effect. The great Italian cinematogra-
pher Vittorio Storaro called light “energy vibrant with emotions.” Hi-level digital set illus-
tration requires fluency with complex technological software that controls light, shade,
texture, and color. Understanding the nature of light comes from manipulating real lights
in real space.

Technology is and will keep changing. Software programs learned today will be rein-
vented or obsolete tomorrow. Entirely new engineering will evolve. Maybe tomorrow’s set
designer will be on some kind of flight deck, drawing with his hands, murmuring poetry
out loud describing the texture of a wall. Everyone’s now expected to learn new technol-
ogy throughout his career. Young designers have a relatively small time frame to develop
their personal artistic vision and learn how to best communicate it while developing skills
for a lifetime of work in a world of technological change.

We hope that this second edition of Designer Drafting and Visualization for the Entertainment
World is a useful guide for young entertainment designers wanting careers in our industry
and serves the growing and diversified needs of the entertainment industry.

| am extremely grateful that my colleague and friend Hal Tiné, an experienced New York
theater set designer and now a teacher in the Production Design Department of Savan-
nah College of Art and Design, coauthored this second edition. His dedicated hard work
and graceful support made the book possible. Hal drew the lovely new hand illustrations.
More important, he helped me slightly turn the book’s focus from specific craft skills
toward the art of set design. Hal and | knew that the second edition needed to discuss
and show examples of contemporary CAD drafting and digital modeling. As the book
evolved we realized the importance of stressing hand skills as well, to show how they are
necessary to visualize and develop ideas, to train observational ability, and to draw pleas-
ing proportions.

A book illustrating high-level work from professional set designers is only possibly with
the generosity and help of the artists who contributed their work and individuals who
shared their knowledge. We are enormously grateful to all the designers who made this
book possible. It has truly been a collaborative endeavor.

Theatrical set designers own their work but art department work for film and television is
owned by the producing organization and it is difficult to get permission for reproduction.
| am grateful to the producer, Jonathan Filley, who helped obtain licensing permission
to include drafting from Mr. Popper’s Penguins from 20th Century Fox, and Bill Draper,
executive vice president of physical production at Warner Bros., who obtained licensing
permission to include work from / Am Legend and Sherlock Holmes.

Patrick J. Battles was our technical editor and made many good suggestions to improve
the book. Carl Baldasso and Toni Barton shared their knowledge of AutoCAD, while Ryan
Heck shared his knowledge of Vectorworks drafting, SketchUp and Photoshop illustration,
and Bob Mond of SCAD graciously summarized those and other drafting programs for
us. Ed Coco, who teaches drafting in the Design Program at NYU TISCH School of the
Arts and digital illustration at Rutgers University gave the chapter on computer drafting
a critical informative edit, sharing his extensive knowledge of software programs that he

xii
explained in a clear, understandable way. Addison Pettit’s graphic design work is featured
and he supplied much of the information in the chapter on digital scenic graphic design.
John Kasarda’s design work is in the chapter on television and he supplied much of the
information that explains the process of designing for dramatic television as well as
editing the chapter on virtual scenery. The production designer Stuart Wurtzel shared his
work and edited the chapter on film. The construction coordinator Fred Merusi shared his
knowledge of scenery construction.

Stacey Walker, the associate acquisitions editor at Focal Press, gave us support and
guidance. Our production assistants that helped make the book were Diem Hoang and
Mike Chesbro. The graphic artist Linda Pouder designed the book cover, which involved
artwork from three people. | came up with the idea and did the upper left quadrant
freehand sketch; Hal Tiné hard pencil drafted the upper right quadrant; Mike Auszura
CAD drafted the lower left quadrant; and Hal Tiné took the photograph of a fireplace
| found at Drayton Hall, outside Charleston, South Carolina, an untouched 1732 plan-
tation considered one of the finest examples of Georgian-Palladian architecture in the
United States.

Patricia Woodbridge

xili
Principles and
Conventions of
scenic Drafting
Pencil
Drafting
Tools

Work Station
Like all crafts, having correct and quality tools is essential for good work.

Drafting Table
For comfortable, long-term drafting, you need a drafting table with legs or a
pedestal base and with a mechanism to adjust the height and angle of the board.
The more expensive tables are sturdier and have a greater range of board angles.
The most expensive tables have a motorized adjustment mechanism.
A professional drafting surface should be a minimum of 38 inches by 60 inches.
This allows you to roll out a standard 36-inch roll of paper.
The height and angle of your drafting board is important as drafting for many
hours each day can cause repetitive stress injuries. If you find that you are having
back or shoulder problems, you need to be able to change the angle of your board.

Drafting Surface
Hard plastic or wooden drafting tabletops need to be softened by covering them
with a sheet of vinyl board cover. This covering allows for greater flexibility in pencil
pressure and helps to prevent pencil tips from breaking. Attach the vinyl cover to
your board with a strip of thin double-stick tape across the top edge of your board.

:
the edges. Carefully
lf possible, place books on top of the cover and let it flatten overnight before trimming
and a matte knife.
trim the edges of the cover to the size of the board using a long metal straight edge

Cleaning Your Vinyl Drafting Cover


Eventually graphite will smudge your vinyl drafting cover and you will need to clean it.
of water.
" For an extremely dirty board, rub with powdered cleanser on a sponge and a minimum amount
" Use clear water rinses until all of the cleanser is gone.
" Dry the vinyl with paper towels.

" For small touch-up cleanings, purchase a board cleaner or rubber cement thinner. These cleaners are
highly toxic, but they remove grease as well as dirt and evaporate instantly. Household cleaners may
leave a greasy film residue that your drafting tape won't stick to.

Drawing Protectors 2
If you draft sheets taller than the height of your table you can protect the bottom of the sheets from
being creased or smudged by your body, with a metal tube called a drawing protector that mounts flush to the
bottom of your drafting board. The portion of your sheet that extends over your table curls up inside the tube.

Side Table or Drafting Caddy


A small side table placed beside and at right angles to the drafting board holds your tools, research, and a
laptop computer. If you don’t have room for a side table, you can purchase a plastic drafting caddy that mounts
on a side edge of your drafting table. It has divisions and slots to hold your pencils, erasers, and drafting tools.

Drafting Chair
If you draft for many hours at a stretch, you want a sturdy, comfortable chair with a back and footrest. The
height of the chair should adjust so that you are comfortable and are able to reach the top of your sheet of
paper without getting up. All drafting chairs adjust in height; the best also let you adjust the backrest height
and the depth of the backrest. A drafting chair that swivels allows you to easily turn and reach a side table.
Many draftsmen will stand when drafting as it allows freer, flexible more energetic movements, but they often
want a drafting chair for resting.

Lighting
To avoid shadows, you need a light on either side of your table. Architect lamps have mounting brackets that
attach to your board and spring balanced arms that allow you to position the light at the best angle. The best
lamps are a combination of incandescent and fluorescent, which used together approximate daylight and are
easiest on your eyes.

Parallel Ruler
The parallel ruler is a plastic or metal and plastic straight edge that glides up and down on a set of thin
cables mounted on the sides of a drafting table or board. (See Figure 1.1.) The guide cables cross inside
the ruler allowing it to maintain a horizontal position as it moves up and down. The two side cables must be
connected securely to the front edge of the drafting table with a screw and a washer, and it is important that
the screws are measured and positioned so that the side cables are straight, parallel to each other. At the
upper left side of your table, the cable goes through a small screw clamp. The clamp is loosened, to adjust
the angle of the parallel ruler. When tightened, the angle of the parallel ruler is fixed.
The angle of the parallel ruler should be roughly parallel to the bottom edge of your table. When beginning
a new sheet of drafting, the bottom edge of your drafting paper should be lined up with the edge of your
parallel ruler. To add to a loose sheet that has been drafted, loosen the clamp and align a horizontal pencil
line with the edge of the parallel ruler, tape the paper in position, and tighten the clamp.
Get a parallel ruler with clear plastic rather than metal edges, as the transparency helps you position the
ruler exactly on a horizontal line. Although some parallels have their entire base touching the paper, you want
to minimize the possibility of smudging lines by getting a parallel ruler that moves on small follers. Metal
rollers are best because plastic ones tend to pick up adhesive particles, collect graphite, and cause streaks.
If you find that your drawings have vertical streaks, you need to loosen the guide wires, turn the parallel over,
and clean your rollers with liquid board cleaner and a Q-tip. Mayline is a good manufacturer of parallel rulers.

Figure 1.1
A work station using a parallel ruler.

Equipment
Triangles
Horizontal lines are drawn on the edge of your parallel ruler. Perpendicular vertical lines are drawn along
the perpendicular edge of a clear plastic triangle that you push across your parallel. (See Figure 1.2.) For
drawing long vertical lines, it is useful to have a 30-/60-degree triangle that is about 18 inches long. For short

0) ae Sere (| Sa ea a C©)

Figure 1.2
Drawing vertical lines using a parallel ruler.
vertical lines and for the verticals in lettering, you will
find it helpful to have a small 3- or 4-inch 45-degree
triangle. To clean plastic triangles, Pledge is a good
cleaner; other solvents may remove the printing on the
protector or scratch the plastic.

The Adjustable Triangle


A clear plastic adjustable triangle is your primary
instrument for drafting vertical perpendicular as well as
angled lines. This versatile too! combines a protractor with
an adjustable angle. The adjustable triangle is designed so
that you line up one outside edge of the triangle on either
side of your vertical or horizontal axis line. After you set
a specific degree with the protractor, you complete the
angle by drawing a line against the other outside edge of
the triangle. You never draw inside the triangle.

Learning to Use the Adjustable Triangle


" Draw vertical and horizontal axis lines that divide
your page into 90-degree quadrants.
Place the adjustable triangle in its closed position
Figure 1.3
illustrated in Figure 1.3. Note that the hypotenuse
A vertical and horizontal axis line divides the space into
of the triangle divides the quadrant into two
90-degree quadrants.
45-degree angles.
Loosen the knob and slowly open the triangle, reading the protractor. You will see that_in this position you
can draw any angle from 45 degrees to 90 degrees up to 45 degrees to the left side of the vertical axis line.
Lock the protractor gauge at 20/70 degrees.

Lower your parallel ruler, dropping the adjustable triangle, making sure that the outside right edge stil
goes through the intersection of your vertical and horizontal axis lines. You now can draw a 20-degree
angle to the right of the vertical axis in the lower quadrant. In other words, a single protractor setting _
creates the same angle in the opposing quadrant. (See Figure 1.4.) ah

Yov ALWAYS p eZAW


AGAINST THE OUTSIDE EDGES
oF THE ADJUSTABLE TEIAU GLE

Figure 1.4
A single protractor setting creates the same angle in the opposing quadrant.
= With the protractor locked at 20
degrees, rotate your adjustable
as a Meal EVG E
triangle into the top right quadrant.
(See Figure 1.5.)

70

Figure 1.5
Rotating the adjustable triangle into the next quadrant
allows you to draw a symmetrical angle.

= With the upper outside edge crossing the intersection of the vertical and horizontal axis lines, you will
have a 20-degree angle off the right side of your vertical axis line. In other words, by rotating your
adjustable angle to the other side of the axis line, you can draw a symmetrical angle. Because we often
draw symmetrical objects, this is an extremely important function.
=" Rotate your adjustable triangle so that it is
in the position shown in Figure 1.6. When
you unlock the protractor and open it, you
can draw any angle in the lower-right-hand
quadrant up to 45 degrees.

Figure 1.6
Rotating your triangle to draw the remaining angles in the upper
left quadrant.

" By sliding your adjustable triangle into the upper-left-hand quadrant, you can draw opposing angles.
" Positioning your adjustable triangle around the center point of the quadrants allows you to draw all
360 angles. If you are confused about how to place your adjustable triangle when drafting a specific
angle, first lightly draw the quadrants.
Bow Compass
A large bow compass Is used for
drawing circles or arcs with a radius of
1 inch or larger. It has a center wheel
that, when turned, opens or closes
the compass legs. (See Figure 1.7.)
Don’t get a quick-acting bow compass
without the wheel as they can’t hold pee
a width. One leg of the bow compass PIViPEs
has a screw that tightens to hold a Point
thin sharp length of graphite while the Figure 1.7
other leg has a thin metal point placed A large bow compass.
at the center of your circle or arc.
Purchase the most expensive compass
you can afford as the more expensive
ones are more accurate and adjust
more easily.

A small bow compass (Figure 1.8)


has a side wheel to adjust the width
between the legs. It is used for
circles with radii of less than 1 inch.
For smaller circles, use a circle
template. Figure 1.8
A small bow compass.

Using a Bow Compass


" Sharpen the lead point by rubbing one edge gently on
a sandpaper block creating one flat elliptical side. Or
sharpen a lead in a lead holder with a mechanical lead
pointer, break off the end and insert it in the compass.
The lead in a large bow compass should face out from
the center. For a small bow compass, it should face in.

To draw a circle or arc, place the metal point of the


compass at the center of your circle and turn the center
wheel until the legs of the compass open to the correct
radius. Hold the top knob of the compass between your
thumb and forefinger and with a slight forward angle
to the lead leg, draw the circle with one twirling motion
(Figure 1.9). This motion does not allow you to press
down, so to have the circle the same line weight as your
other lines, you need a slightly softer lead.
If you are making several arcs or circles from a single
point, to avoid punching a large hole in your drafting
paper, tape a small piece of acetate or thin cardboard
under your drafting paper at the center point.

Figure 1.9
To use a bow compass twirl the knob between your fingers.
Beam Compass
There are extension arms that fit on bow compasses to increase the length of the
legs, but for large
arcs or circles, you need a beam compass. A beam compass has a long, thin, square
0 with two
sliding sockets called trammel points. One point holds the lead and the other holds the needlepoint
(See Figure 1.10.) You set the points to your radius and tighten their screws. Then grasp the |
needlepoint holder and hold its end on the center point of your circle as you use oun
other hand
to rotate the lead holder. (See Figure 1.11.)
You can purchase an extension rod with a connector to increase the radius for larger circles.

gor Necre¢e
HRN

K
COMPAS FAINT <_Leap

Figure 1.10
The parts of a beam compass.

Figure 1.11
Use two hands to draw with the beam compass.

Dividers
Dividers are used to transfer measurements and to divide a line in any number of parts. They have two legs
that each holds a metal point and they quickly splay open with enough friction to hold the measurement.
Dividers are extremely useful in the sketch stage of drafting where they can quickly transfer symmetrical
distances without measuring. You can use dividers to quickly divide a line into equal parts by trial and error.
You first estimate the distance of each part, then step off each part by “walking” the dividers along the
line. You observe what remains over or under the length of the line and adjust the dividers until you find the
correct spacing.

Most bow compasses can be turned into dividers by inserting a metal point on one leg and turning the
adjusts quickly
sharp point to a thicker one on the other leg. But it is best to get a good bow compass that
without a wheel.
A proportional divider is used to quickly enlarge
or reduce drafting drawings. (See Figure 1.12.)
A sliding locking wheel between two sets of pointed
legs can be set to a variety of proportions. For
example, you can adjust the wheel so that 4 inch
between the short legs equals 4% inch between the
long legs.
A spacing divider allows you to quickly divide a line
into any number of equal parts. (See Figure 1.13.)
This expensive tool has a series of prongs (as many
as 11) that open or close the same amount by Figure 1.12
interlocking pivots. Proportional dividers.

French or Irregular Curves


French curves are plastic templates of irregular
curves used to draw curved lines that are not arcs
of acircle. Draw a light, freehand curve. From
a set of curve templates, choose one or several
templates whose curve or portion of curve aligns Figure 1.13
with your drawing. It may take several different Spacing dividers.
portions of different curves to draw a specific
curve (Figure 1.14). For a smooth line, start and
stop your pencil line just shy of where the edge of
the plastic template splays away from the line you
are tracing.

Figure 1.14
It often takes several positions of a plastic curve to draw an irregular curve.
To draw symmetrical curves you will want to use the same portion of both sides of a single template. To
mark the area of the template that you want to duplicate, rub the template with a hard pencil eraser and
mark the points with light pencil lines before flipping it over.

Adjustable Curves
Long irregular curves can be drawn with an adjustable curve. There are several different varieties of
adjustable curves: flexible rubber rods with edges that bend to the required shape, and adjustable curves
with movable spines and attachable weights to help hold the spine to the desired shape. (See Figure 1.15.)

The quickest, easiest adjustable curves to use are flexible rods composed of a series of thin inter-locking
layers of clear plastic tubes. Acu Arc is one brand name. As you form a curve, the tubes slide against each
other and are held together by friction. The flat side edge of the curve is the one for drawing with a pencil.
The side with a bead is for drawing with ink. They also make this adjustable curve with a ruled edge.

Figure 1.15
A layered adjustable curve.

Equipment List
Pencil drafting equipment can be purchased at large art supply stores and at some reproduction stores
where you take sheets to copy. Online stores include dickblick.com and alfriedman.com.

Basic Equipment
Parallel Ruler
Parallel Ruler Replacement Cable

Parallel Ruler Hardware Kit


Adjustable Triangle, 12-inch
30/60 Degree Triangle, 18-inch
Drafting Surface or Table

Side Table
Vinyl Board Cover
Drafting Chair
Architect’s Scale Ruler, 12-inch

Two Drafting Lights

Bow Dividers, 6-inch

Large Bow Compass, 6-inch


Small Bow Compass
Beam Compass
Sandpaper Block
Set of French Curves (clear, not colored plastic)

Sketching Pencils
Drafting Pencils
and/or
Leadholders and Leads (H, 2H, and HB leads to start with)

Electric Pencil Sharpener and extension cord

Electric Eraser—cordless, battery-operated with charger and extension cord (not handheld battery)
Eraser Strips for electric eraser—one pack white vinyl

Eraser—white vinyl
Erasing Shield (with row of small circles)
Dry-Cleaning Pad or Dry-Cleaning Powder
Drafting Brush
Drafting Tape Dispenser
Drafting Tape or ¥%-inch Masking Tape or Drafting Dots
Template Organizer—3-hole punch plastic pages, organize and store in a 3-ring binder
Template—various sizes of small circles
Template—various sized shapes, such as hexagonal, triangular, and square

Template—master ellipse

Template—4-inch furniture

Template—large circles

Optional Pencil Drafting Equipment


Adjustable Triangle, 4-inch—for small-scale preliminary work
45-Degree Triangle, 4-inch—for lettering
Metric Scale Ruler
Engineer’s Scale Ruler
Proportional Dividers
Spacing Dividers
Adjustable Curve

Electric Lead Pointer with extension cord


Dimensional Calculator
Best is Builder’s Construction MasterPro
Quick Calcs phone app is an inexpensive start

Templates of other ellipses in various sizes


Template—4-inch American Standard Plumbing Fixtures
Template—interior design, kitchen, bathroom, bedroom

Template—arrows
Template—structural cross-sections

Template—interior design, tables, and chairs

Template—office furniture
Template Holder (organizes templates and holds them vertically on your side
table)
Tube-Drafting Carrier
Stamp—“For Estimate Only”
Stamp—“Revised”
Ink Pad

Basic White Model Making Tools


Simple white cardboard models are often built by a scenic designer/draftsperson as part of set development.
The following is a list of basic tools and materials used for white model construction:

Exacto Knife and #11 Blades


Mat Knife and Blades—Olfa heavy-duty cutter w/ rubber grip

Self-Healing Cutting Mat


Scotch Tape Dispenser and MagicTape that is matte and can be written on
Rubber-Backed 12-inch Metal Ruler
Sobo Glue
Pack of Toothpicks for Gluing

Small Needle-Nosed Pliers

Basic Digital Supplies for Beginning Set Design


Laptop Computer A pencil draftsman today requires a laptop computer as part of his drafting setup. The
computer is needed for design and product research.

Adobe Photoshop A set designer needs to learn hand drawing and rendering, but he should also learn
Adobe Photoshop, to further manipulate his scanned artwork and to manipulate digital photographs.

Adobe Illustrator Unlike Photoshop, a pixel based program that gets fuzzier as it enlarges when the
pixels get farther apart, Adobe Illustrator is a vector-based drawing program where lines are created
with geometry and mathematics. It’s a good program to learn before tackling computer drafting as it
approaches digital drawing in a similar manner. This program is used to design signage for scenery and
for other prop needs and a good way to play with it is to design some signage for a set. Students can
also use ///ustrator as a pencil drafting aid, for example, they can draft a structure such as a wall, quickly
divide it into smaller units that they can print and slide under a pencil drawing.
Hot Door Cad Tools This is a plugin for Adobe ///ustrator that allows you to draw in scale so you can, for
instance, draw a 6-foot sign to fit on letter-size paper. Hot Door also allows scaled associative dimensions
that adjust when you change a shape so that you can dimension signs and other items.

Sketch-Up Photoshop and Illustrator are 2D drawing programs, but Sketch-Up is a relatively simple 3D
modeling program that allows you to build a digital model of your design that can be rotated and viewed
from any angle and to which you can apply surface treatments and simple lighting. Developed by Google
fun introduction to digital 3D modeling. Advanced students
with a free student version, this is an easy,
will want to learn a more sophisticated 3D modeling program that offers animation and more lighting
possibilities. A quick Sketch-up model can generate a perspective screen shot that you can print as an
underlay for a pencil sketch or can import into Photoshop for illustration.
Another random document with
no related content on Scribd:
The Project Gutenberg eBook of Interference
This ebook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United
States and most other parts of the world at no cost and with
almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away
or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License
included with this ebook or online at www.gutenberg.org. If you
are not located in the United States, you will have to check the
laws of the country where you are located before using this
eBook.

Title: Interference
A novel, Vol. 3 (of 3)

Author: B. M. Croker

Release date: November 23, 2023 [eBook #72210]

Language: English

Original publication: London: F. V. White & Co, 1891

Credits: MWS and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at


https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from
images generously made available by The Internet
Archive/American Libraries.)

*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK


INTERFERENCE ***
INTERFERENCE.
A Novel.

BY
B. M. CROKER,
AUTHOR OF
“PROPER PRIDE,” “PRETTY MISS NEVILLE,”
“A BIRD OF PASSAGE,” “DIANA BARRINGTON,”
“TWO MASTERS,” &c.

IN THREE VOLUMES.
VOL. III.

London:
F. V. WHITE & CO.,
31, SOUTHAMPTON STREET, STRAND, W.C.
1891.
PRINTED BY
KELLY & CO., MIDDLE MILL, KINGSTON-ON-THAMES;
AND GATE STREET, LINCOLN’S INN FIELDS, W.C.
CONTENTS.
CHAP. PAGE
I.—“Miserrime” 1
II.—“The Honeymoon” 27
III.—A new Life 51
IV.—Mrs. Holryod desires to look into the Past 74
V.—Mrs. Redmond’s Confession 95
VI.—A grand Surprise for George 119
VII.—A Story in her Eyes 138
VIII.—Mr. Redmond’s Ambassador 155
IX.—Something to Read 183
X.—In which Belle’s wish is fulfilled 210
INTERFERENCE.
CHAPTER I.
“MISERRIME.”

On the strength of his increase of income, Mr. Holroyd purchased


two ponies, and a cart (and this cart, it was noted, had a ladies’
step). He had long admired a certain empty bungalow with a large
garden, and rose-screened verandah. More than once he had
inspected the interior, and at last he boldly gave orders to the
landlord to have the garden put in order, the hedges clipped, and the
rooms matted. When it became noised abroad that George Holroyd
had been seen looking over a large double house, that he had
ordered a dinner-service, and a piano, the truth could be no longer
concealed, he was going to be married! This was a fine piece of
news for Mangobad. The men congratulated him somewhat sadly
but the ladies made up for them in fervour, and were all on the qui
vive to know what the bride would be like. Captain La Touche, being
searchingly cross-questioned, was able to gratify them with a few
particulars respecting her. She was young—only nineteen—Irish,
and pretty, and, as far as he could make out, she would be an
agreeable addition to their circle. Mr. Holroyd was not the least
bashful in accepting their good wishes, and seemed anxious to
bespeak their friendship for his future wife. She was so young and
inexperienced, he declared—quite a child in many ways, and only
hitherto accustomed to a very quiet country life. He was exceedingly
grateful for any suggestions offered by notable housekeepers and a
great deal of advice was placed ungrudgingly at his service. The
Judge’s wife engaged a cook, khansamah, and ayah; the Chaplain’s
sister superintended the purchase of lamps and kitchen utensils, the
Colonel’s two daughters chose furniture for the drawing-room, and
went over the rooms and discussed arrangements and
ornamentation with zeal.
All at once the community were electrified to hear that Mr. Holroyd
had suddenly changed his mind about what was called the “garden”
bungalow, and was going into the two-storeyed one, which had so
long stood empty—the bungalow in which the last tenant, Major
Bagshawe, had cut his throat. What was the reason of such an
extraordinary freak? Why exchange a modern, well-built house, with
a cheerful aspect, for a gloomy tumble-down mansion—certainly
more imposing, and standing in quite a park-like enclosure, but
which had been abandoned to rats and ghosts for years. No one
knew the motive for this strange proceeding—not even Captain La
Touche.
A few days before “this mysterious caprice of George Holroyd’s,”
the long desired mail had been received—the mail which was to
bring him Betty’s answer in her own handwriting, instead of that of
the telegraph Baboo. The night before it was delivered in Mangobad,
he could scarcely close his eyes. He was astir by daybreak, and
watching for the post peon long before that worthy began his rounds.
Here he came in sight at last, and with a good plump packet of
letters in his hand. George almost tore them from him, and then
hurried into his room to read them in solitude, where no bearer with
tea, or sweeper with broom, dared disturb him. There was one from
his mother, one from his lawyer, one from Mrs. Redmond, one from
Belle, but where was Betty’s? He turned them over very carefully,
and then ran out after the dakwalla. “Hullo! Stop! Hold on!” he
shouted (in Hindustani of course), “you have another letter for me.”
The man halted and showed his wallet; there was nothing else
addressed to Mr. Holroyd, no, not even a trade circular. “There must
be some mistake,” he muttered to himself, as he slowly retraced his
steps. Could she have missed the mail? He must only content
himself with Mrs. Redmond’s epistle for the present, and, happy
thought, that thrifty old lady’s effusion might contain Betty’s letter
after all! Alas, no, there was only one sheet of paper within the
envelope, and this is what it said:
“Dear Mr. Holroyd,—Your letter and enclosure reached
me by the last mail, and I am rather concerned as to how to
reply to it, for I have taken a step that will surprise you and
which you may never forgive—I have given your offer of
marriage to my daughter Belle.”
A rush of blood came suddenly to George Holroyd’s ears, the
paper seemed to swim before him; he threw it down on the table,
and placing both hands to his head, exclaimed aloud:
“I must be going mad! Either that, or she is writing from a lunatic
asylum!”
After a moment’s pause, he once more snatched up the letter, and
read on:
“There was nothing in your note that did not equally apply
to her, and Belle is so fond of you, and you paid her such
marked attention, that if you were to marry Betty she would
lose her reason—or break her heart.
“India has always been her dream, and, with you and India
combined, her happiness is assured, and I may tell you
frankly, that this is all that I now care for. You will think me a
very wicked, unprincipled old woman, but I have your
interests at heart, as well as Belle’s, and, though I shall not
live to know it, you will approve of my conduct yet. I am dying
by inches. I may not see another summer, and I obey the
most natural of all instincts in providing (when I can) for my
own child. Even if you execrate me, I can endure your hatred,
for I shall be supported by the conviction, that I have done
well.
“Belle, beautiful, animated, and accustomed to the best
military society, is the beau ideal of an officer’s wife, and will
be in a congenial sphere—your credit and your comfort. Betty
—a simple, little, awkward girl, with no ideas beyond horses
and dogs and flowers—is cut out for the position she is about
to fill; as the wife of a wealthy country gentleman, she can
make herself happy in her own land, she is in her element
among poor people, or in the hunting-field, and would be quite
miserable in India. She is going to marry Augustus Moore;
they are devotedly attached to one another, and he has
known her from her childhood.”
“Mentitor fortiter,” was Mrs. Redmond’s motto, and to do her
justice, she lived up to it; in a crisis like the present what was a lie
more or less? This notable falsehood gave a neat and suitable finish
to the whole scheme. Moreover, like all lies of the most dangerous
class, it contained a grain of the truth—Augustus Moore had known
Betty from childhood, and a less keen-sighted woman than the
mistress of Noone, could see that he was her slave; the match was
merely a question of time.
“In withholding your offer from Betty,” the letter went on to say, “I
am sparing you the mortification of a refusal. I have put the round
people in the round holes in spite of you, you see, and by the time
you are reading this, Belle (who knows nothing, poor darling) will be
half way to India with the Calverts. Betty has been helping her most
zealously in her preparations, and keeping up all our spirits with her
merry ways, and gay little jokes and songs.
“I do not know what we should have done without her; she has not
the faintest suspicion that you care for her, for all her thoughts are
fixed in another direction. Be good to Belle—she is quite a child, a
spoiled child in many ways; she is not much of a manager or
housekeeper, for I have wished her to make the most of her youth,
and only asked her to be happy and to look pretty. She is devoted to
you, and has been so from the very first, though with true maidenly
dignity she has concealed her feelings—even from me, but I know
that the prospect of being your wife, has filled her with unspeakable
happiness. Perhaps, after all, you may repudiate her love, you may
refuse to receive her, and leave her a friendless, nervous, sensitive
girl, unwelcomed in a strange land—only to return home broken-
hearted, dis-illusioned, and disgraced; but I scarcely believe you will
be capable of this, knowing that she loves you, confides in you, and
has no friends in India. Do not answer this letter. I may as well tell
you, candidly, that if you do I shall not read it, but will put it into the
fire, for in my failing health, my medical man advises me strictly
against any kind of unnecessary agitation. Pray, believe me yours
most faithfully,
“Emma Redmond.”
By the time George Holroyd had come to the end of this precious
epistle, it would be impossible to describe his feelings; they were a
mixture of incredulity, horror, agonising disappointment, and
uncontrollable fury.
“Mrs. Redmond was mad!” this he swore with a great oath; “or he
was mad, and everyone was mad.”
He seized his mother’s letter, much as a drowning man clutches at
a straw; it proved to be a somewhat querulous effusion, wondering
that he had never given her a hint of his intentions, amazed to hear
of his engagement to Belle, and pathetically imploring him to “think it
over,” but wishing him every happiness—whatever his fate.
Delighted at the news of his uncle’s generosity, and hinting (nay,
more than hinting) that he might share some of his good fortune with
Denis—openly stating that his poor dear brother wrote the most
pitiful accounts of his circumstances, and that she was sure he
would be annoyed to hear that he had actually applied to Mrs.
Maccabe for pecuniary assistance, instead of to his own flesh and
blood, and that a line to Denis Malone, care of the barman at the
Kangaroo Arms, Albany, South Australia, would always find him.
George put this epistle aside, and tore open Belle’s envelope with
a shaking hand.
When his eyes fell on the page beginning “My own, own darling,”
he crumbled the letter up into a ball, and dashed it from him with
anything but a lover-like gesture.
Then he rose and began to walk about the room like a man
possessed. He might have guessed how it would be! Betty was not
bound to him in any way, and whilst he had been toiling for her in
silence, at the other side of the world—Ghosty Moore was within
speech—within a ride!
Ghosty Moore was rich, young, and popular. He could give her
everything her heart desired. She would marry him, and be beloved,
admired and happy. A county lady with half a dozen hunters, and as
many dogs as she pleased. As for him, his life was wrecked, it did
not matter what became of him; he threw himself into a chair, leant
his arms on the table, buried his head in them, and wished himself
dead.
That Betty was lost to him was beyond doubt, and that Belle was
on her way out to marry him, was also beyond doubt; but no, he said
to himself fiercely, he would never make her his wife, and thus fulfil
the schemes, and be the easy tool, of her iniquitous old mother;
never!
To have the dearest hopes of his life dispersed by one shattering
blow was surely sufficiently hard for a man to bear, but to have
another fate imperatively thrust on him within the same hour—a fate
from which his highest and best feelings instinctively recoiled—a fate
that his heart most passionately repudiated—this was to drink the
cup of bitterness to the dregs, twice!
And if he refused to accept Belle as his bride, what was his
alternative? he asked himself, with fierce perplexity.
He felt dazed and stunned; the more he endeavoured to muster
his thoughts, to pursue ideas, to reach some definite plan, the more
unmanageable those thoughts and ideas became.
It was desperately hard to realise that one short ten minutes had
changed the whole current of his life.

Even to one’s old familiar friend, I doubt if it is wise to give the


entrée to your private room at all hours. He may chance to find a
soul in earthly torment, a mind en deshabille, with the mask of
conventionality, and the cloak of reserve, torn off, and thrown to the
winds.
Captain La Touche was whistling cheerily as he crossed the
verandah, and entered his comrade’s apartment. He looked cool,
handsome, and debonnair in his creaseless white suit and spotless
linen (he was such a dandy that he actually sent his shirts twice a
month to England to be washed; and oh! feat beyond the
dhoby!glazed). He had evidently had a good mail, for his face was
radiant, and he carried a packet of letters, and a French comic paper
in his hand. All at once his whistling ceased, as his eyes fell on his
comrade’s prone head—and the torn and discarded letters scattered
broadcast about the floor.
“Hullo, George, my dear old chap!” he exclaimed, “you have not
any bad news I hope. No one dead, eh?”
George raised a rigid white face to his, and gazed at him blankly
and shook his head.
“Your money gone again, eh?”
“No!”
“Oh, come then, it can’t be so very bad, pull yourself together, my
son, and have a whisky and soda; you look as if you had been
knocked into the middle of next week. What is it all about?”
“I’ve—I’ve a splitting headache.”
“Oh, and is that all?” rather dubiously.
“And some rather worrying letters,” he continued, making a great
effort to carry out the second part of his visitor’s prescription. “I shall
be all right by and by, don’t mind me.”
At first a wild idea had flashed through his brain. He would consult
his friend, and put the whole story before him, like a hard case in
Vanity Fair, and say, “supposing a man proposes for one girl, and
another comes out instead, believing that she is the right one—what
would you do? Marry her?” But as he gazed at Captain La Touche,
that sleek, prosperous, cynical bachelor, Lord President of the Mess
(sometimes a heritage of woe) and bitter enemy of matrimony, his
heart failed him. “Joe,” as he was called, would explode into one of
his loud bursts of laughter, and declare that it was the best joke he
had ever heard in the whole course of his life! Instead of being
sober-minded and sympathetic, he would chaffingly examine the
capabilities of the subjects for burlesque treatment; he would be
jocose and unbearable. But in this belief George did his friend
injustice!
In one vivid mental flash, he saw the ordeal he would now have to
face at mess, an ordeal he dared not confront. The good-humoured
jokes, congratulations, and presents of his brother officers, were
acceptable enough yesterday, but to-day they would be torture, as it
were, searing a gaping wound with red-hot iron. How was he to
assume a part—he being no actor at the best of times—the part of
the happy and expectant bridegroom! His thoughts flew to a certain
lonely dâk bungalow, about twenty miles out, rarely frequented, and
sufficiently far from the haunts of men. He would go in at once for ten
days’ leave for snipe shooting, put a few things together, and gallop
out there as soon as orderly-room was over. He must be alone, like
some wounded animal, that plunges into the thicket, when it has
received a mortal hurt—that it may die apart from its fellows, and
endure its agony unseen.
Once there, he would have time to advise with himself, to review
the whole burning question, and to meditate on falsified hopes,
abandoned aims, and a lost love.
The maturing of this sudden project did not occupy sixty seconds,
and Captain La Touche was still standing interrogatively in the
doorway.
“I’m not feeling very fit, Joe, the cramming is beginning to tell as
you predicted. I think I shall go out for ten days’ snipe shooting, to
blow the cobwebs out of my brains.”
“It’s too early for snipe,” objected his visitor, “make it the end of
next week, and I’ll go with you, old man!”
“I saw several wisps coming in last evening and——”
“And of course I forgot,” interrupted the other jocosely, “your time
is short, poor fellow, and who knows if it may not be your last shoot.
Such things have happened! Where are you going?”
“I was thinking of Sungoo,” he returned rather nervously.
“Sungoo! A nasty feverish hole! I would not go there if I were you.”
“There are several first class jheels about, and I’d like to make a
good bag,” returned the other, now lying as freely as Mrs. Redmond
herself.
“Well, well, have your own way, you always do,” returned his chum
with a French shrug of his broad shoulders. “’Pon my word, you gave
me a jolly good fright, just now, I thought there was bad news,
something up at home. By-bye,” and he opened his big white
umbrella, and strode off to breakfast.
Sungoo dâk bungalow was retired enough for St. Anthony himself;
it stood aloof from the high road, behind a clump of bamboos, and a
hedge of somewhat dusty cactus.
George Holroyd’s active bearer made daily raids on the nearest
village for fowl and eggs and goat’s milk, whilst his master paced the
verandah, or tramped over the country, and fought with his thoughts,
and endeavoured to shape out his future life. Willingly would he
change his lot for that of one of the cheerful brown tillers of the soil,
by whom he was surrounded, and whom he came across in his long
and aimless wanderings. How absorbed and interested was that
young fellow, as he sat at the edge of a tank, dividing his time
between his bamboo rod, and bobbing line, and the inevitable huka
that stood beside him.
He did not seem to have a care in the world!—and it was never
likely to be his fate to marry a woman against his will! All the same,
did his envious observer but know the truth, it was more than
probable that the same young man had been married from his
cradle.
Sungoo dâk bungalow was not only famed for seclusion and sport
—it was notoriously unhealthy; the rank vegetation and the vapours
from the neighbouring reedy snipe jheels made it an undesirable
residence. Hideous spiders with wormy legs, and semi-tame toads
abounded in the three small rooms. Mushrooms grew out of the
walls, a family of noisy civet cats lodged in the roof, hundreds of
frogs held oratorios in a neighbouring pond, rendering sleep
impossible—and altogether it was as damp and dreary a dwelling as
anyone could wish to see; and a man who had taken a dislike to
existence could not have chosen a more congenial abode.
One day George’s bearer went considerably further than the
nearest mud-walled village; he galloped post haste into Mangobad,
and informed Captain La Touche and his brother officers that his
master was very ill, in a raging fever, and “talking very strangely.”
“That’s it,” vociferated his chum, “I was afraid there was something
up. You notice he never sent in a single brace of snipe, and he
knows what a boon they are.”
He and the station doctor set off at once, and brought the patient
in the next morning in a dhooly. He was still in a high fever, but
perfectly conscious and alive to his surroundings.
For days he had been racked with an uncontrollable longing to see
Betty only once, and to speak to her face to face—as vain a longing
as that of the wretched captive in a deep, dark dungeon, who
languishes to see the sun!
As Captain La Touche sat by him, and gazed at him anxiously, he
opened his eyes, and said in a low voice: “Joe, I would give half my
life to see her but for five minutes—and to speak to her face to face.”
Captain La Touche was exceedingly concerned, and subsequently
told his brother officers that it looked like a bad business, for Holroyd
was still delirious and wandering in his mind.
Ten days’ excellent nursing brought him round, and the doctor was
most assiduous in what he called “patching him up” in order that he
might be in time to meet the steamer. Nevertheless all George’s
friends were shocked at the change that such a short illness had
made in his appearance. He looked as if he had aged ten years in
ten days; his eyes were sunken, his cheeks hollow, and he was so
weak and emaciated that, according to one of his comrades, “he
appeared to be walking about, to save the expenses of his funeral,”
and in this cheerful condition he went down to Bombay, to accept the
inevitable, and to receive his bride.
CHAPTER II.
“THE HONEYMOON.”

“Face joys a costly mask to wear,


’Tis bought with pangs long nourishèd
And rounded to despair.”

“On the 5th instant, at the Cathedral, Bombay, by the Rev.


Erasmus Jones, George Holroyd, Lieutenant, Her Majesty’s Royal
Musketeers, only son of the late George Holroyd, and grandson of
Sir Mowbray Holroyd, of Rivals Place, county Durham, to Isabelle
Felicité, daughter of the late Fergus Redmond, grand-niece of Lord
Bogberry, and great-grand-niece of the Marquis of Round Tower. By
Telegram.”
Mrs. Redmond herself had composed this high-sounding
announcement, and had handed it to Colonel Calvert, with
instructions to insert the date, and not to trust it to Holroyd, but to
see to it himself—perhaps in her secret heart she feared that George
might modify her magnificent composition.
The wedding was strictly private, and if the bridegroom looked
haggard and pre-occupied, the bride was both blooming and
beaming. The Calverts and Miss Gay were the only guests, and after
the ceremony, the happy pair went direct to the railway station, and
departed on a tour up country. They visited Jeypore, Ajmir, Delhi,
Agra, and Lucknow. Belle liked the bustle, the constant change, the
novelty of her surroundings, the admiring eyes of other passengers,
and the luxury of having every wish most carefully studied. But she
did not much appreciate Indian sights and Indian scenery. She gave
them but a very cursory notice, her attention being chiefly centred on
her fellow travellers. It was the flood-tide of the globe-trotting season
—English, Americans, French, and Australians, were scattered over
the land in hundreds, “doing India,” from a certain point of view, and
believing that when they had seen the Taj at Agra, the burning ghaut
at Benares, the snows at Darjeeling, a snake charmer, and a fakeer,
they were henceforth qualified authorities on the Eastern question!
The hotels were crammed, the proprietors reaping a golden harvest,
and often at their wits’ end to find quarters for their guests. Belle
enjoyed the numerous and varied society she met at the table
d’hôte, her roving, challenging dark eyes daily wandered among
what were, to her, entirely new types. There was the purse-proud,
tubby little man, who scorned the letter H and expected to be served
as promptly and as obsequiously as if he were in his own house;
who roared and stormed in English at amazed Mahomedan
khitmatgars, who did not understand either him or his wants. There
were the people who entered into conversation right and left, and
cheerfully discussed plans and places, the people who never opened
their mouths but to receive their forks—or knives; the people who ate
everything, the people who barely tasted a morsel—and the delicate
couple from Calcutta who had brought their own cook! The American
party, mostly wearing pince-nez, bright, brisk, agreeable, seeing the
world at rail-road speed and pleased with all they saw, sleeping in
trains, eating in “ticca” gharries, en route to some sight, and writing
up their diaries at every spare moment. The English family—
comprised of a father collecting facts, a mother collecting pottery,
two pretty daughters, a valet and a maid—to whom time and money
were no object, and who were a perfect fortune to the hawkers who
haunted the hotel verandahs. There was the gentleman from New
Zealand, who was surprised at nothing but the gigantic size of the
cockroaches, and the ruddy-cheeked youth from Belfast, who was
surprised at everything, and who half expected to see tigers sporting
on the Apollo Bunder or chasing the Bombay trams; also the two
cautious ladies, who brought their hand-bags to the table, and read
guide books between the courses. Moreover, there was the
handsome rich young man who had come out to shoot big game,
and discoursed eloquently of the delights of the Terai, and the merits
of explosive bullets, and shikar elephants, and was not unlikely to be
“brought down” himself by the bright eyes of an Australian girl, who
played off Japan against the jungles. Last, but not least, the

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