The Trumpet-Major by Thomas Hardy

During this exciting time John Loveday seldom or never appeared at the / mill. With the recall of Bob, in which he had been sole agent, his / mission seemed to be complete.

One mid-day, before Anne had made any change in her manner of living on / account of her unexpected acquisition, Lieutenant Bob came in rather / suddenly. He had been to Budmouth, and announced to the arrested senses / of the family that the -- th Dragoons were ordered to join Sir Arthur / Wellesley in the Peninsula.

These tidings produced a great impression on the household. John had / been so long in the neighbourhood, either at camp or in barracks, that / they had almost forgotten the possibility of his being sent away; and / they now began to reflect upon the singular infrequency of his calls / since his brother's return. There was not much time, however, for / reflection, if they wished to make the most of John's farewell visit, / which was to be paid the same evening, the departure of the regiment / being fixed for next day. A hurried valedictory supper was prepared / during the afternoon, and shortly afterwards John arrived.

He seemed to be more thoughtful and a trifle paler than of old, but / beyond these traces, which might have been due to the natural wear and / tear of time, he showed no signs of gloom. On his way through the town / that morning a curious little incident had occurred to him. He was / walking past one of the churches when a wedding-party came forth, the / bride and bridegroom being Matilda and Festus Derriman. At sight of the / trumpet-major the yeoman had glared triumphantly; Matilda, on her part, / had winked at him slily, as much as to say. But what she meant heaven / knows: the trumpet-major did not trouble himself to think, and passed on / without returning the mark of confidence with which she had favoured him.

Soon after John's arrival at the mill several of his friends dropped in / for the same purpose of bidding adieu. They were mostly the men who had / been entertained there on the occasion of the regiment's advent on the / down, when Anne and her mother were coaxed in to grace the party by their / superior presence; and their well-trained, gallant manners were such as / to make them interesting visitors now as at all times. For it was a / period when romance had not so greatly faded out of military life as it / has done in these days of short service, heterogeneous mixing, and / transient campaigns; when the esprit de corps was strong, and long / experience stamped noteworthy professional characteristics even on rank / and file; while the miller's visitors had the additional advantage of / being picked men.

They could not stay so long to-night as on that earlier and more cheerful / occasion, and the final adieus were spoken at an early hour. It was no / mere playing at departure, as when they had gone to Exonbury barracks, / and there was a warm and prolonged shaking of hands all round.

'You'll wish the poor fellows good-bye? ' said Bob to Anne, who had not / come forward for that purpose like the rest. 'They are going away, and / would like to have your good word.'

She then shyly advanced, and every man felt that he must make some pretty / speech as he shook her by the hand.

'Good-bye! May you remember us as long as it makes ye happy, and forget / us as soon as it makes ye sad,' said Sergeant Brett.

'Good-night! Health, wealth, and long life to ye! ' said Sergeant-major / Wills, taking her hand from Brett.

'I trust to meet ye again as the wife of a worthy man,' said Trumpeter / Buck.

'We'll drink your health throughout the campaign, and so good-bye t'ye,' / said Saddler-sergeant Jones, raising her hand to his lips.

Three others followed with similar remarks, to each of which Anne / blushingly replied as well as she could, wishing them a prosperous / voyage, easy conquest, and a speedy return.

But, alas, for that! Battles and skirmishes, advances and retreats, / fevers and fatigues, told hard on Anne's gallant friends in the coming / time. Of the seven upon whom these wishes were bestowed, five, including / the trumpet-major, were dead men within the few following years, and / their bones left to moulder in the land of their campaigns.

John lingered behind. When the others were outside, expressing a final / farewell to his father, Bob, and Mrs. Loveday, he came to Anne, who / remained within.

'But I thought you were going to look in again before leaving? ' she said / gently.

'No; I find I cannot. Good-bye!'

'John,' said Anne, holding his right hand in both hers, 'I must tell you / something. You were wise in not taking me at my word that day. I was / greatly mistaken about myself. Gratitude is not love, though I wanted to / make it so for the time. You don't call me thoughtless for what I did?'

'My dear Anne,' cried John, with more gaiety than truthfulness, 'don't / let yourself be troubled! What happens is for the best. Soldiers love / here to-day and there to-morrow. Who knows that you won't hear of my / attentions to some Spanish maid before a month is gone by? 'Tis the way / of us, you know; a soldier's heart is not worth a week's purchase -- ha, / ha! Goodbye, good-bye!'

Anne felt the expediency of his manner, received the affectation as real, / and smiled her reply, not knowing that the adieu was for evermore. Then / with a tear in his eye he went out of the door, where he bade farewell to / the miller, Mrs. Loveday, and Bob, who said at parting, 'It's all right, / Jack, my dear fellow. After a coaxing that would have been enough to win / three ordinary Englishwomen, five French, and ten Mulotters, she has to- / day agreed to bestow her hand upon me at the end of six months. Good-bye, / Jack, good-bye!'