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diff --git a/old/lotha10.txt b/old/lotha10.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d194719 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/lotha10.txt @@ -0,0 +1,16981 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Lothair, by Benjamin Disraeli + +Copyright laws are changing all over the world. Be sure to check the +copyright laws for your country before downloading or redistributing +this or any other Project Gutenberg eBook. + +This header should be the first thing seen when viewing this Project +Gutenberg file. Please do not remove it. Do not change or edit the +header without written permission. + +Please read the "legal small print," and other information about the +eBook and Project Gutenberg at the bottom of this file. Included is +important information about your specific rights and restrictions in +how the file may be used. You can also find out about how to make a +donation to Project Gutenberg, and how to get involved. + + +**Welcome To The World of Free Plain Vanilla Electronic Texts** + +**eBooks Readable By Both Humans and By Computers, Since 1971** + +*****These eBooks Were Prepared By Thousands of Volunteers!***** + + +Title: Lothair + +Author: Benjamin Disraeli + +Release Date: April, 2005 [EBook #7835] +[This file was first posted on May 21, 2003] + +Edition: 10 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: US-ASCII + +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK, LOTHAIR *** + + + + +Scanned by K. Kay Shearin + + + +LOTHAIR + +by Benjamin Disraeli + + + + + + + +CHAPTER 1 + + +"I remember him a little boy," said the duchess, "a pretty little boy, +but very shy. His mother brought him to us one day. She was a dear +friend of mine; you know she was one of my bridesmaids?" + +"And you have never seen him since, mamma?" inquired a married daughter, +who looked like the younger sister of her mother. + +"Never; he was an orphan shortly after; I have often reproached myself, +but it is so difficult to see boys. Then, he never went to school, but +was brought up in the Highlands with a rather savage uncle; and if he +and Bertram had not become friends at Christchurch, I do not well see +how we ever could have known him." + +These remarks were made in the morning-room of Brentham, where the +mistress of the mansion sat surrounded by her daughters, all occupied +with various works. One knitted a purse, another adorned a slipper a +third emblazoned a page. Beautiful forms in counsel leaned over frames +embroidery, while two fair sisters more remote occasionally burst into +melody as they tried the passages of a new air, which had been dedicated +to them in the manuscript of some devoted friend. + +The duchess, one of the greatest heiresses of Britain, singularly +beautify and gifted with native grace, had married in her teens one of +the wealthiest and most powerful of our nobles, and scarcely order than +herself. Her husband was as distinguished for his appearance and his +manners as his bride, and those who speculate on race were interested in +watching the development of their progeny, who in form and color, and +voice, and manner, and mind, were a reproduction of their parents, who +seemed only the elder brother and sister of a gifted circle. The +daughters with one exception came first, and all met the same fate. +After seventeen years of a delicious home they were presented, and +immediately married; and all to personages of high consideration. After +the first conquest, this fate seemed as regular as the order of Nature. +Then came a son, who was now at Christchurch, and then several others, +some at school, and some scarcely out of the nursery. There was one +daughter unmarried, and she was to be presented next season. Though the +family likeness was still apparent in Lady Corisande, in general +expression she differed from her sisters. They were all alike with +their delicate aquiline noses, bright complexions, short upper lips, and +eyes of sunny light. The beauty of Lady Corisande was even more +distinguished and more regular, but whether it were the effect of her +dark-brown hair and darker eyes, her countenance had not the lustre of +the res, and its expression was grave and perhaps pensive. + +The duke, though still young, and naturally of a gay and joyous +temperament, had a high sense of duty, and strong domestic feelings. He +was never wanting in his public place, and he was fond of his wife and +his children; still more, proud of them. Every day when he looked into +the glass, and gave the last touch to his consummate toilet, he offered +his grateful thanks to Providence that his family was not unworthy of +him. + +His grace was accustomed to say that he had only one misfortune, and it +was a great one; he had no home. His family had married so many +heiresses, and he, consequently, possessed so many halls and castles, at +all of which, periodically, he wished, from a right feeling, to reside, +that there was no sacred spot identified with his life in which his +heart, in the bustle and tumult of existence, could take refuge. +Brentham was the original seat of his family, and he was even +passionately fond of it; but it was remarkable how very short a period +of his yearly life was passed under its stately roof. So it was his +custom always to repair to Brentham the moment the season was over, and +he would exact from his children, that, however short might be the time, +they would be his companions under those circumstances. The daughters +loved Brentham, and they loved to please their father; but the +sons-in-law, though they were what is called devoted to their wives, +and, unusual as it may seem, scarcely less attached to their legal +parents, did not fall very easily into this arrangement. The country in +August without sport was unquestionably to them a severe trial: +nevertheless, they rarely omitted making their appearance, and, if they +did occasionally vanish, sometimes to Cowes, sometimes to Switzerland, +sometimes to Norway, they always wrote to their wives, and always +alluded to their immediate or approaching return; and their letters +gracefully contributed to the fund of domestic amusement. + +And yet it would be difficult to find a fairer scene than Brentham +offered, especially in the lustrous effulgence of a glorious English +summer. It was an Italian palace of freestone; vast, ornate, and in +scrupulous condition; its spacious and graceful chambers filled with +treasures of art, and rising itself from statued and stately terraces. +At their foot spread a gardened domain of considerable extent, bright +with flowers, dim with coverts of rare shrubs, and musical with +fountains. Its limit reached a park, with timber such as the midland +counties only can produce. The fallow deer trooped among its ferny +solitudes and gigantic oaks; but, beyond the waters of the broad and +winding lake, the scene became more savage, and the eye caught the dark +forms of the red deer on some jutting mount, shrinking with scorn from +communion with his gentler brethren. + + + +CHAPTER 2 + + +Lothair was the little boy whom the duchess remembered. He was a +posthumous child, and soon lost a devoted mother. His only relation was +one of his two guardians, a Scotch noble -- a Presbyterian and a Whig. +This uncle was a widower with some children, but they were girls, and, +though Lothair was attached to them, too young to be his companions. +Their father was a keen, hard man, honorable and just but with no +softness of heart or manner. He guarded with precise knowledge and with +unceasing vigilance over Lothair's vast inheritance, which was in many +counties and in more than one kingdom; but he educated him in a Highland +home, and when he had reached boyhood thought fit to send him to the +High School of Edinburgh. Lothair passed a monotonous, if not a dull, +life; but he found occasional solace in the scenes of a wild and +beautiful nature, and delight in all the sports of the field and forest, +in which he was early initiated and completely indulged. Although an +Englishman, he was fifteen before he re-visited his country, and then +his glimpses of England were brief, and to him scarcely satisfactory. +He was hurried sometimes to vast domains, which he heard were his own; +and sometimes whisked to the huge metropolis, where he was shown St. +Paul's and the British-Museum. These visits left a vague impression of +bustle without kindness and exhaustion without excitement; and he was +glad to get back to his glens, to the moor and the mountain-streams. + +His father, in the selection of his guardians, had not contemplated this +system of education. While he secured by the appointment of his +brother-in-law, the most competent and trustworthy steward of his son's +fortune, he had depended on another for that influence which should +mould the character, guide the opinions, and form the tastes of his +child. The other guardian was a clergyman, his father's private tutor +and heart-friend; scarcely his parent's senior, but exercising over him +irresistible influence, for he was a man of shining talents and +abounding knowledge, brilliant and profound. But unhappily, shortly +after Lothair became an orphan, this distinguished man seceded from the +Anglican communion, and entered the Church of Rome. From this moment +there was war between the guardians. The uncle endeavored to drive his +colleague from the trust: in this he failed, for the priest would not +renounce his office. The Scotch noble succeeded, however, in making it +a fruitless one: he thwarted every suggestion that emanated from the +obnoxious quarter; and, indeed, the secret reason of the almost constant +residence of Lothair in Scotland, and of his harsh education, was the +fear of his relative, that the moment he crossed the border he might, by +some mysterious process, fall under the influence that his guardian so +much dreaded and detested. + +There was however, a limit to these severe precautions, even before +Lothair should reach his majority. His father had expressed in his will +that his son should be educated at the University of Oxford, and at the +same college of which he had been a member. His uncle was of opinion he +complied with the spirit of this instruction by sending Lothair to the +University of Edinburgh, which would give the last tonic to his moral +system; and then commenced a celebrated chancery-suit, instituted by the +Roman Catholic guardian, in order to enforce a literal compliance with +the educational condition of the will. The uncle looked upon this +movement as a popish plot, and had recourse to every available +allegation and argument to baffle it: but ultimately in vain. With +every precaution to secure his Protestant principles, and to guard +against the influence, or even personal interference of his Roman +Catholic guardian, the lord-chancellor decided that Lothair should be +sent to Christchurch. + +Here Lothair, who had never been favored with a companion of his own age +and station, soon found a congenial one in the heir of Brentham. +Inseparable in pastime, not dissociated even in study, sympathizing +companionship soon ripened into fervent friendship. They lived so much +together that the idea of separation became not only painful but +impossible; and, when vacation arrived, and Brentham was to be visited +by its future lord, what more natural than that it should be arranged +that Lothair should be a visitor to his domain? + + + +CHAPTER 3 + + +Although Lothair was the possessor of as many palaces and castles as the +duke himself, it is curious that his first dinner at Brentham was almost +his introduction into refined society. He had been a guest at the +occasional banquets of his uncle; but these were festivals of the Picts +and Scots; rude plenty and coarse splendor, with noise instead of +conversation, and a tumult of obstructive defendants, who impeded, by +their want of skill, the very convenience which they were purposed to +facilitate. How different the surrounding scene! A table covered with +flowers, bright with fanciful crystal, and porcelain that had belonged +to sovereigns, who had given a name to its color or its form. As for +those present, all seemed grace and gentleness, from the radiant +daughters of the house to the noiseless attendants that anticipated all +his wants, and sometimes seemed to suggest his wishes. + +Lothair sat between two of the married daughters. They addressed him +with so much sympathy that he was quite enchanted. When they asked +their pretty questions and made their sparkling remarks, roses seemed to +drop from their lips, and sometimes diamonds. It was a rather large +party, for the Brentham family were so numerous that they themselves +made a festival. There were four married daughters, the duke and two +sons-in-law, a clergyman or two, and some ladies and gentlemen who were +seldom absent from this circle, and who, by their useful talents and +various accomplishments, alleviated the toil or cares of life from which +even princes are not exempt. + +When the ladies had retired to the duchess's drawing-room, all the +married daughters clustered round their mother. + +"Do you know, mamma, we all think him very, good-looking," said the +youngest married daughter, the wife of the listless and handsome St. +Aldegonde. + +"And not at all shy," said Lady Montairy, "though reserved." + +"I admire deep-blue eyes with dark lashes," said the duchess. + +Notwithstanding the decision of Lady Montairy, Lothair was scarcely free +from embarrassment when he rejoined the ladies; and was so afraid of +standing alone, or talking only to men, that he was almost on the point +of finding refuge in his dinner-companions, had not he instinctively +felt that this would have been a social blunder. But the duchess +relieved him: her gracious glance caught his at the right moment, and +she rose and met him some way as he advanced. The friends had arrived +so late, that Lothair had had only time to make a reverence of ceremony +before dinner. + +"It is not our first meeting," said her grace; "but that you cannot +remember." + +"Indeed I do," said Lothair, "and your grace gave me a golden heart." + +"How can you remember such things," exclaimed the duchess, "which I had +myself forgotten!" + +"I have rather a good memory," replied Lothair; "and it is not wonderful +that I should remember this, for it is the only present that ever was +made me." + +The evenings at Brentham were short, but they were sweet. It was a +musical family, without being fanatical on the subject. There was +always music, but it was not permitted that the guests should be +deprived of other amusements. But music was the basis of the evening's +campaigns. The duke himself sometimes took a second; the four married +daughters warbled sweetly; but the great performer was Lady Corisande. +When her impassioned tones sounded, there was a hushed silence in every +chamber; otherwise, many things were said and done amid accompanying +melodies, that animated without distracting even a whistplayer. The +duke himself rather preferred a game of piquet or cart with Captain +Mildmay, and sometimes retired with a troop to a distant, but still +visible, apartment, where they played with billiard-balls games which +were not billiards. + +The ladies had retired, the duke had taken his glass of seltzer-water, +and had disappeared. The gentry lingered and looked at each other, as +if they were an assembly of poachers gathering for an expedition, and +then Lord St. Aldegonde, tall, fair, and languid, said to Lothair, "do +you smoke?" + +"No!" + +"I should have thought Bertram would have seduced you by this time. +Then let us try. Montairy will give you one of his cigarettes, so mild +that his wife never finds him out." + + + +CHAPTER 4 + + +The breakfast-room at Brentham was very bright. It opened on a garden +of its own, which, at this season, was so glowing, and cultured into +patterns so fanciful and finished, that it had the resemblance of a vast +mosaic. The walls of the chamber were covered with bright drawings and +sketches of our modern masters, and frames of interesting miniatures, +and the meal was served on half a dozen or more round tables, which vied +with each other in grace and merriment; brilliant as a cluster of Greek +or Italian republics, instead of a great metropolitan table, like a +central government absorbing all the genius and resources of the +society. + +Every scene In this life at Brentham charmed Lothair, who, though not +conscious of being of a particularly gloomy temper, often felt that he +had, somehow or other, hitherto passed through life rarely with +pleasure, and never with joy. + +After breakfast the ladies retired to their morning-room, and the +gentlemen strolled to the stables, Lord St. Aldegonde lighting a Manilla +cheroot of enormous length. As Lothair was very fond of horses, this +delighted him. The stables at Brentham were rather too far from the +house, but they were magnificent, and the stud worthy of them. It was +numerous and choice, and, above all it was useful. It could supply, a +readier number of capital riding-horses than any stable in England. +Brentham was a great riding family. In the summer season the duke +delighted to head a numerous troop, penetrate far into the country, and +scamper home to a nine-o'clock dinner. All the ladies of the house were +fond and fine horse-women. The mount of one of these riding-parties was +magical. The dames and damsels vaulted on their barbs, and genets, and +thorough-bred hacks, with such airy majesty; they were absolutely +overwhelming with their bewildering habits and their bewitching hats. + +Every thing was so new in this life at Brentham to Lothair, as well as +so agreeable, that the first days passed by no means rapidly; for, +though it sounds strange, time moves with equal slowness whether we +experience many impressions or none. In a new circle every character is +a study, and every incident an adventure; and the multiplicity of the +images and emotions restrains the hours. But after a few days, though +Lothair was not less delighted, for he was more so, he was astonished at +the rapidity of time. The life was exactly the same, but equally +pleasant; the same charming companions, the same refined festivity, the +same fascinating amusements; but to his dismay Lothair recollected that +nearly a fortnight had elapsed since his arrival. Lord St. Aldegonde +also was on the wing; he was obliged to go to Cowes to see a sick +friend, though he considerately left Bertha behind him. The other +son-in-law remained, for he could not tear himself away from his wife. +He was so distractedly fond of Lady Montairy that he would only smoke +cigarettes. Lothair felt it was time to go, and he broke the +circumstance to his friend Bertram. + +These two "old fellows," as they mutually described each other, could +not at all agree as to the course to be pursued. Bertram looked upon +Lothair's suggestion as an act of desertion from himself. At their time +of life, the claims of friendship are paramount. And where could +Lothair go to? And what was there to do? Nowhere, and nothing. +Whereas, if he would remain a little longer, as the duke expected and +also the duchess, Bertram would go with him anywhere he liked, and do +any thing he chose. So Lothair remained. + +In the evening, seated by Lady Montairy, Lothair observed on her +sister's singing, and said, "I never heard any of our great singers, but +I cannot believe there is a finer voice in existence." + +"Corisande's is a fine voice," said Lady Montairy, "but I admire her +expression more than her tone; for there are certainly many finer +voices, and some day you will hear them." + +"But I prefer expression," said Lothair very decidedly. + +"Ah, yes! doubtless," said Lady Montairy, who was working a purse, "and +that's what we all want, I believe; at least we married daughters, they +say. My brother, Granville St. Aldegonde, says we are all too much +alike, and that Bertha St. Aldegonde would be parallel if she had no +sisters." + +"I don't at all agree with Lord St. Aldegonde," said Lothair, with +energy. "I do not think it is possible to have too many relatives like +you and your sisters." + +Lady Montairy looked up with a smile, but she did not meet a smiling +countenance. He seemed, what is called an earnest young man, this +friend of her brother Bertram. + +At this moment the duke sent swift messengers for all: to come, even the +duchess, to partake in a new game just arrived from Russia, some +miraculous combination of billiard-balls. Some rose directly, some +lingering a moment arranging their work, but all were in motion. +Corisande was at the piano, and disencumbering herself of some music. +Lothair went up to her rather abruptly: + +"Your singing," he said, "is the finest thing I ever heard. I am so +happy that I am not going to leave Brentham to-morrow. There is no +place in the world that I think equal to Brentham." + +"And I love it, too, and no other place," she replied; "and I should be +quite happy if I never left it." + + + +CHAPTER 5 + + +Lord Montairy was passionately devoted to croquet. He flattered himself +that he was the most accomplished male performer existing. He would +have thought absolutely the most accomplished, were it not for the +unrivalled feats of Lady Montairy. She was the queen of croquet. Her +sisters also used the mallet with admirable skill, but not like +Georgina. Lord Montairy always looked forward to his summer croquet at +Brentham. It was a great croquet family, the Brentham family; even +listless Lord St. Aldegonde would sometimes play, with a cigar never +out of his mouth. They did not object to his smoking in the air. On +the contrary, "they rather liked it." Captain Mildmay, too, was a +brilliant hand, and had written a. treatise on croquet -- the best +going. + +There was a great croquet-party one morning at Brentham. Some neighbors +had been invited who loved the sport. Mr. Blenkinsop a grave young +gentleman, whose countenance never relaxed while he played, and who was +understood, to give his mind entirely up to croquet. He was the owner +of the largest estate in the county, and it was thought would have very +much liked to have allied himself with one of the young ladies of the +house of Brentham; but these flowers were always plucked so quickly, +that his relations with the distinguished circle never grew more +intimate than croquet. He drove over with some fine horses, and several +cases and bags containing instruments and weapons for the fray. His +sister came with him, who had forty thousand pounds, but, they said, in +some mysterious manner dependent on his consent to her marriage; and it +was added that Mr. Blenkinsop would not allow his sister to marry +because he would miss her so much in his favorite pastime. There were +some other morning visitors, and one or two young curates in cassocks. + +It seemed to Lothair a game of great deliberation and of more interest +than gayety, though sometimes a cordial cheer, and sometimes a ringing +laugh of amiable derision, notified a signal triumph or a disastrous +failure. But the scene was brilliant: a marvellous lawn, the duchess's +Turkish tent with its rich hangings, and the players themselves, the +prettiest of all the spectacle, with their coquettish hats, and their +half-veiled and half-revealed under-raiment scarlet and silver, or blue +and gold, made up a sparkling and modish scene. + +Lothair, who had left the players for a while, and was regaining the +lawn, met the duchess. + +"Your grace is not going to leave us, I hope?" he said, rather +anxiously. + +"For a moment. I have long promised to visit the new dairy; and I think +this a good opportunity." + +"I wish I might be your companion," said Lothair; and, invited, he was +by her grace's side. + +They turned into a winding walk of thick and fragrant shrubs, and, after +a while, they approached a dell, surrounded with, high trees that +environed it with perpetual shade; in the centre of the dell was +apparently a Gothic shrine, fair in design and finished in execution, +and this was the duchess's new dairy. A pretty sight is a first-rate +dairy, with its flooring of fanciful tiles, and its cool and shrouded +chambers, its stained windows and its marble slabs, and porcelain pans +of cream, and plenteous platters of fantastically-formed butter. + +"Mrs. Woods and her dairy-maids look like a Dutch picture," said the +duchess. "Were you ever in Holland?" + +"I have never been anywhere," said Lothair. + +"You should travel," said the duchess. + +"I have no wish," said Lothair. + +"The duke has given me some Coreean fowls," said the duchess to Mrs. +Woods, when they had concluded their visit. "Do you think you could +take care of them for me?" + +"Well, Grace, I am sure I will do my best; but then they are very, +troublesome, and I was not fortunate with my Cochin. I had rather they +were sent to the aviary, Grace, if it were all the same." + +"I should so like to see the aviary," said Lothair. + +"Well, we will go." + +And this rather extended their walk, and withdrew them more from the +great amusement of the day. + +"I wish your grace would do me a great favor," said Lothair, abruptly +breaking a rather prolonged silence. + +"And what is that?" said the duchess. + +"It is a very great favor," repeated Lothair. + +"If it be in my power to grant it, its magnitude would only be an +additional recommendation." + +"Well," said Lothair, blushing deeply, and speaking with much agitation, +"I would ask your grace's permission to offer my hand to your daughter." + +The duchess I looked amazed. "Corisande!" she exclaimed. + +"Yes, to Lady Corisande." + +"Corisande," replied the duchess, after a pause, "has absolutely not yet +entered the world. Corisande is a child; and you -- you, my dear friend +-- I am sure you will pardon me If I say, so -- you are not very much +older than Corisande." + +"I have no wish to enter the world," said Lothair, with much decision. + +"I am not an enemy to youthful marriages," said the duchess. "I married +early myself, and my children married early; and I am very happy, and I +hope they are; but some experience of society before we settle is most +desirable, and is one of the conditions, I cannot but believe, of that +felicity which we all seek." + +"I hate society," said Lothair. "I would never go out of my domestic +circle, if it were the circle I contemplate." + +"My dear young friend," said the duchess, "you could hardly have seen +enough of society to speak with so much decision." + +"I have seen quite enough of it," said Lothair. "I went to an evening +party last season -- I came up from Christchurch on purpose for it -- +and if ever they catch me at another, they shall inflict any penalty +they please." + +"I fear it was a stupid party," said the duchess, smiling, and glad to +turn, if possible, the conversation into a lighter vein. + +"No, it was a very grand party, I believe, and not exactly stupid -- it +was not, that; but I was disgusted with all I saw and all I heard. It +seemed to me a mass of affectation, falsehood, and malignity." + +"Oh! dear," said the duchess, "how very dreadful! But I did not mean +merely going to parties for society; I meant knowledge of the world, and +that experience which enables us to form sound opinions on the affairs +of life." + +"Oh! as for that," said Lothair, "my, opinions are already formed on +every subject; that is to say, every subject of importance; and, what is +more, they will never change." + +"I could not say that of Corisande," said the duchess. + +"I think we agree on all the great things," said Lothair, musingly. +"Her church views may be a little higher than mine, but I do not +anticipate any permanent difficulty on that head. Although my uncle +made me go to kirk, I always hated it and always considered myself a +churchman. Then, as to churches themselves, she is in favor of building +churches, and so am I; and schools -- there is no quantity of schools I +would not establish. My opinion is, you cannot have too much education, +provided it be founded on a religious basis. I would sooner renounce +the whole of my inheritance than consent to secular education." + +"I should be sorry to see any education but a religious education," +remarked the duchess. + +"Well, then," said Lothair, "that is our life, or a great part of it. +To complete it, here is that to which I really wish to devote my +existence, and in which I instinctively feel Lady Corisande would +sympathize with me -- the extinction of pauperism." + +"That is a vast subject;" said the duchess. + +"It is the terror of Europe and the disgrace of Britain," said Lothair; +"and I am resolved to grapple with it. It seems to me that pauperism is +not an affair so much of wages as of dwellings. If the working-classes +were properly lodged, at their present rate of wages, they would be +richer. They would be healthier and happier at the same cost. I am so +convinced of this, that the moment I am master, I shall build two +thousand cottages on any estates. I have the designs already." + +"I am much in favor of improved dwellings for the poor," said the +duchess; "but then you must take care that your dwellings are cottages, +and not villas like my cousin's, the Duke of Luton." + +"I do not think I shall make that mistake," replied Lothair. "It +constantly engages my thought. I am wearied of hearing of my wealth, +and I am conscious it has never brought me any happiness. I have lived +a great deal alone, dearest duchess, and thought much of these things, +but I feel now I should be hardly equal to the effort, unless I had a +happy home to, fall back upon." + +"And you will have a happy home in due time," said the duchess; "and +with such good and great thoughts you deserve one. But take the advice +of one who loved your mother, and who would extend to you the same +affection as to her own children; before you take a step which cannot be +recalled, see a little more of the world." + +Lothair shook his head. "No," he said, after a pause. "My idea of +perfect society is being married as I propose, and paying visits to +Brentham; and when the visits to Brentham ceased, then I should like you +and the duke to pay visits to us." + +"But that would be a fairy-tale," said the duchess. + +So they walked on in silence. + +Suddenly and abruptly Lothair turned to the duchess and said, "Does your +grace see objection to my speaking to your daughter?" + +"Dear friend, indeed, yes. What you would say would only agitate and +disturb Corisande. Her character is not yet formed, and its future is +perplexing, at least to me," murmured the mother. "She has not the +simple nature of her sisters. It is a deeper and more complicated mind, +and I watch its development with fond, but anxious interest." Then, in +a lighter tone, she added, "You do not know very much of us. Try to +know more. Everybody under this roof views you with regard, and you are +the brother friend of our eldest son. Wherever we are, you will always +find a home; but do not touch again upon this subject, at least at +present, for it distresses me." And then she took his arm, and pressed +it, and by this time they had gained the croquet-ground. + + + +CHAPTER 6 + + +One of the least known squares in London is Hexham Square, though it is +one of the oldest. Not that it is very remote from the throng of +existence, but it is isolated in a dingy district of silent and decaying +streets. Once it was a favored residence of opulence and power, and its +architecture still indicates its former and prouder destiny. But its +noble mansions are now divided and broken up into separate dwellings, or +have been converted into chambers and offices. Lawyers, and architects, +and agents, dwell in apartments where the richly-sculptured +chimney-pieces, the carved and gilded pediments over the doors, and +sometimes even the painted ceilings, tell a tale of vanished stateliness +and splendor. + +A considerable portion of the north side of the square is occupied by +one house standing in a courtyard, with iron gates to the thoroughfare. +This is Hexham House, and where Lord Hexham lived in the days of the +first Georges. It is reduced in size since his time, two considerable +wings, having been pulled down about sixty years ago, and their +materials employed in building some residences of less pretension. But +the body of the dwelling-house remains, and the court-yard, though +reduced in size, has been retained. + +Hexham House has an old oak entrance-hall panelled with delicacy, and +which has escaped the rifling of speculators in furniture; and out of it +rises a staircase of the same material, of a noble character, adorned +occasionally with figures; armorial animals holding shields, and +sometimes a grotesque form rising from fruits and flowers, all doubtless +the work of some famous carver. The staircase led to a corridor, on +which several doors open, and through one of these, at the moment of our +history, a man, dressed in a dark cassock, and holding a card in his +hand, was entering a spacious chamber, meagrely, but not shabbily, +furnished. There was a rich cabinet and a fine picture. In the next +room, not less spacious, but which had a more inhabited look, a cheerful +fire, tables covered with books and papers, and two individuals busily +at work with their pens; he gave the card to a gentleman who wore also +the cassock, and who stood before the fire with a book in his hand, and +apparently dictating to one of the writers. + +"Impossible!" said the gentleman shaking his head; "I could not even go +in, as Monsignore Berwick is with his eminence." + +"But what shall I do?" said the attendant; "his eminence said that when +Mr. Giles called he never was to be denied." + +"The monsignore has been here a long time; you must beg Mr. Giles to +wait. Make him comfortable; give him a newspaper; not the Tablet, the +Times; men like Mr. Giles love reading the advertisements. Or stop, +give him this, his eminence's lecture on geology; it will show him the +Church has no fear of science. Ah! there's my bell; Mr. Giles will not +have to wait long." So saying, the gentleman put down his volume and +disappeared, through an antechamber, into a farther apartment. + +It was a library, of moderate dimensions, and yet its well-filled +shelves contained all the weapons of learning and controversy which the +deepest and the most active of ecclesiastical champions could require. +It was unlike modern libraries, for it was one in which folios greatly +predominated; and they stood in solemn and sometimes magnificent array, +for they bore, many of them, on their ancient though costly bindings, +the proofs that they had belonged to many a prince and even sovereign of +the Church. Over the mantel-piece hung a portrait of his holiness Pius +IX., and on the table, in the midst of many papers, was an ivory +crucifix. + +The master of the library had risen from his seat when the chief +secretary entered, and was receiving an obeisance. Above the middle +height, his stature seemed magnified by the attenuation of his form. It +seemed that the soul never had so frail and fragile a tenement. He was +dressed in a dark cassock with a red border, and wore scarlet stockings; +and over his cassock a purple tippet, and on his breast a small golden +cross. His countenance was naturally of an extreme pallor, though at +this moment slightly flushed with the animation of a deeply-interesting +conference. His cheeks were hollow, and his gray eyes seemed sunk into +his clear and noble brow, but they flashed with irresistible +penetration. Such was Cardinal Grandison. + +"All that I can do is," said his eminence, when his visitor was, ushered +out, and slightly shrugging his shoulders, "is to get it postponed until +I go to Rome, and even then I must not delay my visit. This crossing +the Alps in winter is a trial -- but we must never repine; and there is +nothing which we must not encounter to prevent incalculable mischief. +The publication of the Scotch hierarchy at this moment will destroy the +labors of years. And yet they will not see it! I cannot conceive who +is urging them, for I am sure they must have some authority from home. +-- You have something for me, Chidioch," he added inquiringly, for his +keen eye caught the card. + +"I regret to trouble your eminence when you need repose, but the bearer +of this card seems to have been importunate, and to have appealed to, +your name and personal orders;" and he gave the cardinal the card. + +"Yes," said the cardinal, looking at the card with much interest; "this +is a person I must always see." + +And so, in due course, they ushered into the library a gentleman with a +crimson and well-stuffed bag, of a composed yet cheerful .aspect, who +addressed the cardinal with respect but without embarrassment, saying, +"I am ashamed to trouble your eminence with only matters of form -- +absolutely mere matters of form; but I obey, Sir, your own +instructions." + +"It is not for me to depreciate form," replied the cardinal; "and in +business there are no mere matters of form." + +"Merely the wood accounts," continued the visitor; "they must be +approved by both the guardians or the money cannot be received by the +bankers. Your eminence, you see, has sanctioned the felling, and +authorized the sales, and these are the final accounts, which must be +signed before we pay in." + +"Give them to me," said the cardinal, stretching out both his hands as +he received a mass of paper folios. His eminence resumed his chair, and +hastily examined the sheets. "Ah!" he said, "no ordinary felling -- it +reaches, over seven counties. By-the-by, Bracewood Forest -- what about +the enclosure? I have heard no more of it." Then, murmuring to himself +-- "Grentham Wood -- how well I remember Grentham Wood, with his dear +father!" + +"If we could sign today," said the visitor in a tone of professional +cajolery; "time is important." + +"And if shall not be wasted," replied the cardinal. "But I must look +over the accounts. I doubt not all is quite regular, but I wish to make +myself a little familiar with the scene of action; perhaps to recall the +past," he added. "You shall have them to-morrow, Mr. Giles." + +"Your eminence will have very different accounts to settle in a short +time," said Mr. Giles, smiling. "We are hard at work; it takes three of +our clerks constantly occupied." + +"But you have yet got time." + +"I don't know that," said Mr. Giles. "The affairs are very large. And +the mines -- they give us the greatest trouble. Our Mr. James Roundell +was two months in Wales last year about them. It took up the whole of +his vacation. And your eminence must remember that time flies. In less +than eight months he will be of age." + +"Very true," said the cardinal; "time indeed flies, and so much to be +done! By-the-by, Mr. Giles, have you by any chance heard any thing +lately of my child?" + +"I have heard of him a good deal of late, for a client of ours, Lord +Montairy, met him at Brentham this summer, and was a long time there +with him. After that, I hear, he went deer-stalking with some of his +young friends; but he is not very fond of Scotland; had rather too much +of it, I suspect; but the truth is, sir, I saw him this very day." + +"Indeed!" + +"Some affairs have brought him up to town, and I rather doubt whether he +will return to Oxford -- at least, so he talks." + +"Ah! I have never seen him since he was an infant, I might say," said +the cardinal. "I suppose I shall see him again, if only when I resign +my trust; but I know not. And yet few things would be more interesting +to me than to meet him!" + +Mr. Giles seemed moved, for him almost a little embarrassed; he seemed +to blush, and then he cleared his throat. "It would be too great a +liberty," said Mr. Giles, "I feel that very much -- and yet, if your +eminence would condescend, though I hardly suppose it possible, his +lordship is really going to do us the honor of dining with us to-day; +only a few friends, and if your eminence could make the sacrifice, and +it were not an act of too great presumption, to ask your eminence to +join our party." + +"I never eat and I never drink," said the cardinal. "I am sorry, to say +I cannot. I like dinner society very much. You see the world, and you +hear things which you do not hear otherwise. For a time I presumed to +accept invitations, though I sat with an empty plate, but, though the +world was indulgent to me, I felt that my habits were an embarrassment +to the happier feasters: it was not fair, and so I gave it up. But I +tell you what, Mr. Giles: I shall be in your quarter this evening: +perhaps you would permit me to drop in and pay my respects to Mrs. Giles +-- I have wished to do so before." + + + +CHAPTER 7 + + +Mr. Giles was a leading partner in the firm of Roundells, Giles, and +Roundell, among the most eminent solicitors of Lincoln's Inn. He, in +those days of prolonged maturity, might be described as still a young +man. He had inherited from his father not only a large share in a +first-rate business, but no inconsiderable fortune; and though he had, +in her circles, a celebrated wife, he had no children. He was opulent +and prosperous, with no cares and anxieties of his own, and loved his +profession, for which he was peculiarly qualified, being a man of +uncommon sagacity, very difficult to deceive, and yet one who +sympathized with his clients, who were all personally attached to him, +and many of whom were among the distinguished personages of the realm. + +During an important professional visit to Ireland, Mr. Giles had made +the acquaintance of Miss Apollonia Smylie, the niece of an Irish peer; +and, though the lady was much admired and courted, had succeeded, after +a time, in inducing her to become the partner of his life. + +Mrs. Giles, or, as she described herself, Mrs. Putney Giles, taking +advantage of a second and territorial Christian name of her husband, was +a showy woman; decidedly handsome, unquestionably accomplished, and +gifted with energy and enthusiasm which far exceeded even her physical +advantages. Her principal mission was to destroy the papacy and to +secure Italian unity. Her lesser impulses were to become acquainted +with the aristocracy, and to be herself surrounded by celebrities. +Having a fine house in Tyburnia, almost as showy as herself, and a +husband who was never so happy as when gratifying her wishes, she did +not find it difficult in a considerable degree to pursue and even +accomplish her objects. The Putney Giles gave a great many dinners, and +Mrs. Putney received her world frequently, if not periodically. As they +entertained with profusion, her well-lighted saloons were considerably +attended. These assemblies were never dull; the materials not being +ordinary, often startling, sometimes even brilliant, occasionally rather +heterogeneous. For, though being a violent Protestant, and of extreme +conservative opinions, her antipapal antipathies and her Italian +predilections frequently involved her with acquaintances not so +distinguished as she deemed herself for devotion to the cause of order +and orthodoxy. It was rumored that the brooding brow of Mazzini had +been observed in her rooms, and there was no sort of question that she +had thrown herself in ecstatic idolatry at the feet of the hero of +Caprera. + +On the morning of the day on which he intended to visit Cardinal +Grandison, Mr. Giles, in his chambers at Lincoln's Inn, was suddenly +apprised, by a clerk, that an interview with him was sought by a client +no less distinguished than Lothair. + +Although Mr. Giles sat opposite two rows of tin boxes, each of which was +numbered, and duly inscribed with the name of Lothair and that of the +particular estate to which it referred, Mr. Giles, though he had had +occasional communications with his client, was personally unacquainted +with him. He viewed, therefore, with no ordinary curiosity the young +man who was ushered into his room; a shapely youth slightly above the +middle height; of simple, but distinguished mien, with a countenance +naturally pale, though somewhat bronzed by a life of air and exercise, +and a profusion of dark-auburn hair. + +And for what could Lothair be calling on Mr. Giles? + +It seems that one of Lothair's intimate companions had got into a +scrape, and under these circumstances had what is styled "made a friend" +of Lothair; that is to say, confided to him his trouble, and asked his +advice, with a view, when given, of its being followed by an offer of +assistance, + +Lothair, though inexperienced, and very ingenuous, was not devoid of a +certain instinctive perception of men and, things, which rendered it +difficult for him to be an easy prey. His natural disposition, and his +comparatively solitary education, had made him a keen observer, and he +was one who meditated over his observations. But he was naturally +generous and sensible of kindness; and this was a favorite companion -- +next to Bertram, his most intimate. + +Lothair was quite happy in the opportunity of soothing a perturbed +spirit whose society had been to him a source of so much gratification. + +It was not until Lothair had promised to extricate his friend from his +whelming difficulties, that, upon examination, he found the act on his +part was not so simple and so easy as he had assumed it to be. His +guardians had apportioned to him an allowance in every sense adequate to +his position; and there was no doubt, had he wished to exceed it for +any legitimate purpose, not the slightest difficulty on their part would +have been experienced. + +Such a conjuncture had never occurred. Lothair was profuse, but he was +not prodigal. He gratified all his fancies, but they were not ignoble +ones; and he was not only sentimentally, but systematically, charitable. +He had a great number of fine horses, and he had just paid for an +expensive yacht. In a word, he spent a great deal of money, and until +he called at his bankers to learn what sums were at his disposition he +was not aware that he had overdrawn his account. + +This was rather awkward. Lothair wanted a considerable sum, and he +wanted it at once. Irrespective of the consequent delay, he shrunk from +any communication with his guardians. From his uncle he had become, +almost insensibly, estranged, and with his other guardian he had never +had the slightest communication. Under these circumstances he recalled +the name of the solicitor of the trustees, between whom and himself +there had been occasional correspondence; and, being of a somewhat +impetuous disposition, he rode off at once from his hotel to Lincoln's +Inn. + +Mr. Giles listened to the narrative with unbroken interest and +unswerving patience, with his eyes fixed on his client, and occasionally +giving a sympathetic nod. + +"And so," concluded Lothair, "I thought I would come to you." + +"We are honored," said Mr. Giles. "And, certainly, it is quite absurd +that your lordship should want money, and for a worthy purpose, and not +be able to command it. Why! the balance in the name of the trustees +never was so great as at this moment; and this very day, or to-morrow at +farthest, I shall pay no less than eight-and-thirty thousand pounds +timber-money to the account." + +"Well, I don't want a fifth of that," said Lothair. + +"Your lordship has an objection to apply to the trustees?" inquired Mr. +Giles. + +"That is the point of the whole of my statement," said Lothair somewhat +impatiently. + +"And yet it is the right and regular thing," said Mr. Giles. + +"It may be right and it may be regular, but it is out of the question." + +"Then we will say no more about it. What I want to prevent," said Mr. +Giles, musingly, "is any thing absurd happening. There is no doubt if +your lordship went into the street and said you wanted ten thousand +pounds, or a hundred thousand, fifty people would supply you immediately +-- but you would have to pay for it. Some enormous usury! That would +be bad; but the absurdity of the thing would be greater than the +mischief. Roundells, Giles, and Roundell could not help you in that +manner. That is not our business. We are glad to find money for our +clients at a legal rate of interest, and the most moderate rate +feasible. But then there must be security, and the best security. But +here we must not conceal it from ourselves, my lord, we have no security +whatever. At this moment your lordship has no property. An +insurance-office might do it with a policy. They might consider that +they had a moral security; but still it would be absurd. There is +something absurd in your lordship having to raise money. Don't you +think I could see these people," said Mr. Giles, "and talk to them, and +gain a little time? We only want a little time." + +"No," said Lothair, in a peremptory tone. "I said I would do it, and it +must be done, and at once. Sooner than there should be delay, I would +rather go into the street, as you suggest, and ask the first man I met +to lend me the money. My word has been given, and I do not care what I +pay to fulfil my word." + +"We must not think of such things," said Mr. Giles, shaking his head. +"All I want your lordship to understand is the exact position. In this +case we have no security. Roundells, Giles, and Roundell cannot move +without security. It would be against our articles of partnership. But +Mr. Giles, as a private individual, may do what he likes. I will let +your lordship have the money, and I will take no security whatever -- +not even a note of hand. All that I ask for is that your lordship +should write me a letter, saying you have urgent need for a sum of money +(mentioning amount) for an honorable purpose, in which your feelings are +deeply interested -- and that will do. If any thing happens to your +lordship before this time next year, why, I think the trustees could +hardly refuse repaying the money; and if they did, why then," added Mr. +Giles, "I suppose it will be all the same a hundred years hence." + +"You have conferred on me the greatest obligation," said Lothair, with +much earnestness. "Language cannot express what I feel. I am not too +much used to kindness, and I only hope that I may live to show my sense +of yours." + +"It is really no great affair, my lord," said Mr. Giles. "I did not +wish to make difficulties, but it was my duty to put the matter clearly +before you. What I propose I could to do is really nothing. I could do +no less; I should have felt quite absurd if your lordship had gone into +the money-market." + +"I only hope," repeated Lothair, rising and offering Mr. Giles his hand, +"that life may give me some occasion to prove my gratitude." + +"Well, my lord," replied Mr. Giles, "if your lordship wish to repay me +for any little interest I have shown in your affairs, you can do that, +over and over again, and at once." + +"How so?" + +"By a very great favor, by which Mrs. Giles and myself would be deeply +gratified. We have a few friends who honor us by dining with us to-day +in Hyde Park Gardens. If your lordship would add the great distinction +your presence -- " + +"I should only be too much honored," exclaimed Lothair: "I suppose about +eight," and he left the room; and Mr. Giles telegraphed instantly the +impending event to Apollonia. + + + +CHAPTER 8 + + +It was a. great day for Apollonia; not only to have Lothair at her right +hand at dinner, but the prospect of receiving a cardinal in the evening. +But she was equal to it; though so engrossed, indeed, in the immediate +gratification of her hopes and wishes, that she could scarcely dwell +sufficiently on the coming scene of triumph and social excitement. + +The repast was sumptuous; Lothair thought the dinner would never end, +there were so many dishes, and apparently all of the highest pretension. +But if his simple tastes had permitted him to take an interest in these +details, which, they did not, he would have been assisted by a gorgeous +menu of gold and white typography, that was by the side of each guest. +The table seemed literally to groan under vases and gigantic flagons, +and, in its midst, rose a mountain of silver, on which apparently all +the cardinal virtues, several of the pagan deities, and Britannia +herself, illustrated with many lights a glowing inscription, which +described the fervent feelings of a grateful client. + +There were many guests -- the Dowager of Farringford, a lady of quality, +Apollonia's great lady, who exercised under this roof much social +tyranny; in short, was rather fine; but who, on this occasion, was +somewhat cowed by the undreamt-of presence of Lothair. She had not yet +met him, and probably never would have met him, had she not had the good +fortune of dining at his lawyer's. However, Lady Farringford was +placed a long way from Lothair, having been taken down to dinner by Mr. +Giles; and so, by the end of the first course, Lady Farringford had +nearly resumed her customary despotic vein, and was beginning to indulge +in several kind observations, cheapening to her host and hostess, and +indirectly exalting herself; upon which Mr. Giles took an early easy +opportunity of apprising Lady Farringford, that she had nearly met +Cardinal Grandison at dinner, and that his eminence would certainly pay +his respects to Mrs. Putney Giles in the evening. As Lady Farringford +was at present a high ritualist and had even been talked of as "going to +Rome," this intelligence was stunning, and it was observed that her +ladyship was unusually subdued during the whole of the second course. + +On the right of Lothair sat the wife of a vice-chancellor, a quiet and +pleasing lady, to whom Lothair, with natural good breeding, paid +snatches of happy attention, when he could for a moment with propriety +withdraw himself from the blaze of Apollonia's coruscating conversation. +Then there was a rather fierce-looking Red Ribbon, medalled, as well as +be-starred, and the Red Ribbon's wife, with a blushing daughter, in +spite of, her parentage not yet accustomed to stand fire. A partner and +his unusually numerous family had the pleasure also of seeing Lothair +for the first time, and there were no less than four M.P.s, one of whom +was even in office. + +Apollonia was stating to Lothair, with perspicuity, the reasons which +quite induced her to believe that the Gulf-Stream had changed its +course, and the political and social consequences that might accrue. + +"The religious sentiment of the Southern races must be wonderfully +affected by a more rigorous climate," said Apollonia. "I cannot doubt," +she continued, "that a series of severe winters at Rome might put an end +to Romanism." + +"But is there any fear that a reciprocal influence might be exercised on +the Northern nations?" inquired Lothair. "Would there be any +apprehension of our Protestantism becoming proportionately relaxed?" + +"Of course not," said Apollonia. "Truth cannot be affected by climate. +Truth is truth, alike in Palestine and Scandinavia." + +"I wonder what the cardinal would think of this," said Lothair, "who, +you tell me, is coming to you this evening?" + +"Yes, I am most interested to see him, though he is the most puissant of +our foes. Of course he would take refuge in sophistry; and science, you +know, they deny." + +"Cardinal Grandison is giving some lectures on science," said the +vice-chancellor's lady, quietly. + +"It is remorse," said Apollonia. "Their clever men can never forget +that unfortunate affair of Galileo, and think they can divert the +indignation of the ninteenth century by mock zeal about red sandstone or +the origin of species." + +"And are you afraid of the Gulf-Stream?" inquired Lothair of his calmer +neighbor. + +"I think we want more evidence of a change. The vice-chancellor and +myself went down to a place we have near town, on Saturday, where there +is a very nice piece of water; indeed, some people call it a lake; but +it was quite frozen, and my boys wanted to skate, but that I would not +permit." + +"You believe in the Gulf-Stream to that extent," said Lothair -- "no +skating." + +The cardinal came, early; the ladies had not long left the dining-room. +They were agitated when his name was announced; even Apollonia's heart +beat; but then that might be accounted for by the inopportune +recollection of an occasional correspondence with Caprera. + +Nothing could exceed the simple suavity with which the cardinal +appeared, approached, and greeted them. He thanked Apollonia for her +permission to pay his respects to her, which he had long wished to do; +and then they were all presented, and he said exactly the right thing to +every one. He must have heard of them all before, or read their +characters in their countenances. In a few minutes they were all +listening to his eminence with enchanted ease, as, sitting on the sofa +by his hostess, he described to them the ambassadors who had just +arrived from Japan, and with whom he had relations of interesting +affairs. The Japanese government had exhibited enlightened kindness to +some of his poor people who had barely escaped martyrdom. Much might be +expected from the Mikado, evidently a man of singular penetration and +elevated views; and his eminence looked as if the mission of Yokohama +would speedily end in an episcopal see; but he knew where he was and +studiously avoided all controversial matter. + +After all, the Mikado himself was not more remarkable than this prince +of the Church in a Tyburnian drawing-room habited in his pink cassock +and cape, and waving, as he spoke, with careless grace, his pink +barrette. + +The ladies thought the gentlemen rejoined them too soon, but Mr. Giles, +when he was apprised of the arrival of the cardinal, thought it right to +precipitate the symposium. With great tact, when the cardinal rose to +greet him, Mr. Giles withdrew his eminence from those surrounding, and, +after a brief interchange of whispered words, quitted him and then +brought forward and presented Lothair to the cardinal, and left them. + +"This is not the first time that we should have met," said the cardinal, +"but my happiness is so great at this moment that, though I deplore, I +will not dwell on, the past." + +"I am, nevertheless, grateful to you, sir, for many services, and have +more than once contemplated taking the liberty of personally assuring +your a eminence of my gratitude." + +"I think we might sit down," said the cardinal, looking around; and then +he led Lothair into an open but interior saloon, where none were yet +present, and where they seated themselves on a sofa and were soon +engaged in apparently interesting converse. + +In the mean time the world gradually filled the principal saloon of +Apollonia, and, when it approached overflowing, occasionally some +persons passed the line, and entered the room in which the cardinal and +his ward were seated, and then, as if conscious of violating some sacred +place, drew back. Others, on the contrary, with coarser curiosity, were +induced to invade the chamber from the mere fact that the cardinal was +to be seen there. + +"My geographical instinct," said the cardinal to Lothair, "assures me +that I can regain the staircase through these rooms, without rejoining +the busy world; so I shall bid you good-night and even presume to give +you my blessing;" and his eminence glided away. + +When Lothair returned to the saloon it was so crowded that he was not +observed; exactly what he liked; and he stood against the wall watching +all that passed, not without amusement. A lively, social parasite, who +had dined there, and had thanked his stars at dinner that Fortune had, +decreed he should meet Lothair, had been cruising for his prize all the +time that Lothair had been conversing with the cardinal and was soon at +his side. + +"A strange scene this!" said the parasite. + +"Is it unusual?" inquired Lothair. + +"Such a medley! How can they can be got together, I marvel -- priests +and philosophers, legitimists, and carbonari! Wonderful woman, Mrs. +Putney Giles!" + +"She is very entertaining," said Lothair, "and seems to me clever." + +"Remarkably so," said the parasite, who had been on the point of +satirizing his hostess, but, observing the quarter of the wind, with +rapidity went in for praise. "An extraordinary woman. Your lordship +had a long talk with the cardinal." + +"I had the honor of some conversation with Cardinal Grandison," said +Lothair, drawing up. + +"I wonder what the cardinal would have said if he had met Mazzini here?" + +"Mazzini! Is he here?" + +"Not now; but I have seen him here," said the parasite, "and our host +such a Tory! That makes the thing so amusing;" and then the parasite +went on making small personal observations on the surrounding scene, and +every now and then telling little tales of great people with whom, it +appeared, he was intimate -- all concerted fire to gain the very great +social fortress he was now besieging. The parasite was so full of +himself, and so anxious to display himself to advantage, that with all +his practice it was some time before he perceived he did not make all +the way he could wish with Lothair; who was courteous, but somewhat +monosyllabic and absent. + +"Your lordship is struck by that face?" said the parasite. + +Was Lothair struck by that face? And what was it? + +He had exchanged glances with that face during the last ten minutes, and +the mutual expression was not one of sympathy but curiosity blended, on +the part of the face, with an expression, if not of disdain, of extreme +reserve. + +It was the face of a matron, apparently of not many summers, for her +shapely figure was still slender, though her mien was stately. But it +was the countenance that had commanded the attention of Lothair: pale, +but perfectly Attic in outline, with the short upper lip and the round +chin, and a profusion of dark-chestnut hair bound by a Grecian fillet, +and on her brow a star. + +"Yes I am struck by that face. Who is it?" + +"If your lordship could only get a five-franc piece of the last French +Republic, 1850, you would know. I dare say the money-changers could get +you one. All the artists of Paris, painters, and sculptors, and +medallists, were competing to produce a face worthy of representing 'La +R publique fran aise;' nobody was satisfied, when Oudine caught a girl +of not seventeen, and, with a literal reproduction of Nature, gained the +prize with unanimity." + +"Ah!" + +"And, though years have passed, the countenance has not changed; perhaps +improved." + +"It is a countenance that will bear, perhaps even would require, +maturity," said Lothair; "but she is no longer 'La R publique +fran aise;' what is she now?" + +"She is called Theodora, though married, I believe, to an Englishman, a +friend of Garibaldi. Her birth unknown; some say an Italian, some a +Pole; all sorts of stories. But she speaks every language, is +ultra-cosmopolitan, and has invented a new religion." + +"A new religion!" + +"Would your lordship care to be introduced to her? I know her enough for +that. Shall we go up to her?" + +"I have made so many now acquaintances to-day," said, Lothair, as it +were starting from a reverie, "and indeed heard so many new things, that +I think I had better say good-night;" and he graciously retired. + + + +CHAPTER 9 + + +About the same time that Lothair had repaired to the residence of Mr. +Giles, Monsignore Berwick, whose audience of the cardinal in the morning +had preceded that of the legal adviser of the trustees, made his way +toward one of the noblest mansions in St. James's Square, where resided +Lord St. Jerome. + +It was a mild winter evening; a little fog still hanging about, but +vanquished by the cheerful lamps, and the voice of the muffin-bell was +just heard at intervals; a genial sound that calls up visions of trim +and happy hearths. If we could only so contrive our lives as to go into +the country for the first note of the nightingale, and return to town +for the first note of the muffin-bell, existence, it is humbly presumed, +might be more enjoyable. + +Monsignore Berwick was a young man, but looking younger from a +countenance almost of childhood; fair, with light-blue eyes, and flaxen +hair and delicate features. He was the last person you would have fixed +upon as a born Roman; but Nature, in one of the freaks of race, had +resolved that his old Scottish blood should be reasserted, though his: +ancestors had sedulously blended it, for, many generations, with that of +the princely houses of the eternal city. The monsignore was the +greatest statesman of Rome, formed and favored by Antonelli and probably +his successor. + +The mansion of Lord St. Jerome was a real family mansion, built by. his +ancestors a century and a half ago, when they believed that, from its +central position, its happy contiguity to the court, the senate, and the +seats of government, they at last, in St. James's Square, had discovered +a site which could defy the vicissitudes of fashion, and not share the +fate of the river palaces, which they had been obliged in turn to +relinquish. And in a considerable degree they were right in their +anticipation; for, although they have somewhat unwisely, permitted the +clubs to invade too successfully their territory, St. James's Square may +be looked upon as our Faubourg St. Germain, and a great patrician +residing there dwells in the heart of that free and noble life of which +he ought to be a part. + +A marble hall and a marble staircase, lofty chambers with silk or +tapestried hangings, gilded cornices, and painted ceilings, gave a +glimpse of almost Venetian splendor, and rare in our metropolitan houses +of this age; but the first dwellers in St. James's Square had tender and +inspiring recollections of the Adrian bride, had frolicked in St. +Mark's, and glided in adventurous gondolas. The monsignore was ushered +into a chamber bright with lights and a blazing fire, and welcomed with +extreme cordiality by his hostess, who was then alone. Lady St. Jerome +was still the young wife of a nobleman not old. She was the daughter of +a Protestant house, but, during a residence at Rome after her marriage, +she had reverted to the ancient faith, which she professed with the +enthusiastic convictions of a convert. Her whole life was dedicated to +the triumph of the Catholic cause; and, being a woman of considerable +intelligence and of an ardent mind, she had become a recognized power in +the great confederacy which has so much influenced the human race, and +which has yet to play perhaps a mighty part in the fortunes of the +world. + +"I was in great hopes that the cardinal would have met you at dinner," +said Lady St. Jerome, "but he wrote only this afternoon to say +unexpected business would prevent him, but he would be here in the +evening, though late." + +"It must be something sudden, for I was with his eminence this morning, +and he then contemplated our meeting here." + +"Nothing from abroad?" + +"I should think not, or it would be known to me. There is nothing new +from abroad this afternoon: my time has been spent in writing, not +receiving, dispatches." + +"And all well, I hope?" + +"This Scotch business plagues us. So far as Scotland is concerned, it +is quite ripe; but the cardinal counsels delay on account of this +country, and he has such a consummate knowledge of England, that -- " + +At this moment Lord St Jerome entered the room -- a grave but gracious +personage, polished but looking silent, though he immediately turned the +conversation to the weather. The monsignore began denouncing English +fogs; but Lord St. Jerome maintained that, on the whole, there were not +more fogs in England than in any other country; "and as for the French," +he added, "I like their audacity, for, when they revolutionized the +calendar, they called one of their months Brumaire." + +Then came in one of his lordships chaplains, who saluted the monsignore +with reverence, and immediately afterward a beautiful young lady, his +niece, Clare Arundel. + +The family were living in a convenient suite of small rooms on the +ground-floor, called the winter-rooms so dinner was announced by the +doors of an adjoining chamber being thrown open, and there they saw, in +the midst of a chamber hung with green silk and adorned with some fine +cabinet-pictures, a small round table, bright and glowing. + +It was a lively dinner. Lord St. Jerome loved conversation, though he +never conversed. "There must be an audience," he would say, "and I am +the audience." The partner of his life, whom he never ceased admiring, +had originally fascinated him by her conversational talents; and, even +if Nature had not impelled her, Lady St. Jerome was too wise a woman to +relinquish the spell. The monsignore could always, when necessary, +sparkle with anecdote or blaze with repartee; and all the chaplains, who +abounded in this house, were men of bright abilities, not merely men of +reading, but of the world, learned in the world's ways, and trained to +govern mankind by versatility of their sympathies. It was a dinner +where there could not be two conversations going on, and where even the +silent take their share in the talk by their sympathy. + +And among the silent, as silent even as Lord St. Jerome, was Miss +Arundel; and yet her large violet eyes, darker even than her dark-brown +hair, and gleaming with intelligence, and her rich face mantling with +emotion, proved she was not insensible to the witty passages and the +bright and interesting narratives that were sparkling and flowing about +her. + +The gentlemen left the dining-room with the ladies, in the Continental +manner. Lady St. Jerome, who was leaning on the arm of the monsignore, +guided him into a saloon farther than the one they had reentered, and +then seating herself said, "You were telling me about Scotland, that you +yourself thought it ripe." + +"Unquestionably. The original plan was to have established our +hierarchy when the Kirk split up; but that would have been a mistake, it +was not then ripe. There would have been a fanatical reaction. There +is always a tendency that way in Scotland: as it is, at this moment, the +Establishment and the Free Kirk are mutually sighing for some compromise +which may bring them together and, if the proprietors would give up +their petty patronage, some flatter themselves it might be arranged. +But we are thoroughly well informed, and have provided for all this. We +sent two of our best men into Scotland some time ago, and they have +invented a new church, called the United Presbyterians. John Knox +himself was never more violent, or more mischievous. The United +Presbyterians will do the business: they will render Scotland simply +impossible to live in; and then, when the crisis arrives, the distracted +and despairing millions will find refuge in the bosom of their only +mother. That is why, at home, we wanted no delay in the publication of +the bull and the establishment of the hierarchy." + +"But the cardinal says no?" + +"And must be followed. For these islands he has no equal. He wishes +great reserve at present. Affairs here are progressing, gradually but +surely. But it is Ireland where matters are critical, or will be soon." + +"Ireland! I thought there was a sort of understanding there -- at least +for the present." + +The monsignore shook his head. "What do you think of an American +invasion of Ireland?" + +"An American invasion!" + +"Even so; nothing more probable, and nothing more to be deprecated by +us. Now that the civil war in America is over, the Irish soldiery are +resolved to employ their experience and their weapons in their own land; +but they have no thought for the interest of the Holy See, or the +welfare of our holy religion. Their secret organization is tampering +with the people and tampering with the priests. The difficulty of +Ireland is that the priests and the people will consider every thing in +a purely Irish point of view. To gain some local object, they will +encourage the principles of the most lawless liberalism, which naturally +land them in Fenianism and atheism. And the danger is not foreseen, +because the Irish political object of the moment is alone looked to." + +"But surely they can be guided?" + +"We want a statesman in Ireland. We have never been able to find one; +we want a man like the cardinal. But the Irish will have a native for +their chief. We caught Churchill young, and educated him in the +Propaganda; but he has disappointed us. At first all seemed well; he +was reserved and austere; and we heard with satisfaction that he was +unpopular. But, now that critical times are arriving, his peasant-blood +cannot resist the contagion. He proclaims the absolute equality of all +religious, and of the power of the state to confiscate ecclesiastical +property, and not restore it to us, but alienate it forever. For the +chance of subverting the Anglican Establishment, he is favoring a policy +which will subvert religion itself. In his eagerness he cannot see that +the Anglicans have only a lease of our property, a lease which is +rapidly expiring." + +"This is sad." + +"It is perilous, and difficult to deal with. But it must be dealt with. +The problem is to suppress Fenianism, and not to strengthen the +Protestant confederacy." + +"And you left Rome for this? We understood you were coming for +something else," said Lady St. Jerome, in a significant tone. + +"Yes, yes, I have been there, and I have seen him." + +"And have you succeeded?" + +"No; and no one will -- at least at present." + +"Is all lost, then? Is the Malta scheme again on the carpet?" + +"Our Holy Church in built upon a rock," said the monsignore, "but not +upon the rock of Malta. Nothing is lost; Antonelli is calm and sanguine, +though, rest assured, there is no doubt about what I tell you. France +has washed her hands of us." + +"Where, then, are we to look for aid?" exclaimed Lady St. Jerome, +"against the assassins and atheists? Austria, the alternative ally, is +no longer near you; and if she were -- that I should ever live to say it +-- even Austria is our foe." + +"Poor Austria!" said the monsignore with an unctuous sneer. "Two things +made her a nation; she was German and she was Catholic, and now she is +neither." + +"But you alarm me, my dear lord, with your terrible news. We once +thought that Spain would be our protector, but we hear bad news from +Spain." + +"Yes," said the monsignore, "I think it highly probable that, before a +few years have elapsed, every government in Europe will be atheistical +except France. Vanity will always keep France the eldest son of the +Church, even if she wear a bonnet rouge. But, if the Holy Father keep +Rome, these strange changes will only make the occupier of the chair of +St. Peter more powerful. His subjects will be In every clime and every +country, and then they will be only his subjects. We shall get rid of +the difficulty of the divided allegiance, Lady St. Jerome, which plagued +our poor forefathers so much." + +"If we keep Rome," said Lady St. Jerome. + +"And we shall. Let Christendom give us her prayers for the next few +years, and Pio Nono will become the most powerful monarch In Europe, and +perhaps the only one." + +"I hear a sound," exclaimed Lady St. Jerome. "Yes! the cardinal has +come. Let us greet him." + +But as they were approaching the saloon the cardinal met them, and waved +them back. "We will return," he said, "to our friends immediately, but +I want to say one word to you both." + +He made them sit down. "I am a little restless," he said, and stood +before the fire. "Something interesting has happened; nothing to do +with public affairs. Do not pitch your expectations too high -- but +still of importance, and certainly of great interest -- at least to me. +I have seen my child -- my ward." + +"Indeed an event!" said Lady St. Jerome, evidently much interested. + +"And what is he like?" inquired the monsignore. + +"All that one could wish. Extremely good-looking, highly bred, and most +ingenuous; a considerable intelligence, and not untrained; but the most +absolutely unaffected person I ever encountered." + +"Ah! if he had been trained by your eminence," sighed Lady St. Jerome. +"Is it too late?" + +"'Tis an immense position," murmured Berwick. + +"What good might he not do?" said Lady St. Jerome; "and if he be so +ingenuous, it seems impossible that he can resist the truth." + +"Your ladyship is a sort of cousin of his," said the cardinal, musingly. + +"Yes; but very remote. I dare say he would not acknowledge the tie. +But we are kin; we have the same blood in our veins." + +"You should make his acquaintance," said the cardinal. + +"I more than desire it. I hear he has been terribly neglected, brought +up among the most dreadful people, entirely infidels and fanatics." + +"He has been nearly two years at Oxford," said the cardinal. "That may +have mitigated the evil." + +"Ah! but you, my lord cardinal, you must interfere. Now that you at +last know him, you must undertake the great task; you must save him." + +"We must all pray, as I pray every morn and every night," said the +cardinal, "for the conversion of England." + +"Or the conquest," murmured Berwick. + + + +CHAPTER 10 + + +As the cardinal was regaining his carriage on leaving Mrs. Giles's +party, there was, about the entrance of the house, the usual gathering +under such circumstances; some zealous linkboys marvellously familiar +with London life, and some midnight loungers, who thus take their humble +share of the social excitement, and their happy chance of becoming +acquainted with some of the notables of the wondrous world of which they +form the base. This little gathering, ranged at the instant into +stricter order by the police to facilitate the passage of his eminence, +prevented the progress of a passenger, who exclaimed in an audible, but +not noisy voice, as if, he were ejaculating to himself, "A bas les +pretres!" + +This exclamation, unintelligible to the populace, was noticed only by +the only person who understood it. The cardinal, astonished at the +unusual sound -- for, hitherto, he had always found the outer world of +London civil; or at least indifferent -- threw his penetrating glance at +the passenger, and caught clearly the visage on which the lamplight +fully shone. It was a square, sinewy face, closely shaven, with the +exception of a small but thick mustache, brown as the well-cropped hair, +and blending with the hazel eye; a calm, but determined countenance; +clearly not that of an Englishman, for he wore ear-rings. + +The carriage drove off, and the passenger, somewhat forcing his way +through the clustering group, continued his course until he reached the +cab-stand near the Marble Arch, when he engaged a vehicle and ordered to +be driven to Leicester Square. That quarter of the town exhibits an +animated scene toward the witching hour; many lights and much +population, illuminated coffee-houses, the stir of a large theatre, +bands of music in the open air, and other sounds, most of them gay, and +some festive. The stranger, whose compact figure was shrouded by a long +fur cape, had not the appearance of being influenced by the temptation +of amusement. As he stopped in the square and looked around him, the +expression of his countenance was moody, perhaps even anxious. He +seemed to be making observations on the locality, and, after a few +minutes, crossed the open space and turned up into a small street which +opened into the square. In this street was a coffee-house of some +pretension, connected indeed with an hotel, which had been formed out of +two houses, and therefore possessed no inconsiderable accommodation. + +The coffee-room was capacious, and adorned in a manner which intimated +it was not kept by an Englishman, or much used by Englishmen. The walls +were painted in frescoed arabesques. There were many guests, +principally seated at small tables of marble, and on benches and chairs +covered with a coarse crimson velvet. Some were sipping coffee, some +were drinking wine, others were smoking or playing dominoes, or doing +both; while many were engaged in reading the foreign journals which +abounded. + +An ever-vigilant waiter was at the side of the stranger the instant he +entered, and wished to know his pleasure. The stranger was examining +with his keen eye every individual in the room while this question was +asked and repeated. + +"What would I wish?" said the stranger, having concluded his inspection, +and as it were summoning back his recollection. "I would wish to see, +and at once, one Mr. Perroni, who, I believe, lives here." + +"Why, 'tis the master!" exclaimed the waiter. + +"Well, then, go and tell the master that I want him." + +"But the master is much engaged," said the waiter, " -- particularly." + +"I dare say; but you will go and tell him that I particularly want to +see him." + +The waiter, though prepared to be impertinent to any one else, felt that +one was speaking to him who must be obeyed, and, with a subdued, but +hesitating manner, said, "There is a meeting to-night up-stairs, where +the master is secretary, and it is difficult to see him; but, if I could +see him, what name am I to give?" + +"You will go to him instantly," said the stranger, "and you will tell +him that he is wanted by Captain Bruges." + +The waiter was not long absent, and returning with an obsequious bow, he +invited the stranger to follow him to a private room, where he was alone +only for a few seconds, for the door opened and he was joined by +Perroni. + +"Ah! my general," exclaimed the master of the coffee-house, and he +kissed the stranger's hand. "You received my telegram?" + +"I am here. Now what is your business?" + +"There is business, and great business, if you will do it; business for +you." + +"Well, I am a soldier, and soldiering is my trade, and I do not much +care what I do in that way, provided it is not against the good cause. +But I must tell you at once, friend Perroni, I am not a man who will +take a leap in the dark. I must form my own staff, and I must have my +commissariat secure." + +"My general, you will be master of your own terms. The Standing +Committee of the Holy Alliance of Peoples are sitting upstairs at this +moment. They were unanimous in sending for you. See them; judge for +yourself; and, rest assured, you will be satisfied." + +"I do not much like having to do with committees," said the general. +"However, let it be as you like -- I will see them." + +"I had better just announce your arrival," said Perroni. "And will you +not take something, my general after your travel you must be wearied." + +"A glass of sugar-and-water. You know, I am not easily tired. And, I +agree with you, it is better to come to business at once: so prepare +them." + + + +CHAPTER 11 + + +The Standing Committee of the Holy Alliance of Peoples all rose, +although they were extreme republicans, when the general entered. Such +is the magical influence of a man of action over men of the pen an the +tongue. Had it been, instead of a successful military leader, an orator +that had inspired Europe, or a journalist who had rights of the human +race, the Standing Committee would have only seen men of their own +kidney, who, having been favored with happier opportunities than +themselves, had reaped a harvest which, equally favored, they might here +have garnered. + +"General," said Felix Drolin, the president, who was looked upon by the +brotherhood as a statesman, for he had been in his time, a member of a +provisional government, "this seat is for you," and he pointed to one on +his right hand. "You are ever welcome; and I hope you bring good +tidings, and good fortune." + +"I am glad to be among my friends, and I may say," looking around, "my +comrades. I hope I may bring you better fortune than my tidings." + +"But now they have left Rome," said the president, "every day we expect +good news." + +"Ay, ay! he has left Rome, but he has not left Rome with the door open. +I hope it is not on such gossip you have sent for me. You have +something on hand. What is it?" + +"You shall hear it from the fountain-head," said the president, "fresh +from New York," and he pointed to an individual seated in the centre of +the table. + +"Ah! Colonel Finucane," said the general, "I have not forgotten James +River. You did that well. What is the trick now?" + +Whereupon a tall, lean man, with a decided brogue, but speaking through +his nose, rose from his seat and informed the general that the Irish +people were organized and ready to rise; that they had sent their +deputies to New York; all they wanted were arms and officers; that the +American brethren had agreed to supply them with both, and amply; and +that considerable subscriptions were raising for other purposes. What +they now required was a commander-in-chief equal to the occasion, and in +whom all would have confidence; and therefore they had telegraphed for +the general. + +"I doubt not our friends over the water would send us plenty of rifles," +said the general, "if we could only manage to land them; and, I think, I +know men now in the States from whom I could form a good staff; but how +about the people of Ireland? What evidence have we that they will rise, +if we land?" + +"The best," said the president. "We have a head-centre here, Citizen +Desmond, who will give you the most recent and the most authentic +intelligence on that head." + +"The whole country is organized," said the head-centre; "we could put +three hundred thousand men in the field at any time in a fortnight. The +movement is not sectarian; it pervades all classes and all creeds. All +that we want are officers and arms." + +"Hem!" said the general; "and as to your other supplies? Any scheme of +commissariat?" + +"There will be no lack of means," replied the head-centre. "There is no +country where so much money is hoarded as in Ireland. But, depend upon +it, so far as the commissariat is concerned, the movement will be +self-supporting." + +"Well, we shall see," said, the general; "I am sorry it is an Irish +affair, though, to be sure, what else could it be? I am not fond of +Irish affairs: whatever may be said, and however plausible things may +look, in an Irish business there is always a priest at the bottom of it. +I hate priests. By-the-by, I was stopped on my way here by a cardinal +getting into his carriage. I thought I had burnt all those vehicles +when I was at Rome with Garibaldi in '48. A cardinal in his carriage! +I had no idea you permitted that sort of cattle in London." + +"London is a roost for every bird," said Felix Drolin. + +"Very few of the priests favor this movement," said Desmond. + +"Then you have a great power against you," said the general, in +"addition to England." + +"They are not exactly against; the bulk of them are too national for +that; but Rome does not sanction -- you understand?" + +"I understand enough," said the general, "to see that we must not act +with precipitation. An Irish business is a thing to be turned over +several times." + +"But yet," said a Pole, "what hope for humanity except from the rising +of an oppressed nationality? We have offered ourselves on the altar, +and in vain! Greece is too small, and Roumania -- though both of them +are ready to do any thing; but they would be the mere tools of Russia. +Ireland alone remains, and she is at our feet." + +"The peoples will never succeed until they have a fleet," said a German. +"Then you could land as many rifles as you like, or any thing else. To +have a fleet we rose against Denmark in my country, but we have been +betrayed. Nevertheless, Germany will yet be united, and she can only be +united as a republic. Then she will be the mistress of the seas." + +"That is the mission of Italy," said Perroni. "Italy -- with the +traditions of Genoa, Venice, Pisa -- Italy is plainly indicated as the +future mistress of the seas." + +"I beg your pardon," said the German; "the future mistress of the sees +is the land of the Viking. It is the forests of the Baltic that will +build the Best of the future. You have no timber in Italy." + +"Timber is no longer wanted," said Perroni. "Nor do I know of what will +be formed the fleets of the future. But the sovereignty of the seas +depends upon seamen, and the nautical genius of the Italians -- " + +"Comrades," said the general, "we have discussed to-night a great +subject. For my part I have travelled rather briskly, as you wished it. +I should like to sleep on this affair." + +"'Tis most reasonable," said the president. "Our refreshment at council +is very spare," he continued, and he pointed to a vase of water and some +glasses ranged round it in the middle of the table; "but we always drink +one toast, general, before we separate. It is to one whom you love, and +whom you have served well. Fill glasses, brethren and now 'TO +MARY-ANNE.'" + +If they had been inspired by the grape, nothing could be more animated +and even excited than all their countenances suddenly became. The cheer +might have been heard in the coffee-room, as they expressed, in the +phrases of many languages, the never-failing and never-flagging +enthusiasm invoked by the toast of their mistress. + + + +CHAPTER 12 + + +"Did you read that paragraph, mamma?" inquired Lady Corisande of the +duchess, in a tone of some seriousness. + +"I did." + +"And what did yon think of it?" + +"It filled me with so much amazement that I have hardly begun to think." + +"And Bertram never gave a hint of such things!" + +"Let us believe they are quite untrue." + +"I hope Bertram is in no danger," said his sister. + +"Heaven forbid!" exclaimed the mother, with unaffected alarm. + +"I know not how it is," said Lady Corisande, "but I frequently feel that +some great woe is hanging over our country." + +"You must dismiss such thoughts, my child; they are fanciful." + +"But they will come, and when least expected -- frequently in church, +but also in the sunshine; and when I am riding too, when, once, every +thing seemed gay. But now I often think of strife, and struggle, and +war -- civil war: the stir of our cavalcade seems like the tramp of +cavalry." + +"You indulge your imagination too much, dear Corisande. When you return +to London, and enter the world, these anxious thoughts will fly." + +"Is it imagination? I should rather have doubted my being of an +imaginative nature. It seems to me that I am rather literal. But I +cannot help hearing and reading things, and observing things, and they +fill me with disquietude. All seems doubt and change, when it would +appear that we require both faith and firmness." + +"The duke is not alarmed about affairs," said his wife. + +"And, if all did their duty like papa, there might be less, or no +cause," said Corisande. "But, when I hear of young nobles, the natural +leaders of the land, going over to the Roman Catholic Church, I confess +I lose heart and patience. It seems so unpatriotic, so effeminate." + +"It may not be true," said the duchess. + +"It may not be true of him, but it is true of others," said Lady +Corisande. "And why should he escape? He is very young, rather +friendless, and surrounded by wily persons. I am disappointed about +Bertram too. He ought to have prevented this, if it be true. Bertram +seemed to me to have such excellent principles, and so completely to +feel that he was born to maintain the great country which his ancestors +created, that I indulged in dreams. I suppose you are right, mamma; I +suppose I am imaginative without knowing it; but I have, always thought, +and hoped, that when the troubles came the country might, perhaps, rally +round Bertram." + +"I wish to see Bertram in Parliament," said the duchess. "That will be +the best thing for him. The duke has some plans." + +This conversation had been occasioned by a paragraph in the Morning +Post, circulating a rumor that a young noble, obviously Lothair, on the +impending completion of his minority, was about to enter the Roman +Church. The duchess and her daughter were sitting in a chamber of their +northern castle, and speculating on their return to London, which was to +take place after the Easter which had just arrived. It was an important +social season for Corisande, for she was to be formally introduced into +the great world, and to be presented at court. + +In the mean while, was there any truth in the report about Lothair? + +After their meeting at their lawyer's, a certain intimacy had occurred +between the cardinal and his ward. They met again immediately and +frequently, and their mutual feelings were cordial. The manners of his +eminence were refined and affectionate; his conversational powers were +distinguished; there was not a subject on which his mind did not teem +with interesting suggestions; his easy knowledge seemed always ready and +always full; and whether it were art, or letters, or manners, or even +political affairs, Lothair seemed to listen to one of the wisest, most +enlightened, and most agreeable of men. There was only one subject on +which his eminence seemed scrupulous never to touch, and that was +religion; or so indirectly, that it was only when alone that Lothair +frequently found himself musing over the happy influence on the arts, +and morals, and happiness of mankind -- of the Church. + +In due time, not too soon, but when he was attuned to the initiation, +the cardinal presented Lothair to Lady St. Jerome. The impassioned +eloquence of that lady germinated the seed which the cardinal had seemed +so carelessly to scatter. She was a woman to inspire crusaders. Not +that she ever: condescended to vindicate her own particular faith, or +spoke as if she were conscious that Lothair did not possess it. +Assuming that religion was true, for otherwise man would be in a more +degraded position than the beasts of the field, which are not aware of +their own wretchedness, then religion should be the principal occupation +of man, to which all other pursuits should be subservient. The doom of +eternity, and the fortunes of life, cannot be placed in competition. +Our days should be pure, and holy, and heroic -- full of noble thoughts +and solemn sacrifice. Providence, in its wisdom, had decreed that the +world should be divided between the faithful and atheists; the latter +even seemed to predominate. There was no doubt that, if they prevailed, +all that elevated man would become extinct. It was a great trial; but +happy was the man who was privileged even to endure the awful test. It +might develop the highest qualities and the most sublime conduct. If he +were equal to the occasion, and could control and even subdue these sons +of Korah, he would rank with Michael the Archangel. + +This was the text on which frequent discourses were delivered to +Lothair, and to which he listened at first with eager, and soon with +enraptured attention. The priestess was worthy of the shrine. Few +persons were ever gifted with more natural eloquence: a command of +language, choice without being pedantic; beautiful hands that fluttered +with irresistible grace; flashing eyes and a voice of melody. + +Lothair began to examine himself, and to ascertain whether he possessed +the necessary qualities, and was capable of sublime conduct. His +natural modesty and his strong religious feeling struggled together. He +feared he was not an archangel, and yet he longed to struggle with the +powers of darkness. + +One day he ventured to express to Miss Arundel a somewhat hopeful view +of the future, but Miss Arundel shook her head. + +"I do not agree with my aunt, at least as regards this country," said +Miss Arundel; "I think our sins are too great. We left His Church, and +God is now leaving us." + +Lothair looked grave, but was silent. + +Weeks had passed since his introduction to the family of Lord St. +Jerome, and it was remarkable how large a portion of his subsequent time +had passed under that roof. At first there were few persons in town, +and really of these Lothair knew none; and then the house in St. James's +Square was not only an interesting but it was an agreeable house. All +Lady St. Jerome's family connections were persons of much fashion, so +there was more variety and entertainment than sometimes are to be found +under a Roman Catholic roof. Lady St. Jerome was at home every evening +before Easter. Few dames can venture successfully on so decided a step; +but her saloons were always attended, and by "nice people." +Occasionally the cardinal stepped in, and, to a certain degree, the +saloon was the rendezvous of the Catholic party; but it was also +generally social and distinguished. Many bright dames and damsels, and +many influential men, were there, who little deemed that deep and daring +thoughts were there masked by many a gracious countenance. The social +atmosphere infinitely pleased Lothair. The mixture of solemn duty and +graceful diversion, high purposes and charming manners, seemed to +realize some youthful dreams of elegant existence. All, too, was +enhanced by the historic character of the roof and by the recollection +that their mutual ancestors, as Clare Arundel more than once intimated +to him, had created England. Having had so many pleasant dinners in St. +James's Square, and spent there so many evening hours, it was not +wonderful that Lothair had accepted an invitation from Lord St. Jerome +to pass Easter at his country-seat. + + + +CHAPTER 13 + + +Vauxe, the seat of the St. Jeromes, was the finest specimen of the old +English residence extant. It was the perfection of the style, which had +gradually arisen after the Wars of the Roses had alike destroyed all the +castles and the purpose of those stern erections. People said Vauxe +looked like a college: the truth is, colleges looked like Vauxe, for, +when those fair and civil buildings rose, the wise and liberal spirits +who endowed them intended that they should resemble, as much as +possible, the residence of a great noble. + +There were two quadrangles at Vauxe of gray-stone; the outer one of +larger dimensions and much covered with ivy; the inner one not so +extensive, but more ornate, with a lofty tower, a hall, and a chapel. +The house was full of galleries, and they were full of portraits. +Indeed there was scarcely a chamber in this vast edifice of which the +walls were not breathing with English history in this interesting form. +Sometimes more ideal art asserted a triumphant claim -- transcendental +Holy Families, seraphic saints, and gorgeous scenes by Tintoret and Paul +of Verona. + +The furniture of the house seemed never to have been changed. It was +very old, somewhat scanty, but very rich -- tapestry and velvet +hangings, marvellous cabinets, and crystal girandoles. Here and there a +group of ancient plate; ewers and flagons and tall salt-cellars, a foot +high and richly chiselled; sometimes a state bed shadowed with a huge +pomp of stiff brocade and borne by silver poles. + +Vauxe stood in a large park, studded with stately trees; here and there +an avenue of Spanish chestnuts or a grove of oaks; sometimes a gorsy +dell, and sometimes a so great spread of antlered fern, taller than the +tallest man. + +It was only twenty miles from town, and Lord St. Jerome drove Lothair +down; the last ten miles through a pretty land, which, at the right +season, would have been bright with orchards, oak-woods, and +hop-gardens. Lord St. Jerome loved horses, and was an eminent whip. He +had driven four-in-hand when a boy, and he went on driving four-in-hand; +not because it was the fashion, but because he loved it. Toward the +close of Lent, Lady St. Jerome and Clare Arundel had been at a convent +in retreat, but they always passed Holy Week at home, and they were to +welcome Lord St. Jerome again at Vauxe. + +The day was bright, the mode of movement exhilarating, all the +anticipated incidents delightful, and Lothair felt the happiness of +health and youth. + +"There is Vauxe," said Lord St. Jerome, in a tone of proud humility, as +a turn in the road first displayed the stately pile. + +"How beautiful!" said Lothair. "Ah! our ancestors understood the +country." + +"I used to think when I was a boy," said Lord St. Jerome, "that I lived +in the prettiest village in the world; but these railroads have so +changed every thing that Vauxe seems to me now only a second +town-house." + +The ladies were in a garden, where they were consulting with the +gardener and Father Coleman about the shape of some new beds, for the +critical hour of filling them was approaching. The gardener, like all +head-gardeners, was opinionated. Living always at Vauxe, he had come to +believe that the gardens belonged to him, and that the family were only +occasional visitors; and he treated them accordingly. The lively and +impetuous Lady St. Jerome had a thousand bright fancies, but her morose +attendant never indulged them. She used to deplore his tyranny with +piteous playfulness. "I suppose," she would say, "it is useless to +resist, for I observe 'tis the same everywhere. Lady Roehampton says +she never has her way with her gardens. It is no use speaking to Lord +St. Jerome, for, though he is afraid of nothing else, I am sure he is +afraid of Hawkins." + +The only way that Lady St. Jerome could manage Hawkins was through +Father Coleman. Father Coleman, who knew every thing, knew a great deal +about gardens; from the days of Le Notre to those of the fine gentlemen +who now travel about, and when disengaged deign to give us advice. + +Father Coleman had only just entered middle-age, was imperturbable and +mild in his manner. He passed his life very much at Vauxe, and imparted +a great deal of knowledge to Mr. Hawkins without apparently being +conscious of so doing. At the bottom of his mind, Mr. Hawkins felt +assured that he had gained several distinguished prizes, mainly through +the hints and guidance of Father Coleman; and thus, though on the +surface, a little surly, he was ruled by Father Coleman, under the +combined influence of self-interest and superior knowledge. + +"You find us in a garden without flowers," said Lady St. Jerome; "but +the sun, I think, alway loves these golden yews." + +"These are for you, dear uncle," said Clare Arundel, as she gave him a +rich cluster of violets. "Just now the woods are more fragrant than the +gardens, and these are the produce of our morning walk. I could have +brought you some primroses, but I do not like to mix violets with any +thing." + +"They say primroses make a capital salad," said Lord St. Jerome. + +"Barbarian!" exclaimed Lady St. Jerome. "I see you want luncheon; it +must, be ready;" and she took Lothair's arm. "I will show you a +portrait of one of your ancestors," she said; "he married an Arundel." + + + +CHAPTER 14 + + +"Now, you know," said Lady St. Jerome to Lothair in a hushed voice, as +they sat together in the evening, "you are to be quite free here; to do +exactly what you like; and we shall follow our ways. If you like to +have a clergyman of your own Church visit you while you are with us, +pray say so without the slightest scruple. We have an excellent +gentleman in this parish; he often dines here; and I am sure he would be +most happy to attend you. I know that Holy Week is not wholly +disregarded by some of the Anglicans." + +"It is the anniversary of the greatest event of time," said Lothair; +"and I should be sorry if any of my Church did not entirely regard it, +though they may show that regard in a way different from your own." + +"Yes, yes," murmured Lady St. Jerome; "there should be no difference +between our Churches, if things were only properly understood. I would +accept all who really bow to the name of Christ; they will come to the +Church at last; they must. It is the atheists alone, I fear, who are +now carrying every thing before them, and against whom there is no +comfort, except the rock of St. Peter." + +Miss Arundel crossed the room, whispered something to her aunt, and +touched her forehead with her lips, and then left the apartment. + +"We must soon separate, I fear," said Lady St. Jerome; "we have an +office to-night of great moment; the Tenebrae commence to-night. You +have, I think, nothing like it; but you have services throughout this +week." + +"I am sorry to say I have not attended them," said Lothair. "I did at +Oxford; but I don't know how it is, but in London there seems no +religion. And yet, as you sometimes say, religion is the great business +of life; I sometimes begin to think the only business." + +"Yes, yes," said Lady St. Jerome, with much interest, "if you believe +that you are safe. I wish you had a clergyman near you while you are +here. See Mr. Claughton, if you like; I would; and, if you do not, +there is Father Coleman. I cannot convey to you how satisfactory +conversation is with him on religious matters. He is the holiest of +men, and yet he is a man of the world; he will not invite you into any +controversies. He will speak with you only on points on which we agree. +You know there are many points on which we agree?" + +"Happily," said Lothair. "And now about the office to-night: tell me +about these Tenebrae. Is there any thing in the Tenebrae why I ought not +to be present?" + +"No reason whatever; not a dogma which you do not believe; not a +ceremony of which you cannot approve. There are Psalms, at the end of +which a light on the altar is extinguished. There is the Song of Moses, +the Canticle of Zachary, the Miserere -- which is the 50th Psalm you +read and chant regularly in your church -- the Lord's Prayer in silence; +and then all is darkness and distress -- what the Church was when our +Lord suffered, what the whole world is now except His Church." + +"If you will permit me," said Lothair, "I will accompany you to the +Tenebrae." + +Although the chapel at Vauxe was, of course, a, private chapel, it was +open to the surrounding public, who eagerly availed themselves of a +permission alike politic and gracious. + +Nor was that remarkable. Manifold art had combined to create this +exquisite temple, and to guide all its ministrations. But to-night it +was not the radiant altar and the splendor of stately priests, the +processions and the incense, the divine choir and the celestial +harmonies resounding lingering in arched roofs, that attracted many a +neighbor. The altar was desolate, the choir was dumb; and while the +services proceeded in hushed tones of subdued sorrow, and sometimes even +of suppressed anguish, gradually, with each psalm and canticle, a light +of the altar was extinguished, till at length the Miserere was muttered, +and all became darkness. A sound as of a distant and rising wind was +heard, and a crash, as it were the fall of trees in a storm. The earth +is covered with darkness, and the veil of the temple is rent. But just +at this moment of extreme woe, when all human voices are silent, and +when it is forbidden even to breathe "Amen" -- when every thing is +symbolical of the confusion and despair of the Church at the loss of her +expiring Lord -- a priest brings forth a concealed light of silvery +flame from a corner of the altar. This is the light of the world, and +announced the resurrection, and then all rise up and depart in silence. + +As Lothair rose, Miss Arundel passed him with streaming eyes. + +"There is nothing in this holy office," said Father Coleman to Lothair, +"to which every real Christian might not give his assent." + +"Nothing," said Lothair, with great decision. + + + +CHAPTER 15 + + +There were Tenebrae on the following days, Maundy Thursday and Good +Friday, and Lothair was present on both occasions. + +"There is also a great office on Friday," said Father Coleman to +Lothair, "which perhaps you would not like to attend -- the mass of the +pre-sanctified. We bring back the blessed sacrament to the desolate +altar, and unveil the cross. It is one of our highest ceremonies, the +adoration of the cross, which the Protestants persist in calling +idolatry, though I presume they will give us leave to know the meaning +of our own words and actions, and hope they will believe us when we tell +them that our genuflexions and kissing of the cross are no more than +exterior expressions of that love which we bear in our hearts to Jesus +crucified; and that the words adoration and adore, as applied to the +cross, only signify that respect and veneration due to things +immediately relating to God and His service." + +"I see no idolatry in it," said Lothair, musingly. + +"No impartial person could," rejoined Father Coleman; "but unfortunately +all these prejudices were imbibed when the world was not so well +informed as at present. A good deal of mischief has been done, too, by +the Protestant versions of the Holy Scriptures; made in a hurry, and by +men imperfectly acquainted with the Eastern tongues, and quite ignorant +of Eastern manners. All the accumulated research and investigation of +modern times have only illustrated and justified the offices of the +Church." + +"That is very interesting," said Lothair. + +"Now, this question of idolatry," said Father Coleman, "that is a +fertile subject of misconception. The house of Israel was raised up to +destroy idolatry because idolatry thou meant dark images of Moloch +opening their arms by machinery, and flinging the beauteous first-born +of the land into their huge forms, which were furnaces of fire; or +Ashtaroth, throned in moonlit groves, and surrounded by orgies of +ineffable demoralization. It required the declared will of God to +redeem man from such fatal iniquity, which would have sapped the human +race. But to confound such deeds with the commemoration of God's +saints, who are only pictured because their lives are perpetual +incentives to purity and holiness, and to declare that the Queen of +Heaven and the Mother of God should be to human feeling only as a sister +of charity or a gleaner in the fields, is to abuse reason and to outrage +the heart." + +"We live in dark times," said Lothair, with an air of distress. + +"Not darker than before the deluge," exclaimed Father Coleman; "not +darker than before the nativity; not darker even than when the saints +became martyrs. There is a Pharos in the world, and, its light will +never be extinguished, however black the clouds and wild the waves. Man +is on his trial now, not the Church; but in the service of the Church +his highest energies may be developed, and his noblest qualities +proved." + +Lothair seemed plunged in thought, and Father Coleman glided away as +Lady St. Jerome entered the gallery, shawled and bonneted, accompanied +by another priest, Monsignore Catesby. + +Catesby was a youthful member of an ancient English house, which for +many generations had without a murmur, rather in a spirit of triumph, +made every worldly sacrifice for the Church and court of Rome. For that +cause they had forfeited their lives, broad estates, and all the honors +of a lofty station in their own land. Reginald Catesby, with +considerable abilities, trained with consummate skill, inherited their +determined will, and the traditionary beauty of their form and +countenance. His manners were winning, and, he was as well informed in +the ways of the world as he was in the works of the great casuists. + +"My lord has ordered the char- -banc, and is going to drive us all to +Chart, where we will lunch," said Lady St. Jerome; "'tis a curious +place, and was planted, only seventy years ago, by my lord's +grandfather, entirely with spruce-firs, but with so much care and skill, +giving each plant and tree ample distance, that they have risen to the +noblest proportions, with all their green branches far-spreading on the +ground like huge fans." + +It was only a drive of three or four miles entirely in the park. This +was a district that had been added to the ancient enclosure -- a +striking scene. It was a forest of firs, but quite unlike such as might +be met with in the north of Europe or of America. Every tree was +perfect -- huge and complete, and full of massy grace. Nothing else was +permitted to grow there except juniper, of which there were abounding +and wondrous groups, green and spiral; the whole contrasting with the +tall brown fern, of which there were quantities about, cut for the deer. + +The turf was dry and mossy, and the air pleasant. It was a balmy day. +They sat down by the great trees, the servants opened the +luncheon-baskets, which were a present from Balmoral. Lady St. Jerome +was seldom seen to greater advantage than distributing her viands under +such circumstances. Never was such gay and graceful hospitality. +Lothair was quite fascinated as she playfully thrust a paper of +lobster-sandwiches into his hand, and enjoined Monsignore Catesby to +fill his tumbler with Chablis. + +"I wish Father Coleman were here," said Lothair to Miss Arundel. + +"Why?" said Miss Arundel. + +"Because we were in the midst of a very interesting conversation on +idolatry and on worship in groves, when Lady St. Jerome summoned us to +our drive. This seems a grove where one might worship." + +"Father Coleman ought to be at Rome," said Miss Arundel. "He was to +have passed Holy Week there. I know not why he changed his plans." + +"Are you angry with him for it?" + +"No, not angry, but surprised; surprised that any one might be at Rome, +and yet be absent from it." + +"You like Rome?" + +"I have never been there. It is the wish of my life." + +"May I say to you what you said to me just now -- why?" + +"Naturally, because I would wish to witness the ceremonies of the Church +in their most perfect form." + +"But they are fulfilled in this country, I have heard, with much +splendor and precision." + +Miss Arundel shook her head. + +"Oh! no," she said; "in this country we are only just emerging from the +catacombs. If the ceremonies of the Church were adequately fulfilled +in England, we should hear very little of English infidelity." + +"That is saying a great deal," observed Lothair, inquiringly. + +"Had I that command of wealth of which we hear so much in the present +day, and with which the possessors seem to know so little what to do, I +would purchase some of those squalid streets in Westminster, which are +the shame of the metropolis, and clear a great space and build a real +cathedral, where the worship of heaven should be perpetually conducted +in the full spirit of the ordinances of the Church. I believe, were +this done, even this country might be saved." + + + +CHAPTER 16 + + +Lothair began to meditate on two great ideas -- the reconciliation of +Christendom, and the influence of architecture on religion. If the +differences between the Roman and Anglican Churches, and between the +papacy and Protestantism generally arose, as Father Coleman assured him, +and seemed to prove, in mere misconception, reconciliation, though +difficult, did not seem impossible, and appeared to be one of the most +efficient modes of defeating the atheists. It was a result which, of +course, mainly depended on the authority of Reason; but the power of the +imagination might also be enlisted in the good cause through the +influence of the fine arts, of which the great mission is to excite, and +at the same time elevate, the feelings of the human family. Lothair +found himself frequently in a reverie over Miss Arundel's ideal fane; +and, feeling that he had the power of buying up a district in forlorn +Westminster, and raising there a temple to the living God, which might +influence the future welfare of millions, and even effect the salvation +of his country, he began to ask himself whether he could incur the +responsibility of shrinking from the fulfilment of this great duty. + +Lothair could not have a better adviser on the subject of the influence +of architecture on religion than Monsignore Catesby. Monsignore Catesby +had been a pupil of Pugin; his knowledge of ecclesiastical architecture +was only equalled by his exquisite taste. To hear him expound the +mysteries of symbolical art, and expatiate on the hidden revelations of +its beauteous forms, reached even to ecstasy. Lothair hung upon his +accents like a neophyte. Conferences with Father Coleman on those +points of faith on which they did not differ, followed up by desultory +remarks on those points of faith on which they ought not to differ -- +critical discussions with Monsignore Catesby on cathedrals, their forms, +their purposes, and the instances in several countries in which those +forms were most perfect and those purposes best secured -- occupied a +good deal of time; and yet these engaging pursuits were secondary in +real emotion to his frequent conversations with Miss Arundel in whose +society every day he took a strange and deeper interest. + +She did not extend to him that ready sympathy which was supplied by the +two priests. On the contrary, when he was apt to indulge in those +speculations which they always encouraged, and rewarded by adroit +applause, she was often silent, throwing on him only the scrutiny of +those violet yes, whose glance was rather fascinating than apt to +captivate. And yet he was irresistibly drawn to her, and, once recalling +the portrait in the gallery, he ventured to murmur that they were +kinsfolk. + +"Oh! I have no kin, no country," said Miss Arundel. "These are not +times for kin and country. I have given up all these things for my +Master!" + +"But are our times so trying as that?" inquired Lothair. + +"They are times for new crusades," said Miss Arundel, with energy, +"though it may be of a different character from the old. If I were a +man, I would draw my sword for Christ. There are as great deeds to be +done as the siege of Ascalon, or even as the freeing of the Holy +Sepulchre." + +In the midst of a profound discussion with Father Coleman on Mariolatry, +Lothair, rapt in reverie, suddenly introduced the subject of Miss +Arundel. "I wonder what will be her lot?" he exclaimed. + +"It seems to, me to be settled," said Father Coleman. "She will be the +bride of the Church." + +"Indeed?" and he started, and even changed color. + +"She deems it her vocation," said Father Coleman. + +"And yet, with such gifts, to be immured in a convent," said Lothair. + +"That would not necessarily follow," replied Father Coleman. "Miss +Arundel may occupy a position in which she may exercise much influence +for the great cause which absorbs her being." + +"There is a divine energy about her," said Lothair, almost speaking to +himself. "It could not have been given for little ends." + +"If Miss Arundel could meet with a spirit as and as energetic as her +own," said Father. Coleman, "Her fate might be different. She has no +thoughts which are not great, and no purposes which are not sublime. +But for the companion of her life she would require no less than a +Godfrey de Bouillon." + +Lothair began to find the time pass very rapidly at Vauxe. Easter week +had nearly vanished; Vauxe had been gay during the last few days. Every +day some visitors came down from London; sometimes they returned in the +evening; sometimes they passed the night at Vauxe, and returned to town +in the morning with large bouquets. Lothair felt it was time for him to +interfere, and he broke his intention to Lady St. Jerome; but Lady St. +Jerome would not hear of it. So he muttered something about business. + +"Exactly," she said; "everybody has business, and I dare say you have a +great deal. But Vauxe is exactly the place for persons who have +business. You go up to town by an early train, and then you return +exactly in time for dinner, and bring us all the news from the clubs." + +Lothair was beginning to say something, but Lady St. Jerome, who, when +necessary, had the rare art of not listening without offending the +speaker, told him that they did not intend themselves to return to town +for a week or so, and that she knew Lord St. Jerome would be greatly +annoyed if Lothair did not remain. + +Lothair remained; and he went up to town one or two mornings to transact +business; that is to say, to see a celebrated architect and to order +plans for a cathedral, in which all the purposes of those sublime and +exquisite structures were to be realized. The drawings would take a +considerable time to prepare, and these must be deeply considered. So +Lothair became quite domiciliated at Vauxe: he went up to town in the +morning, and returned, as it were, to his home; everybody delighted to +welcome him, and yet he seemed not expected. His rooms were called +after his name; and the household treated him as one of the family. + + + +CHAPTER 17 + + +A few days before Lothair's visit was to terminate, the cardinal and +Monsignore Berwick arrived at Vauxe. His eminence was received with +much ceremony; the marshalled household, ranged in lines, fell on their +knees at his approach, and Lady St. Jerome, Miss Arundel, and some other +ladies, scarcely less choice and fair, with the lowest obeisance, +touched, with their honored lips, his princely hand. + +The monsignore had made another visit to Paris on his intended return to +Rome, but, in consequence of some secret intelligence which he had +acquired in the French capital, had thought fit to return to England to +consult with the cardinal. There seemed to be no doubt that the +revolutionary party in Italy, assured by the withdrawal of the French +troops from Rome, were again stirring. There seemed also little doubt +that London was the centre of preparation, though the project and the +projectors were involved in much, mystery. "They want money," said the +monsignore; "that we know, and that is now our best chance. The +Aspromonte expedition drained their private resources; and as for +further aid, that is out of the question; the galantuomo is bankrupt. +But the atheists are desperate, and we must prepare for events." + +On the morning after their arrival, the cardinal invited Lothair to a +stroll in the park. "There is the feeling of spring this morning," said +his eminence, "though scarcely yet its vision." It was truly a day of +balm, and sweetness, and quickening life; a delicate mist hung about the +huge trees and the masses of more distant woods, and seemed to clothe +them with that fulness of foliage which was not yet theirs. The +cardinal discoursed much on forest-trees, and, happily. He recommended +Lothair to read Evelyn's "Sylva." Mr. Evelyn had a most accomplished +mind; indeed, a character in every respect that approached perfection. +He was also a most religious man. + +"I wonder," said Lothair, "how any man who is religious can think of any +thing but religion." + +"True," said the cardinal, and looking at him earnestly, "most true. +But all things that are good and beautiful make us more religious. They +tend to the development of the religious principle in us, which is our +divine nature. And, my dear young friend," and here his eminence put +his arm easily and affectionately into that of Lothair, "it is a most +happy thing for you, that you live so much with a really religious +family. It is a great boon for a young man, and a rare one." + +"I feel it so," said Lothair, his face kindling. + +"Ah!" said the cardinal, "when we remember that this country once +consisted only of such families!" And then, with a sigh, and as if +speaking to himself, "And they made it so great and so beautiful!" + +"It is still great and beautiful," said Lothair, but rather in a tone of +inquiry than decision. + +"But the cause of its greatness and its beauty no longer exists. It +became great and beautiful because it believed in God." + +"But faith is not extinct?" said Lothair. + +"It exists in the Church," replied the cardinal, with decision. "All +without that pale is practical atheism." + +"It seems to me that a sense of duty is natural to man," said Lothair, +"and that there can be no satisfaction in life without attempting to +fulfil it." + +"Noble words, my dear young friend; noble and true. And the highest +duty of man, especially in this age, is to vindicate the principles of +religion, without which the world must soon become a scene of universal +desolation." + +"I wonder if England will ever again be a religious country?" said +Lothair, musingly. + +"I pray for that daily," said the cardinal; and he invited his companion +to seat himself on the trunk of an oak that had been lying there since +the autumn fall. A slight hectic flame played over the pale and +attenuated countenance of the cardinal; he seemed for a moment in deep +thought; and then, in a voice distinct yet somewhat hushed, and at +first rather faltering, he said: "I know not a grander, or a nobler +career, for a young man of talents and position in this age, than to be +the champion and asserter of Divine truth. It is not probable that +there could be another conqueror in out time. The world is wearied of +statesmen; whom democracy has degraded into politicians, and of orators +who have become what they call debaters. I do not believe there could +be another Dante, even another Milton. The world is devoted to physical +science, because it believes these discoveries will increase its +capacity of luxury and self-indulgence. But the pursuit of science +leads only to the insoluble. When we arrive at that barren term, the +Divine voice summons man, as it summoned Samuel; all the poetry and +passion and sentiment of human nature are taking refuge in religion; and +he, whose deeds and words most nobly represent Divine thoughts, will be +the man of this century." + +"But who could be equal to such a task?" murmured Lothair. + +"Yourself," exclaimed the cardinal, and he threw his glittering eye upon +his companion. "Any one with the necessary gifts, who had implicit +faith in the Divine purpose." + +"But the Church is perplexed; it is ambiguous, contradictory." + +"No, no," said the cardinal; "not the Church of Christ; it is never +perplexed, never ambiguous, never contradictory. Why should it be? How +could it be? The Divine persons are ever with it, strengthening and +guiding it with perpetual miracles. Perplexed churches are churches +made by Act of Parliament, not by God." + +Lothair seemed to start, and looked at his guardian with a scrutinizing +glance. And then he said, but not without hesitation, "I experience at +times great despondency." + +"Naturally," replied the cardinal. "Every man must be despondent who is +not a Christian." + +"But I am a Christian," said Lothair. + +"A Christian estranged," said the cardinal; "a Christian without the +consolations of Christianity." + +"There is something in that," said Lothair. "I require the consolations +of Christianity, and yet I feel I have them not. Why is this?" + +"Because what you call your religion is a thing apart from your life, +and it ought to be your life. Religion should be the rule of life, not +a casual incident of it. There is not a duty of existence, not a joy or +sorrow which the services of the Church do not assert, or with which +they do not sympathize. Tell me, now; you have, I was glad to hear, +attended the services of the Church of late, since you have been under +this admirable roof. Have you not then found some consolation?" + +"Yes; without doubt I have been often solaced." And Lothair sighed. + +"What the soul is to man, the Church is to the world," said the +cardinal. "It is the link between us and the Divine nature. It came +from heaven complete; it has never changed, and it can never alter. Its +ceremonies are types of celestial truths; its services are suited to all +the moods of man; they strengthen him in his wisdom and his purity, and +control and save him in the hour of passion and temptation. Taken as a +whole, with all its ministrations, its orders, its offices, and the +divine splendor of its ritual, it secures us on earth some adumbration +of that ineffable glory which awaits the faithful in heaven, where the +blessed Mother of God and ten thousand saints perpetually guard over no +with Divine intercession." + +"I was not taught these things in my boyhood," said Lothair. + +"And you might reproach me, and reasonably, as your guardian, for my +neglect," said the cardinal. "But my power was very limited, and, when +my duties commenced, you must remember that I was myself estranged from +the Church, I was myself a Parliamentary Christian, till despondency and +study and ceaseless thought and prayer, and the Divine will, brought me +to light and rest. But I at least saved you from a Presbyterian +university; I at least secured Oxford for you; and I can assure you, of +my many struggles, that was not the least." + +"It gave the turn to my mind," said Lothair, and I am grateful to you +for it. What it will all end in, God only knows." + +"It will end in His glory and in yours," said the cardinal. "I have +spoken, perhaps, too much and too freely, but you greatly interest me, +not merely because you are my charge, and the son of my beloved friend, +but because I perceive in you great qualities -- qualities so great," +continued the cardinal with earnestness, "that properly guided, they may +considerably affect the history of this country, and perhaps even have a +wider range." + +Lothair shook his head. + +"Well, well," continued the cardinal in a lighter tone, "we will pursue +our ramble. At any rate, I am not wrong in this, that you have no +objection to join in my daily prayer for the conversion of this kingdom +to -- religious truth," his eminence added after a pause. + +"Yes religious truth," said Lothair, "we must all pray for that." + + + +CHAPTER 18 + + +Lothair returned to town excited and agitated. He felt that he was on +the eve of some great event in his existence, but its precise character +was not defined. One conclusion, however, was indubitable: life must be +religion; when we consider what is at stake, and that our eternal +welfare depends on our due preparation for the future, it was folly to +spare a single hour from the consideration of the best means to secure +our readiness. Such a subject does not admit of half measures or of +halting opinions. It seemed to Lothair that nothing could interest him +in life that was not symbolical of divine truths and an adumbration of +the celestial hereafter. + +Could truth have descended from heaven ever to be distorted, to be +corrupted, misapprehended, misunderstood? Impossible! Such a belief +would confound and contradict all the attributes of the All-wise and the +All-mighty. There must be truth on earth now as fresh and complete is +it was at Bethlehem. And how could it be preserved but by the influence +of the Paraclete acting on an ordained class? On this head his tutor at +Oxford had fortified him; by a conviction of the Apostolical succession +of the English bishops, which no Act of Parliament could alter or +affect. But Lothair was haunted by a feeling that the relations of his +Communion with the Blessed Virgin were not satisfactory. They could not +content either his heart or his intellect. Was it becoming that a +Christian should live as regards the hallowed Mother of his God in a +condition of harsh estrangement? What mediatorial influence more +awfully appropriate than the consecrated agent of the mighty mystery? +Nor could he, even in his early days, accept without a scruple the +frigid system that would class the holy actors in the divine drama of +the Redemption as mere units in the categories of vanished generations. +Human beings who had been in personal relation with the Godhead must be +different from other human beings. There must be some transcendent +quality in their lives and careers, in their very organization, which +marks them out from all secular heroes. What was Alexander the Great, +or even Caius Julius, compared with that apostle whom Jesus loved? + +Restless and disquieted, Lothair paced the long and lofty rooms which +had been secured for him in a London hotel which rivalled the colossal +convenience of Paris and the American cities. Their tawdry ornaments +and their terrible new furniture would not do after the galleries and +portraits of Vauxe. Lothair sighed. + +Why did that visit ever end? Why did the world consist of any thing +else but Tudor palaces in ferny parks, or time be other than a perpetual +Holy Week? He never sighed at Vauxe. Why? He supposed it was because +their religion was his life, and here -- and he looked around him with a +shudder. The cardinal was right: it was a most happy thing for him to +be living so much with so truly a religious family. + +The door opened, and servants came in bearing a large and magnificent +portfolio. It was of morocco and of prelatial purple with broad bands +of gold and alternate ornaments of a cross and a coronet. A servant +handed to Lothair a letter, which enclosed the key that opened its lock. +The portfolio contained the plans and drawings of the cathedral. + +Lothair was lost in admiration of these designs and their execution. +But after the first fever of investigation was over, he required +sympathy and also information. In a truly religious family there would +always be a Father Coleman or a Monsignore Catesby to guide and to +instruct. But a Protestant, if he wants aid or advice on any matter, +can only go to his solicitor. But as he proceeded in his researches he +sensibly felt that the business was one above even an oratorian or a +monsignore. It required a finer and a more intimate sympathy; a taste +at the same time more inspired and more inspiring; some one who blended +with divine convictions the graceful energy of human feeling, and who +would not only animate him to effort but fascinate him to its +fulfilment. The counsellor he required was Miss Arundel. + +Lothair had quitted Vauxe one week, and it seemed to him a year. During +the first four-and-twenty hours he felt like a child who had returned to +school, and, the day after, like a man on a desert island. Various +other forms of misery and misfortune were suggested by his succeeding +experience. Town brought no distractions to him; he knew very few +people, and these be had not yet encountered; he had once ventured to +White's, but found only a group of gray-beaded men, who evidently did +not know him, and who seemed to scan him with cynical nonchalance. +These were not the golden youth whom he had been assured by Bertram +would greet him; so, after reading a newspaper for a moment upside +downward, he got away. But he had no harbor of refuge, and was obliged +to ride down to Richmond and dine alone, and meditate on symbols and +celestial adumbrations. Every day he felt how inferior was this +existence to that of a life in a truly religious family. + +But, of all the members of the family to which his memory recurred with +such unflagging interest, none more frequently engaged his thoughts than +Miss Arundel. Her conversation, which stimulated his intelligence while +it rather piqued his self-love, exercised a great influence over him, +and he had omitted no opportunity of enjoying her society. That society +and its animating power he sadly missed; and now that he had before him +the very drawings about which they had frequently talked, and she was +not by his side to suggest and sympathize and criticism and praise, he +felt unusually depressed. + +Lothair corresponded with Lady St. Jerome, and was aware of her intended +movements. But the return the family to London had been somewhat +delayed. When this disappointment was first made known to him, his +impulse was to ride down to Vauxe; but the tact in which he was not +deficient assured him that he ought not to reappear on a stage where be +had already figured for perhaps too considerable a time, and so another +week had to be passed, softened, however, by visits from the father of +the oratory and the chamberlain of his holiness, who came to look after +Lothair with much friendliness, and with whom it was consolatory and +even delightful for him to converse on sacred art, still holier things, +and also Miss Arundel. + +At length, though it seemed impossible, this second week elapsed, and +to-morrow Lothair was to lunch with Lady St. Jerome in St. James's +Square, and to meet all his friends. He thought of it all day, and he +passed a restless night. He took an early canter to rally his energies, +and his fancy was active in the splendor of the spring. The chestnuts +were in silver bloom, and the pink May had flushed the thorns, and banks +of sloping turf were radiant with plots of gorgeous flowers. The waters +glittered in the sun, and the air was fragrant with that spell which +only can be found in metropolitan mignonette. It was the hour and the +season when heroic youth comes to great decisions, achieves exploits, or +perpetrates scrapes. + +Nothing could be more cordial, nothing more winning, than the reception +of Lothair by Lady St. Jerome. She did not conceal her joy at their +being again together. Even Miss Arundel, though still calm, even a +little demure, seemed glad to see him: her eyes looked kind and pleased, +and she gave him her hand with graceful heartiness. It was the sacred +hour of two when Lothair arrived, and they were summoned to luncheon +almost immediately. Then they were not alone; Lord St. Jerome was not +there, but the priests were present and some others. Lothair, however, +sat next to Miss Arundel. + +"I have been thinking of you very often since I left Vauxe," said +Lothair to his neighbor. + +"Charitably, I am sure." + +"I have been thinking of you every day," he continued, "for I wanted +your advice." + +"Ah! but that is not a popular thing to give." + +"But it is precious -- at least, yours is to me -- and I want it now +very much." + +"Father Coleman told me you had got the plans for the cathedral," said +Miss Arundel. + +"And I want to show them to you." + +"I fear I am only a critic," said Miss Arundel, "and I do not admire +mere critics. I was very free in my comments to you on several subjects +at Vauxe; and I must now say I thought you bore it very kindly." + +"I was enchanted," said Lothair, "and desire nothing but to be ever +subject to such remarks. But this affair of the cathedral, it is your +own thought -- I would fain hope your own wish, for unless it were your +own wish I do not think I ever should be able to accomplish it." + +"And when the cathedral is built," said Miss Arundel "what then?" + +"Do you not remember telling me at Vauxe that all sacred buildings +should be respected, for that in the long-run they generally fell to the +professors of the true faith?" + +"But when they built St. Peter's, they dedicated it to a saint in +heaven," said Miss Arundel. "To whom is yours to be inscribed?" + +"To a saint in heaven and in earth," said Lothair, blushing; "to St. +Clare." + +But Lady St. Jerome and her guests rose at this moment, and it is +impossible to say with precision whether this last remark of Lothair +absolutely reached the ear of Miss Arundel. She looked as if it had +not. The priests and the other guests dispersed. Lothair accompanied +the ladies to the drawing-room; he lingered, and he was meditating if +the occasion served to say more. + +Lady St. Jerome was writing a note, Mss Arundel was arranging some work, +Lothair was affecting an interest in her employment in order that he +might be seated by her and ask her questions, when the groom of the +chambers entered and inquired whether her ladyship was at home, and +being answered in the affirmative, retired, and announced and ushered in +the duchess and Lady Corisande. + + + +CHAPTER 19 + + +It seemed that the duchess and Lady St. Jerome were intimate, for they +called each other by their Christian names, and kissed each other. The +young ladies also were cordial. Her grace greeted Lothair with +heartiness; Lady Corisande with some reserve. Lothair thought she +looked very radiant and very proud. + +It was some time since they had all met -- not since the end of the last +season -- so there was a great deal to talk about. There had been +deaths and births and marriages which required a flying comment -- all +important events; deaths which solved many difficulties, heirs to +estates which were not expected, and weddings which surprised everybody. + +"And have you seen Selina?" inquired Lady St. Jerome. + +"Not yet; except mamma, this is our first visit," replied the duchess. + +"Ah! that is real friendship. She came down to Vauxe the other day, +but I did not think she was looking well. She frets herself too much +about her boys; she does not know what to do with them. They will not +go into the Church, and they have no fortune for the Guards." + +"I understood that Lord Plantagenet was to be a civil engineer," said +Lady Corisande. + +"And Lord Albert Victor to have a sheep-walk in Australia," continued +Lady St. Jerome. + +"They say that a lord must not go to the bar," said Miss Arundel. "It +seems to me very unjust." + +"Alfred Beaufort went the circuit," said Lady Corisande, "but I believe +they drove him into Parliament." + +"You will miss your friend Bertram at Oxford," said the duchess, +addressing Lothair. + +"Indeed," said Lothair, rather confused, for he was himself a defaulter +in collegiate attendance. "I was just going to write to him to see +whether one could not keep half a term." + +"Oh! nothing will prevent his taking his degree," said the duchess, "but +I fear there must be some delay. There is a vacancy for our county -- +Mr. Sandstone is dead, and they insist upon returning Bertram. I hope +he will be of age before the nomination. The duke is much opposed to +it; he wishes him to wait; but in these days it is not so easy for young +men to get into Parliament. It is not as it used to be; we cannot +choose." + +"This is an important event," said Lothair to Lady Corisande. + +"I think it is; nor do I believe Bertram is too young for public life. +These are not times to be laggard." + +"There is no doubt they are very serious times," said Lothair. + +"I have every confidence in Bertram -- in his ability and his +principles." + +The ladies began to talk about the approaching drawing-room and Lady +Corisande's presentation, and Lothair thought it right to make his +obeisance and withdraw. He met in the hall Father Coleman, who was in +fact looking after him, and would have induced him to repair to the +father's room and hold some interesting conversation, but Lothair was +not so congenial as usual. He was even abrupt, and the father, who +never pressed any thing, assuming that Lothair had some engagement, +relinquished with a serene brow, but not without chagrin, what he had +deemed might have proved a golden opportunity. + +And yet Lothair had no engagement, and did not know where to go or what +to do with himself. But he wanted to be alone, and of all persons in +the world at that moment, he had a sort of instinct that the one he +wished least to converse with was Father Coleman. + +"She has every confidence in his principles," said Lothair to himself as +he mounted his horse, "and his principles were mine six months ago, when +I was at Brentham. Delicious Brentham! It seems like a dream; but +every thing seems like a dream; I hardly know whether life is agony or +bliss." + + + +CHAPTER 20 + +The duke was one of the few gentlemen in, London who lived in a palace. +One of the half-dozen of those stately structures that our capital +boasts had fallen to his lot. + +An heir-apparent to the throne, in the earlier days of the present +dynasty, had resolved to be lodged as became a prince, and had raised, +amid gardens which he had diverted from one of the royal parks, an +edifice not unworthy of Vicenza in its best days, though on a far more +extensive scale than any pile that favored city boasts. Before the +palace was finished, the prince died, and irretrievably in debt. His +executors were glad to sell to the trustees of the ancestors of the +chief of the house of Brentham the incomplete palace, which ought never +to have been commenced. The ancestor of the duke was by no means so +strong a man as the duke himself, and prudent people rather murmured at +the exploit. But it was what is called a lucky family -- that is to +say, a family with a charm that always attracted and absorbed heiresses; +and perhaps the splendor of CRECY HOUSE -- for it always retained its +original title -- might have in some degree contributed to fascinate the +taste or imagination of the beautiful women who, generation after +generation, brought their bright castles and their broad manors to swell +the state and rent-rolls of the family who were so kind to Lothair. + +The centre of Crecy House consisted of a hall of vast proportion, and +reaching to the roof. Its walls commemorated, in paintings by the most +celebrated artists of the age, the exploits of the Black Prince; and its +coved ceiling, in panels resplendent with Venetian gold, contained the +forms and portraits of English heroes. A corridor round this hall +contained the most celebrated private collection of pictures in England +and opened into a series of sumptuous saloons. + +It was a rather early hour when Lothair, the morning after his meeting +the duchess at Lady St. Jerome's, called at Crecy House; but it was only +to leave his card. He would not delay for a moment paying his respects +there, and yet he shrank from thrusting himself immediately into the +circle. The duke's brougham was in the court-yard. Lothair was holding +his groom's horse, who had dismounted, when the hall-door opened, and +his grace and Bertram came forth. + +"Halloa, old fellow!" exclaimed Bertram, "only think of your being here. +It seems an age since we met. The duchess was telling us about you at +breakfast." + +"Go in and see them," said the duke, "there is a large party at +luncheon; Augusta Montairy is there. Bertram and I are obliged to go to +Lincoln's Inn, something about his election." + +But Lothair murmured thanks and declined. + +"What are you going to do with yourself to-day?" said the duke. And +Lothair hesitating, his grace continued: "Well, then, come and dine +with us." + +"Of course you will come, old fellow. I have not seen you since you +left Oxford at the beginning of the year. And then we can settle about +your term." And Lothair assenting, they drove away. + +It was nine o'clock before they dined. The days were getting very long, +and soft, and sweet; the riding-parties lingered amid the pink May and +the tender twilight breeze. The Montairys dined to-day at Crecy House, +and a charming married daughter without her husband, and Lord and Lady +Clanmorne, who were near kin to the duchess, and themselves so +good-looking and agreeable that they were as good at a dinner-party as a +couple of first-rate entr es. There was also Lord Carisbrooke, a young +man of distinguished air and appearance; his own master, with a large +estate, and three years or so older than Lothair. + +They dined in the Chinese saloon, which was of moderate dimensions, but +bright with fantastic forms and colors, brilliantly lit up. It was the +privilege of Lothair to hand the duchess to her seat. He observed that +Lord Carisbrooke was placed next to Lady Corisande, though he had not +taken her out. + +"This dinner reminds me of my visit to Brentham," said Lothair. + +"Almost the same party," said the duchess. + +"The visit to Brentham was the happiest time of my life," said Lothair, +moodily. + +"But you have seen a great deal since," said the duchess. + +"I am not a sure it is of any use seeing things," said Lothair. + +When the ladies retired, there was some talk about horses. Lord +Carisbrooke was breeding; Lothair thought it was a duty to breed, but +not to go on the turf. Lord Carisbrooke thought there could be no good +breeding without racing; Lothair was of opinion that races might be +confined to one's own parks, with no legs admitted, and immense prizes, +which must cause emulation. Then they joined the ladies, and then, in a +short time, there was music. Lothair hovered about Lady Corisande, and +at last seized a happy opportunity of addressing her. + +"I shall never forget your singing at Brentham," he said; "at first I +thought it might be as Lady Montairy said, because I was not used to +fine singing; but I heard the Venusina the other day, and I prefer your +voice and style." + +"Have you heard the Venusina?" said Lady Corisande, with animation; "I +know nothing that I look forward to with more interest. But I was told +she was not to open her mouth until she appeared at the opera. Where +did you hear her?" + +"Oh, I heard her," said Lothair, "at the Roman Catholic cathedral." + +"I am sure I shall never hear her there," said Lady Corisande, looking +very grave. + +"Do not you think music a powerful accessory to religion?" said Lothair, +but a little embarrassed. + +"Within certain limits," said Lady Corisande -- "the limits I am used +to; but I should prefer to hear opera-singers at the opera." + +"Ah! if all amateurs could sing like you," said Lothair, "that would be +unnecessary. But a fine mass by Mozart -- it requires great skill as +well as power to render it. I admire no one so much as Mozart, and +especially his masses. I have been hearing a great many of them +lately." + +"So we understood," said Lady Corisande, rather dryly, and looking about +her as if she were not much interested, or at any rate not much +gratified by the conversation. + +Lothair felt he was not getting on, and he wished to get on, but he was +socially inexperienced, and his resources not much in hand. There was a +pause -- it seemed to him an awkward pause; and then Lady Corisande +walked away and addressed Lady Clanmorne. + +Some very fine singing began at this moment; the room was hushed, no one +moved, and Lothair, undisturbed, had the opportunity of watching his +late companion. There was something in Lady Corisande that to him was +irresistibly captivating; and as he was always thinking and analyzing, +he employed himself in discovering the cause. "She is not particularly +gracious," he said to himself, "at least not to me; she is beautiful, +but so are others; and others, like her, are clever -- perhaps more +clever. But there is something in her brow, her glance, her carriage, +which intimate what they call character, which interests me. Six months +ago I was in love with her, because I thought she was like her sisters. +I love her sisters, but she is not the least like them." + +The music ceased; Lothair moved away, and he approached the duke. + +"I have a favor to ask your grace," he said. "I have made up my mind +that I shall not go back to Oxford this term; would your grace do me the +great favor of presenting me at the next lev e?" + + + +CHAPTER 21 + + +One's life changes in a moment. Half a month ago, Lothair, without an +acquaintance, was meditating his return to Oxford. Now he seemed to +know everybody who was anybody. His table was overflowing with +invitations to all the fine houses in town. First came the routs and +the balls; then, when he had been presented to the husbands, came the +dinners. His kind friends the duchess and Lady St. Jerome were the +fairies which had worked this sudden scene of enchantment. A single +word from them, and London was at Lothair's feet. + +He liked it amazingly. He quite forgot the conclusion at which he had +arrived respecting society a year ago, drawn from his vast experience of +the single party which he had then attended. Feelings are different +when you know a great many persons, and every person is trying to please +you; above all, when there are individuals whom you want to meet, and +whom, if you do not meet, you become restless. + +Town was beginning to blaze. Broughams whirled and bright barouches +glanced, troops of social cavalry cantered and caracolled in morning +rides, and the bells of prancing ponies, lashed by delicate hands, +jingled in the laughing air. There were stoppages in Bond Street, which +seems to cap the climax of civilization, after crowded clubs and +swarming parks. + +But the great event of the season was the presentation of Lady +Corisande. Truly our bright maiden of Brentham woke and found herself +famous. There are families whom everybody praises, and families who are +treated in a different way. Either will do; all the sons and daughters +of the first succeed; all the sons and daughters of the last are +encouraged in perverseness by the prophetic determination of society. +Half a dozen married sisters, who were the delight and ornament of their +circles, in the case of Lady Corisande were good precursors of +popularity; but the world would not be content with that: they credited +her with all their charms and winning qualities, but also with something +grander and supreme; and from the moment her fair cheek was sealed by +the gracious approbation of majesty, all the critics of the court at +once recognized her as the cynosure of the empyrean. + +Monsignore Catesby, who looked after Lothair, and was always +breakfasting with him without the necessity of an invitation -- a +fascinating man, and who talked upon all subjects except high mass -- +knew every thing that took place at court without being himself. He led +the conversation to the majestic theme, and while he seemed to be busied +in breaking an egg with delicate precision, and hardly listening to the +frank expression of opinions which he carelessly encouraged, obtained a +not insufficient share of Lothair's views and impressions of human +beings and affairs in general during the last few days, which had +witnessed a lev e and a drawing-room. + +"Ah! then, you were so fortunate as to know the beauty before her +d but," said the monsignore. + +"Intimately; her brother is my friend. I was at Brentham last summer. +Delicious place! and the most agreeable visit I ever made in my life -- +at least, one of the most agreeable." + +"Ah, ah!" said the monsignore. "Let me ring for some toast." + +On the I night of the drawing-room a great ball was given at Crecy +House, to celebrate the entrance of Corisande into the world. It was a +sumptuous festival. The palace, resonant with fantastic music, blazed +amid illumined gardens rich with summer warmth. + +A prince of the blood was dancing with Lady Corisande. Lothair was +there, vis- -vis with Miss Arundel. + +"I delight in this hall," she said to Lothair; "but how superior the +pictured scene to the reality!" + +"What! would you like, then, to be in a battle?" + +"I should like to be with heroes, wherever they might be. What a fine +character was the Black Prince! And they call those days the days of +superstition!" + +The silver horns sounded a brave flourish. Lothair had to advance and +meet Lady Corisande. Her approaching mien was full of grace and +majesty, but Lothair thought there was a kind expression in her glance, +which seemed to remember Brentham, and, that he was her brother's +friend. + +A little later in the evening he was her partner. He could not refrain +from congratulating her on the beauty and the success of the festival. + +"I am glad you are pleased, and I am glad you think it successful; but, +you know, I am no judge, for this is my first ball!" + +"Ah! to be sure; and yet it seems impossible," he contended, in a tone +of murmuring admiration. + +"Oh! I have been at little dances at my sisters' -- half behind the +door," she added, with a slight smile. "But to-night I am present at a +scene of which I have only read." + +"And how do you like balls?" said Lothair. + +"I think I shall like them very much," said Lady Corisande; "but +to-night, I will confess, I am a little nervous." + +"You do not look so." + +"I am glad of that." + +"Why?" + +"Is it not a sign of weakness?" + +"Can feeling be weakness?" + +"Feeling without sufficient cause is, I should think." And then, and +in a tone of some archness, she said, "And how do you like balls?" + +"Well, I like them amazingly," said Lothair. "They seem to me to have +every quality which can render an entertainment agreeable: music, light, +flowers, beautiful faces, graceful forms, and occasionally charming +conversation." + +"Yes; and that never lingers," said Lady Corisande, "for see, I am +wanted." + +When they were again undisturbed, Lothair regretted the absence of +Bertram, who was kept at the House. + +"It is a great disappointment," said Lady Corisande; "but he will yet +arrive, though late. I should be most unhappy, though, if he were +absent from his post on such an occasion. I am sure if he were here, I +could not dance." + +"You are a most ardent politician," said Lothair. + +"Oh! I do not care in the least about common politics -- parties, and +office, and all that; I neither regard nor understand them," replied +Lady Corisande. "But when wicked men try to destroy the country, then I +like my family to be in the front." + +As the destruction of the country meditated this night by wicked men was +some change in the status of the Church of England, which Monsignore +Catesby in the morning had suggested to Lothair as both just and +expedient and highly conciliatory, Lothair did not pursue the theme, for +he had a greater degree of tact than usually falls to the lot of the +ingenuous. + +The bright moments flew on. Suddenly there was a mysterious silence in +the hall, followed by a kind of suppressed stir. Every one seemed: to +be speaking with bated breath, or, if moving, walking on tiptoe. It was +the supper-hour -- + +"Soft hour which wakes the wish and melts the heart." + +Royalty, followed by the imperial presence of ambassadors, and escorted +by a group of dazzli, not a casual incident of it. There is not a duty +of existence, not a joy or sorrow which the services of the Church do +not assert, or with which they do not sympathize. Tell me, now; you +have, I was glad to hear, attended the services of the Church of late, +since you have been under this admirable roof. Have you not then found +some consolation?" + +"Yes; without doubt I have been often solaced." And Lothair sighed. + +"What the soul is to man, the Church is to the world," said the +cardinal. "It is the link between us and the Divine nature. It came +from heaven complete; it has never changed, and it can never alter. Its +ceremonies are types of celestial truths; its services are suited to all +the moods of man; they strengthen him in his wisdom and his purity, and +control and save him in the hour of passion and temptation. Taken as a +whole, with all its ministrations, its orders, its offices, and the +divine splendor of its ritual, it secures us on earth some adumbration +of that ineffable glory which awaits the faithful in heaven, where the +blessed Mother of God and ten thousand saints perpetually guard over no +with Divine intercession." + +"I was not taught these things in my boyhood," said Lothair. + +"And you might reproach me, and reasonably, as your guardian, for my +neglect," said the cardinal. "But my power was very limited, and, when +my duties commenced, you must remember that I was myself estranged from +the Church, I was myself a Parliamentary Christian, till despondency and +study and ceaseless thought and prayer, and the Divine will, brought me +to light and rest. But I at least saved you from a Presbyterian +university; I at least secured Oxford for you; and I can assure you, of +my many struggles, that was not the least." + +"It gave the turn to my mind," said Lothair, and I am grateful to you +for it. What it will all end in, God only knows." + +"It will end in His glory and in yours," said the cardinal. "I have +spoken, peand here is my chair." + +"On no account; half of it and some soup will satisfy me." + +"I should have thought you would have been with the swells," said Hugo +Bohun. + +"That does not exactly suit me," said St. Aldegonde. "I was ticketed to +the Duchess of Salop, but I got a first-rate substitute with the charm +of novelty for her grace, and sent her in with Lothair." + +St. Aldegonde was the heir-apparent of the wealthiest, if not the most +ancient, dukedom in the United Kingdom. He was spoiled, but he knew it. +Had he been an ordinary being, he would have merely subsided into +selfishness and caprice; but, having good abilities and a good +disposition, he was eccentric, adventurous, and sentimental. +Notwithstanding the apathy which had been engendered by premature +experience, St. Aldegonde held extreme opinions, especially on political +affairs, being a republican of the reddest dye. He was opposed to all +privilege, and indeed to all orders of men, except dukes, who were a +necessity. He was also strongly in favor of the equal division of all +property, except land. Liberty depended on land, and the greater the +land-owners, the greater the liberty of a country. He would hold forth +on this topic even with energy, amazed at any one differing from him; +"As if a fellow could have too much land," he would urge, with a voice +and glance which defied contradiction. St. Aldegonde had married for +love, and he loved his wife, but he was strongly in favor of woman's +rights and their extremest consequences. It was thought that he had +originally adopted these latter views with the amiable intention of +piquing Lady St. Aldegonde; but if so, he had not succeeded. Beaming +with brightness, with the voice and airiness of a bird, and a cloudless +temper, Albertha St. Aldegonde had from the first hour of her marriage, +concentrated her intelligence, which was not mean, on one object; and +that was, never to cross her husband on any conceivable topic. They had +been married several years, and she treated him as a darling spoiled +child. When he cried for the moon, it was promised him immediately; +however irrational his proposition, she always assented to it, though +generally by tact and vigilance she guided him in the right direction. +Nevertheless, St. Aldegonde was sometimes in scrapes; but then he always +went and told his best friend, whose greatest delight was to extricate +him from his perplexities and embarrassments. + + + +CHAPTER 22 + + +Although Lothair was not in the slightest degree shaken in his +conviction that life should be entirely religious, he was perplexed by +the inevitable obstacles which seemed perpetually to oppose themselves +to the practice of his opinions. It was not merely pleasure in its +multiform appearances that he had to contend against, but business began +imperiously to solicit his attention. Every month brought him nearer to +his majority, and the frequent letters from Mr. Putney Giles now began +to assume the pressing shape of solicitations for personal interviews. +He had a long conversation one morning with Father Coleman on this +subject, who greatly relieved him by the assurance that a perfectly +religious life was one of which the sovereign purpose was to uphold the +interests of the Church of Christ, the father added after a momentary +pause. Business, and even amusement, were, not only compatible with +such a purpose, but might even be conducive to its fulfilment. + +Mr. Putney Giles reminded Lothair that the attainment of his majority +must be celebrated, and in a becoming manner. Preparation, and even +considerable preparation, was necessary. There were several scenes of +action -- some very distant. It was not too early to contemplate +arrangements. Lothair really must confer with his guardians. They were +both now in town, the Scotch uncle having come up to attend Parliament. +Could. they be brought together? Was it indeed impossible? If so, who +was to give the necessary instructions? + +It was much more than a year since Lothair had met his uncle, and he did +not anticipate much satisfaction from the renewal of their intimacy; but +every feeling of propriety demanded that it should be recognized, and to +a certain degree revived. Lord Culloden was a black Scotchman, tall and +lean, with good features, a hard red face and iron-gray hair. He was a +man who shrank from scenes, and he greeted Lothair as if they had only +parted yesterday. Looking at him with his keen, unsentimental, but not +unkind, eye, he said: "Well, sir, I thought you would have been at +Oxford." + +"Yes, my dear uncle; but circumstances -- " + +"Well, well, I don't want to hear the cause. I am very glad you are not +there; I believe you might as well be at Rome." + +And then in due course, and after some talk of the past and old times, +Lothair referred to the suggestions of Mr. Giles, and hinted at a +meeting of his guardians to confer and advise together. + +"No, no," said the Scotch peer, shaking his head; "I will have nothing +to do with the Scarlet Lady. Mr. Giles is an able and worthy man; he +may well be trusted to draw up a programme for our consideration, and +indeed it is an affair in which yourself should be most consulted. Let +all be done liberally, for you have a great inheritance, and I would be +no curmudgeon in these matters." + +"Well, my dear uncle, whatever is arranged, I hope you and my cousins +will honor and gratify me with your presence throughout the +proceedings." + +"Well, well, it is not much in my way. You will be having balls and +fine ladies. There is no fool like an old fool, they say; but I think, +from what I hear, the young fools will beat us in the present day. Only +think of young persons going over to the Church of Rome. Why, they are +just naturals!" + +The organizing genius of Mr. Putney Giles had rarely encountered a more +fitting theme than the celebration of the impending majority. There was +place for all his energy and talent and resources; a great central +inauguration; sympathetical festivals and gatherings in half a dozen +other counties; the troth, as it were, of a sister kingdom to be +pledged; a vista of balls and banquets, and illuminations and addresses, +of ceaseless sports and speeches, and processions alike endless. + +"What I wish to effect," said Mr. Giles, as he was giving his +multifarious orders, "is to produce among all classes an impression +adequate to the occasion. I wish the lord and the tenantry alike to +feel they have a duty to perform." + +In the mean time, Monsignore Catesby was pressing Lothair to become one +of the patrons of a Roman Catholic Bazaar, where Lady St. Jerome and +Miss Arundel were to preside over a stall. It was of importance to show +that charity was not the privilege of any particular creed. + +Between his lawyers, and his monsignores, and his architects, Lothair +began to get a little harassed. He was disturbed in his own mind, too, +on greater matters, and seemed to feel every day that it was more +necessary to take a decided step, and more impossible to decide upon +what it should be. He frequently saw the cardinal, who was very kind to +him, but who had become more reserved on religious subjects. He had +dined more than once with his eminence, and had met some distinguished +prelates and some of his fellow-nobles who had been weaned from the +errors of their cradle. The cardinal, perhaps, thought that the +presence of these eminent converts would facilitate the progress, +perhaps the decision, of his ward; but something seemed always to happen +to divert Lothair in his course. It might-be sometimes apparently a +very slight cause, but yet for the time sufficient; a phrase of Lady +Corisande for example, who, though she never directly addressed him on +the subject, was nevertheless deeply interested in his spiritual +condition. + +"You ought to speak to him, Bertram," she said one day to her brother +very indignantly, as she read a fresh paragraph alluding to an impending +conversion. "You are his friend. What is the use of friendship if not +in such a crisis as this?" + +"I see no use in speaking to a man about love or religion," said +Bertram; "they are both stronger than friendship. If there be any +foundation for the paragraph, my interference would be of no avail; if +there be none, I should only make myself ridiculous." + +Nevertheless, Bertram looked a little more after his friend, and +disturbing the monsignore, who was at breakfast with Lothair one +morning, Bertram obstinately outstayed the priest, and then said: "I +tell you what, old fellow, you are rather hippish; I wish you were in +the House of Commons." + +"So do I," said Lothair, with a sigh; "but I have come into every thing +ready-made. I begin to think it very unfortunate." + +"What are you going to do with yourself to-day? If you be disengaged, I +vote we dine together at White's, and then we will go down to the House. +I will take you to the smoking-room and introduce you to Bright, and we +will trot him out on primogeniture." + +At this moment the servant brought Lothair two letters: one was an +epistle from Father Coleman, meeting Lothair's objections to becoming a +patron of the Roman Catholic Bazaar, in a very unctuous and exhaustive +manner; and the other from his stud-groom at Oxford, detailing some of +those disagreeable things which will happen with absent masters who will +not answer letters. Lothair loved his stable, and felt particularly +anxious to avoid the threatened visit of Father Coleman on the morrow. +His decision was rapid. "I must go down, this afternoon to Oxford, my +dear fellow. My stable is in confusion. I shall positively return +to-morrow, and I will dine with you at White's, and we will go to the +House of Commons together, or go to the play." + + + +CHAPTER 23 + + +Lothair's stables were about three miles from Oxford. They were a +rather considerable establishment, in which he had taken much interest, +and, having always intended to return to Oxford in the early part of the +year, although he had occasionally sent for a hack or two to London, his +stud had been generally maintained. + +The morning after his arrival, he rode over to the stables, where he had +ordered his drag to be ready. About a quarter of a mile before he +reached his place of destination, he observed at some little distance a +crowd in the road, and, hastening on, perceived as he drew nearer a +number of men clustered round a dismantled vehicle, and vainly +endeavoring to extricate and raise a fallen horse; its companion, +panting and foaming, with broken harness but apparently uninjured, +standing aside and held by a boy. Somewhat apart stood a lady alone. +Lothair immediately dismounted and approached her, saying, "I fear you +are in trouble, madam. Perhaps I may be of service?" + +The lady was rather tall, and of a singularly distinguished presence. +Her air and her costume alike intimated high breeding and fashion. She +seemed quite serene amid the tumult and confusion, and apparently the +recent danger. As Lothair spoke, she turned her head to him, which had +been at first a little averted, and he beheld a striking countenance, +but one which he instantly felt he did not see for the first time. + +She bowed with dignity to Lothair, and said in a low but distinct voice: +"You are most courteous, sir. We have had a sad: accident, but a great +escape. Our horses ran away with us, and, had it not been for that heap +of stones, I do not see how we could have been saved." + +"Fortunately my stables are at hand," said Lothair, "and I have a +carriage waiting for me at this moment, not a quarter of a mile away. +It is at your service, and I will send for it," and his groom, to whom +he gave directions, galloped off. + +There was a shout as the fallen horse was on his legs again, much cut, +and the carriage shattered and useless. A gentleman came from the crowd +and approached the lady. He was tall and fair, and not ill-favored, +with fine dark eyes and high cheekbones, and still young, though an +enormous beard at the first glance gave him an impression of years, the +burden of which he really did not bear. His dress, though not vulgar, +was richer and more showy than is usual in this country, and altogether +there was something in his manner which, though calm and full of +self-respect, was different from the conventional refinement of England. +Yet he was apparently an Englishman, as he said to the lady, "It is a +bad business, but we must be thankful it is no worse. What troubles me +is how you are to get back. It will be a terrible walk over these stony +roads, and I can hear of no conveyance." + +"My husband," said the lady, as with dignity she presented the person to +Lothair. "This gentleman," she continued, "has most kindly offered us +the use of his carriage, which is almost at hand." + +"Sir, you are a friend," said the gentleman. "I thought there were no +horses that I could not master, but it seems I am mistaken. I bought +these only yesterday; took a fancy to them as we were driving about, and +bought them of a dealer in the road." + +"That seems a clever animal," said Lothair, pointing to the one +uninjured. + +"Ah! you like horses?" said the gentleman. + +"Well, I have some taste that way." + +"We are visitors to Oxford," said the lady. "Colonel Campian, like all +Americans, is very interested in the ancient parts of England." + +"To-day we were going to Blenheim," said the colonel, "but I thought I +would try these new tits a bit on a by-road first." + +"All's well that ends well," said Lothair; "and there is no reason why +you should not fulfil your intention of going to Blenheim, for here is +my carriage, and it is entirely at your service for the whole day, and, +indeed, as long as you stay at Oxford." + +"Sir, there requires no coronet on Your carriage to tell me you are a +nobleman," said the colonel. "I like frank manners, and I like your +team. I know few things that would please me more than to try them." + +They were four roans, highly bred, with black manes and tails. They had +the Arab eye, with arched neck and seemed proud of themselves and their +master. + +"I do not see why we should not go to Blenheim," said the colonel. + +"Well, not to-day," said the lady, "I think. We have had an escape, but +one feels these things a little more afterward than at the time. I +would rather go back to Oxford and be quiet; and there is more than one +college which you have not yet seen." + +"My team is entirely at your service wherever you go," said Lothair; +"but I cannot venture to drive you to Oxford, for I am there in statu +pupillari and a proctor might arrest us all. But perhaps," and he +approached the lady, "you will permit me to call on you to-morrow, when +I hope I may find you have not suffered by this misadventure." + +"We have got a professor dining with us to-day at seven o'clock," said +the colonel, "at our hotel, and if you be disengaged and would join the +party you would add to the favors which you know so well how to confer." + +Lothair handed the lady into the carriage, the colonel mounted the box +and took the ribbons like a master, and the four roans trotted away with +their precious charge and their two grooms behind with folded arms and +imperturbable countenances. + +Lothair watched the equipage until it vanished in the distance. + +"It is impossible to forget that countenance," he said; "and I fancy I did +hear at the time that she had married an American. Well, I shall meet +her at dinner -- that is something." And he sprang into his saddle. + + + +CHAPTER 24 + + +The Oxford professor, who was the guest of the American colonel, was +quite a young man, of advanced opinions on all subjects, religious, +social, and political. He was clever, extremely well-informed, so far +as books can make a man knowing, but unable to profit even by his +limited experience of life from a restless vanity and overflowing +conceit, which prevented him from ever observing or thinking of any +thing but himself. He was gifted with a great command of words, which +took the form of endless exposition, varied by sarcasm and passages of +ornate jargon. He was the last person one would have expected to +recognize in an Oxford professor; but we live in times of transition. + +A Parisian man of science, who had passed his life in alternately +fighting at barricades and discovering planets, had given Colonel +Campian, who had lived much in the French capital, a letter of +introduction to the professor, whose invectives against the principles +of English society were hailed by foreigners as representative of the +sentiments of venerable Oxford. The professor, who was not satisfied +with his home career, and, like many men of his order of mind, had +dreams of wild vanity which the New World, they think, can alone +realize, was very glad to make the colonel's acquaintance, which might +facilitate his future movements. So he had lionized the distinguished +visitors during the last few days over the university, and had availed +himself of plenteous opportunities for exhibiting to them his celebrated +powers of exposition, his talent for sarcasm, which he deemed peerless, +and several highly-finished, picturesque passages, which were introduced +with contemporary art. + +The professor was very much surprised when he saw Lothair enter the +saloon at the hotel. He was the last person in Oxford whom he expected +to encounter. Like sedentary men of extreme opinions, he was a social +parasite, and instead of indulging in his usual invectives against peers +and princes, finding himself unexpectedly about to dine with one of that +class, he was content only to dazzle and amuse him. + +Mrs. Campian only entered the room when dinner was announced. She +greeted Lothair with calmness but amenity, and took his offered arm. + +"You have not suffered, I hope?" said Lothair. + +"Very little, and through your kindness." + +It was a peculiar voice, low and musical, too subdued to call thrilling, +but a penetrating voice, so that, however ordinary the observation, it +attracted and impressed attention. But it was in harmony with all her +appearance and manner. Lothair thought he had never seen any one or any +thing so serene; the serenity, however, not of humbleness, nor of merely +conscious innocence; it was not devoid of a degree of majesty; what one +pictures of Olympian repose. And the countenance was Olympian: a +Phidian face, with large gray eyes and dark lashes; wonderful hair, +abounding without art, and gathered together by Grecian fillets. + +The talk was of Oxford, and was at first chiefly maintained by the +colonel and the professor. + +"And do you share Colonel Campian's feeling about Old England ?" +inquired Lothair of his hostess. + +"The present interests me more than the past," said the lady, "and the +future more than the present." + +"The present seems to me as unintelligible as the future," said Lothair. + +"I think it is intelligible," said the lady, with a faint smile. "It +has many faults but, not, I think, the want of clearness." + +"I am not a destructive," said the professor, addressing the colonel, +but speaking loudly; "I would maintain Oxford, under any circumstances, +with the necessary changes." + +"And what are those might I ask?" inquired Lothair. + +"In reality, not much. I would get rid of the religion." + +"Get rid of the religion!" said Lothair. + +"You have got rid of it once," said the professor. + +"You have altered, you have what people call reformed it," said Lothair; +"but you have not abolished or banished it from the university." + +"The shock would not be greater, nor so great, as the change from the +papal to the Reformed faith. Besides, universities have nothing to do +with religion." + +"I thought universities were universal," said Lothair, "and had +something to do with every thing." + +"I cannot conceive any society of any kind without religion," said the +lady. + +Lothair glanced at her beautiful brow with devotion as she uttered these +words. + +Colonel Campian began to talk about horses. After that the professor +proved to him that he was related to Edmund Campian, the Jesuit; and +then he got to the Gunpowder Plot, which, he was not sure, if +successful, might not have beneficially influenced the course of our +history. Probably the Irish difficulty would not then have existed. + +"I dislike plots," said the lady; "they always fail." + +"And, whatever their object, are they not essentially immoral?" said +Lothair. + +"I have more faith in ideas than in persons," said the lady. "When a +truth is uttered, it will, sooner or later, be recognized. It is only +an affair of time. It is better that it should mature and naturally +germinate than be forced." + +"You would reduce us to lotus-eaters," exclaimed the professor. "Action +is natural to man. And what, after all, are conspiracies and +revolutions but great principles in violent action?" + +"I think you must be an admirer of repose," said Lothair to the lady, in +a low voice. + +"Because I have seen something of action in my life;" said the lady, +"and it is an experience of wasted energies and baffled thoughts." + +When they returned to the saloon, the colonel and the professor became +interested in the constitution and discipline of the American +universities. Lothair hung about the lady, who was examining some views +of Oxford, and who was ascertaining what she had seen and what she had +omitted to visit. They were thinking of returning home on the morrow. + +"Without seeing Blenheim?" said Lothair. + +"Without seeing Blenheim," said the lady; "I confess to a pang; but I +shall always associate with that name your great kindness to us." + +"But cannot we for once enter into a conspiracy together," said Lothair, +"and join in a happy plot and contrive to go? Besides, I could take you +to the private gardens, for the duke has given me a perpetual order, and +they are really exquisite." + +The lady seemed to smile. + +"Theodora," said the colonel, speaking from the end of the room, "what +have you settled about your train to-morrow?" + +"We want, to stay another day here," said Theodora, "and go to +Blenheim." + + + +CHAPTER 25 + + +They were in the private gardens at Blenheim. The sun was brilliant +over the ornate and yet picturesque scene. + +"Beautiful, is it not?" exclaimed Lothair. + +"Yes, certainly beautiful," said Theodora. "But, do you know, I do not +feel altogether content in these fine gardens? The principle of +exclusion on which they are all founded is to me depressing. I require +in all things sympathy. You would not agree with me in this. The +manners of your country are founded on exclusion." + +"But, surely, there are times and places when one would like to be +alone." + +"Without doubt," said the lady; "only I do not like artificial +loneliness. Even your parks, which all the world praises, do not quite +satisfy me. I prefer a forest where all may go -- even the wild +beasts." + +"But forests are not at command," said Lothair. + +"So you make a solitude and call it peace," said the lady, with a slight +smile. "For my part, my perfect life would be a large and beautiful +village. I admire Nature, but I require the presence of humanity. Life +in great cities is too exhausting; but in my village there should be +air, streams, and beautiful trees, a picturesque scene, but enough of my +fellow-creatures to insure constant duty." + +"But the fulfilment of duty and society, founded on what you call the +principle of exclusion, are not incompatible," said Lothair. + +"No, but difficult. What should be natural becomes an art; and in every +art it is only the few who can be first rate." + +"I have an ambition to be a first-rate artist in that respect," said +Lothair, thoughtfully. + +"That does you much honor," she replied, "for you necessarily embark in +a most painful enterprise. The toiling multitude have their sorrows, +which, I believe, will some day be softened, and obstacles hard to +overcome; but I have always thought that the feeling of satiety, almost +inseparable from large possessions, is a surer cause of misery than +ungratified desires." + +"It seems to me that there is a great deal to do," said Lothair. + +"I think so," said the lady. + +"Theodora," said the colonel, who was a little in advance with the +professor, and turning round his head, "this reminds me of Mirabel," and +he pointed to the undulating banks covered with rare shrubs, and +touching the waters of the lake. + +"And where is Mirabel?" said Lothair. + +"It was a green island in the Adriatic," said the lady, "which belonged +to Colonel Campian; we lost it in the troubles. Colonel Campian was +very fond of it. I try to persuade him that our home was of volcanic +origin, and has only vanished and subsided into its native bed." + +"And were not you fond of it?" + +"I never think of the past," said the lady. + +"Oxford is not the first place where I had the pleasure of meeting you," +Lothair ventured at length to observe. + +"Yes, we have met before, in Hyde Park Gardens. Our hostess is a clever +woman, and has been very kind to some friends of mine." + +"And have you seen her lately?" + +"She comes to see us sometimes. We do not live in London, but in the +vicinity. We only go to London for the opera, of which we are devotees. +We do not at all enter general society; Colonel Campian only likes +people who interest or amuse him, and he is fortunate in having rather a +numerous acquaintance of that kind." + +"Rare fortune!" said Lothair. + +"Colonel Campian lived a great deal at Paris before we marred," said the +lady, "and in a circle of considerable culture and excitement. He is +social, but not conventional." + +"And you -- are you conventional?" + +"Well, I live only for climate and the affections," said the lady "I am +fond of society that pleases me, that is, accomplished and natural and +ingenious; otherwise I prefer being alone. As for atmosphere, as I look +upon it as the main source of felicity, you may be surprised that I +should reside in your country. I should myself like to go to America, +but that would not suit Colonel Campian; and, if we are to live in +Europe, we must live in England. It is not pleasant to reside in a +country where, if you happen to shelter or succor a friend, you may be +subject to a domiciliary visit." + +The professor stopped to deliver a lecture or address on the villa of +Hadrian. Nothing could be more minute or picturesque than his +description of that celebrated pleasaunce. It was varied by portraits +of the emperor and some of his companions, and, after a rapid glance at +the fortunes of the imperial patriciate, wound up with some conclusions +favorable to communism. It was really very clever, and would have made +the fortune of a literary society. + +"I wonder if they had gravel-walks in the villa of Hadrian?" said the +colonel. "What I admire most in your country, my lord, are your +gravel-walks, though that lady would not agree with me that matter." + +"You are against gravel-walks," said Lothair. + +"Well, I cannot bring myself to believe that they had gravel-walks in +the garden of Eden," said the lady. + +They had a repast at Woodstock, too late for luncheon, too early for +dinner, but which it was agreed should serve as the latter meal. + +"That suits me exactly," said the lady; "I am a great foe to dinners, +and indeed to all meals. I think when the good time comes we shall give +up eating in public, except perhaps fruit on a green bank with music." + +It was a rich twilight as they drove home, the lady leaning back in the +carriage silent. Lothair sat opposite to her, and gazed upon a +countenance on which the moon began to glisten, and which seemed +unconscious of all human observation. + +He had read of such countenances in Grecian dreams; in Corinthian +temples, in fanes of Ephesus, in the radiant shadow of divine groves. + + + +CHAPTER 26 + + +When they had arrived at the hotel, Colonel Campian proposed that they +should come in and have some coffee; but Theodora did not enforce this +suggestion; and Lothair, feeling that she might be wearied, gracefully +though unwillingly waived the proposal. Remembering that on the noon of +the morrow they were to depart, with a happy inspiration, as he said +farewell, he asked permission to accompany them to the station. + +Lothair walked away with the professor, who seemed in a conservative +vein, and graciously disposed to make several concessions to the customs +of an ancient country. Though opposed to the land laws, he would +operate gradually, and gave Lothair more than one receipt how to save +the aristocracy. Lothair would have preferred talking about the lady +they had just quitted, but, as he soon found the professor could really +give him no information about her, he let the subject drop. + +But not out of his own mind. He was glad to be alone and brood over the +last two days. They were among the most interesting of his life. He +had encountered a character different from any he had yet met, had +listened to new views, and his intelligence had been stimulated by +remarks made casually, in easy conversation, and yet to him pregnant +with novel and sometimes serious meaning. The voice, too, lingered in +his ear, so hushed and deep, and yet so clear and sweet. He leaned over +his mantel-piece in teeming reverie. + +"And she is profoundly religious," he said to himself; "she can conceive +no kind of society without religion. She has arrived at the same +conclusion as myself. What a privilege it would be to speak to her on +such subjects!" + +After a restless night the morrow came. About eleven o'clock Lothair +ventured to call on his new friends. The lady was alone; she was +standing by the window, reading an Italian newspaper, which she folded +up and placed aside when Lothair was announced. + +"We propose to walk to the station," said Theodora; "the servants have +gone on. Colonel Campian has a particular aversion to moving with any +luggage. He restricts me to this," she said, pointing to her satchel, +in which she had placed the foreign newspaper, "and for that he will not +be responsible." + +"It was most kind of you to permit me to accompany you this morning," +said Lothair; "I should have been grieved to have parted abruptly last +night." + +"I could not refuse such a request," said the lady; "but do you know, I +never like to say farewell, even for four-and-twenty hours? One should +vanish like a spirit." + +"Then I have erred," said Lothair, "against your rules and principles." + +"Say my fancies," said the lady, "my humors, my whims. Besides, this is +not a farewell. You will come and see us. Colonel Campian tells me you +have promised to give us that pleasure." + +"It will be the greatest pleasure to me," said Lothair; "I can conceive +nothing greater." And then hesitating a little, and a little blushing, +he added, "When do you think I might come?" + +"Whenever you like," said the lady; "you will always find me at home. +My life is this: I ride every day very early, and far into the country, +so I return tamed some two or three hours after noon, and devote myself +to my friends. We are at home every evening, except opera nights; and +let me tell you, because it is not the custom generally among your +compatriots, we are always at home on Sundays." + +Colonel Campian entered the room; the moment of departure was at hand. +Lothair felt the consolation of being their companion to the station. +He had once hoped it might be possible to be their companion in the +train; but he was not encouraged. + +"Railways have elevated and softened the lot of man," said Theodora, +"and Colonel Campian views them with almost a religious sentiment. But +I cannot read in a railroad, and the human voice is distressing to me +amid the whirl and the whistling, and the wild panting of the loosened +megatheria who drag us. And then those terrible grottos -- it is quite +a descent of Proserpine; so I have no resources but my thoughts." + +"And surely that is sufficient," murmured Lothair. + +"Not when the past is expelled," said the lady. + +"But the future," said Lothair. + +"Yes, that is ever interesting, but so vague that it sometimes induces +slumber." + +The bell sounded; Lothair handed the lady to her compartment. + +"Our Oxford visit," she said, "has been a great success, and mainly +through you." + +The colonel was profuse in his cordial farewells, and it seemed they +would never have ended had not the train moved. + +Lothair remained upon the platform until it was out of sight, and then +exclaimed, "Is it a dream, or shall I ever see her again?" + + + +CHAPTER 27 + + +Lothair reached London late in the afternoon. Among the notes and cards +and letters on his table was a long and pressing dispatch from Mr. +Putney Giles awaiting his judgment and decision on many points. + +"The central inauguration, if I may use the term," said Mr. Putney +Giles, "is comparatively easy. It is an affair of expense and of labor +-- great labor; I may say unremitting labor. But your lordship will +observe the other points are not mere points of expense and labor. We +have to consult the feelings of several counties where your lordship +cannot be present, at least certainly not on this occasion, and yet +where an adequate recognition of those sentiments which ought to exist +between the proprietor and all classes connected with him ought to be +secured. Then Scotland: Scotland is a very difficult business to +manage. It is astonishing how the sentiment lingers in that country +connected with its, old independence. I really am quite surprised at +it. One of your lordship's most important tenants wrote to me only a +few days back that great dissatisfaction would prevail among your +lordship's friends and tenantry in Scotland, if that country on this +occasion were placed on the same level as a mere English county. It +must be recognized as a kingdom. I almost think it would be better if +we could persuade Lord Culloden, not to attend the English inauguration, +but remain in the kingdom of Scotland, and take the chair and the lead +throughout the festal ceremonies. A peer of the realm, and your +lordship's guardian, would impart something of national character to +the proceedings, and this, with a judicious emblazoning on some of the +banners of the royal arms of Scotland, might have a conciliatory effect. +One should always conciliate. But your lordship, upon all these points, +and especially with reference to Lord Culloden, must be a much better +judge than I am." + +Lothair nearly gave a groan. "I almost wish," he thought, "my minority +would never end. I am quite satisfied with things as they are. What is +the kingdom of Scotland to me and all these counties? I almost begin to +feel that satiety which she said was inseparable from vast possessions." + +A letter from Bertram, reminding him that he had not dined at White's as +he had promised, and suggesting some new arrangement, and another from +Monsignore Catesby, earnestly urging him to attend a most peculiar and +solemn function of the Church next Sunday evening, where the cardinal +would officiate and preach, and in which Lady St. Jerome and Miss +Arundel were particularly interested, did not restore his equanimity. + +A dinner at White's! He did not think he could stand a dinner at +White's. Indeed, he was not sure that he could stand any dinner +anywhere, especially in this hot weather. There was a good deal in what +she said: "One ought to eat alone." + +The ecclesiastical function was a graver matter. It had been long +contemplated, often talked about, and on occasions looked forward to by +him even with a certain degree of eagerness. He wished he had had an +opportunity of speaking with her on these matters. She was eminently +religious; that she had voluntarily avowed. And he felt persuaded that +no light or thoughtless remark could fall from those lips. He wondered +to what Church she belonged? Protestant or papal? Her husband, being +an American, was probably a Protestant, but he was a gentleman of the +South, and with nothing puritanical about him. She was a European, and +probably of a Latin race. In all likelihood she was a Roman Catholic. + +It was Wednesday evening, and his valet reminded him that he was engaged +to dine with Lord and Lady Montairy. + +Lothair sighed. He was so absorbed by his new feelings that he shrunk +from society with a certain degree of aversion. He felt it quite out of +his power to fulfil his engagement. He sent an excuse. It was +Lothair's first excuse. In short, he "threw over" the Montairys, to +whom he was so much attached, whom he so much admired, and whose society +he had hitherto so highly prized. + +To "throw over" a host is the most heinous of social crimes. It ought +never to be pardoned. It disjoints a party, often defeats the +combinations which might affect the results of a season, and generally +renders the society incoherent and unsatisfactory. If the outrage could +ever be condoned, it might be in the instance of a young man very +inexperienced, the victim of some unexpected condition of nervous +feelings over which the defaulter has really no control. + +It was evening, and the restless Lothair walked forth without a purpose, +and in a direction which he rarely visited. "It is a wonderful place," +said he, "this London; a nation, not a city; with a population greater +than some kingdoms, and districts as different as if they were under +different governments and spoke different languages. And what do I know +of it? I have been living here six months, and my life has been passed +in a park, two or three squares, and half a dozen streets!" + +So he walked on and soon crossed Oxford Street, like the Rhine a natural +boundary, and then got into Portland Place, and then found himself in +the New Road, and then he hailed a cruising Hansom, which he had +previously observed was well horsed. + +"'Tis the gondola of London," said Lothair as he sprang in. + +"Drive on till I tell you to stop." + +And the Hansom drove on, through, endless boulevards, some bustling, +some dingy, some tawdry and flaring, some melancholy and mean; rows of +garden gods, planted on the walls of yards full of vases and divinities +of concrete, huge railway halls, monster hotels, dissenting chapels in +the form of Gothic churches, quaint ancient almshouses that were once +built in the fields, and tea-gardens and stingo-houses and knackers' +yards. They were in a district far beyond the experience of Lothair, +which indeed had been exhausted when he had passed Eustonia, and from +that he had been long separated. The way was broad but ill-lit, with +houses of irregular size but generally of low elevation, and sometimes +detached in smoke-dried gardens. The road was becoming a bridge which +crossed a canal, with barges and wharves and timber-yards, when their +progress was arrested by a crowd. It seemed a sort of procession; there +was a banner, and the lamp-light fell upon a religious emblem. Lothair +was interested, and desired the driver not to endeavor to advance. The +procession was crossing the road and entering a building. + +"It's a Roman Catholic chapel," said a bystander in answer to Lothair. +"I believe it is a meeting about one of their schools. They always have +banners." + +"I think I will get out," said Lothair to his driver. "This, I suppose, +will pay your fare." + +The man stared with delight at the sovereign in his astonished palm, and +in gratitude suggested that he should remain and wait for the gentleman, +but the restless Lothair declined the proposal. + +"Sir, sir," said the man, leaning down his head as low as possible from +his elevated seat, and speaking in a hushed voice, "you are a real +gentleman. Do you know what all this is?" + +"Yes, yes; some meeting about a Roman Catholic school." + +The man shook his head. "You are a real gentleman, and I will tell you +the truth. They meet about the schools of the order of St. Joseph -- +over the left -- it is a Fenian meeting." + +"A Fenian meeting?" + +"Ay, ay, and you cannot enter that place without a ticket. Just you +try! However, if a gentleman like you wants to go, you shall have my +ticket," said the cab-driver; "and here it is. And may I drive +to-morrows as true a gentleman as I have driven to-day!" + +So saying, he took a packet from his breast-pocket, and opening it +offered to Lothair a green slip of paper, which was willingly accepted. +"I should like above all things to go," he said, and he blended with the +rear of those who were entering the building. The collector of the +tickets stared at Lothair and scrutinized his pass, but all was in +order, and Lothair was admitted. + +He passed through a house and a yard, at the bottom of which was a +rather spacious building. When he entered it, he saw in an instant it +was not a chapel. It was what is called a temperance-hall, a room to be +hired for public assemblies, with a raised platform at the end, on which +were half a dozen men. The hall was tolerably full, and Lothair came in +among the last. There were some children sitting on a form placed +against the wall of the room, each with a bun which kept them quiet; the +banner belonged to this school, and was the banner of St. Joseph. + +A man dressed like a pries and known as Father O'Molloy, came forward. +He was received with signs of much sympathy, succeeded by complete +silence. He addressed them in a popular and animated style on the +advantages of education. They knew what that was, and then they +cheered. . Education taught them to know their rights. But what was the +use of knowing their rights unless they enforced them? That was not to +be done by prayer-books, but by something else, and something else +wanted a subscription. + +This was the object of the meeting and the burden of all the speeches +which followed, and which were progressively more outspoken than the +adroit introductory discourse. The Saxon was denounced, sometimes with +coarseness, but sometimes in terms of picturesque passion; the vast and +extending organization of the brotherhood was enlarged on, the great +results at hand intimated; the necessity of immediate exertion on the +part of every individual pressed with emphasis. All these views and +remarks received from the audience an encouraging response; and when +Lothair observed men going round with boxes, and heard the clink of +coin, he felt very embarrassed as to what he should do when asked to +contribute to a fund raised to stimulate and support rebellion against +his sovereign. He regretted the rash restlessness which had involved +him in such a position. + +The collectors approached Lothair, who was standing at the end of the +room opposite to the platform, where the space was not crowded. + +"I should like to speak to Father O'Molloy," said Lothair; "he is a +priest, and will understand my views." + +"He is a priest here," said one of the collectors with a sardonic laugh, +"but I am glad to say you will not find his name in the directory. +Father O'Molloy is on the platform and engaged." + +"If you want to speak to the father, speak from where yon are," said the +other collector. "Here, silence! a gentleman wants to address the +meeting." + +And there was silence, and Lothair felt extremely embarrassed, but he +was not wanting, though it was the first time in his life that he had +addressed a public meeting. + +"Gentlemen," said Lothair, "I really had no wish to intrude upon you; +all I desired was to speak to Father O'Molloy. I wished to tell him +that it would have given me pleasure to subscribe to these schools. I +am not a Roman Catholic, but I respect the Roman Catholic religion. But +I can do nothing that will imply the slightest sanction of the opinions +I have heard expressed this evening. For your own sakes -- " but here a +yell arose which forever drowned his voice. + +"A spy, a spy!" was the general exclamation. "We are betrayed! Seize +him! Knock him over!" and the whole meeting seemed to have turned their +backs on the platform and to be advancing on the unfortunate Lothair. +Two of the leaders on the platform at the same time leaped down from it, +to direct as it were the enraged populace. + +But at this moment a man who had been in the lower part of the hall, in +the vicinity of Lothair and standing alone, pushed forward, and by his +gestures and general mien arrested somewhat the crowd, so that the two +leaders who leaped from the platform and bustled through the crowd came +in contact with him. + +The stranger was evidently not of the class or country of the rest +assembled. He had a military appearance, and spoke with a foreign accent +when he said, "This is no spy. Keep your people off." + +"And who are you?" inquired the leader thus addressed. + +"One accustomed to be obeyed," said the stranger. + +"You may be a spy yourself," said the leader. + +"I will not undertake to say that there are no spies in this room," said +the stranger, "but this person is not one, and anybody who touches this +person will touch this person at his peril. Stand off, men!" And they +stood off. The wave retreated backward, leaving the two leaders in +front. A couple of hundred men, a moment before apparently full of +furious passion and ready to take refuge in the violence of fear, were +cowed by a single human being. + +"Why, you are not afraid of one man?" said the leaders, ashamed of their +following. "Whatever betides, no one unknown shall leave this room, or +it will be Bow Street to-morrow morning." + +"Nevertheless," said the stranger, "two unknown men will leave this room +and with general assent. If any one touches this person or myself I +will shoot him dead," and he drew out his revolver, "and as for the +rest, look at that," he added, giving a paper to the leader of the +Fenian Lodge, "and then give it me back again." + +The leader of the Fenian Lodge glanced at the paper; he grew pale, then +scarlet, folded the paper with great care and returned it reverentially +to the stranger, then looking round to the assembly and waving his hand +he said, "All right, the gentlemen are to go." + +"Well, you have got out of a scrape, young air," said the stranger to +Lothair when they had escaped from the hall. + +"And how can I express my gratitude to you?" Lothair replied. + +"Poh!" said the stranger, "a mere affair of common duty. But what +surprises me is how you got your pass-ticket." + +Lothair told him all. + +"They manage their affairs in general wonderfully close," said the +stranger, "but I have no opinion of them. I have just returned from +Ireland, where I thought I would go and see what they really are after. +No real business in them. Their treason is a fairy tale, and their +sedition a child talking in its sleep." + +They walked together about half a mile, and then the stranger said, "At +the end of this we shall get into the City Road, and the land again of +omnibus and public conveyances, and I shall wish you good night." + +"But it is distressing to me to part thus," said Lothair. "Pray let me +call and pay my respects to my benefactor." + +"No claim to any such title," said the stranger; "I am always glad to +be of use. I will not trouble you to call on me, for, frankly, I have +no wish to increase the circle of my acquaintance. So, good-night; and, +as you seem to be fond of a little life, take my advice, and never go +about unarmed." + + + +CHAPTER 28 + + +The Fenian adventure furnished the distraction which Lothair required +It broke that absorbing spell of sentiment which is the delicious but +enervating privilege of the youthful heart; yet, when Lothair woke in +the morning from his well-earned slumbers, the charm returned, and he +fell at once into a reverie of Belmont, and a speculation when he might +really pay his first visit there. Not to-day -- that was clearly out of +the question. They had separated only yesterday, and yet it seemed an +age, and the adventure of another world. There are moods of feeling +which defy alike time and space. + +But on the morrow, Friday, he might venture to go. But, then, would +to-morrow ever come? It seemed impossible. How were the intervening +hours to pass? The world, however, was not so devoid of resources as +himself, and had already appropriated his whole day. And, first, +Monsignore Catesby came to breakfast with him, talking of every thing +that was agreeable or interesting, but in reality bent on securing his +presence at the impending ecclesiastical ceremony of high import, where +his guardian was to officiate, and where the foundation was to be laid +of the reconciliation of all churches in the bosom of the true one. +Then, in the afternoon, Lothair had been long engaged to a match of +pigeon-shooting, in which pastime Bertram excelled. It seemed there was +to be a most exciting sweepstakes to-day, in which the flower of England +were to compete; Lothair among them, and for the first time. + +This great exploit of arms was to be accomplished at the Castle in the +Air, a fantastic villa near the banks of the Thames, belonging to the +Duke of Brecon. His grace had been offended by the conduct or the +comments of the outer world, which in his pastime had thwarted or +displeased him in the free life of Battersea. The Duke of Brecon was a +gentleman easily offended, but not one of those who ever confined their +sense of injury to mere words. He prided himself on "putting down" any +individual or body of men who chose to come into collision with him. +And so in the present instance he formed a club of pigeon-shooters, and +lent them his villa for their rendezvous and enjoyment. The society was +exquisite, exclusive, and greatly sought after. And the fine ladies, +tempted, of course, by the beauty of the scene, honored and inspired the +competing confederates by their presence. + +The Castle in the Air was a colossal thatched cottage, built by a +favorite of, King George IV. It was full of mandarins and pagodas and +green dragons, and papered with birds of many colors and with vast +tails. The gardens were pretty, and the grounds park-like, with some +noble cedars and some huge walnut-trees. + +The Duke of Brecon was rather below the middle size, but he had a +singularly athletic frame not devoid of symmetry. His head was well +placed on his broad shoulders, and his mien was commanding. He was +narrow-minded and prejudiced, but acute, and endowed with an unbending +will. He was an eminent sportsman, and brave even to brutality. His +boast was that he had succeeded in every thing he had attempted, and he +would not admit the possibility of future failure. Though still a very +young man, he had won the Derby, training his own horse; and he +successfully managed a fine stud in defiance of the ring, whom it was +one of the secret objects of his life to extirpate. Though his manner +to men was peremptory, cold, and hard, he might be described as popular, +for there existed a superstitious belief in his judgment, and it was +known that in some instances, when he had been consulted, he had given +more than advice. It could not be said that he was beloved, but he was +feared and highly considered. Parasites were necessary to him, though +he despised them. + +The Duke of Brecon was an avowed admirer, of Lady Corisande, and was +intimate with her family. The duchess liked him much, and was often +seen at ball or assembly on his arm. He had such excellent principles, +she said; was so straight-forward, so true and firm. It was whispered +that even Lady Corisande had remarked that the Duke of Brecon was the +only young man of the time who had "character." The truth is, the duke, +though absolute and hard to men, could be soft and deferential to women, +and such an exception to a general disposition has a charm. It was +said, also, that he had, when requisite, a bewitching smile. + +If there were any thing or any person in the world that St. Aldegonde +hated more than another, it was the Duke of Brecon. Why St. Aldegonde +hated him was not very clear, for they had never crossed each other, nor +were the reasons for his detestation, which he occasionally gave, +entirely satisfactory: sometimes it was because the duke drove piebalds; +sometimes because he had a large sum in the funds, which St. Aldegonde +thought disgraceful for a duke; sometimes because he wore a particular +hat, though, with respect to this last allegation, it does not follow +that St. Aldegonde was justified in his criticism, for in all these +matters St. Aldegonde was himself very deficient, and had once strolled +up St. James's Street with his dishevelled looks crowned with a +wide-awake. Whatever might be the cause, St. Aldegonde generally wound +up -- "I tell you what, Bertha, if Corisande marries that follow, I have +made up my mind to go to the Indian Ocean. It is a country I never have +seen, and Pinto tells me you cannot do it well under five years." + +"I hope you will take me, Grenville, with you," said Lady St. Aldegonde, +"because it is highly probable Corisande will marry the duke; mamma, you +know, likes him so much." + +"Why cannot Corisande marry Carisbrooke?" said St. Aldegonde, pouting; +"he is a really good fellow, much better-looking, and so far as land is +concerned, which after all is the only thing, has as large an estate as +the duke." + +"Well, these things depend a little upon taste," said Lady St. +Aldegonde. + +"No, no," said St. Aldegonde; "Corisande must marry Carisbrooke. Your +father would not like my going to the Indian Archipelago and not +returning for five years, perhaps never returning. Why should Corisande +break up our society? -- why are people so selfish? I never could go to +Brentham again if the Duke of Brecon is always to be there, giving his +opinion, and being what your mother calls 'straightforward' -- I hate a +straightforward fellow. As Pinto says, if every man were +straightforward in his opinions, there would be no conversation. The +fun of talk is to find out what a man really thinks, then contrast it +with the enormous lies he has been telling all dinner, and, perhaps, all +his life." + +It was a favorable day for the Castle in the Air; enough, but not too +much sun, and a gentle breeze. Some pretty feet, not alone, were +sauntering in the gardens, some pretty lips lingered in the rooms +sipping tea; but the mass of the fair visitors, marvellously attired, +were assembled at the scene of action, seated on chairs and in groups, +which assumed something of the form of an amphitheatre. There were many +gentlemen in attendance on them, or independent spectators of the sport. +The field was large, not less than forty competitors, and comprising +many of the best shots in England. The struggle therefore, was long and +ably maintained; but, as the end approached, it was evident that the +contest would be between Bertram, Lothair, and the Duke of Brecon. + +Lady St. Aldegonde and Lady Montairy were there and their unmarried +sister. The married sisters were highly excited in favor of their +brother, but Lady Corisande said nothing. At last Bertram missed a +bird, or rather his bird, which he had hit, escaped, and fell beyond the +enclosure. Lothair was more successful, and it seemed that it might be +a tie between him and the duke. His grace, when called, advanced with +confident composure, and apparently killed both his birds, when, at this +moment, a dog rushed forward and chased one of the mortally-struck +pigeons. The blue-rock, which was content to die by the hand of a duke, +would not deign to be worried by a dog, and it frantically moved its +expiring wings, scaled the paling, and died. So Lothair won the prize. + +"Well," said Lady Montairy to Lothair, "as Bertram was not to win, I am +glad it was you." + +"And you will not congratulate me?" said Lothair to Lady Corisande. + +She rather shook her head. "A tournament of doves," she said. "I would +rather see you all in the lists of Ashby." + +Lothair had to dine this day with one of the vanquished. This was Mr. +Brancepeth, celebrated for his dinners, still more for his guests. Mr. +Brancepeth was a grave young man. It was supposed that he was always +meditating over the arrangement of his menus, or the skilful means by +which he could assemble together the right persons to partake of them. +Mr. Brancepeth had attained the highest celebrity in his peculiar +career. To dine with Mr. Brancepeth was a social incident that was +mentioned. Royalty had consecrated his banquets, and a youth of note +was scarcely a graduate of society who had not been his guest. There +was one person, however, who, in this respect, had not taken his degree, +and, as always happens under such circumstances, he was the individual +on whom Mr. Brancepeth was most desirous to confer it; and this was St. +Aldegonde. In vain Mr. Brancepeth had approached him with vast cards of +invitation to hecatombs, and with insinuating little notes to dinners +sans fa on; proposals which the presence of princes might almost +construe into a command, or the presence of some one even more +attractive than princes must invest with irresistible charm. It was all +in vain. "Not that I dislike Brancepeth," said St. Aldegonde; "I rather +like him: I like a man who can do only one thing, but does that well. +But then I hate dinners." + +But the determined and the persevering need never despair of gaining +their object in this world. And this very day, riding home from the +Castle in the Air, Mr. Brancepeth overtook St. Aldegonde, who was +lounging about on a rough Scandinavian cob, as dishevelled as himself, +listless and groomless. After riding together for twenty minutes, St. +Aldegonde informed Mr. Brancepeth, as was his general custom with his +companions, that he was bored to very extinction, and that he did not +know what he should do with himself for the rest of the day. "If I +could only get Pinto to go with me, I think I would run down to the Star +and Garter, or perhaps to Hampton Court." + +"You will not be able to get Pinto today," said Mr. Brancepeth, "for be +dines with me." + +"What an unlucky fellow I am!" exclaimed St. Aldegonde, entirely to +himself. "I had made up my mind to dine with Pinto to-day." + +"And why should you not? Why not meet Pinto at my house?" + +"Well, that is not my way," said St. Aldegonde, but not in a decided +tone. "You know I do not like strangers, and crowds of wine-glasses, +and what is called all the delicacies of the season." + +"You will meet no one that you do not know and like. It is a little +dinner I made for -- " and he mentioned Lothair. + +"I like Lothair," said St. Aldegonde, dreamily. "He is a nice boy." + +"Well, you will have him and Pinto to yourself." + +The large fish languidly rose and swallowed the bait, and the exulting +Mr. Brancepeth cantered off to Hill Street to give the necessary +instructions. + +Mr. Pinto was one of the marvels of English society; the most sought +after of all its members, though no one could tell you exactly why. He +was a little oily Portuguese, middle-aged, corpulent, and somewhat bald, +with dark eyes of sympathy, not unmixed with humor. No one knew who he +was, and in a country the most scrutinizing as to personal details, no +one inquired or cared to know. A quarter of a century ago an English +noble had caught him in his travels, and brought him young to England, +where he had always remained. From the favorite of an individual, he +had become the oracle of a circle, and then the idol of society. All +this time his manner remained unchanged. He was never at any time +either humble or pretentious. Instead of being a parasite, everybody +flattered him; and instead of being a hanger-on of society, society hung +on Pinto. + +It must have been the combination of many pleasing qualities, rather +than the possession of any commanding one, that created his influence. +He certainly was not a wit yet he was always gay, and always said things +that made other people merry. His conversation was sparkling, +interesting, and fluent, yet it was observed he never gave an opinion on +any subject and never told an anecdote. Indeed, he would sometimes +remark, when a man fell into his anecdotage, it was a sign for him to +retire from the world. And yet Pinto rarely opened his mouth without +everybody being stricken with mirth. He had the art of viewing common +things in a fanciful light, and the rare gift of raillery which +flattered the self-love of those whom it seemed sportively not to spare. +Sometimes those who had passed a fascinating evening with Pinto would +try to remember on the morrow what he had said, and could recall +nothing. He was not an intellectual Croesus, but his pockets were full +of six-pences. + +One of the ingredients of his social spell was no doubt his manner, +which was tranquil even when he was droll. He never laughed except with +his eyes, and delivered himself of his most eccentric fancies in an +unctuous style. He had a rare gift of mimicry, which he used with +extreme reserve, and therefore was proportionately effective when +displayed. Add to all this, a sweet voice, a soft hand, and a +disposition both soft and sweet, like his own Azores. It was understood +that Pinto was easy in his circumstances, though no one know where these +circumstances were. His equipage was worthy of his position, and in his +little house in May Fair he sometimes gave a dinner to a fine lady, who +was as proud of the event as the Queen of Sheba of her visit to Solomon +the Great. + +When St. Aldegonde arrived in Hill Street, and slouched into the saloon +with as uncouth and graceless a general mien as a handsome and naturally +graceful man could contrive to present, his keen though listless glance +at once revealed to him that he was as he described it at dinner to Hugo +Bohun in a social jungle, in which there was a great herd of animals +that he particularly disliked, namely, what he entitled "swells." The +scowl on his distressed countenance at first intimated a retreat; but +after a survey, courteous to his host, and speaking kindly to Lothair as +he passed on, he made a rush to Mr. Pinto, and, cordially embracing him, +said, "Mind we sit together." + +The dinner was not a failure, though an exception to the polished +ceremony of the normal Brancepeth banquet. The host headed his table, +with the Duke of Brecon on his right and Lothair on his left hand, and +"swells" of calibre in their vicinity; but St. Aldegonde sat far away, +next to Mr. Pinto, and Hugo Bohun on the other side of that gentleman. +Hugo Bohun loved swells, but he loved St. Aldegonde more. The general +conversation in the neighborhood of Mr. Brancepeth did not flag: they +talked of the sport of the morning, and then, by association of ideas, +of every other sport. And then from the sports of England they ranged +to the sports of every other country. There were several there who had +caught salmon in Norway and killed tigers in Bengal, and visited those +countries only for that purpose. And then they talked of horses, and +then they talked of women. + +Lothair was rather silent; for in this society of ancients, the youngest +of whom was perhaps not less than five-and-twenty, and some with nearly +a lustre added to that mature period, he felt the awkward modesty of a +freshman. The Duke of Brecon talked much, but never at length. He +decided every thing, at least to his own satisfaction; and if his +opinion were challenged, remained unshaken, and did not conceal it. + +All this time a different scene was enacting at the other end of the +table. St. Aldegonde, with his back turned to his other neighbor, hung +upon the accents of Mr. Pinto, and Hugo Bohun imitated St. Aldegonde. +What Mr. Pinto said or was saying was quite inaudible, for he always +spoke low, and in the present case he was invisible, like an ortolan +smothered in vine-leaves; but every, now and then St. Aldegonde broke +into a frightful shout, and Hugo Bohun tittered immensely. Then St. +Aldegonde, throwing himself back in his chair, and talking to himself or +the ceiling, would exclaim, "Best thing I ever heard," while Hugo nodded +sympathy with a beaming smile. + +The swells now and then paused in their conversation and glanced at the +scene of disturbance. + +"They seem highly amused there," said Mr. Brancepeth. "I wish they +would pass it on." + +"I think St. Aldegonde," said the Duke of Brecon, "is the least +conventional man of my acquaintance." + +Notwithstanding this stern sneer, a practiced general like Mr. +Brancepeth felt he had won the day. All his guests would disperse and +tell the world that they had dined with him and met St. Aldegonde, and +to-morrow there would be a blazoned paragraph in the journals +commemorating the event, and written as if by a herald. What did a +little disturb his hospitable mind was that St. Aldegonde literally +tasted nothing. He did not care so much for his occasionally leaning on +the table with both his elbows, but that he should pass by every dish +was distressing. So Mr. Brancepeth whispered to his own valet -- a fine +gentleman, who stood by his master's chair and attended on no one else, +except, when requisite, his master's immediate neighbor -- and desired +him to suggest to St. Aldegonde whether the side-table might not +provide, under the difficulties, some sustenance. St. Aldegonde seemed +quite gratified by the attention, and said he should like to have some +cold meat. Now, that was the only thing the side-table, bounteous as +was its disposition, could not provide. All the joints of the season +were named in vain, and pies and preparations of many climes. But +nothing would satisfy St. Aldegonde but cold meat. + +"Well, now I shall begin my dinner," he said to Pinto, when he was at +length served. "What surprises me most in you is your English. There +is not a man who speaks such good English as you do." + +"English is an expressive language," said Mr. Pinto, "but not difficult +to master. Its range is limited. It consists, as far as I can observe, +of four words: 'nice,' 'jolly,' 'charming,' and 'bore;' and some +grammarians add 'fond.'" + +When the guests rose and returned to the saloon, St. Aldegonde was in +high spirits, and talked to every one, even to the Duke of Brecon, whom +he considerately reminded of his defeat in the morning, adding that from +what he had seen of his grace's guns he had no opinion of them, and that +he did not believe that breech-loaders suited pigeon-shooting. + +Finally, when he bade farewell to his host, St. Aldegonde assured him +that he "never in his life made so good a dinner, and that Pinto had +never been so rich." + +When the party broke up, the majority of the guests went, sooner or +later, to a ball that was given this evening by Lady St. Jerome. +Others, who never went to balls, looked forward with refined +satisfaction to a night of unbroken tobacco. St. Aldegonde went to play +whist at the house of a lady who lived out of town. "I like the drive +home," he said; "the morning air is so refreshing when one has lost +one's money." + +A ball at St. Jerome House was a rare event, but one highly appreciated. +It was a grand mansion, with a real suite of state apartments, including +a genuine ballroom in the Venetian style, and lighted with chandeliers +of rock-crystal. Lady St. Jerome was a woman of taste and splendor and +romance, who could do justice to the scene and occasion. Even Lord St. +Jerome, quiet as he seemed, in these matters was popular with young men. +It was known that Lord St. Jerome gave, at his ball suppers, the same +champagne that he gave at his dinners, and that was of the highest +class. In short, a patriot. We talk with wondering execration of the +great poisoners of past ages, the Borgias, the inventor of aqua tofana, +and the amiable Marchioness de Brinvilliers; but Pinto was of opinion +that there were more social poisoners about in the present day than in +the darkest, and the most demoralized periods, and then none of them are +punished; which is so strange, he would add, as they are all found out. + +Lady St. Jerome received Lothair, as Pinto said, with extreme unction. +She looked in his eyes, she retained his hand, she said that what she +had heard had made her so happy. And then, when he was retiring, she +beckoned him back and said she must have some tea, and, taking his arm, +they walked away together. "I have so much to tell you," she said, "and +every thing is so interesting. I think we are on the eve of great +events. The monsignore told me your heart was with us. It must be. +They are your own thoughts, your own wishes. We are realizing your own +ideal. I think next Sunday will be remembered as a great day in +English history; the commencement of a movement that may save every +thing. The monsignore, I know, has told you all." + +Not exactly; the Oxford visit had deranged a little the plans of the +monsignore, but he had partially communicated the vast scheme. It seems +there was a new society to be instituted for the restoration of +Christendom. The change of name from Christendom to Europe had proved a +failure and a disastrous one. "And what wonder?" said Lady St. Jerome. +"Europe is not even a quarter of the globe, as the philosophers +pretended it was. There is already a fifth division, and probably there +will be many more, as the philosophers announce it impossible." The +cardinal was to inaugurate the institution on Sunday next at the +Jesuits' Church, by one of his celebrated sermons. It was to be a +function of the highest class. All the faithful of consideration were +to attend, but the attendance was not to be limited to the faithful. +Every sincere adherent of church principles who was in a state of prayer +and preparation, was solicited to be present and join in the holy and +common work of restoring to the Divine Master His kingdom upon earth +with its rightful name. + +It was a brilliant ball. All the "nice" people in London were there. +All the young men who now will never go to balls were present. This was +from respect to the high character of Lord St. Jerome. Clare Arundel +looked divine, dressed in a wondrous white robe garlanded with violets, +just arrived from Paris, a present from her god-mother, the Duchess of +Lorrain-Sehulenbourg. On her head a violet-wreath, deep and radiant as +her eyes, and which admirably contrasted with her dark golden-brown +hair. + +Lothair danced with her, and never admired her more. Her manner toward +him was changed. It was attractive, even alluring. She smiled on him, +she addressed him in tones of sympathy, even of tenderness. She seemed +interested in all he was doing; she flattered him by a mode which is +said to be irresistible to a man, by talking only of himself. When the +dance had finished, he offered to attend her to the tea-room. She +accepted the invitation even with cordiality. + +"I think I must have some tea," she said, "and I like to go with my +kinsman." + +Just before supper was announced, Lady St. Jerome told Lothair, to his +surprise, that he was to attend Miss Arundel to the great ceremony. "It +is Clare's ball," said Lady St. Jerome, "given in her honor, and you are +to take care of her." + +"I am more than honored," said Lothair. "But does Miss Arundel wish it, +for, to tell you the truth, I thought I had rather abused her indulgence +this evening?" + +"Of course she wishes it," said Lady St. Jerome. "Who should lead her +out on such an occasion -- her own ball -- than the nearest and dearest +relation she has in the world, except ourselves?" + +Lothair made no reply to this unanswerable logic, but was as surprised +as he was gratified. He recalled the hour when the kinship was, at the +best, but coldly recognized, the inscrutable haughtiness, even distrust, +with which Miss Arundel listened to the exposition of his views and +feelings, and the contrast which her past mood presented to her present +brilliant sympathy and cordial greeting. But he yielded to the magic of +the flowing hour. Miss Arundel, seemed, indeed, quite a changed being +to-night, full of vivacity, fancy, feeling -- almost fun. She was +witty, and humorous, and joyous, and fascinating. As he fed her with +cates as delicate as her lips, and manufactured for her dainty beverages +which would not outrage their purity, Lothair, at last, could not +refrain from intimating his sense of her unusual but charming +joyousness. + +"No," she said, turning round with animation, "my natural disposition, +always repressed, because I have felt overwhelmed by the desolation of +the world. But now I have hope; I have more than hope, I have joy. I +feel sure this idea of the restoration of Christendom comes from Heaven. +It has restored me to myself, and has given me a sense of happiness in +this life which I never could contemplate. But what is the climax of my +joy is, that you, after all my own blood, and one in whose career I have +ever felt the deepest interest, should be ordained to lay, as it were, +the first stone of this temple of divine love." + +It was break of day when Lothair jumped into his brougham. "Thank +Heaves," he exclaimed, "it is at last Friday!" + + + +CHAPTER 29 + + +There is something very pleasant in a summer suburban ride in the valley +of the Thames. London transforms itself into bustling Knightsbridge, +and airy Brompton, brightly and gracefully, lingers cheerfully in the +long, miscellaneous, well-watered King's-road, and only says farewell +when you come to an abounding river and a picturesque bridge. The boats +were bright upon the waters when Lothair crossed it, and his dark +chestnut barb, proud of its resplendent form, curveted with joy when it. +reached a green common, studded occasionally with a group of pines and +well bedecked with gorse. After this he pursued the public road for a +couple of miles until he observed on his left hand a gate on which was +written "private road," and here he stopped. The gate was locked, but, +when Lothair assured the keeper that he was about to visit Belmont, he +was permitted to enter. + +He entered a green and winding lane, fringed with tall elms, and dim +with fragrant shade, and, after proceeding about half a mile, came to a +long, low-built lodge, with a thatched and shelving roof, and surrounded +by a rustic colonnade covered with honeysuckle. Passing through the +gate at hand, he found himself in a road winding through +gently-undulating banks of exquisite turf, studded with rare shrubs, +and, occasionally, rarer trees. Suddenly the confined scene expanded; +wide lawns spread out before him, shadowed with the dark forms of many +huge cedars, and blazing with flower-beds of every hue. The house was +also apparent, a stately mansion of hewn stone, with wings and a portico +of Corinthian columns, and backed by deep woods. + +This was Belmont, built by a favorite minister of state, to whom a +grateful and gracious sovereign had granted a slice of a royal park +whereon to raise a palace and a garden, and find occasionally Tusculan +repose. + +The lady of the mansion was at home, and, though Lothair was quite +prepared for this, his heart beat. The inner hall was of noble +proportion, and there were ranged in it many Roman busts, and some +ancient slabs and altars of marble. These had been collected some +century ago by the minister; but what immediately struck the eye of +Lothair were two statues by an American artist, and both of fame, the +Sybil and the Cleopatra. He had heard of these, but had never seen +them, and could not refrain from lingering a moment to gaze upon their +mystical and fascinating beauty. + +He proceeded through two spacious and lofty chambers, of which it was +evident the furniture was new. It was luxurious and rich, and full of +taste; but there was no attempt to recall the past in the details; no +cabinets and clocks of French kings, or tables of French queens, no +chairs of Venetian senators, no candelabra, that had illumined Doges of +Genoa, no ancient porcelain of rare schools, and ivory carvings and +choice enamels. The walls were hung with master-pieces of modern art, +chiefly of the French school, Ingres and Delaroche and Scheffer. + +The last saloon led into a room of smaller dimensions, opening on the +garden, and which Lothair at first thought must be a fernery, it seemed +so full of choice and expanding specimens of that beautiful and +multiform plant; but, when his eye had become a little accustomed to the +scene and to the order of the groups, be perceived they were only the +refreshing and profuse ornaments of a regularly furnished and inhabited +apartment. In its centre was a table covered with writing-materials and +books and some music. There was a chair before the table, so placed as +if some one had only recently quitted it; a book was open, but turned +upon its face, with an ivory cutter by its side. It would seem that the +dweller in the chamber might not be far distant. The servant invited +Lothair to be seated, and, saying that Mrs. Campian must be in the +garden, proceeded to inform his mistress of the arrival of a guest. + +The room opened on a terrace adorned with statues and orange-trees, and +descending gently into a garden in the Italian style, in the centre of +which was a marble fountain of many figures. The grounds were not +extensive, but they were only separated from the royal park by a wire +fence, so that the scene seemed alike rich and illimitable. On the +boundary was a summer-house in the shape of a classic temple, one of +those pavilions of pleasure which nobles loved to raise in the last +century. + +As Lothair beheld the scene with gratification, the servant reappeared +on the step of the terrace and invited him to descend. Guiding him +through the garden, the servant retired as Lothair recognized Mrs. +Campian approaching them. + +She gave her hand to Lothair and welcomed him cordially but with +serenity. They mutually exchanged hopes that their return to town had +been agreeable. Lothair could not refrain from expressing how pleased +he was with Belmont. + +"I am glad you approve of our hired home," said Theodora; "I think we +were fortunate in finding one that suits our tastes and habits. We love +pictures and statues and trees and flowers, and yet we love our friends, +and our friends are people who live in cities." + +"I think I saw two statues to-day of which I have often heard," said +Lothair. + +"The Sibyl and Cleopatra! Yes Colonel Campian is rather proud of +possessing them. He collects only modern art, for which I believe there +is a great future, though some of our friends think it is yet in its +cradle." + +"I am very sorry to say," said Lothair, "that I know very little about +art, or indeed any thing else, but I admire what is beautiful. I know +something about architecture, at least church architecture." + +"Well, religion has produced some of our finest buildings," said +Theodora; "there is no question of that; and as long as they are adapted +to what takes place in them they are admirable. The fault I find in +modern churches in this country is, that there is little relation between +the ceremonies and the structure. Nobody seems now conscious that every +true architectural form has a purpose. But I think the climax of +confused ideas is capped when dissenting chapels are built like +cathedrals." + +"Ah! to build a cathedral!" exclaimed Lothair, "that is a great +enterprise. I wish I might show you some day some drawings I have of a +projected cathedral." + +"A projected cathedral!" said Theodora. "Well, I must confess to you I +never could comprehend the idea of a Protestant cathedral." + +"But I am not quite sure," said Lothair, blushing and agitated, "that it +will be a Protestant cathedral. I have not made up my mind about that." + +Theodora glanced at him, unobserved, with her wonderful gray eyes; a +sort of supernatural light seemed to shoot from beneath their long dark +lashes and read his inmost nature. They were all this time returning, +as she had suggested, to the house. Rather suddenly she said, +"By-the-by, as you are so fond of art, I ought to have asked you whether +you would like to see a work by the sculptor of Cleopatra, which arrived +when we were at Oxford. We have placed it on a pedestal in the temple. +It is the Genius of Freedom. I may say I was assisting at its +inauguration when your name was announced to me." + +Lothair caught at this proposal, and they turned and approached the +temple. Some workmen were leaving the building as they entered, and one +or two lingered. + +Upon a pedestal of porphyry rose the statue of a female in marble. +Though veiled with drapery which might have become the Goddess of +Modesty, admirable art permitted the contour of the perfect form to be +traced. The feet were without sandals, and the undulating breadth of +one shoulder, where the drapery was festooned, remained uncovered. One +expected with such a shape some divine visage. That was not wanting; +but humanity was asserted in the transcendent brow, which beamed with +sublime thought and profound enthusiasm. + +Some would have sighed that such beings could only be pictured in a +poet's or an artist's dream, but Lothair felt that what he beheld with +rapture was no ideal creation, and that he was in the presence of the +inspiring original. + +"It is too like!" he murmured. + +"It is the most successful recurrence to the true principles of art in +modern sculpture," said a gentleman on his right hand, + +This person was a young man, though more than ten years older than +Lothair. His appearance was striking. Above the middle height, his +form, athletic though lithe and symmetrical, was crowned by a +countenance aquiline but delicate, and from many circumstances of a +remarkable radiancy. The lustre of his complexion, the fire of his eye, +and his chestnut hair in profuse curls, contributed much to this +dazzling effect. A thick but small mustache did not conceal his curved +lip or the scornful pride of his distended nostril, and his beard, close +but not long, did not veil the singular beauty of his mouth. It was an +arrogant face, daring and vivacious, yet weighted with an expression of +deep and haughty thought. + +The costume of this gentleman was rich and picturesque. Such +extravagance of form and color is sometimes encountered in the +adventurous toilet of a country house, but rarely experienced in what +might still be looked upon as a morning visit in the metropolis. + +"You know Mr. Phoebus?" asked a low, clear voice, and turning round +Lothair was presented to a person so famous that even Lothair had heard +of him. + +Mr. Phoebus was the most successful, not to say the most eminent, painter +of the age. He was the descendant of a noble family of Gascony that had +emigrated to England from France in the reign of Louis XIV. +Unquestionably they had mixed their blood frequently during the interval +and the vicissitudes of their various life; but, in Gaston Phoebus, +Nature, as is sometimes her wont, had chosen to reproduce exactly the +original type. He was the Gascon noble of the sixteenth century, with +all his brilliancy, bravery, and boastfulness, equally vain, arrogant, +and eccentric, accomplished in all the daring or the graceful pursuits +of man, yet nursed in the philosophy of our times. + +"It is presumption in my talking about such things," said Lothair; "but +might I venture to ask what you may consider the true principles of +art?" + +"ARYAN principles," said Mr. Phoebus; "not merely the study of Nature, +but of beautiful Nature; the art of design in a country inhabited by a +first-rate race, and where the laws, the manners, the customs, are +calculated to maintain the health and beauty of a first-rate race. In a +greater or less degree, these conditions obtained from the age of +Pericles to the age of Hadrian in pure Aryan communities, but Semitism +began then to prevail, and ultimately triumphed. Semitism has destroyed +art; it taught man to despise his own body, and the essence of art is to +honor the human frame." + +"I am afraid I ought not to talk about such things," said Lothair; "but, +if by Semitism you mean religion, surely the Italian painters inspired +by Semitism did something." + +"Great things," said Mr. Phoebus -- "some of the greatest. Semitism gave +them subjects, but the Renaissance gave them Aryan art, and it gave that +art to a purely Aryan race. But Semitism rallied in the shape of the +Reformation, and swept all away. When Leo the Tenth was pope, popery +was pagan; popery is now Christian, and art is extinct." + +"I cannot enter into such controversies," said Lothair. "Every day I +feel more and more I am extremely ignorant." + +"Do not regret it," said Mr. Phoebus. "What you call ignorance is your +strength. By ignorance you mean a want of knowledge of books. Books +are fatal; they are the curse of the human race. Nine-tenths of +existing books are nonsense, and the clever books are the refutation of +that nonsense. The greatest misfortune that ever befell man was the +invention of printing. Printing has destroyed education. Art is a +great thing, and Science is a great thing; but all that art and science +can reveal can be taught by man and by his attributes -- his voice, his +hand, his eye. The essence of education is the education of the body. +Beauty and health are the chief sources of happiness. Men should live +in the air; their exercises should be regular, varied, scientific. To +render his body strong and supple is the first duty of man. He should +develop and completely master the whole muscular system. What I admire +in the order to which you belong is that they do live in the air; that +they excel in athletic sports; that they can only speak one language; +and that they never read. This is not a complete education, but it is +the highest education since the Greek." + +"What you say I feel encouraging," said Lothair, repressing a smile, +"for I myself live very much in the air, and am fond of all sports; but +I confess I am often ashamed of being so poor a linguist, and was +seriously thinking that I ought to read." + +"No doubt every man should combine an intellectual with a physical +training," replied Mr. Phoebus; "but the popular conception of the means +is radically wrong. Youth should attend lectures on art and science by +the most illustrious professors, and should converse together afterward +on what they have heard. They should learn to talk; it is a rare +accomplishment, and extremely healthy. They should have music always at +their meals. The theatre, entirely remodelled and reformed, and, under +a minister of state, should be an important element of education. I +should not object to the recitation of lyric poetry. That is enough. I +would not have a book in the house, or even see a newspaper." + +"These are Aryan principles?" said Lothair. + +"They are," said Mr. Phoebus; "and of such principles, I believe, a great +revival is at hand. We shall both live to see another Renaissance." + +"And our artist here," said Lothair, pointing to the statue, "you are of +opinion that he is asserting these principles?" + +"Yes; because he has produced the Aryan form by studying the Aryan +form. Phidias never had a finer model, and he has not been unequal to +it." + +"I fancied," said Lothair, in a lower and inquiring tone, though Mrs. +Campian had some time before glided out of the pavilion, and was giving +directions to the workmen -- "I fancied I had heard that Mrs. Campian +was a Roman." + +"The Romans were Greeks," said Mr. Phoebus, "and in this instance the +Phidian type came out. It has not been thrown away. I believe Theodora +has inspired as many painters and sculptors as any Aryan goddess. I +look upon her as such, for I know nothing more divine." + +"I fear the Phidian type is very rare," said Lothair. + +"In nature and in art there must always be surpassing instances," said +Mr. Phoebus. "It is a law, and a wise one; but, depend upon it, so +strong and perfect a type as the original Aryan must be yet abundant +among the millions, and may be developed. But for this you want great +changes in your laws. It is the first duty of a state to attend to the +frame and health of the subject. The Spartans understood this. They +permitted no marriage the probable consequences of which might be a +feeble progeny; they even took measures to secure a vigorous one. The +Romans doomed the deformed to immediate destruction. The union of the +races concerns the welfare of the commonwealth much too nearly to be +intrusted to individual arrangement. The fate of a nation will +ultimately depend upon the strength and health of the population. Both +France and England should look to this; they have cause. As for our +mighty engines of war in the hands of a puny race, it will be the old +story of the lower empire and the Greek fire. Laws should be passed to +secure all this, and some day they will be. But nothing can be done +until the Aryan races are extricated from Semitism." + + + +CHAPTER 30 + + +Lothair returned to town in a not altogether satisfactory state of mind. +He was not serene or content. On the contrary, he was rather agitated +and perplexed. He could not say he regretted his visit. He had seen +her, and he had seen her to great advantage. He had seen much too that +was pleasing, and had heard also many things that, if not pleasing, were +certainly full of interest. And yet, when he cantered back over the +common, the world somehow did not seem to him so bright and exhilarating +as in the ambling morn. Was it because she was not alone? And yet why +should he expect she should be alone? She had many friends, and she was +as accessible to them as to himself. And yet a conversation with her, +as in the gardens of Blenheim, would have been delightful, and he had +rather counted on it. Nevertheless, it was a great thing to know men +like Mr. Phoebus, and hear their views on the nature of things. Lothair +was very young, and was more thoughtful than studious. His education +hitherto had been, according to Mr. Phoebus, on the right principle, and +chiefly in the open air; but he was intelligent and susceptible, and in +the atmosphere of Oxford, now stirred with many thoughts, he had imbibed +some particles of knowledge respecting the primeval races which had +permitted him to follow the conversation of Mr. Phoebus not absolutely in +a state of hopeless perplexity. He determined to confer with Father +Coleman on the Aryan race and the genius of Semitism. As he returned +through the park, he observed the duchess, and Lady Corisande in their +barouche, resting for a moment in the shade, with Lord Carisbrooke on +one side and the Duke of Brecon on the other. + +As he was dressing for dinner, constantly brooding on one thought, the +cause of his feeling of disappointment occurred to him. He had hoped in +this visit to have established some basis of intimacy, and to have +ascertained his prospect and his means of occasionally seeing her. But +he had done nothing of the kind. He could not well call again at +Belmont under a week, but even then Mr. Phoebus or some one else might be +there. The world seemed dark. He wished he had never gone to Oxford. +However a man may plan his life, he is the creature of circumstances. +The unforeseen happens and upsets every thing. We are mere puppets. + +He sat next to an agreeable woman at dinner, who gave him an interesting +account of a new singer she had heard the night before at the opera -- a +fair Scandinavian, fresh as a lily and sweet as a nightingale. + +"I was resolved to go and hear her," said the lady; "my sister Feodore, +at Paris, had written to me so much about her. Do you know, I have +never been to the opera for an age! That alone was quite a treat to me. +I never go to the opera, nor to the play, nor to any thing else. +Society has become so large and so exacting, that I have found out one +never gets any amusement." + +"Do you know, I never was at the opera?" said Lothair. + +"I am not at all surprised; and when you go -- which I suppose you will +some day -- what will most strike you is, that you will not see a single +person you ever saw in your life." + +"Strange!" + +"Yes; it shows what a mass of wealth and taste and refinement there is +in this wonderful metropolis of ours, quite irrespective of the circles +in which we move, and which we once thought entirely engrossed them." + +After the ladies had retired, Bertram, who dined at the same house, +moved up to him; and Hugo Bohun came over and took the vacant seat on +his other side. + +"What have you been doing with yourself?" said Hugo. "We have not seen +you for a week." + +"I went down to Oxford about some horses," said Lothair. + +"Fancy going down to Oxford about some horses in the heart of the +season," said Hugo. "I believe you are selling us, and that, as the +Scorpion announces, you are going to be married." + +"To whom?" said Lothair. + +"Ah! that is the point. It is a dark horse at present, and we want you +to tell us." + +"Why do not you marry, Hugo?" said Bertram. + +"I respect the institution," said Hugo, "which is admitting something in +these days; and I have always thought that every woman should marry, and +no man." + +"It makes a woman and it mars a man, you think?" said Lothair. + +"But I do not exactly see how your view would work practically," said +Bertram. + +"Well my view is a social problem," said Hugo, "and social problems are +the fashion at present. It would be solved through the exceptions, +which prove the principle. In the first place, there are your swells +who cannot avoid the halter -- you are booked when you are born; and +then there are moderate men like myself, who have their weak moments. I +would not answer for myself if I could find an affectionate family with +good shooting and first-rate claret." + +"There must be many families with such conditions," said Lothair. + +Hugo shook his head. "You try. Sometimes the wine is good and the +shooting bad; sometimes the reverse; sometimes both are excellent, but +then the tempers and the manners are equally bad." + +"I vote we three do something to-morrow," said Bertram. + +"What shall it be?" said Hugo. + +"I vote we row down to Richmond at sunset and dine, and then drive our +teams up by moonlight. What say you, Lothair?" + +"I cannot, I am engaged. I am engaged to go to the opera." + +"Fancy going to the opera in this sweltering weather!" exclaimed +Bertram. + +"He must be going to be married," said Hugo. + +And yet on the following evening, though the weather was quite as sultry +and he was not going to be married, to the opera Lothair went. While +the agreeable lady the day before was dilating at dinner on this once +famous entertainment, Lothair remembered that a certain person went +there every Saturday evening, and he resolved that be should at least +have the satisfaction of seeing her. + +It was altogether a new scene for Lothair, and, being much affected by +music, he found the general influence so fascinating that some little +time elapsed before he was sufficiently master of himself to recur to +the principal purpose of his presence. His box was on the first tier, +where he could observe very generally and yet himself be sufficiently +screened. As an astronomer surveys the starry heavens until his +searching sight reaches the desired planet, so Lothair's scrutinizing +vision wandered till his eye at length lighted on the wished-for orb. +In the circle above his own, opposite to him but nearer the stage, he +recognized the Campians. She had a star upon her forehead, as when he +first met her some six months ago; it seemed an age. + +Now what should he do? He was quite unlearned in the social habits of +an opera-house. He was not aware that he had the privilege of paying +the lady a visit in her box, and, had he been so, he was really so shy +in little things that he never could have summoned resolution to open +the door of his own box and request an attendant to show him that of +Mrs. Campian. He had contrived to get to the opera for the first time +in his life, and the effort seemed to have exhausted his social +enterprise. So h remained still, with his glass fixed very constantly +on Mrs. Campian, and occasionally giving himself up to the scene. The +performance did not sustain the first impression. There were rival +prima-donnas, and they indulged in competitive screams; the choruses +were coarse, and the orchestra much too noisy. But the audience were +absorbed or enthusiastic. We may be a musical nation, but our taste +would seem to require some refinement. + +There was a stir in Mrs. Campian's box: a gentleman entered and seated +himself. Lothair concluded he was an invited guest, and envied him. In +about a quarter of an hour the gentleman bowed and retired, and another +person came in, and one whom Lothair recognized as a young man who had +been sitting during the first act in a stall beneath him. The system of +paying visits at the opera then flashed upon his intelligence, as some +discovery in science upon a painful observer. Why should he not pay a +visit too? But how to do it? At last he was bold enough to open the +door of his own box and go forth, but he could find no attendant, and +some persons passing his open door, and nearly appropriating his lodge, +in a fit of that nervous embarrassment which attends inexperience in +little things, he secured his rights by returning baffled to his post. + +There had been a change in Mrs. Campian's box in the interval. Colonel +Campian had quitted it, and Mr. Phoebus occupied his place. Whether it +were disappointment at his own failure or some other cause, Lothair felt +annoyed. He was hot and cold by turns; felt awkward and blundering; +fancied people were looking at him; that in some inexplicable sense he +was ridiculous; wished he had never gone to the opera. + +As time, and considerable time, elapsed, he became even miserable. Mr. +Phoebus never moved, and Mrs. Campian frequently conversed with him. +More than one visitor had in the interval paid their respects to the +lady, but Mr. Phoebus never moved. They did not stay, perhaps because +Mr. Phoebus never moved. + +Lothair never liked that fellow from the first. Sympathy and antipathy +share our being as day and darkness share our lives. Lothair had felt +an antipathy for Mr. Phoebus the moment he saw him. He had arrived at +Belmont yesterday before Lothair, and he had outstayed him. These might +be Arian principles, but they were not the principles of good-breeding. + +Lothair determined to go home, and never to come to the opera again. He +opened the door of his box with firmness, and slammed it with courage; +he had quite lost his shyness, was indeed ready to run a muck with any +one who crossed him. The slamming of the door summoned a scudding +attendant from a distant post, who with breathless devotion inquired +whether Lothair wanted any thing. + +"Yes, I want you to show me the way to Mrs. Campian's box." + +"Tier above, No. 22," said the box-keeper. + +"Ay, ay; but conduct me to it," said Lothair, and he presented the man +with an overpowering honorarium. + +"Certainly, my lord," said the attendant. + +"He knows me," thought Lothair; but it was not so. When the British +nation is at once grateful and enthusiastic, they always call you "my +lord." + +But in his progress, to "No. 22, tier above," all his valor evaporated, +and when the box-door was opened he felt very much like a convict on the +verge of execution; he changed color, his legs tottered, his heart beat, +and he made his bow with a confused vision. The serenity of Theodora +somewhat reassured him, and he seated himself, and even saluted Mr. +Phoebus. + +The conversation was vapid and conventional -- remarks about the opera +and its performers -- even the heat of the weather was mentioned. +Lothair had come, and he had nothing to say. Mrs. Campian seemed much +interested in the performance; so, if he had had any thing to say, there +was no opportunity of expressing it. She had not appeared to be so +engrossed with the music before his arrival. In the mean time that +Phoebus would not move; a quarter of an hour elapsed, and that Phoebus +would not move. Lothair could not stand it any longer; he rose and +bowed. + +"Are you going?" said Theodora. "Colonel Campian will be here in a +moment; he will be quite grieved not to see you." + +But Lothair was inflexible. "Perhaps," she added, "we may see you +to-morrow night?" + +"Never," said Lothair to himself, as he clinched his teeth; "my visit to +Belmont was my first and my last. The dream is over." + +He hurried to a club in which he had been recently Initiated, and of +which the chief purpose is to prove to mankind that night to a wise man +has its resources as well as gaudy day. Here striplings mature their +minds in the mysteries of whist, and stimulate their intelligence by +playing at stakes which would make their seniors look pale; here matches +are made; and odds are settled, and the cares or enterprises of life are +soothed or stimulated by fragrant cheroots or beakers of Badminton. +Here, in the society of the listless and freakish St. Aldegonde, and +Hugo Bohun, and Bertram, and other congenial spirits, Lothair consigned +to oblivion the rival churches of Christendom, the Aryan race, and the +genius of Semitism. + +It was an hour past dawn when he strolled home. London is often +beautiful in summer at that hour, the architectural lines clear and +defined in the smokeless atmosphere, and ever and anon a fragrant gale +from gardened balconies wafted in the blue air. Nothing is stirring +except wagons of strawberries and asparagus, and no one visible except +a policeman or a member of Parliament returning from a late division, +where they have settled some great question that need never have been +asked. Eve has its spell of calmness and consolation, but dawn brings +hope and joy. + +But not to Lothair. Young, sanguine, and susceptible, he had, for a +moment, yielded to the excitement of the recent scene, but with his +senses stilled by the morning air, and free from the influence of +Bertram's ready sympathy, and Hugo Bohun's gay comments on human life, +and all the wild and amusing caprice, and daring wilfulness, and grand +affectation, that distinguish and inspire a circle of patrician youth, +there came over him the consciousness that to him something dark had +occurred, something bitter and disappointing and humiliating, and that +the breaking morn would not bring to him a day so bright and hopeful as +his former ones. + +At first he fell into profound slumber: it was the inevitable result of +the Badminton and the late hour. There was a certain degree of physical +exhaustion which commanded repose. But the slumber was not long, and +his first feeling, for it could not be called thought, was that some +great misfortune had occurred to him; and then the thought following the +feeling brought up the form of the hated Phoebus. After that he had no +real sleep, but a sort of occasional and feverish doze with intervals of +infinite distress, waking always to a consciousness of inexpressible +mortification and despair. + +About one o'clock, relinquishing all hope of real and refreshing +slumber, he rang his bell, and his valet appearing informed him that +Father Coleman had called, and the monsignore had called, and that now +the cardinal's secretary had just called, but the valet had announced +that his lord was indisposed. There was also a letter from Lady St. +Jerome. This news brought a new train of feeling. Lothair remembered +that this was the day of the great ecclesiastical function, under the +personal auspices of the cardinal, at which indeed Lothair hid never +positively promised to assist, his presence at which he had sometimes +thought they pressed unreasonably, not to say even indelicately, but at +which he had perhaps led them, not without cause, to believe that he +would be present. Of late the monsignore had assumed that Lothair had +promised to attend it. + +Why should he not? The world was all vanity. Never did he feel more +convinced than at this moment of the truth of his conclusion, that if +religion were a real thing, man should live for it alone; but then came +the question of the Churches. He could not bring himself without a pang +to contemplate a secession from the Church of his fathers. He took +refuge in the wild but beautiful thought of a reconciliation between +Rome and England. If the consecration of the whole of his fortune to +that end could assist in effecting the purpose, he would cheerfully make +the sacrifice. He would then go on a pilgrimage to the Holy Sepulchre, +and probably conclude his days in a hermitage on Mount Athos. + +In the mean time he rose, and, invigorated by his bath, his thoughts +became in a slight degree more mundane. They recurred to the events of +the last few days of his life, but in a spirit of self-reproach and of +conscious vanity and weakness. Why, he had not known her a week! This +was Sunday morning, and last Sunday he had attended St. Mary's and +offered up his earnest supplications for the unity of Christendom. That +was then his sovereign hope and thought. Singular that a casual +acquaintance with a stranger, a look, a glance, a word, a nothing, +should have so disturbed his spirit and distracted his mind. + +And yet -- + +And then he fell into an easy-chair, with a hair-brush in either hand, +and conjured up in reverie all that had passed since that wondrous morn +when he addressed her by the road-side, until the last dark hour when +they parted -- and forever. There was not a word she had uttered to +him, or to any one .else, that he did not recall; not a glance, not a +gesture -- her dress, her countenance, her voice, her hair. And what +scenes had all this passed in! What refined and stately loveliness! +Blenheim, and Oxford, and Belmont! They became her. Ah! why could not +life consist of the perpetual society of such delightful people in such +delightful places? + +His valet entered and informed him that the monsignore had returned, and +would not be denied. Lothair roused himself from his delicious reverie, +and his countenance became anxious and disquieted. He. would have +struggled against the intrusion, and was murmuring resistance to his +hopeless attendant, who shook his head, when the monsignore glided into +the room without permission, as the valet disappeared. + +It was a wonderful performance: the monsignore had at the same time to +make a reconnoissance and to take up a position -- to find out what +Lothair intended to do, and yet to act and speak as if he was acquainted +with those intentions, and was not only aware of, but approved them. He +seemed hurried and yet tranquil, almost breathless with solicitude and +yet conscious of some satisfactory consummation. His tones were at all +times hushed, but to-day he spoke in a whisper, though a whisper of +emphasis, and the dark eyes of his delicate aristocratic visage peered +into Lothair, even when he was making a remark which seemed to require +no scrutiny. + +"It is one of the most important days for England that have happened in +our time," said the monsignore. "Lady St. Jerome thinks of nothing +else. All our nobility will be there -- the best blood in England -- +and some others who sympathize with the unity of the Church, the real +question. Nothing has ever gratified the cardinal more than your +intended presence. He sent to you this morning. He would have called +himself, bat he has much to go through today. His eminence said to me: +'It is exactly what I want. Whatever way be our differences, and they +are really slight, what I want is to show to the world that the sons of +the Church will unite for the cause of Divine truth. It is the only +course that can save society.' When Lady St. Jerome told him that you +were coming this evening, his eminence was so affected that -- " + +"But I never said I was coming this evening," said Lothair, rather +dryly, and resolved to struggle, "either to Lady St. Jerome or to any +one else. I said I would think of it." + +"But for a Christian to think of duty is to perform it," said the +monsignore. "To be ignorant of a duty is a sin, but to be aware of +duty, and not to fulfil it, is heinous." + +"But is it a duty?" said Lothair, rather doggedly. + +"What! to serve God and save society? Do you doubt it? Have you read +the 'Declaration of Geneva?' They have declared war against the +Church, the state, and the domestic principle. All the great truths and +laws on which the family reposes are denounced. Have you seen +Garibaldi's letter? When it was read, and spoke of the religion of God +being propagated throughout the world, there was a universal cry of 'No, +no! no religion!' But the religion of God was soon so explained as to +allay all their fears. It is the religion of science. Instead of Adam, +our ancestry is traced to the most grotesque of creatures, thought is +phosphorus, the soul complex nerves, and our moral sense a secretion of +sugar. Do you want these views in England? Rest assured they are +coming. And how are we to contend against them? Only by Divine truth. +And where is Divine truth? In the Church of Christ -- in the gospel of +order, peace, and purity." + +Lothair rose, and paced the room with his eyes on the ground. + +"I wish I had been born in the middle ages," he exclaimed, "or on the +shores of the Sea of Galilee, or in some other planet: anywhere, or at +any time, but in this country and in this age!" + +"That thought is not worthy of you, my lord," said Catesby. "It is a +great privilege to live in this country and in this age. It is a great +privilege, in the mighty contest between the good and the evil +principle, to combat for the righteous. They stand face to face now, as +they have stood before. There is Christianity, which, by revealing the +truth, has limited the license of human reason; there is that human +reason which resists revelation as a bondage -- which insists upon being +atheistical, or polytheistical, or pantheistical -- which looks upon the +requirements of obedience, justice, truth, and purity, as limitations of +human freedom. It is to the Church that God has committed the custody +and execution of His truth and law. The Church, as witness, teacher, +and judge, contradicts and offends the spirit of license to the quick. +This is why it is hated; this is why it is to be destroyed, and why they +are preparing a future of rebellion, tyranny, falsehood, and degrading +debauchery. The Church alone can save us, and you are asked to +supplicate the Almighty to-night, under circumstances of deep hope, to +favor the union of churchmen, and save the human race from the impending +deluge." + +Lothair threw himself again into his seat and sighed. "I am rather +indisposed today, my dear monsignore, which is unusual with me, and +scarcely equal to such a theme, doubtless of the deepest interest to me +and to all. I myself wish, as you well know, that all mankind were +praying under the same roof. I shall continue in seclusion this +morning. Perhaps you will permit me to think over what you have said +with so much beauty and force." + +"I had forgotten that I had a letter to deliver to you," said Catesby; +and he drew from his breast-pocket a note which he handed to Lothair, +who opened it quite unconscious of the piercing and even excited +observation of his companion. + +Lothair read the letter with a changing countenance, and then he read it +again and blushed deeply. The letter was from Miss Arundel. After a +slight pause, without looking up, he said, "Nine o'clock is the hour, I +believe." + +"Yes," said the monsignore rather eagerly, "but, were I you, I would be +earlier than that. I would order my carnage at eight. If you will +permit me, I will order it for you. You are not quite well. It will +save you some little trouble, people coming into the room and all that, +and the cardinal will be there by eight o'clock." + +"Thank you," said Lothair; "have the kindness then, my dear monsignore, +to order my brougham for me at half-past eight and just say that I can +see no one. Adieu!" + +And the priest glided away. + +Lothair remained the whole morning in a most troubled state, pacing his +rooms, leaning sometimes with his arm upon the mantel-piece, and his +face buried in his arm, and often he sighed. About half-past five he +rang for his valet and, dressed, and in another hour he broke his fast +-- a little soup, a cutlet, and a glass or two of claret. And then he +looked at his watch; and he looked at his watch every five minutes for +the next hour. + +He was in deep reverie, when the servant announced that his carriage was +ready. He started as from a dream, then pressed his hand to his eyes, +and kept it there for some moments, and then, exclaiming, "Jacta est +alea," he descended the stairs. + +"Where to, my lord?" inquired the servant when he had entered the +carriage. + +Lothair seemed to hesitate, and then he said, "To Belmont." + + + +CHAPTER 31 + + +"Belmont is the only house I know that is properly lighted," said Mr. +Phoebus, and he looked with complacent criticism round the brilliant +saloons. "I would not visit any one who had gas in his house; but even +in palaces I find lamps -- it is too dreadful. When they came here +first, there was an immense chandelier suspended in each of these rooms, +pulling down the ceilings, dwarfing the apartments, leaving the guests +all in darkness, and throwing all the light on the roof. The chandelier +is the great abomination of furniture; it makes a noble apartment look +small. And then they say you cannot light rooms without chandeliers! +Look at these -- need any thing be more brilliant? And all the light in +the right place -- on those who are in the chamber. All light should +come from the side of a room, and if you choose to have candelabra like +these you can always secure sufficient." + +Theodora was seated on a sofa, in conversation with a lady of +distinguished mien and with the countenance of a Roman empress. There +were various groups in the room, standing or seated. Colonel Campian +was attending a lady to the piano where a celebrity presided, a +gentleman with cropped head and a long black beard. The lady was of +extraordinary beauty -- one of those faces one encounters in Asia Minor, +rich, glowing, with dark fringed eyes of tremulous lustre; a figure +scarcely less striking, of voluptuous symmetry. Her toilet was +exquisite -- perhaps a little too splendid for the occasion, but +abstractedly of fine taste -- and she held, as she sang, a vast bouquet +entirely of white stove-flowers. The voice was as sweet as the +stephanopolis, and the execution faultless. It seemed the perfection of +chamber-singing -- no shrieks and no screams, none of those agonizing +experiments which result from the fatal competition of rival +prima-donnas. + +She was singing when Lothair was ushered in. Theodora rose and greeted +him with friendliness. Her glance was that of gratification at his +arrival, but the performance prevented any conversation save a few kind +remarks interchanged in a hashed tone. Colonel Campian came up: he +seemed quite delighted at renewing his acquaintance with Lothair, and +began to talk rather too loudly, which made some of the gentlemen near +the piano turn round with glances of wondering reproach. This +embarrassed his newly-arrived guest, who in his distress caught the bow +of a lady who recognized him, and whom he instantly remembered as Mrs. +Putney Giles. There was a vacant chair by her side, and he was glad to +occupy it. + +"Who is that lady?" inquired Lothair of his companion, when the singing +ceased. + +"That is Madame Phoebus," said Mrs. Giles. + +"Madame Phoebus!" exclaimed Lothair, with an unconscious feeling of some +relief. "She is a very beautiful woman. Who was she?" + +"She is a Cantacuzene, a daughter of the famous Greek merchant. The +Cantcuzenes, you know, are great people, descendants of the Greek +emperors. Her uncle is prince of Samos. Mr. Cantacuzene was very much +opposed to the match, but I think quite wrong. Mr. Phoebus is a most +distinguished man, and the alliance is of the happiest. Never was such +mutual devotion." + +"I am not surprised," said Lothair, wonderfully relieved. + +"Her sister Euphrosyne is in the room," continued Mrs. Giles, "the most +extraordinary resemblance to her. There is just the difference between +the matron and the maiden; that is all. They are nearly of the same +age, and before the marriage might have been mistaken for each other. +The most charming thing in the world is to hear the two sisters sing +together. I hope they may to-night. I know the family very well. It +was Mrs. Cantacuzene who introduced me to Theodora. You know it is +quite en r gle to call her Theodora. All the men call her Theodora; +'the divine Theodora' is, I believe, the right thing." + +"And do you call her Theodora?" asked Lothair, rather dryly. + +"Why, no," said Mrs. Giles, a little confused. "We are not intimate, at +least not very. Ms. Campian has been at my house, and I have been here +two et three times; not so often as I could wish, for Mr. Giles, you +see, does not like servants and horses to be used on Sundays -- and no +more do I -- and on weekdays he is too much engaged or too tired to come +out this distance; so you see -- " + +The singing had ceased, and Theodora approached them. Addressing +Lothair, she said: "The Princess of Tivoli wishes that you should be +presented to her." + +The Princess of Tivoli was a Roman dame of one of the most illustrious +houses, but who now lived at Paris. She had in her time taken an active +part in Italian politics, and had sacrificed to the cause to which she +was devoted the larger part of a large fortune. What had been spared, +however, permitted her to live in the French capital with elegance, if +not with splendor; and her saloon was the gathering roof, in Paris, of +almost every one who was celebrated for genius or accomplishments. +Though reputed to be haughty and capricious, she entertained for +Theodora an even passionate friendship, and now visited England only to +see her. + +"Madame Campian has been telling me of all the kind things you did for +her at Oxford," said the princess. "Some day you must show me Oxford, +but it must be next year. I very much admire the free university life. +Tell me now, at Oxford you still have the Protestant religion?" + +Lothair ventured to bow assent. + +"Ah! that is well," continued the princess. "I advise you to keep it. +If we had only had the Protestant religion in Italy, things would have +been very different. You are fortunate in this country in having the +Protestant religion and a real nobility. Tell me now, in your +constitution, if the father sits in the Upper Chamber, the son sits in +the Lower House -- that I know; but is there any majorat at attached to +his seat?" + +"Not at present." + +"You sit in the Lower House, of course?" + +"I am not old enough to sit in either House," said Lothair, "but when I +am of age, which I shall be when I have the honor of showing Oxford to +your highness, I must sit in the Upper House, for I have not the +blessing of a living father." + +"Ah! that is a great thing in your country," exclaimed the princess, "a +man being his own master at so early an age." + +"I thought it was a 'heritage of woe,'" said Lothair. + +"No, no," said the princess; "the only tolerable thing in life is +action, and action is feeble without youth. What if you do not obtain +your immediate object? -- you always think you will, and the detail of +the adventure is full of rapture. And thus it is the blunders of youth +are preferable to the triumphs of manhood, or the successes of old age." + +"Well, it will be a consolation for me to remember this when I am in a +scrape," said Lothair. + +"Oh! you have many, many scrapes awaiting you," said the princess. "You +may look forward to at least ten years of blunders -- that is, illusions +-- that is, happiness. Fortunate young man!" + +Theodora had, without appearing to intend it, relinquished her seat to +Lothair, who continued his conversation with the princess, whom he +liked, but who, he was sorry to hear, was about to leave England, and +immediately -- that very night. "Yes," she said, "it is my last act of +devotion. You know, in my country we have saints and shrines. All +Italians, they say, are fond, are superstitious; my pilgrimage is to +Theodora. I must come and worship her once a year." + +A gentleman bowed lowly to the princess, who returned his salute with +pleased alacrity. "Do you know who that is?" said the princess to +Lothair. "That is Baron Gozelius, one of our great reputations. He +must have just arrived. II will present you to him; it is always +agreeable to know a great man," she added -- "at least Goethe says so!" + +The philosopher, at her invitation, took a chair opposite the sofa. +Though a profound man, he had all the vivacity and passion which are +generally supposed to be peculiar to the superficial. He had remarkable +conversational power, which he never spared. Lothair was captivated by +his eloquence, his striking observations, his warmth, and the flashing +of his southern eye. + +"Baron Gozelius agrees with your celebrated pastor, Dr. Cumming," said +Theodora, with a tinge of demure sarcasm, "and believes that the end of +the world is at hand." + +"And for the same reasons?" inquired Lothair. + +"Not exactly," said Theodora, "but in this instance science and +revelation have arrived at the same result, and that is what all +desire." + +"All that I said was," said Gozelius, "that the action of the sun had +become so irregular that I thought the chances were in favor of the +destruction of our planet. At least, if I were a public office, I would +not insure it." + +"Yet the risk would not be very great under those circumstances," said +Theodora. + +"The destruction of this worlds foretold," said Lothair; "the stars are +to fall from the sky; but while I credit, I cannot bring my mind to +comprehend, such a catastrophe." + +"I have seen a world created and a world destroyed," said Gozelius. +"The last was flickering ten years, and it went out as I was watching +it." + +"And the first?" inquired Lothair, anxiously. + +"Disturbed space for half a century -- a great pregnancy. William +Herschel told me it would come when I was a boy, and I cruised for it +through two-thirds of my life. It came at last, and it repaid me." + +There was a stir. Euphrosyne was going to sing with her sister. They +swept by Lothair in their progress to the instrument, like the passage +of sultanas to some kiosk on the Bosporus. It seemed to him that he had +never beheld any thing so resplendent. The air was perfumed by their +movement and the rustling of their wondrous robes. "They must be of the +Aryan race," thought Lothair, "though not of the Phidian type." They +sang a Greek air, and their sweet and touching voices blended with +exquisite harmony. Every one was silent in the room, because every one +was entranced. Then they gave their friends some patriotic lay which +required chorus, the sisters, in turn, singing a stanza. Mr. Phoebus +arranged the chorus in a moment, and there clustered round the piano al +number of gentlemen almost as good-looking and as picturesque as +himself. Then, while Madame Phoebus was singing, Euphrosyne suddenly, +and with quickness, moved away and approached Theodora, and whispered +something to her, but Theodora slightly shook her head, and seemed to +decline. + +Euphrosyne regained the piano, whispered something to Colonel Campian, +who was one of the chorus, and then commenced her own part. Colonel +Campian crossed the room and spoke to Theodora, who instantly, without +the slightest demur, joined her friends. Lothair felt agitated, as he +could not doubt Theodora was going to sing. And so it was; when +Euphrosyne had finished, and the chorus she had inspired had died away, +there rose a deep contralto sound, which, though without effort, seemed +to Lothair the most thrilling tone he had ever listened to. Deeper and +richer, and richer and deeper, it seemed to become, as it wound with +exquisite facility through a symphony of delicious sound, until it ended +in a passionate burst, which made Lothair's heart beat so tumultuously +that for a moment he thought he should be overpowered. + +"I never heard any thing so fine in my life," said Lothair to the French +philosopher. + +"Ah! if you had heard that woman sing the Marseillaise, as I did once, +to three thousand people, then you would know what was fine. Not one of +us who would not have died on the spot for her!" + +The concert was over. The Princess of Tivoli had risen to say farewell. +She stood apart with Theodora, holding both her hands, and speaking with +earnestness. Then she pressed her lips to Theodora's forehead, and +said, "Adieu, my best beloved; the spring will return." + +The princess had disappeared, and Madame Phoebus came up to say +good-night to her hostess. + +"It is such a delicious night," said Theodora, "that I have ordered our +strawberries-and-cream on the terrace. You must not go." + +And so she invited them all to the terrace. There was not a breath of +air, the garden was flooded with moonlight, in which the fountain +glittered, and the atmosphere was as sweet as it was warm. + +"I think the moon will melt the ice to-night," said Theodora, as she led +Madame Phoebus to a table covered with that innocent refreshment in many +forms, and pyramids of strawberries, and gentle drinks which the fancy +of America could alone devise. + +"I wonder we did not pass the whole evening on the terrace," said +Lothair. + +"One must sing in a room," said Euphrosyne, "or the nightingales would +eclipse us." + +Lothair looked quickly at the speaker, and caught the glance of a +peculiar countenance -- mockery blended with Ionian splendor. + +"I think strawberries-and-cream the most popular of all food," said +Madame Phoebus, as some touched her beautiful lips. + +"Yes; and one is not ashamed of eating it," said Theodora. + +Soon there was that stir which precedes the breaking up of an assembly. +Mrs. Giles and some others had to return to town. Madame Phoebus and +Euphrosyne were near neighbors at Roehampton, but their carriage had +been for some time waiting. Mr. Phoebus did not accompany them. He +chose to walk home on such a night, and descended into the garden with +his remaining friends. + +"They are going to smoke," said Theodora. "Is it your habit?" + +"Not yet." + +"I do not dislike it in the air and at a distance; but I banish them the +terrace. I think smoking must be a great consolation to a soldier;" +and, as she spoke, she moved, and, without formally inviting him, he +found himself walking by her side. + +Rather abruptly he said, "You wore last night at the opera the same +ornament as on the first time I had the pleasure meeting you." + +She looked at him with a smile, and a little surprised. "My solitary +trinket; I fear you will never see any other." + +"But you do not despise trinkets?" said Lothair. + +"Oh no; they are very well. Once I was decked with jewels and ropes of +pearls, like Titian's Queen of Cyprus. I sometimes regret my pearls. +There is a reserve about pearls which I like -- something soft and dim. +But they are all gone, and I ought not to regret them, for they went in +a good cause. I kept the star, because it was given to me by a hero; +and once we flattered ourselves it was a symbol." + +"I wish I were a hero!" said Lothair. + +"You may yet prove one." + +"And if I do, may I give you a star?" + +"If it be symbolical." + +"But of what?" + +"Of an heroic purpose." + +"But what is an heroic purpose?" exclaimed Lothair. "Instead of being +here to-night, I ought, perhaps, to have been present at a religious +function of the highest and deepest import, which might have influenced +my destiny, and led to something heroic. But my mind is uncertain and +unsettled. I speak to you without reserve, for my heart always entirely +opens to you, and I have a sort of unlimited confidence in your +judgment. Besides, I have never forgotten what you said at Oxford about +religion -- that you could not conceive society without religion. It is +what I feel myself, and most strongly; and yet there never was a period +when religion was so assailed. There is no doubt the atheists are +bolder, are more completely organized, both as to intellectual and even +physical force, than ever was known. I have heard that from the highest +authority. For my own part, I think I am prepared to die for Divine +truth. I have examined myself severely, but I do not think I should +falter. Indeed, can there be for man a nobler duty than to be the +champion of God? But then the question of the churches interferes. If +there were only one church, I could see my way. Without a church, there +can be no true religion, because otherwise you have no security for the +truth. I am a member of the Church of England, and when I was at Oxford +I thought the Anglican view might be sustained. But, of late, I have +given ray mind deeply to these matters, for, after all, they are the +only matters a man should think of; and, I confess to you, the claim of +Rome to orthodoxy seems to me irresistible." + +"You make no distinction, then, between religion and orthodoxy?" said +Theodora. + +"Certainly I make no difference." + +"And yet, what is orthodox at Dover is not orthodox at Calais or Ostend. +I should be sorry to think that, because there was no orthodoxy in +Belgium or France, there was no religion." + +"Yes," said Lothair, "I think I see what you mean." + +"Then again, if we go further," continued Theodora, "there is the whole +of the East; that certainly is not orthodox, according to your views. +You may not agree with all or any of their opinions, but you could +scarcely maintain that, as communities, they are irreligious." + +"Well, you could not, certainly," said Lothair. + +"So you see," said Theodora, "what is called orthodoxy has very little +to do with religion; and a person may be very religious without holding +the same dogmas as yourself, or, as some think, without holding any." + +"According to you, then," said Lothair, "the Anglican view might be +maintained." + +"I do not know what the Anglican view is," said Theodora. "I do not +belong to the Roman or to the Anglican Church." + +"And yet, you are very religious," said Lothair. + +"I hope so; I try to be so; and, when I fail in any duty, it is not the +fault of my religion. I never deceive myself into that; I know it is my +own fault." + +There was a pause; but they walked on. The soft splendor of the scene +and all its accessories, the moonlight, and the fragrance, and the +falling waters, wonderfully bewitched the spirit of the young Lothair. + +"There is nothing I would not tell you," he suddenly exclaimed, turning +to Theodora, "and sometimes I think there is nothing you would not tell +me. Tell me, then, I entreat you, what is your religion?" + +"The true religion, I think," said Theodora. "I worship in a church +where I believe God dwells, and dwells for my guidance and my good -- my +conscience." + +"Your conscience may be divine," said Lothair, "and I believe it is; but +the consciences of other persons are not divine, and what is to guide +them, and what is to prevent or to mitigate the evil they would +perpetrate?" + +"I have never heard from priests," said Theodora, "any truth which my +conscience had not revealed to me. They use different language from +what I use, but I find, after a time, that we mean the thing. What I +call time they call eternity; when they describe heaven, they give a +picture of earth; and beings whom they style divine, they invest with +all the attributes of humanity." + +"And yet is it not true," said Lothair, "that -- " + +But, at this moment, there were the sounds of merriment and of +approaching footsteps; the form of Mr. Phoebus appeared ascending the +steps of the terrace, followed by others. The smokers had fulfilled +their task. There were farewells, and bows, and good-nights. Lothair +had to retire with the others, and, as he threw himself into his +brougham, he exclaimed: "I perceive that life is not so simple an affair +as I once supposed." + + + +CHAPTER 32 + + +When the stranger, who had proved so opportune an ally to Lothair at the +Fenian meeting, separated from his companion, he proceeded in the +direction of Pentonville, and, after pursuing his way through a number +of obscure streets, but quiet, decent, and monotonous, he stopped at a +small house in a row of many residences, yet all of them, in, form, +size, color, and general character, so identical, that the number on the +door could alone assure the visitor that he was not in error when he +sounded the knocker. + +"Ah! is it you, Captain Bruges?" said the smiling and blushing maiden +who answered to his summons. "We have not seen you for a long time." + +"Well, you look as kind and as pretty as ever, Jenny," said the captain, +"and how is my friend?" + +"Well," said the damsel, and she shrugged her shoulders, "he mopes. I'm +very glad you have come back, captain, for he sees very few now, and is +always writing. I cannot bear that writing; if he would only go and +take a good walk, I am sure he would be better." + +"There is something in that," said Captain Bruges. "And is he at home, +and will he see me?" + +"Oh! he is always at home to you, captain; but I will just run up and +tell him you are here. You know it is long since we have seen you, +captain -- coming on half a year, I think." + +"Time flies, Jenny. Go, my good girl, and I will wait below." + +"In the parlor, if you please, Captain Bruges. It is to let now. It is +more than a mouth since the doctor left us. That was a loss, for, as +long as the doctor was here, he always had some one to speak with." + +So Captain Bruges entered the little dining-room with its mahogany +table, and half a dozen chairs, and cellaret, and over the fireplace a +portrait of Garibaldi, which had been left as a legacy to the landlady +by her late lodger, Dr. Tresorio. + +The captain threw a quick glance at the print, and then, falling into +reverie, with his hands crossed behind him, paced the little chamber, +and was soon lost in thoughts which made him unconscious how long had +elapsed when the maiden summoned him. + +Following her, and ascending the stair-case, he was ushered into the +front room of the first floor, and there came forward to meet him a man +rather below the middle height, but of a symmetrical and imposing mien. +His face was grave, not to say sad; thought, not time, had partially +silvered the clustering of his raven hair; but intellectual power +reigned in his wide brow, while determination was the character of the +rest of his countenance, under great control, yet apparently, from the +dark flashing of his eye, not incompatible with fanaticism. + +"General," he exclaimed, "your presence always reanimates me. I shall +at least have some news on which I rely. Your visit is sudden -- sudden +things are often happy ones. Is there any thing stirring in the +promised land? Speak, speak! You have a thousand things to say, and I +have a thousand ears." + +"My dear Mirandola," replied the visitor, "I will take leave to call +into council a friend whose presence is always profitable." + +So saying, he took out a cigar-case, and offered it to his companion. + +"We have smoked together in palaces," said Mirandola, accepting the +proffer with a delicate white hand. + +"But not these cigars," replied the general. "They are superb, my only +reward for all my transatlantic work, and sometimes I think a sufficient +one." + +"And Jenny shall give us a capital cup of coffee," said Mirandola; "it +is the only hospitality that I can offer my friends. Give me a light, +my general; and now, how are things?" + +"Well, at the first glance, very bad; the French have left Rome, and we +are not in it." + +"Well, that is an infamy not of today or yesterday," replied Mirandola, +"though not less an infamy. We talked over this six months ago, when +you were over here about something else, and from that moment unto the +present I have with unceasing effort labored to erase this stigma from +the human consciousness, but with no success. Men are changed; public +spirit is extinct; the deeds of '48 are to the present generations as +incomprehensible as the Punic wars, or the feats of Marius against the +Cimbri. What we want are the most natural things in the world, and easy +of attainment because they are natural. We want our metropolis, our +native frontiers, and true liberty. Instead of these, we have +compromises, conventions, provincial jealousies, and French prefects. +It is disgusting, heart-rending; sometimes I fear my own energies are +waning. My health is wretched; writing and speaking are decidedly bad +for me, and I pass my life in writing and speaking. Toward evening I +feel utterly exhausted, and am sometimes, which I thought I never could +be, the victim of despondency. The loss of the doctor was a severe +blow, but they hurried him out of the place. The man of Paris would +never rest till he was gone. I was myself thinking of once more trying +Switzerland, but the obstacles are great; and, in truth, I was at the +darkest moment when Jenny brought me the light of your name." + +The general, who had bivouacked on a group of small chairs, his leg on +one, his elbow on another, took his cigar from his mouth and delivered +himself of a volume of smoke, and then said dryly: "Things may not be so +bad as they seem, comrade. Your efforts have not been without fruit. I +have traced them in many quarters, and, indeed, it is about their +possible consequences that I have come over to consult with you." + +"Idle words, I know, never escape those lips," said Mirandola; "speak +on." + +"Well," said the general, "you see that people are a little exhausted by +the efforts of last year; and it must be confessed that no slight +results were accomplished. The freedom of Venice -- " + +"A French intrigue," exclaimed Mirandola. "The freedom of Venice is the +price of the slavery of Rome. I heard of it with disgust." + +"Well, we do not differ much on that head," said the general. "I am not +a Roman as you are, but I view Rome, with reference to the object of my +life, with feelings not less ardent and absorbing than yourself, who +would wish to see it again the empress of the world. I am a soldier, +and love war, and, left to myself, would care little perhaps for what +form of government I combated, provided the army was constituted on the +principles of fraternity and equality; but the passion of my life, to +which I have sacrificed military position, and perhaps," he added in a +lower tone, "perhaps even military fame, has been to destroy +priestcraft, and, so long as the pope rules in Rome, it will be +supreme." + +"We have struck him down once," said Mirandola. + +"And I hope we shall again, and forever," said the general, "and it is +about that I would speak. You are in error in supposing that your +friends do not sympathize with you, or that their answers are dilatory +or evasive. There is much astir; the old spirit is not extinct, but the +difficulties are greater than in former days when we had only the +Austrians to encounter, and we cannot afford to make another failure." + +"There could be no failure if we were clear and determined. There must +be a hundred thousand men who would die for our metropolis, our natural +frontiers, and true liberty. The mass of the pseudo-Italian army must +be with us. As for foreign interference, its repetition seems to me +impossible. The brotherhood in the different countries, if well guided, +could alone prevent it. There should be at once a manifesto addressed +to the peoples. They have become absorbed in money-grubbing and what +they call industry. The external life of a nation is its most important +one. A nation, as an individual, has duties to fulfil appointed by God +and His moral law; the individual toward his family, his town, his +country; the nation toward the country of countries, humanity -- the +outward world. I firmly believe that we fail and renounce the religious +and divine element of our life whenever we betray or neglect those +duties. The internal activity of a nation is important and sacred +because it prepares the instrument for its appointed task. It is mere +egotism if it converges toward itself, degrading and doomed to expiation +-- as will be the fate of this country in which we now dwell," added +Mirandola in a hushed voice. "England had a mission; it had belief, and +it had power. It announced itself the representative of religious, +commercial, and political freedom, and yet, when it came to action, it +allowed Denmark to be crushed by Austria and Prussia, and, in the most +nefarious transaction of modern times, uttered the approving shriek of +'Perish Savoy!'" + +"My dear Mirandola," said the general, trimming his cigar, "there is no +living man who appreciates your genius and your worth more than myself; +perhaps I might say there is no living man who has had equal +opportunities of estimating them. You formed the mind of our country; +you kindled and kept alive the sacred flame when all was gloom, and all +were without heart. Such prodigious devotion, so much resource and +pertinacity and patience, such unbroken spirit, were never before +exhibited by man; and, whatever may be said by your enemies, I know that +in the greatest hour of action you proved equal to it; and yet at this +moment, when your friends are again stirring, and there is a hope of +spring, I am bound to tell you that there are only two persons in the +world who can effect the revolution, and you are not one of them." + +"I am ardent, my general, perhaps too sanguine, but I have no self-love, +at least none when the interests of the great cause are at stake. Tell +me, then, their names, and count, if required, on my cooperation." + +"Garibaldi and Mary-Anne." + +"A Polchinello and a Bayadere!" exclaimed Mirandola, and, springing from +his seat, he impatiently paced the room. + +"And yet," continued the general calmly, "there is no manner of doubt +that Garibaldi is the only name that could collect ten thousand men at +any given point in Italy; while in France, though her influence is +mythical, the name of Mary-Anne is a name of magic. Though never +mentioned, it is never forgotten. And the slightest allusion to it +among the initiated will open every heart. There are more secret +societies in France at this moment than at any period since '85, though +you hear nothing of them; and they believe in Mary-Anne, and in nothing +else." + +"You have been at Caprera?" said Mirandola. + +"I have been at Caprera." + +"And what did he say?" + +"He will do nothing without the sanction of the Savoyard." + +"He wants to get wounded in his other foot," said Mirandola, with savage +sarcasm. "Will he never weary of being betrayed?" + +"I found him calm and sanguine," said the general. + +"What of the woman?" + +"Garibaldi will not move without the Savoyard, and Mary-Anne will not +move without Garibaldi; that is the situation." + +"Have you seen her?" + +"Not yet; I have been to Caprera, and I have come over to see her and +you. Italy is ready for the move, and is only waiting for the great +man. He will not act without the Savoyard; he believes in him. I will +not be skeptical. There are difficulties enough without imagining any. +We have no money, and all our sources of supply are drained; but we have +the inspiration of a sacred cause, we have you -- we may gain others -- +and, at any rate, the French are no longer at Rome." + + + +CHAPTER 33 + + +"The Goodwood Cup, my lord -- the Doncaster. This pair of flagons for +his highness the Khedive -- something quite new -- yes, parcel-gilt, the +only style now -- it gives relief to design -- yes, by Monti, a great +man, hardly inferior to Flaxman, if at all. Flaxman worked for. Rundell +and Bridge in the old days -- one of the principal causes of their +success. Your lordship's gold service was supplied by Rundell and +Bridge. Very fine service indeed, much by Flaxman -- nothing of that +kind seen now." + +"I never did see it," said Lothair. He was replying to Mr. Ruby, a +celebrated jeweller and goldsmith, in a celebrated street, who had +saluted him when he had entered the shop, and called the attention of +Lothair to a group of treasures of art. + +"Strange," said Mr. Ruby smiling. "It is in the next room, if your +lordship would like to see it. I think your lordship should see your +gold service. Mr. Putney Giles ordered it here to be examined and put +in order." + +"I should like to see it very much," said Lothair, "though I came to +speak to you about something else." + +And so Lothair, following Mr. Ruby into an inner apartment, had the +gratification, for the first time, of seeing his own service of gold +plate laid out in completeness, and which had been for some time +exhibited to the daily admiration of that favored portion of the English +people who frequent the brilliant and glowing counters of Mr. Ruby. + +Not that Lothair was embarrassed by their presence at this moment. The +hour of their arrival had not yet come. Business had not long commenced +when Lothair entered the shop, somewhat to the surprise of its master. +Those who know Bond Street only in the blaze of fashionable hours can +form but an imperfect conception of its matutinal charm when it is still +shady and fresh -- when there are no carriages, rarely a cart, and +passers-by gliding about on real business. One feels as in some +Continental city. Then there are time and opportunity to look at the +shops; and there is no street in the world that can furnish such a +collection, filled with so many objects of beauty, curiosity, and +interest. The jewellers and goldsmiths and dealers in rare furniture, +porcelain, and cabinets, and French pictures, have long fixed upon Bond +Street as their favorite quarter, and are not chary of displaying their +treasures; though it may be a question whether some of the magazines of +fancy food -- delicacies culled from all the climes and regions of the +globe -- particularly at the matin hour, may not, in their picturesque +variety, be the most attractive. The palm, perhaps, would be given to +the fish-mongers, with their exuberant exhibitions, grouped with skill, +startling often with strange forms, dazzling with prismatic tints, and +breathing the invigorating redolence of the sea. + +"Well, I like the service," said Lothair, "and am glad, as you tell me, +that its fashion has come round again, because there will now be no +necessity for ordering a new one. I do not myself much care for plate. +I like flowers and porcelain on a table, and I like to see the guests. +However, I suppose it is all right, and I must use it. It was not about +plate that I called; I wanted to speak to you about pearls." + +"Ah!" said Mr. Ruby, and his face brightened; and, ushering Lothair to +some glass cases, he at the same time provided his customer with a seat. + +"Something like that?" said Mr. Ruby, who by this time had slid into his +proper side of the counter, and was unlocking the glass cases; +"something like that?" and he placed before Lothair a string of pretty +pearls with a diamond clasp. "With the earrings, twenty-five hundred," +he added; and then, observing that Lothair did not seem enchanted, he +said, "This is something quite new," and he carelessly pushed toward +Lothair a magnificent necklace of turquoises and brilliants. + +It was impossible not to admire it -- the arrangement was so novel and +yet of such good taste; but, though its price was double that of the +pearl necklace, Mr. Ruby did not seem to wish to force attention to it, +for he put in Lothair's hands almost immediately the finest emerald +necklace in the world, and set in a style that was perfectly ravishing. + +"The setting is from the Campana collection," said Mr. Ruby. "They +certainly understood things in those days, but I can say that, so far as +mere workmanship is concerned, this quite equals them. I have made one +for the empress. Here is a black pearl, very rare, pear-shape, and set +in Golconda diamonds -- two thousand guineas -- it might be suspended to +a necklace, or worn as a locket. This is pretty," and he offered to +Lothair a gigantic sapphire in brilliants and in the form of a bracelet. + +"The finest sapphire I know is in this ring," added Mr. Ruby, and he +introduced his visitor to a tray of precious rings. "I have a pearl +bracelet here that your lordship might like to see," and he placed +before Lothair a case of fifty bracelets, vying with each other in +splendor. + +"But what I want," said Lothair, "are pearls." + +"I understand," said Mr. Ruby. "This is a curious thing," and he took +out a paper packet. "There!" he said, opening it and throwing it before +Lothair so carelessly that some of the stones ran over the glass +covering of the counter. "There, that is a thing, not to be seen every +day -- packet of diamonds, bought of an Indian prince, and sent by us to +be cut and polished at Amsterdam -- nothing can be done in that way +except there -- and just returned -- nothing very remarkable as to size, +but all of high quality -- some fine stones -- that for example," and he +touched one with the long nail of his little finger; "that is worth +seven hundred guineas, the whole packet worth perhaps ten thousand +pounds." + +"Very interesting," said Lothair, "but what I want are pearls. That +necklace which you have shown me is like the necklace of a doll. I want +pearls, such as you see them in Italian pictures -- Titians and +Giorgiones -- such as a Queen of Cyprus would wear. I want ropes of +pearls." + +"Ah!" said Mr. Ruby, "I know what your lordship means. Lady Bideford +had something of that kind. She very much deceived us -- always told us +her necklace must be sold at her death, and she had very bad health. We +waited, but when she went, poor lady, it was claimed by the heir, and is +in chancery at this very moment. The Justinianis have ropes of pearls +-- Madame Justiniani of Paris, I have been told, gives a rope to every +one of her children when they marry -- but there is no expectation of a +Justiniani parting with any thing. Pearls are troublesome property, my +lord. They require great care; they want both air and exercise; they +must be worn frequently; you cannot lock them up. The Duchess of Havant +has the finest pearls in this country, and I told her grace, 'Wear them +whenever you can; wear them at breakfast,' and her grace follows my +advice -- she does wear them at breakfast. I go down to Havant Castle +every year to see her grace's pearls, and I wipe every one of them +myself, and let them lie on a sunny bank in the garden, in a westerly +wind, for hours and days together. Their complexion would have been +ruined had it not been for this treatment. Pearls are like girls, my +lord -- they require quite as much attention." + +"Then you cannot give me what I want?" said Lothair. + +"Well, I can, and I cannot," said Mr. Ruby. "I am in a difficulty. I +have in this house exactly what your lordship requires, but I have +offered them to Lord Topaz, and I have not received his answer. We have +instructions to inform his lordship of every very precious jewel that we +obtain, and give him the preference as a purchaser. Nevertheless, there +is no one I could more desire to oblige than your lordship -- your +lordship has every claim upon us, and I should be truly glad to find +these pearls in your lordship's possession if I could only see my way. +Perhaps your lordship would like to look at them?" + +"Certainly, but pray do not leave me here alone with all these +treasures," said Lothair, as Mr. Ruby was quitting the apartment. + +"Oh! my lord, with you!" + +"Yes, that is all very well; but, if any thing is missed hereafter, it +will always be remembered that these jewels were in my possession, and I +was alone. I highly object to it." But Mr. Ruby had vanished, and did +not immediately reappear. In the mean time it was impossible for +Lothair to move: he was alone, and surrounded with precious necklaces, +and glittering rings, and gorgeous bracelets, with loose diamonds +running over the counter. It was not a kind or an amount of property +that Lothair, relinquishing the trust, could satisfactorily deliver to a +shopman. The shopman, however honest, might be suddenly tempted by +Satan, and take the next train to Liverpool. He felt therefore relieved +when Mr. Ruby reentered the room, breathless, with a velvet casket. "I +beg pardon, my lord, a thousand pardons, but I thought I would just run +over to Lord Topaz, only in the square close by. His lordship is at +Madrid, the only city one cannot depend on communications with by +telegraph. Spaniards strange people, very prejudiced, take all sorts of +fancies in their head. Besides, Lord Topaz has more pearls than he can +know what to do with, and I should like your lordship to see these," and +he opened the casket. + +"Exactly what I want," exclaimed Lothair; "these must be the very pearls +the Queen of Cyprus wore. What is their price?" + +"They are from Genoa, and belonged to a doge," said Mr. Ruby; "your +lordship shall have them for the sum we gave for them. There shall be +no profit on the transaction, and we shall be proud of it. We gave for +them four thousand guineas." + +"I will take them with me," said Lothair, who was afraid, if lie left +them behind, Lord Topaz might arrive in the interval. + + + +CHAPTER 34 + + +Lothair had returned home from his last visit to Belmont agitated by +many thoughts, but, generally speaking, deeply musing over its mistress. +Considerable speculation on religion, the churches, the solar system, +the cosmical order, the purpose of creation, and the destiny of man, was +maintained in his too rapid progress from Roehampton to his Belgravian +hotel; but the association of ideas always terminated the consideration +of every topic by a wondering and deeply interesting inquiry when he +should see her again. And here, in order to simplify this narrative, we +will at once chronicle the solution of this grave question. On the +afternoon of the next day, Lothair mounted his horse with the intention +of calling on Lady St. Jerome, and perhaps some other persons, but it is +curious to observe that he soon found himself on the road to Roehampton, +where he was in due time paying a visit to Theodora. But what is more +remarkable is that the same result occurred every day afterward. +Regularly every day he paid a visit to Belmont. Nor was this all; very +often he paid two visits, for he remembered that in the evening Theodora +was always at home. Lothair used to hurry to town from his morning +visit, dine at some great house, which satisfied the demands of society, +and then drive down to Roehampton. The guests of the evening saloon, +when they witnessed the high ceremony of Lothair's manner, which was +natural to him, when he entered, and the welcome of Theodora, could +hardly believe that a few hours only had elapsed since their separation. + +And what was the manner of Theodora to him when they were alone? +Precisely as before. She never seemed in the least surprised that he +called on her every day, or even twice a day. Sometimes she was alone, +frequently she had companions, but she was always the same, always +appeared gratified at his arrival, and always extended to him the same +welcome, graceful and genial, but without a spark of coquetry. Yet she +did not affect to conceal that she took a certain interest in him, +because she was careful to introduce him to distinguished men, and would +say, "You should know him, he is master of such a subject. You will +hear things that you ought to know." But all this in a sincere and +straightforward manner. Theodora had not the slightest affectation; she +was always natural, though a little reserved. But this reserve appeared +to be the result of modesty, rather than of any desire of concealment. +When they were alone, though always calm, she would talk with freedom +and vivacity; but in the presence of others she rather led to their +display, and encouraged them, often with a certain degree of adroit +simplicity, to descant on topics which interested theme or of which they +were competent to treat. Alone with Lothair, and they were often alone, +though she herself never obtruded the serious subjects round which he +was always fluttering, she never avoided them, and without involving +herself in elaborate arguments, or degenerating into conversational +controversy, she had a habit of asking a question, or expressing a +sentiment, which greatly affected his feelings or perplexed his +opinions. + +Had not the season been long waning, this change in the life of Lothair +must have been noticed, and its cause ultimately discovered. But the +social critics cease to be observant toward the end of July. All the +world then are thinking of themselves, and have no time to speculate on +the fate and fortunes of their neighbors. The campaign is too near its. +close; the balance of the season must soon be struck, the great book of +society made. In a few weeks, even in a few days, what long and subtle +plans shattered or triumphant! -- what prizes gained or missed! -- what +baffled hopes, and what broken hearts! The baffled hopes must go to +Cowes, and the broken hearts to Baden. There were some great ladies who +did remark that Lothair was seldom seen at balls; and Hugo Bohun, who +had been staying at his aunt Lady Gertrude's villa for change of air, +did say to Bertram that he bad met Lothair twice on Barnes Common, and +asked Bertram if he knew the reason why. But the fact that Lothair was +cruising in waters which their craft never entered combined with the +lateness of the season to baffle all the ingenuity of Hugo Bohun, though +he generally found out every thing. + +The great difficulty which Lothair had to apprehend was with his Roman +Catholic friends. The system of the monsignori was never to let him be +out of sight, and his absence from the critical function had not only +disappointed but alarmed them. But the Jesuits are wise men; they never +lose their temper. They know when to avoid scenes as well as when to +make them. Monsignore Catesby called on Lothair as frequently as +before, and never made the slightest allusion to the miscarriage of +their expectations. Strange to say, the innocent Lothair, naturally so +straightforward and so honorable, found himself instinctively, almost it +might be said unconsciously, defending himself against his invaders with +some of their own weapons. He still talked about building his +cathedral, of which, not contented with more plans, he even gave orders +that a model should be made, and he still received statements on points +of faith from Father Coleman, on which he made marginal notes and +queries. Monsignore Catesby was not altogether satisfied. He was +suspicious of some disturbing cause, but at present it baffled him. +Their hopes, however, were high; and they had cause to be sanguine. In +a month's time or so, Lothair would be in the country to celebrate his +majority; his guardian the cardinal was to be his guest; the St. Jeromes +were invited, Monsignore Catesby himself. Here would be opportunity and +actors to avail themselves of it. + +It was a very few days after the first evening visit of Lothair to +Belmont that he found himself one morning alone with Theodora. She was +in her bowery boudoir, copying some music for Madame Phoebus, at least in +the intervals of conversation. That had not been of a grave character, +but the contrary when Lothair rather abruptly said, "Do you agree, Mrs. +Campian, with what Mr. Phoebus said the other night, that the greatest +pain must be the sense of death?" + +"Then mankind is generally spared the greatest pain," she replied, "for +I apprehend few people are sensible of death -- unless indeed," she +added, "it be on the field of battle; and there, I am sure, it cannot be +painful." + +"Not on the field of battle?" asked Lothair, inducing her to proceed. + +"Well, I should think for all, on the field of battle, there must be a +degree of excitement, and of sympathetic excitement, scarcely compatible +with overwhelming suffering; but, if death were encountered there for a +great cause, I should rather associate it with rapture than pain." + +"But still a good number of persons must die in their beds and be +conscious," said Lothair. + +"It may be, though I should doubt it. The witnesses of such a demise +are never impartial. All I have loved and lost have died upon the field +of battle; and those who have suffered pain have been those whom they +have left behind; and that pain," she added with some emotion, "may +perhaps deserve the description of Mr. Phoebus." + +Lothair would not pursue the subject, and there was rather an awkward +pause. Theodora herself broke it, and in a lighter vein, though +recurring to the same theme, she said with a slight smile: "I am +scarcely a competent person to consult upon this subject, for, to be +candid with you, I do not myself believe in death. There is a change, +and doubtless a great one, painful it may be, certainly very perplexing, +but I have a profound conviction of my immortality, and I do not believe +that I shall rest in my grave in saecula saeculorum, only to be convinced +of it by the last trump." + +"I hope you will not leave this world before I do," said Lothair, "but, +if that sorrow be reserved for me, promise that to me, if only once, you +will reappear." + +"I doubt whether the departed have that power," said Theodora, "or else +I think my heroes would have revisited me. I lost a father more +magnificent than Jove, and two brothers brighter than Apollo, and all of +them passionately loved me -- and yet they have not come; but I shall +see them -- and perhaps soon. So you see, my dear lord," speaking more +briskly, and rising rather suddenly from her seat, "that for my part I +think it best to arrange all that concerns one in this world while one +inhabits it, and this reminds me that I have a little business to fulfil +in which you can help me," and she opened a cabinet and took out a flat +antique case, and then said, resuming her seat at her table: "Some one, +and anonymously, has made me a magnificent present; some strings of +costly pearls. I am greatly embarrassed with them, for I never wear +pearls or anything else, and I never wish to accept presents. To return +them to an unknown is out of my power, but it is not impossible that I +may some day become acquainted with the donor. I wish them to be kept +in safety, and therefore not by myself, for my life is subject to too +great vicissitudes. I have therefore placed them in this case, which I +shall now seal and intrust them to your care, as a friend in whom I have +entire confidence. See," she said, lighting a match, and opening the +case, "here are the pearls -- are they not superb? -- and here is a note +which will tell you what to do with them in case of my absence, when you +open the case, which will not be for a year from this day. There, it is +locked. I have directed it to you, and I will seal it with my father's +seal." + +Lothair wag about to speak. "Do not say a word," she said "this seal is +a religious ceremony with me." She was some little time fulfilling it, +so that the impression might be deep and clear. She looked at it +earnestly while the wax was cooling, and then she said, "I deliver the +custody of this to a friend whom I entirely trust. Adieu!" and she +disappeared. + +The amazed Lothair glanced at the seal. It was a single word, "ROMA," +and then, utterly mystified, he returned to town with his own present. + + + +CHAPTER 35 + + +Mr. Phoebus had just finished a picture which he had painted for the +Emperor of Russia. It was to depart immediately from England for its +northern home, except that his imperial majesty had consented that it +should be exhibited for a brief space to the people of England. This +was a condition which Mr. Phoebus had made in the interests of art, and +as a due homage alike to his own patriotism and celebrity. + +There was to be a private inspection of the picture at the studio of the +artist, and Mr. Phoebus had invited Lothair to attend it. Our friend had +accordingly, on the appointed day, driven down to Belmont and then +walked to the residence of Mr. Phoebus with Colonel Campian and his wife. +It was a short and pretty walk, entirely through the royal park, which +the occupiers of Belmont had the traditionary privilege thus to use. + +The residence of Mr. Phoebus was convenient and agreeable, and in +situation not unlike that of Belmont, being sylvan and sequestered. He +had himself erected a fine studio, and added it to the original +building. The flower-garden was bright and curious, and on the lawn was +a tent of many colors, designed by himself and which might have suited +some splendid field of chivalry. Upon gilt and painted perches, also, +there were paroquets and macaws. + +Lothair on his arrival found many guests assembled, chiefly on the lawn. +Mr. Phoebus was highly esteemed, and had distinguished and eminent +friends, whose constant courtesies the present occasion allowed him +elegantly to acknowledge. There was a polished and gray-headed noble +who was the head of the patrons of art in England, whose nod of +approbation sometimes made the fortune of a young artist, and whose +purchase of pictures for the nation even the furious cognoscenti of the +House of Commons dared not question. Some of the finest works of Mr. +Phoebus were to be found in his gallery; but his lordship admired Madame +Phoebus even more than her husband's works, and Euphrosyne as much as her +sister. It was sometimes thought, among their friends, that this young +lady had only to decide in order to share the widowed coronet; but +Euphrosyne laughed at every thing, even her adorers; and, while her +witching mockery only rendered them more fascinated, it often prevented +critical declarations. + +And Lady Beatrice was there, herself an artist, and full of aesthetical +enthusiasm. Her hands were beautiful, and she passed her life in +modelling them. And Cecrops was there, a rich old bachelor, with, it +was supposed, the finest collection of modern pictures extant. His +theory was, that a man could not do a wiser thing than invest the whole +of his fortune in such securities, and it led him to tell his numerous +nephews and nieces that he should, in all probability, leave his +collection to the nation. + +Clorinda, whose palace was always open to genius, and who delighted in +the society of men who had discovered planets, excavated primeval +mounds, painted pictures on new principles, or composed immortal poems +which no human being could either scan or construe, but which she +delighted in as "subtle" and full of secret melody, came leaning on the +arms of a celebrated plenipotentiary, and beaming with sympathy on every +subject, and with the consciousness of her universal charms. + +And the accomplished Sir Francis was there, and several R. A. s of +eminence, for Phoebus was a true artist, and loved the brotherhood, and +always placed them in the post of honor. + +No language can describe the fascinating costume of Madame Phoebus and +her glittering sister. "They are habited as sylvans," the great artist +deigned to observe, if any of his guests could not refrain from admiring +the dresses; which he had himself devised. As for the venerable patron +of art in Britain, he smiled when he met the lady of the house, and +sighed when he glanced at Euphrosyne; but the first gave him a beautiful +flower, and the other fastened it in his button-hole. He looked like a +victim bedecked by the priestesses of some old fane of Hellenic +loveliness, and proud of his impending fate. What could the Psalmist +mean in the immortal passage? Three-score-and-ten, at the present day, +is the period of romantic passions. As for our enamoured sexagenarians, +they avenge the theories of our cold-hearted youth. + +Mr. Phoebus was an eminent host. It delighted him to see people pleased, +and pleased under his influence. He had a belief, not without +foundation, that every thing was done better under his roof than under +that of any other person. The banquet in the air on the present +occasion could only be done justice to by the courtly painters of the +reign of Louis XV. Vanloo, and Watteau, and Lancres, would have caught +the graceful group and the well-arranged colors, and the faces, some +pretty, some a little affected; the ladies on fantastic chairs of +wicker-work, gilt and curiously painted; the gentlemen reclining on the +turf, or bending behind them with watchful care. The little tables all +different, the soups in delicate cups of S vres, the wines in golden +glass of Venice, the ortolans, the Italian confectionery, the endless +bouquets, were worthy of the soft and invisible music that resounded +from the pavilion, only varied by the coquettish scream of some macaw, +jealous, amid all this novelty and excitement, of not being noticed. + +"It is a scene of enchantment," whispered the chief patron of British +art to Madame Phoebus. + +"I always think luncheon in the air rather jolly," said Madame Phoebus. + +"It is perfect romance!" murmured the chief patron of British art to +Euphrosyne. + +"With a due admixture of reality," she said, helping him to an enormous +truffle, which she extracted from its napkin. "You know you must eat it +with butter." + +Lothair was glad to observe that, though in refined society, none were +present with whom he had any previous acquaintance, for he had an +instinctive feeling that if Hugo Bohun had been there, or Bertram, or +the Duke of Brecon, or any ladies with whom he was familiarly +acquainted, he would scarcely have been able to avail himself of the +society of Theodora with the perfect freedom which he now enjoyed. They +would all have been asking who she was, where she came from, how long +Lothair had known her, all those questions, kind and neighborly, which +under such circumstances occur. He was in a distinguished circle, but +one different from that in which he lived. He sat next to Theodora, and +Mr. Phoebus constantly hovered about them, ever doing something very +graceful, or saying something very bright. Then he would whisper a word +to the great Clorinda, who flashed intelligence from her celebrated +eyes, and then he made a suggestion to the aesthetical Lady Beatrice, who +immediately fell into enthusiasm and eloquence, and took the opportunity +of displaying her celebrated hands. + +The time had now arrived when they were to repair to the studio and view +the picture. A curtain was over it, and then a silken rope across the +chamber, and then some chairs. The subject of the picture was Hero and +Leander, chosen by the heir of all the Russias himself, during a late +visit to England. + +"A fascinating subject," said old Cecrops to Mr. Phoebus, "but not a very +original one." + +"The originality of a subject is in its treatment," was the reply. + +The theme, in the present instance, was certainly not conventionally +treated. When the curtain was withdrawn, they beheld a figure of +life-like size, exhibiting in undisguised completeness the perfection of +the female form, and yet the painter had so skilfully availed himself of +the shadowy and mystic hour, and of some gauze-like drapery, which +veiled without concealing his design, that the chastest eye might gaze +on his heroine with impunity. The splendor of her upstretched arms held +high the beacon-light, which thew a glare upon the sublime anxiety of +her countenance, while all the tumult of the Hellespont, the waves, the +scudding sky, the opposite shore revealed by a blood-red flash, were +touched by the hand of a master who had never failed. + +The applause was a genuine verdict, and the company after a time began +to disperse about the house and gardens. A small circle remained, and, +passing the silken rope, approached and narrowly scrutinized the +picture. Among these were Theodora and Lothair, the chief patron of +British art, an R. A. or two, Clorinda, and Lady Beatrice. + +Mr. Phoebus, who left the studio but had now returned, did not disturb +them. After a while he approached the group. His air was elate, and +was redeemed only from arrogance by the intellect of his brow. The +circle started a little as they heard his voice, for they had been +unaware of his presence. + +"To-morrow," he said, "the critics will commence. You know who the +critics are? The men who have failed in literature and art." + + + +CHAPTER 36 + + +The lodge-gate of Belmont was opening as Lothair one morning approached +it; a Hansom cab came forth, and in it was a person whose countenance +was strongly marked on the memory of Lothair. It was that of his +unknown friend at the Fenian meeting. Lothair instantly recognized and +cordially saluted him, and his greeting, though hurriedly, was not +ungraciously returned; but the vehicle did not stop. Lothair called to +the driver to halt; but the driver, on the contrary, stimulated his +steed, and in the winding lane was soon out of sight. + +Theodora was not immediately visible. She was neither in her usual +apartment nor in her garden; but it was only perhaps because Lothair was +so full of his own impressions from his recent encounter at the lodge, +that he did not observe that the demeanor of Mrs. Campian, when she +appeared, was hardly marked by her habitual serenity. She entered the +room hurriedly and spoke with quickness. + +"Pray," exclaimed Lothair, rather eagerly, "do tell me the name of the +gentleman who has just called here." + +Theodora changed color, looked distressed, and was silent; unobserved, +however, by Lothair, who, absorbed by his own highly-excited curiosity, +proceeded to explain why he presumed to press for the information. "I +am under great obligations to that person; I am not sure I may not say I +owe him my life, but certainly an extrication from great dander and very +embarrassing danger too. I never saw him but once, and he would not +give me his name, and scarcely would accept my thanks. I wanted to stop +his cab to-day, but it was impossible. He literally galloped off." + +"He is a foreigner," said Mrs Campian, who had recovered herself; "be +was a particular friend of my dear father; and when he visits England, +which he does occasionally, he calls to see us." + +"Ah!" said Lothair, "I hope I shall soon have an opportunity of +expressing to him my gratitude." + +"It was so like him not to give his name and to shrink from thanks," +said Mrs. Campian. "He never enters society, and makes no +acquaintances." + +"I am sorry for that," said Lothair, "for it is not only that he served +me, but I was much taken with him, and felt that he was a person I +should like to cultivate." + +"Yes, Captain Bruges is a remarkable man," said Theodora; "he is not one +to be forgotten." + +"Captain Bruges. That, then, is his name?" + +"He is known by the name of Captain Bruges," said Theodora, and she +hesitated; and then speaking more quickly she added: "I cannot +sanction, I cannot bear, any deception between you and this roof. +Bruges is not his real name, nor is the title he assumes his real rank. +He is not to be known, and not to be spoken of. He is one, and one of +the most eminent, of the great family of sufferers in this world, but +sufferers for a divine cause. I myself have been direly stricken in +this struggle. When I remember the departed, it is not always easy to +bear the thought. I keep it at the bottom of my heart; but this visit +to-day has too terribly revived every thing. It is well that you only +are here to witness my suffering, but you will not have to witness it +again, for we will never again speak of these matters." + +Lothair was much touched: his good heart and his good taste alike +dissuaded him from attempting commonplace consolation. He ventured to +take her hand and pressed it to his lips. "Dear lady!" he murmured, and +he led her to a seat. "I fear my foolish tattle has added to pain which +I would gladly bear for you." + +They talked about nothings: about a new horse which Colonel Campian had +just purchased, and which he wanted to show to Lothair; an old opera +revived, but which sounded rather flat; something amusing that somebody +had said, and something absurd which somebody had done. And then, when +the ruffled feeling had been quite composed, and all had been brought +back to the tenor of their usual pleasant life, Lothair said suddenly +and rather gayly. "And now, dearest lady, I have a favor to ask. You +know my majority is, to be achieved and to be celebrated next month. I +hope that yourself and Colonel Campian will honor me by being my +guests." + +Theodora did not at all look like a lady who had received a social +attention of the most distinguished class. She looked embarrassed, and +began to murmur something about Colonel Campian, and their never going +into society. + +"Colonel Campian is going to Scotland, and you are going with him," said +Lothair. "I know it, for he told me so, and said he could manage the +visit to me, if you approved it, quite well. In fact, it will fit in +with this Scotch visit." + +"There was some talk once about Scotland," said Theodora, "but that was +a long time ago. Many things have happened since then. I do not think +the Scotch visit is by any means so settled as you think." + +"But, however that may be decided," said Lothair, "there can be no +reason why you should not come to me." + +"It is presumptuous in me, a foreigner, to speak of such matters," said +Theodora; "but I fancy that, in such celebrations as you contemplate, +there is, or there should be, some qualification of blood or family +connection for becoming your guests. We should be there quite +strangers, and in everybody's way, checking the local and domestic +abandon which I should suppose is one of the charms of such meetings." + +"I have few relations and scarcely a connection," said Lothair rather +moodily. "I can only ask friends to celebrate my majority, and there +are no friends whom I so much regard as those who live at Belmont." + +"It is very kind of you to say that, and to feel it; and I know that you +would not say it if you did not feel it," replied Theodora. "But still, +I think it would be better that we should come to see you at a time when +you are less engaged; perhaps you will take Colonel Campian down some +day and give him some shooting." + +"All I can say is that, if you do not come, it will be the darkest, +instead of the brightest, week in my life," said Lothair. "In short, I +feel I could not get through the business; I should be so mortified. I +cannot restrain my feelings or arrange my countenance. Unless you come, +the whole affair will be a complete failure, and worse than a failure." + +"Well, I will speak to Colonel Campian about it," said Theodora, but +with little animation. + +"We will both speak to him about it now," said Lothair, for the colonel +at that moment entered the room and greeted Lothair, as was his custom, +cordially. + +"We are settling the visit to Muriel," said Lothair; "I want to induce +Mrs. Campian to come down a day or two before the rest, so that we may +have the benefit of her counsel." + + + +CHAPTER 37 + + +Muriel Tower crowned a wooded steep, part of a wild, and winding, and +sylvan valley, at the bottom of which rushed a foaming stream. On the +other side of the castle the scene, though extensive, was not less +striking, and was essentially romantic. A vast park spread in all +directions beyond the limit of the eye, and with much variety of +character -- ornate near the mansion, and choicely timbered; in other +parts glens and spreading dolls, masses of black pines and savage woods; +everywhere, sometimes glittering, and sometimes sullen, glimpses of the +largest natural late that inland England boasts, Muriel Mere, and in the +extreme distance moors, and the first crest of mountains. The park, +too, was full of life, for there were not only herds of red and fallow +deer, but, in its more secret haunts, wandered a race of wild-cattle, +extremely savage, white and dove-colored, and said to be of the time of +the Romans. + +It was not without emotion that Lothair beheld the chief seat of his +race. It was not the first time he had visited it. He had a clear and +painful recollection of a brief, hurried, unkind glimpse caught of it in +his very earliest boyhood. His uncle had taken him there by some +inconvenient cross-railroad, to avail themselves of which they had risen +in the dark on a March morning, and in an east wind. When they arrived +at their station they had hired an open fly drawn by a single horse, +and, when they had thus at last reached the uninhabited Towers, they +entered by the offices, where Lothair was placed in the steward's room, +by a smoky fire, given something to eat, and told that he might walk +about and amuse himself, provided he did not go out of sight of the +castle, while his uncle and the steward mounted their horses and rode +over the estate; leaving Lothair for hours without companions, and +returning just in time, in a shivering twilight, to clutch him up, as it +were, by the nape of the neck, twist him back again into the one-horse +fly, and regain the railroad; his uncle praising himself the whole time +for the satisfactory and business-like manner in which he had planned +and completed the edition. + +What a contrast to present circumstances! Although Lothair had wished, +and thought he had secured, that his arrival at Muriel should be quite +private, and even unknown, and that all ceremonies and celebrations +should be postponed for a few days, during which he hoped to become a +little more familiar with his home, the secret could not be kept, and +the county would not tolerate this reserve. He was met at the station +by five hundred horsemen, all well mounted, and some of them gentlemen +of high degree, who insisted upon accompanying him to his gates. His +carriage passed under triumphal arches, and choirs of enthusiastic +children; waving parochial banners, hymned his auspicious approach. + +At the park gates his cavalcade quitted him with that delicacy of +feeling which always distinguishes Englishmen, however rough their +habit. As their attendance was self-invited, they would not intrude +upon his home. + +"Your lordship will have enough to do to-day, without being troubled +with us," said their leader, as he shook hands with Lothair. + +But Lothair would not part with them thus. With the inspiring +recollection of his speech at the Fenian meeting, Lothair was not afraid +of rising in his barouche and addressing them. What he said was said +very well and it was addressed to a people who, though the shyest in the +world, have a passion for public speaking, than which no achievement +more tests reserve. It was something to be a great peer and a great +proprietor, and to be young and singularly well-favored; but to be able +to make a speech, and such a good one, such cordial words in so strong +and musical a voice -- all felt at once they were in the presence of the +natural leader of the county. The enthusiasm of the hunting-field burst +forth. They gave him three ringing cheers, and jostled their horses +forward, that they might grasp his hand. + +The park gates were open, and the postillions dashed along through +scenes of loveliness on which Lothair would fain have lingered, but be +consoled himself with the recollection that he should probably have an +opportunity of seeing them again. Sometimes his carriage seemed in the +heart of an ancient forest; sometimes the deer, startled at his +approach, were scudding over expanding lawns; then his course wound by +the margin of a sinuous lake with green islands and golden gondolas; and +then, after advancing through stately avenues, he arrived at mighty +gates of wondrous workmanship, that once had been the boast of a +celebrated convent on the Danube, but which, in the days of revolutions, +had reached England, and had been obtained by the grandfather of Lothair +to guard the choice demesne that was the vicinage of his castle. + +When we remember that Lothair, notwithstanding his rank and vast wealth, +had never, from the nature of things, been the master of an +establishment, it must be admitted that the present occasion was a +little trying for his nerves. The whole household of the Towers were +arrayed and arranged in groups on the steps of the chief entrance. The +steward of the estate, who had been one of the cavalcade, had galloped +on before, and he was, of course, the leading spirit, and extended his +arm to his lord as Lothair descended from his carriage. The +house-steward, the chief butler, the head-gardener, the chief of the +kitchen, the head-keeper, the head-forester, and grooms of the stud and +of the chambers, formed one group behind the housekeeper, a grave and +distinguished-looking female, who courtesied like the old court; half a +dozen powdered gentlemen, glowing, in crimson liveries, indicated the +presence of my lord's footmen; while the rest of the household, +considerable in numbers, were arranged in two groups, according to their +sex, and at a respectful distance. + +What struck Lothair -- who was always thinking, and who had no +inconsiderable fund of humor in his sweet and innocent nature -- was the +wonderful circumstance that, after so long an interval of neglect and +abeyance, he should find himself the master of so complete and +consummate a household. + +"Castles and parks," he thought, "I had a right to count on, and, +perhaps, even pictures, but how I came to possess such a work of art as +my groom of the chambers, who seems as respectfully haughty, and as +calmly grateful, as if he were at Brentham itself, and whose coat must +have been made in Saville Row, quite bewilders me." + +But Lothair, though he appreciated Putney Giles, had not yet formed a +full conception of the resource and all-accomplished providence of that +wondrous man, acting under the inspiration of the consummate Apollonia. + +Passing through the entrance-hall, a lofty chamber, though otherwise of +moderate dimensions, Lothair was ushered into his armory, a gallery two +hundred feet long, with suits of complete mail ranged on each side, and +the walls otherwise covered with rare and curious weapons. It was +impossible, even for the master of this collection, to suppress the +delight and the surprise with which he beheld the scene. We must +remember, in his excuse, that be beheld it for the first time. + +The armory led to a large and lofty octagonal chamber, highly decorated, +in the centre of which was the tomb of Lothair's grandfather. He had +raised it in his lifetime. The tomb was of alabaster surrounded by a +railing of pure gold, and crowned with a recumbent figure of the +deceased in his coronet -- a fanciful man, who lived in solitude, +building castles and making gardens. + +What charmed Lothair most as he proceeded were the number of courts and +quadrangles in the castle, all of bright and fantastic architecture, and +each of which was a garden, glowing with brilliant colors, and gay with +the voice of fountains or the forms of gorgeous birds. Our young friend +did not soon weary in his progress; even the suggestions of the steward, +that his lordship's luncheon was at command, did not restrain him. +Ballrooms, and baronial halls, and long libraries with curiously-stained +windows, and suites of dazzling saloons, where he beheld the original +portraits of his parents, of which he had miniatures -- he saw them all, +and was pleased, and interested. But what most struck and even +astonished him was the habitable air which pervaded the whole of this +enormous structure; too rare even when families habitually reside in +such dwellings; but almost inconceivable, when it was to be remembered +that more than a generation had passed without a human being living in +these splendid chambers, scarcely a human word being spoken in them. +There was not a refinement of modern furniture that was wanting; even +the tables were covered with the choicest publications of the day. + +"Mr. Putney Giles proposes to arrive here to-morrow," said the steward. +"He thought your lordship would like to be a day or two alone." + +"He is the most sensible man I know," said Lothair; "he always does the +right thing. I think I will have my luncheon now, Mr. Harvey, and I +will go ever the cellars to-morrow." + + + +CHAPTER 38 + + +Yes; Lothair wished to be alone. He had naturally a love of solitude, +but the events of the last few hours lent an additional inducement to +meditation. He was impressed, in a manner and degree not before +experienced, with the greatness of his inheritance. His worldly +position, until to-day, had been an abstraction. After all, he had only +been one of a crowd, which he resembled. But the sight of this proud +and abounding territory, and the unexpected encounter with his +neighbors, brought to him a sense of power and of responsibility. He +shrank from neither. The world seemed opening to him with all its +delights, and with him duty was one. He was also sensible of the +beautiful, and the surrounding forms of nature and art charmed him. Let +us not forget that extreme youth and perfect health were ingredients not +wanting in the spell any more than power or wealth. Was it, then, +complete? Not without the influence of woman. + +To that gentle yet mystical sway the spirit of Lothair had yielded. +What was the precise character of his feelings to Theodora -- what were +his hopes, or views -- he had hitherto had neither the time nor the +inclination to make certain. The present was so delightful, and the +enjoyment of her society had been so constant and complete, that he had +ever driven the future from his consideration. Had the conduct of +Theodora been different, had she deigned to practise on his affections, +appealed to his sensibility, stimulated or piqued his vanity, it might +have been otherwise. In the distraction of his heart, or the +disturbance of his temper, he might have arrived at conclusions, and +even expressed them, incompatible with the exquisite and even sublime +friendship, which had so strangely and beautifully arisen, like a palace +in a dream, and absorbed his being. Although their acquaintance could +hardly be numbered by months, there was no living person of whom he had +seen so much, or to whom he had opened his heart and mind with such +profuse ingenuousness. Nor on her part, though apparently shrinking +from egotism, had there ever been any intellectual reserve. On the +contrary, although never authoritative, and, even when touching on her +convictions, suggesting rather than dictating them, Lothair could not +but feel that, during the happy period he had passed in her society, not +only his taste had refined but his mind had considerably opened; his +views had become larger, his sympathies had expanded; he considered with +charity things and even persons from whom a year ago he would have +recoiled with alarm or aversion. + +The time during which Theodora had been his companion was the happiest +period of his life. It was more than that; he could conceive no +felicity greater, and all that he desired was that it should endure. +Since they first met, scarcely four-and-twenty hours had passed without +his being in her presence; and now, notwithstanding the novelty and the +variety of the objects around him and the vast, and urgent, and personal +interest which they involve he felt a want which meeting her, or the +daily prospect of meeting her, could alone supply. Her voice lingered +in his ear; he gazed upon a countenance invisible to others; and he +scarcely saw or did any thing without almost unconsciously associating +with it her opinion or approbation. + +Well, then, the spell was complete. The fitfulness or melancholy which +so often is the doom of youth, however otherwise favored, who do not +love, was not the condition, capricious or desponding, of Lothair. In +him combined all the accidents and feelings which enchant existence. + +He had been rambling in the solitudes of his park, and had thrown +himself on the green shadow of a stately tree, his cheek resting on his +arm, and lost in reverie amid the deep and sultry silence. Wealthy and +young, noble and full of noble thoughts, with the inspiration of health, +surrounded by the beautiful, and his heart softened by feelings as +exquisite, Lothair, nevertheless, could not refrain from pondering over +the mystery of that life which seemed destined to bring to him only +delight. + +"Life would be perfect," he at length exclaimed, "if it would only +last." But it will not last; and what then? He could not reconcile +interest in this life with the conviction of another, and an eternal +one. It seemed to him that, with such a conviction, man could have only +one thought and one occupation -- the future, and preparation for it. +With such a conviction, what they called reality appeared to him more +vain and nebulous than the scones and sights of sleep. And he had that +conviction; at least he had it once. Had he it now? Yes; he had it +now, but modified, perhaps, in detail. He was not so confident as he +was a few months ago, that he could be ushered by a Jesuit from his +deathbed to the society of St. Michael and all the angels. There might +be long processes of initiation -- intermediate states of higher +probation and refinement. There might be a horrible and apathetic +pause. When millions of ages appeared to be necessary to mature the +crust of a rather insignificant planet, it might be presumption in man +to assume that his soul, though immortal, was to reach its final +destination regardless of all the influences of space and time. + +And the philosophers and distinguished men of science with whom of late +he had frequently enjoyed the opportunity of becoming acquainted, what +were their views? They differed among themselves: did any of them agree +with him? How they accounted for every thing except the only point on +which man requires revelation! Chance, necessity, atomic theories, +nebular hypotheses, development, evolution, the origin of worlds, human +ancestry -- here were high topics, on none of which was there lack of +argument; and, in a certain sense, of evidence; and what then? There +must be design. The reasoning and the research of all philosophy could +not be valid against that conviction. If there were no design, why, it +would all be nonsense; and he could not believe in nonsense. And if +there were design, there must be intelligence; and if intelligence, pure +intelligence; and pure intelligence was inconsistent with any +disposition but perfect good. But between the all-wise and the +all-benevolent and man, according to the new philosophers, no relations +were to be any longer acknowledged. They renounce in despair the +possibility of bringing man into connection with that First Cause which +they can neither explain nor deny. But man requires that there shall be +direct relations between the created and the Creator; and that in those +relations he should find a solution of the perplexities of existence. +The brain that teems with illimitable thought, will never recognize as +his creator any power of Nature, however irresistible, that is not +gifted with consciousness. Atheism may be consistent with fine taste, +and fine taste under certain conditions may for a time regulate a +polished society; but ethics with atheism are impossible; and without +ethics no human order can be strong or permanent. + +The Church comes forward, and, without equivocation, offers to establish +direct relations between God and man. Philosophy denies its title, and +disputes its power. Why? Because they are founded on the supernatural. +What is the supernatural? Can there be any thing more miraculous than +the existence of man and the world? -- any thing more literally +supernatural than the origin of things? The Church explains what no one +else pretends to explain, and which, every one agrees, it is of first +moment should be made clear. + +The clouds of a summer eve were glowing in the creative and flickering +blaze of the vanished sun, that had passed like a monarch from the +admiring sight, yet left his pomp behind. The golden and amber vapors +fell into forms that to the eye of the musing Lothair depicted the +objects of his frequent meditation. There seemed to rise in the horizon +the dome and campaniles and lofty aisles of some celestial fane, such as +he had often more than dreamed of raising to the revealed author of life +and death. Altars arose and sacred shrines, and delicate chantries and +fretted spires; now the flashing phantom of heavenly choirs, and then +the dim response of cowled and earthly cenobites: + +"These are black Vesper's pageants!" + + + +CHAPTER 39 + + +Lothair was quite glad to see Mr. Putney Giles. That gentleman indeed +was a universal favorite. He was intelligent, acquainted with every +thing except theology and metaphysics, to oblige, a little to patronize, +never made difficulties, and always overcame them. His bright blue +eyes, open forehead, and sunny face, indicated a man fall of resources, +and with a temper of natural sweetness. + +The lawyer and his noble client had a great deal of business to +transact. Lothair was to know his position in detail preparatory to +releasing his guardians from their responsibilities, and assuming the +management of his own affairs. Mr. Putney Giles was a first-rate man of +business. With all his pleasant, easy manner, he was precise and +methodical, and was not content that his client should be less master of +his own affairs than his lawyer. The mornings passed over a table +covered with dispatch boxes and piles of ticketed and banded papers, and +then they looked after the workmen who were preparing for the impending +festivals, or rode over the estate. + +"That is our weak point," said Mr. Putney Giles, pointing to a distant +part of the valley. "We ought to have both sides of the valley. Your +lordship will have to consider whether you can devote the two hundred +thousand pounds of the second and extinct trust to a better purpose than +in obtaining that estate." + +Lothair had always destined that particular sum for the cathedral, the +raising of which was to have been the first achievement of his majority; +but he did not reply. + +In a few days the guests began to arrive, but gradually. The duke and +duchess and Lady Corisande came the first, and were one day alone with +Lothair, for Mr. Putney Giles had departed to fetch Apollonia. + +Lothair was unaffectedly gratified at not only receiving his friends at +his own castle, but under these circumstances of intimacy. They had +been the first persons who had been kind to him, and he really loved the +whole family. They arrived rather late, but he would show them to their +rooms -- and they were choice ones -- himself, and then they dined +together in the small green dining-room. Nothing could be more graceful +or more cordial than the whole affair. The duchess seemed to beam with +affectionate pleasure as Lothair fulfilled his duties as their host; the +duke praised the claret, and he seldom praised any thing; while Lady +Corisande only regretted that the impending twilight had prevented her +from seeing the beautiful country, and expressed lively interest in the +morrow's inspection of the castle and domain. Sometimes her eyes met +those of Lothair, and she was so happy that she unconsciously smiled. + +"And-to-morrow," said Lothair, "I am delighted to say, we shall have to +ourselves; at least all the morning. We will see the castle first, and +then, after luncheon, we will drive about everywhere." + +"Everywhere," said Corisande. + +"It was very nice your asking us first, and alone," said the duchess. + +"It was very nice in your coming, dear duchess," said Lothair, "and most +kind -- as you ever are to me." + +"Duke of Brecon is coming to you on Thursday," said the duke; "he told +me so at White's." + +"Perhaps you would like to know, duchess, whom you are going to meet," +said Lothair. + +"I should much like to hear. Pray tell us." + +"It is a rather formidable array," said Lothair, and he took out a +paper. "First, there are all the notables of the county. I do not know +any of them personally, so I wrote to each of them a letter, as well as +sending them a formal invitation. I thought that was right." + +"Quite right," said the duchess. "Nothing could be more proper." + +"Well, the first person, of course, is the lord-lieutenant. He is +coming." + +"By-the-by, let me see, who is your lord-lieutenant?" said the duke. + +"Lord Agramont." + +"To be sure. I was at college with him; a very good fellow; but I have +never met him since, except once at Boodle's; and I never saw a man so +red and gray, and I remember him such a good-looking fellow! He must +have lived immensely in the country, and never thought of his person," +said the duke in a tone of pity, and playing with his mustache. + +"Is there a Lady Agramont?" inquired the duchess. + +"Oh, yes! and she also honors me with her presence," said Lothair. + +"And who was Lady Agramont?" + +"Oh! his cousin," said the duke. "The Agramonts always marry their +cousins. His father did the same thing. They are so shy. It is a +family that never was in society, and never will be. I was at Agramont +Castle once when I was at college, and I never shall forget it. We used +to sit down forty or fifty every day to dinner, entirely maiden aunts +and clergymen, and that sort of thing. However, I shall be truly glad +to see Agramont again, for, notwithstanding all these disadvantages, be +is a thoroughly good fellow." + +"Then there is the high-sheriff," continued Lothair; "and both the +county members and their wives; and Mrs. High-Sheriff too. I believe +there is some tremendous question respecting the precedency of this +lady. There is no doubt that, in the county, the high-sheriff takes +precedence of every one, even of the lord-lieutenant; but how about his +wife? Perhaps your grace could aid me? Mr. Putney Giles said he would +write about it to the Heralds' College." + +"I should give her the benefit of any doubt," said the duchess. + +"And then our bishop is coming;" said Lothair. + +"Oh! I am so glad you have asked the bishop," said Lady Corisande. + +"There could be no doubt about it," said Lothair. + +"I do not know how his lordship will get on with one of my guardians, +the cardinal; but his eminence is not here in a priestly character; and, +as for that, there is less chance of his differing with the cardinal +than with my other guardian Lord Culloden, who is a member of the Free +Kirk." + +"Is Lord Culloden coming?" said the duchess. + +"Yes, and with two daughters, Flora and Grizell. I remember my cousins, +good-natured little girls; but Mr. Putney Giles tells me that the +shortest is six feet high." + +"I think we shall have a very amusing party," said the duchess. + +"You know all the others," said Lothair. "No, by-the-by, there is the +dean of my college coming, and Monsignore Catesby, a great friend of the +St. Jeromes." + +Lady Corisande looked grave. + +"The St. Jeromes will be here to-morrow," continued Lothair, "and the +Montairys and the St. Aldegondes. I have half an idea that Bertram and +Carisbrooke and Hugo Bohun will be here to-night -- Duke of Brecon on +Thursday; and that, I think, is all, except an American lady and +gentleman, whom, I think, you will like -- great friends of mine; I knew +them this year at Oxford, and the were very kind to me. He is a man of +considerable fortune; they have lived at Paris a good deal." + +"I have known Americans who lived at Paris," said the duke; "very good +sort of people, and no end of money some of them." + +"I believe Colonel Campian has large estates in the South," said +Lothair; "but, though really I have no right to speak of his affairs, he +must have suffered very much." + +"Well, he has the consolation of suffering in a good cause," said the +duke. "I shall be happy to make his acquaintance. I look upon an +American gentleman with large estates in the South as a real aristocrat; +and; whether he gets his rents, or whatever his returns may be, or not, +I should always treat him with respect." + +"I have heard the American women are very pretty," said Lady Corisande. + +"Mrs. Campian is very distinguished," said Lothair; "but I think she was +an Italian." + +"They promise to be an interesting addition to our party," said the +duchess, and she rose. + + + +CHAPTER 40 + + +There never was any thing so successful as the arrangements of the next +day. After breakfast they inspected the castle, and in the easiest +manner, without form and without hurry, resting occasionally in a +gallery or a saloon, never examining a cabinet, and only looking at a +picture now and then. Generally speaking, nothing is more fatiguing +than the survey of a great house; but this enterprise was conducted with +so much tact and consideration, and much which they had to see was so +beautiful and novel, that every one was interested, and remained quite +fresh for their subsequent exertions. "And then the duke is so much +amused," said the duchess to her daughter, delighted at the unusual +excitement of the handsome, but somewhat too serene, partner of her +life. + +After luncheon they visited the gardens, which had been formed in a +sylvan valley, enclosed with gilded gates. The creator of this, +paradise had been favored by Nature, and had availed himself of this +opportunity. The contrast between the parterres, blazing with color, +and the sylvan background, the undulating paths over romantic heights, +the fanes and the fountains, the glittering statues, and the Babylonian +terraces, formed a whole, much of which was beautiful, and all of which +was striking and singular. + +"Perhaps too many temples," said Lothair; "but this ancestor of mine had +some imagination." + +A carriage met them on the other side of the valley, and then they soon +entered the park. + +"I am almost as much a stranger here as yourself, dear duchess," said +Lothair; "but I have seen some parts which, I think, will please you." +And they commenced a drive of varying, but unceasing, beauty. + +"I hope I see the wild-cattle," said Lady Corisande. + +Lady Corisande saw the wild-cattle, and many other things, which +gratified and charmed her. It was a long drive, even of hours, and yet +no one was, for a moment, wearied. + +"What a delightful day!" Lady Corisande exclaimed in her mother's +dressing-room. "I have never seen any place so beautiful." + +"I agree with you," said the duchess; "but what pleases me most are his +manners. They were always kind and natural; but they are so polished -- +so exactly what they ought to be; and he always says the right thing. I +never knew any one who had so matured." + +"Yes; it is very little more than a year since he came to us at +Brentham," said Lady Corisande, thoughtfully. "Certainly he has greatly +changed. I remember he could hardly open his lips; and now I think him +very agreeable." + +"He is more than that," said the duchess; "he is interesting." + +"Yes," said Lady Corisande; "he is interesting." + +"What delights me," said the duchess, "is to see his enjoyment of his +position. He seems to take such an interest in every thing. It makes +me happy to see him so happy." + +"Well, I hardly know," said Lady Corisande, "about that. There is +something occasionally about his expression which I should hardly +describe as indicative of happiness or content. It would be ungrateful +to describe one as distrait, who seems to watch all one wants, and hangs +on every word; and yet -- especially as we returned, and when we were +all of us a little silent -- there was a remarkable abstraction about +him; I caught it once or twice before, earlier in the day; his mind +seemed in another place, and anxiously." + +"He has a great deal to think of," said the duchess. + +"I fear it is that dreadful Monsignore Catesby," said Lady Corisande, +with a sigh. + + + +CHAPTER 41 + + +The arrival of the guests was arranged with judgment. The personal +friends came first; the formal visitors were invited only for the day +before the public ceremonies commenced. No more dinners in small green +dining-rooms. While the duchess was dressing, Bertha St. Aldegonde and +Victoria Montairy, who had just arrived, came in to give her a rapid +embrace while their own toilets were unpacking. + +"Granville, has come, mamma; I did not think that he would till the last +moment. He said he was so afraid of being bored. There is a large +party by this train; the St. Jeromes, Bertram, Mr. Bohun, Lord +Carisbrooke, and some others we do not know." + +The cardinal had been expected to-day, but he had telegraphed that his +arrival must be postponed in consequence: of business until the morrow, +which day had been previously fixed for the arrival of his fellow +guardian and trustee, the Earl of Culloden, and his daughters, the +Ladies Flora and Grizell Falkirk. Monsignore Catesby had, however, +arrived by this train, and the persons "whom they did not know," the +Campians. + +Lothair waited on Colonel Campian immediately and welcomed him, but he +did not see Theodora. Still he had inquired after her, and left her a +message, and hoped that she would take some tea; and thus, as he +flattered himself, broken a little the strangeness of their meeting +under his roof; but, notwithstanding all this, when she really entered +the drawing-room he was seized with such a palpitation of the heart that +for a moment he thought he should be unequal to the situation. But the +serenity of Theodora reassured him. The Campians came in late, and all +eyes were upon them. Lothair presented Theodora to the duchess, who, +being prepared for the occasion, said exactly the right thing in the +best manner, and invited Mrs. Campian to sit by her, and then, Theodora +being launched, Lothair whispered something to the duke, who nodded, and +the colonel was introduced to his grace. The duke, always polite but +generally cold, was more than courteous -- he was cordial; he seemed to +enjoy the opportunity of expressing his high consideration for a +gentleman of the Southern States. + +So the first step was over; Lothair recovered himself; the palpitation +subsided; and the world still went on. The Campians had made a good +start, and the favorable impression hourly increased. At dinner +Theodora sat between Lord St. Jerome and Bertram, and talked more to the +middle-aged peer than to the distinguished youth, who would willingly +have engrossed her attention. All mothers admire such discretion, +especially in a young and beautiful married woman, so the verdict of the +evening among the great ladies was, that Theodora was distinguished, and +that all she said or did was in good taste. On the plea of her being a +foreigner, she was at once admitted into a certain degree of social +intimacy. Had she had the misfortune of being native-born and had +flirted with Bertram, she would probably, particularly with so much +beauty, have been looked upon as "a horrid woman," and have been +relegated for amusement, during her visit, to the attentions of the dark +sex. But, strange to say, the social success of Colonel Campian was not +less eminent than that of his distinguished wife. The character which +the duke gave of him commanded universal sympathy. "You know he is a +gentleman," said the duke; "he is not a Yankee. People make the +greatest mistakes about these things. He is a gentleman of the South; +they have no property, but land; and I am told his territory was +immense. He always lived at Paris, and in the highest style -- +disgusted, of course, with his own country. It is not unlikely he may +have lost his estates now; but that makes no difference to me. I shall +treat him, and all Southern gentlemen, as our fathers treated the +emigrant nobility of France." + +"Hugo," said St. Aldegonde to Mr. Bohun, "I wish you would tell Bertha +to come to me. I want her. She is talking to a lot of women at the +other end of the room, and, if I go to her, I am afraid they will get +hold of me." + +The future duchess, who lived only to humor her lord, was at his side in +an instant. "You wanted me, Granville?" + +"Yes; you know I was afraid, Bertha, I should be bored here. I am not +bored. I like this American fellow. He understands the only two +subjects which interest me; horses and tobacco." + +"I am charmed, Granville, that you are not bored; I told mamma that you +were very much afraid you would be." + +"Yes; but I tell you what, Bertha, I cannot stand any of the ceremonies. +I shall go before they begin. Why cannot Lothair be content with +receiving his friends in a quiet way? It is all humbug about the +county. If he wants to do something for the county, he can build a wing +to the infirmary, or something of that sort, and not bore us with +speeches and fireworks. It is a sort of thing I cannot stand." + +"And you shall not, dear Granville. The moment you are bored, you shall +go. Only you are not bored at present." + +"Not at present; but I expected to be." + +"Yes; so I told mamma; but that makes the present more delightful." + +The St. Jeromes were going to Italy and immediately. Their departure +had only been postponed in order that they might be present at the +majority of Lothair. Miss Arundel had at length succeeded in her great +object. They were to pass the winter at Rome. Lord St. Jerome was +quite pleased at having made the acquaintance at dinner of a Roman lady, +who spoke English so perfectly; and Lady St. Jerome, who in consequence +fastened upon Theodora, was getting into ecstasies, which would have +been embarrassing had not her new acquaintance skilfully checked her. + +"We must be satisfied that we both admire Rome," said Mrs. Campian, +"though we admire it for different reasons. Although a Roman, I am not +a Roman Catholic; and Colonel Campian's views on Italian affairs +generally would, I fear, not entirely agree with Lord St. Jerome's." + +"Naturally," said Lady St. Jerome, gracefully dropping the subject, and +remembering that Colonel Campian was a citizen of the United States, +which accounted in her apprehension for his peculiar opinions. + +Lothair, who had been watching his opportunity the whole evening, +approached Theodora. He meant to have expressed his hope that she was +not wearied by her journey, but instead of that he said, "Your presence +here makes me inexpressibly happy." + +"I think everybody seems happy to be your guest," she replied, parrying, +as was her custom, with a slight kind smile, and a low, sweet, +unembarrassed voice, any personal allusion from Lothair of unusual +energy or ardor. + +"I wanted to meet you at the station to-day," he continued, "but there +were so many people coming, that --" and he hesitated. + +"It would really have been more embarrassing to us than to yourself," +she said. "Nothing could be better than all the arrangements." + +"I sent my own brougham to you," said Lothair. "I hope there was no +mistake about it." + +"None: your servant gave us your kind message; and as for the carriage, +it was too delightful. Colonel Campian was so; pleased with it, that he +has promised to give me one, with your permission, exactly the same." + +"I wish you would accept the one you used to-day." + +"You are too magnificent; you really must try to forget, with us, that +you are the lord of Muriel Towers. But I will willingly use your +carriages as much as you please, for I caught glimpses of beauty to-day +in our progress from the station that made me anxious to explore your +delightful domain." + +There was a slight burst of merriment from a distant part of the room, +and everybody looked around. Colonel Campian had been telling a story +to a group formed of the duke, St. Aldegonde, and Mr. Bohun. + +"Best story I ever heard In my life," exclaimed St. Aldegonde, who +prided himself, when he did laugh, which was rare, on laughing loud. +But even the duke tittered, and Hugo Bohun smiled. + +"I am glad to see the colonel get on so well with every one," said +Lothair; "I was afraid he might have been bored." + +"He does not know what that means," said Theodora; "and he is so natural +and so sweet-tempered, and so intelligent, that it seems to me he always +is popular." + +"Do you think that will be a match?" said Monsignore Catesby to Miss +Arundel. + +"Well, I rather believe in the Duke of Brecon" she replied. They were +referring to Lord Carisbrooke, who appeared to be devoted to Lady +Corisande. "Do you admire the American lady?" + +"Who is an Italian, they tell me, though she does not look like one. +What do you think of her?" said the monsignore, evading, as was his +custom, a direct reply. + +"Well, I think she is very distinguished: unusual. I wonder where our +host became acquainted with them? Do you know?" + +"Not yet: but I dare say Mr. Bohun can tell us;" and he addressed that +gentleman accordingly as he was passing by. + +"Not the most remote idea," said Mr. Bohun. "You know the colonel is +not a Yankee; he is a tremendous swell. The duke says, with more land +than he has." + +"He seems an agreeable person," said Miss Arundel. + +"Well, he tell anecdotes; he has just been telling one; Granville likes +anecdotes; they amuse him, and he likes to be amused: that is all he +cares about. I hate anecdotes, and I always get away when conversation +falls into, what Pinto calls, its anecdotage." + +"You do not like to be amused?" + +"Not too much; I like to be interested." + +"Well," said Miss Arundel, "so long as a person can talk agreeably, I am +satisfied. I think to talk well a rare gift; quite as rare as singing; +and yet you expect every one to be able to talk, and very few to be able +to sing." + +"There are amusing people who do not interest," said the monsignore, +"and interesting people who do not amuse. What I like is an agreeable +person." + +"My idea of an agreeable person," said Hugo Bohun, "is a person who +agrees with me." + +"Talking of singing, something is going to happen," said Miss Arundel. + +A note was heard; a celebrated professor had entered the room and was +seated at the piano, which he had just touched. There was a general and +unconscious hush, and the countenance of Lord St. Aldegonde wore a +rueful expression. But affairs turned out better than could be +anticipated. A young and pretty girl, dressed in white, with a gigantic +sash of dazzling beauty, played upon the violin with a grace, and +sentimental and marvellous skill, and passionate expression, worthy of +St. Cecilia. She was a Hungarian lady, and this was her English d but. +Everybody praised her, and every body was pleased; and Lord St. +Aldegonde, instead of being bored, took a wondrous rose out of his +button-hole and presented it to her. + +The performance only lasted half an hour, and then the ladies began to +think of their bowers. Lady St. Aldegonde, before she quit the room, +was in earnest conversation with her lord. + +"I have arranged all that you wished, Granville," she said, speaking +rapidly and holding a candlestick. "We are to see the castle to-morrow, +and the gardens and the parks and every thing else, but you are not to +be bored at all, and not to lose your shooting. The moors are sixteen +miles off, but our host says, with an omnibus and a good team -- and he +will give you a first-rate one -- you can do it in an hour and ten +minutes, certainly an hour and a quarter; and you are to make your own +party in the smoking-room to-night, and take a capital luncheon with +you." + +"All right: I shall ask the Yankee; and I should like to take that +Hungarian girl too, if she would only fiddle to us at luncheon." + + + +CHAPTER 42 + + +Next day the cardinal, with his secretary and his chaplain, arrived. +Monsignore Catesby received his eminence at the station and knelt and +kissed his hand as he stepped from the carriage. The monsignore had +wonderfully manoeuvred that the whole of the household should have been +marshalled to receive this prince of the Church, and perhaps have +performed the same ceremony: no religious recognition, he assured them, +in the least degree involved, only an act of not unusual respect to a +foreign prince; but considering that the bishop of the diocese and his +suite were that day expected, to say nothing of the Presbyterian +guardian, probably arriving by the same train, Lothair would not be +persuaded to sanction any ceremony whatever. Lady St. Jerome and Miss +Arundel, however, did their best to compensate for this omission with +reverences which a posture-master might have envied, and certainly would +not have surpassed. They seemed to sink into the earth, and then slowly +and supernaturally to emerge. The bishop had been at college with the +cardinal and intimate with him, though they now met for the first time +since his secession -- a not uninteresting rencounter. The bishop was +high-church, and would not himself have made a bad cardinal, being +polished and plausible, well-lettered, yet quite a man of the world. He +was fond of society, and justified his taste in this respect by the +flattering belief that by his presence he was extending the power of the +Church; certainly favoring an ambition which could not be described as +being moderate. The bishop had no abstract prejudice against gentlemen +who wore red hats, and under ordinary circumstances would have welcomed +his brother churchman with unaffected cordiality, not to say sympathy; +but in the present instance, however gracious his mien and honeyed his +expressions, he only looked upon the cardinal as a dangerous rival, +intent upon clutching from his fold the most precious of his flock, and +he had long looked to this occasion as the one which might decide the +spiritual welfare and career of Lothair. The odds were not to be +despised. There were two monsignores in the room besides the cardinal, +but the bishop was a man of contrivance and resolution, not easily +disheartened or defeated. Nor was he without allies. He did not count +much on the university don, who was to arrive on the morrow in the shape +of the head of an Oxford house, though he was a don of magnitude. This +eminent personage had already let Lothair slip from his influence. But +the bishop had a subtle counsellor in his chaplain, who wore as good a +cassock as any monsignore, and he brought with him also a trusty +archdeacon in a purple coat, whose countenance was quite entitled to a +place in the Acta Sanctorum. + +It was amusing to observe the elaborate courtesy and more than Christian +kindness which the rival prelates and their official followers extended +to each other. But under all this unction on both sides were unceasing +observation, and a vigilance that never flagged; and on both sides there +was an uneasy but irresistible conviction that they were on the eve of +one of the decisive battles of the social world. Lord Culloden also at +length appeared with his daughters, Ladies Flora and Grizell. They were +quite as tall as Mr. Putney Giles had reported, but very pretty, with +radiant complexions, sunny blue eyes, and flaxen looks. Their dimples +and white shoulders and small feet and hands were much admired. Mr. +Giles also returned with Apollonia, and, at length, also appeared the +rival of Lord Carisbrooke, his grace of Brecon. + +Lothair had passed a happy morning, for he had contrived, without +difficulty, to be the companion of Theodora during the greater part of +it. As the duchess and Lady Corisande had already inspected the castle, +they disappeared after breakfast to write letters; and, when the +after-luncheon expedition took place, Lothair allotted them to the care +of Lord Carisbrooke, and himself became the companion of Lady St. Jerome +and Theodora. + +Notwithstanding all his efforts in the smoking-room, St. Aldegonde had +only been able to induce Colonel Campian to be his companion in the +shooting expedition, and the colonel fell into the lure only through his +carelessness and good-nature. He much doubted the discretion of his +decision as he listened to Lord St. Aldegonde's reasons for the +expedition, in their rapid journey to the moors. + +"I do not suppose," he said, "we shall have any good sport; but when you +are in Scotland, and come to me, as I hope you will, I will give you +something you will like. But it is a great thing to get off seeing the +Towers, and the gardens, and all that sort of thing. Nothing bores me +so much as going over a man's house. Besides, we get rid of the women." + +The meeting between the two guardians did not promise to be as pleasant +as that between the bishop and the cardinal, but the crusty Lord +Culloden was scarcely a match for the social dexterity of his eminence. +The cardinal, crossing the room, with winning ceremony approached and +addressed his colleague. + +"We can have no more controversies, my lord, for our reign is over;" and +he extended a delicate hand, which the surprised peer touched with a +huge finger. + +"Yes; it all depends on himself now," replied Lord Culloden, with a grim +smile; "and I hope he will not make a fool of himself." + +"What have you got for us to-night?" inquired Lothair of Mr. Giles, as +the gentlemen rose from the dining-table. + +Mr. Giles said he would consult his wife, but Lothair observing he would +himself undertake that office, when he entered the saloon, addressed +Apollonia. Nothing could be more skilful than the manner in which Mrs. +Giles, in this party, assumed precisely the position which equally +became her and suited her own views; at the same time the somewhat +humble friend, but the trusted counsellor, of the Towers, she disarmed +envy and conciliated consideration. Never obtrusive, yet always prompt +and prepared with unfailing resource, and gifted apparently, with +universal talents, she soon became the recognized medium by which every +thing was suggested or arranged; and before eight-and-forty hours had +passed she was described by duchesses and their daughters as that "dear +Mrs. Giles." + +"Monsieur Raphael and his sister came down in the train with us," said +Mrs. Giles to Lothair; "the rest of the troupe will not be here until +to-morrow; but they told me they could give you a perfect proverbe if +your lordship would like it; and the Spanish conjuror is here; but I +rather think, from what I gather, that the young ladies would like a +dance." + +"I do not much fancy acting the moment these great churchmen have +arrived, and with cardinals and bishops I would rather not have dances +the first -night. I almost wish we had kept the Hungarian lady for this +evening." + +"Shall I send for her? She is ready." + +"The repetition would be too soon, and would show a great poverty of +resources," said Lothair, smiling; "what we want is some singing." + +"Mardoni ought to have been here to-day," said Mrs. Giles; "but he never +keeps his engagements." + +"I think our amateur materials are rather rich," said Lothair. + +"There is Mrs. Campian," said Apollonia in a low voice; but Lothair +shook his head. + +"But, perhaps, if others set her the example," he added, after a pause; +"Lady Corisande is first rate, and all her sisters sing; I will go and +consult the duchess." + +There was soon a stir in the room. Lady St. Aldegonde and her sisters +approached the piano, at which was seated the eminent professor. A note +was heard, and there was silence. The execution was exquisite; and, +indeed, there are few things more dainty than the blended voices of +three women. No one seemed to appreciate the performance more than Mrs. +Campian, who, greatly attracted by what was taking place, turned a +careless ear, even to the honeyed sentences of no less a personage than +the lord-bishop. + +After an interval Lady Corisande was handed to the piano by Lothair. +She was in fine voice, and sang with wonderful effect. Mrs. Campian, +who seemed much interested, softly rose, and stole to the outward circle +of the group which had gathered round the instrument. When the sounds +had ceased, amid the general applause her voice of admiration was heard. +The duchess approached her, evidently prompted by the general wish, and +expressed her hope that Mrs. Campian would now favor them. It was not +becoming to refuse when others had contributed so freely to the general +entertainment, but Theodora was anxious not to place herself in +competition with those who had preceded her. Looking over a volume of +music, she suggested to Lady Corisande a duet, in which the +peculiarities of their two voices, which in character were quite +different, one being a soprano and the other a contralto, might be +displayed. And very seldom, in a private chamber, had any thing of so +high a class been heard. Not a lip moved except those of the singers, +so complete was the fascination, till the conclusion elicited a burst of +irresistible applause. + +"In imagination I am throwing endless bouquets," said Hugo Bohun. + +"I wish we could induce her to give us a recitation from Alfieri," said +Mrs. Putney Giles in a whisper to Lady St. Aldegonde. "I heard it once: +it was the finest thing I ever listened to." + +"But cannot we?" said Lady St. Aldegonde. + +Apollonia shook her head. "She is extremely reserved. I am quite +surprised that she sang; but she could not well refuse after your +ladyship and your sisters had been so kind." + +"But if the Lord of the Towers asks her," suggested Lady St. Aldegonde. + +"No, no," said Mrs. Giles, "that would not do; nor would he. He knows +she dislikes it. A word from Colonel Campian, and the thing would be +settled; but it is rather absurd to invoke the authority of a husband +for so light a matter." + +"I should like so much to hear her," said Lady St. Aldegonde. "I think +I will ask her myself. I will go and speak to mamma." + +There was much whispering and consulting in the room, but unnoticed, as +general conversation had now been resumed. The duchess sent for +Lothair, and conferred with him; but Lothair seemed to shake his head. +Then her grace rose and approached Colonel Campian, who was talking to +Lord Culloden, and then the duchess and Lady St. Aldegonde went to Mrs. +Campian. Then, after a short time, Lady St. Aldegonde rose and fetched +Lothair. + +"Her grace tells me," said Theodora, "that Colonel Campian wishes me to +give a recitation. I cannot believe that such a performance can ever be +generally interesting, especially in a foreign language, and I confess +that I would rather not exhibit. But I do not like to be churlish when +all are so amiable and compliant, and her grace tells me that it cannot +well be postponed, for this is the last quiet night we shall have. What +I want is a screen, and I must be a moment alone, before I venture on +these enterprises. I require it to create the ideal presence." + +Lothair and Bertram arranged the screen, the duchess and Lady St. +Aldegonde glided about, and tranquilly intimated what was going to +occur, so that, without effort, there was in a moment complete silence +and general expectation. Almost unnoticed Mrs. Campian had disappeared, +whispering a word as she passed to the eminent conductor, who was still +seated at the piano. The company had almost unconsciously grouped +themselves in the form of a theatre, the gentlemen generally standing +behind the ladies who were seated. There were some bars of solemn +music, and then, to an audience not less nervous than herself, Theodora +came forward as Electra in that beautiful appeal to Clytemnestra, where +she veils her mother's guilt even while she intimates her more than +terrible suspicion of its existence, and makes one last desperate appeal +of pathetic duty in order to save her parent and her fated house: + + "O amata madre, + Che fai? Non credo io, no, che ardente fiamma + Il cor ti avvampi." + +The ineffable grace of her action, simple without redundancy, her +exquisite elocution, her deep yet controlled passion, and the magic of a +voice thrilling even in a whisper -- this form of Phidias with the +genius of Sophocles -- entirely enraptured a fastidious audience. When +she ceased, there was an outburst of profound and unaffected +appreciation; and Lord St. Aldegonde, who had listened in a sort of +ecstasy, rushed forward, with a countenance as serious as the theme, to +offer his thanks and express his admiration. + +And then they gathered round her -- all these charming women and some of +these admiring men -- as she would have resumed her seat, and entreated +her once more -- only once more -- to favor them. She caught the +adoring glance of the lord of the Towers, and her eyes seemed to inquire +what she should do. "There will be many strangers here to-morrow," said +Lothair, "and next week all the world. This is a delight only for the +initiated," and he entreated her to gratify them. + +"It shall be Alfieri's ode to America, then," said Theodora, "if you +please." + +"She is a Roman, I believe," said Lady St. Jerome to his eminence, "but +not, alas! a child of the Church. Indeed, I fear her views generally +are advanced," and she shook her head. + +"At present," said the cardinal, "this roof and this visit may influence +her. I should like to see such powers engaged in the cause of God." + +The cardinal was an entire believer in female influence, and a +considerable believer in his influence over females; and he had good +cause for his convictions. The catalogue of his proselytes was numerous +and distinguished. He had not only converted a duchess and several +countesses, but he had gathered into his fold a real Mary Magdalen. In +the height of her beauty and her fame, the most distinguished member of +the demi-monde had suddenly thrown up her golden whip and jingling +reins, and cast herself at the feet of the cardinal. He had a right, +therefore, to be confident; and, while his exquisite taste and +consummate cultivation rendered it impossible that he should not have +been deeply gratified by the performance of Theodora, he was really the +whole time considering the best means by which such charms and powers +could be enlisted in the cause of the Church. + +After the ladies had retired, the gentlemen talked for a few minutes +over the interesting occurrence of the evening. + +"Do you know," said the bishop to the duke and some surrounding +auditors, "fine as was the Electra, I preferred the ode to the tragedy? +There was a tumult of her brow, especially in the address to Liberty, +that was sublime -- quite a Moenad look." + +"What do you think of it, Carry?" said St. Aldegonde to Lord +Carisbrooke. + +"Brecon says she puts him in mind of Ristori." + +"She is not in the least like Ristori, or any one else," said St. +Aldegonde. "I never heard, I never saw any one like her. I'll tell you +what -- you must take care what you say about her in the smoking-room, +for her husband will be there, and an excellent fellow too. We went +together to the moors this morning, and he did not bore me in the least. +Only, if I had known as much about his wife as I do now, I would have +stayed at home, and passed my morning with the women." + + + +CHAPTER 43 + + +St. Aldegonde loved to preside over the mysteries of the smoking-room. +There, enveloped in his Egyptian robe, occasionally blurting out some +careless or headstrong paradox to provoke discussion among others, which +would amuse himself, rioting in a Rabelaisan anecdote, and listening +with critical delight to endless memoirs of horses and prima-donnas, St. +Aldegonde was never bored. Sometimes, too, when he could get hold of an +eminent traveller, or some individual distinguished for special +knowledge, St. Aldegonde would draw him out with skill; himself +displaying an acquaintance with the particular topic which often +surprised his habitual companions, for St. Aldegonde professed never to +read; but he had no ordinary abilities, and an original turn of mind and +habit of life, which threw him in the way of unusual persons of all +classes; from whom he imbibed or extracted a vast variety of queer, +always amusing, and not altogether useless information. + +"Lothair has only one weakness," he said to Colonel Campian as the +ladies disappeared; "he does not smoke. Carry, you will come?" + +"Well, I do not think I shall to-night," said Lord Carisbrooke. Lady +Corisande, it appears, particularly disapproved of smoking. + +"Hum!" said St. Aldegonde; "Duke of Brecon, I know, will come, and Hugo +and Bertram. My brother Montairy would give his ears to come, but is +afraid of his wife; and then there is the monsignore, a most capital +fellow, who knows every thing." + +There were other gatherings, before the midnight bell struck at the +Towers, which discussed important affairs, though they might not sit so +late as the smoking-party. Lady St. Aldegonde had a reception in her +room as well as her lord. There the silent observation of the evening +found avenging expression in sparkling criticism, and the summer +lightning, though it generally blazed with harmless brilliancy, +occasionally assumed a more arrowy character. The gentlemen of the +smoking-room have it not all their own way quite as much as they think. +If, indeed, a new school of Athens were to be pictured, the sages and +the students might be represented in exquisite dressing-gowns, with +slippers rarer than the lost one of Cinderella, and brandishing +beautiful brushes over tresses still more fair. Then is the time when +characters are never more finely drawn, or difficult social questions +more accurately solved; knowledge without reasoning and truth without +logic -- the triumph of intuition! But we must not profane the +mysteries of Bona Dea. + +The archdeacon and the chaplain had also been in council with the bishop +in his dressing-room, who, while he dismissed them with his benison, +repeated his apparently satisfactory assurance that something would +happen "the first thing after breakfast." + +Lothair did not smoke, but he did not sleep. He was absorbed by the +thought of Theodora. He could not but be conscious, and so far he was +pleased by the consciousness, that she was as fascinating to others as +to himself. What then? Even with the splendid novelty of his majestic +home, and all the excitement of such an incident in his life, and the +immediate prospect of their again meeting, he had felt, and even +acutely, their separation. Whether it were the admiration of her by +others which proved his own just appreciation, or whether it were the +unobtrusive display of exquisite accomplishments, which, with all their +intimacy, she had never forced on his notice -- whatever the cause, her +hold upon his heart and life, powerful as it was before, had +strengthened. Lothair could not conceive existence tolerable without +her constant presence; and with her constant presence existence would be +rapture. It had come to that. All his musings, all his profound +investigation and high resolve, all his sublime speculations on God and +man, and life, and immortality, and the origin of things, and religious +truth, ended in an engrossing state of feeling, which could be denoted +in that form and in no other. + +What, then, was his future? It seemed dark and distressing. Her +constant presence his only happiness; her constant presence impossible. +He seemed on an abyss. + +In eight-and-forty hours or so one of the chief provinces of England +would be blazing with the celebration of his legal accession to his high +estate. If any one in the queen's dominions had to be fixed upon as the +most fortunate and happiest of her subjects, it might well be Lothair. +If happiness depend on lofty station, his ancient and hereditary rank +was of the highest; if, as there seems no doubt, the chief source of +felicity in this country is wealth, his vast possessions and accumulated +treasure could not easily be rivalled, while he had a matchless +advantage over those who pass, or waste, their gray and withered lives +in acquiring millions, in his consummate and healthy youth. He had +bright abilities, and a brighter heart. And yet the unknown truth was, +that this favored being, on the eve of this critical event, was pacing +his chamber agitated and infinitely disquieted, and struggling with +circumstances and feelings over which alike he seemed to have no +control, and which seemed to have been evoked without the exercise of +his own will, or that of any other person. + +"I do not think I can blame myself," he said; "and I am sure I cannot +blame her. And yet -- " + +He opened his window and looked upon the moonlit garden, which filled +the fanciful quadrangle. The light of the fountain seemed to fascinate +his eye, and the music of its fall soothed him into reverie. The +distressful images that had gathered round his heart gradually vanished, +and all that remained to him was the reality of his happiness. Her +beauty and her grace, the sweet stillness of her searching intellect, +and the refined pathos of her disposition, only occurred to him, and he +dwelt on them with spell-bound joy. + +The great clock of the Towers sounded two. + +"Ah!" said Lothair, "I must try to sleep. I have got to see the bishop +to-morrow morning. I wonder what he wants?" + + + +CHAPTER 44 + + +The bishop was particularly playful on the morrow at breakfast. Though +his face beamed with Christian kindness, there was a twinkle in his eye +which seemed not entirely superior to mundane self-complacency, even to +a sense of earthly merriment. His seraphic raillery elicited +sympathetic applause from the ladies, especially from the daughters of +the house of Brentham, who laughed occasionally, even before his angelic +jokes were well launched. His lambent flashes sometimes even played +over the cardinal, whose cerulean armor, nevertheless, remained always +unscathed. Monsignore Chidioch, however, who would once unnecessarily +rush to the aid of his chief, was tumbled over by the bishop with +relentless gayety, to the infinite delight of Lady Corisande, who only +wished it had been that dreadful Monsignore Catesby. But, though less +demonstrative, apparently not the least devout, of his lordship's +votaries, were the Lady Flora and the Lady Grizell. These young +gentlewomen, though apparently gifted with appetites becoming their +ample, but far from graceless, forms, contrived to satisfy all the wants +of nature without taking their charmed vision for a moment off the +prelate, or losing a word which escaped his consecrated lips. Sometimes +even they ventured to smile, and then they looked at their father and +sighed. It was evident, notwithstanding their appetites and their +splendid complexions, which would have become the Aurora of Guido, that +these young ladies had some secret sorrow which required a confidante. +Their visit to Muriel Towers was their introduction to society, for the +eldest had only just attained sweet seventeen. Young ladies under these +circumstances always fall in love, but with their own sex. Lady Flora +and Lady Grizell both fell in love with Lady Corisande, and before the +morning had passed away she had become their friend and counsellor, and +the object of their devoted adoration. It seems that their secret +sorrow had its origin in that mysterious religious sentiment which +agitates or affects every class and condition of man, and which creates +or destroys states, though philosophers are daily assuring us "that +there is nothing in it." The daughters of the Earl of Culloden could +not stand any longer the Free Kirk, of which their austere parent was a +fiery votary. It seems that they had been secretly converted to the +Episcopal Church of Scotland by a governess, who pretended to be a +daughter of the Covenant, but who was really a niece of the primus, and, +as Lord Culloden accurately observed, when he ignominiously dismissed +her, "a Jesuit in disguise." From that moment there had been no peace +in his house. His handsome and gigantic daughters, who had hitherto +been all meekness, and who had obeyed him as they would a tyrant father +of the feudal ages, were resolute, and would not compromise their souls. +They humbly expressed their desire to enter a convent, or to become at +least sisters of mercy. Lord Culloden raged and raved, and delivered +himself of cynical taunts, but to no purpose. The principle that forms +Free Kirks is a strong principle, and takes many forms, which the social +Polyphemes, who have only one eye, cannot perceive. In his desperate +confusion, be thought that change of scene might be a diversion when +things were at the worst, and this was the reason that be had, contrary +to his original intention, accepted the invitation of his ward. + +Lady Corisande was exactly the guide the girls required. They sat on +each side of her, each holding her hand, which they frequently pressed +to their lips. As her form was slight, though of perfect grace and +symmetry, the contrast between herself and her worshippers was rather +startling; but her noble brow, full of thought and purpose, the firmness +of her chiselled lip, and the rich fire of her glance vindicated her +post as the leading spirit. + +They breakfasted in a room which opened on a gallery, and at the other +end of the gallery was an apartment similar to the breakfast-room, which +was the male morning-room, and where the world could find the +newspapers, or join in half an hour's talk over the intended +arrangements of the day. When the breakfast-party broke up, the bishop +approached Lothair, and looked at him earnestly. + +"I am at your lordship's service," said Lothair, and they quitted the +breakfast-room together. Half-way down the gallery they met Monsignore +Catesby, who had in his hand a number, just arrived, of a newspaper +which was esteemed an Ultramontane organ. He bowed as he passed them, +with an air of some exultation, and the bishop and himself exchanged +significant smiles, which, however, meant different things. Quitting +the gallery, Lothair led the way to his private apartments; and, opening +the door, ushered in the bishop. + +Now, what was contained in the Ultramontane organ which apparently +occasioned so much satisfaction to Monsignore Catesby? A deftly +drawn-up announcement of some important arrangements which had been +deeply planned. The announcement would be repeated In all the daily +papers, which were hourly expected. The world was informed that his +eminence, Cardinal Grandison, now on a visit at Muriel Towers to his +ward, Lothair, would celebrate high mass on the ensuing Sunday in the +city which was the episcopal capital of the bishop's see, and afterward +preach on the present state of the Church of Christ. As the bishop must +be absent from his cathedral that day, and had promised to preach in the +chapel at Muriel, there was something dexterous in thus turning his +lordship's flank, and desolating his diocese when he was not present to +guard it from the fiery dragon. It was also remarked that there would +be an unusual gathering of the Catholic aristocracy for the occasion. +The rate of lodgings in the city had risen in consequence. At the end +of the paragraph it was distinctly contradicted that Lothair had entered +the Catholic Church. Such a statement was declared to be "premature," +as his guardian, the cardinal, would never sanction his taking such a +step until he was the master of his own actions; the general impression +left by the whole paragraph being, that the world was not to be +astonished if the first stop of Lothair, on accomplishing his majority, +was to pursue the very course which was now daintily described as +premature. + +At luncheon the whole party were again assembled. The newspapers had +arrived in the interval, and had been digested. Every one was aware of +the popish plot, as Hugo Bohun called it. The bishop, however, looked +serene, and, if not as elate as in the morning, calm and content. He +sat by the duchess, and spoke to her in a low voice, and with +seriousness. The monsignore watched every expression. + +When the duchess rose, the bishop accompanied her into the recess of a +window, and she said: "You may depend upon me; I cannot answer for the +duke. It is not the early rising; he always rises early in the country, +but he likes to read his letters before he dresses, and that sort of +thing. I think you had better speak to Lady Corisande yourself." + +What had taken place at the interview of the bishop with Lothair, and +what had elicited from the duchess an assurance that the prelate might +depend upon her, generally transpired, in consequence of some +confidential communications, in the course of the afternoon. It +appeared that the right reverend lord had impressed, and successfully, +on Lothair, the paramount duty of commencing the day of his majority by +assisting in an early celebration of the most sacred rite of the Church. +This, in the estimation of the bishop, though he had not directly +alluded to the subject in the interview, but had urged the act on higher +grounds, would be a triumphant answer to the insidious and calumnious +paragraphs which had circulated during the last six months, and an +authentic testimony that Lothair was not going to quit the Church of his +fathers. + +This announcement, however, produced consternation in the opposite camp. +It seemed to more than neutralize the anticipated effect of the +programme, and the deftly-conceived paragraph. Monsignore Catesby went +about whispering that he feared Lothair was going to overdo it; and +considering what he had to go through on Monday, if it were only for +considerations of health, an early celebration was inexpedient. He +tried the duchess -- about whom he was beginning to hover a good deal -- +as he fancied she was of an impressible disposition, and gave some +promise of results; but here the ground had been too forcibly +preoccupied: then he flew to Lady St. Aldegonde, but he had the +mortification of learning, from her lips, that she herself contemplated +being a communicant at the same time. Lady Corisande had been before +him. All the energies of that young lady were put forth in order that +Lothair should be countenanced on this solemn occasion. She conveyed to +the bishop before dinner the results of her exertions. + +"You may count on Alberta St. Aldegonde and Victoria Montairy, and, I +think, Lord Montairy also, if she presses him, which she has promised to +do. Bertram must kneel by his friend at such a time. I think Lord +Carisbrooke may: Duke of Brecon, I can say nothing about at present." + +"Lord St. Aldegonde?" said the bishop. + +Lady Corisande shook her head. + +There had been a conclave in the bishop's room before dinner, in which +the interview of the morning was discussed. + +"It was successful; scarcely satisfactory," said the bishop. "He is a +very clever fellow, and knows a great deal. They have got hold of him, +and he has all the arguments at his fingers' ends. When I came to the +point, he began to demur; I saw what was passing through his mind, and I +said at once: 'Your views are high: so are mine: so are those of the +Church. It is a sacrifice, undoubtedly, in a certain sense. No sound +theologian would maintain the simplicity of the elements; but that does +not involve the coarse interpretation of the dark ages.'" + +"Good, good," said the archdeacon; "and what is it your lordship did not +exactly like?" + +"He fenced too much; and he said more than once, and in a manner I did +not like, that, whatever were his views as to the Church, he thought he +could on the whole conscientiously partake of this rite as administered +by the Church of England." + +"Every thing depends on this celebration," said the chaplain; "after +that his doubts and difficulties will dispel." + +"We must do our best that he is well supported," said the archdeacon. + +"No fear of that," said the bishop. "I have spoken to some of our +friends. We may depend on the duchess and her daughters -- all +admirable women; and they will do what they can with others. It will be +a busy day, but I have expressed my hope that the heads of the household +may be able to attend. But the county notables arrive to-day, and I +shall make it a point with them, especially the lord-lieutenant." + +"It should be known," said the chaplain. "I will send a memorandum to +the Guardian." + +"And John Bull," said the bishop. + +The lord-lieutenant and Lady Agramont, and their daughter, Lady Ida +Alice, arrived to-day; and the high-sheriff, a manufacturer, a great +liberal who delighted in peers, but whose otherwise perfect felicity +to-day was a little marred and lessened by the haunting and restless +fear that Lothair was not duly aware that he took precedence of the +lord-lieutenant. Then there were Sir Hamlet Clotworthy, the master of +the hounds, and a capital man of business; and the Honorable Lady +Clotworthy, a haughty dame who ruled her circle with tremendous airs +and graces, but who was a little subdued in the empyrean of Muriel +Towers. The other county member, Mr. Ardenne, was a refined gentleman, +and loved the arts. He had an ancient pedigree, and knew everybody +else's, which was not always pleasant. What he most prided himself on +was being the hereditary owner of a real deer -- park the only one, he +asserted, in the county. Other persons had parks which had deer in +them, but that was quite a different thing. His wife was a pretty +woman, and the inspiring genius of archeological societies, who loved +their annual luncheon in her Tudor Halls, and illustrated by their +researches the deeds and dwellings of her husband's ancient race. + +The clergy of the various parishes on the estate all dined at the Towers +to-day, in order to pay their respects to their bishop. "Lothair's +oecumenical council," said Hugo Bohun, as he entered the crowded room, +and looked around him with an air of not ungraceful impertinence. Among +the clergy was Mr. Smylie, the brother of Apollonia. + +A few years ago, Mr. Putney Giles had not unreasonably availed himself +of the position which he so usefully and so honorably filled, to +recommend this gentleman to the guardians of Lothair to fill a vacant +benefice. The Reverend Dionysius Smylie had distinguished himself at +Trinity College, Dublin, and had gained a Hebrew scholarship there; +after that he had written a work on the Revelations, which clearly +settled the long-controverted point whether Rome in the great apocalypse +was signified by Babylon. The bishop shrugged his shoulders when he +received Mr. Smylie's papers, the examining chaplain sighed, and the +archdeacon groaned. But man is proverbially short-sighted. The +doctrine of evolution affords no instances so striking as those of +sacerdotal development. Placed under the favoring conditions of clime +and soil, the real character of the Reverend Dionysius Smylie gradually, +but powerfully, developed itself. Where he now ministered, he was +attended by acolytes, and incensed by thurifers. The shoulders of a +fellow countryman were alone equal to the burden of the enormous cross +which preceded him; while his ecclesiastical wardrobe furnished him with +many colored garments, suited to every season of the year, and every +festival of the Church. + +At first there was indignation, and rumors or prophecies that we should +soon have another case of perversion, and that Mr. Smylie was going over +to Rome; but these superficial commentators misapprehended the vigorous +vanity of the man. "Rome may come to me," said Mr. Smylie, "and it is +perhaps the best thing it could do. This is the real Church without +Romish error." + +The bishop and his reverend stuff, who were at first so much annoyed at +the preferment of Mr. Smylie, had now, with respect to him, only one +duty, and that was to restrain his exuberant priestliness; but they +fulfilled that duty in a kindly and charitable spirit; and, when the +Reverend Dionysius Smylie was appointed chaplain to Lothair, the bishop +did not shrug his shoulders, the chaplain did not sigh, nor the +archdeacon groan. + +The party was so considerable to-day that they dined in the great hall. +When it was announced to Lothair that his lordship's dinner was served, +and he offered his arm to his destined companion, he looked around, and, +then in an audible voice, and with a stateliness becoming such an +incident, called upon the high-sheriff to lead the duchess to the table. +Although that eminent personage had been thinking of nothing else for +days, and during the last half-hour had felt as a man feels, and can +only feel, who knows that some public function is momentarily about to +fall to his perilous discharge, he was taken quite aback, changed color, +and lost his head. But the band of Lothair, who were waiting at the +door of the apartment to precede the procession to the hall, striking up +at this moment "The Roast Beef of Old England," reanimated his heart; +and, following Lothair, and preceding all the other guests down the +gallery, and through many chambers, he experienced the proudest moment +of a life of struggle, ingenuity, vicissitude, and success. + + + +CHAPTER 45 + + +Under all this flowing festivity there was already a current of struggle +and party passion. Serious thoughts and some anxiety occupied the minds +of several of the guests, amid the variety of proffered dishes and +sparkling wines, and the subdued strains of delicate music. This +disquietude did not touch Lothair. He was happy to find himself in his +ancestral hall, surrounded by many whom he respected, and by some whom +he loved. He was an excellent host, which no one can be who does not +combine a good heart with high breeding. + +Theodora was rather far from him, but be could catch her grave, sweet +countenance at an angle of the table, as she bowed her head to Mr. +Ardenne, the county member, who was evidently initiating her in all the +mysteries of deer-parks. The cardinal sat near him, winning over, +though without apparent effort, the somewhat prejudiced Lady Agramont. +His eminence could converse with more facility than others, for he dined +off biscuits and drank only water. + +Lord Culloden had taken out Lady St. Jerome, who expended on him all the +resources of her impassioned tittle-tattle, extracting only grim smiles; +and Lady Corisande had fallen to the happy lot of the Duke of Brecon; +according to the fine perception of Clare Arundel -- and women are very +quick in these discoveries -- the winning horse. St. Aldegonde had +managed to tumble in between Lady Flora and Lady Grizell, and seemed +immensely amused. + +The duke inquired of Lothair how many he could dine in his hall. + +"We must dine more than two hundred on Monday," he replied. + +"And now, I should think, we have only a third of that number," said his +grace. "It will be a tight fit." + +"Mr. Putney Giles has had a drawing made, and every seat apportioned. +We shall just do it." + +"I fear you will have too busy a day on Monday," said the cardinal, who +had caught up the conversation. + +"Well, you know, sir, I do not sit up smoking with Lord St. Aldegonde." + +After dinner, Lady Corisande seated herself by Mrs. Campian. "You must +have thought me very rude," she said, "to have left you so suddenly at +tea, when the bishop looked into the room; but he wanted me on a matter +of the greatest importance. I must, therefore, ask your pardon. You +naturally would not feel on this matter as we all do, or most of us do," +she added with some hesitation; "being -- pardon me -- a foreigner, and +the question involving national as well as religious feelings;" and +then, somewhat hurriedly, but with emotion, she detailed to Theodora all +that had occurred respecting the early celebration on Monday, and the +opposition it was receiving from the cardinal and his friends. It was a +relief to Lady Corisande thus to express all her feelings on a subject +on which she had been brooding the whole day. + +"You mistake," said Theodora, quietly, when Lady Corisande had finished. +"I am much interested in what you tell me. I should deplore our friend +falling under the influence of the Romish priesthood." + +"And yet there is danger of it," said Lady Corisande, "more than +danger," she added in a low but earnest voice. "You do not know what a +conspiracy is going on, and has been going on for months, to effect this +end. I tremble." + +"That is the last thing I ever do," said Theodora, with a faint, sweet +smile. "I hope, but I never tremble." + +"You have seen the announcement in the newspapers to-day!" said Lady +Corisande. + +"I think, if they were certain of their prey, they would be more +reserved," said Theodora. + +"There is something in that," said Lady Corisande, musingly. "You know +not what a relief it is to me to speak to you on this matter. Mamma +agrees with me, and so do my sisters; but still they may agree with me +because they are my mamma and my sisters; but I look upon our nobility +joining the Church of Rome as the greatest calamity that has ever +happened to England. Irrespective of all religious considerations, on +which I will not presume to touch, it is an abnegation of patriotism; +and in this age, when all things are questioned, a love of our country +seems to me the one sentiment to cling to." + +"I know no higher sentiment," said Theodora in a low voice, and yet +which sounded like the breathing of some divine shrine, and her Athenian +eye met the fiery glance of Lady Corisande with an expression of noble +sympathy. + +"I am so glad that I spoke to you on this matter," said Lady Corisande, +"for there is something in you which encourages me. As you say, if they +were certain, they would be silent; and yet, from what I hear, their +hopes are high. You know," she added in a whisper, "that he has +absolutely engaged to raise a popish cathedral. My brother, Bertram, +has seen the model in his rooms." + +"I have known models that were never realized," said Theodora. + +"Ah! you are hopeful; you said you were hopeful. It is a beautiful +disposition. It is not mine," she added, with a sigh. + +"It should be," said Theodora; "you were not born to sigh. Sighs should +be for those who have no country, like myself; not for the daughters of +England -- the beautiful daughters of proud England." + +"But you have your husband's country, and that is proud and great." + +"I have only one country, and it is not my husband's; and I have only +one thought, and it is to set it free." + +"It is a noble one," said Lady Corisande, "as I am sure are all your +thoughts. There are the gentlemen; I am sorry they have come. There," +she added, as Monsignore Catesby entered the room, "there is his evil +genius." + +"But you have baffled him," said Theodora. + +"Ah," said Lady Corisande, with a long-drawn sigh. "Their manoeuvres +never cease. However, I think Monday must be safe. Would you come?" +she said, with a serious, searching glance, and in a kind of coaxing +murmur. + +"I should be an intruder, my dear lady," said Theodora, declining the +suggestion; "but, so far as hoping that our friend will never join the +Church of Rome, you will have ever my ardent wishes." + +Theodora might have added her belief, for Lothair had never concealed +from her a single thought or act of his life in this respect. She knew +all and had weighed every thing, and flattered herself that their +frequent and unreserved conversations had not confirmed his belief in +the infallibility of the Church of Rome, and perhaps of some other +things. + +It had been settled that there should be dancing this evening -- all the +young ladies had wished it. Lothair danced with Lady Flora Falkirk, and +her sister, Lady Grizell, was in the same quadrille. They moved about +like young giraffes in an African forest, but looked bright and happy. +Lothair liked his cousins; their inexperience and innocence, and the +simplicity with which they exhibited and expressed their feelings, had +in them something bewitching. Then the rough remembrance of his old +life at Falkirk and its contrast with the present scene had in it +something stimulating. They were his juniors by several years, but they +were always gentle and kind to him; and sometimes it seemed he was the +only person whom they, too, had found kind and gentle. He called his +cousin, too, by her Christian name, and he was amused, standing by this +beautiful giantess, and calling her Flora. There were other amusing +circumstances in the quadrille; not the least, Lord St. Aldegonde +dancing with Mrs. Campian. The wonder of Lady St. Aldegonde was only +equalled by her delight. + +The lord-lieutenant was standing by the duke, in a comer of the saloon, +observing, not with dissatisfaction, his daughter, Lady Ida Alice, +dancing with Lothair. + +"Do you know this is the first time I ever had the honor of meeting a +cardinal?" he said. + +"And we never expected that it would happen to either of us in this +country when we were at Christchurch together," replied the duke. + +"Well, I hope every thing is for the best," said Lord Agramont. "We are +to have all these gentlemen in our good city of Grandchester, +to-morrow." + +"So I understand." + +"You read that paragraph in the newspapers? Do you think there is any +thing in it?" + +"About our friend? It would be a great misfortune." + +"The bishop says there is nothing in it," said the lord-lieutenant. + +"Well, he ought to know. I understand he has had some serious +conversation recently with our friend?" + +"Yes; he has spoken to me about it. Are you going to attend the early +celebration tomorrow? It is not much to my taste; a little new-fangled, +I think; but I shall go, as they say it will do good." + +"I am glad of that; it is well that he should be impressed at this +moment with the importance and opinion of his county." + +"Do you know I never saw him before?" said the lord-lieutenant. "He is +winning." + +"I know no youth," said the duke, "I would not except my own son, and +Bertram has never given me an uneasy moment, of whom I have a better +opinion, both as to heart and head. I should deeply deplore his being +smashed by a Jesuit." + +The dancing had ceased for a moment; there was a stir; Lord Carisbrooke +was enlarging, with unusual animation, to an interested group, about a +new dance at Paris -- the new dance. Could they not have it here? +Unfortunately, he did not know its name, and could not describe its +figure; but it was something new; quite new; they got it at Paris. +Princess Metternich dances it. He danced it with her, and she taught it +him; only he never could explain any thing, and indeed never did exactly +make it out. "But you danced it with a shawl, and then two ladies hold +the shawl, and the cavaliers pass under it. In fact, it is the only +thing; it is the new dance at Paris." + +What a pity that any thing so delightful should be so indefinite and +perplexing, and indeed impossible, which rendered it still more +desirable! If Lord Carisbrooke only could have remembered its name, or +a single step in its figure -- it was so tantalizing! + +"Do not you think so?" said Hugo Bohun to Mrs. Campian, who was sitting +apart, listening to Lord St. Aldegonde's account of his travels in the +United States, which he was very sorry he ever quitted. And then they +inquired to what Mr. Bohun referred, and then he told them all that had +been said. + +"I know what he means," said Mrs. Campian. "It is not a French dance; +it is a Moorish dance." + +"That woman knows everything, Hugo," said Lord St. Aldegonde in a solemn +whisper. And then he called to his wife. "Bertha, Mrs. Campian will +tell you all about this dance that Carisbrooke is making such a mull of. +Now, look here, Bertha; you must get the Campians to come to us as soon +as possible. They are going to Scotland from this place, and there is +no reason, if you manage it well, why they should not come on to us at +once. Now, exert yourself." + +"I will do all I can, Granville." + +"It is not French, it is Moorish; it is called the Tangerine," said +Theodora to her surrounding votaries. "You begin with a circle." + +"But how are we to dance without the music?" said Lady Montairy. + +"Ah! I wish I had known this," said Theodora, "before dinner, and I +think I could have dotted down something that would have helped us. But +let me see," and she went up to the eminent professor, with whom she was +well acquainted, and said, "Signor Ricci, it begins so," and she hummed +divinely a fantastic air, which, after a few moments' musing, he +reproduced; "and then it goes off into what they call in Spain a +saraband. Is there a shawl in the room?" + +"My mother has always a shawl in reserve," said Bertram, "particularly +when she pays visits to houses where there are galleries;" and he +brought back a mantle of Cashmere. + +"Now, Signor Ricci," said Mrs. Campian, and she again hummed an air, and +moved forward at the same time with brilliant grace, waving at the end +the shawl. + +The expression of her countenance, looking round to Signor Ricci, as she +was moving on to see whether he had caught her idea, fascinated Lothair. + +"It is exactly what I told you," said Lord Carisbrooke, "and, I can +assure you, it is the only dance now. I am very glad I remembered it." + +"I see it all," said Signor Ricci, as Theodora rapidly detailed to him +the rest of the figure. "And at any rate it will be the Tangerine with +variations." + +"Let me have the honor of being your partner in this great enterprise," +said Lothair; "you are the inspiration of Muriel." + +"Oh! I am very glad I can do any thing, however slight, to please you +and your friends. I like them all; but particularly Lady Corisande." + +A new dance in a country-house is a festival of frolic grace. The +incomplete knowledge, and the imperfect execution, are themselves causes +of merry excitement, in their contrast with the unimpassioned routine +and almost unconscious practice of traditionary performances. And gay +and frequent were the bursts of laughter from the bright and airy band +who were proud to be the scholars of Theodora. The least successful +among them was perhaps Lord Carisbrooke. + +"Princess Metternich must have taught you wrong, Carisbrooke," said Hugo +Bohun. + +They ended with a waltz, Lothair dancing with Miss Arundel. She +accepted his offer to take some tea on its conclusion. While they were +standing at the table, a little withdrawn from the others, and he +holding a sugar-basin, she said in a low voice, looking on her cup and +not at him, "the cardinal is vexed about the early celebration; he says +it should have been at midnight." + +"I am sorry he is vexed," said Lothair. + +"He was going to speak to you himself," continued Miss Arundel; "but he +felt a delicacy about it. He had thought that your common feelings +respecting the Church might have induced you if not to consult, at least +to converse, with him on the subject; I mean as your guardian." + +"It might have been perhaps as well," said Lothair; "but I also feel a +delicacy on these matters." + +"There ought to be none on such matters," continued Miss Arundel, "when +every thing is at stake." + +"I do not see that I could have taken any other course than I have +done," said .Lothair. "It can hardly be wrong. The bishop's church +views are sound." + +"Sound!" said Miss Arundel; "moonshine instead of sunshine." + +"Moonshine would rather suit a midnight than a morning celebration," +said Lothair; "would it not?" + +"A fair repartee, but we are dealing with a question that cannot be +settled by jests. See," she said with great seriousness, putting down +her cup and taking again his offered arm, "you think you are only +complying with a form befitting your position and the occasion. You +deceive yourself. You are hampering your future freedom by this step, +and they know it. That is why it was planned. It was not necessary; +nothing can be necessary so pregnant with evil. You might have made, +you might yet make, a thousand excuses. It is a rite which hardly suits +the levity of the hour, even with their feelings; but, with your view of +its real character, it is sacrilege. What at is occurring tonight might +furnish you with scruples?" And she looked up in his face. + +"I think you take an exaggerated view of what I contemplate," said +Lothair. "Even with your convictions, it may be an imperfect rite; but +it never can be an injurious one." + +"There can be no compromise on such matters," said Miss Arundel. "The +Church knows nothing of imperfect rites. They are all perfect, because +they are all divine; any deviation from them is heresy, and fatal. My +convictions on this subject are your convictions; act up to them." + +"I am sure, if thinking of these matters would guide a man right -- " +said Lothair, with a sigh, and he stopped. + +"Human thought will never guide you; and very justly, when you have for +a guide Divine truth. You are now your own master; go at once to its +fountain-head; go to Rome, and then all your perplexities will vanish, +and forever." + +"I do not see much prospect of my going to Rome," said Lothair, "at +least at present." + +"Well," said Miss Arundel, "in a few weeks I hope to be there; and if +so, I hope never to quit it." + +"Do not say that; the future is always unknown." + +"Not yours," said Miss Arundel. "Whatever you think, you will go to +Rome. Mark my words. I summon you to meet me at Rome." + + + +CHAPTER 46 + + +There can be little doubt, generally speaking, that it is more +satisfactory to pass Sunday in the country than in town. There is +something in the essential stillness of country-life, which blends +harmoniously with the ordinance of the most divine of our divine laws. +It is pleasant, too, when the congregation breaks up, to greet one's +neighbors; to say kind words to kind faces; to hear some rural news +profitable to learn, which sometimes enables you to do some good, and +sometimes prevents others from doing some harm. A quiet, domestic walk, +too, in the afternoon, has its pleasures; and so numerous and so various +are the sources of interest in the country, that, though it be Sunday, +there is no reason why your walk should not have an object. + +But Sunday in the country, with your house full of visitors, is too +often an exception to this general truth. It is a trial. Your guests +cannot always be at church, and, if they could, would not like it. +There is nothing to interest or amuse them; no sport; no castles or +factories to visit; no adventurous expeditions; no gay music in the +morn, and no light dance in the evening. There is always danger of the +day becoming a course of heavy meals and stupid walks, for the external +scene and all teeming circumstances, natural and human, though full of +concern to you, are to your visitors an insipid blank. + +How did Sunday go off at Muriel Towers? + +In the first place, there was a special train, which, at an early hour, +took the cardinal and his suite and the St. Jerome family to +Grandchester, where they were awaited with profound expectation. But +the Anglican portion of the guests were not without their share of +ecclesiastical and spiritual excitement, for the bishop was to preach +this day in the chapel of the Towers, a fine and capacious sanctuary of +florid Gothic, and hit lordship was a sacerdotal orator of repute. + +It had been announced that the breakfast-hour was to be somewhat +earlier. The ladies in general were punctual, and seemed conscious of +some great event impending. The Ladies Flora and Grizell entered with, +each in her hand, a prayer-book of purple velvet, adorned with a decided +cross, the gift of the primus. Lord Culloden, at the request of Lady +Corisande, had consented to their hearing the bishop, which he would not +do himself. He passed his morning in finally examining the guardians' +accounts, the investigation of which he conducted and concluded, during +the rest of the day, with Mr. Putney Giles. Mrs. Campian did not leave +her room. Lord St. Aldegonde came down late, and looked about him with +an uneasy, ill-humored air. + +Whether it were the absence of Theodora, or some other cause, he was +brusk, ungracious, scowling, and silent, only nodding to the bishop, who +benignly saluted him, refusing every dish that was offered; then getting +up, and helping himself at the side-table, making a great noise with the +carving instruments, and flouncing down his plate when he resumed his +seat. Nor was his costume correct. All the other gentlemen, though +their usual morning-dresses were sufficiently fantastic -- trunk-hose of +every form, stockings bright as paroquets, wondrous shirts, and +velvet-coats of every tint -- habited themselves to-day, both as regards +form and color, in a style indicative of the subdued gravity of their +feelings. Lord St. Aldegonde had on his shooting-jacket of brown velvet +and a pink-shirt and no cravat, and his rich brown locks, always, to a +certain degree, neglected, were peculiarly dishevelled. + +Hugo Bohun, who was not afraid of him, and was a high-churchman, being, +in religion, and in all other matters, always on the side of the +duchesses, said: "Well, St. Aldegonde, are you going to chapel in that +dress?" But St. Aldegonde would not answer; he gave a snort, and +glanced at Hugo, with the eye of a gladiator. + +The meal was over. The bishop was standing near the mantel-piece +talking to the ladies, who were clustered round him; the archdeacon and +the chaplain and some other clergy a little in the background; Lord St. +Aldegonde, who, whether there were a fire or not, always stood with his +back to the fireplace with his hands in his pockets, moved +discourteously among them, assumed his usual position, and listened, as +it were, grimly, for a few moments to their talk; then he suddenly +exclaimed in a loud voice, and with the groan of a rebellious Titan, +"How I hate Sunday!" + +"Granville!" exclaimed Lady St. Aldegonde, turning pale. There was a +general shudder. + +"I mean in a country-house," said Lord St. Aldegonde. "Of course, I +mean in a country-house. I do not dislike it when alone, and I do not +dislike it in London. But Sunday in a country-house is infernal." + +"I think it is now time for us to got" said the bishop, walking away +with dignified reserve, and they all dispersed. + +The service was choral and intoned; for, although the Rev. Dionysius +Smylie had not yet had time or opportunity, as was his intention, to +form and train a choir from the household of the Towers, he had secured +from his neighboring parish and other sources external and effective aid +in that respect. The parts of the service were skillfully distributed, +and rarely were a greater number of priests enlisted in a more imposing +manner. A good organ was well played; the singing, as usual, a little +too noisy; there was an anthem and an introit -- but no incense, which +was forbidden by the bishop; and, though there were candles on the +altar, they were not permitted to be lighted. + +The sermon was most successful; the ladies returned with elate and +animated faces, quite enthusiastic and almost forgetting in their +satisfaction the terrible outrage of Lord St. Aldegonde. He himself had +by this time repented of what he had done, and recovered his temper, and +greeted his wife with a voice and look which indicated to her practised +senses the favorable change. + +"Bertha," he said, "you know I did not mean any thing personal to the +bishop in what I said. I do not like bishops; I think there is no use +in them; but I have no objection to him personally; I think him an +agreeable man; not at all a bore. Just put it right, Bertha. But I +tell you what, Bertha, I cannot go to church here. Lord Culloden does +not go, and he is a very religious man. He is the man I most agree with +on these matters. I am a free-church man, and there is on end of it. I +cannot go this afternoon. I do not approve of the whole thing. It is +altogether against my conscience. What I mean to do, if I can manage +it, is to take a real long walk with the Campians." + +Mrs. Campian appeared at luncheon. The bishop was attentive to her; +even cordial. He was resolved she should not feel he was annoyed by her +not having been a member of his congregation in the morning. Lady +Corisande too had said to him: "I wish so much you would talk to Mrs. +Campian; she is a sweet, noble creature, and so clever! I feel that she +might be brought to view things in the right light." + +"I never know," said the bishop, "how to deal with these American +ladies. I never can make out what they believe, or what they +disbelieve. It is a sort of confusion between Mrs. Beecher Stowe and +the Fifth Avenue congregation and -- Barnum," he added with a twinkling +eye. + +The second service was late; the dean preached. The lateness of the +hour permitted the lord-lieutenant and those guests who had arrived only +the previous day to look over the castle, or ramble about the gardens. +St. Aldegonde succeeded in his scheme of a real long walk with the +Campians, which Lothair, bound to listen to the head of his college, was +not permitted to share. + +In the evening Signor Mardoni, who had arrived, and Madame Isola Bella, +favored them with what they called sacred music; principally prayers +from operas and a grand Stabat Mater. + +Lord Culloden invited Lothair into a farther saloon, where they might +speak without disturbing the performers or the audience. + +"I'll just take advantage, my dear boy," said Lord Culloden, in a tone +of unusual tenderness, and of Doric accent, "of the absence of these +gentlemen to have a little quiet conversation with you. Though I have +not seen so much of you of late as in old days, I take a great interest +in you, no doubt of that, and I was very pleased to see how good-natured +you were to the girls. You have romped with them when they were little +ones. Now, in a few hours, you will be master of a great inheritance, +and I hope it will profit ye. I have been over the accounts with Mr. +Giles, and I was pleased .to hear that you had made yourself properly +acquainted with them in detail. Never you sign any paper without +reading It first, and knowing well what it means. You will have to sign +a release to us if you be satisfied, and that you may easily be. My +poor brother-in-law left you as large an income as may be found on this +side Trent, but I will be bound he would stare if he saw the total of +the whole of your rent-roll, Lothair. Your affairs have been well +administered, though I say it who ought not. But it is not my +management only, or principally, that has done it. It is the progress +of the country, and you owe the country a good deal, and you should +never forget you are born to be a protector of its liberties, civil and +religious. And if the country sticks to free trade, and would enlarge +its currency, and be firm to the Protestant faith, it will, under Divine +Providence, continue to progress. + +"And here, my boy, I'll just say a word, in no disagreeable manner, +about your religious principles. There are a great many stories about, +and perhaps they are not true, and I am sure I hope they are not. If +popery were only just the sign of the cross, and music, and censer-pots, +though I think them all superstitious, I'd be free to leave them alone +if they would leave me. But popery is a much deeper thing than that, +Lothair, and our fathers found it out. They could not stand it, and we +should be a craven crew to stand it now. A man should be master in his +own house. You will be taking a wife, some day; at least it is to be +hoped so; and how will you like one of these monsignores to be walking +into her bedroom, eh; and talking to her alone when be pleases, and +where he pleases; and when you want to consult your wife, which a wise +man should often do, to find there is another mind between hers and +yours? There's my girls, they are just two young geese, and they have a +hankering after popery, having had a Jesuit in the house. I do not know +what has become of the women. They are for going into a convent, and +they are quite right in that, for if they be papists they will not find +a husband easily in Scotland, I ween. + +"And as for you, my boy, they will be telling you that it is only just +this and just that, and there's no great difference, and what not; but I +tell you that, if once you embrace the scarlet lady, you are a tainted +corpse. You'll not be able to order your dinner without a priest, and +they will ride your best horses without saying with your leave or by +your leave." + +The concert in time ceased; there was a stir in the room; the Rev. +Dionysius Smylie moved about mysteriously, and ultimately seemed to make +an obeisance before the bishop. It was time for prayers. + +"Shall you go?" said Lord St. Aldegonde to Mrs. Campian, by whom he was +sitting. + +"I like to pray alone," she answered. + +"As for that," said Aldegonde, "I am not clear we ought to pray at all, +either in public or private. It seems very arrogant in us to dictate to +an all-wise Creator what we desire." + +"I believe in the efficacy of prayer," said Theodora. + +"And I believe in you," said St. Aldegonde, after a momentary pause. + + + +CHAPTER 47 + + +On the morrow, the early celebration in the chapel was numerously +attended. The duchess and her daughters, Lady Agramont, and Mrs. +Ardenne, were among the faithful; but what encouraged and gratified the +bishop was, that the laymen, on whom he less relied, were numerously +represented. The lord-lieutenant, Lord Carisbrooke, Lord Montairy, +Bertram, and Hugo Bohun. accompanied Lothair to the altar. + +After the celebration, Lothair retired to his private apartments. It +was arranged that he was to join his assembled friends at noon, when he +would receive their congratulations, and some deputations from the +county. + +At noon, therefore, preparatively preceded by Mr. Putney Giles, whose +thought was never asleep, and whose eye was on every thing, the +guardians, the cardinal, and the Earl of Culloden, waited on Lothair to +accompany him to his assembled friends, and, as it were, launch him into +the world. + +They were assembled at one end of the chief gallery, and in a circle. +Although the deputations would have to advance the whole length of the +chamber, Lothair and his guardians entered from a side apartment. Even +with this assistance he felt very nervous. There was no lack of +feeling, and, among many, of deep feeling, on this occasion, but there +was an equal and a genuine exhibition of ceremony. + +The lord-lieutenant was the first person who congratulated Lothair, +though the high-sheriff had pushed forward for that purpose, but, in his +awkward precipitation, he got involved with the train of the Hon. Lady +Clotworthy, who bestowed on him such a withering glance, that he felt a +routed man, and gave up the attempt. There were many kind and some +earnest words. Even St. Aldegonde acknowledged the genius of the +occasion. He was grave, graceful, and dignified, and, addressing +Lothair by his title, he said, "that be hoped he would meet in life that +happiness which he felt confident he deserved." Theodora said nothing, +though her lips seemed once to move; but she retained for a moment +Lothair's hand, and the expression of her countenance touched his +innermost heart. Lady Corisande beamed with dazzling beauty. Her +countenance was joyous, radiant; her mien imperial and triumphant. She +gave her hand with graceful alacrity to Lothair, and said in a hushed +tone, but every word of which reached his ear, "One of the happiest +hours of my life was eight o'clock this morning." + +The lord-lieutenant and the county members then retired to the other end +of the gallery, and ushered in the deputation of the magistracy of the +county, congratulating their new brother, for Lothair had just been +appointed to the bench, on his secession to his estates. The +lord-lieutenant himself read the address, to which Lothair replied with +a propriety all acknowledged. Then came the address of the mayor and +corporation of Grandchester, of which city Lothair was hereditary +high-steward; and then that of his tenantry, which was cordial and +characteristic. And here many were under the impression that this +portion of the proceedings would terminate; but it was not so. There +had been some whispering between the bishop and the archdeacon, and the +Rev. Dionysius Smylie had, after conference with his superiors, twice +left the chamber. It seems that the clergy had thought fit to take this +occasion of congratulating Lothair on his great accession and the +proportionate duties which it would fall on him to fulfil. The bishop +approached Lothair and addressed him in a whisper. Lothair seemed +surprised and a little agitated, but apparently bowed assent. Then the +bishop and his staff proceeded to the end of the gallery and introduced +a diocesan deputation, consisting of archdeacons and rural deans, who +presented to Lothair a most uncompromising address, and begged his +acceptance of a bible and prayer-book richly bound, and borne by the +Rev. Dionysius Smylie on a cushion of velvet. + +The habitual pallor of the cardinal's countenance became unusually wan; +the cheek of Clare Arundel was a crimson flush; Monsignore Catesby bit +his lip; Theodora looked with curious seriousness, as if she were +observing the manners of a foreign country; St. Aldegonde snorted, and +pushed his hand through his hair, which had been arranged in unusual +order. The great body of those present, unaware that this deputation +was unexpected, were unmoved. + +It was a trial for Lothair, and scarcely a fair one. He was not unequal +to it, and what he said was esteemed, at the moment, by all parties as +satisfactory; though the archdeacon, in secret conclave, afterward +observed that he dwelt more on religion than on the Church, and spoke of +the Church of Christ and not of the Church of England. He thanked them +for their present of volumes, which all must reverence or respect. + +While all this was taking place within the Towers, vast bodies of people +were assembling without. Besides the notables of the county and his +tenantry and their families, which drained all the neighboring villages, +Lothair had forwarded several thousand tickets to the mayor and +corporation of Grandchester, for distribution among their +fellow-townsmen, who were invited to dine at Muriel and partake of the +festivities of the day, and trains were hourly arriving with their eager +and happy guests. The gardens were at once open for their unrestricted +pleasure, but at two o'clock, according to the custom of the county +under such circumstances, Lothair held what, in fact, was a lev e, or +rather a drawing-room, when every person who possessed a ticket was +permitted, and even invited and expected, to pass through the whole +range of the state apartments of Muriel Towers, and at the same time pay +their respects to, and make the acquaintance of, their lord. + +Lothair stood with his chief friends near him, the ladies, however, +seated, and every one passed -- farmers and townsmen and honest folk, +down to the stokers of the trains from Grandchester, with whose presence +St. Aldegonde was much pleased, and whom he carefully addressed as they +passed by. + +After this great reception they all dined in pavilions in the park -- +one thousand tenantry by themselves, and at a fixed hour; the +miscellaneous multitude in a huge crimson tent, very lofty, with many +flags, and in which was served a banquet that never stopped till sunset, +so that in time all might be satisfied; the notables and deputations, +with the guests in the house, lunched in the armory. It was a bright +day, and there was unceasing music. + +In the course of the afternoon Lothair visited the pavilions, where his +health was proposed, and pledged -- in the first by one of his tenants, +and in the other by a workman, both orators of repute; and he addressed +and thanked his friends. This immense multitude, orderly and joyous, +roamed about the parks and gardens, or danced on a platform which the +prescient experience of Mr. Giles had provided for them in a due +locality, and whiled away the pleasant hours, in expectation a little +feverish of the impending fireworks, which, there was a rumor, were to +be on a scale and in a style of which neither Grandchester nor the +county had any tradition. + +"I remember your words at Blenheim," said Lothair to Theodora. "You +cannot say the present party is founded on the principle of exclusion." + +In the mean time, about six o'clock, Lothair dined in his great hall +with his two hundred guests at a banquet where all the resources of +nature and art seemed called upon to contribute to its luxury and +splendor. The ladies, who had never before dined at a public dinner, +were particularly delighted. They were delighted by the speeches, +though they had very few; they were delighted by the national anthem, +all rising; particularly, they were delighted by "three-times-three, and +one cheer more," and "hip, hip." It seemed to their unpractised ears +like a great naval battle, or the end of the world, or any thing else of +unimaginable excitement, tumult, and confusion. + +The lord-lieutenant proposed Lothair's health, and dexterously made his +comparative ignorance of the subject the cause of his attempting a +sketch of what he hoped might be the character of the person whose +health he proposed. Every one intuitively felt the resemblance was +just, and even complete, and Lothair confirmed their kind and sanguine +anticipations by his terse and well-considered reply. His proposition +of the ladies' healths was a signal that the carriages were ready to +take them, as arranged, to Muriel Mere. + +The sun had set in glory over the broad expanse of waters still glowing +in the dying beam; the people were assembled in thousands on the borders +of the lake, in the centre of which was an island with a pavilion. +Fanciful barges and gondolas of various shapes and colors were waiting +for Lothair and his party, to carry them over to the pavilion, where +they found a repast which became the hour and the scene -- coffee and +ices and whimsical drinks, which sultanas would sip in Arabian tales. +No sooner were they seated than the sound of music was heard -- distant, +but now nearer, till there came floating on the lake, until it rested +before the pavilion, a gigantic shell, larger than the building itself, +but holding in its golden and opal seats Signor Mardoni and all his +orchestra. + +Then came a concert rare in itself, but ravishing in the rosy twilight; +and in about half an hour, when the rosy twilight had subsided into a +violet eve, and when the white moon that had only gleamed began to +glitter, the colossal shell again moved on, and Lothair and his +companions, embarking once more in their gondolas, followed it in +procession about the lake. He carried in his own bark the duchess, +Theodora, and the lord-lieutenant, and was rowed by a crew in Venetian +dresses. As he handed Theodora to her seat, the impulse was +irresistible -- he pressed her hand to his lips. + +Suddenly a rocket rose with a hissing rush from the pavilion. It was +instantly responded to from every quarter of the lake. Then the island +seemed on fire, and the scene of their late festivity became a brilliant +palace, with pediments and columns and statues, bright in the blaze of +colored flame. For half an hour the sky seemed covered with blue lights +and the bursting forms of many-colored stars; golden fountains, like the +eruption of a marine volcano, rose from different parts of the water; +the statued palace on the island changed and became a forest glowing +with green light; and finally a temple of cerulean tint, on which +appeared in huge letters of prismatic color the name of Lothair. + +The people cheered, but even the voice of the people was overcome by +troops of rockets rising from every quarter of the lake, and by the +thunder of artillery. When the noise and the smoke had both subsided, +the name of Lothair still legible on the temple but the letters quite +white, it was perceived that on every height for fifty miles round they +had fired a beacon. + + + +CHAPTER 48 + + +The ball at Muriel which followed the concert on the lake was one of +those balls which, it would seem, never would end. All the preliminary +festivities, instead of exhausting the guests of Lothair, appeared only +to have excited them, and rendered them more romantic and less tolerant +of the routine of existence. They danced in the great gallery, which +was brilliant and crowded, and they danced as they dance in a festive +dream, with joy and the enthusiasm of gayety. The fine ladies would +sanction no exclusiveness. They did not confine their inspiring +society, as is sometimes too often the case, to the Brecons and the +Bertrams and the Carisbrookes; they danced fully and freely with the +youth of the county, and felt that in so doing they were honoring and +gratifying their host. + +At one o'clock they supped in the armory, which was illuminated for the +first time, and a banquet in a scene so picturesque and resplendent +renovated not merely their physical energies. At four o'clock the +duchess and a few others quietly disappeared, but her daughters +remained, and St. Aldegonde danced endless reels, which was a form in +which he preferred to worship Terpsichore. Perceiving by an open window +that it was dawn, be came up to Lothair and said, "This is a case of +breakfast." + +Happy and frolicsome suggestion! The invitations circulated, and it was +soon known that they were all to gather at the matin meal. + +"I am so sorry that her grace has retired," said Hugo Bohun to Lady St. +Aldegonde, as he fed her with bread and butter, "because she always +likes early breakfasts in the country." + +The sun was shining as the guests of the house retired, and sank into +couches from which it seemed they never could rise again; but, long +after this, the shouts of servants and the scuffle of carriages +intimated that the company in general were not so fortunate and +expeditious in their retirement from the scene; and the fields were all +busy, and even the towns awake, when the great body of the wearied but +delighted wassailers returned from celebrating the majority of Lothair. + +In the vast and statesmanlike programme of the festivities of the week, +which had been prepared by Mr. and Mrs. Putney Giles, something of +interest and importance had been appropriated to the morrow, but it was +necessary to erase all this; and for a simple reason -- no human being +on the morrow morn even appeared -- one might say, even stirred. After +all the gay tumult in which even thousands had joined, Muriel Towers on +the morrow presented a scene which only could have been equalled by the +castle in the fairy tale inhabited by the Sleeping Beauty. + +At length, about two hours after noon, bells began to sound which were +not always answered. Then a languid household prepared a meal of which +no one for a time partook, till at last a monsignore appeared, and a +rival Anglican or two. Then St. Aldegonde came in with a troop of men +who had been bathing in the mere, and called loudly for kidneys, which +happened to be the only thing not at hand, as is always the case. St. +Aldegonde always required kidneys when he had sat up all night and +bathed. "But the odd thing is," he said, "you never can get any thing +to eat in these houses. Their infernal cooks spoil every thing. That's +why I hate staying with Bertha's people in the north at the end of the +year. What I want in November is a slice of cod and a beefsteak, and by +Jove I never could get them; I was obliged to come to town. If is no +joke to have to travel three hundred miles for a slice of cod and a +beefsteak." + +Notwithstanding all this, however, such is the magic of custom, that by +sunset civilization had resumed its reign at Muriel Towers. The party +were assembled before dinner in the saloon, and really looked as fresh +and bright as if the exhausting and tumultuous yesterday had never +happened. The dinner, too, notwithstanding the criticism of St. +Aldegonde, was first rate, and pleased palates not so simply fastidious +as his own. The bishop and his suite were to depart on the morrow, but +the cardinal was to remain. His eminence talked much to Mrs. Campian, +by whom, from the first, he was much struck. He was aware that she was +born a Roman, and was not surprised that, having married a citizen of +the United States, her sympathies were what are styled liberal; but this +only stimulated his anxious resolution to accomplish her conversion, +both religious and political. He recognized in her a being whose +intelligence, imagination, and grandeur of character, might be of +invaluable service to the Church. + +In the evening Monsieur Raphael and his sister, and their colleagues, +gave a representation which was extremely well done. There was no +theatre at Muriel, but Apollonia had felicitously arranged a contiguous +saloon for the occasion, and, as everybody was at ease in an arm-chair, +they all agreed it was preferable to a regular theatre. + +On the morrow they were to lunch with the mayor and corporation of +Grandchester, and view some of the principal factories; on the next day +the county gave a dinner to Lothair in their hall, the lord-lieutenant +in the chair; on Friday there was to be a ball at Grandchester given by +the county and city united to celebrate the great local event. It was +whispered that this was to be a considerable affair. There was not an +hour of the week that was not appropriated to some festive ceremony. + +It happened on the morning of Friday, the cardinal being alone with +Lothair, transacting some lingering business connected with the +guardianship, and on his legs as he spoke, that he said: "We live in +such a happy tumult here, my dear child, that I have never had an +opportunity of speaking to you on one or two points which interest me +and should not be uninteresting to you. I remember a pleasant +morning-walk we had in the park at Vauxe, when we began a conversation +which we never finished. What say you to a repetition of our stroll? +'Tis a lovely day, and I dare say we might escape by this window, and +gain some green retreat without any one disturbing us." + +"I am quite of your eminence's mind," said Lothair, taking up a +wide-awake, "and I will lead you where it is not likely we shall be +disturbed." + +So, winding their way through the pleasure-grounds, they entered by a +wicket a part of the park where the sunny glades soon wandered among the +tall fern and wild groves of venerable oaks. + +"I sometimes feel," said the cardinal, "that I may have been too +punctilious in avoiding conversation with you on a subject the most +interesting and important to man. But I felt a delicacy in exerting my +influence as a guardian on a subject my relations to which, when your +dear father appointed me to that office, were so different from those +which now exist. But you are now your own master; I can use no control +over you but that influence which the words of truth must always +exercise over an ingenuous mind." + +His eminence paused for a moment and looked at his companion; but +Lothair remained silent, with his eyes fixed upon the ground. + +"It has always been a source of satisfaction, I would even say +consolation, to me," resumed the cardinal, "to know you were a religious +man; that your disposition was reverential, which is the highest order +of temperament, and brings us nearest to the angels. But we live in +times of difficulty and danger -- extreme difficulty and danger; a +religious disposition may suffice for youth in the tranquil hour, and he +may find, in due season, his appointed resting-place: but these are days +of imminent peril; the soul requires a sanctuary. Is yours at hand?" + +The cardinal paused, and Lothair was obliged to meet a direct appeal. +He said then, after a momentary hesitation: "When you last spoke to me, +sir, on these grave matters, I said I was in a state of great +despondency. My situation now is not so much despondent as perplexed." + +"And I wish you to tell me the nature of your perplexity," replied the +cardinal, "for there is no anxious embarrassment of mind which Divine +truth cannot disentangle and allay." + +"Well," said Lothair, "I must say I am often perplexed at the +differences which obtrude themselves between Divine truth and human +knowledge." + +"Those are inevitable," said the cardinal. "Divine truth being +unchangeable, and human knowledge changing every century; rather, I +should say, every generation." + +"Perhaps, instead of human knowledge, I should have said human +progress," rejoined Lothair. + +"Exactly," said the cardinal, "but what is progress? Movement. But +what if it be movement in the wrong direction? What if it be a +departure from Divine truth?" + +"But I cannot understand why religion should be inconsistent with +civilization," said Lothair. + +"Religion is civilization," said the cardinal; "the highest: it is a +reclamation of man from savageness by the Almighty. What the world +calls civilization, as distinguished from religion, is a retrograde +movement, and will ultimately lead us back to the barbarism from which +we have escaped. For instance, you talk of progress: what is the chief +social movement of all the countries that three centuries ago separated +from the unity of the Church of Christ? The rejection of the sacrament +of Christian matrimony. The introduction of the law of divorce, which +is, in fact, only a middle term to the abolition of marriage. What does +that mean? The extinction of the home and the household on which God +has rested civilization. If there be no home, the child belongs to the +state, not to the parent. The state educates the child, and without +religion, because the state in a country of progress acknowledges no +religion. For every man is not only to think as he likes, but to write +and to speak as he likes, and to sow with both hands broadcast, where he +will, errors, heresies, and blasphemies, without any authority on earth +to restrain the scattering of this seed of universal desolation. And +this system, which would substitute for domestic sentiment and Divine +belief the unlimited and licentious action of human intellect and human +will, is called progress. What is it but a revolt against God?" + +"I am sure I wish there were only one Church and one religion," said +Lothair. + +"There is only one Church and only one religion," said the cardinal; +"all other forms and phrases are mere phantasms, without root, or +substance, or coherency. Look at that unhappy Germany, once so proud of +its Reformation. What they call the leading journal tells us to-day, +that it is a question there whether four-fifths or three-fourths of the +population believe in Christianity. Some portion of it has already gone +back, I understand, to Number Nip. Look at this unfortunate land, +divided, subdivided, parcelled out in infinite schism, with new oracles +every day, and each more distinguished for the narrowness of his +intellect or the loudness of his lungs; once the land of saints and +scholars, and people in pious pilgrimages, and finding always solace and +support in the divine offices of an ever-present Church, which were a +true though a faint type of the beautiful future that awaited man. Why, +only three centuries of this rebellion against the Most High have +produced throughout the world, on the subject the most important that +man should possess a clear, firm faith, an anarchy of opinion, throwing +out every monstrous and fantastic form, from a caricature of the Greek +philosophy to a revival of fetichism." + +"It is a chaos," said Lothair, with a sigh. + +"From which I wish to save you," said the cardinal, with some eagerness. +"This is not a time to hesitate. You must be for God, or for +Antichrist. The Church calls upon her children." + +"I am not unfaithful to the Church," said Lothair, "which was the Church +of my fathers." + +"The Church of England," said the cardinal. "It was mine. I think of +it ever with tenderness and pity. Parliament made the Church of +England, and Parliament will unmake the Church of England. The Church +of England is not the Church of the English. Its fate is sealed. It +will soon become a sect, and all sects are fantastic. It will adopt new +dogmas, or it will abjure old ones; any thing to distinguish it from the +non-conforming herd in which, nevertheless, it will be its fate to +merge. The only consoling hope is that, when it falls, many of its +children, by the aid of the Blessed Virgin, may return to Christ." + +"What I regret, sir," said Lothair, "is that the Church of Rome should +have placed itself in antagonism with political liberty. This adds to +the difficulties which the religious cause has to encounter; for it +seems impossible to deny that political freedom is now the sovereign +passion of communities." + +"I cannot admit," replied the cardinal, "that the Church is in +antagonism with political freedom. On the contrary, in my opinion, +there can be no political freedom which is not founded on Divine +authority; otherwise it can be at the best but a specious phantom of +license inevitably terminating in anarchy. The rights and liberties of +the people of Ireland have no advocates except the Church; because, +there, political freedom is founded on Divine authority; but if you mean +by political freedom the schemes of the illuminati and the freemasons, +which perpetually torture the Continent, all the dark conspiracies of +the secret societies, there, I admit, the Church is in antagonism with +such aspirations after liberty; those aspirations, in fact, are +blasphemy and plunder; and, if the Church were to be destroyed, Europe +would be divided between the atheist and the communist." + +There was a pause; the conversation had unexpectedly arrived at a point +where neither party cared to pursue it. Lothair felt he had said +enough; the cardinal was disappointed with what Lothair had said. His +eminence felt that his late ward was not in that ripe state of probation +which he had fondly anticipated; but, being a man not only of vivid +perception, but also of fertile resource, while he seemed to close the +present conversation, he almost immediately pursued his object by +another combination of means. Noticing an effect of scenery which +pleased him, reminded him of Styria, and so on, he suddenly said: "You +should travel." + +"Well, Bertram wants me to go to Egypt with him," said Lothair. + +"A most interesting country," said the cardinal, "and well worth +visiting. It is astonishing what a good guide old Herodotus still is in +that land! But you should know something of Europe before you go there. +Egypt is rather a land to end with. A young man should visit the chief +capitals of Europe, especially the seats of learning and the arts. If +my advice were asked by a young man who contemplated travelling on a +proper scale, I should say begin with Rome. Almost all that Europe +contains is derived from Rome. It is always best to go to the +fountain-head, to study the original. The society too, there, is +delightful; I know none equal to it. That, if you please, is +civilization -- pious and refined. And the people -- all so gifted and +so good -- so kind, so orderly, so charitable, so truly virtuous. I +believe the Roman people to be the best people that ever lived, and this +too while the secret societies have their foreign agents in every +quarter, trying to corrupt them, but always in vain. If an act of +political violence occurs, you may be sure it is confined entirely to +foreigners." + +"Our friends the St. Jeromes are going to Rome," said Lothair. + +"Well, and that would be pleasant for you. Think seriously of this, my +dear, young friend. I could be of some little service to you if you go +to Rome, which, after all, every man ought to do. I could put you, in +the way of easily becoming acquainted with all the right people, who +would take care that you saw Rome with profit and advantage." + +Just at this moment, in a winding glade, they were met abruptly by a +third person. All seemed rather to start at the sudden rencounter; and +then Lothair eagerly advanced and welcomed the stranger with a proffered +hand. + +"This is a most unexpected, but to me most agreeable, meeting," he said. +"You must now be my guest." + +"That would be a great honor," said the stranger, "but one I cannot +enjoy. I had to wait at the station a couple of hours or so for my +train, and they told me if I strolled here I. should find some pretty +country. I have been so pleased with it, that I fear I have strolled +too long, and I literally have not an instant at my command," and he +hurried away. + +"Who is that person?" asked the cardinal with some agitation. + +"I have not the slightest idea," said Lothair. "All I know is, he once +saved my life." + +"And all I know is," said the cardinal, "he once threatened mine." + +"Strange!" said Lothair, and then he rapidly recounted to the cardinal +his adventure at the Fenian meeting. + +"Strange!" echoed his eminence. + + + +CHAPTER 49 + + +Mrs. Campian did not appear at luncheon, which was observed but not +noticed. Afterward, while Lothair was making some arrangements for the +amusement of his guests, and contriving that they should fit in with the +chief incident of the day, which was the banquet given to him by the +county, and which it was settled the ladies were not to attend, the +colonel took him aside and said, "I do not think that Theodora will care +to go out to-day." + +"She is not unwell, I hope?" + +"Not exactly -- but she has had some news, some news of some friends, +which has disturbed her. And, if you will excuse me, I will request +your permission not to attend the dinner to-day, which I had hoped to +have had the honor of doing. But I think our plans must be changed a +little. I almost think we shall not go to Scotland after all." + +"There is not the slightest necessity for your going to the dinner. You +will have plenty to keep you in countenance at home. Lord St. Aldegonde +is not going, nor I fancy any of them. I shall take the duke with me +and Lord Culloden, and, if you do not go, I shall take Mr. Putney Giles. +The lord-lieutenant will meet us there. I am sorry about Mrs. Campian, +because I know she is not ever put out by little things. May I not see +her in the course of the day? I should be very sorry that the day +should pass over without seeing her." + +"Oh! I dare say she will see you in the course of the day, before you +go." + +"When she likes. I shall not go out to-day; I shall keep in my rooms, +always at her commands. Between ourselves, I shall not be sorry to have +a quiet morning and collect my ideas a little. Speech-making is a new +thing for me. I wish you would tell me what to say to the county." + +Lothair had appropriated to the Campians one of the most convenient and +complete apartments in the castle. It consisted of four chambers, one +of them a saloon which had been fitted up for his mother when she +married; a pretty saloon, hung with pale-green silk, and portraits and +scenes inlaid by Vanloo and Boucher. It was rather late in the +afternoon when Lothair received a message from Theodora in reply to the +wish that he had expressed of seeing her. + +When he entered the room, she was not seated; her countenance was +serious. She advanced, and thanked him for wishing to see her, and +regretted she could not receive him at an earlier hour. "I fear it may +have inconvenienced you," she added; "but my mind has been much +disturbed, and too agitated for conversation." + +"Even now I may be an intruder?" + +"No, it is past; on the contrary, I wish to speak to you; indeed, you +are the only person with whom I could speak," and she sat down. + +Her countenance, which was unusually pale when he entered, became +flushed. "It is not a subject for the festive hour of your life," she +said, "but I cannot resist my fate." + +"Your fate must always interest me," murmured Lothair. + +"Yes; but my fate is the fate of ages and of nations," said Theodora, +throwing up her head with that tumult of the brow which he had once +before noticed. "Amid the tortures of my spirit at this moment, not the +least is that there is only one person I can appeal to, and he is one to +whom I have no right to make that appeal." + +"If I be that person," said Lothair, "you have every right, for I am +devoted to you." + +"Yes; but it is not personal devotion that is the qualification needed. +It is not sympathy with me that would authorize such an appeal. It must +be sympathy with a cause, and a cause for which, I fear, you do not -- +perhaps I should say you cannot -- feel." + +"Why?" said Lothair. + +"Why should you feel for my fallen country, who are the proudest citizen +of the proudest of lands? Why should you feel for its debasing thraldom +-- you who, in the religious mystification of man, have, at least, the +noble privilege of being a Protestant?" + +"You speak of Rome?" + +"Yes, of the only thought I have, or ever had. I speak of that country +which first impressed upon the world a general and enduring form of +masculine virtue; the land of liberty, and law, and eloquence, and +military genius, now garrisoned by monks, and governed by a doting +priest." + +"Everybody must be interested about Rome," said Lothair. "Rome is the +country of the world, and even the doting priest yon talk of boasts of +two hundred millions of subjects." + +"If he were at Avignon again, I should not care for his boasts," said +Theodora. "I do not grudge him his spiritual subjects; I am content to +leave his superstition to Time. Time is no longer slow; his scythe mows +quickly in this age. But when his debasing creeds are palmed off on man +by the authority of our glorious capitol, and the slavery of the human +mind is schemed and carried on in the forum, then, if there be real +Roman blood left -- and I thank my Creator there is much -- it is time +for it to mount and move," and she rose and walked up and down the room. + +"You have had news from Rome?" said Lothair. + +"I have had news from Rome," she replied, speaking slowly in a deep +voice; and there was a pause. + +Then Lothair said: "When you have alluded to these matters before, you +never spoke of them in a sanguine spirit." + +"I have seen the cause triumph," said Theodora; "the sacred cause of +truth, of justice, of national honor. I have sat at the feet of the +triumvirate of the Roman Republic; men who, for virtue, and genius, and +warlike skill and valor, and every quality that exalts man, were never +surpassed in the olden time -- no, not by the Catos and the Scipios; and +I have seen the blood of my own race poured, like a rich vintage, on the +victorious Roman soil; my father fell, who, in stature and in mien, was +a god; and, since then, my beautiful brothers, with shapes to enshrine +in temples; and I have smiled amid the slaughter of my race, for I +believed that Rome was free; and yet all this vanished. How, then, when +we talked, could I be sanguine?" + +"And yet you are sanguine now?" said Lothair, with a scrutinizing +glance; and he rose and joined her, leaning slightly on the +mantel-piece. + +"There was only one event that could secure the success of our efforts," +said Theodora, "and that event was so improbable, that I had long +rejected it from calculation. It has happened, and Rome calls upon me +to act." + +"The Papalini are strong," continued Theodora, after a pause; "they have +been long preparing for the French evacuation; they have a considerable +and disciplined force of janizaries, a powerful artillery, the strong +places of the city. The result of a rising, under such circumstances, +might be more than doubtful; if unsuccessful, to us it would be +disastrous. It is necessary that the Roman States should be invaded, +and the papal army must then quit their capital. We have no fear of +them in the field. Yes," she added, with energy, "we could sweep them +from the face of the earth!" + +"But the army of Italy," said Lothair, "will that be inert?" + +"There it is," said Theodora. "That has been our stumbling-block. I +have always known that, if ever the French quitted Rome, it would be on +the understanding that the house of Savoy should inherit the noble +office of securing our servitude. He in whom I alone confide would +never credit this; but my information, in this respect, was authentic. +However, it is no longer necessary to discuss the question. News has +come, and in no uncertain shape, that whatever may have been the +understanding, under no circumstances will the Italian army enter the +Roman state. We must strike, therefore, and Rome will be free. But how +am I to strike? We have neither money nor arms. We have only men. I +can give them no more, because I have already given them every thing, +except my life, which is always theirs. As for my husband, who, I may +say, wedded me on the battle-field, so fax as wealth was concerned, he +was then a prince among princes, and would pour forth his treasure, and +his life, with equal eagerness. But things have changed since +Aspromonte. The struggle in his own country has entirely deprived him +of revenues as great as any forfeited by their Italian princelings. In +fact, it is only by a chance that he is independent. Had it not been +for an excellent man, one of your great English merchants, who was his +agent here, and managed his affairs, we should have been penniless. His +judicious investments of the superfluity of our income, which, at the +time, my husband never even noticed, have secured for Colonel Campian +the means of that decorous life which he appreciates -- but no more. As +for myself, these considerations are nothing. I will not say I should +be insensible to a refined life with refined companions, if the spirit +were content and the heart serene; but I never could fully realize the +abstract idea of what they call wealth; I never could look upon it +except as a means to an end, and my end has generally been military +material. Perhaps the vicissitudes of my life have made me insensible +to what are called reverses of fortune, for, when a child, I remember +sleeping on the moonlit flags of Paris, with no pillow except my +tambourine; and I remember it not without delight. Let us sit down. I +feel I am talking in an excited, injudicious, egotistical, rhapsodical, +manner. I thought I was calm, and I meant to have been clear. But the +fact is, I am ashamed of myself. I am doing a wrong thing, and in a +wrong manner. But I have had a sleepless night, and a day of brooding +thought. I meant once to have asked you to help me, and now I feel that +you are the last person to whom I ought to appeal." + +"In that you are in error," said Lothair, rising and taking her hand +with an expression of much gravity; "I am the right person for you to +appeal to -- the only person." + +"Nay," said Theodora, and she shook her head. + +"For I owe to you a debt that I never can repay," continued Lothair. +"Had it not been for you, I should have remained what I was when we +first met, a prejudiced, narrow-minded being, with contracted sympathies +and false knowledge, wasting my life on obsolete trifles, and utterly +insensible to the privilege of living in this wondrous age of change and +progress. Why, had it not been for you I should have at this very +moment been lavishing my fortune on an, ecclesiastical toy, which I +think of with a blush. There may be -- doubtless there are -- opinions +in which we may not agree; but in our love of truth and justice there is +no difference, dearest lady. No; though you must have felt that I am +not -- that no one could be -- insensible to your beauty and infinite +charms, still it is your consummate character that has justly fascinated +my thought and heart; and I have long resolved, were I permitted, to +devote to you my fortune and my life." + + + +CHAPTER 50 + + +The month of September was considerably advanced when a cab, evidently +from its luggage fresh from the railway, entered the court-yard of +Hexham House, of which the shuttered windows indicated the absence of +its master, the cardinal, then in Italy. But it was evident that the +person who had arrived was expected, for before his servant could ring +the hall-bell the door opened, and a grave-looking domestic advanced +with much deference, and awaited the presence of no less a personage +than Monsignore Berwick. + +"We have had a rough passage, good Clifford," said the great man, +alighting, "but I see you duly received my telegram. You are always +ready." + +"I hope my lord will find it not uncomfortable," said Clifford. "I have +prepared the little suite which you mentioned, and have been careful +that there should be no outward sign of any one having arrived." + +"And now," said the monsignore, stopping for a moment in the ball, "here +is a letter which must be instantly delivered, and by a trusty hand," +and he gave it to Mr. Clifford, who, looking at the direction, nodded +his head and said, "By no one but myself. I will show my lord to his +rooms and depart with this instantly." + +"And bring back a reply," added the monsignore. + +The well-lit room, the cheerful fire, the judicious refection on a +side-table, were all circumstances which usually would have been +agreeable to a wearied traveller, but Monsignore Berwick seemed little +to regard them. Though a man in general superior to care, and master of +thought, his countenance was troubled and pensive even to dejection. + +"Even the winds and waves are against us," he exclaimed, too restless to +be seated, and walking up and down the room with his arms behind his +back. "That such a struggle should fall to my lot! Why was I not a +minister in the days of the Gregorys, the Innocents, even the Leos! But +this is craven. There should be inspiration in peril, and the greatest +where peril is extreme. I am a little upset -- with travel and the +voyage and those telegrams not being answered. The good Clifford was +wisely provident," and he approached the table and took one glass of +wine. "Good! One must never despair in such a cause. And if the worse +happens, it has happened before -- and what then? Suppose Avignon over +again, or even Gaeta, or even Paris? So long as we never relinquish our +title to the Eternal City we shall be eternal. But then, some say, our +enemies before were the sovereigns; now it is the people. Is it so? +True we have vanquished kings, and baffled emperors -- but the French +Republic and the Roman Republic have alike reigned and ruled in the +Vatican, and where are they? We have lost provinces, but we have also +gained them. We have twelve millions of subjects in the United States +of America, and they will increase like the sands of the sea. Still it +is a hideous thing to have come back, as it were, to the days of the +Constable of Bourbon, and to be contemplating the siege of the Holy See, +and massacre and pillage and ineffable horrors! The papacy may survive +such calamities, as it undoubtedly will, but I shall scarcely figure in +history if, under my influence, such visitations should accrue. If I +had only to deal with men, I would not admit of failure; but when your +antagonists are human thoughts, represented by invisible powers, there +is something that might baffle a Machiavel and appall a Borgia." + +While he was meditating in this vein the door opened, and Mr. Clifford, +with some hasty action and speaking rapidly, exclaimed: "He said he +would be here sooner than myself. His carriage was at the door. I +drove back as soon as possible -- and indeed I hear something now in the +court," and he disappeared. + +It was only to usher in, almost immediately, a stately personage in an +evening dress, and wearing a decoration of a high class, who saluted the +monsignore with great cordiality. + +I am engaged to dine with the Prussian ambassador, who has been obliged +to come to town to receive a prince of the blood who is visiting the +dockyards here; but I thought you might be later than you expected, and +I ordered my carriage to be in waiting, so that we have a good little +hour -- and I can come on to you again afterward, if that will not do." + +"A little hour with us is a long hour with other people," said the +monsignore, "because we are friends and can speak without windings. You +are a true friend to the Holy See; you have proved it. We are in great +trouble and need of aid." + +"I hear that things are not altogether as we could wish," said the +gentleman in an evening dress; "but I hope, and should think, only +annoyances." + +"Dangers," said Berwick, "and great." + +"How so?" + +"Well, we have invasion threatening us without and insurrection within," +said Berwick. "We might, though it is doubtful, successfully encounter +one of these perils, but their united action must be fatal." + +"All this has come suddenly," said the gentleman. "In the summer you +had no fear, and our people wrote to us that we might be perfectly +tranquil." + +"Just so," said Berwick. "If we had met a month ago, I should have told +you the same thing. A month ago the revolution seemed lifeless, +penniless; without a future, without a resource. They had no money, no +credit, no men. At present, quietly but regularly, they are assembling +by thousands on our frontiers; thy have to our knowledge received two +large consignments of small arms, and apparently have unlimited credit +with the trade, both in Birmingham and Li ge; they have even artillery; +every thing is paid for in coin or in good bills -- and, worst of all, +they have a man, the most consummate soldier in Europe. I thought he +was at New York, and was in hopes he would never have recrossed the +Atlantic -- but I know that he passed through Florence a fortnight ago, +and I have seen a man who says he spoke to him at Narni." + +"The Italian government must stop all this," said the gentleman. + +"They do not stop it," said Berwick. "The government of his holiness +has made every representation to them: we have placed in their hands +indubitable evidence of the illegal proceedings that are taking place +and of the internal dangers we experience in consequence of their +exterior movements. But they do nothing: it is even believed that the +royal troops are joining the insurgents, and Garibaldi is spouting with +impunity in every balcony of Florence." + +"You may depend upon it that our government is making strong +representations to the government of Florence." + +"I come from Paris and elsewhere," said Berwick, with animation and +perhaps a degree of impatience. "I have seen everybody there, and I +have heard every thing. It is not representations that are wanted from +your government; it is something of a different kind." + +"But if you have seen everybody at Paris and heard every thing, how can +I help you?" + +"By acting upon the government here. A word from you to the English +minister would have great weight at this juncture. Queen Victoria is +interested in the maintenance of the papal throne. Her Catholic +subjects are counted by millions. The influence of his holiness has +been hitherto exercised against the Fenians. France would interfere, if +she was sure the step would not be disapproved by England." + +"Interfere!" said the gentleman. "Our return to Rome almost before we +have paid our laundresses' bills in the Eternal City would be a +diplomatic scandal." + +"A diplomatic scandal would be preferable to a European revolution." + +"Suppose we were to have both?" and the gentleman drew his chair near +the fire. + +"I am convinced that a want of firmness now," said Berwick, "would lead +to inconceivable calamities for all of us." + +"Let us understand each other, my very dear friend Berwick," said his +companion, and he threw his arm over the back of his chair and looked +the Roman full in his face. You say you have been at Paris and +elsewhere, and have seen everybody and heard every thing?" + +"Yes, yes." + +"Something has happened to us also during the last month, and as +unexpectedly as to yourselves." + +"The secret societies? Yes, he spoke to me on that very point, and +fully. 'Tis strange, but is only, in my opinion, an additional argument +in favor of crushing the evil influence." + +"Well, that he must decide. But the facts are startling. A month ago +the secret societies in France were only a name; they existed only in +the memory of the police, and almost as a tradition. At present we know +that they are in complete organization, and what is most strange is that +the prefects write they have information that the Mary-Anne +associations, which are essentially republican and are scattered about +the provinces, are all revived, and are astir. Mary-Anne, as you know, +was the red name for the republic years ago, and there always was a sort +of myth that these societies had been founded by a woman. Of course +that is all nonsense, but they keep it up; it affects the public +imagination, and my government has undoubted evidence that the word of +command has gone round to all these societies that Mary-Anne has; +returned and will issue her orders, which must be obeyed." + +"The Church is stronger, and especially in the provinces, than the +Mary-Anne societies," said Berwick. + +"I hope so," said his friend; "but you see, my dear monsignore, the +question with us is not so simple as you put It. The secret societies +will not tolerate another Roman interference, to say nothing of the +diplomatic hubbub, which we might, if necessary, defy; but what if, +taking advantage of the general indignation, your new kingdom of Italy +may seize the golden opportunity of making a popular reputation, and +declare herself the champion of national independence against the +interference of the foreigner? My friend, we tread on delicate ground." + +"If Rome falls, not an existing dynasty in Europe will survive five +years," said Berwick. + +"It may be so," said his companion, but with no expression of +incredulity. "You know how consistently and anxiously I have always +labored to support the authority of the Holy See, and to maintain its +territorial position as the guarantee of its independence; but Fate has +decided against us. I cannot indulge in the belief that his holiness +will ever regain his lost provinces; a capital without a country is an +apparent anomaly, which I fear will always embarrass us. We can treat +the possession as the capital of Christendom, but, alas! all the world +are not as good Christians as ourselves, and Christendom is a country no +longer marked out in the map of the world. I wish," continued the +gentleman in a tone almost coaxing -- "I wish we could devise some plan +which, humanly speaking, would secure to his holiness the possession of +his holy throne forever. I wish I could induce you to consider more +favorably that suggestion, that his holiness should content himself with +the ancient city, and, in possession of St. Peter's and the Vatican, +leave the rest of, Rome to the vulgar cares and the mundane anxieties of +the transient generation. Yes," he added with energy, "if, my dear +Berwick, you could see your way to this, or something like this, I think +even now and at once, I could venture to undertake that the emperor, my +master, would soon put an end to all these disturbances and dangers, and +that -- " + +"Non possumus," said Berwick, sternly stopping him; "sooner than that +Attila, the Constable of Bourbon, or the blasphemous orgies of the Red +Republic! After all, it is the Church against the secret societies. +They are the only two strong things in Europe, and will survive kings, +emperors, or parliaments." + +At this moment there was a tap at the door, and, bidden to enter, Mr. +Clifford presented himself with a sealed paper, for the gentleman in +evening dress. "Your secretary, sir, brought this, which he said must +be given you before you went to the ambassador." + +"'Tis well," said the gentleman, and he rose, and with a countenance of +some excitement read the paper, which contained a telegram; and then he +said: "This, I think, will help us out of our immediate difficulties, +my dear monsignore. Rattazzi has behaved like a man of sense, and has +arrested Garibaldi. But you do not seem, my friend, as pleased as I +should have anticipated." + +"Garibaldi has been arrested before," said Berwick. + +"Well, well, I am hopeful; but I must go to my dinner. I will see yon +again tomorrow." + + + +CHAPTER 51 + + +The continuous gathering of what, in popular language, were styled the +Garibaldi Volunteers, on the southern border of the papal territory in +the autumn of 1867, was not the only or perhaps the greatest danger +which then threatened the Holy See, though the one which most attracted +its alarmed attention. The considerable numbers in which this +assemblage was suddenly occurring; the fact that the son of the +Liberator had already taken its command, and only as the precursor of +his formidable sire; the accredited rumor that Ghirelli at the head of a +purely Roman legion was daily expected to join the frontier force; that +Nicotera was stirring in the old Neapolitan kingdom, while the Liberator +himself at Florence and in other parts of Tuscany was even +ostentatiously, certainly with impunity, preaching the new crusade and +using all his irresistible influence with the populace to excite their +sympathies and to stimulate their energy, might well justify the extreme +apprehension of the court of Rome. And yet dangers at least equal, and +almost as close, were at the same time preparing unnoticed and unknown. + +In the mountainous range between Fiascone and Viterbo, contiguous to the +sea, is a valley surrounded by chains of steep and barren hills, but +which is watered by a torrent scarcely dry, even in summer; so that the +valley itself, which is not inconsiderable in its breadth, is never +without verdure, while almost a forest of brushwood formed of shrubs, +which in England we should consider rare, bounds the natural turf and +ascends sometimes to no inconsiderable height the nearest hills. + +Into this valley, toward the middle of September, there defiled one +afternoon through a narrow pass a band of about fifty men, all armed, +and conducting a cavalcade or rather a caravan of mules laden with +munitions of war and other stores. When they had gained the centre of +the valley and a general halt was accomplished, their commander, +accompanied by one who was apparently an officer, surveyed all the +points of the locality; and, when their companions had rested and +refreshed themselves, they gave the necessary orders for the preparation +of a camp. The turf already afforded a sufficient area for their +present wants, but it was announced that on the morrow they must +commence clearing the brushwood. In the mean time, one of the liveliest +scenes of military life soon rapidly developed itself: the canvas houses +were pitched, the sentries appointed, the videttes established. The +commissariat was limited to bread and olives, and generally the running +stream, varied sometimes by coffee, and always consoled by tobacco. + +On the third day, amid their cheerful though by no means light labors, a +second caravan arrived, evidently expected and heartily welcomed. Then, +in another eight-and-forty hours, smaller bodies of men seemed to drop +down from the hills, generally without stores, but always armed. Then +men came from neighboring islands in open boats, and one morning a +considerable detachment crossed the water from Corsica. So that at the +end of a week or ten days there was an armed force of several hundred +men in this once silent valley, now a scene of constant stir and +continual animation, for some one or something was always arriving, and +from every quarter; men and arms and stores crept in from every wild +pass of the mountains and every little rocky harbor of the coast. + +About this time, while the officer in command was reviewing a +considerable portion of the troops, the rest laboring in still clearing +the brushwood and establishing the many works incidental to a camp, half +a dozen horsemen were seen descending the mountain-pass by which the +original body had entered the valley. A scout had preceded them, and +the troops with enthusiasm awaited the arrival of that leader, a message +from whose magic name had summoned them to this secluded rendezvous from +many a distant state and city. Unruffled, but with an inspiring fire in +his pleased keen eye, that general answered their devoted salute, whom +hitherto we have known by his travelling name of Captain Bruges. + +It was only toward the end of the preceding month that he had resolved +to take the field; but the organization of the secret societies is so +complete that he knew he could always almost instantly secure the +assembling of a picked force in a particular place. The telegraph +circulated its mystic messages to every part of France and Italy and +Belgium, and to some old friends not so conveniently at hand, but who he +doubted not would arrive in due time for action. He himself had +employed the interval in forwarding all necessary supplies, and he had +passed through Florence in order that he might confer with the great +spirit of Italian movement and plan with him the impending campaign. + +After he had passed in review the troops, the general, with the officers +of his staff who had accompanied him, visited on foot every part of the +camp. Several of the men he recognized by name; to all of them he +addressed some inspiring word; a memory of combats in which they had +fought together, or happy allusions to adventures if romantic peril; +some question which indicated that local knowledge which is magical for +those who are away from home; mixed with all this, sharp, clear +inquiries as to the business of the hour, which proved the master of +detail, severe in discipline, but never deficient in sympathy for his +troops. + +After sunset, enveloped in their cloaks, the general and his companions, +the party increased by the officers who had been in command previous to +his arrival, smoked their cigars round the camp-fire. + +"Well, Sarano," said the general, "I will look over your muster-roll +to-morrow, but I should suppose I may count on a thousand rifles or so. +I want three, and we shall get them. The great man would have supplied +them me at once, but I will not have boys. He must send those on to +Menotti. I told him: 'I am not a man of genius; I do not pretend to +conquer kingdoms with boys. Give me old soldiers, men who have served a +couple of campaigns, and been seasoned with four-and-twenty months of +camp-life, and I will not disgrace you or myself.'" + +"We have had no news from the other place for a long time," said Sarano. +"How is it?" + +"Well enough. They are in the mountains about Nerola, in a position not +very unlike this; numerically strong, for Nicotera has joined them, and +Ghirelli with the Roman Legion is at hand. They must be quiet till the +great man joins them; I am told they are restless. There has been too +much noise about the whole business. Had they been as mum as you have +been, we should not have had all these representations from France and +these threatened difficulties from that quarter. The Papalini would +have complained and remonstrated, and Rattazzi could have +conscientiously assured the people at Paris that they were dealing with +exaggerations and bugbears; the very existence of the frontier force +would have become a controversy, and, while the newspapers were proving +it was a myth, we should have been in the Vatican." + +"And when shall we be there, general?" + +"I do not want to move for a month. By that time I shall have two +thousand five hundred or three thousand of my old comrades, and the +great man will have put his boys in trim. Both bodies must leave their +mountains at the same time, join in the open country, and march to +Rome." + +As the night advanced, several of the party rose and left the camp-fire +-- some to their tents, some to their duties. Two of the staff remained +with the general. + +"I am disappointed and uneasy that we have not heard from Paris," said +one of them. + +"I am disappointed," said the general, "but not uneasy; she never makes +a mistake." + +"The risk was too great," rejoined the speaker in a depressed tone. + +"I do not see that," said the general. "What is the risk? Who could +possibly suspect the lady's maid of the Princess of Tivoli! I am told +that the princess has become quite a favorite at the Tuileries." + +"They say that the police is not so well informed as it used to be; +nevertheless, I confess I should be much happier were she sitting round +this camp-fire." + +"Courage!" said the general. "I do not believe in many things, but I do +believe in the divine Theodora. What say you, Captain Muriel? I hope +you are not offended by my criticism of young soldiers. You are the +youngest in our band, but you have good military stuff in you, and will +be soon seasoned." + +"I feel I serve under a master of the art," replied Lothair, "and will +not take the gloomy view of Colonel Campian about our best friend, +though I share all his disappointment. It seems to me that detection is +impossible. I am sure that I could not have recognized her when I +handed the princess into her carriage." + +"The step was absolutely necessary," said the general; "no one could be +trusted but herself -- no other person has the influence. All our +danger is from France. The Italian troops will never cross the frontier +to attack us, rest assured of that. I have proof of it. And it is most +difficult, almost impossible, for the French to return. There never +would have been an idea of such a step, if there had been a little more +discretion at Florence, less of those manifestoes and speeches from +balconies. But we must not criticise one who is above criticism. +Without him we could do nothing, and when he stamps his foot men rise +from the earth. I will go the rounds; come with me, Captain Muriel. +Colonel, I order you to your tent; you are a veteran -- the only one +among us, at least on the staff, who was wounded at Aspromonte." + + + +CHAPTER 52 + + +The life of Lothair had been so strange and exciting since he quitted +Muriel Towers that he had found little time for that reflection in which +he was once so prone to indulge. Perhaps he shrank from it. If he +wanted an easy distraction from self -- criticism it may be a convenient +refuge from the scruples, or even the pangs, of conscience -- it was +profusely supplied by the startling affairs of which he formed a part, +the singular characters with whom he was placed in contact, the risk and +responsibility which seemed suddenly to have encompassed him with their +ever-stimulating influence, and, lastly, by the novelty of foreign +travel, which, even under ordinary circumstances, has a tendency to +rouse and stir up even ordinary men. + +So long as Theodora was his companion in their counsels, and he was +listening to her deep plans and daring suggestions, enforced by that +calm enthusiasm which was not the least powerful of her commanding +spells, it is not perhaps surprising that he should have yielded without +an effort to her bewitching ascendancy. But when they had separated, +and she had embarked on that perilous enterprise of personally +conferring with the chiefs of those secret societies of France, which +had been fancifully baptized by her popular name, and had nurtured her +tradition as a religious faith, it might have been supposed that +Lothair, left to himself, might have recurred to the earlier sentiments +of his youth. But he was not left to himself. He was left with her +injunctions, and the spirit of the oracle, though the divinity was no +longer visible, pervaded his mind and life. + +Lothair was to accompany the general as one of his aides-de-camp, and he +was to meet Theodora again on what was contemplated as the field of +memorable actions. Theodora had wisely calculated on the influence, +beneficial in her view, which the character of a man like the general +would exercise over Lothair. This consummate military leader, though he +had pursued a daring career, and was a man of strong convictions, was +distinguished by an almost unerring judgment, and a mastery of method +rarely surpassed. Though he was without imagination or sentiment, there +were occasions on which he had shown he was not deficient in a becoming +sympathy, and he had a rapid and correct perception of character. He +was a thoroughly honest man, and, in the course of a life of great trial +and vicissitude, even envenomed foes had never impeached his pure +integrity. For the rest, he was unselfish, but severe in discipline, +inflexible, and even ruthless in the fulfilment of his purpose. A +certain simplicity of speech and conduct, and a disinterestedness which, +even in little things, was constantly exhibiting itself, gave to his +character even charm, and rendered personal intercourse with him highly +agreeable. + +In the countless arrangements which had to be made, Lothair was never +wearied in recognizing and admiring the prescience and precision of his +chief; and when the day had died, and for a moment they had ceased from +their labors, or were travelling together, often through the night, +Lothair found in the conversation of his companion, artless and +unrestrained, a wonderful fund of knowledge both of men and things, and +that, too, in very different climes and countries. + +The camp in the Apennines was not favorable to useless reverie. Lothair +found unceasing and deeply-interesting occupation in his numerous and +novel duties; and, if his thoughts for a moment wandered beyond the +barren peaks around him, they were attracted and engrossed by one +subject -- and that was, naturally, Theodora. From her they had heard +nothing since her departure, except a mysterious, though not +discouraging, telegram which was given to them by Colonel Campian when +he had joined them at Florence. It was difficult not to feel anxious +about her, though the general would never admit the possibility of her +personal danger. + +In this state of affairs, a week having elapsed since his arrival at the +camp, Lothair, who had been visiting the outposts, was summoned one +morning by an orderly to the tent of the general. That personage was on +his legs when Lothair entered it, and was dictating to an officer +writing at a table. + +"You ought to know my military secretary," said the general, as Lothair +entered, "and therefore I will introduce you." + +Lothair was commencing a suitable reverence of recognition as the +secretary raised his head to receive it, when he suddenly stopped, +changed color, and for a moment seemed to lose himself, and then +murmured, "Is it possible?" + +It was indeed Theodora: clothed in male attire, she seemed a stripling. + +"Quite possible," she said, "and all is well. But I found it a longer +business than I had counted on. You see, there are so many new persons +who knew me only by tradition, but with whom it was necessary I should +personally confer. And I had more difficulty, just now, in getting +through Florence than I had anticipated. The Papalini and the French +are both worrying our allies in that city about the gathering on the +southern frontier, and there is a sort of examination, true or false, I +will not aver, of all who depart. However, I managed to pass with some +soldiers' wives who were carrying fruit as far as Narni, and there I met +an old comrade of Aspromonte, who is a custom-officer now, but true to +the good cause, and he, and his daughter, who is with me, helped me +through every thing, and so I am with my dear friends again." + +After some slight conversation in this vein, Theodora entered into a +detailed narrative of her proceedings, and gave to them her views of the +condition of affairs. + +"By one thing, above all others," she said, "I am impressed, and that +is, the unprecedented efforts which Rome is making to obtain the return +of the French. There never was such influence exercised, such distinct +offers made, such prospects intimated. You may prepare yourself for any +thing; a papal coronation, a family pontiff -- I could hardly say a King +of Rome, though he has been reminded of that royal fact. Our friends +have acted with equal energy and with perfect temper. The heads of the +societies have met in council, and resolved that, if France will refuse +to interfere, no domestic disturbance shall be attempted during this +reign, and they have communicated this resolution to headquarters. He +trusts them; he knows they are honest men. They did something like this +before the Italian War, when he hesitated about heading the army from +the fear of domestic revolution. Anxious to recover the freedom of +Italy, they apprized him that, if he personally entered the field, they +would undertake to insure tranquillity at home. The engagement was +scrupulously fulfilled. When I left Paris all looked well, but affairs +require the utmost vigilance and courage. It is a mighty struggle; it +is a struggle between the Church and the secret societies; and it is a +death-struggle." + + + +CHAPTER 53 + + +During the week that elapsed after the arrival of Theodora at the camp, +many recruits, and considerable supplies of military stores, reached the +valley. Theodora really acted as secretary to the general, and her +labors were not light. Though Lothair was frequently in her presence, +they were, never, or rarely, alone, and, when they conversed together, +her talk was of details. The scouts, too, had brought information, +which might have been expected, that their rendezvous was no longer a +secret at Rome. The garrison of the neighboring town of Viterbo had, +therefore, been increased, and there was even the commencement of an +intrenched camp in the vicinity of that place, to be garrisoned by a +detachment of the legion of Antibes and other good troops, so that any +junction between the general and Garibaldi, if contemplated, should not +be easily effected. + +In the mean time, the life of the camp was busy. The daily drill and +exercise of two thousand men was not a slight affair, and the constant +changes in orders which the arrival of bodies of recruits occasioned, +rendered this primary duty more difficult; the office of quartermaster +required the utmost resource and temper; the commissariat, which, from +the nature of the country, could depend little upon forage, demanded +extreme husbandry and forbearance. But, perhaps, no labors were more +severe than those of the armorers, the clink of whose instruments +resounded unceasingly in the valley. And yet such is the magic of +method, when directed by a master-mind, that the whole went on with the +regularity and precision of machinery. More than two thousand armed +men, all of whom had been accustomed to an irregular, some to a lawless, +life, were as docile as children; animated, in general, by what they +deemed a sacred cause, and led by a chief whom they universally alike +adored and feared. + +Among these wild warriors, Theodora, delicate and fragile, but with a +mien of majesty, moved, like the spirit of some other world, and was +viewed by them with admiration not unmixed with awe. Veterans round the +camp-fire, had told to the new recruits her deeds of prowess and +devotion; how triumphantly she had charged at Voltorno, and how +heroically she had borne their standard when they were betrayed at fatal +Aspromonte. + +The sun had sunk behind the, mountains, but was still high in the +western heaven, when a mounted lancer was observed descending a distant +pass into the valley. The general and his staff had not long commenced +their principal meal of the day, of which the disappearance of the sun +behind the peak was the accustomed signal. This permitted them, without +inconvenience, to take their simple repast in the open, but still warm, +air. Theodora was seated between the general and her husband, and her +eye was the first that caught the figure of the distant but descending +stranger. + +"What is that?" she asked. + +The general, immediately using his telescope, after a moment's +examination, said: "A lancer of the royal guard." + +All eyes were now fixed upon the movements of the horseman. He had +descended the winding steep, and now was tracking the craggy path which +led into the plain. As he reached the precinct of the camp, he was +challenged, but not detained. Nearer and nearer he approached, and it +was evident, from his uniform, that the conjecture of his character by +the general was correct. + +"A deserter from the guard," whispered Colonel Campian, to Lothair. + +The horseman wag conducted by an officer to the presence of the +commander. When that presence was reached, the lancer, still silent, +slowly lowered his tall weapon, and offered the general the dispatch +which was fastened to the head of his spear. + +Every eye was on the countenance of their chief as he perused the +missive, but that countenance was always inscrutable. It was observed, +however, that he read the paper twice. Looking up, the general said, to +the officer: "See that the bearer is well quartered. -- This is for +you," he added in a low voice to Theodora, and he gave her an enclosure; +"read it quietly, and then come into my tent." + +Theodora read the letter, and quietly; though, without the preparatory +hint, it might have been difficult to have concealed her emotion. Then, +after a short pause, she rose, and the general, requesting his +companions not to disturb themselves, joined her, and they proceeded in +silence to his tent. + +"He is arrested," said the general when they had entered it, "and taken +to Alessandria, where he is a close prisoner. 'Tis a blow, but I am +more grieved than surprised." + +This was the arrest of Garibaldi at Sinigaglia by the Italian +government, which had been communicated at Hexham House to Monsignore +Berwick by his evening visitor. + +"How will it affect operations in the field?" inquired Theodora. + +"According to this dispatch, in no degree. Our original plan is to be +pursued, and acted upon the moment we are ready. That should be in a +fortnight, or perhaps three weeks. Menotti is to take the command on +the southern frontier. Well, it may prevent jealousies. I think I +shall send Sarano there to reconnoitre; he is well both with Nicotera +and Ghirelli, and may keep things straight." + +"But there are other affairs besides operations in the field," said +Theodora, "and scarcely less critical. Read this," and she gave him the +enclosure, which ran in these words: + +"The general will tell thee what has happened. Have no fear for that. +All will go right. It will not alter our plans a bunch of grapes. Be +perfectly easy about this country. No Italian soldier will ever cross +the frontier except to combat the French. Write that on thy heart. Are +other things as well? Other places? My advices are bad. All the +prelates are on their knees to him -- with blessings on their lips and +curses in their pockets. Archbishop of Paris is as bad as any. Berwick +is at Biarritz -- an inexhaustible intriguer; the only priest I fear. I +hear from one who never misled me that the Polhes brigade has orders to +be in readiness. The Mary-Anne societies are not strong enough for the +situation -- too local; he listens to them, but he has given no pledge. +We must go deeper. 'Tis an affair of 'Madre Natura.' Thou must see +Colonna." + +"Colonna is at Rome," said the general, "and cannot be spared. He is +acting president of the National Committee, and has enough upon his +hands." + +"I must see him," said Theodora. + +"I had hoped I had heard the last of the 'Madre Natura,'" said the +general with an air of discontent. + +"And the Neapolitans hope they have heard the last of the eruptions of +their mountain," said Theodora; "but the necessities of things are +sterner stuff than the hopes of men." + +"Its last effort appalled and outraged Europe," said the general. + +"Its last effort forced the French into Italy, and has freed the country +from the Alps to the Adriatic," rejoined Theodora. + +"If the great man had only been as quiet as we have been," said the +general, lighting a cigar, "we might have been in Rome by this time." + +"If the great man had been quiet, we should not have had a volunteer in +our valley," said Theodora. "My faith in him is implicit; he has been +right in every thing, and has never failed except when he has been +betrayed. I see no hope for Rome except in his convictions and energy. +I do not wish to die, and feel I have devoted my life only to secure the +triumph of Savoyards who have sold their own country, and of priests +whose impostures have degraded mine." + +"Ah! those priests!" exclaimed the general. "I really do not much care +for any thing else. They say the Savoyard is not a bad comrade, and at +any rate he can charge like a soldier. But those priests? I fluttered +them once! Why did I spare any? Why did I not burn down St. Peter's? +I proposed it, but Mirandola, with his history and his love of art and +all that old furniture, would reserve it for a temple of the true God +and for the glory of Europe! Fine results we have accomplished! And +now we are here, hardly knowing where we are, and, as it appears, hardly +knowing what to do." + +"Not so, dear general," said Theodora. "Where we are is the threshold +of Rome, and if we are wise we shall soon cross it. This arrest of our +great friend is a misfortune, but not an irredeemable one. I thoroughly +credit what he says about the Italian troops. Rest assured he knows +what he is talking about; they will never cross the frontier against us. +The danger is from another land. But there will be no peril if we are +prompt and firm. Clear your mind of all these dark feelings about the +'Madre Natura.' All that we require is that the most powerful and the +most secret association in Europe should ratify what the local societies +of France have already intimated. It will be enough. Send for Colonna, +and leave the rest to me." + + + +CHAPTER 54 + + +The "Madre Natura" is the oldest, the most powerful, and the most +occult, of the secret societies of Italy. Its mythic origin reaches the +era of paganism, and it is not impossible that it may have been founded +by some of the despoiled professors of the ancient faith. As time +advanced, the brotherhood assumed many outward forms, according to the +varying spirit of the age: sometimes they were freemasons, sometimes +they were soldiers, sometimes artists, sometimes men of letters. But +whether their external representation were a lodge, a commandery, a +studio, or an academy, their inward purpose was ever the same; and that +was to cherish the memory, and, if possible, to secure the restoration +of the Roman Republic, and to expel from the Aryan settlement of Romulus +the creeds and sovereignty of what they styled the Semitic invasion. + +The "Madre Natura" have a tradition that one of the most celebrated of +the popes was admitted to their fraternity as Cardinal del Medici, and +that when he ascended the throne, mainly through their labors, he was +called upon to cooperate in the fulfilment of the great idea. An +individual who, in his youth, has been the member of a secret society, +and subsequently ascends a throne, may find himself in an embarrassing +position. This, however, according to the tradition, which there is +some documentary ground to accredit, was not the perplexing lot of his +holiness Pope Leo X. His tastes and convictions were in entire unison +with his early engagements, and it is believed that he took an early and +no unwilling opportunity of submitting to the conclave a proposition to +consider whether it were not both expedient and practicable to return to +the ancient faith, for which their temples had been originally erected. + +The chief tenet of the society of "Madre Natura" is denoted by its name. +They could conceive nothing more benignant and more beautiful, more +provident and more powerful, more essentially divine, than that system +of creative order to which they owed their being, and in which it was +their privilege to exist. But they differed from other schools of +philosophy that have held this faith, in this singular particular: they +recognize the inability of the Latin race to pursue the worship of +Nature in an abstract spirit, and they desired to revive those exquisite +personifications of the abounding qualities of the mighty mother which +the Aryan genius had bequeathed to the admiration of man. Parthenope +was again to rule at Naples instead of Januarius, and starveling saints +and winking madonnas were to restore their usurped altars to the god of +the silver bow and the radiant daughter of the foaming wave. + +Although the society of "Madre Natura" themselves accepted the +allegorical interpretation which the Neo-Platonists had placed upon the +pagan creeds during the first ages of Christianity, they could not +suppose that the populace could ever comprehend an exposition so +refined, not to say so fanciful. They guarded, therefore, against the +corruptions and abuses of the religion of Nature by the entire abolition +of the priestly order, and in the principle that every man should be his +own priest they believed they had found the necessary security. + +As it was evident that the arrest of Garibaldi could not be kept secret, +the general thought it most prudent to be himself the herald of its +occurrence, which he announced to the troops in a manner as little +discouraging as he could devise. It was difficult to extenuate the +consequences of so great a blow, but they were assured that it was not a +catastrophe, and would not in the slightest degree affect the execution +of the plans previously resolved on. Two or three days later some +increase of confidence was occasioned by the authentic intelligence that +Garibaldi had been removed from his stern imprisonment at Alessandria, +and conveyed to his island-home, Caprera, though still a prisoner. + +About this time, the general said to Lothair: "My secretary has +occasion to go on an expedition. I shall send a small detachment of +cavalry with her, and you will be at its head. She has requested that +her husband should have this office, but that is impossible; I cannot +spare my best officer. It is your first command, and, though I hope it +will involve no great difficulty, there is no command that does not +require courage and discretion. The distance is not very great, and so +long as you are in the mountains you will probably be safe; but in +leaving this range and gaining the southern Apennines, which is your +point of arrival, you will have to cross the open country. I do not +hear the Papalini are in force there; I believe they have concentrated +themselves at Rome, and about Viterbo. If you meet any scouts and +reconnoitring parties, you will be able to give a good account of them, +and probably they will be as little anxious to encounter you as you to +meet them. But we must be prepared for every thing, and you may be +threatened by the enemy in force; in that case you will cross the +Italian frontier, in the immediate neighborhood of which you will keep +during the passage of the open country, and surrender yourselves and +your arms to the authorities. They will not be very severe; but, at +whatever cost and whatever may be the odds, Theodora must never be a +prisoner to the Papalini. You will depart to-morrow at dawn." + +There is nothing so animating, so invigorating alike to the body and +soul, so truly delicious, as travelling among mountains in the early +hours of day. The freshness of Nature falls upon a responsive frame, +and the nobility of the scene discards the petty thoughts that pester +ordinary life. So felt Captain Muriel, as with every military +precaution he conducted his little troop and his precious charge among +the winding passes of the Apennines; at first dim in the matin twilight, +then soft with incipient day, then coruscating with golden flashes. +Sometimes they descended from the austere heights into the sylvan +intricacies of chestnut-forests, amid the rush of waters and the +fragrant stir of ancient trees; and, then again ascending to lofty +summits, ranges of interminable hills, gray or green, expanded before +them, with ever and anon a glimpse of plains, and sometimes the splendor +and the odor of the sea. + +Theodora rode a mule, which had been presented to the general by some +admirer. It was an animal of remarkable beauty and intelligence, +perfectly aware, apparently, of the importance of its present trust, and +proud of its rich accoutrements, its padded saddle of crimson velvet, +and its silver bells. A couple of troopers formed the advanced guard, +and the same number at a certain distance furnished the rear. The body +of the detachment, fifteen strong, with the sumpter-mules, generally +followed Theodora, by whose side, whenever the way permitted, rode their +commander. Since he left England Lothair had never been so much with +Theodora. What struck him most now, as indeed previously at the camp, +was that she never alluded to the past. For her there would seem to be +no Muriel Towers, no Belmont, no England. You would have supposed that +she had been born in the Apennines and had never quitted them. All her +conversation was details, political or military. Not that her manner +was changed to Lothair. It was not only as kind as before, but it was +sometimes unusually and even unnecessary tender, as if she reproached +herself for the too frequent and too evident self-engrossment of her +thoughts, and wished to intimate to him that, though her brain were +absorbed, her heart was still gentle and true. + +Two hours after noon they halted in a green nook, near a beautiful +cascade that descended in a mist down a sylvan cleft, and poured its +pellucid stream, for their delightful use, into a natural basin of +marble. The men picketed their horses, and their corporal, who was a +man of the country and their guide, distributed their rations. All vied +with each other in administering to the comfort and convenience of +Theodora, and Lothair hovered about her as a bee about a flower, but she +was silent, which be wished to impute to fatigue. But she said she was +not at all fatigued, indeed quite fresh. Before they resumed their +journey he could not refrain from observing on the beauty of their +resting-place. She assented with a pleasing nod, and then resuming her +accustomed abstraction she said: "The more I think, the more I am +convinced that the battle is not to be fought in this country, but in +France." + +After one more ascent, and that comparatively a gentle one, it was +evident that they were gradually emerging from the mountainous region. +Their course since their halting lay through a spur of the chief chain +they had hitherto pursued, and a little after sunset they arrived at a +farm-house, which the corporal informed his captain was the intended +quarter of Theodora for the night, as the horses could proceed no +farther without rest. At dawn they were to resume their way, and soon +to cross the open country, where danger, if any, was to be anticipated. + +The farmer was frightened when he was summoned from his house by a party +of armed men; but having some good ducats given him in advance, and +being assured they were all Christians, he took heart and labored to do +what they desired. Theodora duly found herself in becoming quarters, +and a sentry was mounted at her residence. The troopers, who had been +quite content to wrap themselves in their cloaks and pass the night in +the air, were pleased to find no despicable accommodation in the +out-buildings of the farm, and still more with the proffered vintage of +their host. As for Lothair, he enveloped himself in his mantle and +threw himself on a bed of sacks, with a truss of Indian corn for his +pillow, and, though he began by musing over Theodora, in a few minutes +he was immersed in that profound and dreamless sleep which a life of +action and mountain-air combined can alone secure. + + + +CHAPTER 55 + + +The open country extending from the Apennines to the very gates of Rome, +and which they had now to cross, was in general a desert; a plain +clothed with a coarse vegetation, and undulating with an interminable +series of low and uncouth mounds, without any of the grace of form which +always attends the disposition of Nature. Nature had not created them. +They were the offspring of man and time, and of their rival powers of +destruction. Ages of civilization were engulfed in this drear expanse. +They were the tombs of empires and the sepulchres of contending races. +The Campagna proper has at least the grace of aqueducts to break its +monotony, and everywhere the cerulean spell of distance; but in this +grim solitude antiquity has left only the memory of its violence and +crimes, and nothing is beautiful except the sky. + +The orders of the general to direct their course as much as possible in +the vicinity of the Italian frontier, though it lengthened their +journey, somewhat mitigated its dreariness, and an hour after noon, +after traversing some flinty fields, they observed in the distance an +olive-wood, beneath the pale shade of which, and among whose twisted +branches and contorted roots, they had contemplated finding a +halting-place. But here the advanced guard observed already an +encampment, and one of them rode back to report the discovery. + +A needless alarm; for, after a due reconnoissance, they were ascertained +to be friends -- a band of patriots about to join the general in his +encampment among the mountains. They reported that a division of the +Italian army was assembled in force upon the frontier, but that several +regiments had already signified to their commanders that they would not +fight against Garibaldi or his friends. They confirmed also the news +that the great leader himself was a prisoner at Caprera; that, although, +his son Menotti by his command had withdrawn from Nerola, his force was +really increased by the junction of Ghirelli and the Roman legion, +twelve hundred strong, and that five hundred riflemen would join the +general in the course of the week. + +A little before sunset they had completed the passage of the open +country, and had entered the opposite branch of the Apennines, which +they had long observed in the distance. After wandering among some +rocky ground, they entered a defile amid hills covered with ilex, and +thence emerging found themselves in a valley of some expanse and +considerable cultivation; bright crops, vineyards in which the vine was +married to the elm, orchards full of fruit, and groves of olive; in the +distance blue hills that were becoming dark in the twilight, and in the +centre of the plain, upon a gentle and wooded elevation, a vast file of +building, the exact character of which at this hour it was difficult to +recognize, for, even as Theodora mentioned to Lothair that they now +beheld the object of their journey, the twilight seemed to vanish and +the stars glistened in the dark heavens. + +Though the building seemed so near, it was yet a considerable time +before they reached the wooded hill, and, though its ascent was easy, it +was night before they halted in face of a huge gate flanked by high +stone walls. A single light in one of the windows of the vast pile +which it enclosed was the only evidence of human habitation. + +The corporal sounded a bugle, and immediately the light moved and noises +were heard -- the opening of the hall-doors, and then the sudden flame +of torches, and the advent of many feet. The great gate slowly opened, +and a steward and several serving-men appeared. The steward addressed +Theodora and Lothair, and invited them to dismount and enter what now +appeared to be a garden with statues and terraces and fountains and rows +of cypress, its infinite dilapidation not being recognizable in the +deceptive hour; and he informed the escort that their quarters were +prepared for them, to which they were at once attended. Guiding their +captain and his charge, they soon approached a double flight of steps, +and, ascending, reached the main terrace from which the building +immediately rose. It was, in truth, a castle of the middle ages, on +which a Roman prince, at the commencement of the last century, had +engrafted the character of one of those vast and ornate villas then the +mode, but its original character still asserted itself, and, +notwithstanding its Tuscan basement and its Ionic pilasters, its rich +pediments and delicate volutes, in the distant landscape it still seemed +a fortress in the commanding position which became the residence of a +feudal chief. + +They entered, through a Palladian vestibule, a hall which they felt must +be of huge dimensions, though with the aid of a single torch it was +impossible to trace its limits, either of extent or of elevation. Then +bowing before them, and lighting as it were their immediate steps, the +steward guided them down a long and lofty corridor, which led to the +entrance of several chambers, all vast, with little furniture, but their +wells covered with pictures. At length he opened a door and ushered +them into a saloon, which was in itself bright and glowing, but of which +the lively air was heightened by its contrast with the preceding scene. +It was lofty, and hung with faded satin in gilded panels still bright. +An ancient chandelier of Venetian crystal hung illumined from the +painted ceiling, and on the silver dogs of the marble hearth a fresh +block of cedar had just been thrown and blazed with aromatic light. + +A lady came forward and embraced Theodora, and then greeted Lothair with +cordiality. "We must dine to-day even later than you do in London," +said the Princess of Tivoli, "but we have been expecting you these two +hours." Then she drew Theodora aside, and said, "He is here; but you +must be tired, my best beloved. As some wise man said: 'Business +to-morrow.'" + +"No, no," said Theodora; "now, now, -- I am never tired. The only thing +that exhausts me is suspense." + +"It shall be so. At present I will take you away to shake the dust off +your armor, and, Serafino, attend to Captain Muriel." + + + +CHAPTER 56 + + +When they assembled again in the saloon there was an addition to their +party in the person of a gentleman of distinguished appearance. His age +could hardly have much exceeded that of thirty, but time had agitated +his truly Roman countenance, one which we now find only in consular and +imperial busts, or in the chance visage of a Roman shepherd or a +Neapolitan bandit. He was a shade above the middle height, with a frame +of well-knit symmetry. His proud head was proudly placed on broad +shoulders, and neither time nor indulgence had marred his slender waist. +His dark-brown hair was short and hyacinthine, close to his white +forehead, and naturally showing his small ears. He wore no whiskers, +and his mustache was limited to the centre of his upper lip. + +When Theodora entered and offered him her hand he pressed it to his lips +with gravity and proud homage, and then their hostess said: "Captain +Muriel, let me present you to a prince who will not bear his titles, and +whom, therefore, I must call by his name -- Romolo Colonna." + +The large folding-doors, richly painted and gilt, though dim from +neglect and time, and sustained by columns of precious marbles, were +suddenly opened and revealed another saloon, in which was a round table +brightly lighted, and to which the princess invited her friends. + +Their conversation at dinner was lively and sustained; the travels of +the last two days formed a natural part and were apposite to commence +with, but they were soon engrossed in the great subject of their lives; +and Colonna, who had left Rome only four-and-twenty hours, gave them +interesting details of the critical condition of that capital. When the +repast was concluded the princess rose, and, accompanied by Lothair, +reentered the saloon, but Theodora and Colonna lingered behind, and, +finally seating themselves at the farthest end of the apartment in which +they had dined, became engaged in earnest conversation. + +"You have seen a great deal since we first met at Belmont," said the +princess to Lothair. + +"It seems to me now," said Lothair, "that I knew as much of life then as +I did of the stars above us, about whose purposes and fortunes I used to +puzzle myself." + +"And might have remained in that ignorance. The great majority of men +exist but do not live -- like Italy in the last century. The power of +the passions, the force of the will, the creative energy of the +imagination -- these make life, and reveal to us a world of which the +million are entirely ignorant You have been fortunate in your youth to +have become acquainted with a great woman. It develops all a man's +powers, and gives him a thousand talents." + +"I often think," said Lothair, "that I have neither powers nor talents, +but am, drifting without an orbit." + +"Into infinite space," said the priestess. "Well, one might do worse +than that. But it is not so. In the long-run your nature will prevail, +and you will fulfil your organic purpose; but you will accomplish your +ends with a completeness which can only be secured by the culture and +development you are now experiencing." + +"And what is my nature?" said Lothair. "I wish you would tell me." + +"Has not the divine Theodora told you?" + +"She has told me many things, but not that." + +"How, then, could I know," said the princess, "if she has not discovered +it?" + +"But perhaps she has discovered it," said Lothair. + +"Oh! then she would tell you," said the princess, "for she is the soul +of truth." + +"But she is also the soul of kindness, and she might wish to spare my +feelings." + +"Well, that is very modest, and I dare say not affected. For there is +no man, however gifted, even however conceited, who has any real +confidence in himself until he has acted." + +"Well, we shall soon act," said Lothair, "and then I. suppose I shall +know my nature." + +"In time," said the princess, "and with the continued inspiration of +friendship." + +"But you too are a great friend of Theodora?" + +"Although a woman. I see you are laughing at female friendships, and, +generally speaking, there is foundation for the general sneer. I will +own, for my part, I have every female weakness, and in excess. I am +vain, I am curious, I am jealous, and I am envious; but I adore +Theodora. I reconcile my feelings toward her and my disposition in this +way. It is not friendship -- it is worship. And indeed there are +moments when I sometimes think she is one of those beautiful divinities +that we once worshipped in this land, and who, when they listened to our +prayers, at least vouchsafed that our country should not be the terrible +wilderness that you crossed this day." + +In the mean time Colonna, with folded arms and eyes fixed on the ground, +was listening to Theodora. + +"Thus you see," she continued, "it comes to this -- Rome can only be +freed by the Romans. He looks upon the secret societies of his own +country as he does upon universal suffrage -- a wild beast, and +dangerous, but which may be watched and tamed and managed by the police. +He listens, but he plays with them. He temporizes. At the bottom of +his heart, his Italian blood despises the Gauls. It must be something +deeper and more touching than this. Rome must appeal to him, and in the +ineffable name." + +"It has been uttered before," said Colonna, looking up at his companion, +"and -- " And he hesitated. + +"And in vain you would say," said Theodora. "Not so. There was a +martyrdom, but the blood of Felice baptized the new birth of Italian +life. But I am not thinking of bloodshed. Had it not been for the +double intrigues of the Savoyards it need not then have been shed. We +bear him no ill-will -- at least not now -- and we can make great +offers. Make them. The revolution in Gaul is ever a mimicry of Italian +thought and life. Their great affair of the last century, which they +have so marred and muddied, would never have occurred had it not been +for Tuscan reform; 1848 was the echo of our societies; and the Seine +will never be disturbed if the Tiber flows unruffled. Let him consent +to Roman freedom, and 'Madre Natura' will guarantee him against Lutetian +barricades." + +"It is only the offer of Mary-Anne in another form," said Colonna. + +"Guarantee the dynasty," said Theodora. "There is the point. He can +trust us. Emperors and kings break treaties without remorse, but he +knows that what is registered by the most ancient power in the world is +sacred." + +"'Can republicans guarantee dynasties?" said Colonna, shaking his head. + +"Why, what is a dynasty, when we are dealing with eternal things? The +casualties of life compared with infinite space? Rome is eternal. +Centuries of the most degrading and foreign priestcraft -- enervating +rites brought in by Hellogabalus and the Syrian emperors -- have failed +to destroy her. Dynasties! Why, even in our dark servitude we have +seen Merovingian and Carlovingian kings, and Capets, and Valois, and +Bourbons, and now Bonapartes. They have disappeared, and will disappear +like Orgetorix and the dynasties of the time of Caesar. What we want is +Rome free. Do not you see that everything has been preparing for that +event? This monstrous masquerade of United Italy -- what is it but an +initiatory ceremony, to prove that Italy without Rome is a series of +provinces? Establish the Roman republic, and the Roman race will, as +before, conquer them in detail. And, when the Italians are thus really +united, what will become of the Gauls? Why, the first Bonaparte said +that if Italy were really united the Gauls would have no chance. And he +was a good judge of such things." + +"What would you have me do, then?" said Colonna. + +"See him -- see him at once. Say every thing that I have said, and say +it better. His disposition is with us. Convenience, all political +propriety, counsel and would justify his abstinence. A return to Rome +would seem weak, fitful, capricious, and would prove that his previous +retirement was ill-considered and ill-informed. It would disturb and +alarm Europe. But you have, nevertheless, to fight against great odds. +It is 'Madre Natura' against St. Peter's. Never was the abomination of +the world so active as at present. It is in the very throes of its fell +despair. To save itself it would poison in the Eucharist." + +"And if I fail?" said Colonna. + +"You will not fail. On the whole, his interest lies on our side." + +"The sacerdotal influences are very strong there. When the calculation +of interest is fine, a word, a glance, sometimes a sigh, a tear, may +have a fatal effect." + +"All depends upon him," said Theodora. "If he were to disappear from +the stage, interference would be impossible." + +"But he is on the stage, and apparently will remain." + +"A single life should not stand between Rome and freedom." + +"What do you mean?" + +"I mean that Romolo Colonna should go to Paris and free his country." + + + +CHAPTER 57 + + +When Captain Muriel and his detachment returned to the camp, they found +that the force had been not inconsiderably increased in their absence, +while the tidings of the disposition of the Italian army brought by the +recruits and the deserters from the royal standard, cherished the hopes +of the troops, and stimulated their desire for action. Theodora had +been far more communicative during their journey back than in that of +her departure. She was less absorbed, and had resumed that serene yet +even sympathizing character which was one of her charms. Without going +into detail, she mentioned more than once to Lothair how relieved she +felt by Colonna accepting the mission to Paris. He was a person of so +much influence, she said, and of such great judgment and resource. She +augured the most satisfactory results from his presence on the main +scene of action. + +Time passed rapidly at the camp. When a life of constant activity is +combined with routine, the hours fly. Neither letter nor telegram +arrived from Colonna, and neither was expected; and yet. Theodora heard +from him, and even favorably. One day, as she was going the rounds with +her husband, a young soldier, a new recruit, approached her, and, +pressing to his lips a branch of the olive-tree, presented it to her. +On another occasion when she returned to her tent, she found a bunch of +fruit from the same tree, though not quite ripe, which showed that the +cause of peace had not only progressed but had almost matured. All +these communications sustained her sanguine disposition, and, full of +happy confidence, she labored with unceasing and inspiring energy, so +that when the looked-for signal came they might be prepared to obey it; +and rapidly gather the rich fruition of their glorious hopes. + +While she was in this mood of mind, a scout arrived from Nerola, +bringing news that a brigade of the French army had positively embarked +at Marseilles, and might be hourly expected at Civita Vecchia. The news +was absolute. The Italian consul at Marseilles had telegraphed to his +government both when the first regiment was on board and when the last +had embarked. Copies of these telegrams had been forwarded instantly by +a secret friend to the volunteers on the southern frontier. + +When Theodora heard this news she said nothing, but, turning pale, she +quitted the group round the general and hastened to her own tent. She +told her attendant, the daughter of the custom-house officer at Narni, +and a true child of the mountains, that no one must approach her, not +even Colonel Campian, and the girl sat without the tent at its entrance, +dressed in her many-colored garments, with fiery eyes and square white +teeth, and her dark hair braided with gold coins and covered with a long +white kerchief of perfect cleanliness; and she had a poniard at her side +and a revolver in her hand, and she would have used both weapons sooner +than that her mistress should be disobeyed. + +Alone in her tent, Theodora fell upon her knees, and, lifting up her +hands to heaven and bowing her head to the earth, she said: "O God! +whom I have ever worshipped, God of justice and of truth, receive the +agony of my soul!" + +And on the earth she remained for hours in despair. + +Night came, and it brought no solace, and the day returned, but to her +it brought no light. Theodora was no longer seen. The soul of the camp +seemed extinct. The mien of majesty that ennobled all; the winning +smile that rewarded the rifleman at his practice and the sapper at his +toil; the inciting word that reanimated the recruit and recalled to the +veteran the glories of Sicilian struggles -- all vanished -- all seemed +spiritless and dull, and the armorer clinked his forge as if he were the +heartless hireling of a king. + +In this state of moral discomfiture there was one person who did not +lose his head, and this was the general. Calm, collected, and critical, +he surveyed the situation and indicated the possible contingencies. +"Our best, if not our only, chance," he said to Colonel Campian, "is +this -- that the Italian army now gathered in force upon the frontier +should march to Rome and arrive there before the French. Whatever then +happens, we shall at least get rid of the great imposture, but in all +probability the French and Italians will fight. In that case I shall +join the Savoyards, and in the confusion we may do some business yet." + +"This embarkation," said the colonel, "explains the gathering of the +Italians on the frontier. They must have foreseen this event at +Florence. They never can submit to another French occupation. It would +upset their throne. The question is, who will be at Rome first." + +"Just so," said the general; "and as it is an affair upon which all +depends, and is entirely beyond my control, I think I shall now take a +nap." So saying, he turned into his tent, and, in five minutes, this +brave and exact man, but in whom the muscular development far exceeded +the nervous, was slumbering without a dream. + +Civita Vecchia was so near at hand, and the scouts of the general were +so numerous and able, that he soon learned the French had not yet +arrived, and another day elapsed and still no news of the French. But, +on the afternoon of the following day, the startling but authentic +information arrived, that, after the French army having embarked and +remained two days in port, the original orders had been countermanded, +and the troops had absolutely disembarked. + +There was a cheer in the camp when the news was known, and Theodora +started from her desolation, surprised that there could be in such a +scene a sound of triumph. Then there was another cheer, and though she +did not move, but remained listening and leaning on her arm, the light +returned to her eyes. The cheer was repeated, and there were steps +about her tent. She caught the voice of Lothair speaking to her +attendant, and adjuring her to tell her mistress immediately that there +was good news, and that the French troops had disembarked. Then he +heard her husband calling Theodora. + +The camp became a scene of excitement and festivity which, in general, +only succeeds some signal triumph. The troops lived always in the air, +except in the hours of night, when the atmosphere of the mountains in +the late autumn is dangerous. At present they formed groups and parties +in the vicinity of the tents; there was their gay canteen and there +their humorous kitchen. The man of the Gulf with his rich Venetian +banter and the Sicilian with his scaramouch tricks got on very well with +the gentle and polished Tuscan, and could amuse without offending the +high Roman soul; but there were some quips and cranks and sometimes some +antics which were not always relished by the simpler men from the +islands, and the offended eye of a Corsican sometimes seemed to threaten +"vendetta." + +About sunset, Colonel Campian led forth Theodora. She was in female +attire, and her long hair, restrained only by a fillet, reached nearly +to the ground. Her Olympian brow seemed distended; a phosphoric light +glittered in her Hellenic eyes; a deep pink spot burnt upon each of +those cheeks usually so immaculately fair. + +The general and the chief officers gathered round her with their +congratulations, but she would visit all the quarters. She spoke to the +men in all the dialects of that land of many languages. The men of the +Gulf, in general of gigantic stature, dropped their merry Venetian +stories and fell down on their knees and kissed the hem of her garment; +the Scaramouch forgot his tricks, and wept as he would to the Madonna; +Tuscany and Rome made speeches worthy of the Arno and the Forum; and the +Corsicans and the islanders unsheathed their poniards and brandished +them in the air, which is their mode of denoting affectionate devotion. +As the night advanced, the crescent moon glittering above the Apennine, +Theodora, attended by the whole staff, having visited all the troops, +stopped at the chief fire of the camp, and in a voice which might have +maddened nations sang the hymn of Roman liberty, the whole army ranged +in ranks along the valley joining in the solemn and triumphant chorus. + + + +CHAPTER 58 + + +This exaltation of feeling in the camp did not evaporate. All felt that +they were on the eve of some great event, and that the hour was at hand. +And it was in this state of enthusiasm that couriers arrived with the +intelligence that Garibaldi had escaped from Caprera, that he had +reached Nerola in safety, and was in command of the assembled forces; +and that the general was, without loss of time, to strike his camp, join +the main body at a given place, and then march to Rome. + +The breaking-up of the camp was as the breaking-up of a long frost and +the first scent of spring. There was a brightness in every man's face +and a gay elasticity in all their movements. But when the order of the +day informed them that they must prepare for instant combat, and that in +eight-and-forty hours they would probably be in face of the enemy, the +hearts of the young recruits fluttered with strange excitement, and the +veterans nodded to each other with grim delight. + +It was nearly midnight when the troops quitted the valley, through a +defile, in an opposite direction to the pass by which they had entered +it. It was a bright night. Colonel Campian had the command of the +division in advance, which was five hundred strong. After the defile, +the country, though hilly, was comparatively open, and here the advanced +guard was to halt until the artillery and cavalry had effected the +passage, and this was the most laborious and difficult portion of the +march, but all was well considered, and all went right. The artillery +and cavalry, by sunrise, had joined the advanced guard, who were +bivouacking in the rocky plain, and about noon the main columns of the +infantry began to deploy from the heights, and, in a short time, the +whole force was in the field. Soon after this some of the skirmishers, +who had been sent forward, returned, and reported the enemy in force, +and in a strong position, commanding the intended route of the invading +force. On this the general resolved to halt for a few hours, and rest +and refresh the troops, and to recommence their march after sunset, so +that, without effort, they might be in the presence of the enemy by +dawn. + +Lothair had been separated from Theodora during this, to him, novel and +exciting scene. She had accompanied her husband, but, when the whole +force advanced in battle array, the general had desired that she should +accompany the staff. They advanced through the night, and by dawn they +were fairly in the open country. In the distance, and in the middle of +the rough and undulating plain, was a round hill with an ancient city, +for it was a bishop's see, built all about and over it. It would have +looked like a gigantic beehive, had it not been for a long convent on +the summit, flanked by some stone-pines, as we see in the pictures of +Gaspar and Claude. + +Between this city and the invading force, though not in a direct line, +was posted the enemy in a strong position; their right wing protected by +one of the mounds common in the plain, and their left backed by an +olive-wood of considerable extent, and which grew on the last rocky spur +of the mountains. They were, therefore, as regards the plain, on +commanding ground. The strength of the two forces was not unequal, and +the papal troops were not to be despised, consisting, among others, of a +detachment of the legion of Antibes and the Zouaves. They had +artillery, which was well posted. + +The general surveyed the scene, for which he was not unprepared. +Disposing his troops in positions in which they were as much protected +as possible from the enemy's fire, he opened upon them a fierce and +continuous cannonade, while he ordered Colonel Campian and eight hundred +men to fall back among the hills, and, following a circuitous path which +had been revealed by a shepherd, gain the spur of the mountains, and +attack the enemy in their rear through the olive-wood. It was +calculated that this movement, if successful, would require about three +hours, and the general, for that period of the time, had to occupy the +enemy and his own troops with what were, in realty, feint attacks. + +When the calculated time had elapsed, the general became anxious, and +his glass was never from his eye. He was posted on a convenient ridge, +and the wind, which was high this day from the sea, frequently cleared +the field from the volumes of smoke; so his opportunities of observation +were good. But the three hours passed, and there was no sign of the +approach of Campian, and he ordered Sarano, with his division, to +advance toward the mound and occupy the attention of the right wing of +the enemy; but, very shortly after Lothair had carried this order, and +four hours having elapsed, the general observed some confusion in the +left wing of the enemy, and, instantly countermanding the order, +commanded a general attack in line. The troops charged with enthusiasm, +but they were encountered with a resolution as determined. At first +they carried the mound, broke the enemy's centre, and were mixed up with +their great guns; but the enemy fiercely rallied, and the invaders were +repulsed. The papal troops retained their position, and their opponents +were in disorder on the plain, and a little dismayed. It was at this +moment that Theodora rushed forward, and, waving a sword in one hand, +and in the other the standard of the republic, exclaimed, "Brothers, to +Rome!" + +This sight inflamed their faltering hearts, which, after all, were +rather confounded than dismayed. They formed and rallied round her, and +charged with renewed energy at the very moment that Campian had brought +the force of his division on the enemy's rear. A panic came over the +papal troops, thus doubly assailed, and their rout was complete. They +retreated in the utmost disorder to Viterbo, which they abandoned that +night, and hurried to Rome. + +At the last moment, when the victory was no longer doubtful, and all +were in full retreat or in full pursuit, a Zouave, in wantonness, firing +his weapon before he throw it away, sent a random-shot which struck +Theodora, and she fell. Lothair, who had never left her during the +battle, was at her side in a moment, and a soldier, who had also marked +the fatal shot; and, strange to say, so hot and keen was the pursuit, +that, though a moment before they seemed to be in the very thick of the +strife, they almost instantaneously found themselves alone, or rather +with no companions than the wounded near them. She looked at Lothair, +but, at first, could not speak. She seemed stunned, but soon murmured: +"Go! go! you are wanted!" + +At this moment the general rode up with some of his staff. His +countenance was elate, and his eye sparkled with fire. But, catching +the figure of Lothair kneeling on the field, he reined in his charger +and said, "What is this?" Then looking more closely, he instantly +dismounted, and muttering to himself, "This mars the victory," he was at +Theodora's side. + +A slight smile came over her when she recognized the general, and she +faintly pressed his hand, and then said again: "Go, go; you are all +wanted." + +"None of up are wanted. The day is won; we must think of you." + +"Is it won?" she murmured. + +"Complete." + +"I die content." + +"Who talks of death?" said the general. "This is a wound, but I have +had some worse. What we must think of now are remedies. I passed an +ambulance this moment. Run for, it," he said to his aide-de-camp. "We +must stanch the wound at once; but it is only a mile to the city, and! +then we shall find every thing, for we were expected. I will ride on, +and there shall be proper attendance ready before you arrive. You will +conduct our friend to the city," he said to Lothair, "and be of good +courage, as I am." + + + +CHAPTER 59 + + +The troops were rushing through the gates of the city when the general +rode up. There was a struggling and stifling crowd; cheers and shrieks. +It was that moment of wild fruition, when the master is neither +recognized nor obeyed. It is not easy to take a bone out of a dog's +mouth; nevertheless, the presence of the general in time prevailed, +something like order was established, and, before the ambulance could +arrive, a guard had been appointed to receive it, and the ascent to the +monastery, where a quarter was prepared, kept clear. + +During the progress to the city Theodora never spoke, but she seemed +stunned rather than suffering; and once, when Lothair, who was walking +by her side, caught her glance with his sorrowful and anxious face, she +put forth her head, and pressed his. + +The ascent to the convent was easy, and the advantages of air and +comparative tranquillity which the place offered counterbalanced the +risk of postponing, for a very brief space, the examination of the +wound. + +They laid her on their arrival on a large bed, without poles or canopy, +in a lofty whitewashed room of considerable dimensions, clean and airy, +with high, open windows. There was no furniture in the room except a +chair, a table, and a crucifix. Lothair took her in his arms and laid +her on the bed; and the common soldier who had hitherto assisted him, a +giant in stature, with a beard a foot long, stood by the bedside crying +like a child. The chief surgeon almost at the same moment arrived with +an aide-de-camp of the general, and her faithful female attendant, and +in a few minutes her husband, himself wounded and covered with dust. + +The surgeon at once requested that all should withdraw except her +devoted maid, and they waited his report without, in that deep sad +silence which will not despair, and yet dares not hope. + +When the wound had been examined and probed and dressed, Theodora in a +faint voice said, "Is it desperate?" + +"Not desperate," said the surgeon, "but serious. All depends upon your +perfect tranquility -- of mind as well as body." + +"Well I am here and cannot move; and as for my mind, I am not only +serene, but happy." + +"Then we shall get through this," said the surgeon, encouragingly. + +"I do not like you to stay with me," said Theodora. "There are other +sufferers besides myself." + +"My orders are not to quit you," said the surgeon, "but I can be of +great use within these walls. I shall return when the restorative has +had its effect. But remember, if I be wanted, I am always here." + +Soon after this Theodora fell into a gentle slumber, and after two hours +woke refreshed. The countenance of the surgeon when he again visited +her was less troubled; it was hopeful. + +The day was now beginning to decline; notwithstanding the scenes of +tumult and violence near at hand, all was here silent; and the breeze, +which had been strong during the whole day, but which blew from the sea, +and was very soft, played gratefully upon the pale countenance of the +sufferer. Suddenly she said, "What is that?" + +And they answered and said, "We heard nothing." + +"I hear the sound of great guns," said Theodora. + +And they listened, and in a moment both the surgeon and the maid heard +the sound of distant ordnance. + +"The liberator is at hand," said the maid. + +"I dare say," said the surgeon. + +"No," said Theodora, looking distressed. "The sounds do not come from +his direction. Go and see, Dolores; ask, and tell me what are these +sounds." + +The surgeon was sitting by her side, and occasionally touching her +pulse, or wiping the slight foam from her brow, when Dolores returned +and said, "Lady, the sounds are the great guns of Civita Vecchia." + +A deadly change come over the countenance of Theodora, and the surgeon +looked alarmed. He would have given her some restorative, but she +refused it. "No, kind friend," she said; "it is finished. I have just +received a wound more fatal than the shot in the field this morning. +The French are at Rome. Tell me, kind friend, how long do you think I +may live?" + +The surgeon felt her pulse; his look was gloomy. "In such a case as +yours," he said, "the patient is the best judge." + +"I understand," she said. "Send, then, at once for my husband." + +He was at hand, for his wound had been dressed in the convent, and he +came to Theodora with his arm in a sling, but with the attempt of a +cheerful visage. + +In the mean time, Lothair, after having heard the first, and by no means +hopeless, bulletin of the surgeon, had been obliged to leave the convent +to look after his men, and having seen theme in quarters and made his +report to the general, he obtained permission to return to the convent +and ascertain the condition of Theodora. Arrived there, he heard that +she had had refreshing slumber, and that her husband was now with her, +and a ray of hope lighted up the darkness of his soul. He was walking +up and down the refectory of the convent with that sickening +restlessness which attends impending and yet uncertain sorrow, when +Colonel Campian entered the apartment and beckoned to him. + +There was an expression in his face which appalled Lothair, and he was +about to inquire after Theodora, when his tongue cleaved to the roof of +his mouth, and he could not speak. The Colonel shook his head, and said +in a low, hollow voice, "She wishes to see you, and alone. Come." + +Theodora was sitting in the bed, propped up by cushions, when Lothair +entered, and, as her wound was internal, there was no evidence of her +sufferings. The distressful expression of her face, when she heard the +great guns of Civita Vecchia, had passed away. It was serious, but it +was serene. She bade her maid leave the chamber, and then she said to +Lothair, "It is the last time I shall speak to you, and I wish that we +should be alone. There is something much on my mind at this moment, and +you can relieve it." + +"Adored being," murmured Lothair with streaming eyes, "there is no wish +of yours that I will not fulfil." + +"I know your life, for you have told it me, and you are true. I know +your nature; it is gentle and brave, but perhaps too susceptible. I +wished it to be susceptible only of the great and good. Mark me -- I +have a vague but strong conviction that there will be another and a more +powerful attempt to gain you to the Church of Rome. If I have ever been +to you, as you have sometimes said, an object of kind thoughts -- if not +a fortunate, at least a faithful friend -- promise me now, at this hour +of trial, with all the solemnity that becomes the moment, that you will +never enter that communion." + +Lothair would have spoken, but his voice was choked, and he could only +press her hand and bow his head. + +"But promise me," said Theodora. + +"I promise," said Lothair. + +"And now," she said, "embrace me, for I wish that your spirit should be +upon me as mine departs." + + + +CHAPTER 60 + + +It was a November day in Rome, and the sky was as gloomy as the heaven +of London. The wind moaned through the silent streets, deserted except +by soldiers. The shops were shut, not a civilian or a priest could be +seen. The Corso was occupied by the Swiss Guard and Zouaves, with +artillery ready to sweep it at a moment's notice. Six of the city gates +were shut and barricaded with barrels full of earth. Troops and +artillery were also posted in several of the principal piazzas, and on +some commanding heights, and St. Peter's itself was garrisoned. + +And yet these were the arrangements rather of panic than precaution. +The utmost dismay pervaded the council-chamber of the Vatican. Since +the news had arrived of the disembarkation of the French troops at +Marseilles, all hope of interference had expired. It was clear that +Berwick had been ultimately foiled, and his daring spirit and teeming +device were the last hope, as they were the ablest representation, of +Roman audacity and stratagem. The Revolutionary Committee, whose +abiding-place or agents never could be traced or discovered, had posted +every part of the city, during the night, with their manifesto, +announcing that the hour had arrived; an attempt, partially successful, +had been made to blow up the barracks of the Zouaves; and the cardinal +secretary was in possession of information that an insurrection was +immediate, and that the city won fired in four different quarters. + +The pope had escaped from the Vatican to the Castle of St. Angelo, where +he was secure, and where his courage could be sustained by the presence +of the Noble Guard, with their swords always drawn. The six-score of +monsignori, who in their different offices form what is styled the court +of Rome, had either accompanied his holiness, or prudently secreted +themselves in the strongest palaces and convents at their command. +Later in the day news arrived of the escape of Garibaldi from Caprera; +he was said to be marching on the city, and only five-and-twenty miles +distant. There appeared another proclamation from the Revolutionary +Committee, mysteriously posted under the very noses of the guards and +police, postponing the insurrection till the arrival of the liberator. + +The papal cause seemed hopeless. There was a general feeling throughout +the city and all classes, that this time it was to be an affair of +Alaric or Genseric, or the Constable of Bourbon; no negotiations, no +compromises, no conventions, but slaughter, havoc, a great judicial +devastation, that was to extirpate all signs and memories of Mediaeval +and Semitic Rome, and restore and renovate the inheritance of the true +offspring of the she-wolf. The very aspect of the place itself was +sinister. Whether it were the dulness of the dark sky, or the frown of +Madre Natura herself, but the old Seven Hills seemed to look askance. +The haughty capitol, impatient of its chapels, sighed once more for +triumphs; and the proud Palatine, remembering the Caesars, glanced with +imperial contempt on the palaces of the papal princelings that, in the +course of ignominious ages, had been constructed out of the exhaustless +womb of its still sovereign ruin. The Jews in their quarter spoke +nothing, but exchanged a curious glance, as if to say, "Has it come at +last? And will they indeed serve her as they served Sion?" + +This dreadful day at last passed, followed by as dreadful a night, and +then another day equally gloomy, equally silent, equally panic-stricken. +Even insurrection would have been a relief amid the horrible and wearing +suspense. On the third day the government made some wild arrests of the +wrong persons, and then came out a fresh proclamation from the +Revolutionary Committee, directing the Romans to make no move until the +advanced guard of Garibaldi had appeared upon Monte Mario. About this +time the routed troops of the pope arrived in confusion from Viterbo, +and of course extenuated their discomfiture by exaggerating the strength +of their opponents. According to them, they had encountered not less +than ten thousand men, who now; having joined the still greater force of +Garibaldi, were in full march on the city. + +The members of the papal party who showed the greatest spirit and the +highest courage at this trying conjuncture were the Roman ladies and +their foreign friends. They scraped lint for the troops as incessantly +as they offered prayers to the Virgin. Some of them were trained +nurses, and they were training others to tend the sick and wounded. +They organized a hospital service, and when the wounded arrived from +Viterbo, notwithstanding the rumors of incendiarism and massacre, they +came forth from their homes, and proceeded in companies, with no male +attendants but armed men, to the discharge of their self-appointed +public duties. There: were many foreigners in the papal ranks, and the +sympathies and services of the female visitors to Rome were engaged for +their countrymen. Princesses of France and Flanders might be seen by +the tressel-beds of many a suffering soldier of Dauphin and Brabant; +but there were numerous subjects of Queen Victoria in the papal ranks -- +some Englishmen, several Scotchmen, and many Irish. For them the +English ladies had organized a special service. Lady St. Jerome, with +unflagging zeal, presided over this department; and the superior of the +sisterhood of mercy, that shrank from no toil and feared no danger in +the fulfilment of those sacred duties of pious patriots, was Miss +Arundel. + +She was leaning over the bed of one who had been cut down in the +olive-wood by a sabre of Campian's force, when a peal of artillery was +heard. She thought that her hour had arrived, and the assault had +commenced. + +"Most holy Mary!" she exclaimed, "sustain me." + +There was another peal, and it was repeated, and again and again at +regular intervals. + +"That is not a battle, it is a salute," murmured the wounded soldier. + +And he was right; it was the voice of the great guns telling that the +French had arrived. + +The consternation of the Revolutionary Committee, no longer sustained by +Colonna, absent in France, was complete. Had the advanced guard of +Garibaldi been in sight, it might still have been the wisest course to +rise; but Monte Mario was not yet peopled by them, and an insurrection +against the papal troops, reanimated by the reported arrival of the +French, and increased in numbers by the fugitives from Viterbo, would +have been certainly a rash and probably a hopeless effort. And so, in +the midst of confused and hesitating councils, the first division of the +French force arrived at the gates of Rome, and marched into the gloomy +and silent city. + +Since the interference of St. Peter and St. Paul against Alaric, the +papacy had never experienced a more miraculous interposition in its +favor. Shortly after this the wind changed, and the sky became serene; +a sunbeam played on the flashing cross of St. Peter's; the Pope left the +Castle of Angelo, and returned to the Quirinal; the Noble Guard sheathed +their puissant blades; the six-score of monsignori reappeared in all +their busy haunts and stately offices; and the court of Rome, no longer +despairing of the republic, and with a spirit worthy of the Senate after +Cannae, ordered the whole of its forces into the field to combat its +invaders, with the prudent addition, in order to insure a triumph, of a +brigade of French infantry armed with chassepots. + +Garibaldi, who was really at hand, hearing of these events, fell back on +Monte Rotondo, about fifteen miles from the city, and took up a strong +position. He was soon attacked by his opponents, and defeated with +considerable slaughter, and forced to fly. The papal troops returned to +Rome in triumph, but with many wounded. The Roman ladies and their +friends resumed their noble duties with enthusiasm. The ambulances were +apportioned to the different hospitals, and the services of all were +required. Our own countrymen had suffered severely, but the skill and +energy and gentle care of Clare Arundel and her companions only +increased with the greater calls upon their beautiful and sublime +virtue. + +A woman came to Miss Arundel and told her that, in one of the +ambulances, was a young man whom they could not make out. He was +severely wounded, and had now swooned; but they had reason to believe he +was an Englishman. Would she see him and speak to him? And she went. + +The person who had summoned her was a woman of much beauty, not an +uncommon quality in Rome, and of some majesty of mien, as little rare, +in that city. She was said, at the time when some inquiry was made, to +be Maria Serafina de Angelis, the wife of a tailor in the Ripetta. + +The ambulance was in the court-yard of the hospital of the Santissima +Trinita di Pellegrini. The woman pointed to it, and then went away. +There was only one person in the ambulance; the rest had been taken to +the hospital, but he had been left because he was in a swoon, and they +were trying to restore him. Those around the ambulance made room for +Miss Arundel as she approached, and she beheld a young man, covered with +the stains of battle, and severely wounded; but his countenance was +uninjured though insensible. His eyes were closed, and his auburn hair +fell in clusters on his white forehead. The sister of mercy touched the +pulse to ascertain whether there yet was life, but, in the very act, her +own frame became agitated, and the color left her cheek as she +recognized -- Lothair.' + + + +CHAPTER 61 + + +When Lothair in some degree regained consciousness, he found himself in +bed. The chamber was lofty and dim, and had once been splendid. +Thoughtfulness had invested it with an air of comfort rare under Italian +roofs. The fagots sparkled on the hearth, the light from the windows +was veiled with hangings, and the draughts from the tall doors guarded +against by screens. And by his bedside there were beautiful flowers, +and a crucifix, and a silver bell. + +Where was he? He looked up at the velvet canopy above, and then at the +pictures that covered the walls, but there was no familiar aspect. He +remembered nothing since he was shot down in the field of Mentana, and +even that incoherently. + +And there had been another battle before that, followed by a catastrophe +still more dreadful. When had all this happened, and where? He tried +to move his bandaged form, but he had no strength, and his mind seemed +weaker than his frame. But he was soon sensible that he was not alone. +A veiled figure gently lifted him, and another one refreshed his +pillows. He spoke, or tried to speak, but one of them pressed her +finger to her shrouded lips, and he willingly relapsed into the silence +which he had hardly strength enough to break. + +And sometimes these veiled and gliding ministers brought him sustenance +and sometimes remedies, and he complied with all their suggestions, but +with absolute listlessness; and sometimes a coarser hand interposed, and +sometimes he caught a countenance that was not concealed, but was ever +strange. He had a vague impression that they examined and dressed his +wounds, and arranged his bandages; but whether he really had wounds, and +whether he were or were not bandaged, he hardly knew, and did not care +to know. He was not capable of thought, and memory was an effort under +which he always broke down. Day after day he remained silent and almost +motionless alike in mind and body. He had a vague feeling that, after +some great sorrows, and some great trials, he was in stillness and in +safety; and he had an indefinite mysterious sentiment of gratitude to +some unknown power, that had cherished him in his dark calamities, and +poured balm and oil into his wounds. + +It was in this mood of apathy that, one evening, there broke upon his +ear low but beautiful voices performing the evening service of the +Church. His eye glistened, his heart was touched by the vesper spell. +He listened with rapt attention to the sweet and sacred strains, and +when they died away he felt depressed. Would they ever sound again? + +Sooner than he could have hoped, for, when he woke in the morning from +his slumbers, which, strange to say, were always disturbed, for the mind +and the memory seemed to work at night though in fearful and exhausting +chaos, the same divine melodies that had soothed him in the eve, now +sounded in the glad and grateful worship of matin praise. + +"I have heard the voice of angels," he murmured to his veiled attendant. + +The vesper and the matin hours became at once the epochs of his day. He +was ever thinking of them, and soon was thinking of the feelings which +their beautiful services celebrate and express. His mind seemed no +longer altogether a blank, and the religious sentiment was the first +that returned to his exhausted heart. + +"There will be a requiem to-day," whispered one of his veiled +attendants. + +A requiem! a service for the dead; a prayer for their peace and rest! +And who was dead? The bright, the matchless one, the spell and +fascination of his life! Was it possible? Could she be dead, who +seemed vitality in its consummate form? Was there ever such a being as +Theodora? And if there were no Theodora on earth, why should one think +of any thing but heaven? + +The sounds came floating down the chamber till they seemed to cluster +round his brain; sometimes solemn, sometimes thrilling, sometimes the +divine pathos melting the human heart with celestial sympathy and +heavenly solace. The tears fell fast from his agitated vision, and he +sank back exhausted, almost insensible, on his pillow. + +"The Church has a heart for all our joys and all our sorrows, and for +all our hopes, and all our fears," whispered a veiled attendant, as she +bathed his temples with fragrant waters. + +Though the condition of Lothair had at first seemed desperate, his +youthful and vigorous frame had enabled him to rally, and, with time and +the infinite solicitude which he received, his case was not without +hope. But, though his physical cure was somewhat advanced, the +prostration of his mind seemed susceptible of no relief. The services +of the Church accorded with his depressed condition; they were the only +events of his life, and he cherished them. His attendants now permitted +and even encouraged him to speak; but he seemed entirely incurious and +indifferent. Sometimes they read to him, and he listened, but he never +made remarks. The works which they selected had a religious or +ecclesiastical bias, even while they were imaginative; and it seemed +difficult not to be interested by the ingenious fancy by which it was +worked out, that every thing that was true and sacred in heaven had its +symbol and significance in the qualities and accidents of earth. + +After a month passed in this manner, the surgeons having announced that +Lothair might now prepare to rise from his bed, a veiled attendant said +to him one day, "There is a gentleman here who is a friend of yours, and +who would like to see you. And perhaps you would like to see him also +for other reasons, for you must have much to say to God after all that +you have suffered. And he is a most holy man." + +"I have no wish to see any one. Are you sure he is not a stranger?" +asked Lothair. + +"He is in the next room," said the attendant. "He has been here +throughout your illness, conducting our services; often by your bedside +when you were asleep, and always praying for you." + +The veiled attendant drew back and waved her hand, and some one glided +forward, and said in a low, soft voice, "You have not forgotten me?" + +And Lothair beheld Monsignore Catesby. + +"It is a long time since we met," said Lothair, looking at him with some +scrutiny, and then all interest died away, and he turned away his vague +and wandering eyes. + +"But you know me?" + +"I know not where I am, and I but faintly comprehend what has happened," +murmured Lothair. + +"You are among friends," said the monsignore, in tones of sympathy. +"What has happened," he added, with an air of mystery, not unmixed with +a certain expression of ecstasy in his glance, "must be reserved for +other times, when you are stronger, and can grapple with such high +themes." + +"How long have I been here?" inquired Lothair, dreamily. + +"It is a month since the Annunciation." + +"What Annunciation?" + +"Hush!" said the monsignore, and he raised his finger to his lip. "We +must not talk of these things -- at least at present. No doubt, the +game blessed person that saved you from the jaws of death is at this +moment guarding over your recovery and guiding it; but we do not +deserve, nor does the Church expect, perpetual miracles. We must avail +ourselves, under Divine sanction, of the beneficent tendencies of +Nature; and in your case her operations must not be disturbed at this +moment by any excitement, except, indeed, the glow of gratitude for +celestial aid, and the inward joy which must permeate the being of any +one who feels that he is among the most favored of men." + +From this time Monsignore Catesby scarcely ever quitted Lothair. He +hailed Lothair in the morn, and parted from him at night with a +blessing; and in the interval Catesby devoted his whole life, and the +inexhaustible resources of his fine and skilled intelligence, to +alleviate or amuse the existence of his companion. Sometimes he +conversed with Lothair, adroitly taking the chief burden of the talk; +and yet, whether it were bright narrative or lively dissertation, never +seeming to lecture or hold forth, but relieving the monologue, when +expedient, by an interesting inquiry, which he was always ready in due +time to answer himself, or softening the instruction by the playfulness +of his mind and manner. Sometimes he read to Lothair, and attuned the +mind of his charge to the true spiritual note by melting passages from + Kempis or Chrysostom. Then be would bring a portfolio of wondrous +drawings by the mediaeval masters, of saints and seraphs, and accustom +the eye and thought of Lothair to the forms and fancies of the court of +heaven. + +One day, Lothair, having risen from his bed for the first time, and +lying on a sofa in an adjoining chamber to that in which he had been so +long confined, the monsignore seated himself by the side of Lothair, +and, opening a portfolio, took out a drawing and held it before Lothair, +observing his countenance with a glance of peculiar scrutiny. + +"Well!" said Catesby, after some little pause, as if awaiting a remark +from his companion. + +"'Tis beautiful!" said Lothair. "Is it by Raffaelle?" + +"No; by Fra Bartolomeo. But the countenance, do you remember ever +having met such a one?" + +Lothair shook his head. Catesby took out another drawing, the same +subject, the Blessed Virgin. "By Giulio," said the monsignore, and he +watched the face of Lothair, but it was listless. + +Then he showed Lothair another, and another, and another. At last he +held before him one which was really by Raffaelle, and by which Lothair +was evidently much moved. His eye lit up, a blush suffused his pale +cheek, he took the drawing himself, and held it before his gaze with a +trembling hand. + +"Yes I remember this," he murmured, for it was one of those faces of +Greek beauty which the great painter not infrequently caught up at Rome. +The monsignore looked gently round and waved his hand, and immediately +arose the hymn to the Virgin in subdued strains of exquisite melody. + +On the next morning, when Lothair woke, he found on the table, by his +side, the drawing of the Virgin in a sliding frame. + +About this time the monsignore began to accustom Lothair to leave his +apartment, and, as he was not yet permitted to walk, Catesby introduced +what he called an English chair, in which Lothair was enabled to survey +a little the place which had been to him a refuge and a home. It seemed +a building of vast size, raised round an inner court with arcades and +windows, and, in the higher story where he resided, an apparently +endless number of chambers and galleries. One morning, in their +perambulations, the monsignore unlocked the door of a covered way which +had no light but from a lamp which guided their passage. The opposite +door at the end of this covered way opened into a church, but one of a +character different from any which Lothair had yet entered. + +It had been raised during the latter of the sixteenth century by +Vignola, when, under the influence of the great Pagan revival, the +Christian church began to assume the character of an Olympian temple. A +central painted cupola of large but exquisite proportions, supported by +pilasters with gilded capitals, and angels of white marble springing +from golden brackets; walls incrusted with rare materials of every tint, +and altars supported by serpentine columns of agate and alabaster; a +blaze of pictures, and statues, and precious stones, and precious +metals, denoted one of the chief temples of the sacred brotherhood of +Jesus, raised when the great order had recognized that the views of +primitive and mediaeval Christianity, founded on the humility of man, +were not in accordance with the age of confidence in human energy, in +which they were destined to rise, and which they were determined to +direct. + +Guided by Catesby, and leaning on a staff, Lothair gained a gorgeous +side chapel in which mass was celebrating; the air was rich with +incense, and all heaven seemed to open in the ministrations of a +seraphic choir. Crushed by his great calamities, both physical and +moral, Lothair sometimes felt that be could now be content if the rest +of his life could flow away amid this celestial fragrance and these +gushing sounds of heavenly melody. And absorbed in these feelings it +was not immediately observed by him that on the altar, behind the +dazzling blaze of tapers, was a picture of the Virgin, and identically +the same countenance as that he had recognized with emotion in the +drawing of Raffaelle. + +It revived perplexing memories which agitated him, thoughts on which it +seemed his brain had not now strength enough to dwell, and yet with +which it now seemed inevitable for him to grapple. The congregation was +not very numerous, and, when it broke up, several of them lingered +behind and whispered to the monsignore, and then, after a little time, +Catesby approached Lothair and said: "There are some here who would +wish to kiss your hand, or even touch the hem of your garments. It is +troublesome, but natural, considering all that has occurred and that +this is the first time, perhaps, that they have met any one who has been +so favored." + +"Favored!" said Lothair; "Am I favored? It seems to me I am the most +forlorn of men -- if even I am that." + +"Hush!" said the monsignore, "we must not talk of these things at +present;" and he motioned to some, who approached and contemplated +Lothair with blended curiosity and reverence. + +These visits of Lothair to the beautiful church of the Jesuits became of +daily occurrence, and often happened several times on the same day; +indeed they formed the only incident which seemed to break his +listlessness. He became interested in the change and variety of the +services, in the persons and characters of the officiating priests. The +soft manners of these fathers, their intelligence in the performance of +their offices, their obliging carriage, and the unaffected concern with +which all he said or did seemed to inspire the won upon him +unconsciously. The church had become his world; and his sympathies, if +he still had sympathies, seemed confined to those within its walls. + +In the mean time his physical advancement though slow was gradual and +had hitherto never been arrested. He could even walk a little alone, +though artificially supported, and ramble about the halls and galleries +full of a prodigious quantity of pictures, from the days of Raffael +Sanzio to those of Raffael Mengs. + +"The doctors think now we might try a little drive," said the monsignore +one morning. "The rains have ceased and refreshed every thing. To-day +is like the burst of spring;" and, when Lothair seemed to shudder at the +idea of facing any thing like the external world, the monsignore +suggested immediately that they should go out in a close carriage, which +they finally entered in the huge quadrangle of the building. Lothair +was so nervous that he pulled down even the blind of his window; and the +monsignore, who always humored him, half pulled down his own. + +Their progress seemed through a silent land, and they could hardly be +traversing streets. Then the ascent became a little precipitous, and +then the carriage stopped, and the monsignore said: "Here is a solitary +spot. We shall meet no one. The view is charming, and the air is +soft." And he placed his hand gently on the arm of Lothair, and, as it +were, drew him out of the carriage. + +The sun was bright, and the sky was bland. There was something in the +breath of Nature that was delightful. The scent of violets was worth +all the incense in the world; all the splendid marbles and priestly +vestments seemed hard and cold when compared with the glorious colors of +the cactus and the wild forms of the golden and gigantic aloes. The +Favonian breeze played on the brow of this beautiful hill, and the +exquisite palm-trees, while they bowed their rustling heads, answered in +responsive chorus to the antiphon of Nature. + +The dreary look that had been so long imprinted on the face of Lothair +melted away. + +"'Tis well that we came, is it not?" said Catesby; "and now we will seat +ourselves." Below and before them, on an undulating site, a city of +palaces and churches spread out its august form, enclosing within its +ample walls sometimes a wilderness of classic ruins -- column, and arch, +and theatre -- sometimes the umbrageous spread of princely gardens. A +winding and turbid river divided the city in unequal parts, in one of +which there rose a vast and glorious temple, crowned with a dome of +almost superhuman size and skill, on which the favorite sign of heaven +flashed with triumphant truth. + +The expression of relief which, for a moment, had reposed on the face of +Lothair, left it when he said, in an agitated voice, "I at length behold +Rome!" + + + +CHAPTER 62 + + +This recognition of Rome by Lothair evinced not only a consciousness of +locality, but an interest in it not before exhibited; and the monsignore +soon after seized the opportunity of drawing the mind of his companion +to the past, and feeling how far he now realized the occurrences that +immediately preceded his arrival in the city. But Lothair would not +dwell on them. "I wish to think of nothing," he said, "that happened +before I entered this city: all I desire now is to know those to whom I +am indebted for my preservation in a condition that seemed hopeless." + +"There is nothing hopeless with Divine aid," said the monsignore; "but, +humanly speaking, you are indebted for your preservation to English +friends, long and intimately cherished. It is under their roof that you +dwell, the Agostini palace, tenanted by Lord St. Jerome." + +"Lord St. Jerome!" murmured Lothair to himself. + +"And the ladies of his house are those who, only with some slight +assistance from my poor self, tended you throughout your most desperate +state, and when we sometimes almost feared that mind and body were alike +wrecked." + +"I have a dream of angels," said Lothair; "and sometimes I listened to +heavenly voices that I seemed to have heard before." + +"I am sure you have not forgotten the ladies of that house?" said +Catesby, watching his countenance. + +"No; one of them summoned me to meet her at Rome," murmured Lothair, +"and I am here." + +"That summons was divine," said Catesby, "and only the herald of the +great event that was ordained and has since occurred. In this holy +city, Miss Arundel must ever count as the most sanctified of her sex." + +Lothair lapsed into silence, which subsequently appeared to be +meditation, for, when the carriage stopped, and the monsignore assisted +him to alight, he said, "I must see Lord St. Jerome." + +And, in the afternoon, with due and preparatory announcement, Lord St. +Jerome waited on Lothair. The monsignore ushered him into the chamber, +and, though he left them as it were alone, never quitted it. He watched +them conversing, while he seemed to be arranging books and flowers; he +hovered over the conference, dropping down on them at a critical moment, +when the words became either languid or embarrassing. Lord St. Jerome +was a hearty man, simple and high-bred. He addressed Lothair with all +his former kindness, but with some degree of reserve, and even a dash of +ceremony. Lothair was not insensible to the alteration in his manner, +but could ascribe it to many causes. He was himself resolved to make an +effort, when Lord St. Jerome arose to depart, and expressed the +intention of Lady St. Jerome to wait on him on the morrow. "No, my dear +lord," said Lothair; "to-morrow I make my first visit, and it shall be +to my best friends. I would try to come this evening, but they will not +be alone; and I must see them alone if it be only once." + +This visit of the morrow rather pressed on the nervous system of +Lothair. It was no slight enterprise, and called up many recollections. +He brooded over his engagement during the whole evening, and his night +was disturbed. His memory, long in a state of apathy, or curbed and +controlled into indifference, seemed endowed with unnatural vitality, +reproducing the history of his past life in rapid and exhausting tumult. +All its scenes rose before him -- Brentham, and Vauxe, and, Muriel -- +and closing with one absorbing spot, which, for a long time, it avoided, +and in which all merged and ended -- Belmont. Then came that anguish of +the heart, which none can feel but those who in the youth of life have +lost some one infinitely fascinating and dear, and the wild query why +he, too, had not fallen on the fatal plain which had entombed all the +hope and inspiration of his existence. + +The interview was not so trying an incident as Lothair anticipated, as +often under such circumstances occurs. Miss Arundel was not present; +and, in the second place, although Lothair could not at first be +insensible to a change in the manner of Lady St. Jerome, as well as in +that of her lord, exhibiting as it did a degree of deference and +ceremony which with her toward him were quite unusual, still the genial, +gushing nature of this lively and enthusiastic woman, full of sympathy, +soon asserted itself, and her heart was overflowing with sorrow for all +his sufferings and gratitude for his escape. + +"And, after all," she said, "every thing must have been ordained; and, +without these trials, and even calamities, that great event could not +have been brought about which must make all hail you as the most favored +of men." + +Lothair stared with a look of perplexity, and then said: "If I be the +most favored of men, it is only because two angelic beings have deigned +to minister to me in my sorrow, with a sweet devotion I can never +forget, and, alas! can never repay." + + + +CHAPTER 63 + + +Lothair was not destined to meet Clare Arundel alone or only in the +presence of her family. He had acceded, after a short time, to the wish +of Lady St. Jerome, and the advice of Monsignore Catesby, to wait on her +in the evening, when Lady St. Jerome was always at home and never alone. +Her rooms were the privileged resort of the very cream of Roman society +and of those English who, like herself, had returned to the Roman +Church. An Italian palace supplied an excellent occasion for the +display of the peculiar genius of our countrywomen to make a place +habitable. Beautiful carpets, baskets of flowers and cases of ferns, +and chairs which you could sit upon, tables covered with an infinity of +toys -- sparkling, useful, and fantastic -- huge silken screens of rich +color, and a profusion of light, produced a scene of combined comfort +and brilliancy which made every one social who entered it, and seemed to +give a bright and graceful turn even to the careless remarks of ordinary +gossip. + +Lady St. Jerome rose the moment her eye caught the entry of Lothair, +and, advancing, received him with an air of ceremony, mixed, however, +with an expression of personal devotion which was distressing to him, +and singularly contrasted with the easy and genial receptions that he +remembered at Vauxe. Then Lady St. Jerome led Lothair to her companion +whom she had just quitted, and presented him to the Princess +Tarpeia-Cinque Cento, a dame in whose veins, it was said, flowed both +consular and pontifical blood of the rarest tint. + +The Princess Tarpeia-Cinque Cento was the greatest lady in Rome; had +still vast possessions -- palaces and villas and vineyards and broad +farms. Notwithstanding all that had occurred, she still looked upon the +kings and emperors of the world as the mere servants of the pope, and on +the old Roman nobility as still the conscript fathers of the world. Her +other characteristic was superstition. So she was most distinguished by +an irrepressible haughtiness and an illimitable credulity. The only +softening circumstance was that, being in the hands of the Jesuits, her +religion did not assume an ascetic or gloomy character. She was fond of +society, and liked to show her wondrous jewels, which were still +unrivalled, although she had presented his holiness in his troubles with +a tiara of diamonds. + +There were rumors that the Princess Tarpeia-Cinque Cento had on +occasions treated even the highest nobility of England with a certain +indifference; and all agreed that to laymen, however distinguished, her +highness was not prone too easily to relax. But, in the present +instance, it is difficult to convey a due conception of the graciousness +of her demeanor when Lothair bent before her. She appeared even +agitated, almost rose from her seat, and blushed through her rouge. +Lady St. Jerome, guiding Lothair into her vacant seat, walked away. + +"We shall never forget what you have done for us," said the princess to +Lothair. + +"I have done nothing," said Lothair, with a surprised air. + +"Ali, that is so like gifted beings like you," said the princess. "They +never will think they have done any thing, even were they to save the +world." + +"You are too gracious, princess," said Lothair; "I have no claims to +esteem which all must so value." + +"Who has, if you have not?" rejoined the princess. "Yes, it is to you, +and to you alone, that we must look. I am very impartial in what I say, +for, to be frank, I have not been of those who believed that the great +champion would rise without the patrimony of St. Peter. I am ashamed to +say that I have even looked with jealousy on the energy that has been +shown by individuals in other countries; but I now confess that I was in +error. I cannot resist this manifestation. It was a privilege to have +lived when it happened. All that we can do now is to cherish your +favored life." + +"You are too kind, madam," murmured the perplexed Lothair. + +"I have done nothing," rejoined the princess, "and am ashamed that I +have done nothing. But it is well for you, at this season, to be at +Rome; and you cannot be better, I am sure, than under this roof. But, +when the spring breaks, I hope you will honor me, by accepting for your +use a villa which I have at Albano, and which, at that season, has many +charms." + +There were other Roman ladies in the room only inferior in rank and +importance to the Princess Tarpeia-Cinque Cento; and in the course of +the evening, at their earnest request, they were made acquainted with +Lothair, for it cannot be said he was presented to them. These ladies, +generally so calm, would not wait for the ordinary ceremony of life, +but, as he approached to be introduced, sank to the ground with the +obeisance offered only to royalty. + +There were some cardinals in the apartment and several monsignori. +Catesby was there in close attendance on a pretty English countess, who +had just "gone over." Her husband had been at first very much +distressed at the event, and tore himself from the severe duties of the +House of Lords, in the hope that he might yet arrive in time at Rome to +save her soul. But he was too late; and, strange to say, being of a +domestic turn, and disliking family dissensions, he remained at Rome +during the rest of the session, and finally "went over" himself. + +Later in the evening arrived his eminence, Cardinal Berwick, for our +friend had gained, and bravely gained, the great object of a churchman's +ambition, and which even our Laud was thinking at one time of accepting, +although he was to remain a firm Anglican. In the death-struggle +between the Church and the secret societies, Berwick had been the +victor, and no one in the Sacred College more truly deserved the scarlet +hat. + +His eminence had a reverence of radiant devotion for the Princess +Tarpeia-Cinque Cento, a glance of friendship for Lady St. Jerome -- for +all, a courtly and benignant smile; but, when he recognized Lothair, he +started forward, seized and retained his hand, and then seemed +speechless with emotion. "Ah! my comrade in the great struggle!" he at +length exclaimed; "this is, indeed, a pleasure -- and to see you here!" + +Early in the evening, while Lothair was sitting by the side of the +princess, his eye had wandered round the room, not unsuccessfully, in +search of Miss Arundel; and, when he was free, he would immediately have +approached her, but she was in conversation with a Roman prince. Then, +when she was for a moment free, he was himself engaged; and, at last, he +had to quit abruptly a cardinal of taste, who was describing to him a +statue just discovered in the baths of Diocletian, in order to seize the +occasion that again offered itself. + +Her manner was constrained when he addressed her, but she gave him her +hand, which he pressed to his lips. Looking deeply into her violet +eyes, he said: "You summoned me to meet you at Rome; I am here." + +"And I summoned you to other things," she answered, at first with +hesitation and a blush; but then, as if rallying herself to the +performance of a duty too high to allow of personal embarrassment, she +added: "all of which you will perform, as becomes one favored by +Heaven." + +"I have been favored by you," said Lothair, speaking low and hurriedly; +"to whom I owe my life, and more than my life. Yes," he continued, +"this is not the scene I would have chosen to express my gratitude to +you for all that you have done for me, and my admiration of your sublime +virtues; but I can no longer repress the feelings of my heart, though +their utterance be as inadequate as your deeds have been transcendent." + +"I was but the instrument of a higher power." + +"We are all instruments of a higher power, but the instruments chosen +are always choice." + +"Ay, there it is!" said Miss Arundel; "and that is what I rejoice you +feel. For it is impossible that such a selection could have been made, +as in your case, without your being reserved for great results." + +"I am but a shattered actor for great results," said Lothair, shaking +his head. + +"You have had trials," said Miss Arundel, "so had St. Ignatius, so had +St. Francis, and great temptations; but these are the tests of +character, of will, of spiritual power -- the fine gold is searched. +All things that have happened have tended and have been ordained to one +end, and that was to make you the champion of the Church of which you +are now more than the child." + +"More than the child?" + +"Indeed I think so. However, this is hardly the place and occasion to +dwell on such matters; and, indeed, I know your friends -- my friends +equally -- are desirous that your convalescence should not be +unnecessarily disturbed by what must be, however delightful, still +agitating thoughts; but you touched yourself unexpectedly on the theme, +and, at any rate, you will pardon one who has the inconvenient quality +of having only one thought." + +"Whatever you say or think must always interest me." + +"You are kind to say so. I suppose you know that our cardinal, Cardinal +Grandison, will be here in a few days?" + + + +CHAPTER 64 + + +Although the reception of Lothair by his old friends and by the leaders +of the Roman world was in the highest degree flattering, there was +something in its tone which was perplexing to him and ambiguous. Could +they be ignorant of his Italian antecedents? Impossible. Miss Arundel +had admitted, or rather declared, that he had experienced great trials, +and, even temptations. She could only allude to what had occurred since +their parting in England. But all this was now looked upon as +satisfactory, because it was ordained, and tended to one end; and what +was that end? His devotion to the Church of Rome, of which they +admitted he was not formally a child. + +It was true that his chief companion was a priest, and that he passed a +great portion of his life within the walls of a church. But the priest +was his familiar friend in England, who in a foreign land had nursed him +with devotion in a desperate illness; and, although in the great +calamities, physical and moral, that had overwhelmed him, he had found +solace in the beautiful services of a religion which he respected, no +one for a moment had taken advantage of this mood of his suffering and +enfeebled mind to entrap him into controversy, or to betray him into +admissions that he might afterward consider precipitate and immature. +Indeed, nothing could be more delicate than the conduct of the Jesuit +fathers throughout his communications with them. They seemed sincerely +gratified that a suffering fellow creature should find even temporary +consolation within their fair and consecrated structure; their voices +modulated with sympathy; their glances gushed with fraternal affection; +their affectionate politeness contrived, in a thousand slight instances, +the selection of a mass, the arrangement of a picture, the loan of a +book, to contribute to the interesting or elegant distraction of his +forlorn and brooding being. + +And yet Lothair began to feel uneasy, and his uneasiness increased +proportionately as his health improved. He sometimes thought that he +should like to make an effort and get about a little in the world, but +he was very weak, and without any of the resources to which he had been +accustomed throughout life. He had no servants of his own, no +carriages, no man of business, no banker; and when at last he tried to +bring himself to write to Mr. Putney Giles -- a painful task -- +Monsignore Catesby offered to undertake his whole correspondence for +him, and announced that his medical attendants had declared that he must +under no circumstances whatever attempt at present to write a letter. +Hitherto he had been without money, which was lavishly supplied for his +physicians and other wants; and he would have been without clothes if +the most fashionable tailor in Rome, a German, had not been in frequent +attendance on him under the direction of Monsignore Catesby, who, in +fact, had organized his wardrobe as he did every thing else. + +Somehow or other Lothair never seemed alone. When he woke in the +morning the monsignore was frequently kneeling before an oratory in his +room, and if by any chance Lothair was wanting at Lady St. Jerome's +reception, Father Coleman, who was now on a visit to the family, would +look in and pass the evening with him, as men who keep a gaming-table +find it discreet occasionally to change the dealer. It is a huge and +even stupendous pile -- that Palazzo Agostini, and yet Lothair never +tried to thread his way through its vestibules and galleries, or attempt +a reconnaissance of its endless chambers, without some monsignore or +other gliding up quite propos and relieving him from the dulness of +solitary existence during the rest of his promenade. + +Lothair was relieved by hearing that big former guardian, Cardinal +Grandison, was daily expected at Rome; and he revolved in his mind +whether he should not speak to his eminence generally on the system of +his life, which he felt now required some modification. In the +interval, however, no change did occur. Lothair attended every day the +services of the church, and every evening the receptions of Lady St. +Jerome; and between the discharge of these two duties he took a drive +with a priest -- sometimes with more than one, but always most agreeable +men -- generally in the environs of the city, or visited a convent, or a +villa, some beautiful gardens, or a gallery of works of art. + +It was at Lady St. Jerome's that Lothair met his former guardian. The +cardinal had only arrived in the morning. His manner to Lothair was +affectionate. He retained Lothair's hand and pressed it with his pale, +thin fingers; his attenuated countenance blazed for a moment with a +divine light. + +"I have long wished to see you, sir," said Lothair, "and much wish to +talk with you." + +"I can hear nothing from you nor of you but what must be most pleasing +to me," said the cardinal. + +"I wish I could believe that," said Lothair. + +The cardinal caressed him; put his arm round Lothair's neck and said, +"There is no time like the present. Let us walk together in this +gallery," and they withdrew naturally from the immediate scene. + +"You know all that has happened, I dare say," said Lothair with +embarrassment and with a sigh, "since we parted in England, sir." + +"All," said the cardinal. "It has been a most striking and merciful +dispensation." + +"Then I need not dwell upon it," said Lothair, "and naturally it would +be most painful. What I wish particularly to speak to you about is my +position under this roof. What I owe to those who dwell under it no +language can describe, and no efforts on my part, and they shall be +unceasing, can repay. But I think the time has come when I ought no +longer to trespass on their affectionate devotion, though, when I allude +to the topic, they seem to misinterpret the motives which influence me, +and to be pained rather than relieved by my suggestions. I cannot bear +being looked upon as ungrateful, when in fact I am devoted to them. I +think, sir, you might help me in putting all this right." + +"If it be necessary," said the cardinal; "but I apprehend you +misconceive them. When I last left Rome you were very ill, but Lady St. +Jerome and others have written to me almost daily about you, during my +absence, so that I am familiar with all that has occurred, and quite +cognizant of their feelings. Rest assured that, toward yourself, they +are exactly what they ought to be and what you would desire." + +"Well, I am glad," said Lothair, "that you are acquainted with every +thing that has happened, for you can put them right if it be necessary; +but I sometimes cannot help fancying that they are under some false +impression both as to my conduct and my convictions." + +"Not in the slightest," said the cardinal, "trust me, my dear friend, +for that. They know everything and appreciate everything; and, great +as, no doubt, have been your sufferings, feel that every thing has been +ordained for the best; that the hand of the Almighty has been visible +throughout all these strange events; that His Church was never more +clearly built upon a rock than at this moment; that this great +manifestation will revive, and even restore, the faith of Christendom; +and that you yourself must be looked upon as one of the most favored of +men." + +"Everybody says that," said Lothair, rather peevishly. + +"And everybody feels it," said the cardinal. + +"Well, to revert to lesser points," said Lothair, "I do not say I want +to return to England, for I dread returning to England, and do not know +whether I shall ever go back there; and at any rate I doubt not my +health at present is unequal to the effort; but I should like some +change in my mode of life. I will not say it is too much controlled, +for nothing seems ever done without first consulting me; but, somehow or +other, we are always in the same groove. I wish to see more of the +world; I wish to see Rome, and the people of Rome. I wish to see and do +many things which, if I mention, it would seem to hurt the feelings of +others, and my own are misconceived, but, if mentioned by you, all would +probably be different." + +"I understand you, my dear young friend, my child, I will still say," +said the cardinal. "Nothing can be more reasonable than what you +suggest. No doubt our friends may be a little too anxious about you, +but they are the best people in the world. You appear to me to be quite +well enough now to make more exertion than hitherto they have thought +you capable of. They see you every day, and cannot judge so well of you +as I who have been absent. I will charge myself to effect all your +wishes. And we will begin by my taking you out to-morrow and your +driving with me about the city. I will show you Rome and the Roman +people." + +Accordingly, on the morrow, Cardinal Grandison and his late pupil +visited together Rome and the Romans. And first of all Lothair was +presented to the cardinal-prefect of the Propaganda, who presides over +the ecclesiastical affairs of every country in which the Roman Church +has a mission, and that includes every land between the Arctic and the +Southern Pole. This glimpse of the organized correspondence with both +the Americas, all Asia, all Africa, all Australia, and many European +countries, carried on by a countless staff of clerks in one of the most +capacious buildings in the world, was calculated to impress the visitor +with a due idea of the extensive authority of the Roman Pontiff. This +institution, greater, according to the cardinal, than any which existed +in ancient Rome, was to propagate the faith, the purity of which the +next establishment they visited was to maintain. According to Cardinal +Grandison, there never was a body the character of which had been so +wilfully and so malignantly misrepresented as that of the Roman +Inquisition. Its true object is reformation not punishment and +therefore pardon was sure to follow the admission of error. True it was +there were revolting stories afloat, for which there was undoubtedly +some foundation, though their exaggeration and malice were evident, of +the ruthless conduct of the Inquisition; but these details were entirely +confined to Spain, and were the consequences not of the principles of +the Holy Office, but of the Spanish race, poisoned by Moorish and Jewish +blood, or by long contact with those inhuman infidels. Had it not been +for the Inquisition organizing and directing the mitigating influences +of the Church, Spain would have been a land of wild beasts; and even in +quite modern times it was the Holy Office at Rome which always stepped +forward to protect the persecuted, and, by the power of appeal from +Madrid to Rome, saved the lives of those who were unjustly or +extravagantly accused. + +"The real business, however, of the Holy Office now," continued the +cardinal, "is in reality only doctrinal; and there is something truly +sublime -- essentially divine, I would say -- in this idea of an old +man, like the Holy Father, himself the object of ceaseless persecution +by all the children of Satan, never for a moment relaxing his +heaven-inspired efforts to maintain the purity of the faith once +delivered to the saints, and at the same time to propagate it throughout +the whole world, so that there should be no land on which the sun shines +that should not afford means of salvation to suffering man. Yes, the +Propaganda and the Inquisition alone are sufficient to vindicate the +sacred claims of Rome. Compared with them, mere secular and human +institutions, however exalted, sink into insignificance." + +These excursions with the cardinal were not only repeated, but became +almost of daily occurrence. The cardinal took Lothair with him in his +visits of business, and introduced him to the eminent characters of the +city. Some of these priests were illustrious scholars or votaries of +science, whose names were quoted with respect and as authority in the +circles of cosmopolitan philosophy. Then there were other institutions +at Rome, which the cardinal snatched occasions to visit, and which, if +not so awfully venerable as the Propaganda and the Inquisition, +nevertheless testified to the advanced civilization of Rome and the +Romans, and the enlightened administration of the Holy Father. +According to Cardinal Grandison, all the great modern improvements in the +administration of hospitals and prisons originated in the eternal city; +scientific ventilation, popular lavatories, the cellular or silent +system, the reformatory. And yet these were nothing compared with the +achievements of the Pontifical Government in education. In short, +complete popular education only existed at Rome. Its schools were more +numerous even than its fountains. Gratuitous instruction originated +with the ecclesiastics; and from the night-school to the university here +might be found the perfect type. + +"I really believe," said the cardinal, "that a more virtuous, a more +religious, a more happy and contented people than the Romans never +existed. They could all be kept in order with the police of one of your +counties. True it is, the Holy Father is obliged to garrison the city +with twelve thousand men of arms, but not against the Romans, not +against his own subjects. It is the secret societies of atheism who +have established their lodges in this city, entirely consisting of +foreigners, that render these lamentable precautions necessary. They +will not rest until they have extirpated the religious principle from +the soul of man, and until they have reduced him to the condition of +wild beasts. But they will fail, as they failed the other day, as +Sennacherib failed. These men may conquer zouaves and cuirassiers, but +they cannot fight against Saint Michael and all the angels. They may do +mischief, they may aggravate and prolong the misery of man, but they are +doomed to entire and eternal failure." + + + +CHAPTER 65 + + +Lady St. Jerome was much interested in the accounts which the cardinal +and Lothair gave her of their excursions in the city and their visits. + +"It is very true," she said, "I never knew such good people; and they +ought to be; so favored by Heaven, and leading a life which, if any +thing earthly can, must give them, however faint, some foretaste of our +joys hereafter. Did your eminence visit the Pellegrini?" This was the +hospital, where Miss Arundel had found Lothair. + +The cardinal looked grave. "No," he replied. "My object was to secure +for our young friend some interesting but not agitating distraction from +certain ideas which, however admirable and transcendently important, are +nevertheless too high and profound to permit their constant +contemplation with impunity to our infirm natures. Besides," he added, +in a lower, but still distinct tone, "I was myself unwilling to visit in +a mere casual manner the scene of what I must consider the greatest +event of this century." + +"But you have been there?" inquired Lady St. Jerome. + +His eminence crossed himself. + +In the course of the evening Monsignore Catesby told Lothair that a +grand service was about to be celebrated in the church of St. George: +thanks were to be offered to the Blessed Virgin by Miss Arundel for the +miraculous mercy vouchsafed to her in saving the life of a countryman, +Lothair. "All her friends will make a point of being there," added the +monsignore, "even the Protestants and some Russians. Miss Arundel was +very unwilling at first to fulfil this office, but the Holy Father has +commanded it. I know that nothing will induce her to ask you to attend; +and yet, if I were you, I would turn it over in your mind. I know she +said that she would sooner that you were present than all her English +friends together. However, you can think about it. One likes to do +what is proper." + +One does; and yet it is difficult. Sometimes, in doing what we think +proper, we get into irremediable scrapes; and often, what we hold to be +proper, society in its caprice resolves to be highly improper. + +Lady St. Jerome had wished Lothair to see Tivoli, and they were all +consulting together when they might go there. Lord St. Jerome who, +besides his hunters, had his drag at Rome, wanted to drive them to the +place. Lothair sat opposite Miss Arundel, gazing on her beauty. It was +like being at Vauxe again. And yet a great deal had happened since they +were at Vauxe; and what? So far as they two were concerned, nothing but +what should create or confirm relations of confidence and affection. +Whatever may have been the influence of others on his existence, hers at +least had been one of infinite benignity. She had saved his life; she +had cherished it. She had raised him from the lowest depth of physical +and moral prostration to health and comparative serenity. If at Vauxe +he had beheld her with admiration, had listened with fascinated interest +to the fervid expression of her saintly thoughts, and the large purposes +of her heroic mind, all these feelings were naturally heightened now +when he had witnessed her lofty and consecrated spirit in action, and +when that action in his own case had only been exercised for his +ineffable advantage. + +"Your uncle cannot go to-morrow," continued Lady St. Jerome, "and on +Thursday I am engaged." + +"And on Friday -- ," said Miss Arundel, hesitating. + +"We are all engaged," said Lady St. Jerome. + +"I should hardly wish to go out before Friday anywhere," said Miss +Arundel, speaking to her aunt, and in a lower tone. + +Friday was the day on which the thanksgiving service was to be +celebrated in the Jesuit church of St. George of Cappadocia. Lothair +knew this well enough and was embarrassed: a thanksgiving for the mercy +vouchsafed to Miss Arundel in saving the life of a fellow-countryman, an +that fellow-countryman not present! All her Protestant friends would be +there, and some Russians. And he not there! It seemed, on his part, +the most ungracious and intolerable conduct. And he knew that she would +prefer his presence to that of all her acquaintances together. It was +more than ungracious on his part; it was ungrateful, almost inhuman. + +Lothair sat silent, and stupid, and stiff, and dissatisfied with +himself. Once or twice he tried to speak, but his tongue would not +move, or his throat was not clear. And, if he had spoken, he would only +have made some trifling and awkward remark. In his mind's eye he saw, +gliding about him, the veiled figure of his sick-room, and he recalled +with clearness the unceasing and angelic tenderness of which at the time +he seemed hardly conscious. + +Miss Arundel had risen and had proceeded some way down the room to a +cabinet where she was accustomed to place her work. Suddenly Lothair +rose and followed her. "Miss Arundel!" he said, and she looked round, +hardly stopping when he had reached her. "Miss Arundel, I hope you will +permit me to be present at the celebration on Friday?" + +She turned round quickly, extending, even eagerly, her hand with +mantling cheek. Her eyes glittered with celestial fire. The words +hurried from her palpitating lips: "And support me," she said, "for I +need support." + +In the evening reception, Monsignore Catesby approached Father Coleman. +"It is done," he said, with a look of saintly triumph. "It is done at +last. He will not only be present, but he will support her. There are +yet eight-and-forty hours to elapse. Can any thing happen to defeat us? +It would seem not; yet, when so much is at stake, one is fearful. He +must never be out of our sight; not a human being must approach him." + +"I think we can manage that," said Father Coleman. + + + +CHAPTER 66 + + +The Jesuit church of St. George of Cappadocia was situate in one of the +finest piazzas of Rome. It was surrounded with arcades, and in its +centre the most beautiful fountain of the city spouted forth its streams +to an amazing height, and in forms of graceful fancy. On Friday morning +the arcades were festooned with tapestry and hangings of crimson velvet +and gold. Every part was crowded, and all the rank and fashion and +power of Rome seemed to be there assembling. There had been once some +intention on the part of the Holy Father to be present, but a slight +indisposition had rendered that not desirable. His holiness, however, +had ordered a company of his halberdiers to attend, and the ground was +kept by those wonderful guards in the dress of the middle ages -- +halberds and ruffs, and white plumes, and party-colored coats, a match +for our beef-eaters. Carriages with scarlet umbrellas on the box, and +each with three serving-men behind, denoted the presence of the +cardinals in force. They were usually brilliant equipages, being +sufficiently new, or sufficiently new purchases, Garibaldi and the late +commanding officer of Lothair having burnt most of the ancient coaches +in the time of the Roman republics twenty years before. From each +carriage an eminence descended with his scarlet cap and his purple train +borne by two attendants. The Princess Tarpeia-Cinque Cento was there, +and most of the Roman princes and princesses, and dukes, and duchesses. +It seemed that the whole court of Rome was there -- monsignori and +prelates without end. Some of their dresses, and those of the generals +of the orders, appropriately varied the general effect, for the ladies +were all in black, their heads covered only with black veils. + +Monsignore Catesby had arranged with Lothair that they should enter the +church by their usual private way, and Lothair therefore was not in any +degree prepared for the sight which awaited him on his entrance into it. +The church was crowded; not a chair nor a tribune vacant. There was a +suppressed gossip going on as in a public place before a performance +begins, much fluttering of fans, some snuff taken, and many sugar-plums. + +"Where shall we find a place?" said Lothair. + +"They expect us in the sacristy," said the monsignore. + +The sacristy of the Jesuit church of St. George of Cappadocia might have +served for the ballroom of a palace. It was lofty, and proportionately +spacious, with a grooved ceiling painted with all the court of heaven. +Above the broad and richly-gilt cornice floated a company of seraphim +that might have figured as the Cupids of Albano. The apartment was +crowded, for there and in some adjoining chambers were assembled the +cardinals and prelates, and all the distinguished or official +characters, who, in a few minutes, were about to form a procession of +almost unequal splendor and sanctity, and which was to parade the whole +body of the church. + +Lothair felt nervous; an indefinable depression came over him, as on the +morning of a contest when a candidate enters his crowded committee-room. +Considerable personages, bowing, approached to address him -- the +Cardinal Prefect of the Propaganda, the Cardinal Assessor of the Holy +Office, the Cardinal Pro-Datario, and the Cardinal Vicar of Rome. +Monsignori the Secretary of Briefs to Princes and the Master of the +Apostolic Palace were presented to him. Had this been a conclave, and +Lothair the future pope, it would have been impossible to have treated +him with more consideration than he experienced. They assured him that +they looked upon this day as one of the most interesting in their lives, +and the importance of which to the Church could not be overrated. All +this somewhat encouraged him, and he was more himself when a certain +general stir, and the entrance of individuals from adjoining apartments, +intimated that the proceedings were about to commence. It seemed +difficult to marshal so considerable and so stately an assemblage, but +those who had the management of affairs were experienced in such +matters. The acolytes and the thurifers fell into their places; there +seemed no end of banners and large golden crosses; great was the company +of the prelates -- a long purple line, some only in cassocks, some in +robes, and mitred; then came a new banner of the Blessed Virgin, which +excited intense interest, and every eye was strained to catch the +pictured scene. After this banner, amid frequent incense, walked two of +the most beautiful children in Rome, dressed as angels with golden +wings; the boy bearing a rose of Jericho, the girl a lily. After +these, as was understood, dressed in black and veiled, walked six +ladies, who were said to be daughters of the noblest houses of England, +and then a single form with a veil touching the ground. + +"Here we must go," said Monsignore Catesby to Lothair, and he gently but +irresistibly pushed him into his place. "You know you promised to +support her. You had better take this," he said, thrusting a lighted +taper into his hand; "it is usual, and one should never be singular." + +So they walked on, followed by the Roman princes, bearing a splendid +baldachin. And then came the pomp of the cardinals, each with his +train-bearers, exhibiting with the skill of artists the splendor of +their violet robes. + +As the head of the procession emerged from the sacristy into the church, +three organs and a choir, to which all the Roman churches had lent their +choicest voices, burst into the Te Deum. Round the church and to all +the chapels, and then up the noble nave, the majestic procession moved, +and then, the gates of the holy place opening, the cardinals entered and +seated themselves, their train-bearers crouching at their knees, the +prelates grouped themselves, and the banners and crosses were ranged in +the distance, except the new banner of the Virgin, which seemed to hang +over the altar. The Holy One seemed to be in what was recently a field +of battle, and was addressing a beautiful maiden in the dress of a +Sister of Mercy. + +"This is your place," said Monsignore Catesby, and he pushed Lothair +into a prominent position. + +The service was long, but, sustained by exquisite music, celestial +perfumes, and the graceful movements of priests in resplendent dresses +continually changing, it could not be said to be wearisome. When all +was over, Monsignore Catesby said to Lothair, "I think we had better +return by the public way; it seems expected." + +It was not easy to leave the church. Lothair was detained, and received +the congratulations of the Princess Tarpeia-Cinque Cento and many +others. The crowd, much excited by the carriages of the cardinals, had +not diminished when they came forth, and they were obliged to linger +some little time upon the steps, the monsignore making difficulties when +Lothair more than once proposed to advance. + +"I think we may go now," said Catesby, and they descended into the +piazza. Immediately many persons in this immediate neighborhood fell +upon their knees, many asked a blessing from Lothair, and some rushed +forward to kiss the hem of his garment. + + + +CHAPTER 67 + + +The Princess Tarpeia-Cinque Cento gave an entertainment in the evening +in honor of "the great event." Italian palaces are so vast, are so +ill-adapted to the moderate establishments of modern tones, that their +grand style in general only impresses those who visit them with a +feeling of disappointment and even mortification. The meagre retinue +are almost invisible as they creep about the corridors and galleries, +and linger in the sequence of lofty chambers. These should be filled +with crowds of serving-men and groups of splendid retainers. They were +built for the days when a great man was obliged to have a great +following; and when the safety of his person, as well as the success of +his career, depended on the number and the lustre of his train. + +The palace of the Princess Tarpeia was the most celebrated in Rome, one +of the most ancient, and certainly the most beautiful. She dwelt in it +in a manner not unworthy of her consular blood and her modern income. +To-night her guests were received by a long line of foot-servants in +showy liveries, and bearing the badge of her house, while in every +convenient spot pages and gentlemen-ushers, in courtly dress, guided the +guests to their place of destination. The palace blazed with light, and +showed to advantage the thousand pictures which, it is said, were there +enshrined, and the long galleries full of the pale statues of Grecian +gods and goddesses, and the busts of the former rulers of Rome and the +Romans. The atmosphere was fragrant with rare odors, and music was +heard, amid the fall of fountains, in the dim but fancifully-illumined +gardens. + +The princess herself wore all those famous jewels which had been spared +by all the Goths from the days of Brennus to those of Garibaldi, and on +her bosom reposed the celebrated transparent cameo of Augustus, which +Caesar himself is said to have presented to Livia, and which Benvenuto +Cellini had set in a framework of Cupids and rubies. If the weight of +her magnificence were sometimes distressing, she had the consolation of +being supported by the arm of Lothair. + +Two young Roman princes, members of the Guarda Nobile, discussed the +situation. + +"The English here say," said one, "that he is their richest man." + +"And very noble, too," said the other. + +"Certainly, truly noble -- a kind of cousin of the queen." + +"This great event must have an effect upon all their nobility. I cannot +doubt they will all return to the Holy Father." + +"They would if they were not afraid of having to restore their church +lands. But they would be much more happy if Rome were again the capital +of the world." + +"No shadow of doubt. I wonder if this young prince will hunt in the +Campagna?" + +"All Englishmen hunt." + +"I make no doubt he rides well, and has famous horses, and will +sometimes lend us one. I am glad his soul is saved." + +"Yes; it is well, when the Blessed Virgin interferes, it should be in +favor of princes. When princes become good Christians, it is an +example. It does good. And this man will give an impulse to our opera, +which wants it, and, as you say, he will have many horses." + +In the course of the evening, Miss Arundel, with a beaming face, but of +deep expression, said to Lothair: "I could tell you some good news, had +I not promised the cardinal that he should communicate it to you +himself. He will see you to-morrow. Although it does not affect me +personally, it will be to me the happiest event that ever occurred, +except, of course, one." + +"What can she mean?" thought Lothair. But at that moment Cardinal +Berwick approached him, and Miss Arundel glided away. + +Father Coleman attended Lothair home to the Agostini Palace, and when +they parted said, with much emphasis, "I must congratulate you once more +on the great event." + +On the following morning, Lothair found on his table a number of the +Roman journal published that day. It was customary to place it there, +but in general he only glanced at it, and scarcely that. On the present +occasion his own name caught immediately his eye. It figured in a long +account of the celebration of the preceding day. It was with a +continually changing countenance, now scarlet, now pallid as death; with +a palpitating heart, a trembling hand, a cold perspiration, and, at +length, a disordered vision, that Lothair read the whole of an article, +of which we now give a summary: + +"Rome was congratulated on the service of yesterday, which celebrated +the greatest event of this century. And it came to pass in this wise. +It seems that a young English noble of the highest rank, family, and for +tune" (and here the name and titles of Lothair were accurately given), +"like many of the scions of the illustrious and influential families of +Britain, was impelled by an irresistible motive to enlist as a volunteer +in the service of the pope, when the Holy Father was recently-attacked +by the secret societies of atheism. This gallant and gifted youth, +after prodigies of valor and devotion, had fallen at Mentana in the +sacred cause, and was given up for lost. The day after the battle, when +the ambulances laden with the wounded were hourly arriving at Rome from +the field, an English lady, daughter of an illustrious house, celebrated +throughout centuries for its devotion to the Holy See, and who during +the present awful trial had never ceased in her efforts to support the +cause of Christianity, was employed, as was her wont, in offices of +charity, and was tending, with her companion sisters, her wounded +countrymen at the Hospital La Consolazione, in the new ward which has +been recently added to that establishment by the Holy Father. + +"While she was leaning over one of the beds, she felt a gentle and +peculiar pressure on her shoulder, and, looking round, beheld a most +beautiful woman, with a countenance of singular sweetness and yet +majesty. And the visitor said: 'You are attending to those English who +believe in the Virgin Mary. Now at the Hospital Santissima Trinita di +Pellegrini there is in an ambulance a young Englishman apparently dead, +but who will not die if you go to him immediately and say you came in +the name of the Virgin.' + +"The influence of the stranger was so irresistible that the young +English lady, attended by a nurse and one of the porters of La +Consolazione, repaired instantly to the Di Pellegrini, and there they +found in the court-yard, as they had been told, an ambulance, in form +and color and equipment unlike any ambulance used by the papal troops, +and in the ambulance the senseless body of a youth, who was recognized +by the English lady as her young and gallant countryman. She claimed +him in the name of the Blessed Virgin, and, after due remedies, was +permitted to take him at once to his noble relatives, who lived in the +Palazzo Agostini. + +"After a short time much conversation began to circulate about this +incident. The family wished to testify their gratitude to the +individual whose information had led to the recovery of the body, and +subsequently of the life of their relation; but all that they could at +first learn at La Consolazione was, that the porter believed the woman +was Maria Serafina di Angelis, the handsome wife of a tailor in the +Strada di Ripetta. But it was soon shown that this could not be true, +for it was proved that, on the day in question, Maria Serafina di +Angelis was on a visit to a friend at La Riccia; and, in the second +place, that she did not bear the slightest resemblance to the stranger +who had given the news. Moreover, the porter of the gate being required +to state why he had admitted any stranger without the accustomed order, +denied that he had so done; that he was in his lodge and the gates were +locked, and the stranger had passed through without his knowledge. + +"Two priests were descending the stairs when the stranger came upon +them, and they were so struck by the peculiarity of her carriage, that +they turned round and looked at her, and clearly observed at the back of +her head a sort of halo. She was out of their sight when they made this +observation, but in consequence of it they made inquiries of the porter +of the gate, and remained in the court-yard till she returned. + +"This she did a few minutes before the English lady and her attendants +came down, as they had been detained by the preparation of some bandages +and other remedies, without which they never moved. The porter of the +gate having his attention called to the circumstance by the priests, was +most careful in his observations as to the halo, and described it as +most distinct. The priests then followed the stranger, who proceeded +down a long and solitary street, made up in a great degree of garden and +convent walls, and without a turning. They observed her stop and speak +to two or three children, and then, though there was no house to enter +and no street to turn into, she vanished. + +"When they had reached the children they found each of them holding in +its hand a beautiful flower. It seems the lady had given the boy a rose +of Jericho, and to his sister a white and golden lily. Inquiring +whether she had spoken to them, they answered that she had said, 'Let +these flowers be kept in remembrance of me; they will never fade.' And +truly, though months had elapsed, these flowers had never failed, and, +after the procession of yesterday, they were placed under crystal in the +chapel of the Blessed Virgin in the Jesuit Church of St. George of +Cappadocia, and may be seen every day, and will be seen forever in +primeval freshness. + +"This is the truthful account of what really occurred with respect to +this memorable event, and as it was ascertained by a consulta of the +Holy Office, presided over by the cardinal prefect himself. The Holy +Office is most severe in its inquisition of the truth, and, though it +well knows that the Divine presence never leaves His Church, it is most +scrupulous in its investigations whenever any miraculous interposition +is alleged. It was entirely by its exertions that the somewhat +inconsistent and unsatisfactory evidence of the porter of the gate, in +the first instance, was explained, cleared, and established; the whole +chain of evidence worked out; all idle gossip and mere rumors rejected; +and the evidence obtained of above twenty witnesses of all ranks of +life, some of them members of the learned profession, and others +military officers of undoubted honor and veracity, who witnessed the +first appearance of the stranger at the Pellegrini and the undoubted +fact of the halo playing round her temples. + +"The consulta of the Holy Office could only draw one inference, +sanctioned by the Holy Father himself, as to the character of the +personage who thus deigned to appear; and interpose; and no wonder that, +in the great function of yesterday, the eyes of all Rome were fixed upon +Lothair as the most favored of living men." + +He himself now felt as one sinking into an unfathomable abyss. The +despair came over him that involves a man engaged in a hopeless contest +with a remorseless power. All his life during the last year passed +rushingly across his mind. He recalled the wiles that had been employed +to induce him to attend a function in a Jesuits' chapel, in an obscure +nook of London; the same agencies had been employed there; then, as now, +the influence of Clare Arundel had been introduced to sway him when all +others had failed. Belmont had saved him then. There was no Belmont +now. The last words of Theodora murmured in his ear like the awful +voice of a distant sea. They were the diapason of all the thought and +feeling of that profound and passionate spirit. + +That seemed only a petty plot in London, and he had since sometimes +smiled when he remembered how it had been baffled. Shallow +apprehension! The petty plot was only part of a great and unceasing and +triumphant conspiracy, and the obscure and inferior agencies which he +had been rash enough to deride had consummated their commanded purpose +in the eyes of all Europe, and with the aid of the great powers of the +world. + +He felt all the indignation natural to a sincere and high-spirited man, +who finds that he has been befooled by those whom he has trustee; but, +summoning all his powers to extricate himself from his desolate dilemma, +he found himself without resource. What public declaration on his part +could alter the undeniable fact, now circulating throughout the world, +that in the supernatural scene of yesterday he was the willing and the +principal actor? Unquestionably he had been very imprudent, not only in +that instance, but in his habitual visits to the church; he felt all +that now. But he was tom and shattered, infinitely distressed, both in +body and in mind; weak and miserable; and he thought he was leaning on +angelic hearts, when he found himself in the embrace of spirits of +another sphere. + +In what a position of unexampled pain did he not now find himself! To +feel it your duty to quit the faith in which you have been bred must +involve an awful pang; but to be a renegade without the consolation of +conscience, against your sense, against your will, alike for no +celestial hope and no earthly object -- this was agony mixed with +self-contempt. + +He remembered what Lady Corisande had once said to him about those who +quitted their native church for the Roman communion. What would she say +now? He marked in imagination the cloud of sorrow on her imperial brow +and the scorn of her curled lip. + +Whatever happened, he could never return to England -- at least for many +years, when all the things and persons he cared for would have +disappeared or changed, which is worse; and then what would be the use +of returning? He would go to America, or Australia, or the Indian +Ocean, or the interior of Africa; but even in all these places, +according to the correspondence of the Propaganda, he would find Roman +priests, and active priests. He felt himself a lost man; not free from +faults in this matter, but punished beyond his errors. But this is the +fate of men who think they can struggle successfully with a supernatural +power. + +A servant opened a door and said, in a loud voice, that, with his +permission, his eminence, the English cardinal, would wait on him. + + + +CHAPTER 68 + + +It is proverbial to what drowning men will cling. Lothair, in his utter +hopelessness, made a distinction between the cardinal and the +conspirators. The cardinal had been absent from Rome during the greater +portion of the residence of Lothair in that city. The cardinal was his +father's friend, an English gentleman, with an English education, once +an Anglican, a man of the world, a man of honor, a good, kind-hearted +man. Lothair explained the apparent and occasional cooperation of his +eminence with the others, by their making use of him without a due +consciousness of their purpose on his part. Lothair remembered how +delicately his former guardian had always treated the subject of +religion in their conversations. The announcement of his visit, instead +of aggravating the distresses of Lothair, seemed, as all these +considerations rapidly occurred to him, almost to impart a ray of hope. + +"I see," said the cardinal, as he entered serene and graceful as usual, +and glancing at the table, "that you have been reading the account of +our great act of yesterday." + +"Yes; and I have been reading it," said Lothair, reddening, "with +indignation; with alarm; I should add, with disgust." + +"How is this?" said the cardinal, feeling or affecting surprise. + +"It is a tissue of falsehood and imposture," continued Lothair; "and I +will take care that my opinion is known of it." + +"Do nothing rashly," said the cardinal. "This is an official journal, +and I have reason to believe that nothing appears in it which is not +drawn up, or well considered, by truly pious men." + +"You yourself, sir, must know," continued Lothair, "that the whole of +this statement is founded on falsehood." + +"Indeed, I should be sorry to believe," said the cardinal, "that there +was a particle of misstatement, or even exaggeration, either in the base +or the superstructure of the narrative." + +"Good God!" exclaimed Lothair. "Why, take the very first allegation, +that I fell at Mentana, fighting in the ranks of the Holy Father. +Everyone knows that I fell fighting against him, and that I was almost +slain by one of his chassepots. It is notorious; and though, as a +matter of taste, I have not obtruded the fact in the society in which I +have been recently living, I have never attempted to conceal it, and +have not the slightest doubt that it must be as familiar to every member +of that society as to your eminence." + +"I know there are two narratives of your relations with the battle of +Mentana," observed the cardinal, quietly. "The one accepted as +authentic is that which appears in this journal; the other account, +which can only be traced to yourself, bears no doubt a somewhat +different character; but considering that it is in the highest degree +improbable, and that there is not a tittle of confirmatory or collateral +evidence to extenuate its absolute unlikelihood, I hardly think you are +justified in using, with reference to the statement in this article, the +harsh expression, which I am persuaded, on reflection, you will feel you +have hastily used." + +"I think," said Lothair, with a kindling eye and a burning cheek, "that +I am the best judge of what I did at Mentana." + +"Well, well," said the cardinal, with dulcet calmness, "you naturally +think so; but you must remember you have been very ill, my dear young +friend, and laboring under much excitement. If I were you -- and I +speak as your friend, I hope your best one -- I would not dwell too much +on this fancy of yours about the battle of Mentana. I would myself +always deal tenderly with a fixed idea: harsh attempts to terminate +hallucination are seldom successful. Nevertheless, in the case of a +public event, a matter of fact, if a man finds that he is of one +opinion, and all orders of society of another, he should not be +encouraged to dwell on a perverted view; he should be gradually weaned +from it." + +"You amaze me!" said Lothair. + +"Not at all," said the cardinal. "I am sure you will benefit by my +advice. And you must already perceive that, assuming the interpretation +which the world without exception places on your conduct in the field to +be the just one, there really is not a single circumstance in the whole +of this interesting and important statement, the accuracy of which you +yourself would for a moment dispute." + +"What is there said about me at Mentana makes me doubt of all the rest," +said Lothair. + +"Well, we will not dwell on Mentana," said the cardinal, with a sweet +smile; "I have treated of that point. Your case is by no means an +uncommon one. It will wear off with returning health. King George IV +believed that he was at the battle of Waterloo, and indeed commanded +there; and his friends were at one time a little alarmed; but Knighton, +who was a sensible man, said, 'His majesty has only to leave off +Curacao, and rest assured be will gain no more victories.' The rest of +this statement, which is to-day officially communicated to the whole +world, and which in its results will probably be not less important even +than the celebration of the centenary of St. Peter, is established by +evidence so incontestable -- by witnesses so numerous, so various -- in +all the circumstances and accidents of testimony so satisfactory -- I +may say so irresistible, that controversy on this head would be a mere +impertinence and waste of time." + +"I am not convinced," said Lothair. + +"Hush!" said the cardinal; "the freaks of your own mind about personal +incidents, however lamentable, may be viewed with indulgence -- at least +for a time. But you cannot be permitted to doubt of the rest. You must +be convinced, and on reflection you will be convinced. Remember, sir, +where you are. You are in the centre of Christendom, where truth, and +where alone truth resides. Divine authority has perused this paper and +approved it. It is published for the joy and satisfaction of two +hundred millions of Christians, and for the salvation of all those who, +unhappily for themselves, are not yet converted to the faith. It +records the most memorable event of this century. Our Blessed Lady has +personally appeared to her votaries before during that period, but never +at Rome. Wisely and well she has worked in villages and among the +illiterate as at the beginning did her Divine Son. But the time is now +ripe for terminating the infidelity of the world. In the eternal city, +amid all its matchless learning and profound theology, in the sight of +thousands, this great act has been accomplished, in a manner which can +admit of no doubt, and which can lead to no controversy. Some of the +most notorious atheists of Rome have already solicited to be admitted to +the offices of the Church; the secret societies have received their +deathblow; I look to the alienation of England as virtually over. I am +panting to see you return to the home of your fathers, and re-conquer it +for the Church in the name of the Lord God of Sabaoth. Never was a man +in a greater position since Godfrey or Ignatius. The eyes of all +Christendom are upon you as the most favored of men, and you stand there +like Saint Thomas." + +"Perhaps he was as bewildered as I am," said Lothair. + +"Well, his bewilderment ended in his becoming an apostle, as yours will. +I am glad we have had this conversation, and that we agree; I knew we +should. But now I wish to speak to you on business, and very grave. +The world assumes that, being the favored of Heaven, you are naturally +and necessarily a member of the Church. I, your late guardian, know +that is not the case, and sometimes I blame myself that it is not so. +But I have ever scrupulously refrained from attempting to control your +convictions; and the result has justified me. Heaven has directed your +life, and I have now to impart to you the most gratifying intelligence +that can be communicated by man, and that the Holy Father will to-morrow +himself receive you into the bosom of that Church of which he is the +divine head. Christendom will then hail you as its champion and +regenerator, and thus will be realized the divine dream with which you +were inspired in our morning walk in the park at Vauxe." + + + +CHAPTER 69 + + +It was the darkest hour in Lothair's life. He had become acquainted +with sorrow; he had experienced calamities physical and moral. The +death of Theodora had shaken him to the centre. It was that first great +grief which makes a man acquainted with his deepest feelings, which +detracts something from the buoyancy of the youngest life, and dims, to +a certain degree, the lustre of existence. But even that bereavement +was mitigated by distractions alike inevitable and ennobling. The +sternest and highest of all obligations, military duty, claimed him with +an unfaltering grasp, and the clarion sounded almost as he closed her +eyes. Then he went forth to struggle for a cause which at least she +believed to be just and sublime; and if his own convictions on that head +might be less assured or precise, still there was doubtless much that +was inspiring in the contest, and much dependent on the success of +himself and his comrades that tended to the elevation of man. + +But, now, there was not a single circumstance to sustain his involved +and sinking life. A renegade -- a renegade without conviction, without +necessity, in absolute violation of the pledge he had given to the +person he most honored and most loved, as he received her parting +spirit. And why was all this? and bow was all this? What system of +sorcery had encompassed his existence? For he was spell-bound -- as +much as any knight in fairy-tale whom malignant influences had robbed of +his valor and will and virtue. No sane person could credit, even +comprehend, his position. Had he the opportunity of stating it in a +court of justice to-morrow, he could only enter into a narrative which +would decide his lot as an insane being. The magical rites had been so +gradual, so subtle, so multifarious, all in appearance independent of +each other, though in reality scientifically combined, that, while the +conspirators had probably effected his ruin both in body and in soul, +the only charges he could make against them would be acts of exquisite +charity, tenderness, self-sacrifice, personal devotion, refined piety, +and religious sentiment of the most exalted character. + +What was to be done? And could any thing be done? Could be escape? +Where from and where to? He was certain, and had been for some time, +from many circumstances, that he was watched. Could he hope that the +vigilance which observed all his movements would scruple to prevent any +which might be inconvenient? He felt assured that, to quit that palace +alone, was not in his power. And were it, whither could he go? To whom +was he to appeal? And about what was he to appeal? Should he appeal to +the Holy Father? There would be an opportunity for that to-morrow. To +the College of Cardinals, who had solemnized yesterday with gracious +unction his spiritual triumph? To those congenial spirits, the mild +Assessor of the Inquisition, or the president of the Propaganda, who was +busied at that moment in circulating throughout both the Americas, all +Asia, all Africa, all Australia, and parts of Europe, for the +edification of distant millions, the particulars of the miraculous scene +in which he was the principal actor? Should he throw himself on the +protection of the ambiguous minister of the British crown, and invoke +his aid against a conspiracy touching the rights, reason, and freedom +of one of her majesty's subjects? He would probably find that +functionary inditing a private letter to the English Secretary of State, +giving the minister a graphic account of the rare doings of yesterday, +and assuring the minister, from his own personal and ocular experience, +that a member of one of the highest orders of the British peerage +carried in the procession a lighted taper after two angels with +amaranthine flowers and golden wings. + +Lothair remained in his apartments; no one approached him. It was the +only day that the monsignore had not waited on him. Father Coleman was +equally reserved. Strange to say, not one of those agreeable and polite +gentlemen, fathers of the oratory, who talked about gems, torsos, and +excavations, and who always more or less attended his levee, troubled +him this morning. With that exquisite tact which pervades the +hierarchical circles of Rome, every one felt that Lothair, on the eve of +that event of his life which Providence had so long and so mysteriously +prepared, would wish to be undisturbed. + +Restless, disquieted, revolving all the incidents of his last year, +trying, by terrible analysis, to ascertain how he ever could have got +into such a false position, and how he could yet possibly extricate +himself from it, not shrinking in many things from self-blame, and yet +not recognizing on his part such a degree of deviation from the standard +of right feeling, or even of commonsense, as would authorize such an +overthrow as that awaiting him -- high rank and boundless wealth, a +station of duty and of honor, some gifts of Nature, and golden youth, +and a disposition that at least aspired, in the employment of these, +accidents of life and fortune, at something better than selfish +gratification, all smashed -- the day drew on. + +Drew on the day, and every hour it seemed his spirit was more lone and +dark. For the first time the thought of death occurred to him as a +relief from the perplexities of existence. How much better had he died +at Mentana! To this pass had arrived the cordial and brilliant Lord of +Muriel, who enjoyed and adorned life, and wished others to adorn and to +enjoy it; the individual whom, probably, were the majority of the +English people polled, they would have fixed upon as filling the most +enviable of all positions, and holding out a hope that he was not +unworthy of it. Born with every advantage that could command the +sympathies of his fellow-men, with a quick intelligence and a noble +disposition, here he was at one-and-twenty ready to welcome death, +perhaps even to devise it, as the only rescue from a doom of confusion, +degradation, and remorse. + +He had thrown himself on a sofa, and had buried his face in his hands to +assist the abstraction which he demanded. There was not an incident of +his life that escaped the painful inquisition of his memory. He passed +his childhood once more in that stern Scotch home, that, after all, had +been so kind, and, as it would seem, so wise. The last words of counsel +and of warning from his uncle, expressed at Muriel, came back to him. +And yet there seemed a destiny throughout these transactions which was; +irresistible! The last words of Theodora, her look, even more solemn +than her tone, might have been breathed over a tripod, for they were a +prophecy, not a warning. + +How long he had been absorbed in this passionate reverie he knew not but +when he looked up again it was night, and the moon had touched his +window. He rose and walked up and down the room, and then went into the +corridor. All was silent; not an attendant was visible; the sky was +clear and starry, and the moonlight fell on the tall, still cypresses in +the vast quadrangle. + +Lothair leaned over the balustrade and gazed upon the moonlit fountains. +The change of scene, silent and yet not voiceless, and the softening +spell of the tranquillizing hour, were a relief to him. And after a +time he wandered about the corridors, and after a time he descended into +the court. The tall Swiss, in his grand uniform, was closing the gates +which had just released a visitor. Lothair motioned that he too wished +to go forth, and the Swiss obeyed him. The threshold was passed, and +Lothair found himself for the first time alone in Rome. + +Utterly reckless, he cared not where he went or what might happen. The +streets were quite deserted, and he wandered about with a strange +curiosity, gratified as he sometimes encountered famous objects he had +read of, and yet the true character of which no reading ever realizes. + +The moonlight becomes the proud palaces of Rome, their corniced and +balconied fronts rich with deep shadows in the blaze. Sometimes he +encountered an imperial column; sometimes be came to an arcadian square +flooded with light and resonant with the fall of statued fountains. +Emerging from a long, straggling street of convents and gardens, he +found himself in an open space full of antique ruins, and among them the +form of a colossal amphitheatre that he at once recognized, + +It rose with its three tiers of arches and the huge wall that crowns +them, black and complete in the air; and not until Lothair had entered +it could he perceive the portion of the outer wall that was in ruins, +and now bathed with the silver light. Lothair was alone. In that huge +creation, once echoing with the shouts, and even the agonies, of +thousands, Lothair was alone. + +He sat him down on a block of stone in that sublime and desolate arena, +and asked himself the secret spell of this Rome that had already so +agitated his young life, and probably was about critically to affect it. +Theodora lived for Rome and died for Rome. And the cardinal, born and +bred an English gentleman, with many hopes and honors, had renounced his +religion, and, it might be said, his country, for Rome. And for Rome, +to-morrow, Catesby would die without a pang, and sacrifice himself for +Rome, as his race for three hundred years had given, for the same cause, +honor and broad estates and unhesitating lives. And these very people +were influenced by different motives, and thought they were devoting +themselves to opposite ends. But still it was Rome -- republican or +Caesarian, papal or pagan, it still was Rome. + +Was it a breeze in a breezeless night that was sighing amid these ruins? +A pine-tree moved its head on a broken arch, and there was a stir among +the plants that hung on the ancient walls. It was a breeze in a +breezeless night that was sighing amid the ruins. + +There was a tall crag of ancient building contiguous to the block on +which Lothair was seated, and which on his arrival he had noted, +although, long lost in reverie, he had not recently turned his glance in +that direction. He was roused from that reverie by the indefinite sense +of some change having occurred which often disturbs and terminates one's +brooding thoughts. And looking round, he felt, he saw, he was no longer +alone. The moonbeams fell upon a figure that was observing him from the +crag of ruin that was near, and, as the light clustered and gathered +round the form, it became every moment more definite and distinct. + +Lothair would have sprung forward, but be could only extend his arms: he +would have spoken, but his tongue was paralyzed. + +"Lothair," said a deep, sweet voice that never could be forgotten. + +"I am here," he at last replied. + +"Remember!" and she threw upon him that glance, at once serene and +solemn, that had been her last, and was impressed indelibly upon his +heart of hearts. + +Now, he could spring forward and throw himself at her feet, but alas! as +he reached her, the figure melted into the moonlight, and she was gone +-- that divine Theodora, who, let us hope, returned at last to those +Elysian fields she so well deserved. + + + +CHAPTER 70 + + +"They have overdone it, Gertrude, with Lothair," said Lord Jerome to his +wife. "I spoke to Monsignore Catesby about it some time ago, but he +would not listen to me; I had more confidence in the cardinal and am +disappointed; but a priest is ever too hot. His nervous system has been +tried too much." + +Lady St. Jerome still hoped the best, and believed in it. She was +prepared to accept the way Lothair was found senseless in the Coliseum +as a continuance of miraculous interpositions. He might have remained +there for a day or days, and never have been recognized when discovered. +How marvelously providential that Father Coleman should have been in the +vicinity, and tempted to visit the great ruin that very night! + +Lord St. Jerome was devout, and easy in his temper. Priests and women +seemed to have no difficulty in managing him. But he was an English +gentleman, and there was at the bottom of his character a fund of +courage, firmness, and commonsense, that sometimes startled and +sometimes perplexed those who assumed that he could be easily +controlled. He was not satisfied with the condition of Lothair, "a peer +of England and my connection;" and he had not unlimited confidence in +those who had been hitherto consulted as to his state. There was a +celebrated English physician at that time visiting Rome, and Lord St. +Jerome, notwithstanding the multiform resistance of Monsignors Catesby, +insisted he should be called in to Lothair. + +The English physician was one of those men who abhor priests, and do not +particularly admire ladies. The latter, in revenge, denounced his +manners as brutal, though they always sent for him, and were always +trying, though vainly, to pique him into sympathy. He rarely spoke, but +he listened to every one with entire patience. He sometimes asked a +question, but he never made a remark. + +Lord St. Jerome had seen the physician, alone before he visited the +Palazzo Agostini, and had talked to him freely about Lothair. The +physician saw at once that Lord St. Jerome was truthful, and that, +though his intelligence might be limited, it was pure and direct. +Appreciating Lord St. Jerome, that nobleman found the redoubtable doctor +not ungenial, and assured his wife that she would meet on the morrow by +no means so savage a being as she anticipated. She received him +accordingly, and in the presence of Monsignore Catesby. Never had she +exercised her distinguished powers of social rhetoric with more art and +fervor, and never apparently had they proved less productive of the +intended consequences. The physician said not a word, and merely bowed +when exhausted Nature consigned the luminous and impassioned Lady St. +Jerome to inevitable silence. Monsignore Catesby felt he was bound in +honor to make some diversion in her favor; repeat some of her unanswered +inquiries, and reiterate some of her unnoticed views; but the only +return he received was silence, without a bow, and then the physician +remarked, "I presume I can now see the patient." + +The English physician was alone with Lothair for some time, and then he +met in consultation the usual attendants. The result of all these +proceedings was that he returned to the saloon, in which he found Lord +and Lady St. Jerome, Monsignore Catesby, and Father Coleman, and he then +said: "My opinion is, that his lordship should quit Rome immediately, +and I think he had better return at once to his own country." + +All the efforts of the English Propaganda were now directed to prevent +the return of Lothair to his own country. The cardinal and Lady St. +Jerome, and the monsignore, and Father Coleman, all the beautiful young +countesses who had "gone over" to Rome, and all the spirited young earls +who had come over to bring their wives back, but had unfortunately +remained themselves, looked very serious, and spoke much in whispers. +Lord St. Jerome was firm that Lothair should immediately leave the city, +and find that change of scene and air which were declared by authority +to be indispensable for his health, both of mind and body. But his +return to England, at this moment, was an affair of serious difficulty. +He could not return unattended, and attended, too, by some intimate and +devoted friend. Besides, it was very doubtful whether Lothair had +strength remaining to bear so great an exertion, and at such a season of +the year -- and he seemed disinclined to it himself. He also wished to +leave Rome, but he wished also in time to extend his travels. Amid +these difficulties, a Neapolitan duke, a great friend of Monsignore +Catesby, a gentleman who always had a friend in need, offered to the +young English noble, the interesting young Englishman so favored by +Heaven, the use of his villa on the coast of the remotest part of +Sicily, near Syracuse. Here was a solution of many difficulties: +departure from Rome, change of scene and air -- sea air, too, +particularly recommended -- and almost the same as a return to England, +without an effort, for was it not an island, only with a better climate, +and a people with free institutions, or a taste for them, which is the +same? + +The mode in which Lady St. Jerome and Monsignors Catesby consulted Lord +St. Jerome on the subject took the adroit but insidious form of +congratulating him on the entire and unexpected fulfilment of his +purpose. "Are we not fortunate?" exclaimed her ladyship, looking up +brightly in his face, and gently pressing one of his arms. + +"Exactly everything your lordship required," echoed Monsignore Catesby, +congratulating him by pressing the other. + +The cardinal said to Lord St. Jerome, in the course of the morning, in +an easy way, and as if he were not thinking too much of the matter, "So, +you have got out of all your difficulties." + +Lord St. Jerome was not entirely satisfied, but he thought he had done a +great deal, and, to say the truth, the effort for him had not been +inconsiderable; and so the result was that Lothair, accompanied by +Monsignore Catesby and Father Coleman, travelled by easy stages, and +chiefly on horseback, through a delicious and romantic country, which +alone did Lothair a great deal of good, to the coast; crossed the +straits on a serene afternoon, visited Messina and Palermo, and finally +settled at their point of destination -- the Villa Catalano. + +Nothing could be more satisfactory than the monsignore's bulletin, +announcing to his friends at Rome their ultimate arrangements. Three +weeks' travel, air, horse exercise, the inspiration of the landscape and +the clime, had wonderfully restored Lothair, and they might entirely +count on his passing Holy Week at Rome, when all they had hoped and +prayed for would, by the blessing of the Holy Virgin, be accomplished. + + + +CHAPTER 71 + + +The terrace of the Villa Catalano, with its orange and palm trees, +looked upon a sea of lapiz lazuli, and rose from a shelving shore of +aloes and arbutus. The waters reflected the color of the sky, and all +the foliage wag bedewed with the same violet light of morn which bathed +the softness of the distant mountains, and the undulating beauty of the +ever-varying coast. + +Lothair was walking on the terrace, his favorite walk, for it was the +duly occasion on which he ever found himself alone. Not that he had any +reason to complain of his companions. More complete ones could scarcely +be selected. Travel, which, they say, tries all tempers, had only +proved the engaging equanimity of Catesby, and had never disturbed the +amiable repose of his brother priest: and then they were so entertaining +and so instructive, as well as handy and experienced in all common +things. The monsignore had so much taste and feeling, and various +knowledge; and as for the reverend father, all the antiquaries they +daily encountered were mere children in his hands, who, without effort, +could explain and illustrate every scene and object, and spoke as if he +had never given a thought to any other theme than Sicily and Syracuse, +the expedition of Nicias, and the adventures of Agathocles. And yet, +during all their travels, Lothair felt that he never was alone. This +was remarkable at the great cities, such as Messina and Palermo, but it +was a prevalent habit in less-frequented places. There was a petty town +near them, which he had never visited alone, although he had made more +than one attempt with that view; and it was only on the terrace in the +early morn, a spot whence he could be observed from the villa, and which +did not easily communicate with the precipitous and surrounding scenery, +that Lothair would indulge that habit of introspection which he had +pursued through many a long ride, and which to him was a never-failing +source of interest and even excitement. + +He wanted to ascertain the causes of what he deemed the failure of his +life, and of the dangers and discomfiture that were still impending over +him. Were these causes to be found in any peculiarity of his +disposition, or in the general inexperience and incompetence of youth? +The latter, he was now quite willing to believe, would lead their +possessors into any amount of disaster, but his ingenuous nature +hesitated before it accepted them as the self-complacent solution of his +present deplorable position. + +Of a nature profound and inquisitive, though with a great fund of +reverence which had been developed by an ecclesiastical education, +Lothair now felt that he had started in life with an extravagant +appreciation of the influence of the religious principle on the conduct +of human affairs. With him, when heaven was so nigh, earth could not be +remembered; and yet experience showed that, so long as one was on the +earth, the incidents of this planet considerably controlled one's +existence, both in behavior and in thought. All the world could not +retire to Mount Athos. It was clear, therefore, that there was a juster +conception of the relations between religion and life than that which he +had at first adopted. + +Practically, Theodora had led, or was leading, him to this result; but +Theodora, though religious, did not bow before those altars to which he +for a moment had never been faithless. Theodora believed in her +immortality, and did not believe in death according to the +ecclesiastical interpretation. But her departure from the scene, and +the circumstances under which it had taken place, had unexpectedly and +violently restored the course of his life to its old bent. Shattered +and shorn, he was willing to believe that he was again entering the +kingdom of heaven, but found he was only under the gilded dome of a +Jesuit's church, and woke to reality, from a scene of magical +deceptions, with a sad conviction that even cardinals and fathers of the +Church were inevitably influenced in this life by its interest and his +passions. + +But the incident of his life that most occupied -- it might be said +engrossed -- his meditation was the midnight apparition in the Coliseum. +Making every allowance that a candid nature and an ingenious mind could +suggest for explicatory circumstances; the tension of his nervous +system, which was then doubtless strained to its last point; the memory +of her death-scene, which always harrowed and haunted him; and that dark +collision between his promise and his life which then, after so many +efforts, appeared by some supernatural ordination to be about inevitably +to occur in that very Rome whose gigantic shades surrounded him; he +still could not resist the conviction that he had seen the form of +Theodora and had listened to her voice. Often the whole day, when they +were travelling, and his companions watched him on his saddle in silent +thought, his mind in reality was fixed on this single incident and he +was cross-examining his memory as some adroit and ruthless advocate +deals with the witness in the box, and tries to demonstrate his +infidelity or his weakness. + +But whether it were indeed the apparition of his adored friend or a +distempered dream, Lothair not less recognized the warning as divine, +and the only conviction he had arrived at throughout his Sicilian +travels was a determination that, however tragical the cost, his promise +to Theodora should never be broken. + +The beautiful terrace of the Villa Catalano overlooked a small bay to +which it descended by winding walks. The water was deep, and in any +other country the bay might have been turned to good account; but bays +abounded on this coast, and the people, with many harbors, had no +freights to occupy them. This morn, this violet morn, when the balm of +the soft breeze refreshed Lothair, and the splendor of the rising sun +began to throw a flashing line upon the azure waters, a few fishermen in +one of the country boats happened to come in, about to dry a net upon a +sunny bank. The boat was what is called a speronaro; an open boat +worked with oars, but with a lateen sail at the same time when the +breeze served. + +Lothair admired the trim of the vessel, and got talking with the men as +they ate their bread and olives, and a small fish or two. + +"And your lateen sail -- ?" continued Lothair. + +"Is the best thing in the world, except in a white squall," replied the +sailor, "and then every thing is queer in these seas with an open boat, +though I am not afraid of Santa Agnese, and that is her name. But I +took two English officers who came over here for sport and whose leave +of absence was out -- I took them over in her to Malta, and did it in +ten hours. I believe it had never been done in an open boat before, but +it was neck or nothing with them." + +"And you saved them?" + +"With the lateen up the whole way." + +"They owed you much, and I hope they paid you well." + +"I asked them ten ducats," said the man, "and they paid me ten ducats." + +Lothair had his hand in his pocket all this time, feeling, but +imperceptibly, for his purse, and, when be had found it, feeling how it +was lined. He generally carried about him as much as Fortunatus. + +"What are you going to do with yourselves this morning?" said Lothair. + +"Well, not much; we thought of throwing the net, but we have had one +dip, and no great luck." + +"Are you inclined to give me a sail?" + +"Certainly, signor." + +"Have you a mind to go to Malta?" + +"That is business, signor." + +"Look here," said Lothair, "here are ten ducats in this purse, and a +little more. I will give them to you if you will take me to Malta at +once; but, if you will start in a hundred seconds, before the sun +touches that rock, and the waves just beyond it are already bright, you +shall have ten more ducats when you reach the isle." + +"Step in, signor." + +From the nature of the course, which was not in the direction of the +open sea, for they had to double Cape Passaro, the; speronaro was out of +the sight of the villa in a few minutes. They rowed only till they had +doubled the cape, and then set the lateen sail, the breeze being light, +but steady and favorable. They were soon in open sea, no land in sight. +"And, if a white squall does rise," thought Lothair, "it will only +settle many difficulties." + +But no white squall came; every thing was favorable to their progress; +the wind the current, the courage, and spirit of the men, who liked the +adventure, and liked Lothair. Night came on, but they were as tender to +him as women, fed him with their least coarse food, and covered him with +a cloak made of stuff spun by their mothers and their sisters. + +Lothair was slumbering when the patron of the boat roused him, and he +saw at hand many lights, and, in a few minutes, was in still water. +They were in one of the harbors of Malta, but not permitted to land at +midnight, and, when the morn arrived, the obstacles to the release of +Lothair were not easily removed. A speronaro, an open boat from Sicily, +of course with no papers to prove their point of departure -- here were +materials for doubt and difficulty, of which the petty officers of the +port knew how to avail themselves. They might come from Barbary, from +an infected port; plague might be aboard, a question of quarantine. +Lothair observed that they were nearly alongside of a fine steam-yacht, +English, for it bore the cross of St. George; and, while on the quay, he +and the patron of the speronaro arguing with the officers of the port, a +gentleman from the yacht put ashore in a boat, of which the bright +equipment immediately attracted attention. The gentleman landed almost +close to the point where the controversy was carrying on. The excited +manner and voice of the Sicilian mariner could not escape notice. The +gentleman stopped and looked at the group, and then suddenly exclaimed: +"Good Heavens! my lord, can it be you?" + +"Ah, Mr. Phoebus, you will help me!" said Lothair; and then he went up to +him and told him every thing. All difficulties, of course, vanished +before the presence of Mr. Phoebus, whom the officers of the port +evidently looked upon as a being beyond criticism and control. + +"And now," said Mr. Phoebus, "about your people and your baggage?" + +"I have neither servants nor clothes," said Lothair, "and, if it had not +been for these good people, I should not have had food." + + + +CHAPTER 72 + + +Phoebus, in his steam-yacht Pan, of considerable admeasurement, and +fitted up with every luxury and convenience that science and experience +could suggest, was on his way to an island which he occasionally +inhabited, near the Asian coast of the gean Sea, and which he rented +from the chief of his wife's house, the Prince of Samos. Mr. Phoebus, by +his genius and fame, commanded a large income, and he spent it freely +and fully. There was nothing of which he more disapproved than +accumulation. It was a practice which led to sordid habits, and was +fatal to the beautiful. On the whole, he thought it more odious even +than debt, more permanently degrading. Mr. Phoebus liked pomp and +graceful ceremony, and he was of opinion that great artists should lead +a princely life, so that, in their manners and method of existence, they +might furnish models to mankind in general, and elevate the tone and +taste of nations. + +Sometimes, when he observed a friend noticing with admiration, perhaps +with astonishment, the splendor or finish of his equipments, he would +say: "The world think I had a large fortune with Madame Phoebus. I had +nothing. I understand that a fortune, and no inconsiderable one, would +have been given had I chosen to ask for it. But I did not choose to ask +for it. I made Madame Phoebus my wife because she was the finest +specimen of the Aryan race that I was acquainted with, and I would have +no considerations mixed up with the high motive that influenced me. My +father-in-law Cantacuzene, whether from a feeling of gratitude or +remorse, is always making us magnificent presents. I like to receive +magnificent presents, but also to make them; and I presented him with a +picture which is the gem of his gallery, and which, if he ever part with +it, will in another generation be contended for by kings and peoples. + +"On her last birthday we breakfasted with my father-in-law Cantacuzene, +and Madame Phoebus found in her napkin a check for five thousand pounds. +I expended it immediately in jewels for her personal use; for I wished +my father-in-law to understand that there are other princely families in +the world besides the Cantacuzenes." + +A friend once ventured inquiringly to suggest whether his way of life +might not be conducive to envy, and so disturb that serenity of +sentiment necessary to the complete life of an artist. But Mr. Phoebus +would not for a moment admit the soundness of the objection. "No," he +said, "envy is a purely intellectual process. Splendor never excites +it; a man of splendor is looked upon always with favor -- his appearance +exhilarates the heart of man. He is always popular. People wish to +dine with him, to borrow his money, but they do not envy him. If you +want to know what envy is, you should live among artists. You should +hear me lecture at the Academy. I have sometimes suddenly turned round +and caught countenances like that of the man who was waiting at the +comer of the street for Benvenuto Cellini, in order to assassinate the +great Florentine." + +It was impossible for Lothair in his present condition to have fallen +upon a more suitable companion than Mr. Phoebus. It is not merely change +of scene and air that we sometimes want, but a revolution in the +atmosphere of thought and feeling in which we live and breathe. Besides +his great intelligence and fancy, and his peculiar views on art and man +and affairs in general, which always interested their hearer, and +sometimes convinced, there was a general vivacity in Mr. Phoebus and a +vigorous sense of life, which were inspiriting to his companions. When +there was any thing to be done, great or small, Mr. Phoebus liked to do +it; and this, as he averred, from a sense of duty, since, if any thing +is to be done, it should be done in the best manner, and no one could do +it so well as Mr. Phoebus. He always acted as if he had been created to +be the oracle and model of the human race, but the oracle was never +pompous or solemn, and the model was always beaming with good-nature and +high spirits. + +Mr. Phoebus liked Lothair. He liked youth, and good-looking youth; and +youth that was intelligent and engaging and well-mannered. He also +liked old men. But, between fifty and seventy, he saw little to approve +of in the dark sex. They had lost their good looks if they ever had +any, their wits were on the wane, and they were invariably selfish. +When they attained second childhood, the charm often returned. Age was +frequently beautiful, wisdom appeared like an aftermath, and the heart +which seemed dry and deadened suddenly put forth shoots of sympathy. + +Mr. Phoebus postponed his voyage in order that Lothair might make his +preparations to become his guest in his island. "I cannot take you to a +banker," said Mr. Phoebus, "for I have none; but I wish you would share +my purse. Nothing will ever induce me to use what they call paper +money. It is the worst thing that what they call civilization has +produced; neither hue nor shape, and yet a substitute for the richest +color, and, where the arts flourish, the finest forms." + +The telegraph which brought an order to the bankers at Malta to give an +unlimited credit to Lothair, rendered it unnecessary for our friend to +share what Mr. Phoebus called his purse, and yet he was glad to have the +opportunity of seeing it, as Mr. Phoebus one morning opened a chest in +his cabin and produced several velvet bags, one full of pearls, another +of rubies, others of Venetian sequins, Napoleons, and golden piastres. +"I like to look at them," said Mr. Phoebus, "and find life more intense +when they are about my person. But bank-notes, so cold and thin -- they +give me an ague." + +Madame Phoebus and her sister Euphrosyne welcomed Lothair in maritime +costumes which were absolutely bewitching; wondrous jackets with loops +of pearls, girdles defended by dirks with handles of turquoises, and +tilted hats that; while they screened their long eyelashes from the sun, +crowned the longer braids of their never-ending hair. Mr. Phoebus gave +banquets every day on board his yacht, attended by the chief personages +of the island, and the most agreeable officers of the garrison. They +dined upon deck, and it delighted him, with a surface of sang-froid, to +produce a repast which both in its material and its treatment was equal +to the refined festivals of Paris. Sometimes they had a dance; +sometimes in his barge, rowed by a crew in Venetian dresses, his guests +glided on the tranquil waters, under a starry sky, and listened to the +exquisite melodies of their hostess and her sister. + +At length the day of departure arrived. It was bright, with a breeze +favorable to the sail and opportune for the occasion. For all the +officers of the garrison, and all beautiful Valetta itself, seemed +present in their yachts and barges to pay their last tribute of +admiration to the enchanting sisters and the all-accomplished owner of +the Pan. Placed on the galley of his yacht, Mr. Phoebus surveyed the +brilliant and animated scene with delight. "This is the way to conduct +life," he said. "If, fortunately for them, I could have passed another +month among these people, I could have developed a feeling equal to the +old regattas of the Venetians." + +The gean isle occupied by Mr. Phoebus was of no inconsiderable +dimensions. A chain of mountains of white marble intersected it, +covered with forests of oak, though in parts precipitous and bare. The +lowlands, while they produced some good crops of grain, and even cotton +and silk, were chiefly clothed with fruit-trees -- orange and lemon, and +the fig, the olive, and the vine. Sometimes the land was uncultivated, +and was principally covered with myrtles, of large size, and oleanders, +and arbutus, and thorny brooms. Here game abounded, while from the +mountain-forests the wolf sometimes descended, and spoiled and scared +the islanders. + +On the sea-shore, yet not too near the wave, and on a sylvan declivity, +was along, pavilion-looking building, painted in white and arabesque. +It was backed by the forest, which had a park-like character from its +partial clearance, and which, after a convenient slip of even land, +ascended the steeper country and took the form of wooded hills, backed +in due time by still sylvan yet loftier elevations, and sometimes a +glittering peak. + +"Welcome, my friend!" said Mr. Phoebus to Lothair. "Welcome to an Aryan +clime, an Aryan landscape, and an Aryan race! It will do you good after +your Semitic hallucinations." + + + +CHAPTER 73 + + +Mr. Phoebus pursued a life in his island partly feudal, partly Oriental, +partly Venetian, and partly idiosyncratic. He had a grand studio, where +he could always find interesting occupation in drawing every fine face +and form in his dominions. Then he hunted, and that was a remarkable +scene. The ladies, looking like Diana or her nymphs, were mounted on +cream-colored Anatolian chargers, with golden bells; while Mr. Phoebus +himself, in green velvet and seven-leagued boots, sounded a wondrous +twisted horn, rife with all the inspiring or directing notes of musical +and learned venerie. His neighbors of condition came mounted, but the +field was by no means confined to cavaliers. A vast crowd of men, in +small caps and jackets and huge white breeches, and armed with all the +weapons of Palikari, handjars and ataghans and silver-sheathed muskets +of uncommon length and almost as old as the battle of Lepanto, always +rallied round his standard. The equestrians caracoled about the park, +and the horns sounded, and the hounds bayed, and the men shouted, till +the deer had all scudded away. Then, by degrees, the hunters entered +the forest, and the notes of venerie became more faint and the shouts +more distant. Then, for two or three hours, all was silent, save the +sound of an occasional shot or the note of a stray hound, until the +human stragglers began to reappear emerging from the forest, and in due +time the great body of the hunt, and a gilded cart drawn by mules and +carrying the prostrate forms of fallow-deer and roebuck. None of the +ceremonies of the chase were omitted, and the crowd dispersed, refreshed +by Samian wine, which Mr. Phoebus was teaching them to make without +resin, and which they quaffed with shrugging shoulders. + +"We must have a wolf-hunt for you," said Euphrosyne to Lothair. "You +like excitement, I believe?" + +"Well, I am rather inclined for repose at present, and I came here with +the hope of obtaining it." + +"Well, we are never idle here; in fact, that would be impossible with +Gaston. He has established here an academy of the fine arts, and also +revived the gymnasia; and my sister and myself have schools -- only +music and dancing; Gaston does not approve of letters. The poor people +have, of course, their primary schools, with their priests, and Gaston +does not interfere with them, but he regrets their existence. He looks +upon reading and writing as very injurious to education." + +Sometimes reposing on divans, the sisters received the chief persons of +the isle, and regaled them with fruits and sweetmeats, and coffee and +sherbets, while Gaston's chibouques and tobacco of Salonica were a +proverb. These meetings always ended with dance and song, replete, +according to Mr. Phoebus, with studies of Aryan life. + +"I believe these islanders to be an unmixed race," said Mr. Phoebus. +"The same form and visage prevails throughout; and very little changed +in any thing -- even in their religion." + +"Unchanged in their religion!" said Lothair, with some astonishment. + +"Yes; you will find it so. Their existence is easy; their wants are not +great, and their means of subsistence plentiful. They pass much of +their life in what is called amusement -- and what is it? They make +parties of pleasure; they go in procession to a fountain or a grove. +They dance and eat fruit, and they return home singing songs. They +have, in fact, been performing unconsciously the religious ceremonies of +their ancestors, and which they pursue, and will forever, though they +may have forgotten the name of the dryad or the nymph who presides over +their waters." + +"I should think their priests would guard them from these errors," said +Lothair. + +"The Greek priests, particularly in these Asian islands, are good sort +of people," said Mr. Phoebus. "They marry and have generally large +families, often very beautiful. They have no sacerdotal feelings, for +they never can have any preferment; all the high posts in the Greek +Church being reserved for the monks, who study what is called theology. +The Greek parish priest is not at all Semitic; there is nothing to +counteract his Aryan tendencies. I have already raised the statue of a +nymph at one of their favorite springs and places of pleasant +pilgrimage, and I have a statue now in the island, still in its case, +which I contemplate installing in a famous grove of laurel not far off +and very much resorted to." + +"And what then?" inquired Lothair. + +"Well, I have a conviction that among the great races the old creeds +will come back," said Mr. Phoebus, "and it will be acknowledged that true +religion is the worship of the beautiful. For the beautiful cannot be +attained without virtue, if virtue consists, as I believe, in the +control of the passions, in the sentiment of repose, and the avoidance +in all things of excess." + +One night Lothair was walking home with the sisters from a village +festival where they had been much amused. + +"You have had a great many adventures since we first met?" said Madame +Phoebus. + +"Which makes it seem longer ago than it really is," said Lothair. + +"You count time by emotion, then?" said Euphrosyne. + +"Well, it is a wonderful thing, however it be computed," said Lothair. + +"For my part, I do not think that it ought to be counted at all," said +Madame Phoebus; "and there is nothing to me so detestable in Europe as +the quantity of clocks and watches." + +"Do you use a watch, my lord?" asked Euphrosyne, in a tone which always +seemed to Lothair one of mocking artlessness. + +"I believe I never wound it up when I had one," said Lothair. + +"But you make such good use of your time," said Madame Phoebus, "you do +not require watches." + +"I am glad to hear I make good use of my time," said Lothair, "but a +little surprised." + +"But you are so good, so religious," said Madame Phoebus. "That is a +great thing; especially for one so young." + +"Hem!" said Lothair. + +"That must have been a beautiful procession at Rome," said Euphrosyne. + +"I was rather a spectator of it than an actor in it," said Lothair, with +some seriousness. "It is too long a tale to enter into, but my part in +those proceedings was entirely misrepresented." + +"I believe that nothing in the newspapers is ever true," said Madame +Phoebus. + +"And that is why they are so popular," added Euphrosyne; "the taste of +the age being so decidedly for fiction." + +"Is it true that you escaped from a convent to Malta?" said Madame +Phoebus. + +"Not quite," said Lothair, "but true enough for conversations." + +"As confidential as the present, I suppose?" said Euphrosyne. + +"Yes, when we are grave, as we are inclined to be now," said Lothair. + +"Then, you have been fighting a good deal," said Madame Phoebus. + +"You are putting me on a court-martial, Madame Phoebus," said Lothair. + +"But we do not know on which side you were," said Euphrosyne. + +"That is matter of history," said Lothair, "and that, you know, is +always doubtful." + +"Well, I do not like fighting," said Madame Phoebus, "and for my part I +never could find out that it did an good." + +"And what do you like?" said Lothair. "Tell me how would you pass your +life?" + +"Well, much as I do. I do not know that I want any change, except I +think I should like it to be always summer." + +"And I would have perpetual spring," said Euphrosyne. + +"But, summer or spring, what would be your favorite pursuit?" + +"Well, dancing is very nice," said Madame Phoebus. + +"But we cannot always, be dancing," said Lothair. + +"Then we would sing," said Euphrosyne. + +"But the time comes when one can neither dance nor sing," said Lothair. + +"Oh, then we become part of the audience," said Madame Phoebus, "the +people for whose amusement everybody labors." + +"And enjoy power without responsibility," said Euphrosyne, "detect false +notes and mark awkward gestures. How can any one doubt of Providence +with such a system of constant compensation!" + +There was something in the society of these two sisters that Lothair +began to find highly attractive. Their extraordinary beauty, their +genuine and unflagging gayety, their thorough enjoyment of existence, +and the variety of resources with which they made life amusing and +graceful, all contributed to captivate him. They had, too, a great love +and knowledge both of art and nature, and insensibly they weaned Lothair +from that habit of introspection which, though natural to him, be had +too much indulged, and taught him to find sources of interest and +delight in external objects. He was beginning to feel happy in this +islands and wishing that his life might never change, when one day Mr. +Phoebus informed them that the Prince Agathonides, the eldest son of the +Prince of Samos, would arrive from Constantinople in a few days, and +would pay them a visit. "He will come with some retinue," said Mr. +Phoebus, "but I trust we shall be able by our reception to show that the +Cantacuzenes are not the only princely family in the world." + +Mr. Phoebus was confident in his resources in this respect, for his +yacht's crew in their Venetian dresses could always furnish a guard of +honor which no Grecian prince or Turkish pacha could easily rival. When +the eventful day arrived, he was quite equal to the occasion. The yacht +was dressed in every part with the streaming colors of all nations, the +banner of Gaston Phoebus waved from his pavilion, the guard of honor kept +the ground, but the population of the isle were present in numbers and +in their most showy costume, and a battery of ancient Turkish guns fired +a salute without an accident. + +The Prince Agathonides was a youth, good looking and dressed in a +splendid Palikar costume, though his manners were quite European, being +an attach to the Turkish embassy at Vienna. He had with him a sort of +governor, a secretary, servants in Mamlouk dresses, pipe-bearers, and +grooms, there being some horses as presents from his father to Mr. +Phoebus, and some rarely-embroidered kerchiefs and choice perfumes and +Persian greyhounds for the ladies. + +'The arrival of the young prince was the signal for a series of +entertainments on the island. First of all, Mr. Phoebus resolved to give +a dinner in the Frank style, to prove to Agathonides that there were +other members of the Cantacuzene family besides himself who comprehended +a first-rate Frank dinner. The chief people of the island were invited +to this banquet. They drank the choicest grapes of France and Germany, +were stuffed with truffles, and sat on little cane chairs. But one +might detect in their countenances how they sighed for their easy +divans, their simple dishes, and their resinous wine. Then there was a +wolf-hunt, and other sport; a great day of gymnasia, many dances and +much music; in fact, there were choruses all over the island, and every +night was a serenade. + +Why such general joy? Because it was understood that the heir-apparent +of the isle, their future sovereign, had in fact arrived to make his bow +to the beautiful Euphrosyne, as though he saw her for the first time. + + + +CHAPTER 74 + + +Very shortly after his arrival at Malta, Mr. Phoebus had spoken to +Lothair about Theodora. It appeared that Lucien Campian, though +severely wounded, had escaped with Garibaldi after the battle of Mentana +into the Italian territories. Here they were at once arrested, but not +severely detained, and Colonel Campian took the first opportunity of +revisiting England, where, after settling his affairs, he had returned +to his native country, from which he had been separated for many years. +Mr. Phoebus during the interval had seen a great deal of him, and the +colonel departed for America under the impression that Lothair had been +among the slain at the final struggle. + +"Campian is one of the beat men I over knew," said Phoebus. "He was a +remarkable instance of energy combined with softness of disposition. In +my opinion, however, he ought never to have visited Europe: he was made +to clear the backwoods, and govern man by the power of his hatchet and +the mildness of his words. He was fighting for freedom all his life, +yet slavery made and slavery destroyed him. Among all the freaks of +Fate nothing is more surprising than that this Transatlantic planter +should have been ordained to be the husband of a divine being -- a true +Hellenic goddess, who in the good days would have been worshipped in +this country, and have inspired her race to actions of grace, wisdom, +and beauty." + +"I greatly esteem him," said Lothair "and I shall write to him +directly." + +"Except by Campian, who spoke probably about you to no one save myself," +continued Phoebus, "your name has never been mentioned with reference to +those strange transactions. Once there was a sort of rumor that you had +met with some mishap, but these things were contradicted and explained, +and then forgotten: and people were all out of town. I believe that +Cardinal Grandison communicated with your man of business, and between +them every thing was kept quiet, until this portentous account of your +doings at Rome, which transpired after we left England and which met us +at Malta." + +"I have written to my man of business about that," said Lothair, "but I +think it will tax all his ingenuity to explain, or to mystify it as +successfully as he did the preceding adventures. At any rate, he will +not have the assistance of my lord cardinal." + +"Theodora was a remarkable woman on many accounts," said Mr. Phoebus, +"but particularly on this, that, although one of the most beautiful +women that ever existed, she was adored by beautiful women. My wife +adored her; Euphrosyne, who has no enthusiasm, adored her; the Princess +of Tivoli, the most capricious being probably that ever existed, adored; +and always adored, Theodora. I think it must have been that there was +on her part a total absence of vanity, and this the more strange in one +whose vocation in her earlier life had been to attract and live on +popular applause; but I have seen her quit theatres ringing with +admiration and enter her carriage with the serenity of a Phidian muse." + +"I adored her," said Lothair, "but I never could quite solve her +character. Perhaps it was too rich and deep far rapid comprehension." + +"We shall never perhaps see her like again," said Mr. Phoebus. "It was a +rare combination, peculiar to the Tyrrhenian sea. I am satisfied that +we must go there to find the pure Hellenic blood, and from thence it got +to Rome." + +"We may not see her like again, but we may see her again," said Lothair; +"and sometimes I think she is always hovering over me." + +In this vein, when they were alone, they were frequently speaking of the +departed, and one day -- it was before the arrival of Prince Agathonides +-- Mr. Phoebus said to Lothair: "We will ride this morning to what we +call the grove of Daphne. It is a real laurel-grove. Some of the trees +must be immemorial, and deserve to have been sacred, if once they were +not so. In their huge, grotesque forms you would not easily recognize +your polished friends of Europe, so trim and glossy and shrub-like. The +people are very fond of this grove, and make frequent processions there. +Once a year they must be headed by their priest. No one knows why, nor +has he the slightest idea of the reason of the various ceremonies which +he that day performs. But we know, and some day he or his successors +will equally understand them. Yes, if I remain here long enough -- and +I sometimes think I will never again quit the isle -- I shall expect +some fine summer night, when there is that rich stillness which the +whispering waves only render more intense, to hear a voice of music on +the mountains declaring that the god Pan has returned to earth." + +It was a picturesque ride, as every ride was on this island, skirting +the sylvan hills with the sea glimmering in the distance. Lothair was +pleased with the approaches to the sacred grove: now and then a single +tree with gray branches and a green head, then a great spread of +underwood, all laurel, and then spontaneous plantations of young trees. + +"There was always a vacant space in the centre of the grove," said Mr. +Phoebus, "once sadly overrun with wild shrubs, but I have cleared it and +restored the genius of the spot. See!" + +They entered the sacred circle and beheld a statue raised on a porphyry +pedestal. The light fell with magical effect on the face of the statue. +It was the statue of Theodora, the placing of which in the pavilion of +Belmont Mr. Phoebus was superintending when Lothair first made his +acquaintance. + + + +CHAPTER 75 + + +The Prince Agathonides seemed quite to monopolize the attention of +Madame Phoebus and her sister. This was not very unreasonable, +considering that he was their visitor, the future chief of their house, +and had brought them so many embroidered pocket-handkerchiefs, choice +scents, and fancy dogs. But Lothair thought it quite disgusting, nor +could he conceive what they saw in him, what they were talking about or +laughing about, for, so far as he had been able to form any opinion on +the subject, the prince was a shallow-pated coxcomb without a single +quality to charm any woman of sense and spirit. Lothair began to +consider how he could pursue his travels, where he should go to, and, +when that was settled, how he should get there. + +Just at this moment of perplexity, as is often the case, something +occurred which no one could foresee, but which, like every event, +removed some difficulties and introduced others. + +There arrived at the island a dispatch forwarded to Mr. Phoebus by the +Russian ambassador at Constantinople, who had received it from his +colleague at London. This dispatch contained a proposition to Mr. +Phoebus to repair to the court of St. Petersburg, and accept appointments +of high distinction and emolument. Without in any way restricting the +independent pursuit of his profession, he was offered a large salary, +the post of court painter, and the presidency of the Academy of Fine +Arts. Of such moment did the Russian Government deem the official +presence of this illustrious artist in their country, that it was +intimated, if the arrangement could be effected, its conclusion might be +celebrated by conferring on Mr. Phoebus a patent of nobility and a +decoration of a high class. The dispatch contained a private letter +from an exalted member of the imperial family, who had had the high and +gratifying distinction of making Mr. Phoebus's acquaintance in London, +personally pressing the acceptance by him of the general proposition, +assuring him of cordial welcome and support, and informing Mr. Phoebus +that what was particularly desired at this moment was a series of +paintings illustrative of some of the most memorable scenes in the Holy +Land and especially the arrival of the pilgrims of the Greek rite at +Jerusalem. As for this purpose he would probably like to visit +Palestine, the whole of the autumn or even a longer period was placed at +his disposal; so that, enriched with all necessary drawings and studies, +he might achieve his more elaborate performances in Russia at his +leisure and with every advantage. + +Considering that the great objects in life with Mr. Phoebus were to live +in an Aryan country, amid an Aryan race, and produce works which should +revive for the benefit of human nature Aryan creeds, a proposition to +pass some of the prime years of his life among the Mongolian race, and +at the same time devote his pencil to the celebration Semitic subjects, +was startling. + +"I shall say nothing to Madame Phoebus until the prince has gone," he +remarked to Lothair; "he will go the day after to-morrow. I do not know +what they may offer to make me -- probably only a baron, perhaps a +count. But you know in Russia a man may become a prince, and I +certainly should like those Cantacuzenes to feel that after all their +daughter is a princess with no thanks to them. The climate is +detestable, but one owes much to one's profession. Art would be honored +at a great, perhaps the greatest, court. There would not be a fellow at +his easel in the streets about Fitzroy Square who would not be prouder. +I wonder what the decoration will be? 'Of a high class' -- vague. It +might be Alexander Newsky. You know you have a right, whatever your +decoration, to have it expressed, of course at your own expense, in +brilliants. I confess I have my weaknesses. I should like to get over +to the Academy dinner -- one can do any thing in these days of railroads +-- and dine with the R. A.s in my ribbon and the star of the Alexander +Newsky in brilliants. I think every academician would feel elevated. +What I detest are their Semitic subjects -- nothing but drapery. They +cover even their heads in those scorching climes. Can any one make any +thing of a caravan of pilgrims? To be sure, they say no one can draw a +camel. If I went to Jerusalem, a camel would at last be drawn. There +is something in that. We must think over these things, and when the +prince has gone talk it over with Madame Phoebus. I wish you all to come +to a wise decision, without the slightest reference to my individual +tastes or, it may be, prejudices." + +The result of all this was that Mr. Phoebus, without absolutely +committing himself, favorably entertained the general proposition of the +Russian court; while, with respect to their particular object in art, he +agreed to visit Palestine and execute at least one work for his imperial +friend and patron. He counted on reaching Jerusalem before the Easter +pilgrims returned to their homes. + +"If they would make me a prince at once, and give me the Alexander +Newsky in brilliants, it might be worth thinking of," he said to +Lothair. + +The ladies, though they loved their isle, were quite delighted with the +thought of going to Jerusalem. Madame Phoebus knew a Russian +grand-duchess who had boasted to her that she had been both to Jerusalem +and Torquay, and Madame Phoebus had felt quite ashamed that she had been +to neither. + +"I suppose you will feel quite at home there," said Euphrosyne to +Lothair. + +"No; I never was there." + +"No; but you know all about those places and people -- holy places and +holy persons. The Blessed Virgin did not, I believe, appear to you. It +was to a young lady, was it not? We were asking each other last night +who the young lady could be." + + + +CHAPTER 76 + + +Time, which changes every thing, is changing even the traditionary +appearance of forlorn Jerusalem. Not that its mien, after all, was ever +very sad. Its airy site, its splendid mosque, its vast monasteries, the +bright material of which the whole city is built, its cupolaed houses of +freestone, and above all the towers and gates and battlements of its +lofty and complete walls, always rendered it a handsome city. Jerusalem +has not been sacked so often or so recently as the other two great +ancient cities, Rome and Athens. Its vicinage was never more desolate +than the Campagna, or the state of Attica and the Morea in 1830. + +The battle-field of western Asia from the days of the Assyrian kings to +those of Mehemet Ali, Palestine endured the same devastation as in modern +times has been the doom of Flanders and the Milanese; but the years of +havoc in the Low Countries and Lombardy must be counted in Palestine by +centuries. Yet the wide plains of the Holy Land, Sharon, and Shechem, +and Esdraelon, have recovered; they are as fertile and as fair as in old +days; it is the hill-culture that has been destroyed, and that is the +culture on which Jerusalem mainly depended. Its hills were terraced +gardens, vineyards, and groves of olive-trees. And here it is that we +find renovation. The terraces are again ascending the stony heights, +and the eye is frequently gladdened with young plantations. +Fruit-trees, the peach and the pomegranate, the almond and the fig, +offer gracious groups; and the true children of the land, the vine and +the olive, are again exulting in their native soil. + +There is one spot, however, which has been neglected, and yet the one +that should have been the first remembered, as it has been the most +rudely wasted. Blessed be the hand which plants trees upon Olivet! +Blessed be the hand that builds gardens about Sion! + +The most remarkable creation, however, in modern Jerusalem is the Russian +settlement which within a few years has risen on the elevated ground on +the western side of the city. The Latin, the Greek, and the Armenian +Churches had for centuries possessed enclosed establishments in the +city, which, under the name of monasteries, provided shelter and +protection for hundreds -- it might be said even thousands -- of +pilgrims belonging to their respective rites. The great scale, +therefore, on which Russia secured hospitality for her subjects was not +in reality so remarkable as the fact that it seemed to indicate a +settled determination to separate the Muscovite Church altogether from +the Greek, and throw off what little dependence is still acknowledged on +the Patriarchate of Constantinople. Whatever the motive, the design has +been accomplished on a large scale. The Russian buildings, all well +defended, are a caravanserai, a cathedral, a citadel. The consular flag +crowns the height and indicates the office of administration; priests +and monks are permanent inhabitants, and a whole caravan of Muscovite +pilgrim and the trades on which they depend can be accommodated within +the precinct. + +Mr. Phoebus, his family and suite, were to be the guests of the Russian +consul, and every preparation was made to insure the celebrated painter +a becoming reception. Frequent telegrams had duly impressed the +representative of all the Russias in the Holy Land with the importance +of his impending visitor. Even the qualified and strictly provisional +acceptance of the Russian proposition by Mr. Phoebus had agitated the +wires of Europe scarcely less than a suggested conference. + +"An artist should always remember what he owes to posterity and his +profession," said Mr. Phoebus to Lothair, as they were walking the deck, +"even if you can distinguish between them, which I doubt, for it is only +by a sense of the beautiful that the human family can be sustained in +Its proper place in the scale of creation, and the sense of the +beautiful is a result of the study of the fine arts. It would be +something to sow the seeds of organic change in the Mongolian type, but +I am nor sanguine of success. There is no original fund of aptitude to +act upon. The most ancient of existing communities is Turanian, and +yet, though they could invent gunpowder and the mariner's compass, they +never could understand perspective. -- Man ahead there! tell Madame +Phoebus to come on deck for the first sight of Mount Lebanon." + +When the Pan entered the port of Joppa they observed another English +yacht in those waters; but, before they could speculate on its owner, +they were involved in all the complications of landing. On the quay, +the Russian vice-consul was in attendance with horses and mules, and +donkeys handsomer than either. The ladies were delighted with the vast +orange-gardens of Joppa, which Madame Phoebus said realized quite her +idea of the Holy Land. + +"I was prepared for milk and honey," said Euphrosyne, "but this is too +delightful," as she travelled through lanes of date-bearing palm-trees, +and sniffed with her almond-shaped nostrils the all-pervading fragrance. + +They passed the night at Arimathea, a pretty village surrounded with +gardens enclosed with hedges of prickly pear. Here they found +hospitality, in an old convent, but all the comforts of Europe and many +of the refinements of Asia had been forwarded for their accommodations. + +"It is a great homage to art," said Mr. Phoebus, as he scattered his gold +like a great seigneur of Gascony. + +The next day, two miles from Jerusalem, the consul met them with a +cavalcade, and the ladies assured their host that they were not at all +wearied with their journey, but were quite prepared, in due time, to +join his dinner-party, which he was most anxious they should attend, as +he had "two English lords" who had arrived, and whom he had invited to +meet them. They were all curious to know their names, though that, +unfortunately, the consul could not tell them, but he had sent to the +English consulate to have them written down. All he could assure them +was, that they were real English lords, not travelling English lords, +but in sober earnestness great personages. + +Mr. Phoebus was highly gratified. He was pleased with his reception. +There was nothing he liked much more than a procession. He was also a +sincere admirer of the aristocracy of his country. "On the whole," he +would say, "they most resemble the old Hellenic race; excelling in +athletic sports, speaking no other language than their own, and never +reading." + +"Your fault," he would sometimes say to Lothair, "and the cause of many +of your sorrows, is the habit of mental introspection. Man is born to +observe, but if he falls into psychology he observes nothing, and then +he is astonished that life has no charms for him, or that, never seizing +the occasion, his career is a failure. No, sir, it is the eye that must +be occupied and cultivated; no one knows the capacity of the eye who has +not developed it, or the visions of beauty and delight and inexhaustible +interest which it commands. To a man who observes, life is as different +as the existence of a dreaming psychologist is to that of the animals of +the field." + +"I fear," said Lothair, "that I have at length found out the truth, and +that I am a dreaming psychologist." + +"You are young and not irremediably lost," said Mr. Phoebus. +"Fortunately, you have received the admirable though partial education +of your class. You are a good shot, you can ride, you can row, you can +swim. That imperfect secretion of the brain which is called thought has +not yet bowed your frame. You have not had time to read much. Give it +up altogether. The conversation of a woman like Theodora is worth all +the libraries in the world. If it were only for her sake, I should wish +to save you, but I wish to do it for your own. Yes, profit by the vast +though calamitous experience which you have gained in a short time. We +may know a great deal about our bodies, we can know very little about +our minds." + +The "real English lords" turned out to be Bertram and St. Aldegonde, +returning from Nubia. They had left England about the same time as +Lothair, and had paired together on the Irish Church till Easter, with a +sort of secret hope on the part of St. Aldegonde that they might neither +of them reappear in the House of Commons again until the Irish Church +were either saved or subverted. Holy Week had long passed, and they +were at Jerusalem, not quite so near the House of Commons as the Reform +Club or the Carlton, but still St. Aldegonde had mentioned that be was +beginning to be bored with Jerusalem, and Bertram counted on their +immediate departure when they accepted the invitation to dine with the +Russian consul. + +Lothair was unaffectedly delighted to meet Bertram, and glad to see St. +Aldegonde, but he was a little nervous and embarrassed as to the +probable tone of his reception by them. But their manner relieved him +in an instant, for he saw they knew nothing of his adventures. + +"Well," said St. Aldegonde, "what have you been doing with yourself +since we last met? I wish you had come with us, and had a shot at a +crocodile." + +Bertram told Lothair in the course of the evening that he found letters +at Cairo from Corisande, on his return, in which there was a good deal +about Lothair, and which had made him rather uneasy. "That there was a +rumor you had been badly wounded, and some other things," and Bertram +looked him full in the face; "but I dare say not a word of truth." + +"I was never better in my life," said Lothair, "and I have been in +Sicily and in Greece. However, we will talk over all this another +time." + +The dinner at the consulate was, one of the most successful banquets +that was ever given, if to please your guests be the test of good +fortune in such enterprises. St. Aldegonde was perfectly charmed with +the Phoebus family; he did not know which to admire most -- the great +artist, who was in remarkable spirits to-day, considering he was in a +Semitic country, or his radiant wife, or his brilliant sister-in-law. +St. Aldegonde took an early opportunity of informing Bertram that if he +liked to go over and vote for the Irish Church he would release him from +his pair with the greatest pleasure, but for his part he had not the +slightest intention of leaving Jerusalem at present. Strange to say, +Bertram received this intimation without a murmur. He was not so loud +in his admiration of the Phoebus family as St. Aldegonde, but there is a +silent sentiment sometimes more expressive than the noisiest applause, +and more dangerous. Bertram had sat next to Euphrosyne, and was +entirely spell-bound. + +The consul's wife, a hostess not unworthy of such guests, had +entertained her friends in the European style. The dinner-hour was not +late, and the gentlemen who attended the ladies from the dinner-table +were allowed to remain some time in the saloon. Lothair talked much to +the consul's wife, by whose side sat Madame Phoebus. St. Aldegonde was +always on his legs, distracted by the rival attractions of that lady and +her husband. More remote, Bertram whispered to Euphrosyne, who answered +him with laughing eyes. + +At a certain hour, the consul, attended by his male guests, crossing a +court, proceeded to his divan, a lofty and capacious chamber painted in +fresco, and with no furniture except the low but broad raised seat that +surrounded the room. Here, when they were seated, an equal number of +attendants -- Arabs in Arab dress, blue gowns, and red slippers, and red +caps -- entered, each proffering a long pipe of cherry or jasmine wood. +Then, in a short time, guests dropped in, and pipes and coffee were +immediately brought to them. Any person who had been formally presented +to the consul had this privilege, without any further invitation. The +society often found in these consular divans in the more remote places +of the East -- Cairo, Damascus, Jerusalem -- is often extremely +entertaining and instructive. Celebrated travellers, distinguished men +of science, artists, adventurers who ultimately turn out to be heroes, +eccentric characters of all kinds, are here encountered, and give the +fruits of their original or experienced observation without reserve. + +"It is the smoking-room over again," whispered St. Aldegonde to Lothair, +"only in England one is so glad to get away from the women, but here I +must say I should have liked to remain behind." + +An individual in a Syrian dress, fawn-colored robes girdled with a rich +shawl, and a white turban, entered. He made his salute with grace and +dignity to the consul, touching his forehead, his lip, and his heart, +and took his seat with the air of one not unaccustomed to be received, +playing, until he received his chibouque, with a chaplet of beads. + +"That is a good-looking fellow, Lothair," said St. Aldegonde; "or is it +the dress that turns them out such swells? I feel quite a lout by some +of these fellows." + +"I think he would be good-looking in any dress," said Lothair. "A +remarkable countenance." + +It was an oval visage, with features in harmony with that form; large +dark-brown eyes and lashes, and brows delicately but completely defined; +no hair upon the face except a beard, full but not long. He seemed +about the same age as Mr. Phoebus, and his complexion, though pale, was +clear and fair. + +The conversation, after some rambling, had got upon the Suez Canal. Mr. +Phoebus did not care for the political or the commercial consequences of +that great enterprise, but he was glad that a natural division should be +established between the greater races and the Ethiopian. It might not +lead to any considerable result, but it asserted a principle. He looked +upon that trench as a protest. + +"But would you place the Nilotic family in the Ethiopian race?" inquired +the Syrian in a voice commanding from its deep sweetness. + +"I would certainly. The were Cushim, and that means negroes." + +The Syrian did not agree with Mr. Phoebus; he stated his views firmly +and, clearly, but without urging them. He thought that we must look to +the Pelasgi as the colonizing race that had peopled and produced Egypt. +The mention of the Pelasgi fired Mr. Phoebus to even unusual eloquence. +He denounced the Pelasgi as a barbarous race: men of gloomy +superstitions, who, had it not been for the Hellenes, might have fatally +arrested the human development. The triumph of the Hellenes was the +triumph of the beautiful, and all that is great and good in life was +owing to their victory. + +"It is difficult to ascertain what is great in life," said the Syrian, +"because nations differ on the subject and ages. Some, for example, +consider war to be a great thing, others condemn it. I remember also +when patriotism was a boast, and now it is a controversy. But it is not +so difficult to ascertain what is good. For man has in his own being +some guide to such knowledge, and divine aid to acquire it has not been +wanting to him. For my part I could not maintain that the Hellenic +system led to virtue." + +The conversation was assuming an ardent character when the consul, as a +diplomatist, turned the channel. Mr. Phoebus had vindicated the Hellenic +religion, the Syrian, with a terse protest against the religion of +Nature, however idealized, as tending to the corruption of man, had let +the question die away, and the Divan were discussing dromedaries, and +dancing-girls, and sherbet made of pomegranate, which the consul +recommended and ordered to be produced. Some of the guests retired, and +among them the Syrian with the same salute and the same graceful dignity +as had distinguished his entrance. + +"Who is that man?" said Mr. Phoebus. "I met him at Rome ten years ago. +Baron Mecklenburg brought him to me to paint for my great picture of St. +John, which is in the gallery of Munich. He said in his way -- you +remember his way -- that he would bring me a face of Paradise." + +"I cannot exactly tell you his name," said the consul. "Prince Galitzin +brought him here, and thought highly of him. I believe he is one of the +old Syrian families in the mountain; but whether he be a Maronite or a +Druse, or any thing else, I really cannot say. Now try the sherbet." + + + +CHAPTER 77 + + +There are few things finer than the morning view of Jerusalem from the +Mount of Olives. The fresh and golden light falls on a walled city with +turrets and towers and frequent gates: the houses of freestone, with +terraced or oval roofs, sparkle in the sun, while the cupolaed pile of +the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the vast monasteries, and the broad +steep of Sion crowned with the tower of David, vary the monotony of the +general masses of building. But the glory of the scene is the Mosque of +Omar as it rises on its broad platform of marble from the deep ravine of +Kedron, with its magnificent dome high in the air, its arches and +gardened courts, and its ornaments glittering amid the cedar, the +cypress, and the palm. + +Reclining on Olivet, Lothair, alone and in charmed abstraction, gazed on +the wondrous scene. Since his arrival at Jerusalem he lived much apart, +nor had he found difficulty in effecting this isolation. Mr. Phoebus had +already established a studio on a considerable scale, and was engaged in +making sketches of pilgrims and monks, tall donkeys of Bethlehem with +starry fronts, in which he much delighted, and grave Jellaheen sheiks, +who were hanging about the convents in the hopes of obtaining a convoy +to the Dead Sea. As for St. Aldegonde and Bertram, they passed their +lives at the Russian consulate, or with its most charming inhabitants. +This morning, with the consul and his wife and the matchless sisters, as +St. Aldegonde always termed them, they had gone on an excursion to the +Convent of the Nativity. Dinner usually reassembled all the party, and +then the Divan followed. + +"I say, Bertram," said St. Aldegonde, "what a lucky thing we paired and +went to Nubia! I rejoice in the Divan, and yet, somehow, I cannot bear +leaving those women. If the matchless sisters would only smoke, by Jove +they would be perfect!" + +"I should not like Euphrosyne to smoke," said Bertram. + +A person approached Lothair by the pathway from Bethany. It was the +Syrian gentleman whom he had met at the consulate. As he was passing +Lothair, he saluted him with the grace which had been before remarked, +and Lothair, who was by nature courteous, and even inclined a little to +ceremony in his manners, especially with those with whom he was not +intimate, immediately rose, as he would not receive such a deputation in +a reclining posture. + +"Let me not disturb you," said the stranger, "or, if we must be on equal +terms, let me also be seated, for this is a view that never palls." + +"It is perhaps familiar to you," said Lothair, "but with me, only a +pilgrim, its effect is fascinating, almost overwhelming." + +"The view of Jerusalem never becomes familiar," said the Syrian, "for +its associations are so transcendent, so various, so inexhaustible, that +the mind can never anticipate its course of thought and feeling, when +one sits, as we do now, on this immortal mount." + +"I presume you live here?" said Lothair. + +"Not exactly," said his companion. "I have recently built a house +without the walls, and I have planted my hill with fruit-trees, and made +vineyards and olive-grounds, but I have done this as much -- perhaps +more -- to set an example, which, I am glad, to say, has been followed, +as for my own convenience or pleasure. My home is in the north of +Palestine, on the other side of, Jordan, beyond the Sea of Galilee. My +family has dwelt there from time immemorial; but they always loved this +city, and have a legend that they dwelt occasionally within its walls, +even in the days when Titus from that hill looked down upon the temple." + +"I have often wished to visit the Sea of Galilee," said Lothair. + +"Well, you have now an opportunity," said the Syrian; "the north of +Palestine, though it has no topical splendor, has much variety and a +peculiar natural charm. The burst and brightness of spring have not yet +quite vanished: you would find our plains radiant with wild-flowers, and +our hills green with young crops; and, though we cannot rival Lebanon, +we have forest glades among our famous hills that, when once seen, are +remembered." + +"But there is something to me more interesting than the splendor of +tropical scenery," said Lothair, "even if Galilee could offer it. I +wish to visit the cradle of my faith." + +"And you would do wisely," said the, Syrian, "for there is no doubt the +spiritual nature of man is developed in this land." + +"And yet there are persons at the present day who doubt -- even deny -- +the spiritual nature of man," said Lothair. "I do not, I could not -- +there are reasons why I could not." + +"There are some things I know, and some things I believe," said the +Syrian. "I know that I have a soul, and I believe that it is immortal." + +"It is science that, by demonstrating the insignificance of this globe +in the vast scale of creation, has led to this infidelity," said +Lothair. + +"Science may prove the insignificance of this globe in the scale of +creation," said the stranger, "but it cannot prove the insignificance of +man. What is the earth compared with the sun? a molehill by a mountain; +yet the inhabitants of this earth can discover the elements of which the +great orb consists, and will probably ere long ascertain all the +conditions of its being. Nay, the human mind can penetrate far beyond +the sun. There is no relation, therefore, between the faculties of man +and the scale in creation of the planet which he inhabits." + +"I was glad to hear you assert the other night the spiritual nature of +man in opposition to Mr. Phoebus." + +"Ah! Mr. Phoebus!" said the stranger, with a smile. "He is an old +acquaintance of mine. And I must say he is very consistent -- except in +paying a visit to Jerusalem. That does surprise me. He said to me the +other night the same things as he said to me at Rome many years ago. He +would revive the worship of Nature. The deities whom he so eloquently +describes and so exquisitely delineates are the ideal personifications +of the most eminent human qualities, and chiefly the physical. Physical +beauty is his standard of excellence, and he has a fanciful theory that +moral order would be the consequence of the worship of physical beauty, +for without moral order he holds physical beauty cannot be maintained. +But the answer to Mr. Phoebus is, that his system has been tried and has +failed, and under conditions more favorable than are likely to exist +again; the worship of Nature ended in the degradation of the human +race." + +"But Mr. Phoebus cannot really believe in Apollo and Venus," said +Lothair. "These are phrases. He is, I suppose, what is called a +Pantheist." + +"No doubt the Olympus of Mr. Phoebus is the creation of his easel," +replied the Syrian. "I should not, however, describe him as a +Pantheist, whose creed requires more abstraction than Mr. Phoebus, the +worshipper of nature, would tolerate. His school never care to pursue +any investigation which cannot be followed by the eye -- and the worship +of the beautiful always ends in an orgy. As for Pantheism, it is +Atheism in domino. The belief in a Creator who is unconscious of +creating is more monstrous than any dogma of any of the Churches in this +city, and we have them all here." + +"But there are people now who tell you that there never was any +Creation, and therefore there never could have been a Creator," said +Lothair. + +"And which is now advanced with the confidences of novelty," said the +Syrian, though all of it has been urged, and vainly urged, thousands of +years ago. There must be design, or all we see would be without sense, +and I do not believe in the unmeaning. As for the natural forces to +which all creation is now attributed, we know they are unconscious, +while consciousness is as inevitable a portion of our existence as the +eye or the hand. The conscious cannot be derived from the unconscious. +Man is divine." + +"I wish I could assure myself of the personality of the Creator," said +Lothair. "I cling to that, but they say it is unphilosophical." + +"In what sense?" asked the Syrian. "Is it more unphilosophical to +believe in a personal God, omnipotent and omniscient, than in natural +forces unconscious and irresistible? Is it unphilosophical to combine +power with intelligence? Goethe, a Spinozist who did not believe in +Spinoza, said that he could bring his mind to the conception that in the +centre of space we might meet with a monad of pure intelligence. What +may be the centre of space I leave to the daedal imagination of the +author of 'Faust;' but a monad of pure intelligence -- is that more +philosophical than the truth, first revealed to man amid these +everlasting hills," said the Syrian, "that God made man in His own +image?" + +"I have often found in that assurance a source of sublime consolation," +said Lothair. + +"It is the charter of the nobility of man," said the Syrian, "one of the +divine dogmas revealed in this land; not the invention of councils, not +one of which was held on this sacred soil, confused assemblies first got +together by the Greeks, and then by barbarous nations in barbarous +times." + +"Yet the divine land no longer tells us divine things," said Lothair. + +"It may or it may not have fulfilled its destiny," said the Syrian. +"'In my Father's house are many mansions,' and by the various families +of nations the designs of the Creator are accomplished. God works by +races, and one was appointed in due season and after many developments +to reveal and expound in this land the spiritual nature of man. The +Aryan and the Semite are of the same blood and origin, but when they +quitted their central land they were ordained to follow opposite +courses. Each division of the great race has developed one portion of +the double nature of humanity, till, after all their wanderings, they +met again, and, represented by their two choicest families, the Hellenes +and the Hebrews, brought together the treasures of their accumulated +wisdom, and secured the civilization of man." + +"Those among whom I have lived of late," said Lothair, "have taught me +to trust much in councils, and to believe that without them there could +be no foundation for the Church. I observe you do not speak in that +vein, though, like myself, you find solace in those dogmas which +recognize the relations between the created and the Creator." + +"There can be no religion without that recognition," said the Syrian, +"and no creed can possibly be devised without such a recognition that +would satisfy man. Why we are here, whence we come, whither we go -- +these are questions which man is organically framed and forced to ask +himself, and that would not be the case if they could not be answered. +As for churches depending on councils, the first council was held more +than three centuries after the Sermon on the Mount. We Syrians had +churches in the interval: no one can deny that. I bow before the Divine +decree that swept them away from Antioch to Jerusalem, but I am not yet +prepared to transfer my spiritual allegiance to Italian popes and Greek +patriarchs. We believe that our family were among the first followers +of Jesus, and that we then held lands in Bashan which we hold now. We +had a gospel once in our district where there was some allusion to this, +and being written by neighbors, and probably at the time, I dare say it +was accurate, but the Western Churches declared our gospel was not +authentic, though why I cannot tell, and they succeeded in extirpating +it. It was not an additional reason why we, should enter into their +fold. So I am content to dwell in Galilee and trace the footsteps of my +Divine Master, musing over His life and pregnant sayings amid the mounts +He sanctified and the waters He loved so well." + +The sun was now rising in the heavens, and the hour had arrived when it +became expedient to seek the shade. Lothair and the Syrian rose at the +same time. + +"I shall not easily forget our conversation on the Mount of Olives," +said Lothair, "and I would ask you to add to this kindness by permitting +me, before I leave Jerusalem, to pay my respects to you under your +roof." + +"Peace be with you!" said the Syrian. "I live without the gate of +Damascus, on a hill which you will easily recognize, and my name is +PARACLETE." + + + +CHAPTER 78 + + +Time passed very agreeably to St. Aldegonde and Bertram at Jerusalem, +for it was passed entirely at the Russian consulate, or with its +interesting and charming inmates, who were always making excursions, or, +as they styled them, pilgrimages. They saw little of Lothair, who would +willingly have conversed with his friend on many topics, but his friend +was almost always engaged, and, if by some chance they succeeded in +finding themselves alone, Bertram appeared to be always preoccupied. +One day he said to Lothair: "I tell you what, old fellow, if you want to +know all about what has happened at home, I will give you Corisande's +letters. They are a sort of journal which she promised to keep for me, +and they will tell you every thing. I found an immense packet of them +on our return from Cairo, and I meant to have read them here; but I do +not know how it is -- I suppose there is so much to be seen here -- but +I never seem to have a moment to myself. I have got an engagement now +to the consulate. We are going to Elisha's Fountain to-day. Why do not +you come?" + +"Well, I am engaged too," said Lothair. "I have settled to go to the +Tombs of the Kings to-day, with Signor Paraclete, and I cannot well get +off; but remember the letters." + +The box of letters arrived at Lothair's rooms in due season, and their +perusal deeply interested him. In their pages, alike earnest and +lively, and a picture of a mind of high intelligence adorned with fancy +and feeling, the name of Lothair frequently appeared, and sometimes +accompanied with expressions that made his heart beat. All the rumors +of his adventures, as they gradually arrived in England, generally +distorted, were duly chronicled, and sometimes with comments, which +intimated the interest they occasioned to the correspondent of Bertram. +More than once she could not refrain from reproaching her brother for +having left his friend so much to himself. "Of all your friends," she +said, "the one who always most interested me, and seemed most worthy of +your affection." And then she deplored the absolute ruin of Lothair, +for such she deemed his entrance into the Roman Church. + +"I was right in my appreciation of that woman, though I was utterly +inexperienced in life," thought Lothair. "If her mother had only +favored my views two years ago, affairs would have been different. +Would they have been better? Can they be worse? But I have gained +experience. Certainly; and paid for it with my heart's blood. And +might I not have gained experience tranquilly, in the discharge of the +duties of my position at home -- dear home? Perhaps not. And suppose I +never had gained experience, I still might have been happy? And what am +I now? Most lone and sad. So lone and sad that nothing but the magical +influence of the scene around me saves me from an overwhelming +despondency." + +Lothair passed his life chiefly with Paraclete, and, a few weeks after +their first acquaintance, they left Jerusalem together for Galilee. + +The month of May had disappeared, and June was advancing. Bertram and +Saint Aldegonde no longer talked about their pair, and their engagements +in the House of Commons. There seemed a tacit understanding between +them to avoid the subject; remarkable on the part of Bertram, for he had +always been urgent on his brother-in-law to fulfil their parliamentary +obligation. + +The party at the Russian consulate had gone on a grand expedition to the +Dead Sea, and had been absent for many days from Jerusalem. They were +conveyed by one of the sheiks of the Jordan valley. It was a most +successful expedition -- constant adventure, novel objects and habits, +all the spell of a romantic life. The ladies were delighted with the +scenery of the Jordan valley, and the gentlemen had good sport; St. +Aldegonde had killed a wild-boar, and Bertram an ibex, whose horns were +preserved for Brentham. Mr. Phoebus intensely studied the camel and its +habits. He persuaded himself that the ship of the desert entirely +understood him. "But it is always so," he added. "There is no animal +that in a week does not perfectly comprehend me. Had I time and could +give myself up to it, I have no doubt I could make them speak. Nature +has endowed me, so far as dumb animals are concerned, with a peculiar +mesmeric power." + +At last this happy caravan was again within sight of the walls of +Jerusalem. + +"I should like to have remained in the valley of the Jordan forever," +said St. Aldegonde. + +"And so should I," whispered Bertram to Euphrosyne, "with the same +companions." + +When they had returned to the consulate, they found the post from +England had arrived during their absence. There were dispatches for +all. It is an agitating moment -- that arrival of letters in a distant +land. Lord St. Aldegonde seemed much disturbed when he tore open and +perused his. His countenance became clouded; he dashed his hand through +his dishevelled locks; he pouted; and then he said to Bertram, "Come to +my room." + +"Anything wrong at home?" + +"Not at home," said St. Aldegonde. "Bertha is all right. But a most +infernal letter from Glyn -- most insolent. If I do return I will vote +against them. But I will not return. I have made up my mind to that. +People are so selfish," exclaimed St. Aldegonde, with indignation. +"They never think of any thing but themselves." + +"Show me his letter," said Bertram. "I have got a letter too; it is +from the duke." + +The letter of the Opposition whip did not deserve the epithets ascribed +to it by St. Aldegonde. It was urgent and courteously peremptory; but, +considering the circumstances of the case, by no means too absolute. +Paired to Easter by great indulgence, St. Aldegonde was passing +Whitsuntide at Jerusalem. The parliamentary position was critical, and +the future of the Opposition seemed to depend on the majority by which +their resolutions on the Irish Church were sent up to the House of +Lords. + +"Well," said Bertram. "I see nothing to complain of in that letter. +Except a little more urgency, it is almost the same language as reached +us at Cairo, and then you said Glyn was a capital fellow, and seemed +quite pleased." + +"Yes, because I hated Egypt," said St. Aldegonde. "I hated the +pyramids, and I was disappointed with the dancing-girls; and it seemed +to me that, if it had not been for the whip, we never should have been +able to escape. But things are very different now." + +"Yes, they are," said Bertram, in a melancholy tone. + +"You do not think of returning?" said St. Aldegonde. + +"Instantly," replied Bertram. "I have a letter from the duke which is +peremptory. The county is dissatisfied with my absence. And mine is a +queer constituency; very numerous and several large towns; the +popularity of my family gained me the seat, not their absolute +influence." + +"My constituents never trouble me" said St. Aldegonde. + +"You have none," said Bertram. + +"Well, if I were member for a metropolitan district I would hot budge. +And I little thought you would have deserted me." + +"Ah!" sighed Bertram. "You're discontented, because your amusements are +interrupted. But think of my position, torn from a woman whom I adore." + +"Well, you know you must have left her sooner or later," urged St. +Aldegonde. + +"Why?" asked Bertram. + +"You know what Lothair told us. She is engaged to her cousin the Prince +of Samos, and -- " + +"If I had only the Prince of Samos to deal with, I should care little," +said Bertram. + +"Why, what do you mean?" + +"That Euphrosyne is mine, if my family will sanction our union, but not +otherwise." + +St. Aldegonde gave a long whistle, and he added, "I wish Bertha were +here. She is the only person I know who has a head." + +"You see, my dear Granville, while you are talking of your little +disappointments, I am involved in awful difficulties." + +"You are sure about the Palace of Samos?" + +"Clear your head of that. There is no engagement of any kind between +him and Euphrosyne. The visit to the island was only a preliminary +ceremony -- just to show himself. No doubt the father wishes the +alliance; nor is there any reason to suppose that it would be +disagreeable to the son; but, I repeat it -- no engagement exists." + +"If I were not your brother-in-law, I should have been very glad to have +married Euphrosyne myself," said St. Aldegonde. + +"Yes, but what am I to do?" asked Bertram, rather impatiently. + +"It will not do to write to Brentham," said St. Aldegonde, gravely; +"that I see clearly." Then, after musing a while, he added: "I am +vexed to leave our friends here and shall miss them sadly. They are the +most agreeable people I ever knew. I never enjoyed myself so much. But +we must think of nothing but your affairs. We must return instantly. +The whip will be an excuse, but the real business will be Euphrosyne. I +should delight in having her for a sister-in-law, but the affair will +require management. We can make short work of getting home: steam to +Marseilles, leave the yacht there, and take the railroad. I have half a +mind to telegraph to Bertha to meet us there. She would be of great +use." + + + +CHAPTER 79 + + +Lothair was delighted with Galilee, and particularly with the blue +waters of its lake slumbering beneath the surrounding hills. Of all its +once pleasant towns, Tiberias alone remains, and that in ruins from a +recent earthquake. But where are Chorazin, and Bethsaida, and +Capernaum? A group of hovels and an ancient tower still bear the magic +name of Magdala, and all around are green mounts and gentle slopes, the +scenes of miracles that softened the heart of man, and of sermons that +never tire his ear. Dreams passed over Lothair of settling forever on +the shores of these waters, and of reproducing all their vanished +happiness: rebuilding their memorable cities, reviving their fisheries, +cultivating the plain of Gennesaret and the country of the Gadarenes, +and making researches in this cradle of pure and primitive Christianity. + +The heritage of Paraclete was among the oaks of Bashan, a lofty land, +rising suddenly from the Jordan valley, verdant and well watered, and +clothed in many parts with forest; there the host of Lothair resided +among his lands and people, and himself dwelt in a stone and castellated +building, a portion of which was of immemorial antiquity, and where he +could rally his forces and defend himself in case of the irruption and +invasion of the desert tribes. And here one morn arrived a messenger +from Jerusalem summoning Lothair back to that city, in consequence of +the intended departure of his friends. + +The call was urgent, and was obeyed immediately with that promptitude +which the manners of the East, requiring no preparation, admit. +Paraclete accompanied his guest. They had to cross the Jordan, and then +to trace their way till they reached the southern limit of the plain of +Esdraelon, from whence they counted on the following day to reach +Jerusalem. While they were encamped on this spot, a body of Turkish +soldiery seized all their horses, which were required, they said, by the +Pacha of Damascus, who was proceeding to Jerusalem, attending a great +Turkish general, who was on a mission to examine the means of defence of +Palestine on the Egyptian side. This was very vexatious, but one of +those incidents of Eastern life against which it is impossible to +contend; so Lothair and Paraclete were obliged to take refuge in their +pipes beneath a huge and solitary sycamore-tree, awaiting the arrival of +the Ottoman magnificoes. + +They came at last, a considerable force of cavalry, then mules and +barbarous carriages with the harem, all the riders and inmates enveloped +in what appeared to be winding-sheets, white and shapeless; about them +eunuchs and servants. The staff of the pachas followed, preceding the +grandees who closed the march, mounted on Anatolian chargers. + +Paraclete and Lothair had been obliged to leave the grateful shade of +the sycamore-tree, as the spot had been fixed on by the commander of the +advanced guard for the resting-place of the pachas. They were standing +aside and watching the progress of the procession, and contemplating the +earliest opportunity of representing their grievances to high authority, +when the Turkish general, or the seraskier, as the Syrians inaccurately +styled him, suddenly reined in his steed, and said, in a loud voice, +"Captain Muriel!" + +Lothair recognized the well-known voice of his commanding officer in the +Apennine, and advanced to him with a military salute. "I must first +congratulate you on being alive, which I hardly hoped," said the +general. "Then let me know why you are here." + +And Lothair told him. + +"Well, you shall have back your horses," said the general; "and I will +escort you to El Khuds. In the mean time you must be our guest;" and he +presented him to the Pacha of Damascus with some form. "You and I have +bivouacked in the open air before this, and not in so bland a clime." + +Beneath the shade of the patriarchal sycamore, the general narrated to +Lothair his adventures since they were fellow-combatants on the fatal +field of Mentana. + +"When all was over," continued the general, "I fled with Garibaldi, and +gained the Italian frontier at Terrni. Here we were of course arrested +by the authorities, but not very maliciously. I escaped one morning, +and got among the mountains in the neighborhood of our old camp. I had +to wander about these parts for some time, for the Papalini were in the +vicinity, and there was danger. It was a hard time; but I found a +friend now and then among the country people, though they are dreadfully +superstitious. At last I got to the shore, and induced an honest fellow +to put to sea in an open boat, on the chance of something turning up. +It did, in the shape of a brigantine from Elba bound for Corfu. Here I +was sure to find friends, for the brotherhood are strong in the Ionian +Isles. And I began to look about for business. The Greeks made me some +offers, but their schemes were all vanity, worse than the Irish. You +remember our Fenian squabble? From something that transpired, I had +made up my mind, so soon as I was well equipped, to go to Turkey. I had +had some transactions with the house of Cantacuzene, through the +kindness of our dear friend whom we will never forget, but will never +mention; and through them I became acquainted with the Prince of Samos, +who is the chief of their house. He is in the entire confidence of Aali +Pacha. I soon found out that there was real business on the carpet. +The Ottoman army, after many trials and vicissitudes, is now in good +case; and the Porte has resolved to stand no more nonsense either in +this direction -- " and the general gave a significant glance -- "or in +any other. But they wanted a general; they wanted a man who knew his +business. I am not a Garibaldi, you know, and never pretended to be. I +have no genius, or volcanic fire, or that sort of thing; but I do +presume to say, with fair troops, paid with tolerable regularity, a +battery or two of rifled cannon, and a well-organized commissariat, I am +not afraid of meeting any captain of my acquaintance, whatever his land +or language. The Turks are a brave people, and there is nothing in +their system, political or religious, which jars with my convictions. +In the army, which is all that I much care for, there is the career of +merit, and I can promote any able man that I recognize. As for their +religion, they are tolerant and exact nothing from me; and if I had any +religion except Madre Natura, I am not sure I would not prefer Islamism; +which is at least simple, and as little sacerdotal as any organized +creed can be. The Porte made me a liberal offer, and I accepted it. It +so happened that, the moment I entered their service, I was wanted. +They had a difficulty on their Dalmatian frontier; I settled it in a way +they liked. And now I am sent here with full powers, and am a pacha of +the highest class, and with a prospect of some warm work. I do not know +what your views are, but, if you would like a little more soldiering, I +will put you on my staff; and, for aught I know, we may find your +winter-quarters at Grand Cairo -- they say a pleasant place for such a +season." + +"My soldiering has not been very fortunate," said Lothair; "and I am not +quite as great an admirer of the Turks as you are, general. My mind is +rather on the pursuits of peace, and twenty hours ago I had a dream of +settling on the shores of the Sea of Galilee." + +"Whatever you do," said the general, "give up dreams." + +"I think you may be right in that," said Lothair, with half a sigh. + +"Action may not always be happiness," said the general; "but there is no +happiness without action. If you will not fight the Egyptians, were I +you, I would return home and plunge into affairs. That was a fine +castle of yours I visited one morning; a man who lives in such a place +must be able to find a great deal to do." + +"I almost wish I were there, with you for my companion," said Lothair. + +"The wheel may turn," said the general; "but I begin to think I shall +not see much of Europe again. I have given it some of my best years and +best blood; and, if I had assisted in establishing the Roman republic, I +should not have lived in vain; but the old imposture seems to me +stronger than ever. I have got ten good years in me yet; and, if I be +well supported and in luck, for, after all, every thing depends on +fortune, and manage to put a couple of hundred thousand men in perfect +discipline, I may find some consolation for not blowing up St. Peter's, +and may do something for the freedom of mankind on the banks of the +Danube." + + + +CHAPTER 80 + + +Mrs. Putney Giles, in full toilet, was standing before the mantel-piece +of her drawing-room in Hyde Park Gardens, and watching, with some +anxiety, the clock that rested on it. It was the dinner-hour, and Mr. +Putney Giles, particular in such matters, had not returned. No one +looked forward to his dinner, and a chat with his wife, with greater +zest than Mr. Putney Giles; and he deserved the gratification which both +incidents afforded him, for he fairly earned it. Full of news and +bustle, brimful of importance and prosperity, sunshiny and successful, +his daily return home -- which, with many, perhaps most, men, is a +process lugubriously monotonous -- was in Hyde Park Gardens, even to +Apollonia, who possessed many means of amusement and occupation, a +source ever of interest and excitement. + +To-day too, particularly, for their great client, friend, and patron, +Lothair, had arrived last night, from the Continent, at Muriel House, +and had directed Mr. Putney Giles to be in attendance on him on the +afternoon of this day. + +Muriel House was a family mansion in the Green Park. It was built of +hewn stone, during the last century -- a Palladian edifice, for a time +much neglected, but now restored and duly prepared for the reception of +its lord and master by the same combined energy and taste which had +proved so satisfactory and successful at Muriel Towers. + +It was a long room, the front saloon at Hyde Park Gardens, and the door +was as remote as possible from the mantel-piece. It opened suddenly, +but only the panting face of Mr. Putney Giles was seen, as he poured +forth in hurried words: "My dear, dreadfully late, but I can dress in +five minutes. I only opened the door in passing, to tell you that I +have seen our great friend; wonderful man! but I will tell you all at +dinner, or after. It was not he who kept me, but the Duke of Brecon. +The duke has been with me two hours. I had a good mind to bring him +home to dinner, and give him a bottle of my '48. They like that sort of +thing, but it will keep," and the head vanished. + +The Duke of Brecon would not have dined ill, had he honored this +household. It is a pleasant thing to see an opulent and prosperous man +of business, sanguine and full of health, and a little overworked, at +that royal meal, dinner. How he enjoys his soup! And how curious in +his fish! How critical in his entr e, and how nice in his Welsh mutton! +His exhausted brain rallies under the glass of dry sherry, and he +realizes all his dreams with the aid of claret that has the true flavor +of the violet. + +"And now, my dear Apollonia," said Mr. Putney Giles, when the servants +had retired, and he turned his chair and played with a new nut from the +Brazils, "about our great friend. Well, I was there at two o'clock, and +found him at breakfast. Indeed, he said that, had he not given me an +appointment, he thought he should not have risen at all. So delighted +he was to find himself again in an English bed. Well, he told me every +thing that had happened. I never knew a man so unreserved, and so +different from what he was when I first knew him, for he never much +cared then to talk about himself. But no egotism, nothing of that sort +of thing -- all his mistakes, all his blunders, as be called them. He +told me every thing, that I might thoroughly understand his position, +and that he might judge whether the steps I had taken in reference to it +were adequate." + +"I suppose about his religion," said Apollonia. "What is he, after +all?" + +"As sound as you are. But you are right; that was the point on which he +was most anxious. He wrote, you know, to me from Malta, when the +account of his conversion first appeared, to take all necessary steps to +contradict the announcement, and counteract its consequences. He gave +me carte blanche, and was anxious to know precisely what I had done. I +told him that a mere contradiction, anonymous, or from a third person, +however unqualified its language, would have no effect in the face of a +detailed narrative, like that in all the papers, of his walking in +procession and holding a lighted taper, and all that sort of thing. +What I did was this. I commenced building, by his direction, two new +churches on his estate, and announced in the local journals, copied in +London, that he would be present at the consecration of both. I +subscribed, in his name, and largely, to all the diocesan societies, +gave a thousand pounds to the Bishop of London's fund, and accepted for +him the office of steward, for this year, for the Sons of the Clergy. +Then, when the public feeling was ripe, relieved from all its anxieties, +and beginning to get indignant at the calumnies that had been so freely +circulated, the time for paragraphs had arrived, and one appeared +stating that a discovery had taken place of the means by which an +unfounded and preposterous account of the conversion of a distinguished +young English nobleman at Rome had been invented and circulated, and +would probably furnish the occasion for an action for libel. And now +his return and appearance at the Chapel Royal, next Sunday, will clinch +the whole business." + +"And he was satisfied?" + +"Most satisfied; a little anxious whether his personal friends, and +particularly the Brentham family, were assured of the truth. He +travelled home with the duke's son and Lord St. Aldegonde, but they came +from remote parts, and their news from home was not very recent." + +"And how does he look?" + +"Very well; never saw him look better. He is handsomer than he was. +But he is changed. I could not conceive in a year that any one could be +so changed. He was young for his years; he is now old for his years. +He was, in fact, a boy; he is now a man; and yet it is only a year. He +said it seemed to him ten." + +"He has been through a fiery furnace," said Apollonia. + +"Well, he has borne it well," said Mr. Giles. "It is worth while +serving such a client, so cordial, so frank, and yet so full of thought. +He say he does not in the least regret all the money he has wasted. Had +he remained at home, it would have gone to building a cathedral." + +"And a popish one!" said Apollonia. "I cannot agree with him," she +continued, "that his Italian campaign was a waste of money. It will +bear fruit. We shall still see the end of the 'abomination of +desolation.'" + +"Very likely," said Mr. Giles; "but I trust my client will have no more +to do with such questions either way." + +"And did he ask after his friends?" said Apollonia. + +"Very much: he asked after you. I think he went through all the guests +at Muriel Towers except the poor Campians. He spoke, to me about the +colonel, to whom it appears he has written; but Theodora he never +mentioned, except by some periphrasis, some allusion to a great sorrow, +or to some dear friend whom he had lost. He seems a little embarrassed +about the St. Jeromes, and said more than once that he owed his life to +Miss Arundel. He dwelt a good deal upon this. He asked also a great +deal about the Brentham family. They seem the people whom he most +affects. When I told him of Lady Corisande's approaching union with the +Duke of Brecon, I did not think he half liked it." + +"But is it settled?" + +"The same as -- . The duke has been with me two hours to-day about his +arrangements. He has proposed to the parents, who are delighted with +the match, and has received every encouragement from the young lady. He +looks upon it as certain." + +"I wish our kind friend had not gone abroad," said Apollonia. + +"Well, at any rate, he has come back," said Mr. Giles; "that is +something. I am sure I more than once never expected to see him again." + +"He has every virtue, and every charm," said Apollonia, "and principles +that are now proved. I shall never forget his kindness at the Towers. +I wish he were settled for life. But who is worthy of him? I hope he +will not fall into the clutches of that popish girl. I have sometimes, +from what I observed at Muriel, and other reasons, a dread misgiving." + + + +CHAPTER 81 + + +It was the first night that Lothair had slept in his own house, and, +when he awoke in the morning, he was quite bewildered, and thought for a +moment he was in the Palazzo Agostini. He had not reposed in so +spacious and lofty a chamber since he was at Rome. And this brought all +his recollection to his Roman life, and every thing that had happened +there. "And yet, after all," he said, "had it not been for Clare +Arundel, I should never have seen Muriel House. I owe to her my life." +His relations with the St. Jerome family were doubtless embarrassing, +even painful; and yet his tender and susceptible nature could not for a +moment tolerate that he should passively submit to an estrangement from +those who had conferred on him so much kindness, and whose +ill-considered and injurious courses, as he now esteemed them, were +perhaps, and probably, influenced and inspired by exalted, even sacred +motives. + +He wondered whether they were in London; and, if so, what should he do? +Should he call, or should he write? He wished he could do something to +show to Miss Arundel how much he appreciated her kindness, and how +grateful he was. She was a fine creature, and all her errors were noble +ones; enthusiasm, energy, devotion to a sublime cause. Errors, but are +these errors? Are they not, on the contrary, qualities which should +command admiration in any one? and in a woman -- and a beautiful woman +-- more than admiration? + +There is always something to worry you. It comes as regularly as +sunrise. Here was Lothair under his own roof again, after strange and +trying vicissitudes, with his health restored, his youth little +diminished, with some strange memories and many sweet ones; on the +whole, once more in great prosperity, and yet his mind harped only on +one vexing thought, and that was his painful and perplexed relations +with the St. Jerome family. + +His thoughts were a little distracted from this harassing theme by the +novelty of his house, and the pleasure it gave him. He admired the +double staircase and the somewhat heavy, yet richly-carved ceilings; and +the look into the park, shadowy and green, with a rich summer sun, and +the palace in the distance. What an agreeable contrast to his hard, +noisy sojourn in a bran-new, brobdingnagian hotel, as was his coarse +fate when he was launched into London life! This made him think of many +comforts for which he ought to be grateful, and then he remembered +Muriel Towers, and how completely and capitally every thing was there +prepared and appointed, and while he was thinking over all this -- and +kindly of the chief author of these satisfactory arrangements, and the +instances in which that individual had shown, not merely professional +dexterity and devotion, but some of the higher qualities that make life +sweet and pleasant -- Mr. Putney Giles was announced, and Lothair sprang +forward and gave him his hand with a cordiality which repaid at once +that perfect but large-hearted lawyer for all his exertions, and some +anxieties that he had never expressed even to Apollonia. + +Nothing in life is more remarkable than the unnecessary anxiety which we +endure, and generally, occasion ourselves. Between four and five +o'clock, having concluded his long conference with Mr. Putney Giles, +Lothair, as if he were travelling the principal street of a foreign +town, or rather treading on tiptoe like a prince in some enchanted +castle, ventured to walk down St. James Street, and the very first +person he met was Lord St. Jerome! + +Nothing could be more unaffectedly hearty than his greeting by that good +man and thorough gentleman. "I saw, by the Post, you had arrived," said +Lord St. Jerome, "and we were all saying at breakfast how glad we should +be to see you again. And looking so well! Quite yourself! I never saw +you looking better. You have been to Egypt with Lord St. Aldegonde, I +think? It was the wisest thing you could do. I said to Gertrude, when +you went to Sicily, 'If I were Lothair, I would go a good deal farther +than Sicily.' You wanted change of scene and air, more than any man I +know." + +"And how are they all?" said Lothair; "my first visit will be to them." + +"And they will be delighted to see you. Lady St. Jerome is a little +indisposed -- a cold caught at one of her bazaars. She will hold them, +and they say that no one ever sells so much. But still, as I often say, +'My dear Gertrude, would it not be better if I were to give you a check +for the institution; it would be the same to them, and would save you a +great deal of trouble.' But she fancies her presence inspires others, +and perhaps there is something in it." + +"I doubt not; and Miss Arundel?" + +"Clare is quite well, and I am hurrying home now to ride with her. I +shall tell her that you asked after her." + +"And offer her my kindest remembrances." + +"What a relief!" exclaimed Lothair, when once more alone. "I thought I +should have sunk into the earth when he first addressed me, and now I +would not have missed this meeting for any consideration." + +He had not the courage to go into White's. He was under a vague +impression that the whole population of the metropolis, and especially +those who reside in the sacred land, bounded on the one side by +Piccadilly, and on the other by Pall Mall, were unceasingly talking of +his scrapes and misadventures; but he met Lord Carisbrooke and Mr. +Brancepeth. + +"Ah! Lothair," said Carisbrooke, "I do not think we have seen you this +season -- certainly not since Easter. What have you been doing with +yourself?" + +"You have been in Egypt?" said Mr. Brancepeth. "The duke was mentioning +at White's to-day that you had returned with his son and Lord St. +Aldegonde." + +"And does it pay?" inquired Carisbrooke. "Egypt? What I have found +generally in this sort of thing is, that one hardly knows what to do +with one's evenings." + +"There is something in that," said Lothair, "and perhaps it applies to +other countries besides Egypt. However, though it is true I did return +with St. Aldegonde and Bertram, I have myself not been to Egypt." + +"And where did you pick them up?" + +"At Jerusalem." + +"Jerusalem! What on earth could they go to Jerusalem for?" said Lord +Carisbrooke. "I am told there is no sort of sport there. They say, in +the Upper Nile, there is good shooting." + +"St. Aldegonde was disappointed. I suppose our countrymen have +disturbed the crocodiles and frightened away the pelicans?" + +"We were going to look in at White's -- come with us." + +Lothair was greeted with general kindness; but nobody seemed aware that +he had been long and unusually absent from them. Some had themselves +not come up to town till after Easter, and had therefore less cause to +miss him. The great majority, however, were so engrossed with +themselves that they never missed anybody. The Duke of Brecon appealed +to Lothair about something that had happened at the last Derby, and was +under the impression, until better informed, that Lothair had been one +of his party. There were some exceptions to this general unacquaintance +with events which an hour before Lothair had feared fearfully engrossed +society. Hugo Bohun was doubly charmed to see him, "because we were all +in a fright one day that they were going to make you a cardinal, and it +turned out that, at the very time they said you were about to enter the +conclave, you happened to be at the second cataract. What lies these +newspapers do tell!" + +But the climax of relief was reached when the noble and gray-headed +patron of the arts in Great Britain approached him with polished +benignity, and said, "I can give you perhaps even later news than you +can give me of our friends at Jerusalem. I had a letter from Madame +Phoebus this morning, and she mentioned with great regret that you had +just left them. Your first travels, I believe?" + +"My first." + +"And wisely planned. You were right in starting out and seeing the +distant parts. One may not always have the energy which such an +expedition requires. You can keep Italy for a later and calmer day." + +Thus, one by one, all the cerulean demons of the morn had vanished, and +Lothair had nothing to worry him. He felt a little dull as the +dinner-hour approached. Bertram was to dine at home, and then go to the +House of Commons; St. Aldegonde, concluding the day with the same +catastrophe, had in the most immoral manner, in the interval, gone to +the play to see "School," of which he had read an account in Galignani +when he was in quarantine. Lothair was so displeased with this +unfeeling conduct on his part that he declined to accompany him; but +Lady St. Aldegonde, who dined at Crecy House, defended her husband, and +thought it very right and reasonable that one so fond of the drama as +he, who had been so long deprived of gratifying his taste in that +respect, should take the first opportunity of enjoying this innocent +amusement. A solitary dinner at Muriel House, in one of those spacious +and lofty chambers, rather appalled Lothair, and he was getting low +again, remembering nothing but his sorrows, when Mr. Pinto came up to +him and said: "The impromptu is always successful in life; you cannot +be engaged to dinner, for everybody believes you are at Jericho. What +say you to dining with me? Less than the Muses and more than the +Graces, certainly, if you come. Lady Beatrice has invited herself, and +she is to pick up a lady, and I was to look out for a couple of +agreeable men. Huge is coming, and you will complete the charm." + +"The spell then is complete," said Lothair; "I suppose a late eight." + + + +CHAPTER 82 + + +Lothair was breakfasting alone on the morrow, when his servant announced +the arrival of Mr. Ruby, who had been ordered to be in attendance. + +"Show him up," said Lothair, "and bring me the dispatch-box which is in +my dressing-room." + +Mr. Ruby was deeply gratified to be again in the presence of a nobleman +so eminently distinguished, both for his property and his taste, as +Lothair. He was profuse in his congratulations to his lordship on his +return to his native land, while at the same time he was opening a bag, +from which he extracted a variety of beautiful objects, none of them for +sale, all executed commissions, which were destined to adorn the +fortunate and the fair. "This is lovely, my lord, quite new, for the +Queen of Madagascar; for the empress this, her majesty's own design, at +least almost. Lady Melton's bridal necklace, and my lord's George, the +last given by King James II.; broken up during the revolution, but reset +by us from an old drawing with picked stones." + +"Very pretty," said Lothair; "but it is not exactly this sort of thing +that I want. See," and he opened the dispatch-box, and took from out of +it a crucifix. It was made of some Eastern wood, inlaid with +mother-of-pearl; the figure carved in brass, though not without power, +and at the end of each of the four terminations of the cross was a small +cavity, enclosing something, and covered with glass. + +"See," continued Lothair, "this is the crucifix, given with a carved +shell to each pilgrim who visits the Holy Sepulchre. Within these four +cavities is earth from the four holy places: Calvary, Sion, Bethlehem, +and Gethsemane. Now, what I want is a crucifix, something of this +dimension, but made of the most costly materials; the figure must be of +pure gold; I should like the cross to be of choice emeralds, which I am +told are now more precious even than brilliants, and I wish the earth of +the sacred places to be removed from this crucifix, and introduced in a +similar manner into the one which you are to make; and each cavity must +be covered with a slit diamond. Do you understand?" + +"I follow you, my lord," said Mr. Ruby, with glistening eyes. "It will +be a rare jewel. Is there to be a limit as to the cost?" + +"None but such as taste and propriety suggest," said Lothair. "You will +of course make a drawing and an estimate, and send them to me; but I +desire dispatch." + +When Mr. Ruby had retired, Lothair took from the dispatch-box a sealed +packet, and looked at it for some moments, and then pressed it to his +lips. + +In the afternoon, Lothair found himself again in the saddle, and was +riding about London, as if he had never quitted it. He left his cards +at Crecy House, and many other houses, and he called at the St. Jeromes' +late, but asked if they were at home. He had reckoned that they would +not be, and his reckoning was right. It was impossible to conceal from +himself that it was a relief. Mr. Putney Giles dined alone with Lothair +this evening, and they talked over many things; among others the +approaching marriage of Lady Corisande with the Duke of Brecon. + +"Everybody marries except myself," said Lothair, rather peevishly. + +"But your lordship is too young to think of that yet," said Mr. Putney +Giles. + +"I feel very old," said Lothair. + +At this moment there arrived a note from Bertram, saying his mother was +quite surprised and disappointed that Lothair had not asked to see her +in the morning. She had expected him, as a matter of course, at +luncheon, and begged that he would come on the morrow. + +"I have had many pleasant luncheons in that house," said Lothair, "but +this will be the last. When all the daughters are married, nobody eats +luncheon." + +"That would hardly apply to this family," said Mr. Putney Giles, who +always affected to know every thing, and generally did. "They are so +united, that I fancy the famous luncheons at Crecy House will always go +on, and be a popular mode of their all meeting." + +"I half agree with St. Aldegonde," said Lothair, grumbling to himself, +"that if one is to meet that Duke of Brecon every day at luncheon, for +my part I had rather stay away." + +In the course of the evening there also arrived invitations to all the +impending balls and assemblies, for Lothair; and there seemed little +prospect of his again being forced to dine with his faithful solicitor +as a refuge from melancholy. + +On the morrow he went in his brougham to Crecy House, and he had such a +palpitation of the heart when he arrived, that, for a moment, he +absolutely thought he must retire. His mind was full of Jerusalem, the +Mount of Olives, and the Sea of Galilee. He was never nervous there, +never agitated, never harassed, no palpitations of the heart, no dread +suspense. There was repose alike of body and soul. Why did he ever +leave Palestine and Paraclete? He should have remained in Syria +forever, cherishing, in a hallowed scene, a hallowed sorrow, of which +even the bitterness was exalted and ennobling. + +He stood for a moment in the great hall at Crecy House, and the groom of +the chambers in vain solicited his attention. It was astonishing how +much passed through his mind while the great clock hardly described +sixty seconds. But in that space he had reviewed his life, arrived at +the conclusion that all was vanity and bitterness, that he had failed in +every thing, was misplaced, had no object and no hope, and that a +distant and unbroken solitude in some scene, where either the majesty of +Nature was overwhelming, or its moral associations were equally sublime, +must be his only refuge. In the meditation of the Cosmos, or in the +divine reverie of sacred lands, the burden of existence might be +endured. + +"Her grace is at luncheon, my lord," at length said the groom of the +chamber -- and Lothair was ushered into the gay, and festive, and +cordial scene. The number of the self-invited guests alone saved him. +His confusion was absolute, and the duchess remarked afterward that +Lothair seemed to have regained all his shyness. + +When Lothair had rallied and could survey the scene, he found he was +sitting by his hostess; that the duke, not a luncheon man, was present, +and, as it turned out afterward, for the pleasure of meeting Lothair. +Bertram also was present, and several married daughters, and Lord +Montairy, and Captain Mildmay, and one or two others; and next to Lady +Corisande was the Duke of Brecon. + +So far as Lothair was concerned, the luncheon was unsuccessful. His +conversational powers deserted him. He answered in monosyllables, and +never originated a remark. He was greatly relieved when they rose and +returned to the gallery, in which they seemed all disposed to linger. +The duke approached him, and, in his mood, he found it easier to talk to +men than to women. Male conversation is of a coarser grain, and does +not require so much play of thought and manner; discourse about Suez +Canal, and Arab horses, and pipes, and pachas, can be carried on without +any psychological effort, and, by degrees, banishes all sensibility. +And yet he was rather dreamy, talked better than he listened, did not +look his companion in the face, as the duke spoke, which was his custom, +and his eye was wandering. Suddenly, Bertram having joined them, and +speaking to his father, Lothair darted away and approached Lady +Corisande, whom Lady Montairy had just quitted. + +"As I may never have the opportunity again," said Lothair, "let me thank +you, Lady Corisande, for some kind thoughts which you deigned to bestow +on me in my absence." + +His look was serious; his tone almost sad. Neither were in keeping with +the scene and the apparent occasion; and Lady Corisande, not displeased, +but troubled, murmured: "Since I last met you, I heard you had seen +much and suffered much." + +"And that makes the kind thoughts of friends more precious," said +Lothair. "I have few; your brother is the chief, but even he never did +me any kindness so great as when he told me that you had spoken of me +with sympathy." + +"Bertram's friends are mine," said Lady Corisande; "but, otherwise, it +would be impossible for us all not to feel an interest in -- , one of +whom we had seen so much," she added, with some hesitation. + +"Ah, Brentham!" said Lothair; "dear Brentham! Do you remember once +saying to me that you hoped you should never leave Brentham?" + +"Did I say so?" said Lady Corisande. + +"I wish I had never left Brentham," said Lothair; "it was the happiest +time of my life. I had not then a sorrow or a care." + +"But everybody has sorrows and cares," said Lady Corisande; "you have, +however, a great many things which ought to make you happy." + +"I do not deserve to be happy," said Lothair, "for I have made so many +mistakes. My only consolation is that one great error, which you most +deprecated, I have escaped." + +"Take a brighter and a nobler view of your life," said Lady Corisande; +"feel rather you have been tried and not found wanting." + +At this moment the duchess approached them, and interrupted their +conversation; and, soon after this, Lothair left Crecy House, still +moody, but less despondent. + +There was a ball at Lady Clanmorne's in the evening, and Lothair was +present. He was astonished at the number of new faces he saw, the new +phrases he heard, the new fashions alike in dress and manner. He could +not believe it was the same world that he had quitted only a year ago. +He was glad to take refuge with Hugo Bohun as with an old friend, and +could not refrain from expressing to that eminent person his surprise at +the novelty of all around him. + +"It is you, my dear Lothair," replied Hugo, "that is surprising, not the +world -- that has only developed in your absence. What could have +induced a man like you to be away for a whole season from the scene? +Our forefathers might afford to travel -- the world was then +stereotyped. It will not do to be out of sight now. It is very well +for St. Aldegonde to do these things, for the great object of St. +Aldegonde is not to be in society, and he has never succeeded in his +object. But here is the new beauty." + +There was a stir and a sensation. Men made way, and even women +retreated -- and, leaning on the arm of Lord Carisbrooke, in an +exquisite costume that happily displayed her splendid figure, and, +radiant with many charms, swept by a lady of commanding mien and +stature, self-possessed, and even grave, when, suddenly turning her +head, her pretty face broke into enchanting dimples, as she exclaimed: +"Oh, cousin Lothair!" + +Yes, the beautiful giantesses of Muriel Towers had become the beauties +of the season. Their success had been as sudden and immediate as it was +complete and sustained. "Well, this is stranger than all!" said Lothair +to Hugo Bohun when Lady Flora had passed on. + +"The only persons talked of," said Hugo. "I am proud of my previous +acquaintance with them. I think Carisbrooke has serious thoughts; but +there are some who prefer Lady Grizell." + +"Lady Corisande was your idol last season," said Lothair. + +"Oh, she is out of the running," said Hugo; "she is finished. But I +have not heard yet of any day being fixed. I wonder, when he marries, +whether Brecon will keep on his theatre?" + +"His theatre!" + +"Yes; the high mode now for a real swell is to have a theatre. Brecon +has the Frolic; Kate Simmons is his manager, who calls herself Athalie +de Montfort. You ought to have a theatre, Lothair; and, if there is not +one to hire, you should build one. It would show that you are alive +again and had the spirit of an English noble, and atone for some of your +eccentricities." + +"But I have no Kate Simmons who calls herself Athalie de Montfort," said +Lothair. "I am not so favored, Hugo. However, I might succeed Brecon, +as I hardly suppose he will maintain such an establishment when he is +married." + +"I beg your pardon," rejoined Hugo. "It is the thing. Several of our +greatest swells have theatres and are married. In fact, a first-rate +man should have every thing, and therefore he ought to have both a +theatre and a wife." + +"Well, I do not think your manners have improved since, last year, or +your words," said Lothair. "I have half a mind to go down to Muriel, +and shut myself up there." + +He walked away and sauntered into the ballroom. The first forms he +recognized were Lady Corisande waltzing with the Duke of Brecon, who was +renowned for this accomplishment. The heart of Lothair felt bitter. He +remembered his stroll to the dairy with the Duchess at Brentham, and +their conversation. Had his views then been acceded to, how different +would have been his lot! And it was not his fault that they had been +rejected. And yet, had they been accomplished, would they have been +happy? The character of Corisande, according to her mother, was not +then formed, nor easily scrutable. Was it formed now? and what were its +bent and genius? And his own character? It could not be denied that +his mind was somewhat crude then, and his general conclusions on life +and duty hardly sufficiently matured and developed to offer a basis for +domestic happiness on which one might confidently depend. + +And Theodora? Had he married then, he should never have known Theodora. +In this bright saloon, amid the gayety of festive music, and surrounded +by gliding forms of elegance and brilliancy, his heart was full of +anguish when he thought of Theodora. To have known such a woman and to +have lost her! Why should a man live after this? Yes; he would retire +to Muriel, once hallowed by her presence, and he would raise to her +memory some monumental fane, beyond the dreams ever of Artemisia, and +which should commemorate alike her wondrous life and wondrous mind. + +A beautiful hand was extended to him, and a fair face, animated with +intelligence, welcomed him without a word. It was Lady St. Jerome. +Lothair bowed lowly and touched her hand with his lip. + +"I was sorry to have missed you yesterday. We had gone down to Vauxe +for the day, but I heard of you from my lord with great pleasure. We +are all of us so happy that you have entirely recovered your health." + +"I owe that to you, dearest lady," said Lothair, "and to those under +your roof. I can never forget your goodness to me. Had it not been for +you, I should not have been here or anywhere else." + +"No, no; we did our best for the moment. But I quite agree with my +lord, now, that you stayed too long at Rome under the circumstances. It +was a good move -- that going to Sicily, and so wise of you to travel in +Egypt. Men should travel." + +"I have not been to Egypt," said Lothair; "I have been to the Holy Land, +and am a pilgrim. I wish you would tell Miss Arundel that I shall ask +her permission to present her with my crucifix, which contains the earth +of the holy places. I should have told her this myself, if I had seen +her yesterday. Is she here?" + +"She is at Vauxe; she could not tear herself away from the roses." + +"But she might have brought them with her as companions," said Lothair, +"as you have, I apprehend, yourself." + +"I will give you this in Clare's name," said Lady St. Jerome, as she +selected a beautiful flower and presented it to Lothair. "It is in +return for your crucifix, which I am sure she will highly esteem. I +only wish it were a rose of Jericho." + +Lothair started. The name brought up strange and disturbing +associations: the procession in the Jesuits' church, the lighted tapers, +the consecrated children, one of whom had been supernaturally presented +with the flower in question. There was an awkward silence, until +Lothair, almost without intending it, expressed a hope that the cardinal +was well. + +"Immersed in affairs, but I hope well," replied Lady St. Jerome. "You +know what has happened? But you will see him. He will speak to you of +these matters himself." + +"But I should like also to hear from you." + +"Well, they are scarcely yet to be spoken of," said Lady St. Jerome. "I +ought not perhaps even to have alluded to the subject; but I know how +deeply devoted you are to religion. We are on the eve of the greatest +event of this century. When I wake in the morning, I always fancy that +I have heard of it only in dreams. And many -- all this room -- will +not believe in the possibility of its happening. They smile when the +contingency is alluded to, and if I were not present they would mock. +But it will happen -- I am assured it will happen," exclaimed Lady St. +Jerome, speaking with earnestness, though in a hushed voice. "And no +human imagination can calculate or conceive what may be its effect on +the destiny of the human race." + +"You excite my utmost curiosity," said Lothair. + +"Hush! there are listeners. But we shall soon meet again. You will +come and see us, and soon. Come down to Vauxe on Saturday; the cardinal +will be there. And the place is so lovely now. I always say Vauxe at +Whitsuntide, or a little later, is a scene for Shakespeare. You know +you always liked Vauxe." + +"More than liked it," said Lothair; "I have passed at Vauxe some of the +happiest hours of my life." + + + +CHAPTER 83 + + +On the morning of the very Saturday on which Lothair was to pay his +visit to Vauxe, riding in the park, he was joined by that polished and +venerable nobleman who presides over the destinies of art in Great +Britain. This distinguished person had taken rather a fancy to Lothair, +and liked to talk to him about the Phoebus family; about the great artist +himself, and all his theories and styles; but especially about the +fascinating Madame Phoebus and the captivating Euphrosyne. + +"You have not found time, I dare say," said the nobleman, "to visit the +exhibition of the Royal Academy?" + +"Well, I have only been here a week," said Lothair, "and have had so +many things to think of, and so many persons to see." + +"Naturally," said the nobleman; "but I recommend you to go. I am now +about to make my fifth visit there; but it is only to a single picture, +and I envy its owner." + +"Indeed!" said Lothair. "Pray tell me its subject, that I may not fail +to see it." + +"It is a portrait," said the nobleman, "only a portrait, some would say, +as if the finest pictures in the world were not only portraits. The +masterpieces of the English school are portraits, and some day when you +have leisure and inclination, and visit Italy, you will see portraits by +Titian and Raffaelle and others, which are the masterpieces of art. +Well, the picture in question is a portrait by a young English painter +at Rome and of an English lady. I doubt not the subject was equal to +the genius of the artist, but I do not think that the modern pencil has +produced any thing equal to it, both, in design and color and +expression. You should see it, by all means, and I have that opinion of +your taste that I do not think you will be content by seeing it once. +The real taste for fine art in this country is proved by the crowd that +always surrounds that picture; and yet only a portrait of an English +lady, a Miss Arundel." + +"A Miss Arundel?" said Lothair. + +"Yes, of a Roman Catholic family; I believe a relative of the St. +Jeromes. They were at Rome last year, when this portrait was executed." + +"If you will permit me," said Lothair, "I should like to accompany you +to the Academy. I am going out of town this afternoon, but not far, and +could manage it." + +So they went together. It was the last exhibition of the Academy in +Trafalgar Square. The portrait in question was in the large room, and +hung on the eye line; so, as the throng about it was great, it was not +easy immediately to inspect it. But one or two R. A.s who were gliding +about, and who looked upon the noble patron of art as a sort of +divinity, insensibly controlled the crowd, and secured for their friend +and his companion the opportunity which they desired. + +"It is the finest thing since the portrait of the Cenci," said the noble +patron. + +The painter had represented Miss Arundel in her robe of a sister of +mercy, but with uncovered head. A wallet was at her side, and she held +a crucifix. Her beautiful eyes, full of mystic devotions met those of +the spectator with a fascinating power that kept many spell-bound. In +the background of the picture was a masterly glimpse of the papal +gardens and the wondrous dome. + +"That must be a great woman," said the noble patron of art. + +Lothair nodded assent in silence. + +The crowd about the picture seemed breathless and awe-struck. There +were many women, and in some eyes there were tears. + +"I shall go home," said one of the spectators; "I do not wish to see any +thing else." + +"That is religion," murmured her companion. "They may say what they +like, but it would be well for us if we were all like her." + +It was a short half-hour by the railroad to Vauxe, and the station was +close to the park gates. The sun was in its last hour when Lothair +arrived, but he was captivated by the beauty of the scene, which he had +never witnessed in its summer splendor. The rich foliage of the great +avenues, the immense oaks that stood alone, the deer glancing in the +golden light, and the quaint and stately edifice itself, so finished and +so fair, with its freestone pinnacles and its gilded vanes glistening +and sparkling in the warm and lucid sky, contrasted with the chilly +hours when the cardinal and himself had first strolled together in that +park, and when they tried to flatter themselves that the morning mist +clinging to the skeleton trees was perhaps the burst of spring. + +Lothair found himself again in his old rooms, and, as his valet unpacked +his toilet, be fell into one of his reveries. + +"What," he thought to himself, "if life after all be only a dream? I +can scarcely realize what is going on. It seems to me; I have passed +through a year of visions. That I should be at Vauxe again! A roof I +once thought rife with my destiny. And perhaps it may prove so. And, +were it not for the memory of one event, I should be a ship without a +rudder." + +There were several guests in the house, and, when Lothair entered the +drawing-room, he was glad to find that it was rather full. The cardinal +was by the side of Lady St. Jerome when Lothair entered, and immediately +after saluting his hostess it was his duty to address his late guardian. +Lothair. had looked forward to this meeting with apprehension. It +seemed impossible that it should not to a certain degree be annoying. +Nothing of the kind. It was impossible to greet him more cordially, +more affectionately than did Cardinal Grandison. + +"You have seen a great deal since we parted," said the cardinal. +"Nothing could be wiser than your travelling. You remember that at +Muriel I recommended you to go to Egypt, but I thought it better that +you should see Rome first. And it answered: you made the acquaintance +of its eminent men, men whose names will be soon in everybody's mouth, +for before another year elapses Rome will be the cynosure of the world. +Then, when the great questions come on which will decide the fate of the +human race for centuries, you will feel the inestimable advantage of +being master of the situation, and that you are familiar with every +place and every individual. I think you were not very well at Rome; but +next time you must choose your season. However, I may congratulate you +on your present looks. The air of the Levant seems to have agreed with +you." + +Dinner was announced almost at this moment, and Lothair, who had to take +out Lady Clanmorne, had no opportunity before dinner of addressing any +one else except his hostess and the cardinal. The dinner-party was +large, and it took some time to reconnoitre all the guests. Lothair +observed Miss Arundel, who was distant from him and on the same side of +the table, but neither Monsignore Capel nor Father Coleman were present. + +Lady Clanmorne chatted agreeably. She was content to talk, and did not +insist on conversational reciprocity. She was a pure free-trader in +gossip. This rather suited Lothair. It pleased Lady Clanmorne to-day +to dilate upon marriage and the married state, but especially on all her +acquaintances, male and female, who were meditating the surrender of +their liberty and about to secure the happiness of their lives. + +"I suppose the wedding of the season -- the wedding of weddings -- will +be the Duke of Brecon's," she said. "But I do not hear of any day +being fixed." + +"Ah!" said Lothair, "I have been abroad and am very deficient in these +matters. But I was travelling with the lady's brother, and he has never +yet told me that his sister was going to be married." + +"There is no doubt about that," said Lady Clanmorne. "The duchess said +to a friend of mine the other day, who congratulated her, that there was +no person in whom she should have more confidence as a son-in-law than +the duke." + +"But most marriages turn out unhappy," said Lothair, rather morosely. + +"Oh! my dear lord, what can you mean?" + +"Well I think so," he said doggedly. "Among the lower orders, if we may +judge from the newspapers, they are always killing their wives, and in +our class we get rid of them in a more polished way, or they get rid of +us." + +"You quite astonish me with such sentiments," said Lady Clanmorne. +"What would Lady St. Jerome think if she heard you, who told me the +other day that she believed you to be a faultless character? And the +duchess too, your friend's mamma, who thinks you so good, and that it is +so fortunate for her son to have such a companion?" + +"As for Lady St. Jerome, she believes in every thing," said Lothair; +"and it is no compliment that she believes in me. As for my friend's +mamma, her ideal character, according to you, is the Duke of Brecon, and +I cannot pretend to compete with him. He may please the duchess, but I +cannot say the Duke of Brecon is a sort of man I admire." + +"Well, he is no great favorite of mine," said Lady Clanmorne; "I think +him overbearing and selfish, and I should not like at all to be his +wife." + +"What do you think of Lady Corisande?" said Lothair. + +"I admire her more than any girl in society, and I think she will be +thrown away on the Duke of Brecon. She is clever and she has strong +character, and, I am told, is capable of great affections. Her manners +are good, finished, and natural; and she is beloved by her young +friends, which I always think a test." + +"Do you think her handsome?" + +"There can be no question about that: she is beautiful, and her beauty +is of a high class. I admire her much more than all her sisters. She +has a grander mien." + +"Have you seen Miss Arundel's picture at the Academy?" + +"Everybody has seen that: it has made a fury." + +"I heard an eminent judge say to-day, that it was the portrait of one +who must be a great woman." + +"Well, Miss Arundel is a remarkable person." + +"Do you admire her?" + +"I have heard first-rate critics say that there was no person to be +compared to Miss Arundel. And unquestionably it is a most striking +countenance: that profound brow and those large deep eyes -- and then +her figure is so fine; but, to tell you the truth, Miss Arundel is a +person I never could make out." + +"I wonder she does not marry," said Lothair. + +"She is very difficult," said Lady Clanmorne. "Perhaps, too, she is of +your opinion about marriage." + +"I have a good mind to ask her after dinner whether she is," said +Lothair. "I fancy she would not marry a Protestant?" + +"I am no judge of such matters," said Lady Clanmorne; "only I cannot +help thinking that there would be more chance of a happy marriage when +both were of the same religion." + +"I wish we were all of the same religion. Do not you?" + +"Well, that depends a little on what the religion might be." + +"Ah!" sighed Lothair, "what between religion and marriage and some other +things, it appears to me one never has a tranquil moment. I wonder what +religious school the Duke of Brecon belongs to? Very high and dry, I +should think." + +The moment the gentlemen returned to the drawing-room, Lothair singled +out Miss Arundel, and attached himself to her. + +"I have been to see your portrait today," he said. She changed color. + +"I think it," he continued, "the triumph of modern art, and I could not +easily fix on any production of the old masters that excels it." + +"It was painted at Rome," she said, in a low voice. + +"So I understood. I regret that, when I was at Rome, I saw so little of +its art. But my health, you know, was wretched. Indeed, if it had not +been for some friends -- I might say for one friend -- I should not have +been here or in this world. I can never express to that person my +gratitude, and it increases every day. All that I have dreamed of +angels was then realized." + +"You think too kindly of us." + +"Did Lady St. Jerome give you my message about the earth from the holy +places which I had placed in a crucifix, and which I hope you will +accept from me, in remembrance of the past and your Christian kindness +to me? I should have left it at St. James's Square before this, but it +required some little arrangement after its travels." + +"I shall prize it most dearly, both on account of its consecrated +character and for the donor's sake, whom I have ever wished to see the +champion of our Master." + +"You never had a wish, I am sure," said Lothair, "that was not sublime +and pure." + + + +CHAPTER 84 + + +They breakfasted at Vauxe, in the long gallery. It was always a merry +meal, and it was the fashion of the house that all should be present. +The cardinal was seldom absent. He used to say: "I feel more on equal +terms with my friends at breakfast, and rather look forward to my +banquet of dry toast." Lord St. Jerome was quite proud of receiving his +letters and newspapers at Vauxe earlier by far than be did at St. +James's Square; and, as all were supplied with their letters and +journals, there was a great demand, for news, and a proportional +circulation of it. Lady Clanmorne indulged this passion for gossip +amusingly one morning, and read a letter from her correspondent, written +with the grace of a Sevigne, but which contained details of marriages, +elopements, and a murder among their intimate acquaintance, which made +all the real intelligence quite insipid, and was credited for at least +half an hour. + +The gallery at Vauxe was of great length, and the breakfast-table was +laid at one end of it. The gallery was of panelled oak, with windows of +stained glass in the upper panes, and the ceiling, richly and heavily +carved, was entirely gilt, but with deadened gold. Though stately, the +general effect was not free from a certain character of gloom. Lit, as +it was, by sconces, this was at night much softened; but, on a rich +summer morn, the gravity and repose of this noble chamber were grateful +to the senses. + +The breakfast was over; the ladies had retired, stealing off with the +Morning Post, the gentlemen gradually disappearing for the solace of +their cigars. The cardinal, who was conversing with Lothair, continued +their conversation while walking up and down the gallery, far from the +hearing of the servants, who were disembarrassing the breakfast-table, +and preparing it for luncheon. A visit to a country-house, as Pinto +says, is a series of meals mitigated by the new dresses of the ladies. + +"The more I reflect on your travels," said the cardinal, "the more I am +satisfied with what has happened. I recognize the hand of Providence in +your preliminary visit to Rome and your subsequent one to Jerusalem. In +the vast events which are impending, that man is in a strong position +who has made a pilgrimage to the Holy Sepulchre. Yon remember our walk +in the park here," continued the cardinal; "I felt then that we were on +the eve of some mighty change, but it was then indefinite, though to me +inevitable. You were destined, I was persuaded, to witness it, even, as +I hoped, to take no inconsiderable share in its fulfilment. But I +hardly believed that I should have been spared for this transcendent +day, and, when it is consummated, I will gratefully exclaim, 'Nunc me +dimittis!'" + +"You, allude, sir, to some important matter which Lady St. Jerome a few +days ago intimated to me, but it was only an intimation, and purposely +very vague." + +"There is no doubt," said the cardinal, speaking with solemnity, "of +what I now communicate to you. The Holy Father, Pius IX., has resolved +to summon an Oecumenical Council." + +"An Oecumenical Council!" said Lothair. + +"It is a weak phrase," resumed the cardinal, "to say it will be the +greatest event of this century. I believe it will be the greatest event +since the Episcopate of St. Peter; greater, in its consequences to the +human race, than the fall of the Roman Empire, the pseudo-Reformation, +or the Revolution of France. It is much more than three hundred years +since the last Oecumenical Council, the Council of Trent, and the world +still vibrates with its decisions. But the Council of Trent, compared +with the impending Council of the Vatican, will be as the mediaeval world +of Europe compared with the vast and complete globe which man has since +discovered and mastered." + +"Indeed!" said Lothair. + +"Why, the very assembly of the Fathers of the Church will astound the +Freemasons, and the secret societies, and the atheists. That alone will +be a demonstration of power on the part of the Holy Father which no +conqueror from Sesostris to Napoleon has ever equalled. It was only the +bishops of Europe that assembled at Trent, and, inspired by the Holy +Spirit, their decisions have governed man for more than three hundred +years. But now the bishops of the whole world will assemble round the +chair of St. Peter, and prove by their presence the catholic character +of the Church. Asia will send its patriarchs and pontiffs, and America +and Australia its prelates; and at home, my dear young friend, the +Council of the Vatican will offer a striking contrast to the Council of +Trent; Great Britain will be powerfully represented. The bishops of +Ireland might have been counted on, but it is England also that will +send her prelates now, and some of them will take no ordinary share in +transactions that will give a new form and color to human existence." + +"Is it true, sir, that the object of the council is to declare the +infallibility of the pope?" + +"In matters of faith and morals," said the cardinal quickly. "There is +no other infallibility. That is a secret with God. All that we can +know of the decision of the council on this awful head is, that its +decision, inspired by the Holy Spirit, must infallibly be right. We +must await that decision, and, when made known, we must embrace it, not +only with obedience, but with the interior assent of mind and will. But +there are other results of the council on which we may speculate; and +which, I believe, it will certainly accomplish: first, it will show in a +manner that cannot be mistaken that there is only one alternative for +the human intellect: Rationalism or Faith; and, secondly, it will +exhibit to the Christian powers the inevitable future they are now +preparing for themselves." + +"I am among the faithful," said Lothair. + +"Then you must be a member of the Church Catholic," said the cardinal. +"The basis on which God has willed that His revelation should rest in +the world is the testimony of the Catholic Church, which, if considered +only as a human and historical witness, affords the highest and most +certain evidence for the fact and the contents of the Christian +religion. If this be denied, there is no such thing as history. But +the Catholic Church is not only a human and historical witness of its +own origin, constitution, and authority, it is also a supernatural and +divine witness, which can neither fail nor err. When it oecumenically +speaks, it is not merely the voice of the fathers of the world; it +declares what 'it hath seemed good to the Holy Ghost and to us.'" + +There was a pause, and then Lothair remarked: "You said, air, that the +council would show to the civil powers of the Christian world the +inevitable future they are preparing for themselves?" + +"Even so. Now mark this, my child. At the Council of Trent the +Christian powers were represented, and properly so. Their seats will be +empty at the Council of the Vatican. What does that mean? The +separation between Church and State, talked of for a long time, now +demonstrated. And what does separation between Church and State mean? +That society is no longer consecrated. The civil governments of the +world no longer profess to be Catholic. The faithful indeed among their +subjects will be represented at the council by their pastors, but the +civil powers have separated themselves from the Church; either by royal +edict, or legislative enactment, or revolutionary changes, they have +abolished the legal status of the Catholic Church within their +territory. It is not their choice; they are urged on by an invisible +power that is anti-Christian, and which is the true, natural, and +implacable enemy of the one visible and universal Church. The coming +anarchy is called progress, because it advances along the line of +departure from the old Christian order of the world. Christendom was +the offspring of the Christian family, and the foundation of the +Christian family is the sacrament of matrimony, the sprit of all +domestic and public morals. The anti-Christian societies are opposed to +the principle of home. When they have destroyed the hearth, the +morality of society will perish. A settlement in the foundations may be +slow in sinking, but it brings all down at last. The next step in +de-Christianizing the political life of nations is to establish national +education without Christianity. This is systematically aimed at +wherever the revolution has its way. The period and policy of Julian +are returning. Some think this bodes ill for the Church; no, it is the +State that will suffer. The secret societies are hurrying the civil +governments of the world, and mostly the governments who disbelieve in +their existence, to the brink of a precipice, over which monarchies, and +law, and civil order, will ultimately fall and perish together." + +"Then all is hopeless," said Lothair. + +"To human speculation," said the cardinal; "but none can fathom the +mysteries of Divine interposition. This coming council may save +society, and on that I would speak to you most earnestly. His holiness +has resolved to invite the schismatic priesthoods to attend it, and +labor to bring about the unity of Christendom. He will send an +ambassador to the patriarch of the heresy of Photius, which is called +the Greek Church. He will approach Lambeth. I have little hope of the +latter, though there is more than one of the Anglican bishops who revere +the memory and example of Laud. But I by no means despair of your +communion being present in some form at the council. There are true +spirits at Oxford who sigh for unity. They will form, I hope, a +considerable deputation; but, as not yet being prelates, they cannot +take their seats formally in the council, I wish, in order to increase +and assert their influence, that they should be accompanied by a band of +powerful laymen, who shall represent the pious and pure mind of England +-- the coming guardians of the land in the dark hour that may be at +hand. Considering your previous knowledge of Rome, your acquaintance +with its eminent men and its language, and considering too, as I well +know, that the Holy Father looks to you as one marked out by Providence +to assert the truth, it would please me -- and, trust me, it would be +wise in you -- were you to visit Rome on this sublime occasion, and +perhaps put your mark on the world's history." + +"It must yet be a long time before the council meets," said Lothair, +after a pause. + +"Not too long for preparation," replied the cardinal. "From this hour, +until its assembling, the pulse of humanity will throb. Even at this +hour they are speaking of the same matters as ourselves alike on the +Euphrates and the St. Lawrence. The good Catesby is in Ireland, +conferring with the bishops, and awakening them to the occasion. There +is a party among them narrow-minded and local, the effects of their +education. There ought not to be an Irish priest who was not brought up +at the Propaganda. You know that admirable institution. We had some +happy hours at Rome together -- may we soon repeat them! You were very +unwell there; next time you will judge of Rome in health and vigor." + + + +CHAPTER 85 + + +They say there is a skeleton in every house; it may be doubted. What is +more certain are the sorrow and perplexity which sometimes, without a +warning and preparation, suddenly fall upon a family living in a world +of happiness and ease, and meriting their felicity by every gift of +fortune and disposition. + +Perhaps there never was a circle that enjoyed life more, and deserved to +enjoy life more, than the Brentham family. Never was a family more +admired and less envied. Nobody grudged them their happy gifts and +accidents, for their demeanor was so winning, and their manners so +cordial and sympathetic, that every one felt as if he shared their +amiable prosperity. And yet, at this moment, the duchess, whose +countenance was always as serene as her soul, was walking with disturbed +visage and agitated step up and down the private room of the duke; while +his grace, seated, his head upon his arm, and with his eyes on the +ground, was apparently in anxious thought. + +Now, what had happened? It seems that these excellent parents had +become acquainted, almost at the same moment, with two astounding and +disturbing facts: their son wanted to marry Euphrosyne Cantacuzene, and +their daughter would not marry the Duke of Brecon. + +"I was so perfectly unprepared for the communication," said the duke, +looking up, "that I have no doubt I did not express myself as I ought to +have done. But I do not think I said any thing wrong. I showed +surprise, sorrow -- no anger. I was careful not to say any thing to +hurt his feelings -- that is a great point in these matters -- nothing +disrespectful of the young lady. I invited him to speak to me again +about it when I had a little got over my surprise." + +"It is really a catastrophe," exclaimed the duchess; "and only think, I +came to you for sympathy in my sorrow, which, after all, though +distressing, is only a mortification!" + +"I am very sorry about Brecon," said the duke, "who is a man of honor, +and would have suited us very well; but, my dear Augusta, I never took +exactly the same view of this affair as you did -- I was never satisfied +that Corisande returned his evident, I might say avowed, admiration of +her." + +"She spoke of him always with great respect," said the duchess, "and +that is much in a girl of Corisande's disposition. I never heard her +speak of any of her admirers in the same tone -- certainly not of Lord +Carisbrooke; I was quite prepared for her rejection of him. She never +encouraged him." + +"Well," said the duke, "I grant you it is mortifying -- infinitely +distressing; and Brecon is the last man I could have wished that it +should occur to; but, after all, our daughter must decide for herself in +such affairs. She is the person most interested in the event. I never +influenced her sisters in their choice, and she also must be free. The +other subject is more grave." + +"If we could only ascertain who she really is," said the duchess. + +"According to Bertram, fully our equal; but I confess I am no judge of +Levantine nobility," his grace added, with a mingled expression of pride +and despair. + +"That dreadful travelling abroad!" exclaimed the duchess. "I always had +a foreboding of something disastrous from it. Why should be have gone +abroad, who has never been to Ireland, or seen half the counties of his +own country?" + +"They all will go," said the duke; "and I thought, with St. Aldegonde, +he was safe from getting into any scrape of this kind." + +"I should like to speak to Granville about it," said the duchess. "When +he is serious, his judgment is good." + +"I am to see St. Aldegonde before I speak to Bertram," said the duke. +"I should not be surprised if he were here immediately." + +One of the social mysteries is, "how things get about!" It is not the +interest of any of the persons immediately connected with the subject +that society should be aware that the Lady Corisande had declined the +proposal of the Duke of Brecon. Society had no right even to assume +that such a proposal was either expected or contemplated. The Duke of +Brecon admired Lady Corisande, so did many others; and many others were +admired by the Duke of Brecon. The duchess even hoped that, as the +season was waning, it might break up, and people go into the country or +abroad, and nothing be observed. And yet it "got about." The way +things get about is through the Hugo Bohuns. Nothing escapes their +quick eyes and slow hearts. Their mission is to peer into society, like +professional astronomers ever on the watch to detect the slightest +change in the phenomena. Never embarrassed by any passion of their own, +and their only social scheming being to maintain their transcendent +position, all their life and energy are devoted to the discovery of what +is taking place around them; and experience, combined with natural tact, +invests them with almost a supernatural skill in the detection of social +secrets. And so it happened that scarcely a week had passed before Hugo +began to sniff the air, and then to make fine observations at balls, as +to whom certain persons danced with, or did not dance with; and then he +began the curious process of what he called putting two and two +together, and putting two and two together proved in about a fortnight +that it was all up between Lady Corisande and the Duke of Brecon. + +Among others he imparted this information to Lothair, and it set Lothair +a thinking; and he went to a ball that evening solely with the purpose +of making social observations like Hugo Bohun. But Lady Corisande was +not there, though the Duke of Brecon was, apparently in high spirits, +and waltzing more than once with Lady Grizell Falkirk. Lothair was not +very fortunate in his attempts to see Bertram. He called more than once +at Crecy House too, but in vain. The fact is, Bertram was naturally +entirely engrossed with his own difficulties, and the duchess, harassed +and mortified, could no longer be at home in the morning. + +Her grace, however, evinced the just appreciation of character for which +women are remarkable, in the confidence which she reposed in the good +sense of Lord St. Aldegonde at this crisis. St. Aldegonde was the only +one of his sons-in-law whom the duke really considered and a little +feared. When St. Aldegonde was serious, his influence over men was +powerful. And he was serious now. St. Aldegonde, who was not +conventional, had made the acquaintance of Mr. Cantacuzene immediately +on his return to England, and they had become friends. He had dined in +the Tyburnian palace of the descendant of the Greek emperors more than +once, and had determined to make his second son, who was only four years +of age, a Greek merchant. When the duke therefore consulted him on "the +catastrophe," St. Aldegonde took high ground, spoke of Euphrosyne in the +way she deserved, as one equal to an elevated social position, and +deserving it. "But if you ask me my opinion, sir," he continued, "I do +not think, except for Bertram's sake, that you have any cause to fret +yourself. The family wish her to marry her cousin, the eldest son of +the Prince of Samos. It is an alliance of the highest, and suits them +much better than any connection with us. Besides, Cantacuzene will give +his children large fortunes, and they like the money to remain in the +family. A hundred or a hundred and fifty thousand pounds -- perhaps +more -- goes a great way on the coasts of Asia Minor. You might buy up +half the Archipelago. The Cantacuzenes are coming to dine with us next +week. Bertha is delighted with them. Mr. Cantacuzene is so kind as to +say he will take Clovis into his counting-house. I wish I could induce +your grace to come and meet him: then you could judge for yourself. You +would not be in the least shocked were Bertram to marry the daughter of +some of our great merchants or bankers. This is a great merchant and +banker, and the descendant of princes, and his daughter one of the most +beautiful and gifted of women and worthy to be a princess." + +"There is a good deal in what St. Aldegonde says," said the duke +afterward to his wife. "The affair takes rather a different aspect. It +appears they are really people of high consideration, and great wealth +too. Nobody could describe them as adventurers." + +"We might gain a little time," said the duchess. "I dislike peremptory +decisions. It is a pity we have not an opportunity of seeing the young +lady." + +"Granville says she is the most beautiful woman he ever met, except her +sister." + +"That is the artist's wife?" said the duchess. + +"Yes," said the duke, "I believe a most distinguished man, but it rather +adds to the imbroglio. Perhaps things may turn out better than they +first promised. The fact is, I am more amazed than annoyed. Granville +knows the father, it seems, intimately. He knows so many odd people. +He wants me to meet him at dinner. What do you think about it? It is a +good thing sometimes to judge for one's self. They say this Prince of +Samos she is half betrothed to is attach to the Turkish embassy at +Vienna, and is to visit England." + +"My nervous system is quite shaken," said the duchess. "I wish we could +all go to Brentham. I mentioned it to Corisande this morning, and I was +surprised to find that she wished to remain in town." + +"Well, we will decide nothing, my dear, in a hurry. St. Aldegonde says +that, if we decide in that sense, he will undertake to break off the +whole affair. We may rely on that. We need consider the business only +with reference to Bertram's happiness and feelings. That is an +important issue, no doubt, but it is a limited one. The business is not +of so disagreeable a nature as it seemed. It is not an affair of a rash +engagement, in a discreditable quarter, from which he cannot extricate +himself. There is no doubt they are thoroughly reputable people, and +will sanction nothing which is not decorous and honorable. St. +Aldegonde has been a comfort to me in this matter; and you will find out +a great deal when you speak to him about it. Things might be worse. I +wish I was as easy about the Duke of Brecon. I met him this morning and +rode with him -- to show there was no change in my feelings." + + + +CHAPTER 86 + + +The world goes on with its aching hearts and its smiling faces, and very +often, when a year has revolved, the world finds out there was no +sufficient cause for the sorrows or the smiles. There is too much +unnecessary anxiety in the world, which is apt too hastily to calculate +the consequences of any unforeseen event, quite forgetting that, acute +as it is in observation, the world, where the future is concerned, is +generally wrong. The duchess would have liked to have buried herself in +the shades of Brentham, but Lady Corisande, who deported herself as if +there were no care at Crecy House except that occasioned by her +brother's rash engagement, was of opinion that "mamma would only brood +over this vexation in the country," and that it would be much better not +to anticipate the close of the waning season. So the duchess and her +lovely daughter were seen everywhere where they ought to be seen, and +appeared the pictures of serenity and satisfaction. + +As for Bertram's affair itself, under the manipulation of St. Aldegonde, +it began to assume a less anxious and more practicable aspect. The duke +was desirous to secure his son's happiness, but wished nothing to be +done rashly. If, for example, in a year's time or so, Bertram continued +in the same mind, his father would never be an obstacle to his +well-considered wishes. In the mean time, an opportunity might offer of +making the acquaintance of the young lady and her friends. + +And, in the mean time, the world went on dancing, and betting, and +banqueting, and making speeches, and breaking hearts and heads, till the +time arrived when social stock is taken, the results of the campaign +estimated and ascertained, and the question asked, "Where do you think +of going this year?" + +"We shall certainly winter at Rome," said Lady St. Jerome to Lady +Clanmorne, who was paying a morning visit. "I wish you could induce +Lord Clanmorne to join us." + +"I wish so, too," said the lady, "but that is impossible. He never will +give up his hunting." + +"I am sure there are more foxes in the Campagna than at Vauxe," said +Lady St. Jerome. + +"I suppose you have heard of what they call the double event?" said Lady +Clanmorne. + +"No." + +"Well, it is quite true; Mr. Bohun told me last night, and he always +knows every thing." + +"Every thing!" said Lady St. Jerome; "but what is it that he knows now?" + +"Both the Ladies Falkirk are to be married! And on the same day." + +"But to whom?" + +"Whom should you think?" + +"I will not even guess," said Lady St. Jerome. + +"Clare," she said to Miss Arundel, who was engaged apart, "you always +find out conundrums. Lady Clanmorne has got some news for us. Lady +Flora Falkirk and her sister are going to be married, and on the same +day. And to whom, think you?" + +"Well, I should think that somebody has made Lord Carisbrooke a happy +man," said Miss Arundel, + +"Very good," said Lady Clanmorne. "I think Lady Flora will make an +excellent Lady Carisbrooke. He is not quite as tall as she is, but he +is a man of inches. And now for Lady Grizell." + +"My powers of divination are quite exhausted," said Miss Arundel. + +"Well, I will not keep you in suspense," said Lady Clanmorne. "Lady +Grizell is to be Duchess of Brecon." + +"Duchess of Brecon!" exclaimed both Miss Arundel and Lady St. Jerome. + +"I always admired the ladies," said Miss Arundel. "We met them at a +country-house last year, and I thought them pleasing in every way -- +artless and yet piquant; but I did not anticipate their fate being so +soon sealed." + +"And so brilliantly," added Lady St. Jerome. + +"You met them at Muriel Towers," said Lady Clanmorne. "I heard of you +there: a most distinguished party. There was an American lady there, +was there not? a charming person, who sang, and acted, and did all sorts +of things." + +"Yes; there was. I believe, however, she was an Italian, married to an +American." + +"Have you seen much of your host at Muriel Towers?" said Lady Clanmorne. + +"We see him frequently," said Lady St. Jerome. + +"Ah! yes, I remember; I met him at Vauxe the other day. He is a great +admirer of yours," Lady Clanmorne added, addressing Miss Arundel. + +"Oh! we are friends, and have long been so," said Miss Arundel, and she +left the room. + +"Clare does not recognize admirers," said Lady St. Jerome, gravely. + +"I hope the ecclesiastical fancy is not reviving," said Lady Clanmorne. +"I was half in hopes that the lord of Muriel Towers might have deprived +the Church of its bride." + +"That could never be," said Lady St. Jerome; "though, if it could have +been, a source of happiness to Lord St. Jerome and myself would not have +been wanting. We greatly regard our kinsman, but, between ourselves," +added Lady St. Jerome in a low voice, "it was supposed that he was +attached to the American lady of whom you were speaking." + +"And where is she now?" + +"I have heard nothing of late. Lothair was in Italy at the same time as +ourselves, and was ill there, under our roof; so we saw a great deal of +him. Afterward he travelled for his health, and has now just returned +from the East." + +A visitor was announced, and Lady Clanmorne retired. + +Nothing happens as you expect. On his voyage home Lothair had indulged +in dreams of renewing his intimacy at Crecy House, around whose hearth +all his sympathies were prepared to cluster. The first shock to this +romance was the news he received of the impending union of Lady +Corisande with the Duke of Brecon. And, what with this unexpected +obstacle to intimacy, and the domestic embarrassments occasioned by +Bertram's declaration, he had become a stranger to a roof which had so +filled his thoughts. It seemed to him that he could not enter the house +either as the admirer of the daughter or as the friend of her brother. +She was probably engaged to another, and, as Bertram's friend and +fellow-traveller, he fancied he was looked upon by the family as one who +had in some degree contributed to their mortification. Much of this was +imaginary, but Lothair was very sensitive, and the result was that he +ceased to call at Crecy House, and for some time, kept aloof from the +duchess and her daughter, when he met them in general society. He was +glad to hear from Bertram and St. Aldegonde that the position of the +former was beginning to soften at home, and that the sharpness of his +announcement was passing away. And, when he had clearly ascertained +that the contemplated union of Lady Corisande with the duke was +certainly not to take place, Lothair began to reconnoitre, and try to +resume his original position. But his reception was not encouraging, at +least not sufficiently cordial for one who by nature was retiring and +reserved. Lady Corisande was always kind, and after some time he danced +with her again. But there were no invitations to luncheon from the +duchess; they never asked him to dinner. His approaches were received +with courtesy, but he was not courted. + +The announcement of the marriage of the Duke of Brecon did not, +apparently, in any degree, distress Lady Corisande. On the contrary, +she expressed much satisfaction at her two young friends settling in +life with such success and splendor. The ambition both of Lady Flora +and Lady Grizell was that Corisande should be a bridesmaid. This would +be a rather awkward post to occupy under the circumstances, so she +embraced both, and said that she loved them both so equally, that she +would not give a preference to either, and therefore, though she +certainly would attend their wedding, she would refrain from taking part +in the ceremony. + +The duchess went with Lady Corisande one morning to Mr. Ruby's to choose +a present from her daughter to each of the young ladies. Mr. Ruby in a +back shop poured forth his treasures of bracelets, and rings, and +lockets. The presents must be similar in value and in beauty, and yet +there must be some difference between them; so it was a rather long and +troublesome investigation, Mr. Ruby, as usual, varying its monotony, or +mitigating its wearisomeness, by occasionally, or suddenly, exhibiting +some splendid or startling production of his art. The parure of an +empress, the bracelets of grand-duchesses, a wonderful fan that was to +flutter in the hands of majesty, had all in due course appeared, as well +as the black pearls and yellow diamonds that figure and flash on such +occasions, before eyes so favored and so fair. + +At last -- for, like a prudent general, Mr. Ruby had always a great +reserve -- opening a case, he said, "There!" and displayed a crucifix of +the most exquisite workmanship and the most precious materials. + +"I have no hesitation in saying the rarest jewel which this century has +produced. See! the figure by Monti; a masterpiece. Every emerald in +the cross a picked stone. These corners, your grace is aware," said Mr. +Ruby, condescendingly, "contain the earth of the holy places at +Jerusalem. It has been shown to no one but your grace." + +"It is indeed most rare and beautiful," said the duchess, "and most +interesting, too, from containing the earth of the holy places. A +commission, of course?" + +"From one of our most eminent patrons," and then he mentioned Lothair's +name. + +Lady Corisande looked agitated. + +"Not for himself," said Mr. Ruby. + +Lady Corisande seemed relieved. + +"It is a present to a young lady -- Miss Arundel." + +Lady Corisande changed color, and, turning away, walked toward a case of +works of art, which was in the centre of the shop, and appeared to be +engrossed in their examination. + + + +CHAPTER 87 + + +A day or two after this adventure of the crucifix, Lothair met Bertram, +who said to him, "By-the-by, if you want to see my people before they +leave town, you must call at once." + +"You do not mean that," replied Lothair, much surprised. "Why, the +duchess told me, only three or four days ago, that they should not leave +town until the end of the first week of August. They are going to the +weddings." + +"I do not know what my mother said to you, my dear fellow, but they go +to Brentham the, day after to-morrow, and will not return. The duchess +has been for a long time wishing this, but Corisande would stay. She +thought they would only bother themselves about my affairs, and there +was more distraction for them in town. But now they are going, and it +is for Corisande they go. She is not well, and they have suddenly +resolved to depart." + +"Well, I am very sorry to hear it," said Lothair; "I shall call at Crecy +House. Do you think they will see me?" + +"Certain." + +"And what are your plans?" + +"I have none," said Bertram. "I suppose I must not leave my father +alone at this moment. He has behaved well; very kindly, indeed. I have +nothing to complain of. But still all is vague, and I feel somehow or +other I ought to be about him." + +"Have you heard from our dear friends abroad?" + +"Yes," said Bertram, with a sigh, "Euphrosyne writes to me; but I +believe St. Aldegonde knows more about their views and plans than I do. +He and Mr. Phoebus correspond much. I wish to Heaven they were here, or +rather that we were with them!" he added, with another sigh. "How happy +we all were, at Jerusalem! How I hate London! And Brentham worse. I +shall have to go to a lot of agricultural dinners and all sorts of +things. The duke expects it, and I am bound now to do every thing to +please him. What do you think of doing?" + +"I neither know nor care," said Lothair, in a tone of great despondency. + +"You are a little hipped." + +"Not a little. I suppose it is the excitement of the last two years +that has spoiled me for ordinary life. But I find the whole thing +utterly intolerable, and regret now that I did not rejoin the staff of +the general. I shall never have such a chance again. It was a mistake; +but one is born to blunder." + +Lothair called at Crecy House. The hall-porter was not sure whether the +duchess was at home, and the groom of the chambers went to see. Lothair +had never experienced this form. When the groom of the chambers came +down again, he gave her grace's compliments; but she had a headache, and +was obliged to lie down, and was sorry she could not see Lothair, who +went away livid. + +Crecy House was only yards from St. James's Square, and Lothair repaired +to an accustomed haunt. He was not in a humor for society, and yet he +required sympathy. There were some painful associations with the St. +Jerome family, and yet they had many charms. And the painful +associations had been greatly removed by their easy and cordial +reception of him, and the charms had been renewed and increased by +subsequent intercourse. After all, they were the only people who had +always been kind to him. And, if they had erred in a great particular, +they had been animated by pure, and even sacred, motives. And had they +erred? Were not his present feelings of something approaching to +desolation a fresh proof that the spirit of man can alone be sustained +by higher relations than merely human ones? So he knocked at the door, +and Lady St. Jerome was at home. She had not a headache; there were no +mysterious whisperings between hall-porters and grooms of the chamber, +to ascertain whether he was one of the initiated. Whether it were +London or Vauxe, the eyes of the household proved that he was ever a +welcome and cherished guest. + +Lady St. Jerome was alone, and rose from her writing-table to receive +him. And then -- for she was a lady who never lost a moment -- she +resumed some work, did not interfere with their conversation. Her +talking resources were so happy and inexhaustible, that it signified +little that her visitor, who was bound in that character to have +something to say, was silent and moody. + +"My lord," she continued, "has taken the Palazzo Agostini for a term. I +think we should always pass our winters at Rome under any circumstances, +but -- the cardinal has spoken to you about the great event -- if that +comes off, of which, between ourselves, whatever the world may say, I +believe there is no sort of doubt, we should not think of being absent +from Rome for a day during the council." + +"Why! it may last years," said Lothair. "There is no reason why it +should not last the Council of Trent. It has in reality much more to +do." + +"We do things quicker now," said Lady St. Jerome. + +"That depends on what there is to do. To revive faith is more difficult +than to create it." + +"There will be no difficulty when the Church has assembled," said Lady +St. Jerome. "This sight of the universal Fathers coming from the +uttermost ends of the earth to bear witness to the truth will at once +sweep away all the vain words and vainer thoughts of this unhappy +century. It will be what they call a great fact, dear Lothair; and when +the Holy Spirit descends upon their decrees, my firm belief is the whole +world will rise as it were from a trance, and kneel before the divine +tomb of St. Peter." + +"Well, we shall see," said Lothair. + +"The cardinal wishes you very much to attend the council. He wishes you +to attend it as an Anglican, representing with a few others our laity. +He says it would have the very best effect for religion." + +"He spoke to me." + +"And you agreed to go?" + +"I have not refused him. If I thought I could do any good I am not sure +I would not go," said Lothair; "but, from what I have seen of the Roman +court, there is little hope of reconciling our differences. Rome is +stubborn. Now, look at the difficulty they make about the marriage of a +Protestant and one of their own communion. It to cruel, and I think on +their part unwise." + +"The sacrament of marriage is of ineffable holiness," said Lady St. +Jerome. + +"I do not wish to deny that," said Lothair, "but I see no reason why I +should not marry a Roman Catholic if I liked, without the Roman Church +interfering and entirely regulating my house and home." + +"I wish you would speak to Father Coleman about this," said Lady St. +Jerome. + +"I have had much talk with Father Coleman about many things in my time," +said Lothair, "but not about this. By-the-by, have you any news of the +monsignore?" + +"He is in Ireland, arranging about the Oecumenical Council. They do not +understand these matters there as well as we do in England, and his +holiness, by the cardinal's advice, has sent the monsignore to put +things right." + +"All the Father Colemans in the world cannot alter the state of affairs +about mixed marriages," said Lothair; "they can explain, but they cannot +alter. I want change in this matter, and Rome never changes." + +"It is impossible for the Church to change," said Lady St. Jerome, +"because it is Truth." + +"Is Miss Arundel at home?" said Lothair. + +"I believe so," said Lady St. Jerome. + +"I never see her now," he said, discontentedly. "She never goes to +balls, and she never rides. Except occasionally under this roof, she is +invisible." + +'"Clare does not go any longer into society," said Lady St. Jerome. + +"Why?" + +"Well, it is a secret," said Lady St. Jerome, with some disturbance of +countenance and speaking in a lower tone; "at least at present; and yet +I can hardly on such a subject wish that there should be a secret from +you -- Clare is about to take the veil." + +"Then I have not a friend left in the world," said Lothair, in a +despairing tone. + +Lady St. Jerome looked at him with an anxious glance. "Yes," she +continued; "I do not wish to conceal it from you, that for a time we +could have wished it otherwise -- it has been, it is a trying event for +my lord and myself -- but the predisposition, which was always strong, +has ended in a determination so absolute, that we recognize the Divine +purpose in her decision, and we bow to it." + +"I do not bow to it," said Lothair; "I think it barbarous and unwise." + +"Hush, hush! dear friend." + +"And does the cardinal approve of this step?" + +"Entirely." + +"Then my confidence in him is entirely destroyed," said Lothair. + + + +CHAPTER 88 + + +It was August, and town was thinning fast. Parliament still lingered, +but only for technical purposes; the political struggle of the session +having terminated at the end of July. One social event was yet to be +consummated -- the marriages of Lothair's cousins. They were to be +married on the same day, at the same time, and in the same place. +Westminster Abbey was to be the scene, and, as it was understood that +the service was to be choral, great expectations of ecclesiastical +splendor and effect were much anticipated by the fair sex. They were, +however, doomed to disappointment, for, although the day was fine, the +attendance numerous and brilliant beyond precedent, Lord Culloden would +have "no popery." Lord Carisbrooke, who was a ritualist, murmured, and +was encouraged in his resistance by Lady Clanmorne and a party, but, as +the Duke of Brecon was high and dry, there was a want of united action, +and Lord Culloden had his way. + +After the ceremony, the world repaired to the mansion of Lord Culloden +in Belgrave Square, to inspect the presents, and to partake of a dinner +called a breakfast. Cousin Lothair wandered about the rooms, and had +the satisfaction of seeing a bracelet with a rare and splendid sapphire +which he had given to Lady Flora, and a circlet of diamond stars which +he had placed on the brow of the Duchess of Brecon. The St. Aldegondes +were the only members of the Brentham family who were present. St. +Aldegonde had a taste for marriages and public executions, and Lady St. +Aldegonde wandered about with Lothair, and pointed out to him +Corisande's present to his cousins. + +"I never was more disappointed than by your family leaving town so early +this year," he said. + +"We were quite surprised." + +"I am sorry to bear your sister is indisposed." + +"Corisande! she is perfectly well." + +"I hope the duchess's headache is better," said Lothair. "She could not +receive me when I called to say farewell, because she had a headache." + +"I never knew mamma to have a headache," said Lady St. Aldegonde. + +"I suppose you will be going to Brentham?" + +"Next week."' + +"And Bertram too?" + +"I fancy that we shall be all there." + +"I suppose we may consider now that the season is really over!" + +"Yes; they stayed for this. I should not be surprised if every one in +these rooms had disappeared by to-morrow." + +"Except myself," said Lothair. + +"Do you think of going abroad again?" + +"One might as well go," said Lothair, "as remain." + +"I wish Granville would take me to Paris. It seems so odd not to have +seen Paris. All I want is to see the new streets and dine at a caf ." + +"Well, you have an object; that is something," said Lothair. "I have +none." + +"Men have always objects," said Lady St. Aldegonde. "They make business +when they have none, or it makes itself. They move about, and it +comes." + +"I have moved about a great deal," said Lothair, "and nothing has come +to me but disappointment. I think I shall take to croquet, like that +curious gentleman I remember at Brentham." + +"Ah! you remember every thing." + +"It is not easy to forget any thing at Brentham," said Lothair. "It is +just two years ago. That was a happy time." + +"I doubt whether our reassembling will be quite as happy this year," +said Lady St. Aldegonde, in a serious tone. "This engagement of Bertram +is an anxious business; I never saw papa before really fret. And there +are other things which are not without vexation -- at least to mamma." + +"I do not think I am a great favorite of your mamma," said Lothair. +"She once used to be very kind to me, but she is so no longer." + +"I am sure you mistake her," said Lady St. Aldegonde, but not in a tone +which indicated any confidence in her remark. "Mamma is anxious about +my brother, and all that." + +"I believe the duchess thinks that I am in some way or other connected +with this embarrassment; but I really had nothing to do with it, though +I could not refuse my testimony to the charms of the young lady, and my +belief she would make Bertram a happy man." + +"As for that, you know, Granville saw a great deal more of her, at least +at Jerusalem, than you did, and he has said to mamma a great deal more +than you have done." + +"Yes; but she thinks that, had it not been for me, Bertram would never +have known the Phoebus family. She could not conceal that from me, and +it has poisoned her mind." + +"Oh! do not use such words." + +"Yes; but they are true. And your sister is prejudiced against me +also." + +"That I am sure she is not," said Lady St. Aldegonde, quickly. +"Corisande was always your friend." + +"Well, they refused to see me, when we may never meet again for months, +perhaps for years," said Lothair, "perhaps never." + +"What shocking things you are saying, my dear lord, to-day! Here, Lord +Culloden wants yon to return thanks for the bridesmaids. You must put +on a merry face." + +The dreary day at last arrived, and very quickly, when Lothair was the +only person left in town. When there is nobody you know in London, the +million that go about are only voiceless phantoms. Solitude in a city +is a trance. The motion of the silent beings with whom you have no +speech or sympathy, only makes the dreamlike existence more intense. It +is not so in the country; the voices of Nature are abundant, and, from +the hum of insects to the fall of the avalanche, something is always +talking to you. + +Lothair shrank from the streets. He could not endure the dreary glare +of St. James's and the desert sheen of Pall Mall. He could mount his +horse in the park, and soon lose himself in suburban roads that he once +loved. Yes; it was irresistible; and he made a visit to Belmont. The +house was dismantled, and the gardens shorn of their lustre, but still +it was there; very fair in the sunshine, and sanctified in his heart. +He visited every room that he had frequented, and lingered in her +boudoir. He did not forget the now empty pavilion, and he plucked some +flowers that she once loved, and pressed them to his lips, and placed +them near his heart. He felt now what it was that made him unhappy: it +was the want of sympathy. + +He walked through the park to the residence of Mr. Phoebus, where he had +directed his groom to meet him. His heart beat as he wandered along, +and his eye was dim with tears. What characters and what scenes had he +not become acquainted with since his first visit to Belmont! And, even +now, when they had departed, or were absent, what influence were they +not exercising over his life, and the life of those most intimate with +him! Had it not been for his pledge to Theodora, it was far from +improbable that he would now have been a member of the Roman Catholic +Church, and all his hopes at Brentham, and his intimacy with the family +on which he had most reckoned in life for permanent friendship and +support, seemed to be marred and blighted by the witching eyes of that +mirthful Euphrosyne, whose mocking words on the moonlit terrace at +Belmont first attracted his notice to her. And then, by association of +ideas, he thought of the general, and what his old commander had said at +their last interview, reminding him of his fine castle, and expressing +his conviction that the lord of such a domain must have much to do. + +"I will try to do it," said Lothair; "and will go down to Muriel +tomorrow." + + + +CHAPTER 89 + + +Lothair, who was very sensible to the charms of Nature, found at first +relief in the beauties of Muriel. The season was propitious to the +scene. August is a rich and leafy month, and the glades and avenues and +stately trees of his parks and pleasaunces seemed, at the same time, to +soothe and gladden his perturbed spirit. Muriel was still new to him, +and there was much to examine and explore for the first time. He found +a consolation also in the frequent remembrance that these scenes had +been known to those whom he loved. Often in the chamber, and often in +the bower, their forms arose; sometimes their voices lingered in his +ear; a frolic laugh, or whispered words of kindness and enjoyment. Such +a place as Muriel should always be so peopled. But that is impossible. +One cannot always have the most agreeable people in the world assembled +under one's roof. And yet the alternative should not be the loneliness +he now experienced. The analytical Lothair resolved that there was no +happiness without sympathy. + +The most trying time were the evenings. A man likes to be alone in the +morning. He writes his letters and reads the newspapers, attempts to +examine his steward's accounts, and if he wants society can gossip with +his stud-groom. But a solitary evening in the country is gloomy, +however brilliant the accessories. As Mr. Phoebus was not present, +Lothair violated the prime principles of a first-class Aryan education, +and ventured to read a little. It is difficult to decide which is the +most valuable companion to a country eremite at his nightly studies, the +volume that keeps him awake or the one that sets him a-slumbering. + +At the end of a week Lothair had some good sport on his moors -- and +this reminded him of the excellent Campian, who had received and +answered his letter. The colonel, however, held out but a faint +prospect of returning at present to Europe, though, whenever he did, he +promised to be the guest of Lothair. Lothair asked some of his +neighbors to dinner, and he made two large parties to slaughter his +grouse. They were grateful and he was popular, but "we have not an idea +in common," thought Lothair, as, wearied and uninterested, he bade his +last guest his last good-night. Then Lothair paid a visit to the +lord-lieutenant, and stayed two nights at Agramont Castle. Here he met +many county notables, and "great was the company of the preachers;" but +the talk was local or ecclesiastical, and, after the high-spiced +condiments of the conversation to which he was accustomed, the present +discourse was insipid even to nausea. He sought some relief in the +society of Lady Ida Alice, but she blushed when she spoke to him, and +tittered when he replied to her; and at last he found refuge in pretty +Mrs. Ardenne, who concluded by asking him for his photograph. + +On the morrow of his return to Muriel, the servant bringing in his +letters, he seized one in the handwriting of Bertram, and, discarding +the rest, devoured the communication of his friend, which was eventful. + +It seems that the Phoebus family had returned to England, and were at +Brentham, and had been there a week. The family were delighted with +them, and Euphrosyne was an especial favorite. But this was not all. +It seems that Mr. Cantacuzene had been down to Brentham, and stayed, +which he never did anywhere, a couple of days. And the duke was +particularly charmed with Mr. Cantacuzene. This gentleman, who was only +in the earlier term of middle age, and looked younger than his age, was +distinguished in appearance, highly polished, and singularly acute. He +appeared to be the master of great wealth, for he offered to make upon +Euphrosyne any settlement which the duke desired. He had no son, and +did not wish his sons-in-law to be sighing for his death. He wished his +daughters, therefore, to enjoy the bulk of their inheritances in his +lifetime. He told the duke that he had placed one hundred thousand +pounds in the names of trustees on the marriage of Madame Phoebus, to +accumulate, "and when the genius and vanity of her husband are both +exhausted, though I believe they are inexhaustible," remarked Mr. +Cantacuzene, "it will be a nest's-egg for them to fall back upon, and at +least save them from penury." The duke had no doubt that Mr. +Cantacuzene was of imperial lineage. But the latter portion of the +letter was the most deeply interesting to Lothair. Bertram wrote that +his mother had just observed that she thought the Phoebus family would +like to meet Lothair, and begged Bertram to invite him to Brentham. The +letter ended by an urgent request, that, if disengaged, he should arrive +immediately. + +Mr. Phoebus highly approved of Brentham. All was art, and art of a high +character. He knew no residence with an aspect so thoroughly Aryan. +Though it was really a family party, the house was quite full; at least, +as Bertram said to Lothair on his arrival, "there is only room for you +-- and you are in your old quarters." + +"That is exactly what I wished," said Lothair. + +He had to escort the duchess to dinner. Her manner was of old days. "I +thought you would like to meet your friends," she said. + +"It gives me much pleasure, but much more to find myself at Brentham." + +"There seems every prospect of Bertram being happy. We are enchanted +with the young lady. You know her, I believe, well? The duke is highly +pleased with her, father, Mr. Cantacuzene -- he says one of the most +sensible men he ever met, and a thorough gentleman, which he may well +be, for I believe there is no doubt he is of the highest descent -- +emperors they say, princes even now. I wish you could have met him, but +he would only stay eight-and-forty hours. I understand his affairs are +vast." + +"I have always heard a considerable person; quite the head of the Greek +community in this country -- indeed, in Europe generally." + +"I see by the morning papers that Miss Arundel has taken the veil." + +"I missed my papers to-day," said Lothair, a little agitated, "but I +have long been aware of her intention of doing so." + +"Lady St. Jerome will miss her very much. She was quite the soul of the +house." + +"It must be a great and painful sacrifice," said Lothair; "but, I +believe, long meditated. I remember when I was at Vauxe, nearly two +years ago, that I was told this was to be her fate. She was quite +determined on it." + +"I saw the beautiful crucifix you gave her, at Mr. Ruby's." + +"It was an homage to her for her great goodness to me when I was ill at +Rome -- and it was difficult to find any thing that would please or suit +her. I fixed on the crucifix, because it permitted me to transfer to it +the earth of the holy places, which were included in the crucifix, that +was given to me by the monks of the Holy Sepulchre, when I made my +pilgrimage to Jerusalem." + +In the evening St. Aldegonde insisted on their dancing, and he engaged +himself to Madame Phoebus. Bertram and Euphrosyne seemed never +separated; Lothair was successful in inducing Lady Corisande to be his +partner. + +"Do you remember your first ball at Crecy House?" asked Lothair. "You +are not nervous now?" + +"I would hardly say that," said Lady Corisande, "though I try not to +show it." + +"It was the first ball for both of us," said Lothair. "I have not +danced so much in the interval as you have. Do you know, I was +thinking, just now, I have danced oftener with you than with any one +else?" + +"Are not you glad about Bertram's affair ending so well?" + +"Very; he will be a happy man. Every body is happy, I think, except +myself." + +In the course of the evening, Lady St. Aldegonde, on the arm of Lord +Montairy, stopped for a moment as she passed Lothair, and said: "Do you +remember our conversation at Lord Culloden's breakfast? Who was right +about mamma?" + +They passed their long summer days in rambling and riding, and in +wondrous new games which they played in the hall. The striking feature, +however, were the matches at battledore and shuttlecock between Madame +Phoebus and Lord St. Aldegonde, in which the skill and energy displayed +were supernatural, and led to betting. The evenings were always gay; +sometimes they danced; more or less they always had some delicious +singing. And Mr. Phoebus arranged some tableaux most successfully. + +All this time, Lothair hung much about Lady Corisande; he was by her +side in the riding-parties, always very near her when they walked, and +sometimes he managed unconsciously to detach her from the main party, +and they almost walked alone. If he could not sit by her at dinner, he +joined her immediately afterward, and whether it were a dance, a +tableau, or a new game, somehow or other he seemed always to be her +companion. + +It was about a week after the arrival of Lothair, and they were at +breakfast at Brentham, in that bright room full of little round tables +which Lothair always admired, looking, as it did, upon a garden of many +colors. + +"How I hate modern gardens!" said St. Aldegonde. "What a horrid thing +this is! One might as well have a mosaic pavement there. Give me +cabbage-roses, sweet-peas, and wall-flowers. That is my idea of a +garden. Corisande's garden is the only sensible thing of the sort." + +"One likes a mosaic pavement to look like a garden," said Euphrosyne, +"but not a garden like a mosaic pavement." + +"The worst of these mosaic beds," said Madame Phoebus, "is, you can never +get a nosegay, and if it were not for the kitchen-garden, we should be +destitute of that gayest and sweetest of creations." + +"Corisande's garden is, since your first visit to Brentham," said the +duchess to Lothair. "No flowers are admitted that have not perfume. It +is very old-fashioned. You must get her to show it you." + +It was agreed that after breakfast they should go and see Corisande's +garden. And a party did go -- all the Phoebus family, and Lord and Lady +St. Aldegonde, and Lady Corisande, and Bertram, and Lothair. + +In the pleasure-grounds of Brentham were the remains of an ancient +garden of the ancient house that had long ago been pulled down. When +the modern pleasure-grounds were planned and created, notwithstanding +the protests of the artists in landscape, the father of the present duke +would not allow this ancient garden to be entirely destroyed, and you +came upon its quaint appearance in the dissimilar world in which it was +placed, as you might in some festival of romantic costume upon a person +habited in the courtly dress of the last century. It was formed upon a +gentle southern slope, with turfen terraces walled in on three sides, +the fourth consisting of arches of golden yew. The duke had given this +garden to Lady Corisande, in order that she might practise her theory, +that flower-gardens should be sweet and luxuriant, and not hard and +scentless imitations of works of art. Here, in their season, flourished +abundantly all those productions of Nature which are now banished from +our once delighted senses; huge bushes of honey-suckle, and bowers of +sweet-pea and sweet-brier, and jessamine clustering over the walls, and +gillyflowers scenting with their sweet breath the ancient bricks from +which they seemed to spring. There were banks of violets which the +southern breeze always stirred, and mignonette filled every vacant nook. +As they entered now, it seemed a blaze of roses and carnations, though +one recognized in a moment the presence of the lily, the heliotrope, and +the stock. Some white peacocks were basking on the southern wall, and +one of them, as their visitors entered, moved and displayed its plumage +with scornful pride. The bees were busy in the air, but their homes +were near, and you might watch them laboring in their glassy hives. + +"Now, is not Corisande quite right?" said Lord St. Aldegonde, as he +presented Madame Phoebus with a garland of woodbine, with which she said +she would dress her head at dinner. All agreed with him, and Bertram +and Euphrosyne adorned each other with carnations, and Mr. Phoebus placed +a flower on the uncovered head of Lady St. Aldegonde, according to the +principles of high art, and they sauntered and rambled in the sweet and +sunny air amid a blaze of butterflies and the ceaseless hum of bees. + +Bertram and Euphrosyne had disappeared; and the rest were lingering +about the hives while Mr. Phoebus gave them a lecture on the apiary and +its marvellous life. The bees understood Mr. Phoebus, at least he said +so, and thus his friends had considerable advantage in this lesson in +entomology. Lady Corisande and Lothair were in a distant comer of the +garden, and she was explaining to him her plans; what she had done and +what she meant to do. + +"I wish I had a garden like this at Muriel," said Lothair. + +"You could easily make one." + +"If you helped me." + +"I have told you all my plans," said Lady Corisande. + +"Yes; but I was thinking of something else when you spoke," said +Lothair. + +"That was not very complimentary." + +"I do not wish to be complimentary," said Lothair, "if compliments mean +less than they declare. I was not thinking of your garden, but of you." + +"Where can they have all gone?" said Lady Corisande, looking round. "We +must find them." + +"And leave this garden?" said Lothair. "And I without a flower, the +only one without a flower? I am afraid that is significant of my lot." + +"You shall choose a rose," said Lady Corisande. + +"Nay; the charm is, that it should be your choice." + +But choosing the rose lost more times and, when Corisande and Lothair +reached the arches of golden yew, there were no friends in sight. + +"I think I hear sounds this way," said Lothair, and he led his companion +farther from home. + +"I see no one," said Lady Corisande, distressed, and when they had +advanced a little way. + +"We are sure to find them in good time," said Lothair. "Besides, I +wanted to speak to you about the garden at Muriel. I wanted to induce +you to go there and help me to make it. Yes," he added, after some +hesitation, "on this spot -- I believe on this very spot -- I asked the +permission of your mother two years ago to express to you my love. She +thought me a boy, and she treated me as a boy. She said I knew nothing +of the world, and both our characters were unformed. I know the world +now. I have committed many mistakes, doubtless many follies -- have +formed many opinions, and have changed many opinions; but to one I have +been constant, in one I am unchanged -- and that is my adoring love to +you." + +She turned pale, she stopped, then, gently taking his arm, she hid her +face in his breast. + +He soothed and sustained her agitated frame, and sealed with an embrace +her speechless form. Then, with soft thoughts and softer words, +clinging to him, he induced her to resume their stroll, which both of +them now wished might assuredly be undisturbed. They had arrived at the +limit of the pleasure-grounds, and they wandered into the park and its +most sequestered parts. All this time Lothair spoke much, and gave her +the history of his life since he first visited her home. Lady Corisande +said little, but, when she was more composed, she told him that from the +first her heart had been his, but every thing seemed to go against her +hopes. Perhaps at last, to please her parents, she would have married +the Duke of Brecon, had not Lothair returned; and what he had said to +her that morning at Crecy House had decided her resolution, whatever +might be her lot; to unite it to no one else but him. But then came the +adventure of the crucifix, and she thought all was over for her, and she +quitted town in despair. + +"Let us rest here for a while;" said Lothair, "under the shade of this +oak;" and Lady Corisande reclined against its mighty trunk, and Lothair +threw himself at her feet. He had a great deal still to tell her, and, +among other things, the story of the pearls, which he had wished to give +to Theodora. + +"She was, after all, your good genius," said Lady Corisande. "I always +liked her." + +"Well, now," said Lothair, "that case has never been opened. The year +has elapsed, but I would not open it, for I had always a wild wish that +the person who opened it should be yourself. See, here it is." And +he gave her the case. + +"We will not break the seal," said Corisande. "Let us respect it for +her sake -- ROMA!" she said, examining it; and then they opened the +case. There was the slip of paper which Theodora, at the time, had +placed upon the pearls, and on which she had written some unseen words. +They were read now, and ran thus: + +"THE OFFERING OF THEODORA TO LOTHAIR'S BRIDE." + +"Let me place them on you now," said Lothair. + +"I will wear them as your chains," said Corisande. + +The sun began to tell them that some hours had elapsed since they +quitted Brentham House. At last a soft hand, which Lothair retained, +gave him a slight pressure, and a sweet voice whispered: "Dearest, I +think we ought to return." + +And they returned almost in silence. They rather calculated that, +taking advantage of the luncheon-hour, Corisande might escape to her +room, but they were a little too late. Luncheon was over, and they met +the duchess and a large party on the terrace. + +"What has become of you, my good people?" said her grace; "bells have +been ringing for you in every direction. Where can you have been?" + +"I have been in Corisande's garden," said Lothair, "and she has given me +a rose." + + + + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK, LOTHAIR *** + +This file should be named lotha10.txt or lotha10.zip +Corrected EDITIONS of our eBooks get a new NUMBER, lotha11.txt +VERSIONS based on separate sources get new LETTER, lotha10a.txt + +Project Gutenberg eBooks are often created from several printed +editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the US +unless a copyright notice is included. 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