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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Endymion, by Benjamin Disraeli
+
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+Title: Endymion
+
+Author: Benjamin Disraeli
+
+Release Date: April, 2005  [EBook #7926]
+[This file was first posted on May 31, 2003]
+
+Edition: 10
+
+Language: English
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+Character set encoding: US-ASCII
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+*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK, ENDYMION ***
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+Etext prepared by John Bickers <jbickers@ihug.co.nz> and Dagny
+<dagnypg@yahoo.com>
+
+
+
+                               ENDYMION
+
+                                  by
+
+                           BENJAMIN DISRAELI
+
+                       EARL OF BEACONSFIELD, K.G.
+
+
+
+
+                         First Published 1880
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+                              CHAPTER I
+
+It was a rich, warm night, at the beginning of August, when a
+gentleman enveloped in a cloak, for he was in evening dress, emerged
+from a club-house at the top of St. James' Street, and descended that
+celebrated eminence. He had not proceeded more than half way down the
+street when, encountering a friend, he stopped with some abruptness.
+
+"I have been looking for you everywhere," he said.
+
+"What is it?"
+
+"We can hardly talk about it here."
+
+"Shall we go to White's?"
+
+"I have just left it, and, between ourselves, I would rather we should
+be more alone. 'Tis as warm as noon. Let us cross the street and get
+into St. James' Place. That is always my idea of solitude."
+
+So they crossed the street, and, at the corner of St. James' Place,
+met several gentlemen who had just come out of Brookes' Club-house.
+These saluted the companions as they passed, and said, "Capital
+account from Chiswick--Lord Howard says the chief will be in Downing
+Street on Monday."
+
+"It is of Chiswick that I am going to speak to you," said the
+gentleman in the cloak, putting his arm in that of his companion as
+they walked on. "What I am about to tell you is known only to three
+persons, and is the most sacred of secrets. Nothing but our friendship
+could authorise me to impart it to you."
+
+"I hope it is something to your advantage," said his companion.
+
+"Nothing of that sort; it is of yourself that I am thinking. Since our
+political estrangement, I have never had a contented moment. From
+Christ Church, until that unhappy paralytic stroke, which broke up a
+government that had lasted fifteen years, and might have continued
+fifteen more, we seemed always to have been working together. That we
+should again unite is my dearest wish. A crisis is at hand. I want you
+to use it to your advantage. Know then, that what they were just
+saying about Chiswick is moonshine. His case is hopeless, and it has
+been communicated to the King."
+
+"Hopeless!"
+
+"Rely upon it; it came direct from the Cottage to my friend."
+
+"I thought he had a mission?" said his companion, with emotion; "and
+men with missions do not disappear till they have fulfilled them."
+
+"But why did you think so? How often have I asked you for your grounds
+for such a conviction! There are none. The man of the age is clearly
+the Duke, the saviour of Europe, in the perfection of manhood, and
+with an iron constitution."
+
+"The salvation of Europe is the affair of a past generation," said his
+companion. "We want something else now. The salvation of England
+should be the subject rather of our present thoughts."
+
+"England! why when were things more sound? Except the split among our
+own men, which will be now cured, there is not a cause of
+disquietude."
+
+"I have much," said his friend.
+
+"You never used to have any, Sidney. What extraordinary revelations
+can have been made to you during three months of office under a semi-
+Whig Ministry?"
+
+"Your taunt is fair, though it pains me. And I confess to you that
+when I resolved to follow Canning and join his new allies, I had many
+a twinge. I was bred in the Tory camp; the Tories put me in Parliament
+and gave me office; I lived with them and liked them; we dined and
+voted together, and together pasquinaded our opponents. And yet, after
+Castlereagh's death, to whom like yourself I was much attached, I had
+great misgivings as to the position of our party, and the future of
+the country. I tried to drive them from my mind, and at last took
+refuge in Canning, who seemed just the man appointed for an age of
+transition."
+
+"But a transition to what?"
+
+"Well, his foreign policy was Liberal."
+
+"The same as the Duke's; the same as poor dear Castlereagh's. Nothing
+more unjust than the affected belief that there was any difference
+between them--a ruse of the Whigs to foster discord in our ranks. And
+as for domestic affairs, no one is stouter against Parliamentary
+Reform, while he is for the Church and no surrender, though he may
+make a harmless speech now and then, as many of us do, in favour of
+the Catholic claims."
+
+"Well, we will not now pursue this old controversy, my dear Ferrars,
+particularly if it be true, as you say, that Mr. Canning now lies upon
+his deathbed."
+
+"If! I tell you at this very moment it may be all over."
+
+"I am shaken to my very centre."
+
+"It is doubtless a great blow to you," rejoined Mr. Ferrars, "and I
+wish to alleviate it. That is why I was looking for you. The King
+will, of course, send for the Duke, but I can tell you there will be a
+disposition to draw back our friends that left us, at least the
+younger ones of promise. If you are awake, there is no reason why you
+should not retain your office."
+
+"I am not so sure the King will send for the Duke."
+
+"It is certain."
+
+"Well," said his companion musingly, "it may be fancy, but I cannot
+resist the feeling that this country, and the world generally, are on
+the eve of a great change--and I do not think the Duke is the man for
+the epoch."
+
+"I see no reason why there should be any great change; certainly not
+in this country," said Mr. Ferrars. "Here we have changed everything
+that was required. Peel has settled the criminal law, and Huskisson
+the currency, and though I am prepared myself still further to reduce
+the duties on foreign imports, no one can deny that on this subject
+the Government is in advance of public opinion."
+
+"The whole affair rests on too contracted a basis," said his
+companion. "We are habituated to its exclusiveness, and, no doubt,
+custom in England is a power; but let some event suddenly occur which
+makes a nation feel or think, and the whole thing might vanish like a
+dream."
+
+"What can happen? Such affairs as the Luddites do not occur twice in a
+century, and as for Spafields riots, they are impossible now with
+Peel's new police. The country is employed and prosperous, and were it
+not so, the landed interest would always keep things straight."
+
+"It is powerful, and has been powerful for a long time; but there are
+other interests besides the landed interest now."
+
+"Well, there is the colonial interest, and the shipping interest,"
+said Mr. Ferrars, "and both of them thoroughly with us."
+
+"I was not thinking of them," said his companion. "It is the increase
+of population, and of a population not employed in the cultivation of
+the soil, and all the consequences of such circumstances that were
+passing over my mind."
+
+"Don't you be too doctrinaire, my dear Sidney; you and I are practical
+men. We must deal with the existing, the urgent; and there is nothing
+more pressing at this moment than the formation of a new government.
+What I want is to see you as a member of it."
+
+"Ah!" said his companion with a sigh, "do you really think it so near
+as that?"
+
+"Why, what have we been talking of all this time, my dear Sidney?
+Clear your head of all doubt, and, if possible, of all regrets; we
+must deal with the facts, and we must deal with them to-morrow."
+
+"I still think he had a mission," said Sidney with a sigh, "if it were
+only to bring hope to a people."
+
+"Well, I do not see he could have done anything more," said Mr.
+Ferrars, "nor do I believe his government would have lasted during the
+session. However, I must now say good-night, for I must look in at the
+Square. Think well of what I have said, and let me hear from you as
+soon as you can."
+
+
+
+                              CHAPTER II
+
+Zenobia was the queen of London, of fashion, and of the Tory party.
+When she was not holding high festivals, or attending them, she was
+always at home to her intimates, and as she deigned but rarely to
+honour the assemblies of others with her presence, she was generally
+at her evening post to receive the initiated. To be her invited guest
+under such circumstances proved at once that you had entered the
+highest circle of the social Paradise.
+
+Zenobia was leaning back on a brilliant sofa, supported by many
+cushions, and a great personage, grey-headed and blue-ribboned, who
+was permitted to share the honours of the high place, was hanging on
+her animated and inspiring accents. An ambassador, in an armed chair
+which he had placed somewhat before her, while he listened with
+apparent devotion to the oracle, now and then interposed a remark,
+polished and occasionally cynical. More remote, some dames of high
+degree were surrounded by a chosen band of rank and fashion and
+celebrity; and now and then was heard a silver laugh, and now and then
+was breathed a gentle sigh. Servants glided about the suite of summer
+chambers, occasionally with sherbets and ices, and sometimes a lady
+entered and saluted Zenobia, and then retreated to the general group,
+and sometimes a gentleman entered, and pressed the hand of Zenobia to
+his lips, and then vanished into air.
+
+"What I want you to see," said Zenobia, "is that reaction is the law
+of life, and that we are on the eve of a great reaction. Since Lord
+Castlereagh's death we have had five years of revolution--nothing but
+change, and every change has been disastrous. Abroad we are in league
+with all the conspirators of the Continent, and if there were a
+general war we should not have an ally; at home our trade, I am told,
+is quite ruined, and we are deluged with foreign articles; while,
+thanks to Mr. Huskisson, the country banks, which enabled Mr. Pitt to
+carry on the war and saved England, are all broken. There was one
+thing, of which I thought we should always be proud, and that was our
+laws and their administration; but now our most sacred enactments are
+questioned, and people are told to call out for the reform of our
+courts of judicature, which used to be the glory of the land. This
+cannot last. I see, indeed, many signs of national disgust; people
+would have borne a great deal from poor Lord Liverpool--for they knew
+he was a good man, though I always thought a weak one; but when it was
+found that his boasted Liberalism only meant letting the Whigs into
+office--who, if they had always been in office, would have made us the
+slaves of Bonaparte--their eyes were opened. Depend upon it, the
+reaction has commenced."
+
+"We shall have some trouble with France," said the ambassador, "unless
+there is a change here."
+
+"The Church is weary of the present men," said the great personage.
+"No one really knows what they are after."
+
+"And how can the country be governed without the Church?" exclaimed
+Zenobia. "If the country once thinks the Church is in danger, the
+affair will soon be finished. The King ought to be told what is going
+on."
+
+"Nothing is going on," said the ambassador; "but everybody is afraid
+of something."
+
+"The King's friends should impress upon him never to lose sight of the
+landed interest," said the great personage.
+
+"How can any government go on without the support of the Church and
+the land?" exclaimed Zenobia. "It is quite unnatural."
+
+"That is the mystery," remarked the ambassador. "Here is a government,
+supported by none of the influences hitherto deemed indispensable, and
+yet it exists."
+
+"The newspapers support it," said the great personage, "and the
+Dissenters, who are trying to bring themselves into notice, and who
+are said to have some influence in the northern counties, and the
+Whigs, who are in a hole, are willing to seize the hand of the
+ministry to help them out of it; and then there is always a number of
+people who will support any government--and so the thing works."
+
+"They have got a new name for this hybrid sentiment," said the
+ambassador. "They call it public opinion."
+
+"How very absurd!" said Zenobia; "a mere nickname. As if there could
+be any opinion but that of the Sovereign and the two Houses of
+Parliament."
+
+"They are trying to introduce here the continental Liberalism," said
+the great personage. "Now we know what Liberalism means on the
+continent. It means the abolition of property and religion. Those
+ideas would not suit this country; and I often puzzle myself to
+foresee how they will attempt to apply Liberal opinions here."
+
+"I shall always think," said Zenobia, "that Lord Liverpool went much
+too far, though I never said so in his time; for I always uphold my
+friends."
+
+"Well, we shall see what Canning will do about the Test and
+Corporation Acts," said the great personage. "I understand they mean
+to push him."
+
+"By the by, how is he really?" said the ambassador. "What are the
+accounts this afternoon?"
+
+"Here is a gentleman who will tell us," said Zenobia, as Mr. Ferrars
+entered and saluted her.
+
+"And what is your news from Chiswick?" she inquired.
+
+"They say at Brookes', that he will be at Downing Street on Monday."
+
+"I doubt it," said Zenobia, but with an expression of disappointment.
+
+Zenobia invited Mr. Ferrars to join her immediate circle. The great
+personage and the ambassador were confidentially affable to one whom
+Zenobia so distinguished. Their conversation was in hushed tones, as
+become the initiated. Even Zenobia seemed subdued, and listened; and
+to listen, among her many talents, was perhaps her rarest. Mr. Ferrars
+was one of her favourites, and Zenobia liked young men who she thought
+would become Ministers of State.
+
+An Hungarian Princess who had quitted the opera early that she might
+look in at Zenobia's was now announced. The arrival of this great lady
+made a stir. Zenobia embraced her, and the great personage with
+affectionate homage yielded to her instantly the place of honour, and
+then soon retreated to the laughing voices in the distance that had
+already more than once attracted and charmed his ear.
+
+"Mind; I see you to-morrow," said Zenobia to Mr. Ferrars as he also
+withdrew. "I shall have something to tell you."
+
+
+
+                             CHAPTER III
+
+The father of Mr. Ferrars had the reputation of being the son of a
+once somewhat celebrated statesman, but the only patrimony he
+inherited from his presumed parent was a clerkship in the Treasury,
+where he found himself drudging at an early age. Nature had endowed
+him with considerable abilities, and peculiarly adapted to the scene
+of their display. It was difficult to decide which was most
+remarkable, his shrewdness or his capacity of labour. His quickness of
+perception and mastery of details made him in a few years an authority
+in the office, and a Secretary of the Treasury, who was quite ignorant
+of details, but who was a good judge of human character, had the sense
+to appoint Ferrars his private secretary. This happy preferment in
+time opened the whole official world to one not only singularly
+qualified for that kind of life, but who possessed the peculiar gifts
+that were then commencing to be much in demand in those circles. We
+were then entering that era of commercial and financial reform which
+had been, if not absolutely occasioned, certainly precipitated, by the
+revolt of our colonies. Knowledge of finance and acquaintance with
+tariffs were then rare gifts, and before five years of his private
+secretaryship had expired, Ferrars was mentioned to Mr. Pitt as the
+man at the Treasury who could do something that the great minister
+required. This decided his lot. Mr. Pitt found in Ferrars the
+instrument he wanted, and appreciating all his qualities placed him in
+a position which afforded them full play. The minister returned
+Ferrars to Parliament, for the Treasury then had boroughs of its own,
+and the new member was preferred to an important and laborious post.
+So long as Pitt and Grenville were in the ascendant, Mr. Ferrars
+toiled and flourished. He was exactly the man they liked; unwearied,
+vigilant, clear and cold; with a dash of natural sarcasm developed by
+a sharp and varied experience. He disappeared from the active world in
+the latter years of the Liverpool reign, when a newer generation and
+more bustling ideas successfully asserted their claims; but he retired
+with the solace of a sinecure, a pension, and a privy-councillorship.
+The Cabinet he had never entered, nor dared to hope to enter. It was
+the privilege of an inner circle even in our then contracted public
+life. It was the dream of Ferrars to revenge in this respect his fate
+in the person of his son, and only child. He was resolved that his
+offspring should enjoy all those advantages of education and breeding
+and society of which he himself had been deprived. For him was to be
+reserved a full initiation in those costly ceremonies which, under the
+names of Eton and Christ Church, in his time fascinated and dazzled
+mankind. His son, William Pitt Ferrars, realised even more than his
+father's hopes. Extremely good-looking, he was gifted with a precocity
+of talent. He was the marvel of Eton and the hope of Oxford. As a boy,
+his Latin verses threw enraptured tutors into paroxysms of praise,
+while debating societies hailed with acclamation clearly another
+heaven-born minister. He went up to Oxford about the time that the
+examinations were reformed and rendered really efficient. This only
+increased his renown, for the name of Ferrars figured among the
+earliest double-firsts. Those were days when a crack university
+reputation often opened the doors of the House of Commons to a young
+aspirant; at least, after a season. But Ferrars had not to wait. His
+father, who watched his career with the passionate interest with which
+a Newmarket man watches the development of some gifted yearling, took
+care that all the odds should be in his favour in the race of life. An
+old colleague of the elder Mr. Ferrars, a worthy peer with many
+boroughs, placed a seat at the disposal of the youthful hero, the
+moment he was prepared to accept it, and he might be said to have left
+the University only to enter the House of Commons.
+
+There, if his career had not yet realised the dreams of his youthful
+admirers, it had at least been one of progress and unbroken
+prosperity. His first speech was successful, though florid, but it was
+on foreign affairs, which permit rhetoric, and in those days demanded
+at least one Virgilian quotation. In this latter branch of oratorical
+adornment Ferrars was never deficient. No young man of that time, and
+scarcely any old one, ventured to address Mr. Speaker without being
+equipped with a Latin passage. Ferrars, in this respect, was triply
+armed. Indeed, when he entered public life, full of hope and promise,
+though disciplined to a certain extent by his mathematical training,
+he had read very little more than some Latin writers, some Greek
+plays, and some treatises of Aristotle. These with a due course of
+Bampton Lectures and some dipping into the "Quarterly Review," then in
+its prime, qualified a man in those days, not only for being a member
+of Parliament, but becoming a candidate for the responsibility of
+statesmanship. Ferrars made his way; for two years he was occasionally
+asked by the minister to speak, and then Lord Castlereagh, who liked
+young men, made him a Lord of the Treasury. He was Under-Secretary of
+State, and "very rising," when the death of Lord Liverpool brought
+about the severance of the Tory party, and Mr. Ferrars, mainly under
+the advice of zealots, resigned his office when Mr. Canning was
+appointed Minister, and cast in his lot with the great destiny of the
+Duke of Wellington.
+
+The elder Ferrars had the reputation of being wealthy. It was supposed
+that he had enjoyed opportunities of making money, and had availed
+himself of them, but this was not true. Though a cynic, and with
+little respect for his fellow-creatures, Ferrars had a pride in
+official purity, and when the Government was charged with venality and
+corruption, he would observe, with a dry chuckle, that he had seen a
+great deal of life, and that for his part he would not much trust any
+man out of Downing Street. He had been unable to resist the temptation
+of connecting his life with that of an individual of birth and rank;
+and in a weak moment, perhaps his only one, he had given his son a
+stepmother in a still good-looking and very expensive Viscountess-
+Dowager.
+
+Mr. Ferrars was anxious that his son should make a great alliance, but
+he was so distracted between prudential considerations and his desire
+that in the veins of his grand-children there should flow blood of
+undoubted nobility, that he could never bring to his purpose that
+clear and concentrated will which was one of the causes of his success
+in life; and, in the midst of his perplexities, his son unexpectedly
+settled the question himself. Though naturally cold and calculating,
+William Ferrars, like most of us, had a vein of romance in his being,
+and it asserted itself. There was a Miss Carey, who suddenly became
+the beauty of the season. She was an orphan, and reputed to be no
+inconsiderable heiress, and was introduced to the world by an aunt who
+was a duchess, and who meant that her niece should be the same.
+Everybody talked about them, and they went everywhere--among other
+places to the House of Commons, where Miss Carey, spying the senators
+from the old ventilator in the ceiling of St. Stephen's Chapel,
+dropped in her excitement her opera-glass, which fell at the feet of
+Mr. Under-Secretary Ferrars. He hastened to restore it to its
+beautiful owner, whom he found accompanied by several of his friends,
+and he was not only thanked, but invited to remain with them; and the
+next day he called, and he called very often afterwards, and many
+other things happened, and at the end of July the beauty of the season
+was married not to a Duke, but to a rising man, who Zenobia, who at
+first disapproved of the match--for Zenobia never liked her male
+friends to marry--was sure would one day be Prime Minister of England.
+
+Mrs. Ferrars was of the same opinion as Zenobia, for she was
+ambitious, and the dream was captivating. And Mrs. Ferrars soon gained
+Zenobia's good graces, for she had many charms, and, though haughty to
+the multitude, was a first-rate flatterer. Zenobia liked flattery, and
+always said she did. Mr. Under-Secretary Ferrars took a mansion in
+Hill Street, and furnished it with befitting splendour. His dinners
+were celebrated, and Mrs. Ferrars gave suppers after the opera. The
+equipages of Mrs. Ferrars were distinguished, and they had a large
+retinue of servants. They had only two children, and they were twins,
+a brother and a sister, who were brought up like the children of
+princes. Partly for them, and partly because a minister should have a
+Tusculum, the Ferrars soon engaged a magnificent villa at Wimbledon,
+which had the advantage of admirable stables, convenient, as Mrs.
+Ferrars was fond of horses, and liked the children too, with their
+fancy ponies, to be early accustomed to riding. All this occasioned
+expenditure, but old Mr. Ferrars made his son a liberal allowance, and
+young Mrs. Ferrars was an heiress, or the world thought so, which is
+nearly the same, and then, too, young Mr. Ferrars was a rising man, in
+office, and who would always be in office for the rest of his life; at
+least, Zenobia said so, because he was on the right side and the Whigs
+were nowhere, and never would be anywhere, which was quite right, as
+they had wished to make us the slaves of Bonaparte.
+
+When the King, after much hesitation, send for Mr. Canning, on the
+resignation of Lord Liverpool, the Zenobian theory seemed a little at
+fault, and William Ferrars absolutely out of office had more than one
+misgiving; but after some months of doubt and anxiety, it seemed after
+all the great lady was right. The unexpected disappearance of Mr.
+Canning from the scene, followed by the transient and embarrassed
+phantom of Lord Goderich, seemed to indicate an inexorable destiny
+that England should be ruled by the most eminent men of the age, and
+the most illustrious of her citizens. William Ferrars, under the
+inspiration of Zenobia, had thrown in his fortunes with the Duke, and
+after nine months of disquietude found his due reward. In the January
+that succeeded the August conversation in St. James' Street with
+Sidney Wilton, William Ferrars was sworn of the Privy Council, and
+held high office, on the verge of the Cabinet.
+
+Mr. Ferrars had a dinner party in Hill Street on the day he had
+returned from Windsor with the seals of his new office. The
+catastrophe of the Goderich Cabinet, almost on the eve of the meeting
+of Parliament, had been so sudden, that, not anticipating such a state
+of affairs, Ferrars, among his other guests, had invited Sidney
+Wilton. He was rather regretting this when, as his carriage stopped at
+his own door, he observed that very gentleman on his threshold.
+
+Wilton greeted him warmly, and congratulated him on his promotion. "I
+do so at once," he added, "because I shall not have the opportunity
+this evening. I was calling here in the hope of seeing Mrs. Ferrars,
+and asking her to excuse me from being your guest to-day."
+
+"Well, it is rather awkward," said Ferrars, "but I could have no idea
+of this when you were so kind as to say you would come."
+
+"Oh, nothing of that sort," said Sidney. "I am out and you are in, and
+I hope you may be in for a long, long time. I dare say it may be so,
+and the Duke is the man of the age, as you always said he was. I hope
+your being in office is not to deprive me of your pleasant dinners; it
+would be too bad to lose my place both at Whitehall and in Hill
+Street."
+
+"I trust that will never happen, my dear fellow; but to-day I thought
+it might be embarrassing."
+
+"Not at all; I could endure without wincing even the triumphant
+glances of Zenobia. The fact is, I have some business of the most
+pressing nature which has suddenly arisen, and which demands my
+immediate attention."
+
+Ferrars expressed his regret, though in fact he was greatly relieved,
+and they parted.
+
+Zenobia did dine with the William Ferrars to-day, and her handsome
+husband came with her, a knight of the garter, and just appointed to a
+high office in the household by the new government. Even the
+excitement of the hour did not disturb his indigenous repose. It was a
+dignified serenity, quite natural, and quite compatible with easy and
+even cordial manners, and an address always considerate even when not
+sympathetic. He was not a loud or a long talker, but his terse remarks
+were full of taste and a just appreciation of things. If they were
+sometimes trenchant, the blade was of fine temper. Old Mr. Ferrars was
+there and the Viscountess Edgware. His hair had become quite silvered,
+and his cheek rosy as a December apple. His hazel eyes twinkled with
+satisfaction as he remembered the family had now produced two privy
+councillors. Lord Pomeroy was there, the great lord who had returned
+William Ferrars to Parliament, a little man, quite, shy, rather
+insignificant in appearance, but who observed everybody and
+everything; a conscientious man, who was always doing good, in silence
+and secrecy, and denounced as a boroughmonger, had never sold a seat
+in his life, and was always looking out for able men of character to
+introduce them to public affairs. It was not a formal party, but had
+grown up in great degree out of the circumstances of the moment. There
+were more men than women, and all men in office or devoted supporters
+of the new ministry.
+
+Mrs. Ferrars, without being a regular beauty, had a voluptuous face
+and form. Her complexion was brilliant, with large and long-lashed
+eyes of blue. Her mouth was certainly too large, but the pouting
+richness of her lips and the splendour of her teeth baffled criticism.
+She was a woman who was always gorgeously or fantastically attired.
+
+"I never can understand," would sometimes observe Zenobia's husband to
+his brilliant spouse, "how affairs are carried on in this world. Now
+we have, my dear, fifty thousand per annum; and I do not see how
+Ferrars can have much more than five; and yet he lives much as we do,
+perhaps better. I know Gibson showed me a horse last week that I very
+much wanted, but I would not give him two hundred guineas for it. I
+called there to-day to look after it again, for it would have suited
+me exactly, but I was told I was too late, and it was sold to Mrs.
+Ferrars."
+
+"My dear, you know I do not understand money matters," Zenobia said in
+reply. "I never could; but you should remember that old Ferrars must
+be very rich, and that William Ferrars is the most rising man of the
+day, and is sure to be in the Cabinet before he is forty."
+
+Everybody had an appetite for dinner to-day, and the dinner was worthy
+of the appetites. Zenobia's husband declared to himself that he never
+dined so well, though he gave his /chef/ 500 pounds a year, and old
+Lord Pomeroy, who had not yet admitted French wines to his own table,
+seemed quite abashed with the number of his wine-glasses and their
+various colours, and, as he tasted one succulent dish after another,
+felt a proud satisfaction in having introduced to public life so
+distinguished a man as William Ferrars.
+
+With the dessert, not without some ceremony, were introduced the two
+most remarkable guests of the entertainment, and these were the twins;
+children of singular beauty, and dressed, if possible, more fancifully
+and brilliantly than their mamma. They resembled each other, and had
+the same brilliant complexion, rich chestnut hair, delicately arched
+brows, and dark blue eyes. Though only eight years of age, a most
+unchildlike self-possession distinguished them. The expression of
+their countenances was haughty, disdainful, and supercilious. Their
+beautiful features seemed quite unimpassioned, and they moved as if
+they expected everything to yield to them. The girl, whose long
+ringlets were braided with pearls, was ushered to a seat next to her
+father, and, like her brother, who was placed by Mrs. Ferrars, was
+soon engaged in negligently tasting delicacies, while she seemed
+apparently unconscious of any one being present, except when she
+replied to those who addressed her with a stare and a haughty
+monosyllable. The boy, in a black velvet jacket with large Spanish
+buttons of silver filagree, a shirt of lace, and a waistcoat of white
+satin, replied with reserve, but some condescension, to the good-
+natured but half-humorous inquiries of the husband of Zenobia.
+
+"And when do you go to school?" asked his lordship in a kind voice and
+with a laughing eye.
+
+"I shall go to Eton in two years," replied the child without the
+slightest emotion, and not withdrawing his attention from the grapes
+he was tasting, or even looking at his inquirer, "and then I shall go
+to Christ Church, and then I shall go into Parliament."
+
+"Myra," said an intimate of the family, a handsome private secretary
+of Mr. Ferrars, to the daughter of the house, as he supplied her plate
+with some choicest delicacies, "I hope you have not forgotten your
+engagement to me which you made at Wimbledon two years ago?"
+
+"What engagement?" she haughtily inquired.
+
+"To marry me."
+
+"I should not think of marrying any one who was not in the House of
+Lords," she replied, and she shot at him a glance of contempt.
+
+The ladies rose. As they were ascending the stairs, one of them said
+to Mrs. Ferrars, "Your son's name is very pretty, but it is very
+uncommon, is it not?"
+
+"'Tis a family name. The first Carey who bore it was a courtier of
+Charles the First, and we have never since been without it. William
+wanted our boy to be christened Pomeroy but I was always resolved, if
+I ever had a son, that he should be named ENDYMION."
+
+
+
+                              CHAPTER IV
+
+About the time that the ladies rose from the dinner-table in Hill
+Street, Mr. Sidney Wilton entered the hall of the Clarendon Hotel, and
+murmured an inquiry of the porter. Whereupon a bell was rung, and soon
+a foreign servant appeared, and bowing, invited Mr. Wilton to ascend
+the staircase and follow him. Mr. Wilton was ushered through an ante-
+chamber into a room of some importance, lofty and decorated, and
+obviously adapted for distinguished guests. On a principal table a
+desk was open and many papers strewn about. Apparently some person had
+only recently been writing there. There were in the room several
+musical instruments; the piano was open, there was a harp and a
+guitar. The room was rather dimly lighted, but cheerful from the
+steady blaze of the fire, before which Mr. Wilton stood, not long
+alone, for an opposite door opened, and a lady advanced leading with
+her left hand a youth of interesting mien, and about twelve years of
+age. The lady was fair and singularly thin. It seemed that her
+delicate hand must really be transparent. Her cheek was sunk, but the
+expression of her large brown eyes was inexpressibly pleasing. She
+wore her own hair, once the most celebrated in Europe, and still
+uncovered. Though the prodigal richness of the tresses had
+disappeared, the arrangement was still striking from its grace. That
+rare quality pervaded the being of this lady, and it was impossible
+not to be struck with her carriage as she advanced to greet her guest;
+free from all affectation and yet full of movement and gestures, which
+might have been the study of painters.
+
+"Ah!" she exclaimed as she gave him her hand, which he pressed to his
+lips, "you are ever faithful."
+
+Seating themselves, she continued, "You have not seen my boy since he
+sate upon your knee. Florestan, salute Mr. Wilton, your mother's most
+cherished friend."
+
+"This is a sudden arrival," said Mr. Wilton.
+
+"Well, they would not let us rest," said the lady. "Our only refuge
+was Switzerland, but I cannot breathe among the mountains, and so,
+after a while, we stole to an obscure corner of the south, and for a
+time we were tranquil. But soon the old story: representations,
+remonstrances, warnings, and threats, appeals to Vienna, and lectures
+from Prince Metternich, not the less impressive because they were
+courteous, and even gallant."
+
+"And had nothing occurred to give a colour to such complaints? Or was
+it sheer persecution?"
+
+"Well, you know," replied the lady, "we wished to remain quiet and
+obscure; but where the lad is, they will find him out. It often
+astonishes me. I believe if we were in the centre of a forest in some
+Indian isle, with no companions but monkeys and elephants, a secret
+agent would appear--some devoted victim of our family, prepared to
+restore our fortunes and renovate his own. I speak the truth to you
+always. I have never countenanced these people; I have never
+encouraged them; but it is impossible rudely to reject the sympathy of
+those who, after all, are your fellow-sufferers, and some of who have
+given proof of even disinterested devotion. For my own part, I have
+never faltered in my faith, that Florestan would some day sit on the
+throne of his father, dark as appears to be our life; but I have never
+much believed that the great result could be occasioned or
+precipitated by intrigues, but rather by events more powerful than
+man, and led on by that fatality in which his father believed."
+
+"And now you think of remaining here?" said Mr. Wilton.
+
+"No," said the lady, "that I cannot do. I love everything in this
+country except its climate and, perhaps, its hotels. I think of trying
+the south of Spain, and fancy, if quite alone, I might vegetate there
+unnoticed. I cannot bring myself altogether to quit Europe. I am, my
+dear Sidney, intensely European. But Spain is not exactly the country
+I should fix upon to form kings and statesmen. And this is the point
+on which I wish to consult you. I want Florestan to receive an English
+education, and I want you to put me in the way of accomplishing this.
+It might be convenient, under such circumstances, that he should not
+obtrude his birth--perhaps, that it should be concealed. He has many
+honourable names besides the one which indicates the state to which he
+was born. But, on all these points, we want your advice." And she
+seemed to appeal to her son, who bowed his head with a slight smile,
+but did not speak.
+
+Mr. Wilton expressed his deep interest in her wishes, and promised to
+consider how they might best be accomplished, and then the
+conversation took a more general tone.
+
+"This change of government in your country," said the lady, "so
+unexpected, so utterly unforeseen, disturbs me; in fact, it decided my
+hesitating movements. I cannot but believe that the accession of the
+Duke of Wellington to power must be bad, at least, for us. It is
+essentially reactionary. They are triumphing at Vienna."
+
+"Have they cause?" said Mr. Wilton. "I am an impartial witness, for I
+have no post in the new administration; but the leading colleagues of
+Mr. Canning form part of it, and the conduct of foreign affairs
+remains in the same hands."
+
+"That is consoling," said the lady. "I wonder if Lord Dudley would see
+me. Perhaps not. Ministers do not love pretenders. I knew him when I
+was not a pretender," added the lady, with the sweetest of smiles,
+"and thought him agreeable. He was witty. Ah! Sidney, those were happy
+days. I look back to the past with regret, but without remorse. One
+might have done more good, but one did some;" and she sighed.
+
+"You seemed to me," said Sidney with emotion, "to diffuse benefit and
+blessings among all around you."
+
+"And I read," said the lady, a little indignant, "in some memoirs the
+other day, that our court was a corrupt and dissolute court. It was a
+court of pleasure, if you like; but of pleasure that animated and
+refined, and put the world in good humour, which, after all, is good
+government. The most corrupt and dissolute courts on the continent of
+Europe that I have known," said the lady, "have been outwardly the
+dullest and most decorous."
+
+"My memory of those days," said Mr. Wilton, "is of ceaseless grace and
+inexhaustible charm."
+
+"Well," said the lady, "if I sinned I have at least suffered. And I
+hope they were only sins of omission. I wanted to see everybody happy,
+and tried to make them so. But let us talk no more of ourselves. The
+unfortunate are always egotistical. Tell me something of Mr. Wilton;
+and, above all, tell me why you are not in the new government."
+
+"I have not been invited," said Mr. Wilton. "There are more claimants
+than can be satisfied, and my claims are not very strong. It is
+scarcely a disappointment to me. I shall continue in public life; but,
+so far as political responsibility is concerned, I would rather wait.
+I have some fancies on that head, but I will not trouble you with
+them. My time, therefore, is at my command; and so," he added
+smilingly, "I can attend to the education of Prince Florestan."
+
+"Do you hear that, Florestan?" said the lady to her son; "I told you
+we had a friend. Thank Mr. Wilton."
+
+And the young Prince bowed as before, but with a more serious
+expression. He, however, said nothing.
+
+"I see you have not forgotten your most delightful pursuit," said Mr.
+Wilton, and he looked towards the musical instruments.
+
+"No," said the lady; "throned or discrowned, music has ever been the
+charm or consolation of my life."
+
+"Pleasure should follow business," said Mr. Wilton, "and we have
+transacted ours. Would it be too bold if I asked again to hear those
+tones which have so often enchanted me?"
+
+"My voice has not fallen off," said the lady, "for you know it was
+never first-rate. But they were kind enough to say it had some
+expression, probably because I generally sang my own words to my own
+music. I will sing you my farewell to Florestan," she added gaily, and
+took up her guitar, and then in tones of melancholy sweetness,
+breaking at last into a gushing burst of long-controlled affection,
+she expressed the agony and devotion of a mother's heart. Mr. Wilton
+was a little agitated; her son left the room. The mother turned round
+with a smiling face, and said, "The darling cannot bear to hear it,
+but I sing it on purpose, to prepare him for the inevitable."
+
+"He is soft-hearted," said Mr. Wilton.
+
+"He is the most affectionate of beings," replied the mother.
+"Affectionate and mysterious. I can say no more. I ought to tell you
+his character. I cannot. You may say he may have none. I do not know.
+He has abilities, for he acquires knowledge with facility, and knows a
+great deal for a boy. But he never gives an opinion. He is silent and
+solitary. Poor darling! he has rarely had companions, and that may be
+the cause. He seems to me always to be thinking."
+
+"Well, a public school will rouse him from his reveries," said Mr.
+Wilton.
+
+"As he is away at this moment, I will say that which I should not care
+to say before his face," said the lady. "You are about to do me a
+great service, not the first; and before I leave this, we may--we must
+--meet again more than once, but there is no time like the present.
+The separation between Florestan and myself may be final. It is sad to
+think of such things, but they must be thought of, for they are
+probable. I still look in a mirror, Sidney; I am not so frightened by
+what has occurred since we first met, to be afraid of that--but I
+never deceive myself. I do not know what may be the magical effect of
+the raisins of Malaga, but if it saves my life the grape cure will
+indeed achieve a miracle. Do not look gloomy. Those who have known
+real grief seldom seem sad. I have been struggling with sorrow for ten
+years, but I have got through it with music and singing, and my boy.
+See now--he will be a source of expense, and it will not do for you to
+be looking to a woman for supplies. Women are generous, but not
+precise in money matters. I have some excuse, for the world has
+treated me not very well. I never got my pension regularly; now I
+never get it at all. So much for the treaties, but everybody laughs at
+them. Here is the fortune of Florestan, and I wish it all to be spent
+on his education," and she took a case from her bosom. "They are not
+the crown jewels, though. The memoirs I was reading the other day say
+I ran away with them. That is false, like most things said of me. But
+these are gems of Golconda, which I wish you to realise and expend for
+his service. They were the gift of love, and they were worn in love."
+
+"It is unnecessary," said Mr. Wilton, deprecating the offer by his
+attitude.
+
+"Hush!" said the lady. "I am still a sovereign to you, and I must be
+obeyed."
+
+Mr. Wilton took the case of jewels, pressed it to his lips, and then
+placed it in the breast pocket of his coat. He was about to retire,
+when the lady added, "I must give you this copy of my song."
+
+"And you will write my name on it?"
+
+"Certainly," replied the lady, as she went to the table and wrote,
+"For Mr. Sidney Wilton, from AGRIPPINA."
+
+
+
+                              CHAPTER V
+
+In the meantime, power and prosperity clustered round the roof and
+family of Ferrars. He himself was in the prime of manhood, with an
+exalted position in the world of politics, and with a prospect of the
+highest. The Government of which he was a member was not only deemed
+strong, but eternal. The favour of the Court and the confidence of the
+country were alike lavished upon it. The government of the Duke could
+only be measured by his life, and his influence was irresistible. It
+was a dictatorship of patriotism. The country, long accustomed to a
+strong and undisturbed administration, and frightened by the changes
+and catastrophes which had followed the retirement of Lord Liverpool,
+took refuge in the powerful will and splendid reputation of a real
+hero.
+
+Mrs. Ferrars was as ambitious of social distinction as her husband was
+of political power. She was a woman of taste, but of luxurious taste.
+She had a passion for splendour, which, though ever regulated by a
+fine perception of the fitness of things, was still costly. Though her
+mien was in general haughty, she flattered Zenobia, and consummately.
+Zenobia, who liked handsome people, even handsome women, and persons
+who were dressed beautifully, was quite won by Mrs. Ferrars, against
+whom at first she was inclined to be a little prejudiced. There was an
+entire alliance between them, and though Mrs. Ferrars greatly
+influenced and almost ruled Zenobia, the wife of the minister was
+careful always to acknowledge the Queen of Fashion as her suzerain.
+
+The great world then, compared with the huge society of the present
+period, was limited in its proportions, and composed of elements more
+refined though far less various. It consisted mainly of the great
+landed aristocracy, who had quite absorbed the nabobs of India, and
+had nearly appropriated the huge West Indian fortunes. Occasionally,
+an eminent banker or merchant invested a large portion of his
+accumulations in land, and in the purchase of parliamentary influence,
+and was in time duly admitted into the sanctuary. But those vast and
+successful invasions of society by new classes which have since
+occurred, though impending, had not yet commenced. The manufacturers,
+the railway kings, the colossal contractors, the discoverers of
+nuggets, had not yet found their place in society and the senate.
+There were then, perhaps, more great houses open than at the present
+day, but there were very few little ones. The necessity of providing
+regular occasions for the assembling of the miscellaneous world of
+fashion led to the institution of Almack's, which died out in the
+advent of the new system of society, and in the fierce competition of
+its inexhaustible private entertainments.
+
+The season then was brilliant and sustained, but it was not flurried.
+People did not go to various parties on the same night. They remained
+where they were assembled, and, not being in a hurry, were more
+agreeable than they are at the present day. Conversation was more
+cultivated; manners, though unconstrained, were more stately; and the
+world, being limited, knew itself much better. On the other hand, the
+sympathies of society were more contracted than they are at present.
+The pressure of population had not opened the heart of man. The world
+attended to its poor in its country parishes, and subscribed and
+danced for the Spitalfields weavers when their normal distress had
+overflowed, but their knowledge of the people did not exceed these
+bounds, and the people knew very little more about themselves. They
+were only half born.
+
+The darkest hour precedes the dawn, and a period of unusual stillness
+often, perhaps usually, heralds the social convulsion. At this moment
+the general tranquillity and even content were remarkable. In politics
+the Whigs were quite prepared to extend to the Duke the same
+provisional confidence that had been accepted by Mr. Caning, and
+conciliation began to be an accepted phrase, which meant in practice
+some share on their part of the good things of the State. The country
+itself required nothing. There was a general impression, indeed, that
+they had been advancing at a rather rapid rate, and that it was as
+well that the reins should be entrusted to a wary driver. Zenobia, who
+represented society, was enraptured that the career of revolution had
+been stayed. She still mourned over the concession of the Manchester
+and Liverpool Railway in a moment of Liberal infatuation, but
+flattered herself that any extension of the railway system might
+certainly be arrested, and on this head the majority of society,
+perhaps even of the country, was certainly on her side.
+
+"I have some good news for you," said one of her young favourites as
+he attended her reception. "We have prevented this morning the
+lighting of Grosvenor Square by gas by a large majority."
+
+"I felt confident that disgrace would never occur," said Zenobia,
+triumphant. "And by a large majority! I wonder how Lord Pomeroy
+voted."
+
+"Against us."
+
+"How can one save this country?" exclaimed Zenobia. "I believe now the
+story that he has ordered Lady Pomeroy not to go to the Drawing Room
+in a sedan chair."
+
+One bright May morning in the spring that followed the formation of
+the government that was to last for ever, Mrs. Ferrars received the
+world at a fanciful entertainment in the beautiful grounds of her
+Wimbledon villa. The day was genial, the scene was flushed with roses
+and pink thorns, and brilliant groups, amid bursts of music, clustered
+and sauntered on the green turf of bowery lawns. Mrs. Ferrars, on a
+rustic throne, with the wondrous twins in still more wonderful attire,
+distributed alternate observations of sympathetic gaiety to a Russian
+Grand Duke and to the serene heir of a German principality. And yet
+there was really an expression on her countenance of restlessness, not
+to say anxiety, which ill accorded with the dulcet tones and the
+wreathed smiles which charmed her august companions. Zenobia, the
+great Zenobia, had not arrived, and the hours were advancing. The
+Grand Duke played with the beautiful and haughty infants, and the
+German Prince inquired of Endymion whether he were destined to be one
+of His Majesty's guards; but still Zenobia did not come, and Mrs.
+Ferrars could scarcely conceal her vexation. But there was no real
+occasion for it. For even at this moment, with avant-courier and
+outriders and badged postillions on her four horses of race, the
+lodge-gates were opening for the great lady, who herself appeared in
+the distance; and Mrs. Ferrars, accompanied by her distinguished
+guests, immediately rose and advanced to receive the Queen of Fashion.
+No one appreciated a royal presence more highly than Zenobia. It was
+her habit to impress upon her noble fellows of both sexes that there
+were relations of intimacy between herself and the royal houses of
+Europe, which were not shared by her class. She liked to play the part
+of a social mediator between the aristocracy and royal houses. A
+German Serenity was her delight, but a Russian Grand Duke was her
+embodiment of power and pomp, and sound principles in their most
+authentic and orthodox form. And yet though she addressed their
+highnesses with her usual courtly vivacity, and poured forth inquiries
+which seemed to indicate the most familiar acquaintance with the
+latest incidents from Schonbrunn or the Rhine, though she embraced her
+hostess, and even kissed the children, the practised eye of Mrs.
+Ferrars, whose life was a study of Zenobia, detected that her late
+appearance had been occasioned by an important cause, and, what was
+more, that Zenobia was anxious to communicate it to her. With feminine
+tact Mrs. Ferrars moved on with her guests until the occasion offered
+when she could present some great ladies to the princes; and then
+dismissing the children on appropriate missions, she was not surprised
+when Zenobia immediately exclaimed: "Thank heaven, we are at last
+alone! You must have been surprised I was so late. Well, guess what
+has happened?" and then as Mrs. Ferrars shook her head, she continued:
+"They are all four out!"
+
+"All four!"
+
+"Yes; Lord Dudley, Lord Palmerston, and Charles Grant follow
+Huskisson. I do not believe the first ever meant to go, but the Duke
+would not listen to his hypocritical explanations, and the rest have
+followed. I am surprised about Lord Dudley, as I know he loved his
+office."
+
+"I am alarmed," said Mrs. Ferrars.
+
+"Not the slightest cause for fear," exclaimed the intrepid Zenobia.
+"It must have happened sooner or later. I am delighted at it. We shall
+now have a cabinet of our own. They never would have rested till they
+had brought in some Whigs, and the country hates the Whigs. No wonder,
+when we remember that if they had had their way we should have been
+wearing sabots at this time, with a French prefect probably in Holland
+House."
+
+"And whom will they put in the cabinet?" inquired Mrs. Ferrars.
+
+"Our good friends, I hope," said Zenobia, with an inspiring smile;
+"but I have heard nothing about that yet. I am a little sorry about
+Lord Dudley, as I think they have drawn him into their mesh; but as
+for the other three, especially Huskisson and Lord Palmerston, I can
+tell you the Duke has never had a quiet moment since they joined him.
+We shall now begin to reign. The only mistake was ever to have
+admitted them. I think now we have got rid of Liberalism for ever."
+
+
+
+                              CHAPTER VI
+
+Mr. Ferrars did not become a cabinet minister, but this was a vexation
+rather than a disappointment, and transient. The unexpected vacancies
+were filled by unexpected personages. So great a change in the frame
+of the ministry, without any promotion for himself, was on the first
+impression not agreeable, but reflection and the sanguine wisdom of
+Zenobia soon convinced him that all was for the best, that the thought
+of such rapid preferment was unreasonable, and that time and the due
+season must inevitably bring all that he could desire, especially as
+any term to the duration of the ministry was not now to be foreseen:
+scarcely indeed possible. In short, it was shown to him that the Tory
+party, renovated and restored, had entered upon a new lease of
+authority, which would stamp its character on the remainder of the
+nineteenth century, as Mr. Pitt and his school had marked its earlier
+and memorable years.
+
+And yet this very reconstruction of the government necessarily led to
+an incident which, in its consequences, changed the whole character of
+English politics, and commenced a series of revolutions which has not
+yet closed.
+
+One of the new ministers who had been preferred to a place which Mr.
+Ferrars might have filled was an Irish gentleman, and a member for one
+of the most considerable counties in his country. He was a good
+speaker, and the government was deficient in debating power in the
+House of Commons; he was popular and influential.
+
+The return of a cabinet minister by a large constituency was more
+appreciated in the days of close boroughs than at present. There was a
+rumour that the new minister was to be opposed, but Zenobia laughed
+the rumour to scorn. As she irresistibly remarked at one of her
+evening gatherings, "Every landowner in the county is in his favour;
+therefore it is impossible." The statistics of Zenobia were quite
+correct, yet the result was different from what she anticipated. An
+Irish lawyer, a professional agitator, himself a Roman Catholic and
+therefore ineligible, announced himself as a candidate in opposition
+to the new minister, and on the day of election, thirty thousand
+peasants, setting at defiance all the landowners of the county,
+returned O'Connell at the head of the poll, and placed among not the
+least memorable of historical events--the Clare election.
+
+This event did not, however, occur until the end of the year 1828, for
+the state of the law then prevented the writ from being moved until
+that time, and during the whole of that year the Ferrars family had
+pursued a course of unflagging display. Courage, expenditure, and tact
+combined, had realised almost the height of that social ambition to
+which Mrs. Ferrars soared. Even in the limited and exclusive circle
+which then prevailed, she began to be counted among the great dames.
+As for the twins, they seemed quite worthy of their beautiful and
+luxurious mother. Proud, wilful, and selfish, they had one redeeming
+quality, an intense affection for each other. The sister seemed to
+have the commanding spirit, for Endymion was calm, but if he were
+ruled by his sister, she was ever willing to be his slave, and to
+sacrifice every consideration to his caprice and his convenience.
+
+The year 1829 was eventful, but to Ferrars more agitating than
+anxious. When it was first known that the head of the cabinet, whose
+colleague had been defeated at Clare, was himself about to propose the
+emancipation of the Roman Catholics, there was a thrill throughout the
+country; but after a time the success of the operation was not
+doubted, and was anticipated as a fresh proof of the irresistible
+fortunes of the heroic statesman. There was some popular discontent in
+the country at the proposal, but it was mainly organised and
+stimulated by the Dissenters, and that section of Churchmen who most
+resembled them. The High Church party, the descendants of the old
+connection which had rallied round Sacheverell, had subsided into
+formalism, and shrank from any very active co-operation with their
+evangelical brethren.
+
+The English Church had no competent leaders among the clergy. The
+spirit that has animated and disturbed our latter times seemed quite
+dead, and no one anticipated its resurrection. The bishops had been
+selected from college dons, men profoundly ignorant of the condition
+and the wants of the country. To have edited a Greek play with second-
+rate success, or to have been the tutor of some considerable
+patrician, was the qualification then deemed desirable and sufficient
+for an office, which at this day is at least reserved for eloquence
+and energy. The social influence of the episcopal bench was nothing. A
+prelate was rarely seen in the saloons of Zenobia. It is since the
+depths of religious thought have been probed, and the influence of
+woman in the spread and sustenance of religious feeling has again been
+recognised, that fascinating and fashionable prelates have become
+favoured guests in the refined saloons of the mighty, and, while
+apparently indulging in the vanities of the hour, have re-established
+the influence which in old days guided a Matilda or the mother of
+Constantine.
+
+The end of the year 1829, however, brought a private event of moment
+to the Ferrars family. The elder Mr. Ferrars died. The world observed
+at the time how deeply affected his son was at this event. The
+relations between father and son had always been commendable, but the
+world was hardly prepared for Mr. Ferrars, junior, being so entirely
+overwhelmed. It would seem that nothing but the duties of public life
+could have restored him to his friends, and even these duties he
+relinquished for an unusual time. The world was curious to know the
+amount of his inheritance, but the proof of the will was unusually
+delayed, and public events soon occurred which alike consigned the
+will and the will-maker to oblivion.
+
+
+
+                             CHAPTER VII
+
+The Duke of Wellington applied himself to the treatment of the
+critical circumstances of 1830 with that blended patience and
+quickness of perception to which he owed the success of so many
+campaigns. Quite conscious of the difficulties he had to encounter, he
+was nevertheless full of confidence in his ability to control them. It
+is probable that the paramount desire of the Duke in his effort to
+confirm his power was to rally and restore the ranks of the Tory
+party, disturbed rather than broken up by the passing of the Relief
+Bill. During the very heat of the struggle it was significantly
+observed that the head of the powerful family of Lowther, in the House
+of Commons, was never asked to resign his office, although he himself
+and his following voted invariably against the Government measure. The
+order the day was the utmost courtesy to the rebels, who were treated,
+as some alleged, with more consideration than the compliant. At the
+same time the desire of the Whigs to connect, perhaps even to merge
+themselves with the ministerial ranks, was not neglected. A Whig had
+been appointed to succeed the eccentric and too uncompromising
+Wetherell in the office of attorney-general, other posts had been
+placed at their disposal, and one even, an old companion in arms of
+the Duke, had entered the cabinet. The confidence in the Duke's star
+was not diminished, and under ordinary circumstances this balanced
+strategy would probably have been successful. But it was destined to
+cope with great and unexpected events.
+
+The first was the unexpected demise of the crown. The death of King
+George the Fourth at the end of the month of June, according to the
+then existing constitution, necessitated a dissolution of parliament,
+and so deprived the minister of that invaluable quality of time,
+necessary to soften and win back his estranged friends. Nevertheless,
+it is not improbable, that the Duke might still have succeeded, had it
+not been for the occurrence of the French insurrection of 1830, in the
+very heat of the preparations for the general election in England. The
+Whigs who found the Duke going to the country without that
+reconstruction of his ministry on which they had counted, saw their
+opportunity and seized it. The triumphant riots of Paris were
+dignified into "the three glorious days," and the three glorious days
+were universally recognised as the triumph of civil and religious
+liberty. The names of Polignac and Wellington were adroitly connected
+together, and the phrase Parliamentary Reform began to circulate.
+
+It was Zenobia's last reception for the season; on the morrow she was
+about to depart for her county, and canvass for her candidates. She
+was still undaunted, and never more inspiring. The excitement of the
+times was reflected in her manner. She addressed her arriving guests
+as they made their obeisance to her, asked for news and imparted it
+before she could be answered, declared that nothing had been more
+critical since '93, that there was only one man who was able to deal
+with the situation, and thanked Heaven that he was not only in
+England, but in her drawing-room.
+
+Ferrars, who had been dining with his patron, Lord Pomeroy, and had
+the satisfaction of feeling, that at any rate his return to the new
+parliament was certain, while helping himself to coffee could not
+refrain from saying in a low tone to a gentleman who was performing
+the same office, "Our Whig friends seem in high spirits, baron."
+
+The gentleman thus addressed was Baron Sergius, a man of middle age.
+His countenance was singularly intelligent, tempered with an
+expression mild and winning. He had attended the Congress of Vienna to
+represent a fallen party, a difficult and ungracious task, but he had
+shown such high qualities in the fulfilment of his painful duties--so
+much knowledge, so much self-control, and so much wise and unaffected
+conciliation--that he had won universal respect, and especially with
+the English plenipotentiaries, so that when he visited England, which
+he did frequently, the houses of both parties were open to him, and he
+was as intimate with the Whigs as he was with the great Duke, by whom
+he was highly esteemed.
+
+"As we have got our coffee, let us sit down," said the baron, and they
+withdrew to a settee against the wall.
+
+"You know I am a Liberal, and have always been a Liberal," said the
+baron; "I know the value of civil and religious liberty, for I was
+born in a country where we had neither, and where we have since
+enjoyed either very fitfully. Nothing can be much drearier than the
+present lot of my country, and it is probable that these doings at
+Paris may help my friends a little, and they may again hold up their
+heads for a time; but I have seen too much, and am too old, to indulge
+in dreams. You are a young man and will live to see what I can only
+predict. The world is thinking of something else than civil and
+religious liberty. Those are phrases of the eighteenth century. The
+men who have won these 'three glorious days' at Paris, want neither
+civilisation nor religion. They will not be content till they have
+destroyed both. It is possible that they may be parried for a time;
+that the adroit wisdom of the house of Orleans, guided by Talleyrand,
+may give this movement the resemblance, and even the character, of a
+middle-class revolution. It is no such thing; the barricades were not
+erected by the middle class. I know these people; it is a fraternity,
+not a nation. Europe is honeycombed with their secret societies. They
+are spread all over Spain. Italy is entirely mined. I know more of the
+southern than the northern nations; but I have been assured by one who
+should know that the brotherhood are organised throughout Germany and
+even in Russia. I have spoken to the Duke about these things. He is
+not indifferent, or altogether incredulous, but he is so essentially
+practical that he can only deal with what he sees. I have spoken to
+the Whig leaders. They tell me that there is only one specific, and
+that a complete one--constitutional government; that with
+representative institutions, secret societies cannot co-exist. I may
+be wrong, but it seems to me that with these secret societies
+representative institutions rather will disappear."
+
+
+
+                             CHAPTER VIII
+
+What unexpectedly took place in the southern part of England, and
+especially in the maritime counties, during the autumn of 1830, seemed
+rather to confirm the intimations of Baron Sergius. The people in the
+rural districts had become disaffected. Their discontent was generally
+attributed to the abuses of the Poor Law, and to the lowness of their
+wages. But the abuses of the Poor Law, though intolerable, were
+generally in favour of the labourer, and though wages in some parts
+were unquestionably low, it was observed that the tumultuous
+assemblies, ending frequently in riot, were held in districts where
+this cause did not prevail. The most fearful feature of the
+approaching anarchy was the frequent acts of incendiaries. The blazing
+homesteads baffled the feeble police and the helpless magistrates; and
+the government had reason to believe that foreign agents were actively
+promoting these mysterious crimes.
+
+Amid partial discontent and general dejection came the crash of the
+Wellington ministry, and it required all the inspiration of Zenobia to
+sustain William Ferrars under the trial. But she was undaunted and
+sanguine as a morning in spring. Nothing could persuade her that the
+Whigs could ever form a government, and she was quite sure that the
+clerks in the public offices alone could turn them out. When the Whig
+government was formed, and its terrible programme announced, she
+laughed it to scorn, and derided with inexhaustible merriment the idea
+of the House of Commons passing a Reform Bill. She held a great
+assembly the night that General Gascoyne defeated the first measure,
+and passed an evening of ecstasy in giving and receiving
+congratulations. The morrow brought a graver brow, but still an
+indomitable spirit, and through all these tempestuous times Zenobia
+never quailed, though mobs burnt the castles of dukes and the palaces
+of bishops.
+
+Serious as was the state of affairs to William Ferrars, his condition
+was not so desperate as that of some of his friends. His seat at least
+was safe in the new parliament that was to pass a Reform Bill. As for
+the Tories generally, they were swept off the board. Scarcely a
+constituency, in which was a popular element, was faithful to them.
+The counties in those days were the great expounders of popular
+principles, and whenever England was excited, which was rare, she
+spoke through her freeholders. In this instance almost every Tory
+knight of the shire lost his seat except Lord Chandos, the member for
+Buckinghamshire, who owed his success entirely to his personal
+popularity. "Never mind," said Zenobia, "what does it signify? The
+Lords will throw it out."
+
+And bravely and unceasingly she worked for this end. To assist this
+purpose it was necessary that a lengthened and powerful resistance to
+the measure should be made in the Commons; that the public mind should
+be impressed with its dangerous principles, and its promoters
+cheapened by the exposure of their corrupt arrangements and their
+inaccurate details. It must be confessed that these objects were
+resolutely kept in view, and that the Tory opposition evinced energy
+and abilities not unworthy of a great parliamentary occasion. Ferrars
+particularly distinguished himself. He rose immensely in the
+estimation of the House, and soon the public began to talk of him. His
+statistics about the condemned boroughs were astounding and
+unanswerable: he was the only man who seemed to know anything of the
+elements of the new ones. He was as eloquent too as exact,--sometimes
+as fervent as Burke, and always as accurate as Cocker.
+
+"I never thought it was in William Ferrars," said a member, musingly,
+to a companion as they walked home one night; "I always thought him a
+good man of business, and all that sort of thing--but, somehow or
+other, I did not think this was in him."
+
+"Well, he has a good deal at stake, and that brings it out of a
+fellow," said his friend.
+
+It was, however, pouring water upon sand. Any substantial resistance
+to the measure was from the first out of the question. Lord Chandos
+accomplished the only important feat, and that was the enfranchisement
+of the farmers. This perpetual struggle, however, occasioned a vast
+deal of excitement, and the actors in it often indulged in the wild
+credulity of impossible expectations. The saloon of Zenobia was ever
+thronged, and she was never more confident than when the bill passed
+the Commons. She knew that the King would never give his assent to the
+bill. His Majesty had had quite enough of going down in hackney
+coaches to carry revolutions. After all, he was the son of good King
+George, and the court would save the country, as it had often done
+before. "But it will not come to that," she added. "The Lords will do
+their duty."
+
+"But Lord Waverley tells me," said Ferrars, "that there are forty of
+them who were against the bill last year who will vote for the second
+reading."
+
+"Never mind Lord Waverley and such addlebrains," said Zenobia, with a
+smile of triumphant mystery. "So long as we have the court, the Duke,
+and Lord Lyndhurst on our side, we can afford to laugh at such
+conceited poltroons. His mother was my dearest friend, and I know he
+used to have fits. Look bright," she continued; "things never were
+better. Before a week has passed these people will be nowhere."
+
+"But how it is possible?"
+
+"Trust me."
+
+"I always do--and yet"----
+
+"You never were nearer being a cabinet minister," she said, with a
+radiant glance.
+
+And Zenobia was right. Though the government, with the aid of the
+waverers, carried the second reading of the bill, a week afterwards,
+on May 7, Lord Lyndhurst rallied the waverers again to his standard and
+carried his famous resolution, that the enfranchising clauses should
+precede the disenfranchisement in the great measure. Lord Grey and his
+colleagues resigned, and the King sent for Lord Lyndhurst. The bold
+chief baron advised His Majesty to consult the Duke of Wellington, and
+was himself the bearer of the King's message to Apsley House. The Duke
+found the King "in great distress," and he therefore did not hesitate
+in promising to endeavour to form a ministry.
+
+"Who was right?" said Zenobia to Mr. Ferrars. "He is so busy he could
+not write to you, but he told me to tell you to call at Apsley House
+at twelve to-morrow. You will be in the cabinet."
+
+"I have got it at last!" said Ferrars to himself. "It is worth living
+for and at any peril. All the cares of life sink into insignificance
+under such circumstances. The difficulties are great, but their very
+greatness will furnish the means of their solution. The Crown cannot
+be dragged in the mud, and the Duke was born for conquest."
+
+A day passed, and another day, and Ferrars was not again summoned. The
+affair seemed to hang fire. Zenobia was still brave, but Ferrars, who
+knew her thoroughly, could detect her lurking anxiety. Then she told
+him in confidence that Sir Robert made difficulties, "but there is
+nothing in it," she added. "The Duke has provided for everything, and
+he means Sir Robert to be Premier. He could not refuse that; it would
+be almost an act of treason." Two days after she sent for Mr. Ferrars,
+early in the morning, and received him in her boudoir. Her countenance
+was excited, but serious. "Don't be alarmed," she said; "nothing will
+prevent a government being formed, but Sir Robert has thrown us over;
+I never had confidence in him. It is most provoking, as Mr. Baring had
+joined us, and it was such a good name for the City. But the failure
+of one man is the opportunity of another. We want a leader in the
+House of Commons. He must be a man who can speak; of experience, who
+knows the House, its forms, and all that. There is only one man
+indicated. You cannot doubt about him. I told you honours would be
+tumbling on your head. You are the man; you are to have one of the
+highest offices in the cabinet, and lead the House of Commons."
+
+"Peel declines," said Ferrars, speaking slowly and shaking his head.
+"That is very serious."
+
+"For himself," said Zenobia, "not for you. It makes your fortune."
+
+"The difficulties seem too great to contend with."
+
+"What difficulties are there? You have got the court, and you have got
+the House of Lords. Mr. Pitt was not nearly so well off, for he had
+never been in office, and had at the same time to fight Lord North and
+that wicked Mr. Fox, the orator of the day, while you have only got
+Lord Althorp, who can't order his own dinner."
+
+"I am in amazement," said Ferrars, and he seemed plunged in thought.
+
+"But you do not hesitate?"
+
+"No," he said, looking up dreamily, for he had been lost in
+abstraction; and speaking in a measured and hollow voice, "I do not
+hesitate." Then resuming a brisk tone he said, "This is not an age for
+hesitation; if asked, I will do the deed."
+
+At this moment there was a tap at the door, and the groom of the
+chambers brought in a note for Mr. Ferrars, which had been forwarded
+from his own residence, and which requested his presence at Apsley
+House. Having read it, he gave it to Zenobia, who exclaimed with
+delight, "Do not lose a moment. I am so glad to have got rid of Sir
+Robert with his doubts and his difficulties. We want new blood."
+
+That was a wonderful walk for William Ferrars, from St. James' Square
+to Apsley House. As he moved along, he was testing his courage and
+capacity for the sharp trials that awaited him. He felt himself not
+unequal to conjectures in which he had never previously indulged even
+in imagination. His had been an ambitious, rather than a soaring
+spirit. He had never contemplated the possession of power except under
+the aegis of some commanding chief. Now it was for him to control
+senates and guide councils. He screwed himself up to the sticking-
+point. Desperation is sometimes as powerful an inspirer as genius.
+
+The great man was alone,--calm, easy, and courteous. He had sent for
+Mr. Ferrars, because having had one interview with him, in which his
+co-operation had been requested in the conduct of affairs, the Duke
+thought it was due to him to give him the earliest intimation of the
+change of circumstances. The vote of the house of Commons on the
+motion of Lord Ebrington had placed an insurmountable barrier to the
+formation of a government, and his Grace had accordingly relinquished
+the commission with which he had been entrusted by the King.
+
+
+
+                              CHAPTER IX
+
+Availing himself of his latch-key, Ferrars re-entered his home
+unnoticed. He went at once to his library, and locked the door of the
+apartment. There sitting before his desk, he buried his face in his
+hands and remained in that posture for a considerable time.
+
+They were tumultuous and awful thoughts that passed over his brain.
+The dreams of a life were dissipated, and he had to encounter the
+stern reality of his position--and that was Ruin. He was without hope
+and without resource. His debts were vast; his patrimony was a fable;
+and the mysterious inheritance of his wife had been tampered with. The
+elder Ferrars had left an insolvent estate; he had supported his son
+liberally, but latterly from his son's own resources. The father had
+made himself the principal trustee of the son's marriage settlement.
+His colleague, a relative of the heiress, had died, and care was taken
+that no one should be substituted in his stead. All this had been
+discovered by Ferrars on his father's death, but ambition, and the
+excitement of a life of blended elation and peril, had sustained him
+under the concussion. One by one every chance had vanished: first his
+private means and then his public prospects; he had lost office, and
+now he was about to lose parliament. His whole position, so long, and
+carefully, and skilfully built up, seemed to dissolve and dissipate
+into insignificant fragments. And now he had to break the situation to
+his wife. She was to become the unprepared partner of the secret which
+had gnawed at his heart for years, during which to her his mien had
+often been smiling and always serene. Mrs. Ferrars was at home, and
+alone, in her luxurious boudoir, and he went to her at once. After
+years of dissimulation, now that all was over, Ferrars could not bear
+the suspense of four-and-twenty hours.
+
+It was difficult to bring her into a mood of mind capable of
+comprehending a tithe of of what she had to learn; and yet the darkest
+part of the tale she was never to know. Mrs. Ferrars, though
+singularly intuitive, shrank from controversy, and settled everything
+by contradiction and assertion. She maintained for a long time that
+what her husband communicated to her could not be; that it was absurd
+and even impossible. After a while, she talked of selling her diamonds
+and reducing her equipage, sacrificing which she assumed would put
+everything right. And when she found her husband still grave and still
+intimating that the sacrifices must be beyond all this, and that they
+must prepare for the life and habits of another social sphere, she
+became violent, and wept and declared her wrongs; that she had been
+deceived and outraged and infamously treated.
+
+Remembering how long and with what apparent serenity in her presence
+he had endured his secret woes, and how one of the principal objects
+of his life had ever been to guard her even from a shade of
+solicitude, even the restrained Ferrars was affected; his countenance
+changed and his eyes became suffused. When she observed this, she
+suddenly threw her arms round his neck and with many embraces, amid
+sighs and tears, exclaimed, "O William! if we love each other, what
+does anything signify?"
+
+And what could anything signify under such circumstances and on such
+conditions? As Ferrars pressed his beautiful wife to his heart, he
+remembered only his early love, which seemed entirely to revive.
+Unconsciously to himself, too, he was greatly relieved by this burst
+of tenderness on her part, for the prospect of this interview had been
+most distressful to him. "My darling," he said, "ours is not a case of
+common imprudence or misfortune. We are the victims of a revolution,
+and we must bear our lot as becomes us under such circumstances.
+Individual misfortunes are merged in the greater catastrophe of the
+country."
+
+"That is the true view," said his wife; "and, after all, the poor King
+of France is much worse off than we are. However, I cannot now buy the
+Duchesse of Sevres' lace, which I had promised her to do. It is rather
+awkward. However, the best way always is to speak the truth. I must
+tell the duchess I am powerless, and that we are the victims of a
+revolution, like herself."
+
+Then they began to talk quite cosily together over their prospects, he
+sitting on the sofa by her side and holding her hand. Mrs. Ferrars
+would not hear of retiring to the continent. "No," she said, with all
+her sanguine vein returning, "you always used to say I brought you
+luck, and I will bring you luck yet. There must be a reaction. The
+wheel will turn and bring round our friends again. Do not let us then
+be out of the way. Your claims are immense. They must do something for
+you. They ought to give you India, and if we only set our mind upon
+it, we shall get it. Depend upon it, things are not so bad as they
+seem. What appear to be calamities are often the sources of fortune. I
+would much sooner that you should be Governor-General than a cabinet
+minister. That odious House of Commons is very wearisome. I am not
+sure any constitution can bear it very long. I am not sure whether I
+would not prefer being Governor-General of India even to being Prime-
+Minister."
+
+
+
+                              CHAPTER X
+
+In consequence of the registration under the Reform Act it was not
+possible for parliament to be dissolved, and an appeal made to the new
+constituency, until the end of the year. This was advantageous to Mr.
+Ferrars, and afforded him six months of personal security to arrange
+his affairs. Both husband and wife were proud, and were anxious to
+quit the world with dignity. All were so busy about themselves at that
+period, and the vicissitudes of life between continental revolutions
+and English reform so various and extensive, that it was not difficult
+to avoid the scrutiny of society. Mrs. Ferrars broke to Zenobia that,
+as her husband was no longer to be in parliament, they had resolved to
+retire for some time to a country life, though, as Mr. Ferrars had at
+length succeeded in impressing on his wife that their future income
+was to be counted by hundreds, rather than thousands, it was difficult
+for her to realise a rural establishment that should combine dignity
+and economy. Without, however, absolutely alleging the cause, she
+contrived to baffle the various propositions of this kind which the
+energetic Zenobia made to her, and while she listened with apparent
+interest to accounts of deer parks, and extensive shooting, and
+delightful neighbourhoods, would just exclaim, "Charming! but rather
+more, I fancy, than we require, for we mean to be very quiet till my
+girl is presented."
+
+That young lady was now thirteen, and though her parents were careful
+to say nothing in her presence which would materially reveal their
+real situation, for which they intended very gradually to prepare her,
+the scrutinising powers with which nature had prodigally invested
+their daughter were not easily baffled. She asked no questions, but
+nothing seemed to escape the penetrative glance of that large dark
+blue eye, calm amid all the mystery, and tolerating rather than
+sharing the frequent embrace of her parents. After a while her brother
+came home from Eton, to which he was never to return. A few days
+before this event she became unusually restless, and even agitated.
+When he arrived, neither Mr. nor Mrs. Ferrars was at home. He knocked
+gaily at the door, a schoolboy's knock, and was hardly in the hall
+when his name was called, and he caught the face of his sister,
+leaning over the balustrade of the landing-place. He ran upstairs with
+wondrous speed, and was in an instant locked in her arms. She kissed
+him and kissed him again, and when he tried to speak, she stopped his
+mouth with kisses. And then she said, "Something has happened. What it
+is I cannot make out, but we are to have no more ponies."
+
+
+
+                              CHAPTER XI
+
+At the foot of the Berkshire downs, and itself on a gentle elevation,
+there is an old hall with gable ends and lattice windows, standing in
+grounds which once were stately, and where there are yet glade-like
+terraces of yew trees, which give an air of dignity to a neglected
+scene. In the front of the hall huge gates of iron, highly wrought,
+and bearing an ancient date as well as the shield of a noble house,
+opened on a village green, round which were clustered the cottages of
+the parish with only one exception, and that was the vicarage house, a
+modern building, not without taste, and surrounded by a small but
+brilliant garden. The church was contiguous to the hall, and had been
+raised by the lord on a portion of his domain. Behind the hall and its
+enclosure, the country was common land but picturesque. It had once
+been a beech forest, and though the timber had been greatly cleared,
+the green land was still occasionally dotted, sometimes with groups
+and sometimes with single trees, while the juniper which here
+abounded, and rose to a great height, gave a rich wildness to the
+scene, and sustained its forest character.
+
+Hurstley had for many years been deserted by the family to which it
+belonged. Indeed, it was rather difficult to say to whom it did
+belong. A dreary fate had awaited an ancient, and, in its time, even
+not immemorable home. It had fallen into chancery, and for the last
+half-century had either been uninhabited or let to strangers. Mr.
+Ferrars' lawyer was in the chancery suit, and knew all about it. The
+difficulty of finding a tenant for such a place, never easy, was
+increased by its remoteness from any railway communication, which was
+now beginning to figure as an important element in such arrangements.
+The Master in Chancery would be satisfied with a nominal rent,
+provided only he could obtain a family of consideration to hold under
+him. Mr. Ferrars was persuaded to go down alone to reconnoitre the
+place. It pleased him. It was aristocratic, yet singularly
+inexpensive. The house contained an immense hall, which reached the
+roof, and which would have become a baronial mansion, and a vast
+staircase in keeping; but the living rooms were moderate, even small,
+in dimensions, and not numerous. The land he was expected to take
+consisted only of a few meadows, which he could let if necessary, and
+a single labourer could manage the garden.
+
+Mrs. Ferrars was so delighted with the description of the galleried
+hall, that she resolved on their taking Hurstley without even her
+previously visiting it. The only things she cared for in the country
+were a hall and a pony-chair.
+
+All the carriages were sold, and all the servants discharged. Two or
+three maid-servants and a man who must be found in the country, who
+could attend them at table, and valet alike his master and the pony,
+was the establishment which was to succeed the crowd of retainers who
+had so long lounged away their lives in the saloons of Hill Street,
+and the groves and gardens of Wimbledon.
+
+Mr. and Mrs. Ferrars and their daughter travelled down to Hurstley in
+a post-chaise; Endymion, with the servants, was sent by the stage-
+coach, which accomplished the journey of sixty miles in ten hours.
+Myra said little during the journey, but an expression of ineffable
+contempt and disgust seemed permanent on her countenance. Sometimes
+she shrugged her shoulders, sometimes she raised her eyebrows, and
+sometimes she turned up her nose. And then she gave a sigh; but it was
+a sigh not of sorrow, but of impatience. Her parents lavished
+attentions on her which she accepted without recognition, only
+occasionally observing that she wished she had gone with Endymion.
+
+It was dusk when they arrived at Hurstley, and the melancholy hour did
+not tend to raise their spirits. However, the gardener's wife had lit
+a good fire of beechwood in the drawing-room, and threw as they
+entered a pannier of cones upon the logs, which crackled and
+cheerfully blazed away. Even Myra seemed interested by the novelty of
+the wood fire and the iron dogs. She remained by their side, looking
+abstractedly on the expiring logs, while her parents wandered about
+the house and examined or prepared the requisite arrangements. While
+they were yet absent, there was some noise and a considerable bustle
+in the hall. Endymion and his retinue had arrived. Then Myra
+immediately roused herself, and listened like a startled deer. But the
+moment she caught his voice, an expression of rapture suffused her
+countenance. It beamed with vivacity and delight. She rushed away,
+pushed through the servants and the luggage, embraced him and said,
+"We will go over the house and see our rooms together."
+
+Wandering without a guide and making many mistakes, fortunately they
+soon met their parents. Mrs. Ferrars good-naturedly recommenced her
+labours of inspection, and explained all her plans. There was a very
+pretty room for Endymion, and to-morrow it was to be very comfortable.
+He was quite pleased. Then they were shown Myra's room, but she said
+nothing, standing by with a sweet scoff, as it were, lingering on her
+lips, while her mother disserted on all the excellences of the
+chamber. Then they were summoned to tea. The gardener's wife was quite
+a leading spirit, and had prepared everything; the curtains were
+drawn, and the room lighted; an urn hissed; there were piles of bread
+and butter and a pyramid of buttered toast. It was wonderful what an
+air of comfort had been conjured up in this dreary mansion, and it was
+impossible for the travellers, however wearied or chagrined, to be
+insensible to the convenience and cheerfulness of all around them.
+
+When the meal was over, the children sate together in whispering
+tattle. Mrs. Ferrars had left the room to see if all was ready for
+their hour of retirement, and Mr. Ferrars was walking up and down the
+room, absorbed in thought.
+
+"What do you think of it all, Endymion?" whispered Myra to her twin.
+
+"I rather like it," he said.
+
+She looked at him with a glance of blended love and mockery, and then
+she said in his ear, "I feel as if we had fallen from some star."
+
+
+
+                             CHAPTER XII
+
+The morrow brought a bright autumnal morn, and every one woke, if not
+happy, interested. There was much to see and much to do. The dew was
+so heavy that the children were not allowed to quit the broad gravel
+walk that bounded one side of the old house, but they caught enticing
+vistas of the gleamy glades, and the abounding light and shade
+softened and adorned everything. Every sight and sound too was novel,
+and from the rabbit that started out of the grove, stared at them and
+then disappeared, to the jays chattering in the more distant woods,
+all was wonderment at least for a week. They saw squirrels for the
+first time, and for the first time beheld a hedgehog. Their parents
+were busy in the house; Mr. Ferrars unpacking and settling his books,
+and his wife arranging some few articles of ornamental furniture that
+had been saved from the London wreck, and rendering their usual room
+of residence as refined as was in her power. It is astonishing how
+much effect a woman of taste can produce with a pretty chair or two
+full of fancy and colour, a table clothed with a few books, some
+family miniatures, a workbag of rich material, and some toys that we
+never desert. "I have not much to work with," said Mrs. Ferrars, with
+a sigh, "but I think the colouring is pretty."
+
+On the second day after their arrival, the rector and his wife made
+them a visit. Mr. Penruddock was a naturalist, and had written the
+history of his parish. He had escaped being an Oxford don by being
+preferred early to this college living, but he had married the
+daughter of a don, who appreciated the grand manners of their new
+acquaintances, and who, when she had overcome their first rather awe-
+inspiring impression, became communicative and amused them much with
+her details respecting the little world in which they were now to
+live. She could not conceal her wonderment at the beauty of the twins,
+though they were no longer habited in those dresses which had once
+astonished even Mayfair.
+
+Part of the scheme of the new life was the education of the children
+by their parents. Mr. Ferrars had been a distinguished scholar, and
+was still a good one. He was patient and methodical, and deeply
+interested in his contemplated task. So far as disposition was
+concerned the pupil was not disappointing. Endymion was of an
+affectionate disposition and inclined to treat his father with
+deference. He was gentle and docile; but he did not acquire knowledge
+with facility, and was remarkably deficient in that previous
+information on which his father counted. The other pupil was of a
+different temperament. She learned with a glance, and remembered with
+extraordinary tenacity everything she had acquired. But she was
+neither tender nor deferential, and to induce her to study you could
+not depend on the affections, but only on her intelligence. So she was
+often fitful, capricious, or provoking, and her mother, who, though
+accomplished and eager, had neither the method nor the self-restraint
+of Mr. Ferrars, was often annoyed and irritable. Then there were
+scenes, or rather ebullitions on one side, for Myra was always unmoved
+and enraging from her total want of sensibility. Sometimes it became
+necessary to appeal to Mr. Ferrars, and her manner to her father,
+though devoid of feeling, was at least not contemptuous. Nevertheless,
+on the whole the scheme, as time went on, promised to be not
+unsuccessful. Endymion, though not rapidly, advanced surely, and made
+some amends for the years that had been wasted in fashionable private
+schools and the then frivolity of Eton. Myra, who, notwithstanding her
+early days of indulgence, had enjoyed the advantage of admirable
+governesses, was well grounded in more than one modern language, and
+she soon mastered them. And in due time, though much after the period
+on which we are now touching, she announced her desire to become
+acquainted with German, in those days a much rarer acquirement than at
+present. Her mother could not help her in this respect, and that was
+perhaps an additional reason for the study of this tongue, for Myra
+was impatient of tuition, and not unjustly full of self-confidence.
+She took also the keenest interest in the progress of her brother,
+made herself acquainted with all his lessons, and sometimes helped him
+in their achievement.
+
+Though they had absolutely no acquaintance of any kind except the
+rector and his family, life was not dull. Mr. Ferrars was always
+employed, for besides the education of his children, he had
+systematically resumed a habit in which he had before occasionally
+indulged, and that was political composition. He had in his lofty days
+been the author of more than one essay, in the most celebrated
+political publication of the Tories, which had commanded attention and
+obtained celebrity. Many a public man of high rank and reputation, and
+even more than one Prime Minister, had contributed in their time to
+its famous pages, but never without being paid. It was the organic law
+of this publication, that gratuitous contributions should never be
+admitted. And in this principle there was as much wisdom as pride.
+Celebrated statesmen would point with complacency to the snuff-box or
+the picture which had been purchased by their literary labour, and
+there was more than one bracelet on the arm of Mrs. Ferrars, and more
+than one genet in her stable, which had been the reward of a profound
+or a slashing article by William.
+
+What had been the occasional diversion of political life was now to be
+the source of regular income. Though living in profound solitude,
+Ferrars had a vast sum of political experience to draw upon, and
+though his training and general intelligence were in reality too
+exclusive and academical for the stirring age which had now opened,
+and on which he had unhappily fallen, they nevertheless suited the
+audience to which they were particularly addressed. His Corinthian
+style, in which the Maenad of Mr. Burke was habited in the last mode
+of Almack's, his sarcasms against the illiterate and his invectives
+against the low, his descriptions of the country life of the
+aristocracy contrasted with the horrors of the guillotine, his
+Horatian allusions and his Virgilian passages, combined to produce a
+whole which equally fascinated and alarmed his readers.
+
+These contributions occasioned some communications with the editor or
+publisher of the Review, which were not without interest. Parcels came
+down by the coach, enclosing not merely proof sheets, but frequently
+new books--the pamphlet of the hour before it was published, or a
+volume of discoveries in unknown lands. It was a link to the world
+they had quitted without any painful associations. Otherwise their
+communications with the outside world were slight and rare. It is
+difficult for us, who live in an age of railroads, telegraphs, penny
+posts and penny newspapers, to realise how uneventful, how limited in
+thought and feeling, as well as in incident, was the life of an
+English family of retired habits and limited means, only forty years
+ago. The whole world seemed to be morally, as well as materially,
+"adscripti glebae."
+
+Mr. and Mrs. Ferrars did not wish to move, but had they so wished, it
+would have been under any circumstances for them a laborious and
+costly affair. The only newspaper they saw was the "Evening Mail,"
+which arrived three times a week, and was the "Times" newspaper with
+all its contents except its advertisements. As the "Times" newspaper
+had the credit of mainly contributing to the passing of Lord Grey's
+Reform Bill, and was then whispered to enjoy the incredible sale of
+twelve thousand copies daily, Mr. Ferrars assumed that in its columns
+he would trace the most authentic intimations of coming events. The
+cost of postage was then so heavy, that domestic correspondence was
+necessarily very restricted. But this vexatious limitation hardly
+applied to the Ferrars. They had never paid postage. They were born
+and had always lived in the franking world, and although Mr. Ferrars
+had now himself lost the privilege, both official and parliamentary,
+still all their correspondents were frankers, and they addressed their
+replies without compunction to those who were free. Nevertheless, it
+was astonishing how little in their new life they cared to avail
+themselves of this correspondence. At first Zenobia wrote every week,
+almost every day, to Mrs. Ferrars, but after a time Mrs. Ferrars,
+though at first pleased by the attention, felt its recognition a
+burthen. Then Zenobia, who at length, for the first time in her life,
+had taken a gloomy view of affairs, relapsed into a long silence, and
+in fact had nearly forgotten the Ferrars, for as she herself used to
+say, "How can one recollect people whom one never meets?"
+
+In the meantime, for we have been a little anticipating in our last
+remarks, the family at Hurstley were much pleased with the country
+they now inhabited. They made excursions of discovery into the
+interior of their world, Mrs. Ferrars and Myra in the pony-chair, her
+husband and Endymion walking by their side, and Endymion sometimes
+taking his sister's seat against his wish, but in deference to her
+irresistible will. Even Myra could hardly be insensible to the sylvan
+wildness of the old chase, and the romantic villages in the wooded
+clefts of the downs. As for Endymion he was delighted, and it seemed
+to him, perhaps he unconsciously felt it, that this larger and more
+frequent experience of nature was a compensation for much which they
+had lost.
+
+After a time, when they had become a little acquainted with simple
+neighbourhood, and the first impression of wildness and novelty had
+worn out, the twins were permitted to walk together alone, though
+within certain limits. The village and its vicinity was quite free,
+but they were not permitted to enter the woods, and not to wander on
+the chase out of sight of the mansion. These walks alone with Endymion
+were the greatest pleasure of his sister. She delighted to make him
+tell her of his life at Eton, and if she ever sighed it was when she
+lamented that his residence there had been so short. Then they found
+an inexhaustible fund of interest and sympathy in the past. They
+wondered if they ever should have ponies again. "I think not," said
+Myra, "and yet how merry to scamper together over this chase!"
+
+"But they would not let us go," said Endymion, "without a groom."
+
+"A groom!" exclaimed Myra, with an elfish laugh; "I believe, if the
+truth were really known, we ought to be making our own beds and
+washing our own dinner plates."
+
+"And are you sorry, Myra, for all that has happened?" asked Endymion.
+
+"I hardly know what has happened. They keep it very close. But I am
+too astonished to be sorry. Besides, what is the use of whimpering?"
+
+"I cried very much one day," said Endymion.
+
+"Ah, you are soft, dear darling. I never cried in my life, except once
+with rage."
+
+At Christmas a new character appeared on the stage, the rector's son,
+Nigel. He had completed a year with a private tutor, and was on the
+eve of commencing his first term at Oxford, being eighteen, nearly
+five years older than the twins. He was tall, with a countenance of
+remarkable intelligence and power, though still softened by the
+innocence and bloom of boyhood. He was destined to be a clergyman. The
+twins were often thrown into his society, for though too old to be
+their mere companion, his presence was an excuse for Mrs. Penruddock
+more frequently joining them in their strolls, and under her auspices
+their wanderings had no limit, except the shortness of the days; but
+they found some compensation for this in their frequent visits to the
+rectory, which was a cheerful and agreeable home, full of stuffed
+birds, and dried plants, and marvellous fishes, and other innocent
+trophies and triumphs over nature.
+
+
+
+                             CHAPTER XIII
+
+The tenant of the Manor Farm was a good specimen of his class; a
+thorough Saxon, ruddy and bright visaged, with an athletic though
+rather bulky frame, hardened by exposure to the seasons and constant
+exercise. Although he was the tenant of several hundred acres, he had
+an eye to the main chance in little things, which is a characteristic
+of farmers, but he was good-natured and obliging, and while he foraged
+their pony, furnished their woodyard with logs and faggots, and
+supplied them from his dairy, he gratuitously performed for the family
+at the hall many other offices which tended to their comfort and
+convenience, but which cost him nothing.
+
+Mr. Ferrars liked to have a chat every now and then with Farmer
+Thornberry, who had a shrewd and idiomatic style of expressing his
+limited, but in its way complete, experience of men and things, which
+was amusing and interesting to a man of the world whose knowledge of
+rural life was mainly derived from grand shooting parties at great
+houses.
+
+The pride and torment of Farmer Thornberry's life was his only child,
+Job.
+
+"I gave him the best of educations," said the farmer; "he had a much
+better chance than I had myself, for I do not pretend to be a scholar,
+and never was; and yet I cannot make head or tail of him. I wish you
+would speak to him some day, sir. He goes against the land, and yet we
+have been on it for three generations, and have nothing to complain
+of; and he is a good farmer, too, is Job, none better; a little too
+fond of experimenting, but then he is young. But I am very much afraid
+he will leave me. I think it is this new thing the big-wigs have set
+up in London that has put him wrong, for he is always reading their
+papers."
+
+"And what is that?" said Mr. Ferrars.
+
+"Well, they call themselves the Society for the Diffusion of
+Knowledge, and Lord Brougham is at the head of it."
+
+"Ah! he is a dangerous man," said Mr. Ferrars.
+
+"Do you know, I think he is," said Farmer Thornberry, very seriously,
+"and by this token, he says a knowledge of chemistry is necessary for
+the cultivation of the soil."
+
+"Brougham is a man who would say anything," said Mr. Ferrars, "and of
+one thing you may be quite certain, that there is no subject which
+Lord Brougham knows thoroughly. I have proved that, and if you ever
+have time some winter evening to read something on the matter, I will
+lend you a number of the 'Quarterly Review,' which might interest
+you."
+
+"I wish you would lend it to Job," said the farmer.
+
+Mr. Ferrars found Job not quite so manageable in controversy as his
+father. His views were peculiar, and his conclusions certain. He had
+more than a smattering too of political economy, a kind of knowledge
+which Mr. Ferrars viewed with suspicion; for though he had himself
+been looked upon as enlightened in this respect in the last years of
+Lord Liverpool, when Lord Wallace and Mr. Huskisson were astonishing
+the world, he had relapsed, after the schism of the Tory party, into
+orthodoxy, and was satisfied that the tenets of the economists were
+mere theories, or could only be reduced into practice by revolution.
+
+"But it is a pleasant life, that of a farmer," said Mr. Ferrars to
+Job.
+
+"Yes, but life should be something more than pleasant," said Job, who
+always looked discontented; "an ox in a pasture has a pleasant life."
+
+"Well, and why should it not be a profitable one, too?" said Mr.
+Ferrars.
+
+"I do not see my way to that," said Job moodily; "there is not much to
+be got out of the land at any time, and still less on the terms we
+hold it."
+
+"But you are not high-rented!"
+
+"Oh, rent is nothing, if everything else were right, but nothing is
+right," said Job. "In the first place, a farmer is the only trader who
+has no security for his capital."
+
+"Ah! you want a lease?"
+
+"I should be very sorry to have a lease like any that I have seen,"
+replied Job. "We had one once in our family, and we keep it as a
+curiosity. It is ten skins long, and more tyrannical nonsense was
+never engrossed by man."
+
+"But your family, I believe, has been on this estate for generations
+now," said Ferrars, "and they have done well."
+
+"They have done about as well as their stock. They have existed," said
+Job; "nothing more."
+
+"Your father always gives me quite the idea of a prosperous man," said
+Mr. Ferrars.
+
+"Whether he be or not I am sure I cannot say," said Job; "for as
+neither he nor any of his predecessors ever kept any accounts, it is
+rather difficult to ascertain their exact condition. So long as he has
+money enough in his pocket to pay his labourers and buy a little
+stock, my father, like every British farmer, is content. The fact is,
+he is a serf as much as his men, and until we get rid of feudalism he
+will remain so."
+
+"These are strong opinions," said Mr. Ferrars, drawing himself up and
+looking a little cold.
+
+"Yes, but they will make their way," said Job. "So far as I myself am
+concerned, I do not much care what happens to the land, for I do not
+mean to remain on it; but I care for the country. For the sake of the
+country I should like to see the whole thing upset."
+
+"What thing?" asked Mr. Ferrars.
+
+"Feudalism," said Job. "I should like to see this estate managed on
+the same principles as they do their great establishments in the north
+of England. Instead of feudalism, I would substitute the commercial
+principle. I would have long leases without covenants; no useless
+timber, and no game."
+
+"Why, you would destroy the country," said Mr. Ferrars.
+
+"We owe everything to the large towns," said Job.
+
+"The people in the large towns are miserable," said Mr. Ferrars.
+
+"They cannot be more miserable than the people in the country," said
+Job.
+
+"Their wretchedness is notorious," said Mr. Ferrars. "Look at their
+riots."
+
+"Well, we had Swing in the country only two or three years ago."
+
+Mr. Ferrars looked sad. The reminiscence was too near and too fatal.
+After a pause he said with an air of decision, and as if imparting a
+state secret, "If it were not for the agricultural districts, the
+King's army could not be recruited."
+
+"Well, that would not break my heart," said Job.
+
+"Why, my good fellow, you are a Radical!"
+
+"They may call me what they like," said Job; "but it will not alter
+matters. However, I am going among the Radicals soon, and then I shall
+know what they are."
+
+"And can you leave your truly respectable parent?" said Mr. Ferrars
+rather solemnly, for he remembered his promise to Farmer Thornberry to
+speak seriously to his son.
+
+"Oh! my respectable parent will do very well without me, sir. Only let
+him be able to drive into Bamford on market day, and get two or three
+linendrapers to take their hats off to him, and he will be happy
+enough, and always ready to die for our glorious Constitution."
+
+
+
+                             CHAPTER XIV
+
+Eighteen hundred and thirty-two, the darkest and most distressing year
+in the life of Mr. Ferrars, closed in comparative calm and apparent
+content. He was himself greatly altered, both in manner and
+appearance. He was kind and gentle, but he was silent and rarely
+smiled. His hair was grizzled, and he began to stoop. But he was
+always employed, and was interested in his labours.
+
+His sanguine wife bore up against their misfortunes with far more
+animation. She was at first amused with her new life, and when she was
+accustomed to it, she found a never-failing resource in her conviction
+of a coming reaction. Mrs. Ferrars possessed most feminine qualities,
+and many of them in excess. She could not reason, but her intuition
+was remarkable. She was of opinion that "these people never could go
+on," and that they must necessarily be succeeded by William and his
+friends. In vain her husband, when she pressed her views and
+convictions on him, would shake his head over the unprecedented
+majority of the government, and sigh while he acknowledged that the
+Tories absolutely did not now command one fifth of the House of
+Commons; his shakes and sighs were equally disregarded by her, and she
+persisted in her dreams of riding upon elephants.
+
+After all Mrs. Ferrars was right. There is nothing more remarkable in
+political history than the sudden break-up of the Whig party after
+their successful revolution of 1832. It is one of the most striking
+instances on record of all the elements of political power being
+useless without a commanding individual will. During the second year
+of their exile in the Berkshire hills, affairs looked so black that it
+seemed no change could occur except further and more calamitous
+revolution. Zenobia went to Vienna that she might breathe the
+atmosphere of law and order, and hinted to Mrs. Ferrars that probably
+she should never return--at least not until Parliament met, when she
+trusted the House of Lords, if they were not abolished in the
+interval, would save the country. And yet at the commencement of the
+following year an old colleague of Mr. Ferrars apprised him, in the
+darkest and deepest confidence, that "there was a screw loose," and he
+must "look out for squalls."
+
+In the meantime Mr. Ferrars increased and established his claims on
+his party, if they ever did rally, by his masterly articles in their
+great Review, which circumstances favoured and which kept up that
+increasing feeling of terror and despair which then was deemed
+necessary for the advancement of Conservative opinions.
+
+At home a year or more had elapsed without change. The occasional
+appearance of Nigel Penruddock was the only event. It was to all a
+pleasing, and to some of the family a deeply interesting one. Nigel,
+though a student and devoted to the holy profession for which he was
+destined, was also a sportsman. His Christianity was muscular, and
+Endymion, to whom he had taken a fancy, became the companion of his
+pastimes. All the shooting of the estate was at Nigel's command, but
+as there were no keepers, it was of course very rough work. Still it
+was a novel and animating life for Endymion; and though the sport was
+slight, the pursuit was keen. Then Nigel was a great fisherman, and
+here their efforts had a surer return, for they dwelt in a land of
+trout streams, and in their vicinity was a not inconsiderable river.
+It was an adventure of delight to pursue some of these streams to
+their source, throwing, as they rambled on, the fly in the rippling
+waters. Myra, too, took some pleasure in these fishing expeditions,
+carrying their luncheon and a German book in her wallet, and sitting
+quietly on the bank for hours, when they had fixed upon some favoured
+pool for a prolonged campaign.
+
+Every time that Nigel returned home, a difference, and a striking
+difference, was observed in him. His person, of course, became more
+manly, his manner more assured, his dress more modish. It was
+impossible to deny that he was extremely good-looking, interesting in
+his discourse, and distinguished in his appearance. Endymion idolised
+him. Nigel was his model. He imitated his manner, caught the tone of
+his voice, and began to give opinions on subjects, sacred and profane.
+
+After a hard morning's march, one day, as they were lolling on the
+turf amid the old beeches and the juniper, Nigel said--
+
+"What does Mr. Ferrars mean you to be, Endymion?"
+
+"I do not know," said Endymion, looking perplexed.
+
+"But I suppose you are to be something?"
+
+"Yes; I suppose I must be something; because papa has lost his
+fortune."
+
+"And what would you like to be?"
+
+"I never thought about it," said Endymion.
+
+"In my opinion there is only one thing for a man to be in this age,"
+said Nigel peremptorily; "he should go into the Church."
+
+"The Church!" said Endymion.
+
+"There will soon be nothing else left," said Nigel. "The Church must
+last for ever. It is built upon a rock. It was founded by God; all
+other governments have been founded by men. When they are destroyed,
+and the process of destruction seems rapid, there will be nothing left
+to govern mankind except the Church."
+
+"Indeed!" said Endymion; "papa is very much in favour of the Church,
+and, I know, is writing something about it."
+
+"Yes, but Mr. Ferrars is an Erastian," said Nigel; "you need not tell
+him I said so, but he is one. He wants the Church to be the servant of
+the State, and all that sort of thing, but that will not do any
+longer. This destruction of the Irish bishoprics has brought affairs
+to a crisis. No human power has the right to destroy a bishopric. It
+is a divinely-ordained office, and when a diocese is once established,
+it is eternal."
+
+"I see," said Endymion, much interested.
+
+"I wish," continued Nigel, "you were two or three years older, and Mr.
+Ferrars could send you to Oxford. That is the place to understand
+these things, and they will soon be the only things to understand. The
+rector knows nothing about them. My father is thoroughly high and dry,
+and has not the slightest idea of Church principles."
+
+"Indeed!" said Endymion.
+
+"It is quite a new set even at Oxford," continued Nigel; "but their
+principles are as old as the Apostles, and come down from them,
+straight."
+
+"That is a long time ago," said Endymion.
+
+"I have a great fancy," continued Nigel, without apparently attending
+to him, "to give you a thorough Church education. It would be the
+making of you. You would then have a purpose in life, and never be in
+doubt or perplexity on any subject. We ought to move heaven and earth
+to induce Mr. Ferrars to send you to Oxford."
+
+"I will speak to Myra about it," said Endymion.
+
+"I said something of this to your sister the other day," said Nigel,
+"but I fear she is terribly Erastian. However, I will give you
+something to read. It is not very long, but you can read it at your
+leisure, and then we will talk over it afterwards, and perhaps I may
+give you something else."
+
+Endymion did not fail to give a report of this conversation and
+similar ones to his sister, for he was in the habit of telling her
+everything. She listened with attention, but not with interest, to his
+story. Her expression was kind, but hardly serious. Her wondrous eyes
+gave him a glance of blended mockery and affection. "Dear darling,"
+she said, "if you are to be a clergyman, I should like you to be a
+cardinal."
+
+
+
+                              CHAPTER XV
+
+The dark deep hints that had reached Mr. Ferrars at the beginning of
+1834 were the harbingers of startling events. In the spring it began
+to be rumoured among the initiated, that the mighty Reform Cabinet
+with its colossal majority, and its testimonial goblets of gold,
+raised by the penny subscriptions of the grateful people, was in
+convulsions, and before the month of July had elapsed Lord Grey had
+resigned, under circumstances which exhibited the entire
+demoralisation of his party. Except Zenobia, every one was of the
+opinion that the King acted wisely in entrusting the reconstruction of
+the Whig ministry to his late Secretary of State, Lord Melbourne.
+Nevertheless, it could no longer be concealed, nay, it was invariably
+admitted, that the political situation had been largely and most
+unexpectedly changed, and that there was a prospect, dim, perhaps, yet
+not undefinable, of the conduct of public affairs again falling to the
+alternate management of two rival constitutional parties.
+
+Zenobia was so full of hope, and almost of triumph, that she induced
+her lord in the autumn to assemble their political friends at one of
+his great seats, and Mr. and Mrs. Ferrars were urgently invited to
+join the party. But, after some hesitation, they declined this
+proposal. Had Mr. Ferrars been as sanguine as his wife, he would
+perhaps have overcome his strong disinclination to re-enter the world,
+but though no longer despairing of a Tory revival, he was of opinion
+that a considerable period, even several years, must elapse before its
+occurrence. Strange to say, he found no difficulty in following his
+own humour through any contrary disposition on the part of Mrs.
+Ferrars. With all her ambition and passionate love of society, she was
+unwilling to return to that stage, where she once had blazed, in a
+subdued and almost subordinate position. In fact, it was an affair of
+the wardrobe. The queen of costumes, whose fanciful and gorgeous
+attire even Zenobia was wont to praise, could not endure a
+reappearance in old dresses. "I do not so much care about my jewels,
+William," she said to her husband, "but one must have new dresses."
+
+It was a still mild day in November, a month which in the country, and
+especially on the light soils, has many charms, and the whole Ferrars
+family were returning home after an afternoon ramble on the chase. The
+leaf had changed but had not fallen, and the vast spiral masses of the
+dark green juniper effectively contrasted with the rich brown foliage
+of the beech, varied occasionally by the scarlet leaves of the wild
+cherry tree, that always mingles with these woods. Around the house
+were some lime trees of large size, and at this period of the year
+their foliage, still perfect, was literally quite golden. They seemed
+like trees in some fairy tale of imprisoned princesses or wandering
+cavaliers, and such they would remain, until the fatal night that
+brings the first frost.
+
+"There is a parcel from London," said the servant to Mr. Ferrars, as
+they entered the house. "It is on your desk."
+
+A parcel from London was one of the great events of their life. What
+could it be? Perhaps some proofs, probably some books. Mr. Ferrars
+entered his room alone. It was a very small brown paper parcel,
+evidently not books. He opened it hastily, and disencumbered its
+contents of several coverings. The contents took the form of a letter
+--a single letter.
+
+The handwriting was recognised, and he read the letter with an
+agitated countenance, and then he opened the door of his room, and
+called loudly for his wife, who was by his side in a few moments.
+
+"A letter, my love, from Barron," he cried. "The King has dismissed
+Lord Melbourne and sent for the Duke of Wellington, who has accepted
+the conduct of affairs."
+
+"You must go to town directly," said his wife. "He offered you the
+Cabinet in 1832. No person has such a strong claim on him as you
+have."
+
+"It does not appear that he is exactly prime minister," said Mr.
+Ferrars, looking again at the letter. "They have sent for Peel, who is
+at Rome, but the Duke is to conduct the government till he arrives."
+
+"You must go to town immediately," repeated Mrs. Ferrars. "There is
+not a moment to be lost. Send down to the Horse Shoe and secure an
+inside place in the Salisbury coach. It reaches this place at nine
+to-morrow morning. I will have everything ready. You must take a
+portmanteau and a carpet-bag. I wonder if you could get a bedroom at
+the Rodneys'. It would be so nice to be among old friends; they must
+feel for you. And then it will be near the Carlton, which is a great
+thing. I wonder how he will form his cabinet. What a pity he is not
+here!"
+
+"It is a wonderful event, but the difficulties must be immense,"
+observed Ferrars.
+
+"Oh! you always see difficulties. I see none. The King is with us, the
+country is disgusted. It is what I always said would be; the reaction
+is complete."
+
+"Well, we had better now go and tell the children," said Ferrars. "I
+leave you all here for the first time," and he seemed to sigh.
+
+"Well, I hope we shall soon join you," said Mrs. Ferrars. "It is the
+very best time for hiring a house. What I have set my heart upon is
+the Green Park. It will be near your office and not too near. I am
+sure I could not live again in a street."
+
+The children were informed that public events of importance had
+occurred, that the King had changed his ministry, and that papa must
+go up to town immediately and see the Duke of Wellington. The eyes of
+Mrs. Ferrars danced with excitement as she communicated to them all
+this intelligence, and much more, with a volubility in which of late
+years she had rarely indulged. Mr. Ferrars looked grave and said
+little. Then he patted Endymion on the head, and kissed Myra, who
+returned his embrace with a warmth unusual with her.
+
+The whole household soon became in a state of bustle with the
+preparations for the early departure of Mr. Ferrars. It seemed
+difficult to comprehend how filling a portmanteau and a carpet-bag
+could induce such excited and continuous exertions. But then there was
+so much to remember, and then there was always something forgotten.
+Mrs. Ferrars was in her bedroom surrounded by all her maids; Mr.
+Ferrars was in his study looking out some papers which it was
+necessary to take with him. The children were alone.
+
+"I wonder if we shall be restored to our greatness," said Myra to
+Endymion.
+
+"Well, I shall be sorry to leave the old place; I have been happy
+here."
+
+"I have not," said Myra; "and I do not think I could have borne this
+life had it not been for you."
+
+"It will be a wonderful change," said Endymion.
+
+"If it comes; I fear papa is not daring enough. However, if we get out
+of this hole, it will be something."
+
+Tea-time brought them all together again, but when the meal was over,
+none of the usual occupations of the evening were pursued; no work, no
+books, no reading aloud. Mr. Ferrars was to get up very early, and
+that was a reason for all retiring soon. And yet neither the husband
+nor the wife really cared to sleep. Mrs. Ferrars sate by the fire in
+his dressing-room, speculating on all possible combinations, and
+infusing into him all her suggestions and all her schemes. She was
+still prudent, and still would have preferred a great government--
+India if possible; but had made up her mind that he must accept the
+cabinet. Considering what had occurred in 1832, she thought he was
+bound in honour to do so. Her husband listened rather than conversed,
+and seemed lost in thought. At last he rose, and, embracing her with
+much affection, said, "You forget I am to rise with the lark. I shall
+write to you every day. Best and dearest of women, you have always
+been right, and all my good fortune has come from you."
+
+
+
+                             CHAPTER XVI
+
+It was a very tedious journey, and it took the whole day to accomplish
+a distance which a rapid express train now can achieve in an hour. The
+coach carried six inside passengers, and they had to dine on the road.
+All the passengers were strangers to Mr. Ferrars, and he was by them
+unknown; one of them purchased, though with difficulty, a second
+edition of the "Times" as they approached London, and favoured his
+fellow-travellers with the news of the change of ministry. There was
+much excitement, and the purchaser of the paper gave it as his
+opinion, "that it was an intrigue of the Court and the Tories, and
+would never do." Another modestly intimated that he thought there was
+a decided reaction. A third announced that England would never submit
+to be governed by O'Connell.
+
+As the gloom of evening descended, Mr. Ferrars felt depressed. Though
+his life at Hurstley had been pensive and melancholy, he felt now the
+charm and the want of that sweet domestic distraction which had often
+prevented his mind from over-brooding, and had softened life by
+sympathy in little things. Nor was it without emotion that he found
+himself again in London, that proud city where once he had himself
+been so proud. The streets were lighted, and seemed swarming with an
+infinite population, and the coach finally stopped at a great inn in
+the Strand, where Mr. Ferrars thought it prudent to secure
+accommodation for the night. It was too late to look after the
+Rodneys, but in deference to the strict injunction of Mrs. Ferrars, he
+paid them a visit next morning on his way to his political chief.
+
+In the days of the great modistes, when an English lady might
+absolutely be dressed in London, the most celebrated mantua-maker in
+that city was Madame Euphrosyne. She was as fascinating as she was
+fashionable. She was so graceful, her manners were so pretty, so
+natural, and so insinuating! She took so lively an interest in her
+clients--her very heart was in their good looks. She was a great
+favourite of Mrs. Ferrars, and that lady of Madame Euphrosyne. She
+assured Mrs. Ferrars that she was prouder of dressing Mrs. Ferrars
+than all the other fine ladies in London together, and Mrs. Ferrars
+believed her. Unfortunately, while in the way of making a large
+fortune, Madame Euphrosyne, who was romantic, fell in love with, and
+married, a very handsome and worthless husband, whose good looks had
+obtained for him a position in the company of Drury Lane Theatre, then
+a place of refined resort, which his abilities did not justify. After
+pillaging and plundering his wife for many years, he finally involved
+her in such engagements, that she had to take refuge in the Bankruptcy
+Court. Her business was ruined, and her spirit was broken, and she
+died shortly after of adversity and chagrin. Her daughter Sylvia was
+then eighteen, and had inherited with the grace of her mother the
+beauty of her less reputable parent. Her figure was slight and
+undulating, and she was always exquisitely dressed. A brilliant
+complexion set off to advantage her delicate features, which, though
+serene, were not devoid of a certain expression of archness. Her white
+hands were delicate, her light eyes inclined to merriment, and her
+nose quite a gem, though a little turned up.
+
+After their ruin, her profligate father told her that her face was her
+fortune, and that she must provide for herself, in which she would
+find no difficulty. But Sylvia, though she had never enjoyed the
+advantage of any training, moral or religious, had no bad impulses
+even if she had no good ones, was of a rather cold character, and
+extremely prudent. She recoiled from the life of riot, and disorder,
+and irregularity, in which she had unwittingly passed her days, and
+which had terminated so tragically, and she resolved to make an effort
+to secure for herself a different career. She had heard that Mrs.
+Ferrars was in want of an attendant, and she determined to apply for
+the post. As one of the chief customers of her mother, Sylvia had been
+in the frequent habit of waiting on that lady, with whom she had
+become a favourite. She was so pretty, and the only person who could
+fit Mrs. Ferrars. Her appeal, therefore, was not in vain; it was more
+than successful. Mrs. Ferrars was attracted by Sylvia. Mrs. Ferrars
+was magnificent, generous, and she liked to be a patroness and
+surrounded by favourites. She determined that Sylvia should not sink
+into a menial position; she adopted her as a humble friend, and one
+who every day became more regarded by her. Sylvia arranged her
+invitations to her receptions, a task which required finish and
+precision; sometimes wrote her notes. She spoke and wrote French too,
+and that was useful, was a musician, and had a pretty voice. Above
+all, she was a first-rate counsellor in costume; and so, looking also
+after Mrs. Ferrars' dogs and birds, she became almost one of the
+family; dined with them often when they were alone, and was frequently
+Mrs. Ferrars' companion in her carriage.
+
+Sylvia, though not by nature impulsive, really adored her patroness.
+She governed her manners and she modelled her dress on that great
+original, and, next to Mrs. Ferrars, Sylvia in time became nearly the
+finest lady in London. There was, indeed, much in Mrs. Ferrars to
+captivate a person like Sylvia. Mrs. Ferrars was beautiful,
+fashionable, gorgeous, wonderfully expensive, and, where her taste was
+pleased, profusely generous. Her winning manner was not less
+irresistible because it was sometimes uncertain, and she had the art
+of being intimate without being familiar.
+
+When the crash came, Sylvia was really broken-hearted, or believed she
+was, and implored that she might attend the deposed sovereigns into
+exile; but that was impossible, however anxious they might be as to
+the future of their favourite. Her destiny was sooner decided than
+they could have anticipated. There was a member of the household, or
+rather family, in Hill Street, who bore almost the same relation to
+Mr. Ferrars as Sylvia to his wife. This was Mr. Rodney, a remarkably
+good-looking person, by nature really a little resembling his
+principal, and completing the resemblance by consummate art. The
+courtiers of Alexander of Macedonia could not study their chief with
+more devotion, or more sedulously imitate his mien and carriage, than
+did Mr. Rodney that distinguished individual of whom he was the humble
+friend, and who he was convinced was destined to be Prime Minister of
+England. Mr. Rodney was the son of the office-keeper of old Mr.
+Ferrars, and it was the ambition of the father that his son, for whom
+he had secured a sound education, should become a member of the civil
+service. It had become an apothegm in the Ferrars family that
+something must be done for Rodney, and whenever the apparent occasion
+failed, which was not unfrequent, old Mr. Ferrars used always to add,
+"Never mind; so long as I live, Rodney shall never want a home." The
+object of all this kindness, however, was little distressed by their
+failures in his preferment. He had implicit faith in the career of his
+friend and master, and looked forward to the time when it might not be
+impossible that he himself might find a haven in a commissionership.
+Recently Mr. Ferrars had been able to confer on him a small post with
+duties not too engrossing, and which did not prevent his regular
+presence in Hill Street, where he made himself generally useful.
+
+If there were anything confidential to be accomplished in their
+domestic life, everything might be trusted to his discretion and
+entire devotion. He supervised the establishment without injudiciously
+interfering with the house-steward, copied secret papers for Mr.
+Ferrars, and when that gentleman was out of office acted as his
+private secretary. Mr. Rodney was the most official person in the
+ministerial circle. He considered human nature only with reference to
+office. No one was so intimately acquainted with all the details of
+the lesser patronage as himself, and his hours of study were passed in
+the pages of the "Peerage" and in penetrating the mysteries of the
+"Royal Calendar."
+
+The events of 1832, therefore, to this gentleman were scarcely a less
+severe blow than to the Ferrars family itself. Indeed, like his chief,
+he looked upon himself as the victim of a revolution. Mr. Rodney had
+always been an admirer of Sylvia, but no more. He had accompanied her
+to the theatre, and had attended her to the park, but this was quite
+understood on both sides only to be gallantry; both, perhaps, in their
+prosperity, with respect to the serious step of life, had indulged in
+higher dreams. But the sympathy of sorrow is stronger than the
+sympathy of prosperity. In the darkness of their lives, each required
+comfort: he murmured some accents of tender solace, and Sylvia agreed
+to become Mrs. Rodney.
+
+When they considered their position, the prospect was not free from
+anxiety. To marry and then separate is, where there is affection,
+trying. His income would secure them little more than a roof, but how
+to live under that roof was a mystery. For her to become a governess,
+and for him to become a secretary, and to meet only on an occasional
+Sunday, was a sorry lot. And yet both possessed accomplishments or
+acquirements which ought in some degree to be productive. Rodney had a
+friend, and he determined to consult him.
+
+That friend was no common person; he was Mr. Vigo, by birth a
+Yorkshireman, and gifted with all the attributes, physical and
+intellectual, of that celebrated race. At present he was the most
+fashionable tailor in London, and one whom many persons consulted.
+Besides being consummate in his art, Mr. Vigo had the reputation of
+being a man of singularly good judgment. He was one who obtained
+influence over all with whom he came in contact, and as his business
+placed him in contact with various classes, but especially with the
+class socially most distinguished, his influence was great. The golden
+youth who repaired to his counters came there not merely to obtain
+raiment of the best material and the most perfect cut, but to see and
+talk with Mr. Vigo, and to ask his opinion on various points. There
+was a spacious room where, if they liked, they might smoke a cigar,
+and "Vigo's cigars" were something which no one could rival. If they
+liked to take a glass of hock with their tobacco, there was a bottle
+ready from the cellars of Johannisberg. Mr. Vigo's stable was almost
+as famous as its master; he drove the finest horses in London, and
+rode the best hunters in the Vale of Aylesbury. With all this, his
+manners were exactly what they should be. He was neither pretentious
+nor servile, but simple, and with becoming respect for others and for
+himself. He never took a liberty with any one, and such treatment, as
+is generally the case, was reciprocal.
+
+Mr. Vigo was much attached to Mr. Rodney, and was proud of his
+intimate acquaintance with him. He wanted a friend not of his own
+order, for that would not increase or improve his ideas, but one
+conversant with the habits and feelings of a superior class, and yet
+he did not want a fine gentleman for an intimate, who would have been
+either an insolent patron or a designing parasite. Rodney had
+relations with the aristocracy, with the political world, and could
+feel the pulse of public life. His appearance was engaging, his
+manners gentle if not gentlemanlike, and he had a temper never
+disturbed. This is a quality highly appreciated by men of energy and
+fire, who may happen not to have a complete self-control.
+
+When Rodney detailed to his friend the catastrophe that had occurred
+and all its sad consequences, Mr. Vigo heard him in silence,
+occasionally nodding his head in sympathy or approbation, or
+scrutinising a statement with his keen hazel eye. When his visitor had
+finished, he said--
+
+"When there has been a crash, there is nothing like a change of scene.
+I propose that you and Mrs. Rodney should come and stay with me a week
+at my house at Barnes, and there a good many things may occur to us."
+
+And so, towards the end of the week, when the Rodneys had exhausted
+their whole programme of projects, against every one of which there
+seemed some invincible objection, their host said, "You know I rather
+speculate in houses. I bought one last year in Warwick Street. It is a
+large roomy house in a quiet situation, though in a bustling quarter,
+just where members of parliament would like to lodge. I have put it in
+thorough repair. What I propose is that you should live there, let the
+first and second floors--they are equally good--and live on the ground
+floor yourselves, which is amply convenient. We will not talk about
+rent till the year is over and we see how it answers. The house is
+unfurnished, but that is nothing. I will introduce you to a friend of
+mine who will furnish it for you solidly and handsomely, you paying a
+percentage on the amount expended. He will want a guarantee, but of
+course I will be that. It is an experiment, but try it. Try it for a
+year; at any rate you will be a householder, and you will have the
+opportunity of thinking of something else."
+
+Hitherto the Rodneys had been successful in their enterprise, and the
+soundness of Mr. Vigo's advice had been proved. Their house was full,
+and of the best tenants. Their first floor was taken by a
+distinguished M.P., a county member of repute whom Mr. Rodney had
+known before the "revolution," and who was so pleased with his
+quarters, and the comfort and refinement of all about him, that to
+ensure their constant enjoyment he became a yearly tenant. Their
+second floor, which was nearly as good as their first, was inhabited
+by a young gentleman of fashion, who took them originally only by the
+week, and who was always going to give them up, but never did. The
+weekly lodger went to Paris, and he went to German baths, and he went
+to country houses, and he was frequently a long time away, but he
+never gave up his lodgings. When therefore Mr. Ferrars called in
+Warwick Street, the truth is the house was full and there was no
+vacant room for him. But this the Rodneys would not admit. Though they
+were worldly people, and it seemed impossible that anything more could
+be gained from the ruined house of Hurstley, they had, like many other
+people, a superstition, and their superstition was an adoration of the
+family of Ferrars. The sight of their former master, who, had it not
+been for the revolution, might have been Prime Minister of England,
+and the recollection of their former mistress and all her splendour,
+and all the rich dresses which she used to give so profusely to her
+dependent, quite overwhelmed them. Without consultation this
+sympathising couple leapt to the same conclusion. They assured Mr.
+Ferrars they could accommodate him, and that he should find everything
+prepared for him when he called again, and they resigned to him,
+without acknowledging it, their own commodious and well-furnished
+chamber, which Mrs. Rodney prepared for him with the utmost
+solicitude, arranging his writing-table and materials as he used to
+have them in Hill Street, and showing by a variety of modes she
+remembered all his ways.
+
+
+
+                             CHAPTER XVII
+
+After securing his room in Warwick Street, Mr. Ferrars called on his
+political chiefs. Though engrossed with affairs, the moment his card
+was exhibited he was seen, cordially welcomed, and addressed in
+confidence. Not only were his claims acknowledged without being
+preferred, but an evidently earnest hope was expressed that they might
+be fully satisfied. No one had suffered more for the party and no one
+had worked harder or more effectively for it. But at present nothing
+could be done and nothing more could be said. All depended on Peel.
+Until he arrived nothing could be arranged. Their duties were limited
+to provisionally administering the affairs of the country until his
+appearance.
+
+It was many days, even weeks, before that event could happen. The
+messenger would travel to Rome night and day, but it was calculated
+that nearly three weeks must elapse before his return. Mr. Ferrars
+then went to the Carlton Club, which he had assisted in forming three
+or four years before, and had established in a house of modern
+dimensions in Charles Street, St. James. It was called then the
+Charles Street gang, and none but the thoroughgoing cared to belong to
+it. Now he found it flourishing in a magnificent mansion on Carlton
+Terrace, while in very sight of its windows, on a plot of ground in
+Pall Mall, a palace was rising to receive it. It counted already
+fifteen hundred members, who had been selected by an omniscient and
+scrutinising committee, solely with reference to their local
+influence throughout the country, and the books were overflowing with
+impatient candidates of rank, and wealth, and power.
+
+Three years ago Ferrars had been one of the leading spirits of this
+great confederacy, and now he entered the superb chamber, and it
+seemed to him that he did not recognise a human being. Yet it was full
+to overflowing, and excitement and anxiety and bustle were impressed
+on every countenance. If he had heard some of the whispers and
+remarks, as he entered and moved about, his self-complacency would
+scarcely have been gratified.
+
+"Who is that?" inquired a young M.P. of a brother senator not much
+more experienced.
+
+"Have not the remotest idea; never saw him before. Barron is speaking
+to him; he will tell us. I say, Barron, who is your friend?"
+
+"That is Ferrars!"
+
+"Ferrars! who is he?"
+
+"One of our best men. If all our fellows had fought like him against
+the Reform Bill, that infernal measure would never have been carried."
+
+"Oh! ah! I remember something now," said the young M.P., "but anything
+that happened before the election of '32 I look upon as an old
+almanack."
+
+However, notwithstanding the first and painful impression of strangers
+and strangeness, when a little time had elapsed Ferrars found many
+friends, and among the most distinguished present. Nothing could be
+more hearty than their greeting, and he had not been in the room half
+an hour before he had accepted an invitation to dine that very day
+with Lord Pomeroy.
+
+It was a large and rather miscellaneous party, but all of the right
+kidney. Some men who had been cabinet ministers, and some who expected
+to be; several occupiers in old days of the secondary offices; both
+the whips, one noisy and the other mysterious; several lawyers of
+repute who must be brought into parliament, and some young men who had
+distinguished themselves in the reformed house and whom Ferrars had
+never seen before. "It is like old days," said the husband of Zenobia
+to Ferrars, who sate next to him; "I hope it will float, but we shall
+know nothing till Peel comes."
+
+"He will have difficulty with his cabinet so far as the House of
+Commons is concerned," said an old privy councillor "They must have
+seats, and his choice is very limited."
+
+"He will dissolve," said the husband of Zenobia. "He must."
+
+"Wheugh!" said the privy councillor, and he shrugged his shoulders.
+
+"The old story will not do," said the husband of Zenobia. "We must
+have new blood. Peel must reconstruct on a broad basis."
+
+"Well, they say there is no lack of converts," said the old privy
+councillor.
+
+All this, and much more that he heard, made Ferrars ponder, and
+anxiously. No cabinet without parliament. It was but reasonable. A
+dissolution was therefore in his interest. And yet, what a prospect! A
+considerable expenditure, and yet with a considerable expenditure a
+doubtful result. Then reconstruction on a broad basis--what did that
+mean? Neither more nor less than rival candidates for office. There
+was no lack of converts. He dare say not. A great deal had developed
+since his exile at Hurstley--things which are not learned by
+newspapers, or even private correspondence. He spoke to Barron after
+dinner. He had reason to believe Barron was his friend. Barron could
+give no opinion about dissolution; all depended on Peel. But they were
+acting, and had been acting for some time, as if dissolution were on
+the cards. Ferrars had better call upon him to-morrow, and go over the
+list, and see what would be done for him. He had every claim.
+
+The man with every claim called on Barron on the morrow, and saw his
+secret list, and listened to all his secret prospects and secret
+plans. There was more than one manufacturing town where there was an
+opening; decided reaction, and a genuine Conservative feeling. Barron
+had no doubt that, although a man might not get in the first time he
+stood, he would ultimately. Ultimately was not a word which suited Mr.
+Ferrars. There were several old boroughs where the freemen still
+outnumbered the ten-pounders, and where the prospects were more
+encouraging; but the expense was equal to the goodness of the chance,
+and although Ferrars had every claim, and would no doubt be assisted,
+still one could not shut one's eyes to the fact that the personal
+expenditure must be considerable. The agricultural boroughs must be
+fought, at least this time, by local men. Something might be done with
+an Irish borough; expense, comparatively speaking inconsiderable, but
+the politics deeply Orange.
+
+Gloom settled on the countenance of this spoiled child of politics,
+who had always sate for a close borough, and who recoiled from a
+contest like a woman, when he pictured to himself the struggle and
+exertion and personal suffering he would have to encounter and endure,
+and then with no certainty of success. The trained statesman, who had
+anticipated the mass of his party on Catholic emancipation, to become
+an Orange candidate! It was worse than making speeches to ten-pounders
+and canvassing freemen!
+
+"I knew things were difficult," said Ferrars; "but I was in hopes that
+there were yet some seats that we might command."
+
+"No doubt there are," said Mr. Barron; "but they are few, and they are
+occupied--at least at present. But, after all, a thousand things may
+turn up, and you may consider nothing definitely arranged until Sir
+Robert arrives. The great thing is to be on the spot."
+
+Ferrars wrote to his wife daily, and kept her minutely acquainted with
+the course of affairs. She agreed with Barron that the great thing was
+to be on the spot. She felt sure that something would turn up. She was
+convinced that Sir Robert would send for him, offer him the cabinet,
+and at the same time provide him with a seat. Her own inclination was
+still in favour of a great colonial or foreign appointment. She still
+hankered after India; but if the cabinet were offered, as was certain,
+she did not consider that William, as a man of honour, could refuse to
+accept the trust and share the peril.
+
+So Ferrars remained in London under the roof of the Rodneys. The
+feverish days passed in the excitement of political life in all its
+manifold forms, grave council and light gossip, dinners with only one
+subject of conversation, and that never palling, and at last, even
+evenings spent again under the roof of Zenobia, who, the instant her
+winter apartments were ready to receive the world, had hurried up to
+London and raised her standard in St. James' Square. "It was like old
+days," as her husband had said to Ferrars when they met after a long
+separation.
+
+Was it like old days? he thought to himself when he was alone. Old
+days, when the present had no care, and the future was all hope; when
+he was proud, and justly proud, of the public position he had
+achieved, and of all the splendid and felicitous circumstances of life
+that had clustered round him. He thought of those away, and with whom
+during the last three years he had so continuously and intimately
+lived. And his hired home that once had been associated only in his
+mind with exile, imprisonment, misfortune, almost disgrace, became
+hallowed by affection, and in the agony of the suspense which now
+involved him, and to encounter which he began to think his diminished
+nerve unequal, he would have bargained for the rest of his life to
+pass undisturbed in that sweet solitude, in the delights of study and
+the tranquillity of domestic love.
+
+A little not unamiable weakness this, but it passed off in the morning
+like a dream, when Mr. Ferrars heard that Sir Robert had arrived.
+
+
+
+                            CHAPTER XVIII
+
+It was a dark December night when Mr. Ferrars returned to Hurstley.
+His wife, accompanied by the gardener with a lantern, met him on the
+green. She embraced him, and whispered, "Is it very bad, love? I fear
+you have softened it to me?"
+
+"By no means bad, and I told you the truth: not all, for had I, my
+letter would have been too late. He said nothing about the cabinet,
+but offered me a high post in his government, provided I could secure
+my seat. That was impossible. During the month I was in town I had
+realised that. I thought it best, therefore, at once to try the other
+tack, and nothing could be more satisfactory."
+
+"Did you say anything about India?" she said in a very low voice.
+
+"I did not. He is an honourable man, but he is cold, and my manner is
+not distinguished for /abandon/. I thought it best to speak generally,
+and leave it to him. He acknowledged my claim, and my fitness for such
+posts, and said if his government lasted it would gratify him to meet
+my wishes. Barron says the government will last. They will have a
+majority, and if Stanley and Graham had joined them, they would have
+had not an inconsiderable one. But in that case I should probably not
+have had the cabinet, if indeed he meant to offer it to me now."
+
+"Of course he did," said his wife. "Who has such claims as you have?
+Well, now we must hope and watch. Look cheerful to the children, for
+they have been very anxious."
+
+With this hint the meeting was not unhappy, and the evening passed
+with amusement and interest. Endymion embraced his father with warmth,
+and Myra kissed him on both cheeks. Mr. Ferrars had a great deal of
+gossip which interested his wife, and to a certain degree his
+children. The latter of course remembered Zenobia, and her sayings and
+doings were always amusing. There were anecdotes, too, of illustrious
+persons which always interest, especially when in the personal
+experience of those with whom we are intimately connected. What the
+Duke, or Sir Robert, or Lord Lyndhurst said to papa seemed doubly
+wiser or brighter than if it had been said to a third person. Their
+relations with the world of power, and fashion, and fame, seemed not
+to be extinct, at least reviving from their torpid condition. Mr.
+Ferrars had also brought a German book for Myra; and "as for you,
+Endymion," he said, "I have been much more successful for you than for
+your father, though I hope I shall not have myself in the long run to
+complain. Our friends are faithful to us, and I have got you put down
+on the private list for a clerkship both in the Foreign Office and the
+Treasury. They are the two best things, and you will have one of the
+first vacancies that will occur in either department. I know your
+mother wishes you to be in the Foreign Office. Let it be so if it
+come. I confess, myself, remembering your grandfather's career, I have
+always a weakness for the Treasury, but so long as I see you well
+planted in Whitehall, I shall be content. Let me see, you will be
+sixteen in March. I could have wished you to wait another year, but we
+must be ready when the opening occurs."
+
+The general election in 1834-5, though it restored the balance of
+parties, did not secure to Sir Robert Peel a majority, and the anxiety
+of the family at Hurstley was proportionate to the occasion. Barron
+was always sanguine, but the vote on the Speakership could not but
+alarm them. Barron said it did not signify, and that Sir Robert had
+resolved to go on and had confidence in his measures. His measures
+were excellent, and Sir Robert never displayed more resource, more
+energy, and more skill, than he did in the spring of 1835. But
+knowledge of human nature was not Sir Robert Peel's strong point, and
+it argued some deficiency in that respect, to suppose that the fitness
+of his measures could disarm a vindictive opposition. On the contrary,
+they rather whetted their desire of revenge, and they were doubly loth
+that he should increase his reputation by availing himself of an
+opportunity which they deemed the Tory party had unfairly acquired.
+
+After the vote on the Speakership, Mr. Ferrars was offered a second-
+class West Indian government. His wife would not listen to it. If it
+were Jamaica, the offer might be considered, though it could scarcely
+be accepted without great sacrifice. The children, for instance, must
+be left at home. Strange to say, Mr. Ferrars was not disinclined to
+accept the inferior post. Endymion he looked upon as virtually
+provided for, and Myra, he thought, might accompany them; if only for
+a year. But he ultimately yielded, though not without a struggle, to
+the strong feeling of his wife.
+
+"I do not see why I also should not be left behind," said Myra to her
+brother in one of their confidential walks. "I should like to live in
+London in lodgings with you."
+
+The approaching appointment of her brother filled her from the first
+with the greatest interest. She was always talking of it when they
+were alone--fancying his future life, and planning how it might be
+happier and more easy. "My only joy in life is seeing you," she
+sometimes said, "and yet this separation does not make me unhappy. It
+seems a chance from heaven for you. I pray every night it may be the
+Foreign Office."
+
+The ministry were still sanguine as to their prospects in the month of
+March, and they deemed that public opinion was rallying round Sir
+Robert. Perhaps Lord John Russell, who was the leader of the
+opposition, felt this, in some degree, himself, and he determined to
+bring affairs to a crisis by notice of a motion respecting the
+appropriation of the revenues of the Irish Church. Then Barron wrote
+to Mr. Ferrars that affairs did not look so well, and advised him to
+come up to town, and take anything that offered. "It is something," he
+remarked, "to have something to give up. We shall not, I suppose,
+always be out of office, and they get preferred more easily whose
+promotion contributes to patronage, even while they claim its
+exercise."
+
+The ministry were in a minority on the Irish Church on April 2, the
+day on which Mr. Ferrars arrived in town. They did not resign, but the
+attack was to be repeated in another form on the 6th. During the
+terrible interval Mr. Ferrars made distracted visits to Downing
+Street, saw secretaries of state, who sympathised with him not
+withstanding their own chagrin, and was closeted daily and hourly with
+under-secretaries, parliamentary and permanent, who really alike
+wished to serve him. But there was nothing to be had. He was almost
+meditating taking Sierra Leone, or the Gold Coast, when the
+resignation of Sir Robert Peel was announced. At the last moment,
+there being, of course, no vacancy in the Foreign Office, or the
+Treasury, he obtained from Barron an appointment for Endymion, and so,
+after having left Hurstley five months before to become Governor-
+General of India, this man, "who had claims," returned to his
+mortified home with a clerkship for his son in a second-rate
+government office.
+
+
+
+                             CHAPTER XIX
+
+Disappointment and distress, it might be said despair, seemed fast
+settling again over the devoted roof of Hurstley, after a three years'
+truce of tranquillity. Even the crushing termination of her worldly
+hopes was forgotten for the moment by Mrs. Ferrars in her anguish at
+the prospect of separation from Endymion. Such a catastrophe she had
+never for a moment contemplated. True it was she had been delighted
+with the scheme of his entering the Foreign Office, but that was on
+the assumption that she was to enter office herself, and that,
+whatever might be the scene of the daily labours of her darling child,
+her roof should be his home, and her indulgent care always at his
+command. But that she was absolutely to part with Endymion, and that,
+at his tender age, he was to be launched alone into the wide world,
+was an idea that she could not entertain, or even comprehend. Who was
+to clothe him, and feed him, and tend him, and save him from being run
+over, and guide and guard him in all the difficulties and dangers of
+this mundane existence? It was madness, it was impossible. But Mr.
+Ferrars, though gentle, was firm. No doubt it was to be wished that
+the event could have been postponed for a year; but its occurrence,
+unless all prospect of establishment in life were surrendered, was
+inevitable, and a slight delay would hardly render the conditions
+under which it happened less trying. Though Endymion was only sixteen,
+he was tall and manly beyond his age, and during the latter years of
+his life, his naturally sweet temper and genial disposition had been
+schooled in self-discipline and self-sacrifice. He was not to be
+wholly left to strangers; Mr. Ferrars had spoken to Rodney about
+receiving him, at least for the present, and steps would be taken that
+those who presided over his office would be influenced in his favour.
+The appointment was certainly not equal to what had been originally
+anticipated; but still the department, though not distinguished, was
+highly respectable, and there was no reason on earth, if the
+opportunity offered, that Endymion should not be removed from his
+present post to one in the higher departments of the state. But if
+this opening were rejected, what was to be the future of their son?
+They could not afford to send him to the University, nor did Mr.
+Ferrars wish him to take refuge in the bosom of the Church. As for the
+army, they had now no interest to acquire commissions, and if they
+could succeed so far, they could not make him an allowance, which
+would permit him to maintain himself as became his rank. The civil
+service remained, in which his grandfather had been eminent, and in
+which his own parent, at any rate, though the victim of a revolution,
+had not disgraced himself. It seemed, under the circumstances, the
+natural avenue for their child. At least, he thought it ought to be
+tried. He wished nothing to be settled without the full concurrence of
+Endymion himself. The matter should be put fairly and clearly before
+him, "and for this purpose," concluded Mr. Ferrars, "I have just sent
+for him to my room;" and he retired.
+
+The interview between the father and the son was long. When Endymion
+left the room his countenance was pale, but its expression was firm
+and determined. He went forth into the garden, and there he saw Myra.
+"How long you have been!" she said; "I have been watching for you.
+What is settled?"
+
+He took her arm, and in silence led her away into one of the glades
+Then he said: "I have settled to go, and I am resolved, so long as I
+live, that I will never cost dear papa another shilling. Things here
+are very bad, quite as bad as you have sometimes fancied. But do not
+say anything to poor mamma about them."
+
+Mr. Ferrars resolved that Endymion should go to London immediately,
+and the preparations for his departure were urgent. Myra did
+everything. If she had been the head of a family she could not have
+been more thoughtful or apparently more experienced. If she had a
+doubt, she stepped over to Mrs. Penruddock and consulted her. As for
+Mrs. Ferrars, she had become very unwell, and unable to attend to
+anything. Her occasional interference, fitful and feverish, and
+without adequate regard to circumstances, only embarrassed them. But,
+generally speaking, she kept to her own room, and was always weeping.
+
+The last day came. No one pretended not to be serious and grave. Mrs.
+Ferrars did not appear, but saw Endymion alone. She did not speak, but
+locked him in her arms for many minutes, and then kissed him on the
+forehead, and, by a gentle motion, intimating that he should retire,
+she fell back on her sofa with closed eyes. He was alone for a short
+time with his father after dinner. Mr. Ferrars said to him: "I have
+treated you in this matter as a man, and I have entire confidence in
+you. Your business in life is to build up again a family which was
+once honoured."
+
+Myra was still copying inventories when he returned to the drawing-
+room. "These are for myself," she said, "so I shall always know what
+you ought to have. Though you go so early, I shall make your breakfast
+to-morrow," and, leaning back on the sofa, she took his hand. "Things
+are dark, and I fancy they will be darker; but brightness will come,
+somehow or other, to you, darling, for you are born for brightness.
+You will find friends in life, and they will be women."
+
+It was nearly three years since Endymion had travelled down to
+Hurstley by the same coach that was now carrying him to London. Though
+apparently so uneventful, the period had not been unimportant in the
+formation, doubtless yet partial, of his character. And all its
+influences had been beneficial to him. The crust of pride and
+selfishness with which large prosperity and illimitable indulgence had
+encased a kind, and far from presumptuous, disposition had been
+removed; the domestic sentiments in their sweetness and purity had
+been developed; he had acquired some skills in scholarship and no
+inconsiderable fund of sound information; and the routine of religious
+thought had been superseded in his instance by an amount of knowledge
+and feeling on matters theological, unusual at his time of life.
+Though apparently not gifted with any dangerous vivacity, or fatal
+facility of acquisition, his mind seemed clear and painstaking, and
+distinguished by common sense. He was brave and accurate.
+
+Mr. Rodney was in waiting for him at the inn. He seemed a most
+distinguished gentleman. A hackney coach carried them to Warwick
+Street, where he was welcomed by Mrs. Rodney, who was exquisitely
+dressed. There was also her sister, a girl not older than Endymion,
+the very image of Mrs. Rodney, except that she was a brunette--a
+brilliant brunette. This sister bore the romantic name of Imogene, for
+which she was indebted to her father performing the part of the
+husband of the heroine in Maturin's tragedy of the "Castle of St.
+Aldobrand," and which, under the inspiration of Kean, had set the town
+in a blaze about the time of her birth. Tea was awaiting him, and
+there was a mixture in their several manners of not ungraceful
+hospitality and the remembrance of past dependence, which was genuine
+and not uninteresting, though Endymion was yet too inexperienced to
+observe all this.
+
+Mrs. Rodney talked very much of Endymion's mother; her wondrous
+beauty, her more wondrous dresses; the splendour of her fetes and
+equipages. As she dilated on the past, she seemed to share its lustre
+and its triumphs. "The first of the land were always in attendance on
+her," and for Mrs. Rodney's part, she never saw a real horsewoman
+since her dear lady. Her sister did not speak, but listened with rapt
+attention to the gorgeous details, occasionally stealing a glance at
+Endymion--a glance of deep interest, of admiration mingled as it were
+both with reverence and pity.
+
+Mr. Rodney took up the conversation if his wife paused. He spoke of
+all the leading statesmen who had been the habitual companions of Mr.
+Ferrars, and threw out several anecdotes respecting them from personal
+experience. "I knew them all," continued Mr. Rodney, "I might say
+intimately;" and then he told his great anecdote, how he had been so
+fortunate as perhaps even to save the Duke's life during the Reform
+Bill riots. "His Grace has never forgotten it, and only the day before
+yesterday I met him in St. James' Street walking with Mr. Arbuthnot,
+and he touched his hat to me."
+
+All this gossip and good nature, and the kind and lively scene, saved
+Endymion from the inevitable pang, or at least greatly softened it,
+which accompanies our first separation from home. In due season, Mrs.
+Rodney observed that she doubted not Mr. Endymion, for so they ever
+called him, must be wearied with his journey, and would like to retire
+to his room; and her husband, immediately lighting a candle, prepared
+to introduce their new lodger to his quarters.
+
+It was a tall house, which had recently been renovated, with a story
+added to it, and on this story was Endymion's chamber; not absolutely
+a garret, but a modern substitute for that sort of apartment. "It is
+rather high," said Mr. Rodney, half apologising for the ascent, "but
+Mr. Ferrars himself chose the room. We took the liberty of lighting a
+fire to-night."
+
+And the cheerful blaze was welcome. It lit up a room clean and not
+uncomfortable. Feminine solicitude had fashioned a toilette-table for
+him, and there was a bunch of geraniums in a blue vase on its
+sparkling dimity garniture. "I suppose you have in your bag all that
+you want at present?" said Mr. Rodney. "To-morrow we will unpack your
+trunks and arrange your things in their drawers; and after breakfast,
+if you please, I will show you your way to Somerset House."
+
+Somerset House! thought Endymion, as he stood before the fire alone.
+Is it so near as that? To-morrow, and I am to be at Somerset House!
+And then he thought of what they were doing at Hurstley--of that
+terrible parting with his mother, which made him choke--and of his
+father's last words. And then he thought of Myra, and the tears stole
+down his cheek. And then he knelt down by his bedside and prayed.
+
+
+
+                              CHAPTER XX
+
+Mr. Rodney would have accompanied Endymion to Somerset House under any
+circumstances, but it so happened that he had reasons of his own for a
+visit to that celebrated building. He had occasion to see a gentleman
+who was stationed there. "Not," as he added to Endymion, "that I know
+many here, but at the Treasury and in Downing Street I have several
+acquaintances."
+
+They separated at the door in the great quadrangle which led to the
+department to which Endymion was attached, and he contrived in due
+time to deliver to a messenger a letter addressed to his future chief.
+He was kept some time in a gloomy and almost unfurnished waiting-room,
+and his thoughts in a desponding mood were gathering round the dear
+ones who were distant, when he was summoned, and, following the
+messenger down a passage, was ushered into a lively apartment on which
+the sun was shining, and which, with its well-lined book-shelves, and
+tables covered with papers, and bright noisy clock, and general air of
+habitation and business, contrasted favourably with the room he had
+just quitted. A good-natured-looking man held out his hand and
+welcomed him cordially, and said at once, "I served, Mr. Ferrars,
+under your grandfather at the Treasury, and I am glad to see you
+here." Then he spoke of the duties which Endymion would have at
+present to discharge. His labours at first would be somewhat
+mechanical; they would require only correctness and diligence; but the
+office was a large one, and promotion not only sure, but sometimes
+rapid, and as he was so young, he might with attention count on
+attaining, while yet in the prime of life, a future of very
+responsible duties and of no inconsiderable emolument. And while he
+was speaking he rang the bell and commanded the attendance of a clerk,
+under whose care Endymion was specially placed. This was a young man
+of pleasant address, who invited Endymion with kindness to accompany
+him, and leading him through several chambers, some capacious, and all
+full of clerks seated on high stools and writing at desks, finally
+ushered him into a smaller chamber where there were not above six or
+eight at work, and where there was a vacant seat. "This is your
+place," he said, "and now I will introduce you to your future
+comrades. This is Mr. Jawett, the greatest Radical of the age, and
+who, when he is President of the Republic, will, I hope, do a job for
+his friends here. This is Mr. St. Barbe, who, when the public taste
+has improved, will be the most popular author of the day. In the
+meantime he will give you a copy of his novel, which has not sold as
+it ought to have done, and in which we say he has quizzed all his
+friends. This is Mr. Seymour Hicks, who, as you must perceive, is a
+man of fashion." And so he went on, with what was evidently accustomed
+raillery. All laughed, and all said something courteous to Endymion,
+and then after a few minutes they resumed their tasks, Endymion's work
+being to copy long lists of figures, and routine documents of public
+accounts.
+
+In the meantime, Mr. St. Barbe was busy in drawing up a public
+document of a different but important character, and which was
+conceived something in this fashion:--
+
+"We, the undersigned, highly approving of the personal appearance and
+manners of our new colleague, are unanimously of opinion that he
+should be invited to join our symposium to-day at the immortal Joe's."
+
+This was quietly passed round and signed by all present, and then
+given to Mr. Trenchard, who, all unconsciously to the copying
+Endymion, wrote upon it, like a minister of state, "Approved," with
+his initial.
+
+Joe's, more technically known as "The Blue Posts," was a celebrated
+chop-house in Naseby Street, a large, low-ceilinged, wainscoted room,
+with the floor strewn with sawdust, and a hissing kitchen in the
+centre, and fitted up with what were called boxes, these being of
+various sizes, and suitable to the number of the guests requiring
+them. About this time the fashionable coffee-houses, George's and the
+Piazza, and even the coffee-rooms of Stevens' or Long's, had begun to
+feel the injurious competition of the new clubs that of late years had
+been established; but these, after all, were limited, and,
+comparatively speaking, exclusive societies. Their influence had not
+touched the chop-houses, and it required another quarter of a century
+before their cheerful and hospitable roofs and the old taverns of
+London, so full, it ever seemed, of merriment and wisdom, yielded to
+the gradually increasing but irresistible influence of those
+innumerable associations, which, under classic names, or affecting to
+be the junior branches of celebrated confederacies, have since secured
+to the million, at cost price, all the delicacies of the season, and
+substituted for the zealous energy of immortal JOES the inexorable but
+frigid discipline of managing committees.
+
+"You are our guest to-day," said Mr. Trenchard to Endymion. "Do not be
+embarrassed. It is a custom with us, but not a ruinous one. We dine
+off the joint, but the meat is first-rate, and you may have as much as
+you like, and our tipple is half-and-half. Perhaps you do not know it.
+Let me drink to your health."
+
+They ate most heartily; but when their well-earned meal was
+despatched, their conversation, assisted by a moderate portion of some
+celebrated toddy, became animated, various, and interesting. Endymion
+was highly amused; but being a stranger, and the youngest present, his
+silence was not unbecoming, and his manner indicated that it was not
+occasioned by want of sympathy. The talk was very political. They were
+all what are called Liberals, having all of them received their
+appointments since the catastrophe of 1830; but the shades in the
+colour of their opinions were various and strong. Jawett was
+uncompromising; ruthlessly logical, his principles being clear, he was
+for what he called "carrying them out" to their just conclusions.
+Trenchard, on the contrary, thought everything ought to be a
+compromise, and that a public man ceased to be practical the moment he
+was logical. St. Barbe believed that literature and the arts, and
+intellect generally, had as little to hope for from one party as from
+the other; while Seymour Hicks was of opinion that the Tories never
+would rally, owing to their deficiency in social influences. Seymour
+Hicks sometimes got an invitation to a ministerial soiree.
+
+The vote of the House of Commons in favour of an appropriation of the
+surplus revenues of the Irish Church to the purposes of secular
+education--a vote which had just changed the government and expelled
+the Tories--was much discussed. Jawett denounced it as a miserable
+subterfuge, but with a mildness of manner and a mincing expression,
+which amusingly contrasted with the violence of his principles and the
+strength of his language.
+
+"The whole of the revenues of the Protestant Church should be at once
+appropriated to secular education, or to some other purpose of general
+utility," he said. "And it must come to this."
+
+Trenchard thought the ministry had gone as far in this matter as they
+well could, and Seymour Hicks remarked that any government which
+systematically attacked the Church would have "society" against it.
+Endymion, who felt very nervous, but who on Church questions had
+strong convictions, ventured to ask why the Church should be deprived
+of its property.
+
+"In the case of Ireland," replied Jawett, quite in a tone of
+conciliatory condescension, "because it does not fulfil the purpose
+for which it was endowed. It has got the property of the nation, and
+it is not the Church of the people. But I go further than that. I
+would disendow every Church. They are not productive institutions.
+There is no reason why they should exist. There is no use in them."
+
+"No use in the Church!" said Endymion, reddening; but Mr. Trenchard,
+who had tact, here interfered, and said, "I told you our friend Jawett
+is a great Radical; but he is in a minority among us on these matters.
+Everybody, however, says what he likes at Joe's."
+
+Then they talked of theatres, and critically discussed the articles in
+the daily papers and the last new book, and there was much discussion
+respecting a contemplated subscription boat; but still, in general, it
+was remarkable how they relapsed into their favourite subject--
+speculation upon men in office, both permanent and parliamentary, upon
+their characters and capacity, their habits and tempers. One was a
+good administrator, another did nothing; one had no detail, another
+too much; one was a screw, another a spendthrift; this man could make
+a set speech, but could not reply; his rival, capital at a reply but
+clumsy in a formal oration.
+
+At this time London was a very dull city, instead of being, as it is
+now, a very amusing one. Probably there never was a city in the world,
+with so vast a population, which was so melancholy. The aristocracy
+probably have always found amusements adapted to the manners of the
+time and the age in which they lived. The middle classes, half a
+century ago, had little distraction from their monotonous toil and
+melancholy anxieties, except, perhaps, what they found in religious
+and philanthropic societies. Their general life must have been very
+dull. Some traditionary merriment always lingered among the working
+classes of England. Both in town and country they had always their
+games and fairs and junketing parties, which have developed into
+excursion trains and colossal pic-nics. But of all classes of the
+community, in the days of our fathers, there was none so unfortunate
+in respect of public amusements as the bachelors about town. There
+were, one might almost say, only two theatres, and they so huge, that
+it was difficult to see or hear in either. Their monopolies, no longer
+redeemed by the stately genius of the Kembles, the pathos of Miss
+O'Neill, or the fiery passion of Kean, were already menaced, and were
+soon about to fall; but the crowd of diminutive but sparkling
+substitutes, which have since taken their place, had not yet appeared,
+and half-price at Drury Lane or Covent Garden was a dreary distraction
+after a morning of desk work. There were no Alhambras then, and no
+Cremornes, no palaces of crystal in terraced gardens, no casinos, no
+music-halls, no aquaria, no promenade concerts. Evans' existed, but
+not in the fulness of its modern development; and the most popular
+place of resort was the barbarous conviviality of the Cider Cellar.
+
+Mr. Trenchard had paid the bill, collected his quotas and rewarded the
+waiter, and then, as they all rose, said to Endymion, "We are going to
+the Divan. Do you smoke?"
+
+Endymion shook his head; but Trenchard added, "Well, you will some
+day; but you had better come with us. You need not smoke; you can
+order a cup of coffee, and then you may read all the newspapers and
+magazines. It is a nice lounge."
+
+So, emerging from Naseby Street into the Strand, they soon entered a
+tobacconist's shop, and passing through it were admitted into a
+capacious saloon, well lit and fitted up with low, broad sofas, fixed
+against the walls, and on which were seated, or reclining, many
+persons, chiefly smoking cigars, but some few practising with the
+hookah and other oriental modes. In the centre of the room was a table
+covered with newspapers and publications of that class. The companions
+from Joe's became separated after their entrance, and St. Barbe,
+addressing Endymion, said, "I am not inclined to smoke to-day. We will
+order some coffee, and you will find some amusement in this;" and he
+placed in his hands a number of "SCARAMOUCH."
+
+"I hope you will like your new life," said St. Barbe, throwing down a
+review on the Divan, and leaning back sipping his coffee. "One thing
+may be said in favour of it: you will work with a body of as true-
+hearted comrades as ever existed. They are always ready to assist one.
+Thorough good-natured fellows, that I will say for them. I suppose it
+is adversity," he continued, "that develops the kindly qualities of
+our nature. I believe the sense of common degradation has a tendency
+to make the degraded amiable--at least among themselves. I am told it
+is found so in the plantations in slave-gangs."
+
+"But I hope we are not a slave-gang," said Endymion.
+
+"It is horrible to think of gentlemen, and men of education, and
+perhaps first-rate talents--who knows?--reduced to our straits," said
+St. Barbe. "I do not follow Jawett in all his views, for I hate
+political economy, and never could understand it; and he gives it you
+pure and simple, eh? eh?--but, I say, it is something awful to think
+of the incomes that some men are making, who could no more write an
+article in 'SCARAMOUCH' than fly."
+
+"But our incomes may improve," said Endymion. "I was told to-day that
+promotion was even rapid in our office."
+
+"Our incomes may improve when we are bent and grey," said St. Barbe,
+"and we may even retire on a pension about as good as a nobleman
+leaves to his valet. Oh, it is a horrid world! Your father is a privy
+councillor, is not he?"
+
+"Yes, and so was my grandfather, but I do not think I shall ever be
+one."
+
+"It is a great thing to have a father a privy councillor," said St.
+Barbe, with a glance of envy. "If I were the son of a privy
+councillor, those demons, Shuffle and Screw, would give me 500 pounds
+for my novel, which now they put in their beastly magazine and print
+in small type, and do not pay me so much as a powdered flunkey has in
+St. James' Square. I agree with Jawett: the whole thing is rotten."
+
+"Mr. Jawett seems to have very strange opinions," said Endymion. "I
+did not like to hear what he said at dinner about the Church, but Mr.
+Trenchard turned the conversation, and I thought it best to let it
+pass."
+
+"Trenchard is a sensible man, and a good fellow," said St. Barbe; "you
+like him?"
+
+"I find him kind."
+
+"Do you know," said St. Barbe, in a whisper, and with a distressed and
+almost vindictive expression of countenance, "that man may come any
+day into four thousand a year. There is only one life between him and
+the present owner. I believe it is a good life," he added, in a more
+cheerful voice, "but still it might happen. Is it not horrible? Four
+thousand a year! Trenchard with four thousand a year, and we receiving
+little more than the pay of a butler!"
+
+"Well, I wish, for his sake, he might have it," said Endymion, "though
+I might lose a kind friend."
+
+"Look at Seymour Hicks," said St. Barbe; "he has smoked his cigar, and
+he is going. He never remains. He is going to a party, I'll be found.
+That fellow gets about in a most extraordinary manner. Is it not
+disgusting? I doubt whether he is asked much to dinner though, or I
+think we should have heard of it. Nevertheless, Trenchard said the
+other day that Hicks had dined with Lord Cinque-Ports. I can hardly
+believe it; it would be too disgusting. No lord ever asked me to
+dinner. But the aristocracy of this country are doomed!"
+
+"Mr. Hicks," said Endymion, "probably lays himself out for society."
+
+"I suppose you will," said St. Barbe, with a scrutinising air. "I
+should if I were the son of a privy councillor. Hicks is nothing; his
+father kept a stable-yard and his mother was an actress. We have had
+several dignitaries of the Church in my family and one admiral. And
+yet Hicks dines with Lord Cinque-Ports! It is positively revolting!
+But the things he does to get asked!--sings, rants, conjures,
+ventriloquises, mimics, stands on his head. His great performance is a
+parliamentary debate. We will make him do it for you. And yet with all
+this a dull dog--a very dull dog, sir. He wrote for 'Scaramouch' some
+little time, but they can stand it no more. Between you and me, he has
+had notice to quit. That I know; and he will probably get the letter
+when he goes home from his party to-night. So much for success in
+society! I shall now say good-night to you."
+
+
+
+                             CHAPTER XXI
+
+It was only ten o'clock when Endymion returned to Warwick Street, and
+for the first time in his life used a pass-key, with which Mr. Rodney
+had furnished him in the morning, and re-entered his new home. He
+thought he had used it very quietly, and was lighting his candle and
+about to steal up to his lofty heights, when from the door of the
+parlour, which opened into the passage, emerged Miss Imogene, who took
+the candlestick from his hand and insisted on waiting upon him.
+
+"I thought I heard something," she said; "you must let me light you
+up, for you can hardly yet know your way. I must see too if all is
+right; you may want something."
+
+So she tripped up lightly before him, showing, doubtless without
+premeditation, as well-turned an ankle and as pretty a foot as could
+fall to a damsel's fortunate lot. "My sister and Mr. Rodney have gone
+to the play," she said, "but they left strict instructions with me to
+see that you were comfortable, and that you wanted for nothing that we
+could supply."
+
+"You are too kind," said Endymion, as she lighted the candles on his
+dressing-table, "and, to tell you the truth, these are luxuries I am
+not accustomed to, and to which I am not entitled."
+
+"And yet," she said, with a glance of blended admiration and pity,
+"they tell me time was when gold was not good enough for you, and I do
+not think it could be."
+
+"Such kindness as this," said Endymion, "is more precious than gold."
+
+"I hope you will find your things well arranged. All your clothes are
+in these two drawers; the coats in the bottom one, and your linen in
+those above. You will not perhaps be able to find your pocket-
+handkerchiefs at first. They are in this sachet; my sister made it
+herself. Mr. Rodney says you are to be called at eight o'clock and
+breakfast at nine. I think everything is right. Good-night, Mr.
+Endymion."
+
+The Rodney household was rather a strange one. The first two floors,
+as we have mentioned, were let, and at expensive rates, for the
+apartments were capacious and capitally furnished, and the situation,
+if not distinguished, was extremely convenient--quiet from not being a
+thoroughfare, and in the heart of civilisation. They only kept a
+couple of servants, but their principal lodgers had their personal
+attendants. And yet after sunset the sisters appeared and presided at
+their tea-table, always exquisitely dressed; seldom alone, for Mr.
+Rodney had many friends, and lived in a capacious apartment, rather
+finely furnished, with a round table covered with gaudy print-books, a
+mantelpiece crowded with vases of mock Dresden, and a cottage piano,
+on which Imogene could accompany her more than pleasing voice.
+
+Somehow or other, the process is difficult to trace, Endymion not
+unfrequently found himself at Mrs. Rodney's tea-table. On the first
+occasion or so, he felt himself a little shy and embarrassed, but it
+soon became natural to him, and he would often escape from the
+symposia at Joe's, and, instead of the Divan, find in Warwick Street a
+more congenial scene. There were generally some young men there, who
+seemed delighted with the ladies, listened with enthusiasm to
+Imogene's singing, and were allowed to smoke. They were evidently
+gentlemen, and indeed Mr. Rodney casually mentioned to Endymion that
+one of the most frequent guests might some day even be a peer of the
+realm. Sometimes there was a rubber of whist, and, if wanted, Mrs.
+Rodney took a hand in it; Endymion sitting apart and conversing with
+her sister, who amused him by her lively observations, indicating even
+flashes of culture; but always addressed him without the slightest
+pretence and with the utmost naturalness. This was not the case with
+Mr. Rodney; pretence with him was ingrained, and he was at first
+somewhat embarrassed by the presence of Endymion, as he could hardly
+maintain before his late patron's son his favourite character of the
+aristocratic victim of revolution. And yet this drawback was more than
+counterbalanced by the gratification of his vanity in finding a
+Ferrars his habitual guest. Such a luxury seemed a dangerous
+indulgence, but he could not resist it, and the moth was always flying
+round the candle. There was no danger, however, and that Mr. Rodney
+soon found out. Endymion was born with tact, and it came to him as
+much from goodness of heart as fineness of taste. Mr. Rodney,
+therefore, soon resumed his anecdotes of great men and his personal
+experience of their sayings, manners, and customs, with which he was
+in the habit of enlivening or ornamenting the whist table;
+occasionally introducing Endymion to the notice of the table by
+mentioning in a low tone, "That is Mr. Ferrars, in a certain sense
+under my care; his father is a privy councillor, and had it not been
+for the revolution--for I maintain, and always will, the Reform Bill
+was neither more nor less than a revolution--would probably have been
+Prime Minister. He was my earliest and my best friend."
+
+When there were cards, there was always a little supper: a lobster and
+a roasted potato and that sort of easy thing, and curious drinks,
+which the sisters mixed and made, and which no one else, at least all
+said so, could mix and make. On fitting occasions a bottle of
+champagne appeared, and then the person for whom the wine was produced
+was sure with wonderment to say, "Where did you get this champagne,
+Rodney? Could you get me some?" Mr. Rodney shook his head and scarcely
+gave a hope, but subsequently, when the praise in consequence had
+continued and increased, would observe, "Do you really want some? I
+cannot promise, but I will try. Of course they will ask a high
+figure."
+
+"Anything they like, my dear Rodney."
+
+And in about a week's time the gentleman was so fortunate as to get
+his champagne.
+
+There was one subject in which Mr. Rodney appeared to be particularly
+interested, and that was racing. The turf at that time had not
+developed into that vast institution of national demoralisation which
+it now exhibits. That disastrous character may be mainly attributed to
+the determination of our legislators to put down gaming-houses, which,
+practically speaking, substituted for the pernicious folly of a
+comparatively limited class the ruinous madness of the community.
+There were many influences by which in the highest classes persons
+might be discouraged or deterred from play under a roof; and in the
+great majority of cases such a habit was difficult, not to say
+impossible, to indulge. But in shutting up gaming-houses, we brought
+the gaming-table into the street, and its practices became the pursuit
+of those who would otherwise have never witnessed or even thought of
+them. No doubt Crockford's had its tragedies, but all its disasters
+and calamities together would hardly equal a lustre of the ruthless
+havoc which has ensued from its suppression.
+
+Nevertheless, in 1835 men made books, and Mr. Rodney was not inexpert
+in a composition which requires no ordinary qualities of character and
+intelligence; method, judgment, self-restraint, not too much
+imagination, perception of character, and powers of calculation. All
+these qualities were now in active demand and exercise; for the Derby
+was at hand, and the Rodney family, deeply interested in the result,
+were to attend the celebrated festival.
+
+One of the young gentlemen, who sometimes smoked a cigar and sometimes
+tasted a lobster in their parlour, and who seemed alike and equally
+devoted to Mrs. Rodney and her sister, insisted upon taking them to
+Epsom in his drag, and they themselves were to select the party to
+accompany them. That was not difficult, for they were naturally all
+friends of their munificent host with one exception. Imogene
+stipulated that Endymion should be asked, and Mr. Rodney supported the
+suggestion. "He is the son of the privy councillor the Right Hon.
+William Pitt Ferrars, my earliest and my best friend, and in a certain
+sense is under my care."
+
+The drive to the Derby was not then shorn of its humours and glories.
+It was the Carnival of England, with equipages as numerous and
+various, and with banter not less quick and witty. It was a bright day
+--a day, no doubt, of wild hopes and terrible fears, but yet, on the
+whole, of joy and exultation. And no one was happier and prouder than
+pretty Mrs. Rodney, exquisitely dressed and sitting on the box of a
+patrician drag, beside its noble owner. On the seat behind them was
+Imogene, with Endymion on one side, and on the other the individual
+"who might one day be a peer." Mr. Rodney and some others, including
+Mr. Vigo, faced a couple of grooms, who sat with folded arms and
+unmoved countenances, fastidiously stolid amid all the fun, and grave
+even when they opened the champagne.
+
+The right horse won. Mr. Rodney and his friends pocketed a good stake,
+and they demolished their luncheon of luxuries with frantic gaiety.
+
+"It is almost as happy as our little suppers in Warwick Street,"
+whispered their noble driver to his companion.
+
+"Oh! much more than anything you can find there," simpered Mrs.
+Rodney.
+
+"I declare to you, some of the happiest hours of my life have been
+passed in Warwick Street," gravely murmured her friend.
+
+"I wish I could believe that," said Mrs. Rodney.
+
+As for Endymion, he enjoyed himself amazingly. The whole scene was new
+to him--he had never been at a race before, and this was the most
+famous of races. He did not know he had betted, but he found he too
+had won a little money, Mr. Rodney having put him on something, though
+what that meant he had not the remotest idea. Imogene, however,
+assured him it was all right--Mr. Rodney constantly put her on
+something. He enjoyed the luncheon too; the cold chicken, and the
+French pies, the wondrous salads, and the iced champagne. It seemed
+that Imogene was always taking care that his plate or his glass should
+be filled. Everything was delightful, and his noble host, who, always
+courteous, had hitherto been reserved, called him "Ferrars."
+
+What with the fineness of the weather, the inspirations of the excited
+and countless multitude, the divine stimulus of the luncheon, the
+kindness of his charming companions, and the general feeling of
+enjoyment and success that seemed to pervade his being, Endymion felt
+as he were almost acting a distinguished part in some grand triumph of
+antiquity, as returning home, the four splendid dark chestnuts swept
+along, two of their gay company playing bugles, and the grooms sitting
+with folded arms of haughty indifference.
+
+Just at this moment his eye fell upon an omnibus full, inside and out,
+of clerks in his office. There was a momentary stoppage, and while he
+returned the salute of several of them, his quick eye could not avoid
+recognising the slightly surprised glance of Trenchard, the curious
+amazement of Seymour Hicks, and the indignant astonishment of St.
+Barbe.
+
+"Our friend Ferrars seems in tiptop company," said Trenchard.
+
+"That may have been a countess on the box," said Seymour Hicks, "for I
+observed an earl's coronet on the drag. I cannot make out who it is."
+
+"There is no more advantage in going with four horses than with two,"
+said St. Barbe; "indeed, I believe you go slower. It is mere pride;
+puffed-up vanity. I should like to send those two grooms with their
+folded arms to the galleys--I hate those fellows. For my part, I never
+was behind four horses except in a stage-coach. No peer of the realm
+ever took me on his drag. However, a day of reckoning will come; the
+people won't stand this much longer."
+
+Jawett was not there, for he disapproved of races.
+
+
+
+                             CHAPTER XXII
+
+Endymion had to encounter a rather sharp volley when he went to the
+office next morning. After some general remarks as to the
+distinguished party which he had accompanied to the races, Seymour
+Hicks could not resist inquiring, though with some circumlocution,
+whether the lady was a countess. The lady was not a countess. Who was
+the lady? The lady was Mrs. Rodney. Who was Mrs. Rodney? She was the
+wife of Mr. Rodney, who accompanied her. Was Mr. Rodney a relation of
+Lord Rodney? Endymion believed he was not a relation of Lord Rodney.
+Who was Mr. Rodney then?
+
+"Mr. Rodney is an old friend of my father."
+
+This natural solution of doubts and difficulties arrested all further
+inquiry. Generally speaking, the position of Endymion in his new life
+was satisfactory. He was regular and assiduous in his attendance at
+office, was popular with his comrades, and was cherished by his chief,
+who had even invited him to dinner. His duties were certainly at
+present mechanical, but they were associated with an interesting
+profession; and humble as was his lot, he began to feel the pride of
+public life. He continued to be a regular guest at Joe's, and was
+careful not to seem to avoid the society of his fellow-clerks in the
+evenings, for he had an instinctive feeling that it was as well they
+should not become acquainted with his circle in Warwick Street. And
+yet to him the attractions of that circle became daily more difficult
+to resist. And often when he was enduring the purgatory of the Divan,
+listening to the snarls of St. Barbe over the shameful prosperity of
+everybody in this world except the snarler, or perhaps went half-price
+to the pit of Drury Lane with the critical Trenchard, he was, in
+truth, restless and absent, and his mind was in another place,
+indulging in visions which he did not care to analyse, but which were
+very agreeable.
+
+One evening, shortly after the expedition to Epsom, while the rest
+were playing a rubber, Imogene said to him, "I wish you to be friends
+with Mr. Vigo; I think he might be of use to you."
+
+Mr. Vigo was playing whist at this moment; his partner was Sylvia, and
+they were playing against Mr. Rodney and Waldershare.
+
+Waldershare was a tenant of the second floor. He was the young
+gentleman "who might some day be a peer." He was a young man of about
+three or four and twenty years; fair, with short curly brown hair and
+blue eyes; not exactly handsome, but with a countenance full of
+expression, and the index of quick emotions, whether of joy or of
+anger. Waldershare was the only child of a younger son of a patrician
+house, and had inherited from his father a moderate but easy fortune.
+He had been the earliest lodger of the Rodneys, and, taking advantage
+of the Tory reaction, had just been returned to the House of Commons.
+
+What he would do there was a subject of interesting speculation to his
+numerous friends, and it may be said admirers. Waldershare was one of
+those vivid and brilliant organisations which exercise a peculiarly
+attractive influence on youth. He had been the hero of the debating
+club at Cambridge, and many believed in consequence that he must
+become prime minister. He was witty and fanciful, and, though
+capricious and bad-tempered, could flatter and caress. At Cambridge he
+had introduced the new Oxford heresy, of which Nigel Penruddock was a
+votary. Waldershare prayed and fasted, and swore by Laud and
+Strafford. He took, however, a more eminent degree at Paris than at
+his original Alma Mater, and becoming passionately addicted to French
+literature, his views respecting both Church and State became modified
+--at least in private. His entrance into English society had been
+highly successful, and as he had a due share of vanity, and was by no
+means free from worldliness, he had enjoyed and pursued his triumphs.
+But his versatile nature, which required not only constant, but novel
+excitement, became palled, even with the society of duchesses. There
+was a monotony in the splendour of aristocratic life which wearied
+him, and for some time he had persuaded himself that the only people
+who understood the secret of existence were the family under whose
+roof he lodged.
+
+Waldershare was profligate, but sentimental; unprincipled, but
+romantic; the child of whim, and the slave of an imagination so
+freakish and deceptive, that it was always impossible to foretell his
+course. He was alike capable of sacrificing all his feelings to
+worldly considerations or of forfeiting the world for a visionary
+caprice. At present his favourite scheme, and one to which he seemed
+really attached, was to educate Imogene. Under his tuition he had
+persuaded himself that she would turn out what he styled "a great
+woman." An age of vast change, according to Waldershare, was impending
+over us. There was no male career in which one could confide. Most men
+of mark would probably be victims, but "a great woman" must always
+make her way. Whatever the circumstances, she would adapt herself to
+them; if necessary, would mould and fashion them. His dream was that
+Imogene should go forth and conquer the world, and that in the sunset
+of life he should find a refuge in some corner of her palace.
+
+Imogene was only a child when Waldershare first became a lodger. She
+used to bring his breakfast to his drawing-room and arrange his table.
+He encountered her one day, and he requested her to remain, and always
+preside over his meal. He fell in love with her name, and wrote her a
+series of sonnets, idealising her past, panegyrising her present, and
+prophetic of her future life. Imogene, who was neither shy nor
+obtrusive, was calm amid all his vagaries, humoured his fancies, even
+when she did not understand them, and read his verses as she would a
+foreign language which she was determined to master.
+
+Her culture, according to Waldershare, was to be carried on chiefly by
+conversations. She was not to read, or at least not to read much,
+until her taste was formed and she had acquired the due share of
+previous knowledge necessary to profitable study. As Waldershare was
+eloquent, brilliant, and witty, Imogene listened to him with wondering
+interest and amusement, even when she found some difficulty in
+following him; but her apprehension was so quick and her tact so fine,
+that her progress, though she was almost unconscious of it, was
+remarkable. Sometimes in the evening, while the others were smoking
+together or playing whist, Waldershare and Imogene, sitting apart,
+were engaged in apparently the most interesting converse. It was
+impossible not to observe the animation and earnestness of
+Waldershare, and the great attention with which his companion
+responded to his representations. Yet all this time he was only giving
+her a lecture on Madame de Sevigne.
+
+Waldershare used to take Imogene to the National Gallery and Hampton
+Court, and other delightful scenes of popular education, but of late
+Mrs. Rodney had informed her sister that she was no longer young
+enough to permit these expeditions. Imogene accepted the announcement
+without a murmur, but it occasioned Waldershare several sonnets of
+heartrending remonstrance. Imogene continued, however, to make his
+breakfast, and kept his Parliamentary papers in order, which he never
+could manage, but the mysteries of which Imogene mastered with
+feminine quickness and precision. Whenever Waldershare was away he
+always maintained a constant correspondence with Imogene. In this he
+communicated everything to her without the slightest reserve;
+describing everything he saw, almost everything he heard, pages
+teeming with anecdotes of a world of which she could know nothing--the
+secrets of courts and coteries, memoirs of princes and ministers, of
+dandies and dames of fashion. "If anything happens to me," Waldershare
+would say to Imogene, "this correspondence may be worth thousands to
+you, and when it is published it will connect your name with mine, and
+assist my grand idea of your becoming 'a great woman.'"
+
+"But I do not know Mr. Vigo," whispered Endymion to Imogene.
+
+"But you have met him here, and you went together to Epsom. It is
+enough. He is going to ask you to dine with him on Saturday. We shall
+be there, and Mr. Waldershare is going. He has a beautiful place, and
+it will be very pleasant." And exactly as Imogene had anticipated, Mr.
+Vigo, in the course of the evening, did ask Endymion to do him the
+honour of being his guest.
+
+The villa of Mr. Vigo was on the banks of the Thames, and had once
+belonged to a noble customer. The Palladian mansion contained a suite
+of chambers of majestic dimensions--lofty ceilings, rich cornices, and
+vast windows of plate glass; the gardens were rich with the products
+of conservatories which Mr. Vigo had raised with every modern
+improvement, and a group of stately cedars supported the dignity of
+the scene and gave to it a name. Beyond, a winding walk encircled a
+large field which Mr. Vigo called the park, and which sparkled with
+gold and silver pheasants, and the keeper lived in a newly-raised
+habitation at the extreme end, which took the form of a Swiss cottage.
+
+The Rodney family, accompanied by Mr. Waldershare and Endymion, went
+to the Cedars by water. It was a delightful afternoon of June, the
+river warm and still, and the soft, fitful western breeze occasionally
+rich with the perfume of the gardens of Putney and Chiswick.
+Waldershare talked the whole way. It was a rhapsody of fancy, fun,
+knowledge, anecdote, brilliant badinage--even passionate seriousness.
+Sometimes he recited poetry, and his voice was musical; and, then,
+when he had attuned his companions to a sentimental pitch, he would
+break into mockery, and touch with delicate satire every mood of human
+feeling. Endymion listened to him in silence and admiration. He had
+never heard Waldershare talk before, and he had never heard anybody
+like him. All this time, what was now, and ever, remarkable in
+Waldershare were his manners. They were finished, even to courtliness.
+Affable and winning, he was never familiar. He always addressed Sylvia
+as if she were one of those duchesses round whom he used to linger. He
+would bow deferentially to her remarks, and elicit from some of her
+casual observations an acute or graceful meaning, of which she herself
+was by no means conscious. The bow of Waldershare was a study. Its
+grace and ceremony must have been organic; for there was no
+traditionary type in existence from which he could have derived or
+inherited it. He certainly addressed Imogene and spoke to her by her
+Christian name; but this was partly because he was in love with the
+name, and partly because he would persist in still treating her as a
+child. But his manner to her always was that of tender respect. She
+was almost as silent as Endymion during their voyage, but not less
+attentive to her friend. Mr. Rodney was generally silent, and never
+opened his mouth on this occasion except in answer to an inquiry from
+his wife as to whom a villa might belong, and it seemed always that he
+knew every villa, and every one to whom they belonged.
+
+The sisters were in demi-toilette, which seemed artless, though in
+fact it was profoundly devised. Sylvia was the only person who really
+understood the meaning of "simplex munditiis," and this was one of the
+secrets of her success. There were some ladies, on the lawn of the
+Cedars when they arrived, not exactly of their school, and who were
+finely and fully dressed. Mrs. Gamme was the wife of a sporting
+attorney of Mr. Vigo, and who also, having a villa at hand, was looked
+upon as a country neighbour. Mrs. Gamme was universally recognised to
+be a fine woman, and she dressed up to her reputation. She was a
+famous whist-player at high points, and dealt the cards with hands
+covered with diamond rings. Another country neighbour was the chief
+partner in the celebrated firm of Hooghley, Dacca, and Co., dealers in
+Indian and other shawls. Mr. Hooghley had married a celebrated
+actress, and was proud and a little jealous of his wife. Mrs. Hooghley
+had always an opportunity at the Cedars of meeting some friends in her
+former profession, for Mr. Vigo liked to be surrounded by genius and
+art. "I must have talent," he would exclaim, as he looked round at the
+amusing and motley multitude assembled at his splendid entertainments.
+And to-day upon his lawn might be observed the first tenor of the
+opera and a prima-donna who had just arrived, several celebrated
+members of the English stage of both sexes, artists of great
+reputation, whose principal works already adorned the well-selected
+walls of the Cedars, a danseuse or two of celebrity, some literary
+men, as Mr. Vigo styled them, who were chiefly brethren of the
+political press, and more than one member of either House of
+Parliament.
+
+Just as the party were preparing to leave the lawn and enter the
+dining-room arrived, breathless and glowing, the young earl who had
+driven the Rodneys to the Derby.
+
+"A shaver, my dear Vigo! Only returned to town this afternoon, and
+found your invitation. How fortunate!" And then he looked around, and
+recognising Mrs. Rodney, was immediately at her side. "I must have the
+honour of taking you into dinner. I got your note, but only by this
+morning's post."
+
+The dinner was a banquet,--a choice bouquet before every guest, turtle
+and venison and piles of whitebait, and pine-apples of prodigious
+size, and bunches of grapes that had gained prizes. The champagne
+seemed to flow in fountains, and was only interrupted that the guests
+might quaff Burgundy or taste Tokay. But what was more delightful than
+all was the enjoyment of all present, and especially of their host.
+That is a rare sight. Banquets are not rare, nor choice guests, nor
+gracious hosts; but when do we ever see a person enjoy anything? But
+these gay children of art and whim, and successful labour and happy
+speculation, some of them very rich and some of them without a sou,
+seemed only to think of the festive hour and all its joys. Neither
+wealth nor poverty brought them cares. Every face sparkled, every word
+seemed witty, and every sound seemed sweet. A band played upon the
+lawn during the dinner, and were succeeded, when the dessert
+commenced, by strange choruses from singers of some foreign land, who
+for the first time aired their picturesque costumes on the banks of
+the Thames.
+
+When the ladies had withdrawn to the saloon, the first comic singer of
+the age excelled himself; and when they rejoined their fair friends,
+the primo-tenore and the prima-donna gave them a grand scene,
+succeeded by the English performers in a favourite scene from a famous
+farce. Then Mrs. Gamme had an opportunity of dealing with her diamond
+rings, and the rest danced--a waltz of whirling grace, or merry
+cotillon of jocund bouquets.
+
+"Well, Clarence," said Waldershare to the young earl, as they stood
+for a moment apart, "was I right?"
+
+"By Jove! yes. It is the only life. You were quite right. We should
+indeed be fools to sacrifice ourselves to the conventional."
+
+The Rodney party returned home in the drag of the last speaker. They
+were the last to retire, as Mr. Vigo wished for one cigar with his
+noble friend. As he bade farewell, and cordially, to Endymion, he
+said, "Call on me to-morrow morning in Burlington Street in your way
+to your office. Do not mind the hour. I am an early bird."
+
+
+
+                            CHAPTER XXIII
+
+"It is no favour," said Mr. Vigo; "it is not even an act of
+friendliness; it is a freak, and it is my freak; the favour, if there
+be one, is conferred by you."
+
+"But I really do not know what to say," said Endymion, hesitating and
+confused.
+
+"I am not a classical scholar," said Mr. Vigo, "but there are two
+things which I think I understand--men and horses. I like to back them
+both when I think they ought to win."
+
+"But I am scarcely a man," said Endymion, rather piteously, "and I
+sometimes think I shall never win anything."
+
+"That is my affair," replied Mr. Vigo; "you are a yearling, and I have
+formed my judgment as to your capacity. What I wish to do in your case
+is what I have done in others, and some memorable ones. Dress does not
+make a man, but it often makes a successful one. The most precious
+stone, you know, must be cut and polished. I shall enter your name in
+my books for an unlimited credit, and no account to be settled till
+you are a privy councillor. I do not limit the credit, because you are
+a man of sense and a gentleman, and will not abuse it. But be quite as
+careful not to stint yourself as not to be needlessly extravagant. In
+the first instance, you would be interfering with my experiment, and
+that would not be fair."
+
+This conversation took place in Mr. Vigo's counting-house the morning
+after the entertainment at his villa. Endymion called upon Mr. Vigo in
+his way to his office, as he had been requested to do, and Mr. Vigo
+had expressed his wishes and intentions with regard to Endymion, as
+intimated in the preceding remarks.
+
+"I have known many an heiress lost by her suitor being ill-dressed,"
+said Mr. Vigo. "You must dress according to your age, your pursuits,
+your object in life; you must dress too, in some cases, according to
+your set. In youth a little fancy is rather expected, but if political
+life be your object, it should be avoided, at least after one-and-
+twenty. I am dressing two brothers now, men of considerable position;
+one is a mere man of pleasure, the other will probably be a minister
+of state. They are as like as two peas, but were I to dress the dandy
+and the minister the same, it would be bad taste--it would be
+ridiculous. No man gives me the trouble which Lord Eglantine does; he
+has not made up his mind whether he will be a great poet or prime
+minister. 'You must choose, my lord,' I tell him. 'I cannot send you
+out looking like Lord Byron if you mean to be a Canning or a Pitt.' I
+have dressed a great many of our statesmen and orators, and I always
+dressed them according to their style and the nature of their duties.
+What all men should avoid is the 'shabby genteel.' No man ever gets
+over it. I will save you from that. You had better be in rags."
+
+
+
+                             CHAPTER XXIV
+
+When the twins had separated, they had resolved on a system of
+communication which had been, at least on the part of Myra,
+scrupulously maintained. They were to interchange letters every week,
+and each letter was to assume, if possible, the shape of a journal, so
+that when they again met no portion of the interval should be a blank
+in their past lives. There were few incidents in the existence of
+Myra; a book, a walk, a visit to the rectory, were among the chief.
+The occupations of their father were unchanged, and his health seemed
+sustained, but that of her mother was not satisfactory. Mrs. Ferrars
+had never rallied since the last discomfiture of her political hopes,
+and had never resumed her previous tenour of life. She was secluded,
+her spirits uncertain, moods of depression succeeded by fits of
+unaccountable excitement, and, on the whole, Myra feared a general and
+chronic disturbance of her nervous system. His sister prepared
+Endymion for encountering a great change in their parent when he
+returned home. Myra, however, never expatiated on the affairs of
+Hurstley. Her annals in this respect were somewhat dry. She fulfilled
+her promise of recording them, but no more. Her pen was fuller and
+more eloquent in her comments on the life of her brother, and of the
+new characters with whom he had become acquainted. She delighted to
+hear about Mr. Jawett, and especially about Mr. St. Barbe, and was
+much pleased that he had been to the Derby, though she did not exactly
+collect who were his companions. Did he go with that kind Mr.
+Trenchant? It would seem that Endymion's account of the Rodney family
+had been limited to vague though earnest acknowledgments of their
+great civility and attention, which added much to the comfort of his
+life. Impelled by some of these grateful though general remarks, Mrs.
+Ferrars, in a paroxysm of stately gratitude, had sent a missive to
+Sylvia, such as a sovereign might address to a deserving subject, at
+the same time acknowledging and commending her duteous services. Such
+was the old domestic superstition of the Rodneys, that, with all their
+worldliness, they treasured this effusion as if it had really emanated
+from the centre of power and courtly favour.
+
+Myra, in her anticipation of speedily meeting her brother, was doomed
+to disappointment. She had counted on Endymion obtaining some holidays
+in the usual recess, but in consequence of having so recently joined
+the office, Endymion was retained for summer and autumnal work, and
+not until Christmas was there any prospect of his returning home.
+
+The interval between midsummer and that period, though not devoid of
+seasons of monotony and loneliness, passed in a way not altogether
+unprofitable to Endymion. Waldershare, who had begun to notice him,
+seemed to become interested in his career. Waldershare knew all about
+his historic ancestor, Endymion Carey. The bubbling imagination of
+Waldershare clustered with a sort of wild fascination round a living
+link with the age of the cavaliers. He had some Stuart blood in his
+veins, and his ancestors had fallen at Edgehill and Marston Moor.
+Waldershare, whose fancies alternated between Stafford and St. Just,
+Archbishop Laud and the Goddess of Reason, reverted for the moment to
+his visions on the banks of the Cam, and the brilliant rhapsodies of
+his boyhood. His converse with Nigel Penruddock had prepared Endymion
+in some degree for these mysteries, and perhaps it was because
+Waldershare found that Endymion was by no means ill-informed on these
+matters, and therefore there was less opportunity of dazzling and
+moulding him, which was a passion with Waldershare, that he soon
+quitted the Great Rebellion for pastures new, and impressed upon his
+pupil that all that had occurred before the French Revolution was
+ancient history. The French Revolution had introduced the cosmopolitan
+principle into human affairs instead of the national, and no public
+man could succeed who did not comprehend and acknowledge that truth.
+Waldershare lent Endymion books, and book with which otherwise he
+would not have become acquainted. Unconsciously to himself, the talk
+of Waldershare, teeming with knowledge, and fancy, and playfulness,
+and airy sarcasm of life, taught him something of the art of
+conversation--to be prompt without being stubborn, to refute without
+argument, and to clothe grave matters in a motley garb.
+
+But in August Waldershare disappeared, and at the beginning of
+September, even the Rodneys had gone to Margate. St. Barbe was the
+only clerk left in Endymion's room. They dined together almost every
+day, and went on the top of an omnibus to many a suburban paradise. "I
+tell you what," said St. Barbe, as they were watching one day together
+the humours of the world in the crowded tea-garden and bustling
+bowling-green of Canonbury Tavern; "a fellow might get a good chapter
+out of this scene. I could do it, but I will not. What is the use of
+lavishing one's brains on an ungrateful world? Why, if that fellow
+Gushy were to write a description of this place, which he would do
+like a penny-a-liner drunk with ginger beer, every countess in Mayfair
+would be reading him, not knowing, the idiot, whether she ought to
+smile or shed tears, and sending him cards with 'at home' upon them as
+large as life. Oh! it is disgusting! absolutely disgusting. It is a
+nefarious world, sir. You will find it out some day. I am as much
+robbed by that fellow Gushy as men are on the highway. He is
+appropriating my income, and the income of thousands of honest
+fellows. And then he pretends he is writing for the people! The
+people! What does he know about the people? Annals of the New Cut and
+Saffron Hill. He thinks he will frighten some lord, who will ask him
+to dinner. And that he calls Progress. I hardly know which is the
+worst class in this country--the aristocracy, the middle class, or
+what they call the people. I hate them all."
+
+About the fall of the leaf the offices were all filled again, and
+among the rest Trenchard returned. "His brother has been ill," said
+St. Barbe. "They say that Trenchard is very fond of him. Fond of a
+brother who keeps him out of four thousand pounds per annum! What will
+man not say? And yet I could not go and congratulate Trenchard on his
+brother's death. It would be 'bad taste.' Trenchard would perhaps
+never speak to me again, though he had been lying awake all night
+chuckling over the event. And Gushy takes an amiable view of this
+world of hypocrisy and plunder. And that is why Gushy is so popular!"
+
+There was one incident at the beginning of November, which eventually
+exercised no mean influence on the life of Endymion. Trenchard offered
+one evening to introduce him as a guest to a celebrated debating
+society, of which Trenchard was a distinguished member. This society
+had grown out of the Union at Cambridge, and was originally intended
+to have been a metropolitan branch of that famous association. But in
+process of time it was found that such a constitution was too limited
+to ensure those numbers and that variety of mind desirable in such an
+institution. It was therefore opened to the whole world duly
+qualified. The predominant element, however, for a long time consisted
+of Cambridge men.
+
+This society used to meet in a large room, fitted up as much like the
+House of Commons as possible, and which was in Freemason's Tavern, in
+Great Queen Street. Some hundred and fifty members were present when
+Endymion paid his first visit there, and the scene to Endymion was
+novel and deeply interesting. Though only a guest, he was permitted to
+sit in the body of the chamber, by the side of Trenchard, who kindly
+gave him some information, as the proceedings advanced, as to the
+principal personages who took part in them,
+
+The question to-night was, whether the decapitation of Charles the
+First were a justifiable act, and the debate was opened in the
+affirmative by a young man with a singularly sunny face and a voice of
+music. His statement was clear and calm. Though nothing could be more
+uncompromising than his opinions, it seemed that nothing could be
+fairer than his facts.
+
+"That is Hortensius," said Trenchard; "he will be called this term.
+They say he did nothing at the university, and is too idle to do
+anything at the bar; but I think highly of him. You should hear him in
+reply."
+
+The opening speech was seconded by a very young man, in a most
+artificial style, remarkable for its superfluity of intended sarcasm,
+which was delivered in a highly elaborate tone, so that the speaker
+seemed severe without being keen.
+
+"'Tis the new Cambridge style," whispered Trenchard, "but it will not
+go down here."
+
+The question having been launched, Spruce arose, a very neat speaker;
+a little too mechanical, but plausible. Endymion was astonished at the
+dexterous turns in his own favour which he gave to many of the
+statements of Hortensius, and how he mangled and massacred the
+seconder, who had made a mistake in a date.
+
+"He is the Tory leader," said Trenchard. "There are not twenty Tories
+in our Union, but we always listen to him. He is sharp, Jawett will
+answer him."
+
+And, accordingly, that great man rose. Jawett, in dulcet tones of
+philanthropy, intimated that he was not opposed to the decapitation of
+kings; on the contrary, if there were no other way of getting rid of
+them, he would have recourse to such a method. But he did not think
+the case before them was justifiable.
+
+"Always crotchety," whispered Trenchard.
+
+Jawett thought the whole conception of the opening speech erroneous.
+It proceeded on the assumption that the execution of Charles was the
+act of the people; on the contrary, it was an intrigue of Cromwell,
+who was the only person who profited by it.
+
+Cromwell was vindicated and panegyrised in a flaming speech by
+Montreal, who took this opportunity of denouncing alike kings and
+bishops, Church and State, with powerful invective, terminating his
+address by the expression of an earnest hope that he might be spared
+to witness the inevitable Commonwealth of England.
+
+"He only lost his election for Rattleton by ten votes," said
+Trenchard. "We call him the Lord Protector, and his friends here think
+he will be so."
+
+The debate was concluded, after another hour, by Hortensius, and
+Endymion was struck by the contrast between his first and second
+manner. Safe from reply, and reckless in his security, it is not easy
+to describe the audacity of his retorts, or the tumult of his
+eloquence. Rapid, sarcastic, humorous, picturesque, impassioned, he
+seemed to carry everything before him, and to resemble his former self
+in nothing but the music of his voice, which lent melody to scorn, and
+sometimes reached the depth of pathos.
+
+Endymion walked home with Mr. Trenchard, and in a musing mood. "I
+should not care how lazy I was," said Endymion, "if I could speak like
+Hortensius."
+
+
+
+                             CHAPTER XXV
+
+The snow was falling about the time when the Swindon coach, in which
+Endymion was a passenger, was expected at Hurstley, and the snow had
+been falling all day. Nothing had been more dreary than the outward
+world, or less entitled to the merry epithet which is the privilege of
+the season. The gardener had been despatched to the village inn, where
+the coach stopped, with a lantern and cloaks and umbrellas. Within the
+house the huge blocks of smouldering beech sent forth a hospitable
+heat, and, whenever there was a sound, Myra threw cones on the
+inflamed mass, that Endymion might be welcomed with a blaze. Mrs.
+Ferrars, who had appeared to-day, though late, and had been very
+nervous and excited, broke down half an hour before her son could
+arrive, and, murmuring that she would reappear, had retired. Her
+husband was apparently reading, but his eye wandered and his mind was
+absent from the volume.
+
+The dogs barked, Mr. Ferrars threw down his book, Myra forgot her
+cones; the door burst open, and she was in her brother's arms.
+
+"And where is mamma?" said Endymion, after he had greeted his father.
+
+"She will be here directly," said Mr. Ferrars. "You are late, and the
+suspense of your arrival a little agitated her."
+
+Three quarters of a year had elapsed since the twins had parted, and
+they were at that period of life when such an interval often produces
+no slight changes in personal appearance. Endymion, always tall for
+his years, had considerably grown; his air, and manner, and dress were
+distinguished. But three quarters of a year had produced a still
+greater effect upon his sister. He had left her a beautiful girl: her
+beauty was not less striking, but it was now the beauty of a woman.
+Her mien was radiant but commanding, and her brow, always remarkable,
+was singularly impressive.
+
+They stood in animated converse before the fire, Endymion between his
+father and his sister and retaining of each a hand, when Mr. Ferrars
+nodded to Myra and said, "I think now;" and Myra, not reluctantly, but
+not with happy eagerness, left the room.
+
+"She is gone for your poor mother," said Mr. Ferrars; "we are uneasy
+about her, my dear boy."
+
+Myra was some time away, and when she returned, she was alone. "She
+says she must see him first in her room," said Myra, in a low voice,
+to her father; "but that will never do; you or I must go with him."
+
+"You had better go," said Mr. Ferrars.
+
+She took her brother's hand and led him away. "I go with you, to
+prevent dreadful scenes," said his sister on the staircase. "Try to
+behave just as in old times, and as if you saw no change."
+
+Myra went into the chamber first, to give to her mother, if possible,
+the keynote of the interview, and of which she had already furnished
+the prelude. "We are all so happy to see Endymion again, dear mamma.
+Papa is quite gay."
+
+And then when Endymion, answering his sister's beckon, entered, Mrs.
+Ferrars rushed forward with a sort of laugh, and cried out, "Oh! I am
+so happy to see you again, my child. I feel quite gay."
+
+He embraced her, but he could not believe it was his mother. A visage
+at once haggard and bloated had supplanted that soft and rich
+countenance which had captivated so many. A robe concealed her
+attenuated frame; but the lustrous eyes were bleared and bloodshot,
+and the accents of the voice, which used to be at once melodious and a
+little drawling, hoarse, harsh, and hurried.
+
+She never stopped talking; but it was all in one key, and that the
+prescribed one--her happiness at his arrival, the universal gaiety it
+had produced, and the merry Christmas they were to keep. After a time
+she began to recur to the past, and to sigh; but instantly Myra
+interfered with "You know, mamma, you are to dine downstairs to-day,
+and you will hardly have time to dress;" and she motioned to Endymion
+to retire.
+
+Mrs. Ferrars kept the dinner waiting a long time, and, when she
+entered the room, it was evident that she was painfully excited. She
+had a cap on, and had used some rouge.
+
+"Endymion must take me in to dinner," she hurriedly exclaimed as she
+entered, and then grasped her son's arm.
+
+It seemed a happy and even a merry dinner, and yet there was something
+about it forced and constrained. Mrs. Ferrars talked a great deal, and
+Endymion told them a great many anecdotes of those men and things
+which most interested them, and Myra seemed to be absorbed in his
+remarks and narratives, and his mother would drink his health more
+than once, when suddenly she went into hysterics, and all was anarchy.
+Mr. Ferrars looked distressed and infinitely sad; and Myra, putting
+her arm round her mother, and whispering words of calm or comfort,
+managed to lead her out of the room, and neither of them returned.
+
+"Poor creature!" said Mr. Ferrars, with a sigh. "Seeing you has been
+too much for her."
+
+The next morning Endymion and his sister paid a visit to the rectory,
+and there they met Nigel, who was passing his Christmas at home. This
+was a happy meeting. The rector had written an essay on squirrels, and
+showed them a glass containing that sportive little animal in all its
+frolic forms. Farmer Thornberry had ordered a path to be cleared on
+the green from the hall to the rectory; and "that is all," said Mrs.
+Penruddock, "we have to walk upon, except the high road. The snow has
+drifted to such a degree that it is impossible to get to the Chase. I
+went out the day before yesterday with Carlo as a guide. When I did
+not clearly make out my way, I sent him forward, and sometimes I could
+only see his black head emerging from the snow. So I had to retreat."
+
+Mrs. Ferrars did not appear this day. Endymion visited her in her
+room. He found her flighty and incoherent. She seemed to think that he
+had returned permanently to Hurstley, and said she never had any good
+opinion of the scheme of his leaving them. If it had been the Foreign
+Office, as was promised, and his father had been in the Cabinet, which
+was his right, it might have been all very well. But, if he were to
+leave home, he ought to have gone into the Guards, and it was not too
+late. And then they might live in a small house in town, and look
+after him. There were small houses in Wilton Crescent, which would do
+very well. Besides, she herself wanted change of air. Hurstley did not
+agree with her. She had no appetite. She never was well except in
+London, or Wimbledon. She wished that, as Endymion was here, he would
+speak to his father on the subject. She saw no reason why they should
+not live at their place at Wimbledon as well as here. It was not so
+large a house, and, therefore, would not be so expensive.
+
+Endymion's holiday was only to last a week, and Myra seemed jealous of
+his sparing any portion of it to Nigel; yet the rector's son was
+sedulous in his endeavours to enjoy the society of his former
+companion. There seemed some reason for his calling at the hall every
+day. Mr. Ferrars broke through his habits, and invited Nigel to dine
+with them; and after dinner, saying that he would visit Mrs. Ferrars,
+who was unwell, left them alone. It was the only time they had yet
+been alone. Endymion found that there was no change in the feelings
+and views of Nigel respecting Church matters, except that his
+sentiments and opinions were more assured, and, if possible, more
+advanced. He would not tolerate any reference to the state of the
+nation; it was the state of the Church which engrossed his being. No
+government was endurable that was not divine. The Church was divine,
+and on that he took his stand.
+
+Nigel was to take his degree next term, and orders as soon as
+possible. He looked forward with confidence, after doubtless a period
+of disturbance, confusion, probably violence, and even anarchy, to the
+establishment of an ecclesiastical polity that would be catholic
+throughout the realm. Endymion just intimated the very contrary
+opinions that Jawett held upon these matters, and mentioned, though
+not as an adherent, some of the cosmopolitan sentiments of
+Waldershare.
+
+"The Church is cosmopolitan," said Nigel; "the only practicable means
+by which you can attain to identity of motive and action."
+
+Then they rejoined Myra, but Nigel soon returned to the absorbing
+theme. His powers had much developed since he and Endymion used to
+wander together over Hurstley Chase. He had great eloquence, his views
+were startling and commanding, and his expressions forcible and
+picturesque. All was heightened, too, by his striking personal
+appearance and the beauty of his voice. He seemed something between a
+young prophet and an inquisitor; a remarkable blending of enthusiasm
+and self-control.
+
+A person more experienced in human nature than Endymion might have
+observed, that all this time, while Nigel was to all appearance
+chiefly addressing himself to Endymion, he was, in fact, endeavouring
+to impress his sister. Endymion knew, from the correspondence of Myra,
+that Nigel had been, especially in the summer, much at Hurstley; and
+when he was alone with his sister, he could not help remarking, "Nigel
+is as strong as ever in his views."
+
+"Yes," she replied; "he is very clever and very good-looking. It is a
+pity he is going into the Church. I do not like clergymen."
+
+On the third day of the visit, Mrs. Ferrars was announced to be
+unwell, and in the evening very unwell; and Mr. Ferrars sent to the
+nearest medical man, and he was distant, to attend her. The medical
+man did not arrive until past midnight, and, after visiting his
+patient, looked grave. She had fever, but of what character it was
+difficult to decide. The medical man had brought some remedies with
+him, and he stayed the night at the hall. It was a night of anxiety
+and alarm, and the household did not retire until nearly the break of
+dawn.
+
+The next day it seemed that the whole of the Penruddock family were in
+the house. Mrs. Penruddock insisted on nursing Mrs. Ferrars, and her
+husband looked as if he thought he might be wanted. It was
+unreasonable that Nigel should be left alone. His presence, always
+pleasing, was a relief to an anxious family, and who were beginning to
+get alarmed. The fever did not subside. On the contrary, it increased,
+and there were other dangerous symptoms. There was a physician of fame
+at Oxford, whom Nigel wished they would call in. Matters were too
+pressing to wait for the posts, and too complicated to trust to an
+ordinary messenger. Nigel, who was always well mounted, was in his
+saddle in an instant. He seemed to be all resource, consolation, and
+energy: "If I am fortunate, he will be here in four hours; at all
+events, I will not return alone."
+
+Four terrible hours were these: Mr. Ferrars, restless and sad, and
+listening with a vacant air or an absent look to the kind and
+unceasing talk of the rector; Myra, silent in her mother's chamber;
+and Endymion, wandering about alone with his eyes full of tears. This
+was the Merrie Christmas he had talked of, and this his long-looked-
+for holiday. He could think of nothing but his mother's kindness; and
+the days gone by, when she was so bright and happy, came back to him
+with painful vividness. It seemed to him that he belonged to a doomed
+and unhappy family. Youth and its unconscious mood had hitherto driven
+this thought from his mind; but it occurred to him now, and would not
+be driven away.
+
+Nigel was fortunate. Before sunset he returned to Hurstley in a
+postchaise with the Oxford physician, whom he had furnished with an
+able and accurate diagnosis of the case. All that art could devise,
+and all that devotion could suggest, were lavished on the sufferer,
+but in vain; and four days afterwards, the last day of Endymion's
+long-awaited holiday, Mr. Ferrars closed for ever the eyes of that
+brilliant being, who, with some weaknesses, but many noble qualities,
+had shared with no unequal spirit the splendour and the adversity of
+his existence.
+
+
+
+                             CHAPTER XXVI
+
+Nigel took a high degree and obtained first-class honours. He was
+ordained by the bishop of the diocese as soon after as possible. His
+companions, who looked up to him with every expectation of his
+eminence and influence, were disappointed, however, in the course of
+life on which he decided. It was different from that which he had led
+them to suppose it would be. They had counted on his becoming a
+resident light of the University, filling its highest offices, and
+ultimately reaching the loftiest stations in the Church. Instead of
+that he announced that he had resolved to become a curate to his
+father, and that he was about to bury himself in the solitude of
+Hurstley.
+
+It was in the early summer following the death of Mrs. Ferrars that he
+settled there. He was frequently at the hall, and became intimate with
+Mr. Ferrars. Notwithstanding the difference of age, there was between
+them a sympathy of knowledge and thought. In spite of his decided
+mind, Nigel listened to Mr. Ferrars with deference, soliciting his
+judgment, and hanging, as it were, on his accents of wise experience
+and refined taste. So Nigel became a favourite with Mr. Ferrars; for
+there are few things more flattering than the graceful submission of
+an accomplished intellect, and, when accompanied by youth, the spell
+is sometimes fascinating.
+
+The death of his wife seemed to have been a great blow to Mr. Ferrars.
+The expression of his careworn, yet still handsome, countenance
+became, if possible, more saddened. It was with difficulty that his
+daughter could induce him to take exercise, and he had lost altogether
+that seeming interest in their outer world which once at least he
+affected to feel. Myra, though ever content to be alone, had given up
+herself much to her father since his great sorrow; but she felt that
+her efforts to distract him from his broodings were not eminently
+successful, and she hailed with a feeling of relief the establishment
+of Nigel in the parish, and the consequent intimacy that arose between
+him and her father.
+
+Nigel and Myra were necessarily under these circumstances thrown much
+together. As time advanced he passed his evenings generally at the
+hall, for he was a proficient in the only game which interested Mr.
+Ferrars, and that was chess. Reading and writing all day, Mr. Ferrars
+required some remission of attention, and his relaxation was chess.
+Before the games, and between the games, and during delightful tea-
+time, and for the happy quarter of an hour which ensued when the chief
+employment of the evening ceased, Nigel appealed much to Myra, and
+endeavoured to draw out her mind and feelings. He lent her books, and
+books that favoured, indirectly at least, his own peculiar views--
+volumes of divine poesy that had none of the twang of psalmody, tales
+of tender and sometimes wild and brilliant fancy, but ever full of
+symbolic truth.
+
+Chess-playing requires complete abstraction, and Nigel, though he was
+a double first, occasionally lost a game from a lapse in that
+condensed attention that secures triumph. The fact is, he was too
+frequently thinking of something else besides the moves on the board,
+and his ear was engaged while his eye wandered, if Myra chanced to
+rise from her seat or make the slightest observation.
+
+The woods were beginning to assume the first fair livery of autumn,
+when it is beautiful without decay. The lime and the larch had not yet
+dropped a golden leaf, and the burnished beeches flamed in the sun.
+Every now and then an occasional oak or elm rose, still as full of
+deep green foliage as if it were midsummer; while the dark verdure of
+the pines sprang up with effective contrast amid the gleaming and
+resplendent chestnuts.
+
+There was a glade at Hurstley, bounded on each side with masses of
+yew, their dark green forms now studded with crimson berries. Myra was
+walking one morning in this glade when she met Nigel, who was on one
+of his daily pilgrimages, and he turned round and walked by her side.
+
+"I am sure I cannot give you news of your brother," he said, "but I
+have had a letter this morning from Endymion. He seems to take great
+interest in his debating club."
+
+"I am so glad he has become a member of it," said Myra. "That kind Mr.
+Trenchard, whom I shall never see to thank him for all his goodness to
+Endymion, proposed him. It occupies his evenings twice a week, and
+then it gives him subjects to think of and read up in the interval."
+
+"Yes; it is a good thing," said Nigel moodily; "and if he is destined
+for public life, which perhaps he may be, no contemptible discipline."
+
+"Dear boy!" said Myra, with a sigh. "I do not see what public life he
+is destined to, except slaving at a desk. But sometimes one has
+dreams."
+
+"Yes; we all have dreams," said Nigel, with an air of abstraction.
+
+"It is impossible to resist the fascination of a fine autumnal morn,"
+said Myra; "but give me the long days of summer and its rich leafy
+joys. I like to wander about, and dine at nine o'clock."
+
+"Delightful, doubtless, with a sympathising companion."
+
+"Endymion was such a charming companion," said Myra.
+
+"But he has left us," said Nigel; "and you are alone."
+
+"I am alone," said Myra; "but I am used to solitude, and I can think
+of him."
+
+"Would I were Endymion," said Nigel, "to be thought of by you!"
+
+Myra looked at him with something of a stare; but he continued--
+
+"All seasons would be to me fascination, were I only by your side.
+Yes; I can no longer repress the irresistible confusion of my love. I
+am here, and I am here only, because I love you. I quitted Oxford and
+all its pride that I might have the occasional delight of being your
+companion. I was not presumptuous in my thoughts, and believed that
+would content me; but I can no longer resist the consummate spell, and
+I offer you my heart and my life."
+
+"I am amazed; I am a little overwhelmed," said Myra. "Pardon me, dear
+Mr. Penruddock--dear Nigel--you speak of things of which I have not
+thought."
+
+"Think of them! I implore you to think of them, and now!"
+
+"We are a fallen family," said Myra, "perhaps a doomed one. We are not
+people to connect yourself with. You have witnessed some of our
+sorrows, and soothed them. I shall be ever grateful to you for the
+past. But I sometimes feel our cup is not yet full, and I have long
+resolved to bear my cross alone. But, irrespective of all other
+considerations, I can never leave my father."
+
+"I have spoken to your father," said Nigel, "and he approved my suit."
+
+"While my father lives I shall not quit him," said Myra; "but, let me
+not mislead you, I do not live for my father--I live for another."
+
+"For another?" inquired Nigel, with anxiety.
+
+"For one you know. My life is devoted to Endymion. There is a mystic
+bond between us, originating, perhaps, in the circumstance of our
+birth; for we are twins. I never mean to embarrass him with a sister's
+love, and perhaps hereafter may see less of him even than I see now;
+but I shall be in the world, whatever be my lot, high or low--the
+active, stirring world--working for him, thinking only of him. Yes;
+moulding events and circumstances in his favour;" and she spoke with
+fiery animation. "I have brought myself, by long meditation, to the
+conviction that a human being with a settled purpose must accomplish
+it, and that nothing can resist a will that will stake even existence
+for its fulfilment."
+
+
+
+                            CHAPTER XXVII
+
+Endymion had returned to his labours, after the death of his mother,
+much dispirited. Though young and hopeful, his tender heart could not
+be insensible to the tragic end. There is anguish in the recollection
+that we have not adequately appreciated the affection of those whom we
+have loved and lost. It tortured him to feel that he had often
+accepted with carelessness or indifference the homage of a heart that
+had been to him ever faithful in its multiplied devotion. Then, though
+he was not of a melancholy and brooding nature, in this moment of
+bereavement he could not drive from his mind the consciousness that
+there had long been hanging over his home a dark lot, as it were, of
+progressive adversity. His family seemed always sinking, and he felt
+conscious how the sanguine spirit of his mother had sustained them in
+their trials. His father had already made him the depositary of his
+hopeless cares; and if anything happened to that father, old and worn
+out before his time, what would become of Myra?
+
+Nigel, who in their great calamity seemed to have thought of
+everything, and to have done everything, had written to the chief of
+his office, and also to Mr. Trenchard, explaining the cause of the
+absence of Endymion from his duties. There were no explanations,
+therefore, necessary when he reappeared; no complaints, but only
+sympathy and general kindness. In Warwick Street there was unaffected
+sorrow; Sylvia wept and went into the prettiest mourning for her
+patroness, and Mr. Rodney wore a crape on his hat. "I never saw her,"
+said Imogene, "but I am told she was heavenly."
+
+Waldershare was very kind to Endymion, and used to take him to the
+House of Commons on interesting evenings, and, if he succeeded in
+getting Endymion a place under the gallery, would come and talk to him
+in the course of the night, and sometimes introduce him to the
+mysteries of Bellamy's, where Endymion had the satisfaction of
+partaking of a steak in the presence of statesmen and senators.
+
+"You are in the precincts of public life," said Waldershare; "and if
+you ever enter it, which I think you will," he would add thoughtfully,
+"it will be interesting for you to remember that you have seen these
+characters, many of whom will then have passed away. Like the shades
+of a magic lantern," he added, with something between a sigh and a
+smile. "One of my constituents send me a homily this morning, the
+burthen of which was, I never thought of death. The idiot! I never
+think of anything else. It is my weakness. One should never think of
+death. One should think of life. That is real piety."
+
+This spring and summer were passed tranquilly by Endymion, but not
+unprofitably. He never went to any place of public amusement, and,
+cherishing his sorrow, declined those slight openings to social life
+which occasionally offered themselves even to him; but he attended his
+debating club with regularity, and, though silent, studied every
+subject which was brought before it. It interested him to compare
+their sayings and doings with those of the House of Commons, and he
+found advantage in the critical comparison. Though not in what is
+styled society, his mind did not rust from the want of intelligent
+companions. The clear perception, accurate knowledge, and unerring
+judgment of Trenchard, the fantastic cynicism of St. Barbe, and all
+the stores of the exuberant and imaginative Waldershare, were brought
+to bear on a young and plastic intelligence, gifted with a quick
+though not a too profound sensibility which soon ripened into tact,
+and which, after due discrimination, was tenacious of beneficial
+impressions.
+
+In the autumn, Endymion returned home for a long visit and a happy
+one. He found Nigel settled at Hurstley, and almost domesticated at
+the hall; his father more cheerful than his sister's earlier letters
+had led him to suppose; and she herself so delighted by the constant
+companionship of her brother that she seemed to have resumed all her
+original pride of life.
+
+Nearly two years' acquaintance, however limited, with the world, had
+already exercised a ripening influence over Endymion. Nigel soon
+perceived this, though, with a native tact which circumstances had
+developed, Endymion avoided obtruding his new conclusions upon his
+former instructor. But that deep and eager spirit, unwilling ever to
+let a votary escape, and absorbed intellectually by one vast idea,
+would not be baffled. Nigel had not renounced the early view of
+Endymion taking orders, and spoke of his London life as an incident
+which, with his youth, he might in time only look upon as an episode
+in his existence.
+
+"I trust I shall ever be a devoted son of the Church," said Endymion;
+"but I confess I feel no predisposition to take orders, even if I had
+the opportunity, which probably I never shall have. If I were to
+choose my career it would be public life. I am on the last step of the
+ladder, and I do not suppose that I can ever be anything but a drudge.
+But even that would interest me. It brings one in contact with those
+who are playing the great game. One at least fancies one comprehends
+something of the government of mankind. Mr. Waldershare takes me often
+to the House of Commons, and I must say, I am passionately fond of
+it."
+
+After Endymion's return to London that scene occurred between Nigel
+and Myra, in the glade at Hurstley, which we have noticed in the
+preceding chapter. In the evening of that day Nigel did not pay his
+accustomed visit to the hall, and the father and the daughter were
+alone. Then it was, notwithstanding evident agitation, and even with
+some degree of solemnity, that Mr. Ferrars broke to his daughter that
+there was a subject on which he wished seriously to confer with her.
+
+"Is it about Nigel?" she inquired with calmness.
+
+"It is about Nigel."
+
+"I have seen him, and he has spoken to me."
+
+"And what have you replied?"
+
+"What I fear will not be satisfactory to you, sir, but what is
+irrevocable."
+
+"Your union would give me life and hope," said Mr. Ferrars; and then,
+as she remained silent, he continued after a pause: "For its happiness
+there seems every security. He is of good family, and with adequate
+means, and, I firmly believe, no inconsiderable future. His abilities
+are already recognised; his disposition is noble. As for his personal
+qualities, you are a better judge than I am; but, for my part, I never
+saw a countenance that more became the beauty and nobility of his
+character."
+
+"I think him very good-looking," said Myra, "and there is no doubt he
+is clever, and he has shown himself, on more than one occasion,
+amiable."
+
+"Then what more can you require?" said Mr. Ferrars.
+
+"I require nothing; I do not wish to marry."
+
+"But, my daughter, my dearest daughter," said Mr. Ferrars, "bear with
+the anxiety of a parent who is at least devoted to you. Our separation
+would be my last and severest sorrow, and I have had many; but there
+is no necessity to consider that case, for Nigel is content, is more
+than content, to live as your husband under this roof."
+
+"So he told me."
+
+"And that removed one objection that you might naturally feel?"
+
+"I certainly should never leave you, sir," said Myra, "and I told
+Nigel so; but that contingency had nothing to do with my decision. I
+declined his offer, because I have no wish to marry."
+
+"Women are born to be married," said Mr. Ferrars.
+
+"And yet I believe most marriages are unhappy," said Myra.
+
+"Oh! if your objection to marry Nigel arises from an abstract
+objection to marriage itself," said Mr. Ferrars, "it is a subject
+which we might talk over calmly, and perhaps remove your prejudices."
+
+"I have no objection against marriage," rejoined Myra. "It is likely
+enough that I may marry some day, and probably make an unhappy
+marriage; but that is not the question before us. It is whether I
+should marry Nigel. That cannot be, my dear father, and he knows it. I
+have assured him so in a manner which cannot be mistaken."
+
+"We are a doomed family!" exclaimed the unhappy Mr. Ferrars, clasping
+his hands.
+
+"So I have long felt," said Myra. "I can bear our lot; but I want no
+strangers to be introduced to share its bitterness, and soothe us with
+their sympathy."
+
+"You speak like a girl," said Mr. Ferrars, "and a headstrong girl,
+which you always have been. You know not what you are talking about.
+It is a matter of life or death. Your decorous marriage would have
+saved us from absolute ruin."
+
+"Alone, I can meet absolute ruin," said Myra. "I have long
+contemplated such a contingency, and am prepared for it. My marriage
+with Nigel could hardly save you, sir, from such a visitation, if it
+be impending. But I trust in that respect, if in no other, you have
+used a little of the language of exaggeration. I have never received,
+and I have never presumed to seek, any knowledge of your affairs; but
+I have assumed, that for your life, somehow or other, you would be
+permitted to exist without disgrace. If I survive you, I have neither
+care nor fear."
+
+
+
+                            CHAPTER XXVIII
+
+In the following spring a vexatious incident occurred in Warwick
+Street. The highly-considered county member, who was the yearly tenant
+of Mr. Rodney's first floor, and had been always a valuable patron,
+suddenly died. An adjourned debate, a tough beefsteak, a select
+committee still harder, and an influenza caught at three o'clock in
+the morning in an imprudent but irresistible walk home with a
+confidential Lord of the Treasury, had combined very sensibly to
+affect the income of Mr. Rodney. At first he was sanguine that such a
+desirable dwelling would soon find a suitable inhabitant, especially
+as Mr. Waldershare assured him that he would mention the matter to all
+his friends. But time rolled on, and the rooms were still vacant; and
+the fastidious Rodneys, who at first would only listen to a yearly
+tenant, began to reduce their expectations. Matters had arrived at
+such a pass in May, that, for the first time in their experience, they
+actually condescended to hoist an announcement of furnished
+apartments.
+
+In this state of affairs a cab rattled up to the house one morning,
+out of which a young gentleman jumped briskly, and, knocking at the
+door, asked, of the servant who opened it, whether he might see the
+apartments. He was a young man, apparently not more than one or two
+and twenty, of a graceful figure, somewhat above the middle height,
+fair, with a countenance not absolutely regular, but calm and high-
+bred. His dress was in the best taste, but to a practised eye had
+something of a foreign cut, and he wore a slight moustache.
+
+"The rooms will suit me," he said, "and I have no doubt the price you
+ask for them is a just one;" and he bowed with high-bred courtesy to
+Sylvia, who was now in attendance on him, and who stood with her
+pretty hands in the pretty pockets of her pretty apron.
+
+"I am glad to hear that," said Sylvia. "We have never let them before,
+except to a yearly tenant."
+
+"And if we suit each other," said the gentleman, "I should have no
+great objection to becoming such."
+
+"In these matters," said Sylvia, after a little hesitation, "we give
+and receive references. Mr. Rodney is well known in this neighbourhood
+and in Westminster generally; but I dare say," she adroitly added, "he
+has many acquaintances known to you, sir."
+
+"Not very likely," replied the young gentleman; "for I am a foreigner,
+and only arrived in England this morning;" though he spoke English
+without the slightest accent.
+
+Sylvia looked a little perplexed; but he continued: "It is quite just
+that you should be assured to whom you are letting your lodgings. The
+only reference I can give you is to my banker, but he is almost too
+great a man for such matters. Perhaps," he added, pulling out a case
+from his breast pocket, and taking out of it a note, which he handed
+to Sylvia, "this may assure you that your rent will be paid."
+
+Sylvia took a rapid glance at the hundred-pound-note, and twisting it
+into her little pocket with apparent /sangfroid/, though she held it
+with a tight grasp, murmured that it was quite unnecessary, and then
+offered to give her new lodger an acknowledgment of it.
+
+"That is really unnecessary," he replied. "Your appearance commands
+from me that entire confidence which on your part you very properly
+refuse to a stranger and a foreigner like myself."
+
+"What a charming young man!" thought Sylvia, pressing with emotion her
+hundred-pound-note.
+
+"Now," continued the young gentleman, "I will return to the station to
+release my servant, who is a prisoner there with my luggage. Be
+pleased to make him at home. I shall myself not return probably till
+the evening; and in the meantime," he added, giving Sylvia his card,
+"you will admit anything that arrives here addressed to Colonel
+Albert."
+
+The settlement of Colonel Albert in Warwick Street was an event of no
+slight importance. It superseded for a time all other topics of
+conversation, and was discussed at length in the evenings, especially
+with Mr. Vigo. Who was he? And in what service was he colonel? Mr.
+Rodney, like a man of the world, assumed that all necessary
+information would in time be obtained from the colonel's servant; but
+even men of the world sometimes miscalculate. The servant, who was a
+Belgian, had only been engaged by the colonel at Brussels a few days
+before his departure for England, and absolutely knew nothing of his
+master, except that he was a gentleman with plenty of money and
+sufficient luggage. Sylvia, who was the only person who had seen the
+colonel, was strongly in his favour. Mr. Rodney looked doubtful, and
+avoided any definite opinion until he had had the advantage of an
+interview with his new lodger. But this was not easy to obtain.
+Colonel Albert had no wish to see the master of the house, and, if he
+ever had that desire, his servant would accordingly communicate it in
+the proper quarter. At present he was satisfied with all the
+arrangements, and wished neither to make nor to receive remarks. The
+habits of the new lodger were somewhat of a recluse. He was generally
+engaged in his rooms the whole day, and seldom left them till the
+evening, and nobody, as yet, had called upon him. Under these
+circumstances, Imogene was instructed to open the matter to Mr.
+Waldershare when she presided over his breakfast-table; and that
+gentleman said he would make inquiries about the colonel at the
+Travellers' Club, where Waldershare passed a great deal of his time.
+"If he be anybody," said Mr. Waldershare, "he is sure in time to be
+known there, for he will be introduced as a visitor." At present,
+however, it turned out that the "Travellers'" knew nothing of Colonel
+Albert; and time went on, and Colonel Albert was not introduced as a
+visitor there.
+
+After a little while there was a change in the habits of the colonel.
+One morning, about noon, a groom, extremely well appointed, and having
+under his charge a couple of steeds of breed and beauty, called at
+Warwick Street, and the colonel rode out, and was long absent, and
+after that, every day, and generally at the same hour, mounted his
+horse. Mr. Rodney was never wearied of catching a glimpse of his
+distinguished lodger over the blinds of the ground-floor room, and of
+admiring the colonel's commanding presence in his saddle,
+distinguished as his seat was alike by its grace and vigour.
+
+In the course of a little time, another incident connected with the
+colonel occurred which attracted notice and excited interest. Towards
+the evening a brougham, marked, but quietly, with a foreign coronet,
+stopped frequently at Mr. Rodney's house, and a visitor to the colonel
+appeared in the form of a middle-aged gentleman who never gave his
+name, and evaded, it seemed with practised dexterity, every effort,
+however adroit, to obtain it. The valet was tried on this head also,
+and replied with simplicity that he did not know the gentleman's name,
+but he was always called the Baron.
+
+In the middle of June a packet arrived one day by the coach, from the
+rector of Hurstley, addressed to Endymion, announcing his father's
+dangerous illness, and requesting him instantly to repair home. Myra
+was too much occupied to write even a line.
+
+
+
+                             CHAPTER XXIX
+
+It was strange that Myra did not write, were it only a line. It was so
+unlike her. How often this occurred to Endymion during his wearisome
+and anxious travel! When the coach reached Hurstley, he found Mr.
+Penruddock waiting for him. Before he could inquire after his father,
+that gentleman said, "Myra is at the rectory; you are to come on
+there."
+
+"And my father?"----
+
+"Matters are critical," said Mr. Penruddock, as it were avoiding a
+direct answer, and hastening his pace.
+
+It was literally not a five minutes' walk from the village inn to the
+rectory, and they walked in silence. The rector took Endymion at once
+into his study; for we can hardly call it a library, though some
+shelves of books were there, and many stuffed birds.
+
+The rector closed the door with care, and looked distressed; and,
+beckoning to Endymion to be seated, he said, while still standing and
+half turning away his head, "My dear boy, prepare yourself for the
+worst."
+
+"Ah! he is gone then! my dear, dear father!" and Endymion burst into
+passionate tears, and leant on the table, his face hid in his hands.
+
+The rector walked up and down the room with an agitated countenance.
+He could not deny, it would seem, the inference of Endymion; and yet
+he did not proffer those consolations which might be urged, and which
+it became one in his capacity peculiarly to urge.
+
+"I must see Myra," said Endymion eagerly, looking up with a wild air
+and streaming eyes.
+
+"Not yet," said the rector; "she is much disturbed. Your poor father
+is no more; it is too true; but," and here the rector hesitated, "he
+did not die happily."
+
+"What do you mean?" said Endymion.
+
+"Your poor father had much to try him," said the rector. "His life,
+since he was amongst us here, was a life, for him, of adversity--
+perhaps of great adversity--yet he bore up against it with a Christian
+spirit; he never repined. There was much that was noble and exalted in
+his character. But he never overcame the loss of your dear mother. He
+was never himself afterwards. He was not always master of himself. I
+could bear witness to that," said the rector, talking, as it were, to
+himself. "Yes; I could conscientiously give evidence to that
+effect"----
+
+"What effect?" asked Endymion, with a painful scrutiny.
+
+"I could show," said the rector, speaking slowly, and in a low voice,
+"and others could show, that he was not master of himself when he
+committed the rash act."
+
+"O Mr. Penruddock!" exclaimed Endymion, starting from his chair, and
+seizing the rector by the arm. "What is all this?"
+
+"That a great sorrow has come upon you, and your sister, and all of
+us," said Mr. Penruddock; "and you, and she, and all of us must bow
+before the Divine will in trembling, though in hope. Your father's
+death was not natural."
+
+Such was the end of William Pitt Ferrars, on whom nature, opportunity,
+and culture appeared to have showered every advantage. His abilities
+were considerable, his ambition greater. Though intensely worldly, he
+was not devoid of affections. He found refuge in suicide, as many do,
+from want of imagination. The present was too hard for him, and his
+future was only a chaotic nebula.
+
+Endymion did not see his sister that evening. She was not made aware
+of his arrival, and was alone with Mrs. Penruddock, who never left her
+night or day. The rector took charge of her brother, and had a sofa-
+bed made for him in the kind man's room. He was never to be alone.
+Never the whole night did Endymion close his eyes; and he was almost
+as much agitated about the impending interview with Myra, as about the
+dark event of terror that had been disclosed to him.
+
+Yet that dreaded interview must take place; and, about noon, the
+rector told him that Myra was in the drawing-room alone, and would
+receive him. He tottered as he crossed the hall; grief and physical
+exhaustion had unmanned him; his eyes were streaming with tears; he
+paused for a moment with his hand upon the door; he dreaded the
+anguish of her countenance.
+
+She advanced and embraced him with tenderness; her face was grave, and
+not a tear even glistened.
+
+"I have been living in a tragedy for years," said Myra, in a low,
+hollow voice; "and the catastrophe has now arrived."
+
+"Oh, my dear father!" exclaimed Endymion; and he burst into a renewed
+paroxysm of grief.
+
+"Yes; he was dear to us, and we were dear to him," said Myra; "but the
+curtain has fallen. We have to exert ourselves. Energy and self-
+control were never more necessary to two human beings than to us. Here
+are his keys; his papers must be examined by no one but ourselves.
+There is a terrible ceremony taking place, or impending. When it is
+all over, we must visit the hall at least once more."
+
+The whole neighbourhood was full of sorrow for the event, and of
+sympathy for those bereft. It was universally agreed that Mr. Ferrars
+had never recovered the death of his wife; had never been the same man
+after it; had become distrait, absent, wandering in his mind, and the
+victim of an invincible melancholy. Several instances were given of
+his inability to manage his affairs. The jury, with Farmer Thornberry
+for foreman, hesitated not in giving a becoming verdict. In those days
+information travelled slowly. There were no railroads then, and no
+telegraphs, and not many clubs. A week elapsed before the sad
+occurrence was chronicled in a provincial paper, and another week
+before the report was reproduced in London, and then in an obscure
+corner of the journal, and in small print. Everything gets about at
+last, and the world began to stare and talk; but it passed unnoticed
+to the sufferers, except by a letter from Zenobia, received at
+Hurstley after Myra had departed from her kind friends. Zenobia was
+shocked, nay, overwhelmed, by what she had heard; wanted to know if
+she could be of use; offered to do anything; begged Myra to come and
+stay with her in St. James' Square; and assured her that, if that were
+not convenient, when her mourning was over Zenobia would present her
+at court, just the same as if she were her own daughter.
+
+When the fatal keys were used, and the papers of Mr. Ferrars examined,
+it turned out worse than even Myra, in her darkest prescience, had
+anticipated. Her father had died absolutely penniless. As executor of
+his father, the funds settled on his wife had remained under his sole
+control, and they had entirely disappeared. There was a letter
+addressed to Myra on this subject. She read it with a pale face, said
+nothing, and without showing it to Endymion, destroyed it. There was
+to be an immediate sale of their effects at the hall. It was
+calculated that the expenses of the funeral and all the country bills
+might be defrayed by its proceeds.
+
+"And there will be enough left for me," said Myra. "I only want ten
+pounds; for I have ascertained that there is no part of England where
+ten pounds will not take me."
+
+Endymion sighed and nearly wept when she said these things. "No," he
+would add; "we must never part."
+
+"That would ensure our common ruin," said Myra. "No; I will never
+embarrass you with a sister. You can only just subsist; for you could
+not well live in a garret, except at the Rodneys'. I see my way," said
+Myra; "I have long meditated over this--I can draw, I can sing, I can
+speak many tongues: I ought to be able to get food and clothing; I may
+get something more. And I shall always be content; for I shall always
+be thinking of you. However humble even my lot, if my will is
+concentrated on one purpose, it must ultimately effect it. That is my
+creed," she said, "and I hold it fervently. I will stay with these
+dear people for a little while. They are not exactly the family on
+which I ought to trespass. But never mind. You will be a great man
+some day, Endymion, and you will remember the good Penruddocks."
+
+
+
+                             CHAPTER XXX
+
+One of the most remarkable families that have ever flourished in
+England were the NEUCHATELS. Their founder was a Swiss, who had
+established a banking house of high repute in England in the latter
+part of the eighteenth century, and, irrespective of a powerful
+domestic connection, had in time pretty well engrossed the largest and
+best portion of foreign banking business. When the great French
+Revolution occurred, all the emigrants deposited their jewels and
+their treasure with the Neuchatels. As the disturbance spread, their
+example was followed by the alarmed proprietors and capitalists of the
+rest of Europe; and, independently of their own considerable means,
+the Neuchatels thus had the command for a quarter of a century, more
+or less, of adventitious millions. They were scrupulous and faithful
+stewards, but they were doubtless repaid for their vigilance, their
+anxiety, and often their risk, by the opportunities which these rare
+resources permitted them to enjoy. One of the Neuchatels was a
+favourite of Mr. Pitt, and assisted the great statesman in his vast
+financial arrangements. This Neuchatel was a man of large capacity,
+and thoroughly understood his period. The minister wished to introduce
+him to public life, would have opened Parliament to him, and no doubt
+have showered upon him honours and titles. But Neuchatel declined
+these overtures. He was one of those strong minds who will concentrate
+their energies on one object; without personal vanity, but with a
+deep-seated pride in the future. He was always preparing for his
+posterity. Governed by this passion, although he himself would have
+been content to live for ever in Bishopsgate Street, where he was
+born, he had become possessed of a vast principality, and which,
+strange to say, with every advantage of splendour and natural beauty,
+was not an hour's drive from Whitechapel.
+
+HAINAULT HOUSE had been raised by a British peer in the days when
+nobles were fond of building Palladian palaces. It was a chief work of
+Sir William Chambers, and in its style, its beauty, and almost in its
+dimensions, was a rival of Stowe or Wanstead. It stood in a deer park,
+and was surrounded by a royal forest. The family that had raised it
+wore out in the earlier part of this century. It was supposed that the
+place must be destroyed and dismantled. It was too vast for a citizen,
+and the locality was no longer sufficiently refined for a conscript
+father. In this dilemma, Neuchatel stepped in and purchased the whole
+affair--palace, and park, and deer, and pictures, and halls, and
+galleries of statue and bust, and furniture, and even wines, and all
+the farms that remained, and all the seigneurial rights in the royal
+forest. But he never lived there. Though he spared nothing in the
+maintenance and the improvement of the domain, except on a Sunday he
+never visited it, and was never known to sleep under its roof. "It
+will be ready for those who come after me," he would remark, with a
+modest smile.
+
+Those who came after him were two sons, between whom his millions were
+divided; and Adrian, the eldest, in addition to his share, was made
+the lord of Hainault. Adrian had inherited something more, and
+something more precious, than his father's treasure--a not inferior
+capacity, united, in his case, with much culture, and with a worldly
+ambition to which his father was a stranger. So long as that father
+lived, Adrian had been extremely circumspect. He seemed only devoted
+to business, and to model his conduct on that of his eminent sire.
+That father who had recognised with pride and satisfaction his
+capacity, and who was without jealousy, had initiated his son during
+his lifetime in all the secrets of his wondrous craft, and had
+entrusted him with a leading part in their affairs. Adrian had waited
+in Downing Street on Lord Liverpool, as his father years before had
+waited on Mr. Pitt.
+
+The elder Neuchatel departed this life a little before the second
+French Revolution of 1830, which had been so fatal to Mr. Ferrars.
+Adrian, who had never committed himself in politics, further than
+sitting a short time for a reputed Tory borough, for which he paid a
+rent of a thousand a year to the proprietor, but who was known to have
+been nurtured in the school of Pitt and Wellington, astonished the
+world by voting for Lord Grey's Reform Bill, and announcing himself as
+a Liberal. This was a large fish for the new Liberal Treasury to
+capture; their triumph was great, and they determined to show that
+they appreciated the power and the influence of their new ally. At the
+dissolution of 1831, Adrian Neuchatel was a candidate for a popular
+constituency, and was elected at the head of the poll. His brother,
+Melchior, was also returned, and a nephew. The Liberals were alarmed
+by a subscription of fabulous dimensions said to have been collected
+by the Tories to influence the General Election; and the undoubted
+contribution of a noble duke was particularly mentioned, which alone
+appalled the heart of Brooks'. The matter was put before Neuchatel, as
+he entered the club, to which he had been recently elected with
+acclamation. "So you are a little frightened," he said, with a
+peculiarly witching smile which he had, half mockery and half good
+nature; as much as to say, "I will do what you wish, but I see through
+you and everybody else." "So you are a little frightened. Well; we
+City men must see what we can do against the dukes. You may put me
+down for double his amount."
+
+Adrian purchased a very fine mansion in Portland Place, and took up
+his residence formally at Hainault. He delighted in the place, and to
+dwell there in a manner becoming the scene had always been one of his
+dreams. Now he lived there with unbounded expenditure. He was
+passionately fond of horses, and even in his father's lifetime had run
+some at Newmarket in another name. The stables at Hainault had been
+modelled on those at Chantilly, and were almost as splendid a pile as
+the mansion itself. They were soon full, and of first-rate animals in
+their different ways. With his choice teams Adrian could reach
+Bishopsgate from Hainault, particularly if there were no stoppages in
+Whitechapel, in much under an hour.
+
+If he had fifty persons in his stables, there were certainly as many
+in his park and gardens. These latter were most elaborate. It seemed
+there was nothing that Hainault could not produce: all the fruits and
+flowers of the tropics. The conservatories and forcing-houses looked,
+in the distance, like a city of glass. But, after all, the portion of
+this immense establishment which was most renowned, and perhaps, on
+the whole, best appreciated, was the establishment of the kitchen. The
+chef was the greatest celebrity of Europe; and he had no limit to his
+staff, which he had selected with the utmost scrutiny, maintained with
+becoming spirit, and winnowed with unceasing vigilance. Every day at
+Hainault was a banquet. What delighted Adrian was to bring down
+without notice a troop of friends, conscious they would be received as
+well as if there had been a preparation of weeks. Sometimes it was a
+body from the Stock Exchange, sometimes a host from the House of
+Commons, sometimes a board of directors with whom he had been
+transacting business in the morning. It delighted Adrian to see them
+quaffing his burgundy, and stuffing down his truffles, and his choice
+pies from Strasbourg, and all the delicate dishes which many of them
+looked at with wonder, and tasted with timidity. And then he would,
+with his particular smile, say to a brother bank director, whose mouth
+was full, and who could only answer him with his eyes, "Business gives
+one an appetite; eh, Mr. Trodgits?"
+
+Sunday was always a great day at Hainault. The Royal and the Stock
+Exchanges were both of them always fully represented; and then they
+often had an opportunity, which they highly appreciated, of seeing and
+conferring with some public characters, M.P.'s of note or promise, and
+occasionally a secretary of the Treasury, or a privy councillor.
+"Turtle makes all men equal," Adrian would observe. "Our friend
+Trodgits seemed a little embarrassed at first, when I introduced him
+to the Right Honourable; but when they sate next each other at dinner,
+they soon got on very well."
+
+On Sunday the guests walked about and amused themselves. No one was
+allowed to ride or drive; Mrs. Neuchatel did not like riding and
+driving on Sundays. "I see no harm in it," said Adrian, "but I like
+women to have their way about religion. And you may go to the stables
+and see the horses, and that might take up the morning. And then there
+are the houses; they will amuse you. For my part, I am for a stroll in
+the forest;" and then he would lead his companions, after a delightful
+ramble, to some spot of agrestic charm, and, looking at it with
+delight, would say, "Pretty, is it not? But then they say this place
+is not fashionable. It will do, I think, for us City men."
+
+Adrian had married, when very young, a lady selected by his father.
+The selection seemed a good one. She was the daughter of a most
+eminent banker, and had herself, though that was of slight importance,
+a large portion. She was a woman of abilities, highly cultivated.
+Nothing had ever been spared that she should possess every possible
+accomplishment, and acquire every information and grace that it was
+desirable to attain. She was a linguist, a fine musician, no mean
+artist; and she threw out, if she willed it, the treasures of her
+well-stored and not unimaginative mind with ease and sometimes
+eloquence. Her person, without being absolutely beautiful, was
+interesting. There was even a degree of fascination in her brown
+velvet eyes. And yet Mrs. Neuchatel was not a contented spirit; and
+though she appreciated the great qualities of her husband, and viewed
+him even with reverence as well as affection, she scarcely contributed
+to his happiness as much as became her. And for this reason. Whether
+it were the result of physical organisation, or whether it were the
+satiety which was the consequence of having been born, and bred, and
+lived for ever, in a society of which wealth was the prime object of
+existence, and practically the test of excellence, Mrs. Neuchatel had
+imbibed not merely a contempt for money, but absolutely a hatred of
+it. The prosperity of her house depressed her. The stables with their
+fifty grooms, and the grounds with their fifty gardeners, and the
+daily visit of the head cook to pass the bill of fare, were incidents
+and circumstances that made her melancholy. She looked upon the Stock
+Exchange coming down to dinner as she would on an invasion of the
+Visigoths, and endured the stiff observations or the cumbrous
+liveliness of the merchants and bank directors with gloomy grace.
+Something less material might be anticipated from the members of
+Parliament. But whether they thought it would please the genius of the
+place, or whether Adrian selected his friends from those who
+sympathised with his pursuits, the members of Parliament seemed
+wonderfully to accord with the general tone of the conversation, or
+varied it only by indulging in technical talk of their own. Sometimes
+she would make a desperate effort to change the elements of their
+society; something in this way: "I see M. Arago and M. Mignet have
+arrived here, Adrian. Do not you think we ought to invite them here?
+And then you might ask Mr. Macaulay to meet them. You said you wished
+to ask Mr. Macaulay."
+
+In one respect the alliance between Adrian and his wife was not an
+unfortunate one. A woman, and a woman of abilities, fastidious, and
+inclined to be querulous, might safely be counted on as, in general,
+ensuring for both parties in their union an unsatisfactory and unhappy
+life. But Adrian, though kind, generous, and indulgent, was so
+absorbed by his own great affairs, was a man at the same time of so
+serene a temper and so supreme a will, that the over-refined fantasies
+of his wife produced not the slightest effect on the course of his
+life. Adrian Neuchatel was what very few people are--master in his own
+house. With a rich varnish of graciousness and favour, he never
+swerved from his purpose; and, though willing to effect all things by
+smiles and sweet temper, he had none of that morbid sensibility which
+allows some men to fret over a phrase, to be tortured by a sigh, or to
+be subdued by a tear.
+
+There had been born of this marriage only one child, the greatest
+heiress in England. She had been christened after her father, ADRIANA.
+She was now about seventeen; and, had she not been endowed with the
+finest disposition and the sweetest temper in the world, she must have
+been spoiled, for both her parents idolised her. To see her every day
+was for Adrian a reward for all his labours, and in the midst of his
+greatest affairs he would always snatch a moment to think how he could
+contribute to her pleasure or her happiness. All that was rare and
+delightful and beautiful in the world was at her command. There was no
+limit to the gratification of her wishes. But, alas! this favoured
+maiden wished for nothing. Her books interested her, and a beautiful
+nature; but she liked to be alone, or with her mother. She was
+impressed with the horrible and humiliating conviction, that she was
+courted and admired only for her wealth.
+
+"What my daughter requires," said Adrian, as he mused over these
+domestic contrarieties, "is a companion of her own age. Her mother is
+the very worst constant companion she could have. She requires
+somebody with charm, and yet of a commanding mind; with youthful
+sympathy, and yet influencing her in the right way. It must be a
+person of birth and breeding and complete self-respect. I do not want
+to have any parasites in my house, or affected fine ladies. That would
+do no good. What I do want is a thing very difficult to procure. And
+yet they say everything is to be obtained. At least, I have always
+thought so, and found it so. I have the greatest opinion of an
+advertisement in the 'Times.' I got some of my best clerks by
+advertisements in the 'Times.' If I had consulted friends, there would
+have been no end of jobbing for such patronage. One could not trust,
+in such matters, one's own brother. I will draw up an advertisement
+and insert it in the 'Times,' and have the references to my counting-
+house. I will think over the wording as I drive to town." This was the
+wording:--
+
+
+                            ADVERTISEMENT
+
+  A Banker and his Wife require a Companion for their only child, a
+  young lady whose accomplishments and acquirements are already
+  considerable. The friend that they would wish for her must be of
+  about the same age as herself, and in every other respect their
+  lots will be the same. The person thus desired will be received
+  and treated as a daughter of the house, will be allowed her own
+  suite of apartments, her own servants and equipage. She must be a
+  person of birth, breeding, and entire self-respect; with a mind
+  and experience capable of directing conduct, and with manners
+  which will engage sympathy.--Apply to H. H., 45 Bishopsgate Street
+  Within.
+
+
+This advertisement met the eye of Myra at Hurstley Rectory about a
+month after her father's death, and she resolved to answer it. Her
+reply pleased Mr. Neuchatel. He selected it out of hundreds, and
+placed himself in communication with Mr. Penruddock. The result was,
+that Miss Ferrars was to pay a visit to the Neuchatels; and if, on
+experience, they liked each other, the engagement was to take place.
+
+In the meantime the good rector of Hurstley arrived on the previous
+evening with his precious charge at Hainault House; and was rewarded
+for his kind exertions, not only by the prospect of assisting Myra,
+but by some present experience of a splendid and unusual scene.
+
+
+
+                             CHAPTER XXXI
+
+"What do you think of her, mamma?" said Adriana, with glistening eyes,
+as she ran into Mrs. Neuchatel's dressing-room for a moment before
+dinner.
+
+"I think her manners are perfect," replied Mrs. Neuchatel; "and as
+there can be no doubt, after all we have heard, of her principles, I
+think we are most fortunate. But what do you think of her, Adriana?
+For, after all, that is the main question."
+
+"I think she is divine," said Adriana; "but I fear she has no heart."
+
+"And why? Surely it is early to decide on such a matter as that!"
+
+"When I took her to her room," said Adriana, "I suppose I was nervous;
+but I burst into tears, and threw my arms round her neck and embraced
+her, but she did not respond. She touched my forehead with her lips,
+and withdrew from my embrace."
+
+"She wished, perhaps, to teach you to control your emotions," said
+Mrs. Neuchatel. "You have known her only an hour, and you could not
+have done more to your own mother."
+
+It had been arranged that there should be no visitors to-day; only a
+nephew and a foreign consul-general, just to break the formality of
+the meeting. Mr. Neuchatel placed Myra next to himself at the round
+table, and treated her with marked consideration--cordial but
+courteous, and easy, with a certain degree of deference. His wife, who
+piqued herself on her perception of character, threw her brown velvet
+eyes on her neighbour, Mr. Penruddock, and cross-examined him in
+mystical whispers. She soon recognised his love of nature; and this
+allowed her to dissert on the subject, at once sublime and
+inexhaustible, with copiousness worthy of the theme. When she found he
+was an entomologist, and that it was not so much mountains as insects
+which interested him, she shifted her ground, but treated it with
+equal felicity. Strange, but nature is never so powerful as in insect
+life. The white ant can destroy fleets and cities, and the locusts
+erase a province. And then, how beneficent they are! Man would find it
+difficult to rival their exploits: the bee, that gives us honey; the
+worm, that gives us silk; the cochineal, that supplies our
+manufactures with their most brilliant dye.
+
+Mr. Penruddock did not seem to know much about manufactures, but
+always recommended his cottagers to keep bees.
+
+"The lime-tree abounds in our village, and there is nothing the bees
+love more than its blossoms."
+
+This direct reference to his village led Mrs. Neuchatel to an inquiry
+as to the state of the poor about Hurstley, and she made the inquiry
+in a tone of commiseration.
+
+"Oh! we do pretty well," said Mr. Penruddock.
+
+"But how can a family live on ten or twelve shillings a week?"
+murmured Mrs. Neuchatel.
+
+"There it is," said Mr. Penruddock. "A family has more than that. With
+a family the income proportionately increases."
+
+Mrs. Neuchatel sighed. "I must say," she said, "I cannot help feeling
+there is something wrong in our present arrangements. When I sit down
+to dinner every day, with all these dishes, and remember that there
+are millions who never taste meat, I cannot resist the conviction that
+it would be better if there were some equal division, and all should
+have, if not much, at least something."
+
+"Nonsense, Emily!" said Mr. Neuchatel, who had an organ like Fine-ear,
+and could catch, when necessary, his wife's most mystical revelations.
+"My wife, Mr. Penruddock, is a regular Communist. I hope you are not,"
+he added, with a smile, turning to Myra.
+
+"I think life would be very insipid," replied Myra, "if all our lots
+were the same."
+
+When the ladies withdrew, Adriana and Myra walked out together hand-
+in-hand. Mr. Neuchatel rose and sate next to Mr. Penruddock, and began
+to talk politics. His reverend guest could not conceal his alarm about
+the position of the Church and spoke of Lord John Russell's
+appropriation clause with well-bred horror.
+
+"Well, I do not think there is much to be afraid of," said Mr.
+Neuchatel. "This is a liberal age, and you cannot go against it. The
+people must be educated, and where are the funds to come from? We must
+all do something, and the Church must contribute its share. You know I
+am a Liberal, but I am not for any rash courses. I am not at all sorry
+that Sir Robert Peel gained so much at the last general election. I
+like parties to be balanced. I am quite content with affairs. My
+friends, the Liberals, are in office, and, being there, they can do
+very little. That is the state of things, is it not, Melchior?" he
+added, with a smile to his nephew, who was an M.P. "A balanced state
+of parties, and the house of Neuchatel with three votes--that will do.
+We poor City men get a little attention paid to us now, but before the
+dissolution three votes went for nothing. Now, shall we go and ask my
+daughter to give us a song?"
+
+Mrs. Neuchatel accompanied her daughter on the piano, and after a time
+not merely on the instrument. The organ of both was fine and richly
+cultivated. It was choice chamber music. Mr. Neuchatel seated himself
+by Myra. His tone was more than kind, and his manner gentle. "It is a
+little awkward the first day," he said, "among strangers, but that
+will wear off. You must bring your mind to feel that this is your
+home, and we shall all of us do everything in our power to convince
+you of it. Mr. Penruddock mentioned to me your wish, under present
+circumstances, to enter as little as possible into society, and this
+is a very social house. Your feeling is natural, and you will be in
+this matter entirely your own mistress. We shall always be glad to see
+you, but if you are not present we shall know and respect the cause.
+For my own part, I am one of those who would rather cherish affection
+than indulge grief, but every one must follow their mood. I hear you
+have a brother, to whom you are much attached; a twin, too, and they
+tell me strongly resembling you. He is in a public office, I believe?
+Now, understand this; your brother can come here whenever he likes,
+without any further invitation. Ask him whenever you please. We shall
+always be glad to see him. No sort of notice is necessary. This is not
+a very small house, and we can always manage to find a bed and a
+cutlet for a friend."
+
+
+
+                            CHAPTER XXXII
+
+Nothing could be more successful than the connection formed between
+the Neuchatel family and Myra Ferrars. Both parties to the compact
+were alike satisfied. Myra had "got out of that hole" which she always
+hated; and though the new life she had entered was not exactly the one
+she had mused over, and which was founded on the tradition of her
+early experience, it was a life of energy and excitement, of splendour
+and power, with a total absence of petty vexations and miseries,
+affording neither time nor cause for the wearing chagrin of a
+monotonous and mediocre existence. But the crowning joy of her
+emancipation was the prospect it offered of frequent enjoyment of the
+society of her brother.
+
+With regard to the Neuchatels, they found in Myra everything they
+could desire. Mrs. Neuchatel was delighted with a companion who was
+not the daughter of a banker, and whose schooled intellect not only
+comprehended all her doctrines, however abstruse or fanciful, but who
+did not hesitate, if necessary, to controvert or even confute them. As
+for Adriana, she literally idolised a friend whose proud spirit and
+clear intelligence were calculated to exercise a strong but salutary
+influence over her timid and sensitive nature. As for the great banker
+himself, who really had that faculty of reading character which his
+wife flattered herself she possessed, he had made up his mind about
+Myra from the first, both from her correspondence and her
+conversation. "She has more common sense than any woman I ever knew,
+and more," he would add, "than most men. If she were not so handsome,
+people would find it out; but they cannot understand that so beautiful
+a woman can have a headpiece, that, I really believe, could manage the
+affairs in Bishopsgate Street."
+
+In the meantime life at Hainault resumed its usual course; streams of
+guests, of all parties, colours, and classes, and even nations.
+Sometimes Mr. Neuchatel would say, "I really must have a quiet day
+that Miss Ferrars may dine with us, and she shall ask her brother. How
+glad I shall be when she goes into half-mourning! I scarcely catch a
+glimpse of her." And all this time his wife and daughter did nothing
+but quote her, which was still more irritating, for, as he would say,
+half-grumbling and half-smiling, "If it had not been for me she would
+not have been here."
+
+At first Adriana would not dine at table without Myra, and insisted on
+sharing her imprisonment. "It does not look like a cell," said Myra,
+surveying, not without complacency, her beautiful little chamber,
+beautifully lit, with its silken hangings and carved ceiling and
+bright with books and pictures; "besides, there is no reason why you
+should be a prisoner. You have not lost a father, and I hope never
+will."
+
+"Amen!" said Adriana; "that would indeed be the unhappiest day of my
+life."
+
+"You cannot be in society too much in the latter part of the day,"
+said Myra. "The mornings should be sacred to ourselves, but for the
+rest of the hours people are to see and to be seen, and," she added,
+"to like and be liked."
+
+Adriana shook her head; "I do not wish any one to like me but you."
+
+"I am sure I shall always like you, and love you," said Myra, "but I
+am equally sure that a great many other people will do the same."
+
+"It will not be myself that they like or love," said Adriana with a
+sigh.
+
+"Now, spare me that vein, dear Adriana; you know I do not like it. It
+is not agreeable, and I do not think it is true. I believe that women
+are loved much more for themselves than is supposed. Besides, a woman
+should be content if she is loved; that is the point; and she is not
+to inquire how far the accidents of life have contributed to the
+result. Why should you not be loved for yourself? You have an
+interesting appearance. I think you very pretty. You have choice
+accomplishments and agreeable conversation and the sweetest temper in
+the world. You want a little self-conceit, my dear. If I were you and
+admired, I should never think of my fortune."
+
+"If you were the greatest heiress in the world, Myra, and were
+married, nobody would suppose for a moment that it was for your
+fortune."
+
+"Go down to dinner and smile upon everybody, and tell me about your
+conquests to-morrow. And say to your dear papa, that as he is so kind
+as to wish to see me, I will join them after dinner."
+
+And so, for the first two months, she occasionally appeared in the
+evening, especially when there was no formal party. Endymion came and
+visited her every Sunday, but he was also a social recluse, and though
+he had been presented to Mrs. Neuchatel and her daughter, and been
+most cordially received by them, it was some considerable time before
+he made the acquaintance of the great banker.
+
+About September Myra may be said to have formally joined the circle at
+Hainault. Three months had elapsed since the terrible event, and she
+felt, irrespective of other considerations, her position hardly
+justified her, notwithstanding all the indulgent kindness of the
+family, in continuing a course of life which she was conscious to them
+was sometimes an inconvenience and always a disappointment. It was
+impossible to deny that she was interested and amused by the world
+which she now witnessed--so energetic, so restless, so various; so
+full of urgent and pressing life; never thinking of the past and quite
+heedless of the future, but worshipping an almighty present that
+sometimes seemed to roll on like the car of Juggernaut. She was much
+diverted by the gentlemen of the Stock Exchange, so acute, so
+audacious, and differing so much from the merchants in the style even
+of their dress, and in the ease, perhaps the too great facility, of
+their bearing. They called each other by their Christian names, and
+there were allusions to practical jokes which intimated a life
+something between a public school and a garrison. On more solemn days
+there were diplomatists and men in political office; sometimes great
+musical artists, and occasionally a French actor. But the dinners were
+always the same; dishes worthy of the great days of the Bourbons, and
+wines of rarity and price, which could not ruin Neuchatel, for in many
+instances the vineyards belonged to himself.
+
+One morning at breakfast, when he rarely encountered them, but it was
+a holiday in the City, Mr. Neuchatel said, "There are a few gentlemen
+coming to dine here to-day whom you know, with one exception. He is a
+young man, a very nice young fellow. I have seen a good deal of him of
+late on business in the City, and have taken a fancy to him. He is a
+foreigner, but he was partly educated in this country and speaks
+English as well as any of us."
+
+"Then I suppose he is not a Frenchman," said Mrs. Neuchatel, "for they
+never speak English."
+
+"I shall not say what he is. You must all find out; I dare say Miss
+Ferrars will discover him; but, remember, you must all of you pay him
+great attention, for he is not a common person, I can assure you."
+
+"You are mysterious, Adrian," said his wife, "and quite pique our
+curiosity."
+
+"Well, I wish somebody would pique mine," said the banker. "These
+holidays in the City are terrible things. I think I will go after
+breakfast and look at the new house, and I dare say Miss Ferrars will
+be kind enough to be my companion."
+
+Several of the visitors, fortunately for the banker whose time hung
+rather heavily on his hands, arrived an hour or so before dinner, that
+they might air themselves in the famous gardens and see some of the
+new plants. But the guest whom he most wished to greet, and whom the
+ladies were most curious to welcome, did not arrive. They had all
+entered the house and the critical moment was at hand, when, just as
+dinner was about to be announced, the servants ushered in a young man
+of distinguished appearance, and the banker exclaimed, "You have
+arrived just in time to take Mrs. Neuchatel in to dinner," and he
+presented to her--COLONEL ALBERT.
+
+
+
+                            CHAPTER XXXIII
+
+The ladies were much interested by Colonel Albert. Mrs. Neuchatel
+exercised on him all the unrivalled arts by which she so unmistakably
+discovered character. She threw on him her brown velvet eyes with a
+subdued yet piercing beam, which would penetrate his most secret and
+even undeveloped intelligence. She asked questions in a hushed
+mystical voice, and as the colonel was rather silent and somewhat
+short in his replies, though ever expressed in a voice of sensibility
+and with refined deference of manner, Mrs. Neuchatel opened her own
+peculiar views on a variety of subjects of august interest, such as
+education, high art, the influence of women in society, the formation
+of character, and the distribution of wealth, on all of which this
+highly gifted lady was always in the habit of informing her audience,
+by way of accompaniment, that she was conscious that the views she
+entertained were peculiar. The views of Mrs. Neuchatel were peculiar,
+and therefore not always, or even easily, comprehended. That indeed
+she felt was rather her fate in life, but a superior intelligence like
+hers has a degree of sublimated self-respect which defies destiny.
+
+When she was alone with the ladies, the bulletin of Mrs. Neuchatel was
+not so copious as had been expected. She announced that Colonel Albert
+was sentimental, and she suspected a poet. But for the rest she had
+discovered nothing, not even his nationality. She had tried him both
+in French and German, but he persisted in talking English, although he
+spoke of himself as a foreigner. After dinner he conversed chiefly
+with the men, particularly with the Governor of the Bank, who seemed
+to interest him much, and a director of one of the dock companies, who
+offered to show him over their establishment, an offer which Colonel
+Albert eagerly accepted. Then, as if he remembered that homage was due
+at such a moment to the fairer sex, he went and seated himself by
+Adriana, and was playful and agreeable, though when she was cross-
+examined afterwards by her friends as to the character of his
+conversation, she really could not recall anything particular except
+that he was fond of horses, and said that he should like very much to
+take a ride with her. Just before he took his departure, Colonel
+Albert addressed Myra, and in a rather strange manner. He said, "I
+have been puzzling myself all dinner, but I cannot help feeling that
+we have met before."
+
+Myra shook her head and said, "I think that is impossible."
+
+"Well," said the colonel with a look a little perplexed and not
+altogether satisfied, "I suppose then it was a dream. May dreams so
+delightful," and he bowed, "never be wanting!"
+
+"So you think he is a poet, Emily," said Mr. Neuchatel when they had
+all gone. "We have got a good many of his papers in Bishopsgate
+Street, but I have not met with any verses in them yet."
+
+The visit of Colonel Albert was soon repeated, and he became a rather
+frequent guest at Hainault. It was evident that he was a favourite
+with Mr. Neuchatel. "He knows very few people," he would say, "and I
+wish him to make some friends. Poor young fellow: he has had rather a
+hard life of it, and seen some service for such a youth. He is a
+perfect gentleman, and if he be a poet, Emily, that is all in your
+way. You like literary people, and are always begging that I should
+ask them. Well, next Saturday you will have a sort of a lion--one of
+the principal writers in 'Scaramouch.' He is going to Paris as the
+foreign correspondent of the 'Chuck-Farthing,' with a thousand a year,
+and one of my friends in the Stock Exchange, who is his great ally,
+asked me to give him some letters. So he came to Bishopsgate Street--
+they all come to Bishopsgate Street--and I asked him to dine here on
+Saturday. By the by, Miss Ferrars, ask your brother to come on the
+same day and stay with us till Monday. I will take him up to town with
+me quite in time for his office."
+
+This was the first time that Endymion had remained at Hainault. He
+looked forward to the visit with anticipation of great pleasure.
+Hainault, and all the people there, and everything about it, delighted
+him, and most of all the happiness of his sister and the
+consideration, and generosity, and delicate affection with which she
+was treated. One morning, to his astonishment, Myra had insisted upon
+his accepting from her no inconsiderable sum of money. "It is no part
+of my salary," she said, when he talked of her necessities. "Mr.
+Neuchatel said he gave it to me for outfit and to buy gloves. But
+being in mourning I want to buy nothing, and you, dear darling, must
+have many wants. Besides, Mrs. Neuchatel has made me so many presents
+that I really do not think that I shall ever want to buy anything
+again."
+
+It was rather a grand party at Hainault, such as Endymion had little
+experience of. There was a cabinet minister and his wife, not only an
+ambassador, but an ambassadress who had been asked to meet them, a
+nephew Neuchatel, the M.P. with a pretty young wife, and several
+apparently single gentlemen of note and position. Endymion was nervous
+when he entered, and more so because Myra was not in the room. But his
+trepidation was absorbed in his amazement when in the distance he
+observed St. Barbe, with a very stiff white cravat, and his hair
+brushed into unnatural order, and his whole demeanour forming a
+singular contrast to the rollicking cynicisms of Joe's and the office.
+
+Mr. Neuchatel presented St. Barbe to the lady of the mansion. "Here is
+one of our greatest wits," said the banker, "and he is going to Paris,
+which is the capital of wits." The critical moment prevented prolonged
+conversation, but the lady of the mansion did contrive to convey to
+St. Barbe her admiring familiarity with some of his effusions, and
+threw out a phrase which proved how finely she could distinguish
+between wit and humour.
+
+Endymion at dinner sate between two M.P.'s, whom his experience at the
+House of Commons allowed him to recognise. As he was a young man whom
+neither of them knew, neither of them addressed him, but with delicate
+breeding carried on an active conversation across him, as if in fact
+he were not present. As Endymion had very little vanity, this did not
+at all annoy him. On the contrary, he was amused, for they spoke of
+matters with which he was not unacquainted, though he looked as if he
+knew or heard nothing. Their conversation was what is called "shop:"
+all about the House and office; criticisms on speakers, speculations
+as to preferment, what Government would do about this, and how well
+Government got out of that.
+
+Endymion was amused by seeing Myra, who was remote from him, sitting
+by St. Barbe, who, warmed by the banquet, was evidently holding forth
+without the slightest conception that his neighbour whom he addressed
+had long become familiar with his characteristics.
+
+After dinner St. Barbe pounced upon Endymion. "Only think of our
+meeting here!" he said. "I wonder why they asked you. You are not
+going to Paris, and you are not a wit. What a family this is!" he
+said; "I had no idea of wealth before! Did you observe the silver
+plate? I could not hold mine with one hand, it was so heavy. I do not
+suppose there are such plates in the world. It gives one an idea of
+the galleons and Anson's plunder. But they deserve their wealth," he
+added, "nobody grudges it to them. I declare when I was eating that
+truffle, I felt a glow about my heart that, if it were not
+indigestion, I think must have been gratitude; though that is an
+article I had not believed in. He is a wonderful man, that Neuchatel.
+If I had only known him a year ago! I would have dedicated my novel to
+him. He is a sort of man who would have given you a cheque
+immediately. He would not have read it, to be sure, but what of that?
+If you had dedicated it to a lord, the most he would have done would
+have been to ask you to dinner, and then perhaps cut up your work in
+one of the Quality reviews, and taken money for doing it out of our
+pockets! Oh! it's too horrid! There are some topsawyers here to-day,
+Ferrars! It would make Seymour Hicks' mouth water to be here. We
+should have had it in the papers, and he would have left us out of the
+list, and called us, etc. Now I dare say that ambassador has been
+blundering all his life, and yet there is something in that star and
+ribbon; I do not know you feel, but I could almost go down on my knees
+to him. And there is a cabinet minister; well, we know what he is; I
+have been squibbing him for these two years, and now that I meet him I
+feel like a snob. Oh! there is an immense deal of superstition left in
+the world. I am glad they are going to the ladies. I am to be honoured
+by some conversation with the mistress of the house. She seems a
+first-rate woman, familiar with the glorious pages of a certain
+classic work, and my humble effusions. She praised one she thought I
+wrote, but between ourselves it was written by that fellow Seymour
+Hicks, who imitates me; but I would not put her right, as dinner might
+have been announced every moment. But she is a great woman, sir,--
+wonderful eyes! They are all great women here. I sat next to one of
+the daughters, or daughters-in-law, or nieces, I suppose. By Jove! it
+was tierce and quart. If you had been there, you would have been run
+through in a moment. I had to show my art. Now they are rising. I
+should not be surprised if Mr. Neuchatel were to present me to some of
+the grandees. I believe them to be all impostors, but still it is
+pleasant to talk to a man with a star.
+
+            "'Ye stars, which are the poetry of heaven,'
+
+"Byron wrote; a silly line; he should have written,
+
+            "'Ye stars, which are the poetry of dress.'"
+
+
+
+                            CHAPTER XXXIV
+
+St. Barbe was not disappointed in his hopes. It was an evening of
+glorious success for him. He had even the honour of sitting for a time
+by the side of Mrs. Neuchatel, and being full of good claret, he, as
+he phrased it, showed his paces; that is to say, delivered himself of
+some sarcastic paradoxes duly blended with fulsome flattery. Later in
+the evening, he contrived to be presented both to the ambassador and
+the cabinet minister, and treated them as if they were demigods;
+listened to them as if with an admiration which he vainly endeavoured
+to repress; never spoke except to enforce and illustrate the views
+which they had condescended to intimate; successfully conveyed to his
+excellency that he was conversing with an enthusiast for his exalted
+profession; and to the minister that he had met an ardent sympathiser
+with his noble career. The ambassador was not dissatisfied with the
+impression he had made on one of the foreign correspondents of the
+"Chuck-Farthing," and the minister flattered himself that both the
+literary and the graphic representations of himself in "Scaramouch"
+might possibly for the future be mitigated.
+
+"I have done business to-night," said St. Barbe to Endymion, towards
+the close of the evening. "You did not know I had left the old shop? I
+kept it close. I could stand it no longer. One has energies, sir,
+though not recognised--at least not recognised much," he added
+thoughtfully. "But who knows what may happen? The age of mediocrity is
+not eternal. You see this thing offered, and I saw an opening. It has
+come already. You saw the big-wigs all talking to me? I shall go to
+Paris now with some /eclat/. I shall invent a new profession; the
+literary diplomatist. The bore is, I know nothing about foreign
+politics. My line has been the other way. Never mind; I will read the
+'Debats' and the 'Revue des Deux Mondes,' and make out something.
+Foreign affairs are all the future, and my views may be as right as
+anybody else's; probably more correct, not so conventional. What a
+fool I was, Ferrars! I was asked to remain here to-night and refused!
+The truth is, I could not stand those powdered gentlemen, and I should
+have been under their care. They seem so haughty and supercilious. And
+yet I was wrong. I spoke to one of them very rudely just now, when he
+was handing coffee, to show I was not afraid, and he answered me like
+a seraph. I felt remorse."
+
+"Well, I have made the acquaintance of Mr. St. Barbe," said Myra to
+Endymion. "Strange as he is, he seemed quite familiar to me, and he
+was so full of himself that he never found me out. I hope some day to
+know Mr. Trenchard and Mr. Waldershare. Those I look upon as your
+chief friends."
+
+On the following afternoon, Adriana, Myra, and Endymion took a long
+walk together in the forest. The green glades in the autumnal woods
+were inviting, and sometimes they stood before the vast form of some
+doddered oak. The air was fresh and the sun was bright. Adriana was
+always gay and happy in the company of her adored Myra, and her
+happiness and her gaiety were not diminished by the presence of Myra's
+brother. So it was a lively and pleasant walk.
+
+At the end of a long glade they observed a horseman followed by a
+groom approaching them. Endymion was some little way behind, gathering
+wild flowers for Adriana. Cantering along, the cavalier soon reached
+them, and then he suddenly pulled up his horse. It was Colonel Albert.
+
+"You are walking, ladies? Permit me to join you," and he was by their
+side. "I delight in forests and in green alleys," said Colonel Albert.
+"Two wandering nymphs make the scene perfect."
+
+"We are not alone," said Adriana, "but our guardian is picking some
+wild flowers for us, which we fancied. I think it is time to return.
+You are going to Hainault, I believe, Colonel Albert, so we can all
+walk home together."
+
+So they turned, and Endymion with his graceful offering in a moment
+met them. Full of his successful quest, he offered with eager triumph
+the flowers to Adriana, without casting a glance at her new companion.
+
+"Beautiful!" exclaimed Adriana, and she stopped to admire and arrange
+them. "See, dear Myra, is not this lovely? How superior to anything in
+our glass-houses!"
+
+Myra took the flower and examined it. Colonel Albert, who was silent,
+was watching all this time Endymion with intentness, who now looked up
+and encountered the gaze of the new comer. Their eyes met, their
+countenances were agitated, they seemed perplexed, and then it seemed
+that at the same time both extended their hands.
+
+"It is a long time since we met," said Colonel Albert, and he retained
+the hand of Endymion with affection. But Endymion, who was apparently
+much moved, said nothing, or rather only murmured an echo to the
+remarks of his new friend. And then they all walked on, but Myra fell
+a little back and made a signal to Endymion to join her.
+
+"You never told me, darling, that you knew Colonel Albert."
+
+"Colonel Albert!" said Endymion, looking amazed, and then he added,
+"Who is Colonel Albert?"
+
+"That gentleman before us," said Myra.
+
+"That is the Count of Otranto, whose fag I was at Eton."
+
+"The Count of Otranto!"
+
+
+
+                             CHAPTER XXXV
+
+Colonel Albert from this day became an object of increased and deeper
+interest to Myra. His appearance and manners had always been
+attractive, and the mystery connected with him was not calculated to
+diminish curiosity in his conduct or fate. But when she discovered
+that he was the unseen hero of her childhood, the being who had been
+kind to her Endymion in what she had ever considered the severest
+trial of her brother's life, had been his protector from those who
+would have oppressed him, and had cherished him in the desolate hour
+of his delicate and tender boyhood, her heart was disturbed. How often
+had they talked together of the Count of Otranto, and how often had
+they wondered who he was! His memory had been a delightful mystery to
+them in their Berkshire solitude, and Myra recalled with a secret
+smile the numberless and ingenious inquiries by which she had
+endeavoured to elicit from her brother some clue as to his friend, or
+to discover some detail which might guide her to a conclusion.
+Endymion had known nothing, and was clear always that the Count of
+Otranto must have been, and was, an English boy. And now the Count of
+Otranto called himself Colonel Albert, and though he persisted in
+speaking English, had admitted to Mrs. Neuchatel that he was a
+foreigner.
+
+Who was he? She resolved, when she had an opportunity, to speak to the
+great banker on the subject.
+
+"Do you know, Mr. Neuchatel," she said, "that Endymion, my brother,
+was at school with Colonel Albert?"
+
+"Ah, ah!" said Mr. Neuchatel.
+
+"But when he was at school he had another name," said Myra.
+
+"Oh, oh!" said Mr. Neuchatel.
+
+"He was then called the Count of Otranto."
+
+"That is a very pretty name," said Mr. Neuchatel.
+
+"But why did he change it?" asked Myra.
+
+"The great world often change their names," said Mr. Neuchatel. "It is
+only poor City men like myself who are always called Mr., and bear the
+same name as their fathers."
+
+"But when a person is called a count when he is a boy, he is seldom
+called only a colonel when he is a man," said Myra. "There is a great
+mystery in all this."
+
+"I should not be surprised," said Mr. Neuchatel, "if he were to change
+his name again before this time year."
+
+"Why?" asked Myra.
+
+"Well, when I have read all his papers in Bishopsgate Street, perhaps
+I shall be able to tell you," said Mr. Neuchatel, and Myra felt that
+she could pursue the theme no further.
+
+She expected that Endymion would in time be able to obtain this
+information, but it was not so. In their first private conversation
+after their meeting in the forest, Endymion had informed Colonel
+Albert that, though they had met now for the first time since his
+return, they had been for some time lodgers in London under the same
+roof. Colonel Albert smiled when Endymion told him this; then falling
+into thought, he said; "I hope we may often meet, but for the moment
+it may be as well that the past should be known only to ourselves. I
+wish my life for the present to be as private as I can arrange it.
+There is no reason why we should not be sometimes together--that is,
+when you have leisure. I had the pleasure of making your acquaintance
+at my banker's."
+
+Parliament had been dissolved through the demise of the crown in the
+summer of this year (1837), and London society had been prematurely
+broken up. Waldershare had left town early in July to secure his
+election, in which he was successful, with no intention of settling
+again in his old haunts till the meeting of the new House of Commons,
+which was to be in November. The Rodneys were away at some Kentish
+watering-place during August and September, exhibiting to an admiring
+world their exquisitely made dresses, and enjoying themselves
+amazingly at balls and assemblies at the public rooms. The resources
+of private society also were not closed to them. Mr. and Mrs. Gamme
+were also there and gave immense dinners, and the airy Mrs. Hooghley,
+who laughed a little at the Gammes' substantial gatherings and herself
+improvised charming pic-nics. So there was really little embarrassment
+in the social relations between Colonel Albert and Endymion. They
+resolved themselves chiefly into arranging joint expeditions to
+Hainault. Endymion had a perpetual invitation there, and it seemed
+that the transactions between Mr. Neuchatel and the colonel required
+much conference, for the banker always expected him, although it was
+well known that they met not unfrequently in Bishopsgate Street in the
+course of the week. Colonel Albert and Endymion always stayed at
+Hainault from Saturday till Monday. It delighted the colonel to mount
+Endymion on one of his choice steeds, and his former fag enjoyed all
+this amazingly.
+
+Colonel Albert became domiciled at Hainault. The rooms which were
+occupied by him when there were always reserved for him. He had a
+general invitation, and might leave his luggage and books and papers
+behind him. It was evident that the family pleased him. Between Mr.
+Neuchatel and himself there were obviously affairs of great interest;
+but it was equally clear that he liked the female members of the
+family--all of them; and all liked him. And yet it cannot be said that
+he was entertaining, but there are some silent people who are more
+interesting than the best talkers. And when he did speak he always
+said the right thing. His manners were tender and gentle; he had an
+unobtrusive sympathy with all they said or did, except, indeed, and
+that was not rarely, when he was lost in profound abstraction.
+
+"I delight in your friend the colonel, Adrian," said Mrs. Neuchatel,
+"but I must say he is very absent."
+
+"He has a good deal to think about," said Mr. Neuchatel.
+
+"I wonder what it can be," thought Myra.
+
+"He has a claim to a great estate," said Mr. Neuchatel, "and he has to
+think of the best mode of establishing it; and he has been deprived of
+great honours, and he believes unjustly, and he wishes to regain
+them."
+
+"No wonder, then, he is absent," said Mrs. Neuchatel. "If he only knew
+what a burthen great wealth is, I am sure he would not wish to possess
+it, and as for honours I never could make out why having a title or a
+ribbon could make any difference in a human being."
+
+"Nonsense, my dear Emily," said Mr. Neuchatel. "Great wealth is a
+blessing to a man who knows what to do with it, and as for honours,
+they are inestimable to the honourable."
+
+"Well, I ardently hope Colonel Albert may succeed," said Myra,
+"because he was so kind to my brother at Eton. He must have a good
+heart."
+
+"They say he is the most unscrupulous of living men," said Mr.
+Neuchatel, with his peculiar smile.
+
+"Good heavens!" exclaimed Mrs. Neuchatel.
+
+"How terrible!" said Adriana. "It cannot be true."
+
+"Perhaps he is the most determined," said Myra. "Moral courage is the
+rarest of qualities, and often maligned."
+
+"Well, he has got a champion," said Mr. Neuchatel.
+
+"I ardently wish him success," said Myra, "in all his undertakings. I
+only wish I knew what they were."
+
+"Has not he told your brother, Miss Ferrars?" asked Mr. Neuchatel,
+with laughing eyes.
+
+"He never speaks of himself to Endymion," said Myra.
+
+"He speaks a good deal of himself to me," said Mr. Neuchatel; "and he
+is going to bring a friend here to-morrow who knows more about his
+affairs even than I do. So you will have a very good opportunity, Miss
+Ferrars, of making yourself acquainted with them, particularly if you
+sit next to him at dinner, and are very winning."
+
+The friend of Colonel Albert was Baron Sergius, the baron who used to
+visit him in London at twilight in a dark brougham. Mrs. Neuchatel was
+greatly taken by his appearance, by the calmness of his mien, his
+unstudied politeness, and his measured voice. He conversed with her
+entirely at dinner on German philosophy, of which he seemed a complete
+master, explained to her the different schools, and probably the
+successful ones, and imparted to her that precise knowledge which she
+required on the subject, and which she had otherwise been unable to
+obtain. It seemed, too, that he personally knew all the famous
+professors, and he intimated their doctrines not only with profound
+criticism, but described their persons and habits with vividness and
+picturesque power, never, however, all this time, by any chance
+raising his voice, the tones of which were ever distinct and a little
+precise.
+
+"Is this the first visit of your friend to this country?" asked Myra
+of Colonel Albert.
+
+"Oh no; he has been here often--and everywhere," added Colonel Albert.
+
+"Everywhere! he must be a most interesting companion then."
+
+"I find him so: I never knew any one whom I thought equal to him. But
+perhaps I am not an impartial judge, for I have known him so long and
+so intimately. In fact, I had never been out of his sight till I was
+brought over to this country to be placed at Eton. He is the
+counsellor of our family, and we all of us have ever agreed that if
+his advice had been always followed we should never have had a
+calamity."
+
+"Indeed, a gifted person! Is he a soldier?"
+
+"No; Baron Sergius has not followed the profession of arms."
+
+"He looks a diplomatist."
+
+"Well, he is now nothing but my friend," said the colonel. "He might
+have been anything, but he is a peculiarly domestic character, and is
+devoted to private life."
+
+"You are fortunate in such a friend."
+
+"Well, I am glad to be fortunate in something," said Colonel Albert.
+
+"And are you not fortunate in everything?"
+
+"I have not that reputation; but I shall be more than fortunate if I
+have your kind wishes."
+
+"Those you have," said Myra, rather eagerly. "My brother taught me,
+even as a child, to wish nothing but good for you. I wish I knew only
+what I was to wish for."
+
+"Wish that my plans may succeed," said Colonel Albert, looking round
+to her with interest.
+
+"I will more than wish," said Myra; "I will believe that they will
+succeed, because I think you have resolved to succeed."
+
+"I shall tell Endymion when I see him," said Colonel Albert, "that his
+sister is the only person who has read my character."
+
+
+
+                            CHAPTER XXXVI
+
+Colonel Albert and Baron Sergius drove up in their landau from
+Hainault while Endymion was at the door in Warwick Street, returning
+home. The colonel saluted him cordially, and said, "The baron is going
+to take a cup of coffee with me; join us." So they went upstairs.
+There was a packet on the table, which seemed to catch the colonel's
+eye immediately, and he at once opened it with eagerness. It contained
+many foreign newspapers. Without waiting for the servant who was about
+to bring candles, the colonel lighted a taper on the table with a
+lucifer, and then withdrew into the adjoining chamber, opening,
+however, with folding doors to the principal and spacious apartment.
+
+"A foreign newspaper always interests our friend," said the baron,
+taking his coffee.
+
+"Well, it must always be interesting to have news from home, I
+suppose," said Endymion.
+
+"Home!" said the baron. "News is always interesting, whether it come
+from home or not."
+
+"To public men," said Endymion.
+
+"To all men if they be wise," said the baron; "as a general rule, the
+most successful man in life is the man who has the best information."
+
+"But what a rare thing is success in life!" said Endymion. "I often
+wonder whether I shall ever be able to step out of the crowd."
+
+"You may have success in life without stepping out of the crowd," said
+the baron.
+
+"A sort of success," said Endymion; "I know what you mean. But what I
+mean is real success in life. I mean, I should like to be a public
+man."
+
+"Why?" asked the baron.
+
+"Well, I should like to have power," said Endymion, blushing.
+
+"The most powerful men are not public men," said the baron. "A public
+man is responsible, and a responsible man is a slave. It is private
+life that governs the world. You will find this out some day. The
+world talks much of powerful sovereigns and great ministers; and if
+being talked about made one powerful, they would be irresistible. But
+the fact is, the more you are talked about the less powerful you are."
+
+"But surely King Luitbrand is a powerful monarch; they say he is the
+wisest of men. And the Emperor Harold, who has succeeded in
+everything. And as for ministers, who is a great man if it be not
+Prince Wenceslaus?"
+
+"King Luitbrand is governed by his doctor, who is capable of governing
+Europe, but has no ambition that way; the Emperor Harold is directed
+by his mistress, who is a woman of a certain age with a vast sagacity,
+but who also believes in sorcery; and as for Prince Wenceslaus, he is
+inspired by an individual as obscure as ourselves, and who, for aught
+I know, may be, at this moment, like ourselves, drinking a cup of
+coffee in a hired lodging."
+
+"What you say about public life amazes me," said Endymion musingly.
+
+"Think over it," said the baron. "As an Englishman, you will have
+difficulty in avoiding public life. But at any rate do not at present
+be discontented that you are unknown. It is the first condition of
+real power. When you have succeeded in life according to your views,
+and I am inclined to believe you will so succeed, you will, some day,
+sigh for real power, and denounce the time when you became a public
+man, and belonged to any one but yourself. But our friend calls me. He
+has found something startling. I will venture to say, if there be
+anything in it, it has been brought about by some individual of whom
+you never heard."
+
+
+
+                            CHAPTER XXXVII
+
+With the assembling of parliament in November recommenced the sittings
+of the Union Society, of which Endymion had for some time been a
+member, and of whose meetings he was a constant and critical, though
+silent, attendant. There was a debate one night on the government of
+dependencies, which, although all reference to existing political
+circumstances was rigidly prohibited, no doubt had its origin in the
+critical state of one of our most important colonies, then much
+embarrassing the metropolis. The subject was one which Endymion had
+considered, and on which he had arrived at certain conclusions. The
+meeting was fully attended, and the debate had been conducted with a
+gravity becoming the theme. Endymion was sitting on a back bench, and
+with no companion near him with whom he was acquainted, when he rose
+and solicited the attention of the president. Another and a well-known
+speaker had also risen, and been called, but there was a cry of "new
+member," a courteous cry, borrowed from the House of Commons, and
+Endymion for the first time heard his own voice in public. He has
+since admitted, though he has been through many trying scenes, that it
+was the most nervous moment of his life. "After Calais," as a wise wit
+said, "nothing surprises;" and the first time a man speaks in public,
+even if only at a debating society, is also the unequalled incident in
+its way. The indulgence of the audience supported him while the mist
+cleared from his vision, and his palpitating heart subsided into
+comparative tranquillity. After a few pardonable incoherencies, he was
+launched into his subject, and spoke with the thoughtful fluency which
+knowledge alone can sustain. For knowledge is the foundation of
+eloquence.
+
+"What a good-looking young fellow!" whispered Mr. Bertie Tremaine to
+his brother Mr. Tremaine Bertie. The Bertie Tremaines were the two
+greatest swells of the Union, and had a party of their own. "And he
+speaks well."
+
+"Who is he?" inquired Mr. Tremaine Bertie of their other neighbour.
+
+"He is a clerk in the Treasury, I believe, or something of that sort,"
+was the reply.
+
+"I never saw such a good-looking young fellow," said Mr. Bertie
+Tremaine. "He is worth getting hold of. I shall ask to be introduced
+to him when we break up."
+
+Accordingly, Mr. Bertie Tremaine, who was always playing at politics,
+and who, being two-and-twenty, was discontented he was not Chancellor
+of the Exchequer like Mr. Pitt, whispered to a gentleman who sate
+behind him, and was, in short, the whip of his section, and signified,
+as a minister of state would, that an introduction to Mr. Ferrars
+should be arranged.
+
+So when the meeting broke up, of which Mr. Ferrars' maiden speech was
+quite the event, and while he was contemplating, not without some fair
+self-complacency, walking home with Trenchard, Endymion found himself
+encompassed by a group of bowing forms and smiling countenances, and,
+almost before he was aware of it, had made the acquaintance of the
+great Mr. Bertie Tremaine, and received not only the congratulations
+of that gentleman, but an invitation to dine with him on the morrow;
+"quite /sans facon/."
+
+Mr. Bertie Tremaine, who had early succeeded to the family estate,
+lived in Grosvenor Street, and in becoming style. His house was
+furnished with luxury and some taste. The host received his guests in
+a library, well stored with political history and political science,
+and adorned with the busts of celebrated statesmen and of profound
+political sages. Bentham was the philosopher then affected by young
+gentleman of ambition, and who wished to have credit for profundity
+and hard heads. Mr. Bertie Tremaine had been the proprietor of a close
+borough, which for several generations had returned his family to
+parliament, the faithful supporters of Pitt, and Perceval, and
+Liverpool, and he had contemplated following the same line, though
+with larger and higher objects than his ancestors. Being a man of
+considerable and versatile ability, and of ample fortune, with the
+hereditary opportunity which he possessed, he had a right to aspire,
+and, as his vanity more than equalled his talents, his estimate of his
+own career was not mean. Unfortunately, before he left Harrow, he was
+deprived of his borough, and this catastrophe eventually occasioned a
+considerable change in the views and conduct of Mr. Bertie Tremaine.
+In the confusion of parties and political thought which followed the
+Reform Act of Lord Grey, an attempt to govern the country by the
+assertion of abstract principles, and which it was now beginning to be
+the fashion to call Liberalism, seemed the only opening to public
+life; and Mr. Bertie Tremaine, who piqued himself on recognising the
+spirit of the age, adopted Liberal opinions with that youthful fervour
+which is sometimes called enthusiasm, but which is a heat of
+imagination subsequently discovered to be inconsistent with the
+experience of actual life. At Cambridge Mr. Bertie Tremaine was at
+first the solitary pupil of Bentham, whose principles he was prepared
+to carry to their extreme consequences, but being a man of energy and
+in possession of a good estate, he soon found followers, for the
+sympathies of youth are quick, and, even with an original bias, it is
+essentially mimetic. When Mr. Bertie Tremaine left the university he
+found in the miscellaneous elements of the London Union many of his
+former companions of school and college, and from them, and the new
+world to which he was introduced, it delighted him to form parties and
+construct imaginary cabinets. His brother Augustus, who was his junior
+only by a year, and was destined to be a diplomatist, was an efficient
+assistant in these enterprises, and was one of the guests who greeted
+Endymion when he arrived next day in Grosvenor Street according to his
+engagement. The other three were Hortensius, the whip of the party,
+and Mr. Trenchard.
+
+The dinner was refined, for Mr. Bertie Tremaine combined the Sybarite
+with the Utilitarian sage, and it secretly delighted him to astonish
+or embarrass an austere brother republican by the splendour of his
+family plate or the polished appointments of his household. To-day the
+individual to be influenced was Endymion, and the host, acting up to
+his ideal of a first minister, addressed questions to his companions
+on the subjects which were peculiarly their own, and, after eliciting
+their remarks, continued to complete the treatment of the theme with
+adequate ability, though in a manner authoritative, and, as Endymion
+thought, a little pompous. What amused him most in this assemblage of
+youth was their earnest affectation of public life. The freedom of
+their comments on others was only equalled by their confidence in
+themselves. Endymion, who only spoke when he was appealed to, had
+casually remarked in answer to one of the observations which his host
+with elaborate politeness occasionally addressed to him, that he
+thought it was unpatriotic to take a certain course. Mr. Bertie
+Tremaine immediately drew up, and said, with a deep smile, "that he
+comprehended philanthropy, but patriotism he confessed he did not
+understand;" and thereupon delivered himself of an address on the
+subject which might have been made in the Union, and which
+communicated to the astonished Endymion that patriotism was a false
+idea, and entirely repugnant to the principles of the new philosophy.
+As all present were more or less impregnated with these tenets, there
+was no controversy on the matter. Endymion remained discreetly silent,
+and Augustus--Mr. Bertie Tremaine's brother--who sate next to him, and
+whose manners were as sympathising as his brother's were autocratic,
+whispered in a wheedling tone that it was quite true, and that the
+idea of patriotism was entirely relinquished except by a few old-
+fashioned folks who clung to superstitious phrases. Hortensius, who
+seemed to be the only one of the company who presumed to meet Mr.
+Bertie Tremaine in conversation on equal terms, and who had already
+astonished Endymion by what that inexperienced youth deemed the
+extreme laxity of his views, both social and political, evinced, more
+than once, a disposition to deviate into the lighter topics of
+feminine character, and even the fortunes of the hazard-table; but the
+host looked severe, and was evidently resolved that the conversation
+to-day should resemble the expression of his countenance. After dinner
+they returned to the library, and most of them smoked, but Mr. Bertie
+Tremaine, inviting Endymion to seat himself by his side on a sofa at
+the farther end of the room, observed, "I suppose you are looking to
+parliament?"
+
+"Well, I do not know," said the somewhat startled Endymion; "I have
+not thought much about it, and I have not yet reached a parliamentary
+age."
+
+"A man cannot enter parliament too soon," said Mr. Bertie Tremaine; "I
+hope to enter this session. There will be a certain vacancy on a
+petition, and I have arranged to have the seat."
+
+"Indeed!" said Endymion. "My father was in parliament, and so was my
+grandfather, but I confess I do not very well see my way there."
+
+"You must connect yourself with a party," said Mr. Bertie Tremaine,
+"and you will soon enter; and being young, you should connect yourself
+with the party of the future. The country is wearied with the present
+men, who have no philosophical foundation, and are therefore
+perpetually puzzled and inconsistent, and the country will not stand
+the old men, as it is resolved against retrogression. The party of the
+future and of the speedy future has its headquarters under this roof,
+and I should like to see you belong to it."
+
+"You are too kind," murmured Endymion.
+
+"Yes, I see in you the qualities adapted to public life, and which may
+be turned to great account. I must get you into parliament as soon as
+you are eligible," continued Mr. Bertie Tremaine in a musing tone.
+"This death of the King was very inopportune. If he had reigned a
+couple of years more, I saw my way to half a dozen seats, and I could
+have arranged with Lord Durham."
+
+"That was unfortunate," said Endymion.
+
+"What do you think of Hortensius?" inquired Mr. Bertie Tremaine.
+
+"I think him the most brilliant speaker I know," said Endymion. "I
+never met him in private society before; he talks well."
+
+"He wants conduct," said Mr. Bertie Tremaine. "He ought to be my Lord
+Chancellor, but there is a tone of levity about him which is
+unfortunate. Men destined to the highest places should beware of
+badinage."
+
+"I believe it is a dangerous weapon."
+
+"All lawyers are loose in their youth, but an insular country subject
+to fogs, and with a powerful middle class, requires grave statesmen. I
+attribute a great deal of the nonsense called Conservative Reaction to
+Peel's solemnity. The proper minister for England at this moment would
+be Pitt. Extreme youth gives hope to a country; coupled with
+ceremonious manners, hope soon assumes the form of confidence."
+
+"Ah!" murmured Endymion.
+
+"I had half a mind to ask Jawett to dinner to-day. His powers are
+unquestionable, but he is not a practical man. For instance, I think
+myself our colonial empire is a mistake, and that we should
+disembarrass ourselves of its burthen as rapidly as is consistent with
+the dignity of the nation; but were Jawett in the House of Commons
+to-morrow, nothing would satisfy him but a resolution for the total
+and immediate abolition of the empire, with a preamble denouncing the
+folly of our fathers in creating it. Jawett never spares any one's
+self-love."
+
+"I know him very well," said Endymion; "he is in my office. He is very
+uncompromising."
+
+"Yes," said Mr. Bertie Tremaine musingly; "if I had to form a
+government, I could hardly offer him the cabinet." Then speaking more
+rapidly, he added, "The man you should attach yourself to is my
+brother Augustus--Mr. Tremaine Bertie. There is no man who understands
+foreign politics like Augustus, and he is a thorough man of the
+world."
+
+
+
+                           CHAPTER XXXVIII
+
+When parliament reassembled in February, the Neuchatels quitted
+Hainault for their London residence in Portland Place. Mrs. Neuchatel
+was sadly troubled at leaving her country home, which, notwithstanding
+its distressing splendour, had still some forms of compensatory
+innocence in its flowers and sylvan glades. Adriana sighed when she
+called to mind the manifold and mortifying snares and pitfalls that
+awaited her, and had even framed a highly practical and sensible
+scheme which would permit her parents to settle in town and allow Myra
+and herself to remain permanently in the country; but Myra brushed
+away the project like a fly, and Adriana yielding, embraced her with
+tearful eyes.
+
+The Neuchatel mansion in Portland Place was one of the noblest in that
+comely quarter of the town, and replete with every charm and
+convenience that wealth and taste could provide. Myra, who, like her
+brother, had a tenacious memory, was interested in recalling as fully
+and as accurately as possible her previous experience of London life.
+She was then indeed only a child, but a child who was often admitted
+to brilliant circles, and had enjoyed opportunities of social
+observation which the very youthful seldom possess. Her retrospection
+was not as profitable as she could have desired, and she was
+astonished, after a severe analysis of the past, to find how entirely
+at that early age she appeared to have been engrossed with herself and
+with Endymion. Hill Street and Wimbledon, and all their various life,
+figured as shadowy scenes; she could realise nothing very definite for
+her present guidance; the past seemed a phantom of fine dresses, and
+bright equipages, and endless indulgence. All that had happened after
+their fall was distinct and full of meaning. It would seem that
+adversity had taught Myra to feel and think.
+
+Forty years ago the great financiers had not that commanding, not to
+say predominant, position in society which they possess at present,
+but the Neuchatels were an exception to this general condition. They
+were a family which not only had the art of accumulating wealth, but
+of expending it with taste and generosity--an extremely rare
+combination. Their great riches, their political influence, their high
+integrity and their social accomplishments, combined to render their
+house not only splendid, but interesting and agreeable, and gave them
+a great hold upon the world. At first the fine ladies of their
+political party called on them as a homage of condescending gratitude
+for the public support which the Neuchatel family gave to their sons
+and husbands, but they soon discovered that this amiable descent from
+their Olympian heights on their part did not amount exactly to the
+sacrifice or service which they had contemplated. They found their
+host as refined as themselves, and much more magnificent, and in a
+very short time it was not merely the wives of ambassadors and
+ministers of state that were found at the garden fetes of Hainault, or
+the balls, and banquets, and concerts of Portland Place, but the
+fitful and capricious realm of fashion surrendered like a fair country
+conquered as it were by surprise. To visit the Neuchatels became the
+mode; all solicited to be their guests, and some solicited in vain.
+
+Although it was only February, the world began to move, and some of
+the ministers' wives, who were socially strong enough to venture on
+such a step, received their friends. Mr. Neuchatel particularly liked
+this form of society. "I cannot manage balls," he used to say, "but I
+like a ministerial reception. There is some chance of sensible
+conversation and doing a little business. I like talking with
+ambassadors after dinner. Besides, in this country you meet the
+leaders of the opposition, because, as they are not invited by the
+minister, but by his wife, anybody can come without committing
+himself."
+
+Myra, faithful to her original resolution, not to enter society while
+she was in mourning, declined all the solicitudes of her friends to
+accompany them to these assemblies. Mrs. Neuchatel always wished Myra
+should be her substitute, and it was only at Myra's instance that
+Adriana accompanied her parents. In the meantime, Myra saw much of
+Endymion. He was always a welcome guest by the family, and could call
+upon his sister at all the odds and ends of time that were at his
+command, and chat with her at pleasant ease in her pretty room.
+Sometimes they walked out together, and sometimes they went together
+to see some exhibition that everybody went to see. Adriana became
+almost as intimate with Endymion as his sister, and altogether the
+Neuchatel family became by degrees to him as a kind of home. Talking
+with Endymion, Myra heard a good deal of Colonel Albert, for he was
+her brother's hero--but she rarely saw that gentleman. She was aware
+from her brother, and from some occasional words of Mr. Neuchatel,
+that the great banker still saw Colonel Albert and not unfrequently,
+but the change of residence from Hainault to London made a difference
+in their mode of communication. Business was transacted in Bishopsgate
+Street, and no longer combined with a pleasant ride to an Essex
+forest. More than once Colonel Albert had dined in Portland Place, but
+at irregular and miscellaneous parties. Myra observed that he was
+never asked to meet the grand personages who attended the celebrated
+banquets of Mr. Neuchatel. And why not? His manners were
+distinguished, but his whole bearing that of one accustomed to
+consideration. The irrepressible curiosity of woman impelled her once
+to feel her way on the subject with Mr. Neuchatel, but with the utmost
+dexterity and delicacy.
+
+"No," said Mr. Neuchatel with a laughing eye, and who saw through
+everybody's purpose, though his own manner was one of simplicity
+amounting almost to innocence, "I did not say Colonel Albert was going
+to dine here on Wednesday; I have asked him to dine here on Sunday. On
+Wednesday I am going to have the premier and some of his colleagues. I
+must insist upon Miss Ferrars dining at table. You will meet Lord
+Roehampton; all the ladies admire him and he admires all the ladies.
+It will not do to ask Colonel Albert to meet such a party, though
+perhaps," added Mr. Neuchatel with a merry smile, "some day they may
+be asked to meet Colonel Albert. Who knows, Miss Ferrars? The wheel of
+Fortune turns round very strangely."
+
+"And who then is Colonel Albert?" asked Myra with decision.
+
+"Colonel Albert is Colonel Albert, and nobody else, so far as I know,"
+replied Mr. Neuchatel; "he has brought a letter of credit on my house
+in that name, and I am happy to honour his drafts to the amount in
+question, and as he is a foreigner, I think it is but kind and
+courteous occasionally to ask him to dinner."
+
+Miss Ferrars did not pursue the inquiry, for she was sufficiently
+acquainted with Mr. Neuchatel to feel that he did not intend to
+gratify her curiosity.
+
+The banquet of the Neuchatels to the premier, and some of the
+principal ambassadors and their wives, and to those of the premier's
+colleagues who were fashionable enough to be asked, and to some of the
+dukes and duchesses and other ethereal beings who supported the
+ministry, was the first event of the season. The table blazed with
+rare flowers and rarer porcelain and precious candelabra of sculptured
+beauty glittering with light; the gold plate was less remarkable than
+the delicate ware that had been alike moulded and adorned for a Du
+Barri or a Marie Antoinette, and which now found a permanent and
+peaceful home in the proverbial land of purity and order; and amid the
+stars and ribbons, not the least remarkable feature of the whole was
+Mr. Neuchatel himself, seated at the centre of his table, alike free
+from ostentation or over-deference, talking to the great ladies on
+each side of him, as if he had nothing to do in life but whisper in
+gentle ears, and partaking of his own dainties as if he were eating
+bread and cheese at a country inn.
+
+Perhaps Mrs. Neuchatel might have afforded a companion picture. Partly
+in deference to their host, and partly because this evening the first
+dance of the season was to be given, the great ladies in general wore
+their diamonds, and Myra was amused as she watched their dazzling
+tiaras and flashing rivieres, while not a single ornament adorned the
+graceful presence of their hostess, who was more content to be
+brilliant only by her conversation. As Mr. Neuchatel had only a few
+days before presented his wife with another diamond necklace, he might
+be excused were he slightly annoyed. Nothing of the sort; he only
+shrugged his shoulders, and said to his nephew, "Your aunt must feel
+that I give her diamonds from love and not from vanity, as she never
+lets me have the pleasure of seeing them." The sole ornament of
+Adriana was an orchid, which had arrived that morning from Hainault,
+and she had presented its fellow to Myra.
+
+There was one lady who much attracted the attention of Myra,
+interested in all she observed. This lady was evidently a person of
+importance, for she sate between an ambassador and a knight of the
+garter, and they vied in homage to her. They watched her every word,
+and seemed delighted with all she said. Without being strictly
+beautiful, there was an expression of sweet animation in her
+physiognomy which was highly attractive: her eye was full of summer
+lightning, and there was an arch dimple in her smile, which seemed to
+irradiate her whole countenance. She was quite a young woman, hardly
+older than Myra. What most distinguished her was the harmony of her
+whole person; her graceful figure, her fair and finely moulded
+shoulders, her pretty teeth, and her small extremities, seemed to
+blend with and become the soft vivacity of her winning glance.
+
+"Lady Montfort looks well to-night," said the neighbour of Myra.
+
+"And is that Lady Montfort? Do you know, I never saw her before."
+
+"Yes; that is the famous Berengaria, the Queen of Society, and the
+genius of Whiggism."
+
+In the evening, a great lady, who was held to have the finest voice in
+society, favoured them with a splendid specimen of her commanding
+skill, and then Adriana was induced to gratify her friends with a
+song, "only one song," and that only on condition that Myra should
+accompany her. Miss Neuchatel had a sweet and tender voice, and it had
+been finely cultivated; she would have been more than charming if she
+had only taken interest in anything she herself did, or believed for a
+moment that she could interest others. When she ceased, a gentleman
+approached the instrument and addressed her in terms of sympathy and
+deferential praise. Myra recognised the knight of the garter who had
+sat next to Lady Montfort. He was somewhat advanced in middle life,
+tall and of a stately presence, with a voice more musical even than
+the tones which had recently enchanted every one. His countenance was
+impressive, a truly Olympian brow, but the lower part of the face
+indicated not feebleness, but flexibility, and his mouth was somewhat
+sensuous. His manner was at once winning; natural, and singularly
+unaffected, and seemed to sympathise entirely with those whom he
+addressed.
+
+"But I have never been at Hainault," said the gentleman, continuing a
+conversation, "and therefore could not hear the nightingales. I am
+content you have brought one of them to town."
+
+"Nightingales disappear in June," said Miss Ferrars; "so our season
+will be short."
+
+"And where do they travel to?" asked the gentleman.
+
+"Ah! that is a mystery," said Myra. "You must ask Miss Neuchatel."
+
+"But she will not tell me," said the gentleman, for in truth Miss
+Neuchatel, though he had frequently addressed her, had scarcely opened
+her lips.
+
+"Tell your secret, Adriana," said Miss Ferrars, trying to force her to
+converse.
+
+"Adriana!" said the gentleman. "What a beautiful name! You look with
+that flower, Miss Neuchatel, like a bride of Venice."
+
+"Nay," said Myra; "the bride of Venice was a stormy ocean."
+
+"And have you a Venetian name?" asked the gentleman.
+
+There was a pause, and then Miss Neuchatel, with an effort, murmured,
+"She has a very pretty name. Her name is Myra."
+
+"She seems to deserve it," said the gentleman.
+
+"So you like my daughter's singing," said Mr. Neuchatel, coming up to
+them. "She does not much like singing in public, but she is a very
+good girl, and always gives me a song when I come home from business."
+
+
+"Fortunate man!" said the gentleman. "I wish somebody would sing to me
+when I come home from business."
+
+"You should marry, my lord," said Mr. Neuchatel, "and get your wife to
+sing to you. Is it not so, Miss Ferrars? By the by, I ought to
+introduce you to--Lord Roehampton."
+
+
+
+                            CHAPTER XXXIX
+
+The Earl of Roehampton was the strongest member of the government,
+except, of course, the premier himself. He was the man from whose
+combined force and flexibility of character the country had confidence
+that in all their councils there would be no lack of courage, yet
+tempered with adroit discretion. Lord Roehampton, though an
+Englishman, was an Irish peer, and was resolved to remain so, for he
+fully appreciated the position, which united social distinction with
+the power of a seat in the House of Commons. He was a very ambitious,
+and, as it was thought, worldly man, deemed even by many to be
+unscrupulous, and yet he was romantic. A great favourite in society,
+and especially with the softer sex, somewhat late in life, he had
+married suddenly a beautiful woman, who was without fortune, and not a
+member of the enchanted circle in which he flourished. The union had
+been successful, for Lord Roehampton was gifted with a sweet temper,
+and, though people said he had no heart, with a winning tenderness of
+disposition, or at least of manner, which at the same time charmed and
+soothed. He had been a widower for two years, and the world was of
+opinion that he ought to marry again, and form this time a becoming
+alliance. In addition to his many recommendations he had now the
+inestimable reputation, which no one had ever contemplated for him, of
+having been a good husband.
+
+Berengaria, Countess of Montfort, was a great friend of Lord
+Roehampton. She was accustomed to describe herself as "the last of his
+conquests," and though Lord Roehampton read characters and purposes
+with a glance, and was too sagacious to be deceived by any one, even
+by himself, his gratified taste, for he scarcely had vanity, cherished
+the bright illusion of which he was conscious, and he responded to
+Lady Montfort half sportively, half seriously, with an air of
+flattered devotion. Lord Roehampton had inherited an ample estate, and
+he had generally been in office; for he served his apprenticeship
+under Perceval and Liverpool, and changed his party just in time to
+become a member of the Cabinet of 1831. Yet with all these advantages,
+whether it were the habit of his life, which was ever profuse, or that
+neglect of his private interests which almost inevitably accompanies
+the absorbing duties of public life, his affairs were always somewhat
+confused, and Lady Montfort, who wished to place him on a pinnacle,
+had resolved that he should marry an heiress. After long observation
+and careful inquiry and prolonged reflection, the lady she had fixed
+upon was Miss Neuchatel; and she it was who had made Lord Roehampton
+cross the room and address Adriana after her song.
+
+"He is not young," reasoned Lady Montfort to herself, "but his mind
+and manner are young, and that is everything. I am sure I meet youth
+every day who, compared with Lord Roehampton, could have no chance
+with my sex--men who can neither feel, nor think, nor converse. And
+then he is famous, and powerful, and fashionable, and knows how to
+talk to women. And this must all tell with a banker's daughter, dying,
+of course, to be a /grande dame/. It will do. He may not be young, but
+he is irresistible. And the father will like it, for he told me in
+confidence, at dinner, that he wished Lord Roehampton to be prime
+minister; and with this alliance he will be."
+
+The plot being devised by a fertile brain never wanting in expedients,
+its development was skilfully managed, and its accomplishment
+anticipated with confidence. It was remarkable with what dexterity the
+Neuchatel family and Lord Roehampton were brought together.
+Berengaria's lord and master was in the country, which he said he
+would not quit; but this did not prevent her giving delightful little
+dinners and holding select assemblies on nights when there was no
+dreadful House of Commons, and Lord Roehampton could be present. On
+most occasions, and especially on these latter ones, Lady Montfort
+could not endure existence without her dear Adriana. Mr. Neuchatel,
+who was a little in the plot, who at least smiled when Berengaria
+alluded to her enterprise, was not wanting in his contributions to its
+success. He hardly ever gave one of his famous banquets to which Lord
+Roehampton was not invited, and, strange to say, Lord Roehampton, who
+had the reputation of being somewhat difficult on this head, always
+accepted the invitations. The crowning social incident, however, was
+when Lord Roehampton opened his own house for the first time since his
+widowhood, and received the Neuchatels at a banquet not inferior to
+their own. This was a great triumph for Lady Montfort, who thought the
+end was at hand.
+
+"Life is short," she said to Lord Roehampton that evening. "Why not
+settle it to-night?"
+
+"Well," said Lord Roehampton, "you know I never like anything
+precipitate. Besides, why should the citadel surrender when I have
+hardly entered on my first parallel?"
+
+"Ah! those are old-fashioned tactics," said Lady Montfort.
+
+"Well, I suppose I am an old-fashioned man."
+
+"Be serious, now. I want it settled before Easter. I must go down to
+my lord then, and even before; and I should like to see this settled
+before we separate."
+
+"Why does not Montfort come up to town?" said Lord Roehampton. "He is
+wanted."
+
+"Well," said Lady Montfort, with half a sigh, "it is no use talking
+about it. He will not come. Our society bores him, and he must be
+amused. I write to him every day, and sometimes twice a day, and pass
+my life in collecting things to interest him. I would never leave him
+for a moment, only I know then that he would get wearied of me; and he
+thinks now--at least, he once said so--that he has never had a dull
+moment in my company."
+
+"How can he find amusement in the country?" said Lord Roehampton.
+"There is no sport now, and a man cannot always be reading French
+novels."
+
+"Well, I send amusing people down to him," said Berengaria. "It is
+difficult to arrange, for he does not like toadies, which is so
+unreasonable, for I know many toadies who are very pleasant. Treeby is
+with him now, and that is excellent, for Treeby contradicts him, and
+is scientific as well as fashionable, and gives him the last news of
+the Sun as well as of White's. I want to get this great African
+traveller to go down to him; but one can hardly send a perfect
+stranger as a guest. I wanted Treeby to take him, but Treeby refused--
+men are so selfish. Treeby could have left him there, and the
+traveller might have remained a week, told all he had seen, and as
+much more as he liked. My lord cannot stand Treeby more than two days,
+and Treeby cannot stand my lord for a longer period, and that is why
+they are such friends."
+
+"A sound basis of agreement," said Lord Roehampton. "I believe absence
+is often a great element of charm."
+
+"But, /a nos moutons/," resumed Lady Montfort. "You see now why I am
+so anxious for a conclusion of our affair. I think it is ripe?"
+
+"Why do you?" said Lord Roehampton.
+
+"Well, she must be very much in love with you."
+
+"Has she told you so?"
+
+"No; but she looks in love."
+
+"She has never told me so," said Lord Roehampton.
+
+"Have you told her?"
+
+"Well, I have not," said her companion. "I like the family--all of
+them. I like Neuchatel particularly. I like his house and style of
+living. You always meet nice people there, and bear the last thing
+that has been said or done all over the world. It is a house where you
+are sure not to be dull."
+
+"You have described a perfect home," said Lady Montfort, "and it
+awaits you."
+
+"Well, I do not know," said Lord Roehampton. "Perhaps I am fastidious,
+perhaps I am content; to be noticed sometimes by a Lady Montfort
+should, I think, satisfy any man."
+
+"Well, that is gallant, but it is not business, my dear lord. You can
+count on my devotion even when you are married; but I want to see you
+on a pinnacle, so that if anything happens there shall be no question
+who is to be the first man in this country."
+
+
+
+                              CHAPTER XL
+
+The meeting of parliament caused also the return of Waldershare to
+England, and brought life and enjoyment to our friends in Warwick
+Street. Waldershare had not taken his seat in the autumn session.
+After the general election, he had gone abroad with Lord Beaumaris,
+the young nobleman who had taken them to the Derby, and they had seen
+and done many strange things. During all their peregrinations,
+however, Waldershare maintained a constant correspondence with
+Imogene, occasionally sending her a choice volume, which she was not
+only to read, but to prove her perusal of it by forwarding to him a
+criticism of its contents.
+
+Endymion was too much pleased to meet Waldershare again, and told him
+of the kind of intimacy he had formed with Colonel Albert and all
+about the baron. Waldershare was much interested in these details, and
+it was arranged that an opportunity should be taken to make the
+colonel and Waldershare acquainted.
+
+This, however, was not an easy result to bring about, for Waldershare
+insisted on its not occurring formally, and as the colonel maintained
+the utmost reserve with the household, and Endymion had no room of
+reception, weeks passed over without Waldershare knowing more of
+Colonel Albert personally than sometimes occasionally seeing him mount
+his horse.
+
+In the meantime life in Warwick Street, so far as the Rodney family
+were concerned, appeared to have re-assumed its pleasant, and what
+perhaps we are authorised in styling its normal condition. They went
+to the play two or three times a week, and there Waldershare or Lord
+Beaumaris, frequently both, always joined them; and then they came
+home to supper, and then they smoked; and sometimes there was a little
+singing, and sometimes a little whist. Occasionally there was only
+conversation, that is to say, Waldershare held forth, dilating on some
+wondrous theme, full of historical anecdote, and dazzling paradox, and
+happy phrase. All listened with interest, even those who did not
+understand him. Much of his talk was addressed really to Beaumaris,
+whose mind he was forming, as well as that of Imogene. Beaumaris was
+an hereditary Whig, but had not personally committed himself, and the
+ambition of Waldershare was to transform him not only into a Tory, but
+one of the old rock, a real Jacobite. "Is not the Tory party,"
+Waldershare would exclaim, "a succession of heroic spirits, 'beautiful
+and swift,' ever in the van, and foremost of their age?--Hobbes and
+Bolingbroke, Hume and Adam Smith, Wyndham and Cobham, Pitt and
+Grenville, Canning and Huskisson?--Are not the principles of Toryism
+those popular rights which men like Shippen and Hynde Cotton flung in
+the face of an alien monarch and his mushroom aristocracy?--Place
+bills, triennial bills, opposition to standing armies, to peerage
+bills?--Are not the traditions of the Tory party the noblest pedigree
+in the world? Are not its illustrations that glorious martyrology,
+that opens with the name of Falkland and closes with the name of
+Canning?"
+
+"I believe it is all true," whispered Lord Beaumaris to Sylvia, who
+had really never heard of any of these gentlemen before, but looked
+most sweet and sympathetic.
+
+"He is a wonderful man--Mr. Waldershare," said Mr. Vigo to Rodney,
+"but I fear not practical."
+
+One day, not very long after his return from his travels, Waldershare
+went to breakfast with his uncle, Mr. Sidney Wilton, now a cabinet
+minister, still unmarried, and living in Grosvenor Square.
+Notwithstanding the difference of their politics, an affectionate
+intimacy subsisted between them; indeed Waldershare was a favourite of
+his uncle, who enjoyed the freshness of his mind, and quite
+appreciated his brilliancy of thought and speech, his quaint reading
+and effervescent imagination.
+
+"And so you think we are in for life, George," said Mr. Wilson, taking
+a piece of toast. "I do not."
+
+"Well, I go upon this," said Waldershare. "It is quite clear that Peel
+has nothing to offer the country, and the country will not rally round
+a negation. When he failed in '34 they said there had not been
+sufficient time for the reaction to work. Well, now, since then, it
+has had nearly three years, during which you fellows have done
+everything to outrage every prejudice of the constituency, and yet
+they have given you a majority."
+
+"Yes, that is all very well," replied Mr. Wilton, "but we are the
+Liberal shop, and we have no Liberal goods on hand; we are the party
+of movement, and must perforce stand still. The fact is, all the great
+questions are settled. No one will burn his fingers with the Irish
+Church again, in this generation certainly not, probably in no other;
+you could not get ten men together in any part of the country to
+consider the corn laws; I must confess I regret it. I still retain my
+opinion that a moderate fixed duty would be a wise arrangement, but I
+quite despair in my time of any such advance of opinion; as for the
+ballot, it is hardly tolerated in debating societies. The present
+government, my dear George, will expire from inanition. I always told
+the cabinet they were going on too fast. They should have kept back
+municipal reform. It would have carried us on for five years. It was
+our only /piece de resistance/."
+
+"I look upon the House of Commons as a mere vestry," said Waldershare.
+"I believe it to be completely used up. Reform has dished it. There
+are no men, and naturally, because the constituencies elect
+themselves, and the constituencies are the most mediocre of the
+nation. The House of Commons now is like a spendthrift living on his
+capital. The business is done and the speeches are made by men formed
+in the old school. The influence of the House of Commons is mainly
+kept up by old social traditions. I believe if the eldest sons of
+peers now members would all accept the Chiltern hundreds, and the
+House thus cease to be fashionable, before a year was past, it would
+be as odious and as contemptible as the Rump Parliament."
+
+"Well, you are now the eldest son of a peer," said Sidney Wilton,
+smiling. "Why do you not set an example, instead of spending your
+father's substance and your own in fighting a corrupt borough?"
+
+"I am /vox clamantis/," said Waldershare. "I do not despair of its
+being done. But what I want is some big guns to do it. Let the eldest
+son of a Tory duke and the eldest son of a Whig duke do the same thing
+on the same day, and give the reason why. If Saxmundham, for example,
+and Harlaxton would do it, the game would be up."
+
+"On the contrary," said Mr. Wilton, "Saxmundham, I can tell you, will
+be the new cabinet minister."
+
+"Degenerate land!" exclaimed Waldershare. "Ah! in the eighteenth
+century there was always a cause to sustain the political genius of
+the country,--the cause of the rightful dynasty."
+
+"Well, thank God, we have got rid of all those troubles," said Mr.
+Wilton.
+
+"Rid of them! I do not know that. I saw a great deal of the Duke of
+Modena this year, and tried as well as I could to open his mind to the
+situation."
+
+"You traitor!" exclaimed Mr. Wilton. "If I were Secretary of State, I
+would order the butler to arrest you immediately, and send you to the
+Tower in a hack cab; but as I am only a President of a Board and your
+uncle, you will escape."
+
+"Well, I should think all sensible men," said Waldershare, "of all
+parties will agree, that before we try a republic, it would be better
+to give a chance to the rightful heir."
+
+"Well, I am not a republican," said Mr. Wilton, "and I think Queen
+Victoria, particularly if she make a wise and happy marriage, need not
+much fear the Duke of Modena."
+
+"He is our sovereign lord, all the same," said Waldershare. "I wish he
+were more aware of it himself. Instead of looking to a restoration to
+his throne, I found him always harping on the fear of French invasion.
+I could not make him understand that France was his natural ally, and
+that without her help, Charlie was not likely to have his own again."
+
+"Well, as you admire pretenders, George, I wish you were in my shoes
+this morning, for I have got one of the most disagreeable interviews
+on hand which ever fell to my lot."
+
+"How so, my dear uncle?" said Waldershare, in a tone of sympathy, for
+he saw that the countenance of Mr. Wilton was disturbed.
+
+"My unhappy ward," said Mr. Wilton; "you know, of course, something
+about him."
+
+"Well, I was at school and college," said Waldershare, "when it all
+happened. But I have just heard that you had relations with him."
+
+"The most intimate; and there is the bitterness. There existed between
+his mother Queen Agrippina and myself ties of entire friendship. In
+her last years and in her greatest adversity she appealed to me to be
+the guardian of her son. He inherited all her beauty and apparently
+all her sweetness of disposition. I took the greatest pains with him.
+He was at Eton, and did well there. He was very popular; I never was
+so deceived in a boy in my life. I though him the most docile of human
+beings, and that I had gained over him an entire influence. I am sure
+it would have been exercised for his benefit. In short, I may say it
+now, I looked upon him as a son, and he certainly would have been my
+heir; and yet all this time, from his seventeenth year, he was
+immersed in political intrigue, and carrying on plots against the
+sovereign of his country, even under my own roof."
+
+"How very interesting!" said Waldershare.
+
+"It may be interesting to you; I know what it cost me. The greatest
+anxiety and sorrow, and even nearly compromised my honour. Had I not a
+large-hearted chief and a true man of the world to deal with, I must
+have retired from the government."
+
+"How could he manage it?" said Waldershare.
+
+"You have no conception of the devices and resources of the secret
+societies of Europe," said Mr. Wilton. "His drawing-master, his
+fencing-master, his dancing-master, all his professors of languages,
+who delighted me by their testimony to his accomplishments and their
+praises of his quickness and assiduity, were active confederates in
+bringing about events which might have occasioned an European war. He
+left me avowedly to pay a visit in the country, and I even received
+letters from him with the postmark of the neighbouring town; letters
+all prepared beforehand. My first authentic information as to his
+movements was to learn, that he had headed an invading force, landed
+on the shores which he claimed as his own, was defeated and a
+prisoner."
+
+"I remember it," said Waldershare. "I had just then gone up to St.
+John's, and I remember reading it with the greatest excitement."
+
+"All this was bad enough," said Mr. Wilton, "but this is not my
+sorrow. I saved him from death, or at least a dreadful imprisonment.
+He was permitted to sail to America on his parole that he would never
+return to Europe, and I was required, and on his solemn appeal I
+consented, to give my personal engagement that the compact should be
+sacred. Before two years had elapsed, supported all this time, too, by
+my bounty, there was an attempt, almost successful, to assassinate the
+king, and my ward was discovered and seized in the capital. This time
+he was immured, and for life, in the strongest fortress of the
+country; but secret societies laugh at governments, and though he
+endured a considerable imprisonment, the world has recently been
+astounded by hearing that he had escaped. Yes; he is in London and has
+been here, though in studied obscurity, for some little time. He has
+never appealed to me until within these few days, and now only on the
+ground that there are some family affairs which cannot be arranged
+without my approval. I had great doubts whether I should receive him.
+I feel I ought not to have done so. But I hesitated, and I know not
+what may be the truth about women, but of this I am quite sure, the
+man who hesitates is lost."
+
+"How I should like to present at the interview, my dear uncle!" said
+Waldershare.
+
+"And I should not be sorry to have a witness," said Mr. Wilton, "but
+it is impossible. I am ashamed to say how unhinged I feel; no person,
+and no memories, ought to exercise such an influence over one. To tell
+you the truth, I encouraged your pleasant gossip at breakfast by way
+of distraction at this moment, and now"----
+
+At this moment, the groom of the chambers entered and announced "His
+royal highness, Prince Florestan."
+
+Mr. Wilton, who was too agitated to speak, waved his hand to
+Waldershare to retire, and his nephew vanished. As Waldershare was
+descending the staircase, he drew back on a landing-place to permit
+the prince to advance undisturbed. The prince apparently did not
+observe him, but when Waldershare caught the countenance of the
+visitor, he started.
+
+
+
+                             CHAPTER XLI
+
+"I know, sir, you are prejudiced against me," said Prince Florestan,
+bowing before Mr. Wilton with a sort of haughty humility, "and
+therefore I the more appreciate your condescension in receiving me."
+
+"I have no wish to refer to the past," said Mr. Wilton somewhat
+sternly. "You mentioned in your letter that my co-operation was
+necessary with reference to your private affairs, of which I once was
+a trustee, and under those circumstances I felt it my duty to accede
+to your request. I wish our communication to be limited to that
+business."
+
+"It shall be so strictly," said the prince; "you may remember, sir,
+that at the unhappy period when we were deprived of our throne, the
+name of Queen Agrippina was inscribed on the great book of the state
+for a considerable sum, for which the credit of the state was pledged
+to her. It was strictly her private property, and had mainly accrued
+through the sale of the estates of her ancestors. This sum was
+confiscated, and several other amounts, which belonged to members of
+our house and to our friends. It was an act of pure rapine, so gross,
+that as time revolved, and the sense of justice gradually returned to
+the hearts of men, restitution was made in every instance except my
+own, though I have reason to believe that individual claim was the
+strongest. My bankers, the house of Neuchatel, who have much
+interested themselves in this matter, and have considerable influence
+with the government that succeeded us, have brought things to this
+pass, that we have reason to believe our claim would be conceded, if
+some of the foreign governments, and especially the government of this
+country, would signify that the settlement would not be disagreeable
+to them." And the prince ceased, and raising his eyes, which were
+downcast as he spoke, looked Mr. Wilton straight in the face.
+
+"Before such a proposal could even be considered by Her Majesty's
+Government," said Mr. Wilton with a reddening cheek, "the intimation
+must be made to them by authority. If the minister of your country has
+such an intimation to make to ours, he should address himself to the
+proper quarter, to Lord Roehampton."
+
+"I understand," said Prince Florestan; "but governments, like
+individuals, sometimes shrink from formality. The government of my
+country will act on the intimation, but they do not care to make it an
+affair of despatches."
+
+"There is only one way of transacting business," said Mr. Wilton
+frigidly, and as if, so far as he was concerned, the interview was
+ended.
+
+"I have been advised on high authority," said Prince Florestan,
+speaking very slowly, "that if any member of the present cabinet will
+mention in conversation to the representative of my country here, that
+the act of justice would not be disagreeable to the British
+Government, the affair is finished."
+
+"I doubt whether any one of my colleagues would be prepared to
+undertake a personal interference of that kind with a foreign
+government," said Mr. Wilton stiffly. "For my own part, I have had
+quite enough of such interpositions never to venture on them again."
+
+"The expression of feeling desired would involve no sort of
+engagement," said the imperturbable prince.
+
+"That depends on the conscience of the individual who interferes. No
+man of honour would be justified in so interposing if he believed he
+was thus furnishing arms against the very government of which he
+solicited the favour."
+
+"But why should he believe this?" asked the prince with great
+calmness.
+
+"I think upon reflection," said Mr. Wilton, taking up at the same time
+an opened letter which was before him, as if he wished to resume the
+private business on which he had been previously engaged, "that your
+royal highness might find very adequate reasons for the belief."
+
+"I would put this before you with great deference, sir," said the
+prince. "Take my own case; is it not more likely that I should lead
+that life of refined retirement, which I really desire, were I in
+possession of the means to maintain such a position with becoming
+dignity, than if I were distressed, and harassed, and disgusted, every
+day, with sights and incidents which alike outrage my taste and self-
+respect? It is not prosperity, according to common belief, that makes
+conspirators."
+
+"You /were/ in a position, and a refined position," rejoined Mr.
+Wilton sharply; "you had means adequate to all that a gentleman could
+desire, and might have been a person of great consideration, and you
+wantonly destroyed all this."
+
+"It might be remembered that I was young."
+
+"Yes, you were young, very young, and your folly was condoned. You
+might have begun life again, for to the world at least you were a man
+of honour. You had not deceived the world, whatever you might have
+done to others."
+
+"If I presume to make another remark," said the prince calmly, but
+pale, "it is only, believe me, sir, from the profound respect I feel
+for you. Do not misunderstand these feelings, sir. They are not
+unbecoming the past. Now that my mother has departed, there is no one
+to whom I am attached except yourself. I have no feeling whatever
+towards any other human being. All my thought and all my sentiment are
+engrossed by my country. But pardon me, dear sir, for so let me call
+you, if I venture to say that, in your decision on my conduct, you
+have never taken into consideration the position which I inherited."
+
+"I do not follow you, sir."
+
+"You never will remember that I am the child of destiny," said Prince
+Florestan. "That destiny will again place me on the throne of my
+fathers. That is as certain as I am now speaking to you. But destiny
+for its fulfilment ordains action. Its decrees are inexorable, but
+they are obscure, and the being whose career it directs is as a man
+travelling in a dark night; he reaches his goal even without the aid
+of stars or moon."
+
+"I really do not understand what destiny means," said Mr. Wilton. "I
+understand what conduct means, and I recognise that it should be
+regulated by truth and honour. I think a man had better have nothing
+to do with destiny, particularly if it is to make him forfeit his
+parole."
+
+"Ah! sir, I well know that on that head you entertain a great
+prejudice in my respect. Believe me it is not just. Even lawyers
+acknowledge that a contract which is impossible cannot be violated. My
+return from America was inevitable. The aspirations of a great people
+and of many communities required my presence in Europe. My return was
+the natural development of the inevitable principle of historical
+necessity."
+
+"Well, that principle is not recognised by Her Majesty's Ministers,"
+said Mr. Wilton, and both himself and the prince seemed to rise at the
+same time.
+
+"I thank you, sir, for this interview," said his royal highness. "You
+will not help me, but what I require will happen by some other means.
+It is necessary, and therefore it will occur."
+
+The prince remounted his horse, and rode off quickly till he reached
+the Strand, where obstacles to rapid progress commenced, and though
+impatient, it was some time before he reached Bishopsgate Street. He
+entered the spacious courtyard of a noble mansion, and, giving his
+horse to the groom, inquired for Mr. Neuchatel, to whom he was at once
+ushered,--seated in a fine apartment at a table covered with many
+papers.
+
+"Well, my prince," said Mr. Neuchatel with a smiling eye, "what brings
+such a great man into the City to-day? Have you seen your great
+friend?" And then Prince Florestan gave Mr. Neuchatel a succinct but
+sufficient summary of his recent interview.
+
+"Ah!" said Mr. Neuchatel, "so it is, so it is; I dare say if you were
+received at St. James', Mr. Sidney Wilton would not be so very
+particular; but we must take things as we find them. If our fine
+friends will not help us, you must try us poor business men in the
+City. We can manage things here sometimes which puzzle them at the
+West End. I saw you were disturbed when you came in. Put on a good
+countenance. Nobody should ever look anxious except those who have no
+anxiety. I dare say you would like to know how your account is. I will
+send for it. It is not so bad as you think. I put a thousand pounds to
+it in the hope that your fine friend would help us, but I shall not
+take it off again. My Louis is going to-night to Paris, and he shall
+call upon the ministers and see what can be done. In the meantime,
+good appetite, sir. I am going to luncheon, and there is a place for
+you. And I will show you my Gainsborough that I have just bought, from
+a family for whom it was painted. The face is divine, very like our
+Miss Ferrars. I am going to send the picture down to Hainault. I won't
+tell you what I gave for it, because perhaps you would tell my wife
+and she would be very angry. She would want the money for an infant
+school. But I think she has schools enough. Now to lunch."
+
+On the afternoon of this day there was a half-holiday at the office,
+and Endymion had engaged to accompany Waldershare on some expedition.
+They had been talking together in his room where Waldershare was
+finishing his careless toilette, which however was never finished, and
+they had just opened the house door and were sallying forth when
+Colonel Albert rode up. He gave a kind nod to Endymion, but did not
+speak, and the companions went on. "By the by, Ferrars," said
+Waldershare, pressing his arm and bubbling with excitement, "I have
+found out who your colonel is. It is a wondrous tale, and I will tell
+it all to you as we go on."
+
+
+
+                             CHAPTER XLII
+
+Endymion had now passed three years of his life in London, and
+considering the hard circumstances under which he had commenced this
+career, he might on the whole look back to those years without
+dissatisfaction. Three years ago he was poor and friendless, utterly
+ignorant of the world, and with nothing to guide him but his own good
+sense. His slender salary had not yet been increased, but with the
+generosity and aid of his sister and the liberality of Mr. Vigo, he
+was easy in his circumstances. Through the Rodneys, he had become
+acquainted with a certain sort of miscellaneous life, a knowledge of
+which is highly valuable to a youth, but which is seldom attained
+without risk. Endymion, on the contrary, was always guarded from
+danger. Through his most unexpected connection with the Neuchatel
+family, he had seen something of life in circles of refinement and
+high consideration, and had even caught glimpses of that great world
+of which he read so much and heard people talk more, the world of the
+Lord Roehamptons and the Lady Montforts, and all those dazzling people
+whose sayings and doings form the taste, and supply the conversation,
+and leaven the existence of admiring or wondering millions.
+
+None of these incidents, however, had induced any change in the scheme
+of his existence. Endymion was still content with his cleanly and airy
+garret; still dined at Joe's; was still sedulous at his office, and
+always popular with his fellow clerks. Seymour Hicks, indeed, who
+studied the "Morning Post" with intentness, had discovered the name of
+Endymion in the elaborate lists of attendants on Mrs. Neuchatel's
+receptions, and had duly notified the important event to his
+colleagues; but Endymion was not severely bantered on the occasion,
+for, since the withdrawal of St. Barbe from the bureau, the stock of
+envy at Somerset House was sensibly diminished.
+
+His lodging at the Rodneys', however, had brought Endymion something
+more valuable than an innocuous familiarity with their various and
+suggestive life. In the friendship of Waldershare he found a rich
+compensation for being withdrawn from his school and deprived of his
+university. The care of his father had made Endymion a good classical
+scholar, and he had realised a degree of culture which it delighted
+the brilliant and eccentric Waldershare to enrich and to complete.
+Waldershare guided his opinions, and directed his studies, and formed
+his taste. Alone at night in his garret, there was no solitude, for he
+had always some book or some periodical, English or foreign, with
+which Waldershare had supplied him, and which he assured Endymion it
+was absolutely necessary that he should read and master.
+
+Nor was his acquaintance with Baron Sergius less valuable, or less
+fruitful of results. He too became interested in Endymion, and poured
+forth to him, apparently without reserve, all the treasures of his
+vast experience of men and things, especially with reference to the
+conduct of external affairs. He initiated him in the cardinal
+principles of the policies of different nations; he revealed to him
+the real character of the chief actors in the scene. "The first
+requisite," Baron Sergius would say, "in the successful conduct of
+public affairs is a personal acquaintance with the statesmen engaged.
+It is possible that events may not depend now, so much as they did a
+century ago, on individual feeling, but, even if prompted by general
+principles, their application and management are always coloured by
+the idiosyncrasy of the chief actors. The great advantage which your
+Lord Roehampton, for example, has over all his colleagues in /la haute
+politique/, is that he was one of your plenipotentiaries at the
+Congress of Vienna. There he learned to gauge the men who govern the
+world. Do you think a man like that, called upon to deal with a
+Metternich or a Pozzo, has no advantage over an individual who never
+leaves his chair in Downing Street except to kill grouse? Pah!
+Metternich and Pozzo know very well that Lord Roehampton knows them,
+and they set about affairs with him in a totally different spirit from
+that with which they circumvent some statesman who has issued from the
+barricades of Paris."
+
+Nor must it be forgotten that his debating society and the
+acquaintance which he had formed there, were highly beneficial to
+Endymion. Under the roof of Mr. Bertie Tremaine he enjoyed the
+opportunity of forming an acquaintance with a large body of young men
+of breeding, of high education, and full of ambition, that was a
+substitute for the society, becoming his youth and station, which he
+had lost by not going to the university.
+
+With all these individuals, and with all their circles, Endymion was a
+favourite. No doubt his good looks, his mien--which was both cheerful
+and pensive--his graceful and quiet manners, all told in his favour,
+and gave him a good start, but further acquaintance always sustained
+the first impression. He was intelligent and well-informed, without
+any alarming originality, or too positive convictions. He listened not
+only with patience but with interest to all, and ever avoided
+controversy. Here are some of the elements of a man's popularity.
+
+What was his intellectual reach, and what his real character, it was
+difficult at this time to decide. He was still very young, only on the
+verge of his twentieth year; and his character had no doubt been
+influenced, it might be suppressed, by the crushing misfortunes of his
+family. The influence of his sister was supreme over him. She had
+never reconciled herself to their fall. She had existed only on the
+solitary idea of regaining their position, and she had never omitted
+an occasion to impress upon him that he had a great mission, and that,
+aided by her devotion, he would fulfil it. What his own conviction on
+this subject was may be obscure. Perhaps he was organically of that
+cheerful and easy nature, which is content to enjoy the present, and
+not brood over the past. The future may throw light upon all these
+points; at present it may be admitted that the three years of
+seemingly bitter and mortifying adversity have not been altogether
+wanting in beneficial elements in the formation of his character and
+the fashioning of his future life.
+
+
+
+                            CHAPTER XLIII
+
+Lady Montfort heard with great satisfaction from Mr. Neuchatel that
+Lord Roehampton was going to pay a visit to Hainault at Easter, and
+that he had asked himself. She playfully congratulated Mrs. Neuchatel
+on the subject, and spoke as if the affair was almost concluded. That
+lady, however, received the intimation with a serious, not to say
+distressed countenance. She said that she should be grieved to lose
+Adriana under any circumstances; but if her marriage in time was a
+necessity, she trusted she might be united to some one who would not
+object to becoming a permanent inmate of their house. What she herself
+desired for her daughter was a union with some clergyman, and if
+possible, the rector of their own parish. But it was too charming a
+dream to realise. The rectory at Hainault was almost in the Park, and
+was the prettiest house in the world, with the most lovely garden. She
+herself much preferred it to the great mansion--and so on.
+
+Lady Montfort stared at her with impatient astonishment, and then
+said, "Your daughter, Mrs. Neuchatel, ought to make an alliance which
+would place her at the head of society."
+
+"What a fearful destiny," said Mrs. Neuchatel, "for any one, but
+overwhelming for one who must feel the whole time that she occupies a
+position not acquired by her personal qualities!"
+
+"Adriana is pretty," said Lady Montfort. "I think her more than
+pretty; she is highly accomplished and in every way pleasing. What can
+you mean, then, my dear madam, by supposing she would occupy a
+position not acquired by her personal qualities?"
+
+Mrs. Neuchatel sighed and shook her head, and then said, "We need not
+have any controversy on this subject. I have no reason to believe
+there is any foundation for my fears. We all like and admire Lord
+Roehampton. It is impossible not to admire and like him. So great a
+man, and yet so gentle and so kind, so unaffected--I would say, so
+unsophisticated; but he has never given the slightest intimation,
+either to me or her father, that he seriously admired Adriana, and I
+am sure if he had said anything to her she would have told us."
+
+"He is always here," said Lady Montfort, "and he is a man who used to
+go nowhere except for form. Besides, I know that he admires her, that
+he is in love with her, and I have not a doubt that he has invited
+himself to Hainault in order to declare his feelings to her."
+
+"How very dreadful!" exclaimed Mrs. Neuchatel. "What are we to do?"
+
+"To do!" said Lady Montfort; "why, sympathise with his happiness, and
+complete it. You will have a son-in-law of whom you may well be proud,
+and Adriana a husband who, thoroughly knowing the world, and women,
+and himself, will be devoted to her; will be a guide and friend, a
+guide that will never lecture, and a friend who will always charm, for
+there is no companion in the world like him, and I think I ought to
+know," added Lady Montfort, "for I always tell him that I was the last
+of his conquests, and I shall ever be grateful to him for his having
+spared to me so much of his society."
+
+"Adriana on this matter will decide for herself," said Mrs. Neuchatel,
+in a serious tone, and with a certain degree of dignity. "Neither Mr.
+Neuchatel, nor myself, have ever attempted to control her feelings in
+this respect."
+
+"Well, I am now about to see Adriana," said Lady Montfort; "I know she
+is at home. If I had not been obliged to go to Princedown, I would
+have asked you to let me pass Easter at Hainault myself."
+
+On this very afternoon, when Myra, who had been walking in Regent's
+Park with her brother, returned home, she found Adriana agitated, and
+really in tears.
+
+"What is all this, dearest?" inquired her friend.
+
+"I am too unhappy," sobbed Adriana, and then she told Myra that she
+had had a visit from Lady Montfort, and all that had occurred in it.
+Lady Montfort had absolutely congratulated her on her approaching
+alliance with Lord Roehampton, and when she altogether disclaimed it,
+and expressed her complete astonishment at the supposition, Lady
+Montfort had told her she was not justified in giving Lord Roehampton
+so much encouragement and trifling with a man of his high character
+and position.
+
+"Fancy my giving encouragement to Lord Roehampton!" exclaimed Adriana,
+and she threw her arms round the neck of the friend who was to console
+her.
+
+"I agree with Lady Montfort," said Myra, releasing herself with
+gentleness from her distressed friend. "It may have been unconsciously
+on your part, but I think you have encouraged Lord Roehampton. He is
+constantly conversing with you, and he is always here, where he never
+was before, and, as Lady Montfort says, why should he have asked
+himself to pass the Easter at Hainault if it were not for your
+society?"
+
+"He invited himself to Hainault, because he is so fond of papa," said
+Adriana.
+
+"So much the better, if he is to be your husband. That will be an
+additional element of domestic happiness."
+
+"O Myra! that you should say such things!" exclaimed Adriana.
+
+"What things?"
+
+"That I should marry Lord Roehampton."
+
+"I never said anything of the kind. Whom you should marry is a
+question you must decide for yourself. All that I said was, that if
+you marry Lord Roehampton, it is fortunate he is so much liked by Mr.
+Neuchatel."
+
+"I shall not marry Lord Roehampton," said Adriana with some
+determination, "and if he has condescended to think of marrying me,"
+she continued, "as Lady Montfort says, I think his motives are so
+obvious that if I felt for him any preference it would be immediately
+extinguished."
+
+"Ah! now you are going to ride your hobby, my dear Adriana. On that
+subject we never can agree; were I an heiress, I should have as little
+objection to be married for my fortune as my face. Husbands, as I have
+heard, do not care for the latter too long. Have more confidence in
+yourself, Adriana. If Lord Roehampton wishes to marry you, it is that
+he is pleased with you personally, that he appreciates your
+intelligence, your culture, your accomplishments, your sweet
+disposition, and your gentle nature. If in addition to these gifts you
+have wealth, and even great wealth, Lord Roehampton will not despise
+it, will not--for I wish to put it frankly--be uninfluenced by the
+circumstances, for Lord Roehampton is a wise man; but he would not
+marry you if he did not believe that you would make for him a
+delightful companion in life, that you would adorn his circle and
+illustrate his name."
+
+"Ah! I see you are all in the plot against me," said Adriana. "I have
+no friend."
+
+"My dear Adriana, I think you are unreasonable; I could say even
+unkind."
+
+"Oh! pardon me, dear Myra," said Adriana, "but I really am so very
+unhappy."
+
+"About what? You are your own mistress in this matter. If you do not
+like to marry Lord Roehampton, nobody will attempt to control you.
+What does it signify what Lady Montfort says? or anybody else, except
+your own parents, who desire nothing but your happiness? I should
+never have mentioned Lord Roehampton to you had you not introduced the
+subject yourself. And all that I meant to say was, what I repeat, that
+your creed that no one can wish to marry you except for your wealth is
+a morbid conviction, and must lead to unhappiness; that I do not
+believe that Lord Roehampton is influenced in his overture, if he make
+one, by any unworthy motive, and that any woman whose heart is
+disengaged should not lightly repudiate such an advance from such a
+man, by which, at all events, she should feel honoured."
+
+"But my heart is engaged," said Adriana in an almost solemn tone.
+
+"Oh! that is quite a different thing!" said Myra, turning pale.
+
+"Yes!" said Adriana; "I am devoted to one whose name I cannot now
+mention, perhaps will never mention, but I am devoted to him. Yes!"
+she added with fire, "I am not altogether so weak a thing as the Lady
+Montforts and some other persons seem to think me--I can feel and
+decide for myself, and it shall never be said of me that I purchased
+love."
+
+
+
+                             CHAPTER XLIV
+
+There was to be no great party at Hainault; Lord Roehampton
+particularly wished that there should be no fine folks asked, and
+especially no ambassadors. All that he wanted was to enjoy the fresh
+air, and to ramble in the forest, of which he had heard so much, with
+the young ladies.
+
+"And, by the by, Miss Ferrars," said Mr. Neuchatel, "we must let what
+we were talking about the other day drop. Adriana has been with me
+quite excited about something Lady Montfort said to her. I soothed her
+and assured her she should do exactly as she liked, and that neither I
+nor her mother had any other wishes on such a subject than her own.
+The fact is, I answered Lady Montfort originally only half in earnest.
+If the thing might have happened, I should have been content--but it
+really never rested on my mind, because such matters must always
+originate with my daughter. Unless they come from her, with me they
+are mere fancies. But now I want you to help me in another matter, if
+not more grave, more businesslike. My lord must be amused, although it
+is a family party. He likes his rubber; that we can manage. But there
+must be two or three persons that he is not accustomed to meet, and
+yet who will interest him. Now, do you know, Miss Ferrars, whom I
+think of asking?"
+
+"Not I, my dear sir."
+
+"What do you think of the colonel?" said Mr. Neuchatel, looking in her
+face with a rather laughing eye.
+
+"Well, he is very agreeable," said Myra, "and many would think
+interesting, and if Lord Roehampton does not know him, I think he
+would do very well."
+
+"Well, but Lord Roehampton knows all about him," said Mr. Neuchatel.
+
+"Well, that is an advantage," said Myra.
+
+"I do not know," said Mr. Neuchatel. "Life is a very curious thing,
+eh, Miss Ferrars? One cannot ask one person to meet another even in
+one's own home, without going through a sum of moral arithmetic."
+
+"Is it so?" said Myra.
+
+"Well, Miss Ferrars," said Mr. Neuchatel, "I want your advice and I
+want your aid; but then it is a long story, at which I am rather a bad
+hand," and Mr. Neuchatel hesitated. "You know," he said, suddenly
+resuming, "you once asked me who Colonel Albert was."
+
+"But I do not ask you now," said Myra, "because I know."
+
+"Hah, hah!" exclaimed Mr. Neuchatel, much surprised.
+
+"And what you want to know is," continued Myra, "whether Lord
+Roehampton would have any objection to meet Prince Florestan?"
+
+"That is something; but that is comparatively easy. I think I can
+manage that. But when they meet--that is the point. But, in the first
+place, I should like very much to know how you became acquainted with
+the secret."
+
+"In a very natural way; my brother was my information," she replied.
+
+"Ah! now you see," continued Mr. Neuchatel, with a serious air, "a
+word from Lord Roehampton in the proper quarter might be of vast
+importance to the prince. He has a large inheritance, and he has been
+kept out of it unjustly. Our house has done what we could for him, for
+his mother, Queen Agrippina, was very kind to my father, and the house
+of Neuchatel never forgets its friends. But we want something else, we
+want the British Government to intimate that they will not disapprove
+of the restitution of the private fortune of the prince. I have felt
+my way with the premier; he is not favourable; he is prejudiced
+against the prince; and so is the cabinet generally; and yet all
+difficulties would vanish at a word from Lord Roehampton."
+
+"Well, this is a good opportunity for you to speak to him," said Myra.
+
+"Hem!" said Mr. Neuchatel, "I am not so sure about that. I like Lord
+Roehampton, and, between ourselves, I wish he were first minister. He
+understands the Continent, and would keep things quiet. But, do you
+know, Miss Ferrars, with all his playful, good-tempered manner, as if
+he could not say a cross word or do an unkind act, he is a very severe
+man in business. Speak to him on business, and he is completely
+changed. His brows knit, he penetrates you with the terrible scrutiny
+of that deep-set eye; he is more than stately, he is austere. I have
+been up to him with deputations--the Governor of the Bank, and all the
+first men in the City, half of them M.P.s, and they trembled before
+him like aspens. No, it will not do for me to speak to him, it will
+spoil his visit. I think the way will be this; if he has no objection
+to meet the prince, we must watch whether the prince makes a
+favourable impression on him, and if that is the case, and Lord
+Roehampton likes him, what we must do next is this--/you/ must speak
+to Lord Roehampton."
+
+"I!"
+
+"Yes, Miss Ferrars, you. Lord Roehampton likes ladies. He is never
+austere to them, even if he refuses their requests, and sometimes he
+grants them. I thought first of Mrs. Neuchatel speaking to him, but my
+wife will never interfere in anything in which money is concerned;
+then I thought Adriana might express a hope when they were walking in
+the garden, but now that is all over; and so you alone remain. I have
+great confidence in you," added Mr. Neuchatel, "I think you would do
+it very well. Besides, my lord rather likes you, for I have observed
+him often go and sit by you at parties, at our house."
+
+"Yes, he is very high-bred in that," said Myra, gravely and rather
+sadly; "and the fact of my being a dependent, I have no doubt,
+influences him."
+
+"We are all dependents in this house," said Mr. Neuchatel with his
+sweetest smile; "and I depend upon Miss Ferrars."
+
+Affairs on the whole went on in a promising manner. The weather was
+delightful, and Lord Roehampton came down to Hainault just in time for
+dinner, the day after their arrival, and in the highest spirits. He
+seemed to be enjoying a real holiday; body and mind were in a like
+state of expansion; he was enchanted with the domain; he was delighted
+with the mansion, everything pleased and gratified him, and he pleased
+and gratified everybody. The party consisted only of themselves,
+except one of the nephews, with whom indeed Lord Roehampton was
+already acquainted; a lively youth, a little on the turf, not too
+much, and this suited Lord Roehampton, who was a statesman of the old
+aristocratic school, still bred horses, and sometimes ran one, and in
+the midst of an European crisis could spare an hour to Newmarket.
+Perhaps it was his only affectation.
+
+Mrs. Neuchatel, by whom he was seated, had the happy gift of
+conversation; but the party was of that delightful dimension, that it
+permitted talk to be general. Myra sate next to Lord Roehampton, and
+he often addressed her. He was the soul of the feast, and yet it is
+difficult to describe his conversation; it was a medley of graceful
+whim, interspersed now and then with a very short anecdote of a very
+famous person, or some deeply interesting reminiscence of some
+critical event. Every now and then he appealed to Adriana, who sate
+opposite to him in the round table, and she trusted that her
+irrepressible smiles would not be interpreted into undue
+encouragement.
+
+Lord Roehampton had no objection to meet Prince Florestan, provided
+there were no other strangers, and the incognito was observed. He
+rather welcomed the proposal, observing he liked to know public men
+personally; so, you can judge of their calibre, which you never can do
+from books and newspapers, or the oral reports of their creatures or
+their enemies. And so on the next day Colonel Albert was expected.
+
+Lord Roehampton did not appear till luncheon; he had received so many
+boxes from Downing Street which required his attention. "Business will
+follow one," he said; "yesterday I thought I had baffled it. I do not
+like what I shall do without my secretaries. I think I shall get you
+young ladies to assist me."
+
+"You cannot have better secretaries," said Mr. Neuchatel; "Miss
+Ferrars often helps me."
+
+Then what was to be done after luncheon? Would he ride, or would he
+drive? And where should they drive and ride to? But Lord Roehampton
+did not much care to drive, and was tired of riding. He would rather
+walk and ramble about Hainault. He wanted to see the place, and the
+forest and the fern, and perhaps hear one of those nightingales that
+they had talked of in Portland Place. But Mrs. Neuchatel did not care
+to walk, and Mr. Neuchatel, though it was a holiday in the City, had a
+great many letters to write, and so somehow or other it ended in Lord
+Roehampton and the two young ladies walking out together, and
+remaining so long and so late, that Mrs. Neuchatel absolutely
+contemplated postponing the dinner hour.
+
+"We shall just be in time, dear Mrs. Neuchatel," said Myra; "Lord
+Roehampton has gone up to his rooms. We have heard a nightingale, and
+Lord Roehampton insisted upon our sitting on the trunk of a tree till
+it ceased--and it never ceased."
+
+Colonel Albert, who had arrived, was presented to Lord Roehampton
+before dinner. Lord Roehampton received him with stately courtesy. As
+Myra watched, not without interest, the proceeding, she could scarcely
+believe, as she marked the lofty grace and somewhat haughty mien of
+Lord Roehampton, that it could be the same being of frolic and fancy,
+and even tender sentiment, with whom she had been passing the
+preceding hours.
+
+Colonel Albert sate next to Myra at dinner, and Lord Roehampton
+between Mrs. Neuchatel and her daughter. His manner was different
+to-day, not less pleased and pleasing, but certainly more restrained.
+He encouraged Mrs. Neuchatel to occupy the chief part in conversation,
+and whispered to Adriana, who became somewhat uneasy; but the whispers
+mainly consisted of his delight in their morning adventures. When he
+remarked that it was one of the most agreeable days of his life, she
+became a little alarmed. Then he addressed Colonel Albert across the
+table, and said that he had heard from Mr. Neuchatel that the colonel
+had been in America, and asked some questions about public men, which
+brought him out. Colonel Albert answered with gentleness and modesty,
+never at any length, but in language which indicated, on all the
+matters referred to, thought and discrimination."
+
+"I suppose their society is like the best society in Manchester?" said
+Lord Roehampton.
+
+"It varies in different cities," said Colonel Albert. "In some there
+is considerable culture, and then refinement of life always follows."
+
+"Yes, but whatever they may be, they will always be colonial. What is
+colonial necessarily lacks originality. A country that borrows its
+language, its laws, and its religion, cannot have its inventive powers
+much developed. They got civilised very soon, but their civilisation
+was second-hand."
+
+"Perhaps their inventive powers may develop themselves in other ways,"
+said the prince. "A nation has a fixed quantity of invention, and it
+will make itself felt."
+
+"At present," said Lord Roehampton, "the Americans, I think, employ
+their invention in imaginary boundary lines. They are giving us plenty
+of trouble now about Maine."
+
+After dinner they had some music; Lord Roehampton would not play
+whist. He insisted on comparing the voices of his companions with that
+of the nightingales of the morning. He talked a great deal to Adriana,
+and Colonel Albert, in the course of the evening much to Myra, and
+about her brother. Lord Roehampton more than once had wished to tell
+her, as he had already told Miss Neuchatel, how delightful had been
+their morning; but on every occasion he had found her engaged with the
+colonel.
+
+"I rather like your prince," he had observed to Mr. Neuchatel, as they
+came from the dining-room. "He never speaks without thinking; very
+reserved, I apprehend. They say, an inveterate conspirator."
+
+"He has had enough of that," said Mr. Neuchatel. "I believe he wants
+to be quiet."
+
+"That class of man is never quiet," said Lord Roehampton.
+
+"But what can he do?" said Mr. Neuchatel.
+
+"What can he not do? Half Europe is in a state of chronic conspiracy."
+
+"You must keep us right, my dear lord. So long as you are in Downing
+Street I shall sleep at nights."
+
+"Miss Ferrars," said Lord Roehampton abruptly to Mr. Neuchatel, "must
+have been the daughter of William Ferrars, one of my great friends in
+old days. I never knew it till to-day, and she did not tell me, but it
+flashed across me from something she said."
+
+"Yes, she is his daughter, and is in mourning for him at this moment.
+She has had sorrows," said Mr. Neuchatel. "I hope they have ceased. It
+was one of the happiest days of my life when she entered this family."
+
+"Ah!" said Lord Roehampton.
+
+The next day, after they had examined the famous stud and stables,
+there was a riding party, and in the evening Colonel Albert offered to
+perform some American conjuring tricks, of which he had been speaking
+in the course of the day. This was a most wonderful performance, and
+surprised and highly amused everybody. Colonel Albert was the last
+person who they expected would achieve such marvels; he was so quiet,
+not to say grave. They could hardly credit that he was the same person
+as he poured floods of flowers over Myra from her own borrowed pocket-
+handkerchief, and without the slightest effort or embarrassment,
+robbed Lord Roehampton of his watch, and deposited it in Adriana's
+bosom. It was evident that he was a complete master of slight-of-hand.
+
+"Characteristic!" murmured Lord Roehampton to himself.
+
+It was the day after this, that Myra being in the music room and
+alone, Lord Roehampton opened the door, looked in, and then said,
+"Where is Miss Neuchatel?"
+
+"I think she is on the terrace."
+
+"Let us try to find her, and have one of our pleasant strolls. I sadly
+want one, for I have been working very hard all this morning, and half
+the night."
+
+"I will be with you, Lord Roehampton, in a moment."
+
+"Do not let us have anybody else," he said, as she left the room.
+
+They were soon on the terrace, but Adriana was not there.
+
+"We must find her," said Lord Roehampton; "you know her haunts. Ah!
+what a delight it is to be in this air and this scene after those
+dreadful boxes! I wish they would turn us out. I think they must
+soon."
+
+"Now for the first time," said Myra, "Lord Roehampton is not sincere."
+
+"Then you think me always sincere?" he replied.
+
+"I have no reason to think you otherwise."
+
+"That is very true," said Lord Roehampton, "truer perhaps than you
+imagine." Then rather abruptly he said, "You know Colonel Albert very
+well?"
+
+"Pretty well. I have seen him here frequently, and he is also a friend
+of my brother."
+
+"Ah! a friend of your brother." Then, after a slight pause, he said,
+"He is an interesting man."
+
+"I think so," said Myra. "You know all about him, of course."
+
+"Very good-looking."
+
+"Well, he looks unhappy, I think, and worn."
+
+"One is never worn when one is young," said Lord Roehampton.
+
+"He must have great anxieties and great sorrows," said Myra. "I cannot
+imagine a position more unfortunate than that of an exiled prince."
+
+"I can," said Lord Roehampton. "To have the feelings of youth and the
+frame of age."
+
+Myra was silent, one might say dumbfounded. She had just screwed
+herself up to the task which Mr. Neuchatel had imposed on her, and was
+about to appeal to the good offices of Lord Roehampton in favour of
+the prince, when he had indulged in a remark which was not only
+somewhat strange, but from the manner in which it was introduced
+hardly harmonised with her purpose.
+
+"Yes, I would give up everything," said Lord Roehampton. "I would even
+be an exile to be young; to hear that Miss Ferrars deems me
+interesting and good-looking, though worn."
+
+"What is going to happen?" thought Myra. "Will the earth open to
+receive me?"
+
+"You are silent," said Lord Roehampton. "You will not speak, you will
+not sigh, you will not give a glance of consolation or even pity. But
+I have spoken too much not to say more. Beautiful, fascinating being,
+let me at least tell you of my love."
+
+Myra could not speak, but put her left hand to her face. Gently taking
+her other hand, Lord Roehampton pressed it to his lips. "From the
+first moment I met you, my heart was yours. It was love at first
+sight; indeed I believe in no other. I was amused with the projects of
+my friend, and I availed myself of them, but not unfairly. No one can
+accuse me of trifling with the affections of your sweet companion, and
+I must do her the justice to say that she did everything to convince
+me that she shrank from my attentions. But her society was an excuse
+to enjoy yours. I was an habitual visitor in town that I might cherish
+my love, and, dare I say it, I came down here to declare it. Do not
+despise it, dearest of women; it is not worthy of you, but it is not
+altogether undeserving. It is, as you kindly believed it,--it is
+sincere!"
+
+
+
+                             CHAPTER XLV
+
+On the following day, Mr. Neuchatel had good-naturedly invited
+Endymion down to Hainault, and when he arrived there, a servant
+informed him that Miss Ferrars wished to see him in her room.
+
+It was a long interview and an agitated one, and when she had told her
+tale, and her brother had embraced her, she sat for a time in silence,
+holding his hand, and intimating, that, for a while, she wished that
+neither of them should speak. Suddenly, she resumed, and said, "Now
+you know all, dear darling; it is so sudden, and so strange, that you
+must be almost as much astounded as gratified. What I have sighed for,
+and prayed for--what, in moments of inspiration, I have sometimes
+foreseen--has happened. Our degradation is over. I seem to breathe for
+the first time for many years. I see a career, ay, and a great one;
+and what is far more important, I see a career for you."
+
+"At this moment, dear Myra, think only of yourself."
+
+"You are myself," she replied, rather quickly, "never more so than at
+this moment;" and then she said in a tone more subdued, and even
+tender, "Lord Roehampton has every quality and every accident of life
+that I delight in; he has intellect, eloquence, courage, great station
+and power; and, what I ought perhaps more to consider, though I do
+not, a sweet disposition and a tender heart. There is every reason why
+we should be happy--yes, very happy. I am sure I shall sympathise with
+him; perhaps, I may aid him; at least, he thinks so. He is the noblest
+of men. The world will talk of the disparity of our years; but Lord
+Roehampton says that he is really the younger of the two, and I think
+he is right. My pride, my intense pride, never permitted to me any
+levity of heart."
+
+"And when is it to happen?" inquired Endymion.
+
+"Not immediately. I could not marry till a year had elapsed after our
+great sorrow; and it is more agreeable, even to him, that our union
+should be delayed till the session is over. He wants to leave England;
+go abroad; have a real holiday. He has always had a dream of
+travelling in Spain; well, we are to realise the dream. If we could
+get off at the end of July, we might go to Paris, and then to Madrid,
+and travel in Andalusia in the autumn, and then catch the packet at
+Gibraltar, and get home just in time for the November cabinets."
+
+"Dear Myra! how wonderful it all seems!" involuntarily exclaimed
+Endymion.
+
+"Yes, but more wonderful things will happen. We have now got a lever
+to move the world. Understand, my dear Endymion, that nothing is to be
+announced at present. It will be known only to this family, and the
+Penruddocks. I am bound to tell them, even immediately; they are
+friends that never can be forgotten. I have always kept up my
+correspondence with Mrs. Penruddock. Besides, I shall tell her in
+confidence, and she is perfectly to be depended on. I am going to ask
+my lord to let Mr. Penruddock marry us."
+
+"Oh! that will be capital," said Endymion.
+
+"There is another person, by the by, who must know it, at least my
+lord says so," said Myra, "and that is Lady Montfort; you have heard
+of that lady and her plans. Well, she must be told--at least, sooner
+or later. She will be annoyed, and she will hate me. I cannot help it;
+every one is hated by somebody."
+
+During the three months that had to elapse before the happy day,
+several incidents occurred that ought to be noted. In the first place,
+Lady Montfort, though disappointed and very much astonished, bore the
+communication from Lord Roehampton more kindly than he had
+anticipated. Lord Roehampton made it by letter, and his letters to
+women were more happy even than his despatches to ministers, and they
+were unrivalled. He put the matter in the most skilful form. Myra had
+been born in a social position not inferior to his own, and was the
+daughter of one of his earliest political friends. He did not dilate
+too much on her charms and captivating qualities, but sufficiently for
+the dignity of her who was to become his wife. And then he confessed
+to Lady Montfort how completely his heart and happiness were set on
+Lady Roehampton being welcomed becomingly by his friends; he was well
+aware, that in these matters things did not always proceed as one
+could wish, but this was the moment, and this the occasion, to test a
+friend, and he believed he had the dearest, the most faithful, the
+most fascinating, and the most powerful in Lady Montfort.
+
+"Well, we must put the best face upon it," exclaimed that lady; "he
+was always romantic. But, as he says, or thinks, what is the use of
+friends if they do not help you in a scrape?"
+
+So Lady Montfort made the acquaintance of Myra, and welcomed her new
+acquaintance cordially. She was too fine a judge of beauty and
+deportment not to appreciate them, even when a little prejudice lurked
+behind. She was amused also, and a little gratified, by being in the
+secret; presented Myra with a rare jewel, and declared that she should
+attend the wedding; though when the day arrived, she was at
+Princedown, and could not, unfortunately, leave her lord.
+
+About the end of June, a rather remarkable paragraph appeared in the
+journal of society:
+
+"We understand that His Royal Highness Prince Florestan, who has been
+for some little time in this country, has taken the mansion in Carlton
+Gardens, recently occupied by the Marquis of Katterfelto. The mansion
+is undergoing very considerable repairs, but it is calculated that it
+will be completed in time for the reception of His Royal Highness by
+the end of the autumn; His Royal Highness has taken the extensive
+moors of Dinniewhiskie for the coming season."
+
+In the earlier part of July, the approaching alliance of the Earl of
+Roehampton with Miss Ferrars, the only daughter of the late Right
+Honourable William Pitt Ferrars, of Hurstley Hall, in the county of
+Berks, was announced, and great was the sensation, and innumerable the
+presents instantly ordered.
+
+But on no one did the announcement produce a greater effect than on
+Zenobia; that the daughter of her dearest friend should make so
+interesting and so distinguished an alliance was naturally most
+gratifying to her. She wrote to Myra a most impassioned letter, as if
+they had only separated yesterday, and a still longer and more fervent
+one to Lord Roehampton; Zenobia and he had been close friends in other
+days, till he wickedly changed his politics, and was always in office
+and Zenobia always out. This was never to be forgiven. But the bright
+lady forgot all this now, and sent to Myra the most wondrous bracelet
+of precious stones, in which the word "Souvenir" was represented in
+brilliants, rubies, and emeralds.
+
+"For my part," said Myra to Endymion, "my most difficult task are the
+bridesmaids. I am to have so many, and know so few. I feel like a
+recruiting sergeant. I began to Adriana, but my lord helps me very
+much out of his family, and says, when we have had a few family
+dinners, all will be right."
+
+Endymion did not receive the banter he expected at the office. The
+event was too great for a jest. Seymour Hicks, with a serious
+countenance, said Ferrars might get anywhere now,--all the ministerial
+receptions of course. Jawett said there would be no ministerial
+receptions soon; they were degrading functions. Clear-headed Trenchard
+congratulated him quietly, and said, "I do not think you will stay
+much longer among us, but we shall always remember you with interest."
+
+At last the great day arrived, and at St. George's, Hanover Square,
+the Right Honourable the Earl of Roehampton, K.G., was united to Miss
+Ferrars. Mr. Penruddock joined their hands. His son Nigel had been
+invited to assist him, but did not appear, though Myra had written to
+him. The great world assembled in force, and Endymion observed Mr. and
+Mrs. Rodney and Imogene in the body of the church. After the ceremony
+there was an entertainment in Portland Place, and the world ate
+ortolans and examined the presents. These were remarkable for number
+and splendour. Myra could not conceal her astonishment at possessing
+so many friends; but it was the fashion for all Lord Roehampton's
+acquaintance to make him offerings, and to solicit his permission to
+present gifts to his bride. Mr. Neuchatel placed on her brow a diamond
+tiara, and Mrs. Neuchatel encircled her neck with one of her diamond
+necklaces. "I should like to give the other one to Adriana," she
+observed, "but Adriana says that nothing will ever induce her to wear
+jewels." Prince Florestan presented Lady Roehampton with a vase which
+had belonged to his mother, and which had been painted by Boucher for
+Marie Antoinette. It was matchless, and almost unique.
+
+Not long after this, Lord Beaumaris, with many servants and many guns,
+took Waldershare and Endymion down with him to Scotland.
+
+
+
+                             CHAPTER XLVI
+
+The end of the season is a pang to society. More hopes have been
+baffled than realised. There is something melancholy in the last ball,
+though the music ever seems louder, and the lights more glaring than
+usual. Or it may be, the last entertainment is that hecatomb they call
+a wedding breakfast, which celebrates the triumph of a rival. That is
+pleasant. Society, to do it justice, struggles hard to revive in other
+scenes the excitement that has expired. It sails to Cowes, it scuds to
+bubbling waters in the pine forests of the continent, it stalks even
+into Scotland; but it is difficult to restore the romance that has
+been rudely disturbed, and to gather again together the threads of the
+intrigue that have been lost in the wild flight of society from that
+metropolis, which is now described as "a perfect desert"--that is to
+say, a park or so, two or three squares, and a dozen streets where
+society lives; where it dines, and dances, and blackballs, and bets,
+and spouts.
+
+But to the world in general, the mighty million, to the professional
+classes, to all men of business whatever, the end of the season is the
+beginning of carnival. It is the fulfilment of the dream over which
+they have been brooding for ten months, which has sustained them in
+toil, lightened anxiety, and softened even loss. It is air, it is
+health, it is movement, it is liberty, it is nature--earth, sea, lake,
+moor, forest, mountain, and river. From the heights of the Engadine to
+Margate Pier, there is equal rapture, for there is an equal cessation
+of routine.
+
+Few enjoy a holiday more than a young clerk in a public office, who
+has been bred in a gentle home, and enjoyed in his boyhood all the
+pastimes of gentlemen. Now he is ever toiling, with an uncertain
+prospect of annual relaxation, and living hardly. Once on a time, at
+the paternal hall, he could shoot, or fish, or ride, every day of his
+life, as a matter of course; and now, what would he not give for a
+good day's sport? Such thoughts had frequently crossed the mind of
+Endymion when drudging in London during the autumn, and when all his
+few acquaintances were away. It was, therefore, with no ordinary zest
+that he looked forward to the unexpected enjoyment of an unstinted
+share of some of the best shooting in the United Kingdom. And the
+relaxation and the pastime came just at the right moment, when the
+reaction, from all the excitement attendant on the marvellous change
+in his sister's position, would have made him, deprived of her
+consoling society, doubly sensible of his isolated position.
+
+It so happened that the moors of Lord Beaumaris were contiguous to the
+celebrated shootings of Dinniewhiskie, which were rented by Prince
+Florestan, and the opportunity now offered which Waldershare desired
+of making the acquaintance of the prince in an easy manner. Endymion
+managed this cleverly. Waldershare took a great fancy to the prince.
+He sympathised with him, and imparted to Endymion his belief that they
+could not do a better thing than devote their energies to a
+restoration of his rights. Lord Beaumaris, who hated foreigners, but
+who was always influenced by Waldershare, also liked the prince, and
+was glad to be reminded by his mentor that Florestan was half an
+Englishman, not to say a whole one, for he was an Eton boy. What was
+equally influential with Lord Beaumaris was, that the prince was a
+fine shot, and indeed a consummate sportsman, and had in his manners
+that calm which is rather unusual with foreigners, and which is always
+pleasing to an English aristocrat. So in time they became intimate,
+sported much together, and visited each other at their respective
+quarters. The prince was never alone. What the county paper described
+as distinguished foreigners were perpetually paying him visits, long
+or short, and it did not generally appear that these visits were
+influenced by a love of sport. One individual, who arrived shortly
+after the prince, remained, and, as was soon known, was to remain
+permanently. This was a young gentleman, short and swarthy, with
+flashing eyes and a black moustache, known by the name of the Duke of
+St. Angelo, but who was really only a cadet of that illustrious house.
+The Duke of St. Angelo took the management of the household of the
+prince--was evidently the controller; servants trembled at his nod,
+and he rode any horse he liked; he invited guests, and arranged the
+etiquette of the interior. He said one day very coolly to Waldershare:
+"I observe that Lord Beaumaris and his friends never rise when the
+prince moves."
+
+"Why should we?"
+
+"His rank is recognised and guaranteed by the Treaty of Vienna," said
+the Duke of St. Angelo, with an arrogant air.
+
+"His princely rank," replied Waldershare, "but not his royalty."
+
+"That is a mere refinement," said the duke contemptuously.
+
+"On the contrary, a clear distinction, and specifically made in the
+treaty. I do not think the prince himself would desire such a
+ceremony, and let me recommend you, duke," added Waldershare, "not to
+go out of your way to insist on these points. They will not increase
+the prince's popularity."
+
+"The time will come, and before long, when the Treaty of Vienna, with
+its clear distinctions, will be at the bottom of the Red Sea," said
+the Duke of St. Angelo, "and then no one will sit when His Majesty
+rises."
+
+"Amen!" said Waldershare. "All diplomacy since the Treaty of Utrecht
+seems to me to be fiddle-faddle, and the country rewarded the great
+man who made that treaty by an attainder."
+
+Endymion returned to town towards the end of September, Waldershare
+went to Paris, and Lord Beaumaris and the prince, who had become
+intimate, repaired together to Conington, the seat of Lord Beaumaris,
+to kill pheasants. Even the Rodneys, who had gone to the Rhine this
+year, had not returned. Endymion had only the society of his fellow
+clerks. He liked Trenchard, who was acute, full of official
+information, and of gentle breeding. Still it must be confessed that
+Endymion felt the change in his society. Seymour Hicks was hardly a
+fit successor to Waldershare, and Jawett's rabid abstractions on
+government were certainly not so interesting as /la haute politique/
+of the Duke of St. Angelo. Were it not for the letters which he
+constantly received from his sister, he would have felt a little
+despondent. As it was, he renewed his studies in his pleasant garret,
+trained himself in French and German, and got up several questions for
+the Union.
+
+The month seemed very long, but it was not unprofitably spent. The
+Rodneys were still absent. They had not returned as they had intended
+direct to England, but had gone to Paris to meet Mr. Waldershare.
+
+At the end of October there was a semi-official paragraph announcing
+the approaching meeting of the Cabinet, and the movements of its
+members. Some were in the north, and some were in the south; some were
+killing the last grouse, and some, placed in green ridings, were
+blazing in battues. But all were to be at their post in ten days, and
+there was a special notification that intelligence had been received
+of the arrival of Lord and Lady Roehampton at Gibraltar.
+
+
+
+                            CHAPTER XLVII
+
+Lady Roehampton, in her stately mansion in St. James' Square, found
+life very different from what she had experienced in her Andalusian
+dream. For three months she had been the constant companion of one of
+the most fascinating of men, whose only object had been to charm and
+delight her. And in this he had entirely succeeded. From the moment
+they arrived in London, however, they seemed to be separated, and
+although when they met, there was ever a sweet smile and a kind and
+playful word for her, his brow, if not oppressed with care, was always
+weighty with thought. Lord Roehampton was little at his office; he
+worked in a spacious chamber on the ground floor of his private
+residence, and which was called the Library, though its literature
+consisted only of Hansard, volumes of state papers, shelves of
+treatises, and interminable folios of parliamentary reports. He had
+not been at home a week before the floor of the apartment was
+literally covered with red boxes, all containing documents requiring
+attention, and which messengers were perpetually bringing or carrying
+away. Then there were long meetings of the Cabinet almost daily, and
+daily visits from ambassadors and foreign ministers, which prevented
+the transaction of the current business, and rendered it necessary
+that Lord Roehampton should sit up late in his cabinet, and work
+sometimes nearly till the hours of dawn. There had been of course too
+some arrears of business, for secretaries of state cannot indulge with
+impunity in Andalusian dreams, but Lord Roehampton was well served.
+His under-secretaries of state were capable and experienced men, and
+their chief had not been altogether idle in his wanderings. He had
+visited Paris, and the capital of France in those days was the capital
+of diplomacy. The visit of Lord Roehampton had settled some questions
+which might have lingered for years, and had given him that
+opportunity of personal survey which to a statesman is invaluable.
+
+Although it was not the season, the great desert had, comparatively
+speaking, again become peopled. There were many persons in town, and
+they all called immediately on Lady Roehampton. The ministerial
+families and the diplomatic corps alone form a circle, but there is
+also a certain number of charming people who love London in November,
+and lead there a wondrous pleasant life of real amusement, until their
+feudal traditions and their domestic duties summon them back to their
+Christmas homes.
+
+Lord and Lady Roehampton gave constant dinners, and after they had
+tried two or three, he expressed his wish to his wife that she should
+hold a small reception after these dinners. He was a man of great
+tact, and he wished to launch his wife quietly and safely on the
+social ocean. "There is nothing like practising before Christmas, my
+love," he would say; "you will get your hand in, and be able to hold
+regular receptions in the spring." And he was quite right. The dinners
+became the mode, and the assemblies were eagerly appreciated. The
+Secretary of the Treasury whispered to an Under-Secretary of State,--
+"This marriage was a /coup/. We have got another house."
+
+Myra had been a little anxious about the relations between Lord
+Roehampton and her brother. She felt, with a woman's instinct, that
+her husband might not be overpleased by her devotion to Endymion, and
+she could not resist the conviction that the disparity of age which is
+easily forgotten in a wife, and especially in a wife who adores you,
+assumes a different, and somewhat distasteful character, when a great
+statesman is obliged to recognise it in the shape of a boyish brother-
+in-law. But all went right, for the sweetness of Lord Roehampton's
+temper was inexhaustible. Endymion had paid several visits to St.
+James' square before Myra could seize the opportunity, for which she
+was ever watching, to make her husband and her brother acquainted.
+
+"And so you are one of us," said Lord Roehampton, with his sweetest
+smile and in his most musical tone, "and in office. We must try to
+give you a lift." And then he asked Endymion who was his chief, and
+how he liked him, and then he said, "A good deal depends on a man's
+chief. I was under your grandfather when I first entered parliament,
+and I never knew a pleasanter man to do business with. He never made
+difficulties; he always encouraged one. A younker likes that."
+
+Lady Roehampton was desirous of paying some attention to all those who
+had been kind to her brother; particularly Mr. Waldershare and Lord
+Beaumaris--and she wished to invite them to her house. "I am sure
+Waldershare would like to come," said Endymion, "but Lord Beaumaris, I
+know, never goes anywhere, and I have myself heard him say he never
+would."
+
+"Yes, my lord was telling me Lord Beaumaris was quite /farouche/, and
+it is feared that we may lose him. That would be sad," said Myra, "for
+he is powerful."
+
+"I should like very much if you could give me a card for Mr.
+Trenchard," said Endymion; "he is not in society, but he is quite a
+gentleman."
+
+"You shall have it, my dear. I have always liked Mr. Trenchard, and I
+dare say, some day or other, he may be of use to you."
+
+The Neuchatels were not in town, but Myra saw them frequently, and Mr.
+Neuchatel often dined in St. James' Square--but the ladies always
+declined every invitation of the kind. They came up from Hainault to
+see Myra, but looked as if nothing but their great affection would
+prompt such a sacrifice, and seemed always pining for Arcadia.
+Endymion, however, not unfrequently continued his Sunday visits to
+Hainault, to which Mr. Neuchatel had given him a general welcome. This
+young gentleman, indeed, soon experienced a considerable change in his
+social position. Invitations flocked to him, and often from persons
+whom he did not know, and who did not even know him. He went by the
+name of Lady Roehampton's brother, and that was a sufficient passport.
+
+"We are trying to get up a carpet dance to-night," said Belinda to a
+fair friend. "What men are in town?"
+
+"Well, there is Mr. Waldershare, who has just left me."
+
+"I have asked him.
+
+"Then there is Lord Willesden and Henry Grantley--I know they are
+passing through town--and there is the new man, Lady Roehampton's
+brother."
+
+"I will send to Lord Willesden and Henry Grantley immediately, and
+perhaps you will send a card, which I will write here, for me to the
+new man."
+
+And in this way Mr. Ferrars soon found that he was what is called
+"everywhere."
+
+One of the most interesting acquaintances that Lady Roehampton made
+was a colleague of her husband, and that was Mr. Sidney Wilton, once
+the intimate friend of her father. He had known herself and her
+brother when they were children, indeed from the cradle. Mr. Sidney
+Wilton was in the perfection of middle life, and looked young for his
+years. He was tall and pensive, and naturally sentimental, though a
+long political career, for he had entered the House of Commons for the
+family borough the instant he was of age, had brought to this
+susceptibility a salutary hardness. Although somewhat alienated from
+the friend of his youth by the course of affairs, for Mr. Sidney
+Wilton had followed Lord Roehampton, while Mr. Ferrars had adhered to
+the Duke of Wellington, he had not neglected Ferrars in his fall, but
+his offers of assistance, frankly and generously made, had been coldly
+though courteously rejected, and no encouragement had been given to
+the maintenance of their once intimate acquaintance.
+
+Mr. Sidney Wilton was much struck by the appearance of Lady
+Roehampton. He tried to compare the fulfilment of her promise with the
+beautiful and haughty child whom he used to wonder her parents so
+extravagantly spoiled. Her stature was above the average height of
+women and finely developed and proportioned. But it was in the
+countenance--in the pellucid and commanding brow, the deep splendour
+of her dark blue eyes softened by long lashes, her short upper lip,
+and the rich profusion of her dark chestnut hair--that his roused
+memory recalled the past; and he fell into a mood of agitated
+contemplation.
+
+The opportunities which he enjoyed of cultivating her society were
+numerous, and Mr. Wilton missed none. He was frequently her guest, and
+being himself the master of a splendid establishment, he could offer
+her a hospitality which every one appreciated. Lord Roehampton was
+peculiarly his political chief, and they had always been socially
+intimate. As the trusted colleague of her husband--as one who had
+known her in her childhood, and as himself a man singularly qualified,
+by his agreeable conversation and tender and deferential manner, to
+make his way with women--Mr. Sidney Wilton had no great difficulty,
+particularly in that happy demi-season which precedes Christmas, in
+establishing relations of confidence and intimacy with Lady
+Roehampton.
+
+The cabinets were over: the government had decided on their measures,
+and put them in a state of preparation, and they were about to
+disperse for a month. The seat of Lord Roehampton was in the extreme
+north of England, and a visit to it was inconvenient at this moment,
+and especially at this season. The department of Lord Roehampton was
+very active at this time, and he was unwilling that the first
+impression by his wife of her future home should be experienced at a
+season little favourable to the charms of a northern seat. Mr. Sidney
+Wilton was the proprietor of the most beautiful and the most
+celebrated villa in England; only twenty miles from town, seated on a
+wooded crest of the swan-crowned Thames, with gardens of delight, and
+woods full of pheasants, and a terrace that would have become a court,
+glancing over a wide expanse of bower and glade, studded with bright
+halls and delicate steeples, and the smoke of rural homes.
+
+It was arranged that Lord and Lady Roehampton should pass their
+Christmas at Gaydene with Mr. Sidney Wilton, stay as long as they
+liked, go where they chose, but make it their headquarters. It was a
+most successful visit; for a great deal of business was done, as well
+as pleasure enjoyed. The ambassadors, who were always a little uneasy
+at Christmas when everybody is away, and themselves without country
+homes, were all invited down for that week. Lord Roehampton used to
+give them audiences after the shooting parties. He thought it was a
+specific against their being too long. He used to say, "The first
+dinner-bell often brings things to a point." After Christmas there was
+an ever-varying stream of company, chiefly official and parliamentary.
+The banquet and the battue did not always settle the business, the
+clause, or the schedule, which the guests often came down to Gaydene
+ostensibly to accomplish, but they sent men back to town with
+increased energy and good humour, and kept the party in heart. Towards
+the end of the month the premier came down, and for him the Blue
+Ribbon Covert had been reserved, though he really cared little for
+sport. It was an eighteenth century tradition that knights of the
+garter only had been permitted to shoot this choice preserve, but Mr.
+Sidney Wilton, in this advanced age, did not of course revive such an
+ultra-exclusive practice, and he was particular in arranging the party
+to include Mr. Jorrocks. This was a Radical member to whom
+considerable office had been given at the reconstruction of 1835, when
+it was necessary that the Whigs should conciliate the Mountain. He was
+a pretentious, underbred, half-educated man, fluent with all the
+commonplaces of middle-class ambition, which are humorously called
+democratic opinions, but at heart a sycophant of the aristocracy. He
+represented, however, a large and important constituency, and his
+promotion was at first looked upon as a masterpiece of management. The
+Mountain, who knew Jorrocks by heart, and felt that they had in their
+ranks men in every sense his superior, and that he could be no
+representative of their intelligence and opinions, and so by degrees
+prepare for their gradual admission to the sacred land, at first
+sulked over the promotion of their late companion, and only did not
+publicly deride it from the feeling that by so doing they might be
+playing the game of the ministry. At the time of which we are writing,
+having become extremely discontented and wishing to annoy the
+government, they even affected dissatisfaction at the subordinate
+position which Jorrocks occupied in the administration, and it was
+generally said--had become indeed the slang of the party--that the
+test of the sincerity of the ministry to Liberal principles was to put
+Jorrocks in the cabinet. The countenance of the premier when this
+choice programme was first communicated to him was what might have
+been expected had he learnt of the sudden descent upon this isle of an
+invading force, and the Secretary of the Treasury whispered in
+confidence to one or two leaders of the Mountain, "that if they did
+not take care they would upset the government."
+
+"That is exactly what we want to do," was the reply.
+
+So it will be seen that the position of the ministry, previous to the
+meeting of parliament in 1839, was somewhat critical. In the meantime,
+its various members, who knew their man, lavished every practicable
+social attention on Jorrocks. The dinners they gave him were doubled;
+they got their women to call on his women; and Sidney Wilton, a member
+of an illustrious garter family, capped the climax by appointing him
+one of the party to shoot the Blue Ribbon Covert.
+
+Mr. Wilton had invited Endymion to Gaydene, and, as his stay there
+could only be brief, had even invited him to repeat the visit. He was,
+indeed, unaffectedly kind to one whom he remembered so young, and was
+evidently pleased with him.
+
+One evening, a day or two before the break-up of the party, while some
+charming Misses Playfellow, with an impudent brother, who all lived in
+the neighbourhood, were acting charades, Mr. Wilton said to Lady
+Roehampton, by whose side he was sitting in the circle--
+
+"I have had a very busy morning about my office. There is to be a
+complete revolution in it. The whole system is to be reconstructed;
+half the present people are to be pensioned off, and new blood is to
+be introduced. It struck me that this might be an opening for your
+brother. He is in the public service--that is something; and as there
+are to be so many new men, there will be no jealousy as to his
+promotion. If you will speak to him about it, and he likes it, I will
+appoint him one of the new clerks; and then, if he also likes it, he
+shall be my private secretary. That will give him position, and be no
+mean addition to his income, you know, if we last--but that depends, I
+suppose, on Mr. Jorrocks."
+
+Lady Roehampton communicated all this to her brother on her return to
+London. "It is exactly what I wished," she said. "I wanted you to be
+private secretary to a cabinet minister, and if I were to choose any
+one, except, of course, my lord, it would be Mr. Wilton. He is a
+perfect gentleman, and was dear papa's friend. I understand you will
+have three hundred a year to begin with, and the same amount as his
+secretary. You ought to be able to live with ease and propriety on six
+hundred a year--and this reminds me of what I have been thinking of
+before we went to Gaydene. I think now you ought to have a more
+becoming residence. The Rodneys are good people, I do not doubt, and I
+dare say we shall have an opportunity of proving our sense of their
+services; but they are not exactly the people that I care for you to
+live with, and, at any rate, you cannot reside any longer in a garret.
+I have taken some chambers in the Albany, therefore, for you, and they
+shall be my contribution to your housekeeping. They are not badly
+furnished, but they belonged to an old general officer, and are not
+very new-fashioned; but we will go together and see them to-morrow,
+and I dare say I shall soon be able to make them /comme il faut/."
+
+
+
+                            CHAPTER XLVIII
+
+This considerable rise in the life of Endymion, after the first
+excitement occasioned by its announcement to him had somewhat
+subsided, was not contemplated by him with unmixed feelings of
+satisfaction. It seemed to terminate many relations of life, the value
+of which he had always appreciated, but which now, with their
+impending conclusion, he felt, and felt keenly, had absolutely
+contributed to his happiness. There was no great pang in quitting his
+fellow-clerks, except Trenchard, whom he greatly esteemed. But poor
+little Warwick Street had been to him a real home, if unvarying
+kindness, and sedulous attention, and the affection of the eyes and
+heart, as well as of the mouth, can make a hearth. He hoped he might
+preserve the friendship of Waldershare, which their joint intimacy
+with the prince would favour; but still he could hardly flatter
+himself that the delightful familiarity of their past lives could
+subsist. Endymion sighed, and then he sighed again. He felt sad.
+Because he was leaving the humble harbour of refuge, the entrance to
+which, even in the darkest hour of his fallen fortunes, was thought
+somewhat of an indignity, and was about to assume a position which
+would not have altogether misbecome the earliest expectations of his
+life? That seems unreasonable; but mankind, fortunately, are not
+always governed by reason, but by sentiment, and often by very tender
+sentiment.
+
+When Endymion, sitting in his little room, analysed his feelings, he
+came to the conclusion that his sadness was occasioned by his having
+to part from Imogene. It often requires an event in life, and an
+unexpected one, to make us clearly aware of the existence of feelings
+which have long influenced us. Never having been in a position in
+which the possibility of uniting his fate to another could cross his
+mind for a moment, he had been content with the good fortune which
+permitted a large portion of his life to be passed in the society of a
+woman who, unconsciously both to him and to herself, had fascinated
+him. The graceful child who, four or five years ago, had first lit him
+to his garret, without losing any of her rare and simple
+ingenuousness, had developed into a beautiful and accomplished woman.
+There was a strong resemblance between Imogene and her sister, but
+Imogene was a brunette. Her countenance indicated far more intellect
+and character than that of Sylvia. Her brow was delicately pencilled
+and finely arched, and her large dark eyes gleamed with a softness and
+sweetness of expression, which were irresistibly attractive, and
+seemed to indicate sympathy with everything that was good and
+beautiful. Her features were not so regular as her sister's; but when
+she smiled, her face was captivating.
+
+Endymion had often listened, half with fondness and half with
+scepticism, to Waldershare dilating, according to his wont, on the
+high character and qualities of Imogene, whom he persisted in
+believing he was preparing for a great career. "How it will come about
+I cannot say," he would remark; "but it will come. If my legitimate
+sovereign were on the throne, and I in the possession of my estates,
+which were graciously presented by the usurper to the sausage-makers,
+or some other choice middle-class corporation, I would marry her
+myself. But that is impossible. That would only be asking her to share
+my ruin. I want her to live in palaces, and perhaps, in my decline of
+life, make me her librarian, like Casanova. I should be content to
+dine in her hall every day beneath the salt, and see her enter with
+her state, amid the flourish of trumpets." And now, strange to say,
+Endymion was speculating on the fate of Imogene, and, as he thought,
+in a more practical spirit. Six hundred a year, he thought, was not a
+very large income; but it was an income, and one which a year ago he
+never contemplated possessing until getting grey in the public
+service. Why not realise perfect happiness at once? He could conceive
+no bliss greater than living with Imogene in one of those little
+villas, even if semi-detached, which now are numbered by tens of
+thousands, and which were then beginning to shoot out their suburban
+antennae in every direction of our huge metropolis. He saw her in his
+mind's eye in a garden of perpetual sunshine, breathing of mignonette
+and bright with roses, and waiting for him as he came down from town
+and his daily labours, in the cheap and convenient omnibus. What a
+delightful companion to welcome him! How much to tell her, and how
+much to listen to! And then their evenings with a delicious book or
+some delightful music! What holidays, too, of romantic adventure! The
+vine-clad Rhine, perhaps Switzerland; at any rate, the quaint old
+cities of Flanders, and the winding valley of the Meuse. They could
+live extremely well on six hundred a year, yes, with all the real
+refinements of existence. And all their genuine happiness was to be
+sacrificed for utterly fantastic and imaginary gratifications, which,
+if analysed, would be found only to be efforts to amuse and astonish
+others.
+
+It did not yet occur to Endymion that his garden could not always be
+sunshiny; that cares crop up in villas, even semi-detached, as well as
+joys; that he would have children, and perhaps too many; that they
+would be sick, and that doctors' bills would soon put a stop to
+romantic excursions; that his wife would become exhausted with nursing
+and clothing and teaching them; that she herself would become an
+invalid, and moped to death; that his resources would every day bear a
+less proportion to his expenditure; and that wanting money, he would
+return too often from town a harassed husband to a jaded wife!
+
+Mr. Rodney and Sylvia were at Conington on a visit to Lord Beaumaris,
+hunting. It was astonishing how Sylvia had ridden to the hounds,
+mounted on the choicest steeds, and in a scarlet habit which had been
+presented to her by Mr. Vigo. She had created quite an enthusiasm in
+the field, and Lord Beaumaris was proud of his guests. When Endymion
+parted with his sister at the Albany, where they had been examining
+his rooms, he had repaired to Warwick Street, with some expectation
+that the Rodneys would have returned from Conington, and he intended
+to break to his host the impending change in his life. The Rodneys,
+however, had not arrived, and so he ascended to his room, where he had
+been employed in arranging his books and papers, and indulging in the
+reverie which we have indicated. When he came downstairs, wishing to
+inquire about the probable arrival of his landlord, Endymion knocked
+at the door of the parlour where they used to assemble, and on
+entering, found Imogene writing.
+
+"How do you do, Mr. Ferrars?" she said, rising. "I am writing to
+Sylvia. They are not returning as soon as they intended, and I am to
+go down to Conington by an early train to-morrow."
+
+"I want to see Mr. Rodney," said Endymion moodily.
+
+"Can I write anything to him, or tell him anything?" said Imogene.
+
+"No," continued Endymion in a melancholy tone. "I can tell you what I
+wanted to say. But you must be occupied now, going away, and
+unexpectedly, to-morrow. It seems to me that every one is going away."
+
+"Well, we have lost the prince, certainly," said Imogene, "and I doubt
+whether his rooms will be ever let again."
+
+"Indeed!" said Endymion.
+
+"Well, I only know what Mr. Waldershare tells me. He says that Mr.
+Rodney and Mr. Vigo have made a great speculation, and gained a great
+deal of money; but Mr. Rodney never speaks to me of such matters, nor
+indeed does Sylvia. I am myself very sorry that the prince has gone,
+for he interested me much."
+
+"Well, I should think Mr. Rodney would not be very sorry to get rid of
+me then," said Endymion.
+
+"O Mr. Ferrars! why should you say or think such things! I am sure
+that my brother and sister, and indeed every one in this house, always
+consider your comfort and welfare before any other object."
+
+"Yes," said Endymion, "you have all been most kind to me, and that
+makes me more wretched at the prospect of leaving you."
+
+"But there is no prospect of that?"
+
+"A certainty, Imogene; there is going to be a change in my life," and
+then he told her all.
+
+"Well," said Imogene, "it would be selfish not to be happy at what I
+hear; but though I hope I am happy, I need not be joyful. I never used
+to be nervous, but I am afraid I am getting so. All these great
+changes rather shake me. This adventure of the prince--as Mr.
+Waldershare says, it is history. Then Miss Myra's great marriage, and
+your promotion--although they are exactly what we used to dream about,
+and wished a fairy would accomplish, and somehow felt that, somehow or
+other, they must happen--yet now they have occurred, one is almost as
+astounded as delighted. We certainly have been very happy in Warwick
+Street, at least I have been, all living as it were together. But
+where shall we be this time next year? All scattered, and perhaps not
+even the Rodneys under this roof. I know not how it is, but I dread
+leaving the roof where one has been happy."
+
+"Oh! you know you must leave it one day or other, Imogene. You are
+sure to marry; that you cannot avoid."
+
+"Well, I am not by any means sure about that," said Imogene. "Mr.
+Waldershare, in educating me, as he says, as a princess, has made me
+really neither fish, flesh, nor fowl, nor even that coarser but
+popular delicacy never forgotten. I could not unite my life with a
+being who was not refined in mind and in manners, and the men of my
+class in life, who are the only ones after all who might care to marry
+me, shock my taste, I am ashamed to say so. I am not sure it is not
+wicked to think it even; but so it is."
+
+"Why do you not marry Waldershare?" said Endymion.
+
+"That would be madness! I do not know any alliance that could prove
+more unfortunate. Mr. Waldershare must never marry. All people of
+imagination, they say, are difficult to live with; but a person who
+consists solely of imagination, like Mr. Waldershare, who has indeed
+no other attribute--before a year was past, married, he would fly to
+the desert or to La Trappe, commit terrible scandals from mere
+weariness of feeling, write pasquinades against the wife of his bosom,
+and hold us both up to the fierce laughter of the world. No, no; he is
+the best, the dearest, and the most romantic of friends; tender as a
+father, and sometimes as wise, for genius can be everything. He is
+going to rise early to-morrow, which he particularly dislikes, because
+he will not let me go to the station alone; though I tell him, as I
+often tell him, those are the becoming manners of my class."
+
+"But you might meet a person of the refinement you require," said
+Endymion, "with a moderate and yet a sufficient income, who would not
+be unworthy of you."
+
+"I doubt it," said Imogene.
+
+"But, do not doubt it, dear Imogene," said Endymion, advancing; "such
+charms as yours, both of body and of mind, such a companion in life,
+so refined, so accomplished, and yet endowed with such clear sense,
+and such a sweet disposition--believe me"----
+
+But at this moment a splendid equipage drove up to the door, with
+powdered footmen and long canes behind, and then a terrible rap, like
+the tattoo of a field-marshal.
+
+"Good gracious! what is all this?" exclaimed Imogene.
+
+"It is my sister," said Endymion, blushing; "it is Lady Roehampton."
+
+"I must go to her myself," said Imogene; "I cannot have the servant
+attend upon your sister."
+
+Endymion remained silent and confused. Imogene was some little time at
+the carriage-door, for Lady Roehampton had inquiries to make after
+Sylvia and other courteous things to say, and then Imogene returned,
+and said to Endymion, "Lady Roehampton wishes you to go with her
+directly on some particular business."
+
+
+
+                             CHAPTER XLIX
+
+Endymion liked his new official life very much. Whitehall was a great
+improvement on Somerset House, and he had sufficient experience of the
+civil service to duly appreciate the advantage of being permanently
+quartered in one of the chief departments of the state, instead of
+obscurely labouring in a subordinate office, with a limited future,
+and detached from all the keenly interesting details of public life.
+But it was not this permanent and substantial advantage which
+occasioned him such lively and such novel pleasure, as the fact of his
+being a private secretary, and a private secretary to a cabinet
+minister.
+
+The relations between a minister and his secretary are, or at least
+should be, among the finest that can subsist between two individuals.
+Except the married state, there is none in which so great a degree of
+confidence is involved, in which more forbearance ought to be
+exercised, or more sympathy ought to exist. There is usually in the
+relation an identity of interest, and that of the highest kind; and
+the perpetual difficulties, the alternations of triumph and defeat,
+develop devotion. A youthful secretary will naturally feel some degree
+of enthusiasm for his chief, and a wise minister will never stint his
+regard for one in whose intelligence and honour he finds he can place
+confidence.
+
+There never was a happier prospect of these relations being
+established on the most satisfactory basis than in the instance of
+Endymion and his new master. Mr. Sidney Wilton was a man of noble
+disposition, fine manners, considerable culture, and was generally
+gracious. But he was disposed to be more than gracious to Endymion,
+and when he found that our young friend had a capacity for work--that
+his perception was quick and clear--that he wrote with facility--never
+made difficulties--was calm, sedulous, and patient, the interest which
+Mr. Wilton took in him as the son of William Ferrars, and, we must
+add, as the brother of Lady Roehampton, became absorbed in the
+personal regard which the minister soon entertained for his secretary.
+Mr. Wilton found a pleasure in forming the mind of Endymion to the
+consideration and comprehension of public affairs; he spoke to him
+both of men and things without reserve; revealed to him the characters
+of leading personages on both sides, illustrated their antecedents,
+and threw light upon their future; taught him the real condition of
+parties in parliament, rarely to be found in newspapers; and finally,
+when he was sufficiently initiated, obtained for his secretary a key
+for his cabinet boxes, which left little of the business of government
+unknown to Endymion.
+
+Such great confidence, and that exhibited by one who possessed so many
+winning qualities, excited in the breast of Endymion the most lively
+feelings of gratitude and respect. He tried to prove them by the
+vigilant and unwearying labour with which he served his master, and he
+served him every day more effectually, because every day he became
+more intimate with the mind and method of Mr. Wilton. Every one to a
+certain degree is a mannerist; every one has his ways; and a secretary
+will be assisted in the transaction of business if a vigilant
+observation has made him acquainted with the idiosyncrasy of his
+chief.
+
+The regulations of the office which authorise a clerk, appointed to a
+private secretaryship, to deviate from the routine duties of the
+department, and devote his time entirely to the special requirements
+of his master, of course much assisted Endymion, and proved also a
+pleasant relief, for he had had enough at Somerset House of copying
+documents and drawing up formal reports. But it was not only at
+Whitehall that he saw Mr. Wilton, and experienced his kindness.
+Endymion was a frequent guest under Mr. Wilton's roof, and Mr.
+Wilton's establishment was one of the most distinguished in London.
+They met also much in the evenings, and always at Lady Roehampton's,
+where Mr. Wilton was never absent. Whenever and wherever they met,
+even if they had been working together the whole morning, Mr. Wilton
+always greeted Endymion with the utmost consideration--because he knew
+such a recognition would raise Endymion in the eyes of the social
+herd, who always observe little things, and generally form from them
+their opinions of great affairs.
+
+
+
+                              CHAPTER L
+
+Mr. Wilton was at Charing Cross, on his way to his office, when a lady
+saluted him from her carriage, which then drew up to the pavement and
+stopped.
+
+"We have just arrived," said Lady Montfort, "and I want you to give me
+a little dinner to-day. My lord is going to dine with an Old Bailey
+lawyer, who amuses him, and I do not like to be left, the first day,
+on the /pave/."
+
+"I can give you a rather large dinner, if you care to come," said Mr.
+Wilton, "but I fear you will not like it. I have got some House of
+Commons men dining with me to-day, and one or two of the other House
+to meet them. My sister Georgina has very good-naturedly promised to
+come, with her husband, and I have just written a note to the Duchess
+Dowager of Keswick, who often helps me--but I fear this sort of thing
+would hardly suit you."
+
+"On the contrary, I think it will be very amusing. Only do not put me
+between two of your colleagues. Anybody amuses me for once. A new
+acquaintance is like a new book. I prefer it, even if bad, to a
+classic."
+
+The dinner party to-day at Mr. Wilton's was miscellaneous, and not
+heterogeneous enough to produce constraint, only to produce a little
+excitement--some commoners high in office, and the Treasury whip,
+several manufacturers who stood together in the room, and some
+metropolitan members. Georgina's husband, who was a lord-in-waiting,
+and a great swell, in a green riband, moved about with adroit
+condescension, and was bewitchingly affable. The manufacturing members
+whispered to each other that it was a wise thing to bring the two
+Houses together, but when Her Grace the Duchess Dowager of Keswick was
+announced, they exchanged glances of astounded satisfaction, and felt
+that the government, which had been thought to be in a somewhat
+rickety condition, would certainly stand.
+
+Berengaria came a little late, not very. She thought it had been
+earlier, but it was not. The duchess dowager opened her eyes with
+wonderment when she beheld Lady Montfort, but the company in general
+were not in the least aware of the vast social event that was
+occurring. They were gratified in seeing another fine lady, but did
+not, of course, rank her with a duchess.
+
+The dinner went off better than Mr. Wilton could have hoped, as it was
+impossible to place a stranger by Lady Montfort. He sate in the middle
+of his table with the duchess dowager on his right hand, and
+Berengaria, who was taken out by the green riband, on the other. As he
+knew the green riband would be soon exhausted, he devoted himself to
+Lady Montfort, and left the duchess to her own resources, which were
+considerable, and she was soon laying down her opinions on men and
+things to her other neighbours with much effect. The manufacturers
+talked shop to each other in whispers, that is to say, mixed House of
+Commons tattle about bills and committees with news from Manchester
+and Liverpool, and the West Riding. The metropolitan members, then a
+more cosmopolitan body and highly miscellaneous in their character and
+pursuits, were louder, and perhaps more easy, even ventured to talk
+across the table when near its end, and enticed the peers into
+discussions on foreign politics.
+
+Mr. Sidney Wilton having been delightful, thought it necessary to
+observe that he feared Lady Montfort had been bored. "I have been, and
+am, extremely amused," she replied; "and now tell me, who is that
+young man at the very end of the table?"
+
+"That is my private secretary, Mr. Ferrars."
+
+"Ferrars!"
+
+"A brother of Lady Roehampton."
+
+"Present him to me after dinner."
+
+Endymion knew Lady Montfort by sight, though she did not know him. He
+had seen her more than once at the receptions of Mrs. Neuchatel,
+where, as indeed in every place, she was the cynosure. He was much
+astonished at meeting her at this party to-day,--almost as surprised
+as the duchess dowager, for Endymion, who was of an observant nature,
+was beginning to comprehend society and all its numerous elements, and
+schools, and shades, and classes. When they entered the saloon, Mr.
+Wilton led Endymion up to Lady Montfort at once, and she immediately
+inquired after his sister. "Do you think," she said, "Lady Roehampton
+would see me to-morrow if I called on her?"
+
+"If I were Lady Roehampton, I would," said Endymion.
+
+Lady Montfort looked at him with a glance of curious scrutiny; not
+smiling, and yet not displeased. "I will write her a little note in
+the morning," said Lady Montfort thoughtfully. "One may leave cards
+for ever. Mr. Wilton tells me you are quite his right hand."
+
+"Mr. Wilton is too kind to me," said Endymion. "One could not be
+excused for not doing one's best for such a master."
+
+"You like people to be kind to you?" said Lady Montfort.
+
+"Well, I have not met with so much kindness in this world as to become
+insensible to it."
+
+"You are too young to be melancholy," said Lady Montfort; "are you
+older than Lady Roehampton?"
+
+"We are twins."
+
+"Twins! and wonderfully like too! Is it not thought so?"
+
+"I have sometimes heard it mentioned."
+
+"Oh, it is striking!" said Lady Montfort, and she motioned to him to
+sit down by her; and then she began to talk politics, and asked him
+what the members thought at dinner of the prospects of the government,
+and what he had heard of the malcontent movement that they said was
+/in petto/. Endymion replied that Mr. Sharpset, the Secretary of the
+Treasury, did not think much of it.
+
+"Well, I wish I did not," said Lady Montfort. "However, I will soon
+find out something about it. I have only just come to town; but I
+intend to open my house, immediately. Now I must go. What are you
+going to do with yourself to-morrow? I wish you would come and dine
+with Lord Montfort. It will be quite without form, a few agreeable and
+amusing people; Lord Montfort must be amused. It seems a reasonable
+fancy, but very difficult to realise; and now you shall ask for my
+carriage, and to-morrow I hope to be able to tell Lady Roehampton what
+very great pleasure I have had in making the acquaintance of her
+brother."
+
+
+
+                              CHAPTER LI
+
+The morning after, Endymion was emerging from the court-yard of the
+Albany, in order to call on Mr. Rodney, who, as he learnt from a
+casual remark in a letter from Waldershare, would be in town. The
+ladies were left behind for the last week of hunting, but business
+called Mr. Rodney home. Waldershare wrote to Endymion in the highest
+spirits, and more than once declared that he was the happiest of men.
+Just as Endymion had entered Piccadilly, he was stopped by a once
+familiar face; it was St. Barbe, who accosted him with great warmth,
+and as usual began to talk about himself. "You are surprised to see
+me," he said. "It is two years since we met. Well, I have done
+wonders; carried all before me. By Jove, sir, I can walk into a
+minister's private room with as much ease as I were entering the old
+den. The ambassadors are hand and glove with me. There are very few
+things I do not know. I have made the fortune of the 'Chuck-Farthing,'
+trebled its circulation, and invented a new style, which has put me at
+the head of all 'our own correspondents.' I wish you were at Paris; I
+would give you a dinner at the Rocher, which would make up for all our
+dinners at that ferocious ruffian, Joe's. I gave a dinner the other
+day to forty of them, all 'our own correspondents,' or such like. Do
+you know, my dear fellow, when I looked round the room, there was not
+a man who had not done his best to crush me; running down my works or
+not noticing them, or continually dilating on Gushy as if the English
+public would never read anything else. Now, that was Christian-like of
+me, was not it? God, sir, if they only had but one neck, and I had
+been the Emperor Nero--but, I will not dwell on it; I hate them.
+However, it suits me to take the other line at present. I am all for
+fraternity and that sort of thing, and give them dinners. There is a
+reason why, but there is no time to talk about that now. I shall want
+their sweet voices--the hounds! But, my dear fellow, I am truly glad
+to see you. Do you know, I always liked you; and how come you to be in
+this quarter this fine morning?"
+
+"I live in the Albany," said Endymion.
+
+"You live in the Albany!" repeated St. Barbe, with an amazed and
+perturbed expression. "I knew I could not be a knight of the garter,
+or a member of White's--the only two things an Englishman cannot
+command; but I did think I might some day live in the Albany. It was
+my dream. And you live there! Gracious! what an unfortunate fellow I
+am! I do not see how you can live in the Albany with your salary; I
+suppose they have raised you."
+
+"I have left Somerset House," said Endymion, "and am now at the Board
+of Trade, and am private secretary to Mr. Sidney Wilton."
+
+"Oh!" said St. Barbe; "then we have friends at court. You may do
+something for me, if I only knew what I wanted. They have no
+decorations here. Curse this aristocratic country, they want all the
+honours to themselves. I should like to be in the Board of Trade, and
+would make some sacrifice for it. The proprietors of the 'Chuck-
+Farthing' pay well; they pay like gentlemen; though, why I say so I do
+not exactly know, for no gentleman ever paid me anything. But, if I
+could be Secretary of the Board of Trade, or get 1500 pounds a year
+secure, I would take it; and I dare say I could get employed on some
+treaties, as I speak French, and then I might get knighted."
+
+"Well, I think you are very well off," said Endymion; "carrying, as
+you say, everything before you. What more can you want?"
+
+"I hate the craft," said St. Barbe, with an expression of genuine
+detestation; "I should like to show them all up before I died. I
+suppose it was your sister marrying a lord that got you on in this
+way. I could have married a countess myself, but then, to be sure, she
+was only a Polish one, and hard up. I never had a sister; I never had
+any luck in life at all. I wish I had been a woman. Women are the only
+people who get on. A man works all his life, and thinks he has done a
+wonderful thing if, with one leg in the grave and no hair on his head,
+he manages to get a coronet; and a woman dances at a ball with some
+young fellow or other, or sits next to some old fellow at dinner and
+pretends she thinks him charming, and he makes her a peeress on the
+spot. Oh! it is a disgusting world; it must end in revolution. Now you
+tell your master, Mr. Sidney Wilton, that if he wants to strengthen
+the institutions of this country, the government should establish an
+order of merit, and the press ought to be represented in it. I do not
+speak only for myself; I speak for my brethren. Yes, sir, I am not
+ashamed of my order."
+
+And so they bade each other farewell.
+
+"Unchanged," thought Endymion, as he crossed Piccadilly; "the vainest,
+the most envious, and the most amusing of men! I wonder what he will
+do in life."
+
+Mr. Rodney was at home, had just finished his breakfast, read his
+newspaper, and was about to "go into the City." His costume was
+perfect. Mr. Rodney's hat seemed always a new one. Endymion was a
+little embarrassed by this interview, for he had naturally a kind
+heart, and being young, it was still soft. The Rodneys had been truly
+good to him, and he was attached to them. Imogene had prepared Mr.
+Rodney for the change in Endymion's life, and Endymion himself had
+every reason to believe that in a worldly point of view the matter was
+entirely insignificant to his old landlord. Still his visit this
+morning ratified a permanent separation from those with whom he had
+lived for a long time, and under circumstances of sympathy and family
+connection which were touching. He retained Mr. Rodney's hand for a
+moment as he expressed, and almost in faltering tones, his sorrow at
+their separation and his hope that their friendly connection might be
+always cherished.
+
+"That feeling is reciprocal," said Mr. Rodney. "If only because you
+were the son of my revered and right honourable friend, you would
+always be esteemed here. But you are esteemed, or, I may say beloved,
+for your own sake. We shall be proud to be considered with kindness by
+you, and I echo your wish that, though no longer living under the same
+roof, we may yet, and even often, meet. But do not say another word
+about the inconvenience you are occasioning us. The truth is, that
+although wherever we went the son of my revered and right honourable
+friend would have always commanded hospitality from us, there are many
+changes about to take place in our family which have made us for some
+time contemplate leaving Warwick Street. Affairs, especially of late,
+have gone pretty well with me in the world,--at least not badly; I
+have had friends, and I hope have proved not undeserving of them. I
+wish Sylvia, too, to live in an airier situation, near the park, so
+that she may ride every morning. Besides, I have a piece of news to
+communicate to you, which would materially affect our arrangements. We
+are going to lose Imogene."
+
+"Ah! she is going to be married," said Endymion, blushing.
+
+"She is going to be married," said Mr. Rodney gravely.
+
+"To Mr. Waldershare?" said Endymion. "He almost said as much to me in
+a letter this morning. But I always thought so."
+
+"No; not to Mr. Waldershare," said Mr. Rodney.
+
+"Who is the happy man then?" said Endymion, agitated. "I truly call
+him so; for I think myself that Imogene is perfection."
+
+"Imogene is about to be married to the Earl of Beaumaris."
+
+
+
+                             CHAPTER LII
+
+Simon, Earl of Montfort, with whom Endymion was so unexpectedly going
+to dine, may be said to have been a minor in his cradle. Under
+ordinary circumstances, his inheritance would have been one of the
+most considerable in England. His castle in the north was one of the
+glories of the land, and becomingly crowned his vast domain. Under the
+old parliamentary system, he had the greatest number of nomination
+boroughs possessed by any Whig noble. The character and conduct of an
+individual so qualified were naturally much speculated on and finely
+scanned. Nothing very decided transpired about them in his boyhood,
+but certainly nothing adverse. He was good-looking and athletic, and
+was said to be generous and good-natured, and when he went to Harrow,
+he became popular. In his eighteenth year, while he was in
+correspondence with his guardians about going to Christ Church, he
+suddenly left his country without giving any one notice of his
+intentions, and entered into, and fulfilled, a vast scheme of
+adventurous travel. He visited countries then rarely reached, and some
+of which were almost unknown. His flag had floated in the Indian
+Ocean, and he had penetrated the dazzling mysteries of Brazilian
+forests. When he was of age, he returned, and communicated with his
+guardians, as if nothing remarkable had happened in his life. Lord
+Montfort had inherited a celebrated stud, which the family had
+maintained for more than a century, and the sporting world remarked
+with satisfaction that their present representative appeared to take
+much interest in it. He had an establishment at Newmarket, and his
+horses were entered for all the great races of the kingdom. He
+appeared also at Melton, and conducted the campaign in a style
+becoming such a hero. His hunters and his cooks were both first-rate.
+Although he affected to take little interest in politics, the events
+of the time forced him to consider them and to act. Lord Grey wanted
+to carry his Reform Bill, and the sacrifice of Lord Montfort's
+numerous boroughs was a necessary ingredient in the spell. He was
+appealed to as the head of one of the greatest Whig houses, and he was
+offered a dukedom. He relinquished his boroughs without hesitation,
+but he preferred to remain with one of the oldest earldoms of England
+for his chief title. All honours, however, clustered about him, though
+he never sought them, and in the same year he tumbled into the Lord
+Lieutenancy of his country, unexpectedly vacant, and became the
+youngest Knight of the Garter.
+
+Society was looking forward with the keenest interest to the impending
+season, when Lord Montfort would formally enter its spell-bound ranks,
+and multiform were the speculations on his destiny. He attended an
+early levee, in order that he might be presented--a needful ceremony
+which had not yet taken place--and then again quitted his country, and
+for years. He was heard of in every capital except his own. Wonderful
+exploits at St. Petersburg, and Paris, and Madrid, deeds of mark at
+Vienna, and eccentric adventures at Rome; but poor Melton, alas!
+expecting him to return every season, at last embalmed him, and his
+cooks, and his hunters, and his daring saddle, as a tradition,--
+jealous a little of Newmarket, whither, though absent, he was
+frequently transmitting foreign blood, and where his horses still ran,
+and were often victorious.
+
+At last it would appear that the restless Lord Montfort had found his
+place, and that place was Paris. There he dwelt for years in Sybaritic
+seclusion. He built himself a palace, which he called a villa, and
+which was the most fanciful of structures, and full of every beautiful
+object which rare taste and boundless wealth could procure, from
+undoubted Raffaelles to jewelled toys. It was said that Lord Montfort
+saw no one; he certainly did not court or receive his own countrymen,
+and this perhaps gave rise to, or at least caused to be exaggerated,
+the tales that were rife of his profusion, and even his profligacy.
+But it was not true that he was entirely isolated. He lived much with
+the old families of France in their haughty faubourg, and was highly
+considered by them. It was truly a circle for which he was adapted.
+Lord Montfort was the only living Englishman who gave one an idea of
+the nobleman of the eighteenth century. He was totally devoid of the
+sense of responsibility, and he looked what he resembled. His manner,
+though simple and natural, was finished and refined, and, free from
+forbidding reserve, was yet characterised by an air of serious grace.
+
+With the exception of the memorable year when he sacrificed his
+nomination boroughs to the cause for which Hampden died on the field
+and Sidney on the scaffold--that is to say, the Whig government of
+England--Lord Montfort had been absent for his country for ten years,
+and one day, in his statued garden at the Belvedere, he asked himself
+what he had gained by it. There was no subject, divine or human, in
+which he took the slightest interest. He entertained for human nature
+generally, and without any exception, the most cynical appreciation.
+He had a sincere and profound conviction, that no man or woman ever
+acted except from selfish and interested motives. Society was
+intolerable to him; that of his own sex and station wearisome beyond
+expression; their conversation consisted only of two subjects, horses
+and women, and he had long exhausted both. As for female society, if
+they were ladies, it was expected that, in some form or other, he
+should make love to them, and he had no sentiment. If he took refuge
+in the /demi-monde/, he encountered vulgarity, and that, to Lord
+Montfort, was insufferable. He had tried them in every capital, and
+vulgarity was the badge of all their tribe. He had attempted to read;
+a woman had told him to read French novels, but he found them only a
+clumsy representation of the life which, for years, he had practically
+been leading. An accident made him acquainted with Rabelais and
+Montaigne; and he had relished them, for he had a fine sense of
+humour. He might have pursued these studies, and perhaps have found in
+them a slight and occasional distraction, but a clever man he met at a
+guingette at Passy, whither he had gone to try to dissipate his
+weariness in disguise, had convinced him, that if there were a worthy
+human pursuit, an assumption which was doubtful, it was that of
+science, as it impressed upon man his utter insignificance.
+
+No one could say Lord Montfort was a bad-hearted man, for he had no
+heart. He was good-natured, provided it brought him no inconvenience;
+and as for temper, his was never disturbed, but this not from
+sweetness of disposition, rather from a contemptuous fine taste, which
+assured him, that a gentleman should never be deprived of tranquillity
+in a world where nothing was of the slightest consequence.
+
+The result of these reflections was, that he was utterly wearied with
+Belvedere and Paris, and as his mind was now rather upon science, he
+fancied he should like to return to a country where it flourished, and
+where he indulged in plans of erecting colossal telescopes, and of
+promoting inquiry into the origin of things. He thought that with
+science and with fishing, the only sport to which he still really
+clung, for he liked the lulling influence of running streams, and a
+pastime he could pursue in loneliness, existence might perhaps be
+endured.
+
+Society was really surprised when they heard of the return of Lord
+Montfort to England. He came back in the autumn, so that there should
+be no season to encounter, and his flag was soon flying at his castle.
+There had been continuous attacks for years on the government for
+having made an absentee lord lieutenant of his country, and conferring
+the high distinction of the garter on so profligate a character. All
+this made his return more interesting and exciting.
+
+A worthy nobleman of high rank and of the same county, who for the
+last five years everybody, shaking everybody's head, had been saying
+ought to have been lord lieutenant, had a great county function in his
+immediate neighbourhood in the late autumn, and had invited a large
+party to assist him in its celebration. It seemed right also to invite
+the lord lieutenant, but no one expected that he would make his
+appearance. On the contrary, the invitation was accepted, and the
+sensation was great. What would he be like, and what would he do, and
+was he so very wicked as the county newspaper said? He came, this
+wicked man, with his graceful presence and his diamond star, and
+everybody's heart palpitated with a due mixture of terror and
+admiration. The only exception to these feelings was the daughter of
+the house, the Lady Berengaria. She was then in her second season, but
+still unparagoned, for she was a fastidious, not to say disdainful
+lady. The highest had been at her feet, and sued in vain. She was a
+stirring spirit, with great ambition and a daring will; never content
+except in society, and influencing it--for which she was qualified by
+her grace and lively fancy, her ready though capricious sympathy, and
+her passion for admiration.
+
+The function was successful, and the county full of enthusiasm for
+their lord lieutenant, whose manner quite cleared his character. The
+party did not break up, in fact the function was only an excuse for
+the party. There was sport of all kinds, and in the evenings a
+carnival--for Lady Berengaria required everybody about her to be gay
+and diverting--games and dances, and infinite frolic. Lord Montfort,
+who, to the surprise of every one, did not depart, spoke to her a
+little, and perhaps would not have spoken at all, had they not met in
+the hunting-field. Lady Berengaria was a first-rate horsewoman, and
+really in the saddle looked irresistible.
+
+The night before the party, which had lasted a week, broke up, Lord
+Montfort came and sat by Lady Berengaria. He spoke about the run of
+the morning, and she replied in the same vein. "I have got a horse,
+Lady Berengaria, which I should like you to ride. Would you do so?"
+
+"Certainly, and what sort of horse is it?"
+
+"You shall see to-morrow. It is not far off. I like to have some
+horses always near," and then he walked away.
+
+It was a dark chestnut of matchless beauty. Lady Berengaria, who was
+of an emphatic nature, was loud in her admiration of its beauty and
+its hunting qualities.
+
+"I agree with you," said Lord Montfort, "that it will spoil you for
+any other horse, and therefore I shall ask permission to leave it here
+for your use."
+
+The party broke up, but, strange to say, Lord Montfort did not depart.
+It was a large family. Lady Berengaria had several sisters; her eldest
+brother was master of the hounds, and her younger brothers were
+asserting their rights as cadets, and killing their father's
+pheasants. There was also a number of cousins, who were about the same
+age, and were always laughing, though it was never quite clear what it
+was about. An affectation of gaiety may be sometimes detected in
+youth.
+
+As Lord Montfort always had the duty of ushering the lady of the house
+to dinner, he never had the opportunity of conversing with Lady
+Berengaria, even had he wished it; but it was not all clear that he
+did wish it, and it seemed that he talked as much to her sisters and
+the laughing cousins as to herself, but still he did not go away,
+which was most strange, and commenced to be embarrassing.
+
+At last one evening, both her parents slumbering, one over the
+newspaper and the other over her work, and the rest of the party in a
+distant room playing at some new game amid occasional peals of
+laughter, Lord Montfort, who had been sitting for some time by Lady
+Berengaria's side, and only asking now and then a question, though
+often a searching one, in order to secure her talking to him, rather
+abruptly said, "I wonder if anything would ever induce you to marry
+me?"
+
+This was the most startling social event of the generation. Society
+immediately set a-wondering how it would turn out, and proved very
+clearly that it must turn out badly. Men who knew Montfort well at
+Paris looked knowing, and said they would give it six months.
+
+But the lady was as remarkable a woman as the bridegroom was in his
+sex. Lady Berengaria was determined to be the Queen of Society, and
+had confidence in her unlimited influence over man. It is, however,
+rather difficult to work on the feelings of a man who has no heart.
+This she soon found out, and to her dismay, but she kept it a profound
+secret. By endless ingenuity on her part, affairs went on very well
+much longer than the world expected, and long enough to fulfil the
+object of Lady Berengaria's life. Lord Montfort launched his wife
+well, and seemed even content to be occasionally her companion until
+she had mounted the social throne. He was proud of her as he would be
+of one of his beautiful horses; but when all the world had
+acknowledged the influence of Berengaria, he fell into one of his old
+moods, and broke to her that he could bear it no longer, and that he
+must retire from society. Lady Montfort looked distressed, but,
+resolved under no circumstances to be separated from her husband, whom
+she greatly admired, and to whom, had he wished it, she could have
+become even passionately attached, signified her readiness to share
+his solitude. But she then found out that this was not what he wanted.
+It was not only retirement from society, but retirement from Lady
+Montfort, that was indispensable. In short, at no time of his perverse
+career had Lord Montfort been more wilful.
+
+During the last years of his residence in Paris, when he was shut up
+in his delicious Belvedere, he had complained much of the state of his
+health, and one of his principal pursuits was consulting the faculty
+on this interesting subject. The faculty were unanimous in their
+opinion that the disorder from which their patient was suffering was
+/Ennui/. This persistent opinion irritated him, and was one of the
+elements of his decision to leave the country. The unexpected
+distraction that followed his return to his native land had made him
+neglect or forget his sad indisposition, but it appears that it had
+now returned, and in an aggravated form. Unhappily the English
+physicians took much the same view of the case as their French
+brethren. They could find nothing organically wrong in the
+constitution or condition of Lord Montfort, and recommended occupation
+and society. At present he shrank with some disgust at the prospect of
+returning to France, and he had taken it into his head that the
+climate of Montfort did not agree with him. He was convinced that he
+must live in the south of England. One of the most beautiful and
+considerable estates in that favoured part of our country was
+virtually in the market, and Lord Montfort, at the cost of half a
+million, became the proprietor of Princedown. And here he announced
+that he should dwell and die.
+
+This state of affairs was a bitter trial to the proudest woman in
+England, but Lady Montfort was also one of the most able. She resisted
+nothing, sympathised with all his projects, and watched her
+opportunity when she could extract from his unconscious good-nature
+some reasonable modification of them. And she ultimately succeeded in
+establishing a /modus vivendi/. He was to live and die at Princedown;
+that was settled; but if he ever came to town, to consult his
+physicians, for example, he was always to inhabit Montfort House, and
+if she occasionally required a whiff of southern air, she was to have
+her rooms always ready for her at Princedown. She would not interfere
+with him in the least; he need not even see her, if he were too
+unwell. Then as to the general principle of his life, it was quite
+clear that he was not interested in anything, and never would be
+interested in anything; but there was no reason that he should not be
+amused. This distinction between interest and amusement rather
+pleased, and seemed to satisfy Lord Montfort--but then it was
+difficult to amuse him. The only thing that ever amused him, he said,
+were his wife's letters, and as he was the most selfish as well as the
+most polite of men, he requested her to write to him every day. Great
+personages, who are selfish and whimsical, are generally surrounded by
+parasites and buffoons, but this would not suit Lord Montfort; he
+sincerely detested flattery, and he wearied in eight-and-forty hours
+of the most successful mountebank in society. What he seemed inclined
+to was the society of men of science, of travellers in rare parts, and
+of clever artists; in short, of all persons who had what he called
+"idiosyncrasy." Civil engineering was then beginning to attract
+general attention, and Lord Montfort liked the society of civil
+engineers; but what he liked most were self-formed men, and to learn
+the secret of their success, and how they made their fortune. After
+the first fit of Princedown was over, Lord Montfort found that it was
+impossible, even with all its fascination, to secure a constant, or
+sufficient, presence of civil engineers in such distant parts, and so
+he got into the habit of coming up to Montfort House, that he might
+find companions and be amused. Lady Montfort took great pains that he
+should not be disappointed, and catered for him with all the skill of
+an accomplished /chef/. Then, when the occasion served, she went down
+to Princedown herself with welcome guests--and so it turned out, that
+circumstances, which treated by an ordinary mind must have led to a
+social scandal, were so adroitly manipulated, that the world little
+apprehended the real and somewhat mortifying state of affairs. With
+the utmost license of ill-nature, they could not suppose that Lord and
+Lady Montfort, living under the same roof, might scarcely see each
+other for weeks, and that his communications with her, and indeed
+generally, were always made in writing.
+
+Lady Monfort never could agree with her husband in the cardinal
+assumption of his philosophy. One of his reasons for never doing
+anything was, that there was nothing for him to attain. He had got
+everything. Here they at once separated in their conclusions. Lady
+Montfort maintained they had got nothing. "What," she would say, "are
+rank and wealth to us? We were born to them. We want something that we
+were not born to. You reason like a parvenu. Of course, if you had
+created your rank and your riches, you might rest on your oars, and
+find excitement in the recollection of what you had achieved. A man of
+your position ought to govern the country, and it always was so in the
+old days. Your family were prime ministers; why not you, with as much
+talent, and much more knowledge?"
+
+"You would make a very good prime minister, Berengaria."
+
+"Ah! you always jest, I am serious."
+
+"And so am I. If I ever am to work, I would sooner be a civil engineer
+than a prime minister."
+
+Nothing but the indomitable spirit of Lady Montfort could fight
+successfully against such obstacles to her schemes of power as were
+presented by the peculiar disposition of her lord. Her receptions
+every Saturday night during the season were the most important of
+social gatherings, but she held them alone. It was by consummate skill
+that she had prevailed upon her lord occasionally appearing at the
+preceding banquets, and when they were over, he flitted for an instant
+and disappeared. At first, he altogether refused, but then Lady
+Montfort would introduce Royalty, always kind, to condescend to
+express a wish to dine at Montfort House, and that was a gracious
+intimation it was impossible not to act upon, and then, as Lady
+Montfort would say, "I trust much to the periodical visits of that
+dear Queen of Mesopotamia. He must entertain her, for his father was
+her lover."
+
+In this wonderful mystification, by which Lord Montfort was made to
+appear as living in a society which he scarcely ever entered, his wife
+was a little assisted by his visits to Newmarket, which he even
+frequently attended. He never made a bet or a new acquaintance, but he
+seemed to like meeting men with whom he had been at school. There is
+certainly a magic in the memory of school-boy friendships; it softens
+the heart, and even affects the nervous system of those who have no
+hearts. Lord Montfort at Newmarket would ask half a dozen men who had
+been at school with him, and were now members of the Jockey Club, to
+be his guests, and the next day all over the heath, and after the
+heath, all over Mayfair and Belgravia, you heard only one speech, "I
+dined yesterday," or "the other day," as the case might be, "with
+Montfort; out and out the best dinner I ever had, and such an
+agreeable fellow; the wittiest, the most amusing, certainly the most
+charming fellow that ever lived; out and out! It is a pity he does not
+show a little more." And society thought the same; they thought it a
+pity, and a great one, that this fascinating being of whom they rarely
+caught a glimpse, and who to them took the form of a wasted and
+unsympathising phantom, should not show a little more and delight
+them. But the most curious thing was, that however rapturous were his
+guests, the feelings of their host after they had left him, were by no
+means reciprocal. On the contrary, he would remark to himself, "Have I
+heard a single thing worth remembering? Not one."
+
+
+
+                             CHAPTER LIII
+
+Endymion was a little agitated when he arrived at the door of Montfort
+House, a huge family mansion, situate in a court-yard and looking into
+the Green Park. When the door was opened he found himself in a large
+hall with many servants, and he was ushered through several rooms on
+the ground floor, into a capacious chamber dimly lighted, where there
+were several gentlemen, but not his hostess. His name was announced,
+and then a young man came up to him and mentioned that Lord and Lady
+Montfort would soon be present, and then talked to him about the
+weather. The Count of Ferroll arrived after Endymion, and then another
+gentleman whose name he could not catch. Then while he was making some
+original observations on the east wind, and, to confess the truth,
+feeling anything but at his ease, the folding doors of a further
+chamber brilliantly lighted were thrown open, and almost at the same
+moment Lady Montfort entered, and, taking the Count of Ferroll's arm,
+walked into the dining-room. It was a round table, and Endymion was
+told by the same gentleman who had already addressed him, that he was
+to sit by Lady Montfort.
+
+"Lord Montfort is a little late to-day," she said, "but he wished me
+not to wait for him. And how are you after our parliamentary banquet?"
+she said, turning to Endymion; "I will introduce you to the Count of
+Ferroll."
+
+The Count of Ferroll was a young man, and yet inclined to be bald. He
+was chief of a not inconsiderable mission at our court. Though not to
+be described as a handsome man, his countenance was striking; a brow
+of much intellectual development, and a massive jaw. He was tall,
+broad-shouldered, with a slender waist. He greeted Endymion with a
+penetrating glance, and then with a winning smile.
+
+The Count of Ferroll was the representative of a kingdom which, if not
+exactly created, had been moulded into a certain form of apparent
+strength and importance by the Congress of Vienna. He was a noble of
+considerable estate in a country where possessions were not extensive
+or fortunes large, though it was ruled by an ancient, and haughty, and
+warlike aristocracy. Like his class, the Count of Ferroll had received
+a military education; but when that education was completed, he found
+but a feeble prospect of his acquirements being called into action. It
+was believed that the age of great wars had ceased, and that even
+revolutions were for the future to be controlled by diplomacy. As he
+was a man of an original, not to say eccentric, turn of mind, the
+Count of Ferroll was not contented with the resources and distraction
+of his second-rate capital. He was an eminent sportsman, and, for some
+time, took refuge and found excitement in the breadth of his dark
+forests, and in the formation of a stud, which had already become
+celebrated. But all this time, even in the excitement of the chase,
+and in the raising of his rare-breed steeds, the Count of Ferroll
+might be said to have been brooding over the position of what he could
+scarcely call his country, but rather an aggregation of lands baptized
+by protocols, and christened and consolidated by treaties which he
+looked upon as eminently untrustworthy. One day he surprised his
+sovereign, with whom he was a favourite, by requesting to be appointed
+to the legation at London, which was vacant. The appointment was at
+once made, and the Count of Ferroll had now been two years at the
+Court of St. James'.
+
+The Count of Ferroll was a favourite in English society, for he
+possessed every quality which there conduces to success. He was of
+great family and of distinguished appearance, munificent and
+singularly frank; was a dead-shot, and the boldest of riders, with
+horses which were the admiration alike of Melton and Newmarket. The
+ladies also approved of him, for he was a consummate waltzer, and
+mixed with a badinage gaily cynical a tone that could be tender and a
+bewitching smile.
+
+But his great friend was Lady Montfort. He told her everything, and
+consulted her on everything; and though he rarely praised anybody, it
+had reached her ears that the Count of Ferroll had said more than once
+that she was a greater woman than Louise of Savoy or the Duchesse de
+Longueville.
+
+There was a slight rustling in the room. A gentleman had entered and
+glided into his unoccupied chair, which his valet had guarded. "I fear
+I am not in time for an oyster," said Lord Montfort to his neighbour.
+
+The gentleman who had first spoken to Endymion was the secretary of
+Lord Montfort; then there was a great genius who was projecting a
+suspension bridge over the Tyne, and that was in Lord Montfort's
+country. A distinguished officer of the British Museum completed the
+party with a person who sate opposite Endymion, and whom in the dim
+twilight he had not recognised, but whom he now beheld with no little
+emotion. It was Nigel Penruddock. They had not met since his mother's
+funeral, and the associations of the past agitated Endymion. They
+exchanged recognitions; that of Nigel was grave but kind.
+
+The conversation was what is called general, and a great deal on
+suspension bridges. Lord Montfort himself led off on this, in order to
+bring out his distinguished guest. The Count of Ferroll was also
+interested on this subject, as his own government was making inquiries
+on the matter. The gentleman from the British Museum made some remarks
+on the mode in which the ancient Egyptians moved masses of granite,
+and quoted Herodotus to the civil engineer. The civil engineer had
+never heard of Herodotus, but he said he was going to Egypt in the
+autumn by desire of Mehemet Ali, and he would undertake to move any
+mass which was requisite, even if it were a pyramid itself. Lady
+Montfort, without disturbing the general conversation, whispered in
+turns to the Count of Ferroll and Endymion, and told the latter that
+she had paid a visit to Lady Roehampton in the morning--a most
+delightful visit. There was no person she admired so much as his
+sister; she quite loved her. The only person who was silent was Nigel,
+but Lady Montfort, who perceived everything, addressed him across the
+table with enthusiasm about some changes he had made in the services
+of some church, and the countenance of Nigel became suffused like a
+young saint who has a glimpse of Paradise.
+
+After dinner Lady Montfort led Endymion to her lord, and left him
+seated by his host. Lord Montfort was affable and natural in his
+manner. He said, "I have not yet made the acquaintance of Lady
+Roehampton, for I never go out; but I hope to do so, for Lady Montfort
+tells me she is quite captivating."
+
+"She is a very good sister," said Endymion.
+
+"Lady Montfort has told me a great deal about yourself, and all of it
+I was glad to hear. I like young men who rise by their merits, and Mr.
+Sidney Wilton tells Lady Montfort that yours are distinguished."
+
+"Mr. Sidney Wilton is a kind master, sir."
+
+"Well, I was his fag at Harrow, and I thought him so," said Lord
+Montfort. "And now about your office; tell me what you do. You were
+not there first, Lady Montfort says. Where were you first? Tell me all
+about it. I like detail."
+
+It was impossible to resist such polished and amiable curiosity, and
+Endymion gratified it with youthful grace. He even gave Lord Montfort
+a sketch of St. Barbe, inspired probably by the interview of the
+morning. Lord Montfort was quite amused with this, and said he should
+so much like to know Mr. St. Barbe. It was clear, when the party broke
+up, that Endymion had made a favourable impression, for Lord Montfort
+said, "You came here to-day as Lady Montfort's friend, but you must
+come in future as mine also. And will you understand, I dine at home
+every day when I am in town, and I give you a general invitation. Come
+as often as you like; you will be always welcome. Only let the house
+know your intention an hour before dinner-time, as I have a particular
+aversion to the table being crowded, or seeing an empty chair."
+
+Lady Montfort had passed much of the evening in earnest conversation
+with Nigel, and when the guests quitted the room, Nigel and Endymion
+walked away together.
+
+
+
+                             CHAPTER LIV
+
+The meeting between Nigel and Endymion was not an ordinary one, and
+when they were at length alone, neither of them concealed his feelings
+of pleasure and surprise at its occurrence. Nigel had been a curate in
+the northern town which was defended by Lord Montfort's proud castle,
+and his labours and reputation had attracted the attention of Lady
+Montfort. Under the influence of his powerful character, the services
+of his church were celebrated with a precision and an imposing effect,
+which soon occasioned a considerable excitement in the neighbourhood,
+in time even in the county. The pulpit was frequently at his command,
+for his rector, who had imbibed his Church views, was not equal to the
+task of propagating them, and the power and fame of Nigel as a
+preacher began to be much rumoured. Although the church at which he
+officiated was not the one which Lady Montfort usually attended, she
+was soon among his congregation and remained there. He became a
+constant guest at the castle, and Lady Montfort presented his church
+with a reredos of alabaster. She did more than this. Her enthusiasm
+exceeded her selfishness, for though the sacrifice was great which
+would deprive her of the ministrations and society of Nigel in the
+country, she prevailed upon the prime minister to prefer him to a new
+church in London, which had just fallen vacant, and which, being
+situated in a wealthy and populous district, would afford him the
+opportunity of making known to the world his eloquence and genius.
+This was Nigel's simple, yet not uneventful history; and then, in
+turn, he listened to Endymion's brief but interesting narrative of his
+career, and then they agreed to adjourn to Endymion's chambers and
+have a good talk over the past and the present.
+
+"That Lady Montfort is a great woman," said Nigel, standing with his
+back to the fire. "She has it in her to be another Empress Helena."
+
+"Indeed!"
+
+"I believe she has only one thought, and that the only thought worthy
+the human mind--the Church. I was glad to meet you at her house. You
+have cherished, I hope, those views which in your boyhood you so
+fervently and seriously embraced."
+
+"I am rather surprised," said Endymion, not caring to answer this
+inquiry, "at a Whig lady entertaining such high views in these
+matters. The Liberal party rather depends on the Low Church."
+
+"I know nothing about Whigs or Tories or Liberals, or any other new
+names which they invent," said Nigel. "Nor do I know, or care to know,
+what Low Church means. There is but one Church, and it is catholic and
+apostolic; and if we act on its principles, there will be no need, and
+there ought to be no need, for any other form of government."
+
+"Well, those are very distinct views," said Endymion, "but are they as
+practical as they are clear?"
+
+"Why should they not be practical? Everything is practical which we
+believe; and in the long run, which is most likely that we should
+believe, what is taught by God, or what is taught by man?"
+
+"I confess," said Endymion, "that in all matters, both civil and
+religious, I incline to what is moderate and temperate. I always trace
+my dear father's sad end, and all the terrible events in my family, to
+his adopting in 1829 the views of the extreme party. If he had only
+followed the example and the advice of his best friend, Mr. Sidney
+Wilton, what a different state of affairs might have occurred!"
+
+"I know nothing about politics," said Nigel. "By being moderate and
+temperate in politics I suppose you mean being adroit, and doing that
+which is expedient and which will probably be successful. But the
+Church is founded on absolute truth, and teaches absolute truth, and
+there can be no compromise on such matters."
+
+"Well, I do not know," said Endymion, "but surely there are many very
+religious people, who do not accept without reserve everything that is
+taught by the Church. I hope I am a religious person myself, and yet,
+for example, I cannot give an unreserved assent to the whole of the
+Athanasian Creed."
+
+"The Athanasian Creed is the most splendid ecclesiastical lyric ever
+poured forth by the genius of man. I give to every clause of it an
+implicit assent. It does not pretend to be divine; it is human, but
+the Church has hallowed it, and the Church ever acts under the
+influence of the Divine Spirit. St. Athanasius was by far the greatest
+man that ever existed. If you cavil at his creed, you will soon cavil
+at other symbols. I was prepared for infidelity in London, but I
+confess, my dear Ferrars, you alarm me. I was in hopes that your early
+education would have saved you from this backsliding."
+
+"But let us be calm, my dear Nigel. Do you mean to say, that I am to
+be considered an infidel or an apostate, because, although I fervently
+embrace all the vital truths of religion, and try, on the whole, to
+regulate my life by them, I may have scruples about believing, for
+example, in the personality of the Devil?"
+
+"If the personality of Satan be not a vital principle of your
+religion, I do not know what is. There is only one dogma higher. You
+think it is safe, and I daresay it is fashionable, to fall into this
+lax and really thoughtless discrimination between what is and what is
+not to be believed. It is not good taste to believe in the Devil. Give
+me a single argument against his personality which is not applicable
+to the personality of the Deity. Will you give that up; and if so,
+where are you? Now mark me; you and I are young men--you are a very
+young man. This is the year of grace 1839. If these loose thoughts,
+which you have heedlessly taken up, prevail in this country for a
+generation or so--five and twenty or thirty years--we may meet
+together again, and I shall have to convince you that there is a God."
+
+
+
+                              CHAPTER LV
+
+The balance of parties in the House of Commons, which had been
+virtually restored by Sir Robert Peel's dissolution of 1834, might be
+said to be formally and positively established by the dissolution of
+parliament in the autumn of 1837, occasioned by the demise of the
+crown. The ministerial majority became almost nominal, while troubles
+from all quarters seemed to press simultaneously upon them: Canadian
+revolts, Chartist insurrections, Chinese squabbles, and mysterious
+complications in Central Asia, which threatened immediate hostilities
+with Persia, and even with one of the most powerful of European
+empires. In addition to all this, the revenue continually declined,
+and every day the general prejudice became more intense against the
+Irish policy of the ministry. The extreme popularity of the Sovereign,
+reflecting some lustre on her ministers, had enabled them, though not
+without difficulty, to tide through the session of 1838; but when
+parliament met in 1839 their prospects were dark, and it was known
+that there was a section of the extreme Liberals who would not be
+deeply mortified if the government were overthrown. All efforts,
+therefore, political and social, and particularly the latter, in which
+the Whigs excelled, were to be made to prevent or to retard the
+catastrophe.
+
+Lady Montfort and Lady Roehampton opened their houses to the general
+world at an unusually early period. Their entertainments rivalled
+those of Zenobia, who with unflagging gallantry, her radiant face
+prescient of triumph, stopped her bright vis-a-vis and her tall
+footmen in the midst of St. James' Street or Pall Mall, while she
+rapidly inquired from some friendly passer-by whom she had observed,
+"Tell me the names of the Radical members who want to turn out the
+government, and I will invite them directly."
+
+Lady Montfort had appropriated the Saturdays, as was her custom and
+her right; so Myra, with the advice of Lord Roehampton, had fixed on
+Wednesdays for her receptions.
+
+"I should have liked to have taken Wednesdays," said Zenobia, "but I
+do not care to seem to be setting up against Lady Roehampton, for her
+mother was my dearest friend. Not that I think any quarter ought to be
+shown to her after joining those atrocious Whigs, but to be sure she
+was corrupted by her husband, whom I remember the most thorough Tory
+going. To be sure, I was a Whig myself in those days, so one must not
+say too much about it, but the Whigs then were gentlemen. I will tell
+you what I will do. I will receive both on Saturdays and Wednesdays.
+It is an effort, and I am not as young as I was, but it will only be
+for a season or less, for I know these people cannot stand. It will be
+all over by May."
+
+Prince Florestan had arrived in town, and was now settled in his
+mansion in Carlton Terrace. It was the fashion among the /creme de la
+creme/ to keep aloof from him. The Tories did not love revolutionary
+dynasties, and the Whigs being in office could not sanction a
+pretender, and one who, they significantly intimated with a charitable
+shrug of the shoulders, was not a very scrupulous one. The prince
+himself, though he was not insensible to the charms of society, and
+especially of agreeable women, was not much chagrined by this. The
+world thought that he had fitted up his fine house, and bought his
+fine horses, merely for the enjoyment of life. His purposes were very
+different. Though his acquaintances were limited, they were not
+undistinguished, and he lived with them in intimacy. There had arisen
+between himself and Mr. Waldershare the closest alliance both of
+thought and habits. They were rarely separated. The prince was also a
+frequent guest at the Neuchatels', and was a favourite with the head
+of the house.
+
+The Duke of St. Angelo controlled the household at Carlton Gardens
+with skill. The appointments were finished and the cuisine refined.
+There was a dinner twice a week, from which Waldershare was rarely
+absent, and to which Endymion, whom the prince always treated with
+kindness, had a general invitation. When he occasionally dined there
+he met always several foreign guests, and all men apparently of mark--
+at any rate, all distinguished by their intelligence. It was an
+interesting and useful house for a young man, and especially a young
+politician, to frequent. Endymion heard many things and learnt many
+things which otherwise would not have met his ear or mind. The prince
+encouraged conversation, though himself inclined to taciturnity. When
+he did speak, his terse remarks and condensed views were striking, and
+were remembered. On the days on which he did not receive, the prince
+dined at the Travellers' Club, to which Waldershare had obtained his
+introduction, and generally with Waldershare, who took this
+opportunity of gradually making his friend acquainted with eminent and
+influential men, many of whom in due time became guests at Carlton
+Terrace. It was clear, indeed, that these club-dinners were part of a
+system.
+
+The prince, soon after his arrival in town, while riding, had passed
+Lady Roehampton's carriage in the park, and he had saluted her with a
+grave grace which distinguished him. She was surprised at feeling a
+little agitated by this rencontre. It recalled Hainault, her not
+mortifying but still humble position beneath that roof, the prince's
+courtesy to her under those circumstances, and, indeed, his marked
+preference for her society. She felt it something like ingratitude to
+treat him with neglect now, when her position was so changed and had
+become so elevated. She mentioned to Lord Roehampton, while they were
+dining alone, that she should like to invite the prince to her
+receptions, and asked his opinion on the point. Lord Roehampton
+shrugged his shoulders and did not encourage her. "You know, my
+darling, our people do not much like him. They look upon him as a
+pretender, as having forfeited his parole, and as a refugee from
+justice. I have no prejudices against him myself, and perhaps in the
+same situation might have acted in the same manner; but if he is to be
+admitted into society, it should hardly be at a ministerial reception,
+and of all houses, that of one who holds my particular post."
+
+"I know nothing about his forfeiting his parole," said Lady
+Roehampton; "the charge is involved in mystery, and Mr. Waldershare
+told me it was an entire fabrication. As for his being a pretender, he
+seems to me as legitimate a prince as most we meet; he was born in the
+purple, and his father was recognised by every government in Europe
+except our own. As for being a refugee from justice, a prince in
+captivity has certainly a right to escape if he can, and his escape
+was romantic. However, I will not contest any decision of yours, for I
+think you are always right. Only I am disappointed, for, to say
+nothing of the unkindness, I cannot help feeling our not noticing him
+is rather shabby."
+
+There was silence, a longer silence than usually occurred in /tete-a-
+tete/ dinners between Lord and Lady Roehampton. To break the silence
+he began to converse on another subject, and Lady Roehampton replied
+to him cheerfully, but curtly. He saw she was vexed, and this great
+man, who was at that time meditating one of the most daring acts of
+modern diplomacy, who had the reputation, in the conduct of public
+affairs, of not only being courageous, but of being stern, inflexible,
+unfeeling, and unscrupulous beyond ordinary statesmen, who had passed
+his mornings in writing a menacing despatch to a great power and
+intimating combinations to the ambassadors of other first-rate states
+which they almost trembled to receive, was quite upset by seeing his
+wife chagrined. At last, after another embarrassing pause, he said
+gaily, "Do you know, my dear Myra, I do not see why you should not ask
+Prince Florestan. It is you that ask him, not I. That is one of the
+pleasant results of our system of political entertainments. The guests
+come to pay their respects to the lady of the house, so no one is
+committed. The prince may visit you on Wednesday just as well as the
+leaders of the opposition who want our places, or the malcontent
+Radicals who they say are going to turn us out."
+
+So Prince Florestan was invited to Lady Roehampton's receptions, and
+he came; and he never missed one. His visits were brief. He appeared,
+made his bow, had the pleasure of some slight conversation with her,
+and then soon retired. Received by Lady Roehampton, in time, though
+sluggishly, invitations arrived from other houses, but he rarely
+availed himself of them. He maintained in this respect great reserve,
+and was accustomed to say that the only fine lady in London who had
+ever been kind to him was Lady Roehampton.
+
+All this time Endymion, who was now thoroughly planted in society, saw
+a great deal of the Neuchatels, who had returned to Portland Place at
+the beginning of February. He met Adriana almost every evening, and
+was frequently invited to the house--to the grand dinners now, as well
+as the domestic circle. In short, our Endymion was fast becoming a
+young man of fashion and a personage. The brother of Lady Roehampton
+had now become the private secretary of Mr. Sydney Wilton and the
+great friend of Lady Montfort. He was indeed only one of the numerous
+admirers of that lady, but he seemed not the least smiled on. There
+was never anything delightful at Montfort House at which he was not
+present, or indeed in any other place, for under her influence,
+invitations from the most distinguished houses crowded his mantelpiece
+and were stuck all round his looking-glass. Endymion in this whirl of
+life did not forget his old friends. He took care that Seymour Hicks
+should have a frequent invitation to Lady Roehampton's assemblies.
+Seymour Hicks only wanted a lever to raise the globe, and this
+introduction supplied him with one. It was astonishing how he made his
+way in society, and though, of course, he never touched the empyrean
+regions in which Endymion now breathed, he gradually, and at last
+rapidly, planted himself in a world which to the uninitiated figures
+as the very realm of nobility and fashion, and where doubtless is
+found a great fund of splendour, refinement, and amusement. Seymour
+Hicks was not ill-favoured, and was always well dressed, and he was
+very civil, but what he really owed his social advancement to was his
+indomitable will. That quality governs all things, and though the will
+of Seymour Hicks was directed to what many may deem a petty or a
+contracted purpose, life is always interesting when you have a purpose
+and live in its fulfilment. It appeared from what he told Endymion
+that matters at the office had altered a good deal since he left it.
+The retirement of St. Barbe was the first brick out of the wall; now,
+which Endymion had not yet heard, the brother of Trenchard had most
+unexpectedly died, and that gentleman come into a good estate. "Jawett
+remains, and is also the editor of the 'Precursor,' but his new
+labours so absorb his spare time that he is always at the office of
+the paper. So it is pretty well all over with the table at Joe's. I
+confess I could not stand it any longer, particularly after you left.
+I have got into the junior Pan-Ionian; and I am down for the senior; I
+cannot get in for ten years, but when I do it will be a /coup/; the
+society there is tiptop, a cabinet minister sometimes, and very often
+a bishop."
+
+
+
+                             CHAPTER LVI
+
+Endymion was glad to meet Baron Sergius one day when he dined with
+Prince Florestan. There were several distinguished foreigners among
+the guests, who had just arrived. They talked much, and with much
+emphasis. One of them, the Marquis of Vallombrosa, expatiated on the
+Latin race, their great qualities, their vivacity, invention,
+vividness of perception, chivalrous valour, and sympathy with
+tradition. The northern races detested them, and the height of
+statesmanship was to combine the Latin races into an organised and
+active alliance against the barbarism which menaced them. There had
+been for a short time a vacant place next to Endymion, when Baron
+Sergius, according to his quiet manner, stole into the room and
+slipped into the unoccupied seat. "It is some time since we met," he
+said, "but I have heard of you. You are now a public man, and not a
+public character. That is a not unsatisfactory position."
+
+The prince listened apparently with much interest to the Marquis of
+Vallombrosa, occasionally asked him a question, and promoted
+discussion without himself giving any opinion. Baron Sergius never
+spoke except to Endymion, and then chiefly social inquiries about Lord
+and Lady Roehampton, their good friends the Neuchatels, and frequently
+about Mr. Sidney Wilton, whom, it appeared, he had known years ago,
+and intimately. After dinner the guests, on the return to the saloon,
+ranged themselves in a circle, but not too formally, and the prince
+moving round addressed each of them in turn. When this royal ceremony
+was concluded, the prince motioned to the Marquis of Vallombrosa to
+accompany him, and then they repaired to an adjacent salon, the door
+of which was open, but where they could converse without observation.
+The Duke of St. Angelo amused the remaining guests with all the
+resources of a man practised in making people feel at their ease, and
+in this he was soon greatly assisted by Mr. Waldershare, who was
+unable to dine with the prince to-day, but who seemed to take much
+interest in this arrival of the representatives of the Latin race.
+
+Baron Sergius and Endymion were sitting together rather apart from the
+rest. The baron said, "You have heard to-day a great deal about the
+Latin race, their wondrous qualities, their peculiar destiny, their
+possible danger. It is a new idea, or rather a new phrase, that I
+observe is now getting into the political world, and is probably
+destined to produce consequences. No man will treat with indifference
+the principle of race. It is the key of history, and why history is
+often so confused is that it has been written by men who were ignorant
+of this principle and all the knowledge it involves. As one who may
+become a statesman and assist in governing mankind, it is necessary
+that you should not be insensible to it; whether you encounter its
+influence in communities or in individuals, its qualities must ever be
+taken into account. But there is no subject which more requires
+discriminating knowledge, or where your illustrating principle, if you
+are not deeply founded, may not chance to turn out a will-o'-the-wisp.
+Now this great question of the Latin race, by which M. de Vallombrosa
+may succeed in disturbing the world--it might be well to inquire where
+the Latin race is to be found. In the North of Italy, peopled by
+Germans and named after Germans, or in the South of Italy, swarming
+with the descendants of Normans and Arabs? Shall we find the Latin
+race in Spain, stocked by Goths, and Moors, and Jews? Or in France,
+where there is a great Celtic nation, occasionally mingled with
+Franks? Now I do not want to go into the origin of man and nations--I
+am essentially practical, and only endeavour to comprehend that with
+which I have personally to deal, and that is sufficiently difficult.
+In Europe I find three great races with distinct qualities--the
+Teutons, the Sclaves, and the Celts; and their conduct will be
+influenced by those distinctive qualities. There is another great race
+which influences the world, the Semites. Certainly, when I was at the
+Congress of Vienna, I did not believe that the Arabs were more likely
+to become a conquering race again than the Tartars, and yet it is a
+question at this moment whether Mehemet Ali, at their head, may not
+found a new empire in the Mediterranean. The Semites are
+unquestionably a great race, for among the few things in this world
+which appear to be certain, nothing is more sure than that they
+invented our alphabet. But the Semites now exercise a vast influence
+over affairs by their smallest though most peculiar family, the Jews.
+There is no race gifted with so much tenacity, and such skill in
+organisation. These qualities have given them an unprecedented hold
+over property and illimitable credit. As you advance in life, and get
+experience in affairs, the Jews will cross you everywhere. They have
+long been stealing into our secret diplomacy, which they have almost
+appropriated; in another quarter of a century they will claim their
+share of open government. Well, these are races; men and bodies of men
+influenced in their conduct by their particular organisation, and
+which must enter into all the calculations of a statesman. But what do
+they mean by the Latin race? Language and religion do not make a race
+--there is only one thing which makes a race, and that is blood."
+
+"But the prince," said Endymion inquiringly; "he seemed much
+interested in what M. de Vallombrosa was saying; I should like to know
+what his opinions are about the Latin race."
+
+"The prince rarely gives an opinion," said the baron. "Indeed, as you
+well know, he rarely speaks; he thinks and he acts."
+
+"But if he acts on wrong information," continued Endymion, "there will
+probably be only one consequence."
+
+"The prince is very wise," said the baron; "and, trust me, knows as
+much about mankind, and the varieties of mankind, as any one. He may
+not believe in the Latin race, but he may choose to use those who do
+believe in it. The weakness of the prince, if he have one, is not want
+of knowledge, or want of judgment, but an over-confidence in his star,
+which sometimes seduces him into enterprises which he himself feels at
+the time are not perfectly sound."
+
+
+
+                             CHAPTER LVII
+
+The interest of the town was now divided between the danger of the
+government and the new preacher who electrified the world at St.
+Rosicrucius. The Rev. Nigel Penruddock was not at all a popular
+preacher according to the vulgar acceptation of the term. He disdained
+all cant and clap-trap. He preached Church principles with commanding
+eloquence, and he practised them with unceasing devotion. His church
+was always open, yet his schools were never neglected; there was a
+perfect choir, a staff of disciplined curates, young and ascetic,
+while sacred sisters, some of patrician blood, fearless and prepared
+for martyrdom, were gliding about all the back slums of his ferocious
+neighbourhood. How came the Whigs to give such a church to such a
+person? There must have been some mistake. But how came it that all
+the Whig ladies were among the most devoted of his congregation? The
+government whips did not like it; at such a critical period too, when
+it was necessary to keep the Dissenters up to the mark! And there was
+Lady Montfort and Lady Roehampton never absent on a Sunday, and their
+carriages, it was whispered, were often suspiciously near to St.
+Rosicrucius on week-days. Mr. Sidney Wilton too was frequently in Lady
+Roehampton's pew, and one day, absolutely my lord himself, who
+unfortunately was rarely seen at church--but then, as is well known,
+critical despatches always arrive on a Sunday morning--was
+successfully landed in her pew by Lady Roehampton, and was very much
+struck indeed by what he heard. "The fact is," as he afterwards
+observed, "I wish we had such a fellow on our bench in the House of
+Commons."
+
+About this time also there was another event, which, although not of
+so general an interest, much touched the feelings of Endymion, and
+this was the marriage of the Earl of Beaumaris with Imogene. It was
+solemnised in as private and quiet a manner as possible. Waldershare
+was the best man, and there were no bridesmaids. The only other
+persons invited by Mr. Rodney, who gave away the bride, were Endymion
+and Mr. Vigo.
+
+One morning, a few days before the wedding, Sylvia, who had written to
+ask Lady Roehampton for an interview, called by appointment in St.
+James' Square. Sylvia was received by Lady Roehampton in her boudoir,
+and the interview was long. Sylvia, who by nature was composed, and
+still more so by art, was pale and nervous when she arrived, so much
+so that her demeanour was noticed by the groom of the chambers; but
+when she departed, her countenance was flushed and radiant, though it
+was obvious that she had been shedding tears. On the morning of the
+wedding, Lady Roehampton in her lord's brougham called for Endymion at
+the Albany, and then they went together to the vestry of St. James'
+Church. Lord Beaumaris and Mr. Waldershare had arrived. The bridegroom
+was a little embarrassed when he was presented to Lady Roehampton. He
+had made up his mind to be married, but not to be introduced to a
+stranger, and particularly a lady; but Mr. Waldershare fluttered over
+them and put all right. It was only the perplexity of a moment, for
+the rest of the wedding party now appeared. Imogene, who was in a
+travelling dress, was pale and serious, but transcendently beautiful.
+She attempted to touch Lady Roehampton's hand with her lips when Myra
+welcomed her, but Lady Roehampton would not permit this, and kissed
+her. Everybody was calm during the ceremony except Endymion, who had
+been silent the whole morning. He stood by the altar with that
+convulsion of the throat and that sickness of the heart which
+accompany the sense of catastrophe. He was relieved by some tears
+which he easily concealed. Nobody noticed him, for all were thinking
+of themselves. After the ceremony, they all returned to the vestry,
+and Lady Roehampton with the others signed the registry. Lord and Lady
+Beaumaris instantly departed for the continent.
+
+"A strange event!" exclaimed Lady Roehampton, as she threw herself
+back in the brougham and took her brother's hand. "But not stranger
+than what has happened to ourselves. Fortune seems to attend on our
+ruined home. I thought the bride looked beautiful."
+
+Endymion was silent.
+
+"You are not gay this morning, my dear," said Lady Roehampton; "they
+say that weddings are depressing. Now I am in rather high spirits. I
+am very glad that Imogene has become Lady Beaumaris. She is beautiful,
+and dangerously beautiful. Do you know, my Endymion, I have had some
+uneasy moments about this young lady. Women are prescient in these
+matters, and I have observed with anxiety that you admired her too
+much yourself."
+
+"I am sure you had no reason, Myra," said Endymion, blushing deeply.
+
+"Certainly not from what you said, my dear. It was from what you did
+not say that I became alarmed. You seldom mentioned her name, and when
+I referred to her, you always turned the conversation. However, that
+is all over now. She is Countess of Beaumaris," added Myra, dwelling
+slowly and with some unction on the title, "and may be a powerful
+friend to you; and I am Countess of Roehampton, and am your friend,
+also not quite devoid of power. And there are other countesses, I
+suspect, on whose good wishes you may rely. If we cannot shape your
+destiny, there is no such thing as witchcraft. No, Endymion, marriage
+is a mighty instrument in your hands. It must not be lightly used.
+Come in and lunch; my lord is at home, and I know he wants to see
+you."
+
+
+
+                            CHAPTER LVIII
+
+What was most remarkable, and most interesting, in the character of
+Berengaria was her energy. She had the power of exciting others to
+action in a degree rarely possessed. She had always some considerable
+object in contemplation, occasionally more than one, and never foresaw
+difficulties. Her character was, however, singularly feminine; she
+never affected to be a superior woman. She never reasoned, did not
+read much, though her literary taste was fine and fastidious. Though
+she required constant admiration and consequently encouraged it, she
+was not a heartless coquette. Her sensibility was too quick, and as
+the reign of her favourites was sometimes brief, she was looked upon
+as capricious. The truth is, what seemed whimsical in her affections
+was occasioned by the subtlety of her taste, which was not always
+satisfied by the increased experience of intimacy. Whenever she made a
+friend not unworthy of her, she was constant and entirely devoted.
+
+At present, Berengaria had two great objects; one was to sustain the
+Whig government in its troubles, and the other was to accomplish an
+unprecedented feat in modern manners, and that was no less than to
+hold a tournament, a real tournament, in the autumn, at the famous
+castle of her lord in the North of England.
+
+The lord-lieutenant had not been in his county for two years; he had
+even omitted to celebrate Christmas at his castle, which had shocked
+everybody, for its revelry was looked upon almost as the tenure by
+which the Montforts held their estates. His plea of ill health,
+industriously circulated by all his agents, obtained neither sympathy
+nor credence. His county was rather a weak point with Lord Montfort,
+for though he could not bear his home, he was fond of power, and power
+depended on his territorial influence. The representation of his
+county by his family, and authority in the local parliamentary
+boroughs, were the compensations held out to him for the abolition of
+his normal seats. His wife dexterously availed herself of this state
+of affairs to obtain his assent to her great project, which, it would
+appear, might not only amuse him, but, in its unprecedented
+magnificence and novelty, must sweep away all discontents, and gratify
+every class.
+
+Lord Montfort had placed unlimited resources at the disposal of
+Berengaria for the fulfilment of her purpose, and at times even showed
+some not inconsiderable though fitful interest in her progress. He
+turned over the drawings of the various costumes and armour with a
+gracious smile, and, having picked up on such subjects a great deal of
+knowledge, occasionally made suggestions which were useful and
+sometimes embarrassing. The heralds were all called into council, and
+Garter himself deigned to regulate the order of proceedings. Some of
+the finest gentlemen in London, of both parties in the state, passed
+the greater part of their spring mornings in jousting, and in
+practising all the manoeuvres of the lists. Lady Montfort herself was
+to be the Queen of the Tournament, and she had prevailed on Lady
+Roehampton to accept the supreme office of Queen of Beauty.
+
+It was the early part of May, and Zenobia held one of her great
+assemblies. Being in high good humour, sanguine and prophetic of
+power, she had asked all the great Whig ladies, and, the times being
+critical, they had come. Berengaria seemed absorbed by the details of
+her tournament. She met many of her knights, and she conferred with
+them all; the Knight of the Bleeding Heart, the Knight of Roses, the
+Knight of the Crystal Shield.
+
+Endymion, who was not to be a knight, but a gentleman-at-arms in
+attendance on the Queen of the Tournament, mentioned that Prince
+Florestan much wished to be a jouster; he had heard this from the Duke
+of St. Angelo, and Lady Montfort, though she did not immediately
+sanction, did not absolutely refuse, the request.
+
+Past midnight, there was a sudden stir in the saloons. The House of
+Commons had broken up and many members were entering. There had been a
+division on the Jamaica question, and the ministers had only a
+majority of five. The leader of the House of Commons had intimated,
+not to say announced, their consequent resignation.
+
+"Have you heard what they say?" said Endymion anxiously to Lady
+Montfort.
+
+"Yes, I heard; but do not look so grave."
+
+"Do I look grave?"
+
+"As if it were the last day."
+
+"I fear it is."
+
+"I am not so sure. I doubt whether Sir Robert thinks it ripe enough;
+and after all, we are not in a minority. I do not see why we should
+have resigned. I wish I could see Lord Roehampton."
+
+Affairs did not proceed so rapidly as the triumphant Zenobia expected.
+They were out, no question about that; but it was not so certain who
+was in. A day passed and another day, and even Zenobia, who knew
+everything before anybody, remained in the dark. The suspense became
+protracted and even more mysterious. Almost a week had elapsed; noble
+lords and right honourable gentlemen were calling on Sir Robert every
+morning, according to the newspapers, but no one could hear from any
+authority of any appointments being really made. At last, there was a
+whisper very late one night at Crockford's, which was always better
+informed on these matters than the political clubs, and people looked
+amazed, and stared incredulously in each other's face. But it was
+true; there was a hitch, and in four-and-twenty hours the cause of the
+hitch was known. It seemed that the ministry really had resigned, but
+Berengaria, Countess of Montfort, had not followed their example.
+
+What a dangerous woman! even wicked! Zenobia was for sending her to
+the Tower at once. "It was clearly impossible," she declared, "for Sir
+Robert to carry on affairs with such a Duchesse de Longueville always
+at the ear of our young Queen, under the pretence forsooth of being
+the friend of Her Majesty's youth."
+
+This was the famous Bed-Chamber Plot, in which the Conservative
+leaders, as is now generally admitted, were decidedly in error, and
+which terminated in the return of the Whigs to office.
+
+"But we must reconstruct," said Lady Montfort to the prime minister.
+"Sidney Wilton must be Secretary of State. And you," she said to
+Endymion, when she communicated to him the successful result of her
+interference, "you will go with him. It is a great thing at your age
+to be private secretary to a Secretary of State."
+
+
+
+                             CHAPTER LIX
+
+Montfort Castle was the stronghold of England against the Scotch
+invader. It stood on a high and vast table-land, with the town of
+Montfort on one side at its feet, and on the other a wide-spreading
+and sylvan domain, herded with deer of various races, and terminating
+in pine forests; beyond them moors and mountains. The donjon keep,
+tall and grey, that had arrested the Douglas, still remained intact,
+and many an ancient battlement; but the long list of the Lords of
+Montfort had successively added to the great structure according to
+the genius of the times, so that still with the external appearance
+generally of a feudal castle, it combined in its various courts and
+quadrangle all the splendour and convenience of a modern palace.
+
+But though it had witnessed many scenes and sights, and as strange
+ones as any old walls in this ancient land, it may be doubted whether
+the keep of Montfort ever looked down on anything more rare than the
+life that was gathering and disporting itself in its towers and halls,
+and courts and parks, and forest chase, in the memorable autumn of
+this year.
+
+Berengaria had repaired to her castle full of triumph; her lord, in
+high good humour, admiring his wife for her energy, yet with a playful
+malice apparently enjoying the opportunity of showing that the
+chronology of her arrangements was confused, and her costume
+incorrect. They had good-naturedly taken Endymion down with them; for
+travelling to the Border in those times was a serious affair for a
+clerk in a public office. Day after day the other guests arrived; the
+rivals in the tourney were among the earliest, for they had to make
+themselves acquainted with the land which was to be the scene of their
+exploits. There came the Knights of the Griffin, and the Dragon, and
+the Black Lion and the Golden Lion, and the Dolphin and the Stag's
+Head, and they were all always scrupulously addressed by their
+chivalric names, instead of by the Tommys and the Jemmys that
+circulated in the affectionate circle of White's, or the Gusseys and
+the Regys of Belgravian tea-parties. After a time duly appeared the
+Knight of the White Rose, whose armour shielded the princely form of
+Florestan; and this portion of the company was complete when the Black
+Knight at length reached the castle, who had been detained by his
+attendance on a conference at St. James', in the character of the
+Count of Ferroll.
+
+If anything could add to the delight and excitement of Berengaria, it
+would seem to be the arrival of the Count of Ferroll.
+
+Other guests gradually appeared, who were to sustain other characters
+in the great pageant. There was the Judge of Peace, and the Knight
+Marshal of the Lists, and the Jester, who was to ride on a caparisoned
+mule trapped with bells, and himself bearing a sceptre. Mr. Sidney
+Wilton came down, who had promised to be King of the Tournament; and,
+though rather late, for my lord had been detained by the same cause as
+the Count of Ferroll, at length arrived the Queen of Beauty herself.
+
+If the performance, to which all contiguous Britain intended to repair
+--for irrespective of the railroads, which now began sensibly to
+affect the communications in the North of England, steamers were
+chartering from every port for passengers to the Montfort tournament
+within one hundred miles' distance--were equal to the preparation, the
+affair must be a great success. The grounds round the castle seemed to
+be filled every day with groups of busy persons in fanciful costume,
+all practising their duties and rehearsing their parts; swordsmen and
+bowmen, and seneschals and esquires, and grooms and pages, and heralds
+in tabards, and pursuivants, and banner-bearers. The splendid
+pavilions of the knights were now completed, and the gorgeous throne
+of the Queen of Beauty, surrounded by crimson galleries, tier above
+tier, for thousands of favoured guests, were receiving only their last
+stroke of magnificence. The mornings passed in a feverish whirl of
+curiosity, and preparation, and excitement, and some anxiety. Then
+succeeded the banquet, where nearly one hundred guests were every day
+present; but the company were so absorbed in the impending event that
+none expected or required, in the evenings, any of the usual schemes
+or sources of amusement that abound in country houses. Comments on the
+morning, and plans for the morrow, engrossed all thought and
+conversation, and my lord's band was just a due accompaniment that
+filled the pauses when perplexities arrested talk, or deftly blended
+with some whispered phrase almost as sweet or thrilling as the notes
+of the cornet-a-piston.
+
+"I owe my knighthood to you," said Prince Florestan to Lady
+Roehampton, "as I do everything in this country that is agreeable."
+
+"You cannot be my knight," replied Lady Roehampton, "because I am told
+I am the sovereign of all the chivalry, but you have my best wishes."
+
+"All that I want in life," said the prince, "are your good wishes."
+
+"I fear they are barren."
+
+"No, they are inspiring," said the prince with unusual feeling. "You
+brought me good fortune. From the moment I saw you, light fell upon my
+life."
+
+"Is not that an exaggerated phrase?" said Lady Roehampton with a
+smile, "because I happened to get you a ticket for a masquerade."
+
+"I was thinking of something else," said the prince pensively; "but
+life is a masquerade; at least mine has been."
+
+"I think yours, sir, is a most interesting life," said Lady
+Roehampton, "and, were I you, I would not quarrel with my destiny."
+
+"My destiny is not fulfilled," said the prince. "I have never
+quarrelled with it, and am least disposed to do so at this moment."
+
+"Mr. Sidney Wilton was speaking to me very much the other day about
+your royal mother, sir, Queen Agrippina. She must have been
+fascinating."
+
+"I like fascinating women," said the prince, "but they are rare."
+
+"Perhaps it is better it should be so," said Lady Roehampton, "for
+they are apt--are they not?--to disturb the world."
+
+"I confess I like to be bewitched," said the prince, "and I do not
+care how much the world is disturbed."
+
+"But is not the world very well as it is?" said Lady Roehampton. "Why
+should we not be happy and enjoy it?"
+
+"I do enjoy it," replied Prince Florestan, "especially at Montfort
+Castle; I suppose there is something in the air that agrees with one.
+But enjoyment of the present is consistent with objects for the
+future."
+
+"Ah! now you are thinking of your great affairs--of your kingdom. My
+woman's brain is not equal to that."
+
+"I think your brain is quite equal to kingdoms," said the prince, with
+a serious expression, and speaking in even a lower voice, "but I was
+not thinking of my kingdom. I leave that to fate; I believe it is
+destined to be mine, and therefore occasions me thought but not
+anxiety. I was thinking of something else than kingdoms, and of which
+unhappily I am not so certain--of which I am most uncertain--of which
+I fear I have no chance--and yet which is dearer to me than even my
+crown."
+
+"What can that be?" said Lady Roehampton, with unaffected wonderment.
+
+"'Tis a secret of chivalry," said Prince Florestan, "and I must never
+disclose it."
+
+"It is a wonderful scene," said Adriana Neuchatel to Endymion, who had
+been for some time conversing with her. "I had no idea that I should
+be so much amused by anything in society. But then, it is so unlike
+anything one has ever seen."
+
+Mrs. Neuchatel had not accompanied her husband and her daughter to the
+Montfort Tournament. Mr. Neuchatel required a long holiday, and after
+the tournament he was to take Adriana to Scotland. Mrs. Neuchatel shut
+herself up at Hainault, which it seemed she had never enjoyed before.
+She could hardly believe it was the same place, freed from its daily
+invasions by the House of Commons and the Stock Exchange. She had
+never lived so long without seeing an ambassador or a cabinet
+minister, and it as quite a relief. She wandered in the gardens, and
+drove her pony-chair in forest glades. She missed Adriana very much,
+and for a few days always expected her to enter the room when the door
+opened; and then she sighed, and then she flew to her easel, or buried
+herself in some sublime cantata of her favourite master, Beethoven.
+Then came the most wonderful performance of the whole day, and that
+was the letter, never missed, to Adriana. Considering that she lived
+in solitude, and in a spot with which her daughter was quite familiar,
+it was really marvellous that the mother should every day be able to
+fill so many interesting and impassioned pages. But Mrs. Neuchatel was
+a fine penwoman; her feelings were her facts, and her ingenious
+observations of art and nature were her news. After the first fever of
+separation, reading was always a resource to her, for she was a great
+student. She was surrounded by all the literary journals and choice
+publications of Europe, and there scarcely was a branch of science and
+learning with which she was not sufficiently familiar to be able to
+comprehend the stir and progress of the European mind. Mrs. Neuchatel
+had contrived to get rid of the chief cook by sending him on a visit
+to Paris, so she could, without cavil, dine off a cutlet and seltzer-
+water in her boudoir. Sometimes, not merely for distraction, but more
+from a sense of duty, she gave festivals to her schools; and when she
+had lived like a princely prisoner of state alone for a month, or
+rather like one on a desert isle who sighs to see a sail, she would
+ask a great geologist and his wife to pay her a visit, or some
+professor, who, though himself not worth a shilling, had some new
+plans, which really sounded quite practical, for the more equal
+distribution of wealth.
+
+"And who is your knight?" said Endymion.
+
+Adriana looked distressed.
+
+"I mean, whom do you wish to win?"
+
+"Oh, I should like them all to win!"
+
+"That is good-natured, but then there would be no distinction. I know
+who is going to wear your colours--the Knight of the Dolphin."
+
+"I hope nothing of that kind will happen," said Adriana, agitated. "I
+know that some of the knights are going to wear ladies' colours, but I
+trust no one will think of wearing mine. I know the Black Knight wears
+Lady Montfort's."
+
+"He cannot," said Endymion hastily. "She is first lady to the Queen of
+Beauty; no knight can wear the colours of the Queen. I asked Sir Morte
+d'Arthur himself, and he told me there was no doubt about it, and that
+he had consulted Garter before he came down."
+
+"Well, all I know is that the Count of Ferroll told me so," said
+Adriana; "I sate next to him at dinner."
+
+"He shall not wear her colours," said Endymion quite angrily. "I will
+speak to the King of the Tournament about it directly."
+
+"Why, what does it signify?" said Adriana.
+
+"You thought it signified when I told you Regy Sutton was going to
+wear your colours."
+
+"Ah! that is quite a different business," said Adriana, with a sigh.
+
+Reginald Sutton was a professed admirer of Adriana, rode with her
+whenever he could, and danced with her immensely. She gave him cold
+encouragement, though he was the best-looking and best-dressed youth
+in England; but he was a determined young hero, not gifted with too
+sensitive nerves, and was a votary of the great theory that all in
+life was an affair of will, and that endowed with sufficient energy
+he might marry whom he liked. He accounted for his slow advance in
+London by the inimical presence of Mrs. Neuchatel, who he felt, or
+fancied, did not sympathise with him; while, on the contrary, he got
+on very well with the father, and so he was determined to seize the
+present opportunity. The mother was absent, and he himself in a
+commanding position, being one of the knights to whose exploits the
+eyes of all England were attracted.
+
+Lord Roehampton was seated between an ambassadress and Berengaria,
+indulging in gentle and sweet-voiced raillery; the Count of Ferroll
+was standing beside Lady Montfort, and Mr. Wilton was opposite to the
+group. The Count of Ferroll rarely spoke, but listened to Lady
+Montfort with what she called one of his dark smiles.
+
+"All I know is, she will never pardon you for not asking her," said
+Lord Roehampton. "I saw Bicester the day I left town, and he was very
+grumpy. He said that Lady Bicester was the only person who understood
+tournaments. She had studied the subject."
+
+"I suppose she wanted to be the Queen of Beauty," said Berengaria.
+
+"You are too severe, my dear lady. I think she would have been
+contented with a knight wearing her colours."
+
+"Well, I cannot help it," said Berengaria, but somewhat doubtingly.
+And then, after a moment's pause, "She is too ugly."
+
+"Why, she came to my fancy ball, and it is not five years ago, as Mary
+Queen of Scots!"
+
+"That must have been after the Queen's decapitation," said Berengaria.
+
+"I wonder you did not ask Zenobia," said Mr. Wilton.
+
+"Of course I asked her, but I knew she would not come. She is in one
+of her hatreds now. She said she would have come, only she had half-
+promised to give a ball to the tenants at Merrington about that time,
+and she did not like to disappoint them. Quite touching, was it not?"
+
+"A touch beyond the reach of art," said Mr. Wilton; "almost worthy of
+yourself, Lady Montfort."
+
+"And what do you think of all this?" asked Lord Montfort of Nigel
+Penruddock, who, in a cassock that swept the ground, had been stalking
+about the glittering salons like a prophet who had been ordained in
+Mayfair, but who had now seated himself by his host.
+
+"I am thinking of what is beneath all this," replied Nigel. "A great
+revivication. Chivalry is the child of the Church; it is the
+distinctive feature of Christian Europe. Had it not been for the
+revival of Church principles, this glorious pageant would never have
+occurred. But it is a pageant only to the uninitiated. There is not a
+ceremony, a form, a phrase, a costume, which is not symbolic of a
+great truth or a high purpose."
+
+"I do not think Lady Montfort is aware of all this," said her lord.
+
+"Oh yes!" said Nigel. "Lady Montfort is a great woman--a woman who
+could inspire crusades and create churches. She might, and she will, I
+trust, rank with the Helenas and the Matildas."
+
+Lord Montfort gave a little sound, but so gentle that it was heard
+probably but by himself, which in common language would be styled a
+whistle--an articulate modulation of the breath which in this instance
+expressed a sly sentiment of humorous amazement.
+
+"Well, Mr. Ferrars," said Mr. Neuchatel, with a laughing eye, to that
+young gentleman, as he encountered Endymion passing by, "and how are
+you getting on? Are we to see you to-morrow in a Milanese suit?"
+
+"I am only a page," said Endymion.
+
+"Well, well, the old Italian saying is, 'A page beats a knight,' at
+least with the ladies."
+
+"Do you not think it very absurd," said Endymion, "that the Count of
+Ferroll says he shall wear Lady Montfort's colours? Lady Montfort is
+only the first lady of the Queen of Beauty, and she can wear no
+colours except the Queen's. Do not you think somebody ought to
+interfere?"
+
+"Hem! The Count of Ferroll is a man who seldom makes a mistake," said
+Mr. Neuchatel.
+
+"So everybody says," said Endymion rather testily; "but I do not see
+that."
+
+"Now, you are a very young man," said Mr. Neuchatel, "and I hope you
+will some day be a statesman. I do not see why you should not, if you
+are industrious and stick to your master, for Mr. Sidney Wilton is a
+man who will always rise; but, if I were you, I would keep my eyes
+very much on the Count of Ferroll, for, depend on it, he is one of
+those men who sooner or later will make a noise in the world."
+
+Adriana came up at this moment, leaning on the arm of the Knight of
+the Dolphin, better known as Regy Sutton. They came from the tea-room.
+Endymion moved away with a cloud on his brow, murmuring to himself, "I
+am quite sick of the name of the Count of Ferroll."
+
+The jousting-ground was about a mile from the castle, and though it
+was nearly encircled by vast and lofty galleries, it was impossible
+that accommodation could be afforded on this spot to the thousands who
+had repaired from many parts of the kingdom to the Montfort
+Tournament. But even a hundred thousand people could witness the
+procession from the castle to the scene of action. That was superb.
+The sun shone, and not one of the breathless multitude was
+disappointed.
+
+There came a long line of men-at-arms and musicians and trumpeters and
+banner-bearers of the Lord of the Tournament, and heralds in tabards,
+and pursuivants, and then the Herald of the Tournament by himself,
+whom the people at first mistook for the Lord Mayor.
+
+Then came the Knight Marshal on a caparisoned steed, himself in a suit
+of gilt armour, and in a richly embroidered surcoat. A band of
+halberdiers preceded the King of the Tournament, also on a steed
+richly caparisoned, and himself clad in robes of velvet and ermine,
+and wearing a golden crown.
+
+Then on a barded Arab, herself dressed in cloth of gold, parti-
+coloured with violet and crimson, came, amidst tremendous cheering,
+the Queen of Beauty herself. Twelve attendants bore aloft a silken
+canopy, which did not conceal from the enraptured multitude the lustre
+of her matchless loveliness. Lady Montfort, Adriana, and four other
+attendant ladies, followed her majesty, two by two, each in gorgeous
+attire, and on a charger that vied in splendour with its mistress. Six
+pages followed next, in violet and silver.
+
+The bells of a barded mule announced the Jester, who waved his sceptre
+with unceasing authority, and pelted the people with admirably
+prepared impromptus. Some in the crowd tried to enter into a
+competition of banter, but they were always vanquished.
+
+Soon a large army of men-at-arms and the sounds of most triumphant
+music stopped the general laughter, and all became again hushed in
+curious suspense. The tallest and the stoutest of the Border men bore
+the gonfalon of the Lord of the Tournament. That should have been Lord
+Montfort himself; but he had deputed the office to his cousin and
+presumptive heir. Lord Montfort was well represented, and the people
+cheered his cousin Odo heartily, as in his suit of golden armour
+richly chased, and bending on his steed, caparisoned in blue and gold,
+he acknowledged their fealty with a proud reverence.
+
+The other knights followed in order, all attended by their esquires
+and their grooms. Each knight was greatly applauded, and it was really
+a grand sight to see them on their barded chargers and in their
+panoply; some in suits of engraved Milanese armour, some in German
+suits of fluted polished steel; some in steel armour engraved and
+inlaid with gold. The Black Knight was much cheered, but no one
+commanded more admiration than Prince Florestan, in a suit of blue
+damascened armour, and inlaid with silver roses.
+
+
+
+Every procession must end. It is a pity, for there is nothing so
+popular with mankind. The splendid part of the pageant had passed, but
+still the people gazed and looked as if they would have gazed for
+ever. The visitors at the castle, all in ancient costume, attracted
+much notice. Companies of swordsmen and bowmen followed, till at last
+the seneschal of the castle, with his chamberlains and servitors,
+closed the spell-bound scene.
+
+
+
+                              CHAPTER LX
+
+The jousting was very successful; though some were necessarily
+discomfited, almost every one contrived to obtain some distinction.
+But the two knights who excelled and vanquished every one except
+themselves were the Black Knight and the Knight of the White Rose.
+Their exploits were equal at the close of the first day, and on the
+second they were to contend for the principal prize of the tournament,
+for which none else were entitled to be competitors. This was a golden
+helm, to be placed upon the victor's brow by the Queen of Beauty.
+
+There was both a banquet and a ball on this day, and the excitement
+between the adventures of the morning and the prospects of the morrow
+was great. The knights, freed from their armour, appeared in fanciful
+dresses of many-coloured velvets. All who had taken part in the
+pageant retained their costumes, and the ordinary guests, if they
+yielded to mediaeval splendour, successfully asserted the taste of
+Paris and its sparkling grace, in their exquisite robes, and wreaths
+and garlands of fantastic loveliness.
+
+Berengaria, full of the inspiration of success, received the smiling
+congratulations of everybody, and repaid them with happy suggestions,
+which she poured forth with inexhaustible yet graceful energy. The
+only person who had a gloomy air was Endymion. She rallied him. "I
+shall call you the Knight of the Woeful Countenance if you approach me
+with such a visage. What can be the matter with you?"
+
+"Nothing," repeated Endymion, looking rather away.
+
+The Knight of the Dolphin came up and said, "This is a critical affair
+to-morrow, my dear Lady Montfort. If the Count Ferroll is discomfited
+by the prince, it may be a /casus belli/. You ought to get Lord
+Roehampton to interfere and prevent the encounter."
+
+"The Count of Ferroll will not be discomfited," said Lady Montfort.
+"He is one of those men who never fail."
+
+"Well, I do not know," said the Knight of the Dolphin musingly. "The
+prince has a stout lance, and I have felt it."
+
+"He had the best of it this morning," said Endymion rather bitterly.
+"Every one thought so, and that it was very fortunate for the Count of
+Ferroll that the heralds closed the lists."
+
+"It might have been fortunate for others," rejoined Lady Montfort.
+"What is the general opinion?" she added, addressing the Knight of the
+Dolphin. "Do not go away, Mr. Ferrars. I want to give you some
+directions about to-morrow."
+
+"I do not think I shall be at the place to-morrow," muttered Endymion.
+
+"What!" exclaimed Berengaria; but at this moment Mr. Sidney Wilton
+came up and said, "I have been looking at the golden helm. It is
+entrusted to my care as King of the Tournament. It is really so
+beautiful, that I think I shall usurp it."
+
+"You will have to settle that with the Count of Ferroll," said
+Berengaria.
+
+"The betting is about equal," said the Knight of the Dolphin.
+
+"Well, we must have some gloves upon it," said Berengaria.
+
+Endymion walked away.
+
+He walked away, and the first persons that met his eye were the prince
+and the Count of Ferroll in conversation. It was sickening. They
+seemed quite gay, and occasionally examined together a paper which the
+prince held in his hand, and which was an official report by the
+heralds of the day's jousting. This friendly conversation might
+apparently have gone on for ever had not the music ceased and the
+count been obliged to seek his partner for the coming dance.
+
+"I wonder you can speak to him," said Endymion, going up to the
+prince. "If the heralds had not--many think, too hastily--closed the
+lists this morning, you would have been the victor of the day."
+
+"My dear child! what can you mean?" said the prince. "I believe
+everything was closed quite properly, and as for myself, I am entirely
+satisfied with my share of the day's success."
+
+"If you had thrown him," said Endymion, "he could not with decency
+have contended for the golden helm."
+
+"Oh! that is what you deplore," said the prince. "The Count of Ferroll
+and I shall have to contend for many things more precious than golden
+helms before we die."
+
+"I believe he is a very overrated man," said Endymion.
+
+"Why?" said the prince.
+
+"I detest him," said Endymion.
+
+"That is certainly a reason why /you/ should not overrate him," said
+the prince.
+
+"There seems a general conspiracy to run him up," said Endymion with
+pique.
+
+"The Count of Ferroll is the man of the future," said the prince
+calmly.
+
+"That is what Mr. Neuchatel said to me yesterday. I suppose he caught
+it from you."
+
+"It is an advantage, a great advantage, for me to observe the Count of
+Ferroll in this intimate society," said the prince, speaking slowly,
+"perhaps even to fathom him. But I am not come to that yet. He is a
+man neither to love nor to detest. He has himself an intelligence
+superior to all passion, I might say all feeling; and if, in dealing
+with such a being, we ourselves have either, we give him an
+advantage."
+
+"Well, all the same, I hope you will win the golden helm to-morrow,"
+said Endymion, looking a little perplexed.
+
+"The golden casque that I am ordained to win," said the prince, "is
+not at Montfort Castle. This, after all, is but Mambrino's helmet."
+
+A knot of young dandies were discussing the chances of the morrow as
+Endymion was passing by, and as he knew most of them he joined the
+group.
+
+"I hope to heaven," said one, "that the Count of Ferroll will beat
+that foreign chap to-morrow; I hate foreigners."
+
+"So do I," said a second, and there was a general murmur of assent.
+
+"The Count of Ferroll is as much a foreigner as the prince," said
+Endymion rather sharply.
+
+"Oh! I don't call him a foreigner at all," said the first speaker. "He
+is a great favourite at White's; no one rides cross country like him,
+and he is a deuced fine shot in the bargain."
+
+"I will back Prince Florestan against him either in field or cover,"
+said Endymion.
+
+"Well, I don't know your friend," said the young gentleman
+contemptuously, "so I cannot bet."
+
+"I am sure your friend, Lady Montfort, my dear Dymy, will back the
+Count of Ferroll," lisped a third young gentleman.
+
+This completed the programme of mortification, and Endymion, hot and
+then cold, and then both at the same time, bereft of repartee, and
+wishing the earth would open and Montfort Castle disappear in its
+convulsed bosom, stole silently away as soon as practicable, and
+wandered as far as possible from the music and the bursts of revelry.
+
+These conversations had taken place in the chief saloon, which was
+contiguous to the ball-room, and which was nearly as full of guests.
+Endymion, moving in the opposite direction, entered another drawing-
+room, where the population was sparse. It consisted of couples
+apparently deeply interested in each other. Some faces were radiant,
+and some pensive and a little agitated, but they all agreed in one
+expression, that they took no interest whatever in the solitary
+Endymion. Even their whispered words were hushed as he passed by, and
+they seemed, with their stony, unsympathising glance, to look upon him
+as upon some inferior being who had intruded into their paradise. In
+short, Endymion felt all that embarrassment, mingled with a certain
+portion of self contempt, which attends the conviction that we are
+what is delicately called /de trop/.
+
+He advanced and took refuge in another room, where there was only a
+single, and still more engrossed pair; but this was even more
+intolerable to him. Shrinking from a return to the hostile chamber he
+had just left, he made a frantic rush forward with affected ease and
+alacrity, and found himself alone in the favourite morning room of
+Lady Montfort.
+
+He threw himself on a sofa, and hid his face in his hand, and gave a
+sigh, which was almost a groan. He was sick at heart; his extremities
+were cold, his brain was feeble. All hope, and truly all thought of
+the future, deserted him. He remembered only the sorrowful, or the
+humiliating, chapters in his life. He wished he had never left
+Hurstley. He wished he had been apprenticed to Farmer Thornberry, that
+he had never quitted his desk at Somerset House, and never known more
+of life than Joe's and the Divan. All was vanity and vexation of
+spirit. He contemplated finishing his days in the neighbouring stream,
+in which, but a few days ago, he was bathing in health and joy.
+
+Time flew on; he was unconscious of its course; no one entered the
+room, and he wished never to see a human face again, when a voice
+sounded, and he heard his name.
+
+"Endymion!"
+
+He looked up; it was Lady Montfort. He did not speak, but gave her,
+perhaps unconsciously, a glance of reproach and despair.
+
+"What is the matter with you?" she said.
+
+"Nothing."
+
+"That is nonsense. Something must have happened. I have missed you so
+long, but was determined to find you. Have you a headache?"
+
+"No."
+
+"Come back; come back with me. It is so odd. My lord has asked for you
+twice."
+
+"I want to see no one."
+
+"Oh! but this is absurd--and on a day like this, when every thing has
+been so successful, and every one is so happy."
+
+"I am not happy, and I am not successful."
+
+"You perfectly astonish me," said Lady Montfort; "I shall begin to
+believe that you have not so sweet a temper as I always supposed."
+
+"It matters not what my temper is."
+
+"I think it matters a great deal. I like, above all things, to live
+with good-tempered people."
+
+"I hope you may not be disappointed. My temper is my own affair, and I
+am content always to be alone."
+
+"Why! you are talking nonsense, Endymion."
+
+"Probably; I do not pretend to be gifted. I am not one of those
+gentlemen who cannot fail. I am not the man of the future."
+
+"Well! I never was so surprised in my life," exclaimed Lady Montfort.
+"I never will pretend to form an opinion of human character again.
+Now, my dear Endymion, rouse yourself, and come back with me. Give me
+your arm. I cannot stay another moment; I dare say I have already been
+wanted a thousand times."
+
+"I cannot go back," said Endymion; "I never wish to see anybody again.
+If you want an arm, there is the Count of Ferroll, and I hope you may
+find he has a sweeter temper than I have."
+
+Lady Montfort looked at him with a strange and startled glance. It was
+a mixture of surprise, a little disdain, some affection blended with
+mockery. And then exclaiming "Silly boy!" she swept out of the room.
+
+
+
+                             CHAPTER LXI
+
+"I do not like the prospect of affairs," said Mr. Sidney Wilton to
+Endymion as they were posting up to London from Montfort Castle; a
+long journey, but softened in those days by many luxuries, and they
+had much to talk about.
+
+"The decline of the revenue is not fitful; it is regular. Our people
+are too apt to look at the state of the revenue merely in a financial
+point of view. If a surplus, take off taxes; if a deficiency, put them
+on. But the state of the revenue should also be considered as the
+index of the condition of the population. According to my impression,
+the condition of the people is declining; and why? because they are
+less employed. If this spreads, they will become discontented and
+disaffected, and I cannot help remembering that, if they become
+troublesome, it is our office that will have to deal with them."
+
+"This bad harvest is a great misfortune," said Endymion.
+
+"Yes, but a bad harvest, though unquestionably a great, perhaps the
+greatest, misfortune for this country, is not the entire solution of
+our difficulties--I would say, our coming difficulties. A bad harvest
+touches the whole of our commercial system: it brings us face to face
+with the corn laws. I wish our chief would give his mind to that
+subject. I believe a moderate fixed duty of about twelve shillings a
+quarter would satisfy every one, and nothing then could shake this
+country."
+
+Endymion listened with interest to other views of his master, who
+descanted on them at much length. Private secretaries know everything
+about their chiefs, and Endymion was not ignorant that among many of
+the great houses of the Whig party, and indeed among the bulk of what
+was called "the Liberal" party generally, Mr. Sidney Wilton was looked
+upon, so far as economical questions were concerned, as very
+crotchety, indeed a dangerous character. Lord Montfort was the only
+magnate who was entirely opposed to the corn laws, but then, as
+Berengaria would remark, "Simon is against all laws; he is not a
+practical man."
+
+Mr. Sidney Wilton reverted to these views more than once in the course
+of their journey. "I was not alarmed about the Chartists last year.
+Political trouble in this country never frightens me. Insurrections
+and riots strengthen an English government; they gave a new lease even
+to Lord Liverpool when his ministry was most feeble and unpopular; but
+economical discontent is quite another thing. The moment sedition
+arises from taxation, or want of employment, it is more dangerous and
+more difficult to deal with in this country than any other."
+
+"Lord Roehampton seemed to take rather a sanguine view of the
+situation after the Bed-Chamber business in the spring," observed
+Endymion, rather in an inquiring than a dogmatic spirit.
+
+"Lord Roehampton has other things to think of," said Mr. Wilton. "He
+is absorbed, and naturally absorbed, in his department, the most
+important in the state, and of which he is master. But I am obliged to
+look at affairs nearer home. Now, this Anti-Corn-Law League, which
+they established last year at Manchester, and which begins to be very
+busy, though nobody at present talks of it, is, in my mind, a movement
+which ought to be watched. I tell you what; it occurred to me more
+than once during that wondrous pageant, that we have just now been
+taking part in, the government wants better information than they have
+as to the state of the country, the real feelings and condition of the
+bulk of the population. We used to sneer at the Tories for their
+ignorance of these matters, but after all, we, like them, are mainly
+dependent on quarter sessions; on the judgment of a lord-lieutenant
+and the statistics of a bench of magistrates. It is true we have
+introduced into our subordinate administration at Whitehall some
+persons who have obtained the reputation of distinguished economists,
+and we allow them to guide us. But though ingenious men, no doubt,
+they are chiefly bankrupt tradesmen, who, not having been able to
+manage their own affairs, have taken upon themselves to advise on the
+conduct of the country--pedants and prigs at the best, and sometimes
+impostors. No; this won't do. It is useless to speak to the chief; I
+did about the Anti-Corn-Law League; he shrugged his shoulders and said
+it was a madness that would pass. I have made up my mind to send
+somebody, quite privately, to the great scenes of national labour. He
+must be somebody whom nobody knows, and nobody suspects of being
+connected with the administration, or we shall never get the truth--
+and the person I have fixed upon is yourself."
+
+"But am I equal to such a task?" said Endymion modestly, but
+sincerely.
+
+"I think so," said Mr. Wilton, "or, of course, I would not have fixed
+upon you. I want a fresh and virgin intelligence to observe and
+consider the country. It must be a mind free from prejudice, yet
+fairly informed on the great questions involved in the wealth of
+nations. I know you have read Adam Smith, and not lightly. Well, he is
+the best guide, though of course we must adapt his principles to the
+circumstances with which we have to deal. You have good judgment,
+great industry, a fairly quick perception, little passion--perhaps
+hardly enough; but that is probably the consequence of the sorrows and
+troubles of early life. But, after all, there is no education like
+adversity."
+
+"If it will only cease at the right time," said Endymion.
+
+"Well, in that respect, I do not think you have anything to complain
+of," said Mr. Wilton. "The world is all before you, and I mistake if
+you do not rise. Perseverance and tact are the two qualities most
+valuable for all men who would mount, but especially for those who
+have to step out of the crowd. I am sure no one can say you are not
+assiduous, but I am glad always to observe that you have tact. Without
+tact you can learn nothing. Tact teaches you when to be silent.
+Inquirers who are always inquiring never learn anything."
+
+
+
+                             CHAPTER LXII
+
+Lancashire was not so wonderful a place forty years ago as it is at
+present, but, compared then with the rest of England, it was
+infinitely more striking. For a youth like Endymion, born and bred in
+our southern counties, the Berkshire downs varied by the bustle of
+Pall-Mall and the Strand--Lancashire, with its teeming and toiling
+cities, its colossal manufactories and its gigantic chimneys, its
+roaring engines and its flaming furnaces, its tramroads and its
+railroads, its coal and its cotton, offered a far greater contrast to
+the scenes in which he had hitherto lived, than could be furnished by
+almost any country of the European continent.
+
+Endymion felt it was rather a crisis in his life, and that his future
+might much depend on the fulfilment of the confidential office which
+had been entrusted to him by his chief. He summoned all his energies,
+concentrated his intelligence on the one subject, and devoted to its
+study and comprehension every moment of his thought and time. After a
+while, he had made Manchester his head-quarters. It was even then the
+centre of a network of railways, and gave him an easy command of the
+contiguous districts.
+
+Endymion had more than once inquired after the Anti-Corn-Law League,
+but had not as yet been so fortunate as to attend any of their
+meetings. They were rarer than they afterwards soon became, and the
+great manufacturers did not encourage them. "I do not like extreme
+views," said one of the most eminent one day to Endymion. "In my
+opinion, we should always avoid extremes;" and he paused and looked
+around, as if he had enunciated a heaven-born truth, and for the first
+time. "I am a Liberal; so we all are here. I supported Lord Grey, and
+I support Lord Melbourne, and I am, in everything, for a liberal
+policy. I don't like extremes. A wise minister should take off the
+duty on cotton wool. That is what the country really wants, and then
+everybody would be satisfied. No; I know nothing about this League you
+ask about, and I do not know any one--that is to say, any one
+respectable--who does. They came to me to lend my name. 'No,' I said,
+'gentlemen; I feel much honoured, but I do not like extremes;' and
+they went away. They are making a little more noise now, because they
+have got a man who has the gift of the gab, and the people like to go
+and hear him speak. But as I said to a friend of mine, who seemed half
+inclined to join them, 'Well; if I did anything of that sort, I would
+be led by a Lancashire lad. They have got a foreigner to lead them, a
+fellow out of Berkshire; an agitator--and only a print-work after all.
+No; that will never do.'"
+
+Notwithstanding these views, which Endymion found very generally
+entertained by the new world in which he mixed, he resolved to take
+the earliest opportunity of attending the meeting of the League, and
+it soon arrived.
+
+It was an evening meeting, so that workmen--or the operatives, as they
+were styled in this part of the kingdom--should be able to attend. The
+assembly took place in a large but temporary building; very well
+adapted to the human voice, and able to contain even thousands. It was
+fairly full to-night; and the platform, on which those who took a part
+in the proceedings, or who, by their comparatively influential
+presence, it was supposed, might assist the cause, was almost crowded.
+
+"He is going to speak to-night," said an operative to Endymion. "That
+is why there is such an attendance."
+
+Remembering Mr. Wilton's hint about not asking unnecessary questions
+which often arrest information, Endymion did not inquire who "he" was;
+and to promote communication merely observed, "A fine speaker, then, I
+conclude?"
+
+"Well, he is in a way," said the operative. "He has not got
+Hollaballoo's voice, but he knows what he is talking about. I doubt
+their getting what they are after; they have not the working classes
+with them. If they went against truck, it would be something."
+
+The chairman opened the proceedings; but was coldly received, though
+he spoke sensibly and at some length. He then introduced a gentleman,
+who was absolutely an alderman, to move a resolution condemnatory of
+the corn laws. The august position of the speaker atoned for his
+halting rhetoric, and a city which had only just for the first time
+been invested with municipal privileges was hushed before a man who
+might in time even become a mayor.
+
+Then the seconder advanced, and there was a general burst of applause.
+
+"There he is," said the operative to Endymion; "you see they like him.
+Oh, Job knows how to do it!"
+
+Endymion listened with interest, soon with delight, soon with a
+feeling of exciting and not unpleasing perplexity, to the orator; for
+he was an orator, though then unrecognised, and known only in his
+district. He was a pale and slender man, with a fine brow and an eye
+that occasionally flashed with the fire of a creative mind. His voice
+certainly was not like Hollaballoo's. It was rather thin, but
+singularly clear. There was nothing clearer except his meaning.
+Endymion never heard a case stated with such pellucid art; facts
+marshalled with such vivid simplicity, and inferences so natural and
+spontaneous and irresistible, that they seemed, as it were, borrowed
+from his audience, though none of that audience had arrived at them
+before. The meeting was hushed, was rapt in intellectual delight, for
+they did not give the speaker the enthusiasm of their sympathy. That
+was not shared, perhaps, by the moiety of those who listened to him.
+When his case was fairly before them, the speaker dealt with his
+opponents--some in the press, some in parliament--with much power of
+sarcasm, but this power was evidently rather repressed than allowed to
+run riot. What impressed Endymion as the chief quality of this
+remarkable speaker was his persuasiveness, and he had the air of being
+too prudent to offend even an opponent unnecessarily. His language,
+though natural and easy, was choice and refined. He was evidently a
+man who had read, and not a little; and there was no taint of
+vulgarity, scarcely a provincialism, in his pronunciation.
+
+He spoke for rather more than an hour; and frequently during this
+time, Endymion, notwithstanding his keen interest in what was taking
+place, was troubled, it might be disturbed, by pictures and memories
+of the past that he endeavoured in vain to drive away. When the orator
+concluded, amid cheering much louder than that which had first greeted
+him, Endymion, in a rather agitated voice, whispered to his neighbour,
+"Tell me--is his name Thornberry?"
+
+"That is your time of day," said the operative. "Job Thornberry is his
+name, and I am on his works."
+
+"And yet you do not agree with him?"
+
+"Well; I go as far as he goes, but he does not go so far as I go;
+that's it."
+
+"I do not see how a man can go much farther," said Endymion. "Where
+are his works? I knew your master when he was in the south of England,
+and I should like to call on him."
+
+"My employer," said the operative. "They call themselves masters, but
+we do not. I will tell you. His works are a mile out of town; but it
+seems only a step, for there are houses all the way. Job Thornberry &
+Co.'s Print-works, Pendleton Road--any one can guide you--and when you
+get there, you can ask for me, if you like. I am his overlooker, and
+my name is ENOCH CRAGGS."
+
+
+
+                            CHAPTER LXIII
+
+"You are not much altered," said Thornberry, as he retained Endymion's
+hand, and he looked at him earnestly; "and yet you have become a man.
+I suppose I am ten years your senior. I have never been back to the
+old place, and yet I sometimes think I should like to be buried there.
+The old man has been here, and more than once, and liked it well
+enough; at least, I hope so. He told me a good deal about you all;
+some sorrows, and, I hope, some joys. I heard of Miss Myra's marriage;
+she was a sweet young lady; the gravest person I ever knew; I never
+knew her smile. I remember they thought her proud, but I always had a
+fancy for her. Well; she has married a topsawyer--I believe the ablest
+of them all, and probably the most unprincipled; though I ought not to
+say that to you. However, public men are spoken freely of. I wish to
+Heaven you would get him to leave off tinkering those commercial
+treaties that he is always making such a fuss about. More pernicious
+nonsense was never devised by man than treaties of commerce. However,
+their precious most favoured nation clause will break down the whole
+concern yet. But you wish to see the works; I will show them to you
+myself. There is not much going on now, and the stagnation increases
+daily. And then, if you are willing, we will go home and have a bit of
+lunch--I live hard by. My best works are my wife and children: I have
+made that joke before, as you can well fancy."
+
+This was the greeting, sincere but not unkind, of Job Thornberry to
+Endymion on the day after the meeting of the Anti-Corn-Law League. To
+Endymion it was an interesting, and, as he believed it would prove, a
+useful encounter.
+
+The print-works were among the most considerable of their kind at
+Manchester, but they were working now with reduced numbers and at
+half-time. It was the energy and the taste and invention of Thornberry
+that had given them their reputation, and secured them extensive
+markets. He had worked with borrowed capital, but had paid off his
+debt, and his establishment was now his own; but, stimulated by his
+success, he had made a consignment of large amount to the United
+States, where it arrived only to be welcomed by what was called the
+American crash.
+
+Turning from the high road, a walk of half a mile brought them to a
+little world of villas; varying in style and size, but all pretty, and
+each in its garden. "And this is my home," said Thornberry, opening
+the wicket, "and here is my mistress and the young folks"--pointing to
+a pretty woman, but with an expression of no inconsiderable self-
+confidence, and with several children clinging to her dress and hiding
+their faces at the unexpected sight of a stranger. "My eldest is a
+boy, but he is at school," said Thornberry. "I have named him, after
+one of the greatest men that ever lived, John Hampden."
+
+"He was a landed proprietor," observed Endymion rather drily; "and a
+considerable one."
+
+"I have brought an old friend to take cheer with us," continued
+Thornberry; "one whom I knew before any here present; so show your
+faces, little people;" and he caught up one of the children, a fair
+child like its mother, long-haired and blushing like a Worcestershire
+orchard before harvest time. "Tell the gentleman what you are."
+
+"A free-trader," murmured the infant.
+
+Within the house were several shelves of books well selected, and the
+walls were adorned with capital prints of famous works of art. "They
+are chiefly what are called books of reference," said Thornberry, as
+Endymion was noticing his volumes; "but I have not much room, and, to
+tell you the truth, they are not merely books of reference to me--I
+like reading encyclopaedia. The 'Dictionary of Dates' is a favourite
+book of mine. The mind sometimes wants tone, and then I read Milton.
+He is the only poet I read--he is complete, and is enough. I have got
+his prose works too. Milton was the greatest of Englishmen."
+
+The repast was simple, but plenteous, and nothing could be neater than
+the manner in which it was served.
+
+"We are teetotallers," said Thornberry; "but we can give you a good
+cup of coffee."
+
+"I am a teetotaller too at this time of the day," said Endymion; "but
+a good cup of coffee is, they say, the most delicious and the rarest
+beverage in the world."
+
+"Well," continued Thornberry; "it is a long time since we met, Mr.
+Ferrars--ten years. I used to think that in ten years one might do
+anything; and a year ago, I really thought I had done it; but the
+accursed laws of this blessed country, as it calls itself, have nearly
+broken me, as they have broken many a better man before me."
+
+"I am sorry to hear this," said Endymion; "I trust it is but a passing
+cloud."
+
+"It is not a cloud," said Thornberry; "it is a storm, a tempest, a
+wreck--but not only for me. Your great relative, my Lord Roehampton,
+must look to it, I can tell you that. What is happening in this
+country, and is about to happen, will not be cured or averted by
+commercial treaties--mark my words."
+
+"But what would cure it?" said Endymion.
+
+"There is only one thing that can cure this country, and it will soon
+be too late for that. We must have free exchange."
+
+"Free exchange!" murmured Endymion thoughtfully.
+
+"Why, look at this," said Thornberry. "I had been driving a capital
+trade with the States for nearly five years. I began with nothing, as
+you know. I had paid off all my borrowed capital; my works were my
+own, and this house is a freehold. A year ago I sent to my
+correspondent at New York the largest consignment of goods I had ever
+made and the best, and I cannot get the slightest return for them. My
+correspondent writes to me that there is no end of corn and bread-
+stuffs which he could send, if we could only receive them; but he
+knows very well he might as well try and send them to the moon. The
+people here are starving and want these bread-stuffs, and they are
+ready to pay for them by the products of their labour--and your
+blessed laws prevent them!"
+
+"But these laws did not prevent your carrying on a thriving trade with
+America for five years, according to your own account," said Endymion.
+"I do not question what you say; I am asking only for information."
+
+"What you say is fairly said, and it has been said before," replied
+Thornberry; "but there is nothing in it. We had a trade, and a
+thriving trade, with the States; though, to be sure, it was always
+fitful and ought to have been ten times as much, even during those
+five years. But the fact is, the state of affairs in America was then
+exceptional. They were embarked in great public works in which every
+one was investing his capital; shares and stocks abounded, and they
+paid us for our goods with them."
+
+"Then it would rather seem that they have no capital now to spare to
+purchase our goods?"
+
+"Not so," said Thornberry sharply, "as I have shown; but were it so,
+it does not affect my principle. If there were free exchange, we
+should find employment and compensation in other countries, even if
+the States were logged, which I don't believe thirty millions of
+people with boundless territory ever can be."
+
+"But after all," said Endymion, "America is as little in favour of
+free exchange as we are. She may send us her bread-stuffs; but her
+laws will not admit our goods, except on the payment of enormous
+duties."
+
+"Pish!" said Thornberry; "I do not care this for their enormous
+duties. Let me have free imports, and I will soon settle their
+duties."
+
+"To fight hostile tariffs with free imports," said Endymion; "is not
+that fighting against odds?"
+
+"Not a bit. This country has nothing to do but to consider its
+imports. Foreigners will not give us their products for nothing; but
+as for their tariffs, if we were wise men, and looked to our real
+interests, their hostile tariffs, as you call them, would soon be
+falling down like an old wall."
+
+"Well, I confess," said Endymion, "I have for some time thought the
+principle of free exchange was a sound one; but its application in a
+country like this would be very difficult, and require, I should
+think, great prudence and moderation."
+
+"By prudence and moderation you mean ignorance and timidity," said
+Thornberry scornfully.
+
+"Not exactly that, I hope," said Endymion; "but you cannot deny that
+the home market is a most important element in the consideration of
+our public wealth, and it mainly rests upon the agriculture of the
+country."
+
+"Then it rests upon a very poor foundation," said Thornberry.
+
+"But if any persons should be more tempted than others by free
+exchange, it should be the great body of the consumers of this land,
+who pay unjust and excessive prices for every article they require.
+No, my dear Mr. Ferrars; the question is a very simple one, and we may
+talk for ever, and we shall never alter it. The laws of this country
+are made by the proprietors of land, and they make them for their own
+benefit. A man with a large estate is said to have a great stake in
+the country because some hundreds of people or so are more or less
+dependent on him. How has he a greater interest in the country than a
+manufacturer who has sunk 100,000 pounds in machinery, and has a
+thousand people, as I had, receiving from him weekly wages? No home
+market, indeed! Pah! it is an affair of rent, and nothing more or
+less. And England is to be ruined to keep up rents. Are you going?
+Well, I am glad we have met. Perhaps we shall have another talk
+together some day. I shall not return to the works. There is little
+doing there, and I must think now of other things. The subscriptions
+to the League begin to come in apace. Say what they like in the House
+of Commons and the vile London press, the thing is stirring."
+
+Wishing to turn the conversation a little, Endymion asked Mrs.
+Thornberry whether she occasionally went to London.
+
+"Never was there," she said, in a sharp, clear voice; "but I hope to
+go soon."
+
+"You will have a great deal to see."
+
+"All I want to see, and hear, is the Rev. Servetus Frost," replied the
+lady. "My idea of perfect happiness is to hear him every Sunday. He
+comes here sometimes, for his sister is settled here; a very big mill.
+He preached here a month ago. Should not I have liked the bishop to
+have heard him, that's all! But he would not dare to go; he could not
+answer a point."
+
+"My wife is of the Unitarian persuasion," said Thornberry. "I am not.
+I was born in our Church, and I keep to it; but I often go to chapel
+with my wife. As for religion generally, if a man believes in his
+Maker and does his duty to his neighbours, in my mind that is
+sufficient."
+
+Endymion bade them good-bye, and strolled musingly towards his hotel.
+
+Just as he reached the works again, he encountered Enoch Craggs, who
+was walking into Manchester.
+
+"I am going to our institute," said Enoch. "I do not know why, but
+they have put me on the committee."
+
+"And, I doubt not, they did very wisely," said Endymion.
+
+"Master Thornberry was glad to see you?" said Enoch.
+
+"And I was glad to see him."
+
+"He has got the gift of speech," said Enoch.
+
+"And that is a great gift."
+
+"If wisely exercised, and I will not say he is not exercising it
+wisely. Certainly for his own purpose, but whether that purpose is for
+the general good--query?"
+
+"He is against monopoly," observed Endymion inquiringly.
+
+"Query again?" said Enoch.
+
+"Well; he is opposed to the corn laws."
+
+"The corn laws are very bad laws," said Enoch, "and the sooner we get
+rid of them the better. But there are worse things than the corn
+laws."
+
+"Hem!" said Endymion.
+
+"There are the money laws," said Enoch.
+
+"I did not know you cared so much about them at Manchester," said
+Endymion. "I thought it was Birmingham that was chiefly interested
+about currency."
+
+"I do not care one jot about currency," said Enoch; "and, so far as I
+can judge, the Birmingham chaps talk a deal of nonsense about the
+matter. Leastwise, they will never convince me that a slip of
+irredeemable paper is as good as the young queen's head on a twenty-
+shilling piece. I mean the laws that secure the accumulation of
+capital, by which means the real producers become mere hirelings, and
+really are little better than slaves."
+
+"But surely without capital we should all of us be little better than
+slaves?"
+
+"I am not against capital," replied Enoch. "What I am against is
+capitalists."
+
+"But if we get rid of capitalists we shall soon get rid of capital."
+
+"No, no," said Enoch, with his broad accent, shaking his head, and
+with a laughing eye. "Master Thornberry has been telling you that. He
+is the most inveterate capitalist of the whole lot; and I always say,
+though they keep aloof from him at present, they will be all sticking
+to his skirts before long. Master Thornberry is against the
+capitalists in land; but there are other capitalists nearer home, and
+I know more about them. I was reading a book the other day about King
+Charles--Charles the First, whose head they cut off--I am very liking
+to that time, and read a good deal about it; and there was Lord
+Falkland, a great gentleman in those days, and he said, when
+Archbishop Laud was trying on some of his priestly tricks, that, 'if
+he were to have a pope, he would rather the pope were at Rome than at
+Lambeth.' So I sometimes think, if we are to be ruled by capitalists,
+I would sooner, perhaps, be ruled by gentlemen of estate, who have
+been long among us, than by persons who build big mills, who come from
+God knows where, and, when they have worked their millions out of our
+flesh and bone, go God knows where. But perhaps we shall get rid of
+them all some day--landlords and mill-lords."
+
+"And whom will you substitute for them?"
+
+"The producers," said Enoch, with a glance half savage, half
+triumphant.
+
+"What can workmen do without capital?"
+
+"Why, they make the capital," said Enoch; "and if they make the
+capital, is it not strange that they should not be able to contrive
+some means to keep the capital? Why, Job was saying the other day that
+there was nothing like a principle to work upon. It would carry all
+before it. So say I. And I have a principle too, though it is not
+Master Thornberry's. But it will carry all before it, though it may
+not be in my time. But I am not so sure of that."
+
+"And what is it?" asked Endymion.
+
+"CO-OPERATION."
+
+
+
+                             CHAPTER LXIV
+
+This strangely-revived acquaintance with Job Thornberry was not an
+unfruitful incident in the life of Endymion. Thornberry was a man of
+original mind and singular energy; and, although of extreme views on
+commercial subjects, all his conclusions were founded on extensive and
+various information, combined with no inconsiderable practice. The
+mind of Thornberry was essentially a missionary one. He was always
+ready to convert people; and he acted with ardour and interest on a
+youth who, both by his ability and his social position, was qualified
+to influence opinion. But this youth was gifted with a calm, wise
+judgment, of the extent and depth of which he was scarcely conscious
+himself; and Thornberry, like all propagandists, was more remarkable
+for his zeal and his convictions, than for that observation and
+perception of character which are the finest elements in the
+management of men and affairs.
+
+"What you should do," said Thornberry, one day, to Endymion, "is to go
+to Scotland; go to the Glasgow district; that city itself, and
+Paisley, and Kilmarnock--keep your eye on Paisley. I am much mistaken
+if there will not soon be a state of things there which alone will
+break up the whole concern. It will burst it, sir; it will burst it."
+
+So Endymion, without saying anything, quietly went to Glasgow and its
+district, and noted enough to make him resolve soon to visit there
+again; but the cabinet reassembled in the early part of November, and
+he had to return to his duties.
+
+In his leisure hours, Endymion devoted himself to the preparation of a
+report, for Mr. Sidney Wilton, on the condition and prospects of the
+manufacturing districts of the North of England, with some
+illustrative reference to that of the country beyond the Tweed. He
+concluded it before Christmas, and Mr. Wilton took it down with him to
+Gaydene, to study it at his leisure. Endymion passed his holidays with
+Lord and Lady Montfort, at their southern seat, Princedown.
+
+Endymion spoke to Lady Montfort a little about his labours, for he had
+no secrets from her; but she did not much sympathise with him, though
+she liked him to be sedulous and to distinguish himself. "Only," she
+observed, "take care not to be /doctrinaire/, Endymion. I am always
+afraid of that with you. It is Sidney's fault; he always was
+/doctrinaire/. It was a great thing for you becoming his private
+secretary; to be the private secretary of a cabinet minister is a real
+step in life, and I shall always be most grateful to Sidney, whom I
+love for appointing you; but still, if I could have had my wish, you
+should have been Lord Roehampton's private secretary. That is real
+politics, and he is a real statesman. You must not let Mr. Wilton
+mislead you about the state of affairs in the cabinet. The cabinet
+consists of the prime minister and Lord Roehampton, and, if they are
+united, all the rest is vapour. And they will not consent to any
+nonsense about touching the corn laws; you may be sure of that.
+Besides, I will tell you a secret, which is not yet Pulchinello's
+secret, though I daresay it will be known when we all return to town--
+we shall have a great event when parliament meets; a royal marriage.
+What think you of that? The young queen is going to be married, and to
+a young prince, like a prince in a fairy tale. As Lord Roehampton
+wrote to me this morning, 'Our royal marriage will be much more
+popular than the Anti-Corn-Law League.'"
+
+The royal marriage was very popular; but, unfortunately, it reflected
+no splendour on the ministry. The world blessed the queen and cheered
+the prince, but shook its head at the government. Sir Robert Peel also
+--whether from his own motive or the irresistible impulse of his party
+need not now be inquired into--sanctioned a direct attack on the
+government, in the shape of a vote of want of confidence in them,
+immediately the court festivities were over, and the attack was
+defeated by a narrow majority.
+
+"Nothing could be more unprincipled," said Berengaria, "after he had
+refused to take office last year. As for our majority, it is, under
+such circumstances, twenty times more than we want. As Lord Roehampton
+says, one is enough."
+
+Trade and revenue continued to decline. There was again the prospect
+of a deficiency. The ministry, too, was kept in by the Irish vote, and
+the Irish then were very unpopular. The cabinet itself generally was
+downcast, and among themselves occasionally murmured a regret that
+they had not retired when the opportunity offered in the preceding
+year. Berengaria, however, would not bate an inch of confidence and
+courage. "You think too much," she said to Endymion, "of trade and
+finance. Trade always comes back, and finance never ruined a country,
+or an individual either if he had pluck. Mr. Sidney Wilton is a
+croaker. The things he fears will never happen; or, if they do, will
+turn out to be unimportant. Look to Lord Roehampton; he is the man. He
+does not care a rush whether the revenue increases or declines. He is
+thinking of real politics: foreign affairs; maintaining our power in
+Europe. Something will happen, before the session is over, in the
+Mediterranean;" and she pressed her finger to her lip, and then she
+added, "The country will support Lord Roehampton as they supported
+Pitt, and give him any amount of taxes that he likes."
+
+In the meantime, the social world had its incidents as well as the
+political, and not less interesting. Not one of the most
+insignificant, perhaps, was the introduction into society of the
+Countess of Beaumaris. Her husband, sacrificing even his hunting, had
+come up to town at the meeting of parliament, and received his friends
+in a noble mansion on Piccadilly Terrace. All its equipments were
+sumptuous and refined, and everything had been arranged under the
+personal supervision of Mr. Waldershare. They commenced very quietly;
+dinners little but constant, and graceful and finished as a banquet of
+Watteau. No formal invitations; men were brought in to dinner from the
+House of Lords "just up," or picked up, as it were carelessly, in the
+House of Commons by Mr. Waldershare, or were asked by Imogene, at a
+dozen hours' notice, in billets of irresistible simplicity. Soon it
+was whispered about, that the thing to do was to dine with Beaumaris,
+and that Lady Beaumaris was "something too delightful." Prince
+Florestan frequently dined there; Waldershare always there, in a state
+of coruscation; and every man of fashion in the opposite ranks,
+especially if they had brains.
+
+Then, in a little time, it was gently hoped that Imogene should call
+on their wives and mothers, or their wives and mothers call on her;
+and then she received, without any formal invitation, twice a week;
+and as there was nothing going on in London, or nothing half so
+charming, everybody who was anybody came to Piccadilly Terrace; and
+so as, after long observation, a new planet is occasionally discovered
+by a philosopher, thus society suddenly and indubitably discovered
+that there was at last a Tory house.
+
+Lady Roehampton, duly apprised of affairs by her brother, had called
+on Lord and Lady Beaumaris, and had invited them to her house. It was
+the first appearance of Imogene in general society, and it was
+successful. Her large brown eyes, and long black lashes, her pretty
+mouth and dimple, her wondrous hair--which, it was whispered,
+unfolded, touched the ground--struck every one, and the dignified
+simplicity of her carriage was attractive. Her husband never left her
+side; while Mr. Waldershare was in every part of the saloons, watching
+her from distant points, to see how she got on, or catching the
+remarks of others on her appearance. Myra was kind to her as well as
+courteous, and, when the stream of arriving guests had somewhat
+ceased, sought her out and spoke to her; and then put her arm in hers,
+walked with her for a moment, and introduced her to one or two great
+personages, who had previously intimated their wish or their consent
+to that effect. Lady Montfort was not one of these. When parties are
+equal, and the struggle for power is intense, society loses much of
+its sympathy and softness. Lady Montfort could endure the presence of
+Tories, provided they were her kinsfolk, and would join, even at their
+houses, in traditionary festivities; but she shrank from passing the
+line, and at once had a prejudice against Imogene, who she
+instinctively felt might become a power for the enemy.
+
+"I will not have you talk so much to that Lady Beaumaris," she said to
+Endymion.
+
+"She is an old friend of mine," he replied.
+
+"How could you have known her? She was a shop-girl, was not she, or
+something of that sort?"
+
+"She and her family were very kind to me when I was not much better
+than a shop-boy myself," replied Endymion, with a mantling cheek.
+"They are most respectable people, and I have a great regard for her."
+
+"Indeed! Well; I will not keep you from your Tory woman," said
+Berengaria rudely; and she walked away.
+
+Altogether, this season of '40 was not a very satisfactory one in any
+respect, as regarded society or the country in general. Party passion
+was at its highest. The ministry retained office almost by a casting
+vote; were frequently defeated on important questions; and whenever a
+vacancy occurred, it was filled by their opponents. Their unpopularity
+increased daily, and it was stimulated by the general distress. All
+that Job Thornberry had predicted as to the state of manufacturing
+Scotland duly occurred. Besides manufacturing distress, they had to
+encounter a series of bad harvests. Never was a body of statesmen
+placed in a more embarrassing and less enviable position. There was a
+prevalent, though unfounded, conviction that they were maintained in
+power by a combination of court favour with Irish sedition.
+
+Lady Montfort and Lord Roehampton were the only persons who never lost
+heart. She was defiant; and he ever smiled, at least in public. "What
+nonsense!" she would say. "Mr. Sidney Wilton talks about the revenue
+falling off! As if the revenue could ever really fall off! And then
+our bad harvests. Why, that is the very reason we shall have an
+excellent harvest this year. You cannot go on always having bad
+harvests. Besides, good harvests never make a ministry popular. Nobody
+thanks a ministry for a good harvest. What makes a ministry popular is
+some great /coup/ in foreign affairs."
+
+Amid all these exciting disquietudes, Endymion pursued a life of
+enjoyment, but also of observation and much labour. He lived more and
+more with the Montforts, but the friendship of Berengaria was not
+frivolous. Though she liked him to be seen where he ought to figure,
+and required a great deal of attention herself, she ever impressed on
+him that his present life was only a training for a future career, and
+that his mind should ever be fixed on the attainment of a high
+position. Particularly she impressed on him the importance of being a
+linguist. "There will be a reaction some day from all this political
+economy," she would say, "and then there will be no one ready to take
+the helm." Endymion was not unworthy of the inspiring interest which
+Lady Montfort took in him. The terrible vicissitudes of his early
+years had gravely impressed his character. Though ambitious, he was
+prudent; and, though born to please and be pleased, he was sedulous
+and self-restrained. Though naturally deeply interested in the
+fortunes of his political friends, and especially of Lord Roehampton
+and Mr. Wilton, a careful scrutiny of existing circumstances had
+prepared him for an inevitable change; and, remembering what was their
+position but a few years back, he felt that his sister and himself
+should be reconciled to their altered lot, and be content. She would
+still be a peeress, and the happy wife of an illustrious man; and he
+himself, though he would have to relapse into the drudgery of a public
+office, would meet duties the discharge of which was once the object
+of his ambition, coupled now with an adequate income and with many
+friends.
+
+And among those friends, there were none with whom he maintained his
+relations more intimately than with the Neuchatels. He was often their
+guest both in town and at Hainault, and he met them frequently in
+society, always at the receptions of Lady Montfort and his sister.
+Zenobia used sometimes to send him a card; but these condescending
+recognitions of late had ceased, particularly as the great dame heard
+he was "always at that Lady Beaumaris's." One of the social incidents
+of his circle, not the least interesting to him, was the close
+attendance of Adriana and her mother on the ministrations of Nigel
+Penruddock. They had become among the most devoted of his flock; and
+this, too, when the rapid and startling development of his sacred
+offices had so alarmed the easy, though sagacious, Lord Roehampton,
+that he had absolutely expressed his wish to Myra that she should
+rarely attend them, and, indeed, gradually altogether drop a habit
+which might ultimately compromise her. Berengaria had long ago quitted
+him. This was attributed to her reputed caprice, yet it was not so. "I
+like a man to be practical," she said. "When I asked for a deanery for
+him the other day, the prime minister said he could hardly make a man
+a dean who believed in the Real Presence." Nigel's church, however,
+was more crowded than ever, and a large body of the clergy began to
+look upon him as the coming man.
+
+Towards the end of the year the "great /coup/ in foreign affairs,"
+which Lady Montfort had long brooded over, and indeed foreseen,
+occurred, and took the world, who were all thinking of something else,
+entirely by surprise. A tripartite alliance of great powers had
+suddenly started into life; the Egyptian host was swept from the
+conquered plains of Asia Minor and Syria by English blue-jackets; St.
+Jean d'Acre, which had baffled the great Napoleon, was bombarded and
+taken by a British fleet; and the whole fortunes of the world in a
+moment seemed changed, and permanently changed.
+
+"I am glad it did not occur in the season," said Zenobia. "I really
+could not stand Lady Montfort if it were May."
+
+The ministry was elate, and their Christmas was right merrie. There
+seemed good cause for this. It was a triumph of diplomatic skill,
+national valour, and administrative energy. Myra was prouder of her
+husband than ever, and, amid all the excitement, he smiled on her with
+sunny fondness. Everybody congratulated her. She gave a little
+reception before the holidays, to which everybody came who was in town
+or passing through. Even Zenobia appeared; but she stayed a very short
+time, talking very rapidly. Prince Florestan paid his grave devoirs,
+with a gaze which seemed always to search into Lady Roehampton's
+inmost heart, yet never lingering about her; and Waldershare, full of
+wondrous compliments and conceits, and really enthusiastic, for he
+ever sympathised with action; and Imogene, gorgeous with the Beaumaris
+sapphires; and Sidney Wilton, who kissed his hostess's hand, and
+Adriana, who kissed her cheek.
+
+"I tell you what, Mr. Endymion," said Mr. Neuchatel, "you should make
+Lord Roehampton your Chancellor of the Exchequer, and then your
+government might perhaps go on a little."
+
+
+
+                             CHAPTER LXV
+
+But, as Mr. Tadpole observed, with much originality, at the Carlton,
+they were dancing on a volcano. It was December, and the harvest was
+not yet all got in, the spring corn had never grown, and the wheat was
+rusty; there was, he well knew, another deficiency in the revenue, to
+be counted by millions; wise men shook their heads and said the trade
+was leaving the country, and it was rumoured that the whole population
+of Paisley lived on the rates.
+
+"Lord Roehampton thinks that something must be done about the corn
+laws," murmured Berengaria one day to Endymion, rather crestfallen;
+"but they will try sugar and timber first. I think it all nonsense,
+but nonsense is sometimes necessary."
+
+This was the first warning of that famous budget of 1841 which led to
+such vast consequences, and which, directly or indirectly, gave such a
+new form and colour to English politics. Sidney Wilton and his friends
+were at length all-powerful in the cabinet, because, in reality, there
+was nobody to oppose them. The vessel was waterlogged. The premier
+shrugged his shoulders; and Lord Roehampton said, "We may as well try
+it, because the alternative is, we shall have to resign."
+
+Affairs went on badly for the ministry during the early part of the
+session. They were more than once in a minority, and on Irish
+questions, which then deeply interested the country; but they had
+resolved that their fate should be decided by their financial
+measures, and Mr. Sidney Wilton and his friends were still sanguine as
+to the result. On the last day of April the Chancellor of the
+Exchequer introduced the budget, and proposed to provide for the
+deficiency by reducing the protective duties on sugar and timber. A
+few days after, the leader of the House of Commons himself announced a
+change in the corn laws, and the intended introduction of grain at
+various-priced duties per quarter.
+
+Then commenced the struggle of a month. Ultimately, Sir Robert Peel
+himself gave notice of a resolution of want of confidence in the
+ministry; and after a week's debate, it was carried, in an almost
+complete house, by a majority of one!
+
+It was generally supposed that the ministry would immediately resign.
+Their new measures had not revived their popularity, and the
+parliament in which they had been condemned had been elected under
+their own advice and influence. Mr. Sidney Wilton had even told
+Endymion to get their papers in order; and all around the somewhat
+dejected private secretary there were unmistakable signs of that fatal
+flitting which is peculiarly sickening to the youthful politician.
+
+He was breakfasting in his rooms at the Albany with not a good
+appetite. Although he had for some time contemplated the possibility
+of such changes--and contemplated them, as he thought, with philosophy
+--when it came to reality and practice, he found his spirit was by no
+means so calm, or his courage so firm, as he had counted on. The
+charms of office arrayed themselves before him. The social influence,
+the secret information, the danger, the dexterity, the ceaseless
+excitement, the delights of patronage which everybody affects to
+disregard, the power of benefiting others, and often the worthy and
+unknown which is a real joy--in eight-and-forty hours or so, all
+these, to which he had now been used for some time, and which with his
+plastic disposition had become a second nature, were to vanish, and
+probably never return. Why should they? He took the gloomiest view of
+the future, and his inward soul acknowledged that the man the country
+wanted was Peel. Why might he not govern as long as Pitt? He probably
+would. Peel! his father's friend! And this led to a train of painful
+but absorbing memories, and he sat musing and abstracted, fiddling
+with an idle egg-spoon.
+
+His servant came in with a note, which he eagerly opened. It ran thus:
+"I must see you instantly. I am here in the brougham, Cork Street end.
+Come directly. B. M."
+
+Endymion had to walk up half the Albany, and marked the brougham the
+whole way. There was in it an eager and radiant face.
+
+"You had better get in," said Lady Montfort, "for in these stirring
+times some of the enemy may be passing. And now," she continued, when
+the door was fairly shut, "nobody knows it, not five people. They are
+going to dissolve."
+
+"To dissolve!" exclaimed Endymion. "Will that help us?"
+
+"Very likely," said Berengaria. "We have had our share of bad luck,
+and now we may throw in. Cheap bread is a fine cry. Indeed it is too
+shocking that there should be laws which add to the price of what
+everybody agrees is the staff of life. But you do nothing but stare,
+Endymion; I thought you would be in a state of the greatest
+excitement!"
+
+"I am rather stunned than excited."
+
+"Well, but you must not be stunned, you must act. This is a crisis for
+our party, but it is something more for you. It is your climacteric.
+They may lose; but you must win, if you will only bestir yourself. See
+the whips directly, and get the most certain seat you can. Nothing
+must prevent your being in the new parliament."
+
+"I see everything to prevent it," said Endymion. "I have no means of
+getting into parliament--no means of any kind."
+
+"Means must be found," said Lady Montfort. "We cannot stop now to talk
+about means. That would be a mere waste of time. The thing must be
+done. I am now going to your sister, to consult with her. All you have
+got to do is to make up your mind that you will be in the next
+parliament, and you will succeed; for everything in this world depends
+upon will."
+
+"I think everything in this world depends upon woman," said Endymion.
+
+"It is the same thing," said Berengaria.
+
+Adriana was with Lady Roehampton when Lady Montfort was announced.
+
+Adriana came to console; but she herself was not without solace, for,
+if there were a change of government, she would see more of her
+friend.
+
+"Well; I was prepared for it," said Lady Roehampton. "I have always
+been expecting something ever since what they called the Bed-Chamber
+Plot."
+
+"Well; it gave us two years," said Lady Montfort; "and we are not out
+yet."
+
+Here were three women, young, beautiful, and powerful, and all friends
+of Endymion--real friends. Property does not consist merely of parks
+and palaces, broad acres, funds in many forms, services of plate, and
+collections of pictures. The affections of the heart are property, and
+the sympathy of the right person is often worth a good estate.
+
+These three charming women were cordial, and embraced each other when
+they met; but the conversation flagged, and the penetrating eye of
+Myra read in the countenance of Lady Montfort the urgent need of
+confidence.
+
+"So, dearest Adriana," said Lady Roehampton, "we will drive out
+together at three o'clock. I will call on you." And Adriana
+disappeared.
+
+"You know it?" said Lady Montfort when they were alone. "Of course you
+know it. Besides, I know you know it. What I have come about is this;
+your brother must be in the new parliament."
+
+"I have not seen him; I have not mentioned it to him," said Myra,
+somewhat hesitatingly.
+
+"I have seen him; I have mentioned it to him," said Lady Montfort
+decidedly. "He makes difficulties; there must be none. He will consult
+you. I came on at once that you might be prepared. No difficulty must
+be admitted. His future depends on it."
+
+"I live for his future," said Lady Roehampton.
+
+"He will talk to you about money. These things always cost money. As a
+general rule, nobody has money who ought to have it. I know dear Lord
+Roehampton is very kind to you; but, all his life, he never had too
+much money at his command; though why, I never could make out. And my
+lord has always had too much money; but I do not much care to talk to
+him about these affairs. The thing must be done. What is the use of a
+diamond necklace if you cannot help a friend into parliament? But all
+I want to know now is that you will throw no difficulties in his way.
+Help him, too, if you can."
+
+"I wish Endymion had married," replied Myra.
+
+"Well; I do not see how that would help affairs," said Lady Montfort.
+"Besides, I dislike married men. They are very uninteresting."
+
+"I mean, I wish," said Lady Roehampton musingly, "that he had made a
+great match."
+
+"That is not very easy," said Lady Montfort, "and great matches are
+generally failures. All the married heiresses I have known have
+shipwrecked."
+
+"And yet it is possible to marry an heiress and love her," said Myra.
+
+"It is possible, but very improbable."
+
+"I think one might easily love the person who has just left the room."
+
+"Miss Neuchatel?"
+
+"Adriana. Do not you agree with me?"
+
+"Miss Neuchatel will never marry," said Lady Montfort, "unless she
+loses her fortune."
+
+"Well; do you know, I have sometimes thought that she liked Endymion?
+I never could encourage such a feeling; and Endymion, I am sure, would
+not. I wish, I almost wish," added Lady Roehampton, trying to speak
+with playfulness, "that you would use your magic influence, dear Lady
+Montfort, and bring it about. He would soon get into parliament then."
+
+"I have tried to marry Miss Neuchatel once," said Lady Montfort, with
+a mantling cheek, "and I am glad to say I did not succeed. My match-
+making is over."
+
+There was a dead silence; one of those still moments which almost seem
+inconsistent with life, certainly with the presence of more than one
+human being. Lady Roehampton seemed buried in deep thought. She was
+quite abstracted, her eyes fixed, and fixed upon the ground. All the
+history of her life passed through her brain--all the history of their
+lives; from the nursery to this proud moment, proud even with all its
+searching anxiety. And yet the period of silence could be counted
+almost by seconds. Suddenly she looked up with a flushed cheek and a
+dazed look, and said, "It must be done."
+
+Lady Montfort sprang forward with a glance radiant with hope and
+energy, and kissed her on both cheeks. "Dearest Lady Roehampton," she
+exclaimed, "dearest Myra! I knew you would agree with me. Yes! it must
+be done."
+
+"You will see him perhaps before I do?" inquired Myra rather
+hesitatingly.
+
+"I see him every day at the same time," replied Lady Montfort. "He
+generally walks down to the House of Commons with Mr. Wilton, and when
+they have answered questions, and he has got all the news of the
+lobby, he comes to me. I always manage to get home from my drive to
+give him half an hour before dinner."
+
+
+
+                             CHAPTER LXVI
+
+Lady Montfort drove off to the private residence of the Secretary of
+the Treasury, who was of course in the great secret. She looked over
+his lists, examined his books, and seemed to have as much acquaintance
+with electioneering details as that wily and experienced gentleman
+himself. "Is there anything I can do?" she repeatedly inquired;
+"command me without compunction. Is it any use giving any parties? Can
+I write any letters? Can I see anybody?"
+
+"If you could stir up my lord a little?" said the secretary
+inquiringly.
+
+"Well, that is difficult," said Lady Montfort, "perhaps impossible.
+But you have all his influence, and when there is a point that presses
+you must let me know."
+
+"If he would only speak to his agents?" said the secretary, "but they
+say he will not, and he has a terrible fellow in ----shire, who I hear
+is one of the stewards for a dinner to Sir Robert."
+
+"I have stopped all that," said Lady Montfort. "That was Odo's doing,
+who is himself not very sound; full of prejudices about O'Connell, and
+all that stuff. But he must go with his party. You need not fear about
+him."
+
+"Well! it is a leap in the dark," said the secretary.
+
+"Oh! no," said Lady Montfort, "all will go right. A starving people
+must be in favour of a government who will give them bread for
+nothing. By the by, there is one thing, my dear Mr. Secretary, you
+must remember. I must have one seat, a certain seat, reserved for my
+nomination."
+
+"A certain seat in these days is a rare gem," said the secretary.
+
+"Yes, but I must have it nevertheless," said Lady Montfort. "I don't
+care about the cost or the trouble--but it must be certain."
+
+Then she went home and wrote a line to Endymion, to tell him that it
+was all settled, that she had seen his sister, who agreed with her
+that it must be done, and that she had called on the Secretary of the
+Treasury, and had secured a certain seat. "I wish you could come to
+luncheon," she added, "but I suppose that is impossible; you are
+always so busy. Why were you not in the Foreign Office? I am now going
+to call on the Tory women to see how they look, but I shall be at home
+a good while before seven, and of course count on seeing you."
+
+In the meantime, Endymion by no means shared the pleasurable
+excitement of his fair friend. His was an agitated walk from the
+Albany to Whitehall, where he resumed his duties moody and disquieted.
+There was a large correspondence this morning, which was a distraction
+and a relief, until the bell of Mr. Sidney Wilton sounded, and he was
+in attendance on his chief.
+
+"It is a great secret," said Mr. Wilton, "but I think I ought to tell
+you; instead of resigning, the government have decided to dissolve. I
+think it a mistake, but I stand by my friends. They believe the Irish
+vote will be very large, and with cheap bread will carry us through. I
+think the stronger we shall be in Ireland the weaker we shall be in
+England, and I doubt whether our cheap bread will be cheap enough.
+These Manchester associations have altered the aspect of affairs. I
+have been thinking a good deal about your position. I should like,
+before we broke up, to have seen you provided for by some permanent
+office of importance in which you might have been useful to the state,
+but it is difficult to manage these things suddenly. However, now we
+have time at any rate to look about us. Still, if I could have seen
+you permanently attached to this office in a responsible position, I
+should have been glad. I impressed upon the chief yesterday that you
+are most fit for it."
+
+"Oh! do not think of me, dear sir; you have been always too kind to
+me. I shall be content with my lot. All I shall regret is ceasing to
+serve you."
+
+Lady Montfort's carriage drove up to Montfort House just as Endymion
+reached the door. She took his arm with eagerness; she seemed
+breathless with excitement. "I fear I am very late, but if you had
+gone away I should never have pardoned you. I have been kept by
+listening to all the new appointments from Lady Bellasyse. They quite
+think we are out; you may be sure I did not deny it. I have so much to
+tell you. Come into my lord's room; he is away fishing. Think of
+fishing at such a crisis! I cannot tell you how pleased I was with my
+visit to Lady Roehampton. She quite agreed with me in everything. 'It
+must be done,' she said. How every right! and I have almost done it. I
+will have a certain seat; no chances. Let us have something to fall
+back upon. If not in office we shall be in opposition. All men must
+sometime or other be in opposition. There you will form yourself. It
+is a great thing to have had some official experience. It will save
+you from mares' nests, and I will give parties without end, and never
+rest till I see you prime minister."
+
+So she threw herself into her husband's easy chair, tossed her parasol
+on the table, and then she said, "But what is the matter with you,
+Endymion? you look quite sad. You do not mean you really take our
+defeat--which is not certain yet--so much to heart. Believe me,
+opposition has its charms; indeed, I sometimes think the principal
+reason why I have enjoyed our ministerial life so much is, that it has
+been from the first a perpetual struggle for existence."
+
+"I do not pretend to be quite indifferent to the probably impending
+change," said Endymion, "but I cannot say there is anything about it
+which would affect my feelings very deeply."
+
+"What is it, then?"
+
+"It is this business about which you and Myra are so kindly
+interesting yourselves," said Endymion with some emotion; "I do not
+think I could go into parliament."
+
+"Not go into parliament!" exclaimed Lady Montfort. "Why, what are men
+made for except to go into parliament? I am indeed astounded."
+
+"I do not disparage parliament," said Endymion; "much the reverse. It
+is a life that I think would suit me, and I have often thought the day
+might come"----
+
+"The day has come," said Lady Montfort, "and not a bit too soon. Mr.
+Fox went in before he was of age, and all young men of spirit should
+do the same. Why! you are two-and-twenty!"
+
+"It is not my age," said Endymion hesitatingly; "I am not afraid about
+that, for from the life which I have led of late years, I know a good
+deal about the House of Commons."
+
+"Then what is it, dear Endymion?" said Lady Montfort impatiently.
+
+"It will make a great change in my life," said Endymion calmly, but
+with earnestness, "and one which I do not feel justified in
+accepting."
+
+"I repeat to you, that you need give yourself no anxiety about the
+seat," said Lady Montfort. "It will not cost you a shilling. I and
+your sister have arranged all that. As she very wisely said, 'It must
+be done,' and it is done. All you have to do is to write an address,
+and make plenty of speeches, and you are M.P. for life, or as long as
+you like."
+
+"Possibly; a parliamentary adventurer, I might swim or I might sink;
+the chances are it would be the latter, for storms would arise, when
+those disappear who have no root in the country, and no fortune to
+secure them breathing time and a future."
+
+"Well, I did not expect, when you handed me out of my carriage to-day,
+that I was going to listen to a homily on prudence."
+
+"It is not very romantic, I own," said Endymion, "but my prudence is
+at any rate not a commonplace caught up from copy-books. I am only
+two-and-twenty, but I have had some experience, and it has been very
+bitter. I have spoken to you, dearest lady, sometimes of my earlier
+life, for I wished you to be acquainted with it, but I observed also
+you always seemed to shrink from such confidence, and I ceased from
+touching on what I saw did not interest you."
+
+"Quite a mistake. It greatly interested me. I know all about you and
+everything. I know you were not always a clerk in a public office, but
+the spoiled child of splendour. I know your father was a dear good
+man, but he made a mistake, and followed the Duke of Wellington
+instead of Mr. Canning. Had he not, he would probably be alive now,
+and certainly Secretary of State, like Mr. Sidney Wilton. But /you/
+must not make a mistake, Endymion. My business in life, and your
+sister's too, is to prevent your making mistakes. And you are on the
+eve of making a very great one if you lose this golden opportunity. Do
+not think of the past; you dwell on it too much. Be like me, live in
+the present, and when you dream, dream of the future."
+
+"Ah! the present would be adequate, it would be fascination, if I
+always had such a companion as Lady Montfort," said Endymion, shaking
+his head. "What surprises me most, what indeed astounds me, is that
+Myra should join in this counsel--Myra, who knows all, and who has
+felt it perhaps deeper even than I did. But I will not obtrude these
+thoughts on you, best and dearest of friends. I ought not to have made
+to you the allusions to my private position which I have done, but it
+seemed to me the only way to explain my conduct, otherwise
+inexplicable."
+
+"And to whom ought you to say these things if not to me," said Lady
+Montfort, "whom you called just now your best and dearest friend? I
+wish to be such to you. Perhaps I have been too eager, but, at any
+rate, it was eagerness for your welfare. Let us then be calm. Speak to
+me as you would to Myra. I cannot be your twin, but I can be your
+sister in feeling."
+
+He took her hand and gently pressed it to his lips; his eyes would
+have been bedewed, had not the dreadful sorrows and trials of his life
+much checked his native susceptibility. Then speaking in a serious
+tone, he said, "I am not without ambition, dearest Lady Montfort; I
+have had visions which would satisfy even you; but partly from my
+temperament, still more perhaps from the vicissitudes of my life, I
+have considerable waiting powers. I think if one is patient and
+watches, all will come of which one is capable; but no one can be
+patient who is not independent. My wants are moderate, but their
+fulfilment must be certain. The break-up of the government, which
+deprives me of my salary as a private secretary, deprives me of
+luxuries which I can do without--a horse, a brougham, a stall at the
+play, a flower in my button-hole--but my clerkship is my freehold. As
+long as I possess it, I can study, I can work, I can watch and
+comprehend all the machinery of government. I can move in society,
+without which a public man, whatever his talents or acquirements, is
+in life playing at blind-man's buff. I must sacrifice this citadel of
+my life if I go into parliament. Do not be offended, therefore, if I
+say to you, as I shall say to Myra, I have made up my mind not to
+surrender it. It is true I have the misfortune to be a year older than
+Charles Fox when he entered the senate, but even with this great
+disadvantage I am sometimes conceited enough to believe that I shall
+succeed, and to back myself against the field."
+
+
+
+                            CHAPTER LXVII
+
+Mr. Waldershare was delighted when the great secret was out, and he
+found that the ministry intended to dissolve, and not resign. It was
+on a Monday that Lord John Russell made this announcement, and
+Waldershare met Endymion in the lobby of the House of Commons. "I
+congratulate you, my dear boy; your fellows, at least, have pluck. If
+they lose, which I think they will, they will have gained at least
+three months of power, and irresponsible power. Why! they may do
+anything in the interval, and no doubt will. You will see; they will
+make their chargers consuls. It beats the Bed-Chamber Plot, and I
+always admired that. One hundred days! Why, the Second Empire lasted
+only one hundred days. But what days! what excitement! They were worth
+a hundred years at Elba."
+
+"Your friends do not seem quite so pleased as you are," said Endymion.
+
+"My friends, as you call them, are old fogies, and want to divide the
+spoil among the ancient hands. It will be a great thing for Peel to
+get rid of some of these old friends. A dissolution permits the
+powerful to show their power. There is Beaumaris, for example; now he
+will have an opportunity of letting them know who Lord Beaumaris is. I
+have a dream; he must be Master of the Horse. I shall never rest till
+I see Imogene riding in that golden coach, and breaking the line with
+all the honours of royalty."
+
+"Mr. Ferrars," said the editor of a newspaper, seizing his watched-for
+opportunity as Waldershare and Endymion separated, "do you think you
+could favour me this evening with Mr. Sidney Wilton's address? We have
+always supported Mr. Wilton's views on the corn laws, and if put
+clearly and powerfully before the country at this junction, the effect
+might be great, perhaps even, if sustained, decisive."
+
+Eight-and-forty hours and more had elapsed since the conversation
+between Endymion and Lady Montfort; they had not been happy days. For
+the first time during their acquaintance there had been constraint and
+embarrassment between them. Lady Montfort no longer opposed his views,
+but she did not approve them. She avoided the subject; she looked
+uninterested in all that was going on around her; talked of joining
+her lord and going a-fishing; felt he was right in his views of life.
+"Dear Simon was always right," and then she sighed, and then she
+shrugged her pretty shoulders. Endymion, though he called on her as
+usual, found there was nothing to converse about; politics seemed
+tacitly forbidden, and when he attempted small talk Lady Montfort
+seemed absent--and once absolutely yawned.
+
+What amazed Endymion still more was, that, under these rather
+distressing circumstances, he did not find adequate support and
+sympathy in his sister. Lady Roehampton did not question the propriety
+of his decision, but she seemed quite as unhappy and as dissatisfied
+as Lady Montfort.
+
+"What you say, dearest Endymion, is quite unanswerable, and I alone
+perhaps can really know that; but what I feel is, I have failed in
+life. My dream was to secure you greatness, and now, when the first
+occasion arrives, it seems I am more than powerless."
+
+"Dearest sister! you have done so much for me."
+
+"Nothing," said Lady Roehampton; "what I have done for you would have
+been done by every sister in this metropolis. I dreamed of other
+things; I fancied, with my affection and my will, I could command
+events, and place you on a pinnacle. I see my folly now; others have
+controlled your life, not I--as was most natural; natural, but still
+bitter."
+
+"Dearest Myra!"
+
+"It is so, Endymion. Let us deceive ourselves no longer. I ought not
+to have rested until you were in a position which would have made you
+a master of your destiny."
+
+"But if there should be such a thing as destiny, it will not submit to
+the mastery of man."
+
+"Do not split words with me; you know what I mean; you feel what I
+mean; I mean much more than I say, and you understand much more than I
+say. My lord told me to ask you to dine with us, if you called, but I
+will not ask you. There is no joy in meeting at present. I feel as I
+felt in our last year at Hurstley."
+
+"Oh! don't say that, dear Myra!" and Endymion sprang forward and
+kissed her very much. "Trust me; all will come right; a little
+patience, and all will come right."
+
+"I have had patience enough in life," said Lady Roehampton; "years of
+patience, the most doleful, the most dreary, the most dark and
+tragical. And I bore it all, and I bore it well, because I thought of
+you, and had confidence in you, and confidence in your star; and
+because, like an idiot, I had schooled myself to believe that, if I
+devoted my will to you, that star would triumph."
+
+So, the reader will see, that our hero was not in a very serene and
+genial mood when he was buttonholed by the editor in the lobby, and,
+it is feared, he was unusually curt with that gentleman, which editors
+do not like, and sometimes reward with a leading article in
+consequence, on the character and career of our political chief,
+perhaps with some passing reference to jacks-in-office, and the
+superficial impertinence of private secretaries. These wise and
+amiable speculators on public affairs should, however, sometimes
+charitably remember that even ministers have their chagrins, and that
+the trained temper and imperturbable presence of mind of their aides-
+de-camp are not absolutely proof to all the infirmities of human
+nature.
+
+Endymion had returned home from the lobby, depressed and dispirited.
+The last incident of our life shapes and colours our feelings. Ever
+since he had settled in London, his life might be said to have been
+happy, gradually and greatly prosperous. The devotion of his sister
+and the eminent position she had achieved, the friendship of Lady
+Montfort, and the kindness of society, who had received him with open
+arms, his easy circumstances after painful narrowness of means, his
+honourable and interesting position--these had been the chief among
+many other causes which had justly rendered Endymion Ferrars a
+satisfied and contented man. And it was more than to be hoped that not
+one of these sources would be wanting in his future. And yet he felt
+dejected, even to unhappiness. Myra figured to his painful
+consciousness only as deeply wounded in her feelings, and he somehow
+the cause; Lady Montfort, from whom he had never received anything but
+smiles and inspiring kindness, and witty raillery, and affectionate
+solicitude for his welfare, offended and estranged. And as for
+society, perhaps it would make a great difference in his position if
+he were no longer a private secretary to a cabinet minister and only a
+simple clerk; he could not, even at this melancholy moment, dwell on
+his impending loss of income, though that increase at the time had
+occasioned him, and those who loved him, so much satisfaction. And yet
+was he in fault? Had his decision been a narrow-minded and craven one?
+He could not bring himself to believe so--his conscience assured him
+that he had acted rightly. After all that he had experienced, he was
+prepared to welcome an obscure, but could not endure a humiliating
+position.
+
+It was a long summer evening. The House had not sat after the
+announcement of the ministers. The twilight lingered with a charm
+almost as irresistible as among woods and waters. Endymion had been
+engaged to dine out, but had excused himself. Had it not been for the
+Montfort misunderstanding, he would have gone; but that haunted him.
+He had not called on her that day; he really had not courage to meet
+her. He was beginning to think that he might never see her again;
+never, certainly, on the same terms. She had the reputation of being
+capricious, though she had been constant in her kindness to him. Never
+see her again, or only see her changed! He was not aware of the
+fulness of his misery before; he was not aware, until this moment,
+that unless he saw her every day life would be intolerable.
+
+He sat down at his table, covered with notes in every female
+handwriting except the right one, and with cards of invitation to
+banquets and balls and concerts, and "very earlies," and carpet dances
+--for our friend was a very fashionable young man--but what is the use
+of even being fashionable, if the person you love cares for you no
+more? And so out of very wantonness, instead of opening notes sealed
+or stamped with every form of coronet, he took up a business-like
+epistle, closed only with a wafer, and saying in drollery, "I should
+think a dun," he took out a script receipt for 20,000 pounds consols,
+purchased that morning in the name of Endymion Ferrars, Esq. It was
+enclosed in half a sheet of note-paper, on which were written these
+words, in a handwriting which gave no clue of acquaintanceship, or
+even sex: "Mind--you are to send me your first frank."
+
+
+
+                            CHAPTER LXVIII
+
+It was useless to ask who could it be? It could only be one person;
+and yet how could it have been managed? So completely and so promptly!
+Her lord, too, away; the only being, it would seem, who could have
+effected for her such a purpose, and he the last individual to whom,
+perhaps, she would have applied. Was it a dream? The long twilight was
+dying away, and it dies away in the Albany a little sooner than it
+does in Park Lane; and so he lit the candles on his mantel-piece, and
+then again unfolded the document carefully, and read it and re-read
+it. It was not a dream. He held in his hand firmly, and read with his
+eyes clearly, the evidence that he was the uncontrolled master of no
+slight amount of capital, and which, if treated with prudence, secured
+to him for life an absolute and becoming independence. His heart beat
+and his cheek glowed.
+
+What a woman! And how true were Myra's last words at Hurstley, that
+women would be his best friends in life! He ceased to think; and,
+dropping into his chair, fell into a reverie, in which the past and
+the future seemed to blend, with some mingling of a vague and almost
+ecstatic present. It was a dream of fair women, and even fairer
+thoughts, domestic tenderness and romantic love, mixed up with strange
+vicissitudes of lofty and fiery action, and passionate passages of
+eloquence and power. The clock struck and roused him from his musing.
+He fell from the clouds. Could he accept this boon? Was his doing so
+consistent with that principle of independence on which he had
+resolved to build up his life? The boon thus conferred might be
+recalled and returned; not legally indeed, but by a stronger influence
+than any law--the consciousness on his part that the feeling of
+interest in his life which had prompted it might change--would, must
+change. It was the romantic impulse of a young and fascinating woman,
+who had been to him invariably kind, but who had a reputation for
+caprice, which was not unknown to him. It was a wild and beautiful
+adventure; but only that.
+
+He walked up and down his rooms for a long time, sometimes thinking,
+sometimes merely musing; sometimes in a pleased but gently agitated
+state of almost unconsciousness. At last he sate down at his writing-
+table, and wrote for some time; and then directing the letter to the
+Countess of Montfort, he resolved to change the current of his
+thoughts, and went to a club.
+
+Morning is not romantic. Romance is the twilight spell; but morn is
+bright and joyous, prompt with action, and full of sanguine hope. Life
+has few difficulties in the morning, at least, none which we cannot
+conquer; and a private secretary to a minister, young and prosperous,
+at his first meal, surrounded by dry toast, all the newspapers, and
+piles of correspondence, asking and promising everything, feels with
+pride and delight the sense of powerful and responsible existence.
+Endymion had glanced at all the leading articles, had sorted in the
+correspondence the grain from the chaff, and had settled in his mind
+those who must be answered and those who must be seen. The strange
+incident of last night was of course not forgotten, but removed, as it
+were, from his consciousness in the bustle and pressure of active
+life, when his servant brought him a letter in a handwriting he knew
+right well. He would not open it till he was alone, and then it was
+with a beating heart and a burning cheek.
+
+
+                        LADY MONTFORT'S LETTER
+
+ "What is it all about? and what does it all mean? I should have
+  thought some great calamity had occurred if, however distressing,
+  it did not appear in some sense to be gratifying. What is
+  gratifying? You deal in conundrums, which I never could find out.
+  Of course I shall be at home to you at any time, if you wish to
+  see me. Pray come on at once, as I detest mysteries. I went to the
+  play last night with your sister. We both of us rather expected to
+  see you, but it seems neither of us had mentioned to you we were
+  going. I did not, for I was too low-spirited about your affairs.
+  You lost nothing. The piece was stupid beyond expression. We
+  laughed heartily, at least I did, to show we were not afraid. My
+  lord came home last night suddenly. Odo is going to stand for the
+  county, and his borough is vacant. What an opportunity it would
+  have been for you! a certain seat. But I care for no boroughs now.
+  My lord will want you to dine with him to-day; I hope you can
+  come. Perhaps he will not be able to see you this morning, as his
+  agent will be with him about these elections. Adieu!"
+
+
+If Lady Montfort did not like conundrums, she had succeeded, however,
+in sending one sufficiently perplexing to Endymion. Could it be
+possible that the writer of this letter was the unknown benefactress
+of the preceding eve? Lady Montfort was not a mystifier. Her nature
+was singularly frank and fearless, and when Endymion told her
+everything that had occurred, and gave her the document which
+originally he had meant to bring with him in order to return it, her
+amazement and her joy were equal.
+
+"I wish I had sent it," said Lady Montfort, "but that was impossible.
+I do not care who did send it; I have no female curiosity except about
+matters which, by knowledge, I may influence. This is finished. You
+are free. You cannot hesitate as to your course. I never could speak
+to you again if you did hesitate. Stop here, and I will go to my lord.
+This is a great day. If we can settle only to-day that you shall be
+the candidate for our borough, I really shall not much care for the
+change of ministry."
+
+Lady Montfort was a long time away. Endymion would have liked to have
+gone forth on his affairs, but she had impressed upon him so earnestly
+to wait for her return that he felt he could not retire. The room was
+one to which he was not unaccustomed, otherwise, its contents would
+not have been uninteresting; her portrait by more than one great
+master, a miniature of her husband in a Venetian dress upon her
+writing-table--a table which wonderfully indicated alike the lady of
+fashion and the lady of business, for there seemed to be no form in
+which paper could be folded and emblazoned which was there wanting;
+quires of letter paper, and note paper, and notelet paper, from
+despatches of state to billet-doux, all were ready; great covers with
+arms and supporters, more moderate ones with "Berengaria" in letters
+of glittering fancy, and the destined shells of diminutive effusions
+marked only with a golden bee. There was another table covered with
+trinkets and precious toys; snuff-boxes and patch-boxes beautifully
+painted, exquisite miniatures, rare fans, cups of agate, birds
+glittering with gems almost as radiant as the tropic plumage they
+imitated, wild animals cut out of ivory, or formed of fantastic pearls
+--all the spoils of queens and royal mistresses.
+
+Upon the walls were drawings of her various homes; that of her
+childhood, as well as of the hearths she ruled and loved. There were a
+few portraits on the walls also of those whom she ranked as her
+particular friends. Lord Roehampton was one, another was the Count of
+Ferroll.
+
+Time went on; on a little table, by the side of evidently her
+favourite chair, was a book she had been reading. It was a German tale
+of fame, and Endymion, dropping into her seat, became interested in a
+volume which hitherto he had never seen, but of which he had heard
+much.
+
+Perhaps he had been reading for some time; there was a sound, he
+started and looked up, and then, springing from his chair, he said,
+"Something has happened!"
+
+Lady Montfort was quite pale, and the expression of her countenance
+distressed, but when he said these words she tried to smile, and said,
+"No, no, nothing, nothing,--at least nothing to distress you. My lord
+hopes you will be able to dine with him to-day, and tell him all the
+news." And then she threw herself into a chair and sighed. "I should
+like to have a good cry, as the servants say--but I never could cry. I
+will tell you all about it in a moment. You were very good not to go."
+
+It seems that Lady Montfort saw her lord before the agent, who was
+waiting, had had his interview, and the opportunity being in every way
+favourable, she felt the way about obtaining his cousin's seat for
+Endymion. Lord Montfort quite embraced this proposal. It had never
+occurred to him. He had no idea that Ferrars contemplated parliament.
+It was a capital idea. He could not bear reading the parliament
+reports, and yet he liked to know a little of what was going on. Now,
+when anything happened of interest, he should have it all from the
+fountain-head. "And you must tell him, Berengaria," he continued,
+"that he can come and dine here whenever he likes, in boots. It is a
+settled thing that M.P.'s may dine in boots. I think it a most capital
+plan. Besides, I know it will please you. You will have your own
+member."
+
+Then he rang the bell, and begged Lady Montfort to remain and see the
+agent. Nothing like the present time for business. They would make all
+the arrangements at once, and he would ask the agent to dine with them
+to-day, and so meet Mr. Ferrars.
+
+So the agent entered, and it was all explained to him, calmly and
+clearly, briefly by my lord, but with fervent amplification by his
+charming wife. The agent several times attempted to make a remark, but
+for some time he was unsuccessful; Lady Montfort was so anxious that
+he should know all about Mr. Ferrars, the most rising young man of the
+day, the son of the Right Honourable William Pitt Ferrars, who, had he
+not died, would probably have been prime minister, and so on.
+
+"Mr. Ferrars seems to be everything we could wish," said the agent,
+"and as you say, my lady, though he is young, so was Mr. Pitt, and I
+have little doubt, after what you say, my lady, that it is very likely
+he will in time become as eminent. But what I came up to town
+particularly to impress upon my lord is, that if Mr. Odo will not
+stand again, we are in a very great difficulty."
+
+"Difficulty about what?" said Lady Montfort impatiently.
+
+"Well, my lady, if Mr. Odo stands, there is great respect for him. The
+other side would not disturb him. He has been member for some years,
+and my lord has been very liberal. But the truth is, if Mr. Odo does
+not stand, we cannot command the seat."
+
+"Not command the seat! Then our interest must have been terribly
+neglected."
+
+"I hope not, my lady," said the agent. "The fact is, the property is
+against us."
+
+"I thought it was all my lord's."
+
+"No, my lady; the strong interest in the borough is my Lord Beaumaris.
+It used to be about equal, but all the new buildings are in Lord
+Beaumaris' part of the borough. It would not have signified if things
+had remained as in the old days. The grandfather of the present lord
+was a Whig, and always supported the Montforts, but that's all
+changed. The present earl has gone over to the other side, and, I
+hear, is very strong in his views."
+
+Lady Montfort had to communicate all this to Endymion. "You will meet
+the agent at dinner, but he did not give me a ray of hope. Go now;
+indeed, I have kept you too long. I am so stricken that I can scarcely
+command my senses. Only think of our borough being stolen from us by
+Lord Beaumaris! I have brought you no luck, Endymion; I have done you
+nothing but mischief; I am miserable. If you had attached yourself to
+Lady Beaumaris, you might have been a member of parliament."
+
+
+
+                             CHAPTER LXIX
+
+In the meantime, the great news being no longer a secret, the utmost
+excitement prevailed in the world of politics. The Tories had quite
+made up their minds that the ministry would have resigned, and were
+sanguine, under such circumstances, of the result. The parliament,
+which the ministry was going to dissolve, was one which had been
+elected by their counsel and under their auspices. It was unusual,
+almost unconstitutional, thus to terminate the body they had created.
+Nevertheless, the Whigs, never too delicate in such matters, thought
+they had a chance, and determined not to lose it. One thing they
+immediately succeeded in, and that was, frightening their opponents. A
+dissolution with the Tories in opposition was not pleasant to that
+party; but a dissolution with a cry of "Cheap bread!" amid a partially
+starving population, was not exactly the conjuncture of providential
+circumstances which had long been watched and wished for, and
+cherished and coddled and proclaimed and promised, by the energetic
+army of Conservative wire-pullers.
+
+Mr. Tadpole was very restless at the crowded Carlton, speaking to
+every one, unhesitatingly answering every question, alike cajoling and
+dictatorial, and yet, all the time, watching the door of the morning
+room with unquiet anxiety.
+
+"They will never be able to get up the steam, Sir Thomas; the
+Chartists are against them. The Chartists will never submit to
+anything that is cheap. In spite of their wild fancies, they are real
+John Bulls. I beg your pardon, but I see a gentleman I must speak to,"
+and he rushed towards the door as Waldershare entered.
+
+"Well, what is your news?" asked Mr. Tadpole, affecting unconcern.
+
+"I come here for news," said Waldershare. "This is my Academus, and
+you, Tadpole, are my Plato."
+
+"Well, if you want the words of a wise man, listen to me. If I had a
+great friend, which Mr. Waldershare probably has, who wants a great
+place, these are times in which such a man should show his power."
+
+"I have a great friend whom I wish to have a great place," said
+Waldershare, "and I think he is quite ready to show his power, if he
+knew exactly how to exercise it."
+
+"What I am saying to you is not known to a single person in this room,
+and to only one out of it, but you may depend upon what I say. Lord
+Montfort's cousin retires from Northborough to sit for the county.
+They think they can nominate his successor as a matter of course. A
+delusion; your friend Lord Beaumaris can command the seat."
+
+"Well, I think you can depend on Beaumaris," said Waldershare, much
+interested.
+
+"I depend upon you," said Mr. Tadpole, with a glance of affectionate
+credulity. "The party already owes you much. This will be a crowning
+service."
+
+"Beaumaris is rather a queer man to deal with," said Waldershare; "he
+requires gentle handling."
+
+"All the world says he consults you on everything."
+
+"All the world, as usual, is wrong," said Waldershare. "Lord Beaumaris
+consults no one except Lady Beaumaris."
+
+"Well then we shall do," rejoined Mr. Tadpole triumphantly. "Our man
+that I want him to return is a connection of Lady Beaumaris, a Mr.
+Rodney, very anxious to get into parliament, and rich. I do not know
+who he is exactly, but it is a good name; say a cousin of Lord Rodney
+until the election is over, and then they may settle it as they like."
+
+"A Mr. Rodney," said Waldershare musingly; "well, if I hear anything I
+will let you know. I suppose you are in pretty good spirits?"
+
+"I should like a little sunshine. A cold spring, and now a wet summer,
+and the certainty of a shocking harvest combined with manufacturing
+distress spreading daily, is not pleasant, but the English are a
+discriminating people. They will hardly persuade them that Sir Robert
+has occasioned the bad harvests."
+
+"The present men are clearly responsible for all that," said
+Waldershare.
+
+There was a reception at Lady Roehampton's this evening. Very few
+Tories attended it, but Lady Beaumaris was there. She never lost an
+opportunity of showing by her presence how grateful she was to Myra
+for the kindness which had greeted Imogene when she first entered
+society. Endymion, as was his custom when the opportunity offered,
+rather hung about Lady Beaumaris. She always welcomed him with
+unaffected cordiality and evident pleasure. He talked to her, and then
+gave way to others, and then came and talked to her again, and then he
+proposed to take her to have a cup of tea, and she assented to the
+proposal with a brightening eye and a bewitching smile.
+
+"I suppose your friends are very triumphant, Lady Beaumaris?" said
+Endymion.
+
+"Yes; they naturally are very excited. I confess I am not myself."
+
+"But you ought to be," said Endymion. "You will have an immense
+position. I should think Lord Beaumaris would have any office he
+chose, and yours will be the chief house of the party."
+
+"I do not know that Lord Beaumaris would care to have office, and I
+hardly think any office would suit him. As for myself, I am obliged to
+be ambitious, but I have no ambition, or rather I would say, I think I
+was happier when we all seemed to be on the same side."
+
+"Well, those were happy days," said Endymion, "and these are happy
+days. And few things make me happier than to see Lady Beaumaris
+admired and appreciated by every one."
+
+"I wish you would not call me Lady Beaumaris. That may be, and indeed
+perhaps is, necessary in society, but when we are alone, I prefer
+being called by a name which once you always and kindly used."
+
+"I shall always love the name," said Endymion, "and," he added with
+some hesitation, "shall always love her who bears it."
+
+She involuntarily pressed his arm, though very slightly; and then in
+rather a hushed and hurried tone she said, "They were talking about
+you at dinner to-day. I fear this change of government, if there is to
+be one, will be injurious to you--losing your private secretaryship to
+Mr. Wilton, and perhaps other things?"
+
+"Fortune of war," said Endymion; "we must bear these haps. But the
+truth is, I think it is not unlikely that there may be a change in my
+life which may be incompatible with retaining my secretaryship under
+any circumstances."
+
+"You are not going to be married?" she said quickly.
+
+"Not the slightest idea of such an event."
+
+"You are too young to marry."
+
+"Well, I am older than you."
+
+"Yes; but men and women are different in that matter. Besides, you
+have too many fair friends to marry, at least at present. What would
+Lady Roehampton say?"
+
+"Well, I have sometimes thought my sister wished me to marry."
+
+"But then there are others who are not sisters, but who are equally
+interested in your welfare," said Lady Beaumaris, looking up into his
+face with her wondrous eyes; but the lashes were so long, that it was
+impossible to decide whether the glance was an anxious one or one half
+of mockery.
+
+"Well, I do not think I shall ever marry," said Endymion. "The change
+in my life I was alluding to is one by no means of a romantic
+character. I have some thoughts of trying my luck on the hustings, and
+getting into parliament."
+
+"That would be delightful," said Lady Beaumaris. "Do you know that it
+has been one of my dreams that you should be in parliament?"
+
+"Ah! dearest Imogene, for you said I might call you Imogene, you must
+take care what you say. Remember we are unhappily in different camps.
+You must not wish me success in my enterprise; quite the reverse; it
+is more than probable that you will have to exert all your influence
+against me; yes, canvass against me, and wear hostile ribbons, and use
+all your irresistible charms to array electors against me, or to
+detach them from my ranks."
+
+"Even in jest, you ought not to say such things," said Lady Beaumaris.
+
+"But I am not in jest, I am in dreadful earnest. Only this morning I
+was offered a seat, which they told me was secure; but when I inquired
+into all the circumstances, I found the interest of Lord Beaumaris so
+great, that it would be folly for me to attempt it."
+
+"What seat?" inquired Lady Beaumaris in a low voice.
+
+"Northborough," said Endymion, "now held by Lord Montfort's cousin,
+who is to come in for his county. The seat was offered to me, and I
+was told I was to be returned without opposition."
+
+"Lady Montfort offered it to you?" asked Imogene.
+
+"She interested herself for me, and Lord Montfort approved the
+suggestion. It was described to me as a family seat, but when I looked
+into the matter, I found that Lord Beaumaris was more powerful than
+Lord Montfort."
+
+"I thought that Lady Montfort was irresistible," said Imogene; "she
+carries all before her in society."
+
+"Society and politics have much to do with each other, but they are
+not identical. In the present case, Lady Montfort is powerless."
+
+"And have you formally abandoned the seat?" inquired Lady Beaumaris.
+
+"Not formally abandoned it; that was not necessary, but I have
+dismissed it from my mind, and for some time have been trying to find
+another seat, but hitherto without success. In short, in these days it
+is no longer possible to step into parliament as if you were stepping
+into a club."
+
+"If I could do anything, however little?" said Imogene. "Perhaps Lady
+Montfort would not like me to interfere?"
+
+"Why not?"
+
+"Oh! I do not know," and then after some hesitation she added, "Is she
+jealous?"
+
+"Jealous! why should she be jealous?"
+
+"Perhaps she has had no cause."
+
+"You know Lady Montfort. She is a woman of quick and brilliant
+feeling, the best of friends and a dauntless foe. Her kindness to me
+from the first moment I made her acquaintance has been inexpressible,
+and I sincerely believe she is most anxious to serve me. But our party
+is not very popular at present; there is no doubt the country is
+against us. It is tired of us. I feel myself the general election will
+be disastrous. Liberal seats are not abundant just now, quite the
+reverse, and though Lady Montfort has done more than any one could
+under the circumstances, I feel persuaded, though you think her
+irresistible, she will not succeed."
+
+"I hardly know her," said Imogene. "The world considers her
+irresistible, and I think you do. Nevertheless, I wish she could have
+had her way in this matter, and I think it quite a pity that
+Northborough has turned out not to be a family seat."
+
+
+
+                             CHAPTER LXX
+
+There was a dinner-party at Mr. Neuchatel's, to which none were asked
+but the high government clique. It was the last dinner before the
+dissolution: "The dinner of consolation, or hope," said Lord
+Roehampton. Lady Montfort was to be one of the guests. She was
+dressed, and her carriage in the courtyard, and she had just gone in
+to see her lord before she departed.
+
+Lord Montfort was extremely fond of jewels, and held that you could
+not see them to advantage, or fairly judge of their water or colour,
+except on a beautiful woman. When his wife was in grand toilette, and
+he was under the same roof, he liked her to call on him in her way to
+her carriage, that he might see her flashing rivieres and tiaras, the
+lustre of her huge pearls, and the splendour of her emeralds and
+sapphires and rubies.
+
+"Well, Berengaria," he said in a playful tone, "you look divine. Never
+dine out again in a high dress. It distresses me. Bertolini was the
+only man who ever caught the tournure of your shoulders, and yet I am
+not altogether satisfied with his work. So, you are going to dine with
+that good Neuchatel. Remember me kindly to him. There are few men I
+like better. He is so sensible, knows so much, and so much of what is
+going on. I should have liked very much to have dined with him, but he
+is aware of my unfortunate state. Besides, my dear, if I were better I
+should not have enough strength for his dinners. They are really
+banquets; I cannot stand those ortolans stuffed with truffles and
+those truffles stuffed with ortolans. Perhaps he will come and dine
+with us some day off a joint."
+
+"The Queen of Mesopotamia will be here next week, Simon, and we must
+really give her what you call a joint, and then we can ask the
+Neuchatels and a few other people."
+
+"I was in hopes the dissolution would have carried everybody away,"
+said Lord Montfort rather woefully. "I wish the Queen of Mesopotamia
+were a candidate for some borough; I think she would rather like it."
+
+"Well, we could not return her, Simon; do not touch on the subject.
+But what have you got to amuse to-day?"
+
+"Oh! I shall do very well. I have got the head of the French detective
+police to dine with me, and another man or two. Besides, I have got
+here a most amusing book, 'Topsy Turvy;' it comes out in numbers. I
+like books that come out in numbers, as there is a little suspense,
+and you cannot deprive yourself of all interest by glancing at the
+last page of the last volume. I think you must read 'Topsy Turvy,'
+Berengaria. I am mistaken if you do not hear of it. It is very
+cynical, which authors, who know a little of the world, are apt to be,
+and everything is exaggerated, which is another of their faults when
+they are only a trifle acquainted with manners. A little knowledge of
+the world is a very dangerous thing, especially in literature. But it
+is clever, and the man writes a capital style; and style is
+everything, especially in fiction."
+
+"And what is the name of the writer, Simon?"
+
+"You never heard of it; I never did; but my secretary, who lives much
+in Bohemia, and is a member of the Cosmopolitan and knows everything,
+tells me he has written some things before, but they did not succeed.
+His name is St. Barbe. I should like to ask him to dinner if I knew
+how to get at him."
+
+"Well, adieu! Simon," and, with an agitated heart, though apparent
+calmness, she touched his forehead with her lips. "I expect an
+unsatisfactory dinner."
+
+"Adieu! and if you meet poor Ferrars, which I dare say you will, tell
+him to keep up his spirits. The world is a wheel, and it will all come
+round right."
+
+The dinner ought not to have been unsatisfactory, for though there was
+no novelty among the guests, they were all clever and distinguished
+persons and united by entire sympathy. Several of the ministers were
+there, and the Roehamptons, and Mr. Sidney Wilton, and Endymion was
+also a guest. But the general tone was a little affected and
+unnatural; forced gaiety, and a levity which displeased Lady Montfort,
+who fancied she was unhappy because the country was going to be
+ruined, but whose real cause of dissatisfaction at the bottom of her
+heart was the affair of "the family seat." Her hero, Lord Roehampton,
+particularly did not please her to-day. She thought him flippant and
+in bad taste, merely because he would not look dismal and talk
+gloomily.
+
+"I think we shall do very well," he said. "What cry can be better than
+that of 'Cheap bread?' It gives one an appetite at once."
+
+"But the Corn-Law League says your bread will not be cheap," said
+Melchior Neuchatel.
+
+"I wonder whether the League has really any power in the
+constituencies," said Lord Roehampton. "I doubt it. They may have in
+time, but then in the interval trade will revive. I have just been
+reading Mr. Thornberry's speech. We shall hear more of that man. You
+will not be troubled about any of your seats?" he said, in a lower
+tone of sympathy, addressing Mrs. Neuchatel, who was his immediate
+neighbour.
+
+"Our seats?" said Mrs. Neuchatel, as if waking from a dream. "Oh, I
+know nothing about them, nor do I understand why there is a
+dissolution. I trust that parliament will not be dissolved without
+voting the money for the observation of the transit of Venus."
+
+"I think the Roman Catholic vote will carry us through," said a
+minister.
+
+"Talking of Roman Catholics," said Mr. Wilton, "is it true that
+Penruddock has gone over to Rome?"
+
+"No truth in it," replied a colleague. "He has gone to Rome--there is
+no doubt of that, and he has been there some time, but only for
+distraction. He had overworked himself."
+
+"He might have been a Dean if he had been a practical man," whispered
+Lady Montfort to Mr. Neuchatel, "and on the high road to a bishopric."
+
+"That is what we want, Lady Montfort," said Mr. Neuchatel; "we want a
+few practical men. If we had a practical man as Chancellor of the
+Exchequer, we should not be in the scrape in which we now are."
+
+"It is not likely that Penruddock will leave the Church with a change
+of government possibly impending. We could do nothing for him with his
+views, but he will wait for Peel."
+
+"Oh! Peel will never stand those high-fliers. He put the Church into a
+Lay Commission during his last government."
+
+"Penruddock will never give up Anglicanism while there is a chance of
+becoming a Laud. When that chance vanishes, trust my word, Penruddock
+will make his bow to the Vatican."
+
+"Well, I must say," said Lord Roehampton, "if I were a clergyman I
+should be a Roman Catholic."
+
+"Then you could not marry. What a compliment to Lady Roehampton!"
+
+"Nay; it is because I could not marry that I am not a clergyman."
+
+Endymion had taken Adriana down to dinner. She looked very well, and
+was more talkative than usual.
+
+"I fear it will be a very great confusion--this general election," she
+said. Papa was telling us that you think of being a candidate."
+
+"I am a candidate, but without a seat to captivate at present," said
+Endymion; "but I am not without hopes of making some arrangement."
+
+"Well, you must tell me what your colours are."
+
+"And will you wear them?"
+
+"Most certainly; and I will work you a banner if you be victorious."
+
+"I think I must win with such a prospect."
+
+"I hope you will win in everything."
+
+When the ladies retired, Berengaria came and sate by the side of Lady
+Roehampton.
+
+"What a dreary dinner!" she said.
+
+"Do you think so?"
+
+"Well, perhaps it was my own fault. Perhaps I am not in good cue, but
+everything seems to me to go wrong."
+
+"Things sometimes do go wrong, but then they get right."
+
+"Well, I do not think anything will ever get right with me."
+
+"Dear Lady Montfort, how can you say such things? You who have, and
+have always had, the world at your feet--and always will have."
+
+"I do not know what you mean by having the world at my feet. It seems
+to me that I have no power whatever--I can do nothing. I am vexed
+about this business of your brother. Our people are so stupid. They
+have no resource. When I go to them and ask for a seat, I expect a
+seat, as I would a shawl at Howell and James' if I asked for one.
+Instead of that they only make difficulties. What our party wants is a
+Mr. Tadpole; he out-manoeuvres them in every corner."
+
+"Well, I shall be deeply disappointed--deeply pained," said Lady
+Roehampton, "if Endymion is not in this parliament, but if we fail I
+will not utterly despair. I will continue to do what I have done all
+my life, exert my utmost will and power to advance him."
+
+"I thought I had will and power," said Lady Montfort, "but the conceit
+is taken out of me. Your brother was to me a source of great interest,
+from the first moment that I knew him. His future was an object in
+life, and I thought I could mould it. What a mistake! Instead of
+making his fortune I have only dissipated his life."
+
+"You have been to him the kindest and the most valuable of friends,
+and he feels it."
+
+"It is no use being kind, and I am valuable to no one. I often think
+if I disappeared to-morrow no one would miss me."
+
+"You are in a morbid mood, dear lady. To-morrow perhaps everything
+will be right, and then you will feel that you are surrounded by
+devoted friends, and by a husband who adores you."
+
+Lady Montfort gave a scrutinising glance at Lady Roehampton as she
+said this, then shook her head. "Ah! there it is, dear Myra. You judge
+from your own happiness; you do not know Lord Montfort. You know how I
+love him, but I am perfectly convinced he prefers my letters to my
+society."
+
+"You see what it is to be a Madame de Sevigne," said Lady Roehampton,
+trying to give a playful tone to the conversation.
+
+"You jest," said Lady Montfort; "I am quite serious. No one can
+deceive me; would that they could! I have the fatal gift of reading
+persons, and penetrating motives, however deep or complicated their
+character, and what I tell you about Lord Montfort is unhappily too
+true."
+
+In the meantime, while this interesting conversation was taking place,
+the gentleman who had been the object of Lady Montfort's eulogium, the
+gentleman who always out-manoeuvred her friends at every corner, was,
+though it was approaching midnight, walking up and down Carlton
+Terrace with an agitated and indignant countenance, and not alone.
+
+"I tell you, Mr. Waldershare, I know it; I have it almost from Lord
+Beaumaris himself; he has declined to support our man, and no doubt
+will give his influence to the enemy."
+
+"I do not believe that Lord Beaumaris has made any engagement
+whatever."
+
+"A pretty state of affairs!" exclaimed Mr. Tadpole. "I do not know
+what the world has come to. Here are gentlemen expecting high places
+in the Household, and under-secretaryships of state, and actually
+giving away our seats to our opponents."
+
+"There is some family engagement about this seat between the Houses of
+Beaumaris and Montfort, and Lord Beaumaris, who is a young man, and
+who does not know as much about these things as you and I do,
+naturally wants not to make a mistake. But he has promised nothing and
+nobody. I know, I might almost say I saw the letter, that he wrote to
+Lord Montfort this day, asking for an interview to-morrow morning on
+the matter, and Lord Montfort has given him an appointment for
+to-morrow. This I know."
+
+"Well, I must leave it to you," said Mr. Tadpole. "You must remember
+what we are fighting for. The constitution is at stake."
+
+"And the Church," said Waldershare.
+
+"And the landed interest, you may rely upon it," said Mr. Tadpole.
+
+"And your Lordship of the Treasury /in posse/, Tadpole. Truly it is a
+great stake."
+
+
+
+                             CHAPTER LXXI
+
+The interview between the heads of the two great houses of Montfort
+and Beaumaris, on which the fate of a ministry might depend, for it
+should always be recollected that it was only by a majority of one
+that Sir Robert Peel had necessitated the dissolution of parliament,
+was not carried on exactly in the spirit and with the means which
+would have occurred to and been practised by the race of Tadpoles and
+Tapers.
+
+Lord Beaumaris was a very young man, handsome, extremely shy, and one
+who had only very recently mixed with the circle in which he was born.
+It was under the influence of Imogene that, in soliciting an interview
+with Lord Montfort, he had taken for him an unusual, not to say
+unprecedented step. He had conjured up to himself in Lord Montfort the
+apparition of a haughty Whig peer, proud of his order, prouder of his
+party, and not over-prejudiced in favour of one who had quitted those
+sacred ranks, freezing with arrogant reserve and condescending
+politeness. In short, Lord Beaumaris was extremely nervous when,
+ushered by many servants through many chambers, there came forward to
+receive him the most sweetly mannered gentleman alive, who not only
+gave him his hand, but retained his guest's, saying, "We are a sort of
+cousins, I believe, and ought to have been acquainted before, but you
+know perhaps my wretched state," though what that was nobody exactly
+did know, particularly as Lord Montfort was sometimes seen wading in
+streams breast-high while throwing his skilful line over the rushing
+waters. "I remember your grandfather," he said, "and with good cause.
+He pouched me at Harrow, and it was the largest pouch I ever had. One
+does not forget the first time one had a five-pound note."
+
+And then when Lord Beaumaris, blushing and with much hesitation, had
+stated the occasion of his asking for the interview that they might
+settle together about the representation of Northborough in harmony
+with the old understanding between the families which he trusted would
+always be maintained, Lord Montfort assured him that he was personally
+obliged to him by his always supporting Odo, regretted that Odo would
+retire, and then said if Lord Beaumaris had any brother, cousin, or
+friend to bring forward, he need hardly say Lord Beaumaris might count
+upon him. "I am a Whig," he continued, "and so was your father, but I
+am not particularly pleased with the sayings and doings of my people.
+Between ourselves, I think they have been in a little too long, and if
+they do anything very strong, if, for instance, they give office to
+O'Connell, I should not be at all surprised if I were myself to sit on
+the cross benches."
+
+It seems there was no member of the Beaumaris family who wished at
+this juncture to come forward, and being assured of this, Lord
+Montfort remarked there was a young man of promise who much wished to
+enter the House of Commons, not unknown, he believed, to Lord
+Beaumaris, and that was Mr. Ferrars. He was the son of a distinguished
+man, now departed, who in his day had been a minister of state. Lord
+Montfort was quite ready to support Mr. Ferrars, if Lord Beaumaris
+approved of the selection, but he placed himself entirely in his
+hands.
+
+Lord Beaumaris, blushing, said he quite approved of the selection;
+knew Mr. Ferrars very well, and liked him very much; and if Lord
+Montfort sanctioned it, would speak to Mr. Ferrars himself. He
+believed Mr. Ferrars was a Liberal, but he agreed with Lord Montfort,
+that in these days gentlemen must be all of the same opinion if not on
+the same side, and so on. And then they talked of fishing
+appropriately to a book of very curious flies that was on the table,
+and they agreed if possible to fish together in some famous waters
+that Lord Beaumaris had in Hampshire, and then, as he was saying
+farewell, Lord Montfort added, "Although I never pay visits, because
+really in my wretched state I cannot, there is no reason why our wives
+should not know each other. Will you permit Lady Montfort to have the
+honour of paying her respects to Lady Beaumaris?"
+
+Talleyrand or Metternich could not have conducted an interview more
+skilfully. But these were just the things that Lord Montfort did not
+dislike doing. His great good nature was not disturbed by a single
+inconvenient circumstance, and he enjoyed the sense of his adroitness.
+
+The same day the cards of Lord and Lady Montfort were sent to
+Piccadilly Terrace, and on the next day the cards of Lord and Lady
+Beaumaris were returned to Montfort House. And on the following day,
+Lady Montfort, accompanied by Lady Roehampton, would find Lady
+Beaumaris at home, and after a charming visit, in which Lady Montfort,
+though natural to the last degree, displayed every quality which could
+fascinate even a woman, when she put her hand in that of Imogene to
+say farewell, added, "I am delighted to find that we are cousins."
+
+A few days after this interview, parliament was dissolved. It was the
+middle of a wet June, and the season received its /coup de grace/.
+Although Endymion had no rival, and apparently no prospect of a
+contest, his labours as a candidate were not slight. The constituency
+was numerous, and every member of it expected to be called upon. To
+each Mr. Ferrars had to expound his political views, and to receive
+from each a cordial assurance of a churlish criticism. All this he did
+and endured, accompanied by about fifty of the principal inhabitants,
+members of his committee, who insisted on never leaving his side, and
+prompting him at every new door which he entered with contradictory
+reports of the political opinions of the indweller, or confidential
+informations how they were to be managed and addressed.
+
+The principal and most laborious incidents of the day were festivals
+which they styled luncheons, when the candidate and the ambulatory
+committee were quartered on some principal citizen with an elaborate
+banquet of several courses, and in which Mr. Ferrars' health was
+always pledged in sparkling bumpers. After the luncheon came two or
+three more hours of what was called canvassing; then, in a state of
+horrible repletion, the fortunate candidate, who had no contest, had
+to dine with another principal citizen, with real turtle soup, and
+gigantic turbots, /entrees/ in the shape of volcanic curries, and
+rigid venison, sent as a compliment by a neighbouring peer. This last
+ceremony was necessarily hurried, as Endymion had every night to
+address in some ward a body of the electors.
+
+When this had been going on for a few days, the borough was suddenly
+placarded with posting bills in colossal characters of true blue,
+warning the Conservative electors not to promise their votes, as a
+distinguished candidate of the right sort would certainly come
+forward. At the same time there was a paragraph in a local journal
+that a member of a noble family, illustrious in the naval annals of
+the country, would, if sufficiently supported, solicit the suffrages
+of the independent electors.
+
+"We think, by the allusion to the navy, that it must be Mr. Hood of
+Acreley," said Lord Beaumaris' agent to Mr. Ferrars, "but he has not
+the ghost of a chance. I will ride over and see him in the course of
+the day."
+
+This placard was of course Mr. Tadpole's last effort, but that worthy
+gentleman soon forgot his mortification about Northborough in the
+general triumph of his party. The Whigs were nowhere, though Mr.
+Ferrars was returned without opposition, and in the month of August,
+still wondering at the rapid, strange, and even mysterious incidents,
+that had so suddenly and so swiftly changed his position and prospects
+in life, took his seat in that House in whose galleries he had so long
+humbly attended as the private secretary of a cabinet minister.
+
+His friends were still in office, though the country had sent up a
+majority of ninety against them, and Endymion took his seat behind the
+Treasury bench, and exactly behind Lord Roehampton. The debate on the
+address was protracted for three nights, and then they divided at
+three o'clock in the morning, and then all was over. Lord Roehampton,
+who had vindicated the ministry with admirable vigour and felicity,
+turned round to Endymion, and smiling said in the sweetest tone, "I
+did not enlarge on our greatest feat, namely, that we had governed the
+country for two years without a majority. Peel would never have had
+the pluck to do that."
+
+Notwithstanding the backsliding of Lord Beaumaris and the unprincipled
+conduct of Mr. Waldershare, they were both rewarded as the latter
+gentleman projected--Lord Beaumaris accepted a high post in the
+Household, and Mr. Waldershare was appointed Under-Secretary of State
+for Foreign Affairs. Tadpole was a little glum about it, but it was
+inevitable. "The fact is," as the world agreed, "Lady Beaumaris is the
+only Tory woman. They have nobody who can receive except her."
+
+The changes in the House of Commons were still greater than those in
+the administration. Never were so many new members, and Endymion
+watched them, during the first days, and before the debate on the
+address, taking the oaths at the table in batches with much interest.
+Mr. Bertie Tremaine was returned, and his brother, Mr. Tremaine
+Bertie. Job Thornberry was member for a manufacturing town, with which
+he was not otherwise connected. Hortensius was successful, and Mr.
+Vigo for a metropolitan borough, but what pleased Endymion more than
+anything was the return of his valued friend Trenchard, who a short
+time before had acceded to the paternal estate; all these gentlemen
+were Liberals, and were destined to sit on the same side of the House
+as Endymion.
+
+After the fatal vote, the Whigs all left town. Society in general had
+been greatly dispersed, but parliament had to remain sitting until
+October.
+
+"We are going to Princedown," Lady Montfort said one day to Endymion,
+"and we had counted on seeing you there, but I have been thinking much
+of your position since, and I am persuaded, that we must sacrifice
+pleasure to higher objects. This is really a crisis in your life, and
+much, perhaps everything, depends on your not making a mistake now.
+What I want to see you is a great statesman. This is a political
+economy parliament, both sides alike thinking of the price of corn and
+all that. Finance and commerce are everybody's subjects, and are most
+convenient to make speeches about for men who cannot speak French and
+who have had no education. Real politics are the possession and
+distribution of power. I want to see you give your mind to foreign
+affairs. There you will have no rivals. There are a great many
+subjects which Lord Roehampton cannot take up, but which you could
+very properly, and you will have always the benefit of his counsel,
+and, when necessary, his parliamentary assistance; but foreign affairs
+are not to be mastered by mere reading. Bookworms do not make
+chancellors of state. You must become acquainted with the great actors
+in the great scene. There is nothing like personal knowledge of the
+individuals who control the high affairs. That has made the fortune of
+Lord Roehampton. What I think you ought to do, without doubt ought to
+do, is to take advantage of this long interval before the meeting of
+parliament, and go to Paris. Paris is now the Capital of Diplomacy. It
+is not the best time of the year to go there, but you will meet a
+great many people of the diplomatic world, and if the opportunity
+offers, you can vary the scene, and go to some baths which princes and
+ministers frequent. The Count of Ferroll is now at Paris, and minister
+for his court. You know him; that is well. But he is my greatest
+friend, and, as you know, we habitually correspond. He will do
+everything for you, I am sure, for my sake. It is not pleasant to be
+separated; I do not wish to conceal that; I should have enjoyed your
+society at Princedown, but I am doing right, and you will some day
+thank me for it. We must soften the pang of separation by writing to
+each other every day, so when we meet again it will only be as if we
+had parted yesterday. Besides--who knows?--I may run over myself to
+Paris in the winter. My lord always liked Paris; the only place he
+ever did, but I am not very sanguine he will go; he is so afraid of
+being asked to dinner by our ambassador."
+
+
+
+                            CHAPTER LXXII
+
+In all lives, the highest and the humblest, there is a crisis in the
+formation of character, and in the bent of the disposition. It comes
+from many causes, and from some which on the surface are apparently
+even trivial. It may be a book, a speech, a sermon; a man or a woman;
+a great misfortune or a burst of prosperity. But the result is the
+same; a sudden revelation to ourselves of our secret purpose, and a
+recognition of our perhaps long shadowed, but now masterful
+convictions.
+
+A crisis of this kind occurred to Endymion the day when he returned to
+his chambers, after having taken the oaths and his seat in the House
+of Commons. He felt the necessity of being alone. For nearly the last
+three months he had been the excited actor in a strange and even
+mysterious drama. There had been for him no time to reflect; all he
+could aim at was to comprehend, and if possible control, the present
+and urgent contingency; he had been called upon, almost unceasingly,
+to do or to say something sudden and unexpected; and it was only now,
+when the crest of the ascent had been reached, that he could look
+around him and consider the new world opening to his gaze.
+
+The greatest opportunity that can be offered to an Englishman was now
+his--a seat in the House of Commons. It was his almost in the first
+bloom of youth, and yet after advantageous years of labour and
+political training, and it was combined with a material independence
+on which he never could have counted. A love of power, a passion for
+distinction, a noble pride, which had been native to his early
+disposition, but which had apparently been crushed by the enormous
+sorrows and misfortunes of his childhood, and which had vanished, as
+it were, before the sweetness of that domestic love which had been the
+solace of his adversity, now again stirred their dim and mighty forms
+in his renovated, and, as it were, inspired consciousness. "If this
+has happened at twenty-two," thought Endymion, "what may not occur if
+the average life of man be allotted to me? At any rate, I will never
+think of anything else. I have a purpose in life, and I will fulfil
+it. It is a charm that its accomplishment would be the most grateful
+result to the two beings I most love in the world."
+
+So when Lady Montfort shortly after opened her views to Endymion as to
+his visiting Paris, and his purpose in so doing, the seeds were thrown
+on a willing soil, and he embraced her counsels with the deepest
+interest. His intimacy with the Count of Ferroll was the completing
+event of this epoch of his life.
+
+Their acquaintance had been slight in England, for after the Montfort
+Tournament the Count had been appointed to Paris, where he was
+required; but he received Endymion with a cordiality which contrasted
+with his usual demeanour, which, though frank, was somewhat cynical.
+
+"This is not a favourable time to visit Paris," he said, "so far as
+society is concerned. There is some business stirring in the
+diplomatic world, which has re-assembled the fraternity for the
+moment, and the King is at St. Cloud, but you may make some
+acquaintances which may be desirable, and at any rate look about you
+and clear the ground for the coming season. I do not despair of our
+dear friend coming over in the winter. It is one of the hopes that
+keep me alive. What a woman! You may count yourself fortunate in
+having such a friend. I do. I am not particularly fond of female
+society. Women chatter too much. But I prefer the society of a first-
+rate woman to that of any man; and Lady Montfort is a first-rate woman
+--I think the greatest since Louise of Savoy; infinitely beyond the
+Princess d'Ursins."
+
+The "business that was then stirring in the diplomatic world," at a
+season when the pleasures of Parisian society could not distract him,
+gave Endymion a rare opportunity of studying that singular class of
+human beings which is accustomed to consider states and nations as
+individuals, and speculate on their quarrels and misunderstandings,
+and the remedies which they require, in a tongue peculiar to
+themselves, and in language which often conveys a meaning exactly
+opposite to that which it seems to express. Diplomacy is hospitable,
+and a young Englishman of graceful mien, well introduced, and a member
+of the House of Commons--that awful assembly which produces those
+dreaded blue books which strike terror in the boldest of foreign
+statesmen--was not only received, but courted, in the interesting
+circle in which Endymion found himself.
+
+
+There he encountered men grey with the fame and wisdom of half a
+century of deep and lofty action, men who had struggled with the first
+Napoleon, and had sat in the Congress of Vienna; others, hardly less
+celebrated, who had been suddenly borne to high places by the
+revolutionary wave of 1830, and who had justly retained their exalted
+posts when so many competitors with an equal chance had long ago, with
+equal justice, subsided into the obscurity from which they ought never
+to have emerged. Around these chief personages were others not less
+distinguished by their abilities, but a more youthful generation, who
+knew how to wait, and were always prepared or preparing for the
+inevitable occasion when it arrived--fine and trained writers, who
+could interpret in sentences of graceful adroitness the views of their
+chiefs; or sages in precedents, walking dictionaries of diplomacy, and
+masters of every treaty; and private secretaries reading human nature
+at a glance, and collecting every shade of opinion for the use and
+guidance of their principals.
+
+Whatever their controversies in the morning, their critical interviews
+and their secret alliances, all were smiles and graceful badinage at
+the banquet and the reception; as if they had only come to Paris to
+show their brilliant uniforms, their golden fleeces, and their grand
+crosses, and their broad ribbons with more tints than the iris.
+
+"I will not give them ten years," said the Count of Ferroll, lighting
+his cigarette, and addressing Endymion on their return from one of
+these assemblies; "I sometimes think hardly five."
+
+"But where will the blow come from?"
+
+"Here; there is no movement in Europe except in France, and here it
+will always be a movement of subversion."
+
+"A pretty prospect!"
+
+"The sooner you realise it the better. The system here is supported by
+journalists and bankers; two influential classes, but the millions
+care for neither; rather, I should say, dislike both."
+
+"Will the change affect Europe?"
+
+"Inevitably. You rightly say Europe, for that is a geographical
+expression. There is no State in Europe; I exclude your own country,
+which belongs to every division of the globe, and is fast becoming
+more commercial than political, and I exclude Russia, for she is
+essentially oriental, and her future will be entirely the East."
+
+"But there is Germany!"
+
+"Where? I cannot find it on the maps. Germany is divided into various
+districts, and when there is a war, they are ranged on different
+sides. Notwithstanding our reviews and annual encampments, Germany is
+practically as weak as Italy. We have some kingdoms who are allowed to
+play at being first-rate powers; but it is mere play. They no more
+command events than the King of Naples or the Duke of Modena."
+
+"Then is France periodically to overrun Europe?"
+
+"So long as it continues to be merely Europe."
+
+A close intimacy occurred between Endymion and the Count of Ferroll.
+He not only became a permanent guest at the official residence, but
+when the Conference broke up, the Count invited Endymion to be his
+companion to some celebrated baths, where they would meet not only
+many of his late distinguished colleagues, but their imperial and
+royal masters, seeking alike health and relaxation at this famous
+rendezvous.
+
+"You will find it of the first importance in public life," said the
+Count of Ferroll, "to know personally those who are carrying on the
+business of the world; so much depends on the character of an
+individual, his habits of thought, his prejudices, his superstitions,
+his social weaknesses, his health. Conducting affairs without this
+advantage is, in effect, an affair of stationery; it is pens and paper
+who are in communication, not human beings."
+
+The brother-in-law of Lord Roehampton was a sort of personage. It was
+very true that distinguished man was no longer minister, but he had
+been minister for a long time, and had left a great name. Foreigners
+rarely know more than one English minister at a time, but they
+compensated for their ignorance of the aggregate body by even
+exaggerating the qualities of the individual with whom they are
+acquainted. Lord Roehampton had conducted the affairs of his country
+always in a courteous, but still in a somewhat haughty spirit. He was
+easy and obliging, and conciliatory in little matters, but where the
+credit, or honour, or large interests of England were concerned, he
+acted with conscious authority. On the continent of Europe, though he
+sometimes incurred the depreciation of the smaller minds, whose self-
+love he may not have sufficiently spared, by the higher spirits he was
+feared and admired, and they knew, when he gave his whole soul to an
+affair, that they were dealing with a master.
+
+Endymion was presented to emperors and kings, and he made his way with
+these exalted personages. He found them different from what he had
+expected. He was struck by their intimate acquaintance with affairs,
+and by the serenity of their judgment. The life was a pleasant as well
+as an interesting one. Where there are crowned heads, there are always
+some charming women. Endymion found himself in a delightful circle.
+Long days and early hours, and a beautiful country, renovate the
+spirit as well as the physical frame. Excursions to romantic forests,
+and visits to picturesque ruins, in the noon of summer, are
+enchanting, especially with princesses for your companions, bright and
+accomplished. Yet, notwithstanding some distractions, Endymion never
+omitted writing to Lady Montfort every day.
+
+
+
+                            CHAPTER LXXIII
+
+The season at Paris, which commenced towards the end of the year, was
+a lively one, and especially interesting to Endymion, who met there a
+great many of his friends. After his visit to the baths he had
+travelled alone for a few weeks, and saw some famous places of which
+he had long heard. A poet was then sitting on the throne of Bavaria,
+and was realising his dreams in the creation of an ideal capital. The
+Black Forest is a land of romance. He saw Walhalla, too, crowning the
+Danube with the genius of Germany, as mighty as the stream itself.
+Pleasant it is to wander among the quaint cities here clustering
+together: Nuremberg with all its ancient art, imperial Augsburg, and
+Wurzburg with its priestly palace, beyond the splendour of many kings.
+A summer in Suabia is a great joy.
+
+But what a contrast to the Rue de la Paix, bright and vivacious, in
+which he now finds himself, and the companion of the Neuchatel family!
+Endymion had only returned to Paris the previous evening, and the
+Neuchatels had preceded him by a week; so they had seen everybody and
+could tell him everything. Lord and Lady Beaumaris were there, and
+Mrs. Rodney their companion, her husband detained in London by some
+mysterious business; it was thought a seat in parliament, which Mr.
+Tadpole had persuaded him might be secured on a vacancy occasioned by
+a successful petition. They had seen the Count of Ferroll, who was
+going to dine with them that day, and Endymion was invited to meet
+him. It was Adriana's first visit to Paris, and she seemed delighted
+with it; but Mrs. Neuchatel preferred the gay capital when it was out
+of season. Mr. Neuchatel himself was always in high spirits,--sanguine
+and self-satisfied. He was an Orleanist, had always been so, and
+sympathised with the apparently complete triumph of his principles--
+"real liberal principles, no nonsense; there was more gold in the Bank
+of France than in any similar establishment in Europe. After all,
+wealth is the test of the welfare of a people, and the test of wealth
+is the command of the precious metals. Eh! Mr. Member of Parliament?"
+And his eye flashed fire, and he seemed to smack his lips at the very
+thought and mention of these delicious circumstances.
+
+They were in a jeweller's shop, and Mrs. Neuchatel was choosing a
+trinket for a wedding present. She seemed infinitely distressed. "What
+do you think of this, Adriana? It is simple and in good taste. I
+should like it for myself, and yet I fear it might not be thought fine
+enough."
+
+"This is pretty, mamma, and new," and she held before her mother a
+bracelet of much splendour.
+
+"Oh, no! that will never do, dear Adriana; they will say we are purse-
+proud."
+
+"I am afraid they will always say that, mamma," and she sighed.
+
+"It is a long time since we all separated," said Endymion to Adriana.
+
+"Months! Mr. Sidney Wilton said you were the first runaway. I think
+you were quite right. Your new life now will be fresh to you. If you
+had remained, it would only have been associated with defeat and
+discomfiture."
+
+"I am so happy to be in parliament, that I do not think I could ever
+associate such a life with discomfiture."
+
+"Does it make you very happy?" said Adriana, looking at him rather
+earnestly.
+
+"Very happy."
+
+"I am glad of that."
+
+The Neuchatels had a house at Paris--one of the fine hotels of the
+First Empire. It was inhabited generally by one of the nephews, but it
+was always ready to receive them with every luxury and every comfort.
+But Mrs. Neuchatel herself particularly disliked Paris, and she rarely
+accompanied her husband in his frequent but brief visits to the gay
+city. She had yielded on this occasion to the wish of Adriana, whom
+she had endeavoured to bring up in a wholesome prejudice against
+French taste and fashions.
+
+The dinner to-day was exquisite, in a chamber of many-coloured
+marbles, and where there was no marble there was gold, and when the
+banquet was over, they repaired to saloons hung with satin of a
+delicate tint which exhibited to perfection a choice collection of
+Greuse and Vanloo. Mr. Sidney Wilton dined there as well as the Count
+of Ferroll, some of the French ministers, and two or three illustrious
+Orleanist celebrities of literature, who acknowledged and emulated the
+matchless conversational powers of Mrs. Neuchatel. Lord and Lady
+Beaumaris and Mrs. Rodney completed the party.
+
+Sylvia was really peerless. She was by birth half a Frenchwoman, and
+she compensated for her deficiency in the other moiety, by a series of
+exquisite costumes, in which she mingled with the spell-born fashion
+of France her own singular genius in dress. She spoke not much, but
+looked prettier than ever; a little haughty, and now and then faintly
+smiling. What was most remarkable about her was her convenient and
+complete want of memory. Sylvia had no past. She could not have found
+her way to Warwick Street to save her life. She conversed with
+Endymion with ease and not without gratification, but from all she
+said, you might have supposed that they had been born in the same
+sphere, and always lived in the same sphere, that sphere being one
+peopled by duchesses and countesses and gentlemen of fashion and
+ministers of state.
+
+Lady Beaumaris was different from her sister almost in all respects,
+except in beauty, though her beauty even was of a higher style than
+that of Mrs. Rodney. Imogene was quite natural, though refined. She
+had a fine disposition. All her impulses were good and naturally
+noble. She had a greater intellectual range than Sylvia, and was much
+more cultivated. This she owed to her friendship with Mr. Waldershare,
+who was entirely devoted to her, and whose main object in life was to
+make everything contribute to her greatness. "I hope he will come here
+next week," she said to Endymion. "I heard from him to-day. He is at
+Venice. And he gives me such lovely descriptions of that city, that I
+shall never rest till I have seen it and glided in a gondola."
+
+"Well, that you can easily do."
+
+"Not so easily. It will never do to interfere with my lord's hunting--
+and when hunting is over there is always something else--Newmarket, or
+the House of Lords, or rook-shooting."
+
+"I must say there is something delightful about Paris, which you meet
+nowhere else," said Mr. Sidney Wilton to Endymion. "For my part, it
+has the same effect on me as a bottle of champagne. When I think of
+what we were doing at this time last year--those dreadful November
+cabinets--I shudder! By the by, the Count of Ferroll says there is a
+chance of Lady Montfort coming here; have you heard anything?"
+
+Endymion knew all about it, but he was too discreet even to pretend to
+exclusive information on that head. He thought it might be true, but
+supposed it depended on my lord.
+
+"Oh! Montfort will never come. He will bolt at the last moment when
+the hall is full of packages. Their very sight will frighten him, and
+he will steal down to Princedown and read 'Don Quixote.'"
+
+Sidney Wilton was quite right. Lady Montfort arrived without her lord.
+"He threw me over almost as we were getting into the carriage, and I
+had quite given it up when dear Lady Roehampton came to my rescue. She
+wanted to see her brother, and--here we are."
+
+The arrival of these two great ladies gave a stimulant to gaieties
+which were already excessive. The court and the ministers rivalled the
+balls and the banquets which were profusely offered by the ambassadors
+and bankers. Even the great faubourg relaxed, and its halls of high
+ceremony and mysterious splendour were opened to those who in London
+had extended to many of their order a graceful and abounding
+hospitality. It was with difficulty, however, that they persuaded Lady
+Montfort to honour with her presence the embassy of her own court.
+
+"I dined with those people once," she said to Endymion, "but I confess
+when I thought of those dear Granvilles, their /entrees/ stuck in my
+throat."
+
+There was, however, no lack of diplomatic banquets for the successor
+of Louise of Savoy. The splendid hotel of the Count of Ferroll was the
+scene of festivals not to be exceeded in Paris, and all in honour of
+this wondrous dame. Sometimes they were feasts, sometimes they were
+balls, sometimes they were little dinners, consummate and select,
+sometimes large receptions, multifarious and amusing. Her pleasure was
+asked every morn, and whenever she was disengaged, she issued orders
+to his devoted household. His boxes at opera or play were at her
+constant disposal; his carriages were at her command, and she rode, in
+his society, the most beautiful horses in Paris.
+
+The Count of Ferroll had wished that both ladies should have taken up
+their residence at his mansion.
+
+"But I think we had better not," said Lady Montfort to Myra. "After
+all, there is nothing like 'my crust of bread and liberty,' and so I
+think we had better stay at the Bristol."
+
+
+
+                            CHAPTER LXXIV
+
+"Go and talk to Adriana," said Lady Roehampton to her brother. "It
+seems to me you never speak to her."
+
+Endymion looked a little confused.
+
+"Lady Montfort has plenty of friends here," his sister continued. "You
+are not wanted, and you should always remember those who have been our
+earliest and kindest friends."
+
+There was something in Lady Roehampton's words and look which rather
+jarred upon him. Anything like reproach or dissatisfaction from those
+lips and from that countenance, sometimes a little anxious but always
+affectionate, not to say adoring, confused and even agitated him. He
+was tempted to reply, but, exercising successfully the self-control
+which was the result rather of his life than of his nature, he said
+nothing, and, in obedience to the intimation, immediately approached
+Miss Neuchatel.
+
+About this time Waldershare arrived at Paris, full of magnificent
+dreams which he called plans. He was delighted with his office; it was
+much the most important in the government, and more important because
+it was not in the cabinet. Well managed, it was power without
+responsibility. He explained to Lady Beaumaris that an Under-Secretary
+of State for Foreign Affairs, with his chief in the House of Lords,
+was "master of the situation." What the situation was, and what the
+under-secretary was to master, he did not yet deign to inform Imogene;
+but her trust in Waldershare was implicit, and she repeated to Lord
+Beaumaris, and to Mrs. Rodney, with an air of mysterious self-
+complacency, that Mr. Waldershare was "master of the situation." Mrs.
+Rodney fancied that this was the correct and fashionable title of an
+under-secretary of state. Mr. Waldershare was going to make a
+collection of portraits of Under-Secretaries for Foreign Affairs whose
+chiefs had been in the House of Lords. It would be a collection of the
+most eminent statesmen that England had ever produced. For the rest,
+during his Italian tour, Waldershare seemed to have conducted himself
+with distinguished discretion, and had been careful not to solicit an
+audience of the Duke of Modena in order to renew his oath of
+allegiance.
+
+When Lady Montfort successfully tempted Lady Roehampton to be her
+travelling companion to Paris, the contemplated visit was to have been
+a short one--"a week, perhaps ten days at the outside." The outside
+had been not inconsiderably passed, and yet the beautiful Berengaria
+showed no disposition of returning to England. Myra was uneasy at her
+own protracted absence from her lord, and having made a last, but
+fruitless effort to induce Lady Montfort to accompany her, she said
+one day to Endymion, "I think I must ask you to take me back. And
+indeed you ought to be with my lord some little time before the
+meeting of Parliament."
+
+Endymion was really of the same opinion, though he was conscious of
+the social difficulty which he should have to encounter in order to
+effect his purpose. Occasionally a statesman in opposition is assisted
+by the same private secretary who was his confidant when in office;
+but this is not always the case--perhaps not even generally. In the
+present instance, the principal of Lord Roehampton's several
+secretaries had been selected from the permanent clerks in the Foreign
+Office itself, and therefore when his chief retired from his official
+duties, the private secretary resumed his previous post, an act which
+necessarily terminated all relations between himself and the late
+minister, save those of private, though often still intimate,
+acquaintance.
+
+Now one of the great objects of Lady Roehampton for a long time had
+been, that her brother should occupy a confidential position near her
+husband. The desire had originally been shared, and even warmly, by
+Lady Montfort; but the unexpected entrance of Endymion into the House
+of Commons had raised a technical difficulty in this respect which
+seemed to terminate the cherished prospect. Myra, however, was
+resolved not to regard these technical difficulties, and was
+determined to establish at once the intimate relations she desired
+between her husband and her brother. This purpose had been one of the
+principal causes which induced her to accompany Lady Montfort to
+Paris. She wanted to see Endymion, to see what he was about, and to
+prepare him for the future which she contemplated.
+
+The view which Lady Montfort took of these matters was very different
+from that of Lady Roehampton. Lady Montfort was in her riding habit,
+leaning back in an easy chair, with her whip in one hand and the
+"Charivari" in the other, and she said, "Are you not going to ride
+to-day, Endymion?"
+
+"I think not. I wanted to talk to you a little about my plans, Lady
+Montfort."
+
+"Your plans? Why should you have any plans?"
+
+"Well, Lady Roehampton is about to return to England, and she proposes
+I should go with her."
+
+"Why?"
+
+And then Endymion entered into the whole case, the desirableness of
+being with Lord Roehampton before the meeting of parliament, of
+assisting him, working with him, acting for him, and all the other
+expedient circumstances of the situation.
+
+Lady Montfort said nothing. Being of an eager nature, it was rather
+her habit to interrupt those who addressed her, especially on matters
+she deemed disagreeable. Her husband used to say, "Berengaria is a
+charming companion, but if she would only listen a little more, she
+would have so much more to tell me." On the present occasion, Endymion
+had no reason to complain that he had not a fair opportunity of
+stating his views and wishes. She was quite silent, changed colour
+occasionally, bit her beautiful lip, and gently but constantly lashed
+her beautiful riding habit. When he paused, she inquired if he had
+done, and he assenting, she said, "I think the whole thing
+preposterous. What can Lord Roehampton have to do before the meeting
+of parliament? He has not got to write the Queen's speech. The only
+use of being in opposition is that we may enjoy ourselves. The best
+thing that Lord Roehampton and all his friends can do is travel for a
+couple of years. Ask the Count of Ferroll what he thinks of the
+situation. He will tell you that he never knew one more hopeless.
+Taxes and tariffs--that's the future of England, and, so far as I can
+see, it may go on for ever. The government here desires nothing better
+than what they call Peace. What they mean by peace is agiotage, shares
+at a premium, and bubble companies. The whole thing is corrupt, as it
+ever must be when government is in the hands of a mere middle class,
+and that, too, a limited one; but it may last hopelessly long, and in
+the meantime, 'Vive la bagatelle!'"
+
+"These are very different views from those which, I had understood,
+were to guide us in opposition," said Endymion, amazed.
+
+"There is no opposition," rejoined Lady Montfort, somewhat tartly.
+"For a real opposition there must be a great policy. If your friend,
+Lord Roehampton, when he was settling the Levant, had only seized upon
+Egypt, we should have been somewhere. Now, we are the party who wanted
+to give, not even cheap bread to the people, but only cheaper bread.
+Faugh!"
+
+"Well, I do not think the occupation of Egypt in the present state of
+our finances"----
+
+"Do not talk to me about 'the present state of our finances.' You are
+worse than Mr. Sidney Wilton. The Count of Ferroll says that a
+ministry which is upset by its finances must be essentially imbecile.
+And that, too, in England--the richest country in the world!"
+
+"Well, I think the state of the finances had something to do with the
+French Revolution," observed Endymion quietly.
+
+"The French Revolution! You might as well talk of the fall of the
+Roman Empire. The French Revolution was founded on nonsense--on the
+rights of man; when all sensible people in every country are now
+agreed, that man has no rights whatever."
+
+"But, dearest Lady Montfort," said Endymion, in a somewhat deprecating
+tone, "about my returning; for that is the real subject on which I
+wished to trouble you."
+
+"You have made up your mind to return," she replied. "What is the use
+of consulting me with a foregone conclusion? I suppose you think it a
+compliment."
+
+"I should be very sorry to do anything without consulting you," said
+Endymion.
+
+"The worst person in the world to consult," said Lady Montfort
+impatiently. "If you want advice, you had better go to your sister.
+Men who are guided by their sisters seldom make very great mistakes.
+They are generally so prudent; and, I must say, I think a prudent man
+quite detestable."
+
+Endymion turned pale, his lips quivered. What might have been the
+winged words they sent forth it is now impossible to record, for at
+that moment the door opened, and the servant announced that her
+ladyship's horse was at the door. Lady Montfort jumped up quickly, and
+saying, "Well, I suppose I shall see you before you go," disappeared.
+
+
+
+                             CHAPTER LXXV
+
+In the meantime, Lady Roehampton was paying her farewell visit to her
+former pupil. They were alone, and Adriana was hanging on her neck and
+weeping.
+
+"We were so happy," she murmured.
+
+"And are so happy, and will be," said Myra.
+
+"I feel I shall never be happy again," sighed Adriana.
+
+"You deserve to be the happiest of human beings, and you will be."
+
+"Never, never!"
+
+Lady Roehampton could say no more; she pressed her friend to her
+heart, and left the room in silence.
+
+When she arrived at her hotel, her brother was leaving the house. His
+countenance was disquieted; he did not greet her with that mantling
+sunniness of aspect which was natural to him when they met.
+
+"I have made all my farewells," she said; "and how have you been
+getting on?" And she invited him to re-enter the hotel.
+
+"I am ready to depart at this moment," he said somewhat fiercely, "and
+was only thinking how I could extricate myself from that horrible
+dinner to-day at the Count of Ferroll's."
+
+"Well, that is not difficult," said Myra; "you can write a note here
+if you like, at once. I think you must have seen quite enough of the
+Count of Ferroll and his friends."
+
+Endymion sat down at the table, and announced his intended non-
+appearance at the Count's dinner, for it could not be called an
+excuse. When he had finished, his sister said--
+
+"Do you know, we were nearly having a travelling companion to-morrow?"
+
+He looked up with a blush, for he fancied she was alluding to some
+previous scheme of Lady Montfort. "Indeed!" he said, "and who?"
+
+"Adriana."
+
+"Adriana!" he repeated, somewhat relieved; "would she leave her
+family?"
+
+"She had a fancy, and I am sure I do not know any companion I could
+prefer to her. She is the only person of whom I could truly say, that
+every time I see her, I love her more."
+
+"She seemed to like Paris very much," said Endymion a little
+embarrassed.
+
+"The first part of her visit," said Lady Roehampton, "she liked it
+amazingly. But my arrival and Lady Montfort's, I fear, broke up their
+little parties. You were a great deal with the Neuchatels before we
+came?"
+
+"They are such a good family," said Endymion; "so kind, so hospitable,
+such true friends. And Mr. Neuchatel himself is one of the shrewdest
+men that probably ever lived. I like talking with him, or rather, I
+like to hear him talk."
+
+"O Endymion," said Lady Roehampton, "if you were to marry Adriana, my
+happiness would be complete."
+
+"Adriana will never marry," said Endymion; "she is afraid of being
+married for her money. I know twenty men who would marry her, if they
+thought there was a chance of being accepted; and the best man,
+Eusford, did make her an offer--that I know. And where could she find
+a match more suitable?--high rank, and large estate, and a man that
+everybody speaks well of."
+
+"Adriana will never marry except for the affections; there you are
+right, Endymion; she must love and she must be loved; but that is not
+very unreasonable in a person who is young, pretty, accomplished, and
+intelligent."
+
+"She is all that," said Endymion moodily.
+
+"And she loves you," said Lady Roehampton.
+
+Endymion rather started, looked up for a moment at his sister, and
+then withdrew as hastily an agitated glance, and then with his eyes on
+the ground said, in a voice half murmuring, and yet scoffingly: "I
+should like to see Mr. Neuchatel's face were I to ask permission to
+marry his daughter. I suppose he would not kick me downstairs; that is
+out of fashion; but he certainly would never ask me to dinner again,
+and that would be a sacrifice."
+
+"You jest, Endymion; I am not jesting."
+
+"There are some matters that can only be treated as a jest; and my
+marriage with Miss Neuchatel is one."
+
+"It would make you one of the most powerful men in England," said his
+sister.
+
+"Other impossible events would do the same."
+
+"It is not impossible; it is very possible," said his sister, "believe
+me, trust in me. The happiness of their daughter is more precious to
+the Neuchatels even than their fortune."
+
+"I do not see why, at my age, I should be in such a hurry to marry,"
+said Endymion.
+
+"You cannot marry too soon, if by so doing you obtain the great object
+of life. Early marriages are to be deprecated, especially for men,
+because they are too frequently imprudent; but when a man can marry
+while he is young, and at once realise, by so doing, all the results
+which successful time may bring to him, he should not hesitate."
+
+"I hesitate very much," said Endymion. "I should hesitate very much,
+even if affairs were as promising as I think you may erroneously
+assume."
+
+"But you must not hesitate, Endymion. We must never forget the great
+object for which we two live, for which, I believe, we were born twins
+--to rebuild our house; to raise it from poverty, and ignominy, and
+misery and squalid shame, to the rank and position which we demand,
+and which we believe we deserve. Did I hesitate when an offer of
+marriage was made to me, and the most unexpected that could have
+occurred? True it is, I married the best and greatest of men, but I
+did not know that when I accepted his hand. I married him for your
+sake, I married him for my own sake, for the sake of the house of
+Ferrars, which I wished to release and raise from its pit of
+desolation. I married him to secure for us both that opportunity for
+our qualities which they had lost, and which I believed, if enjoyed,
+would render us powerful and great."
+
+Endymion rose from his seat and kissed his sister. "So long as you
+live," he said, "we shall never be ignominious."
+
+"Yes, but I am nothing; I am not a man, I am not a Ferrars. The best
+of me is that I may be a transient help to you. It is you who must do
+the deed. I am wearied of hearing you described as Lady Roehampton's
+brother, or Lord Roehampton's brother-in-law. I shall never be content
+till you are greater than we are, and there is but one and only one
+immediate way of accomplishing it, it is by this marriage--and a
+marriage with whom? with an angelic being!"
+
+"You take me somewhat by surprise, Myra. My thoughts have not been
+upon this matter. I cannot fairly describe myself at this moment as a
+marrying man."
+
+"I know what you mean. You have female friendships, and I approve of
+them. They are invaluable to youth, and you have been greatly favoured
+in this respect. They have been a great assistance to you; beware lest
+they become a hindrance. A few years of such feelings in a woman's
+life are a blazoned page, and when it is turned she has many other
+chapters, though they may not be as brilliant or adorned. But these
+few years in a man's life may be, and in your case certainly would be,
+the very marrow of his destiny. During the last five or six years,
+ever since our emancipation, there has been a gradual but continuous
+development in your life. All has been preparatory for a position
+which you have acquired. That position may lead to anything--in your
+case, I will still believe, to everything--but there must be no
+faltering. Having crossed the Alps, you must not find a Capua. I speak
+to you as I have not spoken to you of late, because it was not
+necessary. But here is an opportunity which must not be lost. I feel
+half inspired, as when we parted in our misery at Hurstley, and I bade
+you, poor and obscure, go forth and conquer the world."
+
+Late on the night of the day, their last day at Paris, on which this
+conversation took place, Endymion received a note in well-known
+handwriting, and it ran thus:
+
+
+ "If it be any satisfaction to you to know that you made me very
+  unhappy by not dining here to-day, you may be gratified. I am very
+  unhappy. I know that I was unkind this morning, and rude, but as
+  my anger was occasioned by your leaving me, my conduct might annoy
+  but surely could not mortify you. I shall see you to-morrow,
+  however early you may depart, as I cannot let your dear sister
+  leave Paris without my embracing her.
+                                    "Your faithful friend,
+                                                    "Berengaria."
+
+
+
+                            CHAPTER LXXVI
+
+In old days, it was the habit to think and say that the House of
+Commons was an essentially "queer place," which no one could
+understand until he was a member of it. It may, perhaps, be doubted
+whether that somewhat mysterious quality still altogether attaches to
+that assembly. "Our own Reporter," has invaded it in all its purlieus.
+No longer content with giving an account of the speeches of its
+members, he is not satisfied unless he describes their persons, their
+dress, and their characteristic mannerisms. He tells us how they dine,
+even the wines and dishes which they favour, and follows them into the
+very mysteries of their smoking-room. And yet there is perhaps a
+certain fine sense of the feelings, and opinions, and humours of this
+assembly, which cannot be acquired by hasty notions and necessarily
+superficial remarks, but must be the result of long and patient
+observation, and of that quick sympathy with human sentiment, in all
+its classes, which is involved in the possession of that inestimable
+quality styled tact.
+
+When Endymion Ferrars first took his seat in the House of Commons, it
+still fully possessed its character of enigmatic tradition. It had
+been thought that this, in a great degree, would have been dissipated
+by the Reform Act of 1832, which suddenly introduced into the hallowed
+precinct a number of individuals whose education, manners, modes of
+thought, were different from those of the previous inhabitants, and in
+some instances, and in some respects, quite contrary to them. But this
+was not so. After a short time it was observed that the old material,
+though at first much less in quantity, had leavened the new mass; that
+the tone of the former House was imitated and adopted, and that at the
+end of five years, about the time Endymion was returned to Parliament,
+much of its serene, and refined, and even classical character had been
+recovered.
+
+For himself, he entered the chamber with a certain degree of awe,
+which, with use, diminished, but never entirely disappeared. The scene
+was one over which his boyhood even had long mused, and it was
+associated with all those traditions of genius, eloquence, and power
+that charm and inspire youth. His practical acquaintance with the
+forms and habits of the House from his customary attendance on their
+debates as private secretary to a cabinet minister, was of great
+advantage to him, and restrained that excitement which dangerously
+accompanies us when we enter into a new life, and especially a life of
+such deep and thrilling interests and such large proportions. This
+result was also assisted by his knowledge, at least by sight, of a
+large proportion of the old members, and by his personal and sometimes
+intimate acquaintance with those of his own party. There was much in
+his position, therefore, to soften that awkward feeling of being a
+freshman, which is always embarrassing.
+
+He took his place on the second bench of the opposition side of the
+House, and nearly behind Lord Roehampton. Mr. Bertie Tremaine, whom
+Endymion encountered in the lobby as he was escaping to dinner, highly
+disapproved of this step. He had greeted Endymion with affable
+condescension. "You made your first mistake to-night, my dear Ferrars.
+You should have taken your seat below the gangway and near me, on the
+Mountain. You, like myself, are a man of the future."
+
+"I am a member of the opposition. I do not suppose it signifies much
+where I sit."
+
+"On the contrary, it signifies everything. After this great Tory
+reaction there is nothing to be done now by speeches, and, in all
+probability, very little that can be effectually opposed. Much,
+therefore, depends upon where you sit. If you sit on the Mountain, the
+public imagination will be attracted to you, and when they are
+aggrieved, which they will be in good time, the public passion, which
+is called opinion, will look to you for representation. My advice to
+my friends now is to sit together and say nothing, but to profess
+through the press the most advanced opinions. We sit on the back bench
+of the gangway, and we call ourselves the Mountain."
+
+Notwithstanding Mr. Bertie Tremaine's oracular revelations, Endymion
+was very glad to find his old friend Trenchard generally his
+neighbour. He had a high opinion both of Trenchard's judgment and
+acquirements, and he liked the man. In time they always managed to sit
+together. Job Thornberry took his seat below the gangway, on the
+opposition side, and on the floor of the House. Mr. Bertie Tremaine
+had sent his brother, Mr. Tremaine Bertie, to look after this new
+star, who he was anxious should ascend the Mountain; but Job
+Thornberry wishing to know whether the Mountain were going for "total
+and immediate," and not obtaining a sufficiently distinct reply,
+declined the proffered intimation. Mr. Bertie Tremaine, being a landed
+proprietor as well as leader of the Mountain, was too much devoted to
+the rights of labour to sanction such middle-class madness.
+
+"Peel with have to do it," said Job. "You will see."
+
+"Peel now occupies the position of Necker," said Mr. Bertie Tremaine,
+"and will make the same /fiasco/. Then you will at last have a popular
+government."
+
+"And the rights of labour?" asked Job. "All I hope is, I may have got
+safe to the States before that day."
+
+"There will be no danger," said Mr. Bertie Tremaine. "There is this
+difference between the English Mountain and the French. The English
+Mountain has its government prepared. And my brother spoke to you
+because, when the hour arrives, I wished to see you a member of it."
+
+"My dear Endymion," said Waldershare, "let us dine together before we
+meet in mortal conflict, which I suppose will be soon. I really think
+your Mr. Bertie Tremaine the most absurd being out of Colney Hatch."
+
+"Well, he has a purpose," said Endymion; "and they say that a man with
+a purpose generally sees it realised.'
+
+"What I do like in him," said Waldershare, "is this revival of the
+Pythagorean system, and a leading party of silence. That is rich."
+
+One of the most interesting members of the House of Commons was Sir
+Fraunceys Scrope. He was the father of the House, though it was
+difficult to believe that from his appearance. He was tall, and had
+kept his distinguished figure; a handsome man, with a musical voice,
+and a countenance now benignant, though very bright, and once haughty.
+He still retained the same fashion of costume in which he had ridden
+up to Westminster more than half a century ago, from his seat in
+Derbyshire, to support his dear friend Charles Fox; real top-boots,
+and a blue coat and buff waistcoat. He was a great friend of Lord
+Roehampton, had a large estate in the same county, and had refused an
+earldom. Knowing Endymion, he came and sate by him one day in the
+House, and asked him, good-naturedly, how he liked his new life.
+
+"It is very different from what it was when I was your age. Up to
+Easter we rarely had a regular debate, never a party division; very
+few people came up indeed. But there was a good deal of speaking on
+all subjects before dinner. We had the privilege then of speaking on
+the presentation of petitions at any length, and we seldom spoke on
+any other occasion. After Easter there was always at least one great
+party fight. This was a mighty affair, talked of for weeks before it
+came off, and then rarely an adjourned debate. We were gentlemen, used
+to sit up late, and should have been sitting up somewhere else had we
+not been in the House of Commons. After this party fight, the House
+for the rest of the session was a mere club."
+
+"There was not much business doing then," said Endymion.
+
+"There was not much business in the country then. The House of Commons
+was very much like what the House of Lords is now. You went home to
+dine, and now and then came back for an important division."
+
+"But you must always have had the estimates here," said Endymion.
+
+"Yes, but they ran through very easily. Hume was the first man who
+attacked the estimates. What are you going to do with yourself to-day?
+Will you take your mutton with me? You must come in boots, for it is
+now dinner-time, and you must return, I fancy. Twenty years ago, no
+man would think of coming down to the House except in evening dress. I
+remember so late as Mr. Canning, the minister always came down in silk
+stockings and pantaloons, or knee breeches. All things change, and
+quoting Virgil, as that young gentleman has just done, will be the
+next thing to disappear. In the last parliament we often had Latin
+quotations, but never from a member with a new constituency. I have
+heard Greek quoted here, but that was long ago, and a great mistake.
+The House was quite alarmed. Charles Fox used to say as to quotation--
+'No Greek; as much Latin as you like; and never French under any
+circumstances. No English poet unless he had completed his century.'
+These were like some other good rules, the unwritten orders of the
+House of Commons."
+
+
+
+                            CHAPTER LXXVII
+
+While parliaments were dissolving and ministries forming, the
+disappointed seeking consolation and the successful enjoying their
+triumph, Simon, Earl of Montfort, who just missed being a great
+philosopher, was reading "Topsy Turvy," which infinitely amused him;
+the style so picturesque and lambent! the tone so divertingly cynical!
+And if the knowledge of society in its pages was not so distinguished
+as that of human nature generally, this was a deficiency obvious only
+to a comparatively limited circle of its readers.
+
+Lord Montfort had reminded Endymion of his promise to introduce the
+distinguished author to him, and accordingly, after due researches as
+to his dwelling-place, Mr. Ferrars called in Jermyn Street and sent up
+his card, to know whether Mr. St. Barbe would receive him. This was
+evidently not a matter-of-course affair, and some little time had
+elapsed when the maid-servant appeared, and beckoned to Endymion to
+follow her upstairs.
+
+In the front drawing-room of the first floor, robed in a flaming
+dressing-gown, and standing with his back to the fire and to the
+looking-glass, the frame of which was encrusted with cards of
+invitation, the former colleague of Endymion received his visitor with
+a somewhat haughty and reserved air.
+
+"Well, I am delighted to see you again," said Endymion.
+
+No reply but a ceremonious bow.
+
+"And to congratulate you," Endymion added after a moment's pause. "I
+hear of nothing but of your book; I suppose one of the most successful
+that have appeared for a long time."
+
+"Its success is not owing to your friends," said Mr. St. Barbe tartly.
+
+"My friends!" said Endymion; "what could they have done to prevent
+it?"
+
+"They need not have dissolved parliament," said Mr. St. Barbe with
+irritation. "It was nearly fatal to me; it would have been to anybody
+else. I was selling forty thousand a month; I believe more than Gushy
+ever reached; and so they dissolved parliament. The sale went down
+half at once--and now you expect me to support your party!"
+
+"Well, it was unfortunate, but the dissolution could hardly have done
+you any permanent injury, and you could scarcely expect that such an
+event could be postponed even for the advantage of an individual so
+distinguished as yourself."
+
+"Perhaps not," said St. Barbe, apparently a little mollified, "but
+they might have done something to show their regret at it."
+
+"Something!" said Endymion, "what sort of thing?"
+
+"The prime minister might have called on me, or at least written to me
+a letter. I want none of their honours; I have scores of letters every
+day, suggesting that some high distinction should be conferred on me.
+I believe the nation expects me to be made a baronet. By the by, I
+heard the other day you had got into parliament. I know nothing of
+these matters; they do not interest me. Is it the fact?"
+
+"Well, I was so fortunate, and there are others of your old friends,
+Trenchard, for example."
+
+"You do not mean to say that Trenchard is in parliament!" said St.
+Barbe, throwing off all his affected reserve. "Well, it is too
+disgusting! Trenchard in parliament, and I obliged to think it a great
+favour if a man gives me a frank! Well, representative institutions
+have seen their day. That is something."
+
+"I have come here on a social mission," said Endymion in a soothing
+tone. "There is a great admirer of yours who much wishes to make your
+acquaintance. Trusting to our old intimacy, of which of course I am
+very proud, it was even hoped that you might waive ceremony, and come
+and dine."
+
+"Quite impossible!" exclaimed St. Barbe, and turning round, he pointed
+to the legion of invitations before him. "You see, the world is at my
+feet. I remember that fellow Seymour Hicks taking me to his rooms to
+show me a card he had from a countess. What would he say to this?"
+
+"Well, but you cannot be engaged to dinner every day," said Endymion;
+"and you really may choose any day you like."
+
+"Well, there are not many dinners among them, to be sure," said St.
+Barbe. "Small and earlies. How I hate a 'small and early'! Shown into
+a room where you meet a select few who have been asked to dinner, and
+who are chewing the cud like a herd of kine, and you are expected to
+tumble before them to assist their digestion! Faugh! No, sir; we only
+dine out now, and we think twice, I can tell you, before we accept
+even an invitation to dinner. Who's your friend?"
+
+"Well, my friend is Lord Montfort."
+
+"You do not mean to say that! And he is an admirer of mine?"
+
+"An enthusiastic admirer."
+
+"I will dine with Lord Montfort. There is no one who appreciates so
+completely and so highly the old nobility of England as myself. They
+are a real aristocracy. None of the pinchbeck pedigrees and ormolu
+titles of the continent. Lord Montfort is, I think, an earl. A
+splendid title, earl! an English earl; count goes for nothing. The
+Earl of Montfort! An enthusiastic admirer of mine! The aristocracy of
+England, especially the old aristocracy, are highly cultivated.
+Sympathy from such a class is to be valued. I care for no other--I
+have always despised the million of vulgar. They have come to me, not
+I to them, and I have always told them the truth about themselves,
+that they are a race of snobs, and they rather like being told so. And
+now for your day?"
+
+"Why not this day if you be free? I will call for you about eight, and
+take you in my brougham to Montfort House."
+
+"You have got a brougham! Well, I suppose so, being a member of
+parliament, though I know a good many members of parliament who have
+not got broughams. But your family, I remember, married into the
+swells. I do not grudge it you. You were always a good comrade to me.
+I never knew a man more free from envy than you, Ferrars, and envy is
+an odious vice. There are people I know, who, when they hear I have
+dined with the Earl of Montfort, will invent all sorts of stories
+against me, and send them to what they call the journals of society."
+
+"Well, then, it shall be to-day," said Endymion, rising.
+
+"It shall be to-day, and to tell the truth, I was thinking this
+morning where I should dine to-day. What I miss here are the cafes.
+Now in Paris you can dine every day exactly as it suits your means and
+mood. You may dine for a couple of francs in a quiet, unknown street,
+and very well; or you may dine for a couple of napoleons in a flaming
+saloon, with windows opening on a crowded boulevard. London is
+deficient in dining capability."
+
+"You should belong to a club. Do you not?"
+
+"So I was told by a friend of mine the other day,--one of your great
+swells. He said I ought to belong to the Athenaeum, and he would
+propose me, and the committee would elect me as a matter of course.
+They rejected me and selected a bishop. And then people are surprised
+that the Church is in danger!"
+
+
+
+                           CHAPTER LXXVIII
+
+The condition of England at the meeting of Parliament in 1842 was not
+satisfactory. The depression of trade in the manufacturing districts
+seemed overwhelming, and continued increasing during the whole of the
+year. A memorial from Stockport to the Queen in the spring represented
+that more than half the master spinners had failed, and that no less
+than three thousand dwelling-houses were untenanted. One-fifth of the
+population of Leeds were dependent on the poor-rates. The state of
+Sheffield was not less severe--and the blast furnaces of Wolverhampton
+were extinguished. There were almost daily meetings, at Liverpool,
+Manchester, and Leeds, to consider the great and increasing distress
+of the country, and to induce ministers to bring forward remedial
+measures; but as these were impossible, violence was soon substituted
+for passionate appeals to the fears or the humanity of the government.
+Vast bodies of the population assembled in Staleybridge, and Ashton,
+and Oldham, and marched into Manchester.
+
+For a week the rioting was unchecked, but the government despatched a
+strong military force to that city, and order was restored.
+
+The state of affairs in Scotland was not more favourable. There were
+food riots in several of the Scotch towns, and in Glasgow the
+multitude assembled, and then commenced what they called a begging
+tour, but which was really a progress of not disguised intimidation.
+The economic crisis in Ireland was yet to come, but the whole of that
+country was absorbed in a harassing and dangerous agitation for the
+repeal of the union between the two countries.
+
+During all this time, the Anti-Corn Law League was holding regular and
+frequent meetings at Manchester, at which statements were made
+distinguished by great eloquence and little scruple. But the able
+leaders of this confederacy never succeeded in enlisting the
+sympathies of the great body of the population. Between the masters
+and the workmen there was an alienation of feeling, which apparently
+never could be removed. This reserve, however, did not enlist the
+working classes on the side of the government; they had their own
+object, and one which they themselves enthusiastically cherished. And
+this was the Charter, a political settlement which was to restore the
+golden age, and which the master manufacturers and the middle classes
+generally looked upon with even more apprehension than Her Majesty's
+advisers. It is hardly necessary to add, that in a state of affairs
+like that which is here faintly but still faithfully sketched, the
+rapid diminution of the revenue was inevitable, and of course that
+decline mainly occurred in the two all-important branches of the
+customs and excise.
+
+There was another great misfortune also which at this trying time hung
+over England. The country was dejected. The humiliating disasters of
+Afghanistan, dark narratives of which were periodically arriving, had
+produced a more depressing effect on the spirit of the country than
+all the victories and menaces of Napoleon in the heyday of his wild
+career. At home and abroad, there seemed nothing to sustain the
+national spirit; financial embarrassment, commercial and manufacturing
+distress, social and political agitation on the one hand, and on the
+other, the loss of armies, of reputation, perhaps of empire. It was
+true that these external misfortunes could hardly be attributed to the
+new ministry--but when a nation is thoroughly perplexed and
+dispirited, it soon ceases to make distinctions between political
+parties. The country is out of sorts, and the "government" is held
+answerable for the disorder.
+
+Thus it will be seen, that, though the new ministry were supported by
+a commanding majority in parliament, and that, too, after a recent
+appeal to the country, they were not popular, it may be truly said
+they were even the reverse. The opposition, on the other hand,
+notwithstanding their discomfiture, and, on some subjects, their
+disgrace, were by no means disheartened, and believed that there were
+economical causes at work, which must soon restore them to power.
+
+The minister brought forward his revision of the tariff, which was
+denounced by the League as futile, and in which anathema the
+opposition soon found it convenient to agree. Had the minister
+included in his measure that "total and immediate repeal" of the
+existing corn laws which was preached by many as a panacea, the effect
+would have been probably much the same. No doubt a tariff may
+aggravate, or may mitigate, such a condition of commercial depression
+as periodically visits a state of society like that of England, but it
+does not produce it. It was produced in 1842, as it had been produced
+at the present time, by an abuse of capital and credit, and by a
+degree of production which the wants of the world have not warranted.
+
+And yet all this time, there were certain influences at work in the
+great body of the nation, neither foreseen, nor for some time
+recognised, by statesmen and those great capitalists on whose opinion
+statesmen much depend, which were stirring, as it were, like the
+unconscious power of the forces of nature, and which were destined to
+baffle all the calculations of persons in authority and the leading
+spirits of all parties, strengthen a perplexed administration,
+confound a sanguine opposition, render all the rhetoric, statistics,
+and subscriptions of the Anti-Corn Law League fruitless, and
+absolutely make the Chartists forget the Charter.
+
+"My friends will not assist themselves by resisting the government
+measures," said Mr. Neuchatel, with his usual calm smile, half
+sceptical, half sympathetic. "The measures will do no good, but they
+will do no harm. There are no measures that will do any good at this
+moment. We do not want measures; what we want is a new channel."
+
+That is exactly what was wanted. There was abundant capital in the
+country and a mass of unemployed labour. But the markets on which they
+had of late depended, the American especially, were overworked and
+overstocked, and in some instances were not only overstocked, but
+disturbed by war, as the Chinese, for example--and capital and labour
+wanted "a new channel."
+
+The new channel came, and all the persons of authority, alike
+political and commercial, seemed quite surprised that it had arrived;
+but when a thing or a man is wanted, they generally appear. One or two
+lines of railway, which had been long sleepily in formation, about
+this time were finished, and one or two lines of railway, which had
+been finished for some time and were unnoticed, announced dividends,
+and not contemptible ones. Suddenly there was a general feeling in the
+country, that its capital should be invested in railways; that the
+whole surface of the land should be transformed, and covered, as by a
+network, with these mighty means of communication. When the passions
+of the English, naturally an enthusiastic people, are excited on a
+subject of finance, their will, their determination, and resource, are
+irresistible. This was signally proved in the present instance, for
+they never ceased subscribing their capital until the sum entrusted to
+this new form of investment reached an amount almost equal to the
+national debt; and this too in a very few years. The immediate effect
+on the condition of the country was absolutely prodigious. The value
+of land rose, all the blast furnaces were relit, a stimulant was given
+to every branch of the home trade, the amount suddenly paid in wages
+exceeded that ever known in this country, and wages too at a high
+rate. Large portions of the labouring classes not only enjoyed
+comfort, but commanded luxury. All this of course soon acted on the
+revenue, and both customs and especially excise soon furnished an
+ample surplus.
+
+It cannot be pretended that all this energy and enterprise were free
+in their operation from those evils which, it seems, must inevitably
+attend any extensive public speculation, however well founded. Many of
+the scenes and circumstances recalled the days of the South Sea
+Scheme. The gambling in shares of companies which were formed only in
+name was without limit. The principal towns of the north established
+for that purpose stock exchanges of their own, and Leeds especially,
+one-fifth of whose population had been authoritatively described in
+the first session of the new parliament as dependent on the poor-
+rates, now boasted a stock exchange which in the extent of its
+transactions rivalled that of the metropolis. And the gambling was
+universal, from the noble to the mechanic. It was confined to no class
+and to no sex. The scene which took place at the Board of Trade on the
+last day on which plans could be lodged, and when midnight had arrived
+while crowds from the country were still filling the hall, and
+pressing at the doors, deserved and required for its adequate
+representation the genius of a Hogarth. This was the day on which it
+was announced that the total number of railway projects, on which
+deposits had been paid, had reached nearly to eight hundred.
+
+What is remarkable in this vast movement in which so many millions
+were produced, and so many more promised, is, that the great leaders
+of the financial world took no part in it. The mighty loan-mongers, on
+whose fiat the fate of kings and empires sometimes depended, seemed
+like men who, witnessing some eccentricity of nature, watch it with
+mixed feelings of curiosity and alarm. Even Lombard Street, which
+never was more wanted, was inactive, and it was only by the
+irresistible pressure of circumstances that a banking firm which had
+an extensive country connection was ultimately forced to take the
+leading part that was required, and almost unconsciously lay the
+foundation of the vast fortunes which it has realised, and organise
+the varied connection which it now commands. All seemed to come from
+the provinces, and from unknown people in the provinces.
+
+But in all affairs there must be a leader, and a leader appeared. He
+was more remarkable than the movement itself. He was a London
+tradesman, though a member of parliament returned for the first time
+to this House of Commons. This leader was Mr. Vigo.
+
+Mr. Vigo had foreseen what was coming, and had prepared for it. He
+agreed with Mr. Neuchatel, what was wanted was "a new channel." That
+channel he thought he had discovered, and he awaited it. He himself
+could command no inconsiderable amount of capital, and he had a
+following of obscure rich friends who believed in him, and did what he
+liked. His daily visits to the City, except when he was travelling
+over England, and especially the north and midland counties, had their
+purpose and bore fruit. He was a director, and soon the chairman and
+leading spirit, of a railway which was destined to be perhaps our most
+important one. He was master of all the details of the business; he
+had arrived at conclusions on the question of the gauges, which then
+was a /pons asinorum/ for the multitude, and understood all about
+rolling stock and permanent ways, and sleepers and branch lines, which
+were then cabalistic terms to the general. In his first session in
+parliament he had passed quietly and almost unnoticed several bills on
+these matters, and began to be recognised by the Committee of
+Selection as a member who ought to be "put on" for questions of this
+kind.
+
+The great occasion had arrived, and Mr. Vigo was equal to it. He was
+one of those few men who awake one day and find themselves famous.
+Suddenly it would seem that the name of Mr. Vigo was in everybody's
+mouth. There was only one subject which interested the country, and he
+was recognised as the man who best understood it. He was an oracle,
+and, naturally, soon became an idol. The tariff of the ministers was
+forgotten, the invectives of the League were disregarded, their
+motions for the repeal of the corn laws were invariably defeated by
+large and contemptuous majorities. The House of Commons did nothing
+but pass railway bills, measures which were welcomed with unanimity by
+the House of Lords, whose estates were in consequence daily increasing
+in value. People went to the gallery to see Mr. Vigo introduce bills,
+and could scarcely restrain their enthusiasm at the spectacle of so
+much patriotic energy, which secured for them premiums for shares,
+which they held in undertakings of which the first sod was not yet
+cut. On one morning, the Great Cloudland Company, of which he was
+chairman, gave their approval of twenty-six bills, which he
+immediately introduced into parliament. Next day, the Ebor and North
+Cloudland sanctioned six bills under his advice, and affirmed deeds
+and agreements which affected all the principal railway projects in
+Lancashire and Yorkshire. A quarter of an hour later, just time to
+hurry from one meeting to another, where he was always received with
+rampant enthusiasm, Newcastle and the extreme north accepted his
+dictatorship. During a portion of two days, he obtained the consent of
+shareholders to forty bills, involving an expenditure of ten millions;
+and the engagements for one session alone amounted to one hundred and
+thirty millions sterling.
+
+Mr. Neuchatel shrugged his shoulders, but no one would listen even to
+Mr. Neuchatel, when the prime minister himself, supposed to be the
+most wary of men, and especially on financial subjects, in the very
+white heat of all this speculation, himself raised the first sod on
+his own estate in a project of extent and importance.
+
+Throughout these extraordinary scenes, Mr. Vigo, though not free from
+excitement, exhibited, on the whole, much self-control. He was
+faithful to his old friends, and no one profited more in this respect
+than Mr. Rodney. That gentleman became the director of several lines,
+and vice-chairman of one over which Mr. Vigo himself presided. No one
+was surprised that Mr. Rodney therefore should enter parliament. He
+came in by virtue of one of those petitions that Tadpole was always
+cooking, or baffling. Mr. Rodney was a supporter of the ministry, and
+Mr. Vigo was a Liberal, but Mr. Vigo returned Mr. Rodney to parliament
+all the same, and no one seemed astonished or complained. Political
+connection, political consistency, political principle, all vanished
+before the fascination of premiums.
+
+As for Endymion, the great man made him friendly and earnest
+overtures, and offered, if he would give his time to business, which,
+as he was in opposition, would be no great sacrifice, to promote and
+secure his fortune. But Endymion, after due reflection, declined,
+though with gratitude, these tempting proposals. Ferrars was an
+ambitious man, but not too imaginative a one. He had a main object in
+life, and that was to regain the position which had been forfeited,
+not by his own fault. His grandfather and his father before him had
+both been privy councillors and ministers of state. There had, indeed,
+been more than the prospect of his father filling a very prominent
+position. All had been lost, but the secret purpose of the life of
+Endymion was that, from being a clerk in a public office, he should
+arrive by his own energies at the station to which he seemed, as it
+were, born. To accomplish this he felt that the entire devotion of his
+labour and thought was requisite. His character was essentially
+tenacious, and he had already realised no inconsiderable amount of
+political knowledge and official experience. His object seemed
+difficult and distant, but there was nothing wild or visionary in its
+pursuit. He had achieved some of the first steps, and he was yet very
+young. There were friends about him, however, who were not content
+with what they deemed his moderate ambition, and thought they
+discerned in him qualities which might enable him to mount to a higher
+stage. However this might be, his judgment was that he must resist the
+offers of Mr. Vigo, though they were sincerely kind, and so he felt
+them.
+
+In the meantime, he frequently met that gentleman, and not merely in
+the House of Commons. Mr. St. Barbe would have been frantically
+envious could he have witnessed and perused the social invitations
+that fell like a continuous snow-storm on the favoured roof of Mr.
+Vigo. Mr. Vigo was not a party question. He dined with high patricians
+who forgot their political differences, while they agreed in courting
+the presence of this great benefactor of his country. The fine ladies
+were as eager in their homage to this real patriot, and he might be
+seen between rival countesses, who emulated each other in their
+appreciation of his public services. These were Mr. Vigo's dangerous
+suitors. He confessed to Endymion one day that he could not manage the
+great ladies. "Male swells," he would say laughingly, "I have measured
+physically and intellectually." The golden youth of the country seemed
+fascinated by his society, repeated his sententious bons-mot, and
+applied for shares in every company which he launched into prosperous
+existence.
+
+Mr. Vigo purchased a splendid mansion in St. James' Square, where
+invitations to his banquets were looked upon almost as commands. His
+chief cook was one of the celebrities of Europe, and though he had
+served emperors, the salary he received from Mr. Vigo exceeded any one
+he had hitherto condescended to pocket. Mr. Vigo bought estates, hired
+moors, lavished his money, not only with profusion, but with
+generosity. Everything was placed at his command, and it appeared that
+there was nothing that he refused. "When this excitement is over,"
+said Mr. Bertie Tremaine, "I hope to induce him to take India."
+
+In the midst of this commanding effulgence, the calmer beam of Mr.
+Rodney might naturally pass unnoticed, yet its brightness was clear
+and sustained. The Rodneys engaged a dwelling of no mean proportion in
+that favoured district of South Kensington, which was then beginning
+to assume the high character it has since obtained. Their equipages
+were distinguished, and when Mrs. Rodney entered the Park, driving her
+matchless ponies, and attended by outriders, and herself bright as
+Diana, the world leaning over its palings witnessed her appearance
+with equal delight and admiration.
+
+
+
+                            CHAPTER LXXIX
+
+We have rather anticipated, for the sake of the subject, in our last
+chapter, and we must now recur to the time when, after his return from
+Paris, Endymion entered into what was virtually his first session in
+the House of Commons. Though in opposition, and with all the delights
+of the most charming society at his command, he was an habitual and
+constant attendant. One might have been tempted to believe that he
+would turn out to be, though a working, only a silent member, but his
+silence was only prudence. He was deeply interested and amused in
+watching the proceedings, especially when those took part in them with
+whom he was acquainted. Job Thornberry occupied a leading position in
+the debates. He addressed the House very shortly after he took his
+seat, and having a purpose and a most earnest one, and being what is
+styled a representative man of his subject, the House listened to him
+at once, and his place in debate was immediately recognised. The times
+favoured him, especially during the first and second session, while
+the commercial depression lasted; afterwards, he was always listened
+to, because he had great oratorical gifts, a persuasive style that was
+winning, and, though he had no inconsiderable powers of sarcasm, his
+extreme tact wisely guided him to restrain for the present that
+dangerous, though most effective, weapon.
+
+The Pythagorean school, as Waldershare styled Mr. Bertie Tremaine and
+his following, very much amused Endymion. The heaven-born minister air
+of the great leader was striking. He never smiled, or at any rate
+contemptuously. Notice of a question was sometimes publicly given from
+this bench, but so abstruse in its nature and so quaint in its
+expression, that the House never comprehended it, and the unfortunate
+minister who had to answer, even with twenty-four hours' study, was
+obliged to commence his reply by a conjectural interpretation of the
+query formally addressed to him. But though they were silent in the
+House, their views were otherwise powerfully represented. The weekly
+journal devoted to their principles was sedulously circulated among
+members of the House. It was called the "Precursor," and
+systematically attacked not only every institution, but, it might be
+said, every law, and all the manners and customs, of the country. Its
+style was remarkable, never excited or impassioned, but frigid,
+logical, and incisive, and suggesting appalling revolutions with the
+calmness with which one would narrate the ordinary incidents of life.
+The editor of the "Precursor" was Mr. Jawett, selected by that great
+master of human nature, Mr. Bertie Tremaine. When it got about, that
+the editor of this fearful journal was a clerk in a public office, the
+indignation of the government, or at least of their supporters, was
+extreme, and there was no end to the punishments and disgrace to which
+he was to be subjected; but Waldershare, who lived a good deal in
+Bohemia, was essentially cosmopolitan, and dabbled in letters,
+persuaded his colleagues not to make the editor of the "Precursor" a
+martyr, and undertook with their authority to counteract his evil
+purposes by literary means alone.
+
+Being fully empowered to take all necessary steps for this object,
+Waldershare thought that there was no better mode of arresting public
+attention to his enterprise than by engaging for its manager the most
+renowned pen of the hour, and he opened himself on the subject in the
+most sacred confidence to Mr. St. Barbe. That gentleman, invited to
+call upon a minister, sworn to secrecy, and brimful of state secrets,
+could not long restrain himself, and with admirable discretion
+consulted on his views and prospects Mr. Endymion Ferrars.
+
+"But I thought you were one of us," said Endymion; "you asked me to
+put you in the way of getting into Brooks'!"
+
+"What of that?" said Mr. St. Barbe; "and when you remember what the
+Whigs owe to literary men, they ought to have elected me into Brooks'
+without my asking for it."
+
+"Still, if you be on the other side?"
+
+"It is nothing to do with sides," said Mr. St. Barbe; "this affair
+goes far beyond sides. The 'Precursor' wants to put down the Crown; I
+shall put down the 'Precursor.' It is an affair of the closet, not of
+sides--an affair of the royal closet, sir. I am acting for the Crown,
+sir; the Crown has appealed to me. I save the Crown, and there must be
+personal relations with the highest," and he looked quite fierce.
+
+"Well, you have not written your first article yet," said Endymion. "I
+shall look forward to it with much interest."
+
+After Easter, Lord Roehampton said to Endymion that a question ought
+to be put on a subject of foreign policy of importance, and on which
+he thought the ministry were in difficulties; "and I think you might
+as well ask it, Endymion. I will draw up the question, and you will
+give notice of it. It will be a reconnaissance."
+
+The notice of this question was the first time Endymion opened his
+mouth in the House of Commons. It was an humble and not a very
+hazardous office, but when he got on his legs his head swam, his heart
+beat so violently, that it was like a convulsion preceding death, and
+though he was only on his legs for a few seconds, all the sorrows of
+his life seemed to pass before him. When he sate down, he was quite
+surprised that the business of the House proceeded as usual, and it
+was only after some time that he became convinced that no one but
+himself was conscious of his sufferings, or that he had performed a
+routine duty otherwise than in a routine manner.
+
+The crafty question, however, led to some important consequences. When
+asked, to the surprise of every one the minister himself replied to
+it. Waldershare, with whom Endymion dined at Bellamy's that day, was
+in no good humour in consequence.
+
+When Lord Roehampton had considered the ministerial reply, he said to
+Endymion, "This must be followed up. You must move for papers. It will
+be a good opportunity for you, for the House is up to something being
+in the wind, and they will listen. It will be curious to see whether
+the minister follows you. If so, he will give me an opening."
+
+Endymion felt that this was the crisis of his life. He knew the
+subject well, and he had all the tact and experience of Lord
+Roehampton to guide him in his statement and his arguments. He had
+also the great feeling that, if necessary, a powerful arm would
+support him. It was about a week before the day arrived, and Endymion
+slept very little that week, and the night before his motion not a
+wink. He almost wished he was dead as he walked down to the House in
+the hope that the exercise might remedy, or improve, his languid
+circulation; but in vain, and when his name was called and he had to
+rise, his hands and feet were like ice.
+
+Lady Roehampton and Lady Montfort were both in the ventilator, and he
+knew it.
+
+It might be said that he was sustained by his utter despair. He felt
+so feeble and generally imbecile, that he had not vitality enough to
+be sensible of failure.
+
+He had a kind audience, and an interested one. When he opened his
+mouth, he forgot his first sentence, which he had long prepared. In
+trying to recall it and failing, he was for a moment confused. But it
+was only for a moment; the unpremeditated came to his aid, and his
+voice, at first tremulous, was recognised as distinct and rich. There
+was a murmur of sympathy, and not merely from his own side. Suddenly,
+both physically and intellectually, he was quite himself. His arrested
+circulation flowed, and fed his stagnant brain. His statement was
+lucid, his arguments were difficult to encounter, and his manner was
+modest. He sate down amid general applause, and though he was then
+conscious that he had omitted more than one point on which he had
+relied, he was on the whole satisfied, and recollected that he might
+use them in reply, a privilege to which he now looked forward with
+feelings of comfort and confidence.
+
+The minister again followed him, and in an elaborate speech. The
+subject evidently, in the opinion of the minister, was of too delicate
+and difficult a character to trust to a subordinate. Overwhelmed as he
+was with the labours of his own department, the general conduct of
+affairs, and the leadership of the House, he still would undertake the
+representation of an office with whose business he was not familiar.
+Wary and accurate he always was, but in discussions on foreign
+affairs, he never exhibited the unrivalled facility with which he ever
+treated a commercial or financial question, or that plausible
+promptness with which, at a moment's notice, he could encounter any
+difficulty connected with domestic administration.
+
+All these were qualities which Lord Roehampton possessed with
+reference to the affairs over which he had long presided, and in the
+present instance, following the minister, he was particularly happy.
+He had a good case, and he was gratified by the success of Endymion.
+He complimented him and confuted his opponent, and, not satisfied with
+demolishing his arguments, Lord Roehampton indulged in a little
+raillery which the House enjoyed, but which was never pleasing to the
+more solemn organisation of his rival.
+
+No language can describe the fury of Waldershare as to the events of
+this evening. He looked upon the conduct of the minister, in not
+permitting him to represent his department, as a decree of the
+incapacity of his subordinate, and of the virtual termination of the
+official career of the Under-Secretary of State. He would have
+resigned the next day had it not been for the influence of Lady
+Beaumaris, who soothed him by suggesting, that it would be better to
+take an early opportunity of changing his present post for another.
+
+The minister was wrong. He was not fond of trusting youth, but it is a
+confidence which should be exercised, particularly in the conduct of a
+popular assembly. If the under-secretary had not satisfactorily
+answered Endymion, which no one had a right to assume, for Waldershare
+was a brilliant man, the minister could have always advanced to the
+rescue at the fitting time. As it was, he made a personal enemy of one
+who naturally might have ripened into a devoted follower, and who from
+his social influence, as well as from his political talents, was no
+despicable foe.
+
+
+
+                             CHAPTER LXXX
+
+Notwithstanding the great political, and consequently social, changes
+that had taken place, no very considerable alteration occurred in the
+general life of those chief personages in whose existence we have
+attempted to interest the reader. However vast may appear to be the
+world in which we move, we all of us live in a limited circle. It is
+the result of circumstances; of our convenience and our taste. Lady
+Beaumaris became the acknowledged leader of Tory society, and her
+husband was so pleased with her position, and so proud of it, that he
+in a considerable degree sacrificed his own pursuits and pleasures for
+its maintenance. He even refused the mastership of a celebrated hunt,
+which had once been an object of his highest ambition, that he might
+be early and always in London to support his wife in her receptions.
+Imogene herself was universally popular. Her gentle and natural
+manners, blended with a due degree of self-respect, her charming
+appearance, and her ready but unaffected sympathy, won every heart.
+Lady Roehampton was her frequent guest. Myra continued her duties as a
+leader of society, as her lord was anxious that the diplomatic world
+should not forget him. These were the two principal and rival houses.
+The efforts of Lady Montfort were more fitful, for they were to a
+certain degree dependent on the moods of her husband. It was observed
+that Lady Beaumaris never omitted attending the receptions of Lady
+Roehampton, and the tone of almost reverential affection with which
+she ever approached Myra was touching to those who were in the secret,
+but they were few.
+
+No great change occurred in the position of Prince Florestan, except
+that in addition to the sports to which he was apparently devoted, he
+gradually began to interest himself in the turf. He had bred several
+horses of repute, and one, which he had named Lady Roehampton, was the
+favourite for a celebrated race. His highness was anxious that Myra
+should honour him by being his guest. This had never occurred before,
+because Lord Roehampton felt that so avowed an intimacy with a
+personage in the peculiar position of Prince Florestan was hardly
+becoming a Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs; but that he was no
+longer, and being the most good-natured man that ever lived, and
+easily managed in little things, he could not refuse Myra when she
+consulted him, as they call it, on the subject, and it was settled
+that Lord and Lady Roehampton were to dine with Prince Florestan. The
+prince was most anxious that Mr. Sidney Wilton should take this
+occasion of consenting to a reconciliation with him, and Lady
+Roehampton exerted herself much for this end. Mr. Sidney Wilton was in
+love with Lady Roehampton, and yet on this point he was inexorable.
+Lord and Lady Beaumaris went, and Lady Montfort, to whom the prince
+had addressed a private note of his own that quite captivated her, and
+Mr. and Mrs. Neuchatel and Adriana. Waldershare, Endymion, and Baron
+Sergius completed the guests, who were received by the Duke of St.
+Angelo and a couple of aides-de-camp. When the prince entered all
+rose, and the ladies curtseyed very low. Lord Roehampton resumed his
+seat immediately, saying to his neighbour, "I rose to show my respect
+to my host; I sit down to show that I look upon him as a subject like
+myself."
+
+"A subject of whom?" inquired Lady Montfort.
+
+"There is something in that," said Lord Roehampton, smiling.
+
+The Duke of St. Angelo was much disturbed by the conduct of Lord
+Roehampton, which had disappointed his calculations, and he went about
+lamenting that Lord Roehampton had a little gout.
+
+They had assembled in the library and dined on the same floor. The
+prince was seated between Lady Montfort, whom he accompanied to
+dinner, and Lady Roehampton. Adriana fell to Endymion's lot. She
+looked very pretty, was beautifully dressed, and for her, was even
+gay. Her companion was in good spirits, and she seemed interested and
+amused. The prince never spoke much, but his remarks always told. He
+liked murmuring to women, but when requisite, he could throw a fly
+over the table with adroitness and effect. More than once during the
+dinner he whispered to Lady Roehampton: "This is too kind--your coming
+here. But you have always been my best friend." The dinner would have
+been lively and successful even if Waldershare had not been there, but
+he to-day was exuberant and irresistible. His chief topic was abuse of
+the government of which he was a member, and he lavished all his
+powers of invective and ridicule alike on the imbecility of their
+policy and their individual absurdities. All this much amused Lady
+Montfort, and gave Lord Roehampton an opportunity to fool the Under-
+Secretary of State to the top of his bent.
+
+"If you do not take care," said Mr. Neuchatel, "they will turn you
+out."
+
+"I wish they would," said Waldershare. "That is what I am longing for.
+I should go then all over the country and address public meetings. It
+would be the greatest thing since Sacheverell."
+
+"Our people have not behaved well to Mr. Waldershare," whispered
+Imogene to Lord Roehampton, "but I think we shall put it all right."
+
+"Do you believe it?" inquired Lady Montfort of Lord Roehampton. He had
+been speaking to her for some little time in a hushed tone, and rather
+earnestly.
+
+"Indeed I do; I cannot well see what there is to doubt about it. We
+know the father very well--an excellent man; he was the parish priest
+of Lady Roehampton before her marriage, when she lived in the country.
+And we know from him that more than a year ago something was
+contemplated. The son gave up his living then; he has remained at Rome
+ever since. And now I am told he returns to us, the Pope's legate and
+an archbishop /in partibus/!"
+
+"It is most interesting," said Lady Montfort. "I was always his great
+admirer."
+
+"I know that; you and Lady Roehampton made me go and hear him. The
+father will be terribly distressed."
+
+"I do not care at all about the father," said Lady Montfort; "but the
+son had such a fine voice and was so very good-looking. I hope I shall
+see him."
+
+They were speaking of Nigel Penruddock, whose movements had been a
+matter of much mystery during the last two years. Rumours of his
+having been received into the Roman Church had been often rife;
+sometimes flatly, and in time faintly, contradicted. Now the facts
+seemed admitted, and it would appear that he was about to return to
+England not only as a Roman Catholic, but as a distinguished priest of
+the Church, and, it was said, even the representative of the Papacy.
+
+All the guests rose at the same time--a pleasant habit--and went
+upstairs to the brilliantly lighted saloons. Lord Roehampton seated
+himself by Baron Sergius, with whom he was always glad to converse.
+"We seem here quiet and content?" said the ex-minister inquiringly.
+
+"I hope so, and I think so," said Sergius. "He believes in his star,
+and will leave everything to its influence. There are to be no more
+adventures."
+
+"It must be a great relief to Lord Roehampton to have got quit of
+office," said Mrs. Neuchatel to Lady Roehampton. "I always pitied him
+so much. I never can understand why people voluntarily incur such
+labours and anxiety."
+
+"You should join us," said Mr. Neuchatel to Waldershare. "They would
+be very glad to see you at Brooks'."
+
+"Brooks' may join the October Club which I am going to revive," said
+Waldershare.
+
+"I never heard of that club," said Mr. Neuchatel.
+
+"It was a much more important thing than the Bill of Rights or the Act
+of Settlement," said Waldershare, "all the same."
+
+"I want to see his mother's portrait in the farther saloon," said Lady
+Montfort to Myra.
+
+"Let us go together." And Lady Roehampton rose, and they went.
+
+It was a portrait of Queen Agrippina by a master hand, and admirably
+illumined by reflected light, so that it seemed to live.
+
+"She must have been very beautiful," said Lady Montfort.
+
+"Mr. Sidney Wilton was devotedly attached to her, my lord has told
+me," said Lady Roehampton.
+
+"So many were devotedly attached to her," said Lady Montfort.
+
+"Yes; she was like Mary of Scotland, whom some men are in love with
+even to this day. Her spell was irresistible. There are no such women
+now."
+
+"Yes; there is one," said Lady Montfort, suddenly turning round and
+embracing Lady Roehampton; "and I know she hates me, because she
+thinks I prevent her brother from marrying."
+
+"Dear Lady Montfort, how can you use such strong expressions? I am
+sure there can be only one feeling of Endymion's friends to you, and
+that is gratitude for your kindness to him."
+
+"I have done nothing for him; I can do nothing for him. I felt that
+when we were trying to get him into parliament. If he could marry, and
+be independent, and powerful, and rich, it would be better, perhaps,
+for all of us."
+
+"I wish he were independent, and powerful, and rich," said Myra
+musingly. "That would be a fairy tale. At present, he must be content
+that he has some of the kindest friends in the world."
+
+"He interests me very much; no one so much. I am sincerely, even
+deeply attached to him; but it is like your love, it is a sister's
+love. There is only one person I really love in the world, and alas!
+he does not love me!" And her voice was tremulous.
+
+"Do not say such things, dear Lady Montfort. I never can believe what
+you sometimes intimate on that subject. Do you know, I think it a
+little hallucination."
+
+Lady Montfort shook her head with a truly mournful expression, and
+then suddenly, her beautiful face wreathed with smiles, she said in a
+gay voice, "We will not think of such sorrows. I wish them to be
+entombed in my heart, but the spectres will rise sometimes. Now about
+your brother. I do not mean to say that it would not be a great loss
+to me if he married, but I wish him to marry if you do. For myself, I
+must have a male friend, and he must be very clever, and thoroughly
+understand politics. You know you deprived me of Lord Roehampton," she
+continued smilingly, "who was everything I could desire; and the Count
+of Ferroll would have suited me excellently, but then he ran away. Now
+Endymion could not easily run away, and he is so agreeable and so
+intelligent, that at last I thought I had found a companion worth
+helping--and I meant, and still mean, to work hard--until he is prime
+minister."
+
+"I have my dreams too about that," said Lady Roehampton, "but we are
+all about the same age, and can wait a little."
+
+"He cannot be minister too soon," said Lady Montfort. "It was not
+being minister soon that ruined Charles Fox."
+
+The party broke up. The prince made a sign to Waldershare, which meant
+a confidential cigar, and in a few minutes they were alone together.
+
+"What women!" exclaimed the prince. "Not to be rivalled in this city,
+and yet quite unlike each other."
+
+"And which do you admire most, sir?" said Waldershare.
+
+The prince trimmed his cigar, and then he said, "I will tell you this
+day five years."
+
+
+
+                            CHAPTER LXXXI
+
+The ecclesiastical incident mentioned at the dinner described in our
+last chapter, produced a considerable effect in what is called
+society. Nigel Penruddock had obtained great celebrity as a preacher,
+while his extreme doctrines and practices had alike amazed,
+fascinated, and alarmed a large portion of the public. For some time
+he had withdrawn from the popular gaze, but his individuality was too
+strong to be easily forgotten, even if occasional paragraphs as to his
+views and conduct, published, contradicted, and reiterated, were not
+sufficient to sustain, and even stimulate, curiosity. That he was
+about to return to his native land, as the Legate of His Holiness, was
+an event which made many men look grave, and some female hearts
+flutter.
+
+The memory of Lady Roehampton could not escape from the past, and she
+could not recall it and all the scenes at Hurstley without emotion;
+and Lady Montfort remembered with some pride and excitement, that the
+Legate of the Pope had been one of her heroes. It was evident that he
+had no wish to avoid his old acquaintances, for shortly after his
+arrival, and after he had assembled his suffragans, and instructed the
+clergy of his district, for dioceses did not then exist, Archbishop
+Penruddock, for so the Metropolitan of Tyre simply styled himself,
+called upon both these ladies.
+
+His first visit was to Myra, and notwithstanding her disciplined self-
+control, her intense pride, and the deep and daring spirit which
+always secretly sustained her, she was nervous and agitated, but only
+in her boudoir. When she entered the saloon to welcome him, she seemed
+as calm as if she were going to an evening assembly.
+
+Nigel was changed. Instead of that anxious and moody look which
+formerly marred the refined beauty of his countenance, his glance was
+calm and yet radiant. He was thinner, it might almost be said
+emaciated, which seemed to add height to his tall figure.
+
+Lady Roehampton need not have been nervous about the interview, and
+the pain of its inevitable associations. Except one allusion at the
+end of his visit, when his Grace mentioned some petty grievance, of
+which he wished to relieve his clergy, and said, "I think I will
+consult your brother; being in the opposition, he will be less
+embarrassed than some of my friends in the government, or their
+supporters," he never referred to the past. All he spoke of was the
+magnitude of his task, the immense but inspiring labours which awaited
+him, and his deep sense of his responsibility. Nothing but the Divine
+principle of the Church could sustain him. He was at one time hopeful
+that His Holiness might have thought the time ripe for the restoration
+of the national hierarchy, but it was decreed otherwise. Had it been
+accorded, no doubt it would have assisted him. A prelate /in partibus/
+is, in a certain sense, a stranger, whatever his duties, and the world
+is more willing when it is appealed to by one who has "a local
+habitation and a name;" he is identified with the people among whom he
+lives. There was much to do. The state of the Catholic poor in his own
+district was heartrending. He never could have conceived such misery,
+and that too under the shadow of the Abbey. The few schools which
+existed were wretched, and his first attention must be given to this
+capital deficiency. He trusted much to female aid. He meant to invite
+the great Catholic ladies to unite with him in a common labour of
+love. In this great centre of civilisation, and wealth, and power,
+there was need of the spirit of a St. Ursula.
+
+No one seemed more pleased by the return of Archbishop Penruddock than
+Lord Montfort. He appeared to be so deeply interested in his Grace's
+mission, sought his society so often, treated him with such profound
+respect, almost ceremony, asked so many questions about what was
+happening at Rome, and what was going to be done here--that Nigel
+might have been pardoned if he did not despair of ultimately inducing
+Lord Montfort to return to the faith of his illustrious ancestors. And
+yet, all this time, Lord Montfort was only amusing himself; a new
+character was to him a new toy, and when he could not find one, he
+would dip into the "Memoirs of St. Simon."
+
+Instead of avoiding society, as was his wont in the old days, the
+Archbishop sought it. And there was nothing exclusive in his social
+habits; all classes and all creeds, all conditions and orders of men,
+were alike interesting to him; they were part of the mighty community,
+with all whose pursuits, and passions, and interests, and occupations
+he seemed to sympathise, but respecting which he had only one object--
+to bring them back once more to that imperial fold from which, in an
+hour of darkness and distraction, they had miserably wandered. The
+conversion of England was deeply engraven on the heart of Penruddock;
+it was his constant purpose, and his daily and nightly prayer.
+
+So the Archbishop was seen everywhere, even at fashionable assemblies.
+He was a frequent guest at banquets which he never tasted, for he was
+a smiling ascetic, and though he seemed to be preaching or celebrating
+high mass in every part of the metropolis, organising schools,
+establishing convents, and building cathedrals, he could find time to
+move philanthropic resolutions at middle-class meetings, attend
+learned associations, and even occasionally send a paper to the Royal
+Society.
+
+The person who fell most under the influence of the archbishop was
+Waldershare. He was fairly captivated by him. Nothing would satisfy
+Waldershare till he had brought the archbishop and Prince Florestan
+together. "You are a Roman Catholic prince, sir," he would say. "It is
+absolute folly to forego such a source of influence and power as the
+Roman Catholic Church. Here is your man; a man made for the occasion,
+a man who may be pope. Come to an understanding with him, and I
+believe you will regain your throne in a year."
+
+"But, my dear Waldershare, it is very true I am a Roman Catholic, but
+I am also the head of the Liberal party in my country, and perhaps
+also on the continent of Europe, and they are not particularly
+affected to archbishops and popes."
+
+"Old-fashioned twaddle of the Liberal party," exclaimed Waldershare.
+"There is more true democracy in the Roman Catholic Church than in all
+the secret societies of Europe."
+
+"There is something in that," said the prince musingly, "and my
+friends are Roman Catholics, nominally Roman Catholics. If I were
+quite sure your man and the priests generally were nominally Roman
+Catholics, something might be done."
+
+"As for that," said Waldershare, "sensible men are all of the same
+religion."
+
+"And pray what is that?" inquired the prince.
+
+"Sensible men never tell."
+
+Perhaps there was no family which suited him more, and where the
+archbishop became more intimate, than the Neuchatels. He very much
+valued a visit to Hainault, and the miscellaneous and influential
+circles he met there--merchant princes, and great powers of Lombard
+Street and the Stock Exchange. The Governor of the Bank happened to be
+a high churchman, and listened to the archbishop with evident relish.
+Mrs. Neuchatel also acknowledged the spell of his society, and he
+quite agreed with her that people should be neither so poor nor so
+rich. She had long mused over plans of social amelioration, and her
+new ally was to teach her how to carry them into practice. As for Mr.
+Neuchatel, he was pleased that his wife was amused, and liked the
+archbishop as he liked all clever men. "You know," he would say, "I am
+in favour of all churches, provided, my lord archbishop, they do not
+do anything very foolish. Eh? So I shall subscribe to your schools
+with great pleasure. We cannot have too many schools, even if they
+only keep young people from doing mischief."
+
+
+
+                            CHAPTER LXXXII
+
+The prosperity of the country was so signal, while Mr. Vigo was
+unceasingly directing millions of our accumulated capital, and
+promises of still more, into the "new channel," that it seemed beyond
+belief that any change of administration could even occur, at least in
+the experience of the existing generation. The minister to whose happy
+destiny it had fallen to gratify the large appetites and reckless
+consuming powers of a class now first known in our social hierarchy as
+"Navvies," was hailed as a second Pitt. The countenance of the
+opposition was habitually dejected, with the exception of those
+members of it on whom Mr. Vigo graciously conferred shares, and Lady
+Montfort taunted Mr. Sidney Wilton with inquiries, why he and his
+friends had not made railroads, instead of inventing nonsense about
+cheap bread. Job Thornberry made wonderful speeches in favour of total
+and immediate repeal of the corn laws, and the Liberal party, while
+they cheered him, privately expressed their regret that such a capital
+speaker, who might be anything, was not a practical man. Low prices,
+abundant harvests, and a thriving commerce had rendered all appeals,
+varied even by the persuasive ingenuity of Thornberry, a wearisome
+irritation; and, though the League had transplanted itself from
+Manchester to the metropolis, and hired theatres for their rhetoric,
+the close of 1845 found them nearly reduced to silence.
+
+Mr. Bertie Tremaine, who was always studying the spirit of the age,
+announced to the initiated that Mr. Vigo had something of the
+character and structure of Napoleon, and that he himself began to
+believe, that an insular nation, with such an enormous appetite, was
+not adapted to cosmopolitan principles, which were naturally of a
+character more spiritual and abstract. Mr. Bertie Tremaine asked Mr.
+Vigo to dinner, and introduced him to several distinguished youths of
+extreme opinions, who were dining off gold plate. Mr. Vigo was much
+flattered by his visit; his host made much of him; and he heard many
+things on the principles of government, and even of society, in the
+largest sense of the expression, which astonished and amused him. In
+the course of the evening he varied the conversation--one which became
+the classic library and busts of the surrounding statesmen--by
+promising to most of the guests allotments of shares in a new company,
+not yet launched, but whose securities were already at a high premium.
+
+Endymion, in the meantime, pursued the even tenor of his way. Guided
+by the experience, unrivalled knowledge, and consummate tact of Lord
+Roehampton, he habitually made inquiries, or brought forward motions,
+which were evidently inconvenient or embarrassing to the ministry; and
+the very circumstance, that he was almost always replied to by the
+prime minister, elevated him in the estimation of the House as much as
+the pertinence of his questions, and the accurate information on which
+he founded his motions. He had not taken the House with a rush like
+Job Thornberry, but, at the end of three sessions, he was a personage
+universally looked upon as one who was "certain to have office."
+
+There was another new member who had also made way, though slowly, and
+that was Mr. Trenchard; he had distinguished himself on a difficult
+committee, on which he had guided a perplexed minister, who was
+chairman, through many intricacies. Mr. Trenchard watched the
+operations of Mr. Vigo, with a calm, cold scrutiny, and ventured one
+day to impart his conviction to Endymion that there were breakers
+ahead. "Vigo is exhausting the floating capital of the country," he
+said, and he offered to give him all the necessary details, if he
+would call the attention of the House to the matter. Endymion declined
+to do this, chiefly because he wished to devote himself to foreign
+affairs, and thought the House would hardly brook his interference
+also in finance. So he strongly advised Trenchard himself to undertake
+the task. Trenchard was modest, and a little timid about speaking; so
+it was settled that he should consult the leaders on the question, and
+particularly the gentleman who it was supposed would be their
+Chancellor of the Exchequer, if ever they were again called upon to
+form a ministry. This right honourable individual listened to
+Trenchard with the impatience which became a man of great experience
+addressed by a novice, and concluded the interview by saying, that he
+thought "there was nothing in it;" at the same time, he would turn it
+in his mind, and consult some practical men. Accordingly the ex- and
+future minister consulted Mr. Vigo, who assured him that he was quite
+right; that "there was nothing in it," and that the floating capital
+of the country was inexhaustible.
+
+In the midst of all this physical prosperity, one fine day in August,
+parliament having just been prorogued, an unknown dealer in potatoes
+wrote to the Secretary of State, and informed him that he had reason
+to think that a murrain had fallen over the whole of the potato crops
+in England, and that, if it extended to Ireland, the most serious
+consequences must ensue.
+
+This mysterious but universal sickness of a single root changed the
+history of the world.
+
+"There is no gambling like politics," said Lord Roehampton, as he
+glanced at the "Times," at Princedown; "four cabinets in one week; the
+government must be more sick than the potatoes."
+
+"Berengaria always says," said Lord Montfort, "that you should see
+Princedown in summer. I, on the contrary, maintain it is essentially a
+winter residence, for, if there ever be a sunbeam in England,
+Princedown always catches it. Now to-day, one might fancy one's self
+at Cannes."
+
+Lord Montfort was quite right, but even the most wilful and selfish of
+men was generally obliged to pass his Christmas at his northern
+castle. Montforts had passed their Christmas in that grim and mighty
+dwelling-place for centuries. Even he was not strong enough to contend
+against such tradition. Besides, every one loves power, even if they
+do not know what to do with it. There are such things as memberships
+for counties, which, if public feeling be not outraged, are
+hereditary, and adjacent boroughs, which, with a little management and
+much expense, become reasonable and loyal. If the flag were rarely to
+wave on the proud keep of Montfort, all these satisfactory
+circumstances would be greatly disturbed and baffled; and if the
+ancient ensign did not promise welcome and hospitality at Christmas,
+some of the principal uses even of Earls of Montfort might be
+questioned.
+
+There was another reason, besides the distance and the clime, why Lord
+Montfort disliked the glorious pile which every Englishman envied him
+for possession. The mighty domain of Montfort was an estate in strict
+settlement. Its lord could do nothing but enjoy its convenience and
+its beauty, and expend its revenues. Nothing could be sold or bought,
+not the slightest alteration--according to Lord Montfort--be made,
+without applying to trustees for their sanction. Lord Montfort spoke
+of this pitiable state of affairs as if he were describing the serfdom
+of the Middle Ages. "If I were to pull this bell-rope, and it came
+down," he would say, "I should have to apply to the trustees before it
+could be arranged."
+
+Such a humiliating state of affairs had induced his lordship, on the
+very first occasion, to expend half a million of accumulations, which
+were at his own disposal, in the purchase of Princedown, which
+certainly was a very different residence from Montfort Castle, alike
+in its clime and character.
+
+Princedown was situate in a southern county, hardly on a southern
+coast, for it was ten miles from the sea, though enchanting views of
+the Channel were frequent and exquisite. It was a palace built in old
+days upon the Downs, but sheltered and screened from every hostile
+wind. The full warmth of the south fell upon the vast but fantastic
+pile of the Renaissance style, said to have been built by that gifted
+but mysterious individual, John of Padua. The gardens were wonderful,
+terrace upon terrace, and on each terrace a tall fountain. But the
+most peculiar feature was the park, which was undulating and
+extensive, but its timber entirely ilex: single trees of an age and
+size not common in that tree, and groups and clumps of ilex, but
+always ilex. Beyond the park, and extending far into the horizon, was
+Princedown forest, the dominion of the red deer.
+
+The Roehamptons and Endymion were the only permanent visitors at
+Princedown at this moment, but every day brought guests who stayed
+eight-and-forty hours, and then flitted. Lady Montfort, like the
+manager of a theatre, took care that there should be a succession of
+novelties to please or to surprise the wayward audience for whom she
+had to cater. On the whole, Lord Montfort was, for him, in an
+extremely good humour; never very ill; Princedown was the only place
+where he never was very ill; he was a little excited, too, by the
+state of politics, though he did not exactly know why; "though, I
+suppose," he would say to Lord Roehampton, "if you do come in again,
+there will be no more nonsense about O'Connell and all that sort of
+thing. If you are prudent on that head, and carry a moderate fixed
+duty, not too high, say ten shillings--that would satisfy everybody--I
+do not see why the thing might not go on as long as you liked."
+
+Mr. Waldershare came down, exuberant with endless combinations of
+persons and parties. He foresaw in all these changes that most
+providential consummation, the end of the middle class.
+
+Mr. Waldershare had become quite a favourite with Lord Montfort, who
+delighted to talk with him about the Duke of Modena, and imbibe his
+original views of English History. "Only," Lord Montfort would
+observe, "the Montforts have so much Church property, and I fancy the
+Duke of Modena would want us to disgorge."
+
+St. Barbe had been invited, and made his appearance. There had been a
+degree of estrangement between him and his patron. St. Barbe was very
+jealous; he was indeed jealous of everybody and everything, and of
+late there was a certain Doctor Comeley, an Oxford don of the new
+school, who had been introduced to Lord Montfort, and was initiating
+him in all the mysteries of Neology. This celebrated divine, who, in a
+sweet silky voice, quoted Socrates instead of St. Paul, and was
+opposed to all symbols and formulas as essentially unphilosophical,
+had become the hero of "the little dinners" at Montfort House, where
+St. Barbe had been so long wont to shine, and who in consequence
+himself had become every day more severely orthodox.
+
+"Perhaps we may meet to-day," said Endymion one morning to St. Barbe
+in Pall Mall as they were separating. "There is a little dinner at
+Montfort House."
+
+"Confound your little dinners!" exclaimed the indignant St. Barbe; "I
+hope never to go to another little dinner, and especially at Montfort
+House. I do not want to be asked to dinner to tumble and play tricks
+to amuse my host. I want to be amused myself. One cannot be silent at
+these little dinners, and the consequence is, you say all the good
+things which are in your next number, and when it comes out, people
+say they have heard them before. No, sir, if Lord Montfort, or any
+other lord, wishes me to dine with him, let him ask me to a banquet of
+his own order, and where I may hold my tongue like the rest of his
+aristocratic guests."
+
+Mr. Trenchard had come down and brought the news that the ministry had
+resigned, and that the Queen had sent for the leader of the
+opposition, who was in Scotland.
+
+"I suppose we shall have to go to town," said Lady Roehampton to her
+brother, in a room, busy and full. "It is so difficult to be alone
+here," she continued in a whisper; "let us get into the gardens." And
+they escaped. And then, when they were out of hearing and of sight of
+any one, she said, "This is a most critical time of your life,
+Endymion; it makes me very anxious. I look upon it as certain that you
+will be in office, and in all probability under my lord. He has said
+nothing to me about it, but I feel quite assured it will happen. It
+will be a great event. Poor papa began by being an under-secretary of
+state!" she continued in a moody tone, half speaking to herself, "and
+all seemed so fair then, but he had no root. What I want, Endymion, is
+that you should have a root. There is too much chance and favour in
+your lot. They will fail you some day, some day too when I may not be
+by you. Even this great opening, which is at hand, would never have
+been at your command, but for a mysterious gift on which you never
+could have counted."
+
+"It is very true, Myra, but what then?"
+
+"Why, then, I think we should guard against such contingencies. You
+know what is in my mind; we have spoken of it before, and not once
+only. I want you to marry, and you know whom."
+
+"Marriage is a serious affair!" said Endymion, with a distressed look.
+
+"The most serious. It is the principal event for good or for evil in
+all lives. Had I not married, and married as I did, we should not have
+been here--and where, I dare not think."
+
+"Yes; but you made a happy marriage; one of the happiest that was ever
+known, I think."
+
+"And I wish you, Endymion, to make the same. I did not marry for love,
+though love came, and I brought happiness to one who made me happy.
+But had it been otherwise, if there had been no sympathy, or prospect
+of sympathy, I still should have married, for it was the only chance
+of saving you."
+
+"Dearest sister! Everything I have, I owe to you."
+
+"It is not much," said Myra, "but I wish to make it much. Power in
+every form, and in excess, is at your disposal if you be wise. There
+is a woman, I think with every charm, who loves you; her fortune may
+have no limit; she is a member of one of the most powerful families in
+England--a noble family I may say, for my lord told me last night that
+Mr. Neuchatel would be instantly raised to the peerage, and you
+hesitate! By all the misery of the past--which never can be forgotten
+--for Heaven's sake, be wise; do not palter with such a chance."
+
+"If all be as you say, Myra, and I have no reason but your word to
+believe it is so--if, for example, of which I never saw any evidence,
+Mr. Neuchatel would approve, or even tolerate, this alliance--I have
+too deep and sincere a regard for his daughter, founded on much
+kindness to both of us, to mock her with the offer of a heart which
+she has not gained."
+
+"You say you have a deep and sincere regard for Adriana," said his
+sister. "Why, what better basis for enduring happiness can there be?
+You are not a man to marry for romantic sentiment, and pass your life
+in writing sonnets to your wife till you find her charms and your
+inspiration alike exhausted; you are already wedded to the State, you
+have been nurtured in the thoughts of great affairs from your very
+childhood, and even in the darkest hour of our horrible adversity. You
+are a man born for power and high condition, whose name in time ought
+to rank with those of the great statesmen of the continent, the true
+lords of Europe. Power, and power alone, should be your absorbing
+object, and all the accidents and incidents of life should only be
+considered with reference to that main result."
+
+"Well, I am only five-and-twenty after all. There is time yet to
+consider this."
+
+"Great men should think of Opportunity, and not of Time. Time is the
+excuse of feeble and puzzled spirits. They make time the sleeping
+partner of their lives to accomplish what ought to be achieved by
+their own will. In this case, there certainly is no time like the
+present. The opportunity is unrivalled. All your friends would,
+without an exception, be delighted if you now were wise."
+
+"I hardly think my friends have given it a thought," said Endymion, a
+little flushed.
+
+"There is nothing that would please Lady Montfort more."
+
+He turned pale. "How do you know that?" he inquired.
+
+"She told me so, and offered to help me in bringing about the result."
+
+"Very kind of her! Well, dearest Myra, you and Lord Roehampton have
+much to think of at this anxious moment. Let this matter drop. We have
+discussed it before, and we have discussed it enough. It is more than
+pain for me to differ from you on any point, but I cannot offer to
+Adriana a heart which belongs to another."
+
+
+
+                           CHAPTER LXXXIII
+
+All the high expectations of December at Princedown were doomed to
+disappointment; they were a further illustration of Lord Roehampton's
+saying, that there was no gambling like politics. The leader of the
+opposition came up to town, but he found nothing but difficulties, and
+a few days before Christmas he had resigned the proffered trust. The
+protectionist ministry were to remain in office, and to repeal the
+corn laws. The individual who was most baulked by this unexpected
+result was perhaps Lord Roehampton. He was a man who really cared for
+nothing but office and affairs, and being advanced in life, he
+naturally regretted a lost opportunity. But he never showed his
+annoyance. Always playful, and even taking refuge in a bantering
+spirit, the world seemed to go light with him when everything was dark
+and everybody despondent.
+
+The discontent or indignation which the contemplated revolution in
+policy was calculated to excite in the Conservative party generally
+were to a certain degree neutralised for the moment by mysterious and
+confidential communications, circulated by Mr. Tadpole and the
+managers of the party, that the change was to be accompanied by
+"immense compensations." As parliament was to meet as soon as
+convenient after Christmas, and the statement of the regenerated
+ministry was then to be made immediately, every one held his hand, as
+they all felt the blow must be more efficient when the scheme of the
+government was known.
+
+The Montforts were obliged to go to their castle, a visit the sad
+necessity of which the formation of a new government, at one time,
+they had hoped might have prevented. The Roehamptons passed their
+Christmas with Mr. Sidney Wilton at Gaydene, where Endymion also and
+many of the opposition were guests. Waldershare took refuge with his
+friends the Beaumaris', full of revenge and unceasing combinations. He
+took down St. Barbe with him, whose services in the session might be
+useful. There had been a little misunderstanding between these two
+eminent personages during the late season. St. Barbe was not satisfied
+with his position in the new journal which Waldershare had
+established. He affected to have been ill-treated and deceived, and
+this with a mysterious shake of the head which seemed to intimate
+state secrets that might hereafter be revealed. The fact is, St.
+Barbe's political articles were so absurd that it was impossible to
+print them; but as his name stood high as a clever writer on matters
+with which he was acquainted, they permitted him, particularly as they
+were bound to pay him a high salary, to contribute essays on the
+social habits and opinions of the day, which he treated in a happy and
+taking manner. St. Barbe himself had such quick perception of
+peculiarities, so fine a power of observation, and so keen a sense of
+the absurd, that when he revealed in confidence the causes of his
+discontent, it was almost impossible to believe that he was entirely
+serious. It seems that he expected this connection with the journal in
+question to have been, to use his own phrase, "a closet affair," and
+that he was habitually to have been introduced by the backstairs of
+the palace to the presence of Royalty to receive encouragement and
+inspiration. "I do not complain of the pay," he added, "though I could
+get more by writing for Shuffle and Screw, but I expected a
+decoration. However, I shall probably stand for next parliament on the
+principles of the Mountain, so perhaps it is just as well."
+
+Parliament soon met, and that session began which will long be
+memorable. The "immense compensations" were nowhere. Waldershare, who
+had only waited for this, resigned his office as Under-Secretary of
+State. This was a bad example and a blow, but nothing compared to the
+resignation of his great office in the Household by the Earl of
+Beaumaris. This involved unhappily the withdrawal of Lady Beaumaris,
+under whose bright, inspiring roof the Tory party had long assembled,
+sanguine and bold. Other considerable peers followed the precedent of
+Lord Beaumaris, and withdrew their support from the ministry.
+Waldershare moved the amendment to the first reading of the obnoxious
+bill; but although defeated by a considerable majority, the majority
+was mainly formed by members of the opposition. Among these was Mr.
+Ferrars, who it was observed never opened his lips during the whole
+session.
+
+This was not the case with Mr. Bertie Tremaine and the school of
+Pythagoras. The opportunity long waited for had at length arrived.
+There was a great parliamentary connection deserted by their leaders.
+This distinguished rank and file required officers. The cabinet of Mr.
+Bertie Tremaine was ready, and at their service. Mr. Bertie Tremaine
+seconded the amendment of Waldershare, and took the occasion of
+expounding the new philosophy, which seemed to combine the principles
+of Bentham with the practice of Lord Liverpool. "I offered to you
+this," he said reproachfully to Endymion; "you might have been my
+secretary of state. Mr. Tremaine Bertie will now take it. He would
+rather have had an embassy, but he must make the sacrifice."
+
+The debates during the session were much carried on by the
+Pythagoreans, who never ceased chattering. They had men ready for
+every branch of the subject, and the debate was often closed by their
+chief in mystical sentences, which they cheered like awestruck
+zealots.
+
+The great bill was carried, but the dark hour of retribution at length
+arrived. The ministry, though sanguine to the last of success, and not
+without cause, were completely and ignominiously defeated. The new
+government, long prepared, was at once formed. Lord Roehampton again
+became secretary of state, and he appointed Endymion to the post under
+him. "I shall not press you unfairly," said Mr. Bertie Tremaine to
+Endymion, with encouraging condescension. "I wish my men for a season
+to comprehend what is a responsible opposition. I am sorry Hortensius
+is your solicitor-general, for I had intended him always for my
+chancellor."
+
+
+
+                            CHAPTER LXXXIV
+
+Very shortly after the prorogation of parliament, an incident occurred
+which materially affected the position of Endymion. Lord Roehampton
+had a serious illness. Having a fine constitution, he apparently
+completely rallied from the attack, and little was known of it by the
+public. The world also, at that moment, was as usual much dispersed
+and distracted; dispersed in many climes, and distracted by the
+fatigue and hardships they annually endure, and which they call
+relaxation. Even the colleagues of the great statesman were scattered,
+and before they had realised that he had been seriously ill, they read
+of him in the fulfilment of his official duties. But there was no
+mistake as to his state under his own roof. Lord Roehampton had,
+throughout the later period of his life, been in the habit of working
+at night. It was only at night that he could command that abstraction
+necessary for the consideration of great affairs. He was also a real
+worker. He wrote his own despatches, whenever they referred to matters
+of moment. He left to the permanent staff of his office little but the
+fulfilment of duties which, though heavy and multifarious, were duties
+of routine. The composition of these despatches was a source to Lord
+Roehampton of much gratification and excitement. They were of European
+fame, and their terse argument, their clear determination, and often
+their happy irony, were acknowledged in all the cabinets, and duly
+apprehended.
+
+The physicians impressed upon Lady Roehampton that this night-work
+must absolutely cease. A neglect of their advice must lead to serious
+consequences; following it, there was no reason why her husband should
+not live for years, and continue to serve the State. Lord Roehampton
+must leave the House of Commons; he must altogether change the order
+of his life; he must seek more amusement in society, and yet keep
+early hours; and then he would find himself fresh and vigorous in the
+morning, and his work would rather benefit than distress him. It was
+all an affair of habit.
+
+Lady Roehampton threw all her energies into this matter. She
+entertained for her lord a reverential affection, and his life to her
+seemed a precious deposit, of which she was the trustee. She succeeded
+where the physicians would probably have failed. Towards the end of
+the year Lord Roehampton was called up to the House of Lords for one
+of his baronies, and Endymion was informed that when parliament met,
+he would have to represent the Foreign Office in the House of Commons.
+
+Waldershare heartily congratulated him. "You have got what I most
+wished to have in the world; but I will not envy you, for envy is a
+vile passion. You have the good fortune to serve a genial chief. I had
+to deal with a Harley,--cold, suspicious, ambiguous, pretending to be
+profound, and always in a state of perplexity."
+
+It was not a very agreeable session. The potato famine did something
+more than repeal the corn laws. It proved that there was no floating
+capital left in the country; and when the Barings and Rothschilds
+combined, almost as much from public spirit as from private
+speculation, to raise a loan of a few millions for the minister, they
+absolutely found the public purse was exhausted, and had to supply the
+greater portion of the amount from their own resources. In one of the
+many financial debates that consequently occurred, Trenchard
+established himself by a clear and comprehensive view of the position
+of affairs, and by modestly reminding the House, that a year ago he
+had predicted the present condition of things, and indicated its
+inevitable cause.
+
+This was the great speech on a great night, and Mr. Bertie Tremaine
+walked home with Trenchard. It was observed that Mr. Bertie Tremaine
+always walked home with the member who had made the speech of the
+evening.
+
+"Your friends did not behave well to you," he said in a hollow voice
+to Trenchard. "They ought to have made you Secretary of the Treasury.
+Think of this. It is an important post, and may lead to anything; and,
+so far as I am concerned, it would give me real pleasure to see it."
+
+But besides the disquietude of domestic affairs, famine and failures
+competing in horrible catastrophe and the Bank Act suspended, as the
+year advanced matters on the Continent became not less dark and
+troubled. Italy was mysteriously agitated; the pope announced himself
+a reformer; there were disturbances in Milan, Ancona, and Ferrara; the
+Austrians threatened the occupation of several States, and Sardinia
+offered to defend His Holiness from the Austrians. In addition to all
+this, there were reform banquets in France, a civil war in
+Switzerland, and the King of Prussia thought it prudent to present his
+subjects with a Constitution.
+
+The Count of Ferroll about this time made a visit to England. He was
+always a welcome guest there, and had received the greatest
+distinction which England could bestow upon a foreigner; he had been
+elected an honorary member of White's. "You may have troubles here,"
+he said to Lady Montfort, "but they will pass; you will have mealy
+potatoes again and plenty of bank notes, but we shall not get off so
+cheaply. Everything is quite rotten throughout the Continent. This
+year is tranquillity to what the next will be. There is not a throne
+in Europe worth a year's purchase. My worthy master wants me to return
+home and be minister; I am to fashion for him a new constitution. I
+will never have anything to do with new constitutions; their inventors
+are always the first victims. Instead of making a constitution, he
+should make a country, and convert his heterogeneous domains into a
+patriotic dominion."
+
+"But how is that to be done?"
+
+"There is only one way; by blood and iron."
+
+"My dear count, you shock me!"
+
+"I shall have to shock you a great deal more before the inevitable is
+brought about."
+
+"Well, I am glad that there is something," said Lady Montfort, "which
+is inevitable. I hope it will come soon. I am sure this country is
+ruined. What with cheap bread at famine prices and these railroads, we
+seem quite finished. I thought one operation was to counteract the
+other; but they appear both to turn out equally fatal."
+
+Endymion had now one of those rare opportunities which, if men be
+equal to them, greatly affect their future career. As the session
+advanced, debates on foreign affairs became frequent and deeply
+interesting. So far as the ministry was concerned, the burthen of
+these fell on the Under-Secretary of State. He was never wanting. The
+House felt that he had not only the adequate knowledge, but that it
+was knowledge perfectly digested; that his remarks and conduct were
+those of a man who had given constant thought to his duties, and was
+master of his subject. His oratorical gifts also began to be
+recognised. The power and melody of his voice had been before
+remarked, and that is a gift which much contributes to success in a
+popular assembly. He was ready without being too fluent. There were
+light and shade in his delivery. He repressed his power of sarcasm;
+but if unjustly and inaccurately attacked, he could be keen. Over his
+temper he had a complete control; if, indeed, his entire insensibility
+to violent language on the part of an opponent was not organic. All
+acknowledged his courtesy, and both sides sympathised with a young man
+who proved himself equal to no ordinary difficulties. In a word,
+Endymion was popular, and that popularity was not diminished by the
+fact of his being the brother of Lady Roehampton, who exercised great
+influence in society, and who was much beloved.
+
+As the year advanced external affairs became daily more serious, and
+the country congratulated itself that its interests were entrusted to
+a minister of the experience and capacity of Lord Roehampton. That
+statesman seemed never better than when the gale ran high. Affairs in
+France began to assume the complexion that the Count of Ferroll had
+prophetically announced. If a crash occurred in that quarter, Lord
+Roehampton felt that all Europe might be in a blaze. Affairs were
+never more serious than at the turn of the year. Lord Roehampton told
+his wife that their holidays must be spent in St. James' Square, for
+he could not leave London; but he wished her to go to Gaydene, where
+they had been invited by Mr. Sidney Wilton to pass their Christmas as
+usual. Nothing, however, would induce her to quit his side. He seemed
+quite well, but the pressure of affairs was extreme; and sometimes,
+against all her remonstrances, he was again working at night. Such
+remonstrances on other subjects would probably have been successful,
+for her influence over him was extreme. But to a minister responsible
+for the interests of a great country they are vain, futile,
+impossible. One might as well remonstrate with an officer on the field
+of battle on the danger he was incurring. She said to him one night in
+his library, where she paid him a little visit before she retired, "My
+heart, I know it is no use my saying anything, and yet--remember your
+promise. This night-work makes me very unhappy."
+
+"I remember my promise, and I will try not to work at night again in a
+hurry, but I must finish this despatch. If I did not, I could not
+sleep, and you know sleep is what I require."
+
+"Good night, then."
+
+He looked up with his winning smile, and held out his lips. "Kiss me,"
+he said; "I never felt better."
+
+Lady Roehampton after a time slumbered; how long she knew not, but
+when she woke, her lord was not at her side. She struck a light and
+looked at her watch. It was past three o'clock; she jumped out of bed,
+and, merely in her slippers and her /robe de chambre/, descended to
+the library. It was a large, long room, and Lord Roehampton worked at
+the extreme end of it. The candles were nearly burnt out. As she
+approached him, she perceived that he was leaning back in his chair.
+When she reached him, she observed he was awake, but he did not seem
+to recognise her. A dreadful feeling came over her. She took his hand.
+It was quite cold. Her intellect for an instant seemed to desert her.
+She looked round her with an air void almost of intelligence, and then
+rushing to the bell she continued ringing it till some of the
+household appeared. A medical man was near at hand, and in a few
+minutes arrived, but it was a bootless visit. All was over, and all
+had been over, he said, "for some time."
+
+
+
+                            CHAPTER LXXXV
+
+"Well, you have made up your government?" asked Lady Montfort of the
+prime minister as he entered her boudoir. He shook his head.
+
+"Have you seen her?" he inquired.
+
+"No, not yet; I suppose she will see me as soon as any one."
+
+"I am told she is utterly overwhelmed."
+
+"She was devoted to him; it was the happiest union I ever knew; but
+Lady Roehampton is not the woman to be utterly overwhelmed. She has
+too imperial a spirit for that."
+
+"It is a great misfortune," said the prime minister. "We have not been
+lucky since we took the reins."
+
+"Well, there is no use in deploring. There is nobody else to take the
+reins, so you may defy misfortunes. The question now is, what are you
+going to do?"
+
+"Well, there seems to me only one thing to do. We must put Rawchester
+there."
+
+"Rawchester!" exclaimed Lady Montfort, "what, 'Niminy-Piminy'?"
+
+"Well, he is conciliatory," said the premier, "and if you are not very
+clever, you should be conciliatory."
+
+"He never knows his own mind for a week together."
+
+"We will take care of his mind," said the prime minister, "but he has
+travelled a good deal, and knows the public men."
+
+"Yes," said Lady Montfort, "and the public men, I fear, know him."
+
+"Then he can make a good House of Lords' speech, and we have a first-
+rate man in the Commons; so it will do."
+
+"I do not think your first-rate man in the House of Commons will
+remain," said Lady Montfort drily.
+
+"You do not mean that?" said the prime minister, evidently alarmed.
+
+"His health is delicate," said Lady Montfort; "had it not been for his
+devotion to Lord Roehampton, I know he thought of travelling for a
+couple of years."
+
+"Ferrars' health delicate?" said the premier; "I thought he was the
+picture of health and youthful vigour. Health is one of the elements
+to be considered in calculating the career of a public man, and I have
+always predicted an eminent career for Ferrars, because, in addition
+to his remarkable talents, he had apparently such a fine
+constitution."
+
+"No health could stand working under Lord Rawchester."
+
+"Well, but what am I to do? I cannot make Mr. Ferrars secretary of
+state."
+
+"Why not?"
+
+The prime minister looked considerably perplexed. Such a promotion
+could not possibly have occurred to him. Though a man of many gifts,
+and a statesman, he had been educated in high Whig routine, and the
+proposition of Lady Montfort was like recommending him to make a
+curate a bishop.
+
+"Well," he said, "Ferrars is a very clever fellow. He is our rising
+young man, and there is no doubt that, if his health is not so
+delicate as you fear, he will mount high; but though our rising young
+man, he is a young man, much too young to be a secretary of state. He
+wants age, larger acquaintance with affairs, greater position, and
+more root in the country."
+
+"What was Mr. Canning's age, who held Mr. Ferrars' office, when he was
+made secretary of state? and what root in the country had he?"
+
+When the prime minister got back to Downing Street, he sent
+immediately for his head whip. "Look after Ferrars," he said; "they
+are trying to induce him to resign office. If he does, our
+embarrassments will be extreme. Lord Rawchester will be secretary of
+state; send a paragraph at once to the papers announcing it. But look
+after Ferrars, and immediately, and report to me."
+
+Lord Roehampton had a large entailed estate, though his affairs were
+always in a state of confusion. That seems almost the inevitable
+result of being absorbed in the great business of governing mankind.
+If there be exceptions among statesmen of the highest class, they will
+generally be found among those who have been chiefly in opposition,
+and so have had leisure and freedom of mind sufficient to manage their
+estates. Lord Roehampton had, however, extensive powers of charging
+his estate in lieu of dower, and he had employed them to their utmost
+extent; so his widow was well provided for. The executors were Mr.
+Sidney Wilton and Endymion.
+
+After a short period, Lady Roehampton saw Adriana, and not very long
+after, Lady Montfort. They both of them, from that time, were her
+frequent, if not constant, companions, but she saw no one else. Once
+only, since the terrible event, was she seen by the world, and that
+was when a tall figure, shrouded in the darkest attire, attended as
+chief mourner at the burial of her lord in Westminster Abbey. She
+remained permanently in London, not only because she had no country
+house, but because she wished to be with her brother. As time
+advanced, she frequently saw Mr. Sidney Wilton, who, being chief
+executor of the will, and charged with all her affairs, had
+necessarily much on which to consult her. One of the greatest
+difficulties was to provide her with a suitable residence, for of
+course, she was not to remain in the family mansion in St. James'
+Square. That difficulty was ultimately overcome in a manner highly
+interesting to her feelings. Her father's mansion in Hill Street,
+where she had passed her prosperous and gorgeous childhood, was in the
+market, and she was most desirous to occupy it. "It will seem like a
+great step towards the restoration," she said to Endymion. "My plans
+are, that you should give up the Albany, and that we should live
+together. I should like to live together in Hill Street; I should like
+to see our nursery once more. The past then will be a dream, or at
+least all the past that is disagreeable. My fortune is yours; as we
+are twins, it is likely that I may live as long as you do. But I wish
+you to be the master of the house, and in time receive your friends in
+a manner becoming your position. I do not think that I shall ever much
+care to go out again, but I may help you at home, and then you can
+invite women; a mere bachelor's house is always dull."
+
+There was one difficulty still in this arrangement. The mansion in
+Hill Street was not to be let, it was for sale, and the price
+naturally for such a mansion in such a situation, was considerable;
+quite beyond the means of Lady Roehampton who had a very ample income,
+but no capital. This difficulty, however, vanished in a moment. Mr.
+Sidney Wilton purchased the house; he wanted an investment, and this
+was an excellent one; so Lady Roehampton became his tenant.
+
+The change was great in the life of Myra, and she felt it. She loved
+her lord, and had cut off her beautiful hair, which reached almost to
+her feet, and had tied it round his neck in his coffin. But Myra,
+notwithstanding she was a woman, and a woman of transcendent beauty,
+had never had a romance of the heart. Until she married, her pride and
+love for her brother, which was part of her pride, had absorbed her
+being. When she married, and particularly as time advanced, she felt
+all the misery of her existence had been removed, and nothing could
+exceed the tenderness and affectionate gratitude, and truly unceasing
+devotion, which she extended to the gifted being to who she owed this
+deliverance. But it was not in the nature of things that she could
+experience those feelings which still echo in the heights of
+Meilleraie, and compared with which all the glittering accidents of
+fortune sink into insignificance.
+
+The year rolled on, an agitated year of general revolution. Endymion
+himself was rarely in society, for all the time which the House of
+Commons spared to him he wished chiefly to dedicate to his sister. His
+brougham was always ready to take him up to Hill Street for one of
+those somewhat hurried, but amusing little dinners, which break the
+monotony of parliamentary life. And sometimes he brought a companion,
+generally Mr. Wilton, and sometimes they met Lady Montfort or Adriana,
+now ennobled as the daughter of Lord Hainault. There was much to talk
+about, even if they did not talk about themselves and their friends,
+for every day brought great events, fresh insurrections, new
+constitutions, changes of dynasties, assassinations of ministers,
+states of siege, evanescent empires, and premature republics.
+
+On one occasion, having previously prepared his sister, who seemed not
+uninterested by the suggestion, Endymion brought Thornberry to dine in
+Hill Street. There was no one else present except Adriana. Job was a
+great admirer of Lady Roehampton, but was a little awestruck by her.
+He remembered her in her childhood, a beautiful being who never
+smiled. She received him very graciously, and after dinner, inviting
+him to sit by her on the sofa, referred with delicacy to old times.
+
+"Your ladyship," said Thornberry, "would not know that I live myself
+now at Hurstley."
+
+"Indeed!" said Myra, unaffectedly surprised.
+
+"Well, it happened in this way; my father now is in years, and can no
+longer visit us as he occasionally did in Lancashire; so wishing to
+see us all, at least once more, we agreed to pay him a visit. I do not
+know how it exactly came about, but my wife took a violent fancy to
+the place. They all received us very kindly. The good rector and his
+dear kind wife made it very pleasant, and the archbishop was there--
+whom we used to call Mr. Nigel--only think! That is a wonderful
+affair. He is not at all high and mighty, but talked with us, and
+walked with us, just the same as in old days. He took a great fancy to
+my boy, John Hampden, and, after all, my boy is to go to Oxford, and
+not to Owens College, as I had first intended."
+
+"That is a great change."
+
+"Well, I wanted him to go to Owens College, I confess, but I did not
+care so much about Mill Hill. That was his mother's fancy; she was
+very strong about that. It is a Nonconformist school, but I am not a
+Nonconformist. I do not much admire dogmas, but I am a Churchman as my
+fathers were. However, John Hampden is not to go to Mill Hill. He has
+gone to a sort of college near Oxford, which the archbishop
+recommended to us; the principal, and all the tutors are clergyman--of
+course of our Church. My wife was quite delighted with it all."
+
+"Well, that is a good thing."
+
+"And so," continued Thornberry, "she got it into her head she should
+like to live at Hurstley, and I took the place. I am afraid I have
+been foolish enough to lay out a great deal of money there--for a
+place not my own. Your ladyship would not know the old hall. I have,
+what they call, restored it, and upon my word, except the new hall of
+the Clothworkers' Company, where I dined the other day, I do not know
+anything of the kind that is prettier."
+
+"The dear old hall!" murmured Lady Roehampton.
+
+In time, though no one mentioned it, everybody thought that if an
+alliance ultimately took place between Lady Roehampton and Mr. Sidney
+Wilton, it would be the most natural thing in the world, and everybody
+would approve it. True, he was her father's friend, and much her
+senior, but then he was still good-looking, very clever, very much
+considered, and lord of a large estate, and at any rate he was a
+younger man than her late husband.
+
+When these thoughts became more rife in society, and began to take the
+form of speech, the year was getting old, and this reminds us of a
+little incident which took place many months previously, at the
+beginning of the year, and which we ought to record.
+
+Shortly after the death of Lord Roehampton, Prince Florestan called
+one morning in St. James' Square. He said he would not ask Lady
+Roehampton to see him, but he was obliged suddenly to leave England,
+and he did not like to depart without personally inquiring after her.
+He left a letter and a little packet. And the letter ran thus:
+
+
+ "I am obliged, madam, to leave England suddenly, and it is probable
+  that we shall never meet again. I should be happy if I had your
+  prayers! This little jewel enclosed belonged to my mother, the
+  Queen Agrippina. She told me that I was never to part with it,
+  except to somebody I loved as much as herself. There is only one
+  person in the world to whom I owe affection. It is to her who from
+  the first was always kind to me, and who, through dreary years of
+  danger and anxiety, has been the charm and consolation of the life
+  of
+
+                                                    "Florestan."
+
+
+
+                            CHAPTER LXXXVI
+
+On the evening of the day on which Prince Florestan personally left
+the letter with Lady Roehampton, he quitted London with the Duke of
+St. Angelo and his aides-de-camp, and, embarking in his steam yacht,
+which was lying at Southampton, quitted England. They pursued a
+prosperous course for about a week, when they passed through the
+Straits of Gibraltar, and, not long afterwards, cast anchor in a small
+and solitary bay. There the prince and his companions, and half-a-
+dozen servants, well armed and in military attire, left the yacht, and
+proceeded on foot into the country for a short distance, when they
+arrived at a large farmhouse. Here, it was evident, they were
+expected. Men came forward with many horses, and mounted, and
+accompanied the party which had arrived. They advanced about ten
+miles, and halted as they were approaching a small but fortified town.
+
+The prince sent the Duke of St. Angelo forward to announce his arrival
+to the governor, and to require him to surrender. The governor,
+however, refused, and ordered the garrison to fire on the invaders.
+This they declined to do; the governor, with many ejaculations, and
+stamping with rage, broke his sword, and the prince entered the town.
+He was warmly received, and the troops, amounting to about twelve
+hundred men, placed themselves at his disposal. The prince remained at
+this town only a couple of hours, and at the head of his forces
+advanced into the country. At a range of hills he halted, sent out
+reconnoitring parties, and pitched his camp. In the morning, the
+Marquis of Vallombrosa, with a large party of gentlemen well mounted,
+arrived, and were warmly greeted. The prince learnt from them that the
+news of his invasion had reached the governor of the province, who was
+at one of the most considerable cities of the kingdom, with a
+population exceeding two hundred thousand, and with a military
+division for its garrison. "They will not wait for our arrival," said
+Vallombrosa, "but, trusting to their numbers, will come out and attack
+us."
+
+The news of the scouts being that the mountain passes were quite
+unoccupied by the enemy, the prince determined instantly to continue
+his advance, and take up a strong position on the other side of the
+range, and await his fate. The passage was well effected, and on the
+fourth day of the invasion the advanced guard of the enemy were in
+sight. The prince commanded that no one should attend him, but alone
+and tying a white handkerchief round his sword, he galloped up to the
+hostile lines, and said in a clear, loud voice, "My men, this is the
+sword of my father!"
+
+"Florestan for ever!" was the only and universal reply. The cheers of
+the advanced guard reached and were re-echoed by the main body. The
+commander-in-chief, bareheaded, came up to give in his allegiance and
+receive his majesty's orders. They were for immediate progress, and at
+the head of the army which had been sent out to destroy him, Florestan
+in due course entered the enthusiastic city which recognised him as
+its sovereign. The city was illuminated, and he went to the opera in
+the evening. The singing was not confined to the theatre. During the
+whole night the city itself was one song of joy and triumph, and that
+night no one slept.
+
+After this there was no trouble and no delay. It was a triumphal
+march. Every town opened its gates, and devoted municipalities
+proffered golden keys. Every village sent forth its troop of beautiful
+maidens, scattering roses, and singing the national anthem which had
+been composed by Queen Agrippina. On the tenth day of the invasion
+King Florestan, utterly unopposed, entered the magnificent capital of
+his realm, and slept in the purple bed which had witnessed his
+princely birth.
+
+Among all the strange revolutions of this year, this adventure of
+Florestan was not the least interesting to the English people.
+Although society had not smiled on him, he had always been rather a
+favourite with the bulk of the population. His fine countenance, his
+capital horsemanship, his graceful bow that always won a heart, his
+youth, and love of sport, his English education, and the belief that
+he was sincere in his regard for the country where he had been so long
+a guest, were elements of popularity that, particularly now he was
+successful, were unmistakable. And certainly Lady Roehampton, in her
+solitude, did not disregard his career or conduct. They were naturally
+often in her thoughts, for there was scarcely a day in which his name
+did not figure in the newspapers, and always in connection with
+matters of general interest and concern. The government he established
+was liberal, but it was discreet, and, though conciliatory, firm. "If
+he declares for the English alliance," said Waldershare, "he is safe;"
+and he did declare for the English alliance, and the English people
+were very pleased by his declaration, which in their apprehension
+meant national progress, the amelioration of society, and increased
+exports.
+
+The main point, however, which interested his subjects was his
+marriage. That was both a difficult and a delicate matter to decide.
+The great continental dynasties looked with some jealousy and
+suspicion on him, and the small reigning houses, who were all allied
+with the great continental dynasties, thought it prudent to copy their
+example. All these reigning families, whether large or small, were
+themselves in a perplexed and alarmed position at this period, very
+disturbed about their present, and very doubtful about their future.
+At last it was understood that a Princess of Saxe-Babel, though allied
+with royal and imperial houses, might share the diadem of a successful
+adventurer, and then in time, and when it had been sufficiently
+reiterated, paragraphs appeared unequivocally contradicting the
+statement, followed with agreeable assurances that it was unlikely
+that a Princess of Saxe-Babel, allied with royal and imperial houses,
+should unite herself to a parvenu monarch, however powerful. Then in
+turn these articles were stigmatised as libels, and entirely
+unauthorised, and no less a personage than a princess of the house of
+Saxe-Genesis was talked of as the future queen; but on referring to
+the "Almanach de Gotha," it was discovered that family had been
+extinct since the first French Revolution. So it seemed at last that
+nothing was certain, except that his subjects were very anxious that
+King Florestan should present them with a queen.
+
+
+
+                           CHAPTER LXXXVII
+
+As time flew on, the friends of Lady Roehampton thought and spoke,
+with anxiety about her re-entrance into society. Mr. Sidney Wilton had
+lent Gaydene to her for the autumn, when he always visited Scotland,
+and the winter had passed away uninterruptedly, at a charming and
+almost unknown watering-place, where she seemed the only visitant, and
+where she wandered about in silence on the sands. The time was fast
+approaching when the inevitable year of seclusion would expire, and
+Lady Roehampton gave no indication of any change in her life and
+habits. At length, after many appeals, and expostulations, and
+entreaties, and little scenes, the second year of the widowhood having
+advanced some months, it was decided that Lady Roehampton should
+re-enter society, and the occasion on which this was to take place was
+no mean one.
+
+Lady Montfort was to give a ball early in June, and Royalty itself was
+to be her guests. The entertainments at Montfort House were always
+magnificent, but this was to exceed accustomed splendour. All the
+world was to be there, and all the world, who were not invited, were
+in as much despair as if they had lost their fortune or their
+character.
+
+Lady Roehampton had a passion for light, provided the light was not
+supplied by gas or oil. Her saloons, even when alone, were always
+brilliantly illuminated. She held that the moral effect of such a
+circumstance on her temperament was beneficial, and not slight. It is
+a rare, but by no means a singular, belief. When she descended into
+her drawing-room on the critical night, its resplendence was some
+preparation for the scene which awaited her. She stood for a moment
+before the tall mirror which reflected her whole person. What were her
+thoughts? What was the impression that the fair vision conveyed?
+
+Her countenance was grave, but it was not sad. Myra had now completed,
+or was on the point of completing, her thirtieth year. She was a woman
+of transcendent beauty; perhaps she might justly be described as the
+most beautiful woman then alive. Time had even improved her commanding
+mien, the graceful sweep of her figure and the voluptuous undulation
+of her shoulders; but time also had spared those charms which are more
+incidental to early youth, the splendour of her complexion, the
+whiteness of her teeth, and the lustre of her violet eyes. She had cut
+off in her grief the profusion of her dark chestnut locks, that once
+reached to her feet, and she wore her hair as, what was then and
+perhaps is now called, a crop, but it was luxuriant in natural
+quantity and rich in colour, and most effectively set off her arched
+brow, and the oval of her fresh and beauteous cheek. The crop was
+crowned to-night by a coronet of brilliants.
+
+"Your carriage is ready, my lady," said a servant; "but there is a
+gentleman below who has brought a letter for your ladyship, and which,
+he says, he must personally deliver to you, madam. I told him your
+ladyship was going out and could not see him, but he put his card in
+this envelope, and requested that I would hand it to you, madam. He
+says he will only deliver the letter to your ladyship, and not detain
+you a moment."
+
+Lady Roehampton opened the envelope, and read the card, "The Duke of
+St. Angelo."
+
+"The Duke of St. Angelo!" she murmured to herself, and looked for a
+moment abstracted. Then turning to the servant, she said, "He must be
+shown up."
+
+"Madam," said the duke as he entered, and bowed with much ceremony, "I
+am ashamed of appearing to be an intruder, but my commands were to
+deliver this letter to your ladyship immediately on my arrival,
+whatever the hour. I have only this instant arrived. We had a bad
+passage. I know your ladyship's carriage is at the door. I will redeem
+my pledge and not trespass on your time for one instant. If your
+ladyship requires me, I am ever at your command."
+
+"At Carlton Gardens?"
+
+"No; at our embassy."
+
+"His Majesty, I hope, is well?"
+
+"In every sense, my lady," and bowing to the ground the duke withdrew.
+
+She broke the seal of the letter while still standing, and held it to
+a sconce that was on the mantel-piece, and then she read:
+
+
+ "You were the only person I called upon when I suddenly left
+  England. I had no hope of seeing you, but it was the homage of
+  gratitude and adoration. Great events have happened since we last
+  met. I have realised my dreams, dreams which I sometimes fancied
+  you, and you alone, did not depreciate or discredit, and, in the
+  sweetness of your charity, would not have been sorry were they
+  accomplished.
+
+ "I have established what I believe to be a strong and just
+  government in a great kingdom. I have not been uninfluenced by the
+  lessons of wisdom I gained in your illustrious land. I have done
+  some things which it was a solace for me to believe you would not
+  altogether disapprove.
+
+ "My subjects are anxious that the dynasty I have re-established
+  should not be evanescent. Is it too bold to hope that I may find a
+  companion in you to charm and to counsel me? I can offer you
+  nothing equal to your transcendent merit, but I can offer you the
+  heart and the throne of
+
+                                                    "Florestan."
+
+
+Still holding the letter in one hand, she looked around as if some one
+might be present. Her cheek was scarlet, and there was for a moment an
+expression of wildness in her glance. Then she paced the saloon with
+an agitated step, and then she read the letter again and again, and
+still she paced the saloon. The whole history of her life revolved
+before her; every scene, every character, every thought, and
+sentiment, and passion. The brightness of her nursery days, and
+Hurstley with all its miseries, and Hainault with its gardens, and the
+critical hour, which had opened to her a future of such unexpected
+lustre and happiness.
+
+The clock had struck more than once during this long and terrible
+soliloquy, wherein she had to search and penetrate her inmost heart,
+and now it struck two. She started, and hurriedly rang the bell.
+
+"I shall not want the carriage to-night," she said, and when again
+alone, she sat down and, burying her face in her alabaster arms, for a
+long time remained motionless.
+
+
+
+                           CHAPTER LXXXVIII
+
+Had he been a youth about to make a /debut/ in the great world, Sidney
+Wilton could not have been more agitated than he felt at the prospect
+of the fete at Montfort House. Lady Roehampton, after nearly two years
+of retirement, was about to re-enter society. During this interval she
+had not been estranged from him. On the contrary, he had been her
+frequent and customary companion. Except Adriana, and Lady Montfort,
+and her brother, it might almost be said, her only one. Why then was
+he agitated? He had been living in a dream for two years, cherishing
+wild thoughts of exquisite happiness. He would have been content, had
+the dream never been disturbed; but this return to hard and practical
+life of her whose unconscious witchery had thrown a spell over his
+existence, roused him to the reality of his position, and it was one
+of terrible emotion.
+
+During the life of her husband, Sidney Wilton had been the silent
+adorer of Myra. With every accomplishment and every advantage that are
+supposed to make life delightful--a fine countenance, a noble mien, a
+manner natural and attractive, an ancient lineage, and a vast estate--
+he was the favourite of society, who did more than justice to his
+talents, which, though not brilliant, were considerable, and who could
+not too much appreciate the high tone of his mind; his generosity and
+courage, and true patrician spirit which inspired all his conduct, and
+guided him ever to do that which was liberal, and gracious, and just.
+
+There was only one fault which society found in Sidney Wilton; he
+would not marry. This was provoking, because he was the man of all
+others who ought to marry, and make a heroine happy. Society did not
+give it up till he was forty, about the time he became acquainted with
+Lady Roehampton; and that incident threw no light on his purposes or
+motives, for he was as discreet as he was devoted, and Myra herself
+was unconscious of his being anything to her save the dearest friend
+of her father, and the most cherished companion of her husband.
+
+When one feels deeply, one is apt to act suddenly, perhaps rashly.
+There are moments in life when suspense can be borne no longer. And
+Sidney Wilton, who had been a silent votary for more than ten years,
+now felt that the slightest delay in his fate would be intolerable. It
+was the ball at Montfort House that should be the scene of this
+decision of destiny.
+
+She was about to re-enter society, radiant as the morn, amid flowers
+and music, and all the accidents of social splendour. His sympathetic
+heart had been some solace to her in her sorrow and her solitude. Now,
+in the joyous blaze of life, he was resolved to ask her whether it
+were impossible that they should never again separate, and in the
+crowd, as well as when alone, feel their mutual devotion.
+
+Mr. Wilton was among those who went early to Montfort House, which was
+not his wont; but he was restless and disquieted. She could hardly
+have arrived; but there would be some there who would speak of her.
+That was a great thing. Sidney Wilton had arrived at that state when
+conversation can only interest on one subject. When a man is really in
+love, he is disposed to believe that, like himself, everybody is
+thinking of the person who engrosses his brain and heart.
+
+The magnificent saloons, which in half an hour would be almost
+impassable, were only sprinkled with guests, who, however, were
+constantly arriving. Mr. Wilton looked about him in vain for the
+person who, he was quite sure, could not then be present. He lingered
+by the side of Lady Montfort, who bowed to those who came, but who
+could spare few consecutive words, even to Mr. Wilton, for her
+watchful eye expected every moment to be summoned to descend her
+marble staircase and receive her royal guests.
+
+The royal guests arrived; there was a grand stir, and many gracious
+bows, and some cordial, but dignified, shake-hands. The rooms were
+crowded; yet space in the ball-room was well preserved, so that the
+royal vision might range with facility from its golden chairs to the
+beauteous beings, and still more beautiful costumes, displaying with
+fervent loyalty their fascinating charms.
+
+There was a new band to-night, that had come from some distant but
+celebrated capital; musicians known by fame to everybody, but whom
+nobody had ever heard. They played wonderfully on instruments of new
+invention, and divinely upon old ones. It was impossible that anything
+could be more gay and inspiring than their silver bugles, and their
+carillons of tinkling bells.
+
+They found an echo in the heart of Sidney Wilton, who, seated near the
+entrance of the ball-room, watched every arrival with anxious
+expectation. But the anxiety vanished for a moment under the influence
+of the fantastic and frolic strain. It seemed a harbinger of happiness
+and joy. He fell into a reverie, and wandered with a delightful
+companion in castles of perpetual sunshine, and green retreats, and
+pleasant terraces.
+
+But the lady never came.
+
+"Where can your sister be?" said Lady Montfort to Endymion. "She
+promised me to come early; something must have happened. Is she ill?"
+
+"Quite well; I saw her before I left Hill Street. She wished me to
+come alone, as she would not be here early.
+
+"I hope she will be in time for the royal supper table; I quite count
+on her."
+
+"She is sure to be here."
+
+Lord Hainault was in earnest conversation with Baron Sergius, now the
+minister of King Florestan at the Court of St. James'. It was a wise
+appointment, for Sergius knew intimately all the English statesmen of
+eminence, and had known them for many years. They did not look upon
+him as the mere representative of a revolutionary and parvenu
+sovereign; he was quite one of themselves, had graduated at the
+Congress of Vienna, and, it was believed, had softened many subsequent
+difficulties by his sagacity. He had always been a cherished guest at
+Apsley House, and it was known the great duke often consulted him. "As
+long as Sergius sways his councils, He will indulge in no adventures,"
+said Europe. "As long as Sergius remains here, the English alliance is
+safe," said England. After Europe and England, the most important
+confidence to obtain was that of Lord Hainault, and Baron Sergius had
+not been unsuccessful in that respect.
+
+"Your master has only to be liberal and steady," said Lord Hainault,
+with his accustomed genial yet half-sarcastic smile, "and he may have
+anything he likes. But we do not want any wars; they are not liked in
+the City."
+
+"Our policy is peace," said Sergius.
+
+"I think we ought to congratulate Sir Peter," said Mr. Waldershare to
+Adriana, with whom he had been dancing, and whom he was leading back
+to Lady Hainault. "Sir Peter, here is a lady who wishes to
+congratulate you on your deserved elevation."
+
+"Well, I do not know what to say about it," said the former Mr. Vigo,
+highly gratified, but a little confused; "my friends would have it."
+
+"Ay, ay," said Waldershare, "'at the request of friends;' the excuse I
+gave for publishing my sonnets." And then, advancing, he delivered his
+charge to her /chaperon/, who looked dreamy, abstracted, and
+uninterested.
+
+"We have just been congratulating the new baronet, Sir Peter Vigo,"
+said Waldershare.
+
+"Ah!" said Lady Hainault with a contemptuous sigh, "he is, at any
+rate, not obliged to change his name. The desire to change one's name
+does indeed appear to me to be a singular folly. If your name had been
+disgraced, I could understand it, as I could understand a man then
+going about in a mask. But the odd thing is, the persons who always
+want to change their names are those whose names are the most
+honoured."
+
+"Oh, you are here!" said Mr. St. Barbe acidly to Mr. Seymour Hicks. "I
+think you are everywhere. I suppose they will make you a baronet next.
+Have you seen the batch? I could not believe my eyes when I read it. I
+believe the government is demented. Not a single literary man among
+them. Not that I wanted their baronetcy. Nothing would have tempted me
+to accept one. But there is Gushy; he, I know, would have liked it. I
+must say I feel for Gushy; his works only selling half what they did,
+and then thrown over in this insolent manner!"
+
+"Gushy is not in society," said Mr. Seymour Hicks in a solemn tone of
+contemptuous pity.
+
+"That is society," said St. Barbe, as he received a bow of haughty
+grace from Mrs. Rodney, who, fascinating and fascinated, was listening
+to the enamoured murmurs of an individual with a very bright star and
+a very red ribbon.
+
+"I dined with the Rodneys yesterday," said Mr. Seymour Hicks; "they do
+the thing well."
+
+"You dined there!" exclaimed St. Barbe. "It is very odd, they have
+never asked me. Not that I would have accepted their invitation. I
+avoid parvenus. They are too fidgety for my taste. I require repose,
+and only dine with the old nobility."
+
+
+
+                           CHAPTER LXXXXIX
+
+The Right Honourable Job Thornberry and Mrs. Thornberry had received
+an invitation to the Montfort ball. Job took up the card, and turned
+it over more than once, and looked at it as if it were some strange
+animal, with an air of pleased and yet cynical perplexity; then he
+shrugged his shoulders and murmured to himself, "No, I don't think
+that will do. Besides, I must be at Hurstley by that time."
+
+Going to Hurstley now was not so formidable an affair as it was in
+Endymion's boyhood. Then the journey occupied a whole and wearisome
+day. Little Hurstley had become a busy station of the great Slap-Bang
+railway, and a despatch train landed you at the bustling and
+flourishing hostelry, our old and humble friend, the Horse Shoe,
+within the two hours. It was a rate that satisfied even Thornberry,
+and almost reconciled him to the too frequent presence of his wife and
+family at Hurstley, a place to which Mrs. Thornberry had, it would
+seem, become passionately attached.
+
+"There is a charm about the place, I must say," said Job to himself,
+as he reached his picturesque home on a rich summer evening; "and yet
+I hated it as a boy. To be sure, I was then discontented and unhappy,
+and now I have every reason to be much the reverse. Our feelings
+affect even scenery. It certainly is a pretty place; I really think
+one of the prettiest places in England."
+
+Job was cordially welcomed. His wife embraced him, and the younger
+children clung to him with an affection which was not diminished by
+the remembrance that their father never visited them with empty hands.
+His eldest son, a good-looking and well-grown stripling, just home for
+the holidays, stood apart, determined to show he was a man of the
+world, and superior to the weakness of domestic sensibility. When the
+hubbub was a little over, he advanced and shook hands with his father
+with a certain dignity.
+
+"And when did you arrive, my boy? I was looking up your train in
+Bradshaw as I came along. I made out you should get the branch at
+Culvers Gate."
+
+"I drove over," replied the son; "I and a friend of mine drove tandem,
+and I'll bet we got here sooner than we should have done by the
+branch."
+
+"Hem!" said Job Thornberry.
+
+"Job," said Mrs. Thornberry, "I have made two engagements for you this
+evening. First, we will go and see your father, and then we are to
+drink tea at the rectory."
+
+"Hem!" said Job Thornberry; "well, I would rather the first evening
+should have been a quiet one; but let it be so."
+
+The visit to the father was kind, dutiful, and wearisome. There was
+not a single subject on which the father and son had thoughts in
+common. The conversation of the father took various forms of
+expressing his wonder that his son had become what he was, and the son
+could only smile, and turn the subject, by asking after the produce of
+some particular field that had been prolific or obstinate in the old
+days. Mrs. Thornberry looked absent, and was thinking of the rectory;
+the grandson who had accompanied them was silent and supercilious; and
+everybody felt relieved when Mrs. Thornberry, veiling her impatience
+by her fear of keeping her father-in-law up late, made a determined
+move and concluded the domestic ceremony.
+
+The rectory afforded a lively contrast to the late scene. Mr. and Mrs.
+Penruddock were full of intelligence and animation. Their welcome of
+Mr. Thornberry was exactly what it ought to have been; respectful,
+even somewhat differential, but cordial and unaffected. They conversed
+on all subjects, public and private, and on both seemed equally well
+informed, for they not only read more than one newspaper, but Mrs.
+Penruddock had an extensive correspondence, the conduct of which was
+one of the chief pleasures and excitements of her life. Their tea-
+equipage, too, was a picture of abundance and refinement. Such pretty
+china, and such various and delicious cakes! White bread, and brown
+bread, and plum cakes, and seed cakes, and no end of cracknels, and
+toasts, dry or buttered. Mrs. Thornberry seemed enchanted and gushing
+with affection,--everybody was dear or dearest. Even the face of John
+Hampden beamed with condescending delight as he devoured a pyramid of
+dainties.
+
+Just before the tea-equipage was introduced Mrs. Penruddock rose from
+her seat and whispered something to Mrs. Thornberry, who seemed
+pleased and agitated and a little blushing, and then their hostess
+addressed Job and said, "I was mentioning to your wife that the
+archbishop was here, and that I hope you would not dislike meeting
+him."
+
+And very shortly after this, the archbishop, who had been taking a
+village walk, entered the room. It was evident that he was intimate
+with the occupiers of Hurstley Hall. He addressed Mrs. Thornberry with
+the ease of habitual acquaintance, while John Hampden seemed almost to
+rush into his arms. Job himself had seen his Grace in London, though
+he had never had the opportunity of speaking to him, but yielded to
+his cordiality, when the archbishop, on his being named, said, "It is
+a pleasure to meet an old friend, and in times past a kind one."
+
+It was a most agreeable evening. The archbishop talked to every one,
+but never seemed to engross the conversation. He talked to the ladies
+of gardens, and cottages, and a little of books, seemed deeply
+interested in the studies and progress of the grandson Thornberry, who
+evidently idolised him; and in due course his Grace was engaged in
+economical speculations with Job himself, who was quite pleased to
+find a priest as liberal and enlightened as he was able and thoroughly
+informed. An hour before midnight they separated, though the
+archbishop attended them to the hall.
+
+Mrs. Thornberry's birthday was near at hand, which Job always
+commemorated with a gift. It had commenced with some severe offering,
+like "Paradise Lost," then it fell into the gentler form of Tennyson,
+and, of late, unconsciously under the influence of his wife, it had
+taken the shape of a bracelet or a shawl.
+
+This evening, as he was rather feeling his way as to what might please
+her most, Mrs. Thornberry embracing him, and hiding her face on his
+breast, murmured, "Do not give me any jewel, dear Job. What I should
+like would be that you should restore the chapel here."
+
+"Restore the chapel here! oh, oh!" said Job Thornberry.
+
+
+
+                              CHAPTER XC
+
+The archbishop called at Hurstley House the next day. It was a visit
+to Mr. Thornberry, but all the family were soon present, and clustered
+round the visitor. Then they walked together in the gardens, which had
+become radiant under the taste and unlimited expenditure of Mrs.
+Thornberry; beds glowing with colour or rivalling mosaics, choice
+conifers with their green or purple fruit, and rare roses with their
+fanciful and beauteous names; one, by the by, named "Mrs. Penruddock,"
+and a very gorgeous one, "The Archbishop."
+
+As they swept along the terraces, restored to their pristine
+comeliness, and down the green avenues bounded by copper beeches and
+ancient yews, where men were sweeping away every leaf and twig that
+had fallen in the night and marred the consummate order, it must have
+been difficult for the Archbishop of Tyre not to recall the days gone
+by, when this brilliant and finished scene, then desolate and
+neglected, the abode of beauty and genius, yet almost of penury, had
+been to him a world of deep and familiar interest. Yes, he was walking
+in the same glade where he had once pleaded his own cause with an
+eloquence which none of his most celebrated sermons had excelled. Did
+he think of this? If he did, it was only to wrench the thought from
+his memory. Archbishops who are yet young, who are resolved to be
+cardinals, and who may be popes, are superior to all human weakness.
+
+"I should like to look at your chapel," said his Grace to Mr.
+Thornberry; "I remember it a lumber room, and used to mourn over its
+desecration."
+
+"I never was in it," said Job, "and cannot understand why my wife is
+so anxious about it as she seems to be. When we first went to London,
+she always sate under the Reverend Socinus Frost, and seemed very
+satisfied. I have heard him; a sensible man--but sermons are not much
+in my way, and I do not belong to his sect, or indeed any other."
+
+However, they went to the chapel all the same, for Mrs. Thornberry was
+resolved on the visit. It was a small chamber but beautifully
+proportioned, like the mansion itself--of a blended Italian and Gothic
+style. The roof was flat, but had been richly gilt and painted, and
+was sustained by corbels of angels, divinely carved. There had been
+some pews in the building; some had fallen to pieces, and some
+remained, but these were not in the original design. The sacred table
+had disappeared, but two saintly statues, sculptured in black oak,
+seemed still to guard the spot which it had consecrated.
+
+"I wonder what became of the communion table?" said Job.
+
+"Oh! my dear father, do not call it a communion table," exclaimed John
+Hampden pettishly.
+
+"Why, what should I call it, my boy?"
+
+"The altar."
+
+"Why, what does it signify what we call it? The thing is the same."
+
+"Ah!" exclaimed the young gentleman, in a tone of contemptuous
+enthusiasm, "it is all the difference in the world. There should be a
+stone altar and a reredos. We have put up a reredos in our chapel at
+Bradley. All the fellows subscribed; I gave a sovereign."
+
+"Well, I must say," said the archbishop, who had been standing in
+advance with Mrs. Thornberry and the children, while this brief and
+becoming conversation was taking place between father and son, "I
+think you could hardly do a better thing than restore this chapel, Mr.
+Thornberry, but there must be no mistake about it. It must be restored
+to the letter, and it is a style that is not commonly understood. I
+have a friend, however, who is a master of it, the most rising man in
+his profession, as far as church architecture is concerned, and I will
+get him just to run down and look at this, and if, as I hope, you
+resolve to restore it, rest assured he will do you justice, and you
+will be proud of your place of worship."
+
+"I do not care how much we spend on our gardens," said Job, "for they
+are transitory pleasures, and we enjoy what we produce; but why I
+should restore a chapel in a house which does not belong to myself is
+not so clear to me."
+
+"But it should belong to yourself," rejoined the archbishop. "Hurstley
+is not in the market, but it is to be purchased. Take it altogether, I
+have always thought it one of the most enviable possessions in the
+world. The house, when put in order, would be one of the ornaments of
+the kingdom. The acreage, though considerable, is not overwhelming,
+and there is a range of wild country of endless charm. I wandered
+about it in my childhood and my youth, and I have never known anything
+equal to it. Then as to the soil and all that, you know it. You are a
+son of the soil. You left it for great objects, and you have attained
+those objects. They have given you fame as well as fortune. There
+would be something wonderfully dignified and graceful in returning to
+the land after you have taken the principal part in solving the
+difficulties which pertained to it, and emancipating it from many
+perils."
+
+"I am sure it would be the happiest day of my life, if Job would
+purchase Hurstley," said Mrs. Thornberry.
+
+"I should like to go to Oxford, and my father purchase Hurstley," said
+the young gentleman. "If we have not landed property, I would sooner
+have none. If we have not land, I should like to go into the Church,
+and if I may not go to Oxford, I would go to Cuddesdon at once. I know
+it can be done, for I know a fellow who has done it."
+
+Poor Job Thornberry! He had ruled multitudes, and had conquered and
+commanded senates. His Sovereign had made him one of her privy
+councillors, and half a million of people had returned him their
+representative to parliament. And here he stood silent, and a little
+confused; sapped by his wife, bullied by his son, and after having
+passed a great part of his life in denouncing sacerdotalism, finding
+his whole future career chalked out, without himself being consulted,
+by a priest who was so polite, sensible, and so truly friendly, that
+his manner seemed to deprive its victims of every faculty of retort or
+repartee. Still he was going to say something when the door opened,
+and Mrs. Penruddock appeared, exclaiming in a cheerful voice, "I
+thought I should find you here. I would not have troubled your Grace,
+but this letter marked 'private, immediate, and to be forwarded,' has
+been wandering about for some time, and I thought it was better to
+bring it to you at once."
+
+The Archbishop of Tyre took the letter, and seemed to start as he read
+the direction. Then he stood aside, opened it, and read its contents.
+The letter was from Lady Roehampton, desiring to see him as soon as
+possible on a matter of the utmost gravity, and entreating him not to
+delay his departure, wherever he might be.
+
+"I am sorry to quit you all," said his Grace; "but I must go up to
+town immediately. The business is urgent."
+
+
+
+                             CHAPTER XCI
+
+Endymion arrived at home very late from the Montfort ball, and rose in
+consequence at an unusually late hour. He had taken means to become
+sufficiently acquainted with the cause of his sister's absence the
+night before, so he had no anxiety on that head. Lady Roehampton had
+really intended to have been present, was indeed dressed for the
+occasion; but when the moment of trial arrived, she was absolutely
+unequal to the effort. All this was amplified in a little note from
+his sister, which his valet brought him in the morning. What, however,
+considerably surprised him in this communication was her announcement
+that her feelings last night had proved to her that she ought not to
+remain in London, and that she intended to find solitude and repose in
+the little watering-place where she had passed a tranquil autumn
+during the first year of her widowhood. What completed his
+astonishment, however, was the closing intimation that, in all
+probability, she would have left town before he rose. The moment she
+had got a little settled she would write to him, and when business
+permitted, he must come and pay her a little visit.
+
+"She was always capricious," exclaimed Lady Montfort, who had not
+forgotten the disturbance of her royal supper-table.
+
+"Hardly that, I think," said Endymion. "I have always looked on Myra
+as a singularly consistent character."
+
+"I know, you never admit your sister has a fault."
+
+"You said the other day yourself that she was the only perfect
+character you knew."
+
+"Did I say that? I think her capricious."
+
+"I do not think you are capricious," said Endymion, "and yet the world
+sometimes says you are."
+
+"I change my opinion of persons when my taste is offended," said Lady
+Montfort. "What I admired in your sister, though I confess I sometimes
+wished not to admire her, was that she never offended my taste."
+
+"I hope satisfied it," said Endymion.
+
+"Yes, satisfied it, always satisfied it. I wonder what will be her
+lot, for, considering her youth, her destiny has hardly begun. Somehow
+or other, I do not think she will marry Sidney Wilton."
+
+"I have sometimes thought that would be," said Endymion.
+
+"Well, it would be, I think, a happy match. All the circumstances
+would be collected that form what is supposed to be happiness. But
+tastes differ about destinies as well as about manners. For my part, I
+think to have a husband who loved you, and he clever, accomplished,
+charming, ambitious, would be happiness; but I doubt whether your
+sister cares so much about these things. She may, of course does, talk
+to you more freely; but with others, in her most open hours, there
+seems a secret fund of reserve in her character which I never could
+penetrate, except, I think, it is a reserve which does not originate
+in a love of tranquillity, but quite the reverse. She is a strong
+character."
+
+"Then, hardly a capricious one."
+
+"No, not capricious; I only said that to tease you. I am capricious; I
+know it. I disregard people sometimes that I have patronised and
+flattered. It is not merely that I have changed my opinion of them,
+but I positively hate them."
+
+"I hope you will never hate me," said Endymion.
+
+"You have never offended my taste yet," said Lady Montfort with a
+smile.
+
+Endymion was engaged to dine to-day with Mr. Bertie Tremaine. Although
+now in hostile political camps, that great leader of men never
+permitted their acquaintance to cease. "He is young," reasoned Mr.
+Bertie Tremaine; "every political party changes its principles on an
+average once in ten years. Those who are young must often then form
+new connections, and Ferrars will then come to me. He will be ripe and
+experienced, and I could give him a good deal. I do not want numbers.
+I want men. In opposition, numbers often only embarrass. The power of
+the future is ministerial capacity. The leader with a cabinet formed
+will be the minister of England. He is not to trouble himself about
+numbers; that is an affair of the constituencies."
+
+Male dinners are in general not amusing. When they are formed, as they
+usually are, of men who are supposed to possess a strong and common
+sympathy--political, sporting, literary, military, social--there is
+necessarily a monotony of thought and feeling, and of the materials
+which induce thought and feeling. In a male dinner of party
+politicians, conversation soon degenerates into what is termed "shop;"
+anecdotes about divisions, criticism of speeches, conjectures about
+office, speculations on impending elections, and above all, that
+heinous subject on which enormous fibs are ever told, the
+registration. There are, however, occasional glimpses in their talk
+which would seem to intimate that they have another life outside the
+Houses of Parliament. But that extenuating circumstance does not apply
+to the sporting dinner. There they begin with odds and handicaps, and
+end with handicaps and odds, and it is doubtful whether it ever occurs
+to any one present, that there is any other existing combination of
+atoms than odds and handicaps. A dinner of wits is proverbially a
+place of silence; and the envy and hatred which all literary men
+really feel for each other, especially when they are exchanging
+dedications of mutual affection, always ensure, in such assemblies,
+the agreeable presence of a general feeling of painful constraint. If
+a good thing occurs to a guest, he will not express it, lest his
+neighbour, who is publishing a novel in numbers, shall appropriate it
+next month, or he himself, who has the same responsibility of
+production, be deprived of its legitimate appearance. Those who desire
+to learn something of the manoeuvres at the Russian and Prussian
+reviews, or the last rumour at Aldershot or the military clubs, will
+know where to find this feast of reason. The flow of soul in these
+male festivals is perhaps, on the whole, more genial when found in a
+society of young gentlemen, graduates of the Turf and the Marlborough,
+and guided in their benignant studies by the gentle experience and the
+mild wisdom of White's. The startling scandal, the rattling anecdote,
+the astounding leaps, and the amazing shots, afford for the moment a
+somewhat pleasing distraction, but when it is discovered that all
+these habitual flim-flams are, in general, the airy creatures of
+inaccuracy and exaggeration--that the scandal is not true, the
+anecdote has no foundation, and that the feats and skill and strength
+are invested with the organic weakness of tradition, the vagaries lose
+something of the charm of novelty, and are almost as insipid as claret
+from which the bouquet has evaporated.
+
+The male dinners of Mr. Bertie Tremaine were an exception to the
+general reputation of such meetings. They were never dull. In the
+first place, though to be known at least by reputation was an
+indispensable condition of being present, he brought different classes
+together, and this, at least for once, stimulates and gratifies
+curiosity. His house too was open to foreigners of celebrity, without
+reference to their political parties or opinions. Every one was
+welcome except absolute assassins. The host too had studied the art of
+developing character and conversation, and if sometimes he was not so
+successful in this respect as he deserved, there was no lack of
+amusing entertainment, for in these social encounters Mr. Bertie
+Tremaine was a reserve in himself, and if nobody else would talk, he
+would avail himself of the opportunity of pouring forth the treasures
+of his own teeming intelligence. His various knowledge, his power of
+speech, his eccentric paradoxes, his pompous rhetoric, relieved by
+some happy sarcasm, and the obvious sense, in all he said and did, of
+innate superiority to all his guests, made these exhibitions extremely
+amusing.
+
+"What Bertie Tremaine will end in," Endymion would sometimes say,
+"perplexes me. Had there been no revolution in 1832, and he had
+entered parliament for his family borough, I think he must by this
+time have been a minister. Such tenacity of purpose could scarcely
+fail. But he has had to say and do so many odd things, first to get
+into parliament, and secondly to keep there, that his future now is
+not so clear. When I first knew him, he was a Benthamite; at present,
+I sometimes seem to foresee that he will end by being the leader of
+the Protectionists and the Protestants."
+
+"And a good strong party too," said Trenchard, "but query whether
+strong enough?"
+
+"That is exactly what Bertie Tremaine is trying to find out."
+
+Mr. Bertie Tremaine's manner in receiving his guests was courtly and
+ceremonious; a contrast to the free and easy style of the time. But it
+was adopted after due reflection. "No man can tell you what will be
+the position he may be called upon to fill. But he has a right to
+assume he will always be ascending. I, for example, may be destined to
+be the president of a republic, the regent of a monarchy, or a
+sovereign myself. It would be painful and disagreeable to have to
+change one's manner at a perhaps advanced period of life, and become
+liable to the unpopular imputation that you had grown arrogant and
+overbearing. On the contrary, in my case, whatever my elevation, there
+will be no change. My brother, Mr. Tremaine Bertie, acts on a
+different principle. He is a Sybarite, and has a general contempt for
+mankind, certainly for the mob and the middle class, but he is 'Hail
+fellow, well met!' with them all. He says it answers at elections; I
+doubt it. I myself represent a popular constituency, but I believe I
+owe my success in no slight measure to the manner in which I gave my
+hand when I permitted it to be touched. As I say sometimes to Mr.
+Tremaine Bertie, 'You will find this habit of social familiarity
+embarrassing when I send you to St. Petersburg or Vienna.'"
+
+Waldershare dined there, now a peer, though, as he rejoiced to say,
+not a peer of parliament. An Irish peer, with an English constituency,
+filled, according to Waldershare, the most enviable of positions. His
+rank gave him social influence, and his seat in the House of Commons
+that power which all aspire to obtain. The cynosure of the banquet,
+however, was a gentleman who had, about a year before, been the
+president of a republic for nearly six weeks, and who being master of
+a species of rhapsodical rhetoric, highly useful in troubled times,
+when there is no real business to transact, and where there is nobody
+to transact it, had disappeared when the treasury was quite empty, and
+there were no further funds to reward the enthusiastic citizens who
+had hitherto patriotically maintained order at wages about double in
+amount to what they had previously received in their handicrafts. This
+great reputation had been brought over by Mr. Tremaine Bertie, now
+introducing him into English political society. Mr. Tremaine Bertie
+hung upon the accents of the oracle, every word of which was intended
+to be picturesque or profound, and then surveyed his friends with a
+glance of appreciating wonder. Sensible Englishmen, like Endymion and
+Trenchard, looked upon the whole exhibition as fustian, and received
+the revelations with a smile of frigid courtesy.
+
+The presence, however, of this celebrity of six weeks gave
+occasionally a tone of foreign politics to the conversation, and the
+association of ideas, which, in due course, rules all talk, brought
+them, among other incidents and instances, to the remarkable career of
+King Florestan.
+
+"And yet he has his mortifications," said a sensible man. "He wants a
+wife, and the princesses of the world will not furnish him with one."
+
+"What authority have you for saying so?" exclaimed the fiery
+Waldershare. "The princesses of the world would be great fools if they
+refused such a man, but I know of no authentic instance of such
+denial."
+
+"Well, it is the common rumour."
+
+"And, therefore, probably a common falsehood."
+
+"Were he wise," said Mr. Bertie Tremaine, "King Florestan would not
+marry. Dynasties are unpopular; especially new ones. The present age
+is monarchical, but not dynastic. The king, who is a man of reach, and
+who has been pondering such circumstances all his life, is probably
+well aware of this, and will not be such a fool as to marry."
+
+"How is the monarchy to go on, if there is to be no successor?"
+inquired Trenchard. "You would not renew the Polish constitution?"
+
+"The Polish constitution, by the by, was not so bad a thing," said Mr.
+Bertie Tremaine. "Under it a distinguished Englishman might have mixed
+with the crowned heads of Europe, as Sir Philip Sidney nearly did. But
+I was looking to something superior to the Polish constitution, or
+perhaps any other; I was contemplating a monarchy with the principle
+of adoption. That would give you all the excellence of the Polish
+constitution, and the order and constancy in which it failed. It would
+realise the want of the age; monarchical, not dynastical,
+institutions, and it would act independent of the passions and
+intrigues of the multitude. The principle of adoption was the secret
+of the strength and endurance of Rome. It gave Rome alike the Scipios
+and the Antonines."
+
+"A court would be rather dull without a woman at its head."
+
+"On the contrary," said Mr. Bertie Tremaine. "It was Louis Quatorze
+who made the court; not his queen."
+
+"Well," said Waldershare, "all the same, I fear King Florestan will
+adopt no one in this room, though he has several friends here, and I
+am one; and I believe that he will marry, and I cannot help fancying
+that the partner of this throne will not be as insignificant as Louis
+the Fourteenth's wife, or Catherine of Braganza."
+
+Jawett dined this day with Mr. Bertie Tremaine. He was a frequent
+guest there, and still was the editor of the "Precursor," though it
+sometimes baffled all that lucidity of style for which he was
+celebrated to reconcile the conduct of the party, of which the
+"Precursor" was alike the oracle and organ, with the opinions with
+which that now well-established journal first attempted to direct and
+illuminate the public mind. It seemed to the editor that the
+"Precursor" dwelt more on the past than became a harbinger of the
+future. Not that Mr. Bertie Tremaine ever for a moment admitted that
+there was any difficulty in any case. He never permitted any dogmas
+that he had ever enunciated to be surrendered, however contrary at
+their first aspect.
+
+             "All are but parts of one stupendous whole,"
+
+and few things were more interesting than the conference in which Mr.
+Bertie Tremaine had to impart his views and instructions to the master
+of that lucid style, which had the merit of making everything so very
+clear when the master himself was, as at present, extremely perplexed
+and confused. Jawett lingered after the other guests, that he might
+have the advantage of consulting the great leader on the course which
+he ought to take in advocating a measure which seemed completely at
+variance with all the principles they had ever upheld.
+
+"I do not see your difficulty," wound up the host. "Your case is
+clear. You have a principle which will carry you through everything.
+That is the charm of a principle. You have always an answer ready."
+
+"But in this case," somewhat timidly inquired Mr. Jawett, "what would
+be the principle on which I should rest?"
+
+"You must show," said Mr. Bertie Tremaine, "that democracy is
+aristocracy in disguise; and that aristocracy is democracy in
+disguise. It will carry you through everything."
+
+Even Jawett looked a little amazed.
+
+"But"--he was beginning, when Mr. Bertie Tremaine arose. "Think of
+what I have said, and if on reflection any doubt or difficulty remain
+in your mind, call on me to-morrow before I go to the House. At
+present, I must pay my respects to Lady Beaumaris. She is the only
+woman the Tories can boast of; but she is a first-rate woman, and is a
+power which I must secure."
+
+
+
+                             CHAPTER XCII
+
+A month had nearly elapsed since the Montfort ball; the season was
+over and the session was nearly finished. The pressure of
+parliamentary life for those in office is extreme during this last
+month, yet Endymion would have contrived, were it only for a day, to
+have visited his sister, had Lady Roehampton much encouraged his
+appearance. Strange as it seemed to him, she did not, but, on the
+contrary, always assumed that the prorogation of parliament would
+alone bring them together again. When he proposed on one occasion to
+come down for four-and-twenty hours, she absolutely, though with much
+affection, adjourned the fulfilment of the offer. It seemed that she
+was not yet quite settled.
+
+Lady Montfort lingered in London even after Goodwood. She was rather
+embarrassed, as she told Endymion, about her future plans. Lord
+Montfort was at Princedown, where she wished to join him, but he did
+not respond to her wishes; on the contrary, while announcing that he
+was indisposed, and meant to remain at Princedown for the summer, he
+suggested that she should avail herself of the opportunity, and pay a
+long visit to her family in the north. "I know what he means," she
+observed; "he wants the world to believe that we are separated. He
+cannot repudiate me--he is too great a gentleman to do anything
+coarsely unjust; but he thinks, by tact and indirect means, he may
+achieve our virtual separation. He has had this purpose for years, I
+believe now ever since our marriage, but hitherto I have baffled him.
+I ought to be with him; I really believe he is indisposed, his face
+has become so pale of late; but were I to persist in going to
+Princedown I should only drive him away. He would go off into the
+night without leaving his address, and something would happen--
+dreadful or absurd. What I had best do, I think, is this. You are
+going at last to pay your visit to your sister; I will write to my
+lord and tell him that as he does not wish me to go to Princedown, I
+propose to go to Montfort Castle. When the flag is flying at Montfort,
+I can pay a visit of any length to my family. It will only be a
+neighbouring visit from Montfort to them; perhaps, too, they might
+return it. At any rate, then they cannot say my lord and I are
+separated. We need not live under the same roof, but so long as I live
+under his roof the world considers us united. It is a pity to have to
+scheme in this manner, and rather degrading, particularly when one
+might be so happy with him. But you know, my dear Endymion, all about
+our affairs. Your friend is not a very happy woman, and if not a very
+unhappy one, it is owing much to your dear friendship, and a little to
+my own spirit which keeps me up under what is frequent and sometimes
+bitter mortification. And now adieu! I suppose you cannot be away less
+than a week. Probably on your return you will find me here. I cannot
+go to Montfort without his permission. But he will give it. I observe
+that he will always do anything to gain his immediate object. His
+immediate object is, that I shall not go to Princedown, and so he will
+agree that I shall go to Montfort."
+
+For the first time in his life, Endymion felt some constraint in the
+presence of Myra. There was something changed in her manner. No
+diminution of affection, for she threw her arms around him and pressed
+him to her heart; and then she looked at him anxiously, even sadly,
+and kissed both his eyes, and then she remained for some moments in
+silence with her face hid on his shoulder. Never since the loss of
+Lord Roehampton had she seemed so subdued.
+
+"It is a long separation," she at length said, with a voice and smile
+equally faint, "and you must be a little wearied with your travelling.
+Come and refresh yourself, and then I will show you my boudoir I have
+made here; rather pretty, out of nothing. And then we will sit down
+and have a long talk together, for I have much to tell you, and I want
+your advice."
+
+"She is going to marry Sidney Wilton," thought Endymion; "that is
+clear."
+
+The boudoir was really pretty, "made out of nothing;" a gay chintz,
+some shelves of beautiful books, some fanciful chairs, and a portrait
+of Lord Roehampton.
+
+It was a long interview, very long, and if one could judge by the
+countenance of Endymion, when he quitted the boudoir and hastened to
+his room, of grave import. Sometimes his face was pale, sometimes
+scarlet; the changes were rapid, but the expression was agitated
+rather than one of gratification.
+
+He sent instantly for his servant, and then penned this telegram to
+Lady Montfort: "My visit here will be short. I am to see you
+immediately. Nothing must prevent your being at home when I call
+to-morrow, about four o'clock. Most, most important."
+
+
+
+                            CHAPTER XCIII
+
+"Well, something has happened at last," said Lady Montfort with a
+wondering countenance; "it is too marvellous."
+
+"She goes to Osborne to-day," continued Endymion, "and I suppose after
+that, in due course, it will be generally known. I should think the
+formal announcement would be made abroad. It has been kept wonderfully
+close. She wished you to know it first, at least from her. I do not
+think she ever hesitated about accepting him. There was delay from
+various causes; whether there should be a marriage by proxy first in
+this country, and other points; about religion, for example."
+
+"Well?"
+
+"She enters the Catholic Church, the Archbishop of Tyre has received
+her. There is no difficulty and no great ceremonies in such matters.
+She was re-baptized, but only by way of precaution. It was not
+necessary, for our baptism, you know, is recognised by Rome."
+
+"And that was all!"
+
+"All, with a first communion and confession. It is all consummated
+now; as you say, 'It is too wonderful.' A first confession, and to
+Nigel Penruddock, who says life is flat and insipid!"
+
+"I shall write to her: I must write to her. I wonder if I shall see
+her before she departs."
+
+"That is certain if you wish it; she wishes it."
+
+"And when does she go? And who goes with her?"
+
+"She will be under my charge," said Endymion. "It is fortunate that it
+should happen at a time when I am free. I am personally to deliver her
+to the king. The Duke of St. Angelo, Baron Sergius, and the archbishop
+accompany her, and Waldershare, at the particular request of his
+Majesty."
+
+"And no lady?"
+
+"She takes Adriana with her."
+
+"Adriana!" repeated Lady Montfort, and a cloud passed over her brow.
+There was a momentary pause, and then Lady Montfort said, "I wish she
+would take me."
+
+"That would be delightful," said Endymion, "and most becoming--to have
+for a companion the greatest lady of our court."
+
+"She will not take me with her," said Lady Montfort, sorrowfully but
+decisively, and shaking her head. "Dear woman! I loved her always,
+often most when I seemed least affectionate--but there was between us
+something"--and she hesitated. "Heigho! I may be the greatest lady of
+our court, but I am a very unhappy woman, Endymion, and what annoys
+and dispirits me most, sometimes quite breaks me down, is that I
+cannot see that I deserve my lot."
+
+It happened as Endymion foresaw; the first announcement came from
+abroad. King Florestan suddenly sent a message to his parliament, that
+his Majesty was about to present them with a queen. She was not the
+daughter of a reigning house, but she came from the land of freedom
+and political wisdom, and from the purest and most powerful court in
+Europe. His subjects soon learnt that she was the most beautiful of
+women, for the portrait of the Countess of Roehampton, as it were by
+magic, seemed suddenly to fill every window in every shop in the
+teeming and brilliant capital where she was about to reign.
+
+It was convenient that these great events should occur when everybody
+was out of town. Lady Montfort alone remained, the frequent, if not
+constant, companion of the new sovereign. Berengaria soon recovered
+her high spirits. There was much to do and prepare in which her hints
+and advice were invaluable. Though she was not to have the honour of
+attending Myra to her new home, which, considering her high place in
+the English court, was perhaps hardly consistent with etiquette, for
+so she now cleverly put it, she was to pay her Majesty a visit in due
+time. The momentary despondency that had clouded her brilliant
+countenance had not only disappeared, but she had quite forgotten, and
+certainly would not admit, that she was anything but the most sanguine
+and energetic of beings, and rallied Endymion unmercifully for his
+careworn countenance and too frequent air of depression. The truth is,
+the great change that was impending was one which might well make him
+serious, and sometimes sad.
+
+The withdrawal of a female influence, so potent on his life as that of
+his sister, was itself a great event. There had been between them from
+the cradle, which, it may be said, they had shared, a strong and
+perfect sympathy. They had experienced together vast and strange
+vicissitudes of life. Though much separated in his early youth, there
+had still been a constant interchange of thought and feeling between
+them. For the last twelve years or so, ever since Myra had become
+acquainted with the Neuchatel family, they may be said never to have
+separated--at least they had maintained a constant communication, and
+generally a personal one. She had in a great degree moulded his life.
+Her unfaltering, though often unseen, influence had created his
+advancement. Her will was more powerful than his. He was more prudent
+and plastic. He felt this keenly. He was conscious that, left to
+himself, he would probably have achieved much less. He remembered her
+words when they parted for the first time at Hurstley, "Women will be
+your best friends in life." And that brought his thoughts to the only
+subject on which they had ever differed--her wished-for union between
+himself and Adriana. He felt he had crossed her there--that he had
+prevented the fulfilment of her deeply-matured plans. Perhaps, had
+that marriage taken place, she would never have quitted England.
+Perhaps; but was that desirable? Was it not fitter that so lofty a
+spirit should find a seat as exalted as her capacity? Myra was a
+sovereign! In this age of strange events, not the least strange. No
+petty cares and griefs must obtrude themselves in such majestic
+associations. And yet the days at Hainault were very happy, and the
+bright visits to Gaydene, and her own pleasant though stately home.
+His heart was agitated, and his eyes were often moistened with
+emotion. He seemed to think that all the thrones of Christendom could
+be no compensation for the loss of this beloved genius of his life,
+whom he might never see again. Sometimes, when he paid his daily visit
+to Berengaria, she who knew him by heart, who studied every expression
+of his countenance and every tone of his voice, would say to him,
+after a few minutes of desultory and feeble conversation, "You are
+thinking of your sister, Endymion?"
+
+He did not reply, but gave a sort of faint mournful smile.
+
+"This separation is a trial, a severe one, and I knew you would feel
+it," said Lady Montfort. "I feel it; I loved your sister, but she did
+not love me. Nobody that I love ever does love me."
+
+"Oh! do not say that, Lady Montfort."
+
+"It is what I feel. I cannot console you. There is nothing I can do
+for you. My friendship, if you value it, which I will not doubt you
+do, you fully possessed before your sister was a Queen. So that goes
+for nothing."
+
+"I must say, I feel sometimes most miserable."
+
+"Nonsense, Endymion; if anything could annoy your sister more than
+another, it would be to hear of such feelings on your part. I must say
+she has courage. She has found her fitting place. Her brother ought to
+do the same. You have a great object in life, at least you had, but I
+have no faith in sentimentalists. If I had been sentimental, I should
+have gone into a convent long ago."
+
+"If to feel is to be sentimental, I cannot help it."
+
+"All feeling which has no object to attain is morbid and maudlin,"
+said Lady Montfort. "You say you are very miserable, and at the same
+time you do not know what you want. Would you have your sister
+dethroned? And if you would, could you accomplish your purpose? Well,
+then, what nonsense to think about her except to feel proud of her
+elevation, and prouder still that she is equal to it!"
+
+"You always have the best of every argument," said Endymion.
+
+"Of course," said Lady Montfort. "What I want you to do is to exert
+yourself. You have now a strong social position, for Sidney Wilton
+tells me the Queen has relinquished to you her mansion and the whole
+of her income, which is no mean one. You must collect your friends
+about you. Our government is not too strong, I can tell you. We must
+brush up in the recess. What with Mr. Bertie Tremaine and his friends
+joining the Protectionists, and the ultra-Radicals wanting, as they
+always do, something impossible, I see seeds of discomfiture unless
+they are met with energy. You stand high, and are well spoken of even
+by our opponents. Whether we stand or fall, it is a moment for you to
+increase your personal influence. That is the element now to encourage
+in your career, because you are not like the old fogies in the
+cabinet, who, if they go out, will never enter another again. You have
+a future, and though you may not be an emperor, you may be what I
+esteem more, prime minister of this country."
+
+"You are always so sanguine."
+
+"Not more sanguine than your sister. Often we have talked of this. I
+wish she were here to help us, but I will do my part. At present let
+us go to luncheon."
+
+
+
+                             CHAPTER XCIV
+
+There was a splendid royal yacht, though not one belonging to our
+gracious Sovereign, lying in one of Her Majesty's southern ports, and
+the yacht was convoyed by a smart frigate. The crews were much ashore,
+and were very popular, for they spent a great deal of money. Everybody
+knew what was the purpose of their bright craft, and every one was
+interested in it. A beautiful Englishwoman had been selected to fill a
+foreign and brilliant throne occupied by a prince, who had been
+educated in our own country, who ever avowed his sympathies with "the
+inviolate island of the sage and free." So in fact there was some
+basis for the enthusiasm which was felt on this occasion by the
+inhabitants of Nethampton. What every one wanted to know was when she
+would sail. Ah! that was a secret that could hardly be kept for the
+eight-and-forty hours preceding her departure, and therefore, one day,
+with no formal notice, all the inhabitants of Nethampton were in gala;
+streets and ships dressed out with the flags of all nations; the
+church bells ringing; and busy little girls running about with huge
+bouquets.
+
+At the very instant expected, the special train was signalled, and
+drove into the crimson station amid the thunder of artillery, the
+blare of trumpets, the beating of drums, and cheers from thousands
+even louder and longer than the voices of the cannon. Leaning on the
+arm of her brother, and attended by the Princess of Montserrat, and
+the Honourable Adriana Neuchatel, Baron Sergius, the Duke of St.
+Angelo, the Archbishop of Tyre, and Lord Waldershare, the daughter of
+William Ferrars, gracious, yet looking as if she were born to empire,
+received the congratulatory address of the mayor and corporation and
+citizens of Nethampton, and permitted her hand to be kissed, not only
+by his worship, but by at least two aldermen.
+
+They were on the waters, and the shores of Albion, fast fading away,
+had diminished to a speck. It is a melancholy and tender moment, and
+Myra was in her ample and splendid cabin and alone. "It is a trial,"
+she felt, "but all that I love and value in this world are in this
+vessel," and she thought of Endymion and Adriana. The gentlemen were
+on deck, chiefly smoking or reconnoitring their convoy through their
+telescopes.
+
+"I must say," said Waldershare, "it was a grand idea of our kings
+making themselves sovereigns of the sea. The greater portion of this
+planet is water; so we at once became a first-rate power. We owe our
+navy entirely to the Stuarts. King James the Second was the true
+founder and hero of the British navy. He was the worthy son of his
+admirable father, that blessed martyr, the restorer at least, if not
+the inventor, of ship money; the most patriotic and popular tax that
+ever was devised by man. The Nonconformists thought themselves so wise
+in resisting it, and they have got the naval estimates instead!"
+
+The voyage was propitious, the weather delightful, and when they had
+entered the southern waters Waldershare confessed that he felt the
+deliciousness of life. If the scene and the impending events, and
+their own fair thoughts, had not been adequate to interest them, there
+were ample resources at their command; all the ladies were skilled
+musicians, their concerts commenced at sunset, and the sweetness of
+their voices long lingered over the moonlit waters.
+
+Adriana, one evening, bending over the bulwarks of the yacht, was
+watching the track of phosphoric light, struck into brilliancy from
+the dark blue waters by the prow of their rapid vessel. "It is a
+fascinating sight, Miss Neuchatel, and it seems one might gaze on it
+for ever."
+
+"Ah! Lord Waldershare, you caught me in a reverie."
+
+"What more sweet?"
+
+"Well, that depends on its subject. To tell the truth, I was thinking
+that these lights resembled a little your conversation; all the
+wondrous things you are always saying or telling us."
+
+The archbishop was a man who never recurred to the past. One could
+never suppose that Endymion and himself had been companions in their
+early youth, or, so far as their intercourse was concerned, that there
+was such a place in the world as Hurstley. One night, however, as they
+were pacing the deck together, he took the arm of Endymion, and said,
+"I trace the hand of Providence in every incident of your sister's
+life. What we deemed misfortunes, sorrows, even calamities, were
+forming a character originally endowed with supreme will, and destined
+for the highest purposes. There was a moment at Hurstley when I myself
+was crushed to the earth, and cared not to live; vain, short-sighted
+mortal! Our great Master was at that moment shaping everything to His
+ends, and preparing for the entrance into His Church of a woman who
+may be, who will be, I believe, another St. Helena."
+
+"We have not spoken of this subject before," said Endymion, "and I
+should not have cared had our silence continued, but I must now tell
+you frankly, the secession of my sister from the Church of her fathers
+was to me by no means a matter of unmixed satisfaction."
+
+"The time will come when you will recognise it as the consummation of
+a Divine plan," said the archbishop.
+
+"I feel great confidence that my sister will never be the slave of
+superstition," said Endymion. "Her mind is too masculine for that; she
+will remember that the throne she fills has been already once lost by
+the fatal influence of the Jesuits."
+
+"The influence of the Jesuits is the influence of Divine truth," said
+his companion. "And how is it possible for such influence not to
+prevail? What you treat as defeats, discomfitures, are events which
+you do not comprehend. They are incidents all leading to one great end
+--the triumph of the Church--that is, the triumph of God."
+
+"I will not decide what are great ends; I am content to ascertain what
+is wise conduct. And it would not be wise conduct, in my opinion, for
+the King to rest upon the Jesuits."
+
+"The Jesuits never fell except from conspiracy against them. It is
+never the public voice that demands their expulsion or the public
+effort that accomplishes it. It is always the affair of sovereigns and
+statesmen, of politicians, of men, in short, who feel that there is a
+power at work, and that power one not favourable to their schemes or
+objects of government."
+
+"Well, we shall see," said Endymion; "I candidly tell you, I hope the
+Jesuits will have as little influence in my brother-in-law's kingdom
+as in my own country."
+
+"As little!" said Nigel, somewhat sarcastically; "I should be almost
+content if the holy order in every country had as much influence as
+they now have in England."
+
+"I think your Grace exaggerates."
+
+"Before two years are past," said the archbishop, speaking very
+slowly, "I foresee that the Jesuits will be privileged in England, and
+the hierarchy of our Church recognised."
+
+It was a delicious afternoon; it had been sultry, but the sun had now
+greatly declined, when the captain of the yacht came down to announce
+to the Queen that they were in sight of her new country, and she
+hastened on deck to behold the rapidly nearing shore. A squadron of
+ships of war had stood out to meet her, and in due time the towers and
+spires of a beautiful city appeared, which was the port of the
+capital, and itself almost worthy of being one. A royal barge,
+propelled by four-and-twenty rowers, and bearing the lord chamberlain,
+awaited the queen, and the moment her Majesty and the Princess of
+Montserrat had taken their seats, salutes thundered from every ship of
+war, responded to by fort and battery ashore.
+
+When they landed, they were conducted by chief officers of the court
+to a pavilion which faced the western sky, now glowing like an opal
+with every shade of the iris, and then becoming of a light green
+colour varied only by some slight clouds burnished with gold. A troop
+of maidens brought flowers as bright as themselves, and then a company
+of pages advanced, and kneeling, offered to the Queen chocolate in a
+crystal cup.
+
+According to the programme drawn up by the heralds, and every tittle
+of it founded on precedents, the King and the royal carriages were to
+have met the travellers on their arrival at the metropolis; but there
+are feelings which heralds do not comprehend, and which defy
+precedents. Suddenly there was a shout, a loud cheer, and a louder
+salute. Some one had arrived unexpectedly. A young man, stately but
+pale, moved through the swiftly receding crowd, alone and unattended,
+entered the pavilion, advanced to the Queen, kissed her hand, and then
+both her cheeks, just murmuring, "My best beloved, this, this indeed
+is joy."
+
+The capital was fortified, and the station was without the walls; here
+the royal carriages awaited them. The crowd was immense; the ramparts
+on this occasion were covered with people. It was an almost sultry
+night, with every star visible, and clear and warm and sweet. As the
+royal carriage crossed the drawbridge and entered the chief gates, the
+whole city was in an instant suddenly illuminated--in a flash. The
+architectural lines of the city walls, and of every street, were
+indicated, and along the ramparts at not distant intervals were
+tripods, each crowned with a silver flame, which cast around the
+radiance of day.
+
+He held and pressed her hand as in silence she beheld the wondrous
+scene. They had to make a progress of some miles; the way was kept
+throughout by soldiery and civic guards, while beyond them was an
+infinite population, all cheering and many of them waving torches.
+They passed through many streets, and squares with marvellous
+fountains, until they arrived at the chief and royal street, which has
+no equal in the world. It is more than a mile long, never swerving
+from a straight line, broad, yet the houses so elevated that they
+generally furnish the shade this ardent clime requires. The
+architecture of this street is so varied that it never becomes
+monotonous, some beautiful church, or palace, or ministerial hotel
+perpetually varying the effect. All the windows were full on this
+occasion, and even the roofs were crowded. Every house was covered
+with tapestry, and the line of every building was marked out by
+artificial light. The moon rose, but she was not wanted; it was as
+light as day.
+
+They were considerate enough not to move too rapidly through this
+heart of the metropolis, and even halted at some stations, where bands
+of music and choirs of singers welcomed and celebrated them. They
+moved on more quickly afterwards, made their way through a pretty
+suburb, and then entered a park. At the termination of a long avenue
+was the illumined and beautiful palace of the Prince of Montserrat,
+where Myra was to reside and repose until the momentous morrow, when
+King Florestan was publicly to place on the brow of his affianced
+bride the crown which to his joy she had consented to share.
+
+
+
+                             CHAPTER XCV
+
+There are very few temperaments that can resist an universal and
+unceasing festival in a vast and beautiful metropolis. It is
+inebriating, and the most wonderful of all its accidents is how the
+population can ever calm and recur to the monotony of ordinary life.
+When all this happens, too, in a capital blessed with purple skies,
+where the moonlight is equal to our sunshine, and where half the
+population sleep in the open air and wish for no roof but the heavens,
+existence is a dream of phantasy and perpetual loveliness, and one is
+at last forced to believe that there is some miraculous and
+supernatural agency that provides the ever-enduring excitement and
+ceaseless incidents of grace and beauty.
+
+After the great ceremony of the morrow in the cathedral, and when
+Myra, kneeling at the altar with her husband, received, under a canopy
+of silver brocade, the blessings of a cardinal and her people, day
+followed day with court balls and municipal banquets, state visits to
+operas, and reviews of sumptuous troops. At length the end of all this
+pageantry and enthusiasm approached, and amid a blaze of fireworks,
+the picturesque population of this fascinating city tried to return to
+ordinary feeling and to common sense.
+
+If amid this graceful hubbub and this glittering riot any one could
+have found time to remark the carriage and conduct of an individual,
+one might have observed, and perhaps been surprised at, the change in
+those of Miss Neuchatel. That air of pensive resignation which
+distinguished her seemed to have vanished. She never wore that doleful
+look for which she was too remarkable in London saloons, and which
+marred a countenance favoured by nature and a form intended for gaiety
+and grace. Perhaps it was the influence of the climate, perhaps the
+excitement of the scene, perhaps some rapture with the wondrous
+fortunes of the friend whom she adored, but Adriana seemed suddenly to
+sympathise with everybody and to appreciate everything; her face was
+radiant, she was in every dance, and visited churches and museums, and
+palaces and galleries, with keen delight. With many charms, the
+intimate friend of their sovereign, and herself known to be noble and
+immensely rich, Adriana became the fashion, and a crowd of princes
+were ever watching her smiles, and sometimes offering her their sighs.
+
+"I think you enjoy our visit more than any one of us," said Endymion
+to her one day, with some feeling of surprise.
+
+"Well, one cannot mope for ever," said Miss Neuchatel; "I have passed
+my life in thinking of one subject, and I feel now it made me very
+stupid."
+
+Endymion felt embarrassed, and, though generally ready, had no
+repartee at command. Lord Waldershare, however, came to his relief,
+and claimed Adriana for the impending dance.
+
+This wondrous marriage was a grand subject for "our own
+correspondents," and they abounded. Among them were Jawett and St.
+Barbe. St. Barbe hated Jawett, as indeed he did all his brethren, but
+his appointment in this instance he denounced as an infamous job.
+"Merely to allow him to travel in foreign parts, which he has never
+done, without a single qualification for the office! However, it will
+ruin his paper, that is some consolation. Fancy sending here a man who
+has never used his pen except about those dismal statistics, and what
+he calls first principles! I hate his style, so neat and frigid. No
+colour, sir. I hate his short sentences, like a dog barking; we want a
+word-painter here, sir. My description of the wedding sold one hundred
+and fifty thousand, and it is selling now. If the proprietors were
+gentlemen, they would have sent me an unlimited credit, instead of
+their paltry fifty pounds a day and my expenses; but you never meet a
+liberal man now,--no such animal known. What I want you to do for me,
+Lord Waldershare, is to get me invited to the Villa Aurea when the
+court moves there. It will be private life there, and that is the
+article the British public want now. They are satiated with ceremonies
+and festivals. They want to know what the royal pair have for dinner
+when they are alone, how they pass their evenings, and whether the
+queen drives ponies."
+
+"So far as I am concerned," said Waldershare, "they shall remain state
+secrets."
+
+"I have received no special favours here," rejoined St. Barbe,
+"though, with my claims, I might have counted on the uttermost.
+However, it is always so. I must depend on my own resources. I have a
+retainer, I can tell you, my lord, from the 'Rigdum Funidos,' in my
+pocket, and it is in my power to keep up such a crackling of jokes and
+sarcasms that a very different view would soon be entertained in
+Europe of what is going on here than is now the fashion. The 'Rigdum
+Funidos' is on the breakfast-table of all England, and sells thousands
+in every capital of the world. You do not appreciate its power; you
+will now feel it."
+
+"I also am a subscriber to the 'Rigdum Funidos,'" said Waldershare,
+"and tell you frankly, Mr. St. Barbe, that if I see in its columns the
+slightest allusion to any persons or incident in this country, I will
+take care that you be instantly consigned to the galleys; and, this
+being a liberal government, I can do that without even the ceremony of
+a primary inquiry."
+
+"You do not mean that?" said St. Barbe; "of course, I was only
+jesting. It is not likely that I should say or do anything
+disagreeable to those whom I look upon as my patrons--I may say
+friends--through life. It makes me almost weep when I remember my
+early connection with Mr. Ferrars, now an under-secretary of state,
+and who will mount higher. I never had a chance of being a minister,
+though I suppose I am not more incapable than others who get the
+silver spoon into their mouths. And then his divine sister! Quite an
+heroic character! I never had a sister, and so I never had even a
+chance of being nearly related to royalty. But so it has been
+throughout my life. No luck, my lord; no luck. And then they say one
+is misanthropical. Hang it! who can help being misanthropical when he
+finds everybody getting on in life except himself?"
+
+The court moved to their favourite summer residence, a Palladian
+palace on a blue lake, its banks clothed with forests abounding with
+every species of game, and beyond them loftier mountains. The king was
+devoted to sport, and Endymion was always among his companions.
+Waldershare rather attached himself to the ladies, who made gay
+parties floating in gondolas, and refreshed themselves with picnics in
+sylvan retreats. It was supposed Lord Waldershare was a great admirer
+of the Princess of Montserrat, who in return referred to him as that
+"lovable eccentricity." As the autumn advanced, parties of guests of
+high distinction, carefully arranged, periodically arrived. Now, there
+was more ceremony, and every evening the circle was formed, while the
+king and queen exchanged words, and sometimes ideas, with those who
+were so fortunate as to be under their roof. Frequently there were
+dramatic performances, and sometimes a dance. The Princess of
+Montserrat was invaluable in these scenes; vivacious, imaginative, a
+consummate mimic, her countenance, though not beautiful, was full of
+charm. What was strange, Adriana took a great fancy to her Highness,
+and they were seldom separated. The only cloud for Endymion in this
+happy life was, that every day the necessity of his return to England
+was more urgent, and every day the days vanished more quickly. That
+return to England, once counted by weeks, would soon be counted by
+hours. He had conferred once or twice with Waldershare on the subject,
+who always turned the conversation; at last Endymion reminded him that
+the time of his departure was at hand, and that, originally, it had
+been agreed they should return together.
+
+"Yes, my dear Ferrars, we did so agree, but the agreement was
+permissive, not compulsory. My views are changed. Perhaps I shall
+never return to England again; I think of being naturalised here."
+
+The queen was depressed at the prospect of being separated from her
+brother. Sometimes she remonstrated with him for his devotion to sport
+which deprived her of his society; frequently in a morning she sent
+for him to her boudoir, that they might talk together as in old times.
+"The king has invited Lord and Lady Beaumaris to pay us a visit, and
+they are coming at once. I had hoped the dear Hainaults might have
+visited us here. I think she would have liked it. However, they will
+certainly pass the winter with us. It is some consolation to me not to
+lose Adriana."
+
+"The greatest," said Endymion, "and she seems so happy here. She seems
+quite changed."
+
+"I hope she is happier," said the queen, "but I trust she is not
+changed. I think her nearly perfection. So pure, even so exalted a
+mind, joined with so sweet a temper, I have never met. And she is very
+much admired too, I can tell you. The Prince of Arragon would be on
+his knees to her to-morrow, if she would only give a single smile. But
+she smiles enough with the Princess of Montserrat. I heard her the
+other day absolutely in uncontrollable laughter. That is a strange
+friendship; it amuses me."
+
+"The princess has immense resource."
+
+The queen suddenly rose from her seat; her countenance was disturbed.
+
+"Why do we talk of her, or of any other trifler of the court, when
+there hangs over us so great a sorrow, Endymion, as our separation?
+Endymion, my best beloved," and she threw her arms round his neck, "my
+heart! my life! Is it possible that you can leave me, and so miserable
+as I am?"
+
+"Miserable!"
+
+"Yes! miserable when I think of your position--and even my own. Mine
+own has risen like a palace in a dream, and may vanish like one. But
+that would not be a calamity if you were safe. If I quitted this world
+to-morrow, where would you be? It gives me sleepless nights and
+anxious days. If you really loved me as you say, you would save me
+this. I am haunted with the perpetual thought that all this glittering
+prosperity will vanish as it did with our father. God forbid that,
+under any circumstances, it should lead to such an end--but who knows?
+Fate is terribly stern; ironically just. O Endymion! if you really
+love me, your twin, half of your blood and life, who have laboured for
+you so much, and thought for you so much, and prayed for you so much--
+and yet I sometimes feel have done so little--O Endymion! my adored,
+my own Endymion, if you wish to preserve my life--if you wish me not
+only to live, but really to be happy as I ought to be and could be,
+but for one dark thought, help me, aid me, save me--you can, and by
+one single act."
+
+"One single act!"
+
+"Yes! marry Adriana."
+
+"Ah!" and he sighed.
+
+"Yes, Adriana, to whom we both of us owe everything. Were it not for
+Adriana, you would not be here, you would be nothing," and she
+whispered some words which made him start, and alternately blush and
+look pale.
+
+"Is it possible?" he exclaimed. "My sister, my beloved sister, I have
+tried to keep my brain cool in many trials. But I feel, as it were, as
+if life were too much for me. You counsel me to that which we should
+all repent."
+
+"Yes, I know it; you may for a moment think it a sacrifice, but
+believe me, that is all phantasy. I know you think your heart belongs
+to another. I will grant everything, willingly grant everything you
+could say of her. Yes, I admit, she is beautiful, she has many charms,
+has been to you a faithful friend, you delight in her society; such
+things have happened before to many men, to every man they say they
+happen, but that has not prevented them from being wise, and very
+happy too. Your present position, if you persist in it, is one most
+perilous. You have no root in the country; but for an accident you
+could not maintain the public position you have nobly gained. As for
+the great crowning consummation of your life, which we dreamed over at
+unhappy Hurstley, which I have sometimes dared to prophesy, that must
+be surrendered. The country at the best will look upon you only as a
+reputable adventurer to be endured, even trusted and supported, in
+some secondary post, but nothing more. I touch on this, for I see it
+is useless to speak of myself and my own fate and feelings; only
+remember, Endymion, I have never deceived you. I cannot endure any
+longer this state of affairs. When in a few days we part, we shall
+never meet again. And all the devotion of Myra will end in your
+destroying her."
+
+"My own, my beloved Myra, do with me what you like. If ----"
+
+At this moment there was a gentle tap at the door, and the king
+entered.
+
+"My angel," he said, "and you too, my dear Endymion. I have some news
+from England which I fear may distress you. Lord Montfort is dead."
+
+
+
+                             CHAPTER XCVI
+
+There was ever, when separated, an uninterrupted correspondence
+between Berengaria and Endymion. They wrote to each other every day,
+so that when they met again there was no void in their lives and
+mutual experience, and each was acquainted with almost every feeling
+and incident that had been proved, or had occurred, since they parted.
+The startling news, however, communicated by the king had not
+previously reached Endymion, because he was on the eve of his return
+to England, and his correspondents had been requested to direct their
+future letters to his residence in London.
+
+His voyage home was an agitated one, and not sanguine or inspiriting.
+There was a terrible uncertainty in the future. What were the feelings
+of Lady Montfort towards himself? Friendly, kind, affectionate, in a
+certain sense, even devoted, no doubt; but all consistent with a deep
+and determined friendship which sought and wished for no return more
+ardent. But now she was free. Yes, but would she again forfeit her
+freedom? And if she did, would it not be to attain some great end,
+probably the great end of her life? Lady Montfort was a woman of far-
+reaching ambition. In a certain degree, she had married to secure her
+lofty aims; and yet it was only by her singular energy, and the
+playfulness and high spirit of her temperament, that the sacrifice had
+not proved a failure; her success, however, was limited, for the ally
+on who she had counted rarely assisted and never sympathised with her.
+It was true she admired and even loved her husband; her vanity, which
+was not slight, was gratified by her conquest of one whom it had
+seemed no one could subdue, and who apparently placed at her feet all
+the power and magnificence which she appreciated.
+
+Poor Endymion, who loved her passionately, over whom she exercised the
+influence of a divinity, who would do nothing without consulting her,
+and who was moulded, and who wished to be moulded, by her inspiring
+will, was also a shrewd man of the world, and did not permit his
+sentiment to cloud his perception of life and its doings. He felt that
+Lady Montfort had fallen from a lofty position, and she was not of a
+temperament that would quietly brook her fate. Instead of being the
+mistress of castles and palaces, with princely means, and all the
+splendid accidents of life at her command, she was now a dowager with
+a jointure! Still young, with her charms unimpaired, heightened even
+by the maturity of her fascinating qualities, would she endure this?
+She might retain her friendship for one who, as his sister ever
+impressed upon him, had no root in the land, and even that friendship,
+he felt conscious, must yield much of its entireness and intimacy to
+the influence of new ties; but for their lives ever being joined
+together, as had sometimes been his wild dreams, his cheek, though
+alone, burned with the consciousness of his folly and self-deception.
+
+"He is one of our rising statesmen," whispered the captain of the
+vessel to a passenger, as Endymion, silent, lonely, and absorbed,
+walked, as was his daily custom, the quarterdeck. "I daresay he has a
+good load on his mind. Do you know, I would sooner be a captain of a
+ship than a minister of state?"
+
+Poor Endymion! Yes, he bore his burthen, but it was not secrets of
+state that overwhelmed him. If his mind for a moment quitted the
+contemplation of Lady Montfort, it was only to encounter the
+recollection of a heart-rending separation from his sister, and his
+strange and now perplexing relations with Adriana.
+
+Lord Montfort had passed the summer, as he had announced, at
+Princedown, and alone; that is to say, without Lady Montfort. She
+wrote to him frequently, and if she omitted doing so for a longer
+interval than usual, he would indite to her a little note, always
+courteous, sometimes even almost kind, reminding her that her letters
+amused him, and that of late they had been rarer than he wished. Lady
+Montfort herself made Montfort Castle her home, paying sometimes a
+visit to her family in the neighbourhood, and sometimes receiving them
+and other guests. Lord Montfort himself did not live in absolute
+solitude. He had society always at command. He always had a court
+about him; equerries, and secretaries, and doctors, and odd and
+amusing men whom they found out for him, and who were well pleased to
+find themselves in his beautiful and magnificent Princedown, wandering
+in woods and parks and pleasaunces, devouring his choice /entrees/,
+and quaffing his curious wines. Sometimes he dined with them,
+sometimes a few dined with him, sometimes he was not seen for weeks;
+but whether he were visible or not, he was the subject of constant
+thought and conversation by all under his roof.
+
+Lord Montfort, it may be remembered, was a great fisherman. It was the
+only sport which retained a hold upon him. The solitude, the charming
+scenery, and the requisite skill, combined to please him. He had a
+love for nature, and he gratified it in this pursuit. His domain
+abounded in those bright chalky streams which the trout love. He liked
+to watch the moor-hens, too, and especially a kingfisher.
+
+Lord Montfort came home late one day after much wading. It had been a
+fine day for anglers, soft and not too bright, and he had been tempted
+to remain long in the water. He drove home rapidly, but it was in an
+open carriage, and when the sun set there was a cold autumnal breeze.
+He complained at night, and said he had been chilled. There was always
+a doctor under the roof, who felt his patient's pulse, ordered the
+usual remedies, and encouraged him. Lord Montfort passed a bad night,
+and his physician in the morning found fever, and feared there were
+symptoms of pleurisy. He prescribed accordingly, but summoned from
+town two great authorities. The great authorities did not arrive until
+the next day. They approved of everything that had been done, but
+shook their heads. "No immediate danger, but serious."
+
+Four-and-twenty hours afterwards they inquired of Lord Montfort
+whether they should send for his wife. "On no account whatever," he
+replied. "My orders on this head are absolute." Nevertheless, they did
+send for Lady Montfort, and as there was even then a telegraph to the
+north, Berengaria, who departed from her castle instantly, and
+travelled all night, arrived in eight-and-forty hours at Princedown.
+The state of Lord Montfort then was critical.
+
+It was broken to Lord Montfort that his wife had arrived.
+
+"I perceive then," he replied, "that I am going to die, because I am
+disobeyed."
+
+These were the last words he uttered. He turned in his bed as it were
+to conceal his countenance, and expired without a sigh or sound.
+
+There was not a single person at Princedown in whom Lady Montfort
+could confide. She had summoned the family solicitor, but he could not
+arrive until the next day, and until he came she insisted that none of
+her late lord's papers should be touched. She at first thought he had
+made a will, because otherwise all his property would go to his
+cousin, whom he particularly hated, and yet on reflection she could
+hardly fancy his making a will. It was a trouble to him--a
+disagreeable trouble; and there was nobody she knew whom he would care
+to benefit. He was not a man who would leave anything to hospitals and
+charities. Therefore, on the whole, she arrived at the conclusion he
+had not made a will, though all the guests at Princedown were of a
+different opinion, and each was calculating the amount of his own
+legacy.
+
+At last the lawyer arrived, and he brought the will with him. It was
+very short, and not very recent. Everything he had in the world except
+the settled estates, Montfort Castle and Montfort House, he bequeathed
+to his wife. It was a vast inheritance; not only Princedown, but great
+accumulations of personal property, for Lord Montfort was fond of
+amassing, and admired the sweet simplicity of the three per cents.
+
+
+
+                            CHAPTER XCVII
+
+When Endymion arrived in London he found among his letters two brief
+notes from Lady Montfort; one hurriedly written at Montfort Castle at
+the moment of her departure, and another from Princedown, with these
+words only, "All is over." More than a week had elapsed since the last
+was written, and he had already learnt from the newspapers that the
+funeral had taken place. It was a painful but still necessary duty to
+fulfil, to write to her, which he did, but he received no answer to
+his letter of sympathy, and to a certain degree, of condolence. Time
+flew on, but he could not venture to write again, and without any
+absolute cause for his discomfort, he felt harassed and unhappy. He
+had been so accustomed all his life to exist under the genial
+influence of women that his present days seemed lone and dark. His
+sister and Berengaria, two of the most gifted and charming beings in
+the world, had seemed to agree that their first duty had ever been to
+sympathise with his fortunes and to aid them. Even his correspondence
+with Myra was changed. There was a tone of constraint in their
+communications; perhaps it was the great alteration in her position
+that occasioned it? His heart assured him that such was not the case.
+He felt deeply and acutely what was the cause. The subject most
+interesting to both of them could not be touched on. And then he
+thought of Adriana, and contrasted his dull and solitary home in Hill
+Street with what it might have been, graced by her presence, animated
+by her devotion, and softened by the sweetness of her temper.
+
+Endymion began to feel that the run of his good fortune was dried. His
+sister, when he had a trouble, would never hear of this; she always
+held that the misery and calamities of their early years had exhausted
+the influence of their evil stars, and apparently she had been right,
+and perhaps she would have always been right had he not been perverse,
+and thwarted her in the most important circumstances of his life.
+
+In this state of mind, there was nothing for him to do but to plunge
+into business; and affairs of state are a cure for many cares and
+sorrows. What are our petty annoyances and griefs when we have to
+guard the fortunes and the honour of a nation?
+
+The November cabinets had commenced, and this brought all the chiefs
+to town, Sidney Wilton among them; and his society was always a great
+pleasure to Endymion; the only social pleasure now left to him was a
+little dinner at Mr. Wilton's, and little dinners there abounded. Mr.
+Wilton knew all the persons that he was always thinking about, but
+whom, it might be noticed, they seemed to agree now rarely to mention.
+As for the rest, there was nobody to call upon in the delightful hours
+between official duties and dinner. No Lady Roehampton now, no
+brilliant Berengaria, and not even the gentle Imogene with her welcome
+smile. He looked in at the Coventry Club, a club of fashion, and also
+much frequented by diplomatists. There were a good many persons there,
+and a foreign minister immediately buttonholed the Under-Secretary of
+State.
+
+"I called at the Foreign Office to-day," said the foreign minister. "I
+assure you it is very pressing."
+
+"I had the American with me," said Endymion, "and he is very lengthy.
+However, as to your business, I think we might talk it over here, and
+perhaps settle it." And so they left the room together.
+
+"I wonder what is going to happen to that gentleman," said Mr. Ormsby,
+glancing at Endymion, and speaking to Mr. Cassilis.
+
+"Why?" replied Mr. Cassilis, "is anything up?"
+
+"Will he marry Lady Montfort?"
+
+"Poh!" said Mr. Cassilis.
+
+"You may poh!" said Mr. Ormsby, "but he was a great favourite."
+
+"Lady Montfort will never marry. She had always a poodle, and always
+will have. She was never so /liee/ with Ferrars as with the Count of
+Ferroll, and half a dozen others. She must have a slave."
+
+"A very good mistress with thirty thousand a year."
+
+"She has not that," said Mr. Cassilis doubtingly.
+
+"What do you put Princedown at?" said Mr. Ormsby.
+
+"That I can tell you to a T," replied Mr. Cassilis, "for it was
+offered to me when old Rambrooke died. You will never get twelve
+thousand a year out of it."
+
+"Well, I will answer for half a million consols," said Ormsby, "for my
+lawyer, when he made a little investment for me the other day, saw the
+entry himself in the bank-books; our names are very near, you know--M,
+and O. Then there is her jointure, something like ten thousand a
+year."
+
+"No, no; not seven."
+
+"Well, that would do."
+
+"And what is the amount of your little investment in consols
+altogether, Ormsby?"
+
+"Well, I believe I top Montfort," said Mr. Ormsby with a complacent
+smile, "but then you know, I am not a swell like you; I have no land."
+
+"Lady Montfort, thirty thousand a year," said Mr. Cassilis musingly.
+"She is only thirty. She is a woman who will set the Thames on fire,
+but she will never marry. Do you dine to-day, by any chance, with
+Sidney Wilton?"
+
+When Endymion returned home this evening, he found a letter from Lady
+Montfort. It was a month since he had written to her. He was so
+nervous that he absolutely for a moment could not break the seal, and
+the palpitation of his heart was almost overpowering.
+
+Lady Montfort thanked him for his kind letter, which she ought to have
+acknowledged before, but she had been very busy--indeed, quite
+overwhelmed with affairs. She wished to see him, but was sorry she
+could not ask him to come down to Princedown, as she was living in
+complete retirement, only her aunt with her, Lady Gertrude, whom, she
+believed, he knew. He was aware, probably, how good Lord Montfort had
+been to her. Sincerely she could say, nothing could have been more
+unexpected. If she could have seen her husband before the fatal
+moment, it would have been a consolation to her. He had always been
+kind to Endymion; she really believed sometimes that Lord Montfort was
+even a little attached to him. She should like Endymion to have some
+souvenir of her late husband. Would he choose something, or would he
+leave it to her?
+
+One would rather agree, from the tone of this letter, that Mr.
+Cassilis knew what he was talking about. It fell rather odd on
+Endymion's heart, and he passed a night of some disquietude; not one
+of those nights, exactly, when we feel that the end of the world has
+at length arrived, and that we are the first victim, but a night when
+you slumber rather than sleep, and wake with the consciousness of some
+indefinable chagrin.
+
+This was a dull Christmas for Endymion Ferrars. He passed it, as he
+had passed others, at Gaydene, but what a contrast to the old
+assemblies there! Every source of excitement that could make existence
+absolutely fascinating seemed then to unite in his happy fate.
+Entrancing love and the very romance of domestic affection, and
+friendships of honour and happiness, and all the charms of an
+accomplished society, and the feeling of a noble future, and the
+present and urgent interest in national affairs--all gone, except some
+ambition which might tend to consequences not more successful than
+those that had ultimately visited his house with irreparable calamity.
+
+The meeting of parliament was a great relief to Endymion. Besides his
+office, he had now the House of Commons to occupy him. He was never
+absent from his place; no little runnings up to Montfort House or Hill
+Street just to tell them the authentic news, or snatch a hasty repast
+with furtive delight, with persons still more delightful, and
+flattering one's self all the time that, so far as absence was
+concerned, the fleetness of one's gifted brougham horse really made it
+no difference between Mayfair and Bellamy's.
+
+Endymion had replied, but not very quickly, to Lady Montfort's letter,
+and he had heard from her again, but her letter requiring no reply,
+the correspondence had dropped. It was the beginning of March when she
+wrote to him to say, that she was obliged to come to town to see her
+lawyer and transact some business; that she would be "at papa's in
+Grosvenor Square," though the house was shut up, on a certain day,
+that she much wished to see Endymion, and begged him to call on her.
+
+It was a trying moment when about noon he lifted the knocker to
+Grosvenor Square. The door was not opened rapidly, and the delay made
+him more nervous. He almost wished the door would never open. He was
+shown into a small back room on the ground floor in which was a
+bookcase, and which chamber, in the language of Grosvenor Square, is
+called a library.
+
+"Her ladyship will see you presently," said the servant, who had come
+up from Princedown.
+
+Endymion was standing before the fire, and as nervous as a man could
+well be. He sighed, and he sighed more than once. His breathing was
+oppressed; he felt that life was too short to permit us to experience
+such scenes and situations. He heard the lock of the door move, and it
+required all his manliness to endure it.
+
+She entered; she was in weeds, but they became her admirably; her
+countenance was grave and apparently with an effort to command it. She
+did not move hurriedly, but held out both her hands to Endymion and
+retained his, and all without speaking. Her lips then seemed to move,
+when, rather suddenly, withdrawing her right hand, and placing it on
+his shoulder and burying her face in her arm, she wept.
+
+He led her soothingly to a seat, and took a chair by her side. Not a
+word had yet been spoken by either of them; only a murmur of sympathy
+on the part of Endymion. Lady Montfort spoke first.
+
+"I am weaker than I thought, but it is a great trial." And then she
+said how sorry she was, that she could not receive him at Princedown;
+but she thought it best that he should not go there. "I have a great
+deal of business to transact--you would not believe how much. I do not
+dislike it, it occupies me, it employs my mind. I have led so active a
+life, that solitude is rather too much for me. Among other business, I
+must buy a town house, and that is the most difficult of all affairs.
+There never was so great a city with such small houses. I shall feel
+the loss of Montfort House, though I never used it half so much as I
+wished. I want a mansion; I should think you could help me in this.
+When I return to society, I mean to receive. There must be therefore
+good reception rooms; if possible, more than good. And now let us talk
+about our friends. Tell me all about your royal sister, and this new
+marriage; it rather surprised me, but I think it excellent. Ah! you
+can keep a secret, but you see it is no use having a secret with me.
+Even in solitude everything reaches me."
+
+"I assure you most seriously, that I can annex no meaning to what you
+are saying."
+
+"Then I can hardly think it true; and yet it came from high authority,
+and it was not told me as a real secret."
+
+"A marriage, and whose?"
+
+"Miss Neuchatel's,--Adriana."
+
+"And to whom?" inquired Endymion, changing colour.
+
+"To Lord Waldershare."
+
+"To Lord Waldershare!"
+
+"And has not your sister mentioned it to you?"
+
+"Not a word; it cannot be true."
+
+"I will give to you my authority," said Lady Montfort. "Though I came
+here in the twilight of a hired brougham, and with a veil, I was
+caught before I could enter the house by, of all people in the world,
+Mrs. Rodney. And she told me this in what she called 'real
+confidence,' and it was announced to her in a letter from her sister,
+Lady Beaumaris. They seem all delighted with the match."
+
+
+
+                            CHAPTER XCVIII
+
+The marriage of Adriana was not an event calculated to calm the uneasy
+and dissatisfied temperament of Endymion. The past rendered it
+impossible that this announcement should not in some degree affect
+him. Then the silence of his sister on such a subject was too
+significant; the silence even of Waldershare. Somehow or other, it
+seemed that all these once dear and devoted friends stood in different
+relations to him and to each other from what they once filled. They
+had become more near and intimate together, but he seemed without the
+pale; he, that Endymion, who once seemed the prime object, if not the
+centre, of all their thoughts and sentiment. And why was this? What
+was the influence that had swayed him to a line contrary to what was
+once their hopes and affections? Had he an evil genius? And was it
+she? Horrible thought!
+
+The interview with Lady Montfort had been deeply interesting--had for
+a moment restored him to himself. Had it not been for this news, he
+might have returned home, soothed, gratified, even again indulging in
+dreams. But this news had made him ponder; had made him feel what he
+had lost, and forced him to ask himself what he had gained.
+
+There was one thing he had gained, and that was the privilege of
+calling on Lady Montfort the next day. That was a fact that sometimes
+dissipated all the shadows. Under the immediate influence of her
+presence, he became spell-bound as of yore, and in the intoxication of
+her beauty, the brightness of her mind, and her ineffable attraction,
+he felt he would be content with any lot, provided he might retain her
+kind thoughts and pass much of his life in her society.
+
+She was only staying three or four days in town, and was much engaged
+in the mornings; but Endymion called on her every afternoon, and sate
+talking with her till dinner-time, and they both dined very late. As
+he really on personal and domestic affairs never could have any
+reserve with her, he told her, in that complete confidence in which
+they always indulged, of the extraordinary revelation which his sister
+had made to him about the parliamentary qualification. Lady Montfort
+was deeply interested in this; she was even agitated, and looked very
+grave.
+
+"I am sorry," she said, "we know this. Things cannot remain now as
+they are. You cannot return the money, that would be churlish;
+besides, you cannot return all the advantages which it gained for you,
+and they must certainly be considered part of the gift, and the most
+precious; and then, too, it would betray what your sister rightly
+called a 'sacred confidence.' And yet something must be done--you must
+let me think. Do not mention it again." And then they talked a little
+of public affairs. Lady Montfort saw no one, and heard from no one
+now; but judging from the journals, she thought the position of the
+government feeble. "There cannot be a Protectionist government," she
+said; "and yet that is the only parliamentary party of importance.
+Things will go on till some blow, and perhaps a slight one, will upset
+you all. And then who is to succeed? I think some queer /melange/ got
+up perhaps by Mr. Bertie Tremaine."
+
+The last day came. She parted from Endymion with kindness, but not
+with tenderness. He was choking with emotion, and tried to imitate her
+calmness.
+
+"Am I to write to you?" he asked in a faltering voice.
+
+"Of course you are," she said, "every day, and tell me all the news."
+
+The Hainaults, and the Beaumaris, and Waldershare, did not return to
+England until some time after Easter. The marriage was to take place
+in June--Endymion was to be Waldershare's best man. There were many
+festivities, and he was looked upon as an indispensable guest in all.
+Adriana received his congratulations with animation, but with
+affection. She thanked him for a bracelet which he had presented to
+her; "I value it more," she said, "than all my other presents
+together, except what dear Waldershare has given to me." Even with
+that exception, the estimate was high, for never a bride in any land
+ever received the number of splendid offerings which crowded the
+tables of Lord Hainault's new palace, which he had just built in Park
+Lane. There was not a Neuchatel in existence, and they flourished in
+every community, who did not send her, at least, a riviere of
+brilliants. King Florestan and his queen sent offerings worthy of
+their resplendent throne and their invaluable friendship. But nothing
+surpassed, nothing approached, the contents of a casket, which, a day
+before the wedding, arrived at Hainault House. It came from a foreign
+land, and Waldershare superintended the opening of the case, and the
+appearance of a casket of crimson velvet, with genuine excitement. But
+when it was opened! There was a coronet of brilliants; a necklace of
+brilliants and emeralds, and all the stones more than precious; gems
+of Golconda no longer obtainable, and lustrous companions which only
+could have been created in the hot earth of Asia. From whom? Not a
+glimpse of meaning. All that was written, in a foreign handwriting on
+a sheet of notepaper, was, "For the Lady Viscountess Waldershare."
+
+"When the revolution comes," said Lord Hainault, "Lord Waldershare and
+my daughter must turn jewellers. Their stock in trade is ready."
+
+The correspondence between Lady Montfort and Endymion had resumed its
+ancient habit. They wrote to each other every day, and one day she
+told him that she had purchased a house, and that she must come up to
+town to examine and to furnish it. She probably should be a month in
+London, and remaining there until the end of the season, in whose
+amusements and business, of course, she could not share. She should
+"be at papa's," though he and his family were in town; but that was no
+reason why Endymion should not call on her. And he came, and called
+every day. Lady Montfort was full of her new house; it was in Carlton
+Gardens, the house she always wished, always intended to have. There
+is nothing like will; everybody can do exactly what they like in this
+world, provided they really like it. Sometimes they think they do, but
+in general, it is a mistake. Lady Montfort, it seemed, was a woman who
+always could do what she liked. She could do what she liked with
+Endymion Ferrars; that was quite certain. Supposed by men to have a
+strong will and a calm judgment, he was a nose of wax with this woman.
+He was fascinated by her, and he had been fascinated now for nearly
+ten years. What would be the result of this irresistible influence
+upon him? Would it make or mar those fortunes that once seemed so
+promising? The philosophers of White's and the Coventry were generally
+of opinion that he had no chance.
+
+Lady Montfort was busy every morning with her new house, but she never
+asked Endymion to accompany her, though it seemed natural to do so.
+But he saw her every day, and "papa," who was a most kind and courtly
+gentleman, would often ask him, "if he had nothing better to do," to
+dine there, and he dined there frequently; and if he were engaged, he
+was always of opinion that he had nothing better to do.
+
+At last, however, the season was over; the world had gone to Goodwood,
+and Lady Montfort was about to depart to Princedown. It was a dreary
+prospect for Endymion, and he could not conceal his feelings. He could
+not help saying one day, "Do you know, now that you are going I almost
+wish to die."
+
+Alas! she only laughed. But he looked grave. "I am very unhappy," he
+sighed rather than uttered.
+
+She looked at him with seriousness. "I do not think our separation
+need be very long. Papa and all my family are coming to me in
+September to pay me a very long visit. I really do not see why you
+should not come too."
+
+Endymion's countenance mantled with rapture. "If I might come, I think
+I should be the happiest of men!"
+
+The month that was to elapse before his visit, Endymion was really, as
+he said, the happiest of men; at least, the world thought him so. He
+seemed to walk upon tip-toe. Parliament was prorogued, office was
+consigned to permanent secretaries, and our youthful statesman seemed
+only to live to enjoy, and add to, the revelry of existence. Now at
+Cowes, now stalking in the Highlands, dancing at balls in the
+wilderness, and running races of fantastic feats, full of health, and
+frolic, and charm; he was the delight of society, while, the whole
+time, he had only one thought, and that was the sacred day when he
+should again see the being whom he adored, and that in her beautiful
+home, which her presence made more lovely.
+
+Yes! he was again at Princedown, in the bosom of her family; none
+others there; treated like one of themselves. The courtly father
+pressed his hand; the amiable and refined mother smiled upon him; the
+daughters, pretty, and natural as the air, treated him as if they were
+sisters, and even the eldest son, who generally hates you, after a
+little stiffness, announced in a tone never questioned under the
+family roof, that "Ferrars was a first-rate shot."
+
+And so a month rolled on; immensely happy, as any man who has loved,
+and loved in a beautiful scene, alone can understand. One morning Lady
+Montfort said to him, "I must go up to London about my house. I want
+to go and return the same day. Do you know, I think you had better
+come with me? You shall give me a luncheon in Hill Street, and we
+shall be back by the last train. It will be late, but we shall wake in
+the morning in the country, and that I always think a great thing."
+
+And so it happened; they rose early and arrived in town in time to
+give them a tolerably long morning. She took him to her house in
+Carlton Gardens, and showed to him exactly how it was all she wanted;
+accommodation for a first-rate establishment; and then the reception
+rooms, few houses in London could compare with them; a gallery and
+three saloons. Then they descended to the dining-room. "It is a
+dining-room, not a banqueting hall," she said, "which we had at
+Montfort House, but still it is much larger than most dining-rooms in
+London. But, I think this room, at least I hope you do, quite
+charming," and she took him to a room almost as large as the dining-
+room, and looking into the garden. It was fitted up with exquisite
+taste; calm subdued colouring, with choice marble busts of statesmen,
+ancient and of our times, but the shelves were empty.
+
+"They are empty," she said, "but the volumes to fill them are already
+collected. Yes," she added in a tremulous voice, and slightly pressing
+the arm on which she leant. "If you will deign to accept it, this is
+the chamber I have prepared for you."
+
+"Dearest of women!" and he took her hand.
+
+"Yes," she murmured, "help me to realise the dream of my life;" and
+she touched his forehead with her lips.
+
+
+
+                             CHAPTER XCIX
+
+The marriage of Mr. Ferrars with Lady Montfort surprised some, but, on
+the whole, pleased everybody. They were both of them popular, and no
+one seemed to envy them their happiness and prosperity. The union took
+place at a season of the year when there was no London world to
+observe and to criticise. It was a quiet ceremony; they went down to
+Northumberland to Lady Montfort's father, and they were married in his
+private chapel. After that they went off immediately to pay a visit to
+King Florestan and his queen; Myra had sent her a loving letter.
+
+"Perhaps it will be the first time that your sister ever saw me with
+satisfaction," remarked Lady Montfort, "but I think she will love me
+now! I always loved her; perhaps because she is so like you."
+
+It was a happy meeting and a delightful visit. They did not talk much
+of the past. The enormous change in the position of their host and
+hostess since the first days of their acquaintance, and, on their own
+part, some indefinite feeling of delicate reserve, combined to make
+them rather dwell on a present which was full of novelty so attractive
+and so absorbing. In his manner, the king was unchanged; he was never
+a demonstrative person, but simple, unaffected, rather silent; with a
+sweet temper and a tender manner, he seemed to be gratified that he
+had the power of conferring happiness on those around him. His feeling
+to his queen was one of idolatry, and she received Berengaria as a
+sister and a much-loved one. Their presence and the season of the year
+made their life a festival, and when they parted, there were
+entreaties and promises that the visit should be often repeated.
+
+"Adieu! my Endymion," said Myra at the last moment they were alone.
+"All has happened for you beyond my hopes; all now is safe. I might
+wish we were in the same land, but not if I lost my husband, whom I
+adore."
+
+The reason that forced them to curtail their royal visit was the state
+of politics at home, which had suddenly become critical. There were
+symptoms, and considerable ones, of disturbance and danger when they
+departed for their wedding tour, but they could not prevail on
+themselves to sacrifice a visit on which they had counted so much, and
+which could not be fulfilled on another occasion under the same
+interesting circumstances. Besides, the position of Mr. Ferrars,
+though an important, was a subordinate one, and though cabinet
+ministers were not justified in leaving the country, an
+under-secretary of state and a bridegroom might, it would seem, depart
+on his irresponsible holiday. Mr. Sidney Wilton, however, shook his
+head; "I do not like the state of affairs," he said, "I think you will
+have to come back sooner than you imagine."
+
+"You are not going to be so foolish as to have an early session?"
+inquired Lady Montfort.
+
+He only shrugged his shoulders, and said, "We are in a mess."
+
+What mess? and what was the state of affairs?
+
+This had happened. At the end of the autumn, his Holiness the Pope had
+made half a dozen new cardinals, and to the surprise of the world, and
+the murmurs of the Italians, there appeared among them the name of an
+Englishman, Nigel Penruddock, archbishop /in partibus/. Shortly after
+this, a papal bull, "given at St. Peter's, Rome, under the seal of the
+fisherman," was issued, establishing a Romish hierarchy in England.
+This was soon followed by a pastoral letter by the new cardinal "given
+out of the Appian Gate," announcing that "Catholic England had been
+restored to its orbit in the ecclesiastical firmament."
+
+The country at first was more stupefied than alarmed. It was conscious
+that something extraordinary had happened, and some great action taken
+by an ecclesiastical power, which from tradition it was ever inclined
+to view with suspicion and some fear. But it held its breath for a
+while. It so happened that the prime minister was a member of a great
+house which had become illustrious by its profession of Protestant
+principles, and even by its sufferings in a cause which England had
+once looked on as sacred. The prime minister, a man of distinguished
+ability, not devoid even of genius, was also a wily politician, and of
+almost unrivalled experience in the management of political parties.
+The ministry was weak and nearly worn out, and its chief, influenced
+partly by noble and historical sentiments, partly by a conviction that
+he had a fine occasion to rally the confidence of the country round
+himself and his friends, and to restore the repute of his political
+connection, thought fit, without consulting his colleagues, to publish
+a manifesto denouncing the aggression of the Pope upon our
+Protestantism as insolent and insidious, and as expressing a
+pretension of supremacy over the realm of England which made the
+minister indignant.
+
+A confused public wanted to be led, and now they were led. They sprang
+to their feet like an armed man. The corporation of London, the
+universities of Oxford and Cambridge had audiences of the Queen; the
+counties met, the municipalities memorialised; before the first of
+January there had been held nearly seven thousand public meetings,
+asserting the supremacy of the Queen and calling on Her Majesty's
+Government to vindicate it by stringent measures.
+
+Unfortunately, it was soon discovered by the minister that there had
+been nothing illegal in the conduct of the Pope or the Cardinal, and a
+considerable portion of the Liberal party began to express the
+inconvenient opinion, that the manifesto of their chief was opposed to
+those principles of civil and religious liberty of which he was the
+hereditary champion. Some influential members of his own cabinet did
+not conceal their disapprobation of a step on which they had not been
+consulted.
+
+Immediately after Christmas, Endymion and Lady Montfort settled in
+London. She was anxious to open her new mansion as soon as parliament
+met, and to organise continuous receptions. She looked upon the
+ministry as in a critical state, and thought it was an occasion when
+social influences might not inconsiderably assist them.
+
+But though she exhibited for this object her wonted energy and high
+spirit, a fine observer--Mr. Sidney Wilton, for example--might have
+detected a change in the manner of Berengaria. Though the strength of
+her character was unaltered, there was an absence of that
+restlessness, it might be said, that somewhat feverish excitement,
+from which formerly she was not always free. The truth is, her heart
+was satisfied, and that brought repose. Feelings of affection, long
+mortified and pent up, were now lavished and concentrated on a husband
+of her heart and adoration, and she was proud that his success and
+greatness might be avowed as the objects of her life.
+
+The campaign, however, for which such preparations were made, ended
+almost before it began. The ministry, on the meeting of parliament,
+found themselves with a discontented House of Commons, and discordant
+counsels among themselves. The anti-papal manifesto was the secret
+cause of this evil state, but the prime minister, to avoid such a
+mortifying admission, took advantage of two unfavourable divisions on
+other matters, and resigned.
+
+Here was a crisis--another crisis! Could the untried Protectionists,
+without men, form an administration? It was whispered that Lord Derby
+had been sent for, and declined the attempt. Then there was another
+rumour, that he was going to try. Mr. Bertie Tremaine looked
+mysterious. The time for the third party had clearly arrived. It was
+known that he had the list of the next ministry in his breast-pocket,
+but it was only shown to Mr. Tremaine Bertie, who confided in secrecy
+to the initiated that it was the strongest government since "All the
+Talents."
+
+Notwithstanding this great opportunity, "All the Talents" were not
+summoned. The leader of the Protectionists renounced the attempt in
+despair, and the author of the anti-papal manifesto was again sent
+for, and obliged to introduce the measure which had already destroyed
+a government and disorganised a party.
+
+"Sidney Wilton," said Lady Montfort to her husband, "says that they
+are in the mud, and he for one will not go back--but he will go. I
+know him. He is too soft-hearted to stand an appeal from colleagues in
+distress. But were I you, Endymion, I would not return. I think you
+want a little rest, or you have got a great deal of private business
+to attend to, or something of that kind. Nobody notices the withdrawal
+of an under-secretary except those in office. There is no necessity
+why you should be in the mud. I will continue to receive, and do
+everything that is possible for our friends, but I think my husband
+has been an under-secretary long enough."
+
+Endymion quite agreed with his wife. The minister offered him
+preferment and the Privy Council, but Lady Montfort said it was really
+not so important as the office he had resigned. She was resolved that
+he should not return to them, and she had her way. Ferrars himself now
+occupied a rather peculiar position, being the master of a great
+fortune and of an establishment which was the headquarters of the
+party of which he was now only a private member; but, calm and
+collected, he did not lose his head; always said and did the right
+thing, and never forgot his early acquaintances. Trenchard was his
+bosom political friend. Seymour Hicks, who, through Endymion's
+kindness, had now got into the Treasury, and was quite fashionable,
+had the run of the House, and made himself marvellously useful, while
+St. Barbe, who had become by mistake a member of the Conservative
+Club, drank his frequent claret cup every Saturday evening at Lady
+Montfort's receptions with many pledges to the welfare of the Liberal
+administration.
+
+The flag of the Tory party waved over the magnificent mansion of which
+Imogene Beaumaris was the graceful life. As parties were nearly equal,
+and the ministry was supposed to be in decay, the rival reception was
+as well attended as that of Berengaria. The two great leaders were
+friends, intimate, but not perhaps quite so intimate as a few years
+before. "Lady Montfort is very kind to me," Imogene would say, "but I
+do not think she now quite remembers we are cousins." Both Lord and
+Lady Waldershare seemed equally devoted to Lady Beaumaris. "I do not
+think," he would say, "that I shall ever get Adriana to receive. It is
+an organic gift, and very rare. What I mean to do is to have a first-
+rate villa and give the party strawberries. I always say Adriana is
+like Nell Gwyn, and she shall go about with a pottle. One never sees a
+pottle of strawberries now. I believe they went out, like all good
+things, with the Stuarts."
+
+And so, after all these considerable events, the season rolled on and
+closed tranquilly. Lord and Lady Hainault continued to give banquets,
+over which the hostess sighed; Sir Peter Vigo had the wisdom to retain
+his millions, which few manage to do, as it is admitted that it is
+easier to make a fortune than to keep one. Mrs. Rodney, supremely
+habited, still drove her ponies, looking younger and prettier than
+ever, and getting more fashionable every day, and Mr. Ferrars and
+Berengaria, Countess of Montfort, retired in the summer to their
+beautiful and beloved Princedown.
+
+
+
+                              CHAPTER C
+
+Although the past life of Endymion had, on the whole, been a happy
+life, and although he was destined also to a happy future, perhaps the
+four years which elapsed from the time he quitted office, certainly in
+his experience had never been exceeded, and it was difficult to
+imagine could be exceeded, in felicity. He had a great interest, and
+even growing influence in public life without any of its cares; he was
+united to a woman whom he had long passionately loved, and who had
+every quality and a fortune which secured him all those advantages
+which are appreciated by men of taste and generosity. He became a
+father, and a family name which had been originally borne by a
+courtier of the elder Stuarts was now bestowed on the future lord of
+Princedown.
+
+Lady Montfort herself had no thought but her husband. His happiness,
+his enjoyment of existence, his success and power in life, entirely
+absorbed her. The anxiety which she felt that in everything he should
+be master was touching. Once looked upon as the most imperious of
+women, she would not give a direction on any matter without his
+opinion and sanction. One would have supposed from what might be
+observed under their roof, that she was some beautiful but portionless
+maiden whom Endymion had raised to wealth and power.
+
+All this time, however, Lady Montfort sedulously maintained that
+commanding position in social politics for which she was singularly
+fitted. Indeed, in that respect, she had no rival. She received the
+world with the same constancy and splendour, as if she were the wife
+of a minister. Animated by Waldershare, Lady Beaumaris maintained in
+this respect a certain degree of rivalry. She was the only hope and
+refuge of the Tories, and rich, attractive, and popular, her
+competition could not be disregarded. But Lord Beaumaris was a little
+freakish. Sometimes he would sail in his yacht to odd places, and was
+at Algiers or in Egypt when, according to Tadpole, he ought to have
+been at Piccadilly Terrace. Then he occasionally got crusty about his
+hunting. He would hunt, whatever were the political consequences, but
+whether he were in Africa or Leicestershire, Imogene must be with him.
+He could not exist without her constant presence. There was something
+in her gentleness, combined with her quick and ready sympathy and
+playfulness of mind and manner, which alike pleased and soothed his
+life.
+
+The Whigs tottered on for a year after the rude assault of Cardinal
+Penruddock, but they were doomed, and the Protectionists were called
+upon to form an administration. As they had no one in their ranks who
+had ever been in office except their chief, who was in the House of
+Lords, the affair seemed impossible. The attempt, however, could not
+be avoided. A dozen men, without the slightest experience of official
+life, had to be sworn in as privy councillors, before even they could
+receive the seals and insignia of their intended offices. On their
+knees, according to the constitutional custom, a dozen men, all in the
+act of genuflexion at the same moment, and headed, too, by one of the
+most powerful peers in the country, the Lord of Alnwick Castle
+himself, humbled themselves before a female Sovereign, who looked
+serene and imperturbable before a spectacle never seen before, and
+which, in all probability, will never be seen again.
+
+One of this band, a gentleman without any official experience
+whatever, was not only placed in the cabinet, but was absolutely
+required to become the leader of the House of Commons, which had never
+occurred before, except in the instance of Mr. Pitt in 1782. It has
+been said that it was unwise in the Protectionists assuming office
+when, on this occasion and on subsequent ones, they were far from
+being certain of a majority in the House of Commons. It should,
+however, be remembered, that unless they had dared these ventures,
+they never could have formed a body of men competent, from their
+official experience and their practice in debate, to form a ministry.
+The result has rather proved that they were right. Had they continued
+to refrain from incurring responsibility, they must have broken up and
+merged in different connections, which, for a party numerically so
+strong as the Protectionists, would have been a sorry business, and
+probably have led to disastrous results.
+
+Mr. Bertie Tremaine having been requested to call on the Protectionist
+prime minister, accordingly repaired to headquarters with the list of
+his colleagues in his pocket. He was offered for himself a post of
+little real importance, but which secured to him the dignity of the
+privy council. Mr. Tremaine Bertie and several of his friends had
+assembled at his house, awaiting with anxiety his return. He had to
+communicate to them that he had been offered a privy councillor's
+post, and to break to them that it was not proposed to provide for any
+other member of his party. Their indignation was extreme; but they
+naturally supposed that he had rejected the offer to himself with
+becoming scorn. Their leader, however, informed them that he had not
+felt it his duty to be so peremptory. They should remember that the
+recognition of their political status by such an offer to their chief
+was a considerable event. For his part, he had for some time been
+painfully aware that the influence of the House of Commons in the
+constitutional scheme was fast waning, and that the plan of Sir
+William Temple for the reorganisation of the privy council, and
+depositing in it the real authority of the State, was that to which we
+should be obliged to have recourse. This offer to him of a seat in the
+council was, perhaps, the beginning of the end. It was a crisis; they
+must look to seats in the privy council, which, under Sir William
+Temple's plan, would be accompanied with ministerial duties and
+salaries. What they had all, at one time, wished, had not exactly been
+accomplished, but he had felt it his duty to his friends not to shrink
+from responsibility. So he had accepted the minister's offer.
+
+Mr. Bertie Tremaine was not long in the busy enjoyment of his easy
+post. Then the country was governed for two years by all its ablest
+men, who, by the end of that term, had succeeded, by their coalesced
+genius, in reducing that country to a state of desolation and despair.
+"I did not think it would have lasted even so long," said Lady
+Montfort; "but then I was acquainted with their mutual hatreds and
+their characteristic weaknesses. What is to happen now? Somebody must
+be found of commanding private character and position, and with as
+little damaged a public one as in this wreck of reputations is
+possible. I see nobody but Sidney Wilton. Everybody likes him, and he
+is the only man who could bring people together."
+
+And everybody seemed to be saying the same thing at the same time. The
+name of Sidney Wilton was in everybody's mouth. It was unfortunate
+that he had been a member of a defunct ministry, but then it had
+always been understood that he had always disapproved of all their
+measures. There was not the slightest evidence of this, but everybody
+chose to believe it.
+
+Sidney Wilton was chagrined with life, and had become a martyr to the
+gout, which that chagrin had aggravated; but he was a great gentleman,
+and too chivalric to refuse a royal command when the Sovereign was in
+distress. Sidney Wilton became Premier, and the first colleague he
+recommended to fill the most important post after his own, the
+Secretaryship of State for Foreign Affairs, was Mr. Ferrars.
+
+"It ought to last ten years," said Lady Montfort. "I see no danger
+except his health. I never knew a man so changed. At his time of life
+five years ought to make no difference in a man. I cannot believe he
+is the person who used to give us those charming parties at Gaydene.
+Whatever you may say, Endymion, I feel convinced that something must
+have passed between your sister and him. Neither of them ever gave me
+a hint of such a matter, or of the possibility of its ever happening,
+but feminine instinct assures me that something took place. He always
+had the gout, and his ancestors have had the gout for a couple of
+centuries; and all prime ministers have the gout. I dare say you will
+not escape, darling, but I hope it will never make you look as if you
+had just lost paradise, or, what would be worst, become the last man."
+
+Lady Montfort was right. The ministry was strong and it was popular.
+There were no jealousies in it; every member was devoted to his chief,
+and felt that he was rightly the chief, whereas, as Lady Montfort
+said, the Whigs never had a ministry before in which there were not at
+least a couple of men who had been prime ministers, and as many more
+who thought they ought to be.
+
+There were years of war, and of vast and critical negotiations.
+Ferrars was equal to the duties, for he had much experience, and more
+thought, and he was greatly aided by the knowledge of affairs, and the
+clear and tranquil judgment of the chief minister. There was only one
+subject on which there was not between them that complete and cordial
+unanimity which was so agreeable and satisfactory. And even in this
+case, there was no difference of opinion, but rather of sentiment and
+feeling. It was when Prince Florestan expressed his desire to join the
+grand alliance, and become our active military ally. It was perhaps
+impossible, under any circumstances, for the Powers to refuse such an
+offer, but Endymion was strongly in favour of accepting it. It
+consolidated our interests in a part of Europe where we required
+sympathy and support, and it secured for us the aid and influence of
+the great Liberal party of the continent as distinguished from the
+secret societies and the socialist republicans. The Count of Ferroll,
+also, whose opinion weighed much with Her Majesty's Government, was
+decidedly in favour of the combination. The English prime minister
+listened to their representations frigidly; it was difficult to refute
+the arguments which were adverse to his own feelings, and to resist
+the unanimous opinion not only of his colleagues, but of our allies.
+But he was cold and silent, or made discouraging remarks.
+
+"Can you trust him?" he would say. "Remember he himself has been, and
+still is, a member of the very secret societies whose baneful
+influence we are now told he will neutralise or subdue. Whatever the
+cabinet decides, and I fear that with this strong expression of
+opinion on the part of our allies we have little option left, remember
+I gave you my warning. I know the gentleman, and I do not trust him."
+
+After this, the prime minister had a most severe attack of the gout,
+remained for weeks at Gaydene, and saw no one on business except
+Endymion and Baron Sergius.
+
+While the time is elapsing which can alone decide whether the distrust
+of Mr. Wilton were well-founded or the reverse, let us see how the
+world is treating the rest of our friends.
+
+Lord Waldershare did not make such a pattern husband as Endymion, but
+he made a much better one than the world ever supposed he would. Had
+he married Berengaria, the failure would have been great; but he was
+united to a being capable of deep affection and very sensitive, yet
+grateful for kindness from a husband to a degree not easily
+imaginable. And Waldershare had really a good heart, though a bad
+temper, and he was a gentleman. Besides, he had a great admiration and
+some awe of his father-in-law, and Lord Hainault, with his good-
+natured irony, and consummate knowledge of men and things, quite
+controlled him. With Lady Hainault he was a favourite. He invented
+plausible theories and brilliant paradoxes for her, which left her
+always in a state of charmed wonder, and when she met him again, and
+adopted or refuted them, for her intellectual power was considerable,
+he furnished her with fresh dogmas and tenets, which immediately
+interested her intelligence, though she generally forgot to observe
+that they were contrary to the views and principles of the last visit.
+Between Adriana and Imogene there was a close alliance, and Lady
+Beaumaris did everything in her power to develop Lady Waldershare
+advantageously before her husband; and so, not forgetting that
+Waldershare, with his romance, and imagination, and fancy, and taste,
+and caprice, had a considerable element of worldliness in his
+character, and that he liked to feel that, from living in lodgings, he
+had become a Monte Cristo, his union with Adriana may be said to be a
+happy and successful one.
+
+The friendship between Sir Peter Vigo and his brother M.P., Mr.
+Rodney, never diminished, and Mr. Rodney became richer every year. He
+experienced considerable remorse at sitting in opposition to the son
+of his right honourable friend, the late William Pitt Ferrars, and
+frequently consulted Sir Peter on his embarrassment and difficulty.
+Sir Peter, who never declined arranging any difficulty, told his
+friend to be easy, and that he, Sir Peter, saw his way. It became
+gradually understood, that if ever the government was in difficulties,
+Mr. Rodney's vote might be counted on. He was peculiarly situated,
+for, in a certain sense, his friend the Right Honourable William Pitt
+Ferrars had entrusted the guardianship of his child to his care. But
+whenever the ministry was not in danger, the ministry must not depend
+upon his vote.
+
+Trenchard had become Secretary of the Treasury in the Wilton
+administration, had established his reputation, and was looked upon as
+a future minister. Jawett, without forfeiting his post and promotion
+at Somerset House, had become the editor of a new periodical magazine,
+called the "Privy Council." It was established and maintained by Mr.
+Bertie Tremaine, and was chiefly written by that gentleman himself. It
+was full of Greek quotations, to show that it was not Grub Street, and
+written in a style as like that of Sir William Temple, as a paper in
+"Rejected Addresses" might resemble the classic lucubrations of the
+statesman-sage who, it is hoped, will be always remembered by a
+grateful country for having introduced into these islands the Moor
+Park apricot. What the pages of the "Privy Council" meant no human
+being had the slightest conception except Mr. Tremaine Bertie.
+
+Mr. Thornberry remained a respected member of the cabinet. It was
+thought his presence there secured the sympathies of advanced
+Liberalism throughout the country; but that was a tradition rather
+than a fact. Statesmen in high places are not always so well
+acquainted with the changes and gradations of opinion in political
+parties at home as they are with those abroad. We hardly mark the
+growth of the tree we see every day. Mr. Thornberry had long ceased to
+be popular with his former friends, and the fact that he had become a
+minister was one of the causes of this change of feeling. That was
+unreasonable, but in politics unreasonable circumstances are elements
+of the problem to be solved. It was generally understood that, on the
+next election, Mr. Thornberry would have to look out for another seat;
+his chief constituents, those who are locally styled the leaders of
+the party, were still faithful to him, for they were proud of having a
+cabinet minister for their member, to be presented by him at court,
+and occasionally to dine with him; but the "masses," who do not go to
+court, and are never asked to dinner, required a member who would
+represent their whims, and it was quite understood that, on the very
+first occasion, this enlightened community had resolved to send up to
+Westminster--Mr. Enoch Craggs.
+
+It is difficult to say, whether in his private life Job found affairs
+altogether more satisfactory than in his public. His wife had joined
+the Roman Communion. An ingrained perverseness which prevented his son
+from ever willingly following the advice or example of his parents,
+had preserved John Hampden in the Anglican faith, but he had portraits
+of Laud and Strafford over his mantelpiece, and embossed in golden
+letters on a purple ground the magical word "THOROUGH." His library
+chiefly consisted of the "Tracts for the Times," and a colossal
+edition of the Fathers gorgeously bound. He was a very clever fellow,
+this young Thornberry, a natural orator, and was leader of the High
+Church party in the Oxford Union. He brought home his friends
+occasionally to Hurstley, and Job had the opportunity of becoming
+acquainted with a class and school of humanity--with which,
+notwithstanding his considerable experience of life, he had no
+previous knowledge--young gentlemen, apparently half-starved and
+dressed like priests, and sometimes an enthusiastic young noble, in
+much better physical condition, and in costume becoming a cavalier,
+ready to raise the royal standard at Edgehill. What a little annoyed
+Job was that his son always addressed him as "Squire," a habit even
+pedantically followed by his companions. He was, however, justly
+entitled to this ancient and reputable honour, for Job had been
+persuaded to purchase Hurstley, was a lord of several thousand acres,
+and had the boar's head carried in procession at Christmas in his
+ancient hall. It is strange, but he was rather perplexed than annoyed
+by all these marvellous metamorphoses in his life and family. His
+intelligence was as clear as ever, and his views on all subjects
+unchanged; but he was, like many other men, governed at home by his
+affections. He preferred the new arrangement, if his wife and family
+were happy and contented, to a domestic system founded on his own
+principles, accompanied by a sullen or shrewish partner of his own
+life and rebellious offspring.
+
+What really vexed him, among comparatively lesser matters, was the
+extraordinary passion which in time his son exhibited for game-
+preserving. He did at last interfere on this matter, but in vain. John
+Hampden announced that he did not value land if he was only to look at
+it, and that sport was the patriotic pastime of an English gentleman.
+"You used in old days never to be satisfied with what I got out of the
+land," said the old grandfather to Job, with a little amiable malice;
+"there is enough, at any rate now for the hares and rabbits, but I
+doubt for anybody else."
+
+We must not forget our old friend St. Barbe. Whether he had written
+himself out or had become lazy in the luxurious life in which he now
+indulged, he rarely appealed to the literary public, which still
+admired him. He was, by way of intimating that he was engaged in a
+great work, which, though written in his taking prose, was to be
+really the epogee of social life in this country. Dining out every
+day, and ever arriving, however late, at those "small and earlies,"
+which he once despised; he gave to his friends frequent intimations
+that he was not there for pleasure, but rather following his
+profession; he was in his studio, observing and reflecting on all the
+passions and manners of mankind, and gathering materials for the great
+work which was eventually to enchant and instruct society, and
+immortalise his name.
+
+"The fact is, I wrote too early," he would say. "I blush when I read
+my own books, though compared with those of the brethren, they might
+still be looked on as classics. They say no artist can draw a camel,
+and I say no author ever drew a gentleman. How can they, with no
+opportunity of ever seeing one? And so with a little caricature of
+manners, which they catch second-hand, they are obliged to have
+recourse to outrageous nonsense, as if polished life consisted only of
+bigamists, and that ladies of fashion were in the habit of paying
+black mail to returned convicts. However, I shall put an end to all
+this. I have now got the materials, or am accumulating them daily. You
+hint that I give myself up too much to society. You are talking of
+things you do not understand. A dinner party is a chapter. I catch the
+Cynthia of the minute, sir, at a /soiree/. If I only served a grateful
+country, I should be in the proudest position of any of its sons; if I
+had been born in any country but this, I should have been decorated,
+and perhaps made secretary of state like Addison, who did not write as
+well as I do, though his style somewhat resembles mine."
+
+Notwithstanding these great plans, it came in time to Endymion's ear,
+that poor St. Barbe was in terrible straits. Endymion delicately
+helped him and then obtained for him a pension, and not an
+inconsiderable one. Relieved from anxiety, St. Barbe resumed his
+ancient and natural vein. He passed his days in decrying his friend
+and patron, and comparing his miserable pension with the salary of a
+secretary of state, who, so far as his experience went, was generally
+a second-rate man. Endymion, though he knew St. Barbe was always
+decrying him, only smiled, and looked upon it all as the necessary
+consequence of his organisation, which involved a singular combination
+of vanity and envy in the highest degree. St. Barbe was not less a
+guest in Carlton Terrace than heretofore, and was even kindly invited
+to Princedown to profit by the distant sea-breeze. Lady Montfort,
+whose ears some of his pranks had reached, was not so tolerant as her
+husband. She gave him one day her views of his conduct. St. Barbe was
+always a little afraid of her, and on this occasion entirely lost
+himself; vented the most solemn affirmations that there was not a
+grain of truth in these charges; that he was the victim, as he had
+been all his life, of slander and calumny--the sheer creatures of
+envy, and then began to fawn upon his hostess, and declared that he
+had ever thought there was something godlike in the character of her
+husband.
+
+"And what is there in yours, Mr. St. Barbe?" asked Lady Montfort.
+
+The ministry had lasted several years; its foreign policy had been
+successful; it had triumphed in war and secured peace. The military
+conduct of the troops of King Florestan had contributed to these
+results, and the popularity of that sovereign in England was for a
+foreigner unexampled. During this agitated interval, Endymion and
+Myra had met more than once through the providential medium of those
+favoured spots of nature--German baths.
+
+There had arisen a public feeling, that the ally who had served us so
+well should be invited to visit again a country wherein he had so long
+sojourned, and where he was so much appreciated. The only evidence
+that the Prime Minister gave that he was conscious of this feeling was
+an attack of gout. Endymion himself, though in a difficult and rather
+painful position in this matter, did everything to shield and protect
+his chief, but the general sentiment became so strong, sanctioned too,
+as it was understood, in the highest quarter, that it could no longer
+be passed by unnoticed; and, in due time, to the great delight and
+satisfaction of the nation, an impending visit from our faithful ally
+King Florestan and his beautiful wife, Queen Myra, was authoritatively
+announced.
+
+Every preparation was made to show them honour. They were the guests
+of our Sovereign; but from the palace which they were to inhabit, to
+the humblest tenement in the meanest back street, there was only one
+feeling of gratitude, and regard, and admiration. The English people
+are the most enthusiastic people in the world; there are other
+populations which are more excitable, but there is no nation, when it
+feels, where the sentiment is so profound and irresistible.
+
+The hour arrived. The season and the weather were favourable. From the
+port where they landed to their arrival at the metropolis, the whole
+country seemed poured out into the open air; triumphal arches, a way
+of flags and banners, and bits of bunting on every hovel. The King and
+Queen were received at the metropolitan station by Princes of the
+blood, and accompanied to the palace, where the great officers of
+state and the assembled ministry were gathered together to do them
+honour. A great strain was thrown upon Endymion throughout these
+proceedings, as the Prime Minister, who had been suffering the whole
+season, and rarely present in his seat in parliament, was, at this
+moment, in his worst paroxysm. He could not therefore be present at
+the series of balls and banquets, and brilliant public functions,
+which greeted the royal guests. Their visit to the City, when they
+dined with the Lord Mayor, and to which they drove in royal carriages
+through a sea of population tumultuous with devotion, was the most
+gratifying of all these splendid receptions, partly from the
+associations of mysterious power and magnificence connected with the
+title and character of LORD MAYOR. The Duke of St. Angelo, the Marquis
+of Vallombrosa, and the Prince of Montserrat, quite lost their
+presence of mind. Even the Princess of Montserrat, with more
+quarterings on her own side than any house in Europe, confessed that
+she trembled when Her Serene Highness courtesied before the Lady
+Mayoress. Perhaps, however, the most brilliant, the most fanciful,
+infinitely the most costly entertainment that was given on this
+memorable occasion, was the festival at Hainault. The whole route from
+town to the forest was lined with thousands, perhaps hundreds of
+thousands, of spectators; a thousand guests were received at the
+banquet, and twelve palaces were raised by that true magician, Mr.
+Benjamin Edgington, in the park, for the countless visitors in the
+evening. At night the forest was illuminated. Everybody was glad
+except Lady Hainault, who sighed, and said, "I have no doubt the Queen
+would have preferred her own room, and that we should have had a quiet
+dinner, as in old days, in the little Venetian parlour."
+
+When Endymion returned home at night, he found a summons to Gaydene;
+the Prime Minister being, it was feared, in a dangerous state.
+
+The next day, late in the afternoon, there was a rumour that the Prime
+Minister had resigned. Then it was authoritatively contradicted, and
+then at night another rumour rose that the minister had resigned, but
+that the resignation would not be accepted until after the termination
+of the royal visit. The King and Queen had yet to remain a short week.
+
+The fact is, the resignation had taken place, but it was known only to
+those who then could not have imparted the intelligence. The public
+often conjectures the truth, though it clothes its impression or
+information in the vague shape of a rumour. In four-and-twenty hours
+the great fact was authoritatively announced in all the journals, with
+leading articles speculating on the successor to the able and
+accomplished minister of whose services the Sovereign and the country
+were so unhappily deprived. Would his successor be found in his own
+cabinet? And then several names were mentioned; Rawchester, to Lady
+Montfort's disgust. Rawchester was a safe man, and had had much
+experience, which, as with most safe men, probably left him as wise
+and able as before he imbibed it. Would there be altogether a change
+of parties? Would the Protectionists try again? They were very strong,
+but always in a minority, like some great continental powers, who have
+the finest army in the world, and yet get always beaten. Would that
+band of self-admiring geniuses, who had upset every cabinet with whom
+they were ever connected, return on the shoulders of the people, as
+they always dreamed, though they were always the persons of whom the
+people never seemed to think?
+
+Lady Montfort was in a state of passive excitement. She was quite
+pale, and she remained quite pale for hours. She would see no one. She
+sat in Endymion's room, and never spoke, while he continued writing
+and transacting his affairs. She thought she was reading the "Morning
+Post," but really could not distinguish the advertisements from
+leading articles.
+
+There was a knock at the library door, and the groom of the chambers
+brought in a note for Endymion. He glanced at the handwriting of the
+address, and then opened it, as pale as his wife. Then he read it
+again, and then he gave it to her. She threw her eyes over it, and
+then her arms around his neck.
+
+"Order my brougham at three o'clock."
+
+
+
+                              CHAPTER CI
+
+Endymion was with his sister.
+
+"How dear of you to come to me," she said, "when you cannot have a
+moment to yourself."
+
+"Well, you know," he replied, "it is not like forming a government.
+That is an affair. I have reason to think all my colleagues will
+remain with me. I shall summon them for this afternoon, and if we
+agree, affairs will go on as before. I should like to get down to
+Gaydene to-night."
+
+"To-night!" said the queen musingly. "We have only one day left, and I
+wanted you to do something for me."
+
+"It shall be done, if possible; I need not say that."
+
+"It is not difficult to do, if we have time--if we have to-morrow
+morning, and early. But if you go to Gaydene you will hardly return
+to-night, and I shall lose my chance,--and yet it is to me a business
+most precious."
+
+"It shall be managed; tell me then."
+
+"I learnt that Hill Street is not occupied at this moment. I want to
+visit the old house with you, before I leave England, probably for
+ever. I have only got the early morn to-morrow, but with a veil and
+your brougham, I think we might depart unobserved, before the crowd
+begins to assemble. Do you think you could be here at nine o'clock?"
+
+So it was settled, and being hurried, he departed.
+
+And next morning he was at the palace before nine o'clock; and the
+queen, veiled, entered his brougham. There were already some
+loiterers, but the brother and sister passed through the gates
+unobserved.
+
+They reached Hill Street. The queen visited all the principal rooms,
+and made many remarks appropriate to many memories. "But," she said,
+"it was not to see these rooms I came, though I was glad to do so, and
+the corridor on the second story whence I called out to you when you
+returned, and for ever, from Eton, and told you there was bad news.
+What I came for was to see our old nursery, where we lived so long
+together, and so fondly! Here it is; here we are. All I have desired,
+all I have dreamed, have come to pass. Darling, beloved of my soul, by
+all our sorrows, by all our joys, in this scene of our childhood and
+bygone days, let me give you my last embrace."
+
+
+
+
+*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK, ENDYMION ***
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