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diff --git a/7926.txt b/7926.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..11000b1 --- /dev/null +++ b/7926.txt @@ -0,0 +1,18406 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Endymion, by Benjamin Disraeli + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Endymion + +Author: Benjamin Disraeli + +Release Date: April 27, 2006 [EBook #7926] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ENDYMION *** + + + + +Produced by John Bickers; Dagny + + + + + +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, sent 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 of 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 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 books 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 sent 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 how 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 hear 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 county, +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's. + +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 county. 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 +was 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 +very 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 deferential, 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 of Endymion, by Benjamin Disraeli + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ENDYMION *** + +***** This file should be named 7926.txt or 7926.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/7/9/2/7926/ + +Produced by John Bickers; Dagny; David Widger + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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