The English Comédie Humaine Second Series

 VIVIAN GREY

 BY THE EARL OF BEACONSFIELD

PUBLISHER'S NOTE. 

As a novelist, Benjamin Disraeli belongs to the early part of thenineteenth century. "Vivian Grey" (1826-27) and "Sybil" (1845) mark thebeginning and the end of his truly creative period; for the twoproductions of his latest years, "Lothair" (1870) and "Endymion" (1880), add nothing to the characteristics of his earlier volumes except thechanges of feeling and power which accompany old age. His period, thus, is that of Bulwer, Dickens, and Thackeray, and of the later years of SirWalter Scott--a fact which his prominence as a statesman during the lastdecade of his life, as well as the vogue of "Lothair" and "Endymion, "has tended to obscure. His style, his material, and his views of Englishcharacter and life all date from that earlier time. He was born in 1804and died in 1881. 

Disraeli was barely twenty-one when he published "Vivian Grey, " hisfirst work of fiction; and the young author was at once hailed as amaster of his art by an almost unanimous press. 

In this, as in his subsequent books, it was not so much Disraeli'snotable skill as a novelist but rather his portrayal of the social andpolitical life of the day that made him one of the most popular writersof his generation, and earned for him a lasting fame as a man ofletters. In "Vivian Grey" is narrated the career of an ambitious youngman of rank; and in this story the brilliant author has preserved to usthe exact tone of the English drawing-room, as he so well knew it, sketching with sure and rapid strokes a whole portrait gallery ofnotables, disguised in name may be, but living characters nevertheless, who charm us with their graceful manners and general air of being peopleof consequence. "Vivian Grey, " then, though not a great novel is beyondquestion a marvelously true picture of the life and character of aninteresting period of English history and made notable because ofDisraeli's fine imagination and vivid descriptive powers. 

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

Is there anything you want, sir?

He distinctly beheld Mrs. Felix Lorraine open a small silver box. 

It was very slowly that the dark thought came over his mind. 

VIVIAN GREY

BOOK I

CHAPTER I

We are not aware that the infancy of Vivian Grey was distinguished byany extraordinary incident. The solicitude of the most affectionate ofmothers, and the care of the most attentive of nurses, did their best toinjure an excellent constitution. But Vivian was an only child, andthese exertions were therefore excusable. For the first five years ofhis life, with his curly locks and his fancy dress, he was the pride ofhis own and the envy of all neighbouring establishments; but, in processof time, the spirit of boyism began to develop itself, and Vivian notonly would brush his hair straight and rebel against his nurse, butactually insisted upon being--breeched! At this crisis it was discoveredthat he had been spoiled, and it was determined that he should be sentto school. Mr. Grey observed, also, that the child was nearly ten yearsold, and did not know his alphabet, and Mrs. Grey remarked that he wasgetting ugly. The fate of Vivian was decided. 

"I am told, my dear, " observed Mrs. Grey, one day after dinner to herhusband, "I am told, my dear, that Dr. Flummery's would do very well forVivian. Nothing can exceed the attention which is paid to the pupils. There are sixteen young ladies, all the daughters of clergymen, merelyto attend to the morals and the linen; terms moderate: 100 guineas perannum, for all under six years of age, and few extras, only for fencing, pure milk, and the guitar. Mrs. Metcalfe has both her boys there, andshe says their progress is astonishing! Percy Metcalfe, she assures me, was quite as backward as Vivian; indeed, backwarder; and so was Dudley, who was taught at home on the new system, by a pictorial alphabet, andwho persisted to the last, notwithstanding all the exertions of MissBarrett, in spelling A-P-E, monkey, merely because over the word therewas a monster munching an apple. "

"And quite right in the child, my dear. Pictorial alphabet! pictorialfool's head!"

"But what do you say to Flummery's, Horace?"

"My dear, do what you like. I never trouble myself, you know, aboutthese matters;" and Mr. Grey refreshed himself, after this domesticattack, with a glass of claret. 

Mr. Grey was a gentleman who had succeeded, when the heat of youth wasover, to the enjoyment of a life estate of some two thousand a year. Hewas a man of lettered tastes, and had hailed with no slight pleasure hissuccession to a fortune which, though limited in its duration, was stilla great thing for a young lounger about town, not only with noprofession, but with a mind unfitted for every species of business. Grey, to the astonishment of his former friends, the wits, made anexcellent domestic match; and, leaving the whole management of hishousehold to his lady, felt himself as independent in his magnificentlibrary as if he had never ceased to be that true freeman, A MANOF CHAMBERS. 

The young Vivian had not, by the cares which fathers are always heirsto, yet reminded his parent that children were anything else butplaythings. The intercourse between father and son was, of course, extremely limited; for Vivian was, as yet, the mother's child; Mr. Grey's parental duties being confined to giving his son a daily glass ofclaret, pulling his ears with all the awkwardness of literary affection, and trusting to God "that the urchin would never scribble. "

"I won't go to school, mamma, " bawled Vivian. 

"But you must, my love, " answered Mrs. Grey; "all good boys go toschool;" and in the plenitude of a mother's love she tried to make heroffspring's hair curl. 

"I won't have my hair curl, mamma; the boys will laugh at me, " rebawledthe beauty. 

"Now who could have told the child that?" monologised mamma, with all amamma's admiration. 

"Charles Appleyard told me so; his hair curled, and the boys called himgirl. Papa! give me some more claret; I won't go to school. "

CHAPTER II

Three or four years passed over, and the mind of Vivian Greyastonishingly developed itself. He had long ceased to wear frills, hadbroached the subject of boots three or four times, made a sad inroadduring the holidays in Mr. Grey's bottle of claret, and was reported ashaving once sworn at the butler. The young gentleman began also to hint, during every vacation, that the fellows at Flummery's were somewhat toosmall for his companionship, and (first bud of puppyism!) the formeradvocate of straight hair now expended a portion of his infant income inthe purchase of Macassar, and began to cultivate his curls. Mrs. Greycould not entertain for a moment the idea of her son's associating withchildren, the eldest of whom (to adopt his own account) was not aboveeight years old; so Flummery, it was determined, he should leave. Butwhere to go? Mr. Grey was for Eton, but his lady was one of those womenwhom nothing in the world can persuade that a public school is anythingelse but a place where boys are roasted alive; and so with tears, andtaunts, and supplications, the point of private education was conceded. 

At length it was resolved that the only hope should remain at home aseason, until some plan should be devised for the cultivation of hispromising understanding. During this year Vivian became a somewhat moreconstant intruder into the library than heretofore; and living so muchamong books, he was insensibly attracted to those silent companions, that speak so eloquently. 

How far the character of the parent may influence the character of thechild the metaphysician must decide. Certainly the character of VivianGrey underwent, at this period of his life, a sensible change. Doubtless, constant communion with a mind highly refined, severelycultivated, and much experienced, cannot but produce a beneficialimpression, even upon a mind formed and upon principles developed: howinfinitely more powerful must the influence of such communion be upon ayouthful heart, ardent, innocent, and unpractised! As Vivian was not tofigure in the microcosm of a public school, a place for which, from histemper, he was almost better fitted than any young genius whom theplaying fields of Eton or the hills of Winton can remember, there wassome difficulty in fixing upon his future Academus. Mr. Grey's twoaxioms were, first, that no one so young as his son should settle in themetropolis, and that Vivian must consequently not have a private tutor;and, secondly, that all private schools were quite worthless; and, therefore, there was every probability of Vivian not receiving anyeducation whatever. 

At length, an exception to axiom second started up in the establishmentof Mr. Dallas. This gentleman was a clergyman, a profound Grecian, and apoor man. He had edited the Alcestis, and married his laundress; lostmoney by his edition, and his fellowship by his match. In a few days thehall of Mr. Grey's London mansion was filled with all sorts ofportmanteaus, trunks, and travelling cases, directed in a boy'ssprawling hand to "Vivian Grey, Esquire, at the Reverend EverardDallas, Burnsley Vicarage, Hants. "

"God bless you, my boy! write to your mother soon, and remember yourJournal. "

CHAPTER III

The rumour of the arrival of "a new fellow" circulated with rapiditythrough the inmates of Burnsley Vicarage, and about fifty young devilswere preparing to quiz the newcomer, when the school-room door opened, and Mr. Dallas, accompanied by Vivian, entered. 

"A dandy, by Jove!" whispered St. Leger Smith. "What a knowing setout!" squeaked Johnson secundus. "Mammy-sick!" growled Barlow primus. This last exclamation was, however, a scandalous libel, for certainly nobeing ever stood in a pedagogue's presence with more perfect sang froid, and with a bolder front, than did, at this moment, Vivian Grey. 

One principle in Mr. Dallas's system was always to introduce a new-comerin school-hours. He was thus carried immediately in medias res, and thecuriosity of his co-mates being in a great degree satisfied at the timewhen that curiosity could not personally annoy him, the new-comer was, of course, much better prepared to make his way when the absence of theruler became a signal for some oral communication with "the arrival. "

However, in the present instance the young savages at Burnsley Vicaragehad caught a Tartar; and in a very few days Vivian Grey was decidedlythe most popular fellow in the school. He was "so dashing! so devilishgood-tempered! so completely up to everything!" The magnates of the landwere certainly rather jealous of his success, but their very sneers borewitness to his popularity. "Cursed puppy, " whispered St. Leger Smith. "Thinks himself knowing, " squeaked Johnson secundus. "Thinks himselfwitty, " growled Barlow primus. 

Notwithstanding this cabal, days rolled on at Burnsley Vicarage only towitness the increase of Vivian's popularity. Although more deficientthan most of his own age in accurate classical attainments, he foundhimself, in talents and various acquirements, immeasurably theirsuperior. And singular is it that at school distinction in such pointsis ten thousand times more admired by the multitude than the mostprofound knowledge of Greek Metres, or the most accurate acquaintancewith the value of Roman coins. Vivian Grey's English verses and VivianGrey's English themes were the subject of universal commendation. Someyoung lads made copies of these productions, to enrich, at the Christmasholidays, their sisters' albums; while the whole school were scribblingembryo prize-poems, epics of twenty lines on "the Ruins of Paestum" and"the Temple of Minerva;" "Agrigentum, " and "the Cascade of Terni. "Vivian's productions at this time would probably have been rejected bythe commonest twopenny publication about town, yet they turned the brainof the whole school; while fellows who were writing Latin Dissertationsand Greek Odes, which might have made the fortune of the ClassicalJournal, were looked on by the multitude as as great dunderheads asthemselves. Such is the advantage which, even in this artificial world, everything that is genuine has over everything that is false and forced. The dunderheads who wrote "good Latin" and "Attic Greek" did it by aprocess by means of which the youngest fellow in the school wasconscious he could, if he chose, attain the same perfection. VivianGrey's verses were unlike anything which had yet appeared in theliterary Annals of Burnsley Vicarage, and that which was quite novel wasnaturally thought quite excellent. 

There is no place in the world where greater homage is paid to talentthan an English school. At a public school, indeed, if a youth of greattalents be blessed with an amiable and generous disposition, he oughtnot to envy the Minister of England. If any captain of Eton or praefectof Winchester be reading these pages, let him dispassionately considerin what situation of life he can rationally expect that it will be inhis power to exercise such influence, to have such opportunities ofobliging others, and be so confident of an affectionate and gratefulreturn. Aye, there's the rub! Bitter thought! that gratitude shouldcease the moment we become men. 

And sure I am that Vivian Grey was loved as ardently and as faithfullyus you might expect from innocent young hearts. His slightaccomplishments were the standard of all perfection, his sayings werethe soul of all good fellowship, and his opinion the guide in any crisiswhich occurred in the monotonous existence of the little commonwealth. And time flew gaily on. 

One winter evening, as Vivian, with some of his particular cronies, werestanding round the school-room fire, they began, as all schoolboys dowhen it grows rather dark and they grow rather sentimental, to talkof HOME. 

"Twelve weeks more, " said Augustus Etherege; "twelve weeks more, and weare free! The glorious day should be celebrated. "

"A feast, a feast!" exclaimed Poynings. 

"A feast is but the work of a night, " said Vivian Grey; "something morestirring for me! What say you to private theatricals?"

The proposition was, of course, received with enthusiasm, and it was notuntil they had unanimously agreed to act that they universallyremembered that acting was not allowed. And then they consulted whetherthey should ask Dallas, and then they remembered that Dallas had beenasked fifty times, and then they "supposed they must give it up;" andthen Vivian Grey made a proposition which the rest were secretly sighingfor, but which they were afraid to make themselves; he proposed thatthey should act without asking Dallas. "Well, then, we'll do it withoutasking him, " said Vivian; "nothing is allowed in this life, andeverything is done: in town there is a thing called the French play, andthat is not allowed, yet my aunt has got a private box there. Trust mefor acting, but what shall we perform?"

This question was, as usual, the fruitful source of jarring opinions. One proposed Othello, chiefly because it would be so easy to black aface with a burnt cork. Another was for Hamlet, solely because he wantedto act the ghost, which he proposed doing in white shorts and anight-cap. A third was for Julius Caesar, because the murder scene wouldbe such fun. 

"No! no!" said Vivian, tired at these various and varying proposals, "this will never do. Out upon Tragedies; let's have a Comedy!"

"A Comedy! a Comedy! oh! how delightful!"

CHAPTER IV

After an immense number of propositions, and an equal number ofrepetitions, Dr. Hoadley's bustling drama was fixed upon. Vivian was toact Ranger, Augustus Etherege was to personate Clarinda, because he wasa fair boy and always blushing; and the rest of the characters foundable representatives. Every half-holiday was devoted to rehearsals, andnothing could exceed the amusement and thorough fun which all thepreparations elicited. All went well; Vivian wrote a pathetic prologueand a witty epilogue. Etherege got on capitally in the mask scene, andPoynings was quite perfect in Jack Maggot. There was, of course, somedifficulty in keeping all things in order, but then Vivian Grey was suchan excellent manager! and then, with infinite tact, the said managerconciliated the Classics, for he allowed St. Leger Smith to select aGreek motto, from the Andromache, for the front of the theatre; andJohnson secundus and Barlow primus were complimented by being allowed toact the chairmen. 

But alas! in the midst of all this sunshine, the seeds of discord anddissension were fast flourishing. Mr. Dallas himself was always soabsorbed in some freshly-imported German commentator that it was a fixedprinciple with him never to trouble himself with anything that concernedhis pupils "out of school hours. " The consequence was, that certainpowers were necessarily delegated to a certain set of beingscalled USHERS. 

The usherian rule had, however, always been comparatively light atBurnsley Vicarage, for the good Dallas, never for a moment entrustingthe duties of tuition to a third person, engaged these deputies merelyas a sort of police, to regulate the bodies, rather than the minds, ofhis youthful subjects. One of the first principles of the new theoryintroduced into the establishment of Burnsley Vicarage by Mr. VivianGrey was, that the ushers were to be considered by the boys as aspecies of upper servants; were to be treated with civility, certainly, as all servants are by gentlemen; but that no further attention was tobe paid them, and that any fellow voluntarily conversing with an usherwas to be cut dead by the whole school. This pleasant arrangement was nosecret to those whom it most immediately concerned, and, of course, rendered Vivian rather a favourite with them. These men had not the tactto conciliate the boy, and were, notwithstanding, too much afraid of hisinfluence in the school to attack him openly; so they waited with thatpatience which insulted beings can alone endure. 

One of these creatures must not be forgotten; his name was Mallett; hewas a perfect specimen of the genuine usher. The monster wore a blackcoat and waistcoat; the residue of his costume was of that mysteriouscolour known by the name of pepper-and-salt. He was a pallid wretch witha pug nose, white teeth, and marked with the small-pox: long, greasy, black hair, and small black, beady eyes. This daemon watched theprogress of the theatrical company with eyes gloating with vengeance. Noattempt had been made to keep the fact of the rehearsal a secret fromthe police; no objection, on their part, had as yet been made; thetwelve weeks diminished to six; Ranger had secretly ordered a dress fromtown, and was to get a steel-handled sword from Fentum's for JackMaggot; and everything was proceeding with delightful success, when onemorning, as Mr. Dallas was apparently about to take his departure, witha volume of Becker's Thucydides under his arm, the respected Dominiestopped, and thus harangued: "I am informed that a great deal is goingon in this family with which it is intended that I shall be keptunacquainted. It is not my intention to name anybody or anything atpresent; but I must say that of late the temper of this family has sadlychanged. Whether there be any seditious stranger among you or not, Ishall not at present even endeavour to discover; but I will warn my oldfriends of their new ones:" and so saying, the Dominie withdrew. 

All eyes were immediately fixed on Vivian, and the faces of the Classicswere triumphant with smiles; those of the manager's particular friends, the Romantics, we may call them, were clouded; but who shall describethe countenance of Mallett? In a moment the school broke up with anagitated and tumultuous uproar. "No stranger!" shouted St. Leger Smith;"no stranger!" vociferated a prepared gang. Vivian's friends weresilent, for they hesitated to accept for their leader the insultingtitle. Those who were neither Vivian's friends nor in the secret, weakcreatures who side always with the strongest, immediately swelled theinsulting chorus of Mr. St. Leger Smith. That worthy, emboldened by hissuccess and the smiles of Mallett, contained himself no longer: "Downwith the manager!" he cried. His satellites chorussed. But now Vivianrushed forward. "Mr. Smith, I thank you for being so definite; takethat!" and he struck Smith with such force that the Cleon staggered andfell; but Smith instantly recovered, and a ring was instantly formed. Toa common observer, the combatants were unequally matched; for Smith wasa burly, big-limbed animal, alike superior to Grey in years andstrength. But Vivian, though delicate in frame and more youthful, wasfull his match in spirit, and, thanks to being a Cockney! ten times hismatch in science. He had not built a white great coat or drunk blue ruinat Ben Burn's for nothing!

Oh! how beautifully he fought! how admirably straight he hit! and hisstops quick as lightning! and his followings up confounding hisadversary with their painful celerity! Smith alike puzzled and punished, yet proud in his strength, hit round, and wild, and false, and foamedlike a furious elephant. For ten successive rounds the result wasdubious; but in the eleventh the strength of Smith began to fail him, and the men were more fairly matched. "Go it, Ranger! go it, Ranger!"halloed the Greyites; "No stranger! no stranger!" eagerly bawled themore numerous party. "Smith's floored, by Jove!" exclaimed Poynings, whowas Grey's second. "At it again! at it again!" exclaimed all. And now, when Smith must certainly have given in, suddenly stepped forward Mr. Mallett, accompanied by--Dallas!

"How, Mr. Grey! No answer, sir; I understand that you have always ananswer ready. I do not quote Scripture lightly, Mr. Grey; but 'Take heedthat you offend not, even with your tongue. ' Now, sir, to your room. "

When Vivian Grey again joined his companions, he found himself almostuniversally shunned. Etherege and Poynings were the only individuals whomet him with their former frankness. 

"A horrible row, Grey, " said the latter. "After you went, the Doctorharangued the whole school, and swears you have seduced and ruined usall; everything was happiness until you came, &c. Mallett is of courseat the bottom of the whole business: but what can we do? Dallas says youhave the tongue of a serpent, and that he will not trust himself to hearyour defence. Infamous shame! I swear! And now every fellow has got astory against you: some say you are a dandy, others want to know whetherthe next piece performed at your theatre will be 'The Stranger;' as formyself and Etherege, we shall leave in a few weeks, and it does notsignify to us; but what the devil you're to do next half, by Jove, Ican't say. If I were you, I would not return. "

"Not return, eh! but that will I, though; and we shall see who, infuture, can complain of the sweetness of my voice! Ungrateful fools!"

CHAPTER V

The Vacation was over, and Vivian returned to Burnsley Vicarage. Hebowed cavalierly to Mr. Dallas on his arrival, and immediately saunteredup into the school-room, where he found a tolerable quantity of wretcheslooking as miserable as schoolboys who have left their pleasant homesgenerally do for some four-and-twenty hours. "How d'ye do, Grey? Howd'ye do, Grey?" burst from a knot of unhappy fellows, who would havefelt quite delighted had their newly arrived co-mate condescended toentertain them, as usual, with some capital good story fresh from town. But they were disappointed. 

"We can make room for you at the fire, Grey, " said Theophilus

"I thank you, I am not cold. "

"I suppose you know that Poynings and Etherege don't come back, Grey?"

"Everybody knew that last half:" and so he walked on. 

"Grey, Grey!" halloed King, "don't go into the dining-room; Mallett isthere alone, and told us not to disturb him. By Jove, the fellow isgoing in: there will be a greater row this half between Grey and Mallettthan ever. "

Days, the heavy first days of the half, rolled on, and all the citizensof the little commonwealth had returned. 

"What a dull half this will be!" said Eardley; "how one misses Grey'sset! After all, they kept the school alive: Poynings was a first-ratefellow, and Etherege so deuced good-natured! I wonder whom Grey willcrony with this half; have you seen him and Dallas speak together yet?He cut the Doctor quite dead at Greek to-day. "

"Why, Eardley! Eardley! there is Grey walking round playing fields withMallett!" halloed a sawney who was killing the half-holiday by lookingout of the window. 

"The devil! I say, Matthews, whose flute is that? It is a devilishhandsome one!"

"It's Grey's! I clean it for him, " squeaked a little boy. "He gives mesixpence a week!"

"Oh, you sneak!" said one. 

"Cut him over!"

"Roast him!" cried a third. 

"To whom are you going to take the flute?" asked a fourth. 

"To Mallett, " squeaked the little fellow. "Grey lends his flute toMallett every day. "

"Grey lends his flute to Mallett! The deuce he does! So Grey and Mallettare going to crony!"

A wild exclamation burst forth from the little party; and away each ofthem ran, to spread in all directions the astounding intelligence. 

If the rule of the ushers had hitherto been light at Burnsley Vicarage, its character was materially changed during this half-year. Thevexatious and tyrannical influence of Mallett was now experienced in alldirections, meeting and interfering with the comforts of the boys inevery possible manner. His malice was accompanied, too, by a tact whichcould not have been expected from his vulgar mind, and which, at thesame time, could not have been produced by the experience of one in hissituation. It was quite evident to the whole community that his conductwas dictated by another mind, and that that mind was one versed in allthe secrets of a school-boy's life, and acquainted with all the workingsof a school-boy's mind: a species of knowledge which no pedagogue in theworld ever yet attained. There was no difficulty in discovering whosewas the power behind the throne. Vivian Grey was the perpetual companionof Mallett in his walks, and even in the school; he shunned also theconverse of every one of the boys, and did not affect to conceal thathis quarrel was universal. Superior power, exercised by a superior mind, was for a long time more than a match even for the united exertions ofthe whole school. If any one complained, Mallett's written answer (andsuch Dallas always required) was immediately ready, explainingeverything in the most satisfactory manner, and refuting every complaintwith the most triumphant spirit. Dallas, of course, supported hisdeputy, and was soon equally detested. This tyranny had continuedthrough a great part of the long half-year, and the spirit of the schoolwas almost broken, when a fresh outrage occurred, of such a nature thatthe nearly enslaved multitude conspired. 

The plot was admirably formed. On the first bell ringing for school, thedoor was to be immediately barred, to prevent the entrance of Dallas. Instant vengeance was then to be taken on Mallett and his companion--thesneak! the spy! the traitor! The bell rang: the door was barred: fourstout fellows seized on Mallett, four rushed to Vivian Grey: but stop:he sprang upon his desk, and, placing his back against the wall, held apistol at the foremost: "Not an inch nearer, Smith, or I fire. Let menot, however, baulk your vengeance on yonder hound: if I could suggestany refinements in torture, they would be at your service. " Vivian Greysmiled, while the horrid cries of Mallett indicated that the boys were"roasting" him. He then walked to the door and admitted the barred-outDominie. Silence was restored. There was an explanation and no defence;and Vivian Grey was expelled. 

CHAPTER VI

Vivian was now seventeen; and the system of private education having sodecidedly failed, it was resolved that he should spend the yearsantecedent to his going to Oxford at home. Nothing could be a greaterfailure than the first weeks of his "course of study. " He wasperpetually violating the sanctity of the drawing-room by the presenceof Scapulas and Hederics, and outraging the propriety of morningvisitors by bursting into his mother's boudoir with lexiconsand slippers. 

"Vivian, my dear, " said his father to him one day, "this will never do;you must adopt some system for your studies, and some locality for yourreading. Have a room to yourself; set apart certain hours in the dayfor your books, and allow no consideration on earth to influence you toviolate their sacredness; and above all, my dear boy, keep your papersin order. I find a dissertation on 'The Commerce of Carthage' stuck inmy large paper copy of 'Dibdin's Decameron, ' and an 'Essay on theMetaphysics of Music' (pray, my dear fellow, beware of magazinescribbling) cracking the back of Montfaucon's 'Monarchie. '"

Vivian apologised, promised, protested, and finally sat down "TO READ. "He had laid the foundations of accurate classical knowledge under thetuition of the learned Dallas; and twelve hours a day andself-banishment from society overcame, in twelve months, the ill effectsof his imperfect education. The result of this extraordinary exertionmay be conceived. At the end of twelve months, Vivian, like many otheryoung enthusiasts, had discovered that all the wit and wisdom of theworld were concentrated in some fifty antique volumes, and he treatedthe unlucky moderns with the most sublime spirit of hauteur imaginable. A chorus in the Medea, that painted the radiant sky of Attica, disgustedhim with the foggy atmosphere of Great Britain; and while Mrs. Grey wasmeditating a visit to Brighton, her son was dreaming of the gulf ofSalamis. The spectre in the Persae was his only model for a ghost, andthe furies in the Orestes were his perfection of tragical machinery. 

Most ingenious and educated youths have fallen into the same error, butfew have ever carried such feelings to the excess that Vivian Grey did;for while his mind was daily becoming more enervated under the beautifulbut baneful influence of Classic Reverie, the youth lighted upon PLATO. 

Wonderful is it that while the whole soul of Vivian Grey seemedconcentrated and wrapped in the glorious pages of the Athenian; while, with keen and almost inspired curiosity, he searched, and followed up, and meditated upon, the definite mystery, the indefinite development;while his spirit alternately bowed in trembling and in admiration, as heseemed to be listening to the secrets of the Universe revealed in theglorious melodies of an immortal voice; wonderful is it, I say, that thewriter, the study of whose works appeared to the young scholar, in therevelling of his enthusiasm, to be the sole object for which man wasborn and had his being, was the cause by which Vivian Grey was savedfrom being all his life a dreaming scholar. 

Determined to spare no exertions, and to neglect no means, by which hemight enter into the very penetralia of his mighty master's meaning, Vivian determined to attack the latter Platonists. These were a race ofmen, of whose existence he knew merely by the references to theirproductions which were sprinkled in the commentaries of his "besteditions. " In the pride of boyish learning, Vivian had limited hislibrary to Classics, and the proud leaders of the later schools did notconsequently grace his diminutive bookcase. In this dilemma he flew tohis father, and confessed by his request that his favourites were notall-sufficient. 

"Father! I wish to make myself master of the latter Platonists. I wantPlotinus, and Porphyry, and Iamblichus, and Syrirnus, and MaximusTyrius, and Proclus, and Hierocles, and Sallustius, and Damascius. "

Mr. Grey stared at his son, and laughed. 

"My dear Vivian! are you quite convinced that the authors you ask forare all pure Platonists? or have not some of them placed the great endrather in practical than theoretic virtue, and thereby violated thefirst principles of your master? which would be shocking. Are you sure, too, that these gentlemen have actually 'withdrawn the sacred veil, which covers from profane eyes the luminous spectacles?' Are you quiteconvinced that every one of these worthies lived at least five hundredyears after the great master? for I need not tell so profound aPlatonist as yourself that it was not till that period that evenglimpses of the great master's meaning were discovered. Strange! thatTIME should alike favour the philosophy of theory and the philosophy offacts. Mr. Vivian Grey, benefiting, I presume, by the lapse of furthercenturies, is about to complete the great work which Proclus andPorphyry commenced. "

"My dear sir! you are pleased to be amusing this morning. "

"My dear boy! I smile, but not with joy. Sit down, and let us have alittle conversation together. Father and son, and father and son on suchterms as we are, should really communicate oftener together than we do. It has been, perhaps, my fault; it shall not be so again. "

"My dear sir!"

"Nay, nay, it shall be my fault now. Whose it shall be in future, Vivian, time will show. My dear Vivian, you have now spent upwards of ayear under this roof, and your conduct has been as correct as the mostrigid parent might require. I have not wished to interfere with theprogress of your mind, and I regret it. I have been negligent, but notwilfully so. I do regret it; because, whatever may be your powers, Vivian, I at least have the advantage of experience. I see you smile ata word which I so often use. Well, well, were I to talk to you for ever, you would not understand what I mean by that single word. The time willcome when you will deem that single word everything. Ardent youths intheir closets, Vivian, too often fancy that they are peculiar beings;and I have no reason to believe that you are an exception to the generalrule. In passing one whole year of your life, as you have done, youdoubtless imagine that you have been spending your hours in a mannerwhich no others have done before. Trust me, my boy, thousands have donethe same; and, what is of still more importance, thousands are doing, and will do, the same. Take the advice of one who has committed as many, ay more, follies than yourself; but who would bless the hour that he hadbeen a fool if his experience might be of benefit to his beloved son. "

"My father!"

"Nay, don't agitate yourself; we are consulting together. Let us seewhat is to be done. Try to ascertain, when you are alone, what may bethe chief objects of your existence in this world. I want you to take notheological dogmas for granted, nor to satisfy your doubts by ceasing tothink; but, whether we are in this world in a state of probation foranother, or whether we cease altogether when we cease to breathe, humanfeelings tell me that we have some duties to perform; to our fellowcreatures, to our friends, to ourselves. Pray tell me, my dear boy, whatpossible good your perusal of the latter Platonists can produce toeither of these three interests? I trust that my child is not one ofthose who look with a glazed eye on the welfare of their fellow-men, andwho would dream away an useless life by idle puzzles of the brain;creatures who consider their existence as an unprofitable mystery, andyet are afraid to die. You will find Plotinus in the fourth shelf of thenext room, Vivian. "

CHAPTER VII

In England, personal distinction is the only passport to the society ofthe great. Whether this distinction arise from fortune, family, ortalent, is immaterial; but certain it is, to enter into high society, aman must either have blood, a million, or a genius. 

The reputation of Mr. Grey had always made him an honoured guest amongthe powerful and the great. It was for this reason that he had alwaysbeen anxious that his son should be at home as little as possible; forhe feared for a youth the fascination of London society. Although busiedwith his studies, and professing "not to visit, " Vivian could not avoidoccasionally finding himself in company in which boys should never beseen; and, what was still worse, from a certain social spirit, anindefinable tact with which Nature had endowed him, this boy of nineteenbegan to think this society delightful. Most persons of his age wouldhave passed through the ordeal with perfect safety; they would haveentered certain rooms, at certain hours, with stiff cravats, and Nugeecoats, and black velvet waistcoats; and after having annoyed all thosewho condescended to know of their existence, with their red hands andtheir white gloves, they would have retired to a corner of the room, andconversationised with any stray four-year-older not yet sent to bed. 

But Vivian Grey was a graceful, lively lad, with just enough of dandyismto preserve him from committing gaucheries, and with a devil of atongue. All men will agree with me that the only rival to be feared by aman of spirit is a clever boy. What makes them so popular with women itis difficult to explain; however, Lady Julia Knighton, and Mrs. FrankDelmington, and half a score of dames of fashion, were alwayspatronising our hero, who found an evening spent in their society notaltogether dull, for there is no fascination so irresistible to a boy asthe smile of a married woman. Vivian had passed such a recluse life forthe last two years and a half, that he had quite forgotten that he wasonce considered an agreeable fellow; and so, determined to discover whatright he ever had to such a reputation, he dashed into all theseamourettes in beautiful style. 

But Vivian Grey was a young and tender plant in a moral hothouse. Hischaracter was developing itself too soon. Although his evenings were nowgenerally passed in the manner we have alluded to, this boy was, duringthe rest of the day, a hard and indefatigable student; and having nowgot through an immense series of historical reading, he had stumbledupon a branch of study certainly the most delightful in the world; but, for a boy, as certainly the most perilous, THE STUDY OF POLITICS. 

And now everything was solved! the inexplicable longings of his soul, which had so often perplexed him, were at length explained. The want, the indefinable want, which he had so constantly experienced, was atlast supplied; the grand object on which to bring the powers of his mindto bear and work was at last provided. He paced his chamber in anagitated spirit, and panted for the Senate. 

It may be asked, what was the evil of all this? and the reader will, perhaps, murmur something about an honourable spirit and youthfulambition. The evil was great. The time drew nigh for Vivian to leave hishome for Oxford, that is, for him to commence his long preparation forentering on his career in life. And now this person, who was about to bea pupil, this stripling, who was going to begin his education, had allthe desires of a matured mind, of an experienced man, but withoutmaturity and without experience. He was already a cunning reader ofhuman hearts; and felt conscious that his was a tongue which was born toguide human beings. The idea of Oxford to such an individual wasan insult!

CHAPTER VIII

We must endeavour to trace, if possible, more accurately the workings ofVivian Grey's mind at this period of his existence. In the plenitude ofhis ambition, he stopped one day to enquire in what manner he couldobtain his magnificent ends. 

"The Bar: pooh! law and bad jokes till we are forty; and then, with themost brilliant success, the prospect of gout and a coronet. Besides, tosucceed as an advocate, I must be a great lawyer; and, to be a greatlawyer, I must give up my chance of being a great man. The Services inwar time are fit only for desperadoes (and that truly am I); but, inpeace, are fit only for fools. The Church is more rational. Let me see:I should certainly like to act Wolsey; but the thousand and one chancesagainst me! And truly I feel my destiny should not be on a chance. WereI the son of a millionaire, or a noble, I might have all. Curse on mylot! that the want of a few rascal counters, and the possession of alittle rascal blood, should mar my fortunes!"

Such was the general tenor of Vivian's thoughts, until, musing himselfalmost into madness, he at last made, as he conceived, the GrandDiscovery. Riches are Power, says the Economist; and is not Intellect?asks the Philosopher. And yet, while the influence of the millionaire isinstantly felt in all classes of society, how is it that "Noble Mind" sooften leaves us unknown and unhonoured? Why have there been statesmenwho have never ruled, and heroes who have never conquered? Why haveglorious philosophers died in a garret? and why have there been poetswhose only admirer has been Nature in her echoes? It must be that thesebeings have thought only of themselves, and, constant and elaboratestudents of their own glorious natures, have forgotten or disdained thestudy of all others. Yes! we must mix with the herd; we must enter intotheir feelings; we must humour their weaknesses; we must sympathise withthe sorrows that we do not feel; and share the merriment of fools. Oh, yes! to rule men, we must be men; to prove that we are strong, we mustbe weak; to prove that we are giants, we must be dwarfs; even as theEastern Genie was hid in the charmed bottle. Our wisdom must beconcealed under folly, and our constancy under caprice. 

"I have been often struck by the ancient tales of Jupiter's visits tothe earth. In these fanciful adventures, the god bore no indication ofthe Thunderer's glory; but was a man of low estate, a herdsman, a hind, often even an animal. A mighty spirit has in Tradition, Time's greatmoralist, perused 'the wisdom of the ancients. ' Even in the same spirit, I would explain Jove's terrestrial visitings. For, to govern man, eventhe god appeared to feel as a man; and sometimes as a beast, wasapparently influenced by their vilest passions. Mankind, then, is mygreat game. 

"At this moment, how many a powerful noble wants only wit to be aMinister; and what wants Vivian Grey to attain the same end? Thatnoble's influence. When two persons can so materially assist eachother, why are they not brought together? Shall I, because my birthbaulks my fancy, shall I pass my life a moping misanthrope in an oldchâteau? Supposing I am in contact with this magnifico, am I prepared?Now, let me probe my very soul. Does my cheek blanch? I have the mindfor the conception; and I can perform right skilfully upon the mostsplendid of musical instruments, the human voice, to make thoseconceptions beloved by others. There wants but one thing more: courage, pure, perfect courage; and does Vivian Grey know fear?" He laughed ananswer of bitterest derision. 

CHAPTER IX

Is it surprising that Vivian Grey, with a mind teeming with suchfeelings, should view the approach of the season for his departure toOxford with sentiments of disgust? After hours of bitter meditation, hesought his father; he made him acquainted with his feelings, butconcealed from him his actual views, and dwelt on the misery of beingthrown back in life, at a period when society seemed instinct with aspirit peculiarly active, and when so many openings were daily offeredto the adventurous and the bold. 

"Vivian, " said Mr. Grey, "beware of endeavouring to become a great manin a hurry. One such attempt in ten thousand may succeed: these arefearful odds. Admirer as you are of Lord Bacon, you may perhaps remembera certain parable of his, called 'Memnon, or a youth too forward. ' Ihope you are not going to be one of those sons of Aurora, 'who, puffedup with the glittering show of vanity and ostentation, attempt actionsabove their strength. '

"You talk to me about the peculiarly active spirit of society; if thespirit of society be so peculiarly active, Mr. Vivian Grey should bewarelest it outstrip him. Is neglecting to mature your mind, my boy, exactlythe way to win the race? This is an age of unsettled opinions andcontested principles; in the very measures of our administration, thespeculative spirit of the present day is, to say the least, notimpalpable. Nay, don't start, my dear fellow, and look the veryProsopopeia of Political Economy! I know exactly what you are going tosay; but, if you please, we will leave Turgot and Galileo to Mr. Canning and the House of Commons, or your Cousin Hargrave and hisDebating Society. However, jesting apart, get your hat, and walk with meas far as Evans's, where I have promised to look in, to see the MazarinBible, and we will talk this affair over as we go along. 

"I am no bigot, you know, Vivian. I am not one of those who wish tooppose the application of refined philosophy to the common business oflife. We are, I hope, an improving race; there is room, I am sure, forgreat improvement, and the perfectibility of man is certainly a prettydream. (How well that Union Club House comes out now, since they havemade the opening), but, although we may have steam kitchens, humannature is, I imagine, much the same this moment that we are walking inPall Mall East, as it was some thousand years ago, when as wise men werewalking on the banks of the Ilyssus. When our moral powers increase inproportion to our physical ones, then huzza, for the perfectibility ofman! and respectable, idle loungers like you and I, Vivian, may thenhave a chance of walking in the streets of London without having theirheels trodden upon, a ceremony which I have this moment undergone. Inthe present day we are all studying science, and none of us are studyingourselves. This is not exactly the Socratic process; and as for the[Greek: gnothi seauton] of the more ancient Athenian, that principle isquite out of fashion in the nineteenth century (I believe that's thephrase). Self is the only person whom we know nothing about. 

"But, my dear Vivian, as to the immediate point of our consideration. Inmy library, uninfluenced and uncontrolled by passion or by party, Icannot but see that it is utterly impossible that all that we arewishing and striving for can take place, without some, without muchevil. In ten years' time, perhaps, or less, the fever will havesubsided, and in ten years' time, or less, your intellect will bematured. Mow, my good sir, instead of talking about the active spirit ofthe age, and the opportunities offered to the adventurous and the bold, ought you not rather to congratulate yourself that a great change iseffecting at a period of your life when you need not, individually, besubjected to the possibility of being injured by its operation; and whenyou are preparing your mind to take advantage of the system, when thatsystem is matured and organised?

"As to your request, it assuredly is one of the most modest, and themost rational, that I have lately been favoured with. Although I wouldmuch rather that any influence which I may exercise over your mind, should be the effect of my advice as your friend than of my authority asyour father; still I really feel it my duty, parentally, to protestagainst this crude proposition of yours. However, if you choose to losea term or two, do. Don't blame me, you know, if afterwards yourepent it. "

Here dashed by the gorgeous equipage of Mrs. Ormolu, the wife of a manwho was working all the gold and silver mines in Christendom. "Ah! mydear Vivian, " said Mr. Grey, "it is this which has turned all yourbrains. In this age every one is striving to make an immense fortune, and what is most terrific, at the same time a speedy one. This thirstfor sudden wealth it is which engenders the extravagant conceptions, andfosters that wild spirit of speculation which is now stalking abroad;and which, like the Daemon in Frankenstein, not only fearfully wandersover the whole wide face of nature, but grins in the imagined solitudeof our secret chambers. Oh! my son, it is for the young men of thepresent day that I tremble; seduced by the temporary success of a fewchildren of fortune, I observe that their minds recoil from theprospects which are held forth by the ordinary, and, mark me, by theonly modes of acquiring property, fair trade, and honourableprofessions. It is for you and your companions that I fear. God grantthat there may not be a moral as well as a political disorganisation!God grant that our youth, the hope of our state, may not be lost to us!For, oh! my son, the wisest has said, 'He that maketh haste to be richshall not be innocent. ' Let us step into Clarke's and take an ice. "

BOOK II

CHAPTER I

The Marquess of Carabas started in life as the cadet of a noble family. The earl, his father, like the woodman in the fairy tale, was blessedwith three sons: the first was an idiot, and was destined for theCoronet; the second was a man of business, and was educated for theCommons; the third was a Roué, and was shipped to the Colonies. 

The present Marquess, then the Honourable Sidney Lorraine, prospered inhis political career. He was servile, and pompous, and indefatigable, and loquacious, so whispered the world: his friends hailed him as, atonce, a courtier and a sage, a man of business and an orator. Afterrevelling in his fair proportion of commissionerships, andunder-secretaryships, and the rest of the milk and honey of thepolitical Canaan, the apex of the pyramid of his ambition was at lengthvisible, for Sidney Lorraine became President of a Board, and wriggledinto the adytum of the cabinet. 

At this moment his idiot brother died. To compensate for his loss ofoffice, and to secure his votes, the Earl of Carabas was promoted in thepeerage, and was presented with some magnificent office, meaningnothing; swelling with dignity, and void of duties. As years rolled on, various changes took place in the administration, of which his Lordshipwas once a component part; and the ministry, to their surprise, gettingpopular, found that the command of the Carabas interest was not of suchvital importance to them as heretofore, and so his Lordship was voted abore, and got shelved. Not that his Lordship was bereaved of hissplendid office, or that anything occurred, indeed, by which theuninitiated might have been led to suppose that the beams of hisLordship's consequence were shorn; but the Marquess's secretapplications at the Treasury were no longer listened to, and pertunder-secretaries settled their cravats, and whispered "that the Carabasinterest was gone by. "

The noble Marquess was not insensible to his situation, for he was whatthe world calls ambitious; but the vigour of his faculties had vanishedbeneath the united influence of years and indolence and ill-humour; forhis Lordship, to avoid ennui, had quarrelled with his son, and then, having lost his only friend, had quarrelled with himself. 

Such was the distinguished individual who graced, one day at the latterend of the season of 18--, the classic board of Horace Grey, Esquire. The reader will, perhaps, be astonished, that such a man as his Lordshipshould be the guest of such a man as our hero's father; but the truthis, the Marquess of Carabas had just been disappointed in an attempt onthe chair of the President of the Royal Society, which, for want ofsomething better to do, he was ambitious of filling, and this was aconciliatory visit to one of the most distinguished members of thatbody, and one who had voted against him with particular enthusiasm. TheMarquess, still a politician, was now, as he imagined, securing hishost's vote for a future St. Andrew's day. 

The cuisine of Mr. Grey was superb; for although an enthusiasticadvocate for the cultivation of the mind, he was an equally ardentsupporter of the cultivation of the body. Indeed, the necessarydependence of the sanity of the one on the good keeping of the other, was one of his favourite theories, and one which, this day, he wassupporting with pleasant and facetious reasoning. His Lordship wasdelighted with his new friend, and still more delighted with his newfriend's theory. The Marquess himself was, indeed, quite of the sameopinion as Mr. Grey; for he never made a speech without previouslytaking a sandwich, and would have sunk under the estimates a thousandtimes, had it not been for the juicy friendship of the fruitof Portugal. 

The guests were not numerous. A regius professor of Greek; an officerjust escaped from Sockatoo; a man of science, and two M. P. 's with hisLordship; the host, and Mr. Vivian Grey, constituted the party. Oh, no!there were two others. There was a Mr. John Brown, a fashionable poet, and who, ashamed of his own name, published his melodies under the moreeuphonious and romantic title of "Clarence Devonshire, " and there was aMr. Thomas Smith, a fashionable novelist; that is to say, a person whooccasionally publishes three volumes, one half of which contain theadventures of a young gentleman in the country, and the other volume anda half the adventures of the same young gentleman in the metropolis; asort of writer, whose constant tattle about beer and billiards, andeating soup, and the horribility of "committing" puns, give truly anadmirable and accurate idea of the conversation of the refined societyof the refined metropolis of Great Britain. These two last gentlemenwere "pets" of Mrs. Grey. 

The conversation may be conceived. Each person was of course preparedwith a certain quota of information, without which no man in London ismorally entitled to dine out; and when the quota was expended, theamiable host took the burthen upon his own shoulders, and endeavoured, as the phrase goes, to draw out his guests. 

O London dinners! empty artificial nothings! and that beings can befound, and those too the flower of the land, who, day after day, canact the same parts in the same dull, dreary farce! The officer haddiscoursed sufficiently about "his intimate friend, the Soudan, " andabout the chain armour of the Sockatoo cuirassiers; and one of theM. P. 's, who was in the Guards, had been defeated in a ridiculous attemptto prove that the breast-plates of the household troops of Great Britainwere superior to those of the household troops of Timtomtoo. Mrs. Grey, to whose opinion both parties deferred, gave it in favour of the Soudan. And the man of science had lectured about a machine which might destroyfifteen square feet of human beings in a second, and yet be carried inthe waistcoat pocket. And the classic, who, for a professor, was quite aman of the world, had the latest news of the new Herculaneum process, and was of opinion that, if they could but succeed in unrolling acertain suspicious-looking scroll, we might be so fortunate as topossess a minute treatise on &c. , &c. , &c. In short, all had said theirsay. There was a dead pause, and Mrs. Grey looked at her husband, and rose. 

How singular it is, that when this move takes place every one appears tobe relieved, and yet every one of any experience must be quite awarethat the dead bore work is only about to commence. Howbeit, all filledtheir glasses, and the peer, at the top of the table, began to talkpolitics. I am sure I cannot tell what the weighty subject was that wasbroached by the ex-minister; for I did not dine with Grey that day, andhad I done so, I should have been equally ignorant, for I am a dull man, and always sleep at dinner. However, the subject was political, theclaret flew round, and a stormy argument commenced. The Marquess wasdecidedly wrong, and was sadly badgered by the civil M. P. And theprofessor. The host, who was of no party, supported his guest as long aspossible, and then left him to his fate. The military M. P. Fled to thedrawing-room to philander with Mrs. Grey; and the man of science and theAfrican had already retired to the intellectual idiocy of a May Fair "AtHome. " The novelist was silent, for he was studying a scene; and thepoet was absent, for he was musing a sonnet. 

The Marquess refuted, had recourse to contradiction, and was too acute aman to be insensible to the forlornness of his situation; when, at thismoment, a voice proceeded from the end of the table, from a younggentleman, who had hitherto preserved a profound silence, but whosesilence, if the company were to have judged from the tones of hisvoice, and the matter of his communication, did not altogether proceedfrom a want of confidence in his own abilities. "In my opinion, " saidMr. Vivian Grey, as he sat lounging in his father's vacated seat, "in myopinion his Lordship has been misunderstood; and it is, as is generallythe case, from a slight verbal misconception in the commencement of thisargument, that the whole of this difference arises. "

The eyes of the Marquess sparkled, and the mouth of the Marquess wasclosed. His Lordship was delighted that his reputation might yet besaved; but as he was not perfectly acquainted in what manner thatsalvation was to be effected, he prudently left the battle to hisyouthful champion. 

Mr. Vivian Grey proceeded with the utmost sang froid; he commented uponexpressions, split and subtilised words, insinuated opinions, andfinally quoted a whole passage of Bolingbroke to prove that the opinionof the most noble the Marquess of Carabas was one of the soundest, wisest, and most convincing of opinions that ever was promulgated bymortal man. The tables were turned, the guests looked astounded, theMarquess settled his ruffles, and perpetually exclaimed, "Exactly what Imeant!" and his opponents, full of wine and quite puzzled, gave in. 

It was a rule with Vivian Grey never to advance any opinion as his own. He had been too deep a student of human nature, not to be aware that theopinions of a boy of twenty, however sound, and however correct, standbut a poor chance of being adopted by his elder, though feebler, fellow-creatures. In attaining any end, it was therefore his systemalways to advance his opinion as that of some eminent and consideredpersonage; and when, under the sanction of this name, the opinion oradvice was entertained and listened to, Vivian Grey had no fear that hecould prove its correctness and its expediency. He possessed also thesingular faculty of being able to improvise quotations, that is, hecould unpremeditatedly clothe his conceptions in language characteristicof the style of any particular author; and Vivian Grey was reputed inthe world as having the most astonishing memory that ever existed; forthere was scarcely a subject of discussion in which he did not gain thevictory, by the great names he enlisted on his side of the argument. Hisfather was aware of the existence of this dangerous faculty, and hadoften remonstrated with his son on the use of it. On the presentoccasion, when the buzz had somewhat subsided, Mr. Grey looked smilingto his son, and said, "Vivian, my dear, can you tell me in what work ofBolingbroke I can find the eloquent passage you have just quoted?"

"Ask Mr. Hargrave, sir, " replied the son, with perfect coolness; then, turning to the member, "You know, Mr. Hargrave, you are reputed the mostprofound political student in the House, and more intimately acquaintedthan any other person with the works of Bolingbroke. "

Mr. Hargrave knew no such thing; but he was a weak man, and, seduced bythe compliment, he was afraid to prove himself unworthy of it byconfessing his ignorance of the passage. 

Coffee was announced. 

Vivian did not let the peer escape him in the drawing-room. He soonmanaged to enter into conversation with him; and certainly the Marquessof Carabas never found a more entertaining companion. Vivian discoursedon a new Venetian liqueur, and taught the Marquess how to mull Moselle, an operation of which the Marquess had never heard (as who has?); andthen the flood of anecdotes, and little innocent personalities, and thecompliments so exquisitely introduced, that they scarcely appeared to becompliments; and the voice so pleasant, and conciliating, and thequotation from the Marquess's own speech; and the wonderful art of whichthe Marquess was not aware, by which, during all this time, the lively, chattering, amusing, elegant conversationist, so full of scandal, politics, and cookery, did not so much appear to be Mr. Vivian Grey asthe Marquess of Carabas himself. 

"Well, I must be gone, " said the fascinated noble; "I really have notfelt in such spirits for some time; I almost fear I have been vulgarenough to be amusing, eh! eh! eh! but you young men are sad fellows, eh!eh! eh! Don't forget to call on me; good evening! and Mr. Vivian Grey!Mr. Vivian Grey!" said his lordship, returning, "you will not forget thereceipt you promised me for making tomahawk punch. "

"Certainly not, my Lord, " said the young man; "only it must be inventedfirst, " thought Vivian, as he took up his light to retire. "But nevermind, never mind;

 Chapeau bas! chapeau bas! Glorie au Marquis de Carabas!!"

CHAPTER II

A few days after the dinner at Mr. Grey's, as the Marquess of Carabaswas sitting in his library, and sighing, in the fulness of his ennui, ashe looked on his large library table, once triply covered with officialcommunications, now thinly besprinkled with a stray parliamentary paperor two, his steward's accounts, and a few letters from some grumblingtenants, Mr. Vivian Grey was announced. 

"I fear I am intruding on your Lordship, but I really could not refrainfrom bringing you the receipt I promised. "

"Most happy to see ye, most happy to see ye. "

"This is exactly the correct receipt, my Lord. TO EVERY TWO BOTTLES OFSTILL CHAMPAGNE, ONE PINT OF CURAÇOA. " The Peer's eyes glistened, andhis companion proceeded; "ONE PINT OF CURAÇOA; CATCH THE AROMA OF APOUND OF GREEN TEA, AND DASH THE WHOLE WITH GLENLIVET. "

"Splendid!" ejaculated the Marquess. 

"The nice point, however, which it is impossible to define in a receipt, is catching the aroma. What sort of a genius is your Lordship's chêf?"

"First-rate! Laporte _is_ a genius. "

"Well, my Lord! I shall be most happy to superintend the firstconcoction for you; and remember particularly, " said Vivian, rising, "remember it must be iced. "

"Certainly, my dear fellow; but pray don't think of going yet. "

"I am very sorry, my Lord; but such a pressure of engagements; yourLordship's kindness is so great, and, really, I fear, that at thismoment especially, your Lordship can scarcely be in a humour for mytrifling. "

"Why this moment especially, Mr. Vivian Grey?"

"Oh, my Lord! I am perfectly aware of your Lordship's talents forbusiness; but still I had conceived, that the delicate situation inwhich your Lordship is now placed, requiring such anxiousattention such--"

"Delicate situation! anxious attention! why man! you speak riddles. Icertainly have a great deal of business to transact: people are soobstinate, or so foolish, they will consult me, certainly; and certainlyI feel it my duty, Mr. Vivian Grey; I feel it the duty, sir of everyPeer in this happy country (here his Lordship got parliamentary): yes, sir, I feel it due to my character, to my family, to, to, to assist withmy advice all those who think fit to consult me. " Splendid peroration!

"Oh, my Lord!" carelessly remarked Vivian, "I thought it was a mere ondit. "

"Thought what, my dear sir? you really quite perplex me. "

"I mean to say, my Lord; I, I thought it was impossible the overtureshad been made. "

"Overtures, Mr. Vivian Grey?"

"Yes, my Lord! Overtures; has not your Lordship seen the _Post_. But Iknew it was impossible; I said so, I--"

"Said what, Mr. Vivian Grey?"

"Said that the whole paragraph was unfounded. "

"Paragraph! what paragraph?" and his Lordship rose, and rang the librarybell with vehemence: "Sadler, bring me the _Morning Post_. "

The servant entered with the paper. Mr. Vivian Grey seized it from hishands before it reached the Marquess, and glancing his eye over it withthe rapidity of lightning, doubled up the sheet in a convenient readableform, and pushing it into his Lordship's hands, exclaimed, "There, myLord! there, that will explain all. "

His Lordship read:

"We are informed that some alteration in the composition of the presentadministration is in contemplation; Lord Past Century, it is said, willretire; Mr. Liberal Principles will have the--; and Mr. Charlatan Gasthe--. A noble Peer, whose practised talents have already benefited thenation, and who, on vacating his seat in the Cabinet, was elevated inthe Peerage, is reported as having had certain overtures made him, thenature of which may be conceived, but which, under presentcircumstances, it would be indelicate in us to hint at. "

It would have been impossible for a hawk to watch its quarry with eyesof more fixed and anxious earnestness than did Vivian Grey the Marquessof Carabas, as his Lordship's eyes wandered over the paragraph. Viviandrew his chair close to the table opposite to the Marquess, and when theparagraph was read, their eyes met. 

"Utterly untrue, " whispered the Peer, with an agitated voice, and witha countenance which, for a moment, seemed intellectual. 

"But why Mr. Vivian Grey should deem the fact of such overtures havingbeen made 'impossible, ' I confess, astonishes me. "

"Impossible, my Lord!"

"Ay, Mr. Grey, impossible, that was your word. "

"Oh, my Lord! what should I know about these matters?"

"Nay, nay, Mr. Grey, something must have been floating in your mind: whyimpossible, why impossible? Did your father think so?"

"My father! Oh! no, he never thinks about these matters; ours is not apolitical family; I am not sure that he ever looks at a newspaper. "

"But, my dear Mr. Grey, you would not have used the word without somemeaning. Why did you think it impossible? impossible is such a peculiarword. " And here the Marquess looked up with great earnestness to aportrait of himself, which hung over the fire-place. It was one of SirThomas's happiest efforts; but it was not the happiness of the likeness, or the beauty of the painting, which now attracted his Lordship'sattention; he thought only of the costume in which he appeared in thatportrait: the court dress of a Cabinet Minister. "Impossible, Mr. Grey, you must confess, is a very peculiar word, " reiterated his Lordship. 

"I said impossible, my Lord, because I did conceive, that had yourLordship been of a disposition to which such overtures might have beenmade with any probability of success, the Marquess of Carabas would havebeen in a situation which would have precluded the possibility of thoseovertures being made at all. "

"Hah!" and the Marquess nearly started from his seat. 

"Yes, my Lord, I am a young, an inexperienced young man, ignorant of theworld's ways; doubtless I was wrong, but I have much to learn, " and hisvoice faltered; "but I did conceive, that having power at his command, the Marquess of Carabas did not exercise it, merely because he despisedit: but what should I know of such matters, my Lord?"

"Is power a thing so easily to be despised, young man?" asked theMarquess. His eye rested on a vote of thanks from the "Merchants andBankers of London to the Right Honourable Sydney Lorraine, President, &c. , &c. , &c. , " which, splendidly emblazoned, and gilt, and framed, andglazed, was suspended opposite the President's portrait. 

"Oh, no! my Lord, you mistake me, " eagerly burst forth Vivian. "I am nocold-blooded philosopher that would despise that, for which, in myopinion, men, real men, should alone exist. Power! Oh! what sleeplessnights, what days of hot anxiety! what exertions of mind and body! whattravel! what hatred! what fierce encounters! what dangers of allpossible kinds, would I not endure with a joyous spirit to gain it! Butsuch, my Lord, I thought were feelings peculiar to inexperienced youngmen: and seeing you, my Lord, so situated, that you might command alland everything, and yet living as you do, I was naturally led to believethat the object of my adoration was a vain glittering bauble, of whichthose who could possess it, knew the utter worthlessness. "

The Peer sat in a musing mood, playing the Devil's tattoo on the librarytable; at last he raised his eyes, and said in a low whisper, "Are youso certain that I can command all and everything?"

"All and everything! did I say all and everything? Really, my Lord, youscan my expressions so critically! but I see your Lordship is smiling atmy boyish nonsense! and really I feel that I have already wasted toomuch of your Lordship's valuable time, and displayed too much of my ownignorance. "

"My dear sir! I am not aware that I was smiling. "

"Oh! your Lordship is so very kind. "

"But, my dear sir! you are really labouring under a great mistake. I amdesirous, I am particularly desirous, of having your opinion uponthis subject. "

"My opinion, my Lord! what should my opinion be, but an echo of thecircle in which I live, but a faithful representation of the feelings ofgeneral society?"

"And, Mr. Grey, I should be glad to know what can possibly be moreinteresting to me than a faithful representation of the feelings ofgeneral society on this subject?"

"The many, my Lord, are not always right. "

"Mr. Grey, the many are not often wrong. Come, my dear sir, do me thefavour of being frank, and let me know why the public is of opinion thatall and everything are in my power, for such, after all, wereyour words. "

"If I did use them, my Lord, it was because I was thinking, as I oftendo, what, after all, in this country is public life? Is it not a racein which the swiftest must surely win the prize; and is not that prizepower? Has not your Lordship treasure? There is your moral steam whichcan work the world. Has not your Lordship's treasure most splendidconsequence, pure blood and aristocratic influence? The Millionaire hasin his possession the seeds of everything, but he must wait for half acentury till his descendant finds himself in your Lordship's state; tillhe is yclept noble, and then he starts fair in the grand course. Allthese advantages your Lordship has apparently at hand, with theadditional advantage (and one, oh! how great!) of having already provedto your country that you know how to rule. "

There was a dead silence, which at length the Marquess broke. "There ismuch in what you say; but I cannot conceal it from myself, I have nowish to conceal it from you; I am not what I was. " O, ambition! art thouthe parent of truth?

"Ah! my Lord!" eagerly rejoined Vivian, "here is the terrible error intowhich you great statesmen have always fallen. Think you not, thatintellect is as much a purchasable article as fine parks and faircastles? With your Lordship's tried and splendid talents, everythingmight be done; but, in my opinion, if, instead of a practised, anexperienced, and wary Statesman, I was now addressing an idiot Earl, Ishould not see that the great end might not equally be consummated. "

"Say you so, my merry man, and how?"

"Why, my Lord: but, but, I feel that I am trespassing on your Lordship'stime, otherwise I think I could show why society is of opinion that yourLordship can do all and everything; how, indeed, your Lordship might, ina very short time, be Prime Minister. "

"No, Mr. Grey; this conversation must be finished. I will just giveorders that we may not be disturbed, and then we shall proceedimmediately. Come, now! your manner takes me, and we shall converse inthe spirit of the most perfect confidence. "

Here, as the Marquess settled at the same time his chair and hiscountenance, and looked as anxious as if Majesty itself were consultinghim on the formation of a ministry, in burst the Marchioness, notwithstanding all the remonstrances, entreaties, threats, andsupplications of Mr. Sadler. 

Her Ladyship had been what they style a splendid woman; that was nowpast, although, with the aid of cashmeres, diamonds, and turbans, hergeneral appearance was still striking. Her Ladyship was not remarkablefor anything save a correct taste for poodles, parrots, and bijouterie, and a proper admiration of Theodore Hook and John Bull. 

"Oh! Marquess, " exclaimed her Ladyship, and a favourite green parrot, which came flying in after its accustomed perch, her Ladyship's leftshoulder, shrieked at the same time in concert, "Oh! Marquess, my poorJulie! You know we have noticed how nervous she has been for some dayspast, and I had just given her a saucer of arrow-root and milk, and sheseemed a little easier, and I said to Miss Graves. 'I really do thinkshe is a leetle better' and Miss Graves said, 'Yes, my Lady, I hope sheis; 'when just as we flattered ourselves that the dear little creaturewas enjoying a quiet sleep, Miss Graves called out, 'Oh, my Lady! myLady! Julie's in a fit!' and when I turned round she was lying on herback, kicking, with her eyes shut. ' And here the Marchioness detectedMr. Grey, and gave him as sublime a stare as might be expected from alady patroness of Almack's. 

"The Marchioness, Mr. Vivian Grey, my love, I assure you we are engagedin a most important, a most--"

"Oh! I would not disturb you for the world, only if you will just tellme what you think ought to be done; leeches, or a warm bath; or shall Isend for Doctor Blue Pill?"

The Marquess looked a little annoyed, as if he wished her Ladyship inher own room again. He was almost meditating a gentle reprimand, vexedthat his grave young friend should have witnessed this frivolousintrusion, when that accomplished stripling, to the astonishment of thefuture minister, immediately recommended "the warm bath, " and thenlectured, with equal rapidity and erudition, on dogs, and their diseasesIn general. 

The Marchioness retired, "easier in her mind about Julie than she hadbeen for some days, " as Vivian assured her "that it was not apoplexy, but only the first symptom of an epidemic. " And as she retired, shemurmured her gratitude gracefully to Julie's young physician. 

"Now, Mr. Grey, " said his Lordship, endeavouring to recover his dignity, "we were discussing the public sentiments you know on a certain point, when this unfortunate interruption--"

Vivian had not much difficulty in collecting his ideas, and heproceeded, not as displeased as his Lordship with the domestic scene. 

"I need not remind your Lordship that the two great parties into whichthis State is divided are apparently very unequally proportioned. YourLordship well knows how the party to which your Lordship is said tobelong: your Lordship knows, I imagine, how that is constituted. We havenothing to do with the other. My Lord, I must speak out. No thinkingman, and such, I trust, Vivian Grey is, no thinking man can for a momentsuppose, that your Lordship's heart is very warm in the cause of aparty, which, for I will not mince my words, has betrayed you. How isit, it is asked by thinking men, how is it that the Marquess of Carabasis the tool of a faction?"

The Marquess breathed aloud, "They say so, do they?"

"Why, my Lord, listen even to your servants in your own hall, need I saymore? How, then! is this opinion true? Let us look to your conduct tothe party to which you are said to belong. Your votes are theirs, yourinfluence is theirs; and for all this, what return, my Lord Marquess, what return? My Lord, I am not rash enough to suppose, that yourLordship, alone and unsupported, can make yourself the arbiter of thiscountry's destinies. It would be ridiculous to entertain such an ideafor a second. The existence of such a man would not be endured by thenation for a second. But, my Lord, union is strength. Nay, my Lord, start not; I am not going to advise you to throw yourself into the armsof opposition; leave such advice for greenhorns. I am not going to adopta line of conduct, which would, for a moment, compromise the consistencyof your high character; leave such advice for fools. My Lord, it is topreserve your consistency, it is to vindicate your high character, it isto make the Marquess of Carabas perform the duties which societyrequires from him, that I, Vivian Grey, a member of that society, and anhumble friend of your Lordship, speak so boldly. "

"My friend, " said the agitated Peer, "you cannot speak too boldly. Mymind opens to you. I have felt, I have long felt, that I was not what Iought to be, that I was not what society requires me to be; but where isyour remedy? what is the line of conduct that I should pursue?"

"The remedy, my Lord! I never conceived, for a moment, that there wasany doubt of the existence of means to attain all and everything. Ithink that was your Lordship's phrase. I only hesitated as to theexistence of the inclination on the part of your Lordship. "

"You cannot doubt it now, " said the Peer, in a low voice; and then hisLordship looked anxiously round the room, as if he feared that there hadbeen some mysterious witness to his whisper. 

"My Lord, " said Vivian, and he drew his chair close to the Marquess, "the plan is shortly this. There are others in a similar situation withyourself. All thinking men know, your Lordship knows still better, thatthere are others equally influential, equally ill-treated. How is itthat I see no concert, among these individuals? How is it that, jealousof each other, or each trusting that he may ultimately prove anexception to the system of which he is a victim; how is it, I say, thatyou look with cold hearts on each other's situation? My Lord Marquess, it is at the head of these that I would place you, it is these that Iwould have act with you; and this is the union which is strength. "

"You are right, you are right; there is Courtown, but we do not speak;there is Beaconsfield, but we are not intimate: but much might be done. "

"My Lord, you must not be daunted at a few difficulties, or at a littleexertion. But as for Courtown, or Beaconsfield, or fifty other offendedmen, if it can be shown to them that their interest is to be yourLordship's friend, trust me, that ere six months are over, they willhave pledged their troth. Leave all this to me, give me your Lordship'sname, " said Vivian, whispering most earnestly in the Marquess's ear, andlaying his hand upon his Lordship's arm; "give me your Lordship's name, and your Lordship's influence, and I will take upon myself the wholeorganisation of the Carabas party. "

"The Carabas party! Ah! we must think more of this. "

The Marquess's eyes smiled with triumph, as he shook Vivian cordially bythe hand, and begged him to call upon him on the morrow. 

CHAPTER III

The intercourse between the Marquess and Vivian after this interview wasconstant. No dinner-party was thought perfect at Carabas House withoutthe presence of the young gentleman; and as the Marchioness wasdelighted with the perpetual presence of an individual whom she couldalways consult about Julie, there was apparently no domestic obstacle toVivian's remaining in high favour. 

The Earl of Eglamour, the only child in whom were concentrated all thehopes of the illustrious House of Lorraine, was in Italy. The onlyremaining member of the domestic circle who was wanting was theHonourable Mrs. Felix Lorraine, the wife of the Marquess's youngerbrother. This lady, exhausted by the gaiety of the season, had left townsomewhat earlier than she usually did, and was inhaling fresh air, andstudying botany, at the magnificent seat of the Carabas family, ChâteauDesir, at which splendid place Vivian was to pass the summer. 

In the meantime all was sunshine with Vivian Grey. His noble friend andhimself were in perpetual converse, and constantly engaged in deepconsultation. As yet, the world knew nothing, except that, according tothe Marquess of Carabas, "Vivian Grey was the most astonishingly cleverand prodigiously accomplished fellow that ever breathed;" and, as theMarquess always added, "resembled himself very much when he was young. "

But it must not be supposed that Vivian was to all the world thefascinating creature that he was to the Marquess of Carabas. Manycomplained that he was reserved, silent, satirical, and haughty. But thetruth was, Vivian Grey often asked himself, "Who is to be my enemyto-morrow?" He was too cunning a master of the human mind, not to beaware of the quicksands upon which all greenhorns strike; he knew toowell the danger of unnecessary intimacy. A smile for a friend, and asneer for the world, is the way to govern mankind, and such was themotto of Vivian Grey. 

CHAPTER IV

How shall we describe Château Desir, that place fit for all princes? Inthe midst of a park of great extent, and eminent for scenery, as variedas might please nature's most capricious lover; in the midst of greenlawns and deep winding glens, and cooling streams, and wild forest, andsoft woodland, there was gradually formed an elevation, on which wassituate a mansion of great size, and of that bastard, but picturesquestyle of architecture, called the Italian Gothic. The date of itserection was about the middle of the sixteenth century. You entered by anoble gateway, in which the pointed style still predominated; but invarious parts of which, the Ionic column, and the prominent keystone, and other creations of Roman architecture, intermingled with theexpiring Gothic, into a large quadrangle, to which the square casementwindows, and the triangular pediments or gable ends supplying the placeof battlements, gave a varied and Italian feature. In the centre of thecourt, from a vast marble basin, the rim of which was enriched by asplendidly sculptured lotus border, rose a marble group representingAmphitrite with her marine attendants, whose sounding shells and coralsceptres sent forth their subject element in sparkling showers. Thiswork, the chef d'oeuvre celebrated artist of Vicenza, had been purchasedby Valerian, first Lord Carabas, who having spent the greater part ofhis life as the representative of his monarch at the Ducal Court ofVenice, at length returned to his native country; and in the creation ofChâteau Desir endeavoured to find some consolation for the loss of hisbeautiful villa on the banks of the Adige. 

Over the gateway there rose a turreted tower, the small square window ofwhich, notwithstanding its stout stanchions, illumined the muniment roomof the House of Carabas. In the spandrils of the gateway and in manyother parts of the building might be seen the arms of the family; whilethe tall twisted stacks of chimneys, which appeared to spring from allparts of the roof, were carved and built in such curious and quaintdevices that they were rather an ornament than an excrescence. When youentered the quadrangle, you found one side solely occupied by the oldhall, the huge carved rafters of whose oak roof rested on corbels of thefamily supporters against the walls. These walls were of stone, butcovered half-way from the ground with a panelling of curiously-carvedoak; whence were suspended, in massy frames, the family portraits, painted by Dutch and Italian artists. Near the dais, or upper part ofthe hall, there projected an oriel window, which, as you beheld, youscarcely knew what most to admire, the radiancy of its painted panes orthe fantastic richness of Gothic ornament, which was profusely lavishedin every part of its masonry. Here too the Gothic pendent and the Gothicfan-work were intermingled with the Italian arabesques, which, at thetime of the building of the Château, had been recently introduced intoEngland by Hans Holbein and John of Padua. 

How wild and fanciful are those ancient arabesques! Here at ChâteauDesir, in the panelling of the old hall, might you see fantasticscrolls, separated by bodies ending in termini, and whose headssupported the Ionic volute, while the arch, which appeared to springfrom these capitals, had, for a keystone, heads more monstrous thanthose of the fabled animals of Ctesias; or so ludicrous, that you forgotthe classic griffin in the grotesque conception of the Italian artist. Here was a gibbering monkey, there a grinning pulcinello; now you vieweda chattering devil, which might have figured in the "Temptation of St. Anthony;" and now a mournful, mystic, bearded countenance, which mighthave flitted in the back scene of a "Witches' Sabbath. "

A long gallery wound through the upper story of two other sides of thequadrangle, and beneath were the show suite of apartments with a sightof which the admiring eyes of curious tourists were occasionallydelighted. 

The grey stone walls of this antique edifice were, in many places, thickly covered with ivy and other parasitical plants, the deep green ofwhose verdure beautifully contrasted with the scarlet glories of thepyrus japonica, which gracefully clustered round the windows of thelower chambers. The mansion itself was immediately surrounded bynumerous ancient forest trees. There was the elm with its rich branchesbending down like clustering grapes; there was the wide-spreading oakwith its roots fantastically gnarled; there was the ash, with its smoothbark and elegant leaf; and the silver beech, and the gracile birch; andthe dark fir, affording with its rough foliage a contrast to the trunksof its more beautiful companions, or shooting far above their branches, with the spirit of freedom worthy of a rough child of the mountains. 

Around the Castle were extensive pleasure-grounds, which realised theromance of the "Gardens of Verulam. " And truly, as you wandered throughtheir enchanting paths there seemed no end to their various beauties, and no exhaustion of their perpetual novelty. Green retreats succeededto winding walks; from the shady berçeau you vaulted on the nobleterrace; and if, for an instant, you felt wearied by treading the velvetlawn, you might rest in a mossy cell, while your mind was soothed by thesoft music of falling waters. Now your curious eyes were greeted byOriental animals, basking in a sunny paddock; and when you turned fromthe white-footed antelope and the dark-eyed gazelle, you viewed anaviary of such extent, that within its trellised walls the imprisoned, songsters could build, in the free branches of a tree, theirnatural nests. 

"O fair scene!" thought Vivian Grey, as he approached, on a finesummer's afternoon, the splendid Château, "O fair scene! doubly fair tothose who quit for thee the thronged and agitated city. And can it be, that those who exist within this enchanted domain, can think of anythingbut sweet air, and do aught but revel in the breath of perfumedflowers?" And here he gained the garden-gate: so he stopped hissoliloquy, and gave his horse to his groom. 

CHAPTER V

The Marquess had preceded Vivian in his arrival about three or fourdays, and of course, to use the common phrase, the establishment "wasquite settled. " It was, indeed, to avoid the possibility of witnessingthe domestic arrangements of a nobleman in any other point of view savethat of perfection, that Vivian had declined accompanying his noblefriend to the Château. Mr. Grey, junior, was an epicurean, and allepicureans will quite agree with me, that his conduct on this head wasextremely wise. I am not very nice myself about these matters; but thereare, we all know, a thousand little things that go wrong on the arrivalsof even the best regulated families; and to mention no others, for anyrational being voluntarily to encounter the awful gaping of an Englishfamily, who have travelled one hundred miles in ten successive hours, appears to me to be little short of madness. 

"Grey, my boy, quite happy to see ye! later than I expected; first bellrings in five minutes. Sadler will show you your room. Your father, Ihope, quite well?"

Such was the salutation of the Marquess; and Vivian accordingly retiredto arrange his toilet. 

The first bell rang, and the second bell rang, and Vivian was seated atthe dinner-table. He bowed to the Marchioness, and asked after herpoodle, and gazed with some little curiosity at the vacant chairopposite him. 

"Mrs. Felix Lorraine, Mr. Vivian Grey, " said the Marquess, as a ladyentered the room. 

Now, although we are of those historians who are of opinion that thenature of the personages they celebrate should be developed rather by arecital of their conduct than by a set character on their introduction, it is, nevertheless, incumbent upon us to devote a few lines to the ladywho has just entered, which the reader will be so good as to getthrough, while she is accepting an offer of some white soup; by thismeans he will lose none of the conversation. 

The Honourable Felix Lorraine we have before described as a roué. Afterhaving passed through a career with tolerable credit, which would haveblasted the character of any vulgar personage, Felix Lorraine ended bypigeoning a young nobleman, whom, for that purpose, he had made hisintimate friend. The affair got wind; after due examination, wasproclaimed "too bad, " and the guilty personage was visited with theheaviest vengeance of modern society; he was expelled his club. By thisunfortunate exposure, Mr. Felix Lorraine was obliged to give in a match, which was on the tapis, with the celebrated Miss Mexico, on whosemillion he had determined to set up a character and a chariot, and atthe same time pension his mistress, and subscribe to the Society for theSuppression of Vice. Felix left England for the Continent, and in duetime was made drum-major at Barbadoes, or fiscal at Ceylon, or somethingof that kind. While he loitered in Europe, he made a conquest of theheart of the daughter of some German baron, and after six weeks passedin the most affectionate manner, the happy couple performing theirrespective duties with perfect propriety, Felix left Germany for hiscolonial appointment, and also left his lady behind him. 

Mr. Lorraine had duly and dutifully informed his family of his marriage;and they, as amiably and affectionately, had never answered his letters, which he never expected they would. Profiting by their example, he neveranswered his wife's, who, in due time, to the horror of the Marquess, landed in England, and claimed the protection of her "beloved husband'sfamily. " The Marquess vowed he would never see her; the lady, however, one morning gained admittance, and from that moment she had neverquitted her brother-in-law's roof, and not only had never quitted it, but now made the greatest favour of her staying. 

The extraordinary influence which Mrs. Felix Lorraine possessed wascertainly not owing to her beauty, for the lady opposite Vivian Greyhad apparently no claims to admiration, on the score of her personalqualifications. Her complexion was bad, and her features wereindifferent, and these characteristics were not rendered lessuninterestingly conspicuous by, what makes an otherwise ugly woman quitethe reverse, namely, a pair of expressive eyes; for certainly thisepithet could not be applied to those of Mrs. Felix Lorraine, whichgazed in all the vacancy of German listlessness. 

The lady did bow to Mr. Grey, and that was all; and then she negligentlyspooned her soup, and then, after much parade, sent it away untouched. Vivian was not under the necessity of paying any immediate courtesy tohis opposite neighbour, whose silence, he perceived, was for the nonce, and consequently for him. But the day was hot, and Vivian had beenfatigued by his ride, and the Marquess' champagne was excellent; and so, at last, the floodgates of his speech burst, and talk he did. Hecomplimented her Ladyship's poodle, quoted German to Mrs. FelixLorraine, and taught the Marquess to eat cabinet pudding with Curaçoâsauce (a custom which, by-the-bye, I recommend to all); and then hisstories, his scandal, and his sentiment; stories for the Marquess, scandal for the Marchioness, and sentiment for the Marquess' sister!That lady, who began to find out her man, had no mind to be longersilent, and although a perfect mistress of the English language, beganto articulate a horrible patois, that she might not be mistaken for anEnglishwoman, an occurrence which she particularly dreaded. But now cameher punishment, for Vivian saw the effect which he had produced on Mrs. Felix Lorraine, and that Mrs. Felix Lorraine now wished to produce acorresponding effect upon him, and this he was determined she should notdo; so new stories followed, and new compliments ensued, and finally heanticipated her sentences, and sometimes her thoughts. The lady satsilent and admiring! At last the important meal was finished, and thetime came when good dull English dames retire; but of this habit Mrs. Felix Lorraine did not approve, and although she had not yet prevailedupon Lady Carabas to adopt her ideas on field-days, still, when alone, the good-natured Marchioness had given in, and to save herself fromhearing the din of male voices at a time at which during her whole lifeshe had been unaccustomed to them, the Marchioness of Carabas dozed. Herworthy spouse, who was prevented, by the presence of Mrs. FelixLorraine, from talking politics with Vivian, passed the bottle prettybriskly, and then, conjecturing that "from the sunset we should have afine day to-morrow, " fell back in his easy-chair, and snored. 

Mrs. Felix Lorraine looked at her noble relatives, and shrugged up hershoulders with an air which baffleth all description. "Mr. Grey, Icongratulate you on this hospitable reception; you see we treat youquite en famille. Come! 'tis a fine evening; you have seen as yet butlittle of Château Desir: we may as well enjoy the fine air onthe terrace. "

CHAPTER VI

"You must know, Mr. Grey, that this is my favourite walk, and Itherefore expect that it will be yours. "

"It cannot indeed fail to be such, the favourite as it alike is ofnature and Mrs. Felix Lorraine. "

"On my word, a very pretty sentence! And who taught you, young sir, tobandy words so fairly?"

"I never can open my mouth, except in the presence of a woman, " observedVivian, with impudent mendacity; and he looked interesting and innocent. 

"Indeed! And what do you know about such wicked work as talking towomen?" and here Mrs. Felix Lorraine imitated Vivian's sentimentalvoice. "Do you know, " she continued, "I feel quite happy that you havecome down here; I begin to think that we shall be great friends. "

"Nothing appears to me more evident, " said Vivian. 

"How delicious is friendship!" exclaimed Mrs. Felix Lorraine;"delightful sentiment, that prevents life from being a curse! Have you afriend, Mr. Vivian Grey?"

"Before I answer that question, I should like to know what meaning Mrs. Felix Lorraine attaches to that important monosyllable, friend. "

"Oh, you want a definition. I hate definitions; and of all thedefinitions in the world, the one I have been most unfortunate in hasbeen a definition of friendship; I might say" (and here her voice sunk), "I might say of all the sentiments in the world, friendship is the onewhich has been must fatal to me; but I must not inoculate you with mybad spirits, bad spirits are not for young blood like yours, leave themto old persons like myself. "

"Old!" said Vivian, in a proper tone of surprise. 

"Old! ay old; how old do you think I am?"

"You may have seen twenty summers, " gallantly conjectured Vivian. 

The lady looked pleased, and almost insinuated that she had seen one ortwo more. 

"A clever woman, " thought Vivian, "but vain; I hardly know what to thinkof her. "

"Mr. Grey, I fear you find me in bad spirits to-day; but alas! I--I havecause. Although we see each other to-day for the first time, yet thereis something in your manner, something in the expression of your eyes, that make me believe my happiness is not altogether a matter ofindifference to you. " These words, uttered in one of the sweetest voicesby which ever human being was fascinated, were slowly and deliberatelyspoken, as if it were intended that they should rest on the ear of theobject to whom they were addressed. 

"My dearest madam! it is impossible that I can have but one sentimentwith regard to you, that of--"

"Of what, Mr. Grey?"

"Of solicitude for your welfare. "

The lady gently took the arm of the young man, and then with an agitatedvoice, and a troubled spirit, dwelt upon the unhappiness of her lot, andthe cruelty of her fortunes. Her husband's indifference was thesorrowful theme of her lamentations; and she ended by asking Mr. VivianGrey's advice, as to the line of conduct which she should pursue withregard to him; first duly informing Vivian that this was the only timeand he the only person to whom this subject had been ever mentioned. 

"And why should I mention it here, and to whom? The Marquess is the bestof men, but--" and here she looked up in Vivian's face, and spokevolumes; "and the Marchioness is the most amiable of women: at least, Isuppose her lap-dog thinks so. "

The advice of Vivian was concise. He sent the husband to the devil intwo seconds, and insisted upon the wife's not thinking of him foranother moment; and then the lady dried her eyes, and promised to doher best. 

"And now, " said Mrs. Felix Lorraine, "I must talk about your ownaffairs. I think your plan excellent. "

"Plan, madam!"

"Yes, plan, sir! the Marquess has told me all. I have no head forpolitics, Mr. Grey; but if I cannot assist you in managing the nation, Iperhaps may in managing the family, and my services are at your command. Believe me, you will have enough to do: there, I pledge you my troth. Doyou think it a pretty hand?"

Vivian did think it a very pretty hand, and he performed due courtesiesin a becoming style. 

"And now, good even to you, " said the lady; "this little gate leads tomy apartments. You will have no difficulty in finding your way back. " Sosaying, she disappeared. 

CHAPTER VII

The first week at Château Desir passed pleasantly enough. Vivian'smorning was amply occupied in maturing with the Marquess the grandprinciples of the new political system: in weighing interests, inbalancing connections, and settling "what side was to be taken on thegreat questions?" O politics, thou splendid juggle! The whole business, although so magnificent in its result, appeared very easy to the twocounsellors, for it was one of the first principles of Mr. Vivian Grey, that everything was possible. Men did fail in life to be sure, and afterall, very little was done by the generality; but still all thesefailures, and all this inefficiency, might be traced to a want ofphysical and mental courage. Some men were bold in their conceptions, and splendid heads at a grand system, but then, when the day of battlecame, they turned out very cowards; while others, who had nerve enoughto stand the brunt of the hottest fire, were utterly ignorant ofmilitary tactics, and fell before the destroyer, like the braveuntutored Indians before the civilised European. Now Vivian Grey wasconscious that there was at least one person in the world who was nocraven either in body or in mind, and so he had long come to thecomfortable conclusion, that it was impossible that his career could beanything but the most brilliant. And truly, employed as he now was, witha peer of the realm, in a solemn consultation on that realm's mostimportant interests, at a time when creatures of his age were moping inHalls and Colleges, is it to be wondered at that he began to imaginethat his theory was borne out by experience and by fact? Not that itmust be supposed, even for a moment, that Vivian Grey was what the worldcalls conceited. Oh no! he knew the measure of his own mind, and hadfathomed the depth of his powers with equal skill and impartiality; butin the process he could not but feel that he could conceive much, anddare do more. 

We said the first week at Château Desir passed pleasantly enough; and soit did, for Vivian's soul revelled in the morning councils on his futurefortunes, with as much eager joy as a young courser tries the turf, preliminary to running for the plate. And then, in the evening, weremoonlit walks with Mrs. Felix Lorraine! And then the lady abused Englandso prettily, and initiated her companion, in all the secrets of GermanCourts, and sang beautiful French songs, and told the legends of hernative land in such, an interesting, semi-serious tone, that Vivianalmost imagined, that she believed them; and then she would take himbeside the luminous lake in the park, and now it looked just like thedark blue Rhine! and then she remembered Germany, and grew sad, andabused her husband; and then she taught Vivian the guitar, and someother fooleries besides. 

CHAPTER VIII

The second week of Vivian's visit had come round, and the flag wavedproudly on the proud tower of Château Desir, indicating to the admiringcounty, that the most noble Sidney, Marquess of Carabas, held publicdays twice a week at his grand castle. And now came the neighbouringpeer, full of grace and gravity, and the mellow baronet, with his heartylaugh, and the jolly country squire, and the middling gentry, and thejobbing country attorney, and the flourishing country surveyor; somehonouring by their presence, some who felt the obligation equal, andothers bending before the noble host, as if paying him adoration wasalmost an equal pleasure with that of guzzling his venison pasties andquaffing his bright wines. 

Independently of all these periodical visitors, the house was full ofpermanent ones. There were the Viscount and Viscountess Courtown andtheir three daughters, and Lord and Lady Beaconsfield and their threesons, and Sir Berdmore and Lady Scrope, and Colonel Delmington of theGuards, and Lady Louisa Manvers and her daughter Julia. Lady Louisa wasthe only sister of the Marquess, a widow, proud and penniless. 

To all these distinguished personages Vivian was introduced by theMarquess as "a monstrous clever young man, and his Lordship's mostparticular friend, " and then the noble Carabas left the game in hisyoung friend's hands. 

And right well Vivian did his duty. In a week's time it would have beenhard to decide with whom of the family of the Courtowns Vivian was thegreatest favourite. He rode with the Viscount, who was a good horseman, and was driven by his Lady, who was a good whip; and when he hadsufficiently admired the tout ensemble of her Ladyship's pony phaeton, he entrusted her, "in confidence, " with some ideas of his own aboutmartingales, a subject which he assured her Ladyship "had been theobject of his mature consideration. " The three honourable Misses werethe most difficult part of the business; but he talked sentiment withthe first, sketched with the second, and romped with the third. 

Ere the Beaconsfields could be jealous of the influence of theCourtowns, Mr. Vivian Grey had promised his Lordship, who was acollector of medals, an unique which had never yet been heard of; andher Ladyship, who was a collector of autographs, the private letters ofevery man of genius that ever had been heard of. In this division of theCarabas guests he was not bored with a family; for sons he always madeit a rule to cut dead; they are the members of a family who, on anaverage, are generally very uninfluential, for, on an average, they arefools enough to think it very knowing to be very disagreeable. So thewise man but little loves them, but woe to the fool who neglects thedaughters!

Sir Berdmore Scrope Vivian found a more unmanageable personage; for thebaronet was confoundedly shrewd, and without a particle of sentiment inhis composition. It was a great thing, however, to gain him; for SirBerdmore was a leading country gentleman, and having quarrelled withMinisters about the corn laws, had been counted disaffected ever since. The baronet, however, although a bold man to the world, was luckilyhenpecked; so Vivian made love to the wife and secured the husband. 

CHAPTER IX

I think that Julia Manvers was really the most beautiful creature thatever smiled in this fair world. Such a symmetrically formed shape, suchperfect features, such a radiant complexion, such luxuriant auburn hair, and such blue eyes, lit up by a smile of such mind and meaning, haveseldom blessed the gaze of admiring man! Vivian Grey, fresh as he was, was not exactly the creature to lose his heart very speedily. He lookedupon marriage as a comedy in which, sooner or later, he was, as awell-paid actor, to play his part; and could it have advanced his viewsone jot he would have married the Princess Caraboo to-morrow. But of allwives in the world, a young and handsome one was that which he mostdreaded; and how a statesman who was wedded to a beautiful woman couldpossibly perform his duties to the public, did most exceedingly puzzlehim. Notwithstanding these sentiments, however, Vivian began to thinkthat there really could be no harm in talking to so beautiful a creatureas Julia, and a little conversation with her would, he felt, be nounpleasing relief to the difficult duties in which he was involved. 

To the astonishment of the Honourable Buckhurst Stanhope, eldest son ofLord Beaconsfield, Mr. Vivian Grey, who had never yet condescended toacknowledge his existence, asked him one morning, with the mostfascinating of smiles and with the most conciliating voice, "whetherthey should ride together. " The young heir-apparent looked stiff andassented. He arrived again at Château Desir in a couple of hours, desperately enamoured of the eldest Miss Courtown. The sacrifice of twomornings to the Honourable Dormer Stanhope and the Honourable GregoryStanhope sent them home equally captivated by the remaining sisters. Having thus, like a man of honour, provided for the amusement of hisformer friends, the three Miss Courtowns, Vivian left Mrs. FelixLorraine to the Colonel, whose moustache, by-the-bye, that ladyconsiderably patronised; and then, having excited an universal feelingof gallantry among the elders, Vivian found his whole day at the serviceof Julia Manvers. 

"Miss Manvers, I think that you and I are the only faithful subjects inthis Castle of Indolence. Here am I lounging on an ottoman, my ambitionreaching only so far as the possession of a chibouque, whose aromaticand circling wreaths, I candidly confess, I dare not here excite; andyou, of course, much too knowing to be doing anything on the first ofAugust save dreaming of races, archery feats, and county balls: thethree most delightful things which the country can boast, either forman, woman, or child. "

"Of course, you except sporting for yourself, shooting especially, Isuppose. "

"Shooting, oh! ah! there is such a thing. No, I am no shot; not that Ihave not hi my time cultivated a Manton; but the truth is, having, at anearly age, mistaken my intimate friend for a cock pheasant, I sent awhole crowd of fours into his face, and thereby spoilt one of theprettiest countenances in Christendom; so I gave up the field. Besides, as Tom Moore says, I have so much to do in the country, that, for mypart, I really have no time for killing birds and jumping over ditches:good work enough for country squires, who must, like all others, havetheir hours of excitement. Mine are of a different nature, and boast adifferent locality; and so when I come into the country, 'tis forpleasant air, and beautiful trees, and winding streams; things which, ofcourse, those who live among them all the year round do not suspect tobe lovely and adorable creations. Don't you agree with Tom Moore, Miss Manvers?"

"Oh, of course! but I think it is very improper, that habit, which everyone has, of calling a man of such eminence as the author of 'LallaRookh' _Tom_ Moore. "

"I wish he could but hear you! But, suppose I were to quote Mr. Moore, or Mr. Thomas Moore, would you have the most distant conception whom Imeant? Certainly not. By-the-bye, did you ever hear the pretty name theygave him at Paris?"

"No, what was it?"

"One day Moore and Rogers went to call on Denon. Rogers gave their namesto the Swiss, Monsieur Rogers et Monsieur Moore. The Swiss dashed openthe library door, and, to the great surprise of the illustriousantiquary, announced, Monsieur l'Amour! While Denon was doubting whetherthe God of Love was really paying him a visit or not, Rogers entered. Ishould like to have seen Denon's face!"

"And Monsieur Denon did take a portrait of Mr. Rogers as Cupid, Ibelieve?"

"Come, madam, 'no scandal about Queen Elizabeth. ' Mr. Rogers is one ofthe most elegant-minded men in the country. "

"Nay! do not lecture me with such a laughing face, or else your moralwill be utterly thrown away. "

"Ah! you have Retsch's 'Faust' there. I did not expect on a drawing-roomtable at Château Desir to see anything so old, and so excellent, Ithought the third edition of Tremaine would be a very fair specimen ofyour ancient literature, and Major Denham's hair-breadth escapes of yourmodern. There was an excellent story about, on the return of Denham andClapperton. The travellers took different routes, in order to arrive atthe same point of destination. In his wanderings the Major came unto anunheard-of Lake, which, with the spirit which they of the Guards surelyapproved, he christened 'Lake Waterloo. ' Clapperton arrived a few daysafter him; and the pool was immediately re-baptized 'Lake Trafalgar. 'There was a hot quarrel in consequence. Now, if I had been there, Iwould have arranged matters, by proposing as a title, to meet the viewsof all parties, 'The United Service Lake. '"

"That would have been happy. "

"How beautiful Margaret is, " said Vivian, rising from his ottoman, andseating himself on the sofa by the lady. "I always think that this isthe only Personification where Art has not rendered Innocence insipid. "

"Do you think so?"

"Why, take Una in the Wilderness, or Goody Two Shoes. These, I believe, were the most innocent persons that ever existed, and I am sure you willagree with me, they always look the most insipid. Nay, perhaps I waswrong in what I said; perhaps it is Insipidity that always looksinnocent, not Innocence always insipid. "

"How can you refine so, when the thermometer is at 100°! Pray, tell mesome more stories. "

"I cannot, I am in a refining humour: I could almost lecture to-day atthe Royal Institution. You would not call these exactly Prosopopeias ofInnocence?" said Vivian, turning over a bundle of Stewart Newton'sbeauties, languishing, and lithographed. "Newton, I suppose, like LadyWortley Montague, is of opinion, that the face is not the most beautifulpart of woman; at least, if I am to judge from these elaborate ankles. Now, the countenance of this Donna, forsooth, has a drowsy placidityworthy of the easy-chair she is lolling in, and yet her ankle would notdisgrace the contorted frame of the most pious faquir. "

"Well! I am an admirer of Newton's paintings. "

"Oh! so am I. He is certainly a cleverish fellow, but rather too muchamong the blues; a set, of whom, I would venture to say, Miss Manversknoweth little about. "

"Oh, not the least! Mamma does not visit that way. What are they?"

"Oh, very powerful people! though 'Mamma does not visit that way. ' Theirwords are Ukases as far as Curzon Street, and very Decretals in thegeneral vicinity of May Fair; but you shall have a further descriptionanother time. How those rooks bore! I hate staying with ancientfamilies; you are always cawed to death. If ever you write a novel, MissManvers, mind you have a rookery in it. Since Tremaine, and WashingtonIrving, nothing will go down without. "

"By-the-bye, who is the author of Tremaine?"

"It is either Mr. Ryder, or Mr. Spencer Percival, or Mr. Dyson, or MissDyson, or Mr. Bowles, or the Duke of Buckingham, or Mr. Ward, or a youngofficer in the Guards, or an old Clergyman in the North of England, or amiddle-aged Barrister on the Midland Circuit. "

"Mr. Grey, I wish you could get me an autograph of Mr. WashingtonIrving; I want it for a particular friend. "

"Give me a pen and ink; I will write you one immediately. "

"Ridiculous!"

"There! now you have made me blot Faustus. "

At this moment the room-door suddenly opened, and as suddenly shut. 

"Who was that?"

"Mephistopheles, or Mrs. Felix Lorraine; one or the other, perhapsboth. "

"What!"

"What do you think of Mrs. Felix Lorraine, Miss Manvers?"

"Oh! I think her a very amusing woman, a very clever woman avery--but--"

"But what?"

"But I cannot exactly make her out. "

"Nor I; she is a dark riddle; and, although I am a very Oedipus, Iconfess I have not yet unravelled it. Come, there is Washington Irving'sautograph for you; read it; is it not quite in character? Shall I writeany more? One of Sir Walter's, or Mr. Southey's, or Mr. Milman's or Mr. Disraeli's? or shall I sprawl a Byron?"

"I really cannot sanction such unprincipled conduct. You may make me oneof Sir Walter's, however. "

"Poor Washington!" said Vivian, writing. "I knew him well. Be alwaysslept at dinner. One day, as he was dining at: Mr. Hallam's, they tookhim, when asleep, to Lady Jersey's: and, to see the Sieur Geoffrey, theysay, when he opened his eyes in the illumined saloons, was really quiteadmirable! quite an Arabian tale!"

"How delightful! I should have so liked to have seen him! He seems quiteforgotten now in England. How came we to talk of him?"

"Forgotten! Oh! he spoilt his elegant talents in writing German andItalian twaddle with all the rawness of a Yankee. He ought never to haveleft America, at least in literature; there was an uncontested andglorious field for him. He should have been managing director of theHudson Bay Company, and lived all his life among the beavers. "

"I think there is nothing more pleasant than talking over the season, inthe country, in August. "

"Nothing more agreeable. It was dull though, last season, very dull; Ithink the game cannot be kept going another year. If it were not for theGeneral Election, we really must have a war for variety's sake. Peacegets quite a bore. Everybody you dine with has a good cook, and givesyou a dozen different wines, all perfect. We cannot bear this anylonger; all the lights and shadows of life are lost. The only good thingI heard this year was an ancient gentlewoman going up to Gunter andasking him for 'the receipt for that white stuff, ' pointing to his Romanpunch. I, who am a great man for receipts, gave it her immediately: 'Onehod of mortar to one bottle of Noyau. '"

"And did she thank you?"

"Thank me! ay, truly; and pushed a card into my hand, so thick and sharpthat it cut through my glove. I wore my arm in a sling for a monthafterwards, "

"And what was the card?"

"Oh, you need not look so arch. The old lady was not even a faithlessduenna. It was an invitation to an assembly, or something of the kind, at a place, somewhere, as Theodore Hook or Mr. Croker would say, 'between Mesopotamia and Russell Square. '"

"Pray, Mr. Grey, is it true that all the houses in Russell Square aretenantless?"

"Quite true; the Marquess of Tavistock has given up the county inconsequence. A perfect shame, is it not? Let us write it up. "

"An admirable plan! but we will take the houses first, at a pepper-cornrent. "

"What a pity, Miss Manvers, the fashion has gone out of selling oneselfto the devil. "

"Good gracious, Mr. Grey!"

"On my honour, I am quite serious. It does appear to me to be a verygreat pity. What a capital plan for younger brothers! It is a kind ofthing I have been trying to do all my life, and never could succeed. Ibegan at school with toasted cheese and a pitchfork; and since then Ihave invoked, with all the eloquence of Goethe, the evil one in thesolitude of the Hartz, but without success. I think I should make anexcellent bargain with him: of course I do not mean that ugly vulgarsavage with a fiery tail. Oh, no! Satan himself for me, a perfectgentleman! Or Belial: Belial would be the most delightful. He is thefine genius of the Inferno, I imagine, the Beranger of Pandemonium. "

"I really cannot listen to such nonsense one moment longer. What wouldyou have if Belial were here?"

"Let us see. Now, you shall act the spirit, and I, Vivian Grey. I wishwe had a short-hand writer here to take down the Incantation Scene. Wewould send it to Arnold. Commençons: Spirit! I will have a fair castle. "

The lady bowed. 

"I will have a palace in town. "

The lady bowed. 

"I will have a fair wife. Why, Miss Manvers, you forget to bow!"

"I really beg your pardon!"

"Come, this is a novel way of making an offer, and, I hope, a successfulone. "

"Julia, my dear, " cried a voice in the veranda, "Julia, my dear, I wantyou to walk with me. "

"Say you are engaged with the Marchioness, " whispered Vivian, with a lowbut distinct--voice; his eyes fixed on the table, and his lips notappearing to move. 

"Mamma, I am--"

"I want you immediately and particularly, Julia, " cried Lady Louisa, inan earnest voice. 

"I am coming, I am coming. You see I must go. "

CHAPTER X

"Confusion on that old hag! Her eye looked evil on me, at the verymoment! Although a pretty wife is really the destruction of a youngman's prospects, still, in the present case, the niece of my friend, mypatron, high family, perfectly unexceptionable, &c. &c. &c. Such blueeyes! upon my honour, this must be an exception to the general rule, "Here a light step attracted his attention, and, on turning round, hefound Mrs. Felix Lorraine at his elbow. 

"Oh! you are here, Mr. Grey, acting the solitaire in the park! I wantyour opinion about a passage in 'Herman and Dorothea. '"

"My opinion is always at your service; but if the passage is notperfectly clear to Mrs. Felix Lorraine, it will be perfectly obscure, Iam convinced, to me. "

"Ah! yes, of course. Oh, dear! after all my trouble, I have forgotten mybook. How mortifying! Well, I will show it to you after dinner: adieu!and, by-the-bye, Mr. Grey, as I am here, I may as well advise you not tospoil all the Marquess's timber, by carving a certain person's name onhis park trees. I think your plans in that quarter are admirable. I havebeen walking with Lady Louisa the whole morning, and you cannot thinkhow I puffed you! Courage, Cavalier, and we shall soon be connected, notonly in friendship, but in blood. "

The next morning, at breakfast, Vivian was surprised to find that theManvers party was suddenly about to leave the Castle. All weredisconsolate at their departure: for there was to be a grandentertainment at Château Desir that very day, but particularly Mrs. Felix Lorraine and Mr. Vivian Grey. The sudden departure was accountedfor by the arrival of "unexpected, " &c. &c. &c. There was no hope; thegreen post-chariot was at the door, a feeble promise of a speedy return;Julia's eyes were filled with tears. Vivian was springing forward topress her hand, and bear her to the carriage, when Mrs. Felix Lorraineseized his arm, vowed she was going to faint, and, ere she could recoverherself, or loosen her grasp, the Manvers were gone. 

CHAPTER XI

The gloom which the parting had diffused over all countenances was quitedispelled when the Marquess entered. 

"Lady Carabas, " said he, "you must prepare for many visitors to-day. There are the Amershams, and Lord Alhambra, and Ernest Clay, and twentyother young heroes, who, duly informed that the Miss Courtowns werehonouring us with their presence, are pouring in from all quarters; isit not so, Juliana?" gallantly asked the Marquess of Miss Courtown: "butwho do you think is coming besides?"

"Who, who?" exclaimed all. 

"Nay, you shall guess, " said the Peer. 

"The Duke of Waterloo?" guessed Cynthia Courtown, the romp. 

"Prince Hungary?" asked her sister Laura. 

"Is it a gentleman?" asked Mrs. Felix Lorraine. 

"No, no, you are all wrong, and all very stupid. It is Mrs. Million. "

"Oh, how delightful!" said Cynthia. 

"Oh, how annoying!" said the Marchioness. 

"You need not look so agitated, my love, " said the Marquess; "I havewritten to Mrs. Million to say that we shall be most happy to see her;but as the castle is very full, she must not come with fivecarriages-and-four, as she did last year. "

"And will Mrs. Million dine with us in the Hall, Marquess?" askedCynthia Courtown. 

"Mrs. Million will do what she likes; I only know that I shall dine inthe Hall, whatever happens, and whoever comes; and so, I suppose, willMiss Cynthia Courtown?"

Vivian rode out alone, immediately after breakfast, to cure hismelancholy by a gallop. 

Returning home, he intended to look in at a pretty farm-house, wherelived one John Conyers, a great friend of Vivian's. This man had, abouta fortnight ago, been of essential service to our hero, when a vicioushorse, which he was endeavouring to cure of some ugly tricks, had nearlyterminated his mortal career. 

"Why are you crying so, my boy?" asked Vivian of a little Conyers, whowas sobbing bitterly at the floor. He was answered only withdesperate sobs. 

"Oh, 'tis your honour, " said a decent-looking woman, who came out of thehouse; "I thought they had come back again. "

"Come back again! why, what is the matter, dame?"

"Oh! your honour, we're in sad distress; there's been a seizure thismorning, and I'm mortal fear'd the good man's beside himself. "

"Good heavens! why did not you come to the Castle?"

"Oh! your honour, we a'nt his Lordship's tenants no longer; there's beena change for Purley Mill, and now we're Lord Mounteney's people. JohnConyers has been behind-hand since he had the fever, but Mr. Sedgwickalways gave time: Lord Mounteney's gem'man says the system's bad, and sohe'll put an end to it; and so all's gone, your honour; all's gone, andI'm mortal fear'd the good man's beside himself. "

"And who is Lord Mounteney's man of business?"

"Mr. Stapylton Toad, " sobbed the good dame. 

"Here, boy, leave off crying, and hold my horse; keep your hold tight, but give him rein, he'll be quiet enough then. I will see honestJohn, dame. "

"I'm sure your honour's very kind, but I'm mortal fear'd the good man'sbeside himself, and he's apt to do very violent things when the fits onhim. He hasn't been so bad since young Barton behaved so wickedly tohis sister. "

"Never mind! there is nothing like a friend's face in the hour ofsorrow. "

"I wouldn't advise your honour, " said the good dame. "It's an awful hourwhen the fit's on him; he knows not friend or foe, and scarcely knowsme, your honour. "

"Never mind, I'll see him. "

Vivian entered the house; but who shall describe the scene ofdesolation! The room was entirely stripped; there was nothing left, savethe bare whitewashed walls, and the red tiled flooring. The room wasdarkened; and seated on an old block of wood, which had been pulled outof the orchard, since the bailiff had left, was John Conyers. The firewas out, but his feet were still among the ashes. His head was buried inhis hands, and bowed down nearly to his knees. The eldest girl, a finesensible child of about thirteen, was sitting with two brothers on thefloor in a corner of the room, motionless, their faces grave, and stillas death, but tearless. Three young children, of an age too tender toknow grief, were acting unmeaning gambols near the door. 

"Oh! pray beware, your honour, " earnestly whispered the poor dame, asshe entered the cottage with the visitor. 

Vivian walked up with a silent step to the end of "the room, whereConyers was sitting. He remembered this little room, when he thought itthe very model of the abode of an English husbandman. The neat row ofplates, and the well-scoured utensils, and the fine old Dutch clock, andthe ancient and amusing ballad, purchased at some neighbouring fair, orof some itinerant bibliopole, and pinned against the wall, all gone!

"Conyers!" exclaimed Vivian. 

There was no answer, nor did the miserable man appear in the slightestdegree to be sensible of Vivian's presence. 

"My good John!"

The man raised his head from his resting-place, and turned to the spotwhence the voice proceeded. There was such an unnatural fire in hiseyes, that Vivian's spirit almost quailed. His alarm was not decreased, when he perceived that the master of the cottage did not recognize him. The fearful stare was, however, short, and again the sufferer's facewas hid. 

The wife was advancing, but Vivian waved his hand to her to withdraw, and she accordingly fell into the background; but her fixed eye did notleave her husband for a second. 

"John Conyers, it is your friend, Mr. Vivian Grey, who is here, " saidVivian. 

"Grey!" moaned the husbandman; "Grey! who is he?"

"Your friend, John Conyers. Do you quite forget me?" said Vivianadvancing, and with a tone "which Vivian Grey could alone assume. 

"I think I have seen you, and you were kind, " and the face was againhid. 

"And always will be kind, John. I have come to comfort you. I thoughtthat a friend's voice would do you good. Come, cheer up, my man!" andVivian dared to touch him. His hand was not repulsed. "Do you rememberwhat good service you did me when I rode white-footed Moll? Why, I wasmuch worse off then than you are now: and yet, you see, a friend cameand saved me. You must not give way so, my good fellow. After all, alittle management will set everything right, " and he took thehusbandman's sturdy hand. 

"I do remember you, " he faintly cried. "You were always very kind. "

"And always will be, John; always to friends like you. Come, come, cheerup and look about you, and let the sunbeam enter your cottage:" andVivian beckoned to the wife to open the closed shutter. 

Conyers stared around him, but his eye rested only on bare walls, andthe big tear coursed down his hardy cheek. 

"Nay, never mind, man, " said Vivian, "we will soon have chairs andtables again. And as for the rent, think no more about that at present. "

The husbandman looked up, and then burst into weeping. Vivian couldscarcely hold down his convulsed frame on the rugged seat; but the wifeadvanced from the back of the room, and her husband's head restedagainst her bosom. Vivian held his honest hand, and the eldest girl roseunbidden from her silent sorrow, and clung to her father's knee. 

"The fit is over, " whispered the wife. "There, there, there's a man, allis now well;" and Vivian left him resting on his wife's bosom. 

"Here, you curly-headed rascal, scamper down to the village immediately, and bring up a basket of something to eat; and tell Morgan Price thatMr. Grey says he is to send up a couple of beds, and some chairs hereimmediately, and some plates and dishes, and everything else, and don'tforget some ale;" so saying, Vivian flung the urchin a sovereign. 

"And now, dame, for Heaven's sake, light the fire. As for the rent, John, do not waste this trifle on that, " whispered Vivian, slipping hispurse into his hand, "for I will see Stapylton Toad, and get time. Why, woman, you'll never strike a light, if your tears drop so fast into thetinder-box. Here, give it me. You are not fit to work to-day. And how isthe trout in Ravely Mead, John, this hot weather? You know you neverkept your promise with me. Oh! you are a sad fellow! There! there's aspark! I wonder why old Toad did not take the tinder-box. It is a veryvaluable piece of property, at least to us. Run and get me some wood, that's a good boy. And so white-footed Moll is past all recovery? Well, she was a pretty creature! There, that will do famously, " said Vivian, fanning the flame with his hat. "See, it mounts well! And now, God blessyou all! for I am an hour too late, and must scamper for my very life. "

CHAPTER XII

Mrs. Million arrived, and kept her promise; only threecarriages-and-four! Out of the first descended the mighty lady herself, with some noble friends, who formed the most distinguished part of hersuite: out of the second came her physician, Dr. Sly; her toad-eater, Miss Gusset; her secretary, and her page. The third carriage bore hergroom of the chambers, and three female attendants. There were only twomen servants to each equipage; nothing could be more moderate, or, asMiss Gusser said, "in better taste. "

Mrs. Million, after having granted the Marquess a private interview inher private apartments, signified her imperial intention of dining inpublic, which, as she had arrived late, she trusted she might do in hertravelling dress. The Marquess kotooed like a first-rate mandarin, andvowed "that her will was his conduct. "

The whole suite of apartments were thrown open, and were crowded withguests. Mrs. Million entered; she was leaning on the Marquess' arm, andin a travelling dress, namely, a crimson silk pelisse, hat and feathers, with diamond ear-rings, and a rope of gold round her neck. A train ofabout twelve persons, consisting of her noble fellow-travellers, toad-eaters, physicians, secretaries, &c. &c. &c. Followed. The entreeof Her Majesty could not have created a greater sensation than did thatof Mrs. Million. All fell back. Gartered peers, and starred ambassadors, and baronets with blood older than the creation, and squires, to theantiquity of whose veins chaos was a novelty; all retreated, with eyesthat scarcely dared to leave the ground; even Sir Plantagenet Pure, whose family had refused a peerage regularly every century, now, for thefirst time in his life, seemed cowed, and in an awkward retreat to makeway for the approaching presence, got entangled with the Mameluke bootsof my Lord Alhambra. 

At last a sofa was gained, and the great lady was seated, and thesensation having somewhat subsided, conversation was resumed; and themighty Mrs. Million was not slightly abused, particularly by those whohad bowed lowest at her entree; and now the Marquess of Carabas, as waswittily observed by Mr. Septimus Sessions, a pert young barrister, "wentthe circuit, " that is to say, made the grand tour of the suite ofapartments, making remarks to every one of his guests, and keeping uphis influence in the county. 

"Ah, my Lord Alhambra! this is too kind; and how is your excellentfather, and my good friend? Sir Plantagenet, yours most sincerely! weshall have no difficulty about that right of common. Mr. Leverton, Ihope you find the new plough work well; your son, sir, will do thecounty honour. Sir Godfrey, I saw Barton upon that point, as I promised. Lady Julia, I am rejoiced to see ye at Château Desir, more blooming thanever! Good Mr. Stapylton Toad, so that little change was effected: MyLord Devildrain, this is a pleasure indeed!"

"Why, Ernest Clay, " said Mr. Buckhurst Stanhope, "I thought Alhambrawore a turban; I am quite disappointed. "

"Not in the country. Stanhope; here he only sits cross-legged on anottoman, and carves his venison with an ataghan. "

"Well, I am glad he does not wear a turban; that would be bad taste, Ithink, " said Fool Stanhope. "Have you read his poem?"

"A little. He sent me a copy, and as I am in the habit of lighting mypipe or so occasionally with a leaf, why I cannot help occasionallyseeing a line: it seems quite first-rate. "

"Indeed!" said Fool Stanhope; "I must get it. "

"My dear Puff! I am quite glad to find you here, " said Mr. Cayenne, acelebrated reviewer, to Mr. Partenopex Puff, a small author and smallerwit. "Have you seen Middle Ages lately?"

"Not very lately, " drawled Mr. Partenopex, "I breakfasted with himbefore I left town, and met a Professor Bopp there, a very interestingman, and Principal of the celebrated University of Heligoland, the modelof the London. "

"Ah, indeed! talking of the London, is Foaming Fudge to come in forCloudland?"

"Doubtless! Oh! he is a prodigious fellow! What do you think Boobysays? He says that Foaming Fudge can do more than any man in GreatBritain; that he had one day to plead in the King's Bench, spout at atavern, speak in the House, and fight a duel; and that he found time foreverything but the last. "

"Excellent!" laughed Mr. Cayenne. 

Mr. Partenopex Puff was reputed, in a certain set, a sayer of goodthings, but he was a modest wit, and generally fathered his bon mots onhis valet Booby, his monkey, or his parrot. 

"I saw you in the last number, " said Cayenne. "From the quotations fromyour own works, I imagine the review of your own book was by yourself?"

"What do you think Booby said?"

"Mr. Puff, allow me to introduce you to Lord Alhambra, " said ErnestClay, by which means Mr. Puff's servant's last good thing was lost. 

"Mr. Clay, are you an archer?" asked Cynthia Courtown. 

"No, fair Dian; but I can act Endymion. "

"I don't know what you mean. Go away. "

"Aubrey Vere, welcome to ----shire. Have you seen Prima Donna?"

"No; is he here? How did you like his last song in the Age?"

"His last song! Pooh! pooh! he only supplies the scandal. "

"Groves, " said Sir Hanway Etherington, "have you seen the newspaper thismorning? Baron Crupper has tried fifteen men for horse-stealing at York, and acquitted every one. "

"Well then, Sir Hanway, I think his Lordship's remarkable wrong; forwhen a man gets a horse to suit him, if he loses it, 'tisn't so easy tosuit himself again. That's the ground I stand upon. "

All this time the Marquess of Carabas had wanted Vivian Grey twentytimes, but that gentleman had not appeared. The important momentarrived, and his Lordship offered his arm to Mrs. Million, who, as theGotha Almanack says, "takes precedence of all Archduchesses, GrandDuchesses, Duchesses, Princesses, Landgravines, Margravines, Palsgravines, &c. &c. &c. "

CHAPTER XIII

In their passage to the Hall, the Marquess and Mrs. Million met VivianGrey, booted and spurred, and covered with mud. 

"Oh! Mrs. Million--Mr. Vivian Grey. How is this, my dear fellow? youwill be too late. "

"Immense honour!" said Vivian, bowing to the ground to the lady. "Oh! myLord I was late, and made a short cut over Fearnley Bog. It has proved avery Moscow expedition. However, I am keeping you. I shall be in timefor the guava and liqueurs, and you know that is the only refreshment Iever take. "

"Who is that, Marquess?" asked Mrs. Million. 

"That is Mr. Vivian Grey, the most monstrous clever young man, andnicest fellow I know. "

"He does, indeed, seem, a very nice young man, " said Mrs. Million. 

Some steam process should be invented for arranging guests when they areabove five hundred. In the present instance all went wrong when theyentered the Hall; but, at last, the arrangements, which, of course, wereof the simplest nature, were comprehended, and the guests were seated. There were three tables, each stretching down the Hall; the dais wasoccupied by a military band. The number of guests, the contrast betweenthe antique chamber and their modern costumes, the music, the variousliveried menials, all combined to produce a whole, which at the sametime was very striking, and "in remarkable good taste. "

In process of time, Mr. Vivian Grey made his entrance. There were a fewvacant seats at the bottom of the table, "luckily for him, " as kindlyremarked Mr. Grumbleton. To the astonishment and indignation, however, of this worthy squire, the late comer passed by the unoccupied position, and proceeded onward with undaunted coolness, until he came to about themiddle of the middle table, and which was nearly the best situationin the Hall. 

"Beautiful Cynthia, " said Vivian Grey, softly and sweetly whispering inMiss Courtown's ear, "I am sure you will give up your place to me; youhave nerve enough, you know, for anything, and would no more care forstanding out than I for sitting in. " There is nothing like giving aromp credit for a little boldness. To keep up her character she willout-herod Herod. 

"Oh! Grey, is it you? certainly, you shall have my place immediately;but I am not sure that we cannot make room for you. Dormer Stanhope, room must be made for Grey, or I shall leave the table immediately. Youmen!" said the hoyden, turning round to a set of surrounding servants, "push this form down and put a chair between. "

The men obeyed. All who sat lower in the table on Miss CynthiaCourtown's side than that lady, were suddenly propelled downwards aboutthe distance of two feet. Dr. Sly, who was flourishing a carving-knifeand fork, preparatory to dissecting a gorgeous haunch, had these fearfulinstruments suddenly precipitated into a trifle, from whose sugaredtrellis-work he found great difficulty in extricating them; while MissGusset, who was on the point of cooling herself with some exquisite icedjelly, found her frigid portion as suddenly transformed into a plate ofpeculiarly ardent curry, the property, but a moment before, of oldColonel Rangoon. Everything, however, receives a civil reception from atoad-eater, so Miss Gusset burnt herself to death by devouring acomposition, which would have reduced anyone to ashes who had not foughtagainst Bundoolah. 

"Now that is what I call a sensible arrangement; what could go offbetter?" said Vivian. 

"You may think so, sir, " said Mr. Boreall, a sharp-nosed andconceited-looking man, who, having got among a set whom he did not theleast understand, was determined to take up Dr. Sly's quarrel, merelyfor the sake of conversation. "You, I say, sir, may think it so, but Irather imagine that the ladies and gentlemen lower down can hardly thinkit a sensible arrangement;" and here Boreall looked as if he had donehis duty, in giving a young man a proper reproof. 

Vivian glanced a look of annihilation. "I had reckoned upon two deaths, sir, when I entered the Hall, and finding, as I do, that the wholebusiness has apparently gone off without any fatal accident, why, Ithink the circumstances bear me out in my expression. "

Mr. Boreall was one of those unfortunate men who always take things tothe letter: he consequently looked amazed, and exclaimed, "Twodeaths, sir?"

"Yes, sir, two deaths; I reckoned, of course, on some corpulent parentbeing crushed to death in the scuffle, and then I should have had toshoot his son through the head for his filial satisfaction. DormerStanhope, I never thanked you for exerting yourself: send me thatfricandeau you have just helped yourself to. "

Dormer, who was, as Vivian well knew, something of an epicure, lookedrather annoyed, but by this time he was accustomed to Vivian Grey, andsent him the portion he had intended for himself. Could epicure do more?

"Whom are we among, bright Cynthia?" asked Vivian. 

"Oh! an odd set, " said the lady, looking dignified; "but you know we canbe exclusive. "

"Exclusive! pooh! trash! Talk to everybody; it looks as if you weregoing to stand for the county. Have we any of the millionaires near us?"

"The Doctor and Toady are lower down. "

"Where is Mrs. Felix Lorraine?"

"At the opposite table, with Ernest Clay. "

"Oh! there is Alhambra, next to Dormer Stanhope. Lord Alhambra, I amquite rejoiced to see you. "

"Ah! Mr. Grey, I am quite rejoiced to see you. How is your father?"

"Extremely well; he is at Paris; I heard from him yesterday. Do you eversee the Weimar Literary Gazette, my Lord?"

"No; why?"

"There is an admirable review of your poem in the last number I havereceived. "

The young nobleman looked agitated. "I think, by the style, " continuedVivian, "that it is by Goëthe. It is really delightful to see the oldestpoet in Europe dilating on the brilliancy of a new star on thepoetical horizon. "

This was uttered with a perfectly grave voice, and now the youngnobleman blushed. "Who is _Gewter_?" asked Mr. Boreall, who possessedsuch a thirst for knowledge that he never allowed an opportunity toescape him of displaying his ignorance. 

"A celebrated German writer, " lisped the modest Miss Macdonald. 

"I never heard his name, " persevered the indefatigable Boreall; "how doyou spell it?"

"GOETHE, " re-lisped modesty. 

"Oh! _Goty_!" exclaimed the querist. "I know him well: he wrote theSorrows of Werter. "

"Did he indeed, sir?" asked Vivian, with the most innocent and inquiringface. 

"Oh! don't you know that?" said Boreall, "and poor stuff it is!"

"Lord Alhambra! I will take a glass of Johannisberg with you, if theMarquess' wines are in the state they should be:

 The Crescent warriors sipped their sherbet spiced, For Christian men the various wines were _iced_. 

I always think that those are two of the best lines in your Lordship'spoem, " said Vivian. 

His Lordship did not exactly remember them: it would have been a wonderif he had: but he thought Vivian Grey the most delightful fellow he evermet, and determined to ask him to Helicon Castle for theChristmas holidays. 

"Flat! flat!" said Vivian, as he dwelt upon the flavour of the Rhine'sglory. "Not exactly from the favourite bin of Prince Metternich, Ithink. By-the-bye, Dormer Stanhope, you have a taste that way; I willtell you two secrets, which never forget: decant your Johannisberg, andice your Maraschino. Ay, do not stare, my dear Gastronome, but do it. "

"O, Vivian! why did not you come and speak to me?" exclaimed a lady whowas sitting at the side opposite Vivian, but higher in the table. 

"Ah! adorable Lady Julia! and so you were done on the grey filly. "

"Done!" said the sporting beauty with pouting lips; "but it is a longstory, and I will tell it you another time. "

"Ah! do. How is Sir Peter?"

"Oh! he has had a fit or two, since you saw him last. "

"Poor old gentleman! let us drink his health. Do you know Lady JuliaKnighton?" asked Vivian of his neighbour. "This Hall is bearable to dinein; but I once breakfasted here, and I never shall forget the ludicrouseffect produced by the sun through the oriel window. Such complexions!Every one looked like a prize-fighter ten days after a battle. Afterall, painted glass is a bore; I wish the Marquess would have it knockedout, and have it plated. "

"Knock out the painted glass!" said Mr. Boreall; "well, I must confess, I cannot agree with you. "

"I should have been extremely surprised if you could. If you do notinsult that man, Miss Courtown, in ten minutes I shall be no more. Ihave already a nervous fever. "

"May I have the honour of taking a glass of champagne with you, Mr. Grey?" said Boreall. 

"Mr. Grey, indeed!" muttered Vivian: "Sir, I never drink anything butbrandy. "

"Allow me to give _you_ some champagne, Miss, " resumed Boreall, as heattacked the modest Miss Macdonald: "champagne, you know, " continued he, with a smile of agonising courtesy, "is quite the lady's wine. "

"Cynthia Courtown, " whispered Vivian with a sepulchral voice, "'tis allover with me: I have been thinking what would come next. This is toomuch: I am already dead. Have Boreall arrested; the chain ofcircumstantial evidence is very strong. "

"Baker!" said Vivian, turning to a servant, "go and inquire if Mr. Stapylton Toad dines at the Castle to-day. "

A flourish of trumpets announced the rise of the Marchioness of Carabas, and in a few minutes the most ornamental portion of the guests haddisappeared. The gentlemen made a general "move up, " and Vivian foundhimself opposite his friend, Mr. Hargrave. 

"Ah! Mr. Hargrave, how d'ye do? What do you think of the Secretary'sstate paper?"

"A magnificent composition, and quite unanswerable. I was just speakingof it to my friend here, Mr. Metternich Scribe. Allow me to introduceyou to Mr. Metternich Scribe. "

"Mr. Metternich Scribe, Mr. Vivian Grey!" and here Mr. Hargraveintroduced Vivian to an effeminate-looking, perfumed young man, with ahandsome, unmeaning face and very white hands; in short, as dapper alittle diplomatist as ever tattled about the Congress of Verona, smirkedat Lady Almack's supper after the Opera, or vowed "that Richmond Terracewas a most convenient situation for official men. "

"We have had it with us some time before the public received it, " saidthe future under-secretary, with a look at once condescending andconceited. 

"Have you?" said Vivian: "well, it does your office credit. It is asingular thing that Canning and Croker are the only official men who canwrite grammar. "

The dismayed young gentleman of the Foreign Office was about to mince arepartee, when Vivian left his seat, for he had a great deal of businessto transact. "Mr. Leverton, " said he, accosting a flourishing grazier, "I have received a letter from my friend, M. De Noé. He is desirous ofpurchasing some Leicestershires for his estate in Burgundy. Pray, may Itake the liberty of introducing his agent to you?"

Mr. Leverton was delighted. 

"I also wanted to see you about some other little business. Let me see, what was it? Never mind, I will take my wine here, if you can make roomfor me; I shall remember it, I dare say, soon. Oh! by-the-bye: ah! thatwas it. Stapylton Toad; Mr. Stapylton Toad; I want to know all about Mr. Stapylton Toad. I dare say you can tell me. A friend of mine intends toconsult him on some parliamentary business, and he wishes to knowsomething about him before he calls. "

We will condense, for the benefit of the reader, the information of Mr. Leverton. 

Stapylton Toad had not the honour of being acquainted with his father'sname; but as the son found himself, at an early age, apprenticed to asolicitor of eminence, he was of opinion that his parent must have beenrespectable. Respectable! mysterious word! Stapylton was a diligent andfaithful clerk, but was not so fortunate in his apprenticeship as thecelebrated Whittington, for his master had no daughter and many sons; inconsequence of which, Stapylton, not being able to become his master'spartner, became his master's rival. 

On the door of one of the shabbiest houses in Jermyn Street the name ofMr. Stapylton Toad for a long time figured, magnificently engraved on abroad brass plate. There was nothing however, otherwise, in theappearance of the establishment, which indicated that Mr. Toad'sprogress was very rapid, or his professional career extraordinarilyprosperous. In an outward office one solitary clerk was seen, oftenerstirring his office fire than wasting his master's ink; and Mr. Toad wasknown by his brother attorneys as a gentleman who was not recorded inthe courts as ever having conducted a single cause. In a few years, however, a story was added to the Jermyn Street abode, which, newpointed and new painted, began to assume a mansion-like appearance. Thehouse-door was also thrown open, for the solitary clerk no longer foundtime to answer the often agitated bell; and the eyes of the enteringclient were now saluted by a gorgeous green baize office door; theimposing appearance of which was only equalled by Mr. Toad's new privateportal, splendid with a brass knocker and patent varnish. And now hisbrother attorneys began to wonder "how Toad got on! and who Toad'sclients were!"

A few more years rolled over, and Mr. Toad was seen riding in the Parkat a classical hour, attended by a groom in a classical livery. And now"the profession" wondered still more, and significant looks wereinterchanged by "the respectable houses:" and flourishing practitionersin the City shrugged up their shoulders, and talked mysteriously of"money business, " and "some odd work in annuities. " In spite, however, of the charitable surmises of his brother lawyers, it must be confessedthat nothing of even an equivocal nature ever transpired against thecharacter of the flourishing Mr. Toad, who, to complete themortification of his less successful rivals, married, and at the sametime moved from Jermyn Street to Cavendish Square. The new residenceof--Mr. Toad had previously been the mansion of a noble client, and onewhom, as the world said, Mr. Toad "had got out of difficulties. " Thissignificant phrase will probably throw some light upon the nature of themysterious business of our prosperous practitioner. Noble Lords who havebeen in difficulties will not much wonder at the prosperity of those whoget them out. 

About this time Mr. Toad became acquainted with Lord Mounteney, anobleman in great distress, with fifty thousand per annum. His Lordship"really did not know how he had got involved: he never gamed, he was notmarried, and his consequent expenses had never been unreasonable: he wasnot extraordinarily negligent; quite the reverse: was something of a manof business, remembered once looking over his accounts; and yet in spiteof his regular and correct career, found himself quite involved, andmust leave England. "

The arrangement of the Mounteney property was the crowning stroke of Mr. Stapylton Toad's professional celebrity. His Lordship was not under thenecessity of quitting England, and found himself in the course of fiveyears in the receipt of a clear rental of five-and-twenty thousand perannum. His Lordship was in raptures; and Stapylton Toad purchased anelegant villa in Surrey, and became a Member of Parliament. GoodburnPark, for such was the name of Mr. Toad's country residence, in spite ofits double lodges and patent park paling, was not, to Mr. Toad, a veryexpensive purchase; for he "took it off the hands" of a distressedclient who wanted an immediate supply, "merely to convenience him, " and, consequently, became the purchaser at about half its real value. "Attorneys, " as Bustle the auctioneer says, "have _such_ opportunities!"

Mr. Toad's career in the House was as correct as his conduct out of it. After ten years' regular attendance, the boldest conjecturer would nothave dared to define his political principles. It was a rule withStapylton Toad never to commit himself. Once, indeed, he wrote an ablepamphlet on the Corn Laws, which excited the dire indignation of thePolitical Economy Club. But Stapylton cared little for their subtleconfutations and their loudly expressed contempt. He had obliged thecountry gentlemen of England, and ensured the return, at the nextelection, of Lord Mounteney's brother for the county. At this generalelection, also, Stapylton Toad's purpose in entering the House becamerather more manifest; for it was found, to the surprise of the wholecountry, that there was scarcely a place in England; county, town, orborough; in which Mr. Stapylton Toad did not possess some influence. Inshort, it was discovered, that Mr. Stapylton Toad had "a first-rateparliamentary business;" that nothing could be done without hisco-operation, and everything with it. In spite of his prosperity, Stapylton had the good sense never to retire from business, and even torefuse a baronetcy; on condition, however, that it should be offeredto his son. 

Stapylton, like the rest of mankind, had his weak points. The lateMarquess of Almack's was wont to manage him very happily, and Toad wasalways introducing that minister's opinion of his importance. "'My timeis quite at your service, General, ' although the poor dear Marquess usedto say, 'Mr. Stapylton Toad, your time is mine. ' He knew the business Ihad to get through!" The family portraits also, in ostentatious frames, now adorned the dining-room of his London mansion; and it was amusing tohear the worthy M. P. Dilate upon his likeness to his respected father. 

"You see, my Lord, " Stapylton would say, pointing to a dark, dingypicture of a gentleman in a rich court dress, "you see, my Lord, it isnot in a very good light, and it certainly is a very dark picture, byHudson; all Hudson's pictures were dark. But if I were six inchestaller, and could hold the light just there, I think your Lordship wouldbe astonished at the resemblance; but it's a dark picture, certainly itis dark; all Hudson's pictures were. "

CHAPTER XIV

The Cavaliers have left the ancient Hall, and the old pictures frownonly upon empty tables. The Marquess immediately gained a seat by Mrs. Million, and was soon engrossed in deep converse with that illustriouslady. In one room, the most eminent and exclusive, headed by Mrs. FelixLorraine, were now winding through the soothing mazes of a slow waltz, and now whirling, with all the rapidity of Eastern dervishes, to truedouble Wien time. In another saloon, the tedious tactics of quadrillescommanded the exertions of less civilised beings: here Liberal Snake, the celebrated political economist, was lecturing to a knot of alarmedcountry gentlemen; and there an Italian improvisatore poured forth to anadmiring audience all the dulness of his inspiration. Vivian Grey washolding an earnest conversation in one of the recesses with Mr. Stapylton Toad. He had already charmed that worthy by the deep interestwhich he took in everything relating to elections and the House ofCommons, and now they were hard at work on the Corn Laws. Although theyagreed upon the main points, and Vivian's ideas upon this importantsubject had, of course, been adopted after studying Mr. Toad's "mostluminous and convincing pamphlet, " still there were a few minor pointson which Vivian "was obliged to confess" that "he did not exactly seehis way. " Mr. Toad was astonished, but argumentative, and, of course, indue time, had made a convert of his companion; "a young man, " as heafterwards remarked to Lord Mounteney, "in whom he knew not which mostto admire, the soundness of his own views, or the candour with which hetreated those of others. " If you wish to win a man's heart, allow him toconfute you. 

"I think, Mr. Grey, you must admit that my definition of labour is thecorrect one?" said Mr. Toad, looking earnestly in Vivian's face, hisfinger just presuming to feel a button. 

"That exertion of mind or body which is not the involuntary effect ofthe influence of natural sensations, " slowly repeated Vivian, as if hiswhole soul was concentrated in each monosyllable. "Y-e-s, Mr. Toad, I doadmit it. "

"Then, my dear sir, the rest follows of course, " triumphantly exclaimedthe member; "don't you see it?"

"Although I admit the correctness of your definition, Mr. Toad, I am notfree to confess that I am ex-act-ly convinced of the soundness of yourconclusion, " said Vivian, in a musing mood. 

"But, my dear sir, I am surprised that you don't see that--"

"Stop, Mr. Toad, " eagerly exclaimed Vivian; "I see my error. Imisconceived your meaning: you are right, sir; your definitionis correct. "

"I was confident that I should convince you, Mr. Grey. "

"This conversation, I assure you, Mr. Toad, has been to me a peculiarlysatisfactory one. Indeed, sir, I have long wished to have the honour ofmaking your acquaintance. When but a boy, I remember, at my father'stable, the late Marquess of Almack's--"

"Yes, Mr. Grey. "

"One of the ablest men, Mr. Toad, after all, that this country everproduced. "

"Oh, poor dear man!"

"I remember his observing to a friend of mine, who was at that timedesirous of getting into the House: 'Hargrave, ' said his Lordship, 'ifyou want any information upon points of practical politics;' that washis phrase; you remember, Mr. Toad, that his Lordship was peculiar inhis phrases?"

"Oh! yes, poor dear man; but you were observing, Mr. Grey--"

"Ay, ay! 'If you want any information, ' said his Lordship, 'on suchpoints, there is only one man in the kingdom whom you should consult, and he is one of the soundest heads I know, and that is Stapylton Toad, the member for Mounteney;' you know you were in for Mounteney then, Mr. Toad. "

"I was, and accepted the Chilterns to make room for Augustus Clay, Ernest Clay's brother, who was so involved, that the only way to keephim out of the House of Correction was to get him into the House ofCommons. But the Marquess said so, eh?"

"Ay, and much more, which I scarcely can remember;" and then followed along dissertation on the character of the noble statesman, and his viewsas to the agricultural interest, and the importance of the agriculturalinterest; and then a delicate hint was thrown out as to "how delightfulit would be to write a pamphlet together" on this mighty agriculturalinterest; and then came a panegyric on the character of countrygentlemen, and English yeomen, and the importance of keeping up the oldEnglish spirit in the peasantry, &c. &c. &c. &c. ; and then, when Vivianhad led Mr. Toad to deliver a splendid and patriotic oration on thispoint, he "just remembered (quite apropos to the sentiments which Mr. Toad had just delivered, and which, he did not hesitate to say, 'didequal honour to his head and heart') that there was a little point, which, if it was not trespassing too much on Mr. Toad's attention, hewould just submit to him;" and then he mentioned poor John Conyers'case, although "he felt convinced, from Mr. Toad's well-known benevolentcharacter, that it was quite unnecessary for him to do so, as he feltassured that it would be remedied immediately it fell under hiscognisance; but then Mr. Toad had really so much business to transact, that perhaps these slight matters might occasionally not be submitted tohim, " &c. &c. &c. 

What could Stapylton Toad do but, after a little amiable grumbling about"bad system and bad precedent, " promise everything that VivianGrey required?

"Mr. Vivian Grey, " said Mrs. Felix Lorraine, "I cannot understand whyyou have been talking to Mr. Toad so long. Will you waltz?"

Before Vivian could answer, a tittering, so audible that it might almostbe termed a shout, burst forth from the whole room. Cynthia Courtown hadstolen behind Lord Alhambra, as he was sitting on an ottoman a laTurque, and had folded a cashmere shawl round his head with a mostOriental tie. His Lordship, who, notwithstanding his eccentricities, wasreally a very amiable man, bore his blushing honours with a graciousdignity worthy of a descendant of the Abencerrages. The sensation whichthis incident occasioned favoured Vivian's escape from Mrs. Felix, forhe had not left Mr. Stapylton Toad with any intention of waltzing. 

But he had hardly escaped from the waltzers ere he found himself indanger of being involved in a much more laborious duty; for now hestumbled on the Political Economist, and he was earnestly requested bythe contending theorists to assume the office of moderator. Emboldenedby his success. Liberal Snake had had the hardihood to attack apersonage of whose character he was not utterly ignorant, but on whomhe was extremely desirous of "making an--impression. " This importantperson was Sir Christopher Mowbray, who, upon the lecturer presuming toinform him "what rent was, " damned himself several times from sheerastonishment at the impudence of the fellow. I don't wish to be coarse, but Sir Christopher is a great man, and the sayings of great men, particularly when they are representative of the sentiment of a species, should not pass unrecorded. 

Sir Christopher Mowbray is member for the county of ----; and member forthe county he intends to be next election, although he is in hisseventy-ninth year, for he can still follow a fox with as pluck a heartand with as stout a voice as any squire in Christendom. Sir Christopher, it must be confessed, is rather peculiar in his ideas. His grandson, Peregrine Mowbray, who is as pert a genius as the applause of acommon-room ever yet spoiled, and as sublime an orator as the cheeringsof the Union ever yet inspired, says "the Baronet is not up to thenineteenth century;" and perhaps this phrase will give the reader a moresignificant idea of Sir Christopher Mowbray than a character as long andas laboured as the most perfect of my Lord Clarendon's. The truth is, the good Baronet had no idea of "liberal principles, " or anything elseof that school. His most peculiar characteristic is a singular habitwhich he has got of styling political economists French Smugglers. Nobody has ever yet succeeded in extracting a reason from him for thissingular appellation, and even if you angle with the most exquisiteskill for the desired definition, Sir Christopher immediately salutesyou with a volley of oaths, and damns French wines, Bible Societies, andMr. Huskisson. Sir Christopher for half a century has supported in thesenate, with equal sedulousness and silence, the constitution and thecorn laws; he is perfectly aware of "the present perilous state of thecountry, " and watches with great interest all "the plans and plots" ofthis enlightened age. The only thing which he does not exactlycomprehend is the London University. This affair really puzzles theworthy gentleman, who could as easily fancy a county member not being afreeholder as an university not being at Oxford or Cambridge. Indeed tothis hour the old gentleman believes that the whole business is "ahoax;" and if you tell him that, far from the plan partaking of thevisionary nature he conceives, there are actually four acres of veryvaluable land purchased near White Conduit House for the erection, andthat there is little apprehension that, in the course of a century, thewooden poles which are now stuck about the ground will not be as fairand flourishing as the most leafy bowers of New College Gardens, the oldgentleman looks up to heaven, as if determined not to be taken in, andleaning back in his chair, sends forth a sceptical and smiling "No! no!no! that won't do. "

Vivian extricated himself with as much grace as possible from the toilsof the Economist, and indeed, like a skilful general, turned this littlerencontre to account in accomplishing the very end for the attainment ofwhich he had declined waltzing with Mrs. Felix Lorraine. 

"My dear Lord, " said Vivian, addressing the Marquess, who was still bythe side of Mrs. Million, "I am going to commit a most ungallant act;but you great men must pay a tax for your dignity. I am going to disturbyou. You are wanted by half the county! What could possibly induce youever to allow a Political Economist to enter Château Desir? There are. At least, three baronets and four squires in despair, writhing under thetortures of Liberal Snake. They have deputed me to request yourassistance, to save them from being defeated in the presence of halftheir tenantry; and I think, my Lord, " said Vivian, with a seriousvoice, "if you could possibly contrive to interfere, it would bedesirable. That lecturing knave never knows when to stop, and he isactually insulting men before whom, after all, he ought not to dare openhis lips. I see that your Lordship is naturally not very much inclinedto quit your present occupation, in order to act moderator to a set ofbrawlers; but come, you shall not be quite sacrificed to the county. Iwill give up the waltz in which I was engaged, and keep your seat untilyour return. "

The Marquess, who was always "keeping up county influence, " was veryshocked at the obstreperous conduct of Liberal Snake. Indeed he hadviewed the arrival of this worthy with no smiling countenance, but whatcould he say, as he came in the suit of Lord Pert, who was writing, withthe lecturer's assistance, a little pamphlet on the Currency?Apologising to Mrs. Million, and promising to return as soon as possibleand lead her to the music-room, the Marquess retired, with thedetermination of annihilating one of the stoutest members of thePolitical Economy Club. 

Vivian began by apologising to Mrs. Million for disturbing her progressto the Hall by his sudden arrival before dinner; and then for a quarterof an hour poured forth the usual quantity of piquant anecdotes andinsidious compliments. Mrs. Million found Vivian's conversation nodisagreeable relief to the pompous prosiness of his predecessor. 

And now, having succeeded in commanding Mrs. Million's attention by thatgeneral art of pleasing which was for all the world, and which was, ofcourse, formed upon his general experience of human nature, Vivian beganto make his advances to Mrs. Million's feelings by a particular art ofpleasing; that is, an art which was for the particular person alone whomhe was at any time addressing, and which was founded on his particularknowledge of that person's character. 

"How beautiful the old Hall looked to-day! It is a scene which can onlybe met with in ancient families. "

"Ah! there is nothing like old families!" remarked Mrs. Million, withall the awkward feelings of a parvenue. 

"Do you think so?" said Vivian; "I once thought so myself, but I confessthat my opinion is greatly changed. After all, what is noble blood? Myeye is now resting on a crowd of nobles; and yet, being among them, dowe treat them in a manner differing in any way from that which we shouldemploy to individuals of a lower caste who were equally uninteresting?"

"Certainly not, " said Mrs. Million. 

"The height of the ambition of the less exalted ranks is to be noble, because they conceive to be noble implies to be superior; associating intheir minds, as they always do, a pre-eminence over then equals. But tobe noble among nobles, where is the preeminence?"

"Where indeed?" said Mrs. Million; and she thought of herself, sittingthe most considered personage in this grand castle, and yet withsufficiently base blood flowing in her veins. 

"And thus, in the highest circles, " continued Vivian, "a man is ofcourse not valued because he is a Marquess or a Duke; but because he isa great warrior, or a great statesman, or very fashionable, or verywitty. In all classes but the highest, a peer, however unbefriended bynature or by fortune, becomes a man of a certain rate of consequence;but to be a person of consequence in the highest class requiressomething else besides high blood. "

"I quite agree with you in your sentiments, Mr. Grey. Now whatcharacter or what situation in life would you choose, if you had thepower of making your choice?"

"That is really a most metaphysical question. As is the custom of allyoung men, I have sometimes, in my reveries, imagined what I conceivedto be a lot of pure happiness: and yet Mrs. Million will perhaps beastonished that I was neither to be nobly born nor to acquire nobility, that I was not to be a statesman, or a poet, or a warrior, or amerchant, nor indeed any profession, not even a professional dandy. "

"Oh! love in a cottage, I suppose, " interrupted Mrs. Million. 

"Neither love in a cottage, nor science in a cell. "

"Oh! pray tell me what it is. "

"What if is? Oh! Lord Mayor of London, I suppose; that is the onlysituation which answers to my oracular description. "

"Then you have been joking all this time!"

"Not at all. Come then, let us imagine this perfect lot. In the firstplace, I would be born in the middle classes of society, or even lower, because I would wish my character to be impartially developed. I wouldbe born to no hereditary prejudices, no hereditary passions. My coursein life should not be carved out by the example of a grandfather, nor myideas modelled to a preconceived system of family perfection. Do youlike my first principle, Mrs. Million?"

"I must hear everything before I give an opinion. "

"When, therefore, my mind was formed, I would wish to become theproprietor of a princely fortune. "

"Yes!" eagerly exclaimed Mrs. Million. 

"And now would come the moral singularity of my fate. If I had gainedthis fortune by commerce, or in any other similar mode, my disposition, before the creation of this fortune, would naturally have been formed, and been permanently developed; and my mind would have been similarlyaffected, had I succeeded to some ducal father; for I should then, inall probability, have inherited some family line of conduct, both moraland political. But under the circumstances I have imagined, the resultwould be far different. I should then be in the singular situation ofpossessing, at the same time, unbounded wealth, and the whole powers andnatural feelings of my mind unoppressed and unshackled. Oh! how splendidwould be my career! I would not allow the change in my condition toexercise any influence on my natural disposition. I would experiencethe same passions and be subject to the same feelings, only they shouldbe exercised and influential in a wider sphere. Then would be seen theinfluence of great wealth, directed by a disposition similar to that ofthe generality of men, inasmuch as it had been formed like that of thegenerality of men; and consequently, one much better acquainted withtheir feelings, their habits, and their wishes. Such a lot would indeedbe princely! Such a lot would infallibly ensure the affection andrespect of the great majority of mankind; and, supported by them, whatshould I care if I were misunderstood by a few fools and abused by afew knaves?"

Here came the Marquess to lead the lady to the concert. As she quittedher seat, a smile, beaming with graciousness, rewarded her youthfulcompanion. "Ah!" thought Mrs. Million, "I go to the concert, but leavesweeter music than can possibly meet me there. What is the magic ofthese words? It is not flattery; such is not the language of MissGusset! It is not a rifacimento of compliments; such is not the stylewith which I am saluted by the Duke of Doze and the Earl of Leatherdale!Apparently I have heard a young philosopher delivering his sentimentsupon an abstract point in human life; and yet have I not listened to abrilliant apology for my own character, and a triumphant defence of myown conduct. Of course it was unintentional; and yet how agreeable to beunintentionally defended!" So mused Mrs. Million, and she made athousand vows not to let a day pass over without obtaining a pledge fromVivian Grey to visit her on their return to the metropolis. 

Vivian remained in his seat for some time after the departure of hiscompanion. "On my honour, I have half a mind to desert my embryo factionand number myself in her gorgeous retinue. Let me see. What part shouldI act? her secretary, or her toad-eater, or her physician, or her cook?or shall I be her page? Me-thinks I should make a pretty page, and handa chased goblet as gracefully as any monkey that ever bent his knee in alady's chamber. Well! at any rate, there is this chance to be kept back, as the gambler does his last trump, or the cunning fencer hislast ruse. "

He rose to offer his arm to some stray fair one; for crowds were nowhurrying to pineapples and lobster salads: that is to say, supper wasready in the Long Gallery. 

In a moment Vivian's arm was locked in that of Mrs. Felix Lorraine. 

"Oh, Mr. Grey, I have got a much better ghost story than even that ofthe Leyden Professor for you; but I am so wearied with waltzing that Imust tell it you to-morrow. How came you to be so late this morning?Have you been paying many calls to-day? I quite missed you at dinner. Doyou think Ernest Clay handsome? I dare not repeat what Lady Scrope saidof you! You are an admirer of Lady Julia Knighton, I believe? I do notmuch like this plan of supping in the Long Gallery; it is a favouritelocale of mine, and I have no idea of my private promenade being invadedby the uninteresting presence of trifles and Italian creams. Have youbeen telling Mrs. Million that she was very witty?" asked Vivian'scompanion, with a significant look. 

CHAPTER XV

Sweet reader! you know what a Toadey is? That agreeable animal which youmeet every day in civilised society. But perhaps you have not speculatedvery curiously upon this interesting race. So much the worse! for youcannot live many lustres without finding it of some service to be alittle acquainted with their habits. 

The world in general is under a mistake as to the nature of thesevermin. They are by no means characterised by that similarity ofdisposition for which your common observer gives them credit. There areToadeys of all possible natures. 

There is your Common-place Toadey, who merely echoes its feeder'scommon-place observations. There is your Playing-up Toadey, who, unconscious to its feeder, is always playing up to its feeder'sweaknesses; and, as the taste of that feeder varies, accordinglyprovides its cates and confitures. A little bit of scandal for a dashingwidow, or a pious little hymn for a sainted one; the secret history of anewly discovered gas for a May Fair feeder, and an interesting anecdoteabout a Newgate bobcap or a Penitentiary apron for a charitable one. Then there is your Drawing-out Toadey, who omits no opportunity ofgiving you a chance of being victorious in an argument where there is nocontest, and a dispute where there is no difference; and then thereis--but we detest essay writing, so we introduce you at once to a partyof these vermin. If you wish to enjoy a curious sight, you must watchthe Toadeys when they are unembarrassed by the almost perpetual presenceof their breeders; when they are animated by "the spirit of freedom;"when, like Curran's Negro, the chain bursts by the impulse of theirswelling veins. The great singularity is the struggle between theirnatural and their acquired feelings: the eager opportunity which theyseize of revenging their voluntary bondage, by their secret taunts, ontheir adopted task-masters, and the servility which they habitually mixup even with their scandal. Like veritable Grimalkins, they fawn upontheir victims previous to the festival; compliment them upon the lengthof their whiskers and the delicacy of their limbs prior to excoriatingthem, and dwelling on the flavour of their crashed bones. 'Tis abeautiful scene, and ten thousand times more piquant than the humours ofa Servants' Hall, or the most grotesque and glorious moments of highlife below stairs. 

"Dear Miss Graves, " said Miss Gusset, "you can't imagine how terrified Iwas at that horrible green parrot flying upon my head! I declare itpulled out three locks of hair. "

"Horrible green parrot, my dear madam! Why, it was sent to my Lady byPrince Xtmnprqtosklw, and never shall I forget the agitation we were inabout that parrot. I thought it would never have got to the Château, forthe Prince could only send his carriage with it as far as Toadcaster. Luckily my Lady's youngest brother, who was staying at Desir, happenedto get drowned at the time; and so Davenport, very clever of him! senther on in my Lord Dormer's hearse. "

"In the hearse! Good heavens, Miss Graves! How could you think of greenparrots at such an awful moment? I should have been in fits for threedays; eh! Dr. Sly?"

"Certainly you would, madame; your nerves are very delicate. "

"Well! I, for my part, never could see much use in giving up to one'sfeelings. It is all very well for commoners, " rather rudely exclaimedthe Marchioness' Toadey; "but we did not choose to expose ourselves tothe servants when the old General died this year. Everything went on asusual. Her Ladyship attended Almack's; my Lord took his seat in theHouse; and I looked in at Lady Doubtful's where we do not visit, butwhere the Marchioness wishes to be civil. "

"We do not visit Lady Doubtful either, " replied Miss Gusset: "she hadnot a card for our fête champêtre. I was so sorry you were not in town. It was so delightful!"

"Do tell me who was there? I quite long to know all about it. I saw someaccount of it. Everything seemed to go off so well. Do tell me whowas there?"

"Oh! there was plenty of Royalty at the head of the list. Really Icannot go Into particulars, but everybody was there who is anybody;eh! Dr. Sly?"

"Certainly, madam. The pines were most admirable. There are few peoplefor whom I entertain a higher esteem, than Mr. Gunter. "

"The Marchioness seems very fond of her parrot, Miss Graves; but she isa sweet woman!"

"Oh, a dear, amiable creature! but I cannot think how she can bear theeternal screaming of that noisy bird. "

"Nor I, indeed. Well, thank goodness, Mrs. Million has no pets; eh! Dr. Sly?"

"Certainly. I am clearly of opinion that it cannot be wholesome to haveso many animals about a house. Besides which, I have noticed that theMarchioness always selects the nicest morsels for that little poodle;and I am also clearly of opinion, Miss Graves, that the fit it had theother day arose from repletion. "

"I have no doubt of it in the world. She consumes three pounds ofarrowroot weekly and two pounds of the finest loaf sugar, which I havethe trouble of grating every Monday morning. Mrs. Million appears to bea most amiable woman, Miss Gusset?"

"Quite perfection; so charitable, so intellectual, such a soul! It is apity, though, her manner is so abrupt; she really does not appear toadvantage sometimes; eh! Dr. Sly?"

The Toadey's Toadey bowed assent as usual. "Well, " rejoined Miss Graves, "that is rather a fault of the dear Marchioness, a little want ofconsideration for another's feelings; but she means nothing. "

"Oh, no! nor Mrs. Million, dear creature! She means nothing; though Idare say, not knowing her so well as we do; eh! Dr. Sly? you were alittle surprised at the way in which she spoke to me at dinner. "

"All people have their oddities, Miss Gusset. I am sure the Marchionessis not aware how she tries my patience about that little wretch Julie. Ihad to rub her with warm flannels for an hour and a half before the firethis morning; that is that Vivian Grey's doing. "

"Who is this Mr. Grey, Miss Graves?"

"Who, indeed! Some young man the Marquess has picked up, and who comeslecturing here about poodles and parrots, and thinking himself quiteLord Paramount, I can assure you. I am surprised that the Marchioness, who is a most sensible woman, can patronise such conduct a moment; butwhenever she begins to see through him the young gentleman has alwaysgot a story about a bracelet, or a bandeau, and quite turns her head. "

"Very disagreeable, I am sure. "

"Some people are so easily managed! By-the-bye, Miss Gusset, who couldhave advised Mrs. Million to wear crimson? So large as she is, it doesnot at all suit her. I suppose it's a favourite colour. "

"Dear Miss Graves, you are always so insinuating. What can Miss Gravesmean; eh! Dr. Sly?"

A Lord Burleigh shake of the head. 

"Cynthia Courtown seems as lively as ever, " said Miss Gusset. 

"Yes, lively enough; but I wish her manner was less brusque. "

"Brusque, indeed! you may well say so. She nearly pushed me down in theHall; and when I looked as if I thought she might have given me a littlemore room, she tossed her head and said, 'Beg pardon, never saw you!'"

"I wonder what Lord Alhambra sees in that girl?"

"Oh! those forward misses always take the men. "

"Well, " said Miss Graves, "I have no notion that it will come toanything; I am sure, I, for one, hope not, " added she, with all aToadey's venom. 

"The Marquess seems to keep a remarkably good table, " said thephysician. "There was a haunch to-day, which I really think was thefinest haunch I ever met with; but that little move at dinner; it was, to say the least, very ill-timed. "

"Yes, that was Vivian Grey again, " said Miss Graves, very indignantly. 

"So you have got the Beaconsfields here, Miss Graves! nice, unaffected, quiet people. "

"Yes, very quiet. "

"As you say, Miss Graves, very quiet, but a little heavy. "

"Yes, heavy enough. "

"If you had but seen the quantity of pineapples that boy Dormer Stanhopedevoured at our fête champêtre! but I have the comfort of knowing thatthey made him very ill; eh! Dr. Sly?"

"Oh! he learnt that from his uncle, " said Miss Graves; "it is quitedisgusting to see how that Vivian Grey encourages him. "

"What an elegant, accomplished woman Mrs. Felix Lorraine seems to be, Miss Graves! I suppose the Marchioness is very fond of her?"

"Oh, yes; the Marchioness is so good-natured that I dare say she thinksvery well of Mrs. Felix Lorraine. She thinks well of everyone; but Ibelieve Mrs. Felix is rather a greater favourite with the Marquess. "

"O--h!" drawled out Miss Gusset with a very significant tone. "I supposeshe is one of your playing-up ladies. I think you told me she was onlyon a visit here. "

"A pretty long visit, though, for a sister-in-law, if sister-in-law shebe. As I was saying to the Marchioness the other day, when Mrs. Felixoffended her so violently by trampling on the dear little Julie, if itcame into a court of justice I should like to see the proof; that's all. At any rate, it is pretty evident that Mr. Lorraine has had enough ofhis bargain. "

"Quite evident, I think; eh! Dr. Sly? Those German women never make goodEnglish wives, " continued Miss Gusset, with all a Toadey's patriotism. 

"Talking of wives, did not you think Lady Julia spoke very strangely ofSir Peter after dinner to-day? I hate that Lady Julia, if it be only forpetting Vivian Grey so. "

"Yes, indeed, it is quite enough to make one sick; eh! Dr. Sly?"

The doctor shook his head mournfully, remembering the haunch. 

"They say Ernest Clay is in sad difficulties, Miss Gusset. "

"Well, I always expected his dash would end in that. Those wildharum-scarum men are monstrous disagreeable. I like a person of somereflection; eh! Dr. Sly?"

Before the doctor could bow his usual assent there entered a prettylittle page, very daintily attired in a fancy dress of green and silver. Twirling his richly chased dirk with one tiny white hand, and at thesame time playing with a pet curl which was picturesquely flowing overhis forehead, he advanced with ambling gait to Miss Gusset, and, in amincing voice and courtly phrase, summoned her to the imperial presence. 

The lady's features immediately assumed the expression which befittedthe approaching interview, and in a moment Miss Graves and the physicianwere left alone. 

"Very amiable young woman Miss Gusset appears to be, Dr. Sly?"

"Oh! the most amiable being in the world; I owe her the greatestobligations. "

"So gentle in her manners. "

"O yes, so gentle. "

"So considerate for everybody. "

"Oh, yes! so considerate, " echoed the Aberdeen M. D. 

"I am afraid, though, she must sometimes meet with people who do notexactly understand her character; such extraordinary consideration forothers is sometimes liable to misconstruction. "

"Very sensibly remarked, Miss Graves. I am sure Miss Gusset means well;and that kind of thing is all very admirable in its way; but, but--"

"But what, Dr. Sly?"

"Why, I was merely going to hazard an observation, that according to myfeelings, that is, to my own peculiar view of the case, I should prefersome people thinking more about their own business, and, and, but Imean nothing. "

"Oh, no, of course not, Dr. Sly! You know we always except our ownimmediate friends, at least when we can be sure they are our friends;but, as you were saying, or going to say, those persons who are so veryanxious about other people's affairs are not always the most agreeablepersons in the world to live with. It certainly did strike me that thatinterference of Miss Gusset's about Julie to-day was, to say the least, very odd. "

"Oh, my dear madam! when you know her as well as I do, you will see sheis always ready to put in a word. "

"Well! do you know, Dr. Sly, between ourselves, that was exactly myimpression; and she is then very, very, I do not exactly mean to saymeddling or inquisitive; but, but you understand me, Dr. Sly?"

"Perfectly; and if I were to speak my mind, which I do not hesitate todo in confidence to you, Miss Graves, I really should say that she isthe most jealous, irritable, malicious, meddling, and at the same timefawning, disposition that I ever met with in the whole course of mylife, and I speak from experience. "

"Well, do you know, Dr. Sly, from all I have seen, that was exactly myimpression; therefore I have been particularly careful not to commitmyself to such a person. "

"'Ah! Miss Graves! if all ladies were like you' O--h!"

"My dear Dr. Sly!"

CHAPTER XVI

Vivian had duly acquainted the Marquess with the successful progress ofhis negotiations with their intended partisans, and Lord Carabas hadhimself conversed with them singly on the important subject. It wasthought proper, however, in this stage of the proceedings, that thepersons interested should meet together; and so the two Lords, and SirBerdmore, and Vivian were invited to dine with the Marquess alone, andin his library. 

There was abundance of dumb waiters and other inventions by which theease of the guests might be consulted, without risking even their secretlooks to the gaze of liveried menials. The Marquess' gentleman sat in anante-chamber, in case human aid might be necessary, and everything, ashis Lordship averred, was "on the same system as the Cabinet Dinners. "

In the ancient kingdom of England it hath ever been the custom to dinepreviously to transacting business. This habit is one of those few whichare not contingent upon the mutable fancies of fashion, and at this daywe see Cabinet Dinners and Vestry Dinners alike proving the correctnessof our assertion. Whether the custom really expedites the completion orthe general progress of the business which gives rise to it, is a gravequestion, which we do not feel qualified to decide. Certain it is thatvery often, after the _dinner_, an appointment is made for thetransaction of the _business_ on the following morning: at the same timeit must be remembered that, had it not been for the opportunity whichthe banquet afforded of developing the convivial qualities of theguests, and drawing out, by the assistance of generous wine, their mostkindly sentiments and most engaging feelings, it is very probable thatthe appointment for the transaction of the business would never havebeen made at all. 

There certainly was every appearance that "the great business, " as theMarquess styled it, would not be very much advanced by the cabinetdinner at Château Desir. For, in the first place, the table was laden"with every delicacy of the season, " and really, when a man is eithergoing to talk sense, fight a duel, or make his will, nothing should beseen at dinner save cutlets and the lightest Bordeaux. And, in thesecond place, it must be confessed, that when it came to the point ofall the parties interested meeting, the Marquess' courage somewhatmisgave him. Not that any particular reason occurred to him which wouldhave induced him to yield one jot of the theory of his sentiments, butthe putting them in practice rather made him nervous. In short, he wasas convinced as ever that he was an ill-used man, of great influence andabilities; but then he remembered his agreeable sinecure and hisdignified office, and he might not succeed. The thought did not please. 

But here they were all assembled; receding was impossible; and so theMarquess took a glass of claret, and felt more courageous. 

"My Lords and Gentlemen, " he began, "although I have myself taken theopportunity of communicating to you singly my thoughts upon a certainsubject, and although, if I am rightly informed, my excellent youngfriend has communicated to you more fully upon that subject; yet, myLords and Gentlemen, I beg to remark that this is the first time that wehave collectively assembled to consult on the possibility of certainviews, upon the propriety of their nature, and the expediency of theiradoption. " (Here the claret passed. ) "The present state of parties, " theMarquess continued, "has doubtless for a long time engaged yourattention. It is very peculiar, and although the result has beengradually arrived at, it is nevertheless, now that it is realised, startling, and not, I apprehend, very satisfactory. There are fewdistinctions now between the two sides of the House of Commons, verydifferent from the times in which most, I believe all, of us, my Lordsand Gentlemen, were members of that assembly. The question thennaturally arises, why a certain body of individuals, who now representno opinions, should arrogate to themselves the entire government andcontrol of the country? A second question would occur, how they contriveto succeed in such an assumption? They succeed clearly because theparty who placed them in power, because they represented certainopinions, still continue to them their support. Some of the mostinfluential members of that party, I am bold to say, may be found inthis room. I don't know, if the boroughs of Lord Courtown and LordBeaconsfield were withdrawn at a critical division, what might be theresult. I am quite sure that if the forty country gentlemen who follow, I believe I am justified in saying, our friend Sir Berdmore, and wiselyfollow him, were to declare their opposition to any particular tax, thepresent men would be beaten, as they have been beaten before. I wasmyself a member of the government when so beaten, and I know what LordLiverpool said the next morning. Lord Liverpool said the next morning. 'Forty country gentlemen, if they choose, might repeal every tax in theBudget. ' Under these circumstances, my Lords and Gentlemen, it becomesus, in my opinion, to consider our situation. I am far from wishing towitness any general change, or indeed, very wide reconstruction of thepresent administration. I think the interests of the country requirethat the general tenor of their system should be supported; but thereare members of that administration whose claims to that distinctionappear to me more than questionable, while at the same time there areindividuals excluded, personages of great influence and recognisedtalents, who ought no longer, in my opinion, to occupy a position in thebackground. Mr. Vivian Grey, a gentleman whom I have the honour to callmy particular friend, and who, I believe, has had already the pleasureof incidentally conversing with you on the matters to which I havereferred, has given great attention to this important subject. He is ayounger man than any of us, and certainly has much better lungs than Ihave. I will take the liberty, therefore, of requesting him to put thecase in its completeness before us. "

A great deal of "desultory conversation, " as it is styled, relative tothe great topic of debate, now occurred. When the blood of the party wastolerably warmed, Vivian addressed them. The tenor of his oration may beimagined. He developed the new political principles, demonstrated themistake under the baneful influence of which they had so long suffered, promised them place, and power, and patronage, and personalconsideration, if they would only act on the principles which herecommended, in the most flowing language and the most melodious voicein which the glories of ambition were ever yet chaunted. There was abuzz of admiration when the flattering music ceased; the Marquess smiledtriumphantly, as if to say, "Didn't I tell you he was a monstrous cleverfellow?" and the whole business seemed settled. Lord Courtown gave in abumper, _"Mr. Vivian Grey, and success to his maiden speech!"_ andVivian replied by proposing _"The New Union!"_ At last, Sir Berdmore, the coolest of them all, raised his voice: "He quite agreed with Mr. Grey in the principles which he had developed; and, for his own part, hewas free to confess that he had perfect confidence in that gentleman'svery brilliant abilities, and augured from their exertion complete andtriumphant success. At the same time, he felt it his duty to remark totheir Lordships, and also to that gentleman, that the House of Commonswas a new scene to him; and he put it, whether they were quite convincedthat they were sufficiently strong as regarded talent in that assembly. He could not take it upon himself to offer to become the leader of theparty. Mr. Grey might be capable of undertaking that charge, but still, it must be remembered that in that assembly he was as yet untried. Hemade no apology to Mr. Grey for speaking his mind so freely; he was surethat his motives could not be misinterpreted. If their Lordships, on thewhole, were of opinion that this charge should be entrusted to him, he, Sir Berdmore, having the greatest confidence in Mr. Grey's abilities, would certainly support him to the utmost. "

"He can do anything, " said the Marquess. 

"He is a surprising clever man!" said Lord Courtown. 

"He is a surprising clever man!" echoed Lord Beaconsfield. 

"Stop, my Lords, " said Vivian; "your good opinion deserves my gratitude, but these important matters do indeed require a moment's consideration. I trust that Sir Berdmore Scrope does not imagine that I am the vainidiot to be offended at his most excellent remarks, even for a moment. Are we not met here for the common good, and to consult for the successof the common cause? Whatever my talents are, they are at your service, and in your service will I venture anything; but surely, my Lords, youwill not unnecessarily entrust this great business to a raw hand! I needonly aver that I am ready to follow any leader who can play his greatpart in a becoming manner. "

"Noble!" said the Marquess. 

But who was the leader to be? Sir Berdmore frankly confessed that hehad none to propose; and the Viscount and the Baron were quite silent. 

"Gentlemen!" exclaimed the Marquess, "Gentlemen! there is a man whocould do our bidding, " The eyes of every guest were fixed on theharanguing host. 

"Gentlemen, fill your glasses, I give you our leader, Mr. FrederickCleveland!"

"Cleveland"' every one exclaimed. A glass of claret fell from LordCourtown's hand; Lord Beaconsfield stopped as he was about to fill hisglass, and stood gaping at the Marquess with the decanter in his hand;and Sir Berdmore stared on the table, as men do when somethingunexpected and astounding has occurred at dinner which seems past alltheir management. 

"Cleveland!" exclaimed the guests. 

"I should as soon have expected you to have given us Lucifer!" said LordCourtown. 

"Or the present Secretary!" said Lord Beaconsfield. 

"Or yourself, " said Sir Berdmore. 

"And does any one maintain that Frederick Cleveland is not capable ofdriving out a much stronger Government than he will have to cope with?"demanded the Marquess with a rather fierce air. 

"We do not deny Mr. Cleveland's powers, my Lord; we only humbly beg tosuggest that it appears to us that, of all the persons in the world, theman with whom Mr. Cleveland would be least inclined to coalesce would bethe Marquess of Carabas. "

The Marquess looked somewhat blank. 

"Gentlemen, " said Vivian, "do not despair; it is enough for me to knowthat there is a man who is capable of doing our work. Be he animate manor incarnate fiend, provided he can be found within this realm, I pledgemyself that within ten days he is drinking my noble friend's health atthis very board. "

The Marquess said, "Bravo, " the rest smiled, and rose from the table insome confusion. Little more was said on the "great business. " The gueststook refuge in coffee and a glass of liqueur. The pledge was, however, apparently accepted, and Lord Carabas and Vivian were soon left alone. The Marquess seemed agitated by Vivian's offer and engagement. "This isa grave business, " he said: "you hardly know, my dear Vivian, what youhave undertaken; but, if anybody can succeed, you will. We must talk ofthis to-morrow. There are some obstacles, and I should once havethought, invincible. I cannot conceive what made me mention his name;but it has been often in my mind since you first spoke to me. You and hetogether, we might carry everything before us. But there are someobstacles; no doubt there are some obstacles. You heard what Courtownsaid, a man who does not make difficulties, and Beaconsfield, a man whodoes not say much. Courtown called him Lucifer. He is Lucifer. But, byJove, you are the man to overcome obstacles. We must talk of itto-morrow. So now, my dear fellow, good night!"

"What have I done?" thought Vivian; "I am sure that Lucifer may know, for I do not. This Cleveland is, I suppose, after all, but a man. I sawthe feeble fools were wavering, and, to save all, made a leap in thedark. Well! is my skull cracked? Nous verrons. How hot either this roomor my blood is! Come, for some fresh air (he opened the library window). How fresh and soft it is! Just the night for the balcony. Hah! music! Icannot mistake that voice. Singular woman! I will just walk on till I ambeneath her window. "

Vivian accordingly proceeded along the balcony, which extended down onewhole side of the Château. While he was looking at the moon he stumbledagainst some one. It was Colonel Delmington. He apologised to themilitaire for treading on his toes, and wondered "how the devil hegot there!"

BOOK III

CHAPTER I

Fredrick Cleveland was educated at Eton and at Cambridge; and afterhaving proved, both at the school and the University, that he possessedtalents of a high order, he had the courage, in order to perfect them, to immure himself for three years in a German University. It wasimpossible, therefore, for two minds to have been cultivated on morecontrary systems than those of Frederick Cleveland and Vivian Grey. Thesystems on which they had been educated were not, however, morediscordant than the respective tempers of the pupils. With that ofVivian Grey the reader is now somewhat acquainted. It has been shownthat he was one precociously convinced of the necessity of managingmankind, by studying their tempers and humouring their weaknesses. Cleveland turned from the Book of Nature with contempt, and although hiswas a mind of extraordinary acuteness, he was, at three-and-thirty, asignorant of the workings of the human heart as when, in the innocence ofboyhood, he first reached Eton. 

Although possessed of no fortune, from his connections and thereputation of his abilities, he entered Parliament at an early age. Hissuccess was eminent. It was at this period that he formed a, greatintimacy with the present Marquess of Carabas, then Under Secretary ofState. His exertions for the party to which Mr. Under Secretary Lorrainebelonged were unremitting; and it was mainly through their influencethat a great promotion took place in the official appointments of theparty. When the hour of reward came, Mr. Lorraine and his friendsunfortunately forgot their youthful champion. He remonstrated, and theysmiled: he reminded them of private friendship, and they answered himwith political expediency. Mr. Cleveland went down to the House, andattacked his old comates in a spirit of unexampled bitterness. Heexamined in review the various members of the party that had desertedhim. They trembled on their seats, while they writhed beneath thekeenness of his satire: but when the orator came to Mr. PresidentLorraine, he flourished the tomahawk on high like a wild Indianchieftain; and the attack was so awfully severe, so overpowering, soannihilating, that even this hackneyed and hardened official trembled, turned pale, and quitted the House, Cleveland's triumph was splendid, but it was only for a night. Disgusted with mankind, he scouted thethousand offers of political connections which crowded upon him; andhaving succeeded in making an arrangement with his creditors, heaccepted the Chiltern Hundreds. 

By the interest of his friends he procured a judicial situation ofsufficient emolument, but of local duty; and to fulfil this duty he wasobliged to reside in North Wales. The locality, indeed, suited him well, for he was sick of the world at nine-and-twenty; and, carrying hisbeautiful and newly-married wife from the world, which without him shecould not love, Mr. Cleveland enjoyed all the luxuries of a cottageornée in the most romantic part of the Principality. Here were born untohim a son and daughter, beautiful children, upon whom the fatherlavished all the affection which Nature had intended for the world. 

Four years had Cleveland now passed in his solitude, an unhappy man. Athousand times during the first year of his retirement he cursed themoment of excitement which had banished him from the world; for he foundhimself without resources, and restless as a curbed courser. Like manymen who are born to be orators, like Curran and like Fox, Cleveland wasnot blessed, or cursed, with the faculty of composition; and indeed, hadhis pen been that of a ready writer, pique would have prevented him fromdelighting or instructing a world whose nature he endeavoured topersuade himself was base, and whose applause ought, consequently, to bevalueless. In the second year he endeavoured to while away his time byinteresting himself in those pursuits which Nature has kindly providedfor country gentlemen. Farming kept him alive for a while; but, atlength, his was the prize ox; and, having gained a cup, he got weariedof kine too prime for eating, wheat too fine for the composition of thestaff of life, and ploughs so ingeniously contrived that the veryingenuity prevented them from being useful. Cleveland was now seenwandering over the moors and mountains, with a gun over his shoulder anda couple of dogs at his heels; but ennui returned in spite of his patentpercussion: and so, at length, tired of being a sportsman, he almostbecame what he had fancied himself in an hour of passion, a misanthrope. 

After having been closeted with Lord Carabas for a considerable time themorning after the cabinet dinner, Vivian left Château Desir. 

He travelled night and day, until he arrived in the vicinity of Mr. Cleveland's abode. What was he to do now? After some deliberation, hedespatched a note to Mr. Cleveland, informing him "that he (Mr. Grey)was the bearer to Mr. Cleveland of a 'communication of importance. 'Under the circumstances of the case, he observed that he had declinedbringing any letters of introduction. He was quite aware, therefore, that he should have no right to complain if he had to travel back threehundred miles without having the honour of an interview; but he trustedthat this necessary breach of etiquette would be overlooked. "

The note produced the desired effect, and an appointment was made forMr. Grey to call at Kenrich Lodge on the following morning. 

Vivian, as he entered the room, took a rapid glance at its master. Mr. Cleveland was tall and distinguished, with a fare which might have beena model for manly beauty. He came forward to receive Vivian with aNewfoundland dog on one side and a large black greyhound on the other;and the two animals, after having elaborately examined the stranger, divided between them the luxuries of the rug. The reception which Mr. Cleveland gave our hero was cold and constrained; but it did not appearto be purposely uncivil, and Vivian flattered himself that his mannerwas not unusually stiff. 

"I do not know whether I have the honour of addressing the son of Mr. Horace Grey?" said Mr. Cleveland, with a frowning countenance, which wasintended to be courteous. 

"I have that honour. "

"Your father, sir, is a most amiable and able man. I had the pleasure ofhis acquaintance when I was in London, many years ago, at a time whenMr. Vivian Grey was not entrusted, I rather imagine, with missions 'ofimportance. '" Although Mr. Cleveland smiled when he said this, his smilewas anything but a gracious one. The subdued satire of his keen eyeburst out for an instant, and he looked as if he would have said, "Whois this yonker who is trespassing upon my retirement?"

Vivian had, unbidden, seated himself by the side of Mr. Cleveland'slibrary table; and, not knowing exactly how to proceed, was employinghimself by making a calculation whether there were more black than whitespots on the body of the old Newfoundland, who was now apparentlyhappily slumbering. 

"Well, sir!" continued the Newfoundland's master, "the nature of yourcommunication? I am fond of coming to the point. "

Now this was precisely the thing which Vivian had determined not to do;and so he diplomatised, in order to gain time. "In stating, Mr. Cleveland, that the communication which I had to make was one ofimportance, I beg to be understood, that it was with reference merely tomy opinion of its nature that that phrase was used, and not as relativeto the possible, or, allow me to say, the probable, opinion of Mr. Cleveland. "

"Well, sir!" said that gentleman, with a somewhat disappointed air. 

"As to the purport or nature of the communication it is, " said Vivian, with one of his sweetest cadences and looking up to Mr. Cleveland's facewith an eye expressive of all kindness, "it is of a political nature. "

"Well, sir!" again exclaimed Cleveland, looking very anxious, and movingrestlessly on his library chair. 

"When we take into consideration, Mr. Cleveland, the present aspect ofthe political world, when we call to mind the present situation of thetwo great political parties, you will not be surprised, I feelconfident, when I mention that certain personages have thought that theseason was at hand when a move might be made in the political world withvery considerable effect--"

"Mr. Grey, what am I to understand?" interrupted Mr. Cleveland, whobegan to suspect that the envoy was no greenhorn. 

"I feel confident, Mr. Cleveland, that I am doing very imperfect justiceto the mission with which I am entrusted; but, sir, you must be awarethat the delicate nature of such disclosures, and--"

"Mr. Grey, I feel confident that you do not doubt my honour; and, as forthe rest, the world has, I believe, some foolish tales about me; but, believe me, you shall be listened to with patience. I am certain that, whatever may be the communication, Mr. Vivian Grey is a gentleman whowill do its merits justice. "

And now Vivian, having succeeded in exciting Cleveland's curiosity andsecuring himself the certainty of a hearing, and having also made afavourable impression, dropped the diplomatist altogether, and wasexplicit enough for a Spartan. 

"Certain Noblemen and Gentlemen of eminence and influence, hithertoconsidered as props of the ---- party, are about to take a novel anddecided course next Session. It is to obtain the aid and personalco-operation of Mr. Cleveland that I am now in Wales. 

"Mr. Grey, I have promised to listen to you with patience: you are tooyoung a man to know much, perhaps, of the history of so insignificant apersonage as myself, otherwise you would have been aware that there isno subject in the world on which I am less inclined to converse thanthat of politics. If I were entitled to take such a liberty, I wouldrecommend you to think of them as little as I do; but enough of this. Who is the mover of the party?"

"My Lord Courtown is a distinguished member of it. "

"Courtown, Courtown; powerful enough: but surely the good Viscount'sskull is not exactly the head for the chief of a cabal?"

"There is my Lord Beaconsfield. "

"Powerful, too; but a dolt. "

"Well, " thought Vivian, "it must out at last; and so to it boldly. And, Mr. Cleveland, there is little fear that we may secure the greatinfluence and tried talents of the Marquess of Carabas. "

"The Marquess of Carabas!" almost shrieked Mr. Cleveland, as be startedfrom his seat and paced the room with hurried steps; and the greyhoundand the Newfoundland jumped up from the rug, shook themselves, growled, and then imitated their master in promenading the apartment, but withmore dignified and stately paces. "The Marquess of Carabas! Now, Mr. Grey, speak to me with the frankness which one gentleman should use toanother; is the Marquess of Carabas privy to this application?"

"He himself proposed it. "

"Then he is baser than even I conceived. Mr. Grey, I am a man spare ofmy speech to those with whom I am unacquainted, and the world tails me asoured, malicious man. And yet, when I think for a moment that one soyoung as you are, endowed as I must suppose with no ordinary talents, and actuated as I will believe with a pure and honourable spirit, shouldbe the dupe, or tool, or even present friend of such a creature as thisperjured Peer, it gives me pang. "

"Mr. Cleveland, " said Vivian, "I am grateful for your kindness; andalthough we may probably part, in a few hours, never to meet again, Iwill speak to you with the frankness which you have merited, and towhich I feel you are entitled. I am not the dupe of the Marquess ofCarabas; I am not, I trust, the dupe, or tool, of any one whatever. Believe me, sir, there is that at work in England which, taken at thetide, may lead on to fortune. I see this, sir; I, a young man, uncommitted in political principles, unconnected in public life, feelingsome confidence, I confess, in my own abilities, but desirous ofavailing myself, at the same time, of the powers of others. Thussituated, I find myself working for the same end as my Lord Carabas andtwenty other men of similar calibre, mental and moral; and, sir, am I toplay the hermit in the drama of life because, perchance, myfellow-actors may be sometimes fools, and occasionally knaves? If theMarquess of Carabas has done you the ill-service which Fame says hehas, your sweetest revenge will be to make him your tool; your mostperfect triumph, to rise to power by his influence. 

"I confess that I am desirous of finding in you the companion of mycareer. Your splendid talents have long commanded my admiration; and, asyou have given me credit for something like good feeling, I will saythat my wish to find in you a colleague is greatly increased when I seethat those splendid talents are even the least estimable points in Mr. Cleveland's character. But, sir, perhaps all this time I am in error;perhaps Mr. Cleveland is, as the world reports him, no longer theambitious being who once commanded the admiration of a listening Senate;perhaps, convinced of the vanity of human wishes, Mr. Cleveland wouldrather devote his attention to the furtherance of the interests of hisimmediate circle; and, having schooled his intellect in the Universitiesof two nations, is probably content to pass the hours of his life inmediating in the quarrels of a country village. "

Vivian ceased. Cleveland heard him with his head resting on both hisarms. He started at the last expression, and something like a blushsuffused his cheek, but he did not reply. At last he jumped up and rangthe bell. "Come, Mr. Grey, " said he, "I am in no humour for politicsthis morning. You must not, at any rate, visit Wales for nothing. Morris! send down to the village for this gentleman's luggage. Even wecottagers have a bed for a friend, Mr. Grey: come, and I will introduceyou to my wife. "

CHAPTER II

And Vivian was now an inmate of Kenrich Lodge. It would have beendifficult to have conceived a life of more pure happiness than thatwhich was apparently enjoyed by its gifted master. A beautiful wife andlovely children, and a romantic situation, and an income sufficient notonly for their own but for the wants of their necessitous neighbours;what more could man wish? Answer me, thou inexplicable myriad ofsensations which the world calls human nature!

Three days passed over in delightful converse. It was so long sinceCleveland had seen any one fresh from the former scenes of his life, that the company of any one would have been agreeable; but here was acompanion who knew every one, everything, full of wit and anecdote, andliterature and fashion; and then so engaging in his manners, and withsuch a winning voice. 

The heart of Cleveland relented; his stern manner gave way; all hisformer warm and generous feeling gained the ascendant; he was in turnamusing, communicative, and engaging. Finding that he could pleaseanother, he began to be pleased himself. The nature of the business uponwhich Vivian was his guest rendered confidence necessary; confidencebegets kindness. In a few days Vivian necessarily became more acquaintedwith Mr. Cleveland's disposition and situation than if they had beenacquainted for as many years; in short. 

 They talked with open heart and tongue, Affectionate and true, A pair of friends. 

Vivian, for some time, dwelt upon everything but the immediate subjectof his mission; but when, after the experience of a few days, theirhearts were open to each other, and they had mutually begun to discoverthat there was a most astonishing similarity in their principles, theirtastes, their feelings, then the magician poured forth his incantation, and raised the once-laid ghost of Cleveland's ambition. The recluseagreed to take the lead of the Carabas party. He was to leave Walesimmediately, and resign his place; in return for which the nephew ofLord Courtown was immediately to give up, in his favour, an office ofconsiderable emolument; and, having thus provided some certainty for hisfamily, Frederick Cleveland prepared himself to combat for a moreimportant office. 

CHAPTER III

"Is Mr. Cleveland handsome?" asked Mrs. Felix Lorraine of Vivian, immediately on his return, "and what colour are his eyes?"

"Upon my honour, I have not the least recollection of ever looking atthem; but I believe he is not blind. "

"How foolish you are! now tell me, pray, point de moquerie, is heamusing?"

"What does Mrs. Felix Lorraine mean by amusing?" asked Vivian. 

"Oh! you always tease me with your definitions; go away. I will quarrelwith you. "

"By-the-bye, Mrs. Felix Lorraine, how is Colonel Delmington?"

Vivian redeemed his pledge: Mr. Cleveland arrived. It was the wish ofthe Marquess, if possible, not to meet his old friend till dinner-time. He thought that, surrounded by his guests, certain awkward senatorialreminiscences might be got over. But, unfortunately, Mr. Clevelandarrived about an hour before dinner, and, as it was a cold autumnal day, most of the visitors who were staying at Château Desir were assembled inthe drawing-room. The Marquess sallied forward to receive his guest witha most dignified countenance and a most aristocratic step; but, beforehe got half-way, his coronation pace degenerated into a strut, and theninto a shamble, and with an awkward and confused countenance, halfimpudent and half flinching, he held forward his left hand to hisnewly-arrived visitor. Mr. Cleveland looked terrifically courteous andamiably arrogant. He greeted the Marquess with a smile at once graciousand grim, and looked something like Goliath, as you see the Philistinedepicted in some old German painting, looking down upon the pigmyfighting men of Israel. 

As is generally the custom when there is a great deal to be arranged andmany points to be settled, days flew over, and very little of the futuresystem of the party was matured. Vivian made one or two ineffectualstruggles to bring the Marquess to a business-like habit of mind, buthis Lordship never dared to trust himself alone with Cleveland, and, indeed, almost lost the power of speech when in presence of the futureleader of his party; so, in the morning, the Marquess played off the twoLords and Sir Berdmore against his former friend, and then, tocompensate for not meeting Mr. Cleveland in the morning, he wasparticularly courteous to him at dinner-time, and asked him always "howhe liked his ride?" and invariably took wine with him. As for the restof the day, he had particularly requested his faithful counsellor, Mrs. Felix Lorraine, "for God's sake to take this man off his shoulders;" andso that lady, with her usual kindness, and merely to oblige hisLordship, was good enough to patronise Mr. Cleveland, and on the fourthday was taking a moonlit walk with him. 

Mr. Cleveland had now been ten days at Château Desir, and was to takehis departure the next morning for Wales, in order to arrange everythingfor his immediate settlement in the metropolis. Every point ofimportance was postponed until their meeting in London. Mr. Clevelandonly agreed to take the lead of the party in the Commons, and receivedthe personal pledge of Lord Courtown as to the promised office. 

It was a September day, and to escape from the excessive heat of thesun, and at the same time to enjoy the freshness of the air, Vivian waswriting his letters in the conservatory, which opened into one of thedrawing-rooms. The numerous party which then honoured the Château withtheir presence were out, as he conceived, on a picnic excursion to theElfin's Well, a beautiful spot about ten miles off; and among theadventurers were, as he imagined, Mrs. Felix Lorraine and Mr. Cleveland. 

Vivian was rather surprised at hearing voices in the adjoining room, andhe was still more so when, on looking round, he found that the soundsproceeded from the very two individuals whom he thought were far away. Some tall American plants concealed him from their view, but he observedall that passed distinctly, and a singular scene it was. Mrs. FelixLorraine was on her knees at the feet of Mr. Cleveland; her countenanceindicated the most contrary passions, contending, as it were, formastery; supplication, anger, and, shall I call it, love? Hercompanion's countenance was hid, but it was evident that it was notwreathed with smiles: there were a few hurried sentences uttered, andthen both quitted the room at different doors, the lady in despair, andthe gentleman in disgust. 

CHAPTER IV

And now Château Desir was almost deserted. Mrs. Million continued herprogress northward. The Courtowns, and the Beaconsfields, and theScropes quitted immediately after Mr. Cleveland; and when the familiesthat form the material of the visiting corps retire, the namelessnothings that are always lounging about the country mansions of thegreat, such as artists, tourists, authors, and other live stock, soondisappear. Mr. Vivian Grey agreed to stay another fortnight, at theparticular request of the Marquess. 

Very few days had passed ere Vivian was exceedingly struck at thedecided change which suddenly took place in his Lordship's generaldemeanour towards him. 

The Marquess grew reserved and uncommunicative, scarcely mentioning "thegreat business" which had previously been the sole subject of hisconversation but to find fault with some arrangement, and exhibiting, whenever his name was mentioned, a marked acrimony against Mr. Cleveland. This rapid change alarmed as much as it astonished Vivian, and he mentioned his feelings and observations to Mrs. Felix Lorraine. That lady agreed with him that something certainly was wrong; but couldnot, unfortunately, afford him any clue to the mystery. She expressedthe liveliest solicitude that any misunderstanding should be put an endto, and offered her services for that purpose. 

In spite, however, of her well-expressed anxiety, Vivian had his ownideas on the subject; and, determined to unravel the affair, he hadrecourse to the Marchioness. 

"I hope your Ladyship is well to-day. I had a letter from Count Caumontthis morning. He tells me that he has got the prettiest poodle fromParis that you can possibly conceive! waltzes like an angel, and actsproverbs on its hind feet. "

Her Ladyship's eyes glistened with admiration. 

"I have told Caumont to send it me down immediately, and I shall thenhave the pleasure of presenting it to your Ladyship. "

Her Ladyship's eyes sparkled with delight. 

"I think, " continued Vivian, "I shall take a ride to-day. By-the-bye, how is the Marquess? he seems in low spirits lately. "

"Oh, Mr. Grey! I do not know what you have done to him, " said herLadyship, settling at least a dozen bracelets; "but, but--"

"But what?"

"He thinks; he thinks. "

"Thinks what, dear lady?"

"That you have entered into a combination, Mr. Grey. "

"Entered into a combination!"

"Yes, Mr. Grey! a conspiracy, a conspiracy against the Marquess, withMr. Cleveland. He thinks that you have made him serve your purpose, andnow you are going to get rid of him. "

"Well, that is excellent, and what else does he think?"

"He thinks you talk too loud, " said the Marchioness, still working ather bracelets. 

"Well! that is shockingly vulgar! Allow me to recommend your Ladyship toalter the order of those bracelets, and place the blue and silveragainst the maroon. You may depend upon it, that is the true Viennaorder. And what else dues the Marquess say?"

"He thinks you are generally too authoritative. Not that I think so, Mr. Grey: I am sure your conduct to me has been most courteous. The blue andsilver next to the maroon, did you say? Yes; certainly it does lookbetter. I have no doubt the Marquess is quite wrong, and I dare say youwill set things right immediately. You will remember the pretty poodle, Mr. Grey? and you will not tell the Marquess I mentioned anything. "

"Oh! certainly not. I will give orders for them to book an inside placefor the poodle, and send him down by the coach immediately, I must beoff now. Remember the blue and silver next to the maroon. Good morningto your Ladyship. "

"Mrs. Felix Lorraine, I am your most obedient slave, " said Vivian Grey, as he met that lady on the landing-place. "I can see no reason why Ishould not drive you this bright day to the Elfin's Well; we have longhad an engagement to go there. "

The lady smiled a gracious assent: the pony phaeton was immediatelyordered. 

"How pleasant Lady Courtown and I used to discourse about martingales! Ithink I invented one, did not I? Pray, Mrs. Felix Lorraine, can you tellme what a martingale is? for upon my honour I have forgotten, ornever knew. "

"If you found a martingale for the mother, Vivian, it had been well ifyou had found a curb for the daughter. Poor Cynthia! I had intended onceto advise the Marchioness to interfere; but one forgets these things. "

"One does. O, Mrs. Felix!" exclaimed Vivian, "I told your admirablestory of the Leyden Professor to Mrs. Cleveland. It is universallyagreed to be the best ghost-story extant. I think you said you knew theProfessor. "

"Well! I have seen him often, and heard the story from his own lips. And, as I mentioned before, far from being superstitious, he was anesprit fort. Do you know, Mr. Grey, I have such an interesting packetfrom Germany to-day; from my cousin, Baron Rodenstein. But I must keepall the stories for the evening; come to my boudoir, and I will readthem to you. There is one tale which I am sure will make a convert evenof you. It happened to Rodenstein himself, and within these threemonths, " added the lady in a serious tone. "The Rodensteins are asingular family. My mother was a Rodenstein. Do you think thisbeautiful?" said Mrs. Felix, showing Vivian a small miniature which wasattached to a chain round her neck. It was the portrait of a youthhabited in the costume of a German student. His rich brown hair wasflowing over his shoulders, and his dark blue eyes beamed with such alook of mysterious inspiration, that they might have befitted ayoung prophet. 

"Very, very beautiful!"

"'Tis Max, Max Rodenstein, " said the lady, with a faltering voice. "Hewas killed at Leipsic, at the head of a band of his friends andfellow-students. O, Mr. Grey! this is a fair work of art, but if you hadbut seen the prototype you would have gazed on this as on a dim andwashed-out drawing. There was one portrait, indeed, which did him morejustice; but then that portrait was not the production ofmortal pencil. "

Vivian looked at his companion with a somewhat astonished air, but Mrs. Felix Lorraine's countenance was as little indicative of jesting as thatof the young student whose miniature rested on her bosom. 

"Did you say _not_ the production of a mortal hand, Mrs. FelixLorraine?"

"I am afraid I shall weary you with my stories, but the one I am aboutto tell you is so well evidenced that I think even Mr. Vivian Grey willhear it without a sneer. "

"A sneer! O lady-love, do I ever sneer?"

"Max Rodenstein was the glory of his house. A being so beautiful in bodyand in soul you cannot imagine, and I will not attempt to describe. Thisminiature has given you some faint idea of his image, and yet this isonly the copy of a copy. The only wish of the Baroness Rodenstein, whichnever could be accomplished, was the possession of a portrait of heryoungest son, for no consideration could induce Max to allow hislikeness to be taken. His old nurse had always told him that the momenthis portrait was taken he would die. The condition upon which such abeautiful being was allowed to remain in the world was, she always said, that his beauty should not be imitated. About three months before thebattle of Leipsic, when Max was absent at the University, which wasnearly four hundred miles from Rodenstein Castle, there arrived onemorning a large case directed to the Baroness. On opening it it wasfound to contain a picture, the portrait of her son. The colouring wasso vivid, the general execution so miraculous, that for some momentsthey forgot to wonder at the incident in their admiration of the work ofart. In one corner of the picture, in small characters yet fresh, was aninscription, which on examining they found consisted of these words:'Painted last night. Now, lady, thou hast thy wish. ' My aunt sank intothe Baron's arms. 

"In silence and in trembling the wonderful portrait was suspended overthe fireplace of my aunt's favourite apartment. The next day theyreceived letters from Max. He was quite well, but mentioned nothing ofthe mysterious painting. 

"Three months afterwards, as a lady was sitting alone in the Baroness'sroom, and gazing on the portrait of him she loved right dearly, shesuddenly started from her seat, and would have shrieked, had not anindefinable sensation prevented her. The eyes of the portrait moved. Thelady stood leaning on a chair, pale, and trembling like an aspen, butgazing steadfastly on the animated portrait. It was no illusion of aheated fancy; again the eyelids trembled, there was a melancholy smile, and then they closed. The clock of Rodenstein Castle struck three. Between astonishment and fear the lady was tearless. Three daysafterwards came the news of the battle of Leipsic, and at the verymoment that the eyes of the portrait closed Max Rodenstein had beenpierced by a Polish Lancer. "

"And who was this wonderful lady, the witness of this wonderfulincident?" asked Vivian. 

"That lady was myself. "

There was something so singular in the tone of Mrs. Felix Lorraine'svoice, and so peculiar in the expression of her countenance, as sheuttered these words, that the jest died on Vivian's tongue; and, forwant of something better to do, he lashed the little ponies, which werealready scampering at their full speed. 

The road to the Elfin's Well ran through the wildest parts of the park;and after an hour and a half's drive they reached the fairy spot. It wasa beautiful and pellucid spring, that bubbled up in a small wild dell, which, nurtured by the flowing stream, was singularly fresh and green. Above the spring had been erected a Gothic arch of grey stone, roundwhich grew a few fine birch-trees. In short, nature had intended thespot for picnics. There was fine water, and an interesting tradition;and as the parties always bring, or always should bring, a trainedpunster, champagne, and cold pasties, what more ought Nature tohave provided?

"Come, Mrs. Lorraine, I will tie Gypsey to this ash, and then you and Iwill rest ourselves beneath these birch-trees, just where thefairies dance. "

"Oh, delightful!"

"Now, truly, we should have some book of beautiful poetry to while awayan hour. You will blame me for not bringing one. Do not. I would soonerlisten to your voice; and, indeed, there is a subject on which I wish toask your particular advice. "

"Is there?"

"I have been thinking that this is a somewhat rash step of the Marquess;this throwing himself into the arms of his former bitterest enemy, Cleveland. "

"You really think so?"

"Why, Mrs. Lorraine, does it appear to you to be the most prudent courseof action which could have been conceived?"

"Certainly not. "

"You agree with me, then, that there is, if not cause for regret at thisengagement, at least for reflection on its probable consequences?"

"I quite agree with you. "

"I know you do. I have had some conversation with the Marquess upon thissubject this very morning. "

"Have you?" eagerly exclaimed the lady, and she looked pale and breathedshort. 

"Ay; and he tells me you have made some very sensible observations onthe subject. 'Tis pity they were not made before Mr. Cleveland left; themischief might then have been prevented. "

"I certainly have made some observations. "

"And very kind of you. What a blessing for the Marquess to have such afriend!"

"I spoke to him, " said Mrs. Felix, with a more assured tone, "in muchthe same spirit as you have been addressing me. It does, indeed, seem amost imprudent act, and I thought it my duty to tell him so. "

"Ay, no doubt; but how came you, lady fair, to imagine that _I_ was alsoa person to be dreaded by his Lordship; _I_, Vivian Grey!"

"Did I say _you_?" asked the lady, pale as death. 

"Did you not, Mrs. Felix Lorraine? Have you not, regardless of myinterests, in the most unwarrantable and unjustifiable manner; have younot, to gratify some private pique which you entertain against Mr. Cleveland; have you not, I ask you, poisoned the Marquess' mind againstone who never did aught to you but what was kind and honourable?"

"I have been imprudent; I confess it; I have spoken somewhat loosely. "

"Now. Listen to me once more, " and Vivian grasped her hand. "What haspassed between you and Mr. Cleveland it is not for me to inquire. I giveyou my word of honour that he never even mentioned your name to me. Ican scarcely understand how any man could have incurred the deadlyhatred which you appear to entertain for him. I repeat, I cancontemplate no situation in which you could be placed together whichwould justify such behaviour. It could not be justified, even if he hadspurned you while--kneeling at his feet. "

Mrs. Felix Lorraine shrieked and fainted. A sprinkling from the fairystream soon recovered her. "Spare me! spare me!" she faintly cried: "saynothing of what you have seen. "

"Mrs. Lorraine, I have no wish. I have spoken thus explicitly that wemay not again misunderstand each other. I have spoken thus explicitly, Isay, that I may not be under the necessity of speaking again, for if Ispeak again it must not be to Mrs. Felix Lorraine. There is my hand; andnow let the Elfin's Well be blotted out of our memories. "

Vivian drove rapidly home, and endeavoured to talk in his usual tone andwith his usual spirit; but his companion could not be excited. Once, aytwice, she pressed his hand, and as he assisted her from the phaeton shemurmured something like a blessing. She ran upstairs immediately. Vivianhad to give some directions about the ponies; Gipsey was ill, or Fannyhad a cold, or something of the kind; and so he was detained for abouta quarter of an hour before the house, speaking most learnedly togrooms, and consulting on cases with a skilled gravity worthy ofProfessor Coleman. 

When he entered the house he found the luncheon prepared, and Mrs. Felixpressed him earnestly to take some refreshment. He was indeed wearied, and agreed to take a glass of hock and seltzer. 

"Let me mix it for you, " said Mrs. Felix; "do you like sugar?"

Tired with his drive, Vivian Grey was leaning on the mantelpiece, withhis eyes vacantly gazing on the looking-glass which rested on the marbleslab. It was by pure accident that, reflected in the mirror, hedistinctly beheld Mrs. Felix Lorraine open a small silver box, and throwsome powder into the tumbler which she was preparing for him. She wasleaning down, with her back almost turned to the glass, but still Viviansaw it distinctly. A sickness came over him, and ere he could recoverhimself his Hebe tapped him on the shoulder. 

"Here, drink, drink while it is effervescent. "

"I cannot drink, " said Vivian, "I am not thirsty; I am too hot; I amanything--"

"How foolish you are! It will be quite, spoiled. "

"No, no; the dog shall have it. Here, Fidele, you look thirsty enough;come here--"

"Mr. Grey, I do not mix tumblers for dogs, " said the lady, ratheragitated: "if you will not take it, " and she held it once more beforehim, "here it goes for ever. " So saying she emptied the tumbler into alarge globe of glass, in which some gold and silver fish were swimmingtheir endless rounds. 

CHAPTER V

This last specimen of Mrs. Felix Lorraine was somewhat too much even forthe steeled nerves of Vivian Grey, and he sought his chamber for relief. 

"Is it possible? Can I believe my senses? Or has some demon, as we readof in old tales, mocked me in a magic mirror? I can believe anything. Oh! my heart is very sick! I once imagined that I was using this womanfor my purpose. Is it possible that aught of good can come to one whois forced to make use of such evil instruments as these? A horriblethought sometimes comes over my spirit. I fancy that in this mysteriousforeigner, that in this woman, I have met a kind of double of myself. The same wonderful knowledge of the human mind, the same sweetness ofvoice, the same miraculous management which has brought us both underthe same roof: yet do I find her the most abandoned of all beings; acreature guilty of that which, even in this guilty age, I thought wasobsolete. And is it possible that I am like her? that I can resembleher? that even the indefinite shadow of my most unhallowed thought canfor a moment be as vile as her righteousness? O God! the system of myexistence seems to stop. I cannot breathe. " He flung himself upon hisbed, and felt for a moment as if he had quaffed the poisoned draught solately offered. 

"It is not so; it cannot be so; it shall not be so! In seeking theMarquess I was unquestionably impelled by a mere feeling ofself-interest; but I have advised him to no course of action in whichhis welfare is not equally consulted with my own. Indeed, if notprinciple, interest would make me act faithfully towards him, for myfortunes are bound up in his. But am I entitled, I, who can losenothing, am I entitled to play with other men's fortunes? Am I all thistime deceiving myself with some wretched sophistry? Am I, then, anintellectual Don Juan, reckless of human minds, as he was of humanbodies; a spiritual libertine? But why this wild declamation? Whatever Ihave done, it is too late to recede; even this very moment delay isdestruction, for now it is not a question as to the ultimate prosperityof our worldly prospects, but the immediate safety of our very bodies. Poison! O God! O God! Away with all fear, all repentance, all thought ofpast, all reckoning of future. If I be the Juan that I fancied myself, then Heaven be praised! I have a confidant in all my troubles; the mostfaithful of counsellors, the craftiest of valets; a Leporello oftentried and never found wanting: my own good mind. And now, thou femalefiend! the battle is to the strongest; and I see right well that thestruggle between two such spirits will be a long and a fearful one. Woe, I say, to the vanquished! You must be dealt with by arts which evenyourself cannot conceive. Your boasted knowledge of human nature shallnot again stand you in stead; for, mark me, from henceforward VivianGrey's conduct towards you shall have no precedent in human nature. "

As Vivian re-entered the drawing-room he met a servant carrying in theglobe of gold and silver fishes. 

"What, still in your pelisse, Mrs. Lorraine!" said Vivian. "Nay, Ihardly wonder at it, for surely, a prettier pelisse never yet fittedprettier form. You have certainly a most admirable taste in dress; andthis the more surprises me, for it is generally your plain personagethat is the most recherché in frills and fans and flounces. "

The lady smiled. 

"Oh! by-the-bye, " continued her companion, "I have a letter fromCleveland this morning. I wonder how any misunderstanding could possiblyhave existed between you, for he speaks of you in such terms. "

"What does he say?" was the quick question. 

"Oh! what does he say?" drawled out Vivian; and he yawned, and was mostprovokingly uncommunicative. 

"Come, come, Mr. Grey, do tell me. "

"Oh! tell you, certainly. Come, let us walk together in theconservatory:" so saying, he took the lady by the hand, and theyleft the room. 

"And now for the letter, Mr. Grey. "

"Ay, now for the letter;" and Vivian slowly drew an epistle from hispocket, and therefrom read some exceedingly sweet passages, which madeMrs. Felix Lorraine's very heart-blood tingle. Considering that VivianGrey had never in his life received a single letter from Mr. Cleveland, this was tolerably well: but he was always an admirable improvisatore!"I am sure that when Cleveland comes to town everything will beexplained; I am sure, at least, that it will not be my fault if you arenot the best friends. I am heroic in saying all this, Mrs. Lorraine;there was a time when (and here Vivian seemed so agitated that he couldscarcely proceed), there was a time when I could have called that manliar who would have prophesied that Vivian Grey could have assistedanother in riveting the affections of Mrs. Felix Lorraine. But enough ofthis. I am a weak, inexperienced boy, and misinterpret, perhaps, thatwhich is merely the compassionate kindness natural to all women into afeeling of a higher nature. But I must learn to contain myself; I reallydo feel quite ashamed of my behaviour about the tumbler to-day. To actwith such, unwarrantable unkindness, merely because I had rememberedthat you once performed the same kind office for Colonel Delmington, wasindeed too bad. "

"Colonel Delmington is a vain, empty-headed fool. Do not think of him, my dear Mr. Grey, " said Mrs. Felix, with a countenance beamingwith smiles. 

"Well, I will not; and I will try to behave like a man; like a man ofthe world, I should say. But indeed you must excuse the warm feelings ofa youth; and truly, when I call to mind the first days of ouracquaintance, and then remember that our moonlit walks are gone forever, and that our--"

"Nay, do not believe so, my dear Vivian; believe me, as I ever shall be. Your friend, your--"

"I will, I will, my dear, my own Amalia!"

CHAPTER VI

It was an autumnal night; the wind was capricious and changeable as apetted beauty, or an Italian greyhound, or a shot silk. Now the breezeblew so fresh that the white clouds dashed along the sky as if they borea band of witches too late for their Sabbath meeting, or some othermischief; and now, lulled and soft as the breath of a slumbering infant, you might almost have fancied it Midsummer Eve; and the bright moon, with her starry court, reigned undisturbed in the light blue sky. VivianGrey was leaning against an old beech-tree in the most secluded part ofthe park, and was gazing on the moon. 

O thou bright moon! thou object of my first love! thou shalt not escapean invocation, although perchance at this very moment some varletsonnetteer is prating of "the boy Endymion" and "thy silver bow. " Hereto thee, Queen of the Night! in whatever name thou most delightest! OrBendis, as they hailed thee in rugged Thrace; or Bubastis, as theyhowled to thee in mysterious Egypt; or Dian, as they sacrificed to theein gorgeous Rome; or Artemis, as they sighed to thee on the brightplains of ever glorious Greece! Why is it that all men gaze on thee? Whyis it that all men love thee? Why is it that all men worship thee?

Shine on, shine on, sultana of the soul! the Passions are thy eunuchslaves, Ambition gazes on thee, and his burning brow is cooled, and hisfitful pulse is calm. Grief wanders in her moonlit walk and sheds notear; and when thy crescent smiles the lustre of Joy's revelling eye isdusked. Quick Anger, in thy light, forgets revenge; and even dove-eyedHope feeds on no future joys when gazing on the miracle of thy beauty. 

Shine on, shine on! although a pure Virgin, thou art the mighty motherof all abstraction! The eye of the weary peasant returning from hisdaily toil, and the rapt gaze of the inspired poet, are alike fixed onthee; thou stillest the roar of marching armies, and who can doubt thyinfluence o'er the waves who has witnessed the wide Atlantic sleepingunder thy silver beam?

Shine on, shine on! they say thou art Earth's satellite; yet when I gazeon thee my thoughts are not of thy suzerain. They teach us that thypower is a fable, and that thy divinity is a dream. Oh, thou brightQueen! I will be no traitor to thy sweet authority; and verily, I willnot believe that thy influence o'er our hearts is, at this moment, lesspotent than when we worshipped in thy glittering fane of Ephesus, ortrembled at the dark horrors of thine Arician rites. Then, hail to thee, Queen of the Night! Hail to thee, Diana, Triformis; Cynthia, Orthia, Taurica; ever mighty, ever lovely, ever holy! Hail! hail! hail!

Were I a metaphysician, I would tell you why Vivian Grey had been gazingtwo hours on the moon; for I could then present you with a most logicalprogramme of the march of his ideas, since he whispered his last honiedspeech in the ear of Mrs. Felix Lorraine, at dinner-time, until thisvery moment, when he did not even remember that such a being as Mrs. Felix Lorraine breathed. Glory to the metaphysician's all-perfecttheory! When they can tell me why, at a bright banquet, the thought ofdeath has flashed across my mind, who fear not death; when they can tellme why, at the burial of my beloved friend, when my very heart-stringsseemed bursting, my sorrow has been mocked by the involuntaryremembrance of ludicrous adventures and grotesque tales; when they cantell me why, in a dark mountain pass, I have thought of an absentwoman's eyes; or why, when in the very act of squeezing the third limeinto a beaker of Burgundy cup, my memory hath been of lean apothecariesand their vile drugs; why then, I say again, glory to themetaphysician's all-perfect theory! and fare you well, sweet world, andyou, my merry masters, whom, perhaps, I have studied somewhat toocunningly: nosce teipsum shall be my motto. I will doff my travellingcap, and on with the monk's cowl. 

There are mysterious moments in some men's lives when the faces of humanbeings are very agony to them, and when the sound of the human voice isjarring as discordant music. These fits are not the consequence ofviolent or contending passions: they grow not out of sorrow, or joy, orhope, or fear, or hatred, or despair. For in the hour of affliction thetones of our fellow-creatures are ravishing as the most delicate lute;and in the flush moment of joy where is the smiler who loves not awitness to his revelry or a listener to his good fortune? Fear makes usfeel our humanity, and then we fly to men, and Hope is the parent ofkindness. The misanthrope and the reckless are neither agitated noragonised. It is in these moments that men find in Nature thatcongeniality of spirit which they seek for in vain in their own species. It is in these moments that we sit by the side of a waterfall and listento its music the live-long day. It is in these moments that men gazeupon the moon. It is in these moments that Nature becomes our Egeria;and, refreshed and renovated by this beautiful communion, we return tothe world better enabled to fight our parts in the hot war of passions, to perform the great duties for which man appeared to have been created, to love, to hate, to slander, and to slay. 

It was past midnight, and Vivian was at a considerable distance from theChâteau. He proposed entering by a side door, which led into thebilliard-room, and from thence, crossing the Long Gallery, he couldeasily reach his apartment without disturbing any of the household. Hisway led through the little gate at which he had parted with Mrs. FelixLorraine on the first day of their meeting. 

As he softly opened the door which led into the Long Gallery he found hewas not alone: leaning against one of the casements was a female. Herprofile was to Vivian as he entered, and the moon, which shone brightthrough the window, lit up a countenance which he might be excused fornot immediately recognising as that of Mrs. Felix Lorraine. She wasgazing steadfastly, but her eye did not seem fixed upon any particularobject. Her features appeared convulsed, but their contortions were notmomentary, and, pale as death, a hideous grin seemed chiselled on heridiot countenance. 

Vivian scarcely knew whether to stay or to retire. Desirous not todisturb her, he determined not even to breathe; and, as is generally thecase, his very exertions to be silent made him nervous, and to savehimself from being stifled he coughed. 

Mrs. Lorraine immediately started and stared wildly around her, and whenher eye caught Vivian's there was a sound in her throat something likethe death-rattle. 

"Who are you?" she eagerly asked. 

"A friend, and Vivian Grey. "

"How came you here?" and she rushed forward and wildly seized his hand, and then she muttered to herself, "'tis flesh. "

"I have been playing, I fear, the mooncalf to-night; and find that, though I am a late watcher, I am not a solitary one. "

Mrs. Lorraine stared earnestly at him, and then she endeavoured toassume her usual expression of countenance; but the effort was too muchfor her. She dropped Vivian's arm, and buried her face in her own hands. Vivian was retiring, when she again looked up. "Where are you going?"she asked, with a quick voice. 

"To sleep, as I would advise all: 'tis much past midnight. "

"You say not the truth. The brightness of your eye belies the sentenceof your tongue. You are not for sleep. "

"Pardon me, dear Mrs. Lorraine; I really have been yawning for the lasthour, " said Vivian, and he moved on. 

"You are speaking to one who takes her answer from the eye, which doesnot deceive, and from the speaking lineaments of the face, which areTruth's witnesses. Keep your voice for those who can credit man's words. You will go, then? What! are you afraid of a woman, because 'tis pastmidnight, ' and you are in an old gallery?"

"Fear, Mrs. Lorraine, is not a word in my vocabulary. "

"The words in your vocabulary are few, boy! as are the years of yourage. He who sent you here this night sent you here not to slumber. Comehither!" and she led Vivian to the window: "what see you?"

"I see Nature at rest, Mrs. Lorraine; and I would fain follow theexample of beasts, birds, and fishes. "

"Yet gaze upon this scene one second. See the distant hills, howbeautifully their rich covering is tinted with the moonbeam! Thesenearer fir-trees, how radiantly their black skeleton forms are tippedwith silver; and the old and thickly foliaged oaks bathed in light! andthe purple lake reflecting in its lustrous bosom another heaven? la itnot a fair scene?"

"Beautiful! most beautiful!"

"Yet, Vivian, where is the being for whom all this beauty exists? Whereis your mighty creature, Man? The peasant on his rough couch enjoys, perchance, slavery's only service-money, sweet sleep; or, waking in thenight, curses at the same time his lot and his lord. And that lord isrestless on some downy couch; his night thoughts, not of this sheenylake and this bright moon, but of some miserable creation of man'sartifice, some mighty nothing, which Nature knows not of, some offspringof her bastard child, Society. Why, then, is Nature loveliest when manlooks not on her? For whom, then, Vivian Grey, is this scene so fair?"

"For poets, lady; for philosophers; for all those superior spirits whorequire some relaxation from the world's toils; spirits who onlycommingle with humanity on the condition that they may sometimes communewith Nature. "

"Superior spirits! say you?" and here they paced the gallery. "WhenValerian, first Lord Carabas, raised this fair castle; when, profuse forhis posterity, all the genius of Italian art and Italian artists waslavished on this English palace; when the stuffs and statues, themarbles and the mirrors, the tapestry, and the carvings, and thepaintings of Genoa, and Florence, and Venice, and Padua, and Vicenza, were obtained by him at miraculous cost, and with still more miraculoustoil; what think you would have been his sensations If, while his soulwas revelling in the futurity of his descendants keeping their state inthis splendid pile, some wizard had foretold to him that, ere threecenturies could elapse, the fortunes of his mighty family would be thesport of two individuals; one of them a foreigner, unconnected in blood, or connected only in hatred; and the other a young adventurer alikeunconnected with his race, in blood or in love; a being ruling allthings by the power of his own genius, and reckless of all consequencessave his own prosperity? If the future had been revealed to my greatancestor, the Lord Valerian, think you, Vivian Grey, that you and Ishould be walking in this Long Gallery?"

"Really, Mrs. Lorraine, I have been so interested in discovering whatpeople think in the nineteenth century, that I have had but little timeto speculate on the possible opinions of an old gentleman who flourishedin the sixteenth. "

"You may sneer, sir; but I ask you, if there are spirits so superior tothat of the slumbering Lord of this castle as those of Vivian Grey andAmelia Lorraine, why may there not be spirits proportionately superiorto our own?"

"If you are keeping me from my bed, Mrs. Lorraine, merely to lecture myconceit by proving that there are in this world wiser heads than that ofVivian Grey, on my honour you are giving yourself a great deal ofunnecessary trouble. "

"You will misunderstand me, then, you wilful boy!"

"Nay, lady, I will not affect to misunderstand your meaning; but Irecognise, you know full well, no intermediate essence between my owngood soul and that ineffable and omnipotent spirit in whose existencephilosophers and priests alike agree. "

"Omnipotent and ineffable essence! Leave such words to scholars and toschool-boys! And think you that such indefinite nothings, such unmeaningabstractions, can influence beings whose veins are full of blood, bubbling like this?" And here she grasped Vivian with a feverish hand. "Omnipotent and ineffable essence! Oh! I have lived in a land whereevery mountain, and every stream, and every wood, and every ruin, hasits legend and its peculiar spirit; a land in whose dark forests themidnight hunter, with his spirit-shout, scares the slumbers of thetrembling serf; a land from whose winding rivers the fair-haired Undinewelcomes the belated traveller to her fond and fatal embrace; and youtalk to me of omnipotent and ineffable essence! Miserable Mocker! It isnot true, Vivian Grey; you are but echoing the world's deceit, and evenat this hour of the night you dare not speak as you do think. Youworship no omnipotent and ineffable essence; you believe in noomnipotent and ineffable essence. Shrined in this secret chamber of yoursoul there is an image before which you bow down in adoration, and thatimage is YOURSELF. And truly, when I do gaze upon your radiant eyes, "and here the lady's tone became more terrestrial; "and truly, when I dolook upon your luxuriant curls, " and here the lady's small white handplayed like lightning through Vivian's dark hair; "and truly, when I doremember the beauty of your all-perfect form, I cannot deem yourself-worship a false idolatry, " and here the lady's arms were lockedround Vivian's neck, and her head rested on his bosom. 

"Oh, Amalia! it would lie far better for you to rest here than to thinkof that of which the knowledge is vanity. "

"Vanity!" shrieked Mrs. Lorraine, and she violently loosened herembrace, and extricated herself from the arm which, rather in courtesythan in kindness, had been wound round her delicate waist: "Vanity! Oh!if you knew but what I know, oh! if you had but seen what I have seen;"and here her voice failed her, and she stood motionless in themoonshine, with averted head and outstretched arms. 

"Amalia! this is madness; for Heaven's sake calm yourself!"

"Calm myself! Yes, it is madness; very, very madness! 'tis the madnessof the fascinated bird; 'tis the madness of the murderer who isvoluntarily broken on the wheel; 'tis the madness of the fawn that gazeswith adoration on the lurid glare of the anaconda's eye; 'tis themadness of woman who flies to the arms of her Fate;" and here she spranglike a tigress round Vivian's neck, her long light hair bursting fromits bands, and clustering down her shoulders. 

And here was Vivian Grey, at past midnight, in this old gallery, withthis wild woman clinging round his neck. The figures in the ancienttapestry looked living in the moon, and immediately opposite him was onecompartment of some old mythological tale, in which were represented, grinning, in grim majesty, the Fates. 

The wind now rose again, and the clouds which had vanished began toreassemble in the heavens. As the blue sky was gradually covering, thegigantic figures of Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos became as graduallydimmer and dimmer, and the grasp of Vivian's fearful burden looser andlooser. At last the moon was entirely hid, the figures of the Fatesvanished, and Mrs. Felix Lorraine sank lifeless into his arms. 

Vivian groped his way with difficulty to the nearest window, the veryone at which she was leaning when he first entered the gallery. Heplayed with her wild curls; he whispered to her in a voice sweeter thanthe sweetest serenade; but she only raised her eyes from his breast andstared wildly at him, and then clung round his neck with, if possible, atighter grasp. 

For nearly half an hour did Vivian stand leaning against the window, with his mystic and motionless companion. At length the wind again fell;there was a break in the sky, and a single star appeared in the midst ofthe clouds, surrounded with a little heaven of azure. 

"See there, see there!" the lady cried, and then she unlocked her arms. "What would you give, Vivian Grey, to read that star?"

"Am I more interested in that star, Amalia, than in any other of thebright host?" asked Vivian with a serious tone, for he thought itnecessary to humour his companion. 

"Are you not? is it not the star of your destiny?"

"Are you learned in all the learning of the Chaldeans, too?"

"Oh, no, no, no!" slowly murmured Mrs. Lorraine, and then she started:but Vivian seized her arms, and prevented her from again claspinghis neck. 

"I must keep these pretty hands close prisoners, " he said, smiling, "unless you promise to behave with more moderation. Come, my Amalia! youshall be my instructress! Why am I so interested in this brilliantstar?" and holding her hands in one of his, he wound his arm round herwaist, and whispered her such words as he thought might calm hertroubled spirit. The wildness of her eyes gradually gave way; at lengthshe raised them to Vivian with a look of meek tenderness, and her headsank upon his breast. 

"It shines, it shines, it shines, Vivian!" she softly whispered; "gloryto thee and woe to me! Nay, you need not hold my hands; I will not harmyou. I cannot: 'tis no use. O Vivian! when we first met, how little didI know to whom I pledged myself!"

"Amalia, forget these wild fancies; estrange yourself from the wildbelief which has exercised so baneful an influence, not only over yourmind, but over the very soul of the land from which you come. Recognisein me only your friend, and leave the other world to those who value itmore, or more deserve it. Does not this fair earth contain sufficient ofinterest and enjoyment?"

"O Vivian! you speak with a sweet voice, but with a sceptic's spirit. You know not what I know. "

"Tell me, then, my Amalia; let me share your secrets, provided they beyour sorrows. "

"Almost within this hour, and in this park, there has happened thatwhich--" and here her voice died, and she looked fear-fully round her. 

"Nay, fear not; no one can harm you here, no one shall harm you. Restupon me, and tell me all thy grief. "

"I dare not, I cannot tell you. "

"Nay, thou shalt. "

"I cannot speak; your eye scares me. Are you mocking me? I cannot speakif you look so at me. "

"I will not look on you; I will gaze on yonder star. Now speak on. "

"O Vivian, there is a custom in my native land: the world calls it anunhallowed one; you, in your proud spirit, will call it a vain one. Butyou would not deem it vain if you were the woman now resting on yourbosom. At certain hours of particular nights, and with peculiarceremonies, which I need not here mention, we do believe that in a lakeor other standing water fate reveals itself to the solitary votary. OVivian, I have been too long a searcher after this fearful science; andthis very night, agitated in spirit, I sought yon water. The wind was inthe right direction, and everything concurred in favouring a propitiousdivination. I knelt down to gaze on the lake. I had always beenaccustomed to view my own figure performing some future action, orengaged in some future scene of my life. I gazed, but I saw nothing buta brilliant star. I looked up into the heavens, but the star was notthere, and the clouds were driving quick across the sky. More thanusually agitated by this singular occurrence, I gazed once more; andjust at the moment when with breathless and fearful expectation I waitedthe revelation of my immediate destiny there flitted a figure across thewater. It was there only for the breathing of u second, and as it passedit mocked me. " Here Mrs. Lorraine writhed in Vivian's arms; her featureswere moulded in the same unnatural expression as when he first enteredthe gallery, and the hideous grin was again sculptured on hercountenance. Her whole frame was in such a state of agitation that sherose up and down in Vivian's arms, and it was only with the exertions ofhis whole strength that he could retain her. 

"Why, Amalia, this, this was nothing; your own figure. "

"No, not my own; it was yours!"

Uttering a piercing shriek, which echoed through the winding gallery, she swooned. 

Vivian gazed on her in a state of momentary stupefaction, for theextraordinary scene had begun to influence his own nerves. And now heheard the tread of distant feet, and a light shone through the key-holeof the nearest door. The fearful shriek had alarmed some of thehousehold. What was to be done? In desperation Vivian caught the lady upin his arms, and dashing out of an opposite door bore her toher chamber. 

CHAPTER VII

What is this chapter to be about? Come, I am inclined to be courteous!You shall choose the subject of it. What shall it be, sentiment orscandal? a love-scene or a lay sermon? You will not choose? Then we mustopen the note which Vivian, in the morning, found on his pillow:--

"Did you hear the horrid shriek last night? It must have disturbed everyone. I think it must have been one of the South American birds whichCaptain Tropic gave the Marchioness. Do not they sometimes favour theworld with these nocturnal shriekings? Is not there a passage in Spixapropos to this? A----. "

"Did you hear the shriek last night, Mr. Grey?" asked the Marchioness, as Vivian entered the breakfast-room. 

"Oh, yes! Mr. Grey, did you hear the shriek?" asked Miss Graves. 

"Who did not?"

"What could it be?" said the Marchioness. 

"What could it be?" said Miss Graves. 

"What should it be; a cat in a gutter, or a sick cow, or a toad dying tobe devoured, Miss Graves?"

Always snub toadeys and led captains. It is only your greenhorns whoendeavour to make their way by fawning and cringing to every member ofthe establishment. It is a miserable mistake. No one likes hisdependants to be treated with respect, for such treatment affords anunpleasant contrast to his own conduct. Besides, it makes the toadey'sblood unruly. There are three persons, mind you, to be attended to: mylord, or my lady, as the case may be (usually the latter), the petdaughter, and the pet dog. I throw out these hints en passant, for myprincipal objects in writing this work are to amuse myself and toinstruct society. In some future hook, probably the twentieth ortwenty-fifth, when the plot logins to wear threadbare, and we can afforda digression. I may give a chapter on Domestic Tactics. 

"My dear Marchioness, " continued Vivian, "see there: I have kept mypromise, there is your bracelet. How is Julie to-day?"

"Poor dear, I hope she is better. "

"Oh! yes, poor Julie I think she is better. "

"I do not know that, Miss Graves, " said her Ladyship, somewhat tartly, not at all approving of a toadey thinking. "I am afraid that screamlast night must have disturbed her. O dear, Mr. Grey, I am afraid shewill be ill again. "

Miss Graves looked mournful, and lifted up her eyes and hands to Heaven, but did not dare to speak this time. 

"I thought she looked a little heavy about the eyes this morning, " saidthe Marchioness, apparently very agitated; "and I have heard fromEglamour this post; he is not well, too; I think everybody is ill now;he has caught a fever going to see the ruins of Paestum. I wonder whypeople go to see ruins!"

"I wonder, indeed, " said Miss Graves; "I never could see anything in aruin. "

"O, Mr. Grey!" continued the Marchioness, "I really am afraid Julie isgoing to be very ill. "

"Let Miss Graves pull her tail and give her a little mustard seed: shewill be better tomorrow. "

"Remember that, Miss Graves. "

"Oh! y-e-s, my Lady!"

"Mrs. Felix, " said the Marchioness, as that lady entered the room, "youare late to-day; I always reckon upon you as a supporter of an earlybreakfast at Desir. "

"I have been half round the park. "

"Did you hear the scream, Mrs. Felix?"

"Do you know what it was, Marchioness?"

"No: do you?"

"See the reward of early rising and a walk before breakfast. It was oneof your new American birds, and it has half torn down your aviary. "

"One of the new Americans? O the naughty thing; and has it broken thenew fancy wirework?"

Here a little odd-looking, snuffy old man, with a brown scratch wig, whohad been very busily employed the whole breakfast-time with a cold gamepie, the bones of which Vivian observed him most scientifically pick andpolish, laid down his knife and fork, and addressed the Marchioness withan air of great interest. 

"Pray, will your Ladyship have the goodness to inform me what bird thisis?"

The Marchioness looked astounded at any one presuming to ask her aquestion; and then she drawled, "Mr. Grey, you know everything; tellthis gentleman what some bird is. "

Now this gentleman was Mr. Mackaw, the most celebrated ornithologistextant, and who had written a treatise on Brazilian parroquets, in threevolumes folio. He had arrived late at the Château the preceding night, and, although he had the honour of presenting his letter of introductionto the Marquess, this morning was the first time he had been seen by anyof the party present, who were of course profoundly ignorant of hischaracter. 

"Oh! we were talking of some South American bird given to theMarchioness by the famous Captain Tropic; you know him, perhaps;Bolivar's brother-in-law, or aide-de-camp, or something of that kind;and which screams so dreadfully at night that the whole family isdisturbed. The Chowchowtow it is called; is not it, Mrs. Lorraine?"

"The Chowchowtow!" said Mr. Mackaw; "I don't know it by that name. "

"Do not you? I dare say we shall find an account of it in Spix, however, " said Vivian, rising, and taking a volume from the book-case;"ay! here it is; I will read it to you. "

"'The Chowchowtow is about five feet seven inches in height from thepoint of the bill to the extremity of the claws. Its plumage is of adingy, yellowish white; its form is elegant, and in its movements andaction a certain pleasing and graceful dignity is observable; but itshead is by no means worthy of the rest of its frame; and the expressionof its eye is indicative of the cunning and treachery of its character. The habits of this bird are peculiar: occasionally most easilydomesticated, it is apparently sensible of the slightest kindness; butits regard cannot be depended upon, and for the slightest inducement, orwith the least irritation, it will fly at its feeder. At other times itseeks perfect solitude, and can only be captured with the utmost skilland perseverance. It generally feeds three times a day, but its appetiteis not rapacious; it sleeps little, is usually on the wing at sunrise, and proves that it slumbers but little in the night by its nocturnal andthrilling shrieks'"

"What an extraordinary bird! Is that the bird you meant, Mrs. FelixLorraine?"

Mr. Mackaw was restless the whole time that Vivian was reading thisinteresting passage. At last he burst forth with an immense deal ofscience and a great want of construction, a want which scientific menoften experience, always excepting those mealy-mouthed professors wholecture "at the Royal, " and get patronised by the blues, the Lavoisiersof May Fair!

"Chowchowtow, my Lady! five feet seven inches high! Brazilian bird! WhenI just remind your Ladyship that the height of the tallest bird to befound in Brazil, and in mentioning this fact, I mention nothinghypothetical, the tallest bird does not stand higher than four feetnine. Chowchowtow! Dr. Spix is a name, accurate traveller, don'tremember the passage, most singular bird! Chowchowtow! don't know it bythat name. Perhaps your Ladyship is not aware; I think you called thatgentleman Mr. Grey; perhaps Mr. Grey is not aware, that I am Mr. Mackaw, I arrived late here last night, whose work in three volumes folio, onBrazilian Parroquets, although I had the honour of seeing his Lordship. Is, I trust, a sufficient evidence that I am not speaking at random onthis subject; and consequently, from the lateness of the hour, could nothave the honour of being introduced to your Ladyship. "

"Mr. Mackaw!" thought Vivian. "The deuce you are! Oh! why did I not saya Columbian cassowary, or a Peruvian penguin, or a Chilian condor, or aGuatemalan goose, or a Mexican mastard; anything but Brazilian. Oh!unfortunate Vivian Grey!"

The Marchioness, who was quite overcome with this scientific appeal, raised her large, beautiful, sleepy eyes from a delicious compound ofFrench roll and new milk, which she was working up in a Sèvre saucer forJulie; and then, as usual, looked to Vivian for assistance. 

"Mr. Grey, you know everything; tell Mr. Mackaw about a bird. "

"Is there any point on which you differ from Spix in his account of theChowchowtow, Mr. Mackaw?"

"My dear sir, I don't follow him at all. Dr. Spix is a most excellentman, a most accurate traveller, quite a name; but, to be sure, I've onlyread his work in our own tongue; and I fear from the passage you havejust quoted, five feet seven inches high! in Brazil! it must be animperfect version. I say, that four feet nine is the greatest height Iknow. I don't speak without some foundation for my statement. The onlybird I know above that height is the Paraguay cassowary; which, to besure, is sometimes found in Brazil. But the description of your bird, Mr. Grey, does not answer that at all. I ought to know. I do not speakat random. The only living specimen of that extraordinary bird, theParaguay cassowary, in this country, is in my possession. It was sent meby Bompland, and was given to him by the Dictator of Paraguay himself. Icall it, in compliment, Doctor Francia. I arrived here so late lastnight, only saw his Lordship, or I would have had it on the lawnthis morning. "

"Oh, then, Mr. Mackaw, " said Vivian, "that was the bird which screamedlast night!"

"Oh, yes! oh, yes! Mr. Mackaw, " said Mrs. Felix Lorraine. 

"Lady Carabas!" continued Vivian, "it is found out. It is Mr. Mackaw'sparticular friend, his family physician, whom he always travels with, that awoke us all last night. "

"Is he a foreigner?" asked the Marchioness, looking up. 

"My dear Mr. Grey, impossible! the Doctor never screams. "

"Oh! Mr. Mackaw, Mr. Mackaw!" said Vivian. 

"Oh! Mr. Mackaw, Mr. Mackaw!" said Mrs. Felix Lorraine. 

"I tell you he never screams, " reiterated the man of science; "I tellyou he can't scream; he's muzzled. "

"Oh, then, it must Have been the Chowchowtow. "

"Yes, I think it must have been the Chowchowtow. "

"I should very much like to hear Spix's description again, " said Mr. Mackaw, "only I fear it is troubling you too much, Mr. Grey. "

"Read it yourself, my dear sir, " said Vivian, putting the book into hishand, which was the third volume of Tremaine. 

Mr. Mackaw looked at the volume, and turned it over, and sideways, andupside downwards: the brain of a man who has written three folios onparroquets is soon puzzled. At first, he thought the book was a novel;but then, an essay on predestination, under the title of Memoirs of aMan of Refinement, rather puzzled him; then he mistook it for an Oxfordreprint of Pearson on the Creed; and then he stumbled on rather a warmscene in an old Château in the South of France. 

Before Mr. Mackaw could gain the power of speech the door opened, andentered, who? Dr. Francia. 

Mr. Mackaw's travelling companion possessed the awkward accomplishmentof opening doors, and now strutted in, in quest of his beloved master. Affection for Mr. Mackaw was not, however, the only cause which inducedthis entrance. 

The household of Château Desir, unused to cassowaries, had neglected tosupply Dr. Francia with his usual breakfast, which consisted of half adozen pounds of rump steaks, a couple of bars of hard iron, some piglead, and brown stout. The consequence was, the Dictator wassadly famished. 

All the ladies screamed; and then Mrs. Felix Lorraine admired theDoctor's violet neck, and the Marchioness looked with an anxious eye onJulie, and Miss Graves, as in duty bound, with an anxious eye on theMarchioness. 

There stood the Doctor, quite still, with his large yellow eye fixed onMr. Mackaw. At length he perceived the cold pasty, and his little blackwings began to flutter on the surface of his immense body. 

"Che, che, che, che!" said the ornithologist, who did not like thesymptoms at all: "Che, che, che, che, don't be frightened, ladies! yousee he's muzzled; che, che, che, che, now, my dear doctor, now, now, now, Franky, Franky, Franky, now go away, go away, that's a dear doctor, che, che, che, che!"

But the large yellow eye grew more flaming and fiery, and the littleblack wings grew larger and larger; and now the left leg was dashed toand fro with a fearful agitation. Mackaw looked agonised. What a whirr!Francia is on the table! All shriek, the chairs tumble over theottomans, the Sèvre china is in a thousand pieces, the muzzle is tornoff and thrown at Miss Graves; Mackaw's wig is dashed in the clottedcream, and devoured on the spot; and the contents of the boiling urn arepoured over the beauteous and beloved Julie!

CHAPTER VIII

THE HONOURABLE CYNTHIA COURTOWN TO VIVIAN GREY, ESQ. 

"Alburies, Oct. 18--. 

"DEAR GREY, "We have now been at Alburies for a fortnight. Nothing can be moredelightful. Here is everybody in the world that I wish to see, exceptyourself. The Knightons, with as many outriders as usual: Lady Julia andmyself are great allies; I like her amazingly. The Marquess of Grandgoûtarrived here last week, with a most delicious party; all the men whowrite 'John Bull. ' I was rather disappointed at the first sight ofStanislaus Hoax. I had expected, I do not know why, something juvenileand squibbish, when lo! I was introduced to a corpulent individual, withhis coat buttoned up to his chin, looking dull, gentlemanlike, andapoplectic. However, on acquaintance, he came out quite rich, singsdelightfully, and improvises like a prophet, ten thousand times moreentertaining than Pistrucci. We are sworn friends; and I know all thesecret history of 'John Bull. ' There is not much, to be sure, that youdid not tell me yourself; but still there are some things. I must nottrust them, however, to paper, and therefore pray dash down to Alburiesimmediately; I shall be most happy to introduce you to Lord Devildrain. There _was_ an interview. What think you of that? Stanislaus told meall, circumstantially, and after dinner; I do not doubt that it is quitetrue. What would you give for the secret history of the 'rather yellow, rather yellow, ' chanson? I dare not tell it you. It came from a quarterthat will quite astound you, and in a very elegant, small, female hand. You remember Lambton did stir very awkwardly in the Lisbon business. Stanislaus wrote all the songs that appeared in the first number, exceptthat; but he never wrote a single line of prose for the first threemonths: it all came from Vivida Vis. 

"I like the Marquess of Grandgoût so much! I hope he will be elevated inthe peerage: he looks as if he wanted it so! Poor dear man!"

"Oh! do you know I have discovered a liaison between Bull andBlackwood. I am to be in the next Noctes; I forget the words of thechorus exactly, but Courtown is to rhyme with port down, or something ofthat kind, and then they are to dash their glasses over their heads, give three cheers, and adjourn to whisky-toddy and the Chaldee chamber. How delightful!

"The Prima Donnas are at Cheltenham, looking most respectable. Do youever see the 'Age'? It is not proper for me to take it in. Pray send medown your numbers, and tell me all about it. Is it true that hisLordship paragraphises a little?

"I have not heard from Ernest Clay, which I think very odd. If you writeto him, mention this, and tell him to send me word how Dormer Stanhopebehaves at mess. I understand there has been a melee, not much; merely arouette; do get it all out of him. 

"Colonel Delmington is at Cheltenham, with the most knowing beard youcan possibly conceive; Lady Julia rather patronises him. Lady Doubtfulhas been turned out of the rooms; fifty challenges in consequence andone duel; missed fire, of course. 

"I have heard from Alhambra; he has been wandering about in alldirections. He has been to the Lakes, and is now at Edinburgh. He likesSouthey. He gave the laureate a quantity of hints for his next volume ofthe Peninsular War, but does not speak very warmly of Wordsworth:gentlemanly man, but only reads his own poetry. 

"Here has been a cousin of yours about us; a young barrister going thecircuit; by name Hargrave Grey. The name attracted my notice, and dueinquiries having been made and satisfactorily answered, I patronised thelimb of law. Fortunate for him! I got him to all the fancy balls andpic-nics that were going on. He was in heaven for a fortnight, and atlength, having overstayed his time, he left us, also leaving his bag andonly brief behind him. They say he is ruined for life. Write soon. 

"Yours ever, "CYNTHIA COURTOWN. "

ERNEST CLAY, ESQ. , TO VlVIAN GREY, ESQ. 

"October, 18--. 

"DEAR GREY, "I am sick of key-bugles and country-balls! All the girls in the townare in love with me, or my foraging cap. I am very much obliged to youfor your letter to Kennet, which procured everything I wanted. Thefamily turned out bores, as you had prepared me. I never met such aclever family in my life; the father is summoning up courage to favourthe world with a volume of sermons; and Isabella Kennet mostsatisfactorily proved to me, after an argument of two hours, which forcourtesy's sake I fought very manfully, that Sir Walter Scott was notthe author of Waverley; and then she vowed, as I have heard fifty youngliterary ladies vow before, that she had 'seen the Antiquary inmanuscript. '

"There has been a slight row to diversify the monotony of our militarylife. Young Premium, the son of the celebrated loan-monger, has boughtin; and Dormer Stanhope, and one or two others equally fresh, immediately anticipated another Battier business; but, with the greatestdesire to make a fool of myself, I have a natural repugnance tomimicking the foolery of others; so with some little exertion, and veryfortunately for young Premium, I got the tenth voted vulgar, on thescore of curiosity, and we were civil to the man. As it turned out, itwas all very well, for Premium is a quiet, gentlemanlike fellow enough, and exceedingly useful. He will keep extra grooms for the whole mess, ifthey want it. He is very grateful to me for what does not deserve anygratitude, and for what gave me no trouble; for I did not defend himfrom any feeling of kindness: and both the Mounteneys, and youngStapylton Toad, and Augustus, being in the regiment, why, I have verylittle trouble in commanding a majority, if it come to a division. 

"I dined the other day at old Premium's, who lives near this town in amagnificent old hall; which, however, is not nearly splendid enough fora man who is the creditor of every nation from California to China; and, consequently, the great Mr. Stucco is building a plaster castle for himin another part of the park. Glad am I enough that I was prevailed uponto patronise the Premium; for I think I seldom witnessed a more amusingscene than I did the day I dined there. 

"I was ushered through an actual street of servitors, whose liverieswere really cloth of gold, and whose elaborately powdered heads wouldnot have disgraced the most ancient mansion in St. James's Square, intoa large and crowded saloon. I was, of course, received with miraculousconsideration; and the ear of Mrs. Premium seemed to dwell upon thejingling of my spurs (for I am adjutant) as upon exquisite music. Itwas bona fide evidence of 'the officers being there. '

"Premium is a short, but by no means vulgar-looking man, about fifty, with a high forehead covered with wrinkles, and with eyes deep sunk inhis head. I never met a man of apparently less bustle, and of a coolertemperament. He was an object of observation from his veryunobtrusiveness. There were. I immediately perceived, a great number offoreigners in the room. They looked much too knowing for Arguelles andCo. , and I soon found that they were members of the different embassies, or missions of the various Governments to whose infant existence Premiumis foster father. There were two striking figures in Oriental costume, who were shown to me as the Greek Deputies; not that you are to imaginethat they always appear in this picturesque dress. It was only as aparticular favour, and to please Miss Premium (there, Grey, my boy!there is a quarry!), that the illustrious envoys appeared habited thisday in their national costume. 

"You would have enjoyed the scene. In one part of the room was a navalofficer, just hot from the mines of Mexico, and lecturing eloquently onthe passing of the Cordillera. In another was a man of science, dilatingon the miraculous powers of a newly-discovered amalgamation process to aknot of merchants, who, with bent brows and eager eyes, were alreadyforming a Company for its adoption. Here floated the latest anecdote ofBolivar; and there a murmur of some new movement of Cochrane's. And thenthe perpetual babble about 'rising states, ' and 'new loans, ' and'enlightened views, ' and 'juncture of the two oceans, ' and 'liberalprinciples, ' and 'steamboats to Mexico, ' and the earnest look whichevery one had in the room. How different to the vacant gaze that we havebeen accustomed to! I was really particularly struck by thecircumstance. Every one at Premium's looked full of some great plan, asif the fate of empires wag on his very breath. I hardly knew whetherthey were most like conspirators, or gamblers, or the lions of a publicdinner, conscious of an universal gaze, and consequently lookingproportionately interesting. One circumstance particularly struck me: asI was watching the acute countenance of an individual, who young Premiuminformed me was the Chilian minister, and who was listening with greatattention to a dissertation from Captain Tropic, the celebratedtraveller, on the feasibility of a railroad over the Andes, I observed agreat sensation among those around me; every one shifting, andshuffling, and staring, and assisting in that curious and confusingceremony called 'making way. ' Even Premium appeared a little excitedwhen he came forward with a smile on his face to receive an individual, apparently a foreigner, and who stepped on with great though graciousdignity. Being curious to know who this great man was, I found that thiswas an ambassador, the representative of a recognised state. 

"'Pon my honour, when I saw all this, I could not refrain frommoralising on the magic of wealth; and when I just remembered the embryoplot of some young Hussar officers to cut the son of the magician, Irather smiled; but while I, with even greater reverence than all others, was making way for his Excellency, I observed Mrs. Premium looking at myspurs. 'Farewell Philosophy!' thought I; 'Puppyism for ever!'

"Dinner was at last announced, and the nice etiquette which was observedbetween recognised states and non-recognised states was reallyexcessively amusing: not only the ambassador would take precedence ofthe mere political agent, but his Excellency's private secretary wasequally tenacious as to the agent's private secretary. At length we wereall seated: the spacious dining-room was hung round with portraits ofmost of the successful revolutionary leaders, and over Mr. Premium wassuspended a magnificent portrait of Bolivar. If you could but have seenthe plate! By Jove! I have eaten off the silver of most of the firstfamilies in England, yet never in my life did it enter into myimagination that it was possible for the most ingenious artist that everexisted to repeat a crest half so often in a tablespoon as in that ofPremium. The crest is a bubble, and really the effect produced by it ismost ludicrous. 

"I was very much struck at table by the appearance of an individual whocame in very late, but who was evidently, by his bearing, noinsignificant personage. He was a tall man, with a long hooked nose andhigh cheek bones, and with an eye (were you ever at the Old Bailey?there you may see its fellow); his complexion looked as if it had beenaccustomed to the breezes of many climes, and his hair, which had oncebeen red, was now silvered, or rather iron-greyed, not by age. Yet therewas in his whole bearing, in his slightest actions, even in the easy, desperate air with which he took; a glass of wine, an indefinablesomething (you know what I mean) which attracted your unremittingattention to him. I was not wrung in my suspicions of his celebrity;for, as Miss Premium, whom I sat next to, whispered, 'he was quite alion. ' It was Lord Oceanville What he is after no one knows. Some say heis going to Greece, others whisper an invasion of Paraguay, and others, of course, say other things; perhaps equally correct. I think he is forGreece. I know he is one of the most extraordinary men I ever met with. I am getting prosy. Good-bye! Write soon. Any fun going on? How isCynthia? I ought to have written. How is Mrs. Felix Lorraine? She is adeuced odd woman!

"Yours faithfully, "ERNEST CLAY. "

HARGRAVE GREY, ESQ. , TO VIVIAN GREY, ESQ. 

"October, 18--. 

"DEAR VIVIAN, "You ought not to expect a letter from me. I cannot conceive why you donot occasionally answer your correspondents' letters, if correspondentsthey may be called. It is really a most unreasonable habit of yours; anyone but myself would quarrel with you. 

"A letter from Baker met me at this place, and I find that the whole ofthat most disagreeable and annoying business is arranged. From thepromptitude, skill, and energy which are apparent in the whole affair, Isuspect I have to thank the very gentleman whom I was just going toquarrel with. You are a good fellow, Vivian, after all. For want of abrief, I sit down to give you a sketch of my adventures on this myfirst circuit. 

"This circuit is a cold and mercantile adventure, and I am disappointedin it. Not so either, for I looked for but little to enjoy. Take one dayof my life as a specimen; the rest are mostly alike. The sheriff'strumpets are playing; one, some tune of which I know nothing, and theother no tune at all. I am obliged to turn out at eight. It is the firstday of the Assize, so there is some chance of a brief, being a newplace. I push my way into court through files of attorneys, as civil tothe rogues as possible, assuring them there is plenty of room, though Iam at the very moment gasping for breath wedged-in in a lane ofwell-lined waistcoats. I get into court, take my place in the quietestcorner, and there I sit, and pass other men's fees and briefs like atwopenny postman, only without pay. Well! 'tis six o'clock, dinner-time, at the bottom of the table, carve for all, speak to none, nobody speaksto me, must wait till last to sum up, and pay the bill. Reach home quitedevoured by spleen, after having heard every one abused who happened tobe absent. 

"I travelled to this place with Manners, whom I believe you know, andamused myself by getting from him an account of my fellows, anticipating, at the same time, what in fact happened; to wit, that Ishould afterwards get his character from them. It is strange how freelythey deal with each other; that is, the person spoken of being away. Iwould not have had you see our Stanhope for half a hundred pounds; yourjealousy would have been so excited. To say the truth, we are a littlerough; our mane wants pulling and our hoofs trimming, but we jog alongwithout performing either operation; and, by dint of rattling the whipagainst the splash-board, using all one's persuasion of hand and voice, and jerking the bit in his mouth, we do contrive to get into the circuittown, usually, just about the time that the sheriff and his _possecomitatus_ are starting to meet my Lord the King's Justice: and that isthe worst of it; for their horses are prancing and pawing coursers justout of the stable, sleek skins and smart drivers. We begin to be knockedup just then, and our appearance is the least brilliant of any part ofthe day. Here I had to pass through a host of these powdered, scentedfops; and the multitude who had assembled to gaze on the noblerexhibition rather scoffed at our humble vehicle. As Manners had justthen been set down to find the inn and lodging, I could not jump out andleave our equipage to its fate, so I settled my cravat, and seemed notto mind it, only I did. 

"But I must leave off this nonsense, and attend to his Lordship'scharge, which is now about to commence. I have not been able to get youa single good murder, although I have kept a sharp look-out, as youdesired me; but there is a chance of a first-rate one at ----n. 

"I am quite delighted with Mr. Justice St. Prose. He is at this momentin a most entertaining passion, preparatory to a 'conscientious' summingup; and in order that his ideas may not be disturbed, he has veryliberally ordered the door-keeper to have the door oiled immediately, athis own expense. Now for my Lord the King's Justice. 

"'Gentlemen of the Jury, "'The noise is insufferable, the heat is intolerable, the door-keeperslet the people keep shuffling in, the ducks in the corner are goingquack, quack, quack, here's a little girl being tried for her life, andthe judge can't hear a word that's said. Bring me my black cap, and I'llcondemn her to death instantly. '

"'You can't, my Lord. ' shrieks the infant sinner; 'it's only for pettylarceny!'

"I have just got an invite from the Kearneys. Congratulate me. 

"Dear Vivian, yours faithfully, "HARGRAVE GREY. "

LADY SCROPE TO VIVIAN GREY, ESQ. 

"Ormsby Park, Oct. 18--. 

"MY DEAR VIVIAN, "By desire of Sir Berdmore, I have to request the fulfilment of apromise, upon the hope of which being performed I have existed throughthis dull month. Pray, my dear Vivian, come to us immediately. Ormsbyhas at present little to offer for your entertainment. We have had thatunendurable bore Vivacity Dull with us for a whole fortnight. A reportof the death of the Lord Chancellor, or a rumour of the production of anew tragedy, has carried him up to town; but whether it be to ask forthe seals, or to indite an ingenious prologue to a play which will becondemned the first night, I cannot inform you. I am quite sure he iscapable of doing either. However, we shall have other deer in afew days. 

"I believe you have never met the Mounteneys. They have never been atHallesbrooke since you have been at Desir. They are coming to usimmediately. I am sure you will like them very much. Lord Mounteney isone of those kind, easy-minded, accomplished men, who, after all, arenearly the pleasantest society one ever meets. Rather wild in his youth, but with his estate now unencumbered, and himself perfectly domestic. His lady is an unaffected, agreeable woman. But it is Caroline Mounteneywhom I wish you particularly to meet. She is one of those deliciouscreatures who, in spite of not being married, are actually conversable. Spirited, without any affectation or brusquerie; beautiful, and knowingenough to be quite conscious of it; perfectly accomplished, and yetnever annoying you with tattle about Bochsa, and Ronzi de Begnis, andD'Egville. 

"We also expect the Delmonts, the most endurable of the Anglo-Italiansthat I know. Mrs. Delmont is not always dropping her handkerchief likeLady Gusto, as if she expected a miserable cavalier servente to beconstantly upon his knees; or giving those odious expressive looks, which quite destroy my nerves whenever I am under the same roof as thathorrible Lady Soprano. There is a little too much talk, to be sure, about Roman churches, and newly-discovered mosaics, and Abbate Maii, butstill we cannot expect perfection. There are reports going about thatErnest Clay is either ruined or going to be married. Perhaps both aretrue. Young Premium has nearly lost his character by driving asquare-built, striped green thing, drawn by one horse. Ernest Clay gothim through this terrible affair. What can be the reasons of the SieurErnest's excessive amiability?

"Both the young Mounteneys are with their regiment, but Aubrey Vere iscoming to us, and I have half a promise from--; but I know you neverspeak to unmarried men, so why do I mention them? Let me, I beseech you, my dear Vivian, have a few days of you to myself before Ormsby is full, and before you are introduced to Caroline Mounteney. I did not think itwas possible that I could exist so long without seeing you; but youreally must not try me too much, or I shall quarrel with you. I havereceived all your letters, which are very, very agreeable; but I thinkrather, rather impudent. Adieu!

"HARRIETTE SCROPE. "

HORACE GREY, ESQ. , TO VIVIAN GREY, ESQ. 

"Paris, Oct. 18--. 

"MY DEAR VIVIAN, "I have received yours of the 9th, and have read it with mixed feelingsof astonishment and sorrow. 

"You are now, my dear son, a member of what is called the great world;society formed on anti-social principles. Apparently you have possessedyourself of the object of your wishes; but the scenes you live in arevery moveable; the characters you associate with are all masked; and itwill always be doubtful whether you c an retain that long, which hasbeen obtained by some slippery artifice. Vivian, you are a juggler; andthe deceptions of your sleight-of-hand tricks depend uponinstantaneous motions. 

"When the selfish combine with the selfish, bethink you how manyprojects are doomed to disappointment! how many cross interests bafflethe parties at the same time joined together without ever uniting. Whata mockery is their love! but how deadly are their hatreds! All thisgreat society, with whom so young an adventurer has trafficked, abatenothing of their price in the slavery of their service and the sacrificeof violated feelings. What sleepless nights has it cost you to win overthe disobliged, to conciliate the discontented, to cajole thecontumatious! You may smile at the hollow flatteries, answering toflatteries as hollow, which like bubbles when they touch, dissolve intonothing; but tell me, Vivian, what has the self-tormentor felt at thelaughing treacheries which force a man down into self-contempt?

"Is it not obvious, my dear Vivian, that true Fame and true Happinessmust rest upon the imperishable social affections? I do not mean thatcoterie celebrity which paltry minds accept as fame; but that whichexists independent of the opinions or the intrigues of individuals: nordo I mean that glittering show of perpetual converse with the worldwhich some miserable wanderers call Happiness; but that which can onlybe drawn from the sacred and solitary fountain of your own feelings. 

"Active as you have now become in the great scenes of human affairs, Iwould not have you be guided by any fanciful theories of morals or ofhuman nature. Philosophers have amused themselves by deciding on humanactions by systems; but, as these system? are of the most oppositenatures, it is evident that each philosopher, in reflecting his ownfeelings in the system he has so elaborately formed, has only paintedhis own character. 

"Do not, therefore, conclude, with Hobbes and Mandeville, that man livesin a state of civil warfare with man; nor with Shaftesbury, adorn with apoetical philosophy our natural feelings. Man is neither the vile northe excellent being which he sometimes imagines himself to be. He doesnot so much act by system as by sympathy. If this creature cannot alwaysfeel for others, he is doomed to feel for himself; and the vicious are, at least, blessed with the curse of remorse. 

"You are now inspecting one of the worst portions of society in what iscalled the great world (St. Giles' is bad, but of another kind), and itmay be useful, on the principle that the actual sight of brutal ebrietywas supposed to have inspired youth with the virtue of temperance; onthe same principle that the Platonist, in the study of deformity, conceived the beautiful. Let me warn you not to fall into the usualerror of youth in fancying that the circle you move in is precisely theworld itself. Do not imagine that there are not other beings, whosebenevolent principle is governed by finer sympathies, by more generouspassions, and by those nobler emotions which really constitute all ourpublic and private virtues. I give you this hint, lest, in your presentsociety, you might suppose these virtues were merely historical. 

"Once more, I must beseech you not to give loose to any elation of mind. The machinery by which you have attained this unnatural result must beso complicated that in the very tenth hour you will find yourselfstopped in some part where you never counted on an impediment; and thewant of a slight screw or a little oil will prevent you fromaccomplishing your magnificent end. 

"We are, and have been, very dull here. There is every probability ofMadame de Genlis writing more volumes than ever. I called on the oldlady, and was quite amused with the enthusiasm of her imbecility. Chateaubriand is getting what you call a bore; and the whole city is madabout a new opera by Boieldieu. Your mother sends her love, and desiresme to say, that the salmi of woodcocks, à la Lucullus, which you writeabout, does not differ from the practice here in vogue. How does yourcousin Hargrave prosper on his circuit? The Delmingtons are here, whichmakes it very pleasant for your mother, as well as for myself; for itallows me to hunt over the old bookshops at my leisure. There are no newbooks worth sending you, or they would accompany this; but I wouldrecommend you to get Meyer's new volume from Treüttel and Wurtz, andcontinue to make notes as you read it. Give my compliments to theMarquess, and believe me, "Your affectionate father, "HORACE GREY. "

CHAPTER IX

It was impossible for any human being to behave with more kindness thanthe Marquess of Carabas did to Vivian Grey after that young gentleman'sshort conversation with Mrs. Felix Lorraine in the conservatory. Theonly feeling which seemed to actuate the Peer was an eager desire tocompensate, by his present conduct, for any past misunderstanding, andhe loaded his young friend with all possible favour. Still Vivian wasabout to quit Château Desir; and in spite of all that had passed, he wasextremely loth to leave his noble friend under the guardianship of hisfemale one. 

About this time, the Duke and Duchess of Juggernaut, the very pink ofaristocracy, the wealthiest, the proudest, the most ancient, and mostpompous couple in Christendom, honoured Château Desir with theirpresence for two days; only two days, making the Marquess's mansion aconvenient resting-place in one of their princely progresses to one oftheir princely castles. 

Vivian contrived to gain the heart of her Grace by his minuteacquaintance with the Juggernaut pedigree; and having taken theopportunity, in one of their conversations, to describe Mrs. FelixLorraine as the most perfect specimen of divine creation with which hewas acquainted, at the same time the most amusing and the most amiableof women, that lady was honoured with an invitation to accompany herGrace to Himalaya Castle. As this was the greatest of all possiblehonours, and as Desir was now very dull, Mrs. Felix Lorraine acceptedthe invitation, or rather obeyed the command, for the Marquess would nothear of a refusal, Vivian having dilated in the most energetic terms onthe opening which now presented itself of gaining the Juggernaut. Thecoast being thus cleared, Vivian set off the next day for SirBerdmore Scrope's. 

BOOK IV

CHAPTER I

The important hour drew nigh. Christmas was to be passed by the Carabasfamily, the Beaconsfields, the Scropes, and the Clevelands at LordCourtown's villa at Richmond; at which place, on account of its vicinityto the metropolis, the Viscount had determined to make out the holidays, notwithstanding the Thames entered his kitchen windows, and the Donnadel Lago was acted in the theatre with real water, Cynthia Courtownperforming Elena, paddling in a punt. 

"Let us order our horses, Cleveland, round to the Piccadilly gate, andwalk through the Guards. I must stretch my legs. That bore, HoraceButtonhole, captured me in Pall Mall East, and has kept me in the sameposition for upwards of half an hour. I shall make a note to blackballhim at the Athenaeum. How is Mrs. Cleveland?"

"Extremely well. She goes down to Buckhurst Lodge with Lady Carabas. Isnot that Lord Lowersdale?"

"His very self. He is going to call on Vivida Vis, I have no doubt. Lowersdale is a man of very considerable talent; much more than theworld gives him credit for. "

"And he doubtless finds a very able counsellor in Monsieur leSécrétaire?"

"Can you name a better one?"

"You rather patronise Vivida, I think, Grey?"

"Patronise him! he is my political pet!"

"And yet Kerrison tells me you reviewed the Suffolk papers in theEdinburgh. "

"So I did; what of that? I defended them in Blackwood. "

"This, then, is the usual method of you literary gentlemen. Thank God! Inever could write a line. "

"York House rises proudly; if York House be its name. "

"This confounded Catholic Question is likely to give us a great deal oftrouble, Grey. It is perfect madness for us to advocate the cause of the'six millions of hereditary bondsmen;' and yet, with not only theMarchese, but even Courtown and Beaconsfield committed, it is, to saythe least, a very delicate business. "

"Very delicate, certainly; but there are some precedents, I suspect, Cleveland, for the influence of a party being opposed to measures whichthe heads of that party had pledged themselves to adopt. "

"Does old Gifford still live at Pimlico, Grey?"

"Still. "

"He is a splendid fellow, after all. "

"Certainly, a mind of great powers, but bigoted. "

"Oh, yes! I know exactly what you are going to say. It is the fashion, Iam aware, to abuse the old gentleman. He is the Earl of Eldon ofliterature; not the less loved because a little vilified. But, when Ijust remember what Gifford has done; when I call to mind the perfect andtriumphant success of everything he has undertaken; the Anti-Jacobin, the Baviad and Maeviad, the Quarterly; all palpable hits, on the veryjugular; I hesitate before I speak of William Gifford in any otherterms, or in any other spirit, than those of admiration and ofgratitude. 

"And to think. Grey, that the Tory Administration and the Tory party ofGreat Britain should never, by one single act, or in a single instance, have indicated that they were in the least aware that the exertions ofsuch a man differed in the slightest degree from those of Hunt and Hone!Of all the delusions which flourish in this mad world, the delusion ofthat man is the most frantic who voluntarily, and of his own accord, supports the interest of a party. I mention this to you because it isthe rock on which all young politicians strike. Fortunately, you enterlife under different circumstances from those which usually attend mostpolitical debutants. You have your connections formed and your viewsascertained. But if, by any chance, you find yourself independent andunconnected, never, for a moment, suppose that you can accomplish yourobjects by coming forward, unsolicited, to fight the battle of a party. They will cheer your successful exertions, and then smile at youryouthful zeal; or, crossing themselves for the unexpected succour, betoo cowardly to reward their unexpected champion. No, Grey; make themfear you, and they will kiss your feet. There is no act of treachery ormeanness of which a political party is not capable; for in politicsthere is no honour. 

"As to Gifford, I am surprised at their conduct towards him, although Iknow better than most men of what wood a minister is made, and how muchreliance may be placed upon the gratitude of a party: but Canning; fromCanning I certainly did expect different conduct. "

"Oh, Canning! I love the man: but as you say, Cleveland, ministers haveshort memories, and Canning's; that was Antilles that just passed us;apropos to whom, I quite rejoice that the Marquess has determined totake such a decided course on the West India Question. "

"Oh, yes! curse your East India sugar. "

"To be sure; slavery and sweetmeats forever!"

"But, aside with joking, Grey, I really think, that if any man ofaverage ability dare rise in the House, and rescue many of the greatquestions of the day from what Dugald Stuart or Disraeli would call thespirit of Political Religionism, with which they are studiously mixedup, he would not fail to make a great impression upon the House, and astill greater one upon the country. "

"I quite agree with you; and certainly I should recommend commencingwith the West India Question. Singular state of affairs when evenCanning can only insinuate his opinion when the very existence of someof our most valuable colonies is at stake, and when even hisinsinuations are only indulged with an audience on the condition that hefavours the House with an introductory discourse of twenty minutes on'the divine Author of our faith, ' and an éloge of equal length on theGénie du Christianisme, in a style worthy of Chateaubriand. "

"Miserable work, indeed! I have got a pamphlet on the West IndiaQuestion sent me this morning. Do you know any raving lawyer, any madMaster in Chancery, or something of the kind, who meddles inthese affairs?"

"Oh! Stephen! a puddle in a storm! He is for a crusade for theregeneration of the Antilles; the most forcible of feebles, the mostenergetic of drivellers; Velluti acting Pietro l'Eremita. "

"Do you know, by any chance, whether Southey's Vindiciae is out yet? Iwanted to look it over during the holidays. "

"Not out, though it has been advertised some time; but what do youexpect?"

"Nay, it is an interesting controversy, as controversies go. Not exactlyMilton and Salmasius; but fair enough. "

"I do not know. It has long degenerated into a mere personal bickeringbetween the Laureate and Butler. Southey is, of course, revelling in theidea of writing an English work with a Latin title! and that, perhaps, is the only circumstance for which the controversy is prolonged. "

"But Southey, after all, is a man of splendid talents. "

"Doubtless; the most philosophical of bigots, and the most poetical ofprose writers. "

"Apropos to the Catholic Question, there goes Colonial Bother'em tryingto look like Prince Metternich; a decided failure. "

"What can keep him in town?"

"Writing letters, I suppose, Heaven preserve me from receiving any ofthem!"

"Is it true, then, that his letters are of the awful length that iswhispered?"

"True! Oh! they are something beyond all conception! Perfect epistolaryBoa Constrictors. I speak with feeling, for I have myself suffered undertheir voluminous windings. "

"Have you seen his quarto volume: 'The Cure for the Catholic Question?'"

"Yes. "

"If you have it, lend it to me. What kind of thing is it?"

"Oh! what should it be! ingenious and imbecile. He advises theCatholics, in the old nursery language, to behave like good boys; toopen their mouths and shut their eyes, and see what God will send them. "

"Well, that is the usual advice. Is there nothing more characteristic ofthe writer?"

"What think you of a proposition of making Jockey of Norfolk Patriarchof England, and of an ascertained _credo_ for our Catholicfellow-subjects? Ingenious, is not it?"

"Have you seen Puff's new volume of Ariosto?"

"I have. What could possibly have induced Mr. Partenopex Puff to haveundertaken such a duty? Mr. Puff is a man destitute of poetical powers, possessing no vigour of language, and gifted with no happiness ofexpression. His translation is hard, dry, and husky, as the outside of acocoanut. I am amused to see the excellent tact with which the publichas determined not to read his volumes, in spite of the incessantexertions of a certain set to ensure their popularity; but the time hasgone by when the smug coterie could create a reputation. "

"Do you think the time ever existed, Cleveland?"

"What could have seduced Puff into being so ambitious? I suppose hisadmirable knowledge of Italian; as if a man were entitled to strike adie for the new sovereign merely because he was aware how much alloymight legally debase its carats of pure gold. "

"I never can pardon Puff for that little book on Cats. The idea wasadmirable; but, instead of one of the most delightful volumes that everappeared, to take up a dull, tame compilation from Bingley's AnimalBiography!"

"Yes! and the impertinence of dedicating such a work to the Officers ofHis Majesty's Household troops! Considering the quarter from whence itproceeded, I certainly did not expect much, but still I thought thatthere was to be some little esprit. The poor Guards! how nervous theymust have been at the announcement! What could have been the point ofthat dedication?"

"I remember a most interminable proser, who was blessed with a verysensible-sounding voice, and who, on the strength of that, and hiscorrect and constant emphases, was considered by the world, for a greattime, as a sage. At length it was discovered that he was quite thereverse. Mr. Puff's wit is very like this man's wisdom. You take up oneof his little books, and you fancy, from its titlepage, that it is goingto be very witty; as you proceed, you begin to suspect that the man isonly a wag, and then, surprised at not 'seeing the point, ' you have ashrewd suspicion that he is a great hand at dry humour. It is not tillyou have closed the volume that you wonder who it is that has had thehardihood to intrude such imbecility upon an indulgent world. "

"Come, come! Mr. Puff is a worthy gentleman. Let him cease to dusk theradiancy of Ariosto's sunny stanzas, and I shall be the first man whowill do justice to his merits. He certainly tattles prettily abouttenses and terminations, and is not an inelegant grammarian. "

"Our literature, I think, is at a low ebb. "

"There is nothing like a fall of stocks to affect what it is the fashionto style the Literature of the present day, a fungus production whichhas flourished from the artificial state of our society, the merecreature of our imaginary wealth. Everybody being very rich, hasafforded to be very literary, books being considered a luxury almost aselegant and necessary as ottomans, bonbons, and pier-glasses. Consolsat 100 were the origin of all book societies. The Stockbrokers' ladiestook off the quarto travels and the hot-pressed poetry. They were thepatronesses of your patent ink and your wire-wove paper. That is allpast. Twenty per cent difference in the value of our public securitiesfrom this time last year, that little incident has done more for therestoration of the old English feeling, than all the exertions of Churchand State united. There is nothing like a fall in Consols to bring theblood of our good people of England into cool order. It is your grandstate medicine, your veritable Doctor Sangrado!

"A fall in stocks! and halt to 'the spread of knowledge!' and 'theprogress of liberal principles' is like that of a man too late forpost-horses. A fall in stocks! and where are your London Universities, and your Mechanics' Institutes, and your new Docks? Where yourphilosophy, your philanthropy, and your competition? National prejudicesrevive as national prosperity decreases. If the Consols were at 60 weshould be again bellowing, God save the King! eating roast beef, anddamning the French. "

"And you imagine literature is equally affected, Grey?"

"Clearly. We were literary because we were rich. Amid the myriad ofvolumes which issued monthly from the press, what one was not writtenfor the mere hour? It is all very well to buy mechanical poetry andhistorical novels when our purses have a plethora; but now, my dearfellow, depend upon it, the game is up. We have no scholars now, noliterary recluses, no men who ever appear to think. 'Scribble, scribble, scribble' as the Duke of Cumberland said to Gibbon, should be the mottoof the mighty 'nineteenth century. '"

"Southey, I think, Grey, is an exception. "

"By no means. Southey is a political writer, a writer for a particularpurpose. All his works, from those in three volumes quarto to those inone duodecimo, are alike political pamphlets. "

"We certainly want a master-spirit to set us right, Grey. We wantByron. "

"There was the man! And that such a man should be lost to us at the verymoment that he had begun to discover why it had pleased the Omnipotentto have endowed him with such powers!"

"If one thing were more characteristic of Byron's mind than another, itwas his strong, shrewd, common sense; his pure, unalloyed sagacity. "

"You knew him, I think, Cleveland?"

"Well, I was slightly acquainted with him when in England; slightly, however, for I was then very young. But many years afterwards I met himin Italy. It was at Pisa, just before he left that place for Genoa. Iwas then very much struck at the alteration in his appearance. "

"Indeed. "

"Yes; his face was swollen, and he was getting fat. His hair was grey, and his countenance had lost that spiritual expression which it onceeminently possessed. His teeth were decaying; and he said that if everhe came to England it would be to consult Wayte about them. I certainlywas very much struck at his alteration for the worse. Besides, he wasdressed in the most extraordinary manner. "

"Slovenly?"

"Oh, no, no, no! in the most dandified style that you can conceive; butnot that of an English dandy either. He had on a magnificent foreignforaging cap, which he wore in the room, but his grey curls were quiteperceptible; and a frogged surtout; and he had a large gold chain roundhis neck, and pushed into his waistcoat pocket. I imagined, of course, that a glass was attached to it; but I afterwards found that it borenothing but a quantity of trinkets. He had also another gold chain tightround his neck, like a collar. "

"How odd! And did you converse much with him?"

"I was not long at Pisa, but we never parted, and there was only onesubject of conversation, England, England, England. I never met a man inwhom the maladie du pays was so strong. Byron was certainly at this timerestless and discontented. He was tired of his dragoon captains andpensioned poetasters, and he dared not come back to England with what heconsidered a tarnished reputation. His only thought was of somedesperate exertion to clear himself: it was for this he went to Greece. When I was with him he was in correspondence with some friends inEngland about the purchase of a large tract of land in Colombia. Heaffected a great admiration of Bolivar. "

"Who, by-the-bye, is a great man. "

"Assuredly. "

"Your acquaintance with Byron must have been one of the gratifyingincidents of your life, Cleveland?"

"Certainly; I may say with Friar Martin, in Goetz of Berlichingen, 'Thesight of him touched my heart. It is a pleasure to have seen agreat man. '"

"Hobhouse was a faithful friend to him?"

"His conduct has been beautiful; and Byron had a thorough affection forhim, in spite of a few squibs and a few drunken speeches, which damnedgood-natured friends have always been careful to repeat. "

"The loss of Byron can never be retrieved. He was indeed a real man; andwhen I say this, I award him the most splendid character which humannature need aspire to. At least, I, for my part, have no ambition to beconsidered either a divinity or an angel; and truly, when I look roundupon the creatures alike effeminate in mind and body of which the worldis, in general, composed, I fear that even my ambition is too exalted. Byron's mind was like his own ocean, sublime in its yesty madness, beautiful in its glittering summer brightness, mighty in the lonemagnificence of its waste of waters, gazed upon from the magic of itsown nature, yet capable of representing, but as in a glass darkly, thenatures of all others. "

"Hyde Park is greatly changed since I was a dandy, Vivian. Pray, do theMisses Otranto still live in that house?"

"Yes; blooming as ever. "

"It is the fashion to abuse Horace Walpole, but I really think him themost delightful writer that ever existed. I wonder who is to be theHorace Walpole of the present century? some one, perhaps, weleast suspect. "

"Vivida Vis, think you?"

"More than probable. I will tell you who ought to be writing Memoirs;Lord Dropmore. Does my Lord Manfred keep his mansion there, next to theMisses Otranto?"

"I believe so, and lives there. "

"I knew him in Germany; a singular man, and not understood. Perhaps hedoes not understand himself. I see our horses. "

"I will join you in an instant, Cleveland. I just want to speak one wordto Osborne, whom I see coming down here. Well, Osborne, I must come andknock you up one of these mornings. I have got a commission for you fromLady Julia Knighton, to which you must pay particular attention. "

"Well, Mr. Grey, how does Lady Julia like the bay mare?"

"Very much, indeed; but she wants to know what you have done about thechestnut. "

"Oh! put it off, sir, in the prettiest style, on young Mr. Feoffment, who has just married, and taken a house in Gower Street. He wanted a bitof blood; hopes he likes it!"

"Hopes he does, Jack. There is a particular favour which you can do forme, Osborne, and which I am sure you will. Ernest Clay; you know ErnestClay; a most excellent fellow is Ernest Clay, you know, and a greatfriend of yours, Osborne; I wish you would just step down to ConnaughtPlace, and look at those bays he bought of Harry Mounteney. He is in alittle trouble, and we must do what we can for him; you know he is anexcellent fellow, and a great friend of yours. Thank you, I knew youwould. Good morning; remember Lady Julia. So you really fitted youngFeoffment with the chestnut; well, that was admirable! Good morning. "

"I do not know whether you care for these things at all, Cleveland, butPremium, a famous millionaire, has gone this morning, for I know not howmuch! Half the new world will be ruined; and in this old one a mostexcellent fellow, my friend Ernest Clay. He was engaged to Premium'sdaughter, his last resource, and now, of course, it is all up with him. "

"I was at College with his brother, Augustus Clay. He is a nephew ofLord Mounteney's, is he not?"

"The very same. Poor fellow! I do not know what we must do for him. Ithink I shall advise him to change his name to Clay_ville_; and if theworld ask him the reason of the euphonious augmentation, why, he canswear it was to distinguish himself from his brothers. Too many roués ofthe same name will never do. And now spurs to our steeds! for we aregoing at least three miles out of our way, and I must collect my sensesand arrange my curls before dinner, for I have to flirt with at leastthree fair ones. "

CHAPTER II

These conversations play the very deuce with one's story. We hadintended to have commenced this book with something quite terrific, amurder or a marriage; and all our great ideas have ended in a lounge. After all, it is, perhaps, the most natural termination. In life, surely man is not always as monstrously busy as he appears to be innovels and romances. We are not always in action, not always makingspeeches or making money, or making war, or making love. Occasionally wetalk, about the weather generally; sometimes about, ourselves; oftenerabout our friends; as often about our enemies, at least, those who haveany; which, in my opinion, is the vulgarest of all possessions. 

But we must get on. 

Mr. Cleveland and Mrs. Felix Lorraine again met, and the gentlemanscarcely appeared to be aware that this meeting was not their first. Thelady sighed and remonstrated. She reproached Mr. Cleveland with passagesof letters. He stared, and deigned not a reply to an artifice which heconsidered equally audacious and shallow. There was a scene. Vivian wasforced to interfere; but as he deprecated all explanation, hisinterference was of little avail; and, as it was ineffectual for oneparty and uncalled for by the other, it was, of course, not encouraged. The presence of Mrs. Cleveland did not tend to assist Mrs. Felix in thatself-control which, with all her wildness, she could appositelypractise. In the presence of the Clevelands she was fitful, capricious, perplexing; sometimes impertinent, sometimes humble; but always ill atease, and never charming. 

Peculiar, however, as was her conduct in this particular relation, itwas in all others, at this moment, most exemplary. Her whole soul seemedconcentrated in the success of the approaching struggle. No office wastoo mechanical for her attention, or too elaborate for her enthusiasticassiduity. Her attentions were not confined merely to Vivian and theMarquess, but were lavished with equal generosity on their colleagues. She copied letters for Sir Berdmore, and composed letters for LordCourtown, and construed letters to Lord Beaconsfield; they, in return, echoed her praises to her delighted relative, who was dailycongratulated on the possession of "such a fascinating sister in law. "

"Well, Vivian, " said Mrs. Lorraine, to that young gentleman, the dayprevious to his departure from Buckhurst Lodge, "you are going to leaveme behind you. "

"Indeed!"

"Yes! I hope you will not want me. I am very annoyed at not being ableto go to town with you, but Lady Courtown is so pressing! and I havereally promised so often to stay a week with her, that I thought it wasbetter to make out my promise at once than in six months hence. "

"Well! I am exceedingly sorry, for you really are so useful! and theinterest you take in everything is so encouraging, that I very much fearwe shall not be able to get on without you. The important hourdraws nigh. "

"It does, indeed, Vivian; and I assure you that there is no personawaiting it with intenser interest than myself. I little thought, " sheadded, in a low but distinct voice, "I little thought, when I firstreached England, that I should ever again be interested in anything inthis world. "

Vivian was silent, for he had nothing to say. 

"Vivian!" very briskly resumed Mrs. Lorraine, "I shall get you to frankall my letters for me. I shall never trouble the Marquess again. Do youknow, it strikes me you will make a very good speaker!"

"You flatter me exceedingly; suppose you give me a few lessons. "

"But you must leave off some of your wicked tricks, Vivian! You must notimprovise parliamentary papers!"

"Improvise papers, Mrs. Lorraine! What can you mean?"

"Oh! nothing. I never mean anything. "

"But you must have had some meaning. "

"Some meaning! Yes, I dare say I had; I meant; I meant; do you think itwill rain to-day?"

"Every prospect of a hard frost. I never knew before that I was animprovisatore. "

"Nor I. Have you heard from papa lately? I suppose he is quite inspirits at your success?"

"My father is a man who seldom gives way to any elation of mind. "

"Ah, indeed! a philosopher, I have no doubt, like his son. "

"I have no claims to the title of philosopher, although I have had theadvantage of studying in the school of Mrs. Felix Lorraine. "

"What do you mean? If I thought you meant to be impertinent, I reallywould; but I excuse you; I think the boy means well. "

"The boy 'means nothing; he never means anything. '"

"Come, Vivian! we are going to part. Do not let us quarrel the last day. There, there is a sprig of myrtle for you!

 What! not accept my foolish flower? Nay, then, I am indeed unblest!

and now you want it all! Unreasonable young man! If I were not thekindest lady in the land I should tear this sprig into a thousand piecessooner; but come, my child! you shall have it. There! it looks quiteimposing in your button-hole. How handsome you look to-day!"

"How agreeable you are! I love compliments!"

"Ah, Vivian! will you never give me credit for anything but a light andcallous heart? Will you never be convinced that, that; but why make thishumiliating confession? Oh! no, let me be misunderstood for ever! Thetime may come when Vivian Grey will find that Amalia Lorraine was--"

"Was what, madam?"

"You shall choose the word, Vivian. "

"Say, then, my friend. "

"'Tis a monosyllable full of meaning, and I will not quarrel with it. And now, adieu! Heaven prosper you! Believe me, that my first thoughtsand my last are for you and of you!"

CHAPTER III

"This is very kind of you, Grey! I was afraid my note might not havecaught you. You have not breakfasted? Really I wish you would take upyour quarters in Carabas House, for I want you now every moment. "

"What is the urgent business of this morning?"

"Oh! I have seen Bromley. "

"Hah!"

"And everything most satisfactory, I did not go into detail; I left thatfor you: but I ascertained sufficient to convince me that management isnow alone required. "

"Well, my Lord, I trust that will not be wanting. "

"No, Vivian; you have opened my eyes to the situation in which fortunehas placed me. The experience of every day only proves the truth andsoundness of your views. Fortunate, indeed, was the hour in whichwe met. "

"My Lord, I do trust that it was a meeting which neither of us will liveto repent. "

"Impossible! my dear friend, I do not hesitate to say that I would notchange my present lot for that of any Peer of this realm; no, not forthat of His Majesty's most favoured counsellor. What! with my characterand my influence, and my connections, I to be a tool! I, the Marquess ofCarabas! I say nothing of my own powers; but, as you often most justlyand truly observe, the world has had the opportunity of judging of them;and I think I may recur, without vanity, to the days in which my voicehad some weight in the Royal Councils. And, as I have often remarked, Ihave friends, I have you, Vivian. My career is before you. I know what Ishould have done at your age; not to say what I did do. I to be a tool!The very last person that ought to be a tool. But I see my error: youhave opened my eyes, and blessed be the hour in which we met. But wemust take care how we act, Vivian; we must be wary; eh! Vivian, wary, wary. People must know what their situations are; eh! Vivian?"

"Exceedingly useful knowledge; but I do not exactly understand theparticular purport of your Lordship's last observation. "

"You do not, eh?" asked the Peer; and he fixed his eyes as earnestly andexpressively as he possibly could upon his young companion. "Well, Ithought not. I was positive it was not true, " continued the Marquessin a murmur. 

"What, my Lord?"

"Oh! nothing, nothing; people talk at random, at random, at random. Ifeel confident you quite agree with me; eh! Vivian?"

"Really, my Lord, I fear I am unusually dull this morning. "

"Dull! no, no; you quite agree with me. I feel confident you do. Peoplemust be taught what their situations are; that is what I was saying, Vivian. My Lord Courtown, " added the Marquess, in a whisper, "is not tohave everything his own way; eh! Vivian?"

"Oh, oh!" thought Vivian; "this, then, is the result of that admirablecreature, Miss Felix Lorraine, staying a week with her dear friend, LadyCourtown. " "My Lord, it would be singular if, in the Carabas party, theCarabas interest was not the predominant one. "

"I knew you thought so. I could not believe for a minute that you couldthink otherwise: but some people take such strange ideas into theirheads, I cannot account for them. I felt confident what would be youropinion. My Lord Courtown is not to carry everything before him in thespirit that I have lately observed; or rather, in the spirit which Iunderstand, from very good authority, is exhibited. Eh! Vivian; that isyour opinion, is not it?"

"Oh! my dear Marquess, we must think alike on this, as on all points. "

"I knew it. I felt confident as to your sentiments upon this subject. Icannot conceive why some people take such strange ideas into theirheads! I knew that you could not disagree with me upon this point. No, no, no; my Lord Courtown must feel which is the predominant interest, asyou so well express it. How choice your expressions always are! I do notknow how it is, but you always hit upon the right expression, Vivian. The predominant interest, the pre-do-mi-nant in-te-rest. To be sure. What! with my high character and connections, with my stake in society, was it to be expected that I, the Marquess of Carabas, was going to makeany move which compromised the predominancy of my interests? No, no, no, my Lord Courtown; the predominant interest must be kept predominant;eh! Vivian?"

"To be sure, my Lord; explicitness and decision will soon arrange anydésagrémens. "

"I have been talking to Lady Carabas, Vivian, upon the expediency of heropening the season early. I think a course of parliamentary dinnerswould produce a good effect. It gives a tone to a political party. "

"Certainly; the science of political gastronomy has never beensufficiently studied. "

"Egad! Vivian, I am in such spirits this morning. This business ofBromley so delights me; and finding you agree with me about LordCourtown, I was confident as to your sentiments on that point. But somepeople take such strange ideas into their heads! To be sure, to be sure, the predominant interest, mine, that is to say ours, Vivian, is thepredominant interest. I have no idea of the predominant interest notbeing predominant; that would be singular! I knew you would agree withme; we always agree. 'Twas a lucky hour when we met. Two minds soexactly alike! I was just your very self when I was young; and as foryou, my career is before you. "

Here entered Mr. Sadler with the letters. 

"One from Courtown. I wonder if he has seen Mounteney. Mounteney is avery good-natured fellow, and I think might be managed. Ah! I wish youcould get hold of him, Vivian; you would soon bring him round. What itis to have brains, Vivian!" and here the Marquess shook his head verypompously, and at the same time tapped very significantly on his lefttemple. "Hah! what, what is all this? Here, read it, read it, man; Ihave no head to-day. "

Vivian took the letter, and his quick eye dashed through its contents ina second. It was from Lord Courtown, and dated far in the country. Ittalked of private communications, and premature conduct, and thesuspicious, not to say dishonourable, behaviour of Mr. Vivian Grey: ittrusted that such conduct was not sanctioned by his Lordship, but"nevertheless obliged to act with decision, regretted the necessity, "&c. &c. &c. &c. In short, Lord Courtown had deserted, and recalled hispledge as to the official appointment promised to Mr. Cleveland, "because that promise was made while he was the victim of delusionscreated by the representations of Mr. Grey. "

"What can all this mean, my Lord?"

The Marquess swore a fearful oath, and threw another letter. 

"This is from Lord Beaconsfield, my Lord, " said Vivian, with a facepallid as death, "and apparently the composition of the same writer; atleast, it is the same tale, the same refacimento of lies, and treachery, and cowardice, doled out with diplomatic politesse. But I will offto ----shire instantly. It is not yet too late to save everything. Thisis Wednesday; on Thursday afternoon I shall be at Norwood Park. ThankGod! I came this morning. "

The face of the Marquess, who was treacherous as the wind, seemedalready to indicate "Adieu! Mr. Vivian Grey!" but that countenanceexhibited some very different passions when it glanced over the contentsof the next epistle. There was a tremendous oath and a dead silence. HisLordship's florid countenance turned as pale as that of his companion. The perspiration stole down in heavy drops. He gasped for breath!

"Good God! my Lord, what is the matter?"

"The matter!" howled the Marquess, "the matter! That I have been a vain, weak, miserable fool!" and then there was another oath, and he flung theletter to the other side of the table. 

It was the official congé of the Most Noble Sydney Marquess of Carabas. His Majesty had no longer any occasion for his services. His successorwas Lord Courtown!

We will not affect to give any description of the conduct of theMarquess of Carabas at this moment. He raved, he stamped, heblasphemed! but the whole of his abuse was levelled against his former"monstrous clever" young friend; of whose character he had so oftenboasted that his own was she prototype, but who was now an adventurer, aswindler, a scoundrel, a liar, a base, deluding, flattering, fawningvillain, &c. &c. &c. &c, "My Lord, " said Vivian. 

"I will not hear you; out on your fair words! They have duped me enoughalready. That I, with my high character and connections! that I, theMarquess of Carabas, should have been the victim of the arts of a youngscoundrel!"

Vivian's fist was once clenched, but it was only for a moment. TheMarquess leant back in his chair with his eyes shut. In the agony of themoment a projecting tooth of his upper jaw had forced itself through hisunder lip, and from the wound the blood was flowing freely over his deadwhite countenance. Vivian left the room. 

CHAPTER IV

He stopped one moment on the landing-place, ere he was about to leavethe house for ever. 

"'Tis all over! and so, Vivian Grey, your game is up! and to die, too, like a dog! a woman's dupe! Were I a despot, I should perhaps satiate myvengeance upon this female fiend with the assistance of the rack, butthat cannot be; and, after all, it would be but a poor revenge in onewho has worshipped the Empire of the Intellect to vindicate the agony Iam now enduring upon the base body of a woman. No! 'tis not all over. There is yet an intellectual rack of which few dream: far, far moreterrific than the most exquisite contrivances of Parysatis. Jacinte, "said he to a female attendant that passed, "is your mistress at home?"

"She is, sir. "

"'Tis well, " said Vivian, and he sprang upstairs. 

"Health to the lady of our love!" said Vivian Grey, as he entered theelegant boudoir of Mrs. Felix Lorraine. "In spite of the easterly wind, which has spoiled my beauty for the season, I could not refrain frominquiring after your prosperity before I went to the Marquess. Have youheard the news?"

"News! no; what news?"

"'Tis a sad tale, " said Vivian, with a melancholy voice. 

"Oh! then, pray do not tell it me. I am in no humour for sorrow to-day. Come! a bon-mot, or a calembourg, or exit Mr. Vivian Grey. "

"Well, then, good morning! I am off for a black crape, or a Barcelonakerchief. Mrs. Cleveland is dead. "

"Dead!" exclaimed Mrs. Lorraine. 

"Dead! She died last night, suddenly. Is it not horrible?"

"Shocking!" exclaimed Mrs. Lorraine, with a mournful voice and an eyedancing with joy. "Why, Mr. Grey, I do declare you are weeping. "

"It is not for the departed!"

"Nay, Vivian! for Heaven's sake, what is the matter?"

"My dear Mrs. Lorraine!" but here the speaker's voice was choked withgrief, and he could not proceed. 

"Pray compose yourself. "

"Mrs. Felix Lorraine, can I speak with you half an hour, undisturbed?"

"By all means. I will ring for Jacinte. Jacinte! mind I am not at hometo anyone. Well, what is the matter?"

"O! madam, I must pray your patience; I wish you to shrive a penitent. "

"Good God! Mr. Grey! for Heaven's sake be explicit. "

"For Heaven's sake, for your sake, for my soul's sake, I would beexplicit; but explicitness is not the language of such as I am. Can youlisten to a tale of horror? can you promise me to contain yourself?"

"I will promise anything. Pray, pray proceed. "

But in spite of her earnest solicitations her companion was mute. Atlength he rose from his chair, and leaning on the chimney-piece, buriedhis face in his hands and wept. 

"Vivian, " said Mrs. Lorraine, "have you seen the Marquess yet?"

"Not yet, " he sobbed; "I am going to him, but I am in no humour forbusiness this morning. "

"Compose yourself, I beseech you. I will hear everything. You shall notcomplain of an inattentive or an irritable auditor. Now, my dear Vivian, sit down and tell me all. " She led him to a chair, and then, afterstifling his sobs, with a broken voice he proceeded. 

"You will recollect, madam, that accident made me acquainted withcertain circumstances connected with yourself and Mr. Cleveland. Alas!actuated by the vilest of sentiments, I conceived a violent hatredagainst that gentleman, a hatred only to be equalled by my passion foryou; but I find difficulty in dwelling upon the details of this sadstory of jealousy and despair. "

"Oh! speak, speak! compensate for all you have done by your presentfrankness; be brief, be brief. "

"I will be brief, " said Vivian, with earnestness: "I will be brief. Knowthen, madam, that in order to prevent the intercourse between you andMr. Cleveland from proceeding I obtained his friendship, and became theconfidante of his heart's sweetest secret. Thus situated, I suppressedthe letters with which I was entrusted from him to you, and, poisoninghis mind, I accounted for your silence by your being employed in othercorrespondence; nay, I did more; with the malice of a fiend, I boastedof--; nay, do not stop me; I have more to tell. "

Mrs. Felix Lorraine, with compressed lips and looks of horribleearnestness, gazed in silence. 

"The result of all this you know; but the most terrible part is to come;and, by a strange fascination, I fly to confess my crimes at your feet, even while the last minutes have witnessed my most heinous one. Oh!madam. I have stood over the bier of the departed; I have mingled mytears with those of the sorrowing widower, his young and tender childwas on my knee, and as I kissed his innocent lips, me thought it was butmy duty to the departed to save the father from his mother's rival--"He stopped. 

"Yes, yes, yes, " said Mrs. Felix Lorraine, in a low whisper. 

"It was then, even then, in the hour of his desolation, that I mentionedyour name, that it might the more disgust him; and while he wept overhis virtuous and sainted wife, I dwelt on the vices of his rejectedmistress. "

Mrs. Lorraine clasped her hands, and moved restlessly on her seat. 

"Nay! do not stop me; let me tell all. 'Cleveland, ' said I, 'if ever youbecome the husband of Mrs. Felix Lorraine, remember my last words: itwill be well for you if your frame be like that of Mithridates ofPontus, and proof against ---- poison. '"

"And did you say this?" shrieked the woman. 

"Even these were my words. "

"Then may all evil blast you!" She threw herself on the sofa; her voicewas choked with the convulsions of her passion, and she writhed infearful agony. 

Vivian Grey, lounging in an arm-chair in the easiest of postures, andwith a face brilliant with smiles, watched his victim with the eye of aMephistopheles. 

She slowly recovered, and, with a broken voice, poured forth her sacredabsolution to the relieved penitent. 

"You wonder I do not stab you; hah! hah! hah! there is no need for that!the good powers be praised that you refused the draught I onceproffered. Know, wretch, that your race is run. Within five minutes youwill breathe a beggar and an outcast. Your golden dreams are over, yourcunning plans are circumvented, your ambitious hopes are crushed forever, you are blighted in the very spring of your life. Oh, may younever die! May you wander for ever, the butt of the world's malice; andmay the slow moving finger of scorn point where'er you go at the ruinedCharlatan!"

"Hah, hah! is it so? Think you that Vivian Grey would fall by a woman'swile? Think you that Vivian Grey could be crushed by such a worthlessthing as you? Know, then, that your political intrigues have been aslittle concealed from me as your personal ones; I have been acquaintedwith all. The Marquess has himself seen the Minister, and is more firmlyestablished in his pride of place than ever. I have myself seen ourcolleagues, whom you tampered with, and their hearts are still true, andtheir purpose still fixed. All, all prospers; and ere five days arepassed 'the Charlatan' will be a Senator. "

The shifting expression of Mrs. Lorraine's countenance, while Vivian wasspeaking, would have baffled the most cunning painter. Her complexionwas capricious as the chameleon's, and her countenance was so convulsedthat her features seemed of all shapes and sizes. One large veinprotruded nearly a quarter of an inch from her forehead, and the danklight which gleamed in her tearful eye was like an unwholesome meteorquivering in a marsh. When he ended she sprang from the sofa, and, looking up and extending her arms with unmeaning wildness, she gave oneloud shriek and dropped like a bird shot on the wing; she had burst ablood-vessel. 

Vivian raised her on the sofa and paid her every possible attention. There is always a medical attendant lurking about the mansions of thenoble, and to this worthy and the attendant Jacinte Vivian deliveredhis patient. 

Had Vivian Grey left the boudoir a pledged bridegroom his countenancecould not have been more triumphant; but he was labouring underunnatural excitement; for it is singular that when, as he left thehouse, the porter told him that Mr. Cleveland was with his Lord, Vivianhad no idea at the moment what individual bore that name. The fresh airof the street revived him, and somewhat cooled the bubbling of hisblood. It was then that the man's information struck upon his senses. 

"So, poor Cleveland!" thought Vivian; "then he knows all!" His ownmisery he had not yet thought of; but when Cleveland occurred to him, with his ambition once more baulked, his high hopes once more blasted, and his honourable soul once more deceived; when he thought of his fairwife, and his infant children, and his ruined prospects, a sickness cameover his heart, he grew dizzy, and fell. 

"And the gentleman's ill, I think, " said an honest Irishman; and, in thefulness of his charity, he placed Vivian on a door-step. 

"So it seems, " said a genteel passenger in black; and he snatched, withgreat sang-froid, Vivian's watch. "Stop thief!" hallooed the Hibernian. Paddy was tripped up. There was a row, in the midst of which Vivian Greycrawled to an hotel. 

CHAPTER V

In half an hour Vivian was at Mr. Cleveland's door. 

"My master is at the Marquess of Carabas', sir; he will not return, butis going immediately to Richmond, where Mrs. Cleveland is staying. "

Vivian immediately wrote to Mr. Cleveland. "If your master have left theMarquess', let this be forwarded to him at Richmond immediately. "

"CLEVELAND!

"You know all. It would be mockery were I to say that at this moment Iam not thinking of myself. I am a ruined man in body and in mind. Butmy own misery is nothing; I can die, I can go mad, and who will beharmed? But you! I had wished that we should never meet again; but myhand refuses to trace the thoughts with which my heart is full, and I amunder the sad necessity of requesting you to see me once more. We havebeen betrayed, and by a woman; but there has been revenge. Oh, what revenge!

"VIVIAN GREY. "

When Vivian left Mr. Cleveland's he actually did not know what to dowith himself. Home, at present, he could not face, and so he continuedto wander about, quite unconscious of locality. He passed in hisprogress many of his acquaintance, who, from his distracted air andrapid pace, imagined that he was intent on some important business. Atlength he found himself in one of the most sequestered parts ofKensington Gardens. It was a cold, frosty day, and as Vivian flunghimself upon one of the summer seats the snow drifted from off thefrozen board; but Vivian's brow was as burning hot as if he had been aninhabitant of Sirius. Throwing his arms on a small garden table, heburied his face in his hands and wept as men can but once weep inthis world. 

O, thou sublime and most subtle philosopher, who, in thy lamp-lit cell, art speculating upon the passions which thou hast never felt! O, thousplendid and most admirable poet, who, with cunning words, art paintingwith a smile a tale of woe! tell me what is Grief, and solve me themystery of Sorrow. 

Not for himself, for after the first pang he would have whistled off hishigh hopes with the spirit of a Ripperda; not even for Cleveland, for atthis moment, it must be confessed, his thoughts were not for his friend, did Vivian Grey's soul struggle as if it were about to leave its fleshychamber. We said he wept as men can weep but once in this world, and yetit would have been impossible for him to have defined what, at thatfearful moment, was the cause of his heart's sorrow. Incidents ofchildhood of the most trivial nature, and until this moment forgotten, flashed across his memory; he gazed on the smile of his mother, helistened to the sweet tones of his father's voice, and his handclenched, with still more agonised grasp, his rude resting-place, andthe scalding tears dashed down his cheek in still more ardent torrents. He had no distinct remembrance of what had so lately happened; butcharacters flitted before him as in a theatre, in a dream, dim andshadowy, yet full of mysterious and undefinable interest; and then therecame a horrible idea across his mind that his glittering youth was goneand wasted; and then there was a dark whisper of treachery, anddissimulation, and dishonour; and then he sobbed as if his very heartwere cracking. All his boasted philosophy vanished; his artificialfeelings fled him. Insulted Nature reasserted her long-spurnedauthority, and the once proud Vivian Grey felt too humble even to cursehimself. Gradually his sobs became less convulsed and his brow morecool; and, calm from very exhaustion, he sat for upwards of an hourmotionless. 

At this moment there issued, with their attendant, from an adjoiningshrubbery, two beautiful children. They were so exceedingly lovely thatthe passenger would have stopped to gaze upon them. The eldest, who yetwas very young, was leading his sister hand in hand with slow andgraceful steps, mimicking the courtesy of men. But when his eye caughtVivian's the boy uttered a loud cry of exultation, and rushed, with theeagerness of infantile affection, to his gentle and favourite playmate. They were the young Clevelands. With what miraculous quickness will manshake off the outward semblance of grief when his sorrow is a secret!The mighty merchant, who knows that in four-and-twenty hours the worldmust be astounded by his insolvency, will walk in the front of hisconfident creditor as if he were the lord of a thousand argosies; themeditating suicide will smile on the arm of a companion as if to breathein this sunny world were the most ravishing and rapturous bliss. Wecling to our stations in our fellow-creatures' minds and memories; weknow too well the frail tenure on which we are in this world great andconsidered personages. Experience makes us shrink from the specioussneer of sympathy; and when we are ourselves falling, bitter Memorywhispers that we have ourselves been neglectful. 

And so it was that even unto these infants Vivian Grey dared not appearother than a gay and easy-hearted man; and in a moment he was dancingthem on his knee, and playing with their curls, and joining in theirpretty prattle, and pressing their small and fragrant lips. 

It was night when he paced down--. He passed his club; that club tobecome a member of which had once been the object of his high ambition, and to gain which privilege had cost such hours of canvassing, suchinterference of noble friends, and the incurring of favours from so manypeople, "which never could be forgotten!"

A desperate feeling actuated him, and he entered the Club-house. Hewalked into the great saloon and met some fifty "most particularfriends, " all of whom asked him "how the Marquess did, " or "have youseen Cleveland?" and a thousand other as comfortable queries. At length, to avoid these disagreeable rencontres, and indeed to rest himself, hewent to a smaller and more private room. As he opened the door his eyeslighted upon Cleveland. 

He was standing with his back to the fire. There were only two otherpersons in the room; one was a friend of Cleveland's, and the other anacquaintance of Vivian's. The latter was writing at the table. 

When Vivian saw Cleveland he would have retired, but he was bid to "comein" in a voice of thunder. 

As he entered he instantly perceived that Cleveland was under theinfluence of wine. When in this situation, unlike other men, Mr. Cleveland's conduct was not distinguished by any of the littleimproprieties of behaviour by which a man is always known by his friends"to be very drunk. " He neither reeled, nor hiccuped, nor grew maudlin. The effect of drinking upon him was only to increase the intensity ofthe sensation by which his mind was at the moment influenced. He did noteven lose the consciousness of identity of persons. At this moment itwas clear to Vivian that Cleveland was under the influence of theextremest passion; his eyes rolled wildly, and seemed fixed only uponvacancy. As Vivian was no friend to scenes before strangers he bowed tothe two gentlemen and saluted Cleveland with his wonted cordiality; buthis proffered hand was rudely repelled. 

"Away!" exclaimed Cleveland, in a furious tone; "I have no friendshipfor traitors. "

The two gentlemen stared, and the pen of the writer stopped. 

"Cleveland!" said Vivian, in an earnest whisper, as he came up close tohim; "for God's sake contain yourself. I have written you a letter whichexplains all; but--"

"Out! out upon you. Out upon your honied words and your soft phrases! Ihave been their dupe too long;" and he struck Vivian. 

"Sir John Poynings!" said Vivian, with a quivering lip, turning to thegentleman who was writing at the table, "we were school-fellows;circumstances have prevented us from meeting often in after-life; but Inow ask you, with the frankness of an old acquaintance, to do me the sadservice of accompanying me in this quarrel, a quarrel which I callHeaven to witness is not of my seeking. "

The Baronet, who was in the Guards, and although a great dandy, quite aman of business in these matters, immediately rose from his seat and ledVivian to a corner of the room. After some whispering he turned round toMr. Cleveland, and bowed to him with a very significant look. It wasevident that Cleveland comprehended his meaning, for, though he wassilent, he immediately pointed to the other gentleman, his friend, Mr. Castleton. 

"Mr. Castleton, " said Sir John, giving his card, "Mr. Grey willaccompany me to my rooms in Pall Mall; it is now ten o'clock; we shallwait two hours, in which time I hope to hear from you. I leave time, andplace, and terms to yourself. I only wish it to be understood that it isthe particular desire of my principal that the meeting should be asspeedy as possible. "

About eleven o'clock the communication from Mr. Castleton arrived. Itwas quite evident that Cleveland was sobered, for in one instance Vivianobserved that the style was corrected by his own hand. The hour waseight the next morning, at ---- Common, about six miles from town. 

Poynings wrote to a professional friend to be on the ground at half-pastseven, and then he and Vivian retired. 

Did you ever fight a duel? No? nor send a challenge either? Well! youare fresh, indeed! 'Tis an awkward business, after all, even for theboldest. After an immense deal of negotiation, and giving your opponentevery opportunity of coming to an honourable understanding, the fatalletter is at length signed, sealed, and sent. You pass your mornings atyour second's apartments, pacing his drawing-room with a quivering lipand uncertain step. At length he enters with an answer; and while bereads you endeavour to look easy, with a countenance merry with the mostmelancholy smile. You have no appetite for dinner, but you are too bravenot to appear at table; and you are called out after the second glass bythe arrival of your solicitor, who comes to alter your will. You pass arestless night, and rise in the morning as bilious as a Bengal general. Urged by impending fate, you make a desperate effort to accommodatematters; but in the contest between your pride and your terror you atthe same time prove that you are a coward and fail in the negotiation. You both fire and miss, and then the seconds interfere, and then youshake hands: everything being arranged in the most honourable manner andto the mutual satisfaction of both parties. The next day you are seenpacing Bond Street with an erect front and a flashing eye, with an airat once dandyish and heroical, a mixture at the same time of Brummelland the Duke of Wellington. 

It was a fine February morning. Sir John drove Vivian to the ground inhis cabriolet. 

"Nothing like a cab, Grey, for the business you are going on: you glidealong the six miles in such style that it actually makes you quitecourageous. I remember once going down, on a similar purpose, in a postand pair, and 'pon my soul, when I came to the ground, my hand shook sothat I could scarcely draw. But I was green then. Now, when I go in mycab, with Philidor with his sixteen-mile-an-hour paces, egad! I wing myman in a trice; and take all the parties home to Pall Mall, to celebratethe event with a grilled bone, Havannahs, and Regent's punch. Ah! there!that is Cleveland that we have just passed, going to the ground in achariot: he is a dead man, or my name is not Poynings. "

"Come, Sir John; no fear of Cleveland's dying, " said Vivian, with asmile. 

"What? You mean to fire in the air, and all that sort of thing?Sentimental, but slip-slop!"

The ground is measured, all is arranged. Cleveland, a splendid shot, fired first. He grazed Vivian's elbow. Vivian fired in the air. Theseconds interfered. Cleveland was implacable, and, "in the mostirregular manner, " as Sir John declared, insisted upon another shot. Tothe astonishment of all, he fired quite wild. Vivian shot at random, andhis bullet pierced Cleveland's heart. Cleveland sprang nearly two yardsfrom the ground and then fell upon his back. In a moment Vivian was atthe side of his fallen antagonist, but the dying man "made no sign;" hestared wildly, and then closed his eyes for ever!

CHAPTER VI

When Vivian Grey remembered his existence he found himself in bed. Thecurtains of his couch were closed; but as he stared around him they weresoftly withdrawn, and a face that recalled everything to hisrecollection gazed upon him with a look of affectionate anxiety. 

"My father!" exclaimed Vivian; but the finger pressed on the parentallip warned him to silence. His father knelt by his side, and then thecurtains were again closed. 

Six weeks, unconsciously to Vivian, had elapsed since the fatal day, andhe was now recovering from the effects of a fever from which his medicalattendants had supposed he never could have rallied. And what had beenthe past? It did indeed seem like a hot and feverish dream. Here was heonce more in his own quiet room, watched over by his beloved parents;and had there then ever existed such beings as the Marquess, and Mrs. Lorraine, and Cleveland, or were they only the actors in a vision? "Itmust be so, " thought Vivian; and he jumped up in his bed and staredwildly around him. "And yet it was a horrid dream! Murder, horriblemurder! and so real, so palpable! I muse upon their voices as uponfamiliar sounds, and I recall all the events, not as the shadowyincidents of sleep, that mysterious existence in which the experience ofa century seems caught in the breathing of a second, but as the naturaland material consequences of time and stirring life. O, no! it is tootrue!" shrieked the wretched sufferer, as his eye glanced upon adespatch-box which was on the table, and which had been given to him byLord Carabas; "It is true! it is true! Murder! murder!" He foamed at themouth, and sank exhausted on his pillow. 

But the human mind can master many sorrows, and, after a desperaterelapse and another miraculous rally, Vivian Grey rose from his bed. 

"My father, I fear that I shall live!"

"Hope, rather, my beloved. "

"Oh! why should I hope?" and the sufferer's head sank upon his breast. 

"Do not give way, my son; all will yet be well, and we shall all yet behappy, " said the father, with streaming eyes. 

"Happy! oh, not in this world, my father!"

"Vivian, my dearest, your mother visited you this morning, but you wereasleep. She was quite happy to find you slumbering so calmly. "

"And yet my dreams were not the dreams of joy. O, my mother! you werewont to smile upon me; alas! you smiled upon your sorrow. "

"Vivian, my beloved! you must indeed restrain your feelings. At your agelife cannot be the lost game you think it. A little repose, and I shallyet see my boy the honour to society which he deserves to be. "

"Alas! my father, you know not what I feel. The springiness of my mindhas gone. O, man, what a vain fool thou art! Nature has been toobountiful to thee. She has given thee the best of friends, and thouvaluest not the gift of exceeding price until the griefs are past evenfriendship's cure. O, my father! why did I leave thee?" and he seizedMr. Grey's hand with convulsive grasp. 

Time flew on, even in this house of sorrow. "My boy, " said Mr. Grey tohis son one day, "your mother and I have been consulting together aboutyou; and we think, now that you have somewhat recovered your strength, it may be well for you to leave England for a short time. The novelty oftravel will relieve your mind without too much exciting it; and if youcan manage by the autumn to settle down anywhere within a thousand milesof England, why we will come and join you, and you know that will bevery pleasant. What say you to this little plan?"

In a few weeks after this proposition had been made Vivian Grey was inGermany. He wandered for some months in that beautiful land of rivers, among which flows the Rhine, matchless in its loveliness; and at lengththe pilgrim shook the dust off his feet at Heidelberg, in which cityVivian proposed taking up his residence. It is, in truth, a place ofsurpassing loveliness, where all the romantic wildness of German sceneryis blended with the soft beauty of the Italian. An immense plain, which, in its extent and luxuriance, reminds you of the fertile tracts ofLombardy, is bordered on one side by the Bergstrasse Mountains, and onthe other by the range of the Vosges. Situate on the river Neckar, in aravine of the Bergstrasse, amid mountains covered with vines, isHeidelberg; its ruined castle backing the city, and still frowning fromone of the most commanding heights. In the middle of the broad plain maybe distinguished the shining spires of Mannheim, Worms, and Frankenthal;and pouring its rich stream through this luxuriant land, the beautifuland abounding Rhine receives the tribute of the Neckar. The range of theVosges forms the extreme distance. 

To the little world of the little city of which he was now an habitantVivian Grey did not appear a broken-hearted man. He lived neither as arecluse nor a misanthrope. He became extremely addicted to field sports, especially to hunting the wild boar; for he feared nothing so much asthought, and dreaded nothing so much as the solitude of his own chamber. He was an early riser to escape from hideous dreams; and at break ofdawn he wandered among the wild passes of the Bergstrasse; or, climbinga lofty ridge, was a watcher for the rising sun; and in the evening hesailed upon the star-lit Neckar. 

BOOK V

CHAPTER I

Thou rapid Aar! thy waves are swollen by the snows of a thousand hills;but for whom are thy leaping waters fed? Is it for the Rhine?

Calmly, O placid Neckar! does thy blue stream glide through thyvine-clad vales; but calmer seems thy course when it touches therushing Rhine!

How fragrant are the banks which are cooled by thy dark-green waters, thou tranquil Maine! but is not the perfume sweeter of the gardens ofthe Rhine?

Thou impetuous Nah! I lingered by thine islands of nightingales, and Iasked thy rushing waters why they disturbed the music of thy groves?They told me they were hastening to the Rhine!

Red Moselle! fierce is the swell of thy spreading course; but why do thybroad waters blush when they meet the Rhine?

Thou delicate Meuse! how clear is the current of thy limpid wave; as thewife yields to the husband do thy pure waters yield to the Rhine!

And thou, triumphant and imperial River, flushed with the tribute ofthese vassal streams! thou art thyself a tributary, and hastenest evenin the pride of conquest to confess thine own vassalage! But no superiorstream exults in the homage of thy servile waters; the Ocean, theeternal Ocean, alone comes forward to receive thy kiss! not as aconqueror, but as a parent, he welcomes with proud joy his gifted child, the offspring of his honour; thy duty, his delight; thy tribute, thineown glory!

Once more upon thy banks, most beauteous Rhine! In the spring-time of myyouth I gazed on thee, and deemed thee matchless. Thy vine-enamouredmountains, thy spreading waters, thy traditionary crags, thy shiningcities, the sparkling villages of thy winding shores, thy antiqueconvents, thy grey and silent castles, the purple glories of thy radiantgrape, the vivid tints of thy teeming flowers, the fragrance of thy sky, the melody of thy birds, whose carols tell the pleasures of their sunnywoods; are they less lovely now, less beautiful, less sweet?

The keen emotions of our youth are often the occasion of our estimatingtoo ardently; but the first impression of beauty, though oftenovercharged, is seldom supplanted: and as the first great author whichhe reads is reverenced by the boy as the most immortal, and the firstbeautiful woman that he meets is sanctified by him as the most adorable;so the impressions created upon us by those scenes of nature which firstrealise the romance of our reveries never escape from our minds, and areever consecrated in our memories; and thus some great spirits, afterhaving played their part on the theatre of the world, have retired fromthe blaze of courts and cities to the sweet seclusion of some spot withwhich they have accidentally met in the earliest years of their career. 

But we are to speak of one who had retired from the world before histime. 

Upwards of a year had elapsed since Vivian Grey left England. The modeof life which he pursued at Heidelberg for many months has already beenmentioned. He felt himself a broken-hearted man, and looked for death, whose delay was no blessing; but the feelings of youth which had misledhim in his burning hours of joy equally deceived him in his days ofsorrow. He lived; and in the course of time found each day that life wasless burdensome. The truth is, that if it be the lot of man to suffer, it is also his fortune to forget. Oblivion and sorrow share our being, as Darkness and Light divide the course of time. It is not in humannature to endure extremities, and sorrows soon destroy either us orthemselves. Perhaps the fate of Niobe is no fable, but a type of thecallousness of our nature. There is a time in human suffering whensucceeding sorrows are but like snow falling on an iceberg. It is indeedhorrible to think that our peace of mind should arise, not from aretrospection of the past, but from a forgetfulness of it; but, thoughthis peace be produced at the best by a mental opiate, it is notvalueless; and Oblivion, after all, is a just judge. As we retain but afaint remembrance of our felicity, it is but fair that the smarteststroke of sorrow should, if bitter, at least be brief. But in feelingthat he might yet again mingle in the world, Vivian Grey also felt thathe must meet mankind with different feelings, and view their pursuitswith a different interest. He woke from his secret sorrow in as changeda state of being as the water nymph from her first embrace; and he wokewith a new possession, not only as miraculous as Undine's soul, butgained at as great a price, and leading to as bitter results. The nymphwoke to new pleasures and to new sorrows; and, innocent as an infant, she deemed mankind a god, and the world a paradise. Vivian Greydiscovered that this deity was but an idol of brass, and this garden ofEden but a savage waste; for, if the river nymph had gained a soul, hehad gained Experience. 

Experience, mysterious spirit! whose result is felt by all, whose natureis described by none. The father warns the son of thy approach, andsometimes looks to thee as his offspring's cure and his own consolation. We hear of thee in the nursery, we hear of thee in the world, we hear ofthee in books; but who has recognised thee until he was thy subject, andwho has discovered the object of so much fame until he has kissed thychain? To gain thee is the work of all and the curse of all; thou art atthe same time necessary to our happiness and destructive of ourfelicity; thou art the saviour of all things and the destroyer of allthings; our best friend and our bitterest enemy; for thou teachest ustruth, and that truth is, despair. Ye youth of England, would that yecould read this riddle!

To wake from your bright hopes, and feel that all is vanity, to beroused from your crafty plans and know that all is worthless, is abitter, but your sure, destiny. Escape is impossible; for despair is theprice of conviction. How many centuries have fled since Solomon, in hiscedar palaces, sung the vanity of man! Though his harp was golden andhis throne of ivory, his feelings were not less keen, and his convictionnot less complete. How many sages of all nations have, since the monarchof Jerusalem, echoed his sad philosophy! yet the vain bubble stillglitters and still allures, and must for ever. 

The genealogy of Experience is brief; for Experience is the child ofThought, and Thought is the child of Action. We cannot learn men frombooks, nor can we form, from written descriptions, a more accurate ideaof the movements of the human heart than we can of the movements ofnature. A man may read all his life, and form no conception of the rushof a mountain torrent, or the waving of a forest of pines in a storm;and a man may study in his closet the heart of his fellow-creatures forever, and have no idea of the power of ambition, or the strengthof revenge. 

It is when we have acted ourselves, and have seen others acting; it iswhen we have laboured ourselves under the influence of our passions, andhave seen others labouring; it is when our great hopes have beenattained or have been baulked; it is when, after having had the humanheart revealed to us, we have the first opportunity to think; it is thenthat the whole truth lights upon us; it is then that we ask of ourselveswhether it be wise to endure such anxiety of mind, such agitation ofspirit, such harrowing of the soul, to gain what may cease to interestto-morrow, or for which, at the best, a few years of enjoyment can alonebe afforded; it is then that we waken to the hollowness of all humanthings; it is then that the sayings of sages and the warnings ofprophets are explained and understood; it is then that we gainExperience. 

Vivian Grey was now about to join, for the second time, the great andagitated crowd of beings who are all intent in the search after thatundiscoverable talisman, Happiness. That he entertained any hope ofbeing the successful inquirer is not to be imagined. He considered thatthe happiest moment in human life is exactly the sensation of a sailorwho has escaped a shipwreck, and that the mere belief that his wishesare to be indulged is the greatest bliss enjoyed by man. 

How far his belief was correct, how he prospered in this his secondventure on the great ocean of life, it is our business to relate. Therewere moments when he wished himself neither experienced nor aphilosopher; moments when he looked back to the lost paradise of hisinnocent boyhood, those glorious hours when the unruffled river of hisLife mirrored the cloudless heaven of his Hope!

CHAPTER II

Vivian pulled up his horse as he ascended through the fine beechwoodwhich leads immediately to the city of Frankfort from the Darmstadtroad. The crowd seemed to increase every moment, but as they were allhastening the same way, his progress was not much impeded. It wasFrankfort fair; and all countenances were expressive of that excitementwhich we always experience at great meetings of our fellow-creatures;whether the assemblies be for slaughter, pleasure, or profit, andwhether or not we ourselves join in the banquet, the battle, or thefair. At the top of the hill is an old Roman tower, and from this pointthe flourishing city of Frankfort, with its picturesque Cathedral, itsnumerous villas, and beautiful gardens in the middle of the fertilevalley of the Maine, burst upon Vivian's sight. On crossing the bridgeover the river, the crowd became almost impassable, and it was with thegreatest difficulty that Vivian steered his way through the old narrowwinding streets, full of tall ancient houses, with heavy casements andnotched gable ends. These structures did not, however, at the presentmoment, greet the traveller with their usual sombre and antiqueappearance: their outside walls were, in most instances, covered withpieces of broad cloth of the most showy colours, red, blue, and yellowpredominating. These standards of trade were not merely used for thepurpose of exhibiting the quality of the article sold in the interior, but also of informing the curious traveller the name and nation of theiradventurous owners. Inscriptions in German, French, Russian, English, Italian, and even Hebrew, appeared in striking characters on eachwoollen specimen; and, as if these were not sufficient to attract theattention of the passenger, an active apprentice, or assistant, commented in eloquent terms on the peculiar fairness and honesty of hismaster. The public squares and other open spaces, and indeed every spotwhich was secure from the hurrying wheels of the heavy old-fashionedcoaches of the Frankfort aristocracy and the spirited pawings of theirsleek and long-tailed coach-horses, were covered with large and showybooths, which groaned under the accumulated treasures of all countries. French silks and French clocks rivalled Manchester cottons and Sheffieldcutlery, and assisted to attract or entrap the gazer, in company withVenetian chains, Neapolitan coral, and Vienna pipe-heads: here was thebooth of a great book-seller, who looked to the approaching Leipsic fairfor some consolation for his slow sale and the bad taste of the peopleof Frankfort; and there was a dealer in Bologna sausages, who felt quiteconvinced that in some things the taste of the Frankfort public was byno means to be lightly spoken of. All was bustle, bargaining, andbusiness: there were quarrels and conversation in all languages; andVivian Grey, although he had no chance either of winning or losingmoney, was amused. 

At last Vivian gained the High Street; and here, though the crowd wasnot less, the space was greater; and so in time he arrived at the grandhotel of "the Roman Emperor, " where he stopped. It was a long timebefore he could be informed whether Baron Julius von Konigstein atpresent honoured that respectable establishment with his presence; for, although Vivian did sometimes succeed in obtaining an audience of ahurrying waiter, that personage, when in a hurry, has a peculiar habitof never attending to a question which a traveller addresses to him. Inthis dilemma Vivian was saluted by a stately-looking personage above thecommon height. He was dressed in a very splendid uniform of green andgold, covered with embroidery, and glittering with frogs. He wore acocked hat adorned with a flowing parti-coloured plume, and from hisbroad golden belt was suspended a weapon of singular shape and costlyworkmanship. This personage was as stiff and stately as he wasmagnificent. His eyes were studiously preserved from the profanation ofmeeting the ground, and his well-supported neck seldom condescended tomove from its perpendicular position. His coat was buttoned to the chinand over the breast, with the exception of one small aperture, which waselegantly filled up by a delicate white cambric handkerchief, veryredolent of rich perfumes. This gorgeous gentleman, who might have beenmistaken for an elector of the German Empire, had the German Empire beenin existence, or the governor of the city at the least, turned out to bethe chasseur of the Baron von Konigstein; and with his courtlyassistance Vivian soon found himself ascending the staircase of theRoman Emperor. 

Vivian was ushered into an apartment, in which he found three or fourindividuals at breakfast. A middle-aged man of distinguished appearance, in a splendid chamber robe, sprung up from a many-cushioned easy-chair, and seized his hand as he was announced. 

"My dear Mr. Grey! I have left notes for you at the principal hotels. And how is Eugene? wild blood for a student, but an excellent heart, andyou have been so kind to him! He feels under such particular obligationsto you. Will you breakfast? Ah! I see you smile at my supposing ahorseman unbreakfasted. And have you ridden here from Heidelberg thismorning? Impossible! Only from Darmstadt! I thought so! You were at theOpera then last night. And how is the little Signora? We are to gainher though! trust the good people of Frankfort for that! Pray beseated, but really I am forgetting the commonest rules of breeding. Nextto the pleasure of having friends is that of introducing them to eachother. Prince, you will have great pleasure in being introduced to myfriend, Mr. Grey: Mr. Grey! Prince Salvinski! my particular friend, Prince Salvinski. The Count von Altenburgh! Mr. Grey! my very particularfriend, the Count von Altenburgh. And the Chevalier de Boeffleurs! Mr. Grey! my most particular friend, the Chevalier de Boeffleurs. "

Baron Julius von Konigstein was minister to the Diet of Frankfort from afirst-rate German power. In person he was short, but delicately formed;his head a little bald, but as he was only five-and-thirty, this couldscarcely be from age; and his remaining hair, black, glossy, andcurling, proved that their companion ringlets had not been long lost. His features were small, but not otherwise remarkable, except a pair ofliquid black eyes, of great size, which would have hardly become aStoic, and which gleamed with great meaning and perpetual animation. 

"I understand, Mr. Grey, that you are a regular philosopher. Pray who isthe favourite master? Kant or Fichte? or is there any other new star whohas discovered the origin of our essence, and proved the non-necessityof eating? Count, let me help you to a little more of these saucissesaux choux. I am afraid, from Eugene's account, that you are almost pastredemption; and I am sorry to say that, although I am very desirous ofbeing your physician and effecting your cure, Frankfort will supply mewith very few means to work your recovery. If you could but get me anappointment once again to your delightful London, I might indeed producesome effect; or were I even at Berlin, or at your delicious Vienna, Count Altenburgh! (the Count bowed); or at that Paradise of women, Warsaw, Prince Salvinski!! (the Prince bowed); or at Paris, Chevalier!!!(the Chevalier bowed); why, then, indeed, you should have somedifficulty in finding an excuse for being in low spirits with Julius vonKonigstein! But Frankfort, eh! de Boeffleurs?"

"Oh! Frankfort!" sighed the French Chevalier, who was also attached to amission in this very city, and who was thinking of his own gayBoulevards and his brilliant Tuileries. 

"We are mere citizens here!" continued the Baron, taking a long pinch ofsnuff, "mere citizens! Do you snuff?" and here he extended to Vivian agold box, covered with the portrait of a crowned head, surrounded withdiamonds. "A present from the King of Sardinia, when I negotiated themarriage of the Duke of ---- and his niece, and settled thelong-agitated controversy about the right of anchovy fishing on the leftshore of the Mediterranean. 

"But the women, " continued the Baron, "the women; that is a differentthing. There is some amusement among the little bourgeoises, who areglad enough to get rid of their commercial beaus; whose small talk, after a waltz, is about bills of exchange, mixed up with a littlepatriotism about their free city, and some chatter about what they call'the fine arts;' their awful collections of 'the Dutch school:' schoolforsooth! a cabbage, by Gerard Dowl and a candlestick, by Mieris! Andnow will you take a basin of soup, and warm yourself, while his Highnesscontinues his account of being frozen to death this spring at the top ofMont-Blanc: how was it, Prince?"

"Your Highness has been a great traveller?" said Vivian. 

"I have seen a little of most countries. These things are interestingenough when we are young; but when we get a little more advanced inlife, the novelty wears off, and the excitement ceases. I have been inall quarters of the globe. In Europe I have seen everything except themiracles of Prince Hohenlohe. In Asia, everything except the ruins ofBabylon. In Africa, I have seen every thing but Timbuctoo; and, inAmerica, everything except Croker's Mountains. "

Next to eating, music is the business in which an Austrian is mostinterested, and Count von Altenburgh, having had the misfortune ofdestroying, for the present, one great source of his enjoyment, becamenow very anxious to know what chance there existed of his receiving someconsolation from the other. Pushing his plate briskly from him, hedemanded with an anxious air, "Can any gentleman inform me what chancethere is of the Signora coming?"

"No news to-day, " said the Baron, with a mournful look; "I am almost indespair. What do you think of the last notes that have beeninterchanged?"

"Very little chance, " said the Chevalier de Boeffleurs, shaking hishead. "Really these burghers, with all their affected enthusiasm, havemanaged the business exceedingly bad. No opera can possibly succeed thatis not conducted by a committee of noblemen. "

"Certainly!" said the Baron; "we are sure then to have the best singers, and be in the Gazette the same season. "

"Which is much better, I think, Von Konigstein, than paying our billsand receiving no pleasure. "

"But, " continued the Baron, "these clumsy burghers, with their affectedenthusiasm, as you well observe; who could have contemplated suchnovices in diplomacy! Whatever may be the issue, I can at least lay myhead upon my pillow and feel that I have done my duty. Did not I, deBoeffleurs, first place the negotiation on a basis of acknowledgedfeasibility and mutual benefit? Who drew the protocol, I should like toknow? Who baffled the intrigues of the English Minister, the LordAmelius Fitzfudge Boroughby? Who sat up one whole night with theSignora's friend, the Russian Envoy, Baron Squallonoff, and who was itthat first arranged about the extra chariot?" and here therepresentative of a first-rate German Power looked very much like aresigned patriot, who feels that he deserves a ribbon. 

"No doubt of it, my dear Von Konigstein, " echoed the French Chargéd'Affaires, "and I think, whatever may be the result, that I, too, maylook back to this negotiation with no ungratified feelings. Had thearrangement been left as I had wished, merely to the Ministers of theGreat Powers, I am confident that the Signora would have been singingthis night in our Opera House. "

"What is the grand point of difference at present?" asked the Austrian. 

"A terrific one, " said the Baron; "the lady demanded twenty covers, twotables, two carriages, one of which I arranged should be a chariot; thatat least the town owes to me; and, what else? merely a town mansion andestablishment. Exerting myself day and night, these terms were at lengthagreed to by the municipality, and the lady was to ride over fromDarmstadt to sign and seal. In the course of her ride she took a cursedfancy to the country villa of a great Jew banker, and since that momentthe arrangement has gone off. We have offered her everything; thecommandant's country castle; his lady's country farm; the villa of thedirector of the Opera; the retreat of our present prima donna; all invain. We have even hinted at a temporary repose in a neighbouring royalresidence; but all useless. The banker and the Signora are equallyintractable, and Frankfort is in despair. "

"She ought to have signed and sealed at Darmstadt, " said the Count, veryindignantly. 

"To be sure! they should have closed upon her caprice, and taken herwhen she was in the fancy. "

"Talking of Opera girls, " commenced the Polish Prince, "I remember theCountess Katszinski--"

"Your Highness has nothing upon your plate, " quickly retorted the Baron, who was in no humour for a story. 

"Nothing more, I thank you, " continued the Prince: "as I was saying, Iremember the Countess Katszinski--" but just at this moment the dooropened, and Ernstorff entered and handed a despatch to the Baron, recommending it to his Excellency's particular attention. 

"Business, I suppose, " said the Plenipotentiary; "it may wait tillto-morrow. "

"From M. Clarionet, your Excellency. "

"From M. Clarionet!" eagerly exclaimed the Baron, and tore open theepistle. "Gentlemen! congratulate me, congratulate yourselves, congratulate Frankfort;" and the diplomatist, overcome, leant back inhis chair. "She is ours, Salvinski! she is ours, Von Altenburgh! she isours, my dear de Boeffleurs! Mr. Grey, you are most fortunate; theSignora has signed and sealed; all is arranged; she sings to-night! Whata fine-spirited body is this Frankfort municipality! what elevation ofsoul! what genuine enthusiasm! eh! de Boeffleurs?"

"Most genuine!" exclaimed the Chevalier, who hated German music with allhis heart, and was now humming an air from La Dame Blanche. 

"But mind, my dear friend, this is a secret, a cabinet secret; themunicipality are to have the gratification of announcing the event tothe city in a public decree; it is but fair. I feel that I have only tohint to secure your silence. "

At this moment, with a thousand protestations of secresy, the partybroke up, each hastening to have the credit of first spreading thejoyful intelligence through the circles, and of depriving the Frankfortsenate of their hard-earned gratification. The Baron, who was in highspirits, ordered the carriage to drive Vivian round the ramparts, wherehe was to be introduced to some of the most fashionable beauties, previous to the evening triumph. 

CHAPTER III

Vivian passed a week very agreeably at Frankfort. In the Baron and hisfriends he found the companions that he had need of; their conversationand pursuits diverted his mind without engaging his feelings, andallowed him no pause to brood. There were moments, indeed, when he foundin the Baron a companion neither frivolous nor uninstructive. HisExcellency had travelled in most countries, and had profited by histravels. His taste for the fine arts was equalled by his knowledge ofthem; and his acquaintance with many of the most eminent men of Europeenriched his conversation with a variety of anecdotes, to which hislively talents did ample justice. He seemed fond at times of showingVivian that he was not a mere artificial man of the world, destitute ofall feelings, and thinking only of himself: he recurred withsatisfaction to moments of his life when his passions had been in fullplay; and, while he acknowledged the errors of his youth with candour, he excused them with grace. In short, Vivian and he became what theworld calls friends; that is to say, they were men who had no objectionto dine in each other's company, provided the dinner were good; assisteach other in any scrape, provided no particular personal responsibilitywere incurred by the assistant; and live under the same roof, providedeach were master of his own time. Vivian and the Baron, indeed, did morethan this; they might have been described as particular friends, for hisExcellency had persuaded our hero to accompany him for the summer to theBaths of Ems, a celebrated German watering-place, situate in the duchyof Nassau, in the vicinity of the Rhine. 

On the morrow they were to commence their journey. The fair ofFrankfort, which had now lasted nearly a month, was at its close. Abright sunshiny afternoon was stealing into twilight, when Vivian, escaping from the principal street and the attractions of the Braunfels, or chief shops under the Exchange, directed his steps to some of themore remote and ancient streets. In crossing a little square hisattention was excited by a crowd which had assembled round a conjuror, who, from the top of a small cart, which he had converted into a stage, was haranguing, in front of a green curtain, an audience with greatfervency, and apparently with great effect; at least Vivian judged sofrom the loud applauses which constantly burst forth. The men pressednearer, shouted, and clapped their hands; and the anxious mothersstruggled to lift their brats higher in the air that they might earlyform a due conception of the powers of magic, and learn that thematernal threats which were sometimes extended to them at home were notmere idle boasting. Altogether, the men with their cocked hats, stiffholiday coats, and long pipes; the women with their glazed gowns ofbright fancy patterns, close lace caps, or richly-chased silverheadgear; and the children with their gaping mouths and long heads ofhair, offered quaint studies for a German or Flemish painter. Vivianbecame also one of the audience, and not an uninterested one. 

The appearance of the conjuror was peculiar. He was not much more thanfive feet high, but so slightly formed that he reminded you rather ofthe boy than the dwarf. The upper part of his face was even delicatelymoulded; his sparkling black eyes became his round forehead, which wasnot too much covered by his short glossy black hair; his complexion wasclear, but quite olive; his nose was very small and straight, andcontrasted singularly with his enormous mouth, the thin bluish lips ofwhich were seldom closed, and consequently did not conceal his largesquare teeth, which, though very white, were set apart, and were sosolid that they looked almost like double teeth. This enormous mouth, which was supported by large jawbones, attracted the attention of thespectator so keenly that it was some time before you observed theprodigious size of the ears, which also adorned this extraordinarycountenance. The costume of this being was not less remarkable than hisnatural appearance. He wore a complete under dress of pliant leather, which fitted close up to his throat and down to his wrists and ankles, where it was clasped with large fastenings, either of gold or some giltmaterial. This, with the addition of a species of hussar jacket of greencloth, which was quite unadorned with the exception of its vivid redlining, was the sole covering of the conjuror; who, with a light cap andfeather in his hand, was now haranguing the spectators. The object ofhis discourse was a panegyric of himself and a satire on all otherconjurors. He was the only conjuror, the real one, a worthy descendantof the magicians of old. 

"Were I to tell that broad-faced Herr, " continued the conjuror, "who isnow gaping opposite to me, that this rod is the rod of Aaron, mayhap hewould call me a liar; yet were I to tell him that he was the son of hisfather, he would not think it wonderful! And yet, can he prove it? Myfriends, if I am a liar, the whole world is a liar, and yet any one ofyou who'll go and proclaim that on the Braunfels will get his skullcracked. Every truth is not to be spoken, and every lie is not to bepunished. I have told you that it is better for you to spend your moneyin seeing my tricks than in swigging schnaps in the chimney corner; andyet, my friends, this may be a lie. I have told you that the profits ofthis whole night shall be given to some poor and worthy person in thistown; and perhaps I shall give them to myself. What then! I shall speakthe truth; and you will perhaps crack my skull. Is this a reward fortruth? O generation of vipers! My friends, what is truth? who can findit in Frankfort? Suppose I call upon you, Mr. Baker, and sup with youthis evening; you will receive me as a neighbourly man should, tell meto make myself at home, and do as I like. Is it not so? I see you smile, as if my visit would make you bring out one of the bottles of your bestAsmanshausen!"

Here the crowd laughed out; for we are always glad when there is anytalk of another's hospitality being put to the test, although we standno chance of sharing in the entertainment ourselves. The baker lookedfoolish, as all men singled out in a crowd do. 

"Well, well, " continued the conjuror, "I have no doubt his wine wouldbe as ready as your tobacco, Mr. Smith; or a wafila from your basket, myhonest cake-seller;" and so saying, with a long thin wand the conjurorjerked up the basket of an itinerant and shouting pastry-cook, andimmediately began to thrust the contents into his mouth with a rapidityludicrously miraculous. The laugh now burst out again, but the honestbaker joined in it this time with an easy spirit. 

"Be not disconcerted, my little custard-monger; if thou art honest, thoushalt prosper. Did I not say that the profits of this night were for themost poor and the most honest? If thy stock in trade were in thy basket, my raspberry-puff, verily thou art not now the richest here; and so, therefore, if thy character be a fair one, that is to say, if thou onlycheat five times a day, and give a tenth of thy cheatery to the poor, thou shalt have the benefit. I ask thee again, what is truth? If I supwith the baker, and he tells me to do what I like with all that is his, and I kiss his wife, he will kick me out; yet to kiss his wife might bemy pleasure, if her breath were sweet. I ask thee again, what is truth?Truth, they say, lies in a well; but perhaps this is a lie. How do weknow that truth is not in one of these two boxes?" asked the conjuror, placing his cap on his head, and holding one small snuff-box to a tall, savage-looking, one-eyed Bohemian, who, with a comrade, had walked overfrom the Austrian garrison at Mentz. 

"I see but one box, " growled the soldier. 

"It is because thou hast only one eye, friend; open the other, and thoushalt see two, " said the conjuror, in a slow, malicious tone, with hisneck extended, and his hand with the hateful box outstretched in it. 

"Now, by our black Lady of Altoting, I'll soon stop thy prate, chitterling!" bellowed the enraged Bohemian. 

"Murder! the protection of the free city against the Emperor of Austria, the King of Bohemia, Hungary, and Lombardy!" and the knave retreated tothe very extremity of the stage, and affecting agitating fear, hidhimself behind the green curtain, from a side of which his head wasalone visible, or rather an immense red tongue, which wagged in allshapes at the unlucky soldier, except when it retired to the interior ofhis mouth, to enable him to reiterate "Murder!" and invoke theprivileges of the free city of Frankfort. 

When the soldier was a little cooled, the conjuror again came forward, and, having moved his small magical table to a corner, and lit twotapers, one of which he placed at each side of the stage, he strippedoff his hussar jacket, and began to imitate a monkey; an animal which, by the faint light, in his singular costume, he very much resembled. Howamusing were his pranks! He first plundered a rice plantation, and thenhe cracked cocoa-nuts; then he washed his face and arranged his toiletwith, his right paw; and finally he ran a race with his own tail, whichhumorous appendage to his body was very wittily performed for theoccasion by a fragment, of an old tarred rope. His gambols were sodiverting that they even extracted applause from his enemy the one-eyedserjeant; and, emboldened by the acclamations, from monkeys the conjurorbegan to imitate men. He first drank like a Dutchman, and having reeledround with a thousand oaths, to the manifold amusement of the crowd, hesuddenly began to smoke like a Prussian. Nothing could be more admirablethan the look of complacent and pompous stolidity with which heaccompanied each puff of his pipe. The applause was continued; and theone-eyed Bohemian serjeant, delighted at the ridicule which was heapedon his military rival, actually threw the mimic some groschen. 

"Keep thy pence, friend, " said the conjuror; "thou wilt soon owe memore; we have not yet closed accounts. My friends, I have drank like aDutchman; I have smoked like a Prussian; and now I will eat like anAustrian!" and here the immense mouth of the actor seemed distended evena hundred degrees bigger, while with gloating eyes and extended arms heagain set to at the half-emptied wafila basket of the unhappypastry-cook. 

"Now, by our black Lady of Altoting, thou art an impudent varlet!"growled the Austrian soldier. 

"You are losing your temper again, " retorted the glutton, with his mouthfull; "how difficult you are to please! Well, then, if the Austrians maynot be touched, what say you to a Bohemian! a tall one-eyed Bohemianserjeant, with an appetite like a hog and a liver like a lizard?"

"Now, by our black Lady of Altoting, this is too much!" and the soldiersprang at the conjuror. 

"Hold him!" cried Vivian Grey; for the mob, frightened at the soldier, gave way. 

"There is a gentle's voice under a dark cloak!" cried the conjuror; "butI want no assistance;" and so saying, with a dexterous spring theconjuror leaped over the heads of two or three staring children, andlighted on the nape of the serjeant's gigantic neck; placing hisforefingers behind each of the soldier's ears, he threatened to slitthem immediately if he were not quiet. The serjeant's companion, ofcourse, came to his rescue, but Vivian engaged him, and attempted toarrange matters. "My friends, surely a gay word at a fair is not to meetwith military punishment! What is the use of living in the free city ofFrankfort, or, indeed, in any other city, if jokes are to be answeredwith oaths, and a light laugh met with a heavy blow? Avoid bloodshed, ifpossible, but stand by the conjuror. His business is jibes and jests, and this is the first time that I ever saw Merry Andrew arrested. Come, my good fellows!" said he to the soldiers, "we had better be off; men soimportant as you and I should not be spectators of these mummeries. " TheAustrians, who understood Vivian's compliment literally, were not sorryto make a dignified retreat; particularly as the mob, encouraged byVivian's interference, began to show fight. Vivian also took hisdeparture as soon as he could possibly steal off unnoticed; but notbefore he had been thanked by the conjuror. 

"I knew there was gentle blood under that cloak. If you like to see theMystery of the Crucifixion, with the Resurrection, and real fireworks, it begins at eight o'clock, and you shall be admitted gratis. I knewthere was gentle blood under that cloak, and some day or other, whenyour Highness is in distress, you shall not want the aid ofESSPER GEORGE!"

CHAPTER IV

It was late in the evening when a britzska stopped at the post-house atCoblentz. The passage-boat from Bingen had just arrived; and a portlyjudge from the Danube, a tall, gaunt Prussian officer, a sketchingEnglish artist, two University students, and some cloth-merchants, returning from Frankfort fair, were busily occupied at a long table inthe centre of the room, at an ample banquet, in which sour-crout, cherry-soup, and savoury sausages were not wanting. So keen were theappetites of these worthies, that the entrance of the new comers, whoseated themselves at a small table in the corner of the room, wasscarcely noticed; and for half-an-hour nothing was heard but the soundof crashing jaws and of rattling knives and forks. How singular is thesight of a dozen hungry individuals intent upon their prey! What a noisysilence! A human voice was at length heard. It proceeded from the fatjudge; a man at once convivial, dignified, and economical: he had notspoken for two minutes before his character was evident to every personin the room, although he flattered himself that his secret purpose wasconcealed from all. Tired with the thin Moselle gratuitously allowed tothe table, the judge wished to comfort himself with a glass of moregenerous liquor; aware of the price of a bottle of good Rudesheimer, hewas desirous of forming a copartnership with one or two gentlemen in theventure; still more aware of his exalted situation, he felt it did notbecome him to appear in the eyes of any one as an unsuccessfulsuppliant. 

"This Moselle is very thin, " observed the judge, shaking his head. 

"Very fair table-wine, I think" said the artist, refilling his tumbler, and then proceeding with his sketch, which was a rough likeness, inblack chalk, of the worthy magistrate himself. 

"Very good wine, I think, " swore the Prussian, taking the bottle. Withthe officer there was certainly no chance. 

The cloth-merchants mixed even this thin Moselle with water, andtherefore they could hardly be looked to as boon companions; and thestudents were alone left. A German student is no flincher at the bottle, although he generally drinks beer. These gentry, however, were no greatfavourites with the magistrate, who was a loyal man, of regular habits, and no encourager of brawls, duels, and other still more disgracefuloutrages; to all which abominations, besides drinking beer and chewingtobacco, the German student is remarkably addicted; but in the presentcase what was to be done? He offered the nearest a pinch of snuff, as amode of commencing his acquaintance and cultivating his complacency. Thestudent dug his thumb into the box, and, with the additional aid of theforefinger sweeping out half its contents, growled out something likethanks, and then drew up in his seat, as if he had too warmly encouragedthe impertinent intrusion of a Philistine to whom he had never beenintroduced. 

The cloth-merchant, ceasing from sipping his meek liquor, and taking outof his pocket a letter, from which he tore off the back, carefullycommenced collecting with his forefinger the particles of dispersedsnuff in a small pyramid, which, when formed, was dexterously slidedinto the paper, then folded up and put into his pocket; the prudentmerchant contenting himself for the moment with the refreshment whichwas afforded to his senses by the truant particles which had remainedin his nail. 

"Waiter, a bottle of Rudesheimer!" bellowed the judge; "and if anygentleman or gentlemen would like to join me, they may, " he added, in amore subdued tone. No one answered, and the bottle was put down. Thejudge slowly poured out the bright yellow fluid into a tall bell glass, adorned with a beautiful and encircling wreath of vine leaves; he heldthe glass a moment before the lamp, for his eye to dwell with stillgreater advantage on the transparent radiancy of the contents; and thendeliberately pouring them down his throat, and allowing them to dwell amoment on his palate, he uttered an emphatic "bah!" and sucking in hisbreath, leaned back in his chair. The student immediately poured out aglass from the same bottle, and drank it off. The judge gave him a look, and then blessed himself that, though his boon companion was a brute, still he would lessen the expense of the bottle, which nearly amountedto a day's pay; and so he again filled his glass, but this was merely tosecure his fair portion. He saw the student was a rapid drinker; and, although he did not like to hurry his own enjoyment, he thought it mostprudent to keep his glass well stored by his side. 

"I hope your Lordships have had a pleasant voyage, " exclaimed a man, entering the room rapidly as he spoke; and, deliberately walking up tothe table, he pushed between two of the cloth-merchants, who quietlymade way; and then placing a small square box before him, immediatelyopened it, and sweeping aside the dishes and glasses which surroundedhim, began to fill their places with cups, balls, rings, and othermysterious-looking matters, which generally accompany a conjuror. 

"I hope your Lordships have had a pleasant voyage. I have been thinkingof you all the day. (Here the cups were arranged. ) Next to myself, I aminterested for my friends. (Here the rice was sprinkled. ) I came fromFairy-land this morning. (Here the trick was executed. ) Will anygentleman lend me a handkerchief? Now, sir, tie any knot you choose:tighter, tighter, tight as you can, tight as you can: now pull! Why, sir, where's your knot?" Here most of the company good-naturedlylaughed at a trick which had amused them before a hundred times. Butthe dignified judge had no taste for such trivial amusements; and, besides, he thought that all this noise spoilt the pleasure of his wine, and prevented him from catching the flavour of his Rudesheimer. Moreover, the Judge was not in a very good humour. The student appearedto have little idea of the rules and regulations of a fair partnership:for not only did he not regulate his draughts by the moderate example ofhis bottle companion, but actually filled the glass of his Universityfriend, and even offered the precious green flask to his neighbour, thecloth-merchant. That humble individual modestly refused the proffer. Theunexpected circumstance of having his health drank by a stranger seemedalone to have produced a great impression upon him; and adding a littlemore water to his already diluted potation, he bowed reverently to thestudent, who, in return, did not notice him. All these littlecircumstances prevented the judge from laughing at the performances ofour friend Essper George; for we need hardly mention that the conjurorwas no other. His ill-humour did not escape the lord of the cups andballs, who, as was his custom, immediately began to torment him. 

"Will you choose a card?" asked the magician of the judge, with a mosthumble look. 

"No, sir!"

Essper George looked very penitent, as if he felt he had taken a greatliberty by his application; and so, to compensate for his incorrectbehaviour, he asked the magistrate whether he would have the goodness tolend him his watch. The judge was irate, and determined to give theintruder a set down. 

"I am not one of those who can be amused by tricks that his grandfatherknew. "

"Grandfather!" shrieked Essper; "what a wonderful grandfather yours musthave been! All my tricks are fresh from Fairyland this morning. Grandfather, indeed! Pray, is this your grandfather?" and here theconjuror, leaning over the table, with a rapid catch drew out from thefat paunch of the judge a long grinning wooden figure, with greatstaring eyes, and the parrot nose of a pulcinello. The laugh whichfollowed this sleight-of-hand was loud, long, and universal. The judgelost his temper; and Essper George took the opportunity of the confusionto drink off the glass of Rudesheimer which stood, as we havementioned, ready charged, at the magistrate's elbow. 

The waiter now went round to collect the money of the various guests whohad partaken of the boat-supper; and, of course, charged the judge extrafor his ordered bottle, bowing at the same time very low, as was properto so good a customer. These little attentions at inns encourageexpenditure. The judge tried at the same time the bottle, which he foundempty, and applied to his two boon companions for their quota; but thestudents affected a sort of brutal surprise at any one having theimpudence to imagine that they were going to pay their proportion; andflinging down the money for their own supper on the table, they retired. The magistrate, calling loudly for the landlord, followed them outof the room. 

Essper George stood moralising at the table, and emptying every glasswhose contents were not utterly drained, with the exception of thetumblers of the cloth-merchants, of whose liquor he did not approve. 

"Poor man! to get only one glass out of his own bottle! Ay! call for M. Maas; threaten as you will. Your grandfather will not help you here. Blood out of a wall and money out of a student come the same day. Ah! isyour Excellency here?" said Essper, turning round to our two travellerswith affected surprise, although he had observed them the whole time. "Is your Excellency here? I have been looking for you through Frankfortthis whole morning. There! it will do for your glass. It is of chamoisleather, and I made it myself, from a beast I caught last summer in thevalley of the Rhone. " So saying, he threw over Vivian's neck a neatchain, or cord, of curiously-worked leather. 

"Who the devil is this, Grey?" asked the Baron. 

"A funny knave, whom I once saved from a thrashing, or something of thekind, which I do him the justice to say he well deserved. "

"Who the devil is this?" said Essper George. "Why, that is exactly thesame question I myself asked when I saw a tall, pompous, proud fellow, dressed like a peacock on a May morning, standing at the door just now. He looked as if he would pass himself off for an ambassador at least;but I told him that if he got his wages paid he was luckier than mostservants. Was I right, your Excellency?"

"Poor Ernstorff!" said the Baron, laughing. "Yes; _he_ certainly getspaid. Here, you are a clever varlet; fill your glass. "

"No; no wine. Don't you hear the brawling, and nearly the bloodshed, which are going on upstairs about a sour bottle of Rudesheimer? and hereI see two gentles who have ordered the best wine merely to show thatthey are masters and not servants of the green peacock, and lo! cannotget through a glass. Lord! lord! what is man? If my fat friend and hisgrandfather would but come down stairs again, here is liquor enough tomake wine and water of the Danube; for he comes from thence by hisaccent. No, I'll have none of your wine; keep it to throw on the sandyfloor, that the dust may not hurt your delicate shoes, nor dirt the handof the gentleman in green and gold when he cleans them for you inthe morning. "

Here the Baron laughed again, and, as he bore his impertinence, EssperGeorge immediately became polite. 

"Does your Highness go to Ems?"

"We hardly know, my friend. "

"Oh! go there, gentlemen. I have tried them all; Aix-la-Chapelle, Spa, Wiesbaden, Carlsbad, Pyrmont, every one of them; but what are these toEms? There we all live in the same house and eat from the same table. When there I feel that you are all under my protection; I consider youall as my children. Besides, the country, how delightful! the mountains, the valleys, the river, the woods, and then the company so select! Nosharpers, no adventurers, no blacklegs: at Ems you can be taken in by noone except your intimate friend. To Ems, by all means. I would adviseyou, however, to send the gentleman in the cocked hat on before you toengage rooms; for I can assure you that you will have a hard chance. Thebaths are very full. "

"And how do you get there, Essper?" asked Vivian. 

"Those are subjects on which I never speak, " answered the conjuror, witha solemn air. 

"But have you all your stock-in-trade with you, my good fellow? Where isthe Mystery?"

"Sold, sir; sold! I never keep to anything long. Variety is the motherof Enjoyment. At Ems I shall not be a conjuror: but I never part with mybox. It takes no more room than one of those medicine chests, which Idare say you have got with you in your carriage, to prop up your coupleof shattered constitutions. "

"By Jove! you are a merry, impudent fellow, " said the Baron; "and ifyou like to get up behind my britzska, you may. "

"No; I carry my own box and my own body, and I shall be at Ems to-morrowin time enough to receive your Lordships. "

CHAPTER V

In a delightful valley of Nassau, formed by the picturesque windings ofthe Taunus Mountains, and on the banks of the noisy river Lahn, stands avast brick pile, of irregular architecture, which nearly covers an acreof ground. This building was formerly a favourite palace of the ducalhouse of Nassau; but the present Prince has thought proper to let outthe former residence of his family as an hotel for the accommodation ofthe company, who in the season frequent this, the most lovely spot inhis lovely little duchy. This extensive building contains two hundredand thirty rooms and eighty baths; and these apartments, which are underthe management of an official agent, who lives in the "Princely BathingHouse, " for such is its present dignified title, are to be engaged atfixed prices, which are marked over the doors. All the rooms in theupper story of the Princely Bathing House open on, or are almostimmediately connected with, a long corridor, which extends the wholelength of the building. The ground-floor, besides the space occupied bythe baths, also affords a spacious promenade, arched with stone, andsurrounded with stalls, behind which are marshalled vendors of all thepossible articles which can be required by the necessities of thefrequenters of a watering-place. There you are greeted by the jewellerof the Palais Royal and the marchande de mode of the Rue de la Paix; theprint-seller from Mannheim and the china-dealer from Dresden; and othersmall speculators in the various fancy articles which abound in Vienna, Berlin, Geneva, Basle, Strasburg, and Lausanne; such as pipes, costumesof Swiss peasantry, crosses of Mont Blanc crystal, and all varieties ofnational bijouterie. All things may here be sold, save those whichadminister to the nourishment of the body or the pleasure of the palate. Let not those of my readers who have already planned a trip to the sweetvales of the Taunus be frightened by this last sentence. At Ems"eatables and drinkables" are excellent and abounding; but they aresolely supplied by the restaurateur, who farms the monopoly from theDuke. This gentleman, who is a pupil of Beauvillier's, and who hasconceived an exquisite cuisine, by adding to the lighter graces ofFrench cookery something of the more solid virtues of the German, presides in a saloon of vast size and magnificent decoration, in which, during the season, upwards of three hundred persons frequent the tabled'hôte. It is the etiquette at Ems that, however distinguished orhowever humble the rank of the visitors, their fare and their treatmentmust be alike. In one of the most aristocratic countries in the word thesovereign prince and his tradesman subject may be found seated in themorning at the same board, and eating from the same dish, as in theevening they may be seen staking on the same colour at the gaming-table, and sharing in the same interest at the Redoute. 

The situation of Ems is delightful. The mountains which form the valleyare not, as in Switzerland, so elevated that they confine the air orseem to impede the facility of breathing. In their fantastic forms thepicturesque is not lost in the monotonous, and in the rich covering oftheir various woods the admiring eye finds at the same time beauty andrepose. Opposite the ancient palace, on the banks of the Lahn, are thegardens. In these, in a pavilion, a band of musicians seldom cease fromenchanting the visitors by their execution of the most favouritespecimens of German and Italian music. Numberless acacia arbours andretired sylvan seats are here to be found, where the student or thecontemplative may seek refuge from the noise of his more gay companions, and the tedium of eternal conversation. In these gardens, also, are thebilliard-room, and another saloon, in which each night meet, not merelythose who are interested in the mysteries of rouge et noir, and thechances of roulette, but, in general, the whole of the company, male andfemale, who are frequenting the baths. In quitting the gardens for amoment, we must not omit mentioning the interesting booth of our friend, the restaurateur, where coffee, clear and hot, and exquisiteconfectionery, are never wanting. Nor should we forget the glitteringpennons of the gay boats which glide along the Lahn; nor the handsomedonkeys, who, with their white saddles and red bridles, seem notunworthy of the princesses whom they sometimes bear. The gardens, withan alley of limetrees, which are farther on, near the banks of theriver, afford easy promenades to the sick and debilitated; but the morerobust and active need not fear monotony in the valley of the Lahn. Ifthey sigh for the champaign country, they can climb the wild passes ofthe encircling mountains, and from their tops enjoy the most magnificentviews of the Rhineland. There they may gaze on that mighty river, flowing through the prolific plain which at the same time it nourishesand adorns, bounded on each side by mountains of every form, clothedwith wood or crowned with castles. Or, if they fear the fatigues of theascent, they may wander farther up the valley, and in the wild dells, romantic forests, and grey ruins of Stein and Nassau, conjure up the oldtimes of feudal tyranny when the forest was the only free land, and hewho outraged the laws the only one who did not suffer from theirauthority. 

Besides the Princely Bathing House, I must mention that there wasanother old and extensive building near it, which, in very full seasons, also accommodated visitors on the same system as the palace. At present, this adjoining building was solely occupied by a Russian Grand Duke, whohad engaged it for the season. 

Such is a slight description of Ems, a place almost of unique character;for it is a watering-place with every convenience, luxury, andaccommodation; and yet without shops, streets, or houses. 

The Baron and Vivian were fortunate in finding rooms, for the Baths werevery full; the extraordinary beauty of the weather having occasioned avery early season. They found themselves at the baths early on themorning after their arrival at Coblentz, and at three o'clock in thesame day had taken their places at the dinner table in the great saloon. At the long table upwards of two hundred and fifty guests wereassembled, of different nations, and of very different characters. Therewas the cunning, intriguing Greek, who served well his imperial masterthe Russian. The order of the patron saint of Moscow, and the glitteringstars of other nations which sparkled on his green uniform, told howwell he had laboured for the interest of all other countries except hisown; but his clear, pale complexion, his delicately trimmed mustachio, his lofty forehead, his arched eyebrow, and his Eastern eye, recalled tothe traveller, in spite of his barbarian trappings, the finecountenances of the Aegean, and became a form which apparently mighthave struggled in Thermopylae. Next to him was the Austrian diplomatist, the Sosia of all cabinets, in whose gay address and rattlingconversation you could hardly recognise the sophistical defender ofunauthorised invasion, and the subtle inventor of Holy Alliances andImperial Leagues. Then came the rich usurer from Frankfort or theprosperous merchant from Hamburgh, who, with his wife and daughters, were seeking some recreation from his flourishing counting-house in thesylvan gaieties of a German bathing-place. Flirting with these was anadventurous dancing-master from Paris, whose profession at present waskept in the background, and whose well-curled black hair, diamond pin, and frogged coat hinted at the magnifico incog, and also enabled him, ifhe did not choose in time to follow his own profession, to pursueanother one, which he had also studied, in the profitable mystery of theRedoute. There were many other individuals, whose commonplace appearancedid not reveal a character which perhaps they did not possess. Therewere officers in all uniforms, and there were some uniforms withoutofficers. But all looked perfectly comme il faut, and on the whole veryselect; and if the great persons endeavoured for a moment to forgettheir dignity, still these slight improprieties were amply made up bythe affected dignity of those little persons who had none to forget. 

"And how like you the baths of Ems?" the Baron asked of Vivian, "Weshall get better seats to-morrow, and perhaps be among those whom youshall know. I see many friends and some agreeable ones. In the meantime, you must make a good dinner to-day, and I will amuse you, and assistyour digestion, by putting you up to some of the characters with whomyou are dining. "

At this moment a party entered the room, who were rather late in theirappearance, but who attracted the attention of Vivian. The groupconsisted of three persons; a very good-looking young man, who supportedon each arm a female. The lady on his right arm was apparently of aboutfive-and-twenty years of age. She was of majestic stature; hercomplexion of untinged purity. Her features were like those conceptionsof Grecian sculptors which, in moments of despondency, we sometimesbelieve to be ideal. Her full eyes were of the same deep blue as themountain lake, and gleamed from under their long lashes as that purestof waters beneath its fringing sedge. Her brown light hair was braidedfrom her high forehead, and hung in long full curls over her neck; themass gathered up into a Grecian knot, and confined by a bandeau ofcameos. She wore a dress of black velvet, whose folding drapery wasconfined round a waist which was in exact symmetry with the proportionsof her full bust and the polished roundness of her bending neck. Thecountenance of the lady was dignified, without any expression of pride, and reserved, without any of the harshness of austerity. In gazing onher the enraptured spectator for a moment believed that Minerva hadforgotten her severity, and had entered into a delightful rivalrywith Venus. 

Her companion was much younger, not so tall, and of slender form. Thelong tresses of her chestnut hair shaded her oval face. Her small, aquiline nose, bright hazel eyes, delicate mouth, and the deep colour ofher lips, were as remarkable as the transparency of her complexion. Theflush of her cheek was singular; it was of a brilliant pink: you mayfind it in the lip of an Indian shell. The blue veins played beneath herarched forehead, like lightning beneath a rainbow. She was dressed inwhite, and a damask rose, half hid in her clustering hair, was her onlyornament. This lovely creature glided by Vivian Grey almost unnoticed, so fixed was his gaze on her companion. Yet, magnificent as was thestyle of Lady Madeleine Trevor, there were few who preferred even hercommanding graces to the softer beauties of Violet Fane. 

This party, having passed Vivian, proceeded to the top of the room, where places had been kept for them. Vivian's eye watched them till theywere lost among surrounding visitors: their peculiar loveliness couldnot deceive him. 

"English, no doubt, " observed he to the Baron; "who can they be?"

"I have not the least idea; that is, I do not exactly know. I think theyare English, " answered the Baron, in so confused a manner that Vivianrather stared. After musing a moment, the Baron recovered himself. 

"The unexpected sight of a face we feel that we know, and yet cannotimmediately recognise, is extremely annoying; it is almost agitating. They are English. The lady in black is Lady Madeleine Trevor; I knew herin London. "

"And the gentleman?" asked Vivian: "is the gentleman Mr. Trevor?"

"No; Trevor, poor Trevor, is dead, I think; is, I am sure, dead. That, Iam confident, is not he. He was of the ---- family, and was in officewhen I was in England. It was in my diplomatic capacity that I firstbecame acquainted with him. Lady Madeleine was, and, as you see, is, acharming woman; a very charming woman is Lady Madeleine Trevor. "

"And the young lady with her?"

"And the young lady with her, I cannot exactly say; I do not exactlyknow. Her face is familiar to me, and yet I cannot remember her name. She must have been very young, as you may see, when I was in England;she cannot now be above eighteen. Miss Fane must therefore have beenvery young when I was in England, Miss Fane; how singular I should haverecalled her name! that is her name, Violet Fane, a cousin, or somerelation, of Lady Madeleine: good family. Will you have some soup?"

Whether it were from not being among his friends, or some other cause, the Baron was certainly not in his usual spirits this day at dinner. Conversation, which with him was generally as easy as it was brilliant, like a fountain at the same time sparkling and fluent, was evidentlyconstrained. For a few minutes he talked very fast, and was thenuncommunicative, absent, and dull. He, moreover, drank a great deal ofwine, which was not his custom; but the grape did not inspire him. Vivian found amusement in his next neighbour, a forward, bustling man, clever in his talk, very fine, but rather vulgar. He was the manager ofa company of Austrian actors, and had come to Ems on the chance offorming an engagement for his troop, who generally performed at Vienna, He had been successful in his adventure, the Archduke having engaged thewhole band at the New House, and in a few days the troop were to arrive;at which time the manager was to drop the character of a travellinggentleman, and cease to dine at the table d'hôte of Ems. From this manVivian learnt that Lady Madeleine Trevor had been at the Baths for sometime before the season commenced: that at present hers was the partywhich, from its long stay and eminent rank, gave the tone to theamusements of the place; the influential circle which those who havefrequented watering-places have often observed, and which may be seen atEms, Spa, or Pyrmont, equally as at Harrowgate, Tunbridge Wells, orCheltenham. 

CHAPTER VI

When dinner was finished the party broke up, and most of them assembledin the gardens. The Baron, whose countenance had assumed its wontedcheerfulness, and who excused his previous dulness by the usual story ofa sudden headache, proposed to Vivian to join the promenade. The gardenswere very full, and the Baron recognised many of his acquaintance. 

"My dear Colonel, who possibly expected to meet you here? Why! did youdine in the saloon? I only arrived this morning. This is my friend, Mr. Grey; Colonel von Trumpetson. "

"An Englishman, I believe?" said the Colonel, bowing. He was a starchmilitaire, with a blue frock coat buttoned up to his chin, a bald headwith a few grey hairs, and long, thin mustachios like a mandarin's. "AnEnglishman, I believe; pray, sir, will you inform me whether thehousehold troops in England wear the Marboeuf cuirass?"

"Sir!" said Vivian. 

"I esteem myself particularly fortunate in thus meeting with an Englishgentleman. It was only at dinner to-day that a controversy arose betweenMajor von Musquetoon and the Prince of Buttonstein on this point. As Isaid to the Prince, you may argue for ever, for at present we cannotdecide the fact. How little did I think when I parted from the Majorthat in a few minutes I should be able to settle the question beyond adoubt. I esteem myself particularly fortunate in meeting with anEnglishman. "

"I regret to say, Colonel, that the question is one that I cannotdecide. "

"Sir, I wish you good morning, " said the Colonel, very drily; and, staring keenly at Vivian, he walked away. 

"He is good enough to fight, I suppose, " said the Baron, with a smileand shrug of the shoulders, which seemed to return thanks to Providencefor having been educated in the civil service. 

At this moment Lady Madeleine Trevor, leaning on the arm of the samegentleman, passed, and the Baron bowed. The bow was coldly returned. 

"You know her Ladyship, then! well!"

"I did know her, " said the Baron; "but I see from her bow that I am atpresent in no very high favour. The truth is, she is a charming woman, but I never expected to see her in Germany, and there was some littlecommission of hers which I neglected, some little order for Eau deCologne, or a message about a worked pocket-handkerchief, which Iutterly forgot: and then, I never wrote! and you know. Grey, that theselittle sins of omission are never forgiven by women. "

"My dear friend, De Konigstein, one pinch! one pinch!" chirped out alittle old odd-looking man, with a poudré head, and dressed in a costumein which the glories of the vieille cour seemed to retire withreluctance. A diamond ring twinkled on the snuffy hand, which wasencircled by a rich ruffle of dirty lace. The brown coat was notmodern, and yet not quite such an one as was worn by its master when hewent to see the King dine in public at Versailles before the Revolution:large silver buckles still adorned the well-polished shoes; and silkstockings, whose hue was originally black, were picked out withclock-work of gold. 

"My dear Marquis, I am most happy to see you; will you try theboulangero?"

"With pleasure! A-a-h! what a box! a Louis-Quatorze, I think?"

"Oh, no! by no means so old. "

"Pardon me, my dear De Konigstein; I think a Louis-Quatorze. "

"I bought it in Sicily. "

"A-a-h!" slowly exclaimed the little man, shaking his head. 

"Well, good afternoon, " said the Baron, passing on. 

"My dear De Konigstein, one pinch; you have often said you have aparticular regard for me. "

"My dear Marquis!"

"A-a-h! I thought so; you have often said you would serve me, ifpossible. "

"My dear Marquis, be brief. "

"A-a-h! I will. There's a cursed crusty old Prussian officer here; oneColonel de Trumpetson. "

"Well, what can I do? you are surely not going to fight him!"

"A-a-h! no, no; I wish you to speak to him. "

"Well, what?"

"He takes snuff. "

"What is that to me?"

"He has got a box. "

"Well!"

"It is a Louis-Quatorze; could not you get it for me?"

"Good morning to you, " said the Baron, pulling on Vivian. 

"You have had the pleasure, Grey, of meeting this afternoon two men whohave each only one idea. Colonel von Trumpetson and the Marquis de laTabatière are equally tiresome. But are they more tiresome than anyother man who always speaks on the same subject? We are more irritable, but not more wearied, with a man who is always thinking of the patternof a button-hole, or the shape of a snuff-box, than with one who isalways talking about pictures, or chemistry, or politics. The true boreis that man who thinks the world is only interested in one subject, because he himself can only comprehend one. "

Here Lady Madeleine passed again, and this time the Baron's eyes werefixed on the ground. 

A buzz and a bustle at the other end of the gardens, to which the Baronand Vivian were advancing, announced the entry of the Grand Duke. HisImperial Highness was a tall man, with a quick, piercing eye, which wasprevented from giving to his countenance the expression of intellect, which it otherwise would have done, by the dull and almost brutal effectof his flat, Calmuck nose. He was dressed in a plain green uniform, adorned by a single star; but his tightened waist, his stiff stock, andthe elaborate attention which had evidently been bestowed upon hismustachio, denoted the military fop. The Grand Duke was accompanied bythree or four stiff and stately-looking personages, in whom the severityof the martinet seemed sunk in the servility of the aide-de-camp. 

The Baron bowed very low to the Prince as he drew near, and hisHighness, taking off his cocked-hat with an appearance of cordialcondescension, made a full stop. The silent gentlemen in the rear, whohad not anticipated this suspense in their promenade, almost founderedon the heels of their royal master; and, frightened at the imminency ofthe profanation, forgot their stiff pomp in a precipitate retreat ofhalf a yard. 

"Baron, " said his Highness, "why have I not seen you at the New House?"

"I have but this moment arrived, may it please your Imperial Highness. "

"Your companion, " continued the Grand Duke, pointing very graciously toVivian. 

"My intimate friend, my fellow-traveller, and an Englishman. May I havethe honour of presenting Mr. Grey to your Imperial Highness?"

"Any friends of the Baron von Konigstein I shall always feel greatpleasure in having presented to me. Sir, I feel great pleasure in havingyou presented to me. Sir, you ought to be proud of the name ofEnglishman; sir, the English are a noble nation; sir, I have the highestrespect for the English nation!"

Vivian of course bowed very low; and of course made a very proper speechon the occasion, which, as all speeches of that kind should be, was verydutiful and quite inaudible. 

"And what news from Berlin, Baron? let us move on, " and the Baron turnedwith the Grand Duke. The silent gentlemen, settling their mustachios, followed in the rear. For about half an hour, anecdote after anecdote, scene after scene, caricature after caricature, were poured out withprodigal expenditure for the amusement of the Prince, who did nothingduring the exhibition but smile, stroke his whiskers, and at the end ofthe best stories fence with his forefinger at the Baron's side, with agentle laugh, and a mock shake of the head, and a "Eh! Von Konigstein, you're too bad!" Here Lady Madeleine Trevor passed again, and the GrandDuke's hat nearly touched the ground. He received a most gracious bow. 

"Finish the story about Salvinski, Baron, and then I will present youfor a reward to the most lovely creature in existence, a countrywoman ofyour friend, Lady Madeleine Trevor. "

"I have the honour of a slight acquaintance with her, " said the Baron;"I had the pleasure of knowing her in England. "

"Indeed! Fortunate mortal! I see she has stopped, talking to somestranger. Let us turn and join her. "

The Grand Duke and the two friends accordingly turned, and of course thesilent gentlemen in the rear followed with due precision. 

"Lady Madeleine!" said the Grand Duke, "I flattered myself for a momentthat I might have had the honour of presenting to you a gentleman forwhom I have a great esteem; but he has proved to me that he is morefortunate than myself, since he had the honour before me of anacquaintance with Lady Madeleine Trevor. "

"I have not forgotten Baron von Konigstein, " said her ladyship, with aserious air. "May I ask his Highness how he prospered in his negotiationwith the Austrian troop?"

"Perfectly successful! Inspired by your Ladyship's approbation, mysteward has really done wonders. He almost deserves a diplomaticappointment for the talent which he has shown; but what should I dowithout Cracowsky? Lady Madeleine, can you conceive what I should dowithout Cracowsky?"

"Not in the least. "

"Cracowsky is everything to me. It is impossible to say what Cracowskyis to me. I owe everything to Cracowsky. To Cracowsky I owe being here. "The Grand Duke bowed very low, for this eulogium on his steward alsoconveyed a compliment to her Ladyship. The Grand Duke was certainlyright in believing that he owed his summer excursion to Ems to hissteward. That wily Pole regularly every year put his Imperial master'ssummer excursion up to auction, and according to the biddings of theproprietors of the chief baths did he take care that his masterregulated his visit. The restaurateur of Ems, in collusion with theofficial agent of the Duke of Nassau, were fortunate this season inhaving the Grand Duke knocked down to them. 

"May I flatter myself that Miss Fane feels herself better?" asked theGrand Duke. 

"She certainly does feel herself better, but my anxiety about her doesnot decrease. In her illness apparent convalescence is sometimes asalarming as suffering. "

The Grand Duke continued by the side of Lady Madeleine for about twentyminutes, seizing every opportunity of uttering, in the most courtlytone, inane compliments; and then trusting that he might soon have herLadyship's opinion respecting the Austrian troop at the New House, andthat Von Konigstein and his English friend would not delay letting himsee them there, his Imperial Highness, followed by his silent suite, left the gardens. 

"I am afraid Lady Madeleine must have almost mistaken me for a taciturnlord chamberlain, " said the Baron, occupying immediately the GrandDuke's vacated side. 

"Baron von Konigstein must be very changed if silence be imputed to himas a fault, " said Lady Madeleine. 

"Baron von Konigstein is very much changed since last he had thepleasure of conversing with Lady Madeleine Trevor; more changed than shewill perhaps believe; more changed than he can sometimes himselfbelieve. I hope that he will not be less acceptable to Lady MadeleineTrevor because he is no longer rash, passionate, and unthinking; becausehe has learnt to live more for others and less for himself. "

"Baron von Konigstein does indeed appear changed, since, by his ownaccount, he has become, in a very few years, a being in whose existencephilosophers scarcely believe, a perfect man. "

"My self-conceit has been so often reproved by you, that I will notapologise for a quality which I almost flattered myself I no longerpossessed; but you will excuse, I am sure, one who, in zealous haste toprove himself amended, has, I fear, almost shown that he hasdeceived himself. "

Some strange thoughts occurred to Vivian while this conversation wastaking place. "Is this a woman to resent the neglect of an order for Eaude Cologne? My dear Von Konigstein, you are a very pleasant fellow, butthis is not the way men apologise for the non-purchase of apocket-handkerchief!"

"Have you been long at Ems?" inquired the Baron, with an air of greatdeference. 

"Nearly a month: we are travelling in consequence of the ill-health of arelation. It was our intention to have gone on to Pisa, but ourphysician, in consequence of the extreme heat of the summer, is afraidof the fatigue of travelling, and has recommended Ems. The air betweenthese mountains is very soft and pure, and I have no reason to regret atpresent that we have not advanced farther on our journey. "

"The lady who was with your party at dinner is, I fear, your invalid. She certainly does not look like one. I think, " said the Baron, with aneffort, "I think that her face is not unknown to me. It is difficult, even after so many years, to mistake Miss--"

"Fane, " said Lady Madeleine, firmly; for it seemed that the Baronrequired a little assistance at the end of his sentence. 

"Ems, " returned his Excellency, with great rapidity of utterance, "Emsis a charming place, at least to me. I have, within these few years, quite recurred to the feelings of my boyhood; nothing to me is moredisgustingly wearisome than the gay bustle of a city. My presentdiplomatic appointment at Frankfort ensures a constant life among themost charming scenes of nature. Naples, which was offered to me, Irefused. Eight years ago, I should have thought an appointment at Naplesa Paradise on earth. "

"You must indeed be changed. "

"How beautiful is the vicinity of the Rhine! I have passed within thesethree days, for almost the twentieth time in my life, through theRheingau; and yet how fresh, and lovely, and novel, seemed all itsvarious beauties! My young travelling companion is enthusiastic aboutthis gem of Germany. He is one of your Ladyship's countrymen. Might Itake the liberty of presenting to you Mr. Grey?"

Lady Madeleine, as if it could now no longer be postponed, introduced tothe two gentlemen her brother, Mr. St. George. This gentleman, who, during the whole previous conversation, had kept his head in ahorizontal position, looking neither to the right nor to the left, andapparently unconscious that any one was conversing with his sister, because, according to the English custom, he was not introduced, nowsuddenly turned around, and welcomed his acquaintance with cordiality. 

"Mr. Grey, " asked her Ladyship, "are you of Dorsetshire?"

"My mother is a Dorsetshire woman; her family name is Vivian, which nameI also bear. "

"Then I think we are longer acquainted than we have been introduced. Imet your father at Sir Hargrave Vivian's last Christmas. He spoke of youin those terms that make me glad that I have met his son. You have beenlong from England, I think?"

"Nearly a year and a half. "

"The Baron had resigned his place by Lady Madeleine, and was already inclose conversation with Mr. St. George, from whose arm Lady Madeleine'swas disengaged. No one acted the part of Asmodeus with greater spiritthan his Excellency; and the secret history of every person whose secrethistory could be amusing delighted Mr. St. George. 

"There, " said the Baron, "goes the son of an unknown father; his motherfollowed the camp, and her offspring was early initiated in themysteries of military petty larceny. As he grew up he became the mostskilful plunderer that ever rifled the dying of both sides. Before hewas twenty he followed the army as a petty chapman, and amassed anexcellent fortune by re-acquiring after a battle the very goods andtrinkets which he had sold at an immense price before it. Such a wretchcould do nothing but prosper, and in due tune the sutler's brat became acommissary-general. He made millions in a period of general starvation, and cleared at least a hundred thousand dollars by embezzling the shoeleather during a retreat. He is now a baron, covered with orders, andhis daughters are married to some of our first nobles. There goes aPolish Count who is one of the greatest gamblers in Christendom. In thesame season he lost to a Russian general, at one game of chess, hischief castle and sixteen thousand acres of woodland; and recoveredhimself on another game, on which he won of a Turkish Pasha one hundredand eighty thousand leopard skins. The Turk, who was a man of stricthonour, paid the Count by embezzling the tribute in kind of the provincehe governed; and as on quarter-day he could not, of course, make up hisaccounts with the Divan, he joined the Greeks. "

While the Baron was entertaining Mr. St. George, the conversationbetween Lady Madeleine and Vivian proceeded. 

"Your father expressed great disappointment to me at his being preventedpaying you a visit. Do you not long to see him?"

"More than I can express. Did you think him in good spirits?"

"Generally so: as cheerful as all fathers can be without their onlyson. "

"Did he complain, then, of my absence?"

"He regretted it. "

"I linger in Germany with the hope of seeing him; otherwise I shouldhave now been much further south. Do you find Sir Hargrave as amusingas ever?"

"When is he otherwise than the most delightful of old men? Sir Hargraveis one of my great favourites. I should like to persuade you to returnand see them all. Cannot you fancy Chester Grange very beautiful now?Albert!" said her Ladyship, turning to her brother, "what is the numberof our apartments? Mr. Grey, the sun has now disappeared, and I fear thenight air among these mountains. We have hardly yet summer nights, though we certainly have summer days. We shall be happy to see you atour rooms. " So saying, bowing very cordially to Vivian and coldly to theBaron, Lady Madeleine left the gardens. 

"There goes the most delightful woman in the world, " said the Baron;"how fortunate that you know her! for really, as you might haveobserved, I have no great claims on her indulgent notice. I wascertainly very wild in England; but then young men, you know, Grey! andI did not leave a card, or call, before I went; and the English arevery stiff and precise about those things; and the Trevors had been verykind to me. I think we had better take a little coffee now; and then, ifyou like, we will just stroll into the REDOUTE. "

In a brilliantly-illuminated saloon, adorned with Corinthian columns andcasts from some of the most famous antique statues, assembled, betweennine and ten o'clock in the evening, many of the visitors at Ems. Oneach side of the room was placed a long narrow table, one of which wascovered with green baize, and unattended; while the variously-colouredleathern surface of the other was closely surrounded by an interestedcrowd. Behind this table stood two individuals of different appearance. The first was a short, thick man, whose only business was dealingcertain portions of playing cards with quick succession one after theother: and as the fate of the table was decided by this process, did hiscompanion, a very tall, thin man, throw various pieces of money uponcertain stakes, which were deposited by the bystanders on differentparts of the table; or, which was much oftener the case, with a silverrake with a long ebony handle, sweep into a large inclosure near him thescattered sums. This inclosure was called the Bank, and the mysteriousceremony in which these persons were assisting was the celebrated gameof rouge-et-noir. A deep silence was strictly preserved by those whoimmediately surrounded the table; no voice was heard save that of thelittle, short, stout dealer, when, without an expression of the leastinterest, he seemed mechanically to announce the fate of the differentcolours. No other sound was heard, except the jingle of the dollars andNapoleons, and the ominous rake of the tall, thin banker. Thecountenances of those who were hazarding their money were grave andgloomy: their eyes were fixed, their brows contracted, and their lipsprojected; and yet there was an evident effort visible to show that theywere both easy and unconcerned. Each player held in his hand a smallpiece of pasteboard, on which, with a steel pricker, he marked, the runof the cards, in order, from his observations, to regulate his own play. The rouge-et-noir player imagines that chance is not capricious. Thosewho were not interested in the game promenaded in two lines within thetables, or, seated in recesses between the pillars, formed small partiesfor conversation. 

"I suppose we must throw away a dollar or two, " said the Baron, as hewalked up to the table. 

"My dear De Konigstein, one pinch!"

"Ah! Marquess, what fortune to-night?"

"Bad! I have lost my Napoleon: I never risk further. There is thatcursed crusty old De Trumpet son, persisting, as usual, in his run ofbad luck; because he never will give in. Trust me, my dear DeKonigstein, it will end in his ruin; and then, if there be a sale of hiseffects, I shall, perhaps, get his snuff-box; a-a-h!"

"Come, shall I throw down a couple of Napoleons on joint account. I donot care much for play myself; but I suppose, at Ems, we must make upour minds to lose a few Louis. Here! now, for the red; jointaccount, mind!"

"Done. "

"There's the Grand Duke! Let us go and make our bow; we need, not stickat the table as if our whole soul were staked with our crown-pieces, " Sosaying, the gentlemen walked up to the top of the room. 

"Why, Grey! Surely no, it cannot be, and yet it is. De Boeffleurs, howd'ye do?" said the Baron, with a face beaming with joy and a heartyshake of the hand. "My dear fellow, how did you manage to get off sosoon? I thought you were not to be here for a fortnight: we only arrivedourselves to-day. "

"Yes; but I have made an arrangement which I did not anticipate; and soI posted after you at once. Whom do you think I have brought with me?"

"Who?"

"Salvinski. "

"Ah! And the Count?"

"Follows immediately. I expect him to-morrow or next day. Salvinski istalking to the Grand Duke; and see, he beckons to me. I suppose I amgoing to be presented. "

The Chevalier moved forward, followed by the Baron and Vivian. 

"Any friend of Prince Salvinski I shall always have great pleasure inhaving presented to me. Chevalier, I feel great pleasure in having youpresented to me. Chevalier, you ought to be proud of the name ofFrenchman. Chevalier, the French are a great nation. Chevalier, I havethe highest respect for the French nation. "

"The most subtile diplomatist, " thought Vivian, as he recalled to mindhis own introduction, "would be puzzled to decide to which interest hisImperial Highness leans. "

The Grand Duke now entered into conversation with the Prince, and mostof the circle who surrounded him. As his Imperial Highness wasaddressing Vivian, the Baron let slip our hero's arm, and, taking thatof the Chevalier de Boeffleurs, began walking up and down the room withhim, and was soon engaged in animated conversation. In a few minutes theGrand Duke, bowing to his circle, made a move, and regained the side ofa Saxon lady, from whose interesting company he had been disturbed bythe arrival of Prince Salvinski; an individual of whose long stories anddull romances the Grand Duke had, from experience, a particular dread:but his Highness was always very courteous to the Poles. 

"Grey, I have despatched De Boeffleurs to the house, to instruct hisservant and Ernstorff to do the impossible, in order that our rooms maybe all together. You will be delighted with De Boeffleurs when you knowhim, and I expect you to be great friends. By-the-bye, his unexpectedarrival has quite made us forget our venture at rouge-et-noir. Of coursewe are too late now for anything; even if we had been fortunate, ourstake, remaining on the table, is, of course, lost: we may as well, however, walk up. " So saying, the Baron reached the table. 

"That is your Excellency's stake! that is your Excellency's stake!"exclaimed many voices as he came up. 

"What is the matter, my friends?" asked the Baron, calmly. 

"There has been a run on the red! there has been a run on the red! andyour Excellency's stake has doubled each time. It has been 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, 128, 256, and now it is 512!" quickly rattled a little thin man inspectacles, pointing at the same time to his unparalleled line ofpunctures. This was one of those officious, noisy little men who arealways ready to give you unasked information, and who are never so happyas when they are watching over the interest of some stranger, who neverthanks them for their unnecessary solicitude. 

Vivian, in spite of his philosophy, felt the excitement of the moment. He looked at the Baron, whose countenance, however, was unmoved. 

"It seems, " said he, coolly, "we are in luck. "

"The stake, then, is not all your own?" eagerly asked the little man inspectacles. 

"No; part of it is yours, sir, " answered the Baron, drily. 

"I am going; to deal, " said the short, thick man behind. "Is the boardcleared?"

"Your Excellency, then, allows the stake to remain?" inquired the tall, thin banker, with affected nonchalance. 

"Oh! certainly, " said the Baron, with real nonchalance. 

"Three, eight, fourteen, twenty-four, thirty-four. Rouge 34--"

All crowded nearer; the table was surrounded five or six deep, for thewonderful run of luck had got wind, and nearly the whole room were roundthe table. Indeed, the Grand Duke and Saxon lady, and of course thesilent suite, were left alone at the upper part of the room. The tallbanker did not conceal his agitation. Even the short, stout dealerceased to be a machine. All looked anxious except the Baron. Vivianlooked at the table; his Excellency watched, with a keen eye, the littledealer. No one even breathed as the cards descended. "Ten, twenty (herethe countenance of the banker brightened), twenty-two, twenty-five, twenty-eight, thirty-one; noir 31. The bank's broke: no more playtonight. The roulette table opens immediately. "

In spite of the great interest which had been excited, nearly the wholecrowd, without waiting to congratulate the Baron, rushed to the oppositeside of the room, in order to secure places at the roulette fable. 

"Put these five hundred and twelve Napoleons into a bag, " said theBaron, "Grey, this is your share. With regard to the other half, Mr. Hermann, what bills have you got?"

"Two on Gogel of Frankfort for two hundred and fifty each, and thesetwelve Napoleons will make it right, " said the tall banker, as he openeda large black pocket-book, from which he took out two small bits ofpaper. The Baron examined them, and after having seen them endorsed, putthem into his pocket, not forgetting the twelve Napoleons; and thentaking Vivian's arm, and regretting extremely that he should have thetrouble of carrying such a weight, he wished Mr. Hermann a very goodnight and success at his roulette, and walked with his companion quietlyhome. Thus passed a day at Ems!

CHAPTER VII

On the following morning, Vivian met with his friend Essper George, behind a small stall in the Bazaar. 

"Well, my Lord, what do you wish? Here are Eau de Cologne, violet soap, and watch-ribbons; a smelling bottle of Ems crystal; a snuff-box offig-tree wood. Name your price: the least trifle that can be given by aman who breaks a bank must be more than my whole stock-in-tradeis worth. 

"I have not paid you yet, Essper, for my glass chain. There is yourshare of my winnings, the fame of which, it seems, has reached evenyou!" added Vivian, with no pleased air. 

"I thank you, sir, for the Nap; but I hope I have not offended byalluding to a certain event, which shall be passed over in silence, "continued Essper George, with a look of mock solemnity. "I really thinkyou have but a faint appetite for good fortune. They deserve her mostwho value her least. "

"Have you any patrons at Ems, Essper, that have induced you to fix onthis place in particular for your speculations? Here, I should think, you have many active rivals, " said Vivian, looking round thevarious stalls. 

"I have a patron here who has never deceived, and who will never desertme; I want no other; and that's myself. Now here comes a party: couldyou just tell me the name of that tall lady now?"

"If I tell you it is Lady Madeleine Trevor, what will it profit you?"

Before Vivian could well finish his sentence Essper had drawn out a longhorn from beneath his small counter, and sounded a blast which echoedthrough the arched passages. The attention of every one was excited, andno part of the following speech was lost:--

"The celebrated Essper George, fresh from Fairyland, dealer in pomatumand all sorts of perfumery, watches, crosses, Ems crystal, colouredprints, Dutch toys, Dresden china, Venetian chains, Neapolitan coral, French crackers, chamois bracelets, tame poodles, and Cherokeecorkscrews, mender of mandolins and all other musical instruments, toLady Madeleine Trevor, has just arrived at Ems, where he only intends tostay two or three days, and a few more weeks besides. Now, graciouslady, what do you wish?"

"And who, " said Lady Madeleine, smiling, "is this?"

"The celebrated Essper George, just--" again commenced the conjuror; butVivian prevented the repetition. 

"He is an odd knave. Lady Madeleine, that I have met with before, atother places, I believe I may add an honest one. What say you, Essper?"

"More honest than moonlight, gracious lady, for that deceives every one;and less honest than self-praise, for that deceives no one. "

"My friend, you have a ready wit. "

"My wit is like a bustling servant, gracious lady; always ready when notwanted, and never present at a pinch. "

"Come, I must have a pair of your chamois bracelets. How sell you them?"

"I sell nothing; all here is gratis to beauty, virtue, and nobility: andthese are my only customers. "

"Thanks will not supply a stock-in-trade though, Essper, " said Vivian. 

"Very true! but my customers are apt to leave some slight testimoniesbehind them of the obligations which they are under to me; and these, atthe same time, are the prop of my estate and the proof of theirdiscretion. But who comes here?" said Essper, drawing out his horn. Thesight of this instrument reminded Lady Madeleine how greatly the effectof music is heightened by distance, and she made a speedy retreat, yielding her place to a family procession of a striking character. 

Three daughters abreast, flanked by two elder sons, formed the firstfile. The father, a portly, prosperous-looking man, followed, with hislady on his arm. Then came two nursery maids, with three children, between the tender ages of five and six. The second division of thegrand army, consisting of three younger sons, immediately followed. Thiswas commanded by a tutor. A governess and two young daughters thenadvanced; and then came the extreme rear, the sutlers of the camp, inthe persons of two footmen in rich liveries, who each bore a basket onhis arm, filled with various fancy articles, which had been allpurchased during the promenade of this nation through only part ofthe bazaar. 

The trumpet of Essper George produced a due effect upon the great party. The commander-in-chief stopped at his little stall, and, as if this werethe signal for general attack and plunder, the files were immediatelybroken up. Each individual dashed at his prey, and the only ones whostruggled to maintain a semblance of discipline were the nursery maids, the tutor, and the governess, who experienced the greatest difficulty insuppressing the early taste which the detachment of light infantryindicated for booty. But Essper George was in his element: he joked, heassisted, he exhibited, he explained; tapped the cheeks of the childrenand complimented the elder ones; and finally, having parted at aprodigious profit, with nearly his whole, stock, paid himself out of alarge and heavy purse, which the portly father, in his utter inabilityto comprehend the complicated accounts and the debased currency, withgreat frankness deposited in the hands of the master of the stall, desiring him to settle his own claims. 

"I hope I may be allowed to ask after Miss Fane, " said Vivian. 

"She continues better; we are now about to join her in the Limewalk. Ifyou will join our morning stroll, it will give us much pleasure. "

Nothing in the world could give Vivian greater pleasure; he felt himselfimpelled to the side of Lady Madeleine; and only regretted hisacquaintance with the Baron because he felt conscious that there wassome secret cause which prevented that intimacy from existing betweenhis Excellency and the Trevor party which his talents and his positionwould otherwise have easily produced. 

"By-the-bye, " said Lady Madeleine, "I do not know whether I may beallowed to congratulate you upon your brilliant success at the Redoutelast night. It is fortunate that all have not to regret your arrival atEms so much as poor Mr. Hermann. "

"The run was extraordinary. I am only sorry that the goddess should haveshowered her favours on one who neither deserves nor desires them; for Ihave no wish to be rich; and as I never lost by her caprices, it ishardly fair that I should gain by them. "

"You do not play, then, much?"

"I never played in my life till last night. Gambling has never been oneof my follies, although my catalogue of errors is fuller, perhaps, thanmost men's. "

"I think Baron von Konigstein was your partner in the exploit?"

"He was; and apparently as little pleased at the issue as myself. "

"Indeed! Have you known the Baron long?"

"We are only friends of a week. I have been living, ever since I was inGermany, a very retired life. A circumstance of a most painful naturedrove me from England; a circumstance of which I can hardly flattermyself, and can hardly wish, that you should be ignorant. "

"I learnt the sad history from one who, while he spoke the truth, spokeof the living sufferer in terms of the fondest affection. "

"A father!" said Vivian, agitated, "a father can hardly be expected tobe impartial. "

"Such a father as yours may, I only wish that he was with us now, toassist me in bringing about what he must greatly desire, your returnto England. "

"It cannot be. I look back to the last year which I spent in thatcountry with feelings of such disgust, I look forward to a return tothat country with feelings of such repugnance that--but I feel I amtrespassing beyond all bounds in touching on these subjects. "

"I promised your father that in case we met, I would seek your society. I have suffered too much myself not to understand how dangerous and howdeceitful is the excess of grief. You have allowed yourself to beovercome by that which Providence intended as a lesson of instruction, not as a sentence of despair. In your solitude you have increased theshadow of those fantasies of a heated brain, which converse with thepure sunshine of the world would have enabled you to dispel. "

"The pure sunshine of the world, Lady Madeleine! would that it had everlighted me! My youth flourished in the unwholesome sultriness of ablighted atmosphere, which I mistook for the resplendent brilliancy of asummer day. How deceived I was, you may judge, not certainly fromfinding me here; but I am here because I have ceased to suffer, only inhaving ceased to hope. "

"You have ceased to hope, because hope and consolation are not thecompanions of solitude, which are of a darker nature. Hope andconsolation spring from the social affections. Converse with the worldwill do more for you than all the arguments of philosophers. I hope yetto find you a believer in the existence of that good which we allworship and all pursue. Happiness comes when we least expect it, and tothose who strive least to obtain it; as you were fortunate yesterday atthe Redoute, when you played without an idea of winning. "

They were in the Limewalk: gay sounds greeted them, and Miss Fane cameforward from a light-hearted band to welcome her cousin. She had topropose a walk to the New Spring, which she was prepared for LadyMadeleine to resist on the ground of her cousin's health. But Miss Fanecombated all the objections with airy merriment, and with a brightresource that never flagged. As she bent her head slightly to Vivian, ere she hastened back to her companions to announce the success of hermission, it seemed to him that he had never beheld so animated andbeaming a countenance, or glanced upon a form of such ineffable andsparkling grace. 

"You would scarcely imagine, Mr. Grey, that we are travelling for mycousin's health, nor do her physicians, indeed, give us any cause forserious uneasiness; yet I cannot help feeling at times great anxiety. Her flushed cheek and the alarming languor which succeeds any excitementmake me fear her complaint may be more deeply seated than they arewilling to acknowledge. "

"They were saying the other day that the extraordinary heat of thisseason must end in an earthquake, or some great convulsion of nature. That would bring languor. "

"We are willing to adopt any reasoning that gives us hope, but hermother died of consumption. "

CHAPTER VIII

When the walking party returned home they found a crowd of idle servantsassembled opposite the house, round a group of equipages, consisting oftwo enormous crimson carriages, a britzska, and a large caravan, on allwhich vehicles the same coat of arms was ostentatiously blazoned. 

"Some new guests!" said Miss Fane. 

"It must be the singular party that we watched this morning in thebazaar, " said Lady Madeleine. "Violet! I have such a curious characterto introduce you to, a particular friend of Mr. Grey, who wishes verymuch to have the honour of your acquaintance, MR. ESSPER GEORGE. "

"These carriages, then, belong to him?"

"Not exactly, " said Vivian. 

In an hour's time, the party again met at dinner in the saloon. By thejoint exertions of Ernstorff and Mr. St. George's servants, the Baron, Vivian, and the Chevalier de Boeffleurs were now seated next to theparty of Lady Madeleine Trevor. 

"My horses fortunately arrived from Frankfort this morning, " said theBaron. "Mr. St. George and myself have been taking a ride very far upthe valley. Has your Ladyship yet been to the Castle of Nassau?"

"We have not. The expedition has been one of those plans often arrangedand never executed. "

"You should go. The ruin is one of the finest in Germany. An expeditionto Nassau Castle would be a capital foundation for a pic-nic. Conceive abeautiful valley, discovered by a knight, in the middle ages, followingthe track of a stag. How romantic! The very incident vouches for itssweet seclusion. Cannot you imagine the wooded mountains, the old greyruin, the sound of the unseen river? What more should we want, exceptagreeable company, fine music, and the best provisions, to fancyourselves in Paradise?"

"I wish the plan were practicable, " said Mr. St. George. 

"I take the whole arrangement upon myself; there is not a difficulty. The ladies shall go on donkeys, or we might make a water excursion of itpart of the way, and the donkeys can meet us at the pass near Stein, andthen the gentlemen may walk; and if you fear the water at night, whythen the carriages may come round: and if your own be too heavy formountain roads, my britzska is always at your command. You see there isnot a difficulty. "

"Not a difficulty, " said Mr. St. George. "Madeleine, we only wait yourconsent. "

"I think we had better put off the execution of our plan till June is alittle more advanced. We must have a fine summer night for Violet. "

"Well, then, I hold the whole party present engaged to follow mystandard, whenever I have permission from authority to unfold it, " saidthe Baron, bowing to Lady Madeleine: "and lest, on cool reflection, Ishall not possess influence enough to procure the appointment, I shall, like a skilful orator, take advantage of your feelings, which gratitudefor this excellent plan must have already enlisted in my favour, andpropose myself as Master of the Ceremonies. " The Baron's eye caught LadyMadeleine's as he uttered this, and something like a smile, rather ofpity than derision, lighted up her face. 

Here Vivian turned round to give some directions to an attendant, and tohis annoyance found Essper George standing behind his chair. 

"Is there anything you want, sir?"

"Who ordered you here?"

"My duty. "

"In what capacity do you attend?"

"As your servant, sir. "

"I insist upon your leaving the room directly. "

"Ah! my friend, Essper George, " said Lady Madeleine, "are you there?What is the matter?"

"This, then, is Essper George!" said Violet Fane. "What kind of beingcan he possibly be? What indeed is the matter?"

"I am merely discharging a servant at a moment's warning, Miss Fane; andif you wish to engage his constant attendance upon yourself, I have noobjection to give him a character for the occasion. "

"What do you want, Essper?" said Miss Fane. 

"Merely to see whether your walk this morning had done your appetitesany good, " answered Essper, looking disconsolate; "and so I thoughtI might make myself useful at the same time. And though I do not bringon the soup in a cocked hat, and carve the venison with acouteau-de-chasse, " continued he, bowing very low to Ernstorff, who, standing stiff behind his master's chair, seemed utterly unaware thatany other person in the room could experience a necessity; "still I canchange a plate or hand the wine without cracking the first, or drinkingthe second. "

"And very good qualities, too!" said Miss Fane. "Come, Essper, you shallput your accomplishments into practice immediately; change my plate. "

This Essper did with dexterity and quiet, displaying at the same time asmall white hand, on the back of which was marked a comet and threedaggers. As he had the discretion not to open his mouth, and performedall his duties with skill, his intrusion in a few minutes was not onlypardoned but forgotten. 

"There has been a great addition to the visitors to-day, I see, " saidMr. St. George. "Who are the new comers?"

"I will tell you all about them, " said the Baron. "This family is one ofthose whose existence astounds the Continent much more than any of yourmighty dukes and earls, whose fortunes, though colossal, can beconceived, and whose rank is understood. Mr. Fitzloom is a verydifferent personage, for thirty years ago he was a journeyman cottonspinner. Some miraculous invention in machinery entitled him to apatent, which has made him one of the great proprietors of England. Hehas lately been returned a member for a manufacturing town, and heintends to get over the first two years of his parliamentary career bysuccessively monopolising the accommodation of all the principal citiesof France, Germany, Switzerland, and Italy, and by raising the price ofprovisions and post-horses through a track of five thousand miles. Myinformation is authentic, for I had a casual acquaintance with him inEngland. There was some talk of a contract for supplying our army fromEngland, and I saw Fitzloom often on the subject. I have spoken to himto-day. This is by no means the first of the species that we have had inGermany. I can assure you that the plain traveller feels seriously theinconvenience of following such a caravan; their money flows with suchunwise prodigality that real liberality ceases to be valued; and many ofyour nobility have complained to me that in their travels they are nowoften expostulated with on account of their parsimony, and taunted withthe mistaken extravagance of a stocking-maker or a porter-brewer. "

"What pleasure can such people find in travelling?" wondered Mr. St. George. 

"As much pleasure and more profit than half the young men of the presentday, " replied a middle-aged English gentleman, who was a kinsman of theSt. Georges, and called them cousins. "In my time travelling wasundertaken on a very different system to what it is now. The Englishyouth then travelled to frequent, what Lord Bacon says are 'especiallyto be seen and observed, the Courts of Princes. ' You all travel now, itappears, to look at mountains and catch cold in spouting trash on lakesby moonlight. "

"But, my dear sir!" said the Baron, "although I grant you that theprincipal advantages of travel must be the opportunity which it affordsus of becoming acquainted with human nature, knowledge, of course, chiefly gained where human beings most congregate, great cities, and, asyou say, the Courts of Princes; still, one of its great benefits is, that it enlarges a man's experiences, not only of his fellow-creaturesin particular, but of nature in general. Many men pass through lifewithout seeing a sunrise: a traveller cannot. If human experience begained by seeing men in their undress, not only when they are consciousof the presence of others, natural experience is only to be acquired bystudying nature at all periods, not merely when man is busy and thebeasts asleep. "

"But what is the use of this deep experience of nature? Men are born toconverse with men, not with stocks and stones. He who has studied LeSage will be more happy and more successful in this world than the manwho muses over Rousseau. "

"I agree with you. I have no wish to make man an anchorite. But as tothe benefit of a thorough experience of nature, it appears to me to beevident. It increases our stock of ideas. "

"So does everything. "

"But it does more than this. It calls into being new emotions, it givesrise to new and beautiful associations; it creates that salutary stateof mental excitement which renders our ideas more lucid and ourconclusions more sound. Can we too much esteem a study which at the sametime stimulates imagination and corrects the judgment?"

"Do not you think that a communion with nature is calculated to elevatethe soul, " said Lady Madeleine, "to--?"

"So is reading your Bible. A man's soul should always be elevated. Ifnot, he might look at mountains for ever, but I should not trust him ajot more. "

"But, sir, " continued the Baron, with unusual warmth, "I am clear thatthere are cases in which the influence of nature has worked what youprofess to treat as an impossibility or a miracle. I am myselfacquainted with an instance of a peculiar character. A few years ago, agentleman of high rank found himself exposed to the unhappy suspicion ofbeing connected with some dishonourable transactions which took place inthe highest circles of England. Unable to find any specific charge whichhe could meet, he added one to the numerous catalogue of thoseunfortunate beings who have sunk in society, the victims of a surmise. He quitted England, and, disgusted with the world, became theprofligate which he had been falsely believed to be. At the house ofCardinal ----, at Naples, celebrated for its revels, this gentlemanbecame a constant guest. He entered with a mad eagerness into everyspecies of dissipation, although none gave him pleasure, and hisfortune, his health, and the powers of his mind were all fast vanishing. One night of frantic dissipation a mock election of Master of the Sportswas proposed, and the hero of my tale had the splendid gratification ofbeing chosen by unanimous consent to this new office. About two o'clockof the same night he left the palace of the Cardinal, with an intentionof returning; his way on his return led by the Chiaja. It was one ofthose nights which we witness only in the south. The blue and brilliantsea was sleeping beneath a cloudless sky; and the moon not only shed herlight over the orange and lemon trees, which, springing from their greenbanks of myrtle, hung over the water, but added fresh lustre to thewhite domes and glittering towers of the city, and flooded Vesuvius andthe distant coast with light as far even as Capua. The individual ofwhom I am speaking had passed this spot on many nights when the moon wasnot less bright, the waves not less silent, and the orange trees notless sweet; but to-night something irresistible impelled him to stop. What a contrast to the artificial light and heat and splendour of thepalace to which he was returning! He mused in silence. Would it not bewiser to forget the world's injustice in gazing on a moonlit ocean thanin discovering in the illumined halls of Naples the baseness of thecrowd which forms the world's power? To enjoy the refreshing luxury of afanning breeze which now arose he turned and gazed on the other side ofthe bay; upon his right stretched out the promontory of Pausilippo;there were the shores of Baiae. But it was not only the loveliness ofthe land which now overcame his spirit; he thought of those whose famehad made us forget even the beauty of these shores in associations of ahigher character and a more exalted nature. He remembered the time whenit was his only wish to be numbered among them. How had his early hopesbeen fulfilled! What just account had he rendered to himself and to hiscountry; that country that had expected so much, that self that hadaspired even to more!

"Day broke over the city and found him still pacing the Chiaja; he didnot return to the Cardinal's palace, and in two days he had left Naples. I can myself, from personal experience, aver that this individual isnow a useful and honourable member of society. The world speaks of himin more flattering terms. "

The Baron spoke with energy and animation. Miss Fane, who had beensilent, and who certainly had not encouraged by any apparent interestthe previous conversation of the Baron, listened to this anecdote witheager attention; but the effect it produced upon Lady Madeleine Trevorwas remarkable. 

Soon after this the party broke up. The promenade followed; the GrandDuke, his compliments, and courtiers; then came the Redoute. Mr. Hermannbowed low as the gentlemen walked up to the table. The Baron whisperedVivian that it was "expected" that they should play, and give the tablesa chance of winning back their money. Vivian staked with thecarelessness of one who wishes to lose; as is often the case under suchcircumstances, he again left the Redoute a considerable winner. Heparted with the Baron at his Excellency's door and proceeded to thenext, which was his own. Here he stumbled over something at the doorwaywhich appeared like a large bundle; he bent down with his light toexamine it, and found Essper George lying on his back with his eyeshalf-open. It was some moments before Vivian perceived he was asleep;stepping gently over him, he entered his apartment. 

CHAPTER IX

When Vivian rose in the morning a gentle tap at his door announced thepresence of an early visitor, who, being desired to enter, appeared inthe person of Essper George. 

"Do you want anything, sir?" asked Essper, with a submissive air. 

Vivian stared at him for a moment, and then ordered him to come in. 

"I had forgotten, Essper, until this moment, that on returning to myroom last night I found you sleeping at my door. This also reminds me ofyour conduct in the saloon yesterday; and as I wish to prevent therepetition of such improprieties, I shall take this opportunity ofinforming you, once for all, that if you do not in future conductyourself with more discretion, I must apply to the Maitre d'Hôtel. Now, sir, what do you want?"

Essper was silent, and stood with his hands crossed on his breast, andhis eyes fixed on the ground. 

"If you do not want anything, quit the room immediately. "

Here the singular being began to weep. 

"Poor fellow!" thought Vivian, "I fear, with all thy wit and pleasantry, thou art, after all, but one of those capriccios which Nature sometimesindulges in, merely to show how superior is her accustomed order toeccentricities, even accompanied with rare powers. "

"What is your wish, Essper?" continued Vivian, in a kinder tone. "Ifthere be any service that I can do you, you will not find me backward. Are you in trouble? you surely are not in want?"

"No!" sobbed Essper; "I wish to be your servant:" here he hid his facein his hands. 

"My servant! why surely it is not very wise to seek dependence upon anyman. I am afraid that you have been keeping company too much with thelackeys that are always loitering about these bathing-places, Ernstorff's green livery and sword, have they not turned yourbrain, Essper?"

"No, no, no! I am tired of living alone. "

"But remember, to be a servant, you must be a person of regular habitsand certain reputation. I have myself a good opinion of you, but I havemyself seen very little of you, though more than any one here, and I ama person of a peculiar turn of mind. Perhaps there is not anotherindividual in this house who would even allude to the possibility ofengaging a servant without a character. "

"Does the ship ask the wind for a character when he bears her over thesea without hire and without reward? and shall you require a characterfrom me when I request to serve you without wages and without pay?"

"Such an engagement, Essper, it would be impossible for me to enterinto, even if I had need of your services, which at present I have not. But I tell you frankly that I see no chance of your suiting me. I shouldrequire an attendant of steady habits and experience; not one whose veryappearance would attract attention when I wish to be unobserved, andacquire a notoriety for the master which he detests. I warmly advise youto give up all idea of entering into a state of life for which you arenot in the least suited. Believe me, your stall will be a better friendthan a master. Now leave me. "

Essper remained one moment with his eyes still fixed on the ground; thenwalking very rapidly up to Vivian, he dropped on his knee, kissed hishand, and disappeared. 

Mr. St. George breakfasted with the Baron, and the gentlemen called onLady Madeleine early in the morning to propose a drive to Stein Castle;but she excused herself, and Vivian following her example, the Baron andMr. St. George "patronised" the Fitzlooms, because there was nothingelse to do. Vivian again joined the ladies in their morning walk, butMiss Fane was not in her usual high spirits. She complained more thanonce of her cousin's absence; and this, connected with some othercircumstances, gave Vivian the first impression that her feelingstowards Mr. St. George were not merely those of a relation. As to theChevalier de Boeffleurs, Vivian soon found that it was utterlyimpossible to be on intimate terms with a being without an idea. TheChevalier was certainly not a very fit representative of the gay, gallant, mercurial Frenchman: he rose very late, and employed the wholeof the morning in reading the French journals and playing billiardsalternately with Prince Salvinski and Count von Altenburgh. 

These gentlemen, as well as the Baron, Vivian, and Mr. St. George, wereto dine this day at the New House. 

They found assembled at the appointed hour a party of about thirtyindividuals. The dinner was sumptuous, the wines superb. At the end ofthe banquet the company adjourned to another room, where play wasproposed and immediately commenced. His Imperial Highness did not joinin the game, but, seated in a corner of the apartment, was surrounded byhis aides-de-camp, whose business was to bring their master constantaccounts of the fortunes of the table and the fate of his bets. HisHighness did not stake. 

Vivian soon found that the game was played on a very different scale atthe New House to what it was at the Redoute. He spoke most decidedly tothe Baron of his detestation of gambling, and expressed hisunwillingness to play; but the Baron, although he agreed with him in hissentiments, advised him to conform for the evening to the universalcustom. As he could afford to lose, he consented, and staked boldly. This night very considerable sums were lost and won; but none returnedhome greater winners than Mr. St. George and Vivian Grey. 

CHAPTER X

The first few days of an acquaintance with a new scene of life and withnew characters generally appear to pass very slowly; not certainly fromthe weariness which they induce, but rather from the keen attentionwhich every little circumstance commands. When the novelty has worn off, when we have discovered that the new characters differ little from allothers we have met before, and that the scene they inhabit is onlyanother variety of the great order we have so often observed, we relapseinto our ancient habits of inattention; we think more of ourselves, andless of those we meet; and musing our moments away in reverie, or in avain attempt to cheat the coming day of the monotony of the present one, we begin to find that the various-vested hours have bounded and arebounding away in a course at once imperceptible, uninteresting, andunprofitable. Then it is that, terrified at our nearer approach to thegreat river whose dark windings it seems the business of all to forget, we start from our stupor to mourn over the rapidity of that collectivesum of past-time, every individual hour of which we have in turnexecrated for its sluggishness. 

Vivian had now been three weeks at Ems, and the presence of LadyMadeleine Trevor and her cousin alone induced him to remain. Whateverthe mystery existing between Lady Madeleine and the Baron, his effortsto attach himself to her party had been successful. The great intimacysubsisting between the Baron and her brother materially assisted inbringing about this result. For the first fortnight the Baron was LadyMadeleine's constant attendant in the evening promenade, and sometimesin the morning walk; and though there were few persons whosecompanionship could be preferred to that of Baron von Konigstein, stillVivian sometimes regretted that his friend and Mr. St. George had notcontinued their rides. The presence of the Baron seemed always to havean unfavourable influence upon the spirits of Miss Fane, and the absurdand evident jealousy of Mr. St. George prevented Vivian from finding inher agreeable conversation some consolation for the loss of the soleenjoyment of Lady Madeleine's exhilarating presence. Mr. St. George hadnever met Vivian's advances with cordiality, and he now treated him withstudied coldness. 

The visits of the gentlemen to the New House had been frequent. Thesaloon of the Grand Duke was open every evening, and in spite of hisgreat distaste for the fatal amusement which was there invariablypursued, Vivian found it impossible to decline frequently attendingwithout subjecting his motives to painful misconception. Hisextraordinary fortune did not desert him, and rendered his attendancestill more a duty. The Baron was not so successful as on his firstevening's venture at the Redoute; but Mr. St. George's star remainedfavourable. Of Essper Vivian had seen little. In passing through thebazaar one morning, which he seldom did, he found, to his surprise, thatthe former conjuror had doffed his quaint costume, and was now attiredin the usual garb of men of his condition of life. As Essper was busilyemployed at the moment, Vivian did not stop to speak to him; but hereceived a respectful bow. Once or twice, also, he had met Essper in theBaron's apartments; and he seemed to have become a very great favouritewith the servants of his Excellency and the Chevalier de Boeffleurs, particularly with his former butt, Ernstorff, to whom he now behavedwith great deference. 

For the first fortnight the Baron's attendance on Lady Madeleine wasconstant. After this time he began to slacken in his attentions. Hefirst disappeared from the morning walks, and yet he did not ride; hethen ceased from joining the party at Lady Madeleine's apartments in theevening, and never omitted increasing the circle at the New House for asingle night. The whole of the fourth week the Baron dined with hisImperial Highness. Although the invitation had been extended to all thegentlemen from the first, it had been agreed that it was not to beaccepted, in order that the ladies should not find their party in thesaloon less numerous or less agreeable. The Baron was the first to breakthrough a rule which he had himself proposed, and Mr. St. George and theChevalier de Boeffleurs soon followed his example. 

"Mr. Grey, " said Lady Madeleine one evening, as she was about to leavethe gardens, "we shall be happy to see you to-night, if you arenot engaged. "

"I fear that I am engaged, " said Vivian; for the receipt of some lettersfrom England made him little inclined to enter into society. 

"Oh, no! you cannot be, " said Miss Fane: "pray come! I know you onlywant to go to that terrible New House. I wonder what Albert can find toamuse him there; I fear no good. Men never congregate together for anybeneficial purpose. I am sure, with all his gastronomical affectations, he would not, if all were right, prefer the most exquisite dinner in theworld to our society. As it is, we scarcely see him a moment. I thinkthat, you are the only one who has not deserted the saloon. For once, give up the New House. "

Vivian smiled at Miss Fane's warmth, and could not persist in hisrefusal, although she did dilate most provokingly on the absence of hercousin. He therefore soon joined them. 

"Lady Madeleine is assisting me in a most important work, Mr. Grey. I ammaking drawings of the Valley of the Rhine. I know that you areacquainted with the scenery; you can, perhaps, assist me with youradvice about this view of old Hatto's Castle. "

Vivian was so completely master of every spot in the Rhineland that hehad no difficulty in suggesting the necessary alterations. The drawingswere vivid representations of the scenery which they professed todepict, and Vivian forgot his melancholy as he attracted the attentionof the fair artist to points of interest unknown or unnoticed by theguide-books and the diaries. 

"You must look forward to Italy with great interest, Miss Fane?"

"The greatest! I shall not, however, forget the Rhine, even among theApennines. "

"Our intended fellow-travellers, Lord Mounteney and his family, arealready at Milan, " said Lady Madeleine to Vivian; "we were to havejoined their party. Lady Mounteney is a Trevor. "

"I have had the pleasure of meeting Lord Mounteney in England, at SirBerdmore Scrope's: do you know him?"

"Slightly. The Mounteneys pass the winter at Rome, where I hope we shalljoin them. Do you know the family intimately?"

"Mr. Ernest Clay, a nephew of his Lordship's, I have seen a great dealof; I suppose, according to the adopted phraseology, I ought to describehim as my friend, although I am ignorant where he is at present; andalthough, unless he is himself extremely altered, there scarcely can betwo persons who now more differ in their pursuits and tempers thanourselves. "

"Ernest Clay! is he a friend of yours? He is at Munich, attached to theLegation. I see you smile at the idea of Ernest Clay drawing up aprotocol!"

"Madeleine, you have never read me Caroline Mounteney's letter, as youpromised, " said Miss Fane; "I suppose full of raptures; 'the Alps andApennines, the Pyrenaean and the River Po?'"

"By no means; the whole letter is filled with an account of the balletat La Scala, which, according to Caroline, is a thousand times moreinteresting than Mont Blanc or the Simplon. "

"One of the immortal works of Vigano, I suppose, " said Vivian; "he hasraised the ballet of action to an equality with tragedy. I have heard myfather mention the splendid effect of his Vestale and his Otello. "

"And yet, " said Violet, "I do not like Othello to be profaned. It is notfor operas and ballets. We require the thrilling words. "

"It is very true; yet Pasta's acting in the opera was a grandperformance; and I have myself seldom witnessed a more masterly effectproduced by any actor in the world than I did a fortnight ago, at theOpera at Darmstadt, by Wild in Othello. "

"I think the history of Desdemona is the most affecting of all tales, "said Miss Fane. 

"The violent death of a woman, young, lovely, and innocent, is assuredlythe most terrible of tragedies, " observed Vivian. 

"I have often asked myself, " said Miss Fane, "which is the most terribledestiny for the young to endure: to meet death after a life of anxietyand suffering, or suddenly to be cut off in the enjoyment of all thingsthat make life delightful. "

"For my part, " said Vivian, "in the last instance, I think that deathcan scarcely be considered an evil. How infinitely is such a destiny tobe preferred to that long apprenticeship of sorrow, at the end of whichwe are generally as unwilling to die as at the commencement!"

"And yet, " said Miss Fane, "there is something fearful in the idea ofsudden death. "

"Very fearful, " muttered Vivian, "in some cases;" for he thought of onewhom he had sent to his great account before his time. 

"Violet, my dear!" said Lady Madeleine, "have you finished your drawingof the Bingenloch?" But Miss Fane would not leave the subject. 

"Very fearful in all cases, Mr. Grey. How few of us are prepared toleave this world without warning! And if from youth, or sex, or naturaldisposition, a few may chance to be better fitted for the great changethan their companions, still I always think that in those cases in whichwe view our fellow-creatures suddenly departing from this world, apparently without a bodily or mental pang, there must be a moment ofsuffering which none of us can understand; a terrible consciousness ofmeeting death in the very flush of life; a moment of suffering which, from its intense and novel character, may appear an eternity of anguish. I have always looked upon such an end as the most fearful ofdispensations. "

"Violet, my dear. " said her Ladyship, "let us talk no more of death. Youhave been silent a fortnight. I think to-night you may sing. " Miss Fanerose and sat down to the instrument. 

It was a lively air, calculated to drive away all melancholy feelings, and cherishing sunny views of human life. But Rossini's Muse did notsmile to-night upon her who invoked its gay spirit; and ere LadyMadeleine could interfere Violet Fane had found more congenial emotionsin one of Weber's prophetic symphonies. 

O Music! miraculous art, that makes a poet's skill a jest, revealing tothe soul inexpressible feelings by the aid of inexplicable sounds! Ablast of thy trumpet, and millions rush forward to die; a peal of thyorgan, and uncounted nations sink down to pray. Mighty is thythreefold power!

First, thou canst call up all elemental sounds, and scenes, andsubjects, with the definiteness of reality. Strike the lyre! Lo! thevoice of the winds, the flash of the lightning, the swell of the wave, the solitude of the valley!

Then thou canst speak to the secrets of a man's heart as if byinspiration. Strike the lyre! Lo! our early love, our treasured hate, our withered joy, our flattering hope!

And, lastly, by thy mysterious melodies thou canst recall man from allthought of this world and of himself, bringing back to his soul's memorydark but delightful recollections of the glorious heritage which he haslost, but which he may win again. Strike the lyre! Lo! Paradise, withits palaces of inconceivable splendour and its gates ofunimaginable glory!

When Vivian left the apartment of Lady Madeleine he felt no inclinationto sleep, and, instead of retiring to rest, he bent his steps towardsthe gardens. It was a rich summer night; the air, recovered from thesun's scorching rays, was cool, not chilling. The moon was still behindthe mountains; but the dark blue heavens were studded with innumerablestars, whose tremulous light quivered on the face of the river. Allhuman sounds had ceased to agitate; and the note of the nightingale andthe rush of the waters banished monotony without disturbing reflection. But not for reflection had Vivian Grey deserted his chamber: his heartwas full, but of indefinable sensations, and, forgetting the world inthe intenseness of his emotions, he felt too much to think. 

How long he had been pacing by the side of the river he knew not, whenhe was awakened from his reverie by the sound of voices. He looked up, and saw lights moving at a distance. The party at the New House had justbroke up. He stopped beneath a branching elm-tree for a moment, that thesound of his steps might not attract their attention, and at this veryinstant the garden gate opened and closed with great violence. Thefigure of a man approached. As he passed Vivian the moon rose up fromabove the brow of the mountain, and lit up the countenance of the Baron. Despair was stamped on his distracted features. 

CHAPTER XI

On the evening of the next day there was to be a grand fête given at theNew House by his Imperial Highness. The ladies would treasure theirenergies for the impending ball, and the morning was to pass without anexcursion. Only Lady Madeleine, whom Vivian met taking her usual earlypromenade in the gardens, seemed inclined to prolong it, and eveninvited him to be her companion. She talked of the fête, and sheexpressed a hope that Vivian would accompany their party; but her airwas not festive, she seemed abstracted and disturbed, and her voice morethan once broke off abruptly at the commencement of a sentence which itseemed she had not courage to finish. 

At length she said suddenly, "Mr. Grey, I cannot conceal any longer thatI am thinking of a very different subject from the ball. As you formpart of my thoughts, I shall not hesitate to disburthen my mind to you. I wish not to keep you in suspense. It is of the mode of life which Isee my brother, which I see you, pursuing here that I wish to speak, "she added with a tremulous voice. "May I speak with freedom?"

"With the most perfect unreserve and confidence. "

"You are aware that Ems is not the first place at which I have metBaron von Konigstein. "

"I am not ignorant that he has been in England. "

"It cannot have escaped you that I acknowledged his acquaintance withreluctance. "

"I should judge, with the greatest. "

"And yet it was with still more reluctance that I prevailed upon myselfto believe you were his friend. I experienced great relief when you toldme how short and accidental had been your acquaintance. I haveexperienced great pain in witnessing to what that acquaintance has led;and it is with extreme sorrow for my own weakness, in not having hadcourage to speak to you before, and with a hope of yet benefiting you, that I have been induced to speak to you now. "

"I trust there is no cause either for your sorrow or your fear; butmuch, much cause for my gratitude. "

"I have observed the constant attendance of yourself and my brother atthe New House with the utmost anxiety. I have seen too much not to beaware of the danger which young men, and young men of honour, mustalways experience at such places. Alas! I have seen too much of Baronvon Konigstein not to know that at such places especially hisacquaintance is fatal. The evident depression of your spirits yesterdaydetermined me on a step which I have for the last few days beenconsidering. I can learn nothing from my brother. I fear that I am evennow too late; but I trust that, whatever may be your situation, you willremember, Mr. Grey, that you have friends; that you will decide onnothing rash. "

"Lady Madeleine, " said Vivian, "I will not presume to express thegratitude which your generous conduct allows me to feel. This momentrepays me for a year of agony. I affect not to misunderstand yourmeaning. My opinion, my detestation of the gaming table, has alwaysbeen, and must always be, the same. I do assure you this, and allthings, upon my honour. Far from being involved, my cheek burns while Iconfess that I am master of a considerable sum acquired by thisunhallowed practice. You are aware of the singular fortune which awaitedmy first evening at Ems; that fortune was continued at the New House thevery first day I dined there, and when, unexpectedly, I was forced toplay. That fatal fortune has rendered my attendance at the New Housenecessary. I found it impossible to keep away without subjecting myselfto painful observations. My depression of yesterday was occasioned bythe receipt of letters from England. I am ashamed of having spoken somuch about myself, and so little about those for whom you are moreinterested. So far as I can judge, you have no cause, at present, forany uneasiness with regard to Mr. St. George. You may, perhaps, haveobserved that we are not very intimate, and therefore I cannot speakwith any precision as to the state of his fortunes; but I have reason tobelieve that they are by no means unfavourable. And as for theBaron--"

"Yes, yes!"

"I hardly know what I am to infer from your observations respecting him. I certainly should infer something extremely bad, were not I consciousthat, after the experience of five weeks, I, for one, have nothing tocomplain of him. The Baron, certainly, is fond of play; plays high, indeed. He has not had equal fortune at the New House as at the Redoute;at least I imagine so, for he has given me no cause to believe, in anyway, that he is a loser. "

"If you could only understand the relief I feel at this moment, I amsure you would not wonder that I prevailed upon myself to speak to you. It may still be in my power, however, to prevent evil. "

"Yes, certainly! I think the best course now would be to speak to mefrankly respecting Von Konigstein; and, if you are aware of anythingwhich has passed in England of a nature--"

"Stop!" said Lady Madeleine, agitated. Vivian was silent, and somemoments elapsed before his companion again spoke. When she did her eyeswere fixed on the ground, and her tones were low; but her voice was calmand steady. 

"I am going to accept, Mr. Grey, the confidence which you have profferedme; but I do not affect to conceal that I speak, even now, withreluctance; an effort, and it will soon be over. It is for the best. "Lady Madeleine paused one moment, and then resumed with a firm voice:

"Upwards of six years have now passed since Baron von Konigstein wasappointed Minister to London from the Court of ----. Although apparentlyyoung for such an important mission, he had already distinguishedhimself as a diplomatist; and with all the advantages of brillianttalents, various accomplishments, rank, reputation, person, and afascinating address, I need not tell you that he immediately became ofconsideration, even in the highest circles. Mr. Trevor, I was then justmarried, was at this period in office, and was constantly in personalcommunication with the Baron. They became intimate, and he was ourconstant guest. He had the reputation of being a man of pleasure. He wasone for whose indiscretions there might be some excuse; nor had anythingever transpired which could induce us to believe that Baron vonKonigstein could be guilty of anything but an indiscretion. At thisperiod a relation and former ward of Mr. Trevor's, a young man ofconsiderable fortune, and one whom we all fondly loved, resided in ourfamily. We considered him as our brother. With this individual Baron vonKonigstein formed a strong friendship; they were seldom apart. Ourrelation was not exempted from the failings of young men. He led adissipated life; but he was very young; and as, unlike most relations, we never allowed any conduct on his part to banish him from our society, we trusted that the contrast which his own family afforded to his usualcompanions would in time render his habits less irregular. We had nowknown Baron von Konigstein for upwards of a year and a half, intimately. Nothing had transpired during this period to induce Mr. Trevor to alterthe opinion which he had entertained of him from the first; he believedhim to be a man of honour, and, in spite of a few imprudences, ofprinciple. Whatever might have been my own opinion of him at thisperiod, I had no reason to doubt the natural goodness of hisdisposition; and though I could not hope that he was one who wouldassist us in our plans for the reformation of Augustus, I still was notsorry to believe, that in the Baron he would at least find a companionvery different from the unprincipled and selfish beings by whom he wastoo often surrounded. Something occurred at this time which placed Baronvon Konigstein, according to his own declaration, under lastingobligations to myself. In the warmth of his heart he asked if there wasany real and important service which he could do me. I took advantage ofthe moment to speak to him about our young friend; I detailed to him allour anxieties; he anticipated all my wishes, and promised to watch overhim, to be his guardian, his friend, his real friend. Mr. Grey, "continued her Ladyship, "I struggle to restrain my feelings; but therecollections of this period of my life are so painful that for amoment I must stop to recover myself. "

For a few minutes they walked on in silence. Vivian did not speak; andwhen his companion resumed her tale, he, unconsciously, pressed her arm. 

"I try to be brief. About three months after the Baron had given me thepledge which I mentioned, Mr. Trevor was called up at an early hour onemorning with the intelligence that his late ward was supposed to be atthe point of death at a neighbouring hotel. He instantly repaired tohim, and on the way the fatal truth was broken to him: our friend hadcommitted suicide! He had been playing all night with one whom I cannotnow name. " Here Lady Madeleine's voice died away, but with a struggleshe again spoke firmly. 

"I mean with the Baron, some foreigners also, and an Englishman, allintimate friends of Von Konigstein, and scarcely known to the deceased. Our friend had been the only sufferer; he had lost his whole fortune, and more than his fortune: and, with a heart full of despair andremorse, had, with his own hand, terminated his life. The wholecircumstances were so suspicious that they attracted public attention, and Mr. Trevor spared no exertion to bring the offenders to justice. TheBaron had the hardihood to call upon us the next day; of course, invain. He wrote violent letters, protesting his innocence; that he wasasleep during most of the night, and accusing the others who werepresent of a conspiracy. The unhappy business now attracted very generalinterest. Its consequence on me was an alarming illness of a mostunfortunate kind; I was therefore prevented from interfering, or, indeed, knowing anything that took place; but my husband informed methat the Baron was involved in a public correspondence; that the accusedparties recriminated, and that finally he was convinced that VonKonigstein, if there were any difference, was, if possible, the mostguilty. However this might be, he soon obtained his recall from his ownGovernment. He wrote to us both before he left England; but I was tooill to hear of his letters, until Mr. Trevor informed me that he hadreturned them unopened. And now, I must give utterance to that which asyet has always died upon my lips, the unhappy victim was the brother ofMiss Fane!"

"And Mr. St. George, " said Vivian, "knowing all this, which surely hemust have done; how came he to tolerate, for an instant, the advances ofsuch a man?"

"My brother, " said Lady Madeleine, "is a very good young man, with akind heart and warm feelings; but my brother has not much knowledge ofthe world, and he is too honourable himself ever to believe that what hecalls a gentleman can be dishonest. My brother was not in England whenthe unhappy event took place, and of course the various circumstanceshave not made the same impression upon him as upon us. He has heard ofthe affair only from me; and young men too often imagine that women areapt to exaggerate in matters of this nature, which, of course, few of uscan understand. The Baron had not the good feeling, or perhaps had notthe power, connected as he was with the Grand Duke, to affect ignoranceof our former acquaintance, or to avoid a second one. I was obligedformally to present him to my brother. I was quite perplexed how to act. I thought of writing to him the next morning, impressing upon him theutter impossibility of our acquaintance being renewed: but thisproceeding involved a thousand difficulties. How was a man of hisdistinction, a man, who not only from his rank, but from hisdisposition, is always a remarkable and a remarked character, whereverhe may be; how could he account to the Grand Duke, and to his numerousfriends, for his not associating with a party with whom he wasperpetually in contact. Explanations, and worse, must have been theconsequence. I could hardly expect him to leave Ems; it was, perhaps, out of his power: and for Miss Fane to leave Ems at this moment was moststrenuously prohibited by her physician. While I was doubtful anddeliberating, the conduct of Baron von Konigstein himself prevented mefrom taking any step whatever. Feeling all the awkwardness of hissituation, he seized, with eagerness, the opportunity of becomingintimate with a member of the family whom he had not before known. Hisamusing conversation, and insinuating address, immediately enlisted thefeelings of my brother in his favour. You know yourself that the verymorning after their introduction they were riding together. As theybecame more intimate, the Baron boldly spoke to Albert, in confidence, of his acquaintance with us in England, and of the unhappy circumstanceswhich led to its termination. Albert was deceived by this seemingcourage and candour. He has become the Baron's friend, and has adoptedhis version of the unhappy story; and as the Baron has had too muchdelicacy to allude to the affair in a defence of himself to me, hecalculated that the representations of Albert, who, he was conscious, would not preserve the confidence which he has always intended him tobetray, would assist in producing in my mind an impression in hisfavour. The Neapolitan story which he told the other day at dinner wasof himself. I confess to you, that though I have not for a momentdoubted his guilt, still I was weak enough to consider that his desireto become reconciled to me was at least an evidence of a repentantheart; and the Neapolitan story deceived me. Actuated by these feelings, and acting as I thought wisest under existing circumstances, I ceased todiscourage his advances. Your acquaintance, which we all desired tocultivate, was perhaps another reason for enduring his presence. Hissubsequent conduct has undeceived me: I am convinced now, not only ofhis former guilt, but also that he is not changed; and that, with hisaccustomed talent, he has been acting a part which for some reason orother he has no longer any object in maintaining. "

"And Miss Fane, " said Vivian, "she must know all?"

"She knows nothing in detail; she was so young at the time that we hadno difficulty in keeping the particular circumstances of her brother'sdeath, and the sensation which it excited, a secret from her. As shegrew up, I have thought it proper that the mode of his death should nolonger be concealed from her; and she has learnt from some incautiousobservations of Albert, enough to make her look upon the Baron withterror. It is for Violet, " continued Lady Madeleine, "that I have theseverest apprehensions. For the last fortnight her anxiety for hercousin has produced an excitement, which I look upon with more dreadthan anything that can happen to her. She has entreated me to speak toAlbert, and also to you. The last few days she has become more easy andserene. She accompanies us to-night; the weather is so beautiful thatthe night air is scarcely to be feared; and a gay scene will have afavourable influence upon her spirits. Your depression last night didnot, however, escape her notice. Once more let me say how I rejoice athearing what you have told me. I unhesitatingly believe all that youhave said. Watch Albert. I have no fear for yourself. "

CHAPTER XII

The company at the Grand Duke's fête was most select; that is to say, itconsisted of everybody who was then at the Baths: those who had beenpresented to his Highness having the privilege of introducing any numberof their friends; and those who had no friend to introduce thempurchasing tickets at an enormous price from Cracowsky, the wily PolishIntendant. The entertainment was imperial; no expense and no exertionwere spared to make the hired lodging-house look like an hereditarypalace; and for a week previous to the great evening the whole of theneighbouring town of Wiesbaden, the little capital of the duchy, hadbeen put under contribution. What a harvest for Cracowsky! What acommission from the restaurateur for supplying the refreshments! What apercentage on hired mirrors and dingy hangings!

The Grand Duke, covered with orders, received every one with thegreatest condescension, and made to each of his guests a most flatteringspeech. His suite, in new uniforms, simultaneously bowed directly theflattering speech was finished. 

"Madame von Furstenburg, I feel the greatest pleasure in seeing you. Mygreatest pleasure is to be surrounded by my friends. Madame vonFurstenburg, I trust that your amiable and delightful family are quitewell. [The party passed on. ] Cravatischeff!" continued his Highness, inclining his head round to one of his aides-de-camp, "Cravatischeff! avery fine woman is Madame von Furstenburg. There are few women whom Imore admire than Madame von Furstenburg. 

"Prince Salvinski, I feel the greatest pleasure in seeing you. Mygreatest pleasure is to be surrounded by my friends. Poland honours noone more than Prince Salvinski. Cravatischeff! a remarkable bore isPrince Salvinski. There are few men of whom I have a greater terror thanPrince Salvinski. 

"Baron von Konigstein, I feel the greatest pleasure in seeing you. Mygreatest pleasure is to be surrounded by my friends. Baron vonKonigstein, I have not yet forgotten the story of the fair Venetian. Cravatischeff! an uncommonly pleasant fellow is Baron von Konigstein. There are few men whose company I more enjoy than Baron vonKonigstein's. 

"Count von Altenburgh, I feel the greatest pleasure in seeing you. Mygreatest pleasure is to be surrounded by my friends. You will not forgetto give me your opinion of my Austrian troop. Cravatischeff! a very goodbilliard player is Count von Altenburgh. There are few men whose play Iwould sooner bet upon than Count von Altenburgh's. 

"Lady Madeleine Trevor, I feel the greatest pleasure in seeing you. Mygreatest pleasure is to be surrounded by my friends. Miss Fane, yourservant; Mr. St. George, Mr. Grey. Cravatischeff! a most splendid womanis Lady Madeleine Trevor. There is no woman whom I more admire than LadyMadeleine Trevor! and Cravatischeff! Miss Fane, too! a remarkably finegirl is Miss Fane. "

The great saloon of the New House afforded excellent accommodation forthe dancers. It opened on the gardens, which, though not very large, were tastefully laid out, and were this evening brilliantly illuminated. In the smaller saloon the Austrian troop amused those who were notfascinated by waltz or quadrille with acting proverbs: the regulardramatic performance was thought too heavy a business for the evening. There was sufficient amusement for all; and those who did not dance, andto whom proverbs were no novelty, walked and talked, stared at others, and were themselves stared at; and this, perhaps, was the greatestamusement of all. Baron von Konigstein did certainly to-night lookneither like an unsuccessful gamester nor a designing villain. Amongmany who were really amusing he was the most so, and, apparently withoutthe least consciousness of it, attracted the admiration of all. To theTrevor party he had attached himself immediately, and was constantly atLady Madeleine's side, introducing to her, in the course of the evening, his own and Mr. St. George's particular friends, Mr. And Mrs. Fitzloom. Among many smiling faces Vivian Grey's was clouded; the presence of theBaron annoyed him. When they first met he was conscious that he wasstiff and cool. One moment's reflection convinced him of the folly ofhis conduct, and he made a struggle to be very civil. In five minutes'time he had involuntarily insulted the Baron, who stared at his friend, and evidently did not comprehend him. 

"Grey, " said his Excellency, very quietly, "you are not in a goodhumour tonight. What is the matter? This is not at all a temper to cometo a fête in. What! won't Miss Fane dance with you?'" asked the Baron, with an arched smile. 

"I wonder wind can induce your Excellency to talk such nonsense!"

"Your Excellency! by Jove, that's good! What the deuce is the matterwith the man? It is Miss Fane, then, eh?"

"Baron von Konigstein, I wish you to understand--"

"My dear fellow, I never could understand anything. I think you haveinsulted me in a most disgraceful manner, and I positively must call youout, unless you promise to dine at my rooms with me to-morrow, to meetDe Boeffleurs. "

"I cannot. "

"Why not? You have no engagement with Lady Madeleine I know, for St. George has agreed to come. "

"Yes?"

"De Boeffleurs leaves Ems next week. It is sooner than he expected, andI wish to have a quiet evening together before he goes. I should be veryvexed if you were not there. We have scarcely been enough togetherlately. What with the New House in the evening, and riding parties inthe morning, and those Fitzloom girls, with whom St. George is playing amost foolish game, he will be taken in now, if he is not on his guard;we really never meet, at: least not in a quiet friendly way; and so now, will you come?"

"St. George is positively coming?"

"Oh yes' positively; do not be afraid of his gaining ground on thelittle Violet in your absence. "

"Well, then, my dear Von Konigstein, I will come. "

"Well, that is yourself again. It made me quite unhappy to see you lookso sour and melancholy; one would have thought that I was some bore, Salvinski at, least, by the way you spoke to me. Well, mind you come; itis a promise, good. I must go and say just one word to the lovely littleSaxon girl; by-the-bye, Grey, one word before I am off. List to afriend; you are on the wrong scent about Miss Fane; St. George, I think, has no chance there, and now no wish to succeed. The game is your own, if you like; trust my word, she is an angel. The good powers prosperyou!" So saying, the Baron glided off. 

Mr. St. George had danced With Miss Fane the only quadrille in whichLady Madeleine allowed her to join. He was now waltzing with AureliaFitzloom, and was at the head of a band of adventurous votaries ofTerpsichore; who, wearied with the commonplace convenience of a saloon, had ventured to invoke the Muse on the lawn. 

"A most interesting sight, Lady Madeleine!" said Mr. Fitzloom, as heoffered her his arm, and advised their instant presence as patrons ofthe "Fête du Village, " for such Baron von Konigstein had most happilytermed it. "A delightful man, that Baron von Konigstein, and says suchdelightful things! Fête du Village! how very good!"

"That is Miss Fitzloom, then, whom my brother is waltzing with?" askedLady Madeleine. 

"Not exactly, my Lady, " said Mr. Fitzloom, "not exactly _Miss_ Fitzloom, rather Miss Aurelia Fitzloom, my third daughter; our third eldest, asMrs. Fitzloom sometimes says; for really it is necessary to distinguish, with such a family as ours, you know. "

"Let us walk, " said Miss Fane to Vivian, for she was now leaning uponhis arm; "the evening is deliriously soft, but even with the protectionof a cashmere I scarcely dare venture to stand still. Lady Madeleineseems very much engaged at present. What amusing people theseFitzlooms are!"

"Mrs. Fitzloom; I have not heard her voice yet. "

"No; Mrs. Fitzloom does not talk. Albert says she makes it a rule neverto speak in the presence of a stranger. She deals plenteously, however, at home in domestic apophthegms. If you could but hear him imitatingthem all! Whenever she does speak, she finishes all her sentences byconfessing that she is conscious of her own deficiencies, but that shehas taken care to give her daughters the very best education. They arewhat Albert calls fine girls, and I am glad he has made friends withthem; for, after all, he must find it rather dull here. By-the-bye, Mr. Grey, I am afraid that you cannot find this evening very amusing, theabsence of a favourite pursuit always makes a sensible void, and thesewalls must remind you of more piquant pleasures than waltzing with fineLondon ladies, or promenading up a dull terrace with an invalid. "

"I assure you that you are quite misinformed as to the mode in which Igenerally pass my evenings. "

"I hope I am!" said Miss Fane, in rather a serious tone. "I wish I couldalso he mistaken in my suspicions of the mode in which Albert spends histime. He is sadly changed. For the first month that we were here heseemed to prefer nothing in the world to our society, and now--I wasnearly saying that we had not seen him for one single evening thesethree weeks. I cannot understand what you find at this house of suchabsorbing interest. Although I know you think I am much mistaken in mysuspicions, still I feel very anxious. I spoke to Albert to-day; but hescarcely answered me; or said that which it was a pleasure for meto forget. "

"Mr. St. George should feel highly gratified in having excited such aninterest in the mind of Miss Fane. "

"He should not feel more gratified than all who are my friends; for allwho are such I must ever experience the liveliest interest. "

"How happy must those be who feel that they have a right to count MissFane among their friends!"

"I have the pleasure then, I assure you, of making many happy, and amongthem, Mr. Grey. "

Vivian was surprised that he did not utter some complimentary answer;but he knew not why, the words would not come; and instead of speaking, he was thinking of what had been spoken. 

"How brilliant are these gardens!" said Vivian, looking at the sky. 

"Very brilliant!" said Miss Fane, looking on the ground. Conversationseemed nearly extinct, and yet neither offered to turn back. 

"Good heavens! you are ill, " exclaimed Vivian, when, on accidentallyturning to his companion, he found she was in tears. "Shall we go back, or will you wait here? Can I fetch anything? I fear you are very ill!"

"No, not very ill, but very foolish; let us walk on, " and, sighing, sheseemed suddenly to recover. 

"I am ashamed of this foolishness; what can you think? But I am soagitated, so nervous. I hope you will forget--I hope--"

"Perhaps the air has suddenly affected you; shall we go in? Nothing hasbeen said, nothing happened; no one has dared to say or do anything toannoy you? Speak, dear Miss Fane, the, the--" the words died on Vivian'slips, yet a power he could not withstand urged him to speak, "the, the, the Baron?"

"Ah!" almost shrieked Miss Fane. "Stop one second; an effort, and I mustbe well; nothing has happened, and no one has done or said anything; butit is of something that should be said, of something that should bedone, that I was thinking, and it overcame me. "

"Miss Fane, " said Vivian, "if there be anything which I can do ordevise, any possible way that I can exert myself in your service, speakwith the most perfect confidence; do not fear that your motives will bemisconceived, that your purpose will be misinterpreted, that yourconfidence will be misunderstood. You are addressing one who would laydown his life for you, who is willing to perform all your commands, andforget them when performed. I beseech you to trust me; believe me, thatyou shall not repent. "

She answered not, but holding down her head, covered her face with hersmall white hand; her lovely face which was crimsoned with her flashingblood. They were now at the end of the terrace; to return wasimpossible. If they remained stationary, they must be perceived andjoined. What was to be done? He led her down a retired walk stillfarther from the house. As they proceeded in silence, the bursts of themusic and the loud laughter of the joyous guests became fainter andfainter, till at last the sounds died away into echo, and echointo silence. 

A thousand thoughts dashed through Vivian's mind in rapid succession;but a painful one, a most painful one to him, to any man, alwaysremained the last. His companion would not speak; yet to allow her toreturn home without freeing her mind of the fearful burden whichevidently overwhelmed it, was impossible. At length he broke a silencewhich seemed to have lasted an age. 

"Do not believe that I am taking advantage of an agitating moment toextract from you a confidence which you may repent. I feel assured thatI am right in supposing that you have contemplated in a calmer momentthe possibility of my being of service to you; that, in short, there issomething in which you require my assistance, my co-operation; anassistance, a co-operation, which, if it produce any benefit to you, will make me at length feel that I have not lived in vain. No feeling offalse delicacy shall prevent me from assisting you in giving utteranceto thoughts which you have owned it is absolutely necessary should beexpressed. Remember that you have allowed me to believe that we arefriends; do not prove by your silence that we are friends only in name. "

"I am overwhelmed; I cannot speak. My face burns with shame; I havemiscalculated my strength of mind, perhaps my physical strength; what, what must you think of me?" She spoke in a low and smothered voice. 

"Think of you! everything which the most devoted respect dare think ofan object which it reverences. Do not believe that I am one who wouldpresume an instant on my position, because I have accidentally witnesseda young and lovely woman betrayed into a display of feeling which theartificial forms of cold society cannot contemplate, and dare toridicule. You are speaking to one who also has felt; who, though a man, has wept; who can comprehend sorrow; who can understand the most secretsensations of an agitated spirit. Dare to trust me. Be convinced thathereafter, neither by word nor look, hint nor sign, on my part, shallyou feel, save by your own wish, that you have appeared to Vivian Greyin any other light than in the saloons we have just quitted. "

"Generous man, I dare trust anything to you that I dare trust to humanbeing; but--" here her voice died away. 

"It is a painful thing for me to attempt to guess your thoughts; but ifit be of Mr. St. George that you are thinking, have no fear respectinghim; have no fear about his present situation. Trust to me that thereshall be no anxiety for his future one. I will be his unknown guardian, his unseen friend; the promoter of your wishes, the protector of your--"

"No, no, " said Miss Fane, with firmness, and looking quickly up, as ifher mind were relieved by discovering that all this time Vivian hadnever imagined she was thinking of him. "No, no, you are mistaken; it isnot of Mr. St. George, of Mr. St. George only, that I am thinking. I ammuch better now; I shall be able in an instant to speak; be able, Itrust, to forget how foolish, how very foolish I have been. 

"Let us walk on, " continued Miss Fane, "let us walk on; we can easilyaccount for our absence if it be remarked; and it is better that itshould be all over. I feel quite well, and shall be able to speak quitefirmly now. "

"Do not hurry; there is no fear of our absence being remarked, LadyMadeleine is so surrounded. "

"After what has passed, it seems ridiculous in me to apologise, as Ihad intended, for speaking to you on a graver subject than what hasgenerally formed the point of conversation between us. I feared that youmight misunderstand the motives which have dictated my conduct. I haveattempted not to appear agitated, and I have been overcome. I trust thatyou will not be offended if I recur to the subject of the New House. Donot believe that I ever would have allowed my fears, my girlish fears, so to have overcome my discretion; so to have overcome, indeed, allpropriety of conduct on my part; as to have induced me to have sought aninterview with you, to moralise to you about your mode of life. No, no;it is not of this that I wish to speak, or rather that I will speak. Iwill hope, I will pray, that Albert and yourself have never found inthat which you have followed as an amusement, the source, the origin, the cause of a single unhappy or even anxious moment; Mr. Grey, I willbelieve all this. "

"Dearest Miss Fane, believe it with confidence. Of St. George, I canwith sincerity aver, that it is my firm opinion, that, far from beinginvolved, his fortune is not in the slightest degree injured. Believeme, I will not attempt to quiet you now, as I would have done at anyother time, by telling you that you magnify your fears, and allow yourfeelings to exaggerate the danger which exists. There has been danger. There is danger; play, high play, has been and is pursued at this NewHouse, but Mr. St. George has never been a loser; and if the exertionsof man can avail, never shall, at least unfairly. As to the otherindividual, whom you have honoured by the interest which you haveprofessed in his welfare, no one can more thoroughly detest any practicewhich exists in this world than he does the gaming-table. "

"Oh! you have made me so happy! I feel so persuaded that you have notdeceived me! the tones of your voice, your manner, your expression, convince me that you have been sincere, and that I am happy, at leastfor the present. "

"For ever, I trust, Miss Fane. "

"Let me now prevent future misery. Let me speak about that which haslong dwelt on my mind like a nightmare, about that which I did fear itwas almost too late to speak. Not of your pursuit, not even of thatfatal pursuit, do I now think, but of your companion in this amusement, in all amusements! it is he, he whom I dread, whom I look upon withhorror, even to him, I cannot say, with hatred!"

"The Baron?" said Vivian, calmly. 

"I cannot name him. Dread him, fear him, avoid him! it is he that Imean, he of whom I thought that you were the victim. You must have beensurprised, you must have wondered at our conduct towards him. Oh! whenLady Madeleine turned from him with coolness, when she answered him intones which to you might have appeared harsh, she behaved to him, incomparison to what is his due, and what we sometimes feel to be ourduty, with affection, actually with affection and regard. No human beingcan know what horror is, until he looks upon a fellow-creature with theeyes that I look upon that man. " She leant upon Vivian's arm with herwhole weight, and even then he thought she must have sunk; neitherspoke. How solemn is the silence of sorrow!

"I am overcome, " continued Miss Fane; "the remembrance of what he hasdone overwhelms me. I cannot speak it; the recollection is death; yetyou must know it. That you might know it, I have before attempted. Iwished to have spared myself the torture which I now endure. You mustknow it. I will write; ay! that will do. I will write: I cannot speaknow; it is impossible; but beware of him; you are so young'"

"I have no words now to thank you, dear Miss Fane, for this. Had I beenthe victim of Von Konigstein, I should have been repaid for all mymisery by feeling that you regretted its infliction; but I trust that Iam in no danger: though young, I fear that I am one who must not counthis time by calendars. 'An aged interpreter, though young in days. 'Would that I could be deceived! Fear not for your cousin. Trust to onewhom you have made think better of this world, and of hisfellow-creatures. "

The sound of approaching footsteps, and the light laugh of pleasure, told of some who were wandering like themselves. 

"We had better return, " said Miss Fane; "I fear that Lady Madeleine willobserve that I look unwell. Some one approaches! No, they pass only thetop of the walk. " It was Mr. St. George and Aurelia Fitzloom. 

Quick flew the brilliant hours; and soon the dance was over, and themusic mute. 

It was late when Vivian retired. As he opened his door he was surprisedto find lights in his chamber. The figure of a man appeared seated atthe table. It moved; it was Essper George. 

CHAPTER XIII

The reader will remember that Vivian had agreed to dine, on the dayafter the fête, with the Baron, in his private apartments. This was anarrangement which, in fact, the custom of the house did not permit; butthe irregularities of great men who are attended by chasseurs areoccasionally winked at by a supple maître d'hôtel. Vivian had reasonsfor not regretting his acceptance of the invitation; and he never shookhands with the Chevalier de Boeffleurs, apparently, with greatercordiality, than on the day on which he met him at dinner at the Baronvon Konigstein's. Mr. St. George had not arrived. 

"Past five!" said the Baron; "riding out, I suppose, with the Fitzlooms. Aurelia is certainly a fine girl; but I should think that Lady Madeleinewould hardly approve the connection. The St. Georges have blood in theirveins; and would, I suppose, as soon think of marrying a Fitzloom as weGermans should of marrying a woman without a _von_ before her name. Weare quite alone, Grey, only the Chevalier and St. George. I had an ideaof asking Salvinski, but he is such a regular steam-engine, and begansuch a long story last night about his interview with the King ofAshantee, that the bare possibility of his taking it into his head tofinish it to-day frightened me. You were away early from the GrandDuke's last night. The business went off well. "

"Very well, indeed!" said the Chevalier de Boeffleurs; completing bythis speech the first dozen of words which he had uttered since hisstay at Ems. 

"I think that last night Lady Madeleine Trevor looked perfectlymagnificent; and a certain lady, too, Grey, eh? Here is St. George. Mydear fellow, how are you? Has the fair Aurelia recovered from the lastnight's fatigues? Now, Ernstorff, dinner as soon as possible. "

The Baron made up to-day, certainly, for the silence of his friend theChevalier. He outdid himself. Story after story, adventure afteradventure, followed each other with exciting haste. In fact, the Baronnever ceased talking the whole dinner, except when he refreshed himselfwith wine, which he drank copiously. A nice observer would, perhaps, have considered the Baron's high spirits artificial, and hisconversation an effort. Yet his temper, though lively, was generallyequable; and his ideas, which always appeared to occur easily, wereusually thrown out in fluent phraseology. The dinner was long, and agreat deal of wine was drunk: more than most of the parties present fora long time had been accustomed to. About eight o'clock the Chevalierproposed going to the Redoute, but the Baron objected. 

"Let us have an evening altogether: surely we have had enough of theRedoute. In my opinion one of the advantages of the fête is, that thereis no New House to-night. Conversation is a novelty. On a moderatecalculation I must have told you to-day at least fifty originalanecdotes. I have done my duty. It is the Chevalier's turn now. Come, deBoeffleurs, a choice one!"

"I remember a story Prince Salvinski once told me. "

"No, no, that is too bad; none of that Polish bear's romances; if wehave his stories, we may as well have his company. "

"But it is a very curious story, " continued the Chevalier, with a littleanimation. 

"Oh! so is every story, according to the storier. "

"I think, Von Konigstein, you imagine no one can tell a story butyourself, " said De Boeffleurs, actually indignant. Vivian had neverheard him speak so much before, and really began to believe that he wasnot quite an automaton. 

"Let us have it!" said St. George. 

"It is a story told of a Polish nobleman, a Count somebody: I never canremember their crack-jaw names. Well! the point is this, " said thesilent little Chevalier, who, apparently, already repented of theboldness of his offer, and, misdoubting his powers, wished to begin withthe end of his tale: "the point is this, he was playing one day atecarté with the Governor of Wilna; the stake was trifling, but he had abet, you see, with the Governor of a thousand roubles; a bet with theGovernor's secretary, never mind the amount, say two hundred and fifty, you see; then, he went on the turn-up with the Commandant's wife; andtook the pips on the trumps with the Archbishop of Warsaw. To understandthe point of the story, you see, you must have a distinct conception howthe game stood. You see, St. George, there was the bet with theGovernor, one thousand roubles; the Governor's secretary, never mind theamount, say two hundred and fifty; turn-up with the Commandant's lady, and the pips with the Archbishop of Warsaw. Proposed three times, onefor the king, the Governor drew ace; the Governor was already three andthe ten. When the Governor scored king, the Archbishop gave the odds, drew knave queen one hand. The count offered to propose fourth time. Governor refused. King to six, ace fell to knave, queen cleared on. Governor lost, besides bets with the whole état-major; the Secretarygave his bill; the Commandant's lady pawned her jewels; and theArchbishop was done on the pips!"

"By Jove, what a Salvinski!"

"How many trumps had the Governor?" asked St. George. 

"Three, " said the Chevalier. 

"Then it is impossible: I do not believe the story; it could not be. "

"I beg your pardon, " said the Chevalier; "you see the Governor had--"

"By Jove, don't let us have it all over again!" said the Baron. "Well!if this be your model for an after-dinner anecdote, which ought to be aspiquant as an anchovy toast, I will never complain of your silencein future. "

"The story is a true story, " said the Chevalier; "have you got a pack ofcards, Von Konigstein? I will show it you. "

"There is not such a thing in the room, " said the Baron. 

"Well, I never heard of a room without a pack of cards before, " said theChevalier; "I will send for one to my own apartments. "

"Perhaps Ernstorff has got a pack. Here, Ernstorff, have you got a packof cards? That's well; bring it immediately. "

The cards were brought, and the Chevalier began to fight his battle overagain; but could not satisfy Mr. St. George. "You see, there was the betwith the Governor, and the pips, as I said before, with the Archbishopof Warsaw. "

"My dear De Boeffleurs, let's no more of this. If you like to have agame of ecarté with St. George, well and good; but as for quarrellingthe whole evening about some blundering lie of Salvinski's, it really istoo much. You two can play, and I can talk to Don Vivian, who, by-the-bye, is rather of the rueful countenance to-night. Why, my dearfellow, I have not heard your voice this evening: frightened by the fateof the Archbishop of Warsaw, I suppose?"

"Ecarté is so devilish dull, " said St. George; "and it is such a troubleto deal. "

"I will deal for both, if you like, " said De Boeffleurs; "I am used todealing. "

"Oh! no, I won't play ecarté; let us have something in which we can alljoin. "

"Rouge-et-noir, " suggested the Chevalier, in a careless tone, as if hehad no taste for the amusement. 

"There is not enough, is there?" asked St. George. 

"Oh! two are enough, you know; one deals, much more four. "

"Well, I don't care; rouge-et-noir then, let us have rouge-et-noir. VonKonigstein, what say you to rouge-et-noir? De Boeffleurs says we canplay it here very well. Come, Grey. "

"Oh! rouge-et-noir, rouge-et-noir, " said the Baron; "have not you bothhad rouge-et-noir enough? Am I not to be allowed one holiday? Well, anything to please you; so rouge-et-noir, if it must be so. "

"If all wish it, I have no objection, " said Vivian. 

"Well, then, let us sit down; Ernstorff has, I dare say, another pack ofcards, and St. George will be dealer; I know he likes that ceremony. "

"No, no; I appoint the Chevalier. "

"Very well, " said De Boeffleurs, "the plan will be for two to bankagainst the table; the table to play on the same colour by jointagreement. You can join me, Von Konigstein, and pay or receive with me, from Mr. St. George and Grey. "

"I will bank with you, if you like, Chevalier, " said Vivian. 

"Oh! certainly; that is if you like. But perhaps the Baron is more usedto banking; you perhaps don't understand it. "

"Perfectly; it appears to me to be very simple. "

"No, don't you bank, Grey, " said St. George. "I want you to play with meagainst the Chevalier and the Baron; I like your luck. "

"Luck is very capricious, remember. "

"Oh, no, I like your luck; don't bank. "

"Be it so. "

Playing commenced. An hour elapsed, and the situation of none of theparties was materially different from what it had been when they beganthe game. Vivian proposed leaving off; but Mr. St. George avowed that hefelt very fortunate, and that he had a presentiment that he should win. Another hour elapsed, and he had lost considerably. Eleven o'clock:Vivian's luck had also deserted him. Mr. St. George was losingdesperately. Midnight: Vivian had lost back half his gains on theseason. St. George still more desperate, all his coolness had desertedhim. He had persisted obstinately against a run on the red; thenfloundered and got entangled in a seesaw, which alone cost hima thousand. 

Ernstorff now brought in refreshments; and for a moment they ceasedplaying. The Baron opened a bottle of champagne; and St. George and theChevalier were stretching their legs and composing their minds in verydifferent ways, the first in walking rapidly up and down the room, andthe other by lying very quietly at his full length on the sofa; Vivianwas employed in building houses with the cards. 

"Grey, " said the Chevalier de Boeffleurs, "I cannot imagine why you donot for a moment try to forget the cards: that is the only way to win. Never sit musing over the table. "

But Grey was not to be persuaded to give up building his pagoda: which, now many stories high, like a more celebrated but scarcely moresubstantial structure, fell with a crash. Vivian collected the scatteredcards into two divisions. 

"Now!" said the Baron, seating himself, "for St. George's revenge. "

The Chevalier and the greatest sufferer took their places. 

"Is Ernstorff coming in again, Baron?" asked Vivian. 

"No! I think not. "

"Let us be sure; it is disagreeable to be disturbed at this time ofnight. "

"Lock the door, then, " said St. George. 

"A very good plan, " said Vivian; and he locked it accordingly. 

"Now, gentlemen, " said Vivian, rising from the table, and putting bothpacks of cards into his pocket; "now, gentlemen, I have another game toplay. " The Chevalier started on his chair, the Baron turned pale, butboth were silent. "Mr. St. George, " continued Vivian, "I think that youowe the Chevalier de Boeffleurs about four thousand Napoleons, and toBaron von Konigstein something more than half that sum. I have to informyou that it is unnecessary for you to satisfy the claims of either ofthese gentlemen, which are founded neither in law nor in honour. "

"Mr. Grey, what am I to understand?" asked the quiet Chevalier deBoeffleurs, with the air of a wolf and the voice of a lion. 

"Understand, sir!" answered Vivian, sternly, "that I am not one who willbe bullied by a blackleg. "

"Grey! good God! what do you mean?" asked the Baron. 

"That which it is my duty, not my pleasure, to explain, Baron vonKonigstein. "

"If you mean to insinuate, " burst forth the Chevalier. 

"I mean to insinuate nothing. I leave insinuations and innuendoes tochevaliers d'industrie. I mean to prove everything. "

Mr. St. George did not speak, but seemed as utterly astounded andoverwhelmed as Baron von Konigstein himself, who, with his arm leaningon the table, his hands clasped, and the forefinger of his right handplaying convulsively on his left, was pale as death, and did noteven breathe. 

"Gentlemen, " said Vivian, "I shall not detain you long, though I havemuch to say that is to the purpose. I am perfectly cool, and, believeme, perfectly resolute. Let me recommend to you all the sametemperament; it may be better for you. Rest assured, that if you flatteryourselves that I am one to be pigeoned and then bullied, you aremistaken. In one word, I am aware of everything that has been arrangedfor the reception of Mr. St. George and myself this evening. Your markedcards are in my pocket, and can only be obtained by you with my life. Here are two of us against two; we are equally matched in number, and I, gentlemen, am armed. If I were not, you would not dare to go toextremities. Is it not, then, the wisest course to be temperate, my friends?"

"This is some vile conspiracy of your own, fellow, " said De Boeffleurs:"marked cards, indeed! a pretty tale, forsooth! The Ministers of afirst-rate Power playing with marked cards! The story will gain credit, and on the faith of whom? An adventurer that no one knows, who, havingfailed this night in his usual tricks, and lost money which he cannotpay, takes advantage of the marked cards, which he has not succeeded inintroducing, and pretends, forsooth, that they are those which he hasstolen from our table; our own cards being, previously to hisaccusation, concealed in a secret pocket. "

The impudence of the fellow staggered even Vivian. As for Mr. St. George, he stared like a wild man. Before Vivian could answer him theBaron had broken silence. It was with the greatest effort that he seemedto dig his words out of his breast. 

"No, no; this is too much! It is all over! I am lost; but I will not addcrime to crime. Your courage and your fortune have saved you, Mr. Grey, and your friend from the designs of villains. And you! wretch, " said he, turning to De Boeffleurs, "sleep now in peace; at length you have undoneme. " He leant on the table, and buried his face in his hands. 

"Chicken-hearted fool!" said the Chevalier; "is this the end of all yourpromises and all your pledges? But remember, sir! remember. I have notaste for scenes. Good night, gentlemen. Baron, I expect to hearfrom you. "

"Stop, sir!" said Vivian; "no one leaves this room without mypermission. "

"I am at your service, sir, when you please, " said the Chevalier. 

"It is not my intention to detain you long, sir; far from it. I haveevery inclination to assist you in your last exit from this room; had Itime, it should not be by the door. As it is, go! in the devil's name. "So saying he hurled the adventurous Frenchman half down the corridor. 

"Baron von Konigstein, " said Vivian, turning to the Baron, "you haveproved yourself, by your conduct this evening, to be a better man than Iimagined you. I confess that I thought you had been too much accustomedto such scenes to be sensible of the horror of detection. "

"Never!" said the Baron, with emphasis, with energy. The firm voice andmanner in which he pronounced this single word wonderfully contrastedwith his delivery when he had last spoke; but his voice immediatelydied away. 

"'Tis all over! I have no wish to excite your pity, gentlemen, or togain your silence, by practising upon your feelings. Be silent. I am notthe less ruined, not the less disgraced, not the less utterly undone. Besilent; my honour, all the same, in four-and-twenty hours, has gone forever. I have no motive, then, to deceive you. You must believe what Ispeak; even what _I_ speak, the most degraded of men. I say again, _never_, never, never, never, never was my honour before sullied, thoughguilty of a thousand follies. You see before you, gentlemen, the unhappyvictim of circumstances; of circumstances which he has in vain struggledto control, to which he has at length fallen a victim. I am notpretending, for a moment, that my crimes are to be accounted for by aninexorable fate, and not to be expiated by my everlasting misery. No, no! I have been too weak to be virtuous: but I have been tried, triedmost bitterly. I am the most unfortunate of men; I was not born to be avillain. Four years have passed since I was banished from the country inwhich I was honoured, my prospects in life blasted, my peace of minddestroyed; and all because a crime was committed of any participation inwhich I am as innocent as yourselves. Driven in despair to wander, Itried, in the wild dissipation of Naples, to forget my existence and mymisery. I found my fate in the person of this vile Frenchman, who neversince has quitted me. Even after two years of madness in that fatalplace, my natural disposition rallied; I struggled to save myself; Iquitted it. I was already involved to De Boeffleurs; I became still moreso, in gaining from him the means of satisfying all claims against me. Alas! I found I had sold myself to a devil, a very devil, with a heartlike an adder's. Incapable of a stray generous sensation, he has lookedupon mankind during his whole life with the eyes of a bully of agaming-house. I still struggled to free myself from this man; and Iindemnified him for his advances by procuring him a place in the missionto which, with the greatest difficulty and perseverance, I had at lengthobtained my appointment. In public life I yet hoped to forget my privatemisery. At Frankfort I felt that, though not happy, I might be calm. Idetermined never again even to run the risk of enduring the slavery ofdebt. I foreswore, with the most solemn oaths, the gaming table; and hadit not been for the perpetual sight of De Boeffleurs, I might, perhaps, have felt at ease; though the remembrance of my blighted prospects, theeternal feeling that I experienced of being born for nobler ends, wasquite sufficient perpetually to embitter my existence. The second yearof my Frankfort appointment I was tempted to this unhappy place. Theunexpected sight of faces which I had known in England, though theycalled up the most painful associations, strengthened me, nevertheless, in my resolution to be virtuous. My unexpected fortune at the Redoute, the first night, made me forget all my resolves, and has led to all thismisery. I make my sad tale brief. I got involved at the New House: DeBoeffleurs once more assisted me, though his terms were most severe. Yet, yet again, I was mad enough, vile enough, to risk what I did notpossess. I lost to Prince Salvinski and a Russian gentleman aconsiderable sum on the night before the fête. It is often the custom atthe New House, as you know, among men who are acquainted, to pay andreceive all losses which are considerable on the next night of meeting. The fête gave me breathing time: it was not necessary to redeem mypledge till the fourth night. I rushed to De Boeffleurs; he refused toassist me, alleging his own losses and his previous advance. What was tobe done? No possibility of making any arrangement with Salvinski. Had hewon of me as others have done, an arrangement, though painful, wouldperhaps have been possible; but, by a singular fate, whenever I havechanced to be successful, it is of this man that I have won. DeBoeffleurs, then, was the only chance. He was inexorable. I prayed tohim; I promised him everything; I offered him any terms; in vain! Atlength, when he had worked me up to the last point of despair, hewhispered hope. I listened; let me be quick! why finish? You know Ifell!" The Baron again covered his face, and appeared perfectlyoverwhelmed. 

"By God! it is too horrible, " said St. George. "Grey, let us dosomething for him. "

"My dear St. George, " said Vivian, "be calm. You are taken by surprise. I was prepared for all this. Believe me, it is better for you to leaveus. I recommend you to retire, and meet me in the morning. Breakfastwith me at eight; we can then arrange everything. "

Vivian's conduct had been so decisive, and evidently so well matured, that St. George felt that, in the present case, it was for him only toobey, and he retired with wonder still expressed on his countenance; forhe had not yet, in the slightest degree, recovered from thefirst surprise. 

"Baron von Konigstein, " said Vivian to the unhappy man, "we are alone. Mr. St. George has left the room: you are freed from the painfulpresence of the cousin of Captain Fane. "

"You know all, then!" exclaimed the Baron quickly, looking up, "or youhave read my secret thoughts. How wonderful! at that very moment I wasthinking of my friend. Would I had died with him! You know all, then;and now you must believe me guilty. Yet, at this moment of annihilatingsorrow, when I can gain nothing by deceit, I swear; and if I swearfalsely, may I fall down a livid corpse at your feet; I swear that I wasguiltless of the crime for which I suffered, guiltless as yourself. What may be my fate I know not. Probably a few hours, and all will beover. Yet, before we part, sir, it would be a relief; you would be doinga generous service to a dying man, to bear a message from me to one withwhom you are acquainted; to one whom I cannot now name. "

"Lady Madeleine Trevor?"

"Again you have read my thoughts! Lady Madeleine! Is it she who told youof my early history?"

"All that I know is known to many. "

"I must speak! If you have time, if you can listen for half an hour to amiserable being, it would be a consolation to me. I should die with easeif I thought that Lady Madeleine could believe me innocent of that firstgreat offence. "

"Your Excellency may address anything to me, if it be your wish, even atthis hour of the night. It may be better; after what has passed, weneither of us can sleep, and this business must be arranged at once. "

"My object is, that Lady Madeleine should receive from me at thismoment, at a time when I can have no interest to deceive, an account ofthe particulars of her cousin's and my friend's death. I sent it writtenafter the horrid event; but she was ill, and Trevor, who was very bitteragainst me, returned the letters unopened. For four years I have nevertravelled without these rejected letters; this year I have them not. Butyou could convey to Lady Madeleine my story as now given to you; to youat this terrible moment. "

"Speak on!"

"I must say one word of my connection with the family to enable youfully to understand the horrid event, of which, if, as I believe, youonly know what all know, you can form but a most imperfect conception. When I was Minister at the Court of London I became acquainted; became, indeed, intimate, with Mr. Trevor, then in office, the husband of LadyMadeleine. She was just married. Of myself at that time, I may say that, though depraved, I was not heartless, and that there were moments when Ipanted to be excellent. Lady Madeleine and myself became friends; shefound in me a companion who not only respected her talents and delightedin her conversation, but one who in return was capable of instructing, and was overjoyed to amuse her. I loved her; but when I loved her Iceased to be a libertine. At first I thought that nothing in the worldcould have tempted me to have allowed her for an instant to imagine thatI dared to look upon her in any other light than as a friend; but thenegligence, the coldness of Trevor, the overpowering mastery of my ownpassions, drove me one day past the line, and I wrote that which I darednot utter. It never entered into my mind for an instant to insult such awoman with the commonplace sophistry of a ribald. No! I loved her withall my spirit's strength. I would have sacrificed all my views in life, my ambition, my family, my fortune, my country, to have gained her; andI told her this in terms of respectful adoration. I worshipped thedivinity, even while I attempted to profane the altar. When I had sentthis letter I was in despair. Conviction of the insanity of my conductflashed across my mind. I expected never to see her again. There came ananswer; I opened it with the greatest agitation; to my surprise, anappointment. Why trouble you with a detail of my feelings, my mad hope, my dark despair! The moment for the interview arrived. I was receivedneither with affection nor anger. In sorrow she spoke. I listened indespair. I was more madly in love with her than ever. That very lovemade me give her such evidences of a contrite spirit that I waspardoned. I rose with a resolution to be virtuous, with a determinationto be her friend: then I made the fatal promise which you know of, to bedoubly the friend of a man whose friend I already was. It was then thatI pledged myself to Lady Madeleine to be the guardian spirit of hercousin. " Here the Baron, overpowered by his emotions, leant back in hischair, and ceased to speak. In a few minutes he resumed. 

"I did my duty; by all that's sacred, I did my duty! Night and day I waswith young Fane. A hundred times he was on the brink of ruin; a hundredtimes I saved him. One day, one never-to-be-forgotten day, one most darkand damnable day, I called on him, and found him on the point of joininga coterie of desperate character. I remonstrated with him, I entreated, I supplicated him not to go, in vain. At last he agreed to forego hisengagement on condition that I dined with him. There were importantreasons that day for my not staying with him; yet every considerationvanished when I thought of her for whom I was exerting myself. He wasfrantic this day; and, imagining that there was no chance of hisleaving his home, I did not refuse to drink freely, to drink deeply. Mydoing so was the only way to keep him at home. As we were passing downPall Mall we met two foreigners of distinction and a noble of yourcountry; they were men of whom we both knew little. I had myselfintroduced Fane to the foreigners a few days before, being aware thatthey were men of high rank. After some conversation they asked us tojoin them at supper at the house of their English friend. I declined;but nothing could induce Fane to refuse them, and I finally accompaniedthem. Play was introduced after supper: I made an ineffectual struggleto get Fane home, but I was too full of wine to be energetic. Afterlosing a small sum I got up from the table, and, staggering to a sofa, fell fast asleep. Even as I passed Fane's chair in this condition, mymaster thought was evident, and I pulled him by the shoulder: all wasuseless; I woke to madness!" It was terrible to witness the anguish ofVon Konigstein. 

"Could you not clear yourself?" asked Vivian, for he felt it necessaryto speak. 

"Clear myself! Everything told against me. The villains were my friends, not the sufferer's; I was not injured. My dining with him was part ofthe conspiracy; he was intoxicated previous to his ruin. Conscious of myinnocence, quite desperate, but confiding in my character, I accused theguilty trio; they recriminated and answered, and without clearingthemselves convinced the public that I was their dissatisfied anddisappointed tool. I can speak no more. "

It is awful to witness sudden death; but, oh! how much more awful it isto witness in a moment the moral fall of a fellow-creature! Howtremendous is the quick succession of mastering passions! The firm, theterrifically firm, the madly resolute denial of guilt; that eagerness ofprotestation which is a sure sign of crime, then the agonising suspensebefore the threatened proof is produced, the hell of detection, theaudible anguish of sorrow, the curses of remorse, the silence ofdespair! Few of us, unfortunately, have passed through life withouthaving beheld some instance of this instantaneous degradation of humannature. But, oh! how terrible is it when the confessed criminal has beenbut a moment before our friend! What a contrast to the laugh of joyouscompanionship is the quivering tear of an agonised frame! how terribleto be prayed to by those whose wishes a moment before we lived only toanticipate!

"Von Konigstein, " said Vivian, after a long silence, "I feel for you. Had I known this I would have spared both you and myself this night ofmisery; I would have prevented you from looking back to this day withremorse. You have suffered for that of which you were not guilty; youshall not suffer now for what has passed. Much would I give to see youfreed from that wretched knave, whose vile career I was very nearlytempted this evening to have terminated for ever. I shall make thecommunication you desire, and I will endeavour that it shall becredited; as to the transactions of this evening, the knowledge of themcan never transpire to the world. It is the interest of De Boeffleurs tobe silent; if he speak no one will credit the tale of such a creature, who, if he speak truth, must proclaim his own infamy. And now for theimmediate calls upon your honour; in what sum are you indebted to PrinceSalvinski and his friend?"

"Thousands! two, three thousand. "

"I shall then have an opportunity of ridding myself of that theacquisition of which, to me, has been matter of great sorrow. Yourhonour Is saved. I will discharge the claims of Salvinski andhis friend. "

"Impossible! I cannot allow--"

"Stop; in this business I must command. Surely there can be no feelingsof delicacy between us two now. If I gave you the treasures of theIndies you would not be under so great an obligation to me as you arealready: I say this with pain. I recommend you to leave Ems to-morrow;public business will easily account for your sudden departure. And now, your character is yet safe, you are yet in the prime of life, you havevindicated yourself from that which has preyed upon your mind for years;cease to accuse your fate!" Vivian was about to leave the room when theBaron started from his seat and seized his hand. He would have spoken, but the words died upon his lips, and before he could recover himselfVivian had retired. 

CHAPTER XIV

The sudden departure of Baron von Konigstein from the Baths excitedgreat surprise and sorrow; all wondered at the cause, and all regrettedthe effect. The Grand Duke missed his good stories, the rouge-et-noirtable his constant presence, and Monsieur le Restaurateur gave up, inconsequence, an embryo idea of a fête and fireworks for his own benefit, which agreeable plan he had trusted that, with his Excellency's generousco-operation as patron, he should have had no difficulty in carryinginto execution. But no one was more surprised, and more regretted theabsence of his Excellency, than his friend Mr. Fitzloom. What could bethe reason? Public business, of course; indeed he had learnt as much, confidentially, from Cracowsky. He tried Mr. Grey, but could elicitnothing satisfactory; he pumped Mr. St. George, but produced only thewaters of oblivion: Mr. St. George was gifted, when it suited hispurpose, with a most convenient want of memory. There must be somethingin the wind, perhaps a war. Was the independence of Greece about to beacknowledged, or the dependence of Spain about to be terminated? Whatfirst-rate Power had marched a million of soldiers into the land of aweak neighbour, on the mere pretence of exercising the military? Whatpatriots had had the proud satisfaction of establishing a constitutionalgovernment without bloodshed, to be set aside in the course of the nextmonth in the same manner? Had a conspiracy for establishing a republicin Russia been frustrated by the timely information of the intendedfirst Consuls? Were the Janissaries learning mathematics, or had LordCochrane taken Constantinople in the James Watt steampacket? One ofthese many events must have happened; but which? At length Fitzloomdecided on a general war. England must interfere either to defeat theambition of France, or to curb the rapacity of Russia, or to check thearrogance of Austria, or to regenerate Spain, or to redeem Greece, or toprotect Portugal, or to shield the Brazils, or to uphold the BibleSocieties, or to consolidate the Greek Church, or to monopolise thecommerce of Mexico, or to disseminate the principles of free trade, orto keep up her high character, or to keep up the price of corn. Englandmust interfere. In spite of his conviction, however, Fitzloom did notalter the arrangements of his tour; he still intended to travel for twoyears. All he did was to send immediate orders to his broker in Englandto sell two millions of consols. The sale was of course effected, theexample followed, stocks fell ten per cent. , the exchange turned, moneybecame scarce. The public funds of all Europe experienced a greatdecline, smash went the country banks, consequent runs on the London, adozen Baronets failed in one morning, Portland Place deserted, the causeof infant Liberty at a terrific discount, the Greek loan disappearedlike a vapour in a storm, all the new American States refused to paytheir dividends, manufactories deserted, the revenue in a decline, thecountry in despair, Orders in Council, meetings of Parliament, change ofMinistry, and new loan! Such were the terrific consequences of adiplomatist turning blackleg! The secret history of the late distress isa lesson to all modern statesmen. Rest assured that in politics, howevertremendous the effects, the causes are often as trifling. 

Vivian found his reception by the Trevor party, the morning after thememorable night, a sufficient reward for all his anxiety and exertion. St. George, a generous, open-hearted young man, full of gratitude toVivian, and regretting his previous want of cordiality towards him, nowdelighted in doing full justice to his coolness, courage, and ability. Lady Madeleine said a great deal in the most graceful and impressivemanner; but Miss Fane scarcely spoke. Vivian, however, read in her eyesher approbation and her gratitude. 

"And now, how came you to discover the whole plot, Mr. Grey?" asked LadyMadeleine, "for we have not yet heard. Was it at the table?"

"They would hardly have had recourse to such clumsy instruments as wouldhave given us the chance of detecting the conspiracy by casualobservation. No, no; we owe our preservation and our gratitude to onewhom we must hereafter count among our friends. I was prepared, as Itold you, for everything; and though I had seen similar cards to thosewith which they played only a few hours before, it was with difficultythat I satisfied myself at the table that the cards we lost by wereprepared, so wonderful is the contrivance!"

"But who is the unknown friend?" said Miss Fane, with great eagerness. 

"I must have the pleasure of keeping you all in suspense, " said Vivian:"cannot any of you guess?"

"None, none, none!"

"What say you, then, to--Essper George?"

"Is it possible?"

"It is the fact that he, and he alone, is our preserver. Soon after myarrival at this place this singular being was seized with theunaccountable fancy of becoming my servant. You all remember hisunexpected appearance one day in the saloon. In the evening of the sameday, I found him sleeping at the door of my room; and, thinking it hightime that he should be taught more discretion, I spoke to him veryseriously the next morning respecting his troublesome and eccentricconduct. It was then that I learnt his wish. I objected, of course, toengaging a servant of whose previous character I was ignorant, and ofwhich I could not be informed, and one whose peculiar habits wouldrender both himself and his master notorious. While I declined hisservices, I also advised him most warmly to give up all idea ofdeserting his present mode of life, for which I thought him extremelywell suited. The consequence of my lecture was, what you all perceivedwith surprise, a great change in Essper's character. He became serious, reserved, and retiring, and commenced his career as a respectablecharacter by throwing off his quaint costume. In a short time, by dintof making a few bad bargains, he ingratiated himself with Ernstorff, VonKonigstein's pompous chasseur. His object in forming this connection wasto gain an opportunity of becoming acquainted with the duties of agentleman's servant, and in this he has succeeded. About a week since, he purchased from Ernstorff a large quantity of cast-off apparel of theBaron's, and other perquisites of a great man's valet; among these weresome playing cards which had been borrowed one evening in great hastefrom the servant of that rascal De Boeffleurs, and never returned. Onaccidentally examining these cards, Essper detected they were marked. The system on which the marks are formed and understood is so simple andnovel, that it was long before I could bring myself to believe that hissuspicions were founded even on a probability. At length, however, heconvinced me. It is at Vienna, he tells me, that he has met with thesecards before. The marks are all on the rim of the cards; and anexperienced dealer, that is to say, a blackleg, can with these marksproduce any results and combinations which may suit his purpose. Esspertells me that De Boeffleurs is even more skilled in sleight-of-hand thanhimself. From Ernstorff, Essper learnt on the day of the fête that Mr. St. George was to dine with the Chevalier at the Baron's apartments onthe morrow, and that there was a chance that I should join them. Hesuspected that villany was in the wind, and when I retired to my room ata late hour on the night of the fête, I there met him, and it was thenthat he revealed to me everything which I have told you. Am I not right, then, in calling him our preserver?"

"What can be done for him?" said Lady Madeleine. 

"His only wish is already granted; he is my servant. That he will serveme diligently and faithfully I have no doubt. I only wish that he wouldaccept or could appreciate a more worthy reward. "

"Can man be more amply rewarded, " said Miss Fane, "than by choosing hisown remuneration? I think he has shown in his request his accustomedtalent. I must go and see him this moment. "

"Say nothing of what has passed; he is prepared for silence from allparties. "

A week, a happy week, passed over, and few minutes of the day foundVivian absent from the side of Violet Fane; and now he thought again ofEngland, of his return to that country under very differentcircumstances to what he had ever contemplated. Soon, very soon, hetrusted to write to his father, to announce to him the revolution in hiswishes, the consummation of his hopes. Soon, very soon, he trusted thathe should hail his native cliffs, a reclaimed wanderer, with a maturedmind and a contented spirit, his sorrows forgotten, his misanthropylaid aside. 

CHAPTER XV

It was about a week after the departure of the Baron that two youngEnglishmen, who had been college friends of Mr. St. George, arrived atthe Baths. These were Mr. Anthony St. Leger and Mr. Adolphus St. John. In the academic shades of Christchurch these three gentlemen had beenknown as "All Saints. " Among their youthful companions they bore themore martial style of "The Three Champions, " St. George, St. John, andSt. Anthony. 

St. John and St. Anthony had just completed the grand tour, and, afterpassing the Easter at Rome, had returned through the Tyrol from Italy. Since then they had travelled over most parts of Germany; and now, inthe beginning of July, found themselves at the Baths of Ems. Two years'travel had not produced any very beneficial effect on either of thesesainted personages. They had gained, by visiting the capitals of allEurope, only a due acquaintance with the follies of each; and the onlydifference that could be observed in their conduct on their return was, that their affectation was rather more fantastical, and thereforemore amusing. 

"Corpo di Bacco, my champion! who ever thought of meeting thee thou holysaint! By the eyebrow of Venus, my spirit rejoiceth!" exclaimed St. Anthony, whose peculiar affectation was an adoption in English of theItalian oaths. 

"This is the sweetest spot, St. Anthony, that we have found since weleft Paradiso; that is, St. George, in the vulgar, since we quittedItalia. 'Italia! O Italia!' I forget the rest; probably you remember it. Certainly, a most sweet spot this, quite a Gaspar!"

Art was the peculiar affectation of St. John; he was, indeed, quite apatron of the Belle Arti, had scattered his orders through the studiosof most of the celebrated sculptors of Italy, and spoke on all subjectsand all things only with a view to their capability of forming materialfor the painter. According to the school of which Mr. St. John was adisciple, the only use of the human passions is, that they producesituations for the historical painter; and nature, according to thesevotaries of the [Greek: to kalon], is only to be valued as affordinghints for the more perfect conceptions of a Claude or a Salvator. 

"By the girdle of Venus, a devilish fine woman!" exclaimed St. Anthony. 

"A splendid bit!" ejaculated St. John; "touched in with freedom, a grandtournure, great gout in the swell of the neck. What a study for Retsch!"

"In the name of the Graces, who is it, mio Santo?"

"Ay! name la bellissima Signora. "

"The 'fine bit, ' St. John, is my sister. "

"The devil!"

"Diavolo!"

"Will you introduce us, most holy man?"

This request from both, simultaneously arranging their mustachios. 

The two saints were accordingly, in due time, introduced; but findingthe attention of Miss Fane always engrossed, and receiving some not veryencouraging responses from Lady Madeleine, they voted her ladyshipcursedly satirical; and passing a general censure on the annoyingcoldness of Englishwomen, they were in four-and-twenty hours attached tothe suite of the Miss Fitzlooms, to whom they were introduced by St. George as his particular friends, and were received with the mostflattering consideration. 

"By the aspect of Diana! fine girls, " swore St. Anthony. 

"Truly most gorgeous colouring! quite Venetian! Aurelia is a perfectGiorgione!" said St. John. 

"Madeleine, " said St. George, one morning, to his sister, "have you anyobjection to make up a party with the Fitzlooms to pass a day at Nassau?You know we have often talked of it; and as Violet is so well now, andthe weather so delightful, there surely can be no objection. TheFitzlooms are very agreeable people; and though you do not admire theSanti, still, upon my word, when you know them a little more, you willfind them very pleasant fellows, and they are extremely good-natured;and just the fellows for such a party. Do not refuse me. I have set mymind upon your joining the party. Pray nod assent; thank you. Now I mustgo and arrange everything. Let us see: there are seven Fitzlooms; for wecannot count on less than two boys; yourself, Grey, Violet, and myself, four; the Santi; quite enough, a most delightful party. Half a dozenservants and as many donkeys will manage the provisions. Then threelight carriages will take us all. 'By the wand of Mercury!' as St. Anthony would vow, admirably planned!"

"By the breath of Zephyr! a most lovely day, Miss Fane, " said St. Anthony, on the morning of the intended excursion. 

"Quite a Claude!" said St. John. 

"Almost as beautiful as an Italian winter day, Mr. St. Leger?" askedMiss Fane. 

"Hardly!" said St. Anthony, with a serious air; for he imagined thequestion to be quite genuine. 

The carriages are at the door; into the first ascended Mrs. Fitzloom, two daughters, and the travelling saints. The second bore LadyMadeleine, Mr. Fitzloom, and his two sons; the third division was formedof Mr. St. George and Aurelia Fitzloom, Miss Fane and Vivian. 

Away, away, rolled the carriages; the day was beautiful, the sky waswithout a cloud, and a mild breeze prevented the heat of the sun frombeing overpowering. All were in high spirits; for St. George had made acapital master of the ceremonies, and had arranged the company in thecarriages to their mutual satisfaction. St. Anthony swore, by the soulof Psyche! that Augusta Fitzloom was an angel; and St. John was in equalraptures with Araminta, who had an expression about the eyes whichreminded him, of Titian's Flora. Mrs. Fitzloom's natural silence did notdisturb the uninterrupted jargon of the Santi, whose foppery elicitedloud and continued approbation from the fair sisters. The mother satadmiring these sprigs of noble trees. The young Fitzlooms, in crimsoncravats, conversed with Lady Madeleine with a delightful military air;and their happy parent, as he gazed upon them with satisfied affection, internally promised them both a commission in a crack regiment. 

The road from Ems to Nassau winds along the banks of the Lahn, throughtwo leagues of delightful scenery; at the end of which, springing upfrom the peak of a bold and richly-wooded mountain, the lofty tower ofthe ancient castle of Nassau meets your view. Winding walks round thesides of the mountain lead through all the varieties of sylvan scenery, and command in all points magnificent views of the surrounding country. These finally bring you to the old castle, whose spacious chambers, though now choked up with masses of grey ruin or covered with underwood, still bear witness to the might of their former lord! the powerful Baronwhose sword gained for his posterity a throne. 

All seemed happy; none happier than Violet Fane. Never did she look sobeautiful as to-day, never was she so animated, never had she boastedthat her pulse beat more melodious music, or her lively blood danced amore healthful measure. After examining all the antique chambers of thecastle, and discovering, as they flattered themselves, secret passages, and dark dungeons, and hidden doors, they left this interesting relic ofthe middle ages; and soon, by a gradual descent through delightfulshrubberies, they again found themselves at the bottom of the valley. Here they visited the modern château of Baron von Stein, one of the mostenlightened and able politicians that Germany has ever produced. AsMinister of Prussia, he commenced those reforms which the illustriousHardenberg perfected. For upwards of five centuries the family of Steinhave retained their territorial possessions in the valley of the Lahn. Their family castle, at present a ruin, and formerly a fief of the Houseof Nassau, is now only a picturesque object in the pleasure-grounds ofthe present lord. 

The noon had passed some hours before the delighted wanderers complainedof fatigue, and by that time they found themselves in a pleasant greenglade on the skirts of the forest of Nassau. It was nearly environed bymountains, covered with hanging woods, which shaded the beautifulvalley, and gave it the appearance of a sylvan amphitheatre. From arocky cleft in these green mountains a torrent, dashing down withimpetuous force, and whose fall was almost concealed by the cloud ofspray which it excited, gave birth to a small and gentle river, whosebanks were fringed with beautiful trees, which prevented the sun's dartsfrom piercing its coldness, by bowing their fair heads over its waters. From their extending branches Nature's choristers sent forth many alovely lay

 Of God's high praise, and of their loves' sweet teen. 

Near the banks of this river, the servants, under the active directionof Essper George, had prepared a banquet for the party. The cloth hadbeen laid on a raised work of wood and turf, and rustic seats of thesame material surrounded the picturesque table. It glowed withmaterials, and with colours to which Veronese alone could have donejustice: pasties, and birds, and venison, and groups of fish, gleamywith prismatic hues, while amid pyramids of fruit rose goblets offantastic glass, worthy of the famous wines they were to receive. 

"Well!" said Miss Fane, "I never will be a member of an adventurousparty like the present, of which Albert is not manager. "

"I must not take the whole credit upon myself, Violet; St. John isbutler, and St. Leger my vice-chamberlain. "

"Well, I cannot praise Mr. St. John till I have tasted the malvoisiewhich he has promised; but as for the other part of the entertainment, Mr. St. Leger, I am sure this is a temptation which it would be a sin, even in St. Anthony, to withstand. '

"By the body of Bacchus, very good!" swore Mr. St. Leger. 

"These mountains, " said Mr. St. John, "remind me of one of Gaspar's coolvalleys. The party, indeed, give it a different character, quitea Watteau!"

"Now, Mrs. Fitzloom, " said St. George, who was in his element, "let merecommend a little of this pike! Lady Madeleine, I have sent you somelamb. Miss Fitzloom, I hope St. Anthony is taking care of you. Wrightson, plates to Mr. St. Leger. Holy man, and much beloved! sendAraminta some chicken. Grey has helped you, Violet? Aurelia, this is foryou. William Pitt Fitzloom, I leave you to yourself. George CanningFitzloom, take care of the ladies near you. Essper George! Where isEssper? St. John, who is your deputy in the wine department? Wrightson!bring those long green bottles out of the river, and put the champagneunderneath the willow. Will your Ladyship take some light claret? Mrs. Fitzloom, you must use your tumbler; nothing but tumblers allowed, byMiss Fane's particular request!"

"St. George, thou holy man!" said Miss Fane, "methinks you are veryimpertinent. You shall not be my patron saint if you say such words. "

For the next hour there was nothing heard save the calling of servants, the rattling of knives and forks, the drawing of corks, and continuedbursts of laughter, which were not occasioned by any brilliantobservations, either of the Saints, or any other persons, but merely theresult of an exuberance of spirits on the part of every one present. 

"Well, Aurelia, " said Lady Madeleine, "do you prefer our present mode oflife to feasting in an old hall, covered with banners and batteredshields, and surrounded by mysterious corridors and dark dungeons?"Aurelia was so flattered by the notice of Lady Madeleine, that she madeher no answer; probably because she was intent on a plover's egg. 

"I think we might all retire to this valley, " said Miss Fane, "andrevive the feudal times with great success. Albert might take us toNassau Castle, and you, Mr. Fitzloom, might re-fortify the old tower ofStein. With two sons, however, who are about to enter the Guards, I amafraid we must be your vassals. Then what should we do? We could nothave wood parties every day; I suppose we should get tired of eachother. No! that does seem impossible; do not you all think so?"

Omnes, "Impossible!"

"We must, however, have some regular pursuit, some cause of constantexcitement, some perpetual source of new emotions. New ideas, of course, we must give up; there would be no going to London for the season, fornew opinions to astound country cousins on our return. Some pursuit mustbe invented; we all must have something to do. I have it! Albert shallbe a tyrant. "

"I am very much obliged to you, Violet. "

"Yes! a cruel, unprincipled, vindictive, remorseless tyrant, with a longblack beard, I cannot tell how long, about twenty thousand times longerthan Mr. St. Leger's mustachios. "

"By the beard of Jove!" swore St. Anthony, as he almost started from hisseat, and arranged with his thumb and forefinger the delicate Albaniantuft of his upper lip, "by the beard of Jove, Miss Fane, I am obligedto you. "

"Well, then, " continued Violet, "Albert being a tyrant, Lady Madeleinemust be an unhappy, ill-used, persecuted woman, living on black breadand green water, in an unknown dungeon. My part shall be to discover herimprisonment. Sounds of strange music attract my attention to a part ofthe castle which I have not before frequented. There I shall distinctlyhear a female voice chaunting the 'Bridesmaids' Chorus, ' with Erard'sdouble pedal accompaniment. By the aid of the confessors of the twofamilies, two drinking, rattling, impertinent, most corrupt, and mostamusing friars, to wit, our sainted friends--"

Here both Mr. St. Leger and Mr. St. John bowed low to Miss Fane. 

"A most lively personage is Miss Fane, " whispered St. Anthony to hisneighbour, Miss Fitzloom, "great style!"

"Most amusing, delightful girl, great style! rather a display today, Ithink. "

"Oh, decidedly! and devilish personal too; some people wouldn't like it. I have no doubt she will say something about you next. "

"Oh, I shall be very surprised, indeed, if she does! It may be very wellto you, but Miss Fane must be aware--"

Before this pompous sentence could be finished an incident occurredwhich prevented Miss Fane from proceeding with her allotment ofcharacters, and rendered unnecessary the threatened indignation ofMiss Fitzloom. 

Miss Fane, as we mentioned, suddenly ceased speaking; the eyes of allwere turned in the direction in which she was gazing as if she hadseen a ghost. 

"What are you looking up at, Violet?" asked St. George. 

"Did not you see anything? did not any of you see anything?"

"None, none!"

"Mr. Grey, surely you must have seen it!"

"I saw nothing. "

"It could not be fancy; impossible. I saw it distinctly. I cannot be ina dream. See there! again, on that topmost branch. It moves!"

Some odd shrill sounds, uttered in the voice of a Pulcinello, attractedthe notice of them all; and lo! high in the air, behind a lofty chestnuttree, the figure of a Pulcinello did appear, hopping and vaulting in theunsubstantial air. Now it sent forth another shrill, piercing sound, andnow, with both its hands, it patted and complacently stroked its amplepaunch; dancing all the time with unremitting activity, and wagging itsqueer head at the astounded guests. 

"Who, what can it be?" cried all. The Misses Fitzloom shrieked, and theSanti seemed quite puzzled. 

"Who, what can it be?"

Ere time could be given for any one to hazard a conjecture, the figurehad advanced from behind the trees, and had spanned in an instant thefestal board, with two enormous stilts, on which they now perceived itwas mounted. The Misses Fitzloom shrieked again. The figure imitatedtheir cries in his queer voice, and gradually raising one enormous stiltup into the air, stood only on one support, which was planted behind thelovely Araminta. 

"O! inimitable Essper George!" exclaimed Violet Fane. 

Here Signor Punch commenced a song, which he executed in the tonepeculiar to his character, and in a style which drew applauses from all;and then, with a hop, step, and a jump, he was again behind thechestnut-tree. In a moment he advanced without his stilts towards thetable. Here, on the turf, he again commenced his antics; kicking hisnose with his right foot, and his hump with his left one; executingsplendid somersets, and cutting every species of caper, and neverceasing for a moment from performing all his movements to the inspiringmusic of his own melodious voice. At last, jumping up very high in theair, he fell as if all his joints were loosened, and the MissesFitzloom, imagining that his bones were really broken, shrieked again. But now Essper began the wonderful performance of a dead body possessedby a devil, and in a minute his shattered corpse, apparently without theassistance of any of its members, began to jump and move about theground with miraculous rapidity. At length it disappeared behind thechestnut-tree. 

"I really think, " said Mr. St. George, "it is the most agreeable day Iever passed in all my life. "

"Decidedly!" said St. Anthony. "St. John, you remember our party toPaestum with Lady Calabria M'Crater and the Marquis of Agrigentum. Itwas nothing to this! Nothing! Do you know I thought that rather dull. "

"Yes, too elaborate; too highly finished; nothing of the pittoreimprovisatore. A party of this kind should be more sketchy in its style;the outline more free, and less detail. "

"Essper is coming out to-day, " said Vivian to Miss Fane, "after a long, and, I venture to say, painful forbearance. However, I hope you willexcuse him. It seems to amuse us. "

"I think it is delightful. See! here he comes again. "

He now appeared in his original costume; the one in which Vivian firstmet him at the fair. Bowing, he threw his hand carelessly over hismandolin, and having tried the melody of its strings, sang with greattaste, and a sweet voice; sweeter from its contrast with its previousshrill tones; a very pretty romance. All applauded him very warmly, andno one more so than Miss Fane. 

"Ah! inimitable Essper George, how can we sufficiently thank you! Howwell he plays! and his voice is quite beautiful. Oh! could not we dance?would not it be delightful? and he could play on his guitar. Think ofthe delicious turf!"

Omnes, "Delightful! delightful!" They rose from the table. 

"Violet, my dear, " asked Lady Madeleine, "what are you going to do?"

"By the toe of Terpsichore!" as Mr. St. Leger would say, "I am going todance. "

"But remember, to-day you have done so much! let us be moderate; thoughyou feel so much better, still think what a change to-day has been fromyour usual habits!"

"But, dearest Lady Madeleine, think of dancing on the turf, and I feelso well!"

"By the Graces! I am for the waltz, " said St. Anthony. 

"It has certainly a very free touch to recommend it, " said St. John. 

"No, no, " said Violet; "let us all join in a country dance. " But theMisses Fitzloom preferred a quadrille. 

The quadrille was soon formed: Violet made up for not dancing withVivian at the Grand Duke's. She was most animated, and kept up asuccessful rivalry with Mr. St. Leger, who evidently prided himself, asMr. Fitzloom observed, "on his light fantastic toe. " Now he pirouettedlike Paul, and now he attitudinised like Albert; and now Miss Faneeclipsed all his exertions by her inimitable imitations of RonziVestris' rushing and arrowy manner. St. Anthony, in despair, but quitedelighted, revealed a secret which had been taught him by a Spanishdancer at Milan; but then Miss Fane vanquished him for ever with the pasde Zephyr of the exquisite Fanny Bias. 

The day was fast declining when the carriages arrived; the young peoplewere in no humour to return; and as, when they had once entered thecarriage, the day seemed finished for ever, they proposed walking partof the way home. Lady Madeleine made little objection to Violet joiningthe party, as after the exertion that Miss Fane had been making, a drivein an open carriage might be dangerous: and yet the walk was too long, but all agreed that it would be impossible to shorten it; and, as Violetdeclared that she was not in the least fatigued, the lesser evil wastherefore chosen. The carriages rolled off; at about halfway from Ems, the two empty ones were to wait for the walking party. Lady Madeleinesmiled with fond affection, as she waved her hand to Violet the momentbefore she was out of sight. 

"And now, " said St. George, "good people all, instead of returning bythe same road, it strikes me, that there must be a way through thislittle wood; you see there is an excellent path. Before the sun is setwe shall have got through it, and it will bring us out, I have no doubt, by the old cottage which you observed, Grey, when we came along. I saw agate and path there; just where we first got sight of Nassau Castle;there can be no doubt about it. You see it is a regular right-angle, andbesides varying the walk, we shall at least gain a quarter of an hour, which, after all, as we have to walk nearly three miles, is an object. It is quite clear, if I have a head for anything, it is for findingmy way. "

"I think you have a head for everything, " said Aurelia Fitzloom, in asoft sentimental whisper; "I am sure we owe all our happiness to-dayto you!"

"If I have a head for everything, I have a heart only for one person!"

As every one wished to be convinced, no one offered any argument inopposition to Mr. St. George's view of the case; and some were alreadyin the wood. 

"Albert, " said Miss Fane, "I do not like walking in the wood so late;pray come back. "

"Oh, nonsense, Violet! come. If you do not like to come, you can walk bythe road; you will meet us round by the gate, it is only five minutes'walk. " Ere he had finished speaking, the rest were in the wood, and somehad advanced. Vivian strongly recommended Violet not to join them; hewas sure that Lady Madeleine would not approve of it; he was sure thatit was very dangerous, extremely; and, by-the-bye, while he was talking, which way had they gone? he did not see them. He halloed; all answered, and a thousand echoes besides. "We certainly had better go by the road, we shall lose our way if we try to follow them; nothing is so puzzlingas walking in woods; we had much better keep to the road. " So by theroad they went. 

The sun had already sunk behind the mountains, whose undulating formswere thrown into dark shadow against the crimson sky. The thin crescentof the new moon floated over the eastern hills, whose deep woods glowedwith the rosy glories of twilight. Over the peak of a purple mountainglittered the solitary star of evening. As the sun dropped, universalsilence seemed to pervade the whole face of nature. The voice of thebirds was still; the breeze, which had refreshed them during the day, died away, as if its office were now completed; and none of the darksounds and sights of hideous Night yet dared to triumph over the deathof Day. Unseen were the circling wings of the fell bat; unheard thescreech of the waking owl; silent the drowsy hum of the shade-bornbeetle! What heart has not acknowledged the influence of this hour, thesweet and soothing hour of twilight! the hour of love, the hour ofadoration, the hour of rest! when we think of those we love, only toregret that we have not loved more dearly; when we remember our enemiesonly to forgive them!

And Vivian and his beautiful companion owned the magic of this hour, asall must do, by silence. No word was spoken, yet is silence sometimes alanguage. They gazed, and gazed again, and their full spirits held duecommunion with the starlit sky, and the mountains and the woods, and thesoft shadows of the increasing moon. Oh! who can describe what theo'ercharged spirit feels at this sacred hour, when we almost lose theconsciousness of existence, and our souls seem to struggle to piercefuturity! In the forest of the mysterious Odenwald, in the solitudes ofthe Bergstrasse, had Vivian at this hour often found consolation for abruised spirit, often in adoring nature had forgotten man. But now, whenhe had never felt nature's influence more powerful; when he had neverforgotten man and man's world more thoroughly; when he was experiencingemotions, which, though undefinable, he felt to be new; he started whenhe remembered that all this was in the presence of a human being! Was itHesperus he gazed upon, or something else that glanced brighter than anEvening star? Even as he thought that his gaze was fixed on thecountenance of nature, he found that his eyes rested on the face ofnature's loveliest daughter!

"Violet! dearest Violet!"

As in some delicious dream the sleeper is awakened from his bliss by thesound of his own rapturous voice, so was Vivian roused by these wordsfrom his reverie, and called back to the world which he had forgotten. But ere a moment had passed, he was pouring forth in a rapid voice, andincoherent manner, such words as men speak only once. He spoke of hisearly follies, his misfortunes, his misery; of his matured views, hissettled principles, his plans, his prospects, his hopes, his happiness, his bliss; and when he had ceased, he listened, in his turn, to somesmall still words, which made him the happiest of human beings. He bentdown, he kissed the soft silken cheek which now he could call his own. Her hand was in his; her head sank upon his breast. Suddenly she clungto him with a strong grasp. "Violet! my own, my dearest; you areovercome. I have been rash, I have been imprudent. Speak, speak, mybeloved! say, you are not ill!"

She spoke not, but clung to him with a fearful strength, her head stillupon his breast, her full eyes closed. Alarmed, he raised her off theground, and bore her to the river-side. Water might revive her. But whenhe tried to lay her a moment on the bank, she clung to him gasping, as asinking person clings to a stout swimmer. He leant over her; he did notattempt to disengage her arms; and, by degrees, by very slow degrees, her grasp loosened. At last her arms gave way and fell by his side, andher eyes partly opened. 

"Thank God! Violet, my own, my beloved, say you are better!"

She answered not, evidently she did not know him, evidently she did notsee him. A film was on her sight, and her eye was glassy. He rushed tothe water-side, and in a moment he had sprinkled her temples, nowcovered with a cold dew. Her pulse beat not, her circulation seemedsuspended. He rubbed the palms of her hands, he covered her delicatefeet with his coat; and then rushing up the bank into the road, heshouted with frantic cries on all sides. No one came, no one was near. Again, with a cry of fearful anguish, he shouted as if an hyaena werefeeding on his vitals. No sound; no answer. The nearest cottage wasabove a mile off. He dared not leave her. Again he rushed down to thewater-side. Her eyes were still open, still fixed. Her mouth also was nolonger closed. Her hand was stiff, her heart had ceased to beat. Hetried with the warmth of his own body to revive her. He shouted, hewept, he prayed. All, all in vain. Again he was in the road, againshouting like an insane being. There was a sound. Hark! It was but thescreech of an owl!

Once more at the river-side, once more bending over her with startingeyes, once more the attentive ear listening for the soundless breath. Nosound! not even a sigh! Oh! what would he have given for her shriek ofanguish! No change had occurred in her position, but the lower part ofher face had fallen; and there was a general appearance which struck himwith awe. Her body was quite cold, her limbs stiffened. He gazed, andgazed, and gazed. He bent over her with stupor rather than grief stampedon his features. It was very slowly that the dark thought came over hismind, very slowly that the horrible truth seized upon his soul. He gavea loud shriek, and fell on the lifeless body of VIOLET FANE!

BOOK VI

CHAPTER I

The green and bowery summer had passed away. It was midnight when twohorsemen pulled up their steeds beneath a wide oak; which, with otherlofty trees, skirted the side of a winding road in an extensive forestin the south of Germany. 

"By heavens!" said one, who apparently was the master, "we must even layour cloaks, I think, under this oak; for the road winds again, andassuredly cannot lead now to our village. "

"A starlit sky in autumn can scarcely be the fittest curtain for one soweak as you, sir; I should recommend travelling on, if we keep on ourhorses' backs till dawn. "

"But if we are travelling in a directly contrary way to our voiturier, honest as we may suppose him to be, if he find in the morning nopaymaster for his job, he may with justice make free with our baggage. And I shall be unusually mistaken if the road we are now pursuing doesnot lead back to the city. "

"City, town, or village, you must sleep under no forest tree, sir. Letus ride on. It will be hard if we do not find some huntsman's orranger's cottage; and for aught we know a neat snug village, or somecomfortable old manor-house, which has been in the family for twocenturies; and where, with God's blessing, they may chance to have wineas old as the bricks. I know not how you may feel, sir, but a ten hours'ride when I was only prepared for half the time, and that, too, in anautumn night, makes me somewhat desirous of renewing my acquaintancewith the kitchen-fire. "

"I could join you in a glass of hock and a slice of venison, I confess, my good fellow; but in a nocturnal ride I am no longer your match. However, if you think it best, we will prick on our steeds for anotherhour. If it be only for them, I am sure we must soon stop. "

"Ay! do, sir; and put your cloak well round you; all is for the best. You are not, I guess, a Sabbath-born child?"

"That am I not, but how would that make our plight worse than it is?Should we be farther off supper?"

"Nearer, perhaps, than you imagine; for we should then have a chance ofsharing the spoils of the Spirit Hunter. "

"Ah! Essper, is it so?"

"Truly yes, sir; and were either of us a Sabbath-born child, by holycross! I would not give much for our chance of a down bed this night. "

Here a great horned owl flew across the road. 

"Were I in the north, " said Essper, "I would sing an Ave Mary againstthe STUT OZEL. "

"What call you that?" asked Vivian. 

"Tis the great bird, sir; the great horned owl, that always flies beforethe Wild Hunter. And truly, sir, I have passed through many forests inmy time, but never yet saw I one where I should sooner expect to hear amidnight bugle. If you will allow me, sir, I will ride by your side. Thank God, at least, it is not the Walpurgis night!"

"I wish to Heaven it were!" said Vivian, "and that we were on theBrocken. It must be highly amusing!"

"Hush! hush! it is lucky we are not in the Hartz; but we know not wherewe are, nor who at this moment may be behind us. "

And here Essper began pouring forth a liturgy of his own, half Catholicand half Calvinistic, quite in character with the creed of the countrythrough which they were travelling. 

"My horse has stumbled, " continued Essper, "and yours, sir, is he notshying? There is a confounded cloud over the moon, but I have no sightin the dark if that mass before you be not a devil's-stone. The Lordhave mercy upon our sinful souls!"

"Peace! Essper, " said Vivian, who was surprised to find him reallyalarmed; "I see nothing but a block of granite, no uncommon sight in aGerman forest. "

"It is a devil-stone, I tell you, sir; there has been some church here, which he has knocked down in the night. Look! is it the moss-people thatI see! As sure as I am a hungry sinner, the Wild One is out a-huntingto-night. "

"More luck for us, if we meet him. His dogs, as you say, may gain us asupper. I think our wisest course will be to join the cry. "

"Hush! hush! you would not talk so if you knew what your share of thespoils might be. Ay! if you did, sir, your cheek would be paler, andyour very teeth would chatter. I knew one man who was travelling in theforest, just as we are now; it was about this time; and he believed inthe Wild Huntsman about as much as you, that is, he liked to talk of theSpirit, merely to have the opportunity of denying that he believed inhim; which showed, as I used to say, that his mind was often thinking ofit. He was a merry knave, and as firm a hand for a boar-spear as ever Imet with, and I have met many. We used to call him, before the accident, Left-handed Hans, but they call him now, sir, the Child-Hunter. Oh! itis a very awful tale, and I would sooner tell it in blazing hall than infree forest. You did not hear any sound to the left, did you?"

"Nothing but the wind, Essper; on with your tale, my man. "

"It is a very awful tale, sir, but I will make short work of it. Yousee, sir, it was a night just like this; the moon was generally hid, butthe stars prevented it from ever being pitch dark. And so, sir, he wastravelling alone; he had been up to the castle of the baron, his master;you see, sir, he was head-ranger to his lordship, and he always returnedhome through the forest. What he was thinking of, I cannot say, but mostlikely of no good; when all on a sudden he heard the baying of hounds inthe distance. Now directly he heard it; I have heard him tell the storya thousand times; directly he heard it, it struck him that it must bethe Spirit Huntsman; and though there were many ways to account for thehounds, still he never for a moment doubted that they were thehell-dogs. The sounds came nearer and nearer. Now I tell you this, because if ever, which the Holy Virgin forbid! if ever you meet the WildHuntsman, you will know how to act: conduct yourself always withpropriety, make no noise, but behave like a gentleman, and don't put thedogs off the scent; stand aside, and let him pass. Don't talk; he has notime to lose; for if he hunt after daybreak, a night's sport isforfeited for every star left in the morning sky. So, sir, you seenothing puts him in a greater passion than to lose his time in answeringimpertinent questions. Well, sir, Left-handed Hans stood by theroad-side. The baying of the dogs was so distinct, that he felt that ina moment the Wild One would be up: his horse shivered like a sallow in astorm. He heard the tramp of the Spirit-steed: they came in sight. Asthe tall figure of the Huntsman passed; I cannot tell you what it was;it might have been; Lord, forgive me for thinking what it might havebeen! but a voice from behind Hans, a voice so like his own, that for amoment he fancied that he had himself spoken, although he was consciousthat his lips had been firmly closed the whole time; a voice from theroad-side, just behind poor Hans, mind, said, 'Good sport, Sir Huntsman, 'tis an odd light to track a stag!' The poor man, sir, was all of anague; but how much greater was his horror when the tall huntsmanstopped! He thought that he was going to be eaten up on the spot, atleast: not at all. 'My friend!' said the Wild One, in the kindest voiceimaginable; 'my friend, would you like to give your horse a breathingwith us?' Poor Hans was so alarmed that it never entered into his headfor a single moment to refuse the invitation, and instantly he wasgalloping by the side of the Wild Huntsman. Away they flew! away! away!away! over bog, and over mere; over ditch, and over hedge; away! away!away! and the Ranger's horse never failed, but kept by the side of theWild Spirit without the least distress; and yet it is very singular thatHans was about to sell this very beast only a day before, for a matterof five crowns: you see, he only kept it just to pick his way at nightfrom the castle to his own cottage. Well, it is very odd, but Hans soonlost all fear, for the sport was so fine and he had such a keen relishfor the work, that, far from being alarmed, he thought himself one ofthe luckiest knaves alive. But the oddest thing all this time was, thatHans never caught sight for one moment of either buck or boar, althoughhe saw by the dogs' noses that there was something keen in the wind, andalthough he felt that if the hunted beast were like any that he hadhimself ever followed before, it must have been run down with such dogs, quicker than a priest could say a paternoster. At last, for he had grownquite bold, says Hans to the Wild Huntsman, 'The beasts run quick o'nights, sir, I think; it has been a long time, I ween, ere I scamperedso far, and saw so little!' Do you know that the old gentleman was notthe least affronted, but said, in the pleasantest voice imaginable, 'Atrue huntsman should be patient, Hans; you will see the game quickenough; look forward, man! what see you?' And sure enough, yourHighness, he did look forward. It was near the skirts of the forest, there was a green glade before them, and very few trees, and thereforehe could see far a-head. The moon was shining very bright, and sureenough, what did he see? Running as fleet over the turf as a rabbit, wasa child. The little figure was quite black in the moonlight, and Hanscould not catch its face: in a moment the hell-dogs were on it. Hansquivered like a windy reed, and the Wild One laughed till the very woodsechoed. 'How like you hunting moss-men?' asked the Spirit. Now when Hansfound it was only a moss-man, he took heart again, and said in a shakingvoice, that 'It is rare good sport in good company;' and then the Spiritjumped off his horse, and said, 'Now, Hans, you must watch me well, forI am little used to bag game. ' He said this with a proudish air, as muchas to hint, that had not he expected Hans he would not have rode outthis evening without his groom. So the Wild One jumped on his horseagain, and put the bag before him. It was nearly morning when Hans foundhimself at the door of his own cottage; and, bowing very respectfully tothe Spirit Hunter, he thanked him for the sport, and begged his share ofthe night's spoil. This was all in joke, but Hans had heard that 'talkto the devil, and fear the last word;' and so he was determined, nowthat they were about to part, not to appear to tremble, but to carry itoff with a jest. 'Truly, Hans, ' said the Huntsman, 'thou art a bold lad, and to encourage thee to speak to wild huntsmen again, I have a mind togive thee for thy pains the whole spoil. Take the bag, knave, a moss-manis good eating; had I time I would give thee a receipt for sauce;' and, so saying, the Spirit rode off, laughing very heartily. Well, sir, Hanswas so anxious to examine the contents of the bag, and see what kind ofthing a moss-man really was, for he had only caught a glimpse of him inthe chase, that instead of going to bed immediately, and saying hisprayers, as he should have done, he lighted a lamp and undid the string;and what think you he took out of the bag? As sure as I am a bornsinner, his own child!"

"'Tis a wonderful tale, " said Vivian; "and did the unfortunate man tellyou this himself?"

"Often and often. I knew Left-handed Hans well. He was ranger, as Isaid, to a great lord; and was quite a favourite, you see. For somereason or other he got out of favour. Some said that the Baron had foundhim out a-poaching; and that he used to ride his master's horsesa-night. Whether this be true or not, who can say? But, howsoever, Hanswent to ruin; and instead of being a flourishing active lad, he wasturned out, and went a-begging all through Saxony; and he always toldthis story as the real history of his misfortunes. Some say he is not asstrong in his head as he used to be. However, why should we say it isnot a true tale? What is that?" almost shrieked Essper. 

Vivian listened, and heard distinctly the distant baying of hounds. 

"'Tis he!" said Essper; "now don't speak, sir, don't speak! and if thedevil make me join him, as may be the case, for I am but a cock-brainedthing, particularly at midnight, don't be running after me from anyfoolish feeling, but take care of yourself, and don't be chattering. Tothink you should come to this, my precious young master!"

"Cease your blubbering! Do you think that I am to be frightened by theidiot tales of a parcel of old women, and the lies of a gang of detectedpoachers? Come, sir, ride on. We are, most probably, near somehuntsman's cottage. That distant baying is the sweetest music I haveheard a long while. "

"Don't be rash, sir; don't be rash. If you were to give me fifty crownsnow, I could not remember a single line of a single prayer. Ave Maria!it always is so when I most want it. Paternoster! and whenever I haveneed to remember a song, sure enough I am always thinking of a prayer. 'Unser vater, der du bist im himmel, sanctificado se el tu nombra; iltuo regno venga. '" Here Essper George was proceeding with a scrap ofmodern Greek, when the horsemen suddenly came upon one of those broadgreen vistas which we often see in forests, and which are generally cut, either for the convenience of hunting, or carting wood. It opened on theleft side of the road; and at the bottom of it, though apparently at agreat distance, a light was visible. 

"So much for your Wild Huntsman, friend Essper! I shall be muchdisappointed if here are not quarters for the night. And see! the mooncomes out, a good omen!"

After ten minutes' canter over the noiseless turf, the travellers foundthemselves before a large and many-windowed mansion. The building formedthe farthest side of a quadrangle, which you entered through an ancientand massy gate; on each side of which was a small building, of coursethe lodges. Essper soon found that the gate was closely fastened; andthough he knocked often and loudly, it was with no effect. That theinhabitants of the mansion had not yet retired was certain, for lightswere moving in the great house; and one of the lodges was not only verybrilliantly illuminated, but full, as Vivian was soon convinced, ofclamorous if not jovial guests. 

"Now, by the soul of my unknown father!" said the enraged Essper, "Iwill make these saucy porters learn their duty--What ho! there; what ho!within; within!" But the only answer he received was the loudreiteration of a rude and roaring chorus, which, as it was now moredistinctly and audibly enunciated, evidently for the purpose of enragingthe travellers, they detected to be something to the following effect:--

 Then a prayer to St. Peter, a prayer to St. Paul! A prayer to St. Jerome, a prayer to them all! A prayer to each one of the saintly stock, But devotion alone, devotion to Hock!

"A right good burden'" said Essper. The very words had made him recoverhis temper, and ten thousand times more desirous of gaining admittance. He was off his horse in a moment, and scrambling up the wall with theaid of the iron stanchions, he clambered up to the window. The suddenappearance of his figure startled the inmates of the lodge, and one ofthem soon staggered to the gate. 

"What want you, ye noisy and disturbing varlets? what want you, ye mostunhallowed rogues, at such a place, and at such an hour? If you bethieves, look at our bars (here a hiccup). If you be poachers, ourmaster is engaged, and ye may slay all the game in the forest (anotherhiccup); but if ye be good men and true--"

"We are!" halloed Essper, eagerly. 

"You are!" said the porter, in a tone of great surprise; "then you oughtto be ashamed of yourselves for disturbing holy men at their devotions!"

"Is this the way, " said Essper, "to behave, ye shameless rascals, to anoble and mighty Prince, who happens to have lost his way in yourabominable forest, but who, though he has parted with his suite, hasstill in his pocket a purse full of ducats? Would ye have him robbed byany others but yourselves? Is this the way you behave to a Prince of theHoly Roman Empire, a Knight of the Golden Fleece, and a most particularfriend of your own master? Is this the way to behave to his secretary, who is one of the merriest fellows living, can sing a jolly song withany of you, and so bedevil a bottle of Geisenheim with lemons andbrandy that for the soul of ye you wouldn't know it from the greenestTokay? Out, out on ye! you know not what you have lost!"

Ere Essper had finished more than one stout bolt had been drawn, and thegreat key had already entered the stouter lock. 

"Most honourable sirs!" hiccuped the porter, "in our Lady's name enter. I had forgot myself, for in these autumn nights it is necessary toanticipate the cold with a glass of cheering liquor; and, God forgiveme! if I did not mistake your most mighty Highnesses for a couple offorest rovers, or small poachers at least. Thin entertainment here, kindsir (here the last bolt was withdrawn); a glass of indifferent liquorand a prayer-book. I pass the time chiefly these cold nights with a fewholy-minded friends at our devotions. You heard us at our prayers, honourable lords!

 "A prayer to St. Peter, a prayer to St. Paul! A prayer to St. Jerome, a prayer to them all!"

Here the devout porter most reverently crossed himself. 

 "A prayer to each one of the saintly stock, But devotion alone, devotion to Hock!"

added Essper George; "you forget the best part of the burden, my honestfriend. "

"Oh!" said the porter, with an arch smile, as he opened the lodge door;"I am glad to find that your honourable Excellencies have a tastefor hymns!"

The porter led them into a room, at a round table in which abouthalf-a-dozen individuals were busily engaged in discussing the merits ofvarious agreeable liquors. There was an attempt to get up a show ofpolite hospitality to Vivian as he entered, but the man who offered himhis chair fell to the ground in an unsuccessful struggle to becourteous; and another one, who had filled a large glass for the gueston his entrance, offered him, after a preliminary speech of incoherentcompliments, the empty bottle by mistake. The porter and his friends, although they were all drunk, had sense enough to feel that the presenceof a Prince of the Holy Roman Empire, a Chevalier of the Golden Fleece, and the particular friend of their master, was not exactly a fitcompanion for themselves, and was rather a check on the gay freedom ofequal companionship; and so, although the exertion was not a littletroublesome, the guardian of the gate reeled out of the room to informhis honoured lord of the sudden arrival of a stranger of distinction, Essper George immediately took his place, and ere the master of thelodge had returned the noble secretary had not only given a choicetoast, sung a choice song, and been hailed by the grateful plaudits ofall present, but had proceeded in his attempt to fulfil the pledge whichhe had given at the gate to the very letter by calling out lustily for abottle of Geisenheim, lemons, brandy, and a bowl. 

"Fairly and softly, my little son of Bacchus, " said the porter as here-entered, "fairly and softly, and then thou shalt want nothing; butremember I have to perform my duties unto the noble Lord my master, andalso to the noble Prince your master. If thou wilt follow me, " continuedthe porter, reeling as he bowed with the greatest consideration toVivian; "if thou wilt follow me, most high and mighty sir, my masterwill be right glad to have the honour of drinking your health. And asfor you, my friends, fairly and softly say I again. We will talk of theGeisenheim anon. Am I to be absent from the first brewing? No, no!fairly and softly; you can drink my health when I am absent in coldliquor, and say those things which you could not well say before myface. But mind, my most righteous and well-beloved, I will have noflattery. Flattery is the destruction of all good fellowship; it is likea qualmish liqueur in the midst of a bottle of wine. Speak your minds, say any little thing that comes first, as thus, 'Well, for Hunsdrich, the porter, I must declare that I never heard evil word against him;' orthus, 'A very good leg has Hunsdrich the porter, and a tight-made ladaltogether; no enemy with the girls, I warrant me;' or thus, 'Well, fora good-hearted, good-looking, stout-drinking, virtuous, honourable, handsome, generous, sharp-witted knave, commend me to Hunsdrich theporter;' but not a word more, my friends, not a word more, noflattery--Now, sir, I beg your pardon. "

The porter led the way through a cloistered walk, until they arrived atthe door of the great mansion, to which they ascended by a lofty flightof steps; it opened into a large octagonal hail, the sides of which werecovered with fowling-pieces, stags' heads, couteaux de chasse, boar-spears, and huge fishing-nets. Passing through this hall, theyascended a noble stair-case, on the first landing-place of which was adoor, which Vivian's conductor opened, and ushering him into a large andwell-lighted chamber, withdrew. From the centre of this room descended amagnificently cut chandelier, which threw a graceful light upon asumptuous banquet table, at which were seated eight verysingular-looking personages. All of them wore hunting-dresses of variousshades of straw-coloured cloth, with the exception of one, who sat onthe left hand of the master of the feast, and the colour of whosecostume was a rich crimson purple. From the top to the bottom of thetable extended a double file of wine-glasses and goblets, of all sizesand all colours. There you might see brilliant relics of that ancientruby-glass the vivid tints of which seem lost to us for ever. Next tothese were marshalled goblets of Venetian manufacture, of a cloudy, creamy white; then came the huge hock glass of some ancient Primate ofMentz, nearly a yard high, towering above its companions, as the church, its former master, predominated over the simple laymen of the middleages. Why should we forget a set of most curious and antiquedrinking-cups of painted glass, on whose rare surfaces were emblazonedthe Kaiser and ten electors of the old Empire?

Vivian bowed to the party and stood in silence, while they stared ascrutinising examination. At length the master of the feast spoke. Hewas a very stout man, with a prodigious paunch, which his tighteneddress set off to great advantage. His face, and particularly hisforehead, were of great breadth. His eyes were set far apart. His longears hung down almost to his shoulders; yet singular as he was, not onlyin these, but in many other respects, everything was forgotten when youreyes lighted on his nose. It was the most prodigious nose that Vivianever remembered not only seeing, but hearing or even reading of. Itfact, it was too monstrous for a dream. This mighty nose seemed to hangalmost to its owner's chest. 

"Be seated, " said this personage, in no unpleasing voice, and he pointedto the chair opposite to him. Vivian took the vacated seat of theVice-President, who moved himself to the right. "Be seated, and whoeveryou may be, welcome! If our words be few, think not that our welcome isscant. We are not much given to speech, holding it for a principle thatif a man's mouth be open, it should be for the purpose of receiving thatwhich cheers a man's spirit; not of giving vent to idle words, which, sofar as we have observed, produce no other effect save filling the worldwith crude and unprofitable fantasies, and distracting our attentionwhen we are on the point of catching those flavours which alone make theworld endurable. Therefore, briefly, but heartily, welcome! Welcome, SirStranger, from us, and from all: and first from us, the Grand Duke ofJohannisberger. " Here his Highness rose, and pulled out a large rubytumbler from the file. Each of those present did the same, without, however, rising, and the late Vice-President, who sat next to Vivian, invited him to follow their example. 

The Grand Duke of Johannisberger brought forward, from beneath thetable, an ancient and exquisite bottle of that choice liquor from whichhe took his exhilarating title. The cork was drawn, and the bottlecirculated with rapidity; and in three minutes the ruby glasses werefilled and emptied, and the Grand Duke's health quaffed by all present. 

"Again, Sir Stranger, " continued the Grand Duke, "briefly, but heartily, welcome! welcome from us and welcome from all; and first from us, andnow from the Archduke of Hockheimer!"

The Archduke of Hockheimer was a thin, sinewy man, with long, carrotyhair, eyelashes of the same colour, but of a remarkable length; andmustachios, which, though very thin, were so long that they met underhis chin. Vivian could not refrain from noticing the extreme length, whiteness, and apparent sharpness of his teeth. The Archduke did notspeak, but, leaning under the table, soon produced a bottle ofHockheimer. He then took from the file one of the Venetian glasses ofclouded white. All followed his example; the bottle was sent round, hishealth was pledged, and the Grand Duke of Johannisberger again spoke:

"Again, Sir Stranger, briefly, but heartily, welcome! Welcome from us, and welcome from all; and first from us, and now from the Elector ofSteinberg!"

The Elector of Steinberg was a short, but very broad-backed, strong-built man. Though his head was large, his features were small, and appeared smaller from the immense quantity of coarse, shaggy, brownhair which grew over almost every part of his face and fell down uponhis shoulders. The Elector was as silent as his predecessor, and quicklyproduced a bottle of Steinberg. The curious drinking cups of paintedglass were immediately withdrawn from the file, the bottle was sentround, the Elector's health was pledged, and the Grand Duke ofJohannisberger again spoke:

"Again, Sir Stranger, briefly, but heartily, welcome! Welcome from us, and welcome from all; and first from us, and now from the Margrave ofRudesheimer!"

The Margrave of Rudesheimer was a slender man of elegant appearance. AsVivian watched the glance of his speaking eye, and the half-satiricaland half-jovial smile which played upon his features, he hardly expectedthat he would be as silent as his predecessors. But the Margrave spokeno word. He gave a kind of shout of savage exultation as he smacked hislips after dashing off his glass of Rudesheimer; and scarcely noticingthe salutations of those who drank his health, he threw himself back inhis chair, and listened seemingly with a smile of derision, while theGrand Duke of Johannisberger again spoke:

"Again, Sir Stranger, briefly, but heartily, welcome! Welcome from us, and welcome from all; and first from us, and now from the Landgrave ofGrafenberg. "

The Landgrave of Grafenberg was a rude, awkward-looking person, who, when he rose from his seat, stared like an idiot, and seemed utterlyignorant of what he ought to do. But his quick companion, the Margraveof Rudesheimer, soon thrust a bottle of Grafenberg into the Landgrave'shand, and with some trouble and bustle the Landgrave extracted the cork;and then helping himself sat down, forgetting either to salute, or toreturn the salutations of those present. 

"Again, Sir Stranger, briefly, but heartily, welcome! Welcome from us, and welcome from all; and first from us, and now from the Palsgrave ofGeisenheim!"

The Palsgrave of Geisenheim was a dwarf in spectacles. He drew the corkfrom his bottle like lightning, and mouthed at his companions even whilehe bowed to them. 

"Again, Sir Stranger, briefly, but heartily, welcome! Welcome from us, and welcome from all; and first from us, and now from the Count ofMarkbrunnen!"

The Count of Markbrunnen was a sullen-looking personage, with lipsprotruding nearly three inches beyond his nose. From each side of hisupper jaw projected a large tooth. 

"Thanks to Heaven!" said Vivian, as the Grand Duke again spoke; "thanksto Heaven, here is our last man!"

"Again, Sir Stranger, briefly, but heartily, welcome! Welcome from us, and welcome from all; and first from us, and now from the Baron ofAsmanshausen!"

The Baron of Asmanshausen sat on the left hand of the Grand Duke ofJohannisberger, and was dressed, as we have before said, in an uniquecostume of crimson purple. The Baron stood, without his boots, about sixfeet eight. He was a sleek man, with a head not bigger than a child's, and a pair of small, black, beady eyes, of singular brilliancy. TheBaron introduced a bottle of the only red wine that the Rhine boasts;but which, for its fragrant and fruity flavour and its brilliant tint, is perhaps not inferior to the sunset glow of Burgundy. 

"And now, " continued the Grand Duke, "having introduced you to allpresent, sir, we will begin drinking. "

Vivian had submitted to the introductory ceremonies with the good gracewhich becomes a man of the world; but the coolness of this lastobservation recalled our hero's wandering senses; and, at the same time, alarmed at discovering that eight bottles of wine had been discussed bythe party merely as preliminary, and emboldened by the contents of onebottle which had fallen to his own share, he had the courage to confrontthe Grand Duke of Johannisberger in his own castle. 

"Your wine, most noble Lord, stands in no need of my commendation; butas I must mention it, let it not be said that I ever mentioned itwithout praise. After a ten hours' ride, its flavour is as grateful tothe palate as its strength is refreshing to the heart; but though oldHock, in homely phrase, is styled meat and drink, I confess to you that, at this moment, I stand in need of even more solid sustenance than thejuice of the sunny hill. "

"A traitor!" shrieked all present, each with his right arm stretchedout, glass in hand; "a traitor!"

"No traitor, " answered Vivian, "noble and right thirsty lords, but oneof the most hungry mortals that ever yet famished. "

The only answer that he received for some time was a loud and ill-bodingmurmur. The long whisker of the Archduke of Hockheimer curled withrenewed rage; audible, though suppressed, was the growl of the hairyElector of Steinberg; fearful the corporeal involutions of the tallBaron of Asmanshausen; and savagely sounded the wild laugh of thebright-eyed Margrave of Rudesheimer. 

"Silence, my Lords!" said the Grand Duke. "Forget we that ignorance isthe stranger's portion, and that no treason can exist among those whoare not our sworn subjects? Pity we rather the degeneracy of thisbold-spoken youth, and in the plenitude of our mercy let us pardon hisdemand! Know ye, unknown knight, that you are in the presence of anaugust society who are here met at one of their accustomed convocations, whereof the purport is the frequent quaffing of those most gloriousliquors of which the sacred Rhine is the great father. We profess tofind a perfect commentary on the Pindaric laud of the strongest elementin the circumstance of the banks of a river being the locality where thejuice of the grape is most delicious, and holding, therefore, that wateris strongest because, in a manner, it giveth birth to wine, we also holdit as a sacred element, and consequently most religiously refrain fromrefreshing our bodies with that sanctified and most undrinkable fluid. Know ye that we are the children of the Rhine, the conservators of hisflavours, profound in the learning of his exquisite aroma, and deepstudents in the mysteries of his inexplicable näre. Professing not to beimmortal, we find in the exercise of the chase a noble means to preservethat health which is necessary for the performance of the ceremonies towhich we are pledged. At to-morrow's dawn our bugle sounds, and thou, stranger, may engage the wild boar at our side; at to-morrow's noon thecastle bell will toll, and thou, stranger, may eat of the beast whichthou hast conquered; but to feed after midnight, to destroy the power ofcatching the delicate flavour, to annihilate the faculty of detectingthe undefinable näre, is heresy, most rank and damnable heresy!Therefore at this hour soundeth no plate or platter, jingleth no knifeor culinary instrument, in the PALACE or THE WINES. Yet, inconsideration of thy youth, and that on the whole thou hast tasted thyliquor like a proper man, from which we augur the best expectations ofthe manner in which thou wilt drink it, we feel confident that ourbrothers of the goblet will permit us to grant thee the substantialsolace of a single shoeing horn. "

"Let it be a Dutch herring, then, " said Vivian, "and as you have soulsto be saved grant me one slice of bread. "

"It cannot be, " said the Grand Duke; "but as we are willing to beindulgent to bold hearts, verily, we will wink at the profanation of asingle toast; but you must order an anchovy one, and give secretinstructions to the waiting-man to forget the fish. It must be countedas a second shoeing horn, and you will forfeit for the last a bottle ofMarkbrunnen. "

"And now, illustrious brothers, " continued the Grand Duke, "let us drink1726. "

All present gave a single cheer, in which Vivian was obliged to join, and they honoured with a glass of the very year the memory of acelebrated vintage. 

"1748!" said the Grand Duke. 

Two cheers and the same ceremony. 

1766 and 1779 were honoured in the same manner, but when the next toastwas drank, Vivian almost observed in the countenances of the Grand Dukeand his friends the signs of incipient insanity. 

"1783!" hallooed the Grand Duke in a tone of the most triumphantexultation, and his mighty proboscis, as it snuffed the air, almostcaused a whirlwind round the room. Hockheimer gave a roar, Steinberg agrowl, Rudesheimer a wild laugh, Markbrunnen, a loud grunt, Grafenberg abray, Asmanshausen's long body moved to and fro with wonderfulagitation, and little Geisenheim's bright eyes glistened through theirglasses as if they were on fire. How ludicrous is the incipientinebriety of a man who wears spectacles!

Thanks to an excellent constitution, which recent misery, however, hadsomewhat shattered, Vivian bore up against all these attacks; and whenthey had got down to 1802, from the excellency of his digestion and theinimitable skill with which he emptied many of the latter glasses underthe table, he was, perhaps, in better condition than any one inthe room. 

And now rose the idiot Grafenberg; Rudesheimer all the time, with amalicious smile, faintly pulling him down by the skirt of his coat, asif he were desirous of preventing an exposure which his own advice hadbrought about. He had been persuading Grafenberg the whole evening tomake a speech. 

"My Lord Duke, " brayed the jackass; and then he stopped dead, and lookedround the room with an unmeaning stare. 

"Hear, hear, hear!" was the general cry; but Grafenberg seemed astoundedat any one being desirous of hearing his voice, or for a momentseriously entertaining the idea that he could have anything to say; andso he stared again, and again, and again, till at last Rudesheimer, bydint of kicking his shins under the table, the Margrave the whole timeseeming perfectly motionless, at length extracted a sentence from theasinine Landgrave. 

"My Lord Duke!" again commenced Grafenberg, and again he stopped. 

"Go on!" shouted all. 

"My Lord Duke! Rudesheimer is treading on my toes!"

Here little Geisenheim gave a loud laugh of derision, in which alljoined except surly Markbrunnen, whose lips protruded an extra inchbeyond their usual length when he found that all were laughing at hisfriend. The Grand Duke at last procured silence. 

"Shame! shame! mighty Princes! Shame! shame! noble Lords! Is it withthis irreverent glee, these scurvy flouts, and indecorous mockery, thatyou would have this stranger believe that we celebrate the ceremonies ofour Father Rhine? Shame, I say; and silence! It is time that we shouldprove to him that we are not merely a boisterous and unruly party ofswilling varlets, who leave their brains in their cups. It is time thatwe should do something to prove that we are capable of better andworthier things. What ho! my Lord of Geisenheim! shall I speak twice tothe guardian of the horn of the Fairy King?"

The little dwarf instantly jumped from his seat and proceeded to the endof the room, where, after having bowed three times with great reverencebefore a small black cabinet made of vine wood, he opened it with agolden key, and then with great pomp and ceremony bore its contents tothe Grand Duke. That chieftain took from the little dwarf the horn of agigantic and antediluvian elk. The cunning hand of an ancient Germanartificer had formed this curious relic into a drinking-cup. It wasexquisitely polished, and cased in the interior with silver. On theoutside the only ornaments were three richly-chased silver rings, whichwere placed nearly at equal distances. When the Grand Duke had carefullyexamined this most precious horn, he held it up with great reverence toall present, and a party of devout Catholics could not have paid greaterhomage to the elevated Host than did the various guests to the horn ofthe Fairy King. Even the satanic smile on Rudesheimer's countenance wasfor a moment subdued, and all bowed. The Grand Duke then delivered themighty cup to his neighbour, the Archduke of Hockheimer, who held itwith both hands until his Royal Highness had emptied into it, with greatcare, three bottles of Johannisberger. All rose: the Grand Duke tookthe goblet in one hand, and with the other he dexterously put aside hismost inconvenient and enormous nose. Dead silence prevailed, save theroar of the liquor as it rushed down the Grand Duke's throat, andresounded through the chamber like the distant dash of a waterfall. Inthree minutes the Chairman had completed his task, the horn had quittedhis mouth, his nose had again resumed its usual situation, and as hehanded the cup to the Archduke, Vivian thought that a material changehad taken place in his countenance since he had quaffed his lastdraught. His eyes seemed more apart; his ears seemed broader and longer;and his nose visibly lengthened. The Archduke, before he commenced hisdraught, ascertained with great scrupulosity that his predecessor hadtaken his fair share by draining the horn as far as the first ring; andthen he poured off with great rapidity his own portion. But though, inperforming the same task, he was quicker than the master of the party, the draught not only apparently, but audibly, produced upon him a muchmore decided effect than it had on the Grand Duke; for when the secondring was drained the Archduke gave a loud roar of exultation, and stoodup for some time from his seat, with his hands resting on the table, over which he leant, as if he were about to spring upon his oppositeneighbour. The cup was now handed across the table to the Baron ofAsmanshausen. His Lordship performed his task with ease; but as hewithdrew the horn from his mouth, all present, except Vivian, gave aloud cry of "Supernaculum!" The Baron smiled with great contempt, as hetossed, with a careless hand, the great horn upside downwards, and wasunable to shed upon his nail even the one excusable pearl. He handed therefilled horn to the Elector of Steinberg, who drank his portion with agrowl; but afterwards seemed so pleased with the facility of hisexecution that, instead of delivering it to the next bibber, thePalsgrave of Markbrunnen, he commenced some clumsy attempts at a danceof triumph, in which he certainly would have proceeded, had not the loudgrunts of the surly and thick-lipped Markbrunnen occasioned theinterference of the President. Supernaculum now fell to the Margrave ofRudesheimer, who gave a loud and long-continued laugh as the dwarf ofGeisenheim filled the horn for the third time. 

While this ceremony was going on, a thousand plans had occurred toVivian for his escape; but all, on second thoughts, provedimpracticable. With agony he had observed that supernaculum was hismiserable lot. Could he but have foisted it on the idiot Grafenberg, hemight, by his own impudence and the other's stupidity, have escaped. Buthe could not flatter himself that he should be successful in bringingabout this end, for he observed with dismay that the maliciousRudesheimer had not for a moment ceased watching him with a keen andexulting glance. Geisenheim performed his task; and ere Vivian could askfor the goblet, Rudesheimer, with a fell laugh, had handed it toGrafenberg. The greedy ass drank his portion with ease, and indeed drankfar beyond his limit. The cup was in Vivian's hand, Rudesheimer wasroaring supernaculum louder than all; Vivian saw that the covetousGrafenberg had providentially rendered his task comparatively light; buteven as it was, he trembled at the idea of drinking at a single draughtmore than a pint of most vigorous and powerful wine. 

"My Lord Duke, " said Vivian, "you and your companions forget that I amlittle used to these ceremonies; that I am yet uninitiated in themysteries of the näre. I have endeavoured to prove myself nochicken-hearted water-drinking craven, and I have more wine within me atthis moment than any man yet bore without dinner. I think, therefore, that I have some grounds for requesting indulgence, and I have no doubtthat the good sense of yourself and your friends--"

Ere Vivian could finish, he almost fancied that a well-stocked menageriehad been suddenly emptied in the room. Such roaring, and such growling, and such hissing, could only have been exceeded on some grand feast dayin the recesses of a Brazilian forest. Asmanshausen looked as fierce asa boa constrictor before dinner. The proboscis of the Grand Duke heavedto and fro like the trunk of an enraged elephant. Hockheimer glared likea Bengal tiger about to spring upon its prey. Steinberg growled like aBaltic bear. In Markbrunnen Vivian recognised the wild boar he hadhimself often hunted. Grafenberg brayed like a jackass, and Geisenheimchattered like an ape. But all was forgotten and unnoticed when Vivianheard the fell and frantic shouts of the laughing hyaena, the Margraveof Rudesheimer! Vivian, in despair, dashed the horn of Oberon to hismouth. One pull, a gasp, another desperate draught; it was done! andfollowed by a supernaculum almost superior to the exultingAsmanshausen's. 

A loud shout hailed the exploit, and when the shout had subsided intosilence the voice of the Grand Duke of Johannisberger was again heard:

"Noble Lords and Princes! I congratulate you on the acquisition of acongenial co-mate, and the accession to our society of one who, I nowventure to say, will never disgrace the glorious foundation; but who, onthe contrary, with heaven's blessing and the aid of his own good palate, will, it is hoped, add to our present knowledge of flavours by thedetection of new ones, and by illustrations drawn from frequent studyand constant observation of the mysterious näre. In consideration of hislong journey and his noble achievement, I do propose that we drink butvery lightly to-night, and meet by two hours after to-morrow's dawn, under the moss-man's oak. Nevertheless, before we part, for therefreshment of our own good bodies, and by way of reward and act ofcourtesy unto this noble and accomplished stranger, let us pledge him insome foreign grape of fame, to which he may perhaps be more accustomedthan unto the ever-preferable juices of our Father Rhine. " Here theGrand Duke nodded to little Geisenheim, who in a moment was athis elbow. 

It was in vain that Vivian remonstrated, excused himself from joining, or assured them that their conduct had already been so peculiarlycourteous, that any further attention was at present unnecessary. Acuriously cut glass, which on a moderate calculation Vivian reckonedwould hold at least three pints, was placed before each guest; and abasket, containing nine bottles of sparkling champagne, premièrequalité, was set before his Highness. 

"We are no bigots, noble stranger, " said the Grand Duke, as he took oneof the bottles, and scrutinised the cork with a very keen eye; "we areno bigots, and there are moments when we drink Champagne, nor isBurgundy forgotten, nor the soft Bourdeaux, nor the glowing grape of thesunny Rhone!" His Highness held the bottle at an oblique angle with thechandelier. The wire is loosened, whirr! The exploded cork whizzedthrough the air, extinguished one of the burners of the chandelier, andbrought the cut drop which was suspended under it rattling down amongthe glasses on the table. The President poured the foaming fluid intohis great goblet, and bowing to all around, fastened on its contentswith as much eagerness as Arabs hasten to a fountain. 

The same operation was performed as regularly and as skilfully by allexcept Vivian. Eight burners were extinguished; eight diamond drops hadfallen clattering on the table; eight human beings had finished amiraculous carouse, by each drinking off a bottle of sparklingchampagne. It was Vivian's turn. All eyes were fixed on him with themost perfect attention. He was now, indeed, quite desperate; for had hebeen able to execute a trick which long practice alone could haveenabled any man to perform, he felt conscious that it was quite out ofhis power to taste a single drop of the contents of his bottle. However, he loosened his wire and held the bottle at an angle with thechandelier; but the cork flew quite wild, and struck with great forcethe mighty nose of Johannisberger. 

"A forfeit!" cried all. 

"Treason, and a forfeit!" cried the Margrave of Rudesheimer. 

"A forfeit is sufficient punishment, " said the President; who, however, still felt the smarting effect of the assault on his proboscis. "Youmust drink Oberon's horn full of champagne, " he continued. 

"Never!" said Vivian. "Enough of this. I have already conformed in adegree which may injuriously affect my health with your barbaroushumours; but there is moderation even in excess. And so, if you please, my Lord, your servant may show me to my apartment, or I shall againmount my horse. "

"You shall not leave this room, " said the President, with greatfirmness. 

"Who shall prevent me?" asked Vivian. 

"I will, all will!"

"Now, by heavens! a more insolent and inhospitable old ruffian did Inever meet. By the wine you worship, if one of you dare touch me, youshall rue it all your born days; and as for you, sir, if you advance onestep towards me, I will take that sausage of a nose of yours and hurlyou half round your own castle!"

"Treason!" shouted all, and looked to the chair. 

"Treason!" said enraged majesty. The allusion to the nose had done awaywith all the constitutional doubts which had been sported so moderatelyat the commencement of the evening. 

"Treason!" howled the President: "instant punishment!"

"What punishment?" asked Asmanshausen. 

"Drown him in the new butt of Moselle, " recommended Rudesheimer. Thesuggestion was immediately adopted. Every one rose: the littleGeisenheim already had hold of Vivian's shoulder; and Grafenberg, instigated by the cowardly but malicious Rudesheimer, was about toseize him by the neck. Vivian took the dwarf and hurled him at thechandelier, in whose brazen chains the little being got entangled, andthere remained. An unexpected cross-buttocker floored the incautious andunscientific Grafenberg; and following up these advantages, Vivian laidopen the skull of his prime enemy, the retreating Margrave ofRudesheimer, with the assistance of the horn of Oberon; which flew fromhis hand to the other end of the room, from the force with which itrebounded from the cranium of the enemy. All the rest were now on theadvance; but giving a vigorous and unexpected push to the table, theJohannisberger and Asmanshausen were thrown over, and the nose of theformer got entangled with the awkward windings of the Fairy King's horn. Taking advantage of this move, Vivian rushed to the door. He escaped, but had not time to secure the lock against the enemy, for the stoutElector of Steinberg was too quick for him. He dashed down the stairswith extraordinary agility; but just as he had gained the largeoctagonal hall, the whole of his late boon companions, with theexception of the dwarf of Geisenheim, who was left in the chandelier, were visible in full chase. Escape was impossible, and so Vivian, followed by the seven nobles, headed by their President, described withall possible rapidity a circle round the hall. He gave himself up forlost; but, luckily, for him, it never occurred to one of his pursuers todo anything but follow their leader; and as, therefore, they neverdodged Vivian, and as, also, he was a much fleeter runner than the fatPresident, whose pace, of course, regulated the progress of hisfollowers, the party might have gone on at this rate until all of themhad dropped from fatigue, had not the occurrence of a ludicrous incidentprevented this consummation. 

The hall door was suddenly dashed open, and Essper George rushed in, followed in full chase by Hunsdrich and the guests of the lodge, whowere the servants of Vivian's pursuers. Essper darted in betweenRudesheimer and Markbrunnen, and Hunsdrich and his friends following thesame tactics as their lords and masters, without making any attempt tosurround and hem in the object of their pursuit, merely followed him inorder, describing, but in a contrary direction, a lesser circle withinthe eternal round of the first party. It was only proper for theservants to give their masters the wall. In spite of their verydisagreeable and dangerous situation, it was with difficulty that Vivianrefrained from laughter, as he met Essper regularly every half minuteat the foot of the great staircase. Suddenly, as Essper passed, he tookVivian by the waist, and with a single jerk placed him on the stairs;and then, with a dexterous dodge, he brought Hunsdrich the porter andthe Grand Duke in full contact. 

"I have got you at last, " said Hunsdrich, seizing hold of his Grace ofJohannisberger by the ears, and mistaking him for Essper. 

"I have got you at last, " said his master, grappling, as he supposed, with Vivian. Both struggled; their followers pushed on with impetuousforce, the battle was general, the overthrow universal. In a moment allwere on the ground; and if any less inebriated or more active individualattempted to rise, Essper immediately brought him down with aboar-spear. 

"Give me that large fishing-net, " said Essper to Vivian; "quick, quick. "

Vivian pulled down a large coarse net, which covered nearly five sidesof the room. It was immediately unfolded, and spread over the fallencrew. To fasten it down with half a dozen boar-spears, which they droveinto the floor, was the work of a moment. Essper had one pull at theproboscis of the Grand Duke of Johannisberger before he hurried Vivianaway; and in ten minutes they were again on their horses' backs andgalloping through the star-lit wood. 

CHAPTER II

It is the hour before the labouring bee has left his golden hive; notyet the blooming day buds in the blushing East; not yet has thevictorious Lucifer chased from the early sky the fainting splendour ofthe stars of night. All is silent, save the light breath of morn wakingthe slumbering leaves. Even now a golden streak breaks over the greymountains. Hark to shrill chanticleer! As the cock crows the owl ceases. Hark to shrill chanticleer's feathered rival! The mountain lark springsfrom the sullen earth, and welcomes with his hymn the coming day. Thegolden streak has expanded into a crimson crescent, and rays of livingfire flame over the rose-enamelled East. Man rises sooner than the sun, and already sound the whistle of the ploughman, the song of the mower, and the forge of the smith; and hark to the bugle of the hunter, and thebaying of his deep-mouthed hound. The sun is up, the generating sun! andtemple, and tower, and tree, the massy wood, and the broad field, andthe distant hill, burst into sudden light; quickly upcurled is the duskymist from the shining river; quickly is the cold dew drunk from theraised heads of the drooping flowers!

A canter by a somewhat clearer light than the one which had sounfortunately guided himself and his companion to the Palace of theWines soon carried them again to the skirts of the forest, and at thisminute they are emerging on the plain from yonder dark wood. 

"By heavens! Essper, I cannot reach the town this morning. Was everanything more unfortunate. A curse on those drunken fools. What with norest and no solid refreshment, and the rivers of hock that are flowingwithin me, and the infernal exertion of running round that vile hall, Ifeel fairly exhausted, and could at this moment fall from my saddle. Seeyou no habitation, my good fellow, where there might be a chance of abreakfast and a few hours' rest? We are now well out of the forest. Oh!surely there is smoke from behind those pines; some good wife, I trust, is by her chimney corner. "

"If my sense be not destroyed by the fumes of that mulled Geisenheim, which still haunts me, I could swear that the smoke is the soul of aburning weed. "

"A truce to your jokes, good Essper; I really am very ill. A year ago Icould have laughed at our misfortunes, but now it is very different;and, by heavens, I must have breakfast! so stir, exert yourself, and, although I die for it, let us canter up to the smoke. "

"No, dear master, I will ride on before. Do you follow gently, and ifthere be a pigeon in the pot in all Germany. I swear by the patron saintof every village for fifty miles round, provided they be not heretics, that you shall taste of its breast-bone this morning. "

The smoke did issue from a chimney, but the door of the cottage wasshut. 

"Hilloa, within!" shouted Essper; "who shuts the sun out on a Septembermorning?"

The door was at length slowly opened, and a most ill-favoured andinhospitable-looking dame demanded, in a sullen voice, "What'syour will?"

"You pretty creature!" said Essper, who was still a little tipsy. 

The door would have been shut in his face had not he darted into thehouse before the woman was aware. 

"Truly, a neat and pleasant dwelling! and you would have no objection, Iguess, to give a handsome young gentleman some little sop of somethingjust to remind him, you know, that it isn't dinner-time. "

"We give no sops here: what do you take us for? and so, my handsomeyoung gentleman, be off, or I shall call the good man. "

"Why, I am not the handsome young gentleman; that is my master! who, ifhe were not half-starved to death, would fall in love with you atfirst sight. "

"Your master; is he in the carriage?"

"Carriage! no; on horseback. "

"Travellers?"

"To be sure, dear dame; travellers true. "

"Travellers true, without luggage, and at this time of morn! Methinks, by your looks, queer fellows, that you are travellers whom it may bewise for an honest woman not to meet. "

"What! some people have an objection, then, to a forty kreüzer piece ona sunny morning?"

So saying, Essper, in a careless manner, tossed a broad piece in theair, and made it ring on a fellow coin, as he caught it in the palm ofhis hand when it descended. 

"Is that your master?" asked the woman. 

"Ay, is it! and the prettiest piece of flesh I have seen this month, except yourself. "

"Well! if the gentleman likes bread he can sit down here, " said thewoman, pointing to a bench, and throwing a sour black loaf uponthe table. 

"Now, sir!" said Essper, wiping the bench with great care, "lie you hereand rest yourself. I have known a marshal sleep upon a harder sofa. Breakfast will be ready immediately. "

"If you cannot eat what you have, you may ride where you can find bettercheer. "

"What is bread for a traveller's breakfast? But I daresay my lord willbe contented; young men are so easily pleased when there is a prettygirl in the case; you know that, you wench I you do, you little hussy;you are taking advantage of it. "

Something like a smile lit up the face of the sullen woman when shesaid. "There may be an egg in the house, but I don't know. "

"But you will soon, you dear creature! What a pretty foot!" bawledEssper after her, as she left the room. "Now confound this hag; if therebe not meat about this house may I keep my mouth shut at our nextdinner. What's that in the corner? a boar's tusk! Ay, ay! a huntsman'scottage; and when lived a huntsman on black bread before! Oh! bless yourbright eyes for these eggs, and this basin of new milk. "

So saying, Essper took them out of her hand and placed them beforeVivian. 

"I was saying to myself, my pretty girl, when you were out of the room, 'Essper George, good cheer, say thy prayers, and never despair; comewhat may, you will fall among friends at last, and how do you know thatyour dream mayn't come true after all? Didn't you dream that youbreakfasted in the month of September with a genteel young woman withgold ear-rings? and is not she standing before you now? and did not shedo everything in the world to make you comfortable? Did not she give youmilk and eggs, and when you complained that you and meat had been butslack friends of late, did not she open her own closet, and give you asfine a piece of hunting beef as was ever set before a Jagd Junker?'"

"I think you will turn me into an innkeeper's wife at last, " said thedame, her stern features relaxing into a smile; and while she spoke sheadvanced to the great closet, Essper George following her, walking onhis toes, lolling out his enormous tongue, and stroking his mock paunch. As she opened it he jumped upon a chair and had examined every shelf inless time than a pistol could flush. "White bread! fit for a countess;salt! worthy of Poland; boar's head!! no better at Troyes; and huntingbeef!!! my dream is true!" and he bore in triumph to Vivian, who wasnearly asleep, the ample round of salt and pickled beef well stuffedwith all kinds of savoury herbs. 

It was nearly an hour before noon ere the travellers had remounted. Their road again entered the forest which they had been skirting for thelast two days. The huntsmen were abroad; and the fine weather, his goodmeal and seasonable rest, and the inspiriting sounds of the bugle madeVivian feel recovered from his late fatigues. 

"That must be a true-hearted huntsman, Essper, by the sound of hisbugle. I never heard one played with more spirit. Hark! how fine it diesaway hi the wood; fainter and fainter, yet how clear! It must be nowhalf a mile distant. "

"I hear nothing so wonderful, " said Essper, putting the two middlefingers of his right hand before his mouth and sounding a note so clearand beautiful, so exactly imitative of the fall which Vivian had noticedand admired, that for a moment he imagined that the huntsman was athis elbow. 

"Thou art a cunning knave! do it again. " This time Essper made the verywood echo. In a few minutes a horseman galloped up; he was as spruce acavalier as ever pricked gay steed on the pliant grass. He was dressedin a green military uniform, and a gilt bugle hung by his side; hisspear told them that he was hunting the wild boar. When he saw Vivianand Essper he suddenly pulled up his horse and seemed astonished. 

"I thought that his Highness had been here, " said the huntsman. 

"No one has passed us, sir, " said Vivian. 

"I could have sworn that his bugle sounded from this very spot, " saidthe huntsman. "My ear seldom deceives me. "

"We heard a bugle to the right, sir, " said Essper. 

"Thanks, my friend, " and the huntsman was about to gallop off. 

"May I ask the name of his Highness?" said Vivian. "We are strangers inthis country. "

"That may certainly account for your ignorance, " said the huntsman; "butno one who lives in this land can be unacquainted with his SereneHighness the Prince of Little Lilliput, my illustrious master. I havethe honour, " continued the huntsman, "of being Jagd Junker, orGentilhomme de la Chasse to his Serene Highness. "

"'Tis an office of great dignity, " said Vivian, "and one that I have nodoubt you admirably perform; I will not stop you, sir, to admireyour horse. "

The huntsman bowed courteously and galloped off. 

"You see, sir, " said Essper George, "that my bugle has deceived even theJagd Junker, or Gentilhomme de la Chasse of his Serene Highness thePrince of Little Lilliput himself;" so saying, Essper again sounded hisinstrument. 

"A joke may be carried too far, my good fellow, " said Vivian. "A truehuntsman like myself must not spoil a brother's sport, so silenceyour bugle. "

Now again galloped up the Jagd Junker, or Gentilhomme de la Chasse ofhis Serene Highness the Prince of Little Lilliput. He pulled up hishorse again apparently as much astounded as ever. 

"I thought that his Highness had been here. " said the huntsman. 

"No one has passed us, " said Vivian. 

"We heard a bugle to the right, " said Essper George. 

"I am afraid his Serene Highness must be in distress. The whole suiteare off the scent. It must have been his bugle, for the regulations ofthis forest are so strict that no one dare sound a blast but his SereneHighness. " Away galloped the huntsman. 

"Next time I must give you up, Essper, " said Vivian. 

"One more blast, good master!" begged Essper, in a supplicating voice. "This time to the left; the confusion will be then complete. "

"I command you not, " and so they rode on in silence. But it was one ofthose days when Essper could neither be silent nor subdued. Greatlyannoyed at not being permitted to play his bugle, he amused himselfimitating the peculiar sound of every animal that he met; a young fawnand various birds already followed him, and even a squirrel had perchedon his horse's neck. And now they came to a small farmhouse, which wassituated in the forest: the yard here offered great amusement to Essper. He neighed, and half a dozen horses' heads immediately appeared over thehedge; another neigh, and they were following him in the road. A dogrushed out to seize the dangerous stranger and recover his charge, butEssper gave an amicable bark, and in a second the dog was jumping by hisside and engaged in earnest and friendly conversation. A loud andcontinued grunt soon brought out the pigs, and meeting three or fourcows returning home, a few lowing sounds soon seduced them from keepingtheir appointment with the dairymaid. A stupid jackass, who stared withastonishment at the procession, was saluted with a lusty bray, whichimmediately induced him to swell the ranks; and, as Essper passed thepoultry-yard, he so deceitfully informed its inhabitants that they wereabout to be fed, that broods of ducks and chickens were immediatelyafter him. The careful hens were terribly alarmed at the danger whichtheir offspring incurred from the heels and hoofs of the quadrupeds; butwhile they were in doubt and despair a whole flock of stately geeseissued in solemn pomp from another gate of the farmyard, and commenced acackling conversation with the delighted Essper. So contagious is theforce of example, and so great was the confidence which the hens placedin these pompous geese, who were not the first fools whose solemn airhas deceived a few old females, that as soon as they perceived them inthe train of the horseman they also trotted up to pay their respects athis levée. 

But it was not a moment for mirth; for rushing down the road with awfulstrides appeared two sturdy and enraged husbandmen, one armed with apike and the other with a pitchfork, and accompanied by a franticfemale, who never for a moment ceased hallooing "Murder, rape, andfire!" everything but "theft. "

"Now, Essper, here's a pretty scrape!"

"Stop, you rascals!" hallooed Adolph, the herdsman. 

"Stop, you gang of thieves!" hallooed Wilhelm, the ploughman. 

"Stop, you bloody murderers!" shrieked Phillippa, the indignant mistressof the dairy and the poultry-yard. 

"Stop, you villains!" hallooed all three. The villains certainly made noattempt to escape, and in half a second the enraged household of theforest farmer would have seized on Essper George; but just at thiscrisis he uttered loud sounds in the respective language of every birdand beast about him, and suddenly they all turned round andcounter-marched. Away rushed the terrified Adolph, the herdsman, whileone of his own cows was on his back. Still quicker scampered off thescared Wilhelm, the ploughman, while one of his own steeds kicked him inhis rear. Quicker than all these, shouting, screaming, shrieking, dashedback the unhappy mistress of the hen-roost, with all her subjectscrowding about her; some on her elbow, some on her head, her lace capdestroyed, her whole dress disordered. The movements of the crowd wereso quick that they were soon out of sight. 

"A trophy!" called out Essper, as he jumped off his horse and picked upthe pike of Adolph, the herdsman. 

"A boar-spear, or I am no huntsman, " said Vivian: "give it me a moment!"He threw it up into the air, caught it with ease, poised it with thepracticed skill of one well used to handle the weapon, and with the samedelight imprinted on his countenance as greets the sight of anold friend. 

"This forest, Essper, and this spear, make me remember days when I wasvain enough to think that I had been sufficiently visited with sorrow. Ah! little did I then know of human misery, although I imagined I hadsuffered so much!"

As he spoke, the sounds of a man in distress were heard from the rightside of the road. 

"Who calls?" cried Essper. A shout was the only answer. There was nopath, but the underwood was low, and Vivian took his horse, an oldforester, across it with ease. Essper's jibbed; Vivian found himself ina small green glade of about thirty feet square. It was thicklysurrounded with lofty trees, save at the point where he had entered; andat the farthest corner of it, near some grey rocks, a huntsman wasengaged in a desperate contest with a wild boar. 

The huntsman was on his right knee, and held his spear with both handsat the furious beast. It was an animal of extraordinary size and power. Its eyes glittered like fire. On the turf to its right a small greymastiff, of powerful make, lay on its back, bleeding profusely, with itsbody ripped open. Another dog, a fawn-coloured bitch, had seized on theleft ear of the beast; but the under tusk of the boar, which was nearlya foot long, had penetrated the courageous dog, and the poor creaturewrithed in agony, even while it attempted to wreak its revenge upon itsenemy. The huntsman was nearly exhausted. Had it not been for thecourage of the fawn-coloured dog, which, clinging to the boar, preventedit making a full dash at the man, he must have been gored. Vivian wasoff his horse in a minute, which, frightened at the sight of the wildboar, dashed again over the hedge. 

"Keep firm, sir!" said he; "do not move. I will amuse him behind, andmake him turn. "

A graze of Vivian's spear on its back, though it did not materiallyinjure the beast, for there the boar is nearly in vulnerable, annoyedit; and dashing off the fawn-coloured dog with great force, it turned onits new assailant. Now there are only two places in which the wild boarcan be assailed with any effect; and these are just between the eyes andbetween the shoulders. Great caution, however, is necessary in aimingthese blows, for the boar is very adroit in transfixing the weapon onhis snout or his tusks; and if once you miss, particularly if you arenot assisted by dogs, which Vivian was not, 'tis all over with you; forthe enraged animal rushes in like lightning, and gored you must be. 

But Vivian was fresh and cool. The animal suddenly stood still and eyedits new enemy. Vivian was quiet, for he had no objection to give thebeast an opportunity of retreating to its den. But retreat was not itsobject; it suddenly darted at the huntsman, who, however, was not offhis guard, though unable, from a slight wound in his knee, to rise. Vivian again annoyed the boar at the rear, and the animal soon returnedto him. He made a feint, as if he were about to strike his pike betweenits eyes. The boar, not feeling a wound which had not been inflicted, and very irritated, rushed at him, and he buried his spear a foot deepbetween its shoulders. The beast made one fearful struggle, and thenfell down quite dead. The fawn-coloured bitch, though terribly wounded, gave a loud bark; and even the other dog, which Vivian thought had beenlong dead, testified its triumphant joy by an almost inarticulate groan. As soon as he was convinced that the boar was really dead, Vivianhastened to the huntsman, and expressed his hope that he was notseriously hurt. 

"A trifle, which our surgeon, who is used to these affairs, will quicklycure. Sir! we owe you our life!" said the huntsman, with great dignity, as Vivian assisted him in rising from the ground. He was a tall man, ofdistinguished appearance; but his dress, which was the usual huntingcostume of a German nobleman, did not indicate his quality. 

"Sir, we owe you our life!" repeated the stranger; "five minutes more, and our son must have reigned in Little Lilliput. "

"I have the honour, then, of addressing your Serene Highness. Far frombeing indebted to me, I feel that I ought to apologise for having sounceremoniously joined your sport. "

"Nonsense, man! We have killed in our time too many of these gentry tobe ashamed of owning that, had it not been for you, one of them would atlast have revenged the species. But many as are the boars that we havekilled or eaten, we never saw a more furious or powerful animal than thepresent. Why, sir, you must be one of the best hands at the spear in allChristendom!"

"Indifferently good, your Highness: your Highness forgets that theanimal was already exhausted by your assault. "

"Why, there is something in that; but it was neatly done, man; it wasneatly done. You are fond of the sport, we think?"

"I have had some practice, but illness has so weakened me that I havegiven up the forest. "

"Pity! and on a second examination we observe that you are no hunter. This coat is not for the free forest; but how came you by the pike?"

"I am travelling to the next post town, to which I have sent on myluggage. I am getting fast to the south; and as for this pike, myservant got it this morning from some peasant in a brawl, and wasshowing it to me when I heard your Highness call. I really think nowthat Providence must have sent it. I certainly could not have done youmuch service with my riding whip. Hilloa! Essper, where are you?"

"Here, noble sir! here, here. Why, what have you got there? The horseshave jibbed, and will not stir. I can stay no longer: they may go to thedevil!" So saying, Vivian's valet dashed over the underwood, and leapedal the foot of the Prince. 

"In God's name, is this thy servant?" asked his Highness. 

"In good faith am I, " said Essper; "his valet, his cook, and hissecretary, all in one; and also his Jagd Junker, or Gentilhomme de laChasse, as a puppy with a bugle horn told me this morning. "

"A merry knave!" said the Prince; "and talking of a puppy with a buglehorn reminds us how unaccountably we have been deserted to-day by asuite that never yet were wanting. We are indeed astonished. Our bugle, we fear, has turned traitor. " So saying, the Prince executed a blastwith great skill, which Vivian immediately recognised as the one whichEssper George had imitated. 

"And now, my good friend, " said the Prince, "we cannot hear of yourpassing through our land without visiting our good castle. We would thatwe could better testify the obligation that we feel under to you in anyother way than by the offer of an hospitality which all gentlemen, byright, can command. But your presence would, indeed, give us sincerepleasure. You must not refuse us. Your looks, as well as your prowess, prove your blood; and we are quite sure no cloth-merchant's order willsuffer by your not hurrying to your proposed point of destination. Weare not wrong, we think, though your accent is good, in supposing thatwe are conversing with an English gentleman. But here they come. "

As he spoke, three or four horsemen, at the head of whom was the younghuntsman whom the travellers had met in the morning, sprang intothe glade. 

"Why, Arnelm!" said the Prince, "when before was the Jagd Junker's earso bad that he could not discover his master's bugle, even though thewind were against him?"

"In truth, your Highness, we have heard bugles enough this morning. Whois violating the forests laws we know not; but that another bugle issounding, and played; St. Hubert forgive me for saying so; with as greatskill as your Highness', is certain. Myself, Von Neuwied, and Lintz havebeen galloping over the whole forest. The rest, I doubt not, will be updirectly. " The Jagd Junker blew his own bugle. 

In the course of five minutes, about twenty other horsemen, all dressedin the same uniform, had arrived; all complaining of their wild chasesafter the Prince in every other part of the forest. 

"It must be the Wild Huntsman himself!" swore an old hand. This solutionof the mystery satisfied all. 

"Well, well!" said the Prince; "whoever it may be, had it not been forthe timely presence of this gentleman, you must have changed your greenjackets for mourning coats, and our bugle would have sounded no more inthe forest of our fathers. Here, Arnelm! cut up the beast, and rememberthat the left shoulder is the quarter of honour, and belongs to thisstranger, not less honoured because unknown. "

All present took off their caps and bowed to Vivian, who took thisopportunity of informing the Prince who he was. 

"And now, " continued his Highness, "Mr. Grey will accompany us to ourcastle; nay, sir, we can take no refusal. We will send on to the townfor your luggage. Arnelm, do you look to this! And, honest friend, " saidthe Prince, turning to Essper George, "we commend you to the specialcare of our friend Von Neuwied; and so, gentlemen, with stout hearts andspurs to your steeds, to the castle. "

CHAPTER III

The cavalcade proceeded for some time at a brisk but irregular pace, until they arrived at a less wild and wooded part of the forest. ThePrince of Little Lilliput reined in his steed as he entered a broadavenue of purple beeches, at the end of which, though at a considerabledistance, Vivian perceived the towers and turrets of a Gothic edificeglittering in the sunshine. 

"Welcome to Turriparva!" said his Highness. 

"I assure your Highness, " said Vivian, "that I view with no unpleasantfeeling the prospect of a reception in any civilised mansion; for to saythe truth, for the last eight-and-forty hours Fortune has not favouredme either in my researches after a bed, or that which some think stillmore important than repose. "

"Is it so?" said the Prince. "Why, we should have thought by your homethrust this morning that you were as fresh as the early lark. In goodfaith, it was a pretty stroke! And whence come you, then, good sir?"

"Know you a most insane and drunken idiot who styles himself the GrandDuke of Johannisberger?"

"No, no!" said the Prince, staring in Vivian's face earnestly, and thenlaughing. "And you have actually fallen among that mad crew. A mostexcellent adventure! Arnelm! why, man, where art thou? Ride up! Beholdin the person of this gentleman a new victim to the overwhelminghospitality of our Uncle of the Wines. And did they confer a title onyou on the spot? Say, art thou Elector, or Palsgrave, or Baron; or, failing in thy devoirs, as once did our good cousin Arnelm, confess thatthou wert ordained with becoming reverence the Archprimate ofPuddledrink. Eh! Arnelm, is not that the style thou bearest at thePalace of the Wines?"

"So it would seem, your Highness. I think the title was conferred on methe same night that your Highness mistook the Grand Duke's proboscis forOberon's horn, and committed treason not yet pardoned. "

"Good! good! thou hast us there. Truly a good memory is often as ready afriend as a sharp wit. Wit is not thy strong point, friend Arnelm; andyet it is strange that in the sharp encounter of ready tongues and idlelogomachies thou hast sometimes the advantage. But, nevertheless, restassured, good cousin Arnelm, that wit is not thy strong point. "

"It is well for me that all are not of the same opinion as your SereneHighness, " said the young Jagd Junker, somewhat nettled; for he pridedhimself on his repartees. 

The Prince was much diverted with Vivian's account of his last night'sadventure; and our hero learnt from his Highness that his late host wasno less a personage than the cousin of the Prince of Little Lilliput, an old German Baron, who passed his time, with some neighbours ofcongenial temperament, in hunting the wild boar in the morning, andspeculating on the flavours of the fine Rhenish wines during the rest ofthe day. "He and his companions, " continued the Prince, "will enable youto form some idea of the German nobility half a century ago. The debauchof last night was the usual carouse which crowned the exploits of eachday when we were a boy. The revolution has rendered all these customsobsolete. Would that it had not sent some other things equally outof fashion!"

At this moment the Prince sounded his bugle, and the gates of thecastle, which were not more than twenty yards distant, were immediatelythrown open. The whole cavalcade set spurs to their steeds, and dashedat full gallop over the hollow-sounding drawbridge into the courtyard ofthe castle. A crowd of serving-men, in green liveries, instantlyappeared, and Arnelm and Von Neuwied, jumping from their saddles, respectively held the stirrup and the bridle of the Prince as hedismounted. 

"Where is Master Rodolph?" asked his Highness, with a loud voice. 

"So please your Serene Highness, I am here!" answered a very thintreble; and, bustling through the surrounding crowd, came forward theowner of the voice. Master Rodolph was not much above five feet high, but he was nearly as broad as he was long. Though more than middle-aged, an almost infantile smile played upon his broad fair face, to which hissmall turn-up nose, large green goggle-eyes, and unmeaning mouth gave noexpression. His long hair hung over his shoulders, the flaxen locks insome places maturing into grey. In compliance with the taste of hismaster, this most unsportsman-like-looking steward was clad in a greenjerkin, on the right arm of which was embroidered a giant's head, thecrest of the Little Lilliputs. 

"Truly, Rodolph, we have received some scratch in the chase to-day, andneed your assistance. The best of surgeons, we assure you, Mr. Grey, ifyou require one: and look you that the blue chamber be prepared for thisgentleman; and we shall have need of our cabinet this evening. See thatall this be done, and inform Prince Maximilian that we would speak withhim. And look you, Master Rodolph, there is one in this company; whatcall you your servant's name, sir? Essper George! 'tis well: look you, Rodolph, see that our friend Essper George be well provided for. We knowthat we can trust him to your good care. And now, gentlemen, at sunsetwe meet in the Giants' Hall. " So saying, his Highness bowed to theparty; and taking Vivian by the arm, and followed by Arnelm and VonNeuwied, he ascended a stair case which opened into the court, and thenmounted into a covered gallery which ran round the whole building. Theinterior wall of the gallery was alternately ornamented with stags'heads or other trophies of the chase, and coats of arms blazoned instucco. The Prince did the honours of the castle to Vivian with greatcourtesy. The armoury and the hall, the knights chamber, and even thedonjon-keep, were all examined; and when Vivian had sufficiently admiredthe antiquity of the structure and the beauty of the situation, thePrince, having proceeded down a long corridor, opened the door into asmall chamber, which he introduced to Vivian as his cabinet. Thefurniture of this room was rather quaint, and not unpleasing. Thewainscot and ceiling were painted alike, of a light green colour, andwere richly carved and gilt. The walls were hung with green velvet, ofwhich material were also the chairs, and a sofa, which was placed undera large and curiously-cut looking glass. The lower panes of the windowsof this room were of stained glass, of vivid tints; but the upper paneswere untinged, in order that the light should not be disturbed whichfell through them upon two magnificent pictures; one a hunting-piece, bySchneiders, and the other a portrait of an armed chieftain on horseback, by Lucas Cranach. 

And now the door opened, and Master Rodolph entered, carrying in hishand a white wand, and bowing very reverently as he ushered in servantsbearing a cold collation. As he entered, it was with difficulty that hecould settle his countenance into the due and requisite degree ofgravity; and so often was the fat steward on the point of bursting intolaughter, as he arranged the setting out of the refreshments on thetable, that the Prince, with whom he was at the same time both ufavourite and a butt, at last noticed his unusual and unmanageablerisibility. 

"Why, Rodolph, what ails thee? Hast thou just discovered the point ofsome good saying of yesterday?"

The steward could now contain his laughter no longer, and he gave ventto his emotion in a most treble "He! he! he!"

"Speak, man, in the name of St. Hubert, and on the word of as stout ahuntsman as ever yet crossed horse. Speak, we say; what ails thee?"

"He! he! he! in truth, a most comical knave! I beg your Serene Highnessten thousand most humble pardons, but, in truth, a more comical knavedid I never see. How call you him? Essper George, I think; he! he! he!In truth, your Highness was right when you styled him a merry knave; intruth, a most comical knave; he! he! a very funny knave! He says, yourHighness, that I am like a snake in a consumption! he! he! he! In truth, a most comical knave!"

"Well, Rodolph, so long as you do not quarrel with his jokes, they shallpass as true wit. But why comes not our son? Have you bidden the PrinceMaximilian to our presence?"

"In truth have I, your Highness; but he was engaged at the moment withMr. Sievers, and therefore he could not immediately attend my bidding. Nevertheless, he bade me deliver to your Serene Highness his dutifulaffection, saying that he would soon have the honour of bending his kneeunto your Serene Highness. "

"He never said any such nonsense. At least, if he did, he must bechanged since last we hunted. "

"In truth, your Highness, I cannot aver, upon my conscience as afaithful steward, that such were the precise words and exact phraseologyof his Highness the Prince Maximilian. But in the time of the goodPrince, your father, whose memory be ever blessed, such were the wordsand style of message which I was schooled and instructed by Mr. VonLexicon, your Serene Highness' most honoured tutor, to bear unto thegood Prince your father, whose memory be ever blessed, when I had thegreat fortune of being your Serene Highness' most particular page, andit fell to my lot to have the pleasant duty of informing the good Princeyour father, whose memory be ever blessed--"

"Enough! but Sievers is not Von Lexicon, and Maximilian, we trust, is--"

"Papa! papa! dearest papa!" shouted a young lad, as he dashed open thedoor, and, rushing into the room, threw his arms round thePrince's neck. 

"My darling!" said the father, forgetting at this moment of genuinefeeling the pompous plural in which he had hitherto spoken of himself. The Prince fondly kissed his child. The boy was about ten years of age, exquisitely handsome. Courage, not audacity, was imprinted on hisnoble features. 

"Papa! may I hunt with you to-morrow?"

"What says Mr. Sievers?"

"Oh! Mr. Sievers says I am excellent; I assure you, upon my honour, hedoes, I heard you come home; but though I was dying to see you, I wouldnot run out till I had finished my Roman History. I say, papa! what agrand fellow Brutus was; what a grand thing it is to be a patriot! Iintend to be a patriot myself, and to kill the Grand Duke of Reisenburg. Who is that?"

"My friend, Max, Mr. Grey. Speak to him. "

"I am happy to see you at Turriparva, sir, " said the boy, bowing toVivian with dignity. "Have you been hunting with his Highnessthis morning?"

"I can hardly say I have. "

"Max, I have received a slight wound to-day. Do not look alarmed; it isslight. I only mention it because, had it not been for this gentleman, it is very probable you would never have seen your father again. He hassaved my life!"

"Saved your life! saved my papa's life!" said the young Prince, seizingVivian's hand. "Oh! sir, what can I do for you? Mr. Sievers!" said theboy, with eagerness, to a gentleman who entered the room; "Mr. Sievers!here is a young lord who has saved papa's life!"

Mr. Sievers was a tall, thin man, about forty, with a clear sallowcomplexion, a high forehead, on which a few wrinkles were visible, bright keen eyes, and a quantity of grey curling hair, which was combedback off his forehead, and fell down over his shoulders. He wasintroduced to Vivian as the Prince's particular friend; and then helistened, apparently with interest, to his Highness' narrative of themorning's adventure, his danger, and his rescue. Young Maximilian nevertook his large, dark-blue eyes off his father while he was speaking, andwhen he had finished the boy rushed to Vivian and threw his arms roundhis neck. Vivian was delighted with the affection of the child, whowhispered to him in a low voice, "I know what you are!"

"What, my young friend?"

"Ah! I know. "

"But tell me!"

"You thought I should not find out: you are a patriot!"

"I hope I am, " said Vivian; "but travelling in a foreign country ishardly a proof of it. Perhaps you do not know that I am an Englishman. "

"An Englishman!" said the child, with an air of great disappointment. "Ithought you were a patriot! I am one. Do you know I will tell you asecret. You must promise not to tell, though. Promise, upon your word!Well, then, " said the urchin, whispering with great energy in Vivian'sear through his hollow fist, "I hate the Grand Duke of Reisenburg, and Imean to stab him to the heart. " So saying, the little Prince grated histeeth with an expression of bitter detestation. 

"What the deuce is the matter with the child!" thought Vivian; but atthis moment his conversation with him was interrupted. 

"Am I to believe this young gentleman, my dear Sievers, " asked thePrince, "when he tells me that his conduct has met your approbation?"

"Your son, Prince, " answered Mr. Sievers, "can only speak truth. Hisexcellence is proved by my praising him to his face. "

The young Maximilian, when Mr. Sievers had ceased speaking, stoodblushing, with his eyes fixed on the ground; and the delighted parent, catching his child up in his arms, embraced him with unaffectedfondness. 

"And now, all this time Master Rodolph is waiting for his patient. BySt. Hubert, you can none of you think me very ill! Your pardon, Mr. Grey, for leaving you. My friend Sievers will, I am sure, be delightedto make you feel at ease at Turriparva. Max, come with me!"

Vivian found in Mr. Sievers an interesting companion; nothing of thepedant and much of the philosopher. Their conversation was of coursechiefly on topics of local interest, anecdotes of the castle and thecountry, of Vivian's friends, the drunken Johannisberger and his crew, and such matters; but there was a keenness of satire in some of Mr. Sievers' observations which was highly amusing, and enough passed tomake Vivian desire opportunities of conversing with him at greaterlength, and on subjects of greater interest. They were at presentdisturbed by Essper George entering the room to inform Vivian that hisluggage had arrived from the village, and that the blue chamber was nowprepared for his presence. 

"We shall meet, I suppose, in the hall, Mr. Sievers?"

"No; I shall not dint; there. If you remain at Turriparva, which Itrust you will. I shall be happy to see you in my room. If it have noother inducement to gain it the honour of your visit, it has here, atleast, the recommendation of singularity; there is, at any rate, noother chamber like it in this good castle. "

The business of the toilet is sooner performed for a hunting party in aGerman forest than for a state dinner at Château Desir, and Vivian wasready before he was summoned. 

"His Serene Highness has commenced his progress towards the hall. "announced Essper George to Vivian in a treble voice, and bowing withceremony as he offered to lead the way with a white wand waving in hisright hand. 

"I shall attend his Highness, " said his master; "but before I do, ifthat white wand be not immediately laid aside it will be broken aboutyour back. "

"Broken about my back! what, the wand of office, sir, of your steward!Master Rodolph says that, in truth, a steward is but half himself whohath not his wand: methinks when his rod of office is wanting, hisHighness of Lilliput's steward is but unequally divided. In truth, he isstout enough to be Aaron's wand that swallowed up all the rest. But hasyour nobleness any serious objection to my carrying a wand? It givessuch an air!"

The Giants' Hall was a Gothic chamber of imposing appearance; the oakenrafters of the curiously-carved roof rested on the grim heads ofgigantic figures of the same material. These statues extended the lengthof the hall on each side; they were elaborately sculptured and highlypolished, and each one held in its outstretched arm a blazing andaromatic torch. Above them, small windows of painted glass admitted alight which was no longer necessary at the banquet to which we are nowabout to introduce the reader. Over the great entrance doors was agallery, from which a band of trumpeters, arrayed in ample robes offlowing scarlet, sent forth many a festive and martial strain. More thanfifty individuals, all wearing hunting dresses of green cloth on whichthe giant's head was carefully emblazoned, were already seated in thehall when Vivian entered: he was conducted to the upper part of thechamber, and a seat was allotted him on the left hand of the Prince. HisHighness had not arrived, but a chair of state, placed under a crimsoncanopy, denoted the style of its absent owner; and a stool, covered withvelvet of the same regal colour, and glistening with gold lace, announced that the presence of Prince Maximilian was expected. WhileVivian was musing in astonishment at the evident affectation of royalpomp which pervaded the whole establishment of the Prince of LittleLilliput, the trumpeters in the gallery suddenly commenced a triumphantflourish. All rose as the princely procession entered the hall: firstcame Master Rodolph twirling his white wand with the practised pride ofa drum-major, and looking as pompous as a turkey-cock in a storm; sixfootmen in splendid liveries, two by two, immediately followed him. Apage heralded the Prince Maximilian, and then came the Serene father;the Jagd Junker, and four or five other gentlemen of the court, formedthe suite. 

His Highness ascended the throne, Prince Maximilian was on his right, and Vivian had the high honour of the left hand; the Jagd Junker seatedhimself next to our hero. The table was profusely covered, chiefly withthe sports of the forest, and the celebrated wild boar was notforgotten. Few minutes had elapsed ere Vivian perceived that hisHighness was always served on bended knee; surprised at this custom, which even the mightiest and most despotic monarchs seldom exact, andstill more surprised at the contrast which all this state afforded tothe natural ease and affable amiability of the Prince, Vivian venturedto ask his neighbour Arnelm whether the banquet of to-day was incelebration of any particular event of general or individual interest. 

"By no means, " said the Jagd Junker, "this is the usual style of thePrince's daily meal, except that to-day there is, perhaps, rather lessstate and fewer guests than usual, in consequence of many of ourfellow-subjects having left us with the purpose of attending a greathunting party, which is now holding in the dominions of his Highness'cousin, the Duke of Micromegas. "

When the more necessary but, as most hold, the less delightful part ofbanqueting was over, and the numerous serving-men had removed the morenumerous dishes of wild boar, red deer, roebuck, and winged game, astiff Calvinistic-looking personage rose and delivered a long and mostgrateful grace, to which the sturdy huntsmen listened with a due mixtureof piety and impatience. When his starch reverence, who in his blackcoat looked among the huntsmen very like (as Essper George observed) ablackbird among a set of moulting canaries, had finished, an old man, with long snow-white hah--and a beard of the same colour, rose from hisseat, and, with a glass in his hand, bowing first to his Highness withgreat respect and then to his companions, with an air of condescension, gave in a stout voice, "The Prince!" A loud shout was immediatelyraised, and all quaffed with rapture the health of a ruler whomevidently they adored. Master Rodolph now brought forward an immensesilver goblet full of some crafty compound, from its odour doubtlessdelicious. The Prince held the goblet by its two massy handles, and thensaid in a loud voice:

"My friends, the Giant's head! and he who sneers at its frown may he rueits bristles!"

The toast was welcomed with a cry of triumph. When the noise hadsubsided the Jagd Junker rose, and prefacing the intended pledge by afew observations as remarkable for the delicacy of their sentiments asthe elegance of their expression, he gave, pointing to Vivian, "TheGuest! and may the Prince never want a stout arm at a strong push!" Thesentiment was again echoed by the lusty voices of all present, andparticularly by his Highness. As Vivian shortly returned thanks andmodestly apologised for the German of a foreigner, he could not refrainfrom remembering the last time when he was placed in the same situation;it was when the treacherous Lord Courtown had drank success to Mr. Vivian Grey's maiden speech in a bumper of claret at the politicalorgies of Château Desir. Could he really be the same individual as thedaring youth who then organised the crazy councils of those ambitious, imbecile grey-beards? What was he then? What had happened since? Whatwas he now? He turned from the comparison with feelings of sickeningdisgust, and it was with difficulty that his countenance could assumethe due degree of hilarity which befitted the present occasion. 

"Truly, Mr. Grey, " said the Prince, "your German would pass current atWeimar. Arnelm, good cousin Arnelm, we must trouble thy affectionateduty to marshal and regulate the drinking devoirs of our kind subjectsto-night; for by the advice of our trusty surgeon, Master Rodolph, ofmuch fame, we shall refrain this night from our accustomed potations, and betake ourselves to the solitude of our cabinet; a solitude in goodsooth, unless we can persuade you to accompany us, kind sir, " said thePrince, turning to Mr. Grey. "Methinks eight-and-forty hours withoutrest, and a good part spent in the mad walls of our cousin ofJohannisberger, are hardly the best preparatives for a drinking bout;unless, after Oberon's horn, ye may fairly be considered to be inpractice. Nevertheless, I advise the cabinet and a cup of Rodolph'scoffee. What sayest thou?" Vivian acceded to the Prince's propositionwith eagerness; and accompanied by Prince Maximilian, and preceded bythe little steward, who, surrounded by his serving-men, very muchresembled a planet eclipsed by his satellites, they left the hall. 

"'Tis almost a pity to shut out the moon on such a night, " said thePrince, as he drew a large green velvet curtain from the windows ofthe cabinet. 

"'Tis a magnificent night!" said Vivian; "how fine the effect of thelight is upon the picture of the warrior. The horse seems quite living, and its fierce rider actually frowns upon us. "

"He may well frown, " said the Prince of Little Lilliput, in a voice ofdeep melancholy; and he hastily redrew the curtain. In a moment hestarted from the chair on which he had just seated himself, and againadmitted the moonlight. "Am I really afraid of an old picture? No, no;it has not yet come to that. "

This was uttered in a distinct voice, and of course excited theastonishment of Vivian, who, however, had too much discretion to evincehis surprise, or to take any measure by which his curiosity might besatisfied. 

His companion seemed instantly conscious of the seeming singularity ofhis expression. 

"You are surprised at my words, good sir, " said his Highness, as hepaced very rapidly up and down the small chamber; "you are surprised atmy words; but, sir, my ancestor's brow was guarded by a diadem!"

"Which was then well won, Prince, and is now worthily worn. "

"By whom? where? how?" asked the Prince, in a rapid voice. "Maximilian, "continued his Highness, in a more subdued tone; "Maximilian, my ownlove, leave us; go to Mr. Sievers. God bless you, my only boy. Good night!"

"Good night, dearest papa, and down with the Grand Duke of Reisenburg!"

"He echoes the foolish zeal of my fond followers, " said the Prince, ashis son left the room. "The idle parade to which their illegal loyaltystill clings; my own manners, the relics of former days; habits will notchange like stations; all these have deceived you, sir. You havemistaken me for a monarch; I should be one. A curse light on me thehour I can mention it without a burning blush. Oh, shame! shame on theblood of my father's son! Can my mouth own that I once was one? Yes, sir! you see before you the most injured, the least enviable of humanbeings. I am a mediatised Prince!"

Vivian had resided too long in Germany to be ignorant of the meaning ofthis title, with which, perhaps, few of our readers may be acquainted. Amediatised Prince is an unhappy victim of those Congresses which, amongother good and evil, purged with great effect the ancient Germanpolitical system. By the regulations then determined on, that countrywas freed at one fell swoop from the vexatious and harassing dominion ofthe various petty Princes who exercised absolute sovereignties overlittle nations of fifty thousand souls. These independent sovereignsbecame subjects; and either swelled, by their mediatisation, theterritories of some already powerful potentate, or transmuted into astate of importance some more fortunate petty ruler than themselves, whose independence, through the exertions of political intrigue orfamily influence, had been preserved inviolate. In most instances, theconcurrence of these little rulers in their worldly degradation wasobtained by a lavish grant of official emoluments or increase ofterritorial possessions; and the mediatised Prince, instead of being animpoverished and uninfluential sovereign, became a wealthy and powerfulsubject. But so dominant in the heart of man is the love of independentdominion, that even with these temptations few of the petty princescould have been induced to have parted with their cherished sceptres, had they not been conscious that, in case of contumacy, the resolutionsof a Diet would have been enforced by the armies of an emperor. As itis, few of them have yet given up the outward and visible signs of regalsway. The throne is still preserved and the tiara still revered. Theyseldom frequent the courts of their sovereigns, and scarcely condescendto notice the attentions of their fellow nobility. Most of them expendtheir increased revenues in maintaining the splendour of their littlecourts at their ancient capitals, or in swelling the ranks of theirretainers at their solitary forest castles. 

The Prince of Little Lilliput was the first mediatised sovereign thatVivian had ever met. At another time, and under other circumstances, hemight have smiled at the idle parade and useless pomp which he had thisday witnessed, or moralised on that weakness of human nature whichseemed to consider the inconvenient appendages of a throne as the greatend for which power was to be coveted; but at the present moment he onlysaw a kind and, as he believed, estimable individual disquieted anddistressed. It was painful to witness the agitation of the Prince, andVivian felt it necessary to make some observations, which, from hismanner, expressed more than they meant. 

"Sir, " said his Highness, "your sympathy consoles me. Do not imaginethat I can misunderstand it; it does you honour. You add by this to themany favours you have already conferred on me by saving my life andaccepting my hospitality. I sincerely hope that your departure hencewill be postponed to the last possible moment. Your conversation andyour company have made me pass a more cheerful day than I am accustomedto. All here love me; but, with the exception of Sievers, I have nocompanion; and although I esteem his principles and his talents, thereis no congeniality in our tastes, or in our tempers. As for the rest, amore devoted band cannot be conceived; but they think only of one thing, the lost dignity of their ruler; and although this concentration oftheir thoughts on one subject may gratify my pride, it does not elevatemy spirit. But this is a subject on which in future we will notconverse. One of the curses of my unhappy lot is, that a thousandcircumstances daily occur which prevent me forgetting it. "

The Prince rose from the table, and pressing with his right hand on partof the wall, the door of a small closet sprung open; the interior waslined with crimson velvet. He took out of it a cushion of the same regalmaterial, on which reposed, in solitary magnificence, a golden coronetof antique workmanship. 

"The crown of my fathers, " said his Highness, as he placed the treasurewith great reverence on the table, "won by fifty battles and lostwithout a blow! Yet in my youth I was deemed no dastard; and I have shedmore blood for my country in one day than he who claims to be mysuzerain in the whole of his long career of undeserved prosperity. Ay, this is the curse; the ancestor of my present sovereign was thatwarrior's serf!" The Prince pointed to the grim chieftain, whose stouthelmet Vivian now perceived was encircled by a crown similar to the onewhich was now lying before him. "Had I been the subject, had I beenobliged to acknowledge the sway of a Caesar, I might have endured itwith resignation. Had I been forced to yield to the legions of anEmperor, a noble resistance might have consoled me for the clanking ofmy chains. But to sink without a struggle, the victim of politicalintrigue; to become the bondsman of one who was my father's slave; forsuch was Reisenburg, even in my own remembrance, our unsuccessful rival;this was too had. It rankles in my heart, and unless I ran be revenged Ishall sink under it. To have lost my dominions would have been nothing. But revenge I will have! It is yet in my power to gain for an enslavedpeople the liberty I have myself lost. Yes! the enlightened spirit ofthe age shall yet shake the quavering councils of the Reisenburg cabal. I will, in truth I have already seconded the just, the unanswerabledemands of an oppressed and insulted people, and, ere six months areover, I trust to see the convocation of a free and representativecouncil in the capital of the petty monarch to whom I have beenbetrayed. The chief of Reisenburg has, in his eagerness to gain hisgrand ducal crown, somewhat overstepped the mark. 

"Besides myself, there are no less than three other powerful princeswhose dominions have been devoted to the formation of his servile duchy. We are all animated by the same spirit, all intent upon the same end. Wehave all used, and are using, our influence as powerful nobles to gainfor our fellow-subjects their withheld rights; rights which belong tothem as men, not merely as Germans. Within this week I have forwarded tothe Residence a memorial subscribed by myself, my relatives, the otherprinces, and a powerful body of discontented nobles, requesting theimmediate grant of a constitution similar to those of Wirtemburg andBavaria. My companions in misfortune are inspirited by my joining them. Had I been wise I should have joined them sooner; but until this momentI have been the dupe of the artful conduct of an unprincipled Minister. My eyes, however, are now open. The Grand Duke and his craftycounsellor, whose name shall not profane my lips, already tremble. Partof the people, emboldened by our representations, have already refusedto answer an unconstitutional taxation. I have no doubt that he mustyield. Whatever may be the inclination of the Courts of Vienna or St. Petersburg, rest assured that the liberty of Germany will meet with noopponent except political intrigue; and that Metternich is too wellacquainted with the spirit which is now only slumbering in the bosom ofthe German nation to run the slightest risk of exciting it by thepresence of foreign legions. No, no! that mode of treatment may do verywell for Naples, or Poland, or Spain; but the moment that a Croat or aCossack shall encamp upon the Rhine or the Elbe, for the purpose ofsupporting the unadulterated tyranny of their new-fangled Grand Dukes, that moment Germany becomes a great and united nation. The greatestenemy of the prosperity of Germany is the natural disposition of hersons; but that disposition, while it does now, and may for ever, hinderus from being a great people, will at the same time infallibly preventus from ever becoming a degraded one. "

At this moment, this moment of pleasing anticipation of public virtueand private revenge, Master Rodolph entered, and prevented Vivian fromgaining any details of the history of his host. The little round stewardinformed his master that a horseman had just arrived, bearing for hisHighness a despatch of importance, which he insisted upon deliveringinto the Prince's own hands. 

"Whence comes he?" asked his Highness. 

"In truth, your Serene Highness, that were hard to say, inasmuch as themessenger refuses to inform us. "

"Admit him. "

A man whose jaded looks proved that he had travelled far that day wassoon ushered into the room, and, bowing to the Prince, delivered to himin silence a letter. 

"From whom comes this?" asked the Prince. 

"It will itself inform your Highness, " was the only answer. 

"My friend, you are a trusty messenger, and have been well trained. Rodolph, look that this gentleman be well lodged and attended. "

"I thank your Highness, " said the messenger, "but I do not tarry here. Iwait no answer, and my only purpose in seeing you was to perform mycommission to the letter, by delivering this paper into your own hands. "

"As you please, sir; you must be the best judge of your own time; but welike not strangers to leave our gates while our drawbridge is yetechoing with their entrance steps. "

The Prince and Vivian were again alone. Astonishment and agitation werevisible on his Highness' countenance as he threw his eye over theletter. At length he folded it up, put it into his breast-pocket andtried to resume conversation; but the effort was both evident andunsuccessful. In another moment the letter was again taken out, andagain read with not less emotion than accompanied its first perusal. 

"I fear I have wearied you, Mr. Grey, " said his Highness; "it wasinconsiderate in me not to remember that you require repose. "

Vivian was not sorry to have an opportunity of retiring, so be quicklytook the hint, and wished his Highness agreeable dreams. 

CHAPTER IV

No one but an adventurous traveller can know the luxury of sleep. Thereis not a greater fallacy in the world than the common creed that sweetsleep is labour's guerdon. Mere regular, corporeal labour may certainlyprocure us a good, sound, refreshing slumber, disturbed often by theconsciousness of the monotonous duties of the morrow; but how sleep theother great labourers of this laborious world? Where is the sweet sleepof the politician? After hours of fatigue in his office and hours ofexhaustion in the House, he gains his pillow; and a brief, feverishnight, disturbed by the triumph of a cheer and the horrors of a reply. Where is the sweet sleep of the poet? We all know how harassing are thecommon dreams which are made up of incoherent images of our daily life, in which the actors are individuals that we know, and whose conductgenerally appears to be regulated by principles which we can comprehend. How much more enervating and destroying must be the slumber of that manwho dreams of an imaginary world! waking, with a heated and excitedspirit, to mourn over some impressive incident of the night, which isnevertheless forgotten, or to collect some inexplicable plot which hasbeen revealed in sleep, and has fled from the memory as the eyelids haveopened. Where is the sweet sleep of the artist? of the lawyer? Where, indeed, of any human being to whom to-morrow brings its necessaryduties? Sleep is the enemy of Care, and Care is the constant companionof regular labour, mental or bodily. 

But your traveller, your adventurous traveller, careless of the future, reckless of the past, with a mind interested by the world, from theimmense and various character which that world presents to him, and notby his own stake in any petty or particular contingency; wearied bydelightful fatigue, daily occasioned by varying means and from varyingcauses; with the consciousness that no prudence can regulate thefortunes of the morrow, and with no curiosity to discover what thosefortunes may be, from a conviction that it is utterly impossible toascertain them; perfectly easy whether he lie in a mountain-hut, or aroyal palace; and reckless alike of the terrors and chances of storm andbandits, seeing that he has a fair chance of meeting both with securityand enjoyment; this is the fellow who, throwing himself upon a downcouch or his mule's pack-saddle, with equal eagerness and equalsangfroid, sinks into a repose, in which he is never reminded by theremembrance of an appointment or an engagement for the next day, a duel, a marriage, or a dinner, the three perils of man, that he has themisfortune of being mortal; and wakes not to combat care, but only tofeel that he is fresher and more vigorous than he was the night before;and that, come what come may, he is, at any rate, sure this day ofseeing different faces, and of improvising his unpremeditated part upona different scene. 

We have now both philosophically accounted and politely apologised forthe loud and unfashionable snore which sounded in the blue chamber aboutfive minutes after Vivian Grey had entered that most comfortableapartment. In about twelve hours' time he was scolding Essper George forhaving presumed to wake him so early, quite unconscious that he hadenjoyed anything more than a twenty minutes' doze. 

"I should not have come in, sir, only they are all out. They were off bysix o'clock this morning, sir; most part at least. The Prince has gone;I do not know whether he went with them, but Master Rodolph has givenme--I breakfasted with Master Rodolph. Holy Virgin! what quarters wehave got into!"

"To the point; what of the Prince?"

"His Highness has left the castle, and desired Master Rodolph; if yourGrace had only seen Master Rodolph tipsy last night; he rolled aboutlike a turbot in a tornado. "

"What of the Prince?"

"The Prince desired this letter to be given to you, sir. "

Vivian read the note, which supposed that, of course, he would not wishto join the chase this morning, and regretted that the writer wasobliged to ride out for a few hours to visit a neighbouring nobleman, but requested the pleasure of his guest's company at a private dinner inthe cabinet on his return. 

After breakfast Vivian called on Mr. Sievers. He found that gentlemanbusied in his library. 

"You never hunt, I suppose, Mr. Sievers?"

"Never. His Highness, I apprehend, is out this morning; the beautifulweather continues; surely we never had such a season. As for myself, Ialmost have given up my indoor pursuits. The sun is not the light ofstudy. Let us take our caps and have a stroll. "

The gentlemen accordingly left the library, and proceeding through adifferent gate to that by which Vivian had entered the castle, they cameupon a part of the forest in which the timber and brushwood had been ina great measure cleared away; large clumps of trees being left standingon an artificial lawn, and newly-made roads winding about in pleasingirregularity until they were all finally lost in the encircling woods. 

"I think you told me, " said Mr. Sievers, "that you had been long inGermany. What course do you think of taking from here?"

"Straight to Vienna. "

"Ah! a delightful place. If, as I suppose to be the case, you are fondof dissipation and luxury, Vienna is to be preferred to any city withwhich I am acquainted. And intellectual companions are not wantingthere, as some have said. There are one or two houses in which theliterary soirées will yield to few in Europe; and I prefer them to most, because there is less pretension and more ease. The Archduke John is aman of considerable talents, and of more considerable acquirements. Anexcellent geologist! Are you fond of geology?"

"I am not in the least acquainted with the science. "

"Naturally so; at your age, if, in fact, we study at all, we are fond offancying ourselves moral philosophers, and our study is mankind. Trustme, my dear sir, it is a branch of research soon exhausted; and in a fewyears you will be very glad, for want of something else to do, tomeditate upon stones. See now, " said Mr. Sievers, picking up a stone, "to what associations does this little piece of quartz give rise! I amalready an antediluvian, and instead of a stag bounding by that wood Iwitness the moving mass of a mammoth. I live in other worlds, which, atthe same time, I have the advantage of comparing with the present. Geology is indeed a magnificent study! What excites more theimagination? What exercises more the reason? Can you conceive anythingsublimer than the gigantic shadows and the grim wreck of an antediluvianworld? Can you devise any plan which will more brace our powers, anddevelop our mental energies, than the formation of a perfect chain ofinductive reasoning to account for these phenomena? What is the boastedcommunion which the vain poet holds with nature compared withconversation which the geologist perpetually carries on with theelemental world? Gazing on the strata of the earth, he reads the fate ofhis species. In the undulations of the mountains is revealed to him thehistory of the past; and in the strength of rivers and the powers of theair he discovers the fortunes of the future. To him, indeed, thatfuture, as well as the past and the present, are alike matter formeditation: for the geologist is the most satisfactory of antiquarians, the most interesting of philosophers, and the most inspired of prophets;demonstrating that which has past by discovery, that which is occurringby observation, and that which is to come by induction. When you go toVienna I will give you a letter to Frederic Schlegel; we werefellow-students, and are friends, though for various reasons we do notat present meet; nevertheless a letter from me will command respect. Iwill recommend you, however, before you go on to Vienna, to visitReisenburg. "

"Indeed! from the Prince's account, I should have thought that there waslittle to interest me there. "

"His Highness is not an impartial judge. You are probably acquaintedwith the disagreeable manner in which he is connected with that Court. Far from his opinion being correct, I should say there are few places inGermany more worthy of a visit than the little Court near us; and aboveall things my advice is that you should not pass it over. "

"I am inclined to follow it. You are right in supposing that I am notignorant that His Highness has the misfortune of being a mediatisedPrince; but what is the exact story about him? I have heard some oddrumours, some--"

It is a curious story, but I am afraid you will find it rather long. Nevertheless, if you really visit Reisenburg, it may be of use to you toknow something of the singular characters you will meet there. In thefirst place, you say you know that Little Lilliput is a mediatisedPrince, and, of course, are precisely aware what that title means. About fifty years ago, the rival of the illustrious family in whosechief castle we are both of us now residing was the Margrave ofReisenburg, another petty Prince with territories not so extensive asthose of our friend, and with a population more limited: perhaps fiftythousand souls, half of whom were drunken cousins. The old Margrave ofReisenburg, who then reigned, was a perfect specimen of theold-fashioned German Prince: he did nothing but hunt and drink and thinkof the quarterings of his immaculate shield, all duly acquired from someVandal ancestor as barbarous as himself. His little Margraviate wasmisgoverned enough for a great empire. Half of his nation, who were hisreal people, were always starving, and were unable to find crown piecesto maintain the extravagant expenditure of the other moiety, thecousins; who, out of gratitude to their fellow-subjects for theirgenerous support, harassed them with every species of excess. Complaintswere of course made to the Margrave, and loud cries for justiceresounded at the palace gates. This Prince was an impartial chiefmagistrate; he prided himself upon his "invariable" principles ofjustice, and he allowed nothing to influence his decisions. His plan forarranging all differences had the merit of being brief; and if brevitybe the soul of wit, it certainly was most unreasonable in his subjectsto consider his judgments no joke. He always counted the quarterings inthe shields of the respective parties, and decided accordingly. Imaginethe speedy redress gained by a muddy-veined peasant against one of thecousins; who, of course, had as many quarterings as the Margravehimself. The defendant was regularly acquitted. At length, a man's househaving been burnt down out of mere joke in the night, the owner had thetemerity in the morning to accuse one of the privileged, and to produce, at the same tune, a shield, with exactly one more quartering than thereigning shield itself contained. The Margrave was astounded, the peoplein raptures, and the cousins in despair. The complainant's shield wasexamined and counted, and not a flaw discovered. What a dilemma! Thechief magistrate consulted with the numerous branches of his family, andthe next morning the complainant's head was struck off for high treason, for daring to have one more quartering than his monarch!

"In this way they passed their time about fifty years since inReisenburg; occasionally, for the sake of variety, declaring war againstthe inhabitants of Little Lilliput, who, to say the truth, in theirhabits and pursuits did not materially differ from their neighbours. TheMargrave had one son, the present Grand Duke. A due reverence of thegreat family shield, and a full acquaintance with the invariableprinciples of justice, were early instilled into him; and the royalstripling made such rapid progress, under the tuition of his amiableparent, that he soon became highly popular with all his relations. Atlength his popularity became troublesome to his father; and so the oldMargrave sent for his son one morning and informed him that he haddreamed the preceding night that the air of Reisenburg was peculiarlyunwholesome for young persons, and therefore he begged him to get out ofhis dominions as soon as possible. The young Prince had no objection tosee something of the world. He flew to a relative whom he had neverbefore visited. This nobleman was one of those individuals whoanticipate their age, which, by-the-bye, Mr. Grey, none but noblemenshould do; for he who anticipates his century is generally persecutedwhen living, and is always pilfered when dead. Howbeit, this relationwas a philosopher; all about him thought him mad; he, in return, thoughtall about him fools. He sent the Prince to an University, and gave himfor a tutor a young man about ten years older than his pupil. Thisperson's name was Beckendorff. You will hear more of him. 

"About three years after the sudden departure of the young Prince, theold Margrave his father and the then reigning Prince of Little Lilliputshot each other through the head in a drunken brawl, after a dinnergiven in honour of a proclamation of peace between the two countries. The cousins were not much grieved, as they anticipated a fit successorin their former favourite. Splendid preparations were made for thereception of the inheritor of the family shield, and all Reisenburg waspoured out to witness the triumphant entrance of their future monarch. At last two horsemen in plain dresses, and on indifferent steeds, rodeup to the palace gates, dismounted, and without making any enquiryordered the attendance of some of the chief nobility in the presencechamber. One of them, a young man, without any preparatory explanation, introduced the Reisenburg chieftains to his companion as his PrimeMinister, and commanded them immediately to deliver up theirportefeuilles and golden keys to Mr. Beckendorff. The nobles were indismay, and so astounded that they made no resistance, though the nextmorning they started in their beds when they remembered that they haddelivered their insignia of office to a man without a von before hisname. They were soon, however, roused from their sorrow and theirstupor, by receiving a peremptory order to quit the palace: and as theyretired from the walls which they had long considered as their own, they had the mortification of meeting crowds of the common people, theirslaves and their victims, hurrying with joyful countenances andtriumphant looks to the palace of their Prince, in consequence of anenergetic proclamation for the redress of grievances, and an earnestpromise to decide cases in future without examining the quarterings ofthe parties, in a week's time the cousins were all adrift. At lengththey conspired, but the conspiracy was tardy, they found their formerservants armed, and they joined in an unequal struggle; for theiropponents were alike animated with hopes of the future and with revengefor the past. The cousins got well beat, and this was not the worst; forBeckendorff took advantage of this unsuccessful treason, which he hadhimself fomented, and forfeited all their estates; destroying in onehour the system which had palsied, for so many years, the energies ofhis master's subjects. In time many of the chief nobility were restoredto their honours and estates; but the power with which they were againinvested was greatly modified, and the privileges of the Commons greatlyincreased. At this moment the French Revolution broke out. The Frenchcrossed the Rhine and carried all before them; and the Prince of LittleLilliput, among other true Germans, made a bold but fruitlessresistance. The Margrave of Reisenburg, on the contrary, received theenemy with open arms; he raised a larger body of troops than his duecontingent, and exerted himself in every manner to second the views ofthe Great Nation. In return for his services he was presented with theconquered principality of Little Lilliput and some other adjoininglands; and the Margraviate of Reisenburg, with an increased territoryand population, and governed with consummate wisdom, began to beconsidered the most flourishing of the petty states in the quarter ofthe empire to which it belonged. On the contrary, our princely andpatriotic friend, mortified by the degenerate condition of his countryand the prosperity of his rival house, quitted Little Lilliput, andbecame one of those emigrant princes who abounded during the first yearsof the Revolution in the northern courts of Europe Napoleon soonappeared upon the stage; and vanquished Austria, with the Frenchdictating at the gates of her capital, was no longer in a condition tosupport the dignity of the Empire. The policy of the Margrave ofReisenburg was as little patriotic and quite as consistent as before. Beckendorff became the constant and favoured counsellor of the FrenchEmperor. It was chiefly by his exertions that the celebratedConfederation of the Rhine was carried into effect. The institution ofthis body excited among many Germans, at the time, loud expressions ofindignation; but I believe few impartial and judicious men now look uponthat league as any other than one in the formation of which consummatestatesmanship was exhibited. In fact, it prevented the subjugation ofGermany to France, and by flattering the pride of Napoleon saved thedecomposition of our Empire. But how this might be it is not at presentnecessary for us to enquire. Certain it was, that the pupil ofBeckendorff was amply repaid for the advice and exertions of his masterand his Minister; and when Napoleon fell the brows of the formerMargrave were encircled with a grand ducal crown, and his duchy, whileit contained upwards of a million and a half of inhabitants, numbered inits limits some of the most celebrated cities in Germany and many ofGermany's most flourishing provinces. But Napoleon fell. The Prince ofLittle Lilliput and his companions in patriotism and misfortune returnedfrom their exile panting with hope and vengeance. A Congress was held tosettle the affairs of agitated Germany. Where was the Grand Duke ofReisenburg? His hard-earned crown tottered on his head. Where was hiscrafty Minister, the supporter of revolutionary France, the friend ofits Imperial enslaver, the constant enemy of the House of Austria? Atthe very Congress which, according to the expectations of the exiledPrinces, was to restore them to their own dominions, and to reward theirpatriotic loyalty with the territories of their revolutionary brethren;yes! at this very Congress was Beckendorff; not as a suppliant, not as avictim, but seated at the right hand of Metternich, and watching, withparental affection, the first interesting and infantile movements ofthat most prosperous of political bantlings, the Holy Alliance. You maywell imagine that the Military Grand Duke had a much better chance inpolitical negotiation than the emigrant Prince. In addition to this, theGrand Duke of Reisenburg had married, during the war, a Princess of apowerful House; and the allied Sovereigns were eager to gain the futureaid and constant co-operation of a mind like Beckendorff's. The Princeof Little Lilliput, the patriot, was rewarded for his conduct by beingrestored to his forfeited possessions: and the next day he became thesubject of his former enemy, the Grand Duke of Reisenburg, the traitor. What think you of Monsieur Beckendorff?"

"One of the most interesting characters I have long heard of. But hispupil appears to be a man of mind. "

"You shall hear. I should, however, first mention that while Beckendorffhas not scrupled to resort to any measures or adopt any opinions inorder to further the interests of his monarch and his country, he has inevery manner shown that personal aggrandisement has never been hisobject. He lives in retirement, scarcely with an attendant, and hismoderate official stipend amply supports his more moderate expenditure. The subjects of the Grand Duke may well be grateful that they have aMinister without relations and without favourites. The Grand Duke is, unquestionably, a man of talents; but at the same time, perhaps, one ofthe most weak-minded men that ever breathed. He was fortunate in meetingwith Beckendorff early in life; and as the influence of the Minister hasnot for a moment ceased over the mind of the monarch, to the world theGrand Duke of Reisenburg has always appeared to be an individual of astrong mind and consistent conduct. But when you have lived as much andas intimately in his Court as I have done, you will find how easily theworld may he deceived. Since the close connection which now existsbetween Reisenburg and Austria took place, Beckendorff has, in a greatdegree, revived the ancient privileges of blood and birth. A Ministerwho has sprung from the people will always conciliate the aristocracy. Having no family influence of his own, he endeavours to gain theinfluence of others: and it often happens that merit is never lessconsidered than when merit has made the Minister. A curious instance ofthis occurs in a neighbouring state. There the Premier, decidedly a manof great talents, is of as humble an origin as Beckendorff. With nofamily to uphold him, he supports himself by a lavish division of allthe places and patronage of the State among the nobles. If the youngerson or brother of H peer dare to sully his oratorical virginity by achance observation in the Lower Chamber, the Minister, himself a realorator, immediately rises to congratulate, in pompous phrase, the Houseand the country on the splendid display which has made this nightmemorable, and on the decided advantages which must accrue both to theirown resolutions and the national interests from the future participationof his noble friend in their deliberations. All about him are youngnobles, quite unfit for the discharge of their respective duties. Hisprivate secretary is unable to coin a sentence, almost to direct aletter; but he is noble! The secondary officials cannot be trusted evenin the least critical conjunctures; but they are noble! And the PrimeMinister of a powerful empire is forced to rise early and be up late;not to meditate on the present fortunes or future destinies of hiscountry, but by his personal exertions to compensate for theinefficiency and expiate the blunders of his underlings, whom hisunfortunate want of blood has forced him to overwhelm with praises whichthey do not deserve, and duties which they cannot discharge. I do notwish you to infer that the policy of Beckendorff has been actuated bythe feelings which influence the Minister whom I have noticed, fromwhose conduct in this very respect his own materially differs. On thecontrary, his connection with Austria is, in all probability, theprimary great cause. However this may be, certain it is that all officesabout the Court and connected with the army (and I need not remind youthat at a small German Court these situations are often the mostimportant in the State) can only be filled by the nobility; nor can anyperson who has the misfortune of not inheriting the magical monosyllable_von_ before his name, the shibboleth of nobility and the symbol ofterritorial pride, violate by their unhallowed presence the sanctity ofCourt dinners, or the as sacred ceremonies of a noble fête. But while amonopoly of those offices which for their due performance require only ashowy exterior or a schooled address is granted to the nobles, all thoseState charges which require the exercise of intellect are now chieflyfilled by the bourgeoisie. At the same time, however, that both ourSecretaries of State, many of our Privy Councillors, war Councillors, forest Councillors, and finance Councillors, are to be reckoned amongthe second class, still not one of these exalted individuals, who fromtheir situations are necessarily in constant personal communication withthe Sovereign, ever see that Sovereign except in his Cabinet and hisCouncil-Chamber. Beckendorff himself, the Premier, is the son of apeasant; and of course not noble. Nobility, which has been profferedhim, not only by his own monarch, but by most of the sovereigns ofEurope, he has invariably refused; and consequently never appears atCourt. The truth is, that, from disposition, he is little inclined tomix with men; and he has taken advantage of his want of an escutcheoncompletely to exempt himself from all those duties of etiquette whichhis exalted situation would otherwise have imposed upon him. None cancomplain of the haughtiness of the nobles when, ostensibly, the Ministerhimself is not exempted from their exclusive regulations. If you go toReisenburg, you will not therefore see Beckendorff, who lives, as I havementioned, in solitude, about thirty miles from the capital;communicating only with his Royal master, the foreign Ministers, and oneor two official characters of his own country. I was myself an inmate ofthe Court for upwards of two years. During that time I never saw theMinister; and, with the exception of some members of the royal familyand the characters I have mentioned, I never knew one person who hadeven caught a glimpse of the individual who may indeed be said to beregulating their destinies. 

"It is at the Court, then, " continued Mr. Sievers, "when he is no longerunder the control of Beckendorff, and in those minor points which arenot subjected to the management or influenced by the mind of theMinister, that the true character of the Grand Duke is to be detected. Indeed it may really be said, that the weakness of his mind has been theorigin of his fortune. In his early youth his pliant temper adapteditself without a struggle to the barbarous customs and the brutalconduct of his father's Court; that same pliancy of temper prevented himopposing with bigoted obstinacy the exertions of his relation to educateand civilise him; that same pliancy of temper allowed him to become theready and the enthusiastic disciple of Beckendorff. Had the pupil, whenhe ascended the throne, left his master behind him, it is very probablethat his natural feelings would have led him to oppose the French; andat this moment, instead of being the first of the second rate powers ofGermany, the Grand Duke of Reisenburg might himself have been anmediatised Prince. As it was, the same pliancy of temper which I havenoticed enabled him to receive Napoleon, when an Emperor, withoutstretched arms; and at this moment does not prevent him fromreceiving, with equal rapture, the Imperial Archduchess, who will soonbe on her road from Vienna to espouse his son; for, to crown hiscareer, Beckendorff has successfully negotiated a marriage between adaughter of the House of Austria and the Crown Prince of Reisenburg. Itis generally believed that the next step of the Diet will be totransmute the father's Grand Ducal coronet into a Regal crown; andperhaps, my good sir, before you reach Vienna, you may have the supremehonour of being presented to his Majesty the King of Reisenburg. "

"But when you talk only of the pupil's pliancy of temper, am I tosuppose that in mentioning his talents you were speaking ironically?"

"By no means! The Grand Duke is a scholar; a man of refined taste, apatron of the fine arts, a lover of literature, a promoter of science, and what the world would call a philosopher. His judgment is sound, andgenerally correct, his powers of discrimination acute, and his knowledgeof mankind greater than that of most sovereigns; but with all theseadvantages he is cursed with such a wavering and indecisive temper, thatwhen, which is usually the case, he has come to a right conclusion, hecan never prevail upon himself to carry his theory into practice; andwith all his acuteness, his discernment, and his knowledge of the world, his mind is always ready to receive any impression from the person wholast addresses him, though he himself be fully aware of the inferiorityof his adviser's intellect to his own, or the imperfection of thatadviser's knowledge. Never for a moment out of the sight of Beckendorff, the royal pupil has made an admirable political puppet, since histalents have always enabled him to understand the part which theMinister had forced him to perform. Thus the world has given the GrandDuke credit, not only for the possession of great talents, but almostfor as much firmness of mind and decision of character as his Minister. But since his long-agitated career has become calm and tranquil, andBeckendorff, like a guardian spirit, has ceased to be ever at his elbow, the character of the Grand Duke of Reisenburg begins to be understood. His Court has been, and still is, frequented by all the men of geniusin Germany, who are admitted without scruple, even if they be not noble. But the astonishing thing is, that the Grand Duke is always surroundedby every species of political and philosophical quack that you canimagine. Discussions on a free press, on the reformation of the criminalcode, on the abolition of commercial duties, and such like interminabletopics, are perpetually resounding within the palace of this arbitraryPrince; and the people, fired by the representations of the literary andpolitical journals with which Reisenburg abounds, and whose boldspeculations on all subjects elude the vigilance of the censor, by beingskilfully amalgamated with a lavish praise of the royal character, areperpetually flattered with the speedy hope of becoming freemen. Suddenly, when all are expecting the grant of a charter or theinstitution of Chambers, Mr. Beckendorff rides up from his retreat tothe Residence, and the next day the whole crowd of philosophers areswept from the royal presence, and the censorship of the press becomesso severe, that for a moment you would fancy that Reisenburg, instead ofbeing, as it boasts itself, the modern Athens, had more right to thetitle of the modern Boeotia. The people, who enjoy an impartialadministration of equal laws, who have flourished, and are flourishing, under the wise and moderate rule of their new monarch, have in fact noinclination to exert themselves for the attainment of constitutionalliberty in any other way than by their voices. Their barbarous apathyastounds the philosophers; who, in despair, when the people tell themthat they are happy and contented, artfully remind them that theirhappiness depends on the will of a single man; and that, though thepresent character of the monarch may guarantee present felicity, stillthey should think of their children, and not less exert themselves forthe insurance of the future. These representations, as constantlyreiterated as the present system will allow, have at length produced aneffect; and political causes of a peculiar nature, combining theirinfluence with these philosophical exertions, have of late frequentlyfrightened the Grand Duke, who, in despair, would perhaps grant aconstitution if Beckendorff would allow him. But the Minister isconscious that the people would not be happier, and do not in factrequire one: he looks with a jealous and an evil eye on the charlatanismof all kinds which is now so prevalent at Court: he knows, from thecharacters of many of these philosophers and patriots, that theirprivate interest is generally the secret spring of their public virtue;that if the Grand Duke, moved by their entreaties, or seduced by theirflattery, were to yield a little, he would soon be obliged to grant allto their demands and their threats; and finally, Beckendorff has, oflate years, so completely interwoven the policy of Reisenburg with thatof Austria, that he feels that the rock on which he has determined tofound the greatness of his country must be quitted for ever if he yieldone jot to the caprice or the weakness of his monarch. "

"But Beckendorff, " said Vivian; "why can he not crush in the bud thenoxious plant which he so much dreads? Why does the press speak in theleast to the people? Why is the Grand Duke surrounded by any othersexcept pompous Grand Marshals and empty-headed Lord Chamberlains? I amsurprised at this indifference, this want of energy!"

"My dear sir, there are reasons for all things. Rest assured thatBeckendorff is not a man to act incautiously or weakly. The GrandDuchess, the mother of the Crown Prince, has been long dead. Beckendorff, who, as a man, has the greatest contempt for women; as astatesman, looks to them as the most precious of political instruments;it was his wish to have married the Grand Duke to the young Princess whois now destined for his son, but for once in his life he failed ininfluencing his pupil. The truth was, and it is to this cause that wemust trace the present disorganised state of the Court, and indeed ofthe Duchy, that the Grand Duke had secretly married a lady to whom hehad long been attached. This lady was a Countess, and his subject; and, as it was impossible by the laws of the kingdom that any one but amember of the reigning family could be allowed to share the throne, hisRoyal Highness had recourse to a plan which is not uncommon in thiscountry, and espoused the lady with his left hand. The ceremony, whichwe call here a morganatic marriage, you have, probably, heard of before. The favoured female is, to all intents and purposes, the wife of themonarch, and shares everything except his throne. She presides at Court, but neither she nor her children assume the style of majesty, althoughin some instances the latter have been created princes, and acknowledgedas heirs apparent when there has been a default in the lineal royalissue. The lady of whom we are speaking, according to the usual custom, has assumed a name derivative from that of her royal husband; and as theGrand Duke's name is Charles, she is styled Madame Carolina. "

"And what kind of lady is Madame Carolina?" asked Vivian. 

Philosophical! piquant! Parisian! a genius, according to her friends;who, as in fact she is a Queen, are of course the whole world. Though aGerman by family, she is a Frenchwoman by birth. Educated in thespiritual saloons of the French metropolis, she has early imbibed superbideas of the perfectibility of man, and of the "science" ofconversation, on both which subjects you will not be long at Court ereyou hear her descant; demonstrating by the brilliancy of her ideas thepossibility of the one, and by the fluency of her language heracquaintance with the other. She is much younger than her husband, and, though not exactly a model for Phidias, a fascinating woman. Variety isthe talisman by which she commands all hearts and gained her monarch's. She is only consistent in being delightful; but, though changeable, sheis not capricious. Each day displays a new accomplishment as regularlyas it does a new costume; but as the acquirement seems only valued byits possessor as it may delight others, so the dress seems worn, not somuch to gratify her own vanity as to please her friends' tastes. Geniusis her idol; and with her genius is found in everything. She speaks inequal ruptures of an opera dancer and an epic poet. Her ambition is toconverse on all subjects; and by a judicious management of a great massof miscellaneous reading, and by indefatigable exertions to renderherself mistress of the prominent points of the topics of the day, sheappears to converse on all subjects with ability. She takes theliveliest interest in the progress of mind, in all quarters of theglobe; and imagines that she should, at the same time, immortaliseherself and benefit her species, could she only establish a QuarterlyReview in Ashantee and a scientific Gazette at Timbuctoo. Notwithstanding her sudden elevation, no one has ever accused her ofarrogance, or pride, or ostentation. Her liberal principles and herenlightened views are acknowledged by all. She advocates equality in hercircle of privileged nobles, and is enthusiastic on the rights of man ina country where justice is a favour. Her boast is to be surrounded bymen of genius, and her delight to correspond with the most celebratedpersons of all countries. She is herself a literary character of no meancelebrity. Few months have elapsed since enraptured Reisenburg hailedfrom her glowing pen two neat octavos, bearing the title of 'Memoirs ofthe Court of Charlemagne, ' which give an interesting and accuratepicture of the age, and delight the modern public with vivid descriptionsof the cookery, costume, and conversation of the eighth century. Yousmile, my friend, at Madame Carolina's production. Do not you agree withme that it requires no mean talent to convey a picture of the bustle ofa levée during the middle ages? Conceive Sir Oliver looking in at hisclub! and fancy the small talk of Roland during a morning visit! Yeteven the fame of this work is to be eclipsed by Madame's forthcomingquarto of 'Haroun al Raschid and his Times. ' This, it is whispered, isto be a chef-d'oeuvre, enriched by a chronological arrangement, by acelebrated oriental scholar, of all the anecdotes in the Arabian Nightsrelating to the Caliph. It is, of course, the sun of Madame's patronagethat has hatched into noxious life the swarm of sciolists who now infestthe Court, and who are sapping the husband's political power while theyare establishing the wife's literary reputation. So much for MadameCarolina! I need hardly add that during your short stay at Court youwill be delighted with her. If ever you know her as well as I do, youwill find her vain, superficial, heartless; her sentiment a system, herenthusiasm exaggeration, and her genius merely a clever adoption of theprofundity of others. "

"And Beckendorff and the lady are not friendly?" asked Vivian, who wasdelighted with his communicative companion. 

"Beckendorff's is a mind that such a woman cannot comprehend. He treatsher with contempt, and, if possible, views her with hatred, for heconsiders that she has degraded the character of his pupil; while she, on the contrary, wonders by what magic spell he exercises such influenceover the conduct of her husband. At first Beckendorff treated her andher circle of illuminati with contemptuous silence; but in politicsnothing is contemptible. The Minister, knowing that the people wereprosperous and happy, cared little for projected constitutions, and lessfor metaphysical abstractions; but some circumstances have latelyoccurred which, I imagine, have convinced him that for once he hasmiscalculated. After the arrangement of the German States, when thePrinces were first mediatised, an attempt was made, by means of athreatening league, to obtain for these political victims a very ampleshare of the power and patronage of the new State of Reisenburg. Thisplan failed from the lukewarmness and indecision of our good friend ofLittle Lilliput, who, between ourselves, was prevented from joining thealliance by the intrigues of Beckendorff. Beckendorff secretly tookmeasures that the Prince should be promised that, in case of his keepingbackward, he should obtain more than would fall to his lot by leadingthe van. The Prince of Little Lilliput and his peculiar friendsaccordingly were quiet, and the attempt of the other chieftains failed. It was then that his Highness found that he had been duped. Beckendorffwould not acknowledge the authority, and, of course, did not redeem thepledge, of his agent. The effect that this affair produced upon thePrince's mind you can conceive. Since then he has never frequentedReisenburg, but constantly resided either at his former capital, now aprovincial town of the Grand Duchy, or at this castle; viewed, you maysuppose, with no very cordial feeling by his companions in misfortune. But the thirst of revenge will inscribe the bitterest enemies in thesame muster-roll; and the Princes, incited by the bold carriage ofMadame Carolina's philosophical protégés, and induced to believe thatBeckendorff's power is on the wane, have again made overtures to ourfriend, without whose powerful assistance they feel that they have butlittle chance of success. Observe how much more men's conduct isinfluenced by circumstances than principles! When these persons leaguedtogether before it was with the avowed intention of obtaining a share ofthe power and patronage of the State: the great body of the people, ofcourse, did not sympathise in that which, after all, to them was a partyquarrel, and by the joint exertions of open force and secret intriguethe Court triumphed. But now these same individuals come forward, not asindignant Princes demanding a share of the envied tyranny, but as ardentpatriots advocating a people's rights. The public, though I believe thatin fact they will make no bodily exertion to acquire a constitutionalfreedom the absence of which they can only abstractedly feel, have noobjection to attain that which they are assured will not injure theirsituation, provided it be by the risk and exertions of others. So far, therefore, as clamour can support the Princes, they have the people ontheir side; and as upwards of three hundred thousand of the Grand Ducalsubjects are still living on their estates, and still considerthemselves as their serfs, they trust that some excesses from this greatbody may incite the rest of the people to similar outrages. The naturaldisposition of mankind to imitation, particularly when the act to beimitated is popular, deserves attention. The Court is divided; for theexertions of Madame and the bewitching influence of Fashion have turnedthe heads even of greybeards: and to give you only one instance, hisExcellency the Grand Marshal, protégé of the House of Austria, and afavourite of Metternich, the very person to whose interests, and as areward for whose services, our princely friend was sacrificed by theMinister, has now himself become a pupil in the school of modernphilosophy, and drivels out, with equal ignorance and fervour, enlightened notions on the most obscure subjects. In the midst of allthis confusion, the Grand Duke is timorous, dubious, and uncertain. Beckendorff has a difficult game to play; he may fall at last. Such, mydear sir, are the tremendous consequences of a weak Prince marrying ablue-stocking!"

"And the Crown Prince, Mr. Sievers, how does he conduct himself at thisinteresting moment? or is his mind so completely engrossed by theanticipation of his Imperial alliance that he has no thought foranything but his approaching bride. "

"The Crown Prince, my dear sir, is neither thinking of his bride nor ofanything else: he is a hunch-backed idiot. Of his deformity I havemyself been a witness; and though it is difficult to give an opinion ofthe intellect of a being with whom you have never interchanged asyllable, nevertheless his countenance does not contradict the commoncreed. I say the common creed, Mr. Grey, for there are moments when theCrown Prince of Reisenburg is spoken of by his future subjects in a verydifferent manner. Whenever any unpopular act is committed, or anyunpopular plan suggested by the Court or the Grand Duke, then whispersare immediately afloat that a future Brutus must be looked for in theirPrince; then it is generally understood that his idiocy is only assumed;and what woman does not detect, in the glimmerings of his lack-lustreeye, the vivid sparks of suppressed genius! In a short time the cloudblows over the Court, dissatisfaction disappears, and the moment thatthe monarch is again popular the unfortunate Crown Prince again becomesthe uninfluential object of pity or derision. All immediately forgetthat his idiocy is only assumed; and what woman ever ceases fromdeploring the unhappy lot of the future wife of their impuissant Prince!Such, my dear sir, is the way of mankind! At the first glance it wouldappear, that in this world, monarchs, on the whole, have it pretty welltheir own way; but reflection will soon enable us not to envy theirsituations; and speaking as a father, which unfortunately I am not, should I not view with disgust that lot in life which necessarily makesmy son my enemy? The Crown Prince of all countries is only a puppet inthe hands of the people, to be played against his own father. "

CHAPTER V

The Prince returned home at a late hour, and immediately enquired forVivian. During dinner, which he hastily despatched, it did not escapeour hero's attention that his Highness was unusually silent, and, indeed, agitated. 

"When we have finished our meal, my good friend, " at length said thePrince, "I very much wish to consult with you on a most importantbusiness. " Since the explanation of last night, the Prince, in privateconversation, had dropped his regal plural. 

"I am ready at once, " said Vivian. 

"You will think it strange, Mr. Grey, when you become acquainted withthe nature of my communication; you will justly consider it moststrange, most singular, that I should choose for a confidant and acounsellor in an important business a gentleman with whom I have beenacquainted so short a time as yourself. But, sir, I have well weighed, at least I have endeavoured well to weigh, all the circumstances andcontingencies which such a confidence would involve; and the result ofmy reflection is, that I will look to you as a friend and adviser, feeling assured that, both from your situation and your disposition, notemptation exists which can induce you to betray or to deceive me. "Though the Prince said this with an appearance of perfect sincerity, hestopped and looked earnest in his guest's face, as if he would read hissecret thoughts, or were desirous of now giving him an opportunity ofanswering. 

"So far as the certainty of your confidence being respected, " answeredVivian, "I trust your Highness may communicate to me with the mostassured spirit. But while my ignorance of men and affairs in thiscountry will ensure you from any treachery on my part, I very much fearthat it will also preclude me from affording you any advantageous adviceor assistance. "

"On that head, " replied the Prince, "I am, of course, the best judge. The friend whom I need is a man not ignorant of the world, with a coolhead and an impartial mind. Though young, you have said and told meenough to prove that you are not unacquainted with mankind. Of yourcourage I have already had a convincing proof. In the business in whichI require your assistance freedom from national prejudices willmaterially increase the value of your advice; and, therefore, I am farfrom being unwilling to consult a person ignorant, according to your ownphrase, of men and affairs in this country. Moreover, your education asan Englishman has early led you to exercise your mind on politicalsubjects; and it is in a political business that I require your aid. "

"Am I fated always to be the dry nurse of an embryo faction!" thoughtVivian; and he watched earnestly the countenance of the Prince. In amoment he expected to be invited to become a counsellor of the leaguedPrinces. Either the lamp was burning dim, or the blazing wood fire hadsuddenly died away, or a mist was over Vivian's eyes; but for a momenthe almost imagined that he was sitting opposite his old friend theMarquis of Carabas. The Prince's phrase had given rise to a thousandagonising associations: in an instant Vivian had worked up his mind to apitch of nervous excitement. 

"Political business?" said Vivian, in an agitated voice. "You could notaddress a more unfortunate person. I have seen, Prince, too much ofpolitics ever to wish to meddle with them again. "

"You are too quick, my good friend, " continued his Highness. "I may wishto consult you on political business, and yet have no intention ofengaging you in politics, which, indeed, is quite a ridiculous idea. ButI see that I was right in supposing that these subjects have engagedyour attention. "

"I have seen, in a short time, something of the political world, "answered Vivian, who was almost ashamed of his previous emotion; "and Ithank Heaven daily that I have no chance of again having anyconnection with it. "

"Well, well! that as it may be. Nevertheless, your experience is onlyanother inducement to me to request your assistance. Do not fear that Iwish to embroil you in politics; but I hope you will not refuse, although almost a stranger, to add to the great obligations which I amalready under to you, and give me the benefit of your opinion. "

"Your Highness may speak with perfect unreserve, and reckon upon mydelivering my genuine sentiments. "

"You have not forgotten, I venture to believe, " said the Prince, "ourshort conversation of last night!"

"It was of too interesting a nature easily to escape my memory. "

"Before I can consult you on the subject which at present interests me, it is necessary that I should make you a little acquainted with thepresent state of public affairs here, and the characters of theprincipal individuals who control them. "

"So far as an account of the present state of political parties, thehistory of the Grand Duke's career, and that of his Minister, Mr. Beckendorff, and their reputed characters, will form part of yourHighness's narrative, by so much may its length be curtailed and yourtrouble lessened; for I have at different times picked up, in casualconversation, a great deal of information on these topics. Indeed, youmay address me, in this respect, as you would any German gentleman who, not being himself personally interested in public life, is, of course, not acquainted with its most secret details. "

"I did not reckon on this, " said the Prince, in a cheerful voice. "Thisis a great advantage, and another reason that I should no longerhesitate to develop to you a certain affair which now occupies my mind. To be short, " continued the Prince, "it is of the letter which I somysteriously received last night, and which, as you must have remarked, very much agitated me; it is on this letter that I wish to consult you. Bearing in mind the exact position, the avowed and public position, inwhich I stand, as connected with the Court, and having a dueacquaintance, which you state you have, with the character of Mr. Beckendorff, what think you of this letter?"

So saying, the Prince leant over the table, and handed to Vivian thefollowing epistle:

"TO HIS HIGHNESS THE PRINCE OF LITTLE LILLIPUT. 

"I am commanded by his Royal Highness to inform your Highness that hisRoyal Highness has considered the request which was signed by yourHighness and other noblemen, and presented by you to his Royal Highnessin a private interview. His Royal Highness commands me to state thatthat request will receive his most attentive consideration. At the sametime, his Royal Highness also commands me to observe that, in bringingabout the completion of a result desired by all parties, it is difficultto carry on the necessary communications merely by written documents;and his Royal Highness has therefore commanded me to submit to yourHighness the advisability of taking some steps in order to further thepossibility of the occurrence of an oral interchange of the sentimentsof the respective parties. Being aware, from the position which yourHighness has thought proper at present to maintain, and from othercauses which are of too delicate a nature to be noticed in any other wayexcept by allusion, that your Highness may feel difficulty in personallycommunicating with his Royal Highness without consulting the wishes andopinions of the other Princes; a process to which, it must be evident toyour Highness, his Royal Highness feels it impossible to submit; and, atthe same time, desirous of forwarding the progress of those views whichhis Royal Highness and your Highness may conjunctively considercalculated to advance the well-being of the State, I have to submit toyour Highness the propriety of considering the propositions contained inthe enclosed paper; which, if your Highness keep unconnected with thiscommunication, the purport of this letter will be confined toyour Highness. 

PROPOSITIONS. 

'1st. That an interview shall take place between your Highness andmyself, the object of which shall be the consideration of measures bywhich, when adopted, the various interests now in agitation shallrespectively be regarded. 

'2nd. That this interview shall be secret; your Highness be incognito. '

"If your Highness be disposed to accede to the first proposition, I begto submit to you that, from the nature of my residence, its situation, and other causes, there will be no fear that any suspicion of the factof Mr. Von Philipson acceding to the two propositions will gainnotoriety. This letter will be delivered into your own hands. If Mr. VonPhilipson determine on acceding to these propositions, he is mostprobably aware of the general locality in which my residence issituated; and proper measures will be taken that, if Mr. Von Philipsonhonour me with a visit, he shall not be under the necessity ofattracting attention by inquiring the way to my house. It is wished thatthe fact of the second proposition being acceded to should only be knownto Mr. Von Philipson and myself, but if to be perfectly unattended beconsidered as an insuperable objection, I consent to his beingaccompanied by a single friend. I shall be alone. 

"BECKENDORFF. "

"Well!" said the Prince, as Vivian finished the letter. 

"The best person, " said Vivian, "to decide upon your Highness consentingto this interview is yourself. "

"That is not the point on which I wish to have the benefit of youropinion; for I have already consented. I rode over this morning to mycousin, the Duke of Micromegas, and despatched from his residence atrusty messenger to Beckendorff. I have agreed to meet him, andto-morrow; but on the express terms that I should not be unattended. Nowthen, " continued the Prince, with great energy; "now then, will you bemy companion?"

"I!" said Vivian. 

"Yes; you, my good friend! you. I should consider myself as safe if Iwere sleeping in a burning house as I should be were I with Beckendorffalone. Although this is not the first time that we have communicated, Ihave never yet seen him; and I am fully aware that, if the approachinginterview were known to my friends, they would consider it high timethat my son reigned in my stead. But I am resolved to be firm, to beinflexible. My course is plain. I am not to be again duped by him, which, " continued the Prince, much confused, "I will not conceal that Ihave been once. "

"But I!" said Vivian; "I; what good can I possibly do? It appears to methat, if Beckendorff is to be dreaded as you describe, the presence orthe attendance of no friend can possibly save you from his crafty plans. But surely, if any one attend you, why not be accompanied by a personwhom you have known long, and who knows you well; on whom you canconfidently rely, and who may be aware, from a thousand signs andcircumstances which will never attract my attention, at what particularand pressing moments you may require prompt and energetic assistance. Such is the companion you want; and surely such an one you may find inArnelm, Von Neuwied--"

"Arnelm! Von Neuwied!" said the Prince; "the best, hands at sounding abugle or spearing a boar in all Reisenburg! Excellent men, forsooth! toguard their master from the diplomatic deceits of the wily Beckendorff!Moreover, were they to have even the slightest suspicion of my intendedmovement, they would commit rank treason out of pure loyalty, and lockme up in my own cabinet! No, no! they will never do: I want a companionof experience and knowledge of the world, with whom I may converse withsome prospect of finding my wavering firmness strengthened, or my misledjudgment rightly guided, or my puzzled brain cleared; modes ofassistance to which the worthy Jagd Junker is but little accustomed, however quickly he might hasten to my side in a combat or the chase. "

"If these, then, will not do, surely there is one man in this castlewho, although he may not be a match for Beckendorff, can be foiled byfew others. Mr. Sievers?" said Vivian, with an inquiring eye. 

"Sievers!" exclaimed the Prince, with great eagerness; "the very man!firm, experienced, and sharp-witted; well schooled in politicallearning, in case I required his assistance in arranging the terms ofthe intended Charter or the plan of the intended Chambers; for these, ofcourse, are the points on which Beckendorff wishes to consult. But onething I am determined on: I positively pledge myself to nothing whileunder Beckendorff's roof. He doubtless anticipates, by my visit, togrant the liberties of the people on his own terms: perhaps Mr. Beckendorff, for once in his life, may be mistaken. I am not to bedeceived twice; and I am determined not to yield the point of theTreasury being under the control of the Senate. That is the part of theharness which galls; and to preserve themselves from this ratherinconvenient regulation, without question, my good friend Beckendorffhas hit upon this plan. "

"Then Mr. Sievers will accompany you?" asked Vivian, calling thePrince's attention to the point of consultation. 

"The very man for it, my dear friend! but although Beckendorff, mostprobably respecting my presence, and taking into consideration thecircumstances under which we meet, would refrain from consigning Sieversto a dungeon; still, although the Minister invites this interview, andalthough I have no single inducement to conciliate him, yet it wouldscarcely be correct, scarcely dignified on my part, to prove, by thepresence of my companion, that I had for a length of time harboured anindividual who, by Beckendorff's own exertions, was banished from theGrand Duchy. It would look too much like a bravado. "

"Oh!" said Vivian; "is it so? And pray of what was Mr. Sievers guilty?"

"Of high treason against one who was not his sovereign. "

"How is that?"

"Sievers, who is a man of considerable talents, was for a long time aprofessor in one of our great Universities. The publication of many ableworks procured him a reputation which induced Madame Carolina to useevery exertion to gain his attendance at Court; and a courtier in timethe professor became. At Reisenburg Mr. Sievers was the great authorityon all subjects: philosophical, literary, and political. In fact, he wasthe fashion; and, at the head of the great literary journal which isthere published, he terrified admiring Germany with his profound andpiquant critiques. Unfortunately, like some men as good, he was unawarethat Reisenburg was not an independent state; and so, on the occasion ofAustria attacking Naples, Mr. Sievers took the opportunity of attackingAustria. His article, eloquent, luminous, profound, revealed the darkcolours of the Austrian policy, as an artist's lamp brings out the murkytints of a Spagnoletto. Every one admired Sievers' bitter sarcasms, enlightened views, and indignant eloquence. Madame Carolina crowned himwith laurel in the midst of her coterie, and it is said that the GrandDuke sent him a snuff-box. In a short time the article reached Vienna, and in a still shorter time Mr. Beckendorff reached the Residence, andinsisted on the author being immediately given up to the AustrianGovernment. Madame Carolina was in despair, the Grand Duke in doubt, andBeckendorff threatened to resign if the order were not signed. A kindfriend, perhaps his Royal Highness himself, gave Sievers timely notice, and by rapid flight he reached my castle, and demanded my hospitality. He has lived here ever since, and has done me a thousand services, notthe least of which is the education which he has given my son, myglorious Maximilian. "

"And Beckendorff, " asked Vivian; "has he always been aware that Sieverswas concealed here?"

"That I cannot answer: had he been, it is not improbable that he wouldhave winked at it; since it never has been his policy unnecessarily toannoy a mediatised Prince, or without great occasion to let us feel thatour independence is gone; I will not, with such a son as I have, say, for ever. "

"Mr. Sievers of course, then, cannot visit Beckendorff, " said Vivian. 

"That is clear, " said the Prince; "and I therefore trust that now youwill no longer refuse my first request. "

It was impossible for Vivian to deny the Prince any longer; and indeedhe had no objection (as his Highness could not be better attended) toseize the singular and unexpected opportunity which now offered itselfof becoming acquainted with an individual respecting whom his curiositywas much excited. It was a late hour ere the Prince and his friendretired, having arranged everything for the morrow's journey, andconversed on the probable subjects of the approaching interview atgreat length. 

CHAPTER VI

On the following morning, before sunrise, the Prince's valet rousedVivian from his slumbers. According to the appointment of the precedingevening, Vivian repaired in due time to a certain spot in the park. ThePrince reached it at the same moment. A mounted groom, leading twoEnglish horses of showy appearance, and each having a travelling casestrapped on the back of its saddle, awaited them. His Highness mountedone of the steeds with skilful celerity, although Arnelm and Von Neuwiedwere not there to do honour to his bridle and his stirrup. 

"You must give me an impartial opinion of your courser, my dear friend, "said the Prince to Vivian; "for if you deem it worthy of beingbestridden by you, my son requests that you will do him the honour ofaccepting it. If so, call it Max; and provided it be as thoroughbred asthe donor, you need not change it for Bucephalus. "

"Not unworthy of the son of Ammon!" said Vivian, as he touched thespirited animal with the spur, and proved its fiery action on thespringing turf. 

A man never feels so proud or so sanguine as when he is bounding on theback of a fine horse. Cares fly with the first curvet, and the verysight of a spur is enough to prevent one committing suicide. 

When Vivian and his companion had proceeded about five miles, the Princepulled up, and giving a sealed letter to the groom, he desired him toleave them. The Prince and Vivian amused themselves by endeavouring toform some conception of the person, manners, and habits of theremarkable man to whom they were on the point of paying so interestinga visit. 

"I expect, " said Vivian, "to be received with folded arms, and a browlowering with the overwhelming weight of a brain meditating for thecontrol of millions. His letter has prepared us for the mysterious, butnot very amusing, style of his conversation. He will be perpetually onhis guard not to commit himself; and although public business, and thereceipt of papers, by calling him away, will occasionally give us anopportunity of being alone, still I regret that I did not put up in mycase some interesting volume, which would have allowed me to feel lesstedious those hours during which you will necessarily be employed withhim in private consultation. "

After a ride of five hours, the horsemen arrived at a small village. 

"Thus far I think I have well piloted you, " said the Prince: "but Iconfess my knowledge here ceases; and though I shall disobey thediplomatic instructions of the great man, I must even ask some old womanthe way to Mr. Beckendorff's. "

While they were hesitating as to whom they should address, anequestrian, who had already passed them on the road, though at somedistance, came up, and inquired, in a voice which Vivian recognised asthat of the messenger who had brought Beckendorff's letter toTurriparva, whether he had the honour of addressing Mr. Von Philipson. Neither of the gentlemen answered, for Vivian of course expected thePrince to reply; and his Highness was, as yet, so unused to hisincognito, that he had actually forgotten his own name. But it wasevident that the demandant had questioned rather from system than by wayof security, and he waited patiently until the Prince had collected hissenses and assumed sufficient gravity of countenance to inform thehorseman that he was the person in question. "What, sir, is yourpleasure?"

"I am instructed to ride on before you, sir, that you may not mistakeyour way;" and without waiting for an answer the laconic messengerturned his steed's head and trotted off. 

The travellers soon left the high road and turned up a wild turf path, not only inaccessible to carriages, but even requiring great attentionfrom horsemen. After much winding and some floundering, they arrived ata light gate, which apparently opened into a shrubbery. 

"I will take your horses here, gentlemen, " said the guide; and gettingoff his horse, he opened the gate. "Follow this path, and you can meetwith no difficulty. " The Prince and Vivian accordingly dismounted, andthe guide immediately gave a loud shrill whistle. 

The path ran, for a short way, through the shrubbery, which evidentlywas a belt encircling the grounds. From this the Prince and Vivianemerged upon a lawn, which formed on the farthest side a terrace, bygradually sloping down to the margin of the river. It was enclosed onthe other side, and white pheasants were feeding in its centre. Following the path which skirted the lawn, they arrived at a secondgate, which opened into a garden, in which no signs of the taste atpresent existing in Germany for the English system of picturesquepleasure-grounds were at all visible. The walk was bounded on both sidesby tall borders, or rather hedges, of box, cut into the shape ofbattlements; the sameness of these turrets being occasionally varied bythe immovable form of some trusty warder, carved out of yew or laurel. Raised terraces and arched walks, aloes and orange trees mounted onsculptured pedestals, columns of cypress and pyramids of bay, whose darkfoliage strikingly contrasted with the marble statues, and the whitevases shining in the sun, rose in all directions in methodicalconfusion. The sound of a fountain was not wanting, and large beds ofbeautiful flowers abounded. Proceeding through a lofty berçeau, occasional openings in whose curving walks allowed effective glimpses ofa bust or a statue, the companions at length came in sight of the house. It was a long, uneven, low building, evidently of ancient architecture. Numerous stacks of tall and fantastically-shaped chimneys rose overthree thick and heavy gables, which reached down farther than the middleof the elevation, forming three compartments, one of them including alarge and modern bow window, over which clustered hi profusion the sweetand glowing blossoms of the clematis and the pomegranate. Indeed, thewhole front of the house was so completely covered with a richscarlet-creeper, that it was difficult to ascertain of what materials itwas built. As Vivian was admiring a white peacock, which, attracted bytheir approach, had taken the opportunity of unfurling its wheelingtrain, a man came forward from the bow window. 

In height he was about five feet eight, and of a spare butwell-proportioned figure. He had little hair, which was powdered, anddressed in a manner to render more remarkable the elevation of hisconical and polished forehead. His long piercing black eyes were almostclosed, from the fullness of their upper lids. His cheek was sallow, hisnose aquiline, his mouth compressed. His ears, which were uncovered, were so small that it would be wrong to pass them over unnoticed; as, indeed, were his hands and feet, in form quite feminine. He was dressedin a coat and waistcoat of black velvet, the latter part of his costumereaching to his thighs; and in a button-hole of his coat was a largebunch of tube-rose. The broad collar of his exquisitely plaited shirt, though tied round with a wide black ribbon, did not conceal a neck whichagreed well with his beardless chin, and would not have misbecome awoman. In England we should have called his breeches buckskin. They wereof a pale yellow leather, and suited his large and spur-armed cavalryboots, which fitted closely to the legs they covered, reaching over theknees of the wearer. A ribbon round his neck, tucked into his waistcoatpocket, was attached to a small French watch. He swung in his right handthe bow of a violin; and in the other, the little finger of which wasnearly hid by a large antique ring, he held a white handkerchiefstrongly perfumed with violets. Notwithstanding the many femininecharacteristics which I have noticed, either from the expression of theeyes or the formation of the mouth, the countenance of this individualgenerally conveyed an impression of firmness and energy. Thisdescription will not be considered ridiculously minute by those who havenever had an opportunity of becoming acquainted with the person of socelebrated a gentleman as MR. BECKENDORFF. 

He advanced to the Prince with an air which seemed to proclaim that, ashis person could not be mistaken, the ceremony of introduction wasunnecessary. Bowing in a ceremonious and courtly manner to his Highness, Mr. Beckendorff, in a weak but not unpleasing voice, said that he was"honoured by the presence of Mr. Von Philipson. " The Prince answered hissalutation in a manner equally ceremonious and equally courtly; forhaving no mean opinion of his own diplomatic abilities, his Highnessdetermined that neither by an excess of coldness nor cordiality on hispart should the Minister gather the slightest indication of the temperin which he had attended the interview. You see that even the bow of adiplomatist is a serious business!

"Mr. Beckendorff, " said his Highness, "my letter doubtless informed youthat I should avail myself of your permission to be accompanied. Let mehave the honour of presenting to you my friend Mr. Grey, an Englishgentleman. "

As the Prince spoke, Beckendorff stood with his arms crossed behindhim, and his chin resting upon his chest, but his eyes at the same timeso raised as to look his Highness full in the face. Vivian was so struckby his posture and the expression of his countenance, that he nearlyomitted to bow when he was presented. As his name was mentioned, theMinister gave him a sharp, sidelong glance, and moving his headslightly, invited his guests to enter the house. The gentlemenaccordingly complied with his request. Passing through the bow window, they found themselves in a well-sized room, the sides of which werecovered with shelves filled with richly-bound books. There was nothingin the room which gave the slightest indication that the master of thelibrary was any other than a private gentleman. Not a book, not a chairwas out of its place. A purple inkstand of Sèvre, and a highly-tooledmorocco portfolio of the same colour, reposed on a marqueterie table, and that was all. No papers, no despatches, no red tape, and no redboxes. Over an ancient chimney, lined with china tiles, on which wererepresented grotesque figures, cows playing the harp, monkeys actingmonarchs, and tall figures all legs, flying with rapidity from pursuerswho were all head; over this chimney were suspended some curious piecesof antique armour, among which an Italian dagger, with a chased andjewelled hilt, was the most remarkable and the most precious. 

"This, " said Mr. Beckendorff, "is my library. "

"What a splendid poignard!" said the Prince, who had no taste for books;and he immediately walked up to the chimney-piece. Beckendorff followedhim, and taking down the admired weapon from its resting-place, proceeded to lecture on its virtues, its antiquity, and its beauty. Vivian seized this opportunity of taking a rapid glance at the contentsof the library. He anticipated interleaved copies of Machiavel, Vattel, and Montesquieu; and the lightest works that he expected to meet withwere the lying memoirs of some intriguing cardinal or the deludingapology of an exiled minister. To his surprise, he found that, withoutan exception, the collection consisted of poetry and romance. Somewhatsurprised, Vivian looked with a curious eye on the unlettered backs of arow of mighty folios on a corner shelf. "These, " he thought, "at leastmust be royal ordinances, and collected state papers. " The sense ofpropriety struggled for a moment with the passion of curiosity; butnothing is more difficult for the man who loves books than to refrainfrom examining a volume which he fancies may be unknown to him. Fromthe jewelled dagger Beckendorff had now got to an enamelledbreast-plate. Two to one he should not be observed; and so, with adesperate pull, Vivian extracted a volume; it was a herbal! He triedanother; it was a collection of dried insects!

"And now, " said Mr. Beckendorff, "I will show you my drawing-room. "

He opened a door at the farther end of the library, and introduced themto a room of a different character. The sun, which was shining brightly, lent additional brilliancy to the rainbow-tinted birds of paradise, thecrimson maccaws, and the green parroquets that glistened on the Indianpaper, which covered not only the walls, but also the ceiling of theroom. Over the fireplace a black frame, projecting from the wall, andmournfully contrasting with the general brilliant appearance of theapartment, inclosed a picture of a beautiful female; and bending overits frame, and indeed partly shadowing the countenance, was the witheredbranch of a tree. A harpsichord and several cases of musical instrumentswere placed in different parts of the room; and suspended by broad blackribbons from the wall, on each side of the picture, were a guitar and atambourine. On a sofa of unusual size lay a Cremona; and as Mr. Beckendorff passed the instrument he threw by its side the bow, which hehad hitherto carried in his hand. 

"We may as well now take something, " said Mr. Beckendorff, when hisguests had sufficiently admired the room; "my pictures are in mydining-room; let us go there. "

So saying, and armed this time not only with his bow but also with hisviolin, he retraced his steps through the library, and crossing a smallpassage which divided the house into two compartments, he opened thedoor into his dining-room. The moment they entered the room their earswere saluted, and indeed their senses ravished, by what appeared to be aconcert of a thousand birds; yet none of the winged choristers were tobe seen, and not even a single cage was visible. The room, which wassimply furnished, appeared at first rather gloomy; for, though lightedby three windows, the silk blinds were all drawn. 

"And now, " said Mr. Beckendorff, raising the first blind, "you shall seemy pictures. At what do you estimate this Breughel?"

The window, which was of stained green glass, gave to the landscape aneffect similar to that generally produced by the artist mentioned. ThePrince, who was already puzzled by finding one who at the same time wasboth his host and his enemy so different a character from what he hadconceived, and who, being by temper superstitious, considered that thispreliminary false opinion of his was rather a bad omen, did not expressany great admiration of the gallery of Mr. Beckendorff; but Vivian, whohad no ambitious hopes or fears to affect his temper, and who was amusedby the character with whom he had become so unexpectedly acquainted, good-naturedly humoured the fantasies of the Minister, and said that hepreferred his picture to any Breughel he had ever seen. 

"I see you have a fine taste, " said Mr. Beckendorff, with a serious air, but in a courteous tone; "you shall see my Claude!"

The rich yellow tint of the second window gave to the fanciful gardenall that was requisite to make it look Italian. 

"Have you ever been in Italy, sir?" asked Beckendorff. 

"I have not. "

"You have, Mr. Von Philipson?"

"Never south of Germany, " answered the Prince, who was hungry, and eyedwith a rapacious glance the capital luncheon which he saw preparedfor him. 

"Well, then, when either of you go, you will, of course, not miss theLago Maggiore. Gaze on Isola Bella at sunset, and you will not view sofair a scene as this! And now, Mr. Von Philipson, " said Beckendorff, "dome the favour of giving me your opinion of this Honthorst?"

His Highness would rather have given his opinion of the dish of gamewhich still smoked upon the table, but which he was mournfully convincedwould not smoke long. "But, " thought he, "this is the last!" and so headmired the effect produced by the flaming panes, to which Beckendorffswore that no piece ever painted by Gerard Honthorst, for brilliancy ofcolouring and boldness of outline, could be compared. "Besides, "continued Beckendorff, "mine are all animated pictures. See thatcypress, waving from the breeze which is now stirring, and look! look atthis crimson peacock! look! Mr. Von Philipson. "

"I am looking, Mr. Von--I beg pardon, Mr. Beckendorff, " said the Prince, with great dignity, making this slight mistake in the name, either frombeing unused to converse with such low people as had not the nominalmark of nobility, or to vent his spleen at being so unnecessarily keptfrom the refreshment which he so much required. 

"Mr. Von Philipson, " said Beckendorff, suddenly turning round, "all myfruits and all my vegetables are from my own garden. Let us sit down andhelp ourselves. "

The only substantial food at table was a great dish of game. Thevegetables and the fruits were numerous and superb; and there reallyappeared to be a fair prospect of the Prince of Little Lilliput makingas good a luncheon as if the whole had been conducted under the auspicesof Master Rodolph himself, had it not been for the melody of the unseenvocalists, which, probably excited by the sounds of the knives andplates, too evidently increased every moment. But this inconvenience wassoon removed by Mr. Beckendorff rising and giving three loud knocks onthe door opposite to the one by which they had entered. Immediatesilence ensued. 

"Clara will change your plate, Mr. Von Philipson, " said Beckendorff. 

Vivian eagerly looked up, not with the slightest idea that the entranceof Clara would prove that the mysterious picture in the drawing-room wasa portrait, but, it must be confessed, with a little curiosity to viewthe first specimen of the sex who lived under the roof of Mr. Beckendorff. Clara was a hale old woman, with rather an acid expressionof countenance, prim in her appearance, and evidently precise in hermanners. She placed a bottle and two wine-glasses with long, thin stemson the table; and having removed the game and changed the plates, shedisappeared. 

"Pray what wine is this, Mr. Beckendorff?" eagerly asked the Prince. 

"I really don't know. I never drink wine. "

"Not know! I never tasted such Tokay in my life!"

"Probably, " said Mr. Beckendorff; "I think it was a present from theEmperor. I have never tasted it. "

"My dear sir, take a glass!" said the Prince, his naturally jovialtemper having made him completely forget whom he was addressing, and thebusiness he had come upon. 

"I never drink wine; I am glad you like it; I have no doubt Clara hasmore. "

"No, no, no! we must be moderate, " said the Prince, who, though a greatadmirer of a good luncheon, had also a due respect for a good dinner, and consequently had no idea, at this awkward hour in the day, ofpreventing himself from properly appreciating the future banquet. Moreover, his Highness, taking into consideration the manner in whichthe game had been dressed, and the marks of refinement and good tastewhich seemed to pervade every part of the establishment of Mr. Beckendorff, did not imagine that he was much presuming when heconjectured that there was a fair chance of his dinner beingsomething superior. 

The sudden arrival and appearance of some new and unexpected gueststhrough the mysterious portal on which Mr. Beckendorff by his threeknocks had previously produced such a tranquillising effect, and whichhe had now himself opened, explained the character of the apartment, which, from its unceasing melody, had so much excited the curiosity ofhis guests. These new visitors were a crowd of piping bullfinches, Virginia nightingales, trained canaries, Java sparrows, and Indianlorys; which, freed from their cages of golden wire by their fondmaster, had fled, as was their custom, from his superb aviary to paytheir respects and compliments at his daily levée. 

"I am glad to see that you like birds, sir, " said Beckendorff to Vivian;for our hero, good-naturedly humouring the tastes of his host, wasimpartially dividing the luxuries of a peach among a crowd of gaudy andgreedy little sparrows. "You shall see my favourites, " continuedBeckendorff; and tapping rather loudly on the table, he held out theforefinger of each hand. Two bullfinches recognised the signal, andimmediately hastened to their perch. 

"My dear!" trilled out one little songster, and it raised its speakingeyes to its delighted master. 

"My love!" warbled the other, marking its affection by looks equallypersonal. 

As these monosyllables were repeated, Beckendorff, with sparkling eyes, triumphantly looked round at Vivian, as if the frequent reiteration werea proof of the sincerity of the affection of these singular friends. 

At length, to the Prince's relief, Mr. Beckendorff's feathered friends, having finished their dessert, were sent back to their cages, with astrict injunction not to trouble their master at present with theirvoices, an injunction which was obeyed to the letter; and when the doorwas closed few persons could have been persuaded that the next room wasan aviary. 

"I am proud of my peaches, Mr. Von Philipson, " said Beckendorff, recommending the fruit to his guest's attention, then rising from thetable, he threw himself on the sofa, and began humming a tune in a lowvoice. Presently he took up his Cremona, and, using the violin as aguitar, accompanied himself in a beautiful air, but not in a moreaudible tone. While Mr. Beckendorff was singing he seemed unconsciousthat any person was in the room; and the Prince, who was not very fondof music, certainly gave him no hint, either by his approbation or hisattention, that he was listened to. Vivian, however, like most unhappymen, loved music; and actuated by this feeling, and the interest whichhe began to take in the character of Mr. Beckendorff, he could not, whenthat gentleman had finished his air, refrain from very sincerelysaying "encore!"

Beckendorff started and looked round, as if he were for the first momentaware that any being had heard him. 

"Encore!" said he, with a kind sneer: "who ever could sing or play thesame thing twice! Are you fond of music, sir?"

"Very much so, indeed. I fancied I recognised that air. You are anadmirer I imagine, of Mozart?"

"I never heard of him; I know nothing of those gentry. But if you reallylike music, I will play you something worth listening to. "

Mr. Beckendorff began a beautiful air very adagio, gradually increasingthe time in a kind of variation, till at last his execution became sorapid that Vivian, surprised at the mere mechanical action, rose fromhis chair in order better to examine the player's management and motionof his bow. Exquisite as were the tones, enchanting as were theoriginality of his variations and the perfect harmony of hiscomposition, it was nevertheless extremely difficult to resist smilingat the contortions of his face and figure. Now, his body bending to thestrain, he was at one moment with his violin raised in the air, and thenext instant with the lower nut almost resting upon his foot. At length, by well-proportioned degrees, the air died away into the original softcadence; and the player, becoming completely entranced in his ownperformance, finished by sinking back on the sofa, with his bow andviolin raised over his head. Vivian would not disturb him by hisapplause. An instant after, Mr. Beckendorff, throwing down theinstrument, rushed through an open window into the garden. 

As soon as Beckendorff was out of sight, Vivian looked at the Prince;and his Highness, elevating his eyebrows, screwing up his mouth, andshrugging his shoulders, altogether presented a comical picture of apuzzled man. 

"Well, my dear friend, " said he, "this is rather different from what weexpected. "

"Very different; but much more amusing. "

"Humph!" said the Prince, slowly; "I do not think it exactly requires aghost to tell us that Mr. Beckendorff is not in the habit of going tocourt. I do not know how he is accustomed to conduct himself when he ishonoured by a visit from the Grand Duke; but I am quite sure that, asregards his treatment of myself, to say the least, the incognito is wellobserved. "

"Mr. Von Philipson, " said the gentleman of whom they were speaking, putting his head in at the window, "you shall see my bluepassion-flower. We will take a walk round the garden. "

The Prince gave Vivian a look which seemed to suppose they must go, andaccordingly they stepped into the garden. 

"You do not see my garden in its glory, " said Mr. Beckendorff, stoppingbefore the bow window of the library. "This spot is my strong point; hadyou been here earlier in the year, you might have admired with me myinvaluable crescents of tulips; such colours! such brilliancy! sodefined! And last year I had three king-tulips; their elegantly-formed, creamy cups I have never seen equalled. And then my double variegatedranunculuses; my hyacinths of fifty bells, in every tint, single anddouble; and my favourite stands of auriculas, so large and powdered thatthe colour of the velvet leaves was scarcely discoverable! The bluepassion-flower is, however, now beautiful. You see that summer-house, sir, " continued he, turning to Vivian; "the top is my observatory. Youwill sleep in that pavilion to-night, so you had better take notice howthe walk winds. "

The passion-flower was trained against the summer-house in question. 

"There, " said Mr. Beckendorff; and he stood admiring with outstretchedarms; "the latter days of its beauty, for the autumn frosts will soonstop its flower. Pray, Mr. Von Philipson, are you a botanist?"

"Why, " said the Prince, "I am a great admirer of flowers, but I cannotexactly say that--"

"Ah! no botanist. The flower of this beautiful plant continues only oneday, but there is a constant succession from July to the end of theautumn; and if this fine weather continue--Pray, sir, how is the wind?"

"I really cannot say, " said the Prince; "but I think the wind iseither--"

"Do you know, sir?" continued Beckendorff to Vivian. 

"I think, sir, that it is--"

"Westerly. Well! If this weather continue, the succession may still lastanother month. You will be interested to know, Mr. Von Philipson, thatthe flower comes out at the same joint with the leaf, on a pedunclenearly three inches long; round the centre of it are two radiatingcrowns; look, look, sir! the inner inclining towards the centre column;now examine this well, and I will be with you in a moment. " So saying, Mr. Beckendorff, running down the walk, jumped over the railing, and ina moment was coursing across the lawn, towards the river, in a chaseafter a dragon-fly. 

Mr. Beckendorff was soon out of sight, and after lingering half-an-hourin the vicinity of the blue passion-flower, the Prince proposed toVivian that they should quit the spot. "So far as I can observe, "continued his Highness, "we might as well quit the house. No wonder thatBeckendorff's power is on the wane, for he appears to me to be growingchildish. Surely he could not always have been this frivolous creature!"

"I am really so astonished, " said Vivian, "that it is quite out of mypower to assist your Highness in any supposition. But I should recommendyou not to be too hasty in your movements. Take care that staying heredoes not affect the position which you have taken up, or retard theprogress of any measures on which you have determined, and you are safe. What will it injure you if, with the chance of achieving the great andpatriotic purpose to which you have devoted your powers and energies, you are subjected for a few hours to the caprices, or even rudeness, ofany man whatever? If Beckendorff be the character which the world giveshim credit to be, I do not think he can imagine that you are to bedeceived twice; and if he do imagine so, we are convinced that he willbe disappointed. If, as you have supposed, not only his power is on thewane, but his intellect also, four-and-twenty hours will convince us ofthe fact; for in less than that time your Highness will necessarily haveconversation of a more important nature with him. I recommend, therefore, that we continue here to-day, although, " added Vivian, smiling, "I have to sleep in his observatory. "

After walking in the gardens about an hour, the Prince and Vivian againwent into the house, imagining that Beckendorff might have returned byanother entrance; but he was not there. The Prince was much annoyed; andVivian, to amuse himself, had recourse to the library. Afterre-examining the armour, looking at the garden through the paintedwindows, conjecturing who might be the original of the mysteriouspicture and what could be the meaning of the withered branch, the Princewas fairly worn out. The precise dinner hour he did not know; andnotwithstanding repeated exertions, he had hitherto been unable to findthe blooming Clara. He could not flatter himself, however, that therewere less than two hours to kill before the great event took place; andso, heartily wishing himself back again at Turriparva, he prevailed uponVivian to throw aside his book and take another walk. 

This time they extended their distance, stretched out as far as theriver, and explored the adjoining woods; but of Mr. Beckendorff they sawand heard nothing. At length they again returned: it was getting dusk. They found the bow window of the library closed. They again entered thedining-room, and, to their surprise, found no preparations for dinner. This time the Prince was more fortunate in his exertions to procure aninterview with Madam Clara, for that lady almost immediately enteredthe room. 

"Pray, my good madam, " inquired the Prince, "has your master returned?"

"Mr. Beckendorff is in the library, sir, " said the old lady, pompously. 

"Indeed! we do not dine in this room, then?"

"Dine, sir!" said the good dame, forgetting her pomposity in herastonishment. 

"Yes, dine, " said the Prince. 

"Mr. Beckendorff never takes anything after his noon meal. "

"Am I to understand, then, that we are to have no dinner?" asked hisHighness, angry and agitated. 

"Mr. Beckendorff never takes anything after his noon meal, sir; but I amsure that if you and your friend are hungry, sir, I hope there is nevera want in this house. "

"My good lady, I am hungry, very hungry, indeed; and if your master, Imean Mr. Von, that is Mr. Beckendorff, has such a bad appetite that hecan satisfy himself with picking, once a day, the breast of a pheasant;why, if he expect his friends to be willing or even able to live on suchfare, the least that I can say is, that he is much mistaken; and so, therefore, my good friend Grey, I think we had better order our horsesand be off. "

"No occasion for that, I hope, " said Mrs. Clara, rather alarmed at thePrince's passion; "no want, I trust, ever here, sir; and I make no doubtyou will have dinner as soon as possible; and so, sir, I hope you willnot be hasty. "

"Hasty! I have no wish to be hasty; but as for disarranging the wholeeconomy of the house, and getting up an extemporaneous meal for me, Icannot think of it. Mr. Beckendorff may live as he likes, and if I stayhere I am contented to live as he does. I do not wish him to change hishabits for me, and I shall take care that, after today, there will be nonecessity for his doing so. However, absolute hunger can make nocompliments; and therefore I will thank you, my good madam, to let meand my friend have the remains of that cold game, if they be still inexistence, on which we lunched, or, as you term it, took our noon meal, this morning; and which, if it were your own cooking, Mrs. Clara, Iassure you, as I observed to my friend at the time, did youinfinite credit. "

The Prince, although his gentlemanlike feelings had, in spite of hishunger, dictated a deprecation of Mrs. Clara's making a dinner merelyfor himself, still thought that a seasonable and deserved compliment tothe lady might assist in bringing about a result which, notwithstandinghis politeness, he much desired; and that was the production of anotherspecimen of her culinary accomplishments. Having behaved, as heconsidered, with moderation and dignified civility, he was, it must beconfessed, rather astounded when Mrs. Clara, duly acknowledging hiscompliment by her curtsey, was sorry to inform him that she dared giveno refreshment in this house without Mr. Beckendorff's special order. 

"Special order! Why! surely your master will not grudge me the cold legof a pheasant?"

"Mr. Beckendorff is not in the habit of grudging anything, " answered thehousekeeper, with offended majesty. 

"Then why should he object?" asked the Prince. 

"Mr. Beckendorff is the best judge, sir, of the propriety of his ownregulations. "

"Well, well!" said Vivian, more interested for his friend than himself, "there is no difficulty in asking Mr. Beckendorff?"

"None in the least, sir, " answered the housekeeper, "when he is awake. "

"Awake!" said the Prince, "why! is he asleep now?"

"Yes, sir, in the library. "

"And how long will he be asleep?" asked the Prince, with eagerness. 

"It is uncertain; he may be asleep for hours, he may wake in fiveminutes; all I can do is to watch. "

"But, surely in a case like the present, you can wake your master?"

"I could not wake Mr. Beckendorff, sir, if the house were on fire. Noone can enter the room when he is asleep. "

"Then how can you possibly know when he is awake?"

"I shall hear his violin immediately, sir. "

"Well, well! I suppose it must be so. I wish we were in Turriparva; thatis all I know. Men of my station have no business to be paying visits tothe sons of the Lord knows who! peasants, shopkeepers, and pedagogues!"

As a fire was blazing in the dining-room, which Mrs. Clara informed themMr. Beckendorff never omitted having every night in the year, the Princeand his friend imagined that they were to remain there, and theyconsequently did not attempt to disturb the slumbers of their host. Resting his feet on the hobs, his Highness, for the fiftieth time, declared that he wished he had never left Turriparva; and just whenVivian was on the point of giving up in despair the hope of consolinghim, Mrs. Clara entered and proceeded to lay the cloth. 

"Your master is awake, then?" asked the Prince, very quickly. 

"Mr. Beckendorff has been long awake, sir! and dinner will be readyimmediately. "

His Highness' countenance brightened; and in a short time the supperappearing, the Prince, again fascinated by Mrs. Clara's cookery and Mr. Beckendorff's wine, forgot his chagrin, and regained his temper. 

In about a couple of hours Mr. Beckendorff entered. 

"I hope that Clara has given you wine you like, Mr. Von Philipson?"

"The same bin, I will answer for that. "

Mr. Beckendorff had his violin in his hand, but his dress was muchchanged. His great boots being pulled off, exhibited the white silkstockings which he invariably wore. His coat had given place to theeasier covering of a brocade dressing-gown. He drew a chair round thefire, between the Prince and Vivian. It was a late hour, and the roomwas only lighted by the glimmering coals, for the flames had long diedaway. Mr. Beckendorff sat for some time without speaking, gazingearnestly on the decaying embers. Indeed, before many minutes hadelapsed, complete silence prevailed; for both the endeavours of thePrince and of Vivian to promote conversation had been unsuccessful. Atlength the master of the house turned round to the Prince, and pointingto a particular mass of coal, said, "I think, Mr. Von Philipson, that isthe completest elephant I ever saw. We will ring the bell for somecoals, and then have a game of whist. "

The Prince was so surprised by Mr. Beckendorff's remark that he was notsufficiently struck by the strangeness of his proposition, and it wasonly when he heard Vivian professing his ignorance of the game that itoccurred to him that to play at whist was hardly the object for which hehad travelled from Turriparva. 

"An Englishman not know whist!" said Mr. Beckendorff:

"Ridiculous! You do know it. Let us play! Mr. Von Philipson, I know, hasno objection. "

"But, my good sir, " said the Prince, "although previous to conversationI may have no objection to join in a little amusement, still it appearsto me that it has escaped your memory that whist is a game whichrequires the co-operation of four persons. "

"Not at all! I take dummy! I am not sure it is not the finest way ofplaying the game. "

The table was arranged, the lights brought, the cards produced, and thePrince of Little Lilliput, greatly to his surprise, found himselfplaying whist with Mr. Beckendorff. Nothing could be more dull. TheMinister would neither bet nor stake, and the immense interest which hetook in every card that was played ludicrously contrasted with therather sullen looks of the Prince and the very sleepy ones of Vivian. Whenever Mr. Beckendorff played for dummy he always looked with the mostsearching eye into the next adversary's face, as if he would read hiscards in his features. The first rubber lasted an hour and a half, threelong games, which Mr. Beckendorff, to his triumph, hardly won. In thefirst game of the second rubber Vivian blundered; in the second herevoked; and in the third, having neglected to play, and being loudlycalled upon, and rated both by his partner and Mr. Beckendorff, he wasfound to be asleep. Beckendorff threw down his hand with a loud dash, which roused Vivian from his slumber. He apologised for his drowsiness;but said that he was so sleepy that he must retire. The Prince, wholonged to be with Beckendorff alone, winked approbation of hisintention. 

"Well!" said Beckendorff, "you spoiled the rubber. I shall ring forClara. Why you all are so fond of going to bed I cannot understand. Ihave not been to bed these thirty years. "

Vivian made his escape; and Beckendorff, pitying his degeneracy, proposed to the Prince, in a tone which seemed to anticipate that theoffer would meet with instantaneous acceptation, double dummy. This, however, was too much. 

"No more cards, sir, I thank you, " said the Prince; "if, however, youhave a mind for an hour's conversation, I am quite at your service. "

"I am obliged to you; I never talk. Good night, Mr. Von Philipson. "

Mr. Beckendorff left the room. His Highness could contain himself nolonger. He rang the bell. 

"Pray, Mrs. Clara, " said he, "where are my horses?"

"Mr. Beckendorff will have no quadrupeds within a mile of the house, except Owlface. "

"How do you mean? Let me see the man-servant. "

"The household consists only of myself, sir. "

"Why! where is my luggage, then?"

"That has been brought up, sir; it is in your room. "

"I tell you I must have my horses. "

"It is quite impossible to-night, sir. I think, sir, you had betterretire. Mr. Beckendorff may not be home again these six hours. "

"What! is your master gone out?"

"Yes, sir, he is just gone out to take his ride. "

"Why! where is his horse kept, then?"

"It is Owlface, sir. "

"Owlface, indeed! What! is your master in the habit of riding out atnight?"

"Mr. Beckendorff rides out, sir, just when it happens to suit him. "

"It is very odd I cannot ride out when it happens to suit me! However, I will be off to-morrow; and so, if you please, show me my bed-roomat once. "

"Your room is the library, sir. "

"The library! Why, there is no bed in the library. "

"We have no beds, sir; but the sofa is made up. "

"No beds! Well! it is only for one night. You are all mad, and I am asmad as you for coming here. "

CHAPTER VII

The morning sun peeping through the window of the little summer-houseroused its inmate at an early hour; and finding no signs of Mr. Beckendorff and his guest having yet risen from their slumbers, Viviantook the opportunity of strolling about the gardens and the grounds. Directing his way along the margin of the river, he soon left the lawnand entered some beautiful meadows, whose dewy verdure glistened in thebrightening beams of the early sun. Crossing these, and passing througha gate, he found himself in a rural road, whose lofty hedge-rows, richwith all the varieties of wild fruit and flower, and animated with thecheering presence of the busy birds chirping from every bough and spray, altogether presented a scene which reminded him of the soft beauties ofhis own country. With some men, to remember is to be sad; andunfortunately for Vivian Grey, there were few objects which with him didnot give rise to associations of a painful nature. The strangeoccurrences of the last few days had recalled, if not revived, thefeelings of his boyhood. His early career flitted across his mind. Hewould have stifled the remembrance with a sigh, but man Is the slave ofMemory. For a moment he mused over Power; but then he, shuddering, shrank from the wearing anxiety, the consuming care, the eternalvigilance, the constant contrivance, the agonising suspense, thedistracting vicissitudes of his past career. Alas! it is our nature tosicken, from our birth, after some object of unattainable felicity, tostruggle through the freshest years of our life in an insane pursuitafter some indefinite good, which does not even exist! But sure andquick is the dark hour which cools our doting frenzy in the frigid wavesof the ocean of oblivion! We dream of immortality until we die. Ambition! at thy proud and fatal altar we whisper the secrets of ourmighty thoughts, and breathe the aspirations of our inexpressibledesires. A clouded flame licks up the offering of our ruined souls, andthe sacrifice vanishes in the sable smoke of Death. 

But where are his thoughts wandering? Had he forgotten that day ofdarkest despair? There had that happened to him which had happened to noother man. He was roused from his reverie by the sound of a trottinghorse. He looked up, but the winding road prevented him at first fromseeing the steed which evidently was approaching. The sound came nearerand nearer; and at length, turning a corner, Mr. Beckendorff came insight. He was mounted on a strong-built, rough, and ugly pony, with anobstinate mane, which, defying the exertion's of the groom, fell inequal divisions on both sides of its bottle neck, and a large whiteface, which, combined with its blinking vision, had earned for it theeuphonious title of Owlface. Both master and steed must have travelledhard and far, for both were covered with dust and mud from top to toe, from mane to hoof. Mr. Beckendorff seemed surprised at meeting Vivian, and pulled up his pony as he reached him. 

"An early riser, I see, sir. Where is Mr. Von Philipson?"

"I have not yet seen him, and imagined that both he and yourself had notyet risen. "

"Hum! how many hours is it to noon?" asked Mr. Beckendorff, who alwaysspoke astronomically. 

"More than four, I imagine. "

"Pray do you prefer the country about here to Turriparva?"

"Both, I think, are beautiful. "

"You live at Turriparva?" asked Mr. Beckendorff. 

"As a guest, " answered Vivian. 

"Has it been a fine summer at Turriparva?"

"I believe everywhere. "

"I am afraid Mr. Von Philipson finds it rather dull here?"

"I am not aware of it. "

"He seems a ve-ry--?" said Beckendorff, looking keenly in hiscompanion's face. But Vivian did not supply the desired phrase; and sothe Minister was forced to finish the sentence himself, "a verygentlemanlike sort of man?" A low bow was the only response. 

"I trust, sir, I may indulge the hope, " continued Mr. Beckendorff, "thatyou will honour me with your company another day. "

"You are exceedingly obliging!"

"Mr. Von Philipson is fond, I think, of a country life?" saidBeckendorff. 

"Most men are. "

"I suppose he has no innate objection to live occasionally in a city?"

"Few have. "

"You probably have known him long?"

"Not long enough to wish our acquaintance at an end. "

"Hum!"

They proceeded in silence for some moments, and then Beckendorff againturned round, and this time with a direct question. 

"I wonder if Mr. Von Philipson can make it convenient to honour me withhis company another day. Can you tell me?"

"I think the best person to inform you of that would be his Highnesshimself, " said Vivian, using his friend's title purposely to show Mr. Beckendorff how ridiculous he considered his present use of theincognito. 

"You think so, sir, do you?" answered Beckendorff, sarcastically. 

They had now arrived at the gate by which Vivian had reached the road. 

"Your course, sir, " said Mr. Beckendorff, "lies that way. I see, likemyself, you are no great talker. We shall meet at breakfast. " So saying, the Minister set spurs to his pony, and was soon out of sight. 

When Vivian reached the house, he found the bow window of the librarythrown open, and as he approached he saw Mr. Beckendorff enter the roomand bow to the prince. His Highness had passed a good night in spite ofnot sleeping in a bed, and he was at this moment commencing a deliciousbreakfast. His ill-humour had consequently vanished. He had made up hismind that Beckendorff was mad; and although he had given up all thesecret and flattering hopes which he had dared to entertain when theinterview was first arranged, he nevertheless did not regret his visit, which on the whole had been amusing, and had made him acquainted withthe person and habits, and, as he believed, the intellectual powers of aman with whom, most probably, he should soon be engaged in openhostility. Vivian took his seat at the breakfast, table, and Beckendorffstood conversing with them with his back to the fireplace, andoccasionally, during the pauses of conversation, pulling the strings ofhis violin with his fingers. It did not escape Vivian's observation thatthe Minister was particularly courteous and even attentive to thePrince; and that he endeavoured by his quick and more communicativeanswers, and occasionally by a stray observation, to encourage the goodhumour visible on the cheerful countenance of his guest. 

"Have you been long up, Mr. Beckendorff?" asked the Prince; for his hosthad resumed his dressing-gown and slippers. 

"I generally see the sun rise. "

"And yet you retire late! out riding last night, I understand?"

"I never go to bed. "

"Indeed!" said the Prince. "Well, for my part, without my regular rest Iam nothing. Have you breakfasted, Mr. Beckendorff?"

"Clara will bring my breakfast immediately. "

The dame accordingly soon appeared, bearing a tray with a basin ofboiling water and one large thick biscuit. This Mr. Beckendorff, havingwell soaked in the hot fluid, eagerly devoured; and then taking up hisviolin, amused himself until his guests had finished their breakfast. 

When Vivian had ended his meal he left the Prince and Beckendorff alone, determined that his presence should not be the occasion of the Ministerany longer retarding the commencement of business. The Prince, who by aprivate glance had been prepared for his departure, immediately took theopportunity of asking Mr. Beckendorff, in a decisive tone, whether hemight flatter himself that he could command his present attention to asubject of importance. Mr. Beckendorff said that he was always at Mr. Von Philipson's service; and drawing a chair opposite him, the Princeand Mr. Beckendorff now sat on each side of the fireplace. 

"Hem!" said the Prince, clearing his throat; and he looked at Mr. Beckendorff, who sat with his heels close together, his toes out square, his hands resting on his knees, which, as well as his elbows, wereturned out, his shoulders bent, his head reclined, and hiseyes glancing. 

"Hem!" said the Prince of Little Lilliput. "In compliance, Mr. Beckendorff, with your wish, developed in the communication received byme on the--inst. , I assented in my answer to the arrangement thenproposed; the object of which was, to use your own words, to facilitatethe occurrence of an oral interchange of the sentiments of variousparties interested in certain proceedings, by which interchange it wasanticipated that the mutual interests might be respectively consideredand finally arranged. Prior, Mr. Beckendorff, to either of us going intoany detail upon those points of probable discussion, which will, in alllikelihood, form the fundamental features of this interview, I wish torecall your attention to the paper which I had the honour of presentingto his Royal Highness, and which is alluded to in your communication ofthe--lost. The principal heads of that document I have brought with me, abridged in this paper. "

Here the Prince handed to Mr. Beckendorff a MS. Pamphlet, consisting ofseveral sheets closely written. The Minister bowed very graciously as hetook it from his Highness' hand, and then, without even looking at it, laid it on the table. 

"You, sir, I perceive, " continued the Prince, "are acquainted with itscontents; and it will therefore be unnecessary for me at present toexpatiate upon their individual expediency, or to argue for theirparticular adoption. And, sir, when we observe the progress of the humanmind, when we take into consideration the quick march of intellect, andthe wide expansion of enlightened views and liberal principles; when wetake a bird's-eye view of the history of man from the earliest ages tothe present moment, I feel that it would be folly in me to conceive foran instant that the measures developed and recommended in that paperwill not finally receive the approbation of his Royal Highness. As tothe exact origin of slavery, Mr. Beckendorff, I confess that I am not, at this moment, prepared distinctly to speak. That the Divine Author ofour religion was its decided enemy, I am informed, is clear. That theslavery of ancient times was the origin of the feudal service of a moremodern period, is a point on which men of learning have not preciselymade up their minds. With regard to the exact state of the ancientGerman people, Tacitus affords us a great deal of most interestinginformation. Whether or not, certain passages which I have brought withme marked in the Germania are incontestable evidences that our ancestorsenjoyed or understood the practice of a wise and well-regulatedrepresentative system, is a point on which I shall be happy to receivethe opinion of so distinguished a statesman as Mr. Beckendorff. Instepping forward, as I have felt it my duty to do, as the advocate ofpopular rights and national privileges, I am desirous to prove that Ihave not become the votary of innovation and the professor ofrevolutionary doctrines. The passages of the Roman author in question, and an ancient charter of the Emperor Charlemagne, are, I consider, decisive and sufficient precedents for the measures which I have thoughtproper to sanction by my approval, and to support by my influence. Aminister, Mr. Beckendorff, must take care that in the great race ofpolitics the minds of his countrymen do not leave his own behind them. We must never forget the powers and capabilities of man. On this veryspot, perhaps, some centuries ago, savages clothed in skins werecommitting cannibalism in a forest. We must not forget, I repeat, thatit is the business to those to whom Providence has allotted theresponsible possession of power and influence (that it is their duty, our duty, Mr. Beckendorff), to become guardians of our weakerfellow-creatures; that all power is a trust; that we are accountable forits exercise; that from the people, and for the people, all springs, andall must exist; and that, unless we conduct ourselves with the requisitewisdom, prudence, and propriety, the whole system of society will bedisorganised; and this country, in particular, will fall a victim tothat system of corruption and misgovernment which has already occasionedthe destruction of the great kingdoms mentioned in the Bible, and manyother states besides, Greece, Rome, Carthage, &c. "

Thus ended the peroration of an harangue consisting of an incoherentarrangement of imperfectly-remembered facts and misunderstoodprinciples; all gleaned by his Highness from the enlightening articlesof the Reisenburg journals. Like Brutus, the Prince of Little Lilliputpaused for a reply. 

"Mr. Von Philipson, " said his companion, when his Highness had finished, "you speak like a man of sense. " Having given this answer, Mr. Beckendorff rose from his seat and walked straight out of the room. 

The Prince at first took the answer for a compliment; but Mr. Beckendorff not returning, he began to have a faint idea that he wasneglected. In this uncertainty he rang the bell for his friend Clara. 

"Mrs. Clara! where is your master?"

"Just gone out, sir. "

"How do you mean?"

"He has gone out with his gun, sir. "

"You are quite sure he has--gone out?"

"Quite sure, sir. I took him his coat and boots myself. "

"I am to understand, then, that your master has gone out?"

"Yes, sir; Mr. Beckendorff has gone out. He will be home for his noonmeal. "

"That is enough! Grey!' called out the indignant Prince, darting intothe garden. 

"Well, my dear Prince, " said Vivian, "what can possibly be the matter?"

"The matter! Insanity can be the only excuse; insanity can alone accountfor his preposterous conduct. We have seen enough of him. The repetitionof absurdity is only wearisome. Pray assist me in getting our horsesimmediately. "

"Certainly, if you wish it; but remember you brought me here as yourfriend and counsellor. As I have accepted the trust, I cannot help beingsensible of the responsibility. Before, therefore, you finally resolveupon departure, pray let me be fully acquainted with the circumstanceswhich have impelled you to this sudden resolution. "

"Willingly, my good friend, could I only command my temper; and yet tofall into a passion with a madman is almost a mark of madness. But hismanner and his conduct are so provoking and so puzzling, that I cannotaltogether repress my irritability. And that ridiculous incognito! Why Isometimes begin to think that I really am Mr. Von Philipson! Anincognito forsooth! for what? to deceive whom? His household apparentlyonly consists of two persons, one of whom has visited me in my owncastle; and the other is a cross old hag, who would not be able tocomprehend my rank if she were aware of it. But to the point! When youleft the room I was determined to be trifled with no longer, and I askedhim, in a firm voice and very marked manner, whether I might command hisimmediate attention to important business. He professed to be at myservice. I opened the affair by taking a cursory, yet definite, reviewof the principles in which my political conduct had originated, and onwhich it was founded. I flattered myself that I had produced animpression. Sometimes we are in a better cue for these expositions thanat others, and to-day I was really unusually felicitous. My memory neverdeserted. I was at the same time luminous and profound; and while I wasguided by the philosophical spirit of the present day, I showed, by myvarious reading, that I respected the experience of antiquity. Inshort, I was satisfied with myself; and with the exception of one singlepoint about the origin of slavery, which unfortunately got entangledwith the feudal system, I could not have got on better had Sievershimself been at my side. Nor did I spare Mr. Beckendorff; but, on thecontrary, I said a few things which, had he been in his senses, must, Iimagine, have gone home. Do you know I finished by drawing his owncharacter, and showing the inevitable effects of his ruinous policy: andwhat do you think he did?"

"Left you in a passion?"

"Not at all. He seemed much struck by what I had said, and apparentlyunderstood it. I have heard that in some species of insanity the patientis perfectly able to comprehend everything addressed to him, though atthat point his sanity ceases, and he is unable to answer or to act. Thismust be Beckendorff's case; for no sooner had I finished than he rose upimmediately, and, saying that I spoke like a man of sense, abruptlyquitted the room. The housekeeper says he will not be at home again tillthat infernal ceremony takes place called the noon meal. Now, do you notadvise me to be off as soon as possible?"

"It will require some deliberation. Pray did you not speak to him lastnight?"

"Ah! I forgot that I had not been able to speak to you since then. Well!last night, what do you think he did? When you were gone, he had theinsolence to congratulate me on the opportunity then afforded of playingdouble dummy; and when I declined his proposition, but said that if hewished to have an hour's conversation I was at his service, he coollytold me that he never talked, and bade me good night! Did you ever knowsuch a madman? He never goes to bed. I only had a sofa. How the deucedid you sleep?"

"Well and safely, considering that I was in a summer-house without lockor bolt. "

"Well! I need not ask you now as to your opinion of our immediatelygetting off. We shall have, however, some trouble about our horses, forhe will not allow a quadruped near the house, except some monster of ananimal that he rides himself; and, by St. Hubert! I cannot find outwhere our steeds are. What shall we do?" But Vivian did not answer. "What are you thinking of?" continued his Highness. "Why don'tyou answer?"

"Your Highness must not go, " said Vivian, shaking his head. 

"Not go! Why so?"

"Depend upon it you are wrong about Beckendorff. That he is a humoristthere is no doubt; but it appears to me to be equally clear that hisqueer habits and singular mode of life are not of late adoption. What, he is now he must have been these ten, perhaps these twenty years, perhaps more; of this there are a thousand proofs about us. As to theoverpowering cause which has made him the character he appears atpresent, it is needless for us to inquire; probably some incident in hisprivate life in all likelihood connected with the mysterious picture. Let us be satisfied with the effect. If the case be as I state it in hisprivate life and habits, Beckendorff must have been equallyincomprehensible and equally singular at the very time that, in hispublic capacity, he was producing such brilliant results as at thepresent moment. Now then, can we believe him to be insane? I anticipateyour objections. I know you will enlarge upon the evident absurdity ofhis inviting his political opponent to his house for a graveconsultation on the most important affairs, and then treating him as hehas done you, when it must be clear to him that you cannot be againduped, and when he must feel that, were he to amuse you for as manyweeks as he has days, your plans and your position would not beinjuriously affected. Be it so; probably a humorist like Beckendorffcannot, even in the most critical moment, altogether restrain the bentof his capricious inclinations. However, my dear Prince, I will lay nostress upon this point. My opinion, indeed my conviction, is thatBeckendorff acts from design. I have considered his conduct well, and Ihave observed all that you have seen, and more than you have seen, andkeenly; depend upon it that since you assented to the interviewBeckendorff has been obliged to shift his intended position fornegotiation; some of the machinery has gone wrong. Fearful, if he hadpostponed your visit, you should imagine that he was only again amusingyou, and consequently would listen to no future overtures, he hasallowed you to attend a conference for which he is not prepared. That heis making desperate exertions to bring the business to a point is myfirm opinion; and you would perhaps agree with me were you as convincedas I am that, since we parted last night, our host has been toReisenburg and back again. "

"To Reisenburg and back again!"

"Ay! I rose this morning at an early hour, and imagining that both youand Beckendorff had not yet made your appearance, I escaped from thegrounds, intending to explore part of the surrounding country. In mystroll I came to a narrow winding road, which I am convinced lies in thedirection towards Reisenburg; there, for some reason or other, Iloitered more than an hour, and very probably should have been too latefor breakfast had not I been recalled to myself by the approach of ahorseman. It was Beckendorff, covered with dust and mud; his horse hadbeen evidently hard ridden. I did not think much of it at the time, because I supposed he might have been out for three or four hours andhard worked, but I nevertheless was struck by his appearance; and whenyou mentioned that he went out riding at a late hour last night, itimmediately occurred to me that had he come home at one or two o'clockit was not very probable that he would have gone out again at four orfive. I have no doubt that my conjecture is correct; Beckendorff hasbeen to Reisenburg. "

"You have placed this business in a new and important light, " said thePrince, his expiring hopes reviving; "what then do you advise me to do?"

"To be quiet. If your own view of the case be right, you can act as wellto-morrow or the next day as this moment; on the contrary, if mine bethe correct one, a moment may enable Beckendorff himself to bringaffairs to a crisis. In either case I should recommend you to be silent, and in no manner to allude any more to the object of your visit. If youspeak you only give opportunities to Beckendorff of ascertaining youropinions and your inclinations; and your silence, after such frequentattempts on your side to promote discussion upon business, will soon bediscovered by him to be systematic. This will not decrease his opinionof your sagacity and firmness. The first principle of negotiation is tomake your adversary respect you. "

After long consultation the Prince determined to follow Vivian's advice;and so firmly did he adhere to his purpose that when he met Mr. Beckendorff at the noon meal, he asked him, with a very unembarrassedvoice and manner, "what sport he had had in the morning. "

The noon meal again consisted of a single dish, as exquisitely dressed, however, as the preceding one. It was a haunch of venison. 

"This is my dinner, gentlemen, " said Beckendorff; "let it be yourluncheon. I have ordered your dinner at sunset. "

After having eaten a slice of the haunch, Mr. Beckendorff rose from thetable and said, "We will have our wine in the drawing-room, Mr. VonPhilipson, and then you will not be disturbed by my birds. "

He left the room. 

To the drawing-room, therefore, his two guests soon adjourned; theyfound him busily employed with his pencil. The Prince thought it must bea chart, or a fortification at least, and was rather surprised when Mr. Beckendorff asked him the magnitude of Mirac in Boötes; and the Princeconfessing his utter ignorance of the subject, the Minister threw asidehis unfinished planisphere and drew his chair to them at the table. Itwas with satisfaction that his Highness perceived a bottle of hisfavourite Tokay; and with no little astonishment he observed that to-daythere were three wine glasses placed before them. They were of peculiarbeauty, and almost worthy, for their elegant shapes and great antiquity, of being included in the collection of the Grand Duke of Johannisberger. 

After exhausting their bottle, in which they were assisted to the extentof one glass by their host, who drank Mr. Von Philipson's health withcordiality, they assented to Mr. Beckendorff's proposition of visitinghis fruitery. 

To the Prince's great relief, dinner-time soon arrived; and havingemployed a couple of hours on that meal very satisfactorily, he andVivian adjourned to the drawing-room, having previously pledged theirhonour to each other that nothing should again induce them to play dummywhist. Their resolutions and their promises were needless. Mr. Beckendorff, who was sitting opposite the fire when they came into theroom, neither by word nor motion acknowledged that he was aware of theirentrance. Vivian found refuge in a book; and the Prince, after havingexamined and re-examined the brilliant birds that figured on thedrawing-room paper, fell asleep upon the sofa. Mr. Beckendorff took downthe guitar, and accompanied himself in a low voice for some time; thenhe suddenly ceased, and stretching out his legs, and supporting histhumbs in the armholes of his waistcoat, he leant back in his chair andremained motionless, with his eyes fixed upon the picture. Vivian, inturn, gazed upon this singular being and the fair pictured form whichhe seemed to idolise. Was he, too, unhappy? Had he, too, been bereft inthe hour of his proud and perfect joy? Had he, too, lost a virgin bride?His agony overcame him, the book fell from his hand, and he sighedaloud! Mr. Beckendorff started, and the Prince awoke. Vivian, confounded, and unable to overpower his emotions, uttered some hastywords, explanatory, apologetical, and contradictory, and retired. In hiswalk to the summer-house a man passed him. In spite of a great cloak, Vivian recognised him as their messenger and guide; and his ample mantledid not conceal his riding boots and the spurs which glistened in themoonlight. 

It was an hour past midnight when the door of the summer-house softlyopened and Mr. Beckendorff entered. He started when he found Vivianstill undressed, and pacing up and down the little chamber. The youngman made an effort, when he witnessed an intruder, to compose acountenance whose agitation could not be concealed. 

"What, are you up again?" said Mr. Beckendorff. "Are you ill?"

"Would I were as well in mind as in body! I have not yet been to rest. We cannot command our feelings at all moments, sir; and at this, especially, I felt that I had a right to count upon being alone. "

"I exceedingly regret that I have disturbed you, " said Mr. Beckendorff, in a kind voice, and in a manner which responded to the sympathy of histone. "I thought that you had been long asleep. There is a star which Icannot exactly make out. I fancy it must be a comet, and so I ran to theobservatory; but let me not disturb you;" and Mr. Beckendorffwas retiring. 

"You do not disturb me, sir. I cannot sleep: pray ascend. "

"Never mind the star. But if you really have no inclination to sleep, let us sit down and have a little conversation; or perhaps we had bettertake a stroll. It is a warm night. " As he spoke, Mr. Beckendorff gentlyput his arm within Vivian's, and led him down the steps. 

"Are you an astronomer, sir?" asked Beckendorff. 

"I can tell the Great Bear from the Little Dog; but I confess that Ilook upon the stars rather in a poetical than a scientific spirit. "

"Hum! I confess I do not. "

"There are moments, " continued Vivian, "when I cannot refrain frombelieving that these mysterious luminaries have more influence over ourfortunes than modern times are disposed to believe. I feel that I amgetting less sceptical, perhaps I should say more credulous, every day;but sorrow makes us superstitious. "

"I discard all such fantasies, " said Mr. Beckendorff; "they only tend toenervate our mental energies and paralyse all human exertion. It is thebelief in these, and a thousand other deceits I could mention, whichleach man that he is not the master of his own mind, but the ordainedvictim or the chance sport of circumstances, that makes millions passthrough life unimpressive as shadows, and has gained for this existencethe stigma of a vanity which it does not deserve. "

"I wish that I could think as you do, " said Vivian; "but the experienceof my life forbids me. Within only these last two years my career has, in so many instances, indicated that I am not the master of my ownconduct; that no longer able to resist the conviction which is hourlyimpressed on me, I recognise in every contingency the preordinationof my fate. "

"A delusion of the brain!" said Beckendorff, quickly. "Fate, Destiny, Chance, particular and special Providence; idle words! Dismiss them all, sir! A man's fate is his own temper; and according to that will be hisopinion as to the particular manner in which the course of events isregulated. A consistent man believes in Destiny, a capricious manin Chance. "

"But, sir, what is a man's temper? It may be changed every hour. Istarted in life with very different feelings from those which I professat this moment. With great deference to you, I imagine that you mistakethe effect for the cause; for surely temper is not the origin, but theresult of those circumstances of which we are all the creatures. "

"Sir, I deny it. Man is not the creature of circumstances. Circumstancesare the creatures of men. We are free agents, and man is more powerfulthan matter. I recognise no intervening influence between that of theestablished course of nature and my own mind. Truth may be distorted, may be stifled, be suppressed. The invention of cunning deceits may, andin most instances does, prevent man from exercising his own powers. Theyhave made him responsible to a realm of shadows, and a suitor in a courtof shades. Re is ever dreading authority which does not exist, andfearing the occurrence of penalties which there are none to enforce. But the mind that dares to extricate itself from these vulgarprejudices, that proves its loyalty to its Creator by devoting all itsadoration to His glory; such a spirit as this becomes a master-mind, andthat master-mind will invariably find that circumstances areits slaves. "

"Mr. Beckendorff, yours is a bold philosophy, of which I myself was oncea votary. How successful in my service you may judge by finding me awanderer. "

"Sir! your present age is the age of error: your whole system is foundedon a fallacy: you believe that a man's temper can change. I deny it. Ifyou have ever seriously entertained the views which I profess; if, asyou lead me to suppose, you have dared to act upon them, and failed;sooner or later, whatever may be your present conviction and yourpresent feelings, you will recur to your original wishes and youroriginal pursuits. With a mind experienced and matured, you may in allprobability be successful; and then I suppose, stretching your legs inyour easy-chair, you will at the same moment be convinced of your owngenius, and recognise your own Destiny!"

"With regard to myself, Mr. Beckendorff, I am convinced of theerroneousness of your views. It is my opinion that no one who has daredto think can look upon this world in any other than a mournful spirit. Young as I am, nearly two years have elapsed since, disgusted with theworld of politics, I retired to a foreign solitude. At length, withpassions subdued, and, as I flatter myself, with a mind matured, convinced of the vanity of all human affairs, I felt emboldened oncemore partially to mingle with my species. Bitter as my lot had been, Ihad discovered the origin of my misery in my own unbridled passions;and, tranquil and subdued, I now trusted to pass through life as certainof no fresh sorrows as I was of no fresh joys. And yet, sir, I am atthis moment sinking under the infliction of unparalleled misery; miserywhich I feel I have a right to believe was undeserved. But why expatiateto a stranger on sorrow which must be secret? I deliver myself up to myremorseless Fate. "

"What is grief?" said Mr. Beckendorff; "if it be excited by the fear ofsome contingency, instead of grieving, a man should exert his energiesand prevent its occurrence. If, on the contrary, it be caused by anevent, that which has been occasioned by anything human, by theco-operation of human circumstances, can be, and invariably is, removedby the same means. Grief is the agony of an instant; the indulgence ofGrief the blunder of a life. Mix in the world, and in a month's time youwill speak to me very differently. A young man, you meet withdisappointment; in spite of all your exalted notions of your own powers, you immediately sink under it. If your belief of your powers weresincere, you should have proved it by the manner in which you havestruggled against adversity, not merely by the mode in which youlaboured for advancement. The latter is but a very inferior merit. If, in fact, you wish to succeed, success, I repeat, is at your command. Youtalk to me of your experience; and do you think that my sentiments arethe crude opinions of an unpractised man? Sir! I am not fond ofconversing with any person, and therefore far from being inclined tomaintain an argument in a spirit of insincerity merely for the sake of avictory of words. Mark what I say: it is truth. No Minister ever yetfell but from his own inefficiency. If his downfall be occasioned, as itgenerally is, by the intrigues of one of his own creatures, his downfallis merited for having been the dupe of a tool which in all probabilityhe should never have employed. If he fall through the open attacks ofhis political opponents, his downfall is equally deserved for havingoccasioned by his impolicy the formation of a party, for having allowedit to be formed, or for not having crushed it when formed. No conjecturecan possibly occur, however fearful, however tremendous it may appear, from which a man, by his own energy, may not extricate himself, as amariner by the rattling of his cannon can dissipate the impendingwater-spout!"

CHAPTER VIII

It was on the third day of the visit to Mr. Beckendorff, just as thatgentleman was composing his mind after his noon meal with his favouriteCremona, and in a moment of rapture raising his instrument high in theair, that the door was suddenly dashed open, and Essper George rushedinto the room. The intruder, the moment that his eye caught Vivian, flewto his master, and, seizing him by the arm, commenced and continued aloud shout of exultation, accompanying his scream the whole time by akind of quick dance, which, though not quite as clamorous as thePyrrhic, nevertheless completely drowned the scientific harmony of Mr. Beckendorff. 

So astounded were the three gentlemen by this unexpected entrance, thatsome moments elapsed ere either of them found words at his command. Atlength the master of the house spoke. 

"Mr. Von Philipson, I beg the favour of being informed who this personis?"

The Prince did not answer, but looked at Vivian in great distress; andjust as our hero was about to give Mr. Beckendorff the requisiteinformation, Essper George, taking up the parable himself, seized theopportunity of explaining the mystery. 

"Who am I? who are you? I am an honest man, and no traitor; and if allwere the same, why, then, there would be no rogues in Reisenburg. Who amI? A man. There's an arm! there's a leg! Can you see through a wood bytwilight? If so, yours is a better eye than mine. Can you eat anunskinned hare, or dine on the haunch of a bounding stag? If so, yourteeth are sharper than mine. Can you hear a robber's footstep when he'skneeling before murder? or can you listen to the snow falling onMidsummer's day? If so, your ears are finer than mine. Can you run witha chamois? can you wrestle with a bear? can you swim with an otter? Ifso, I'm your match. How many cities have you seen? how many knaves haveyou gulled? Which is dearest, bread or justice? Why do men pay more forthe protection of life than life itself? Is cheatery a staple atConstantinople, as it is at Vienna? and what's the difference between aBaltic merchant and a Greek pirate? Tell me all this, and I will tellyou who went in mourning in the moon at the death of the last comet. Whoam I, indeed!"

The embarrassment of the Prince and Vivian while Essper George addressedto Mr. Beckendorff these choice queries was indescribable. Once Viviantried to check him, but in vain. He did not repeat his attempt, for hewas sufficiently employed in restraining his own agitation and keepinghis own countenance; for in spite of the mortification and anger thatEssper's appearance had excited in him, still an unfortunate but innatetaste for the ludicrous did not allow him to be perfectly insensible tothe humour of the scene. Mr. Beckendorff listened quietly till Essperhad finished; he then rose. 

"Mr. Von Philipson, " said he, "as a personal favour to yourself, and tomy own great inconvenience, I consented that in this interview youshould be attended by a friend. I did not reckon upon your servant, andit is impossible that I can tolerate his presence for a moment. You knowhow I live, and that my sole attendant is a female. I allow no maleservants within this house. Even when his Royal Highness honours me withhis presence he is unattended. I desire that I am immediately releasedfrom the presence of this buffoon. "

So saying, Mr. Beckendorff left the room. 

"Who are you?" said Essper, following him, with his back bent, his headon his chest, and his eyes glancing. The imitation was perfect. 

"Essper, " said Vivian, "your conduct is inexcusable, the mischief thatyou have done irreparable, and your punishment shall be severe. "

"Severe! Why, what day did my master sell his gratitude for a silvergroschen! Is this the return for finding you out, and saving you from athousand times more desperate gang than that Baron at Ems! Severe indeedwill be your lot when you are in a dungeon in Reisenburg Castle, withblack bread for roast venison and sour water for Rhenish!"

"Why, what are you talking about?"

"Talking about! About treason, and arch traitors, and an old scoundrelwho lives in a lone lane, and dares not look you straight in the face. Why, his very blink is enough to hang him without trial!"

"Essper, cease immediately this rhodomontade, and then in distinct termsinform his Highness and myself of the causes of this unparalleledintrusion. "

The impressiveness of Vivian's manner produced a proper effect; andexcept that he spoke somewhat affectedly slow and ridiculously precise, Essper George delivered himself with great clearness. 

"You see, sir, you never let me know that you were going to leave, andso when I found that you did not come back, I made bold to speak to Mr. Arnelm when he came home from hunting; but I could not get enough breathout of him to stop a ladybird on a rose-leaf. I did not much like it, your honour, for I was among strangers, and so were you, you know. Well, then, I went to Master Rodolph: he was very kind to me, and seeing me inlow spirits, and thinking me, I suppose, in love, or in debt, or that Ihad done some piece of mischief, or had something or other preying onmy mind, he comes to me, and says, 'Essper, ' said he; you rememberMaster Rodolph's voice, sir?"

"To the point. Never let me hear Master Rodolph's name again. "

"Yes, sir! Well, well! he said to me, 'Come and dine with me in myroom;' says I, 'I will. ' A good offer should never be refused, unless wehave a better one at the same time. Whereupon, after dinner, MasterRodolph said to me, 'We will have a bottle of Burgundy for a treat. ' Yousee, sir, we were rather sick of the Rhenish. Well, sir, we were freewith the wine; and Master Rodolph, who is never easy except when heknows everything, must be trying, you see, to get out of me what it wasthat made me so down in the mouth. I, seeing this, thought I would putoff the secret to another bottle; which being produced, I did notconceal from him any longer what was making me so low. 'Rodolph, ' saidI, 'I do not like my young master going out in this odd way: he is of atemper to get into scrapes, and I should like very much to know what heand the Prince (saving your Highness' presence) are after. They havebeen shut up in that cabinet these two nights, and though I walked bythe door pretty often, devil a bit of a word ever came through thekey-hole; and so you see, Rodolph, ' said I, 'it requires a bottle or twoof Burgundy to keep my spirits up. ' Well, your Highness, strange to say, no sooner had I spoken than Master Rodolph put his head across thelittle table; we dined at the little table on the right hand of the roomas you enter--"

"Go on. "

"I am going on. Well! he put his head across the little table, and saidto me in a low whisper, cocking his odd-looking eye at the same time, 'Itell you what, Essper, you are a deuced sharp fellow!' and so, giving ashake of his head and another wink of his eye, he was quiet. I smelt arat, but I did not begin to pump directly; but after the third bottle, 'Rodolph, ' said I, 'with regard to your last observation (for we had notspoken lately, Burgundy being too fat a wine for talking), we are bothof us sharp fellows. I dare say, now, you and I are thinking of the samething. ' 'No doubt of it, ' said Rodolph. And so, sir, he agreed to tellme what he was thinking of, on condition that I should be equally frankafterwards. Well, then, he told me that there were sad goings on atTurriparva. "

"The deuce!" said the Prince. 

"Let him tell his story, " said Vivian. 

"Sad goings on at Turriparva! He wished that his Highness would huntmore and attend less to politics; and then he told me, quiteconfidentially, that his Highness the Prince, and Heaven knows how manyother Princes besides, had leagued together, and were going to dethronethe Grand Duke, and that his master was to be made King, and he, MasterRodolph, Prime Minister. Hearing all this, and duly allowing for a taleover a bottle, I made no doubt, as I find to be the case, that you, goodmaster, were about to be led into some mischief; and as I know thatconspiracies are always unsuccessful, I have done my best to save mymaster; and I beseech you, upon my knees, to get out of the scrape assoon as you possibly can. " Here Essper George threw himself at Vivian'sfeet, and entreated him to quit the house immediately. 

"Was ever anything so absurd and so mischievous!" ejaculated the Prince;and then he conversed with Vivian for some time in a whisper. "Essper, "at length Vivian said, "you have committed one of the most perfect andmost injurious blunders that you could possibly perpetrate. The mischiefwhich may result from your imprudent conduct is incalculable. How longis it since you have thought proper to regulate your conduct on theabsurd falsehoods of a drunken steward? His Highness and myself wish toconsult in private; but on no account leave the house. Now mind me; ifyou leave this house without my permission, you forfeit the littlechance which remains of being retained in my service. "

"Where am I to go, sir?"

"Stay in the passage. "

"Suppose" (here he imitated Beckendorff) "comes to me. "

"Then open the door and come into this room. "

"Well, " said the Prince, when the door was at length shut, "one thing isquite clear. He does not know who Beckendorff is. "

"So far satisfactory; but I feel the force of your Highness'observations. It is a most puzzling case. To send him back to Turriparvawould be madness: the whole affair would be immediately revealed overanother bottle of Burgundy with Master Rodolph; in fact, your Highness'visit would be a secret to no one in the country, your host would besoon discovered, and the evil consequences are incalculable. I know noone to send him to at Reisenburg; and if I did, it appears to me thatthe same objections equally apply to his proceeding to that city as tohis returning to Turriparva. What is to be done? Surely some demon musthave inspired him. We cannot now request Beckendorff to allow him tostay here; and if we did, I am convinced, from his tone and manner, thatnothing could induce him to comply with our wish. The only course to bepursued is certainly an annoying one; but, so far as I can judge, it isthe only mode by which very serious mischief can be prevented. Let meproceed forthwith to Reisenburg with Essper. Placed immediately under myeye, and solemnly adjured by me to silence, I think I can answer, particularly when I give him a gentle hint of the station ofBeckendorff, for his preserving the confidence with which it will now beour policy partially to entrust him. It is, to say the least, awkwardand distressing to leave you alone; but what is to be done? It does notappear that I can now be of any material service to you. I have assistedyou as much as, and more than, we could reasonably have supposed itwould have been in my power to have done, by throwing some light uponthe character and situation of Beckendorff. With the clue to his conductwhich my chance meeting with him yesterday morning has afforded us, theonly point for your Highness to determine is as to the length of timeyou will resolve to wait for his communication. As to your finalagreement together, with your Highness' settled views and decidedpurpose, all the difficulty of negotiation will be on his side. Whatever, my dear Prince, " continued Vivian, with a significant voiceand marked emphasis, "whatever, my dear Prince, may be your secretwishes, be assured that to attain them in your present negotiation youhave only to be firm. Let nothing divert you from your purpose, and thetermination of this interview must be gratifying to you. "

The Prince of Little Lilliput was very disinclined to part with hisshrewd counsellor, who had already done him considerable service, and hestrongly opposed Vivian's proposition. His opposition, however, likethat of most other persons, was unaccompanied by any suggestion of hisown. And as both agreed that something must be done, it of course endedin the Prince being of opinion that Vivian's advice must be followed. The Prince was really much affected by this sudden and unexpectedparting with one for whom, though he had known him so short a time, hebegan to entertain a sincere regard. "I owe you my life, " said thePrince, "and perhaps more than my life; and here we are about suddenlyto part, never to meet again. I wish I could get you to make Turriparvayour home. You should have your own suite of rooms, your own horses, your own servants, and never feel for an instant that you were notmaster of all around you. In truth, " continued the Prince, with greatearnestness, "I wish, my dear friend, you would really think seriouslyof this. You know you could visit Vienna, and even Italy, and yet returnto me. Max would be delighted to see you: he loves you already; andSievers and his library would be at your command. Agree to myproposition, dear friend. "

"I cannot express to your Highness how sensible I am of your kindness. Your friendship I sincerely value and shall never forget; but I am toounhappy and unlucky a being to burden any one with my constant presence. Adieu! or will you go with me to Beckendorff?"

"Oh, go with you by all means! But, " said the Prince, taking a ruby ringof great antiquity off his finger, "I should feel happy if you wouldwear this for my sake. "

The Prince was so much affected at the thoughts of parting with Vivianthat he could scarcely speak. Vivian accepted the ring with a cordialitywhich the kind-hearted donor deserved; and yet our hero unfortunatelyhad had rather too much experience of the world not to be aware that, most probably, in less than another week, his affectionate friend wouldnot be able to recall his name under an hour's recollection. Such arefriends! The moment that we are not at their side we are neglected, andthe moment that we die we are forgotten!

They found Mr. Beckendorff in his library. In apprising Mr. Beckendorffof his intention of immediately quitting his roof, Vivian did not omitto state the cause of his sudden departure. These not only accounted forthe abruptness of his movement, but also gave Beckendorff an opportunityof preventing its necessity, by allowing Essper to remain. But theopportunity was not seized by Mr. Beckendorff. The truth was, thatgentleman had a particular wish to see Vivian out of his house. Inallowing the Prince of Little Lilliput to be attended during theinterview by a friend, Beckendorff had prepared himself for thereception of some brawny Jagd Junker, or some thick-headed chamberlain, who he reckoned would act rather as an incumbrance than an aid to hisopponent. It was with great mortification therefore, that he found himaccompanied by a shrewd, experienced, wary, and educated Englishman. Aman like Beckendorff soon discovered that Vivian Grey's was no commonmind. His conversation with him of the last night had given him somenotion of his powers, and the moment that Beckendorff saw Essper Georgeenter the house he determined that he should be the cause of Vivianleaving it. There was also another and weighty reason for Mr. Beckendorff desiring that the Prince of Little Lilliput should at thismoment be left to himself. 

"Mr. Grey will ride on to Reisenburg immediately, " said the Prince, "and, my dear friend, you may depend upon having your luggage by the dayafter to-morrow. I shall be at Turriparva early to-morrow, and it willbe my first care. "

This was said in a loud voice, and both gentlemen watched Mr. Beckendorff's countenance as the information was given; but no emotionwas visible. 

"Well, sir, good morning to you, " said Mr. Beckendorff; "I am sorry youare going. Had I known it sooner I would have given you a letter. Mr. Von Philipson, " said Beckendorff, "do me the favour of looking over thatpaper. " So saying, Mr. Beckendorff put some official report into thePrince's hand; and while his Highness' attention was attracted by thissudden request, Mr. Beckendorff laid his finger on Vivian's arm, andsaid in a lower tone, "I shall take care that you find a powerful friendat Reisenburg!"

BOOK VII

CHAPTER I

As Vivian left the room Mr. Beckendorff was seized with an unusualdesire to converse with the Prince of Little Lilliput, and his Highnesswas consequently debarred the consolation of walking with his friend asfar as the horses. At the little gate Vivian and Essper encountered theonly male attendant who was allowed to approach the house of Mr. Beckendorff. As Vivian quietly walked his horse up the rough turf road, he could not refrain from recurring to his conversation of the previousnight; and when he called to mind the adventures of the last six days, he had new cause to wonder at, and perhaps to lament over, his singularfate. In that short time he had saved the life of a powerful Prince, andbeing immediately signalled out, without any exertion on his part, asthe object of that Prince's friendship, the moment he arrives at hiscastle, by a wonderful contingency, he becomes the depositary of statesecrets, and assists in a consultation of importance with one of themost powerful Ministers in Europe. And now the object of so muchfriendship, confidence, and honour, he is suddenly on the road to thecapital of the State of which his late host is the Prime Minister andhis friend the chief subject, without even the convenience of a commonletter of introduction; and with little prospect of viewing, with eventhe usual advantages of a common traveller, one of the most interestingof European Courts. 

When he had proceeded about halfway up the turf lane he found a privateroad to his right, which, with that spirit of adventure for whichEnglishmen are celebrated, he immediately resolved must not only lead toReisenburg, but also carry him to that city much sooner than the regularhigh road. He had not advanced far up this road before he came to thegate at which he had parted with Beckendorff on the morning thatgentleman had roused him so unexpectedly from, his reverie in a greenlane. He was surprised to find a horseman dismounting at the gate. Struck by this singular circumstance, the appearance of the stranger wasnot unnoticed. He was a tall and well proportioned man, and as thetraveller passed he stared Vivian so fully in the face that our hero didnot fail to remark his handsome countenance, the expression of which, however, was rather vacant and unpleasing. He was dressed in ariding-coat exactly similar to the one always worn by Beckendorff'smessenger, and had Vivian not seen him so distinctly he would havemistaken him for that person. The stranger was rather indifferentlymounted, and carried his cloak and a small portmanteau at the back ofhis saddle. 

"I suppose it is the butler, " said Essper George, who now spoke for thefirst time since his dismissal from the room. Vivian did not answer him;not because he entertained any angry feeling on account of hisexceedingly unpleasant visit. By no means: it was impossible for a manlike Vivian Grey to cherish an irritated feeling for a second. But hedid not exchange a syllable with Essper George, merely because he wasnot in the humour to speak. He could not refrain from musing on thesingular events of the last few days; and, above all, the character ofBeckendorff particularly engrossed his meditation. Their conversation ofthe preceding night excited in his mind new feelings of wonder, andrevived emotions which he thought were dead or everlastingly dormant. Apparently, the philosophy on which Beckendorff had regulated hiscareer, and by which he had arrived at his pitch of greatness, wasexactly the same with which he himself, Vivian Grey, had started inlife; which he had found so fatal in its consequences; which he believedto be so vain in its principles. How was this? What radical error had hecommitted? It required little consideration. Thirty, and more thanthirty, years had passed over the head of Beckendorff ere the world felthis power, or indeed was conscious of his existence. A deep student, notonly of man in detail, but of man in groups; not only of individuals, but of nations; Beckendorff had hived up his ample knowledge of allsubjects which could interest his fellow-creatures, and when thatopportunity which in this world occurs to all men occurred toBeckendorff he was prepared. With acquirements equal to his genius, Beckendorff depended only upon himself, and succeeded. Vivian Grey, witha mind inferior to no man's, dashed on the stage, in years a boy, thoughin feelings a man. Brilliant as might have been his genius, hisacquirements necessarily were insufficient. He could not depend onlyupon himself; a consequent necessity arose to have recourse to theassistance of others; to inspire them with feelings which they could notshare; and humour and manage the petty weaknesses which he himself couldnot experience. His colleagues were, at the same time, to work for thegratification of their own private interests, the most palpable of allabstract things; and to carry into execution a great purpose, whichtheir feeble minds, interested only by the first point, cared not tocomprehend. The unnatural combination failed, and its originator fell. To believe that he could recur again to the hopes, the feelings, thepursuits of his boyhood, he felt to be the vainest of delusions. It wasthe expectation of a man like Beckendorff, whose career, thoughdifficult, though hazardous, had been uniformly successful; of a man whomistook cares for grief, and anxiety for sorrow. 

The travellers entered the city at sunset. Proceeding through an ancientand unseemly town, full of long, narrow, and ill-paved streets, andblack unevenly built houses, they ascended the hill, on the top of whichwas situated the new and Residence town of Reisenburg. The proudpalace, the white squares, the architectural streets, the new churches, the elegant opera house, the splendid hotels, and the gay publicgardens, full of busts, vases, and statues, and surrounded by an ironrailing cast out of the cannon taken from both sides during the war bythe Reisenburg troops, and now formed into pikes and fasces, glitteringwith gilded heads: all these, shining in the setting sun, produced aneffect which, at any time and in any place, would have been beautifuland striking; but on the present occasion were still more so, from theremarkable contrast they afforded to the ancient, gloomy, and filthytown through which Vivian had just passed, and where, from the lownessof its situation, the sun had already set. There was as much differencebetween the old and new town of Reisenburg as between the old barbarousMargrave and the new and noble Grand Duke. 

On the second day after his arrival at Reisenburg, Vivian received thefollowing letter from the Prince of Little Lilliput. His luggage did notaccompany the epistle. 

"My Dear Friend, "By the time you have received this I shall have returned to Turriparva. My visit to a certain gentleman was prolonged for one day. I never canconvey to you by words the sense I entertain of the value of yourfriendship and of your services; I trust that time will afford meopportunities of testifying it by my actions. I return home by the sameroad by which we came; you remember how excellent the road was, asindeed are all the roads in Reisenburg; that must be confessed by all. Ifear that the most partial admirers of the old régime cannot say as muchfor the convenience of travelling in the time of our fathers. Good roadsare most excellent things, and one of the first marks of civilisationand prosperity. The Emperor Napoleon, who, it must be confessed, had, after all, no common mind, was celebrated for his roads. You havedoubtless admired the Route Napoleon on the Rhine, and if you travelinto Italy I am informed that you will be equally, and even more, struckby the passage over the Simplon and the other Italian roads. Reisenburghas certainly kept pace with the spirit of the time; nobody can denythat; and I confess to you that the more I consider the subject itappears to me that the happiness, prosperity, and content of a state arethe best evidences of the wisdom and beneficent rule of a government. Many things are very excellent in theory, which are quite the reversein practice, and even ludicrous. And while we should do our most topromote the cause and uphold the interests of rational liberty, still, at the same time, we should ever be on our guard against the crude ideasand revolutionary systems of those who are quite inexperienced in thatsort of particular knowledge which is necessary for all statesmen. Nothing is so easy as to make things look fine on paper; we should neverforget that: there is a great difference between high-soundinggeneralities and laborious details. Is it reasonable to expect that menwho have passed their lives dreaming in colleges and old musty studiesshould be at all calculated to take the head of affairs, or know whatmeasures those at the head of affairs ought to adopt? I think not. Acertain personage, who by-the-bye is one of the most clear-headed andmost perfect men of business that I ever had the pleasure of beingacquainted with; a real practical man, in short; he tells me thatProfessor Skyrocket, whom you will most likely see at Reisenburg, wrotean article in the Military Quarterly Review, which is published there, on the probable expenses of a war between Austria and Prussia, andforgot the commissariat altogether. Did you ever know anything soridiculous? What business have such fellows to meddle with affairs ofstate? They should certainly be put down: that, I think, none can deny. A liberal spirit in government is certainly a most excellent thing; butwe must always remember that liberty may degenerate into licentiousness. Liberty is certainly an excellent thing, that all admit; but, as acertain person very well observed, so is physic, and yet it is not to begiven at all times, but only when the frame is in a state to require it. People may be as unprepared for a wise and discreet use of liberty, as avulgar person may be for the management of a great estate unexpectedlyinherited: there is a great deal in this, and, in my opinion, there arecases in which to force liberty down a people's throat is presentingthem, not with a blessing, but a curse. I shall send your luggage onimmediately; it is very probable that I may be in town at the end of theweek, for a short time. I wish much to see and to consult you, andtherefore hope that you will not leave Reisenburg before you see

"Your faithful and obliged friend, "LITTLE LILLIPUT. "

Two days after the receipt of this letter Essper George ran into theroom with a much less solemn physiognomy than he had thought proper toassume since his master's arrival at Reisenburg. 

"Lord, sir; whom do you think I have just met?"

"Whom?" asked Vivian, with eagerness, for, as is always the case whensuch questions are asked us, he was thinking of every person in theworld except the right one. "It might be--"

"To think that I should see him!" continued Essper. 

"It is a man, then, " thought Vivian; "who is it at once, Essper?"

"I thought you would not guess, sir! It will quite cure you to hear it;Master Rodolph!"

"Master Rodolph!"

"Ay! and there's great news in the wind. "

"Which of course you have confidentially extracted from him. Pray let ushave it. "

"The Prince of Little Lilliput is coming to Reisenburg, " said Essper. 

"Well! I had some idea of that before, " said Vivian. 

"Oh! then, you know it all, sir, I suppose, " said Essper, with a look ofgreat disappointment. 

"I know nothing more than I have mentioned, " said his master. 

"What! do you not know, sir, that the Prince has come over; that he isgoing to live at Court; and be, Heaven knows what! That he is to carry astaff every day before the Grand Duke at dinner; does not my masterknow that?"

"I know nothing of all this; and so tell me in plain German what thecase is. "

"Well, then, " continued Essper, "I suppose you do not know that hisHighness the Prince is to be his Excellency the Grand Marshal, thatunfortunate but principal officer of state having received his dismissalyesterday. They are coming up immediately. Not a moment is to be lost, which seems to me very odd. Master Rodolph is arranging everything; andhe has this morning purchased from his master's predecessor his palace, furniture, wines, and pictures; in short, his whole establishment: thelate Grand Marshal consoling himself for his loss of office, andrevenging himself on his successor, by selling him his property at ahundred per cent. Profit. However, Master Rodolph seems quite contentedwith his bargain; and your luggage is come, sir. His Highness, thePrince, will be in town at the end of the week; and all the men are tobe put in new livery. Mr. Arnelm is to be his Highness' chamberlain, andVon Neuwied master of the horse. So you see, sir, you were right; andthat old puss in boots was no traitor, after all. Upon my soul, I didnot much believe you, sir, until I heard all this good news. "

CHAPTER II

About a week after his arrival at Reisenburg, as Vivian was atbreakfast, the door opened, and Mr. Sievers entered. 

"I did not think that our next meeting would be in this city, " said Mr. Sievers, smiling. 

"His Highness, of course, informed me of your arrival, " said Vivian, ashe greeted him cordially. 

"You, I understand, are the diplomatist whom I am to thank for findingmyself again at Reisenburg. Let me, at the same time, express mygratitude for your kind offices to me, and congratulate you on thebrilliancy of your talents for negotiation. Little did I think, when Iwas giving you, the other day, an account of Mr. Beckendorff, that theinformation would have been of such service to you. 

"I am afraid you have nothing to thank me for; though, certainly, hadthe office of arranging the terms between the parties devolved on me, myfirst thoughts would have been for a gentleman for whom I have so muchregard and respect as Mr. Sievers. "

"Sir! I feel honoured: you already speak like a finished courtier. Pray, what is to be your office?"

"I fear Mr. Beckendorff will not resign in my favour; and my ambition isso exalted that I cannot condescend to take anything under thePremiership. "

"You are not to be tempted by a Grand Marshalship!" said Mr. Sievers. "You hardly expected, when you were at Turriparva, to witness such arapid termination of the patriotism of our good friend. I think you saidyou have seen him since your arrival: the interview must havebeen piquant!"

"Not at all. I immediately congratulated him on the judiciousarrangements which had been concluded; and, to relieve his awkwardness, took some credit to myself for having partially assisted in bringingabout the result. The subject was not again mentioned, and I dare saynever will be. "

"It is a curious business, " said Sievers. "The Prince is a man who, rather than have given me up to the Grand Duke; me, with whom he was notconnected, and who, of my own accord, sought his hospitality; sooner, Irepeat, than have delivered me up, he would have had his castle razed tothe ground and fifty swords through his heart; and yet, without theslightest compunction, has this same man deserted, with the greatestcoolness, the party of which, ten days ago, he was the zealous leader. How can you account for this, except it be, as I have long suspected, that in politics there positively is no feeling of honour? Every one isconscious that not only himself, but his colleagues and his rivals, areworking for their own private purpose; and that however a party mayapparently be assisting in bringing about a result of common benefit, that nevertheless, and in fact, each is conscious that he is the tool ofanother. With such an understanding, treason is an expected affair; andthe only point to consider is, who shall be so unfortunate as to be thedeserted, instead of the deserter. It is only fair to his Highness tostate that Beckendorff gave him incontestable evidence that he had had aprivate interview with every one of the mediatised Princes. They werethe dupes of the wily Minister. In these negotiations he becameacquainted with their plans and characters, and could estimate theprobability of their success. The golden bribe, which was in turndandled before the eyes of all, had been always reserved for the mostpowerful, our friend. His secession and the consequent desertion of hisrelatives destroy the party for ever; while, at the same time, thatparty have not even the consolation of a good conscience to uphold themin their adversity; but feel that in case of their clamour, or of anyattempt to stir up the people by their hollow patriotism, it is in thepower of the Minister to expose and crush them for ever. "

"All this, " said Vivian, "makes me the more rejoice that our friend hasgot out of their clutches; he will make an excellent Grand Marshal; andyou must not forget, my dear sir, that he did not forget you. To tellyou the truth, although I did not flatter myself that I should benefitduring my stay at Reisenburg by his influence, I am not the leastsurprised at the termination of our visit to Mr. Beckendorff. I haveseen too many of these affairs not to have been quite aware, the wholetime, that it would require very little trouble, and very few sacrificeson the part of Mr. Beckendorff, to quash the whole cabal. By-the-bye, our visit to him was highly amusing; he is a singular man. "

"He has had, nevertheless, " said Sievers, "a difficult part to play. Hadit not been for you, the Prince would have perhaps imagined that he wasonly trifling with him again, and terminated the interview abruptly andin disgust. Having brought the Grand Duke to terms, and having arrangedthe interview, Beckendorff of course imagined that all was finished. Thevery day that you arrived at his house he had received despatches fromhis Royal Highness, recalling his promise, and revoking Beckendorff'sauthority to use his unlimited discretion in this business. Thedifficulty then was to avoid discussion with the Prince, with whom hewas not prepared to negotiate; and, at the same time, without lettinghis Highness out of his sight, to induce the Grand Duke to resume hisold view of the case. The first night that you were there Beckendorffrode up to Reisenburg, saw the Grand Duke, was refused, through theintrigues of Madame Carolina, the requested authority, and resigned hispower. When he was a mile on his return, he was summoned back to thepalace; and his Royal Highness asked, as a favour from his tutor, four-and-twenty hours' consideration. This Beckendorff granted, on thecondition that, in case the Grand Duke assented to the terms proposed, his Royal Highness should himself be the bearer of the proposition; andthat there should be no more written promises to recall, and no morewritten authorities to revoke. The terms were hard, but Beckendorff wasinflexible. On the second night of your visit a messenger arrived with adespatch, advising Beckendorff of the intended arrival of his RoyalHighness on the next morning. The ludicrous intrusion of your amusingservant prevented you from being present at the great interview, inwhich I understand Beckendorff for the moment laid aside all hiscaprices. Our friend acted with great firmness and energy. He would notbe satisfied even with the personal pledge and written promise of theGrand Duke, but demanded that he should receive the seals of officewithin a week; so that, had the Court not been sincere, his situationwith his former party would not have been injured. It is astonishing howvery acute even a dull man is when his own interests are at stake. Hadhis Highness been the agent of another person, he would probably havecommitted many blunders, have made disadvantageous terms, or perhapshave been thoroughly duped. Self-interest is the finest eye-water. "

"And what says Madame Carolina to all this?"

"Oh! according to custom, she has changed already, and thinks the wholebusiness admirably arranged. His Highness is her grand favourite, and mylittle pupil Max her pet. I think, however, on the whole, the boy isfondest of the Grand Duke, whom, if you remember, he was alwaysinforming you in confidence that he intended to assassinate. And as foryour obedient servant, " said Sievers, bowing, "here am I once more theAristarchus of her coterie. Her friends, by-the-bye, view the accessionof the Prince with no pleased eyes; and, anticipating that his juncturewith the Minister is only a prelude to their final dispersion, they arecompensating for the approaching termination of their career by unusualviolence and fresh fervour, stinging like mosquitoes before a storm, conscious of their impending destruction from the clearance of theatmosphere. As for myself, I have nothing more to do with them. Libertyand philosophy are fine words; but until I find men are prepared tocultivate them both in a wiser spirit I shall remain quiet. I have noidea of being banished and imprisoned because a parcel of knaves aremaking a vile use of the truths which I disseminate. In my opinion, philosophers have said enough; now let men act. But all this time I haveforgotten to ask you how you like Reisenburg. "

"I can hardly say; with the exception of yesterday, when I rode Maxround the ramparts, I have not been once out of the hotel. But to-day Ifeel so well that, if you are disposed for a lounge, I should like itabove all things. "

"I am quite at your service; but I must not forget that I am the bearerof a missive to you from his Excellency the Grand Marshal. You areinvited to join the court dinner to-day, and be presented--"

"Really, my dear sir, an invalid--"

"Well! if you do not like it, you must make your excuses to him; but itreally is the pleasantest way of commencing your acquaintance at Court, and only allowed to distingués; among which, as you are the friend ofthe new Grand Marshal, you are of course considered. No one is petted somuch as a political, apostate, except, perhaps, a religious one; so atpresent we are all in high feather. You had better dine at the palaceto-day. Everything quite easy; and, by an agreeable relaxation of state, neither swords, bags, nor trains are necessary. Have you seen thepalace? I suppose not. We will look at it, and then call on the Prince. "

The gentlemen accordingly left the hotel; and proceeding down theprincipal street of the New Town, they came into a large square, orPlace d'Armes. A couple of regiments of infantry were exercising in it. 

"A specimen of our standing army, " said Sievers. "In the war time, thislittle State brought thirty thousand highly-disciplined andwell-appointed troops into the field. This efficient contingent was, atthe same time, the origin of our national prosperity and our nationaldebt. For we have a national debt, sir! I assure you we are proud of it, and consider it the most decided sign of being a great people. Our forcein times of peace is, of course, much reduced. We have, however, stilleight thousand men, who are perfectly unnecessary. The most curiousthing is, that, to keep up the patronage of the Court and please thenobility, though we have cut down our army two-thirds, we have neverreduced the number of our generals; and so, at this moment, among oureight thousand men, we count about forty general officers, being one toevery two hundred privates. We have, however, which perhaps you wouldnot suspect, one military genius among our multitude of heroes. TheCount von Sohnspeer is worthy of being one of Napoleon's marshals. Whohe is no one exactly knows; some say an illegitimate son of Beckendorff. Certain it is that he owes his nobility to his sword; and as certain itis that he is to be counted among the very few who share the Minister'sconfidence. Von Sohnspeer has certainly performed a thousand brilliantexploits; yet, in my opinion, the not least splendid day of his life wasthat of the battle of Leipsic. He was on the side of the French, andfought against the Allies with desperate fury. When he saw that all wasover, and the Allies triumphant, calling out 'Germany for ever!' hedashed against his former friends, and captured from the flying Gauls ahundred pieces of cannon. He hastened to the tent of the Emperors withhis blood-red sword in his hand, and at the same time congratulated themon the triumph of their cause, and presented them with his hard-earnedtrophies. The manoeuvre was perfectly successful; and the troops ofReisenburg, complimented as true Germans, were pitied for their formerunhappy fate in being forced to fight against their fatherland, and wereimmediately enrolled in the allied army; as such, they received a dueshare of all the plunder. He is a grand genius, young Master vonSohnspeer?"

"Decidedly! Worthy of being a companion of the fighting bastards of themiddle ages. This is a fine square. "

"Very grand indeed! Precedents for some of the architecturalcombinations could hardly be found at Athens or Rome; nevertheless thegeneral effect is magnificent. Do you admire this plan of making everyelevation of an order consonant with the purpose of the building? See, for instance, on the opposite side of the square is the palace. TheCorinthian order, which is evident in all its details, suits well thecharacter of the structure. It accords with royal pomp and elegance, with fêtes and banquets, and interior magnificence. On the other hand, what a happy contrast is afforded to this gorgeous structure by thesevere simplicity of this Tuscan Palace of Justice. The School of Arts, in the farthest corner of the square, is properly entered through anIonic portico. Let us go into the palace. Here not only does our monarchreside, but (an arrangement which I much admire) here are deposited, ina gallery worthy of the treasures it contains, our superb collection ofpictures. They are the private property of his Royal Highness; but, asis usually the case under despotic Princes, the people, equally hisproperty, are flattered by the collection being styled the 'PublicGallery. '"

The hour of the court dinner at Reisenburg was two o'clock, about whichtime, in England, a man first remembers the fatal necessity of shaving;though, by-the-bye, this allusion is not a very happy one, for in thiscountry shaving is a ceremony at present somewhat obsolete. At twoo'clock, however, our hero, accompanying the Grand Marshal and Mr. Sievers, reached the palace. In the saloon were assembled variousguests, chiefly attached to the Court. Immediately after the arrival ofour party, the Grand Duke and Madame Carolina, followed by theirchamberlains and ladies in waiting, entered. The little PrinceMaximilian strutted in between his Royal Highness and his fair Consort, having hold of a hand of each. The urchin was much changed in appearancesince Vivian first saw him; he was dressed in the complete uniform of acaptain of the Royal Guards, having been presented with a commission onthe day of his arrival at Court. A brilliant star glittered on hisscarlet coat, and paled the splendour of his golden epaulettes. Theduties, however, of the princely captain were at present confined to thepleasing exertion of carrying the bon-bon box of Madame Carolina, thecontents of which were chiefly reserved for his own gratification. Inthe Grand Duke Vivian was not surprised to recognise the horseman whomhe had met in the private road on the morning of his departure from Mr. Beckendorff's; his conversation with Sievers had prepared him for this. Madame Carolina was in appearance Parisian of the highest order: that isto say, an exquisite figure and an indescribable tournure, an invisiblefoot, a countenance full of esprit and intelligence, without a singleregular feature, and large and very bright black eyes. Madame's hair wasof the same colour, and arranged in the most effective manner. Hercashmere would have graced the Feast of Roses, and so engrossed yourattention that it was long before you observed the rest of her costume, in which, however, traces of a creative genius were immediately visible;in short, Madame Carolina was not fashionable, but fashion herself. In asubsequent chapter, at a ball which we have in preparation, we will makeup for this brief notice of her costume by publishing her court dress. For the sake of our fair readers, however, we will not pass over theornament in her hair. The comb which supported her elaborate curls wasinvisible, except at each end, whence it threw out a large Psyche's wingof golden web, the eyes of which were formed of rubies encircled withturquoises. 

The Royal party made a progress round the circle. Madame Carolina firstpresented her delicate and faintly-rouged cheek to the hump-backed CrownPrince, who scarcely raised his eyes from the ground as he performed theaccustomed courtesy. One or two Royal relatives, who were on a visit atthe palace, were honoured by the same compliment. The Grand Duke bowedgraciously and gracefully to every individual; and his lady accompaniedthe bow by a speech, which was at the same time personal and piquant. The first great duty of a monarch is to know how to bow skilfully!nothing is more difficult, and nothing more important. A Royal bow mayoften quell a rebellion, and sometimes crush a conspiracy. It should atthe same time be both general and individual; equally addressed to thecompany assembled, and to every single person in the assembly. Our ownsovereign bows to perfection. His bow is eloquent, and will alwaysrender an oration on his part unnecessary; which is a great point, forharangues are not regal. Nothing is more undignified than to make aspeech. It is from the first an acknowledgment that you are under thenecessity of explaining, or conciliating, or convincing, or confuting;in short, that you are not omnipotent, but opposed. 

The bow of the Grand Duke of Reisenburg was a first-rate bow, and alwaysproduced a great sensation with the people, particularly if it werefollowed up by a proclamation for a public fête or fireworks; then hisRoyal Highness' popularity was at its height. But Madame Carolina, afterhaving by a few magic sentences persuaded the whole room that she took apeculiar interest in the happiness of every individual present, hasreached Vivian, who stood next to his friend the Grand Marshal. He waspresented by that great officer, and received most graciously. For amoment the room thought that his Royal Highness was about to speak; buthe only smiled. Madame Carolina, however, said a great deal; and stoodnot less than sixty seconds complimenting the English nation, andparticularly the specimen of that celebrated people who now had thehonour of being presented to her. No one spoke more in a given time thanMadame Carolina; and as, while the eloquent words fell from her deep redlips, her bright eyes were invariably fixed on those of the person sheaddressed, what she did say, as invariably, was very effective. Vivianhad only time to give a nod of recognition to his friend Max, for thecompany, arm-in-arm, now formed into a procession to the dining saloon. Vivian was parted from the Grand Marshal, who, as the highest officer ofstate present, followed immediately after the Grand Duke. Our hero'scompanion was Mr. Sievers. Although it was not a state dinner, theparty, from being swelled by the suites of the royal visitors, wasnumerous; and as the Court occupied the centre of the table, Vivian wastoo distant to listen to the conversation of Madame, who, however, hewell perceived, from the animation of her countenance, was delighted anddelighting. The Grand Duke spoke little, but listened, like a lover ofthree days, to the accents of his accomplished consort. The arrangementof a German dinner promotes conversation. The numerous dishes are atonce placed upon the table; and when the curious eye has well examinedtheir contents, the whole dinner, untouched, disappears. Although thiscircumstance is rather alarming to a novice, his terror soon givesplace to self-congratulation when he finds the banquet re-appear, eachdish completely carved and cut up. 

"Not being Sunday, " said Mr. Sievers, "there is no opera to-night. Weare to meet again, I believe, at the palace, in a few hours, at MadameCarolina's soirée. In the meantime, you had better accompany hisExcellency to the public gardens; that is the fashionable drive. I shallgo home and smoke a pipe. "

The circle of the public gardens of Reisenburg exhibited exactly, although upon a smaller scale, the same fashions and the samefrivolities, the same characters and the same affectations, as the HydePark of London, or the Champs Elysées of Paris, the Prater of Vienna, the Corso of Rome or Milan, or the Cascine of Florence. There was thefemale leader of ton, hated by her own sex and adored by the other, andruling both; ruling both by the same principle of action, and by theinfluence of the same quality which creates the arbitress of fashion inall countries, by courage to break through the conventional customs ofan artificial class, and by talents to ridicule all those who darefollow her innovating example; attracting universal notice by her ownsingularity, and at the same time conciliating the support of those fromwhom she dares to differ, by employing her influence in preventingothers from violating their laws. The arbitress of fashion is one who isallowed to be singular, in order that she may suppress singularity; sheis exempted from all laws; but, by receiving the dictatorship, sheensures the despotism. Then there was that mysterious being whoseinfluence is perhaps even more surprising than the dominion of thefemale despot of manners, for she wields a power which can be analysedand comprehended; I mean the male authority in coats, cravats, andchargers; who, without fortune and without rank, and sometimes merelythrough the bold obtrusion of a fantastic taste, becomes the glass offashion in which even royal dukes and the most aristocratic nobleshasten to adjust themselves, and the mould by which the ingenious youthof a whole nation is enthusiastically formed. There is a Brummell inevery country. 

Vivian, who, after a round or two with the Grand Marshal, had mountedMax, was presented by the young Count von Bernstorff, the son of theGrand Chamberlain, to whose care he had been specially commended by thePrince, to the lovely Countess von S----. The examination of this highauthority was rigid and her report satisfactory. When Vivian quittedthe side of her britzska half a dozen dandies immediately rode up tolearn the result, and, on being informed, they simultaneously canteredup to young von Bernstorff, and requested to have the honour of beingintroduced to his highly-interesting friend. All these exquisites worewhite hats lined with crimson, in consequence of the head of theall-influential Emilius von Aslingen having, on the preceding day, beenkept sacred from the profaning air by that most tasteful covering. Theyoung lords were loud in their commendations of this latest evidence ofvon Aslingen's happy genius, and rallied with unmerciful spirit theunfortunate von Bernstorff for not having yet mounted the all-perfectchapeau. Like all von Aslingen's introductions, it was as remarkable forgood taste as for striking singularity; they had no doubt it would havea great run, exactly the style of thing for a hot autumn, and it suitedso admirably with the claret-coloured riding coat which Madameconsidered von Aslingen's chef-d'oeuvre. Inimitable von Aslingen! Asthey were in these raptures, to Vivian's delight and to their dismay, the object of their admiration appeared. Our hero was, of course, anxious to see so interesting a character; but he could scarcely believethat he, in fact, beheld the ingenious introducer of white and crimsonhats, and the still happier inventor of those chef-d'oeuvres, claret-coloured riding coats, when his attention was directed to ahorseman who wore a peculiarly high heavy black hat and a frogged andfurred frock, buttoned up, although it was a most sultry day, to hisvery nose. How singular is the slavery of fashion! Notwithstanding theirmortification, the unexpected costume of von Aslingen appeared only toincrease the young lords' admiration of his character andaccomplishments; and instead of feeling that he was an insolentpretender, whose fame originated in his insulting their tastes, andexisted only by their sufferance, all cantered away with thedetermination of wearing on the next day, even if it were to cost themeach a calenture, furs enough to keep a man warm during a winter partyat St. Petersburg, not that winter parties ever take place there; on thecontrary, before the winter sets in, the Court moves on to Moscow, which, from its situation and its climate, will always, in fact, continue the real capital of Russia. 

The royal carriage, drawn by six horses and backed by three menservants, who would not have disgraced the fairy equipage of Cinderella, has now left the gardens. 

CHAPTER III

Madame Carolina held her soirée in her own private apartments, the GrandDuke himself appearing in the capacity of a visitor. The company wasnumerous and brilliant. His Royal Highness, surrounded by a selectcircle, dignified one corner of the saloon; Madame Carolina at the otherend of the room, in the midst of poets, philosophers, and politicians, in turn decided upon the most interesting and important topics ofpoetry, philosophy, and politics. Boston, and Zwicken, and whistinterested some, and puzzles and other ingenious games others. A fewwere above conversing, or gambling, or guessing; superior intelligences, who would neither be interested nor amused, among these Emilius vonAslingen was most prominent. He leant against a door in full uniform, with his vacant eyes fixed on no object. The others were only awkwardcopies of an easy original; and among these, stiff or stretching, lounging on a chaise-lounge, or posted against the wall, Vivian's quickeye recognised more than one of the unhappy votaries of white hats linedwith crimson. 

When Vivian made his bow to the Grand Duke he was surprised by his RoyalHighness coming forward a few steps from the surrounding circle andextending to him his hand. His Royal Highness continued conversing withhim for upwards of a quarter of an hour; expressed the great pleasure hefelt at seeing at his Court a gentleman of whose abilities he had thehighest opinion; and, after a variety of agreeable compliments(compliments are doubly agreeable from crowned heads), the Grand Dukeretired to a game of Boston with his royal visitors. Vivian's receptionmade a sensation through the room. Various rumours wereimmediately afloat. 

"Who can he be?"

"Don't you know? Oh! most curious story. Killed a boar as big as abonasus, which was ravaging half Reisenburg, and saved the lives of hisExcellency the Grand Marshal and his whole suite. "

"What is that about the Grand Marshal and a boar as big as a bonasus?Quite wrong; natural son of Beckendorff; know it for a fact. Don't yousee he is being introduced to von Sohnspeer! brothers, you know, managedthe whole business about the leagued Princes; not a son of Beckendorff, only a particular friend; the son of the late General--, I forget hisname exactly. Killed at Leipsic, you know; that famous general; what washis name? that very famous general; don't you remember? Never mind;well! he is his son; father particular friend of Beckendorff; collegefriend; brought up the orphan; very handsome of him! They say he doeshandsome things sometimes. "

"Ah! well, I've heard so too; and so this young man is to be the newunder-secretary! very much approved by the Countess von S----. "

"No, it can't be! your story is quite wrong. He is an Englishman. "

"An Englishman! no!"

"Yes he is. I had it from Madame; high rank incog. ; going to Vienna;secret mission. "

"Something to do with Greece, of course; independence recognised?"

"Oh! certainly; pay a tribute to the Porte, and governed by a hospodar. Admirable arrangement! have to support their own government and aforeign one besides!"

It was with pleasure that Vivian at length observed Mr. Sievers enterthe room, and extricating himself from the enlightened and enthusiasticcrowd who were disserting round the tribunal of Madame, he hastened tohis amusing friend. 

"Ah! my dear sir, how glad I am to see you! I have, since we met last, been introduced to your fashionable ruler, and some of her mostfashionable slaves. I have been honoured by a long conversation with hisRoyal Highness, and have listened to some of the most eloquent of theCarolina coterie. What a Babel! there all are, at the same time, talkersand listeners. To what a pitch of perfection may the 'science' ofconversation be carried! My mind teems with original ideas, to which Ican annex no definite meaning. What a variety of contradictory theories, which are all apparently sound! I begin to suspect that there is a greatdifference between reasoning and reason!"

"Your suspicion is well founded, my dear sir, " said Mr. Sievers; "and Iknow no circumstance which would sooner prove it than listening for afew minutes to this little man in a snuff-coloured coat near me. But Iwill save you from so terrible a demonstration. He has been endeavouringto catch my eye these last ten minutes, and I have as studiously avoidedseeing him. Let us move. "

"Willingly; who may this fear-inspiring monster be?"

"A philosopher, " said Mr. Sievers, "as most of us call ourselves here;that is to say, his profession is to observe the course of Nature; andif by chance he can discover any slight deviation of the good dame fromthe path which our ignorance has marked out as her only track, he clapshis hands, cries [Greek: euraeka]! and is dubbed 'illustrious' on thespot. Such is the world's reward for a great discovery, which generally, in a twelvemonth's time, is found out to be a blunder of thephilosopher, and not an eccentricity of Nature. I am not underratingthose great men who, by deep study, or rather by some mysteriousinspiration, have produced combinations and effected results which havematerially assisted the progress of civilisation and the security of ourhappiness. No, no! to them be due adoration. Would that the reverence ofposterity could be some consolation to these great spirits for neglectand persecution when they lived! I have invariably observed of greatnatural philosophers, that if they lived in former ages they werepersecuted as magicians, and in periods which profess to be moreenlightened they have always been ridiculed as quacks. The succeedingcentury the real quack arises. He adopts and develops the suppressed, and despised, and forgotten discovery of his unfortunate predecessor!and Fame trumpets this resurrection-man of science with as loud a blastof rapture as if, instead of being merely the accidental animator of thecorpse, he were the cunning artist himself who had devised and executedthe miraculous machinery which the other had only wound up. "

"But in this country, " said Vivian, "surely you have no reason tocomplain of the want of moral philosophers, or of the respect paid tothem. The country of Kant--, of ----"

"Yes, yes! we have plenty of metaphysicians, if you mean them. Watchthat lively-looking gentleman, who is stuffing kalte schale sovoraciously in the corner. The leader of the Idealists, a pupil of thecelebrated Fichte! To gain an idea of his character, know that heout-Herods his master; and Fichte is to Kant what Kant is to theunenlightened vulgar. You can now form a slight conception of thespiritual nature of our friend who is stuffing kalte schale. The firstprinciple of his school is to reject all expressions which incline inthe slightest degree to substantiality. Existence is, in his opinion, aword too absolute. Being, principle, essence, are terms scarcelysufficiently ethereal even to indicate the subtile shadowings of hisopinions. Some say that he dreads the contact of all real things, andthat he makes it the study of his life to avoid them. Matter is hisgreat enemy. When you converse with him you lose all consciousness ofthis world. My dear sir, " continued Mr. Sievers, "observe howexquisitely Nature revenges herself upon these capricious and fantasticchildren. Believe me, Nature is the most brilliant of wits; and that norepartees that were ever inspired by hate, or wine, or beauty, everequalled the calm effects of her indomitable power upon those who arerejecting her authority. You understand me? Methinks that the bestanswer to the idealism of M. Fichte is to see his pupil devouringkalte schale!"

"And this is really one of your great lights?"

"Verily! His works are the most famous and the most unreadable in allGermany. Surely you have heard of his 'Treatise on Man?' A treatise on asubject in which everyone is interested, written in a style which no onecan understand. "

"You think, then, " said Vivian, "that posterity may rank the Germanmetaphysicians with the later Platonists?"

"I hardly know; they are a body of men not less acute, but I doubtwhether they will be as celebrated. In this age of print, notoriety ismore attainable than in the age of manuscript; but lasting famecertainly is not. That tall thin man in black that just bowed to me isthe editor of one of our great Reisenburg reviews. The journal he editsis one of the most successful periodical publications ever set afloat. Among its contributors, may assuredly be classed many men of eminenttalents; yet to their abilities the surprising success and influence ofthis work is scarcely to be ascribed. It is the result rather of theconsistent spirit which has always inspired its masterly critiques. Oneprinciple has ever regulated its management; it is a simple rule, but aneffective one: every author is reviewed by his personal enemy. You mayimagine the point of the critique; but you would hardly credit, if Iwere to inform you, the circulation of the review. You will tell me thatyou are not surprised, and talk of the natural appetite of our speciesfor malice and slander. Be not too quick. The rival of this review, bothin influence and in sale, is conducted on as simple a principle, but nota similar one. In this journal every author is reviewed by his personalfriend; of course, perfect panegyric. Each number is flattering as alover's tale; every article an eloge. What say you to this? These arethe influential literary and political journals of Reisenburg. Therewas yet another; it was edited by an eloquent scholar; all itscontributors were, at the same time, brilliant and profound. It numberedamong its writers some of the most celebrated names in Germany; itscritiques and articles were as impartial as they were able, as sincereas they were sound; it never paid the expense of the first number. Asphilanthropists and admirers of our species, my dear sir, these aregratifying results; they satisfactorily demonstrate that mankind have noinnate desire for scandal, calumny, and backbiting; it only proves thatthey have an innate desire to be gulled and deceived. "

"And who is that?" said Vivian. 

"That is von Chronicle, our great historical novelist. When I first cameto Reisenburg, now eight years ago, the popular writer of fiction was aman, the most probable of whose numerous romances was one in which thehero sold his shadow to a demon over the dice-box; then married anunknown woman in a churchyard; afterwards wedded a river nymph; and, having committed bigamy, finally stabbed himself, to enable his firstwife to marry his own father. He and his works are quite obsolete; andthe star of his genius, with those of many others, has paled before thesuperior brilliancy of that literary comet, Mr. Von Chronicle. Accordingto von Chronicle, we have all, for a long time, been under a mistake. Wehave ever considered that the first point to be studied in novel writingis character: miserable error! It is costume. Variety of incident, novelty, and nice discrimination of character; interest of story, andall those points which we have hitherto looked upon as necessaryqualities of a fine novel, vanish before the superior attractions ofvariety of dresses, exquisite descriptions of the cloak of a signer, orthe trunk-hose of a serving man. 

"Amuse yourself while you are at Reisenburg by turning over some volumeswhich every one is reading; von Chronicle's last great historical novel. The subject is a magnificent one, Rienzi; yet it is strange that thehero only appears in the first and the last scenes. You look astonished. Ah! I see you are not a great historical novelist. You forget the effectwhich is produced by the contrast of the costume of Master Nicholas, thenotary in the quarter of the Jews, and that of Rienzi, the tribune, inhis robe of purple, at his coronation in the Capitol. Conceive theeffect, the contrast. With that coronation von Chronicle's novelterminates; for, as he well observes, after that, what is there in thecareer of Rienzi which would afford matter for the novelist? Nothing!All that afterwards occurs is a mere contest of passions and adevelopment of character; but where is a procession, a triumph, ora marriage?

"One of von Chronicle's great characters in this novel is a Cardinal. Itwas only last night that I was fortunate enough to have the beauties ofthe work pointed out to me by the author himself. He entreated, andgained my permission to read to me what he himself considered 'the greatscene. ' I settled myself in my chair, took out my handkerchief, andprepared my mind for the worst. While I was anticipating the terrors ofa heroine he introduced me to his Cardinal. Thirty pages were devoted tothe description of the prelate's costume. Although clothed in purple, still, by a skilful adjustment of the drapery, von Chronicle managed tobring in six other petticoats. I thought this beginning would neverfinish, but to my surprise, when he had got to the seventh petticoat, heshut his book, and leaning over the table, asked me what I thought ofhis 'great scene. ' 'My friend, ' said I, 'you are not only the greatesthistorical novelist that ever lived, but that ever will live. '"

"I shall certainly get Rienzi, " said Vivian; "it seems to me to be anoriginal work. "

"Von Chronicle tells me that he looks upon it as his masterpiece, andthat it may be considered as the highest point of perfection to whichhis system of novel-writing can be carried. Not a single name is givenin the work, down even to the rabble, for which he has not contemporaryauthority; but what he is particularly proud of are his oaths. Nothing, he tells me, has cost him more trouble than the management of theswearing: and the Romans, you know, are a most profane nation. The greatdifficulty to be avoided was using the ejaculations of two differentages. The 'sblood' of the sixteenth century must not be confounded withthe 'zounds' of the seventeenth. Enough of von Chronicle! The mostamusing thing, " continued Mr. Sievers, "is to contrast this mode ofwriting works of fiction with the prevalent and fashionable method ofwriting works of history. Contrast the 'Rienzi' of von Chronicle withthe 'Haroun Al Raschid' of Madame Carolina. Here we write novels likehistory, and history like novels: all our facts are fancy, and all ourimagination reality. " So saying, Mr. Sievers rose, and, wishing Viviangood night, quitted the room. He was one of those prudent geniuses whoalways leave off with a point. 

Mr. Sievers had not left Vivian more than a minute when the littlePrince Maximilian came up and bowed to him in a condescending manner. Our hero, who had not yet had an opportunity of speaking with him, thanked him cordially for his handsome present, and asked him how heliked the Court. 

"Oh, delightful! I pass all my time with the Grand Duke and Madame:" andhere the young apostate settled his military stock and arranged thegirdle of his sword. "Madame Carolina, " continued he, "has commanded meto inform you that she desires the pleasure of your attendance. "

The summons was immediately obeyed, and Vivian had the honour of a longconversation with the interesting Consort of the Grand Duke. He was, fora considerable time, complimented by her enthusiastic panegyric ofEngland, her original ideas of the character and genius of Lord Byron, her veneration for Sir Humphry Davy, and her admiration of Sir WalterScott. Not remiss was Vivian in paying, in his happiest manner, duecompliments to the fair and royal authoress of the Court of Charlemagne. While she spoke his native tongue, he admired her accurate English; andwhile she professed to have derived her imperfect knowledge of hisperfect language from a study of its best authors, she avowed her beliefof the impossibility of ever speaking it correctly without theassistance of a native. Conversation became more interesting. 

When Vivian left the palace he was not unmindful of an engagement toreturn there the next day, to give a first lesson in Englishpronunciation to Madame Carolina. 

CHAPTER IV

Vivian duly kept his appointment with Madame Carolina. The chamberlainushered him into a library, where Madame Carolina was seated at a largetable covered with books and manuscripts. Her costume and hercountenance were equally engaging. Fascination was alike in her smile, and her sash, her bow, and her buckle. What a delightful pupil toperfect in English pronunciation! Madame pointed, with a pride pleasingto Vivian's feelings as an Englishman, to her shelves, graced with themost eminent of English writers. Madame Carolina was not like one ofthose admirers of English literature whom you often meet on theContinent: people who think that Beattie's Minstrel is our most modernand fashionable poem; that the Night Thoughts is the masterpiece of ourliterature; and that Richardson is our only novelist. Oh, no! MadameCarolina would not have disgraced May Fair. She knew Childe Harold byrote, and had even peeped into Don Juan. Her admiration of the Edinburghand Quarterly Reviews was great and similar. To a Continental liberal, indeed, even the Toryism of the Quarterly is philosophy; and not anUnder-Secretary ever yet massacred a radical innovator without givingloose to some sentiments and sentences which are considered rank treasonin the meridian of Vienna. 

After some conversation, in which Madame evinced eagerness to gaindetails about the persons and manners of our most eminent literarycharacters, she naturally began to speak of the literary productions ofother countries; and in short, ere an hour was passed, Vivian Grey, instead of giving a lesson in English pronunciation to the Consort ofthe Grand Duke of Reisenburg, found himself listening, in an easy-chair, and with folded arms, to a long treatise by that lady de l'Esprit deConversation. It was a most brilliant dissertation. Her kindness inreading it to him was most particular; nevertheless, for unexpectedblessings we are not always sufficiently grateful. 

Another hour was consumed by the treatise. How she refined! whatunexpected distinctions! what exquisite discrimination of nationalcharacter! what skilful eulogium of her own! Nothing could be moresplendid than her elaborate character of a repartee; it would havesufficed for an epic poem. At length Madame Carolina ceased de l'Espritde Conversation, and Vivian was successful in concealing his wearinessand in testifying his admiration. "The evil is over, " thought he; "I mayas well gain credit for my good taste. " The lesson in Englishpronunciation, however, was not yet terminated. Madame was charmed withour hero's uncommon discrimination and extraordinary talents. He was themost skilful and the most agreeable critic with whom she had ever beenacquainted. How invaluable must the opinion of such a person be to heron her great work! No one had yet seen a line of it; but there aremoments when we are irresistibly impelled to seek a confidant; thatconfidant was before her. The morocco case was unlocked, and themanuscript of Haroun Al Raschid revealed to the enraptured eye ofVivian Grey. 

"I flatter myself, " said Madame Carolina, "that this work will create agreat sensation; not only in Germany. It abounds, I think, withinteresting story, engaging incidents, and animated and effectivedescriptions. I have not, of course, been able to obtain any new matterrespecting his Sublimity the Caliph. Between ourselves, I do not thinkthis very important. So far as I have observed, we have matter enough inthis world on every possible subject already. It is manner in which theliterature of all nations is deficient. It appears to me that the greatpoint for persons of genius now to direct their attention to is theexpansion of matter. This I conceive to be the great secret; and thismust be effected by the art of picturesque writing. For instance, mydear Mr. Grey, I will open the Arabian Nights' Entertainments, merelyfor an exemplification, at the one hundred and eighty-fifth night; good!Let us attend to the following passage:--

"'In the reign of the Caliph Haroun Al Raschid, there was at Bagdad adruggist, called Alboussan Ebn Thaher, a very rich, handsome man. He hadmore wit and politeness than people of his profession ordinarily have. His integrity, sincerity, and jovial humour made him beloved and soughtafter by all sorts of people. The Caliph, who knew his merit, had entireconfidence in him. He had so great an esteem for him that he entrustedhim with the care to provide his favourite ladies with all the thingsthey stood in need of. He chose for them their clothes, furniture, andjewels, with admirable taste. His good qualities and the favour of theCaliph made the sons of Emirs and other officers of the first rank bealways about him. His house was the rendezvous of all the nobility ofthe Court. '

"What capabilities lurk in this dry passage!" exclaimed Madame Carolina;"I touch it with my pen, and transform it into a chapter. It shall beone of those that I will read to you. The description of Alboussan alonedemands ten pages. There is no doubt that his countenance was oriental. The tale says that he was handsome: I paint him with his eastern eye, his thin arched brow, his fragrant beard, his graceful mustachio. Thetale says he was rich: I have authorities for the costume of men of hisdignity in contemporary writers. In my history he appears in an uppergarment of green velvet, and loose trousers of pink satin; a jewelleddagger lies in his golden girdle; his slippers are of the richestembroidery; and he never omits the bath of roses daily. On this system, which in my opinion elicits truth, for by it you are enabled to form aconception of the manners, of the age; on this system I proceedthroughout the paragraph. Conceive my account of his house being the'rendezvous of all the nobility of the Court. ' What a brilliant scene!what variety of dress and character! what splendour! what luxury! whatmagnificence! Imagine the detail of the banquet; which, by the bye, gives me an opportunity of inserting, after the manner of your ownGibbon, 'a dissertation on sherbet. ' What think you of the art ofpicturesque writing?"

"Admirable!" said Vivian; "von Chronicle himself--"

"How can you mention the name of that odious man!" almost shriekedMadame Carolina, forgetting the dignity of her semi-regal character inthe jealous feelings of the author. "How can you mention him! Ascribbler without a spark, not only of genius, but even of commoninvention. A miserable fellow, who seems to do nothing but clothe andamplify, in his own fantastic style, the details of a parcel of oldchronicles!"

Madame's indignation reminded Vivian of a true but rather vulgar proverbof his own country; and he extricated himself from his very awkwardsituation with a dexterity worthy of his former years. 

"Von Chronicle himself, " said Vivian; "von Chronicle himself, as I wasgoing to observe, will be the most mortified of all on the appearance ofyour work. He cannot be so blinded by self-conceit as to fail to observethat your history is a thousand times more interesting than his fiction. Ah! Madame, if you can thus spread enchantment over the hitherto wearypage of history, what must be your work of imagination!"

CHAPTER V

Vivian met Emilius von Aslingen in his ride through the gardens. As thatdistinguished personage at present patronised the English nation, andastounded the Reisenburg natives by driving an English mail, ridingEnglish horses, and ruling English grooms, he deigned to be exceedinglycourteous to our hero, whom he had publicly declared at the soirée ofthe preceding night to be "very good style. " Such a character from sucha man raised Vivian even more in the estimation of the Reisenburg worldthan his flattering reception by the Grand Duke and his cordial greetingby Madame Carolina. 

"Shall you be at the Grand Marshal's to-night?" asked Vivian. 

"Ah! that is the new man, the man who was mediatised, is not it?"

"The Prince of Little Lilliput. "

"Yes!" drawled out Mr. Von Aslingen. "I shall go if I have courageenough; but they say his servants wear skins, and he has got a tail. "

The ball-room was splendidly illuminated. The whole of the Royal Familywas present, and did honour to their new officer of state; his RoyalHighness all smiles, and his Consort all diamonds. Stars and uniforms, ribbons and orders, abounded. The diplomatic body wore the dresses oftheir respective Courts. Emilius von Aslingen, having given out in themorning that he should appear as a captain in the Royal Guards, theyoung lords and fops of fashion were consequently ultra military. Theywere not a little annoyed when, late in the evening, their model loungedin, wearing the rich scarlet uniform of a Knight of Malta, of whichnewly-revived order von Aslingen, who had served half a campaign againstthe Turks, was a member. 

The Royal Family had arrived only a few minutes: dancing had not yetcommenced. Vivian was at the top of the room, honoured by the notice ofMadame Carolina, who complained of his yesterday's absence from thepalace. Suddenly the universal hum and buzz which are always sounding ina crowded room were stilled; and all present, arrested in theirconversation and pursuits, stood with their heads turned towards thegreat door. Thither also Vivian looked, and, wonderstruck, beheld--Mr. Beckendorff. His singular appearance, for, with the exception of hiscavalry boots, he presented the same figure as when he first cameforward to receive the Prince of Little Lilliput and Vivian on the lawn, immediately attracted universal attention; but in this crowded roomthere were few who, either from actual experience or accurateinformation, were not ignorant that this personage was the PrimeMinister. The report spread like wildfire. Even the etiquette of aGerman ball-room, honoured as it was by the presence of the Court, wasno restraint to the curiosity and wonder of all present. Yes! evenEmilius von Aslingen raised his glass to his eye. But great as wasVivian's astonishment, it was not only occasioned by this unexpectedappearance of his former host. Mr. Beckendorff was not alone: a womanwas leaning on his left arm. A quick glance in a moment convinced Vivianthat she was not the original of the mysterious picture. The companionof Beckendorff was very young. Her full voluptuous growth gave you, fora moment, the impression that she was somewhat low in stature; but itwas only for a moment, for the lady was by no means short. Her beauty itis impossible to describe. It was of a kind that baffles all phrases, nor have I a single simile at command to make it more clearer moreconfused. Her luxurious form, her blonde complexion, her silken hair, would have all become the languishing Sultana; but then her eyes, theybanished all idea of the Seraglio, and were the most decidedly European, though the most brilliant that ever glanced; eagles might have provedtheir young at them. To a countenance which otherwise would have beencalm, and perhaps pensive, they gave an expression of extreme vivacityand unusual animation, and perhaps of restlessness and arrogance: itmight have been courage. The lady was dressed in the costume of aChanoinesse??? of a Couvent des dames nobles; an institution to whichProtestant and Catholic ladles are alike admitted. The orange-colouredcordon of her canonry was slung gracefully over her plain black silkdress, and a diamond cross hung below her waist. 

Mr. Beckendorff and his fair companion were instantly welcomed by theGrand Marshal; and Arnelm and half-a-dozen Chamberlains, all in newuniforms, and extremely agitated, did their utmost, by their exertionsin clearing the way, to prevent the Prime Minister of Reisenburg frompaying his respects to his Sovereign. At length, however, Mr. Beckendorff reached the top of the room, and presented the young lady tohis Royal Highness, and also to Madame Carolina. Vivian had retired ontheir approach, and now found himself among a set of young officers, idolators of von Aslingen, and of white hats lined with crimson. "Whocan she be?" was the universal question. Though all by the queryacknowledged their ignorance, yet it is singular that, at the same time, every one was prepared with a response to it. Such are the sources ofaccurate information!

"And that is Beckendorff, is it?" exclaimed the young Count ofEberstein; "and his daughter, of course! Well; there is nothing likebeing a plebeian and a Prime Minister! I suppose Beckendorff will bringan anonymous friend to Court next. "

"She cannot be his daughter, " said Bernstorff. "To be a Chanoinesse ofthat order, remember, she must be noble. "

"Then she must be his niece, " answered the young Count of Eberstein. "Ithink I do remember some confused story about a sister of Beckendorffwho ran away with some Wirtemberg Baron. What was that story, Gernsbach?"

"No, it was not his sister, " said the Baron of Gernsbach; "it was hisaunt, I think. "

"Beckendorff's aunt; what an idea! As if he ever had an aunt! Men of hiscalibre make themselves out of mud. They have no relations. Well, nevermind; there was some story, I am sure, about some woman or other. Dependupon it that this girl is the child of that woman, whether she be aunt, niece, or daughter. I shall go and tell every one that I know the wholebusiness; this girl is the daughter of some woman or other. " So saying, away walked the young Count of Eberstein, to disseminate in alldirections the important conclusion to which his logical head hadallowed him to arrive. 

"Von Weinbren, " said the Baron of Gernsbach, "how can you account forthis mysterious appearance of the Premier?"

"Oh! when men are on the decline they do desperate things. I suppose itis to please the renegado. "

"Hush! there's the Englishman behind you. "

"On dit, another child of Beckendorff. "

"Oh no! secret mission. "

"Ah! indeed. "

"Here comes von Aslingen! Well, great Emilius! how solve you thismystery?"

"What mystery? Is there one?"

"I allude to this wonderful appearance of Beckendorff. "

"Beckendorff! what a name! Who is he?"

"Nonsense! the Premier. "

"Well!"

"You have seen him, of course; he is here. Have you just come in?"

"Beckendorff here!" said von Aslingen, in a tone of affected horror; "Idid not know that the fellow was to be visited. It is all over withReisenburg. I shall go to Vienna to-morrow. "

But hark! the sprightly music calls to the dance; and first the statelyPolonaise, in easy gradation between walking and dancing. To thesurprise of the whole room and the indignation of main of the highnobles, the Crown Prince of Reisenburg led off the Polonaise with theunknown fair one. Such an attention to Beckendorff was a distressingproof of present power and favour. The Polonaise is a dignifiedpromenade, with which German balls invariably commence. The cavaliers, with an air of studied grace, offer their right hands to their fairpartners; and the whole party, in a long file, accurately follow theleading couple through all their scientific evolutions, as they windthrough every part of the room. Waltzes in sets speedily followed thePolonaise; and the unknown, who was now an object of universalattention, danced with Count von Sohnspeer, another of Beckendorff'snumerous progeny, if the reader remember. How scurvily are poor singlegentlemen who live alone treated by the candid tongues of theirfellow-creatures! The commander-in-chief of the Reisenburg troops wascertainly a partner of a different complexion from the young lady'sprevious one. The crown Prince had undertaken his duty with reluctance, and had performed it without grace; not a single word had he exchangedwith his partner during the promenade, and his genuine listlessness waseven more offensive than affected apathy. Von Sohnspeer, on thecontrary, danced in the true Vienna style, and whirled like a Dervish. All our good English prejudices against the soft, the swimming, thesentimental, melting, undulating, dangerous waltz would quicklydisappear, if we only executed the dreaded manoeuvres in the trueAustrian style. One might as soon expect our daughters to getsentimental in a swing. 

Vivian did not choose to presume upon his late acquaintance with Mr. Beckendorff, as it had not been sought by that gentleman, and heconsequently did not pay his respects to the Minister. Mr. Beckendorffcontinued at the top of the room, standing between the State chairs ofhis Royal Highness and Madame Carolina, and occasionally addressing anobservation to his Sovereign and answering one of the lady's. Had Mr. Beckendorff been in the habit of attending balls nightly he could nothave exhibited more perfect nonchalance. There he stood, with his armscrossed behind him, his chin resting on his breast, and his raisedeyes glancing!

"My dear Prince, " said Vivian to the Grand Marshal, "you are just theperson I wanted to speak to. How came you to invite Beckendorff, and howcame he to accept the invitation?"

"My dear friend, " said his Highness, shrugging his shoulders, "wonderswill never cease. I never invited him; I should just as soon havethought of inviting old Johannisberger. "

"Were you not aware, then, of his intention?"

"Not in the least! you should rather say attention; for, I assure you, Iconsider it a most particular one. It is quite astonishing, my dearfriend, how I mistook that man's character. He really is one of the mostgentlemanlike, polite, and excellent persons I know; no more mad thanyou are! And as for his power being on the decline, we know thenonsense of that!"

"Better than most persons, I suspect. Sievers, of course, is not here?"

"No! you have heard about him, I suppose?"

"Heard! heard what?"

"Not heard! well, he told me yesterday, and said he was going to callupon you directly to let you know. "

"Know what?"

"He is a very sensible man, Sievers; and I am very glad at last that heis likely to succeed in the world. All men have their littleimprudences, and he was a little too hot once. What of that? He has cometo his senses, so have I; and I hope you will never lose yours. "

"But, pray, my dear Prince, tell me what has happened to Sievers. "

"He is going to Vienna immediately, and will be very useful there, Ihave no doubt. He has got a good place, and I am sure he will do hisduty. They cannot have an abler man. "

"Vienna! that is the last city in the world in which I should expect tofind Mr. Sievers. What place can he have? and what services can heperform there?"

"Many! he is to be Editor of the Austrian Observer, and Censor of theAustrian Press. I thought he would do well at last. All men have theirimprudent day. I had. I cannot stop now. I must go and speak to theCountess von S----. "

As Vivian was doubting whether he should most grieve or laugh at thissingular termination of Mr. Sievers' career, his arm was suddenlytouched, and on turning round he found it was by Mr. Beckendorff. 

"There is another strong argument, sir, " said the Minister, without anyof the usual phrases of recognition; "there is another strong argumentagainst your doctrine of Destiny. " And then Mr. Beckendorff, takingVivian by the arm, began walking up and down part of the saloon withhim; and in a few minutes, quite forgetting the scene of the discussion, he was involved in metaphysics. This incident created another greatsensation, and whispers of "secret mission, Secretary of State, decidedly a son, " &c. &c. &c. Were in an instant afloat in all partsof the room. 

The approach of his Royal Highness extricated Vivian from an argumentwhich was as profound as it was interminable; and as Mr. Beckendorffretired with the Grand Duke into a recess in the ball-room, Vivian wasrequested by von Neuwied to attend his Excellency the Grand Marshal. 

"My dear friend, " said the Prince, "I saw you talking with a certainperson, I did not say anything to you when I passed you before; but, totell you the truth now, I was a little annoyed that he had not spoken toyou. I knew you were as proud as Lucifer, and would not salute himyourself; and between ourselves I had no great wish you should, for, notto conceal it, he did not even mention your name. But the reason of thisis now quite evident, and you must confess he is remarkably courteous. You know, if you remember, we thought that incognito was a littleaffected; rather annoying, if you recollect. I remember in the greenlane you gave him a gentle cut about it. It was spirited, and I dare saydid good. Well! what I was going to say about that is this; I dare saynow, after all, " continued his Excellency, with a knowing look, "acertain person had very good reasons for that; not that he ever toldthem to me, nor that I have the slightest idea of them; but when aperson is really so exceedingly polite and attentive I always think hewould never do anything disagreeable without a cause; and it wasexceedingly disagreeable, if you remember, my dear friend. I never knewto whom he was speaking. Von Philipson indeed! Well! we did not think, the day we were floundering down that turf road, that it would end inthis. Rather a more brilliant scene than the Giants' Hall at Turriparva, I think, eh? But all men have their imprudent days; the best way is toforget them. There was poor Sievers; who ever did more imprudent thingsthan he? and now it is likely he will do very well in the world, eh?What I want of you, my dear friend, is this. There is that girl whocame with Beckendorff; who the deuce she is, I don't know: let us hopethe best! We must pay her every attention. I dare say she is hisdaughter. You have not forgotten the portrait. Well! we all were gayonce. All men have their imprudent day; why should not Beckendorff?Speaks rather in his favour, I think. Well, this girl; his RoyalHighness very kindly made the Crown Prince walk the Polonaise with her;very kind of him, and very proper. What attention can be too great forthe daughter or friend of such a man! a man who, in two words, may besaid to have made Reisenburg. For what was Reisenburg beforeBeckendorff? Ah! what? Perhaps we were happier then, after all; and thenthere was no Royal Highness to bow to; no person to be condescending, except ourselves. But never mind! we will forget. After all, this lifehas its charms. What a brilliant scene! but this girl, every attentionshould be paid her. The Crown Prince was so kind as to walk thePolonaise with her. And von Sohnspeer; he is a brute, to be sure; butthen he is a Field Marshal. Now, I think, considering what has takenplace between Beckendorff and yourself, and the very distinguishedmanner in which he recognised you; I think, that after all this, andconsidering everything, the etiquette is for you, particularly as youare a foreigner, and my personal friend; indeed, my most particularfriend, for in fact I owe everything to you, my life, and more than mylife; I think, I repeat, considering all this, that the least you can dois to ask her to dance with you; and I, as the host, will introduce you. I am sorry, my dear friend, " continued his Excellency, with a look ofgreat regret, "to introduce you to--; but we will not speak about it. Wehave no right to complain of Mr. Beckendorff. No person could possiblybehave to us in a manner more gentlemanlike. "

After an introductory speech in his Excellency's happiest manner, and inwhich an eulogium of Vivian and a compliment to the fair unknown gotalmost as completely entangled as the origin of slavery and the historyof the feudal system in his more celebrated harangue, Vivian foundhimself waltzing with the anonymous beauty. The Grand Marshal, duringthe process of introduction, had given the young lady every opportunityof declaring her name; but every opportunity was thrown away. "She mustbe incog. , " whispered his Excellency; "Miss von Philipson, I suppose?"

Vivian was not a little desirous of discovering the nature of therelationship or connection between Beckendorff and his partner. Therapid waltz allowed no pause for conversation; but after the danceVivian seated himself at her side, with the determination of not quicklydeserting it The lady did not even allow him the satisfaction ofcommencing the conversation; for no sooner was she seated than shebegged to know who the person was with whom she had previously waltzed. The history of Count von Sohnspeer amused her; and no sooner had Vivianfinished his anecdote than the lady said, "Ah! I so: you are an amusingperson. Now tell me the history of everybody in the room. "

"Really, " said Vivian, "I fear I shall forfeit my reputation of beingamusing very speedily, for I am almost as great a stranger at this Courtas you appear to be yourself. Count von Sohnspeer is too celebrated apersonage at Reisenburg to have allowed even me to be long ignorant ofhis history; and as for the rest, as far as I can judge, they are mostof them as obscure as myself, and not nearly as interesting as you are!"

"Are you an Englishman?" asked the lady. 

"I am. "

"I supposed so, both from your travelling and your appearance: I thinkthe English countenance very peculiar. "

"Indeed! we do not flatter ourselves so at home. "

"Yes! it is peculiar. " said the lady, in a tone which seemed to implythat contradiction was unusual; "and I think that you are all handsome!I admire the English, which in this part of the world is singular: theSouth, you know, is generally francisé. "

"I am aware of that, " said Vivian. "There, for instance, " pointing to apompous-looking personage who at that moment strutted by; "there, forinstance, is the most francisé person in all Reisenburg! that is ourGrand Chamberlain. He considers himself a felicitous copy of Louis theFourteenth! He allows nothing in his opinions and phrases but what isorthodox. As it generally happens in such cases, his orthodoxy is ratherobsolete. "

"Who is that Knight of Malta?" asked the lady. 

"The most powerful individual in the room, " answered Vivian. 

"Who can he be?" asked the lady, with eagerness. 

"Behold him, and tremble!" rejoined Vivian: "for with him it rests todecide whether you are civilised or a savage; whether you are to beabhorred or admired: idolised or despised. Nay, do not be alarmed! thereare a few heretics, even in Reisenburg, who, like myself, value fromconviction, and not from fashion, and who will be ever ready, in spiteof a von Aslingen anathema, to evince our admiration where it is due. "

The lady pleaded fatigue as an excuse for not again dancing; and Viviandid not quit her side. Her lively remarks, piquant observations, andsingular questions highly amused him; and he was flattered by theevident gratification which his conversation afforded her. It waschiefly of the principal members of the Court that she spoke: she wasdelighted with Vivian's glowing character of Madame Carolina, whom shesaid she had this evening seen for the first time. Who this unknowncould be was a question which often occurred to him; and the singularityof a man like Beckendorff suddenly breaking through his habits andoutraging the whole system of his existence, to please a daughter, orniece, or female cousin, did not fail to strike him. 

"I have the honour of being acquainted with Mr. Beckendorff, " saidVivian. This was the first time that the Minister's name had beenmentioned. 

"I perceived you talking with him, " was the answer. 

"You are staying, I suppose, at Mr. Beckendorff's?"

"Not at present. "

"You have, of course, been at his retreat; delightful place!"

"Yes!"

"Are you an ornithologist?" asked Vivian, smiling. 

"Not at all scientific; but I, of course, can now tell a lory from aJava sparrow, and a bullfinch from a canary. The first day I was there, I never shall forget the surprise I experienced, when, after the noonmeal being finished, the aviary door was opened. After that I always letthe creatures out myself; and one day I opened all the cages at once. Ifyou could but have witnessed the scene! I am sure you would have beenquite delighted with it. As for poor Mr. Beckendorff, I thought even hewould have gone out of his mind; and when I brought in the white peacockhe actually left the room in despair. Pray how do you like Madame Claraand Owlface too? Which do you think the most beautiful? I am no greatfavourite with the old lady. Indeed, it was very kind of Mr. Beckendorffto bear with everything as he did: I am sure he is not much used to ladyvisitors. "

"I trust that your visit to him will not be very short?"

"My stay at Reisenburg will not be very long, " said the young lady, with rather a grave countenance, "Have you been here any time?"

"About a fortnight; it was a, mere chance my coming at all. I was goingon straight to Vienna. "

"To Vienna, indeed! Well, I am glad you did not miss Reisenburg; youmust not quit it now. You know that this is not the Vienna season?"

"I am aware of it; but I am such a restless person that I never regulatemy movements by those of other people"

"But surely you find Reisenburg agreeable?"

"Very much so; but I am a confirmed wanderer. '

"Why are you?" asked the lady, with great naïveté. 

Vivian looked grave; and the lady, as if she were sensible of havingunintentionally occasioned him a painful recollection, again expressedher wish that he should not immediately quit the Court, and trusted thatcircumstances would not prevent him from acceding to her desire. 

"It does not even depend upon circumstances, " said Vivian; "the whim ofthe moment is my only principle of action, and therefore I may be offto-night, or be here a month hence. "

"Oh! pray stay then, " said his companion eagerly; "I expect you to staynow. If you could only have an idea what a relief conversing with youis, after having been dragged by the Crown Prince and whirled by thatvon Sohnspeer! Heigho! I could almost sigh at the very remembrance ofthat doleful Polonaise. "

The lady ended with a faint laugh a sentence which apparently had beencommenced in no light vein. She did not cease speaking, but continued torequest Vivian to remain at Reisenburg at least as long as herself. Herfrequent requests were perfectly unnecessary, for the promise had beenpledged at the first: hint of her wish; but this was not the only timeduring the evening that Vivian had remarked that his interestingcompanion occasionally talked without apparently being sensible that shewas conversing. 

The young Count of Eberstein, who, to use his own phrase, was "sadlyinvolved, " and consequently desirous of being appointed a forestCouncillor, thought that he should secure his appointment bycondescending to notice the person whom he delicately styled "theMinister's female relative. " To his great mortification and surprise, the honour was declined; and "the female relative, " being unwilling todance again, but perhaps feeling it necessary to break off herconversation with her late partner, it having already lasted an unusualtime, highly gratified his Excellency the Grand Marshal by declaringthat she would dance with Prince Maximilian. "This, to say the least, was very attentive of Miss von Philipson. "

Little Max, who had just tact enough to discover that to be the partnerof the fair incognita was the place of honour of the evening, nowconsidered himself by much the most important personage in the room. Infact, he was only second to Emilius von Aslingen. The evident contestwhich was ever taking place between his natural feelings as a boy andhis acquired habits as a courtier made him an amusing companion. Hetalked of the Gardens and the Opera in a style not unworthy of the youngCount of Eberstein. He thought that Madame Carolina was as charming asusual to-night; but, on the contrary, that the Countess von S---- waslooking rather ill, and this put him in mind of her ladyship's newequipage; and then, apropos to equipages, what did his companion thinkof the new fashion of the Hungarian harness? His lively and kindcompanion encouraged the boy's tattle; and, emboldened by her goodnature, he soon forgot his artificial speeches, and was quickly rattlingon about Turriparva, and his horses, and his dogs, and his park, and hisguns, and his grooms. Soon after the waltz, the lady, taking the arm ofthe young Prince, walked up to Mr. Beckendorff. He received her withgreat attention, and led her to Madame Carolina, who rose, seated Mr. Beckendorff's "female relative" by her side, and evidently saidsomething extremely agreeable. 

CHAPTER VI

Vivian had promised Madame Carolina a second English lesson on the dayafter the Grand Marshal's fete. The progress which the lady had made, and the talent which the gentleman had evinced during the first, hadrendered Madame the most enthusiastic of pupils, and Vivian, in herestimation, the ablest of instructors. Madame Carolina's passion waspatronage: to discover concealed merit, to encourage neglected genius, to reveal the mysteries of the world to a novice in mankind, or, inshort, to make herself very agreeable to any one whom she fancied to bevery interesting, was the great business and the great delight of herexistence. No sooner had her eyes lighted on Vivian Grey than shedetermined to patronise. His country, his appearance, the romanticmanner in which he had become connected with the Court, all pleased herlively imagination. She was intuitively acquainted with his wholehistory, and in an instant he was the hero of a romance, of which thepresence of the principal character compensated, we may suppose, for thesomewhat indefinite details. His taste and literary acquirementscompleted the spell by which Madame Carolina was willingly enchanted. Alow Dutch professor, whose luminous genius rendered unnecessary theceremony of shaving; and a dumb dwarf, in whose interesting appearancewas forgotten its perfect idiocy, prosy improvisatore, and a SouthAmerican savage, were all superseded by the appearance of Vivian Grey. 

As Madame Carolina was, in fact, a charming woman, our hero had noobjection to humour her harmless foibles; and not contented with makingnotes in an interleaved copy of her Charlemagne, he even promised toread Haroun Al Raschid in manuscript. The consequence of his courtesyand the reward of his taste was unbounded favour. Apartments in thepalace were offered him, and declined; and when Madame Carolina hadIncome acquainted with sufficient of his real history to know that, onhis part, neither wish nor necessity existed to return immediately tohis own country, she tempted him to remain at Reisenburg by an offer ofa place at Court; and doubtless, had he been willing, Vivian might intime have become a Lord Chamberlain, or perhaps even a Field Marshal. 

On entering the room the morning in question he found Madame Carolinawriting. At the end of the apartment a lady ceased, on his appearance, humming an air to which she was dancing, and at the same time imitatingcastanets. Madame received Vivian with expressions of delight, sayingalso, in a peculiar and confidential manner, that she was just sealingup a packet for him, the preface of Haroun; and then she presented himto "the Baroness!" The lady who was lately dancing came forward. It washis unknown partner of the preceding night. "The Baroness" extended herhand to Vivian, and unaffectedly expressed her great pleasure at seeinghim again. Vivian trusted that she was not fatigued by the fête, andasked after Mr. Beckendorff. Madame Carolina was busily engaged at themoment in duly securing the precious preface. The Baroness said that Mr. Beckendorff had returned home, but that Madame Carolina had kindlyinsisted upon her staying at the palace. She was not the least wearied. Last night had been one of the most agreeable she had ever spent; atleast she supposed she ought to say so: for if she had experienced atedious or mournful feeling for a moment, it was hardly for what wasthen passing so much as for--"

"Pray, Mr. Grey, " said Madame Carolina, interrupting them, "have youheard about our new ballet?"

"No. "

"I do not think you have ever been to our Opera. To-morrow is Operanight, and you must not be again away. We pride ourselves here very muchupon our Opera. "

"We estimate it even in England, " said Vivian, "as possessing perhapsthe most perfect orchestra now organised. "

"The orchestra is perfect. His Royal Highness is such an excellentmusician, and he has spared no trouble or expense in forming it: he hasalways superintended it himself. But I confess I admire our balletdepartment still more. I expect you to be delighted with it. You willperhaps be gratified to know that the subject of our new splendidballet, which is to be produced to-morrow, is from a great work of yourillustrious poet, my Lord Byron. "

"From which?"

"The Corsair. Ah! what a sublime work! what passion! what energy! whatknowledge of feminine feeling! what contrast of character! whatsentiments! what situations! I wish this were Opera night; Gulnare! myfavourite character; beautiful! How do you think they will dress her?"

"Are you an admirer of our Byron?" asked Vivian, of the Baroness. 

"I think he is a very handsome man. I once saw him at the carnival atVenice. "

"But his works; his grand works! ma chère petite, " said Madame Carolina, in her sweetest tone: "you have read his works?"

"Not a line, " answered the Baroness, with great naïveté; "I never sawthem. "

"Pauvre enfant!" said Madame Carolina; "I will employ you, then, whileyou are here. "

"I never read, " said the Baroness; "I cannot bear it. I like poetry andromances, but I like somebody to read to me. "

"Very just, " said Madame Carolina; "we can judge with greater accuracyof the merit of a composition when it reaches our mind merely throughthe medium of the human voice. The soul is an essence, invisible andindivisible. In this respect the voice of man resembles the principle ofhis existence; since few will deny, though there are some materialistswho will deny everything, that the human voice is both impalpable andaudible only in one place at the same time. Hence, I ask, is itillogical to infer its indivisibility? The soul and the voice, then, aresimilar in two great attributes: there is a secret harmony in theirspiritual construction. In the early ages of mankind a beautifultradition was afloat that the soul and the voice were one and the same. We may perhaps recognise in this fanciful belief the effect of thefascinating and imaginative philosophy of the East; that mysteriousportion of the globe, " continued Madame Carolina, "from which we shouldfrankly confess that we derive everything; for the South is but thepupil of the East, through the mediation of Egypt. Of this opinion, "said Madame with fervour, "I have no doubt: of this opinion, " continuedthe lady with enthusiasm, "I have boldly avowed myself a votary in adissertation appended to the second volume of Haroun: for this opinion Iwould die at the stake! Oh, lovely East! why was I not oriental! Landwhere the voice of the nightingale is never mute! Land of the cedar andthe citron, the turtle and the myrtle, of ever-blooming flowers andever-shining skies! Illustrious East! Cradle of Philosophy! My dearestBaroness, why do not you feel as I do? From the East we obtaineverything!"

"Indeed!" said the Baroness, with simplicity; "I thought we only gotshawls. "

This puzzling answer was only noticed by Vivian; for the truth is, Madame Carolina was one of those individuals who never attend to anyperson's answers. Always thinking of herself, she only asked questionsthat she herself might supply the responses. And now having made, as sheflattered herself, a splendid display to her favourite critic, she beganto consider what had given rise to her oration. Lord Byron and theballet again occurred to her; and as the Baroness, at least, was notunwilling to listen, and as she herself had no manuscript of her ownwhich she particularly wished to be perused, she proposed that Vivianshould read to them part of the Corsair, and in the original tongue. Madame Carolina opened the volume at the first prison scene betweenGulnare and Conrad. It was her favourite. Vivian read with care andfeeling. Madame was in raptures, and the Baroness, although she did notunderstand a single syllable, seemed almost equally delighted. At lengthVivian came to this passage:

 My love stern Seyd's! Oh, no, no, not my love! Yet much this heart, that strives no more, once strove To meet his passion; but it would not be. I felt, I feel, love dwells with, with the free. I am a slave, a favour'd slave at best, To share his splendour, and seem very blest! Oft must my soul the question undergo, Of, "Dost thou love?" and burn to answer, "No!" Oh! hard it is that fondness to sustain, And struggle not to feel averse in vain; But harder still the heart's recoil to bear, And hide from one, perhaps another there; He takes the hand I give not nor withhold, Its pulse nor checked nor quickened, calmly cold: And when resign'd, it drops a lifeless weight From one I never loved enough to hate. No warmth these lips return by his imprest, And chill'd remembrance shudders o'er the rest. Yes, had I ever prov'd that passion's zeal, The change to hatred were at least to feel: But still, he goes unmourn'd, returns unsought, And oft when present, absent from my thought. Or when reflection comes, and come it must, I fear that henceforth 'twill but bring disgust: I am his slave; but, in despite of pride, 'Twere worse than bondage to become his bride. 

"Superb!" said Madame, in a voice of enthusiasm; "how true! whatpassion! what energy! what sentiments! what knowledge of femininefeeling! Read it again, I pray: it is my favourite passage. "

"What is this passage about?" asked the Baroness, with some anxiety;"tell me. "

"I have a French translation, ma mignonne, " said Madame; "you shall haveit afterwards. "

"No! I detest reading, " said the young lady, with an imperious air;"translate it to me at once. "

"You are rather a self-willed beauty!" thought Vivian; "but your eyesare so brilliant that nothing must be refused you!" and so hetranslated it. 

On its conclusion Madame was again in raptures. The Baroness was notless affected, but she said nothing. She appeared agitated; she changedcolour, raised her beautiful eyes with an expression of sorrow, lookedat Vivian earnestly, and then walked to the other end of the room. In afew moments she returned to her seat. 

"I wish you would tell me the story, " she said, with earnestness. 

"I have a French translation, ma belle!" said Madame Carolina; "atpresent I wish to trouble Mr. Grey with a few questions. " MadameCarolina led Vivian into a recess. 

"I am sorry we are troubled with this sweet little savage; but I thinkshe has talent, though evidently quite uneducated. We must do what wecan for her. Her ignorance of all breeding is amusing, but then I thinkshe has a natural elegance. We shall soon polish her. His Royal Highnessis so anxious that every attention should be paid to her. Beckendorff, you know, is a man of the greatest genius. " (Madame Carolina had loweredher tone about the Minister since the Prince of Little Lilliput'sapostasy. ) "The country is greatly indebted to him. This, betweenourselves, is his daughter. At least I have no doubt of it. Beckendorffwas once married, to a lady of great rank, died early, beautiful woman, very interesting! His Royal Highness had a great regard for her. ThePremier, in his bereavement, turned humorist, and has brought up thislovely girl in the oddest possible manner; nobody knows where. Now thathe finds it necessary to bring her forward, he, of course, is quite at aloss. His Royal Highness has applied to me. There was a little coldnessbefore between the Minister and myself. It is now quite removed. I mustdo what I can for her I think she must marry von Sohnspeer, who is nomore Beckendorff's son than you are: or young Eberstein, or youngBernstorff, or young Gernsbach. We must do something for her. I offeredher last night to Emilius von Aslingen; but he said that, unfortunately, he was just importing a savage or two of his own from the Brazils, andconsequently was not in want of her. "

A chamberlain now entered, to announce the speedy arrival of his RoyalHighness. The Baroness, without ceremony, expressed her great regretthat he was coming, as now she should not hear the wished-for story. Madame Carolina reproved her, and the reproof was endured rather thansubmitted to. 

His Royal Highness entered, and was accompanied by the Crown Prince. Hegreeted the young lady with great kindness; and even the Crown Prince, inspired by his father's unusual warmth, made a shuffling kind of bowand a stuttering kind of speech. Vivian was about to retire on theentrance of the Grand Duke, but Madame Carolina prevented him fromgoing, and his Royal Highness, turning round, very graciously secondedher desire, and added that Mr. Grey was the very gentleman with whom hewas desirous of meeting. 

"I am anxious, " said he to Vivian, in rather a low tone, "to makeReisenburg agreeable to Mr. Beckendorff's fair friend. As you are one ofthe few who are honoured by his intimacy, and are familiar with some ofour state secrets, " added the Grand Duke with a smile, "I am sure itwill give you pleasure to assist me in the execution of my wishes. "

His Royal Highness proposed that the ladies should ride; and he himself, with the Crown Prince and Mr. Grey, would attend them. Madame Carolinaexpressed her willingness; but the Baroness, like all forward girlsunused to the world, suddenly grew at the same time both timid anddisobliging. She looked sullen and discontented, and coolly said thatshe did not feel in the humour to ride for at least these two hours. ToVivian's surprise, even the Grand Duke humoured her fancy, and declaredthat he should then be happy to attend them after the Court dinner. Until that time Vivian was amused by Madame, and the Grand Dukeexclusively devoted himself to the Baroness. His Royal Highness was inhis happiest mood, and his winning manners and elegant conversation soonchased away the cloud which, for a moment, had settled on the younglady's fair brow. 

CHAPTER VII

The Grand Duke of Reisenburg was an enthusiastic lover of music, and hispeople were consequently music mad. The whole city were fiddling day andnight, or blowing trumpets, oboes, and bassoons. Sunday, however, wasthe most harmonious day in the week. The Opera amused the Court and thewealthiest citizens, and few private houses could not boast their familyconcert or small party of performers. In the tea-gardens, of which therewere many in the suburbs of the city, bearing the euphonious, romantic, and fashionable titles of Tivoli, Arcadia, and Vauxhall, a strong andamateur orchestra was never wanting. Strolling through the city on aSunday afternoon, many a pleasing picture of innocent domestic enjoymentmight, he observed. In the arbour of a garden a very stout man, with afair, broad, good-natured, solid German face, may be seen perspiringunder the scientific exertion of the French horn; himself wiselydisembarrassed of the needless incumbrance of his pea-green coat andshowy waistcoat, which lay neatly folded by his side; while his largeand sleepy blue eyes actually gleam with enthusiasm. His daughter, asoft and delicate girl, touches the light guitar: catching the notes ofthe music from the opened opera, which is placed before the father on amassy music-stand. Her voice joins in melody with her mother, who, likeall German mothers, seems only her daughter's self, subdued by anadditional twenty years. The bow of one violin is handled with the airof a master by an elder brother; while a younger one, an universitystudent, grows sentimental over the flute. The same instrument is alsoplayed by a tall and tender-looking young man in black, who standsbehind the parents, next to the daughter, and occasionally looks off hismusic-book to gaze on his young mistress's eyes. He is a clerk in apublic office; and on next Michaelmas day, if he succeed, as he hopes, in gaining a small addition to his salary, he will be still moreentitled to join in the Sunday family concert. Such is one of thenumerous groups, the sight of which must, assuredly, give pleasure toevery man who delights in seeing his fellow-creatures refreshed aftertheir weekly labours by such calm and rational enjoyment. We wouldgladly linger among such scenes; and, moreover, the humours of aguinguette are not unworthy of our attention: but we must introduce thereader to a more important party. 

The Court chapel and the Court dinner are over. We are in theOpera-house of Reisenburg; and, of course, rise as the Royal partyenters. The house, which is of moderate size, was fitted up withsplendour: we hardly know whether we should say with great taste; for, although not merely the scenery, but indeed every part of the house, waspainted by eminent artists, the style of the ornaments was ratherpatriotic than tasteful. The house had been built immediately after thewar, at a period when Reisenburg, flushed with the success of its thirtythousand men, imagined itself to be a great military nation. Trophies, standards, cannon, eagles, consequently appeared in every corner of theOpera-house; and quite superseded lyres, and timbrels, and tragicdaggers, and comic masks. The royal box was constructed in the form of atent, and held nearly fifty persons. It was exactly in the centre of thehouse, its floor over the back of the pit, and its roof reaching to thetop of the second circle; its crimson hangings were restrained by ropesof gold, and the whole was surmounted by a large and radiant crown. Thehouse was merely lighted by a chandelier from the centre. 

The Opera for the evening was Rossini's Otello. As soon as the GrandDuke entered the overture commenced, his Royal Highness coming forwardto the front of the box and himself directing the musicians, keepingtime earnestly with his right hand, in which was a long blackopera-glass. This he occasionally used, but merely to look at theorchestra, not, assuredly, to detect a negligent or inefficientperformer; for in the schooled orchestra of Reisenburg it would havebeen impossible even for the eagle eye of his Royal Highness, assistedas it was by his long black opera-glass, or for his fine ear, matured asit was by the most complete study, to discover there either inattentionor feebleness. The house was perfectly silent; for when the Monarchdirects the orchestra the world goes to the Opera to listen. Perfectsilence at Reisenburg, then, was etiquette and the fashion. Between theacts of the Opera, however, the Ballet was performed; and then everybodymight talk, and laugh, and remark as much as they chose. 

The Grand Duke prided himself as much upon the accuracy of his sceneryand dresses and decorations as upon the exquisite skill of hisperformers. In truth, an Opera at Reisenburg was a spectacle which couldnot fail to be interesting to a man of taste. When the curtain drew upthe first scene presented a view of old Brabantio's house. It wasaccurately copied from one of the sumptuous structures of Scamozzi, orSansovino, or Palladio, which adorn the Grand Canal of Venice. In thedistance rose the domes of St. Mark and the lofty Campanile. Viviancould not fail to be delighted with this beautiful work of art, for suchindeed it should be styled. He was more surprised, however, but not lesspleased, on the entrance of Othello himself. In England we areaccustomed to deck this adventurous Moor in the costume of his nativecountry; but is this correct? The Grand Duke of Reisenburg thought not. Othello was an adventurer; at an early age he entered, as manyforeigners did, into the service of Venice. In that service be rose tothe highest dignities, became General of her armies and of her fleets, and finally the Viceroy of her favourite kingdom. Is it natural tosuppose that such a man should have retained, during his successfulcareer, the manners and dress of his original country? Ought we notrather to admit that, had he done so his career would, in fact, not havebeen successful? In all probability, he imitated to affectation themanners of the country which he had adopted. It is not probable that insuch or in any age the turbaned Moor would have been treated with greatdeference by the common Christian soldier of Venice; or, indeed, thatthe scandal of a heathen leading the armies of one of the most powerfulof European States would have been tolerated for an instant by indignantChristendom. If Shylock even, the Jew merchant, confined to his quarter, and herding with his own sect, were bearded on the Rialto, in whatspirit would the Venetians have witnessed their doge and nobles, whomthey ranked above kings, holding equal converse, and loading with themost splendid honours of the Republic a follower of Mahound? Such werethe sentiments of the Grand Duke of Reisenburg on this subject, asubject interesting to Englishmen; and I confess I think that they areworthy of attention. In accordance with his opinions, the actor whoperformed Othello appeared in the full dress of a Venetian magnifico ofthe middle ages; a fit companion for Cornaro, or Grimani, or Barberigo, or Foscari. 

The first act of the Opera was finished. The Baroness expressed toVivian her great delight at its being over, as she was extremelydesirous of learning the story of the ballet, which she had not yet beenable to acquire. His translation of yesterday had greatly interestedher. Vivian shortly gave her the outline of the story of Conrad. Shelistened with much attention, but made no remark. 

The ballet at Reisenburg was not merely a vehicle for the display ofdancing. It professed by gesture and action, aided by music, toinfluence the minds of the spectators not less than the regular drama. Of this exhibition dancing was a casual ornament, as it is of life. Ittook place therefore only on fitting occasions, and grew out, in anatural manner, from some event in the history represented. Forinstance, suppose the story of Othello the subject of the ballet. Thedancing, in all probability, would be introduced at a grandentertainment given in celebration of the Moor's arrival at Cyprus. Allthis would be in character. Our feelings would not be outraged by ahusband chassezing forward to murder his wife, or by seeing the pillowpressed over the innocent Desdemona by the impulse of a pirouette. Inmost cases, therefore, the chief performers in this species of spectacleare not even dancers. This, however, may not always be the case. IfDiana be the heroine, poetical probability will not be offended by thegoddess joining in the chaste dance with her huntress nymphs; and werethe Baiadere of Goethe made the subject of a ballet, the Indian dancinggirl would naturally be the heroine both of the drama and the poem. There are few performances more affecting than the serious pantomime ofa master. In some of the most interesting situations it is in fact evenmore natural than the oral drama, logically it is more perfect; for thesoliloquy is actually thought before us, and the magic of therepresentation not destroyed by the sound of the human voice at a momentwhen we all know man never speaks. 

The curtain again rises. Sounds of revelry and triumph are heard fromthe Pirate Isle. They celebrate recent success. Various groups, accurately attired in the costume of the Greek islands, are seated onthe rocky foreground. On the left rises Medora's tower, on a craggysteep; and on the right gleams the blue Aegean. A procession of womenenters. It heralds the presence of Conrad and Medora; they honour thefestivity of their rude subjects. The pirates and the women join in thenational dance; and afterwards eight warriors, completely armed, move ina warlike measure, keeping time to the music with their bucklers andclattering sabres. Suddenly the dance ceases; a sail is in sight. Thenearest pirates rush to the strand, and assist the disembarkation oftheir welcome comrades. The commander of the vessel comes forward withan agitated step and gloomy countenance. He kneels to Conrad anddelivers him a scroll, which the chieftain reads with suppressedagitation. In a moment the faithful Juan is at his side, the contents ofthe scroll revealed, the dance broken up, and preparations made to sailin an hour's time to the city of the Pacha. The stage is cleared, andConrad and Medora are alone. The mysterious leader is wrapt in thedeepest abstraction. He stands with folded arms, and eyes fixed on theyellow sand. A gentle pressure on his arm calls him back torecollection; he starts, and turns to the intruder with a gloomy brow. He sees Medora, and his frown sinks into a sad smile. "And must we partagain! this hour, this very hour; it cannot be!" She clings to him withagony, and kneels to him with adoration. No hope, no hope! a quickreturn promised with an air of foreboding fate. His stern arm encirclesher waist. He chases the heavy tear from her fair cheek, and while hebids her be glad in his absence with her handmaids peals the sad thunderof the signal gun. She throws herself upon him. The frantic quickness ofher motion strikingly contrasts with the former stupor of herappearance. She will not part. Her face is buried in his breast; herlong fair hair floats over his shoulders. He is almost unnerved; but atthis moment the ship sails on; the crew and their afflicted wives enter;the page brings to Lord Conrad his cloak, his carbine, and his bugle. Hetears himself from her embrace, and without daring to look behind himbounds over the rocks, and is in the ship. The vessel moves, the wivesof the pirates continue on the beach, waving their scarfs to theirdesolate husbands. In the foreground Medora, motionless, stands rootedto the strand, and might have inspired Phidias with a personificationof Despair. 

In a hall of unparalleled splendour stern Seyd reclines on innumerablepillows, placed on a carpet of golden cloth. His bearded chiefs areranged around. The chambers are brilliantly illuminated, and an openingat the farther end of the apartments exhibits a portion of the shiningcity and the glittering galleys. Gulnare, covered with a silver veil, which reaches even to her feet, is ushered into the presence of thePacha. Even the haughty Seyd rises to honour his beautiful favourite. Hedraws the precious veil from her blushing features and places her on hisright hand. The dancing girls now appear, and then are introduced theprincipal artists. Now takes place the scientific part of the ballet;and here might Bias, or Noblet, or Ronzi Vestris, or her gracefulhusband, or the classical Albert, or the bounding Paul, vault withoutstint, and attitudinise without restraint, and not in the least impairthe effect of the tragic tale. The Dervise, of course, appears; thegalleys, of course, are fired; and Seyd, of course, retreats. A changein the scenery gives us the blazing Harem, the rescue of its inmates, the deliverance of Gulnare, the capture of Conrad. 

It is the prison scene. On a mat, covered with irons, lies the forlornConrad. The flitting flame of a solitary lamp hardly reveals the heavybars of the huge grate that forms the entrance to its cell. For someminutes nothing stirs. The mind of the spectator is allowed to becomefully aware of the hopeless misery of the hero. His career is ended, secure is his dungeon, trusty his guards, overpowering his chains. To-morrow he wakes to be impaled. A gentle noise, so gentle that thespectator almost deems it unintentional, is now heard. A white figureappears behind the dusky gate; is it a guard or a torturer? The gatesoftly opens, and a female conies forward. Gulnare was represented by agirl with the body of a Peri and the soul of a poetess. The Harem Queenadvances with an agitated step; she holds in her left hand a lamp, andin the girdle of her light dress is a dagger. She reaches with asoundless step the captive. He is asleep! Ay! he sleeps, while thousandsare weeping over his ravage or his ruin; and she, in restlessness, iswandering here! A thousand thoughts are seen coursing over her flushedbrow; she looks to the audience, and her dark eye asks why this Corsairis so dear to her. She turns again, and raises the lamp with her longwhite arm, that the light may fall on the captive's countenance. Shegazes, without moving, on the sleeper, touches the dagger with a slowand tremulous hand, and starts from the contact with terror. She againtouches it; it is drawn from her vest; it falls to the ground. He wakes;he stares with wonder; he sees a female not less fair than Medora. Confused, she tells him her station; she tells him that her pity is ascertain as his doom. He avows his readiness to die; he appearsundaunted, he thinks of Medora, he buries his face in his hands. Shegrows pale as he avows he loves--another. She cannot conceal her ownpassion. He, wondering, confesses that he supposed her love was hisenemy's, was Seyd's. Gulnare shudders at the name; she draws herself upto her full stature, she smiles in bitterness:

 My love stern Seyd's! Oh, no, no, not my love!

The acting was perfect. The house burst into unusual shouts ofadmiration. Madame Carolina applauded with her little finger on her fan. The Grand Duke himself gave the signal for applause. Vivian never feltbefore that words were useless. His hand was suddenly pressed. He turnedround; it was the Baroness. She was leaning back in her chair; andthough she did her utmost to conceal her agitated countenance, a tearcoursed down her cheek big as the miserable Medora's!

CHAPTER VIII

On the evening of the Opera arrived at Court part of the suite of theyoung Archduchess, the betrothed of the Crown Prince of Reisenburg. These consisted of an old grey-headed General, who had taught herImperial Highness the manual exercise; and her tutor and confessor, anancient and toothless Bishop. Their youthful mistress was to follow themin a few days; and this arrival of such a distinguished portion of hersuite was the signal for the commencement of a long series of sumptuousfestivities. After interchanging a number of compliments and a fewsnuff-boxes, the new guests were invited by his Royal Highness to attenda Review, which was to take place the next morning, of five thousandtroops and fifty Generals. 

The Reisenburg army was the best appointed in Europe. Never were menseen with breasts more plumply padded, mustachios better trained, orsuch spotless gaiters. The Grand Duke himself was a military genius, andhad invented a new cut for the collars of the Cavalry. His RoyalHighness was particularly desirous of astonishing the old grey-headedgovernor of his future daughter by the skilful evolutions and imposingappearance of his legions. The affair was to be of the most refinednature, and the whole was to be concluded by a mock battle, in which thespectators were to be treated by a display of the most exquisiteevolutions and complicated movements which human beings ever yetinvented to destroy others or to escape destruction. Field Marshal Countvon Sohnspeer, the Commander-in-Chief of all the Forces of his RoyalHighness the Grand Duke of Reisenburg, condescended, at the particularrequest of his Sovereign, to conduct the whole affair himself. 

At first it was rather difficult to distinguish between the army and thestaff; for Darius, in the Straits of Issus, was not more sumptuously andnumerously attended than Count von Sohnspeer. Wherever he moved he wasfollowed by a train of waving plumes and radiant epaulettes, and foamingchargers and shining steel. In fact, he looked like a large militarycomet. Had the fate of Reisenburg depended on the result of the day, theField Marshal, and his Generals, and Aides-de-camp, and Orderlies, could not have looked more agitated and more in earnest. Von Sohnspeerhad not less than four horses in the field, on every one of which heseemed to appear in the space of five minutes. Now he was dashing alongthe line of the Lancers on a black charger, and now round the column ofthe Cuirassiers on a white one. He exhorted the Tirailleurs on achestnut, and added fresh courage to the ardour of the Artillery ona bay. 

It was a splendid day. The bands of the respective regiments playedtriumphant tunes as each marched on the field. The gradual arrival ofthe troops was picturesque. Distant music was heard, and a corps ofInfantry soon made its appearance. A light bugle sounded, and a body ofTirailleurs issued from the shade of a neighbouring wood. Thekettle-drums and clarions heralded the presence of a troop of Cavalry;and an advanced guard of Light Horse told that the Artillery were aboutto follow. The arms and standards of the troops shone in the sun;military music sounded in all parts of the field; unceasing was thebellow of the martial drum and the blast of the blood-stirring trumpet. Clouds of dust ever and anon excited in the distance denoted the arrivalof a regiment of Cavalry. Even now one approaches; it is the RedLancers. How gracefully their Colonel, the young Count of Eberstein, bounds on his barb! Has Theseus turned Centaur? His spur and bridle seemrather the emblems of sovereignty than the instruments of government: heneither chastises nor directs. The rider moves without motion, and thehorse judges without guidance. It would seem that the man had borrowedthe beast's body, and the beast the man's mind. His regiment has formedupon the field, their stout lances erected like a young and leaflessgrove; but although now in line, it is with difficulty that they cansubject the spirit of their warlike steeds. The trumpet has caught theear of the horses; they stand with open nostrils, already breathing warere they can see an enemy; and now dashing up one leg, and now theother, they seem to complain of Nature that she has made them ofanything earthly. 

The troops have all arrived; there is an unusual bustle in the field. Von Sohnspeer is again changing his horse, giving directions while he ismounting to at least a dozen Aides-de-camp. Orderlies are scamperingover every part of the field. Another flag, quite new, and of largesize, is unfurled by the Field-Marshal's pavilion. A signal gun! themusic in the whole field is hushed: a short silence of agitatingsuspense, another gun, and another! All the bands of all the regimentsburst forth at the same moment into the national air: the Court dashinto the field!

Madame Carolina, the Baroness, the Countess von S----, and some otherladies, wore habits of the uniform of the Royal Guards. Both Madame andthe Baroness were perfect horsewomen; and the excited spirits of Mr. Beckendorff's female relative, both during her ride and her dashing runover the field, amidst the firing of cannon and the crash of drums andtrumpets, strikingly contrasted with her agitation and depression of thepreceding night. 

"Your Excellency loves the tented field, I think!" said Vivian, who wasat her side. 

"I love war! it is a diversion for kings!" was the answer. "How fine thebreast-plates and helmets of those Cuirassiers glisten in the sun!"continued the lady. "Do you see von Sohnspeer? I wonder if the CrownPrince be with him!"

"I think he is. "

"Indeed! Ah! can he interest himself in anything? He seemed Apathyitself at the Opera last night. I never saw him smile, or move, and havescarcely heard his voice! but if he love war, if he be a soldier, if hebe thinking of other things than a pantomime and a ball, 'tis well! verywell for his country! Perhaps he is a hero?"

At this moment the Crown Prince, who was of von Sohnspeer's staff, slowly rode up to the Royal party. 

"Rudolph!" said the Grand Duke, "do you head your regiment to-day?"

"No, " was the muttered answer. 

The Grand Duke moved his horse to his son, and spoke to him in a lowtone, evidently with earnestness. Apparently he was expostulating withhim; but the effect of the royal exhortation was only to render thePrince's brow more gloomy, and the expression of his withered featuresmore sullen and more sad. The Baroness watched the father and son asthey were conversing with keen attention. When the Crown Prince, inviolation of his father's wishes, fell into the party, and allowed hisregiment to be headed by the Lieutenant-colonel, the young lady raisedher lustrous eyes to heaven with that same expression of sorrow orresignation which had so much interested Vivian on the morning that hehad translated to her the moving passage in the Corsair. 

But the field is nearly cleared, and the mimic war has commenced. Onthe right appears a large body of Cavalry, consisting of Cuirassiers andDragoons. A vanguard of Light Cavalry and Lancers, under the command ofthe Count of Eberstein, is ordered out, from this body, to harass theenemy, a strong body of Infantry supposed to be advancing. Severalsquadrons of Light Horse immediately spring forward; they formthemselves into line, they wheel into column, and endeavour, bywell-directed manoeuvres, to outflank the strong wing of the advancingenemy. After succeeding in executing all that was committed to them, andafter having skirmished in the van of their own army, so as to give timefor all necessary dispositions of the line of battle, the vanguardsuddenly retreats between the brigades of the Cavalry of the line; theprepared battery of cannon is unmasked; and a tremendous concentric fireopened on the line of the advancing foe. Taking advantage of theconfusion created by this unexpected salute of his artillery, vonSohnspeer, who commands the Cavalry, gives the word to "Charge!"

The whole body of Cavalry immediately charge in masses; the extendedline of the enemy is as immediately broken. But the Infantry, who arecommanded by one of the royal relatives and visitors, the Prince of Pikeand Powdren, dexterously form into squares, and commence a masterlyretreat in square battalions. At length they take up a more favourableposition than the former one. They are again galled by the Artillery, who have proportionately advanced, and again charged by the Cavalry intheir huge masses. And now the squares of Infantry partially give way. They admit the Cavalry, but the exulting Horse find, to their dismay, that the enemy are not routed, but that there are yet inner squaresformed at salient angles. The Cavalry for a moment retire, but it isonly to give opportunity to their Artillery to rake the obstinate foes. The execution of the battery is fearful. Headed by their Commander, thewhole body of Cuirassiers and Dragoons again charge with renewed energyand concentrated force. The Infantry are thrown into the greatestconfusion, and commence a rout, increased and rendered irremediable bythe Lancers and Hussars, the former vanguard, who now, seizing on thefavourable moment, again rush forward, increasing the effect of thecharge of the whole army, overtaking the fugitives with their lances, and securing the prisoners. 

The victorious von Sohnspeer, followed by his staff, now galloped up toreceive the congratulations of his Sovereign. 

"Where are your prisoners, Field Marshal?" asked his Royal Highness, with a flattering smile. 

"What is the ransom of our unfortunate guest?" asked Madame Carolina. 

"I hope we shall have another affair, " said the Baroness, with a flushedface and glowing eyes. 

But the Commander-in-Chief must not tarry to bandy compliments. He isagain wanted in the field. The whole troops have formed in line. Somemost scientific evolutions are now executed. With them we will not wearythe reader, nor dilate on the comparative advantages of forming encremaillière and en echiquier; nor upon the duties of tirailleurs, norupon concentric fires and eccentric movements, nor upon deploying, norupon enfilading, nor upon oblique fronts, nor upon échellons. The dayfinished by the whole of the troops again forming in line and passing inorder before the Commander-in-Chief, to give him an opportunity ofobserving their discipline and inspecting their equipments. 

The review being finished, Count von Sohnspeer and his staff joined theroyal party; and after walking their horses round the field, theyproceeded to his pavilion, where refreshments were prepared for them. The Field Marshal, flattered by the interest which, the young Baronesshad taken in the business of the day, and the acquaintance which sheevidently possessed of the more obvious details of military tactics, wasinclined to be particularly courteous to her; but the object of hisadmiration did not encourage attentions by which half the ladies of theCourt would have thought themselves as highly honoured as by those ofthe Grand Duke himself; so powerful a person was the Field Marshal, andso little inclined by temper to cultivate the graces of the fair sex!

"In the tent keep by my side, " said the Baroness to Vivian. "Although Iam fond of heroes, von Sohnspeer is not to my taste. I know not why Iflatter you so by my notice, for I suppose, like all Englishmen, you arenot a soldier? I thought so. Never mind! you ride well enough for afield marshal. I really think I could give you a commission without muchstickling of my conscience. No, no! I should like you nearer me. I havea good mind to make you my master of the horse; that is to say, when Iam entitled to have one. "

As Vivian acknowledged the young Baroness' compliment by becomingemotion, and vowed that an office near her person would be theconsummation of all his wishes, his eye caught the lady's: she blusheddeeply, looked down upon her horse's neck, and then turned awayher head. 

Von Sohnspeer's pavilion excellently became the successful leader of thearmy of Reisenburg. Trophies taken from all sides decked its interior. The black eagle of Austria formed part of its roof, and the brazeneagle of Gaul supported part of the side. The grey-headed General lookedrather grim when he saw a flag belonging to a troop which perhaps he hadhimself once commanded. He vented his indignation to the toothlessBishop, who crossed his breast with his fingers, covered with diamonds, and preached temperance and moderation in inarticulate sounds. 

During the collation the conversation was principally military. MadameCarolina, who was entirely ignorant of the subject of discourse, enchanted all the officers present by appearing to be the mostinterested person in the tent. Nothing could exceed the elegance of hereulogium of "petit guerre. " The old grey General talked much about the"good old times, " by which he meant the thirty years of plunder, bloodshed, and destruction, which were occasioned by the FrenchRevolution. He gloated on the recollections of horror, which he fearedwould never occur again. The Archduke Charles and Prince Schwartzenburgwere the gods of his idolatry, and Nadasti's hussars and Wurmser'sdragoons the inferior divinities of his bloody heaven. One evolution ofthe morning, a discovery made by von Sohnspeer himself, in the deployingof cavalry, created a great sensation; and it was settled that it wouldhave been of great use to Desaix and Clairfait in the Netherlands affairof some eight-and-twenty years ago, and was not equalled even bySeidlitz' cavalry in the affair with the Russians at Zorndorff. Inshort, every "affair" of any character during the late war was foughtover again in the tent of Field Marshal von Sohnspeer. At length fromthe Archduke Charles and Prince Schwartzenburg, the old grey-headedGeneral got to Polybius and Monsieur Folard; and the Grand Duke nowthinking that the "affair" was taking too serious a turn, broke up theparty. Madame Carolina and most of the ladies used their carriages ontheir return. They were nearly fifteen miles from the city; but theBaroness, in spite of the most earnest solicitations, would remounther charger. 

They cantered home, the Baroness in unusual spirits, Vivian thinkingvery much of his fair companion. Her character puzzled him. That she wasnot the lovely simpleton that Madame Carolina believed her to be, he hadlittle doubt. Some people have great knowledge of society and little ofmankind. Madame Carolina was one of these. She viewed her speciesthrough only one medium. That the Baroness was a woman of acute feeling, Vivian could not doubt. Her conduct at the Opera, which had escapedevery one's attention, made this evident. That she had seen more of theworld than her previous conversation had given him to believe, wasequally clear by her conduct and conversation this morning. Hedetermined to become more acquainted with her character. Her evidentpartiality to his company would not render the execution of his purposevery difficult. At any rate, if he discovered nothing, it was somethingto do: it would at least amuse him. 

In the evening he joined a large party at the palace. He lookedimmediately for the Baroness. She was surrounded by the dandies. Theirattentions she treated with contempt, and ridiculed their complimentswithout mercy. Without obtruding himself on her notice, Vivian joinedher circle, and witnessed her demolition of the young Count of Ebersteinwith great amusement. Emilius von Aslingen was not there; for havingmade the interesting savage the fashion, she was no longer worthy of hisattention, and consequently deserted. The young lady soon observedVivian; and saying, without the least embarrassment, that she wasdelighted to sec him, she begged him to share her chaise-longue. Herenvious levée witnessed the preference with dismay; and as the object oftheir attention did not now notice their remarks, even by her expressedcontempt, one by one fell away. Vivian and the Baroness were left alone, and conversed much together. The lady displayed, on every subject, engaging ignorance, and requested information on obvious topics withartless naïveté Vivian was convinced that her ignorance was notaffected, and equally sure that it could not arise from imbecility ofintellect; for while she surprised him by her crude questions, and herwant of acquaintance with all those topics which generally form thestaple of conversation, she equally amused him with her poignant wit, and the imperious and energetic manner in which she instantly expectedsatisfactory information on every possible subject. 

CHAPTER IX

On the day after the review a fancy-dress ball was to be given at Court. It was to be an entertainment of a peculiar nature. The lively genius ofMadame Carolina, wearied of the commonplace effect generally produced bythis species of amusement, in which usually a stray Turk and a wanderingPole looked sedate and singular among crowds of Spanish girls, Swisspeasants, and gentlemen in uniforms, had invented something novel. Heridea was ingenious. To use her own sublime phrase, she determined thatthe party should represent "an age!" Great difficulty was experienced infixing upon the century which was to be honoured. At first a poeticalidea was started of having something primeval, perhaps antediluvian; butNoah, or even Father Abraham, were thought characters hardlysufficiently romantic for a fancy-dress ball, and consequently theearliest postdiluvian ages were soon under consideration. Nimrod, orSardanapalus, were distinguished personages, and might be wellrepresented by the Master of the Staghounds, or the Master of theRevels; but then the want of an interesting lady-character was a greatobjection. Semiramis, though not without style in her own way, was notsufficiently Parisian for Madame Carolina. New ages were proposed andnew objections started; and so the "Committee of Selection, " whichconsisted of Madame herself, the Countess von S----, and a few otherdames of fashion, gradually slided through the four great empires. Athens was not aristocratic enough, and then the women were nothing. Inspite of her admiration of the character of Aspasia, Madame Carolinasomewhat doubted the possibility of persuading the ladies of the Courtof Reisenburg to appear in the characters of [Greek: hetairai]. Romepresented great capabilities, and greater difficulties. Findingthemselves, after many days' sitting and study, still very far fromcoming to a decision, Madame called in the aid of the Grand Duke, whoproposed "something national. " The proposition was plausible; but, according to Madame Carolina, Germany, until her own time, had beenonly a land of barbarism and barbarians; and therefore in such acountry, in a national point of view, what could there be interesting?The middle ages, as they are usually styled, in spite of the EmperorCharlemagne, "that oasis in the desert of barbarism, " to use her owneloquent and original image, were her particular aversion. "The age ofchivalry is past!" was as constant an exclamation of Madame Carolina asit was of Mr. Burke. "The age of chivalry is past; and very fortunatethat it is. What resources could they have had in the age of chivalry?an age without either moral or experimental philosophy; an age in whichthey were equally ignorant of the doctrine of association of ideas, andof the doctrine of electricity; and when they were as devoid of aknowledge of the Incalculable powers of the human mind as of theincalculable powers of steam!" Had Madame Carolina been the consort ofan Italian grand duke, selection would not be difficult; and, to inquireno farther, the court of the Medici alone would afford them everythingthey wanted. But Germany never had any character, and never produced norhad been the resort of illustrious men and interesting persons. What wasto be done? The age of Frederick the Great was the only thing; and thenthat was so recent, and would offend the Austrians: it could not bethought of. 

At last, when the "Committee of Selection" was almost in despair, someone proposed a period which not only would be German, not only wouldcompliment the House of Austria, but, what was of still greaterimportance, would allow of every contemporary character of interest ofevery nation, the age of Charles the Fifth! The suggestion was receivedwith enthusiasm, and adopted on the spot. "The Committee of Selection"was immediately dissolved, and its members as immediately formedthemselves into a "Committee of Arrangement. " Lists of all the personsof any fame, distinction, or notoriety, who had lived either in theempire of Germany, the kingdoms of Spain, Portugal, France, or England, the Italian States, the Netherlands, the American, and, in short, inevery country in the known world, were immediately formed. VonChronicle, rewarded for his last historical novel by a ribbon and thetitle of Baron, was appointed secretary to the "Committee of Costume. "All guests who received a card invitation were desired, on or before acertain day, to send in the title of their adopted character and asketch of their intended dress, that their plans might receive thesanction of the ladies of the "Committee of Arrangement, " and theirdresses the approbation of the secretary of costume. By this method thechance and inconvenience of two persons selecting and appearing in thesame character were destroyed and prevented. After exciting the usualjealousies, intrigues, dissatisfaction, and ill-blood, by the influenceand imperturbable temper of Madame Carolina, everything was arranged;Emilius von Aslingen being the only person who set both the Committeesof Arrangement and Costume at defiance, and treated the repeatedapplications of their respected secretary with contemptuous silence. Theindignant Baron von Chronicle entreated the strong interference of the"Committee of Arrangement, " but Emilius von Aslingen was too powerful anindividual to be treated by others as he treated them. Had thefancy-dress ball of the Sovereign been attended by all his subjects, with the exception of this Captain in his Guards, the whole affair mighthave been a failure; would have been dark in spite of the glare of tenthousand lamps and the glories of all the jewels of his state; wouldhave been dull, although each guest were wittier than Pasquin himself;and very vulgar, although attended by lords of as many quarterings asthe ancient shield of his own antediluvian house! All, therefore, thatthe ladies of the "Committee of Arrangement" could do, was to enclose tothe rebellious von Aslingen a list of the expected characters, and aresolution passed in consequence of his contumacy, that no person orpersons was, or were, to appear as either or any of these characters, unless he, or they, could produce a ticket, or tickets, granted by amember of the "Committee of Arrangement, " and countersigned by thesecretary of the "Committee of Costume. " At the same time that thesevigorous measures were resolved on, no persons spoke of Emilius vonAslingen's rebellious conduct in terms of greater admiration than theladies of the Committee themselves. If possible, he in consequencebecame even a more influential and popular personage than before, andhis conduct procured him almost the adoration of persons who, had theydared to imitate him, would have been instantly crushed, and would havebeen banished society principally by the exertions of the veryindividual whom they had the presumption to mimic. 

In the gardens of the palace was a spacious amphitheatre, cut out ingreen seats, for the spectators of the plays which, during the summermonths, were sometimes performed there by the Court. There was a stagein the same taste, with rows of trees for side-scenes, and a greatnumber of arbours and summer-rooms, surrounded by lofty hedges oflaurel, for the actors to retire and dress in. Connected with this"rural Theatre, " for such was its title, were many labyrinths, andgroves, and arched walks, in the same style. More than twelve largefountains were in the immediate vicinity of this theatre. At the end ofone walk a sea-horse spouted its element through its nostrils; and inanother, Neptune turned an Ocean out of a vase. Seated on a rock, Arcadia's half-goat god, the deity of silly sheep and silly poets, sentforth trickling streams through his rustic pipes; and in the centre of agreen grove, an enamoured Salmacis, bathing in a pellucid basin, seemedwatching for her Hermaphrodite. 

It was in this rural theatre and its fanciful confines that MadameCarolina and her councillors resolved that their magic should, for anight, not only stop the course of time, but recall past centuries. Itwas certainly rather late in the year for choosing such a spot for thescene of their enchantment; but the season, as we have often hadoccasion to remark in the course of these volumes, was singularly fine;and indeed at this moment the nights were as warm, and as clear frommist and dew, as they are during an Italian midsummer. 

But it is eight o'clock; we are already rather late. Is that a figure byHolbein, just started out of the canvas, that I am about to meet? Standaside! It is a page of the Emperor Charles the Fifth! The Court is onits way to the theatre. The theatre and the gardens are brilliantlyilluminated. The effect of the thousands of coloured lamps, in all partsof the foliage, is very beautiful. The moon is up, and a million stars!If it be not quite as light as day, it is just light enough forpleasure. You could not perhaps endorse a bill of exchange, or engross aparchment, by this light; but then it is just the light to read alove-letter by, and do a thousand other things besides. 

All hail to the Emperor! we would give his costume, were it not rathertoo much in the style of the von Chronicles. Reader! you have seen aportrait of Charles by Holbein: very well; what need is there of adescription? No lack was there in this gay scene of massy chains andcurious collars, nor of cloth of gold, nor of cloth of silver! No lackwas there of trembling plumes and costly hose! No lack was there ofcrimson velvet, and russet velvet, and tawny velvet, and purple velvet, and plunket velvet, and of scarlet cloth, and green taffeta, and clothof silk embroidered! No lack was there of garments of estate, and ofquaint chemews, nor of short crimson cloaks, covered with pearls andprecious stones! No lack was there of party-coloured splendour, ofpurple velvet embroidered with white, and white satin dressesembroidered with black! No lack was there of splendid koyfes of damask, or kerchiefs of fine Cyprus; nor of points of Venice silver of ducatfineness, nor of garlands of friars' knots, nor of coloured satins, norof bleeding hearts embroidered on the bravery of dolorous lovers, nor ofquaint sentences of wailing gallantry! But for the details, are they notto be found in those much-neglected and much-plundered persons, the oldchroniclers? and will they not sufficiently appear in the most inventiveportion of the next great historical novel?

The Grand Duke looked the Emperor. Our friend the Grand Marshal wasFrancis the First; and Arnelm and von Neuwied figured as the Marshal ofMontmorency and the Marshal Lautrec. The old toothless Bishop didjustice to Clement the Seventh; and his companion, the ancient General, looked grim as Pompeo Colonna. A prince of the House of Nassau, one ofthe royal visitors, represented his adventurous ancestor the Prince ofOrange. Von Sohnspeer was that haughty and accomplished rebel, theConstable of Bourbon. The young Baron Gernsbach was worthy of theseraglio, as he stalked along as Solyman the Magnificent, with all thefamily jewels belonging to his dowager mother shining in his superbturban. Our friend the Count of Eberstein personified chivalry, in theperson of Bayard. The younger Bernstorff, the intimate friend ofGernsbach, attended his sumptuous sovereign as that Turkish Paul Jones, Barbarossa. An Italian Prince was Andrew Doria. The Grand Chamberlain, our francisé acquaintance, and who affected a love of literature, wasthe Protestant Elector of Saxony. His train consisted of the principallitterateurs of Reisenburg. The Editor of the "Attack-all Review, " whooriginally had been a Catholic, but who had been skilfully convertedsome years ago, when he thought Catholicism was on the decline, wasMartin Luther, an individual whom, both in his apostasy and fierceness, he much and only resembled: on the contrary, the editor of the"Praise-all Review" appeared as the mild and meek Melanchthon. Mr. Sievers, not yet at Vienna, was Erasmus. Ariosto, Guicciardini, Ronsard, Rabelais, Machiavel, Pietro Aretino, Garcilasso de la Vega. Sannazaro, and Paracelsus, afforded names to many nameless critics. Two Generals, brothers, appeared as Cortes and Pizarro. The noble Director of theGallery was Albert Durer, and his deputy Hans Holbein. The Courtpainter, a wretched mimic of the modern French School, did justice tothe character of Correggio; and an indifferent sculptor looked sublimeas Michel Angelo. 

Von Chronicle had persuaded the Prince of Pike and Powdren, one of hiswarmest admirers, to appear as Henry the Eighth of England. His Highnesswas one of those true North German patriots who think their own countrya very garden of Eden, and verily believe that original sin is to befinally put an end to in a large sandy plain between Berlin and Hanover. The Prince of Pike and Powdren passed his whole life in patrioticallysighing for the concentration of all Germany into one great nation, andin secretly trusting that, if ever the consummation took place, theNorth would be rewarded for their condescending union by a monopoly ofall the privileges of the Empire. Such a character was of courseextremely desirous of figuring to-night in a style peculiarly national. The persuasions of von Chronicle, however, prevailed, and induced hisHighness of Pike and Powdren to dismiss his idea of appearing as theancient Arminius, although it was with great regret that the Prince gaveup his plan of personating his favourite hero, with hair down to hismiddle and skins up to his chin. Nothing would content von Chronicle butthat his kind patron should represent a crowned head: anything else wasbeneath him. The patriotism of the Prince disappeared before theflattery of the novelist, like the bloom of a plum before the breath ofa boy, when he polishes the powdered fruit ere he devours it. No soonerhad his Highness agreed to be changed into bluff Harry than the secretpurpose of his adviser was immediately detected. No Court confessor, seduced by the vision of a red hat, ever betrayed the secrets of hissovereign with greater fervour than did von Chronicle labour for theCardinal's costume, which was the consequence of the Prince of Pike andPowdren undertaking the English monarch. To-night, proud as was the partof the Prince as regal Harry, his strut was a shamble compared with theimperious stalk of von Chronicle as the arrogant and ambitious Wolsey. The Cardinal in Rienzi was nothing to him; for to-night Wolsey had asmany pages as the other had petticoats!

But, most ungallant of scribblers! Place aux dames! Surely MadameCarolina, as the beautiful and accomplished Margaret of Navarre, mightwell command, even without a mandate, your homage and your admiration!The lovely Queen seemed the very goddess of smiles and repartee; youngMax, as her page, carried at her side a painted volume of her ownpoetry. The arm of the favourite sister of Francis, who it will beremembered once fascinated even the Emperor, was linked in that ofCaesar's natural daughter, her beautiful namesake, the bright-eyedMargaret of Austria. Conversing with these royal dames, and indeedapparently in attendance upon them, was a young gallant of courtlybearing, and attired in a fantastic dress. It is Clement Marot, "thePoet of Princes and the Prince of Poets, " as he was styled by his ownadmiring age; he offers to the critical inspection of the nimble-wittedNavarre a few lines in celebration of her beauty and the night'sfestivity; one of those short Marotique poems once so celebrated;perhaps a page culled from those gay and airy psalms which, withcharacteristic gallantry, he dedicated "to the Dames of France!" Observewell the fashionable bard! Marot was a true poet, and in his day notmerely read by queens and honoured by courtiers: observe him well; forthe character is supported by our Vivian Grey. It was with greatdifficulty that Madame Carolina had found a character for her favourite, for the lists were all filled before his arrival at Reisenburg. She atfirst wished him to appear as some celebrated Englishman of the time, but no character of sufficient importance could be discovered. All ourcountrymen in contact or connection with the Emperor Charles werechurchmen and civilians; and Sir Nicholas Carew and the other fops ofthe reign of Henry the Eighth, who, after the visit to Paris, were evenmore ridiculously francisé than the Grand Chamberlain of Reisenburghimself, were not, after mature deliberation, considered entitled to thehonour of being ranked in Madame Carolina's age of Charles the Fifth. 

But who is this, surrounded by her ladies and her chamberlains and hersecretaries? Four pages in dresses of cloth of gold, and each the son ofa prince of the French blood, support her train; a crown encircles locksgrey as much from thought as from time, but which require no show ofloyalty to prove that they belong to a mother of princes; that ampleforehead, aquiline nose, and the keen glance of her piercing eye denotethe Queen as much as the regality of her gait and her numerous andsplendid train. The young Queen of Navarre hastens to proffer her dutyto the mother of Francis, the celebrated Louise of Savoy; andexquisitely did the young and lovely Countess of S---- personate themost celebrated of female diplomatists. 

We have forgotten one character; the repeated commands of his father andthe constant entreaties of Madame Carolina had at length prevailed uponthe Crown Prince to shuffle himself into a fancy dress. No sooner had hegratified them by his hard-wrung consent than Baron von Chronicle calledupon him with drawings of the costume of the Prince of Asturias, afterwards Philip the Second of Spain. If we for a moment forgot soimportant a personage as the future Grand Duke, it must have beenbecause he supported his character so ably that no one for an instantbelieved that it was an assumed one; standing near the side scenes ofthe amphitheatre, with his gloomy brow, sad eye, protruding under-lip, and arms hanging straight by his sides, he looked a bigot without hope, and a tyrant without purpose. 

The first hour is over, and the guests are all assembled. As yet theycontent themselves with promenading round the amphitheatre; for beforethey can think of dance or stroll, each of them must be duly acquaintedwith the other's dress. It was a most splendid scene. The Queen ofNavarre has now been presented to the Emperor, and, leaning on his arm, they head the promenade. The Emperor had given the hand of Margaret ofAustria to his legitimate son; but the Crown Prince, though he continuedin silence by the side of the young Baroness, soon resigned a hand whichdid not struggle to retain his. Clement Marot was about to fall backinto a less conspicuous part of the procession; but the Grand Duke, witnessing the regret of his loved Consort, condescendingly said, "Wecannot afford to lose our poet;" and so Vivian found himself walkingbehind Madame Carolina, and on the left side of the young Baroness. Louise of Savoy followed with her son, the King of France; most of theladies of the Court, and a crowd of officers, among them Montmorency andDe Lautrec, after their Majesties. The King of England moves by; hisstate unnoticed in the superior magnificence of Wolsey. Pompeo Colonnaapologises to Pope Clement for having besieged his holiness in theCastle of St. Angelo. The Elector of Saxony and the Prince of Orangefollow. Solyman the Magnificent is attended by his Admiral; andBayard's pure spirit almost quivers at the whispered treason of theConstable of Bourbon. Luther and Melanchthon, Erasmus and Rabelais, Cortez and Pizarro, Correggio and Michael Angelo, and a long train ofdames and dons of all nations, succeed; so long that the amphitheatrecannot hold them, and the procession, that they may walk over the stage, makes a short progress through an adjoining summer-room. 

Just as the Emperor and the fair Queen are in the middle of the stage, awounded warrior with a face pale as an eclipsed moon, a helmet on whichis painted the sign of his sacred order, a black mantle thrown over hisleft shoulder, but not concealing his armour, a sword in his right handand an outstretched crucifix in his left, rushes on the scene. Theprocession suddenly halts; all recognise Emilius von Aslingen! andMadame Carolina blushes through her rouge when she perceives that socelebrated, "so interesting a character" as Ignatius Loyola, the Founderof the Jesuits, has not been included in the all-comprehensive lists ofher committee. 

CHAPTER X

Henry of England led the Polonaise with Louise of Savoy; Margaret ofAustria would not join in it: waltzing quickly followed. The Emperorseldom left the side of the Queen of Navarre, and often conversed withher Majesty's poet. The Prince of Asturias hovered for a moment roundhis father's daughter, as if he were summoning resolution to ask her towaltz. Once, indeed, he opened his mouth; could it have been to speak?But the young Margaret gave no encouragement to this unusual exertion;and Philip of Asturias, looking, if possible, more sad and sombre thanbefore, skulked away. The Crown Prince left the gardens, and now a smilelit up every face, except that of the young Baroness. The gracious GrandDuke, unwilling to see a gloomy countenance anywhere to-night, turned toVivian, who was speaking to Madame Carolina, and said, "Gentle poet, would that thou hadst some chanson or courtly compliment to chase thecloud which hovers on the brow of our much-loved daughter of Austria!Your popularity, sir, " continued the Grand Duke, dropping his mockheroic vein and speaking in a much lower tone, "your popularity, sir, among the ladies of the Court, cannot be increased by any panegyric ofmine; nor am I insensible, believe me, to the assiduity and skill withwhich you have complied with my wishes in making our Court agreeable tothe relative of a man to whom we owe so much as Mr. Beckendorff. I aminformed, Mr. Grey, " continued his Royal Highness, "that you have nointention of very speedily returning to your country; I wish that Icould count you among my peculiar attendants. If you have an objectionto live in the palace without performing your quota of duty to theState, we shall have no difficulty in finding you an office, andclothing you in our official costume. Think of this!" So saying, with agracious smile, his Royal Highness, leading Madame Carolina, commenced awalk round the gardens. 

The young Baroness did not follow them. Solyman the Magnificent, andBayard the irreproachable, and Barbarossa the pirate, and Bourbon therebel, immediately surrounded her. Few persons were higher ton than theTurkish Emperor and his Admiral; few persons talked more agreeablenonsense than the Knight sans peur et sans reproche; no person was moreimportant than the warlike Constable; but their attention, theiramusement, and their homage were to-night thrown away on the object oftheir observance. The Baroness listened to them without interest, andanswered them with brevity. She did not even condescend, as she had donebefore, to enter into a war of words, to mortify their vanity orexercise their wit. She treated them neither with contempt nor courtesy. If no smile welcomed their remarks, at least her silence was notscornful, and the most shallow-headed prater that fluttered around herfelt that he was received with dignity and not with disdain. Awed by herconduct, not one of them dared to be flippant, and every one of themsoon became dull. The ornaments of the Court of Reisenburg, the arbitersof ton and the lords of taste, stared with astonishment at each otherwhen they found, to their mutual surprise, that at one moment, in such aselect party, universal silence pervaded. In this state of affairs, every one felt that his dignity required his speedy disappearance fromthe lady's presence. The Orientals, taking advantage of Bourbon'sreturning once more to the charge with an often unanswered remark, coolly walked away: the Chevalier made an adroit and honourable retreatby joining a passing party; and the Constable was the only one who, being left in solitude and silence, was finally obliged to make a formalbow and retire discomforted from the side of the only woman with whomhe had ever condescended to fall in love. Leaning against the trunk of atree at some little distance, Vivian Grey watched the formation anddissolution of the young Baroness' levée with lively interest. His eyesmet the lady's as she raised them from the ground on von Sohnspeerquitting her. She immediately beckoned to Vivian, but without her usualsmile. He was directly at her side, but she did not speak. At last hesaid, "This is a most brilliant scene!"

"You think so, do you?" answered the lady, in a tone and manner whichalmost made Vivian believe, for a moment, that his friend Mr. Beckendorff was at his side. 

"Decidedly his daughter!" thought he. 

"You are not gay to-night?" said Vivian. 

"Why should I be?" said the lady, in a manner which would have madeVivian imagine that his presence was as disagreeable to her as that ofCount von Sohnspeer, had not the lady herself invited his company. 

"I suppose the scene is very brilliant, " continued the Baroness, after afew moments' silence. "At least all here seem to think so, excepttwo persons. "

"And who are they?" asked Vivian. 

"Myself and--the Crown Prince. I am almost sorry that I did not dancewith him. There seems a wonderful similarity in our dispositions. "

"You are pleased to be severe to-night. "

"And who shall complain when the first person that I satirize ismyself?"

"It is most considerate in you, " said Vivian, "to undertake such anoffice; for it is one which you yourself are alone capable offulfilling. The only person that can ever satirize your Excellency isyourself; and I think even then that, in spite of your candour, yourself-examination must please us with a self-panegyric. "

"Nay, a truce to compliments: at least let me hear better things fromyou. I cannot any longer endure the glare of these lamps and dresses!your arm! Let us walk for a few minutes in the more retired and coolerparts of the gardens. "

The Baroness and Vivian left the amphitheatre by a different path tothat by which the Grand Duke and Madame Carolina had quitted it. Theyfound the walks quite solitary; for the royal party, which was small, contained the only persons who had yet left the stage. 

Vivian and his companions strolled about for some time, conversing onsubjects of casual interest. The Baroness, though no longer absent, either in her manner or her conversation, seemed depressed; and Vivian, while he flattered himself that he was more entertaining than usual, felt, to his mortification, that the lady was not entertained. 

"I am afraid you find it dull here, " said he; "shall we return?"

"Oh, no; do not let us return! We have so short a time to be togetherthat we must not allow even one hour to be dull. "

As Vivian was about to reply, he heard the joyous voice of youngMaximilian; it sounded very near. The royal party was approaching. TheBaronet expressed her earnest desire to avoid it; and as to advance orto retreat, in these labyrinthine walks, was almost equally hazardous, they retired into one of those green recesses which we have beforementioned; indeed it was the very evergreen grove in the centre of whichthe Nymph of the Fountain watched for her loved Carian youth. A showerof moonlight fell on the marble statue, and showed the Nymph in anattitude of consummate skill: her modesty struggling with her desire, and herself crouching in her hitherto pure waters, while her anxious earlistens for the bounding step of the regardless huntsman. 

"The air is cooler here, " said the Baroness, "or the sound of thefalling water is peculiarly refreshing to my senses. They have passed. Irejoice that we did not return; I do not think that I could haveremained among those lamps another moment. How singular, actually toview with aversion a scene which appears to enchant all!"

"A scene which I should have thought would have been particularlycharming to you, " said Vivian; "you are dispirited tonight!"

"Am I?" said the Baroness. "I ought not to be; not to be more dispiritedthan I ever am. To-night I expected pleasure; nothing has happened whichI did not expect, and everything which I did. And yet I am sad! Do youthink that happiness can ever be sad? I think it must be so. But whetherI am sorrowful or happy I can hardly tell; for it is only within thesefew days that I have known either grief or joy. "

"It must be counted an eventful period in your existence which reckonsin its brief hours a first acquaintance with such passions!" saidVivian, with a searching eye and an inquiring voice. 

"Yes; an eventful period, certainly an eventful period, " answered theBaroness, with a thoughtful air and in measured words. 

"I cannot bear to see a cloud upon that brow!" said Vivian. "Have youforgotten how much was to be done to-night? How eagerly you lookedforward to its arrival? How bitterly we were to regret the terminationof the mimic empire?"

"I have forgotten nothing; would that I had! I will not look grave. Iwill be gay; and yet, when I remember how soon other mockery besidesthis splendid pageant must be terminated, why should I look gay? Why mayI not weep?"

"Nay, if we are to moralise on worldly felicity, I fear that instead ofinspiriting you, which is my wish, I shall prove but a too congenialcompanion. But such a theme is not for you. "

"And why should it be for one who, though he lecture me with suchgravity and gracefulness, can scarcely be entitled to play the part ofMentor by the weight of years?" said the Baroness, with a smile: "forone who, I trust, who I should think, as little deserved, and was aslittle inured to, sorrow as myself!"

"To find that you have cause to grieve, " said Vivian, "and to learn fromyou, at the same time, your opinion of my own lot, prove what I have toooften had the sad opportunity of observing, that the face of man isscarcely more genuine and less deceitful than these masquerade dresseswhich we now wear. "

"But you are not unhappy?" asked the Baroness with a quick voice. 

"Not now, " said Vivian. 

His companion seated herself on the marble balustrade which surroundedthe fountain: she did not immediately speak again, and Vivian wassilent, for he was watching her motionless countenance as her largebrilliant eyes gazed with earnestness on the falling water sparkling inthe moonlight. Surely it was not the mysterious portrait atBeckendorff's that he beheld!

She turned. She exclaimed in an agitated voice, "O friend! too latelyfound, why have we met to part?"

"To part, dearest!" said he, in a low and rapid voice, and he gentlytook her hand; "to part! and why should we part? why--"

"Ask not; your question is agony!" She tried to withdraw her hand, hepressed it with renewed energy, it remained in his, she turned away herhead, and both were silent. 

"O! lady, " said Vivian, as he knelt at her side, "why are we not happy?"

His arm is round her waist, gently he bends his head, their speakingeyes meet, and their trembling lips cling into a kiss!

A seal of love and purity and faith I and the chaste moon need not haveblushed as she lit up the countenances of the lovers. 

"O! lady, why are we not happy?"

"We are, we are: is not this happiness, is not this joy, is not thisbliss? Bliss, " she continued, in a low broken voice, "to which I have noright, no title. Oh! quit, quit my hand! Happiness is not for me!" Sheextricated herself from his arm, and sprang upon her feet. Alarm, ratherthan affection, was visible on her agitated features. It seemed to costher a great effort to collect her scattered senses; the effort was madewith pain, but with success. 

"Forgive me, " she said, in a hurried and indistinct tone; "forgive me! Iwould speak, but cannot, not now at least; we have been long away, toolong; our absence will be remarked to-night; to-night we must give up tothe gratification of others, but I will speak. For yours, for my ownsake, let us, let us go. You know that we are to be very gay to-night, and gay we will be. Who shall prevent us? At least the present hour isour own; and when the future ones must be so sad, why, why, triflewith this?"

CHAPTER XI

The reader is not to suppose that Vivian Grey thought of the youngBaroness merely in the rapid scenes which we have sketched. There werefew moments in the day in which her image did not occupy his thoughts, and which, indeed, he did not spend in her presence. From the first hercharacter had interested him. His accidental but extraordinaryacquaintance with Beckendorff made him view any individual connectedwith that singular man with a far more curious feeling than couldinfluence the young nobles of the Court, who were ignorant of theMinister's personal character. There was an evident mystery about thecharacter and situation of the Baroness, which well accorded with theeccentric and romantic career of the Prime Minister of Reisenburg. Ofthe precise nature of her connection with Beckendorff Vivian was whollyignorant. The world spoke of her as his daughter, and the affirmation ofMadame Carolina confirmed the world's report. Her name was still unknownto him; and although during the few moments that they had enjoyed anopportunity of conversing together alone, Vivian had made every exertionof which good breeding, impelled by curiosity, is capable, and haddevised many little artifices with which a schooled address is wellacquainted to obtain it, his exertions had hitherto been unsuccessful. If there was a mystery, the young lady was competent to preserve it; andwith all her naïveté, her interesting ignorance of the world, and herevidently uncontrollable spirit, no hasty word ever fell from hercautious lips which threw any light on the objects of his inquiry. Though impetuous, she was never indiscreet, and often displayed acaution which was little in accordance with her youth and temper. Thelast night had witnessed the only moment in which her passions seemedfor a time to have struggled with, and to have overcome, her judgment;but it was only for a moment. That display of overpowering feeling hadcost Vivian a sleepless night; and he is at this instant pacing up anddown the chamber of his hotel, thinking of that which he had imaginedcould exercise his thoughts no more. 

She was beautiful; she loved him; she was unhappy! To be loved by anywoman is flattering to the feelings of every man, no matter how deeplyhe may have quaffed the bitter goblet of worldly knowledge. The praiseof a fool is incense to the wisest of us; and though we believeourselves broken-hearted, it still delights us to find that we areloved. The memory of Violet Fane was still as fresh, as sweet, to themind of Vivian Grey as when he pressed her blushing cheek for the firstand only time. To love again, really to love as he had done, he oncethought was impossible; he thought so still. The character of theBaroness had interested him from the first. Her ignorance of mankind, and her perfect acquaintance with the polished forms of society; herextreme beauty, her mysterious rank, her proud spirit and impetuousfeelings; her occasional pensiveness, her extreme waywardness, hadastonished, perplexed, and enchanted him. But he had never felt in love. It never for a moment had entered into his mind that his lonely bosomcould again be a fit resting-place for one so lovely and so young. Scared at the misery which had always followed in his track, he wouldhave shuddered ere he again asked a human being to share his sad andblighted fortunes. The partiality of the Baroness for his society, without flattering his vanity, or giving rise to thoughts more seriousthan how he could most completely enchant for her the passing hour, hadcertainly made the time passed in her presence the least gloomy which hehad lately experienced. At the same moment that he left the saloon ofthe palace he had supposed that his image quitted her remembrance; andif she had again welcomed him with cheerfulness and cordiality, he hadfelt that his reception was owing to not being, perhaps, quite asfrivolous as the Count of Eberstein, and rather more amusing than theBaron of Gernsbach. 

It was therefore with the greatest astonishment that, last night, he hadfound that he was loved, loved, too, by this beautiful and haughty girl, who had treated the advances of the most distinguished nobles withill-concealed scorn, and who had so presumed upon her dubiousrelationship to the bourgeois Minister that nothing but her ownsurpassing loveliness and her parent's all-engrossing influence couldhave excused or authorised her conduct. 

Vivian had yielded to the magic of the moment, and had returned thefeelings apparently no sooner expressed than withdrawn. Had he left thegardens of the palace the Baroness's plighted lover he might perhapshave deplored his rash engagement, and the sacred image of his first andhallowed love might have risen up in judgment against his violatedaffection; but how had he and the interesting stranger parted? He wasrejected, even while his affection was returned; and while herflattering voice told him that he alone could make her happy, she hadmournfully declared that happiness could not be hers. How was this?Could she be another's? Her agitation at the Opera, often the object ofhis thought, quickly occurred to him! It must be so. Ah! another's! andwho this rival? this proud possessor of a heart which could not beat forhim? Madame Carolina's declaration that the Baroness must be married offwas at this moment remembered: her marked observation, that vonSohnspeer was no son of Beckendorff's, not forgotten. The Field Marshal, too, was the valued friend of the Minister; and it did not fail to occurto Vivian that it was not von Sohnspeer's fault that his attendance onthe Baroness was not as constant as his own. Indeed, the unusualgallantry of the Commander-in-Chief had been the subject of many a jokeamong the young lords of the Court, and the reception of his addressesby their unmerciful object not unobserved or unspared. But as for poorvon Sohnspeer, what could be expected, as Emilius von Aslingen observed, "from a man whose softest compliment was as long, loud, and obscure as abirthday salute!"

No sooner was the affair clear to Vivian, no sooner was he convincedthat a powerful obstacle existed to the love or union of himself and theBaroness, than he began to ask what right the interests of third personshad to interfere between the mutual affection of any individuals. Hethought of her in the moonlight garden, struggling with her pure andnatural passion. He thought of her exceeding beauty, her exceeding love. He beheld this rare and lovely creature in the embrace of von Sohnspeer. He turned from the picture in disgust and indignation. She was his. Nature had decreed it. She should be the bride of no other man. Soonerthan yield her up he would beard Beckendorff himself in his own retreat, and run every hazard and meet every danger which the ardent imaginationof a lover could conceive. Was he madly to reject the happiness whichProvidence, or Destiny, or Chance had at length offered him? If theromance of boyhood could never be realised, at least with this engagingbeing for his companion, he might pass through his remaining years incalmness and in peace. His trials were perhaps over. Alas! this is thelast delusion of unhappy men!

Vivian called at the Palace, but the fatigues of the preceding nightprevented either of the ladies from being visible. In the evening hejoined a small and select circle. The party, indeed, only consisted ofthe Grand Duke, Madame, their visitors, and the usual attendants, himself, and von Sohnspeer. The quiet of the little circle did not morestrikingly contrast with the noise, and glare, and splendour of the lastnight than did Vivian's subdued reception by the Baroness with heragitated demeanour in the garden. She was cordial, but calm. He found itquite impossible to gain even one moment's private conversation withher. Madame Carolina monopolised his attention, as much to favour theviews of the Field Marshal as to discuss the comparative merits of Popeas a moralist and a poet; and Vivian had the mortification of observinghis odious rival, whom he now thoroughly detested, discharge withoutceasing his royal salutes in the impatient ear of Beckendorff'slovely daughter. 

Towards the conclusion of the evening a chamberlain entered the room andwhispered his mission to the Baroness. She immediately rose and quittedthe apartment. As the party was breaking up she again entered. Hercountenance was agitated. Madame Carolina was in the art of beingoverwhelmed with the compliments of the Grand Marshal, and Vivian seizedthe opportunity of reaching the Baroness. After a few hurried sentencesshe dropped her glove. Vivian gave it her. So many persons were roundthem that it was impossible to converse except on the most commontopics. The glove was again dropped. 

"I see, " said the Baroness, with a meaning look, "that you are but arecreant knight, or else you would not part with a lady's gloveso easily. "

Vivian gave a rapid glance round the room. No one was observing him, andthe glove was immediately concealed. He hurried home, rushed up thestaircase of the hotel, ordered lights, locked the door, and with asensation of indescribable anxiety tore the precious glove from hisbosom, seized, opened, and read the enclosed and following note. It waswritten in pencil, in a hurried hand, and some of the words wererepeated:--

"I leave the Court to-night. He is here himself. No art can postpone mydeparture. Much, much, I wish to see you; to say, to say, to you. He isto have an interview with the Grand Duke to-morrow morning. Dare youcome to his place in his absence? You know the private road. He goes bythe high road, and calls in his way on a Forest Councillor: it is thewhite house by the barrier; you know it! Watch him to-morrow morning;about nine or ten I should think; here, here; and then for heaven's sakelet me see you. Dare everything! Fail not! Mind, by the private road:beware the other! You know the ground. God bless you:

"SYBILLA"

CHAPTER XII

Vivian read the note over a thousand times. He could not retire to rest. He called Essper George, and gave him all necessary directions for themorning. About three o'clock Vivian lay down on a sofa, and slept for afew hours. He started often in his short and feverish slumber. Hisdreams were unceasing and inexplicable. At first von Sohnspeer was theirnatural hero; but soon the scene shifted. Vivian was at Ems, walkingunder the well-remembered lime-trees, and with the Baroness. Suddenly, although it was mid-day, the Sun became large, blood-red, and fell outof the heavens; his companion screamed, a man rushed forward with adrawn sword. It was the idiot Crown Prince of Reisenburg. Vivian triedto oppose him, but without success. The infuriated ruffian sheathed hisweapon in the heart of the Baroness. Vivian shrieked, and fell upon herbody, and, to his horror, found himself embracing the cold corpse ofViolet Fane!

Vivian and Essper mounted their horses about seven o'clock. At eightthey had reached a small inn near the Forest Councillor's house, whereVivian was to remain until Essper had watched the entrance of theMinister. It was a few minutes past nine when Essper returned with thejoyful intelligence that Owlface and his master had been seen to enterthe Courtyard. Vivian immediately mounted Max, and telling Essper tokeep a sharp watch, he set spurs to his horse. 

"Now, Max, my good steed, each minute is golden; serve thy master well!"He patted the horse's neck, the animal's erected ears proved how well itunderstood its master's wishes; and taking advantage of the loosebridle, which was confidently allowed it, the horse sprang rather thangalloped to the Minister's residence. Nearly an hour, however, was lostin gaining the private road, for Vivian, after the caution in theBaroness's letter, did not dare the high road. 

He is galloping up the winding rural lane, where he met Beckendorff onthe second morning of his visit. He has reached the little gate, andfollowing the example of the Grand Duke, ties Max at the entrance. Hedashes over the meadows; not following the path, but crossing straightthrough the long dewy grass, he leaps over the light iron railing; he isrushing up the walk; he takes a rapid glance, in passing, at the littlesummer-house; the blue passion-flower is still blooming, the house is insight; a white handkerchief is waving from the drawing-room window! Hesees it; fresh wings are added to its course; he dashes through a bed offlowers, frightens the white peacock, darts through the library window, and is in the drawing room. 

The Baroness was there: pale and agitated she stood beneath themysterious picture, with one arm leaning on the old carved mantelpiece. Overcome by her emotions, she did not move forward to meet him as heentered; but Vivian observed neither her constraint nor her agitation. 

"Sybilla! dearest Sybilla! say you are mine!"

He seized her hand. She struggled not to disengage herself; her headsank upon her arm, which rested upon his shoulder. Overpowered, shesobbed convulsively. He endeavoured to calm her, but her agitationincreased; and minutes elapsed ere she seemed to be even sensible of hispresence. At length she became more calm, and apparently making astruggle to compose herself, she raised her head and said, "This is veryweak let us walk for a moment about the room!"

At this moment Vivian was seized by the throat with a strong grasp. Heturned round; it was Mr. Beckendorff, with a face deadly white, his fulleyes darting from their sockets like a hungry snake's, and the famousItalian dagger in his right hand. 

"Villain!" said he, in the low voice of fatal passion; "Villain, is thisyour Destiny?"

Vivian's first thoughts were for the Baroness; and turning his head fromBeckendorff, he looked with the eye of anxious love to his companion. But, instead of fainting, instead of being overwhelmed by this terribleinterruption, she seemed, on the contrary, to have suddenly regained hernatural spirit and self-possession. The blood had returned to herhitherto pale cheek, and the fire to an eye before dull with weeping. She extricated herself immediately from Vivian's encircling arm, and byso doing enabled him to have struggled, had it been necessary, moreequally with the powerful grasp of his assailant. 

"Stand off, sir!" said the Baroness, with an air of inexpressibledignity, and a voice which even at this crisis seemed to anticipatethat it would be obeyed. "Stand off, sir! stand off, I command you!"

Beckendorff for one moment was motionless: he then gave her a look ofpiercing earnestness, threw Vivian, rather than released him, from hishold, and flung the dagger with a bitter smile, into the corner of theroom. "Well, madam!" said he, in a choking voice, "you are obeyed!"

"Mr. Grey, " continued the Baroness, "I regret that this outrage shouldhave been experienced by you because you have dared to serve me. Mypresence should have preserved you from this contumely; but what are weto expect from those who pride themselves upon being the sons of slaves!You shall hear further from me. " So saying, the lady, bowing to Vivian, and sweeping by the Minister with a glance of indescribable disdain, quitted the apartment. As she was on the point of leaving the room, Vivian was standing against the wall, with a pale face and folded arms;Beckendorff, with his back to the window, his eyes fixed on the ground;and Vivian, to his astonishment, perceived, what escaped the Minister'snotice, that while the lady bade him adieu with one hand she made rapidsigns with the other to some unknown person in the garden. 

Mr. Beckendorff and Vivian were left alone, and the latter was the firstto break silence. 

"Mr. Beckendorff, " said he, in a calm voice, "considering thecircumstances under which you have found me in your house this morning, I should have known how to excuse and to forget any irritableexpressions which a moment of ungovernable passion might have inspired. I should have passed them over unnoticed. But your unjustifiablebehaviour has exceeded that line of demarcation which sympathy withhuman feelings allows even men of honour to recognise. You havedisgraced both me and yourself by giving me a blow. It is, as that ladywell styled it, an outrage; an outrage which the blood of any other manbut yourself could only obliterate from my memory; but while I aminclined to be indulgent to your exalted station and your peculiarcharacter, I at the same time expect, and now wait for, an apology!"

"An apology!" said Beckendorff, now beginning to stamp up and down theroom; "an apology! Shall it be made to you, sir, or the Archduchess?"

"The Archduchess;" said Vivian. "Good God! what can you mean! Did Ihear you right?"

"I said the Archduchess, " answered Beckendorff, with firmness; "aPrincess of the House of Austria, and the pledged wife of his RoyalHighness the Crown Prince of Reisenburg. Perhaps you may now think thatother persons have to apologise?"

"Mr. Beckendorff, " said Vivian, "I am overwhelmed; I declare, upon myhonour--"

"Stop, sir! you have said too much already--"

"But, Mr. Beckendorff, surely you will allow me to explain--"

"Sir! there is no need of explanation. I know everything; more than youdo yourself. You can have nothing to explain to me! and I presume youare now fully aware of the impossibility of again speaking to her. It isat present within an hour of noon. Before sunset you must be twentymiles from the Court; so far you will be attended. Do not answer me; youknow my power. A remonstrance only, and I write to Vienna: your progressshall be stopped throughout the South of Europe. For her sake thisbusiness will be hushed up. An important and secret mission will be theaccredited reason of your leaving Reisenburg. This will be confirmed byyour official attendant, who will be an Envoy's Courier. Farewell!"

As Mr. Beckendorff quitted the room, his confidential servant, themessenger of Turriparva, entered, and with the most respectful bowinformed Vivian that the horses were ready. In about three hours' timeVivian Grey, followed by the Government messenger, stopped at his hotel. The landlord and waiters bowed with increased obsequiousness on seeinghim so attended, and in a few minutes Reisenburg was ringing with thenews that his appointment to the Under-Secretaryship of State was now "asettled thing. "

BOOK VIII

CHAPTER I

The landlord of the Grand Hotel of the Four Nations at Reisenburg wassomewhat consoled for the sudden departure of his distinguished guest byselling the plenipotentiary a travelling carriage lately taken for adoubtful bill from a gambling Russian General at a large profit. In thisconvenient vehicle, in the course of a couple of hours after his arrivalin the city, was Mr. Vivian Grey borne through the gate of the Allies. Essper George, who had reached the hotel about half an hour after hismaster, followed behind the carriage on his hack, leading Max. TheCourier cleared the road before, and expedited the arrival of thespecial Envoy of the Grand Duke of Reisenburg at the point of hisdestination by ordering the horses, clearing the barriers, and payingthe postilions in advance. Vivian had never travelled before with suchstyle and speed. 

Our hero covered himself up with his cloak and drew his travelling capover his eyes, though it was one of the hottest days of this singularlyhot autumn. Entranced in a reverie, the only figure that occurred to hismind was the young Archduchess, and the only sounds that dwelt on hisear were the words of Beckendorff: but neither to the person of thefirst nor to the voice of the second did he annex any definite idea. 

After some hours' travelling, which to Vivian seemed both an age and aminute, he was roused from his stupor by the door of his calèche beingopened. He shook himself as a man does who has awakened from a benumbingand heavy sleep, although his eyes were the whole time wide open. Thedisturbing intruder was his courier, who, bowing, with his hat in hand, informed his Excellency that he was now on the frontier of Reisenburg;regretting that he was under the necessity of quitting his Excellency, he begged to present him with his passport. "It is made out for Vienna, "continued the messenger. "A private pass, sir, of the Prime Minister, and will entitle you to the greatest consideration. "

The carriage was soon again advancing rapidly to the next post-house, when, after they had proceeded about half a mile, Essper George callingloudly from behind, the drivers suddenly stopped. Just as Vivian, towhose tortured mind the rapid movement of the carriage was some relief, for it produced an excitement which prevented thought, was about toinquire the cause of this stoppage. Essper George rode up tothe calèche. 

"Kind sir!" said he, with a peculiar look, "I have a packet for you. "

"A packet! from whom? speak! give it me!"

"Hush! softly, good master. Here am I about to commit rank treason foryour sake, and a hasty word is the only reward of my rashness. "

"Nay, nay, good Essper, try me not now!"

"I will not, kind sir! but the truth is, I could not give you the packetwhile that double-faced knave was with us, or even while he was insight. 'In good truth, ' as Master Rodolph was wont to say--!"

"But of this packet?"

"'Fairly and softly, ' good sir! as Hunsdrich the porter said when Iwould have drunk the mulled wine, while he was on the cold staircase--"

"Essper! do you mean to enrage me?"

"'By St. Hubert!' as that worthy gentleman the Grand Marshal was in thehabit of swearing, I--"

"This is too much; what are the idle sayings of these people to me?"

"Nay, nay, kind sir! they do but show that each of us has his own way oftelling a story, and that he who would hear a tale must let the teller'sbreath come out of his own nostrils. "

"Well, Essper, speak on! Stranger things have happened to me than to bereproved by my own servant. "

"Nay, kind master! say not a bitter word to me because you have slippedout of a scrape with your head on your shoulders. The packet is from Mr. Beckendorff's daughter. "

"Ah! why did you not give it me before?"

"Why do I give it you now? Because I am a fool; that is why. What! youwanted it when that double-faced scoundrel was watching every eyelash ofyours as it moved from the breath of a fly? a fellow who can see as wellat the back of his head as from his face. I should like to poke out hisfront eyes, to put him on an equality with the rest of mankind. He itwas who let the old gentleman know of your visit this morning, and Isuspect that he has been nearer your limbs of late than you haveimagined. Every dog has his day, and the oldest pig must look for theknife! The Devil was once cheated on Sunday, and I have been too sharpfor Puss in boots and his mouse-trap! Prowling about the ForestCouncillor's house, I saw your new servant, sir, gallop in, and his oldmaster soon gallop out. I was off as quick as they, but was obliged toleave my horse within two miles of the house, and then trust to my legs. I crept through the shrubs like a land tortoise; but, of course, toolate to warn you. However, I was in for the death, and making signs tothe young lady, who directly saw that I was a friend; bless her! she isas quick as a partridge; I left you to settle it with papa, and, afterall, did that which I suppose you intended, sir, to do yourself; made myway into the young lady's bedchamber. "

"Hold your tongue, sir! and give me the packet. "

"There it is, and now we will go on; but we must stay an hour at thenext post, if your honour pleases not to sleep there; for both Max andmy own hack have had a sharp day's work. "

Vivian tore open the packet. It contained a long letter, written on thenight of her return to Beckendorff's; she had stayed up the whole nightwriting. It was to have been forwarded to Vivian, in case of their notbeing able to meet. In the enclosure were a few hurried lines, writtensince the catastrophe. They were these: "May this safely reach you! Canyou ever forgive me? The enclosed, you will see, was intended for you, in case of our not meeting. It anticipated sorrow; yet what were itsanticipations to our reality!"

The Archduchess' letter was evidently written under the influence ofagitated feelings. We omit it; because, as the mystery of her characteris now explained, a great portion of her communication would beirrelevant to our tale. She spoke of her exalted station as a woman, that station which so many women envy, in a spirit of agonisingbitterness. A royal princess is only the most flattered of statevictims. She is a political sacrifice, by which enraged Governments areappeased, wavering allies conciliated and ancient amities confirmed. Debarred by her rank and her education from looking forward to thatexchange of equal affection which is the great end and charm of femaleexistence, no individual finds more fatally and feels more keenly thatpomp is not felicity, and splendour not content. 

Deprived of all those sources of happiness which seem inherent in woman, the wife of the Sovereign sometimes seeks in politics and in pleasure ameans of excitement which may purchase oblivion. But the political queenis a rare character; she must possess an intellect of unusual power, andher lot must be considered as an exception in the fortunes of femaleroyalty. Even the political queen generally closes an agitated careerwith a broken heart. And for the unhappy votary of pleasure, who ownsher cold duty to a royal husband, we must not forget that even in themost dissipated courts the conduct of the queen is expected to bedecorous, and that the instances are not rare where the wife of themonarch has died on the scaffold, or in a dungeon, or in exile, becauseshe dared to be indiscreet where all were debauched. But for the greatmajority of royal wives, they exist without a passion; they have nothingto hope, nothing to fear, nothing to envy, nothing to want, nothing toconfide, nothing to hate, and nothing to love. Even their duties, thoughmultitudinous, are mechanical, and, while they require much attention, occasion no anxiety. Amusement is their moment of great emotion, and forthem amusement is rare; for amusement is the result of equalcompanionship. Thus situated, they are doomed to become frivolous intheir pursuits and formal in their manners, and the Court chaplain orthe Court confessor is the only person who can prove they have a soul, by convincing them that it will be saved. 

The young Archduchess had assented to the proposition of marriage withthe Crown Prince of Reisenburg without opposition, as she was convincedthat requesting her assent was only a courteous form of requiring hercompliance. There was nothing outrageous to her feelings in marrying aman whom she had never seen, because her education, from her tenderestyears, had daily prepared her for such an event. Moreover, she was awarethat, if she succeeded in escaping from the offers of the Crown Princeof Reisenburg, she would soon be under the necessity of assenting tothose of some other suitor; and if proximity to her own country, accordance with its sentiments and manners, and previous connection withher own house, were taken into consideration, an union with the familyof Reisenburg was even desirable. It was to be preferred, at least, toone which brought with it a foreign husband and a foreign clime, astrange language and strange customs. The Archduchess, a girl of ardentfeelings and lively mind, had not, however, agreed to become thatall-commanding slave, a Queen, without a stipulation. She required thatshe might be allowed, previous to her marriage, to visit her futureCourt incognita. This singular and unparalleled proposition was noteasily acceded to: but the opposition with which it was received onlytended to make the young Princess more determined to be gratified in hercaprice. Her Imperial Highness did not pretend that any end was to beobtained by this unusual procedure, and indeed she had no definitepurpose in requesting it to be permitted. It was originally the merewhim of the moment, and had it not been strongly opposed it would nothave been strenuously insisted upon. As it was, the young Archduchesspersisted, threatened, and grew obstinate; and the grey-headednegotiators of the marriage, desirous of its speedy completion, and nothaving a more tractable tool ready to supply her place, at lengthyielded to her bold importunity. Great difficulty, however, wasexperienced in carrying her wishes into execution. By what means and inwhat character she was to appear at Court, so as not to excite suspicionor occasion discovery, were often discussed, without being resolvedupon. At length it became necessary to consult Mr. Beckendorff. Theupper lip of the Prime Minister of Reisenburg curled as the ImperialMinister detailed the caprice and contumacy of the Princess, andtreating with the greatest contempt this girlish whim, Mr. Beckendorffridiculed those by whom it had been humoured with no suppressedderision. The consequence of his conduct was an interview with thefuture Grand Duchess, and the consequence of his interview an unexpectedundertaking on his part to arrange the visit according to herHighness's desires. 

The Archduchess had not yet seen the Crown Prince; but six miniaturesand a whole length portrait had prepared her for not meeting an Adonisor a Baron Trenck, and that was all; for never had the Correggio of theage of Charles the Fifth better substantiated his claims to the officeof Court painter than by these accurate semblances of his RoyalHighness, in which his hump was subdued into a Grecian bend, and hislack-lustre eyes seemed beaming with tenderness and admiration. Hisbetrothed bride stipulated with Mr. Beckendorff that the fact of hervisit should be known only to himself and the Grand Duke; and beforeshe appeared at Court she had received the personal pledge both ofhimself and his Royal Highness that the affair should be kept a completesecret from the Crown Prince. 

Most probably, on her first introduction to her future husband, all theromantic plans of the young Archduchess to excite an involuntaryinterest in his heart vanished; but how this may be, it is needless forus to inquire, for that same night introduced another character into herromance for whom she was perfectly unprepared, and whose appearancetotally disorganised its plot. 

Her inconsiderate, her unjustifiable conduct, in tampering with thatindividual's happiness and affection, was what the young and haughtyArchduchess deplored in the most energetic, the most feeling, and themost humble spirit; and anticipating that after this painful disclosurethey would never meet again, she declared that for his sake alone sheregretted what had passed, and praying that he might be happier thanherself, she supplicated to be forgiven and forgotten. 

Vivian read the Archduchess's letter over and over again, and then putit in his breast. At first he thought that he had lived to shed anothertear; but he was mistaken. In a few minutes he found himself quiteroused from his late overwhelming stupor. Remorse or regret for thepast, care or caution for the future, seemed at the same moment to havefled from his mind. He looked up to Heaven with a wild smile, half ofdespair and half of defiance, it seemed to imply that Fate had now doneher worst, and that he had at last the satisfaction of knowing himselfto he the most unfortunate and unhappy being that ever existed. When aman at the same time believes in and sneers at his Destiny we may besure that he considers his condition past redemption. 

CHAPTER II

They stopped for an hour at the next post, according to Essper'ssuggestion. Indeed, he proposed resting there for the night, for bothmen and beasts much required repose; but Vivian panted to reach Vienna, to which city two days' travelling would now carry him. His passionswere so roused, and his powers of reflection so annihilated, that whilehe had determined to act desperately, he was unable to resolve uponanything desperate. Whether, on his arrival at the Austrian capital, heshould plunge into dissipation or into the Danube was equally uncertain. He had some thought of joining the Greeks or Turks, no matter which, probably the latter, or perhaps of serving in the Americas. The idea ofreturning to England never once entered his mind: he expected to findletters from his father at Vienna, and he almost regretted it; for, inhis excessive misery, it was painful to be conscious that a being stillbreathed who was his friend. 

It was a fine moonlight night, but the road was mountainous; and inspite of all the encouragement of Vivian, and all the consequentexertions of the postilion, they were upwards of two hours and a halfgoing these eight miles. To get on any farther to-night was quiteimpossible. Essper's horse was fairly knocked up, and even Max visiblydistressed. The post-house was fortunately an inn. It was not at avillage, and, as far as the travellers could learn, not near one, andits appearance did not promise very pleasing accommodation. Essper, whohad scarcely tasted food for nearly eighteen hours, was not highlydelighted with the prospect before them. His anxiety, however, was notmerely selfish: he was as desirous that his young master should berefreshed by a good night's rest as himself, and anticipating that heshould have to exercise his skill in making a couch for Vivian in thecarriage, he proceeded to cross-examine the postmaster on thepossibility of his accommodating them. The host was a pious-lookingpersonage, in a black velvet cap, with a singularly meek and charitableexpression of countenance. His long black hair was exquisitely braided, and he wore round his neck a collar of pewter medals, all of which hadbeen recently sprinkled with holy water and blessed under the petticoatof the saintly Virgin; for the postmaster had only just returned from apilgrimage to the celebrated shrine of the Black Lady of Altoting. 

"Good friend!" said Essper, looking him cunningly in the face, "I fearthat we must order horses on: you can hardly accommodate two?"

"Good friend!" answered the innkeeper, and he crossed himself veryreverently at the same time, "it is not for man to fear, but to hope. "

"If your beds were as good as your adages, " said Essper George, laughing, "in good truth, as a friend of mine would say, I would sleephere to-night. "

"Prithee, friend, " continued the innkeeper, kissing a medal of hiscollar very devoutly, "what accommodation dost thou lack?"

"Why" said Essper, "in the way of accommodation, little, for twoexcellent beds will content us; but in the way of refreshment, by St. Hubert! as another friend of mine would swear, he would be a bold manwho would engage to be as hungry before his dinner as I shall be aftermy supper. "

"Friend!" said the innkeeper, "Our Lady forbid that thou shouldst leaveour walls to-night: for the accommodation, we have more than sufficient;and as for the refreshment, by Holy Mass! we had a priest tarry herelast night, and he left his rosary behind. I will comfort my soul, bytelling my beads over the kitchen-fire, and for every Paternoster mywife shall give thee a rasher of kid, and for every Ave a tumbler ofAugsburg, which Our Lady forget me if I did not myself purchase butyesterday se'nnight from the pious fathers of the Convent ofSt. Florian!"

"I take thee at thy word, honest sir, " said Essper. "By the Creed! Iliked thy appearance from the first; nor wilt thou find me unwilling, when my voice has taken its supper, to join thee in some pious hymn orholy canticle. And now for the beds!"

"There is the green room, the best bedroom in my house, " said theInnkeeper. "Holy Mary forget me if in that same bed have not stretchedtheir legs more valorous generals, more holy prelates, and moredistinguished councillors of our Lord the Emperor, than in any bed inall Austria. "

"That, then, for my master, and for myself--"

"H-u-m!" said the host, looking very earnestly in Essper's face; "Ishould have thought that thou wert one more anxious after dish andflagon than curtain and eider-down!"

"By my Mother! I love good cheer, " said Essper, earnestly, "and want itmore at this moment than any knave that ever yet starved: but if thouhast not a bed to let me stretch my legs on after four-and-twenty hours'hard riding, by holy Virgin! I will have horses on to Vienna. "

"Our Black Lady forbid!" said the innkeeper, with a quick voice, andwith rather a dismayed look; "said I that thou shouldst not have a bed?St. Florian desert me if I and my wife would not sooner sleep in thechimney-corner than thou shouldst miss one wink of thy slumbers!"

"In one word, have you a bed?"

"Have I a bed? Where slept, I should like to know, the Vice-Principalof the Convent of Molk on the day before the last holy Ascension? Thewaters were out in the morning; and when will my wife forget what hisreverence was pleased to say when he took his leave; 'Good woman!' saidhe, 'my duty calls me; but the weather is cold; and between ourselves, Iam used to great feasts, and I should have no objection, if I wereprivileged, to stay and to eat again of thy red cabbage and cream!' Whatsay you to that? Do you think we have got beds now? You shall sleepto-night, sir, like an Aulic Councillor!"

This adroit introduction of the red cabbage and cream settledeverything; when men are wearied and famished they have no inclinationto be incredulous, and in a few moments Vivian was informed by hisservant that the promised accommodation was satisfactory; and havinglocked up the carriage, and wheeled it into a small outhouse, he andEssper were ushered by their host into a room which, as is usual insmall German inns in the South, served at the same time both for kitchenand saloon. The fire was lit in a platform of brick, raised in thecentre of the floor: the sky was visible through the chimney, which, although of a great breadth below, gradually narrowed to the top. Afamily of wandering Bohemians, consisting of the father and mother andthree children, were seated on the platform when Vivian entered; the manwas playing on a coarse wooden harp, without which the Bohemians seldomtravel. The music ceased as the new guests came into the room, and theBohemian courteously offered his place at the fire to our hero, who, however, declined disturbing the family group. A small table and acouple of chairs were placed in a corner of the room by the innkeeper'swife, a bustling active dame, who apparently found no difficulty inlaying the cloth, dusting the furniture, and cooking the supper at thesame time. At this table Vivian and his servant seated themselves; nor, indeed, did the cookery discredit the panegyric of the ReverendVice-Principal of the Convent of Molk. 

Alike wearied in mind and body, Vivian soon asked for his bed, which, though not exactly fitted for an Aulic Councillor, as the good hostperpetually avowed it to be, nevertheless afforded decent accommodation. 

The Bohemian family retired to the hayloft, and Essper George would havefollowed his master's example, had not the kind mistress of the housetempted him to stay behind by the production of a new platter ofrashers: indeed, he never remembered meeting with such hospitable peopleas the postmaster and his wife. They had evidently taken a fancy to him, and, though extremely wearied, the lively little Essper endeavoured, between his quick mouthfuls and long draughts, to reward and encouragetheir kindness by many a good story and sharp joke. With all these bothmine host and his wife were exceedingly amused, seldom containing theirlaughter, and frequently protesting, by the sanctity of various saints, that this was the pleasantest night and Essper the pleasantest fellowthat they had ever met with. 

"Eat, eat, my friend!" said his host; "by the Mass! thou hast travelledfar; and fill thy glass, and pledge with me Our Black Lady of Altoting. By Holy Cross! I have hung up this week in her chapel a garland of silkroses, and have ordered to be burnt before her shrine three pounds ofperfumed was tapers! Fill again, fill again! and thou too, goodmistress; a bard day's work hast thou had; a glass of wine will do theeno harm! join me with our new friend! Pledge we together the HolyFathers of St. Florian, my worldly patrons and my spiritual pastors: letus pray that his reverence the Sub-Prior may not have his Christmasattack of gout in the stomach, and a better health to poor Father Felix!Fill again, fill again! this Augsburg is somewhat acid; we will have abottle of Hungary. Mistress, fetch us the bell-glasses, and here to theReverend Vice-Principal of Molk! our good friend: when will my wifeforget what he said to her on the morning of last holy Ascension! Fillagain, fill again!"

Inspired by the convivial spirit of the pious and jolly postmaster, Essper George soon forgot his threatened visit to his bedroom, and ateand drank, laughed and joked, as if he were again with his friend, Master Rodolph but wearied Nature at length avenged herself for thisunnatural exertion, and leaning back in his chair, he was, in the courseof an hour, overcome by one of those dead and heavy slumbers the effectof the united influence of fatigue and intemperance; in short, it waslike the midnight sleep of a fox-hunter. 

No sooner had our pious votary of the Black Lady of Altoting observedthe effect of his Hungary wine than, making a well-understood sign tohis wife, be took up the chair of Essper in his brawny arms, and, preceded by Mrs. Postmistress with a lantern, he left the room with hisguest. Essper's hostess led and lighted the way to an outhouse, whichoccasionally served as a coach-house, a stable, and a lumber-room. Ithad no window, and the lantern afforded the only light which exhibitedits present contents. In one corner was a donkey tied up, belonging tothe Bohemian. Under a hayrack was a large child's cradle: it was of aremarkable size, having been made for twins. Near it was a low woodensheep-tank, half filled with water, and which had been placed there forthe refreshment of the dog and his feathered friends, who were roostingin the rack. 

The pious innkeeper very gently lowered to the ground the chair on whichEssper was soundly sleeping; and then, having crossed himself, he tookup our friend with great tenderness and solicitude, and dexterouslyfitted him in the huge cradle. 

About an hour past midnight Essper George awoke. He was lying on hisback, and very unwell; and on trying to move, found that he was rocking. His late adventure was obliterated from his memory; and the strangemovement, united with his peculiar indisposition, left him no doubt thathe was on board ship! As is often the case when we are tipsy or nervous, Essper had been woke by the fright of falling from some immense height;and finding that his legs had no sensation, for they were quitebenumbed, he concluded that he had fallen down the hatchway, that hislegs were broken, and himself jammed in between some logs of wood in thehold, and so he began to cry lustily to those above to come down tohis rescue. 

"O, Essper George!" thought he, "how came you to set foot on salt timberagain! Had not you had enough of it in the Mediterranean and the Turkishseas, that you must be getting aboard this lubberly Dutch galliot! for Iam sure she's Dutch by being so low in the water. Well, they may talk ofa sea-life, but for my part, I never saw the use of the Sea. Many a sadheart it has caused, and many a sick stomach has it occasioned! Theboldest sailor climbs on board with a heavy soul, and leaps on land witha light spirit. O! thou indifferent ape of Earth! thy houses are of woodand thy horses of canvas; thy roads have no landmarks and thy highwaysno inns; thy hills are green without grass and wet without showers! andas for food, what art thou, O, bully Ocean! but the stable ofhorse-fishes, the stall of cow-fishes, the sty of hog-fishes, and thekennel of dog-fishes! Commend me to a fresh-water dish for meagre days!Sea-weeds stewed with chalk may be savoury stuff for a merman; but, formy part, give me red cabbage and cream: and as for drink, a man may livein the midst of thee his whole life and die for thirst at the end of it!Besides, thou blasphemous salt lake, where is thy religion? Where arethy churches, thou heretic?" So saying Essper made a desperate effort tocrawl up the hold. His exertion set the cradle rocking with renewedviolence; and at lust dashing against the sheep-tank, that pastoralpiece of furniture was overset, and part of its contents poured upon theinmate of the cradle. 

"Sprung a leak in the hold, by St. Nicholas!" bawled out Essper George. "Caulkers ahoy!"

At this moment three or four fowls, roused by the fall of the tank andthe consequent shouts of Essper, began fluttering about the rack, and atlast perched upon the cradle. "The live stock got loose'" shoutedEssper. "and the breeze getting stiffer every instant! Where is thecaptain? I will see him. I am not one of the crew: I belong to theCourt! I must have cracked my skull when I fell like a lubber down thatconfounded hatchway! Egad! I feel as if I had been asleep, and beendreaming I was at Court. "

The sound of heavy footsteps was now over his head. These noises were atonce an additional proof that he was in the hold, and an additionalstimulus to his calls to those on deck. In fact, these sounds wereoccasioned by the Bohemians, who always rose before break of day; andconsequently, in a few minutes, the door of the stable opened, and theBohemian, with a lantern in his hand, entered. 

"What do you want?" cried Essper. 

"I want my donkey"

"You do?" said Essper. "You're the Purser, I suppose, detected keeping ajackass among the poultry! eating all the food of our live stock, and wehaving kid every day. Though both my legs are off, I'll have a fling atyou!" and so saying, Essper, aided by the light of the lantern, scrambled out of the cradle, and taking up the sheep-tank, sent itstraight at the astonished Bohemian's head. The aim was good, and theman fell; more, however, from fright than injury. Seizing his lantern, which had fallen out of his hand, Essper escaped through the stable doorand rushed into the house. He found himself in the kitchen. The noise ofhis entrance roused the landlord and his wife, who had been sleeping bythe fire; since, not having a single bed beside their own, they hadgiven that up to Vivian. The countenance of the innkeeper effectuallydispelled the clouds which had been fast clearing off from Essper'sintellect. Giving one wide stare, and then rubbing his eyes, the truthlighted upon him, and so he sent the Bohemian's lantern at hislandlord's head. The postmaster seized the poker and the postmistress afaggot, and as the Bohemian, who had now recovered himself, had enteredin the rear, Essper George stood a fair chance of receiving a thoroughdrubbing, had not his master, roused by the suspicious noises and angrysounds which had reached his room, entered the kitchen with his pistols. 

CHAPTER III

As it was now morning, Vivian did not again retire to rest, but tookadvantage of the disturbance in the inn to continue his route at anearlier hour than he had previously intended. 

Essper, when he found himself safely mounted, lagged behind a fewminutes to vent his spleen against the innkeeper's wife. 

"May St. Florian confound me, madam!" said Essper, addressing himself tothe lady in the window, "if ever I beheld so ugly a witch as yourself!Pious friend! thy chaplet of roses was ill bestowed, and thou needestnot have travelled so far to light thy wax tapers at the shrine of theBlack Lady at Altoting; for by the beauty of holiness! an image of ebonyis mother of pearl to that soot-face whom thou callest thy wife. Farethee well! thou couple of saintly sinners! and may the next travellerwho tarries in the den of thieves qualify thee for canonisation by thywife's admiring pastor, the cabbage-eating Vice-Principal of Molk. "

Before the end of an hour they had to ford a rivulet running between twohigh banks. The scenery just here was particularly lovely, and Vivian'sattention was so engrossed by it that he did not observe the dangerwhich he was about to incur. 

On the left of the road a high range of rocky mountains abruptlydescended into an open but broken country, and the other side of theroad was occasionally bounded by low undulating hills, partially coveredwith dwarf woods, not high enough to obstruct the view of the distanthorizon. Rocky knolls jutted out near the base of the mountains; and onthe top of one of them, overlooked by a gigantic grey peak, stood anancient and still inhabited feudal castle. Round the base of thisinsulated rock a rustic village peeped above the encircling nutwoods, its rising smoke softening the hard features of the naked crag. On theside of the village nearest to Vivian a bold sheet of water dischargeditself in three separate falls between the ravine of a wooded mountain, and flowing round the village as a fine broad river, expanded before itreached the foundation of the castled rock into a long and deep lake, which was also fed by numerous streams, the gulleys only of which werenow visible down the steep sides of the mountains, their springs havingbeen long dried up. 

Vivian's view was interrupted by his sudden descent into the bed of therivulet, one of the numerous branches of the mountain torrent, and by acrash which as immediately ensued. The spring of his carriage wasbroken. The carriage fell over, but Vivian sustained no injury; andwhile Essper George rode forward to the village for assistance, hismaster helped the postilion to extricate the horses and secure them onthe opposite bank. They had done all that was in their power some timebefore Essper returned; and Vivian, who had seated himself on sometangled beech-roots, was prevented growing impatient by contemplatingthe enchanting scenery. The postilion, on the contrary, who hadtravelled this road even day of his life, and who found no gratificationin gazing upon rocks, woods, and waterfalls, lit his pipe, andoccasionally talked to his horses. So essential an attribute of thebeautiful is novelty! Essper at length made his appearance, attended byfive or six peasants, dressed in holiday costume, with some fancifuldecorations; their broad hats wreathed with wild flowers, their shortbrown jackets covered with buttons and fringe, and various colouredribbons streaming from their knees. 

"Well, sir! the grandson is born the day the grandfather dies! a cloudymorning has often a bright sunset' and though we are now sticking in aditch, by the aid of St. Florian we may be soon feasting in a castle!Come, my merry men, I did not bring you here to show your ribbons; thesooner you help us out of this scrape the sooner you will be againdancing with the pretty maidens on the green! Lend a hand!"

The calèche appeared to be so much shattered that they only ventured toput in one horse; and Vivian, leaving his carriage in charge of Essperand the postilion, mounted Max, and rode to the village, attended by thepeasants. He learnt from them on the way that they were celebrating themarriage of the daughter of their lord, who, having been informed of theaccident, had commanded them to go immediately to the gentleman'sassistance, and then conduct him to the castle. 

They crossed the river over a light stone bridge of three arches, thekey-stone of the centre one being decorated with a splendidlysculptured shield. 

"This bridge appears to be very recently built?" said Vivian to one ofhis conductors. 

"It was opened, sir, for the first time yesterday, to admit thebridegroom of my young lady, and the foundation stone was laid on theday she was born. "

"I see that your good lord was determined that it should be a solidstructure. "

"Why, sir, it was necessary that the foundation should be strong, because three succeeding winters it was washed away by the rush of thatmountain torrent. Turn this way, if you please, sir, throughthe village. "

Vivian was much struck by the appearance of the little settlement as herode through it. It did not consist of more than fifty houses, but theywere all detached, and each beautifully embowered in trees. The end ofthe village came upon a large rising green, leading up to the onlyaccessible side of the castle. It presented a most animated scene, beingcovered with various groups, all intent upon different rusticamusements. An immense pole, the stem of a gigantic fir-tree, was fixednearly in the centre of the green, and crowned with a chaplet, thereward of the most active young man of the village, whose agility mightenable him to display his gallantry by presenting it to his mistress, she being allowed to wear it during the remainder of the sports. Themiddle-aged men were proving their strength by raising weights; whilethe elders of the village joined in the calmer and more scientificdiversion of skittles, which in Austria are played with bowls and pinsof very great size. Others were dancing; others sitting under tents, chattering or taking refreshments. Some were walking in pairs, anticipating the speedy celebration of a wedding day happier to them, ifless gay to others. Even the tenderest infants on this festive dayseemed conscious of some unusual cause of excitement, and many anurchin, throwing himself forward in a vain attempt to catch in elderbrother or a laughing sister, tried the strength of his leading-strings, and rolled over, crowing in the soft grass. 

At the end of the green a splendid tent was erected, with a large whitebridal flag waving from its top, embroidered in gold, with a truelover's knot. From this pavilion came forth, to welcome the strangers, the lord of the village. He was a tall but thin bending figure, with aflorid benevolent countenance, and a quantity of long white hair. Thisvenerable person cordially offered his hand to Vivian, regretted hisaccident, but expressed much pleasure that he had come to partake oftheir happiness. "Yesterday, " continued he, "was my daughter's weddingday, and both myself and our humble friends are endeavouring to forget, in this festive scene, our approaching loss and separation. If you hadcome yesterday you would have assisted at the opening of my new bridge. Pray what do you think of it? But I will show it to you myself, which Iassure you will give me great pleasure; at present let me introduce youto my family, who will be quite happy to see you. It is a pity that youhave missed the Regatta; my daughter is just going to reward thesuccessful candidate. You see the boats upon the lake; the one with thewhite and purple streamer was the conqueror. You will have the pleasure, too, of seeing my son-in-law; I am sure you will like him; he quiteenjoys our sports. We shall have a fête champêtre to-morrow, and a danceon the green to-night. "

The old gentleman paused for want of breath, and having stood a momentto recover himself, he introduced his new guests to the inmates of thetent: first, his maiden sister, a softened facsimile of himself; behindher stood his beautiful and blushing daughter, the youthful bride, wearing on her head a coronal of white roses, and supported by threebridesmaids, the only relief to whose snowy dresses were large bouquetson their left side. The bridegroom was at first shaded by the curtain;but as he came forward Vivian started when he recognised his Heidelburgfriend, Eugene von Konigstein!

Their mutual delight and astonishment were so great that for an instantneither of them could speak; but when the old man learnt from hisson-in-law that the stranger was his most valued and intimate friend, and one to whom he was under great personal obligations, he absolutelydeclared that he would have the wedding, to witness which appeared tohim the height of human felicity, solemnised over again. The brideblushed, the bridesmaids tittered, the joy was universal. 

Vivian inquired after the Baron. He learnt from Eugene that he hadquitted Europe about a month, having sailed as Minister to one of theNew American States. "My uncle, " continued the young man, "was neitherwell nor in spirits before his departure. I cannot understand why heplagues himself so about politics; however, I trust he will like his newappointment. You found him, I am sure, a delightful companion. "

"Come! you two young gentlemen, " said the father-in-law, "put off yourchat till the evening. The business of the day stops, for I see theprocession coming forward to receive the Regatta prize. Now, my dear!where is the scarf? You know what to say? Remember, I particularly wishto do honour to the victor! The sight of all these happy faces makes mefeel quite young again. I declare I think I shall live a hundred years!"

The procession advanced. First came a band of young children strewingflowers, then followed four stout boys carrying a large purple and whitebanner. The victor, proudly preceding the other candidates, struttedforward, with his hat on one side, a light scull decorated with purpleand white ribbons in his right hand, and his left arm round his wife'swaist. The wife, a beautiful young woman, to whom were clinging two fatflaxen-headed children, was the most interesting figure in theprocession. Her tight dark bodice set off her round full figure, and hershort red petticoat displayed her springy foot and ancle. Her neatlybraided and plaited hair was partly concealed by a silk cap, coveredwith gold spangled gauze, flattened rather at the top, and finished atthe back of the head with a large bow. This costly head-gear, thehighest fashion of her class, was presented to the wearer by the bride, and was destined to be kept for festivals. After the victor and his wifecame six girls and six boys, at the side of whom walked a very bustlingpersonage in black, who seemed extremely interested about the decorum ofthe procession. A long train of villagers succeeded. 

"Well!" said the old Lord to Vivian, "this must be a very gratifyingsight to you! How fortunate that your carriage broke down just at mycastle! I think my dear girl is acquitting herself admirably. Ah! Eugeneis a happy fellow, and I have no doubt that she will be happy too. Theyoung sailor receives his honours very properly: they are as nice afamily as I know. Observe, they are moving off now to make way for thepretty girls and boys. That person in black is our Abbé, as benevolent, worthy a creature as ever lived! and very clever too: you will see in aminute. Now they are going to give us a little bridal chorus, after theold fashion, and it is all the Abbé's doing. I understand that there isan elegant allusion to my new bridge in it, which I think will pleaseyou. Who ever thought that bridge would be opened for my girl's wedding?Well! I am glad that it was not finished before. But we must be silent'You will notice that part about the bridge; it is in the fifth verse, Iam told, beginning with something about Hymen, and ending with somethingabout roses. "

By this time the procession had formed a semicircle before the tent, theAbbé standing In the middle, with a paper in his hand, and dividing thetwo hands of choristers. He gave a signal with his cane, and the girlscommenced:--

 _Chorus of Maidens_

Hours fly! it is Morn; he has left the bed of love! She follows him witha strained eye when his figure is no longer seen; she leans her headupon her arm. She is faithful to him as the lake to the mountain!

 _Chorus of Youths_

Hours fly! it is Noon; fierce is the restless sun! While he labours hethinks of her! while he controls others he will obey her! A strong mansubdued by love is like a vineyard silvered by the moon!

 _Chorus of Youths and Maidens_

Hours fly! it is Eve; the soft star lights him to his home; she meetshim as his shadow falls on the threshold! she smiles, and their child, stretching forth its tender hands from its mother's bosom, struggles tolisp "Father!"

 _Chorus of Maidens_

Years glide! it is Youth; they sit within a secret bower. Purity is inher raptured eyes, Faith in his warm embrace. He must fly! He kisses hisfarewell: the fresh tears are on her cheek! He has gathered a lily withthe dew upon its leaves!

 _Chorus of Youths_

Years glide! it is Manhood. He is in the fierce Camp: he is in thedeceitful Court. He must mingle sometimes with others, that he may bealways with her! In the false world, she is to him like a green oliveamong rocks!

 _Chorus of Youths and Maidens_

Years glide! it is Old Age. They sit beneath a branching elm. As themoon rises on the sunset green, their children dance before them! Herhand is in his; they look upon their children, and then upon each other!

"The fellow has some fancy, " said the old Lord, "but given, I think, toconceits. I did not exactly catch the passage about the bridge, but Ihave no doubt it was all right. "

Vivian was now invited to the pavilion, where refreshments wereprepared. Here our hero was introduced to many other guests, relationsof the family, who were on a visit at the castle, and who had been onthe lake at the moment of his arrival. 

"This gentleman, " said the old Lord, pointing to Vivian, "is my son'sfriend, and I am quite sure that you are all delighted to see him. Hearrived here accidentally, his carriage having fortunately broken downin passing one of the streams. All those rivulets should have bridgesbuilt over them! I could look at my new bridge for ever. I often askmyself, 'Now, how can such a piece of masonry ever be destroyed?' Itseems quite impossible, does not it? We all know that everything has anend; and yet, whenever I look at that bridge, I often think that it canonly end when all things end. "

In the evening they all waltzed upon the green. The large yellow moonhad risen, and a more agreeable sight than to witness two or threehundred persons so gaily occupied, and in such a scene, is not easy toimagine. How beautiful was the stern old castle, softened by themoonlight, the illumined lake, the richly-silvered foliage of the woods, and the white brilliant cataract!

As the castle was quite full of visitors, its hospitable master hadlodged Vivian for the night at the cottage of one of his favouritetenants. Nothing would give greater pleasure to Vivian than thiscircumstance, nor more annoyance to the worthy old gentleman. 

The cottage belonged to the victor in the Regatta, who himself conductedthe visitor to his dwelling. Vivian did not press Essper's leaving therevellers, so great an acquisition did he seem to their sports! teachingthem a thousand new games, and playing all manner of antics; but perhapsnone of his powers surprised them more than the extraordinary facilityand freedom with which he had acquired and used all their names. Thecottager's pretty wife had gone home an hour before her husband, to puther two fair-haired children to bed and prepare her guest'saccommodation for the night. Nothing could be more romantic and lovelythan the situation of the cottage. It stood just on the gentle slope ofthe mountain's base, not a hundred yards from the lower waterfall. Itwas in the middle of a patch of highly-cultivated ground, which borecreditable evidence to the industry of its proprietor. Fruit trees, Turkey corn, vines, and flax flourished in luxuriance. The dwellingitself was covered with myrtle and arbutus, and the tall lemon-plantperfumed the window of the sitting-room. The casement of Vivian'schamber opened full on the foaming cataract. The distant murmur of themighty waterfall, the gentle sighing of the trees, the soothinginfluence of the moonlight, and the faint sounds occasionally caught ofdying revelry, the joyous exclamation of some successful candidate inthe day's games, the song of some returning lover, the plash of an oarin the lake: all combined to produce that pensive mood in which we findourselves involuntarily reviewing the history of our life. 

As Vivian was musing over the last harassing months of his burthensomeexistence he could not help feeling that there was only one person inthe world on whom his memory could dwell with solace and satisfaction, and this person was Lady Madeleine Trevor!

It was true that with her he had passed some agonising hours; but hecould not forget the angelic resignation with which her own afflictionhad been borne, and the soothing converse by which his had beenalleviated. This train of thought was pursued till his aching mind sunkinto indefiniteness. He sat for some little time almost unconscious ofexistence, till the crying of a child, waked by its father's return, brought him back to the present scene. His thoughts naturally ran to hisfriend Eugene. Surely this youthful bridegroom might reckon uponhappiness! Again Lady Madeleine recurred to him. Suddenly he observed awonderful appearance in the sky. The moon was paled in the high heavens, and surrounded by luminous rings, almost as vividly tinted as therainbow, spreading and growing fainter, till they covered nearly halfthe firmament. It was a glorious and almost unprecedented halo!

CHAPTER IV

The sun rose red, the air was thick and hot. Anticipating that the daywould be very oppressive, Vivian and Essper were on their horses' backsat an early hour. Already, however, many of the rustic revellers wereabout, and preparations were commencing for the fête champêtre, whichthis day was to close the wedding festivities. Many and sad were thelooks which Essper George cast behind him at the old castle on the lake. "No good luck can come of it!" said he to his horse; for Vivian did notencourage conversation. "O! master of mine, when wilt thou know themeaning of good quarters! To leave such a place, and at such a time!Why, Turriparva was nothing to it! The day before marriage and the hourbefore death is when a man thinks least of his purse and most of hisneighbour. O! man, man, what art thou, that the eye of a girl can makethee so pass all discretion that thou wilt sacrifice for the whim of amoment good cheer enough to make thee last an age!"

Vivian had intended to stop and breakfast after riding about ten miles;but he had not proceeded half that way when, from the extreme sultrinessof the morning, he found it impossible to advance without refreshment. Max, also, to his rider's surprise, was much distressed; and, on turninground to his servant, Vivian found Essper's hack panting and puffing, and breaking out, as if, instead of commencing their day's work, theywere near reaching their point of destination. 

"Why, how now, Essper? One would think that we had been riding allnight. What ails the beast?"

"In truth, sir, that which ails its rider; the poor dumb brute has moresense than some who have the gift of speech. Who ever heard of a horseleaving good quarters without much regretting the indiscretion?"

"The closeness of the air is so oppressive that I do not wonder at evenMax being distressed. Perhaps when the sun is higher, and has clearedaway the vapours, it may be more endurable: as it is, I think we hadbetter stop at once and breakfast here. This wood is as inviting as, Itrust, are the contents of your basket!"

"St. Florian devour them!" said Essper, in a very pious voice, "if Iagree not with you, sir; and as for the basket, although we have leftthe land of milk and honey, by the blessing of our Black Lady! I havethat within it which would put courage in the heart of a caught mouse. Although we may not breakfast on bridecake and beccaficos, yet is aneat's tongue better than a fox's tail; and I have ever held a bottle ofRhenish to be superior to rain-water, even though the element befiltered through a gutter. Nor, by All Saints! have I forgotten a bottleof Kerchen Wasser from the Black Forest, nor a keg of Dantzic brandy, aglass of which, when travelling at night, I am ever accustomed to takeafter my prayers; for I have always observed that, though devotion dothsufficiently warm up the soul, the body all the time is rather thecolder for stopping under a tree to tell its beads. "

The travellers accordingly led their horses a few yards into the wood, and soon met, as they had expected, with a small green glade. It wassurrounded, except at the slight opening by which they had entered it, with fine Spanish chestnut trees, which now, loaded with their largebrown fruit, rich and ripe, clustered in the starry foliage, afforded aretreat as beautiful to the eye as its shade was grateful to theirsenses. Vivian dismounted, and, stretching out his legs, leant backagainst the trunk of a tree: and Essper, having fastened Max and his ownhorse to some branches, proceeded to display his stores. Vivian wassilent, thoughtful, and scarcely tasted anything: Essper George, on thecontrary, was in unusual and even troublesome spirits, and had not hisappetite necessarily produced a few pauses in his almost perpetualrattle, the patience of his master would have been fairly worn out. Atlength Essper had devoured the whole supply; and as Vivian not only didnot encourage his remarks, but even in a peremptory manner had desiredhis silence, he was fain to amuse himself by trying to catch in hismouth a large brilliant fly which every instant was dancing before him. Two individuals more singularly contrasting in their appearance than themaster and the servant could scarcely be conceived; and Vivian, lyingwith his back against a tree, with his legs stretched out, his armsfolded, and his eyes fixed on the ground; and Essper, though seated, inperpetual motion, and shifting his posture with feverish restlessness, now looking over his shoulder for the fly, then making an unsuccessfulbite at it, and then, wearied with his frequent failures, amusinghimself with acting Punch with his thumbs; altogether presenting twofigures, which might have been considered as not inapt personificationsof the rival systems of Ideality and Materialism. 

At length Essper became silent for the sake of variety, and imagining, from his master's example, that there must be some sweets in meditationhitherto undiscovered by him, he imitated Vivian's posture! So perverseis human nature, that the moment Vivian was aware that Essper wasperfectly silent, he began to feel an inclination to converse with him. 

"Why, Essper!" said he, looking up and smiling, "this is the first timeduring our acquaintance that I have ever seen thought upon your brow. What can now be puzzling your wild brain?"

"I was thinking, sir, " said Essper, with a very solemn look, "that ifthere were a deceased field-mouse here I would moralise on death. "

"What! turned philosopher!"

"Ay! sir, it appears to me, " said he, taking up a husk which lay on theturf, "that there is not a nutshell in Christendom which may not becomematter for very grave meditation!"

"Can you expound that?"

"Verily, sir, the whole philosophy of life seems to me to consist indiscovering the kernel. When you see a courtier out of favour or amerchant out of credit, when you see a soldier without pillage, a sailorwithout prize money, and a lawyer without paper, a bachelor withnephews, and an old maid with nieces, be assured the nut is not worththe cracking, and send it to the winds, as I do this husk at present. "

"Why, Essper!" said Vivian, laughing, "Considering that you have takenyour degree so lately, you wear the Doctor's cap with authority! Insteadof being in your noviciate, one would think that you had been aphilosopher long enough to have outlived your system. "

"Bless you, sir, for philosophy, I sucked it in with my mother's milk. Nature then gave me the hint, which I have ever since acted on, and Ihold that the sum of all learning consists in milking another man's cow. So much for the recent acquisition of my philosophy! I gained it, yousee, sir, with the first wink of my eye; and though I lost a greatportion of it by sea-sickness in the Mediterranean, nevertheless, sinceI served your Lordship, I have resumed my old habits, and do opine thatthis vain globe is but a large football to be kicked and cuffed about bymoody philosophers!"

"You must have seen a great deal in your life, Essper, " said Vivian. 

"Like all great travellers. " said Essper, "I have seen more than Iremember, and remember more than I have seen. "

"Have you any objection to go to the East again?" asked Vivian. "Itwould require but little persuasion to lead me there. "

"I would rather go to a place where the religion is easier; I wish, sir, you would take me to England!"

"Nay, not there with me, if with others. "

"With you, or with none. "

"I cannot conceive, Essper, what can induce you to tie up your fortuneswith those of such a sad-looking personage as myself. "

"In truth, sir, there is no accounting for tastes. My grandmother loveda brindled cat!"

"Your grandmother, Essper! Nothing would amuse me more than to beintroduced to your family. "

"My family, sir, are nothing more nor less than what all of us must becounted, worms of five feet long, mortal angels, the world's epitome, heaps of atoms which Nature has kneaded with blood into solid flesh, little worlds of living clay, sparks of heaven, inches of earth, Nature's quintessence, moving dust, the little all, smooth-facedcherubim, in whose souls the Ring of stars has drawn the imageof Himself!"

"And how many years has breathed the worm of five feet long that I amnow speaking to?"

"Good, my Lord, I was no head at calculating from a boy; but I doremember that I am two days older than one of the planets. "

"How is that?"

"There was one born in the sky, sir, the day I was christened with aTurkish crescent. "

"Come, Essper, " said Vivian, who was rather interested by theconversation; Essper, having, until this morning, skilfully avoided anydiscourse upon the subject of his birth or family, adroitly turning theconversation whenever it chanced to approach these subjects, andsilencing inquiries, if commenced, by some ludicrous and evidentlyfictitious answer. "Come, Essper, " said Vivian, "I feel by no means inthe humour to quit this shady retreat. You and I have now known eachother long, and gone through much together. It is but fair that I shouldbecome better acquainted with one who, to me, is not only a faithfulservant, but what is more valuable, a faithful friend, I might nowalmost add, my only one. What say you to whiling away a passing hour bygiving me some sketch of your curious and adventurous life? If there beanything that you wish to conceal, pass it over; but no invention, nothing but the truth, if you please; the whole truth, if you like. "

"Why, sweet sir, as for this odd knot of soul and body, which none butthe hand of Heaven could have twined, it was first seen, I believe, nearthe very spot where we are now sitting; for my mother, when I saw herfirst and last, lived in Bohemia. She was an Egyptian, and came herselffrom the Levant. I lived a week, sir, in the Seraglio when I was atConstantinople, and I saw there the brightest women of all countries, Georgians, and Circassians, and Poles; in truth, sir, nature'smasterpieces. And yet, by the Gods of all nations! there was not one ofthem half so lovely as the lady who gave me this tongue!" Here Essperexhibited at full length the enormous feature which had so much enragedthe one-eyed sergeant at Frankfort. 

"When I first remember myself, " he continued, "I was playing with someother gipsy-boys in the midst of a forest. Here was our settlement! Itwas large and powerful. My mother, probably from her beauty, possessedgreat influence, particularly among the men; and yet I found not amongthem all a father. On the contrary, every one of my companions had a manwhom he reverenced as his parent, and who taught him to steal; but Iwas called by the whole tribe the mother-son, and was honest from myfirst year out of mere wilfulness; at least, if I stole anything, it wasalways from our own people. Many were the quarrels I occasioned, since, presuming on my mother's love and power, I never called mischief ascrape; but acting just as my fancy took me, I left those who sufferedby my conduct to apologise for my ill-behaviour. Being thus an idle, unprofitable, impudent, and injurious member of this pure community, they determined one day to cast me out from their bosom; and in spite ofmy mother's exertions and entreaties, the ungrateful vipers succeeded intheir purpose. As a compliment to my parent, they allowed me to tendermy resignation, instead of receiving my expulsion. My dear mother gaveme a donkey, a wallet, and a ducat, a great deal of advice about myfuture conduct, and, what was more interesting to me, much informationabout my birth. 

"'Sweet child of my womb!' said my mother, pressing me to her bosom; 'beproud of thy white hands and straight nose! Thou gottest them not fromme, and thou shalt take them from whence they came. Thy father is aHungarian Prince; and though I would not have parted with thee, had Ithought that thou wouldst ever have prospered in our life, even if hehad made thee his child of the law and lord of his castle, still, asthou canst not tarry with us, haste thou to him! Give him this ring andthis lock of hair; tell him none have seen them but the father, themother, and the child! He will look on them, and remember the days thatare passed; and thou shalt be unto him as a hope for his lusty years anda prop for his old age. '

"My mother gave me all necessary directions, which I well remembered, and much more advice, which I directly forgot. 

"Although tempted, now that I was a free man, to follow my own fancy, Istill was too curious to sec what kind of a person was my unknown fatherto deviate either from my route or my maternal instructions, and in afortnight's time I had reached my future Principality. 

"The Sun sank behind the proud castle of my princely father, as, trotting slowly along upon my humble beast, with my wallet slung at myside, I approached it through his park. A guard, consisting of twenty orthirty men in magnificent uniforms, were lounging at the portal. I--butsir, sir, what is the meaning of this darkness? I always made a vow tomyself that I never would tell my history. Ah! what ails me?"

A large eagle fell dead at their feet. 

"Protect me, master!" screamed Essper, seizing Vivian by the shoulder;"what is coming? I cannot stand; the earth seems to tremble! Is it thewind that roars and rages? or is it ten thousand cannon blowing thisglobe to atoms?"

"It is, it must be the wind!" said Vivian, agitated. "We are not safeunder these trees: look to the horses!"

"I will, " said Essper, "if I can stand. Out of the forest! Ah, look atMax!"

Vivian turned, and beheld his spirited horse raised on his hind legs, and dashing his fore feet against the trunk of a tree to which they hadtied him. The terrified and furious creature was struggling to disengagehimself, and would probably have sustained or inflicted some terribleinjury, had not the wind suddenly hushed. Covered with foam, he stoodpanting, while Vivian patted and encouraged him. Essper's less spiritedbeast had, from the first, crouched upon the earth, covered with sweat, his limbs quivering and his tongue hanging out. 

"Master!" said Essper, "what shall we do? Is there any chance of gettingback to the castle? I am sure our very lives are in danger. See thattremendous cloud! It looks like eternal night! Whither shall we go; whatshall we do?"

"Make for the castle!" said Vivian, mounting. 

They had just got into the road when another terrific gust of windnearly took them off their horses, and blinded them with the clouds ofsand which it drove out of the crevices of the mountains. 

They looked round on every side, and Hope gave way before the scene ofdesolation. Immense branches were shivered from the largest trees; smallones were entirely stripped of their leaves; the long grass was bowed tothe earth; the waters were whirled in eddies out of the little rivulets;birds deserting their nests to shelter in the crevices of the rocks, unable to stem the driving air, flapped their wings and fell upon theearth: the frightened animals in the plain, almost suffocated by theimpetuosity of the wind, sought safety, and found destruction: some ofthe largest trees were torn up by the roots; the sluices of themountains were filled, and innumerable torrents rushed down before emptygulleys. The heavens now open, and lightning and thunder contend withthe horrors of the wind!

In a moment all was again hushed. Dead silence succeeded the bellow ofthe thunder, the roar of the wind, the rush of the waters, the moaningof the beasts, the screaming of the birds! Nothing was heard save thesplashing of the agitated lake as it beat up against the black rockswhich girt it in. 

"Master!" again said Essper, "is this the day of doom?"

"Keep by my side. Essper; keep close, make the best of this pause: letus but reach the village!"

Scarcely had Vivian spoken when greater darkness enveloped the tremblingearth. Again the heavens were rent with lightning, which nothing couldhave quenched but the descending deluge. Cataracts poured down from thelowering firmament. In an instant the horses dashed round; beast andrider, blinded and stifled by the gushing rain, and gasping for breath. Shelter was nowhere. The quivering beasts reared, and snorted, and sankupon their knees. The horsemen were dismounted. Vivian succeeded inhoodwinking Max, who was still furious: the other horse appeared nearlyexhausted. Essper, beside himself with terror, could only hang overhis neck. 

Another awful calm. 

"Courage, Essper!" said Vivian. "We are still safe: look up, man! thestorm cannot last long thus; and see! I am sure the clouds arebreaking. "

The heavy mass of vapour which had seemed to threaten the earth withinstant destruction suddenly parted. The red and lurid Sun was visible, but his light and heat were quenched in the still impending waters. 

"Mount, Essper!" said Vivian, "this is our only chance: five minutes'good speed will take us to the village. "

Encouraged by his master's example, Essper once more got upon his horse, and the panting animals, relieved by the cessation of the hurricane, carried them at a fair pace towards the village, considering that theirroad was now impeded by the overflowing of the lake. 

"Master!" said Essper, "cannot we get out of these waters?"

He had scarcely spoken before a terrific burst, a noise, they knew notwhat, a rush they could not understand, a vibration which shook them ontheir horses, made them start back and again dismount. Every terrorsank before the appalling roar of the cataract. It seemed that themighty mountain, unable to support its weight of waters, shook to thefoundation. A lake had burst on its summit, and the cataract became afalling Ocean. The source of the great deep appeared to be dischargingitself over the range of mountains; the great grey peak tottered on itsfoundations! It shook! it fell! and buried in its ruins the castle, thevillage, and the bridge!

Vivian with starting eyes beheld the whole washed away; instinct gavehim energy to throw himself on the back of his horse: a breath, and hehad leaped up the nearest hill! Essper George, in a state ofdistraction, was madly laughing as he climbed to the top of a high tree:his horse was carried off in the drowning waters, which had nowreached the road. 

"The desolation is complete!" thought Vivian. At this moment the windagain rose, the rain again descended, the heavens again opened, thelightning again flashed! An amethystine flame hung upon rocks andwaters, and through the raging elements a yellow fork darted its fatalpoint at Essper's resting-place. The tree fell! Vivian's horse, with amaddened snort, dashed down the hill; his master, senseless, clung tohis neck; the frantic animal was past all government; he stood uprightin the air, flung his rider, and fell dead!

Here leave we Vivian! It was my wish to have detailed, in the presentportion of this work, the singular adventures which befell him in one ofthe most delightful of modern cities, light-hearted Vienna! But hishistory has expanded under my pen, and I fear that I have, even now, toomuch presumed upon an attention which I am not entitled to command. Iam, as yet, but standing without the gate of the Garden of Romance. Trueit is, that as I gaze through the ivory bars of its Golden Portal, Iwould fain believe that, following my roving fancy, I might arrive atsome green retreats hitherto unexplored, and loiter among some leafybowers where none have lingered before me. But these expectations may beas vain as those dreams of Youth over which all have mourned. TheDisappointment of Manhood succeeds to the delusion of Youth: let us hopethat the heritage of Old Age is not Despair. 

THE END