In a continued scene of frivolity, to call it by no harsher name, and in the turmoil of petty passions and jarring female interests, passed the hours at Restormel that led on to the most solemn period of the year. Amongst the actors in it, Lord Albert D'Esterre cannot (with the feelings and character which he still possessed) be supposed to have held a part at all consistent with his true wishes; and, but for the increasing and alarming fascination of his senses, and the warping of his better judgment, by the influence which Lady Hamlet Vernon still, day by day, more effectually exercised over him, he would have quitted a society altogether, of which he could never really form a component part, and from which, but for the third power which held him in combination with it, he must have quickly separated himself.

But, however much this fatal influence might affect the general line of his conduct, the good seeds sown in early life, though sadly choaked as they had been, were not yet totally eradicated; and on the morning of the Easter festival, he took his way to the village to obey the calling bell of church. The service had begun when he entered, and it was not till the first lesson was commenced that he lifted his eyes from the book, and beheld in the family pew opposite Lady Hamlet Vernon. A flush of various feelings coloured his cheek, and suffused with a richer glow even the whiteness of his forehead. She is then, he thought, in despite of the example around her, really good;—she has listened to my advice; she has come to the fountain-head for instruction—all is well! He then endeavoured to follow the service throughout its solemn beauty; but his mind was disturbed, and his thoughts wandered.

When the congregation was dismissed, of course he bowed and approached Lady Hamlet Vernon with the greetings of the morning salutations, and offering her his arm, they walked slowly on into the church-yard; it was one of those quiet gray days, which belong neither to winter nor spring, but owned affinity with both, and there was a freshness in the odour of the new trodden grass, which might have been deemed the precursor of flowers, had not a frosty air chilled the sweet promise;—some fine old yews surrounded the church-yard, and the gay colours of the country peoples' ribbons and cloaks appeared in brilliant relief as they lingered beneath the dark boughs.

The rustic curtsey, and abrupt inclination of respect, which were offered in homage to Lord D'Esterre and Lady Hamlet Vernon on either side, as they passed through the village throng, indicated that the actions of those in the higher ranks of life can never be disregarded by the lower; a kind of deep respect, and an apparent satisfaction, sat on the countenances of these good people, and they showed by their very looks and manner, that they felt the hallowing of the sabbath to be a link of sympathy existing between them and their superiors, which mutually allied them in the bonds of christian fellowship.

These are feelings which, even in the uneducated, are still indigenous to the human heart, and, if cherished and preserved, become as productive of good as, when neglected or contemned, they tend to incalculable evil. As Lord Albert and Lady Hamlet Vernon passed along, the latter observed:

"I love to linger here; these rude memorials of love and respect to the dead" (pointing to the graves at their feet) "are a mournful gratification to the living; they tell us that in our turn we may at least hope to remain some short time in the memories of those whom we quit; but after all, tout passe," and she sighed heavily;—"yes, here undoubtedly all that the proudest trophies can do, is for a time to point the moral of a good or bad character by the stone that covers or decorates the tomb."

"But the tomb, dear Lady Hamlet, is only the repository of the dust; it will itself become like the dust it covers; but never, like that awakened dust, be infused with new life, a life far more glorious than all that we can form an idea of; and we must look not upon, not in the grave, but beyond it, where death is swallowed up in victory."

"You can do this, and you are happy," she replied. A cold revulsion struck on Lord Albert's heart as she paused and breathed with labouring breath,—"and can you not do so?" he asked in deep low tone and shuddered as he spoke. She shook her head; and after a moment's pause said, "all the happiness I know is confined to a few brief moments—a few electric gleams of pleasure, which vanish in their birth; a feverish uncertain and fearful catching at delight, which yet eludes my grasp. These are all the means which I possess to obtain happiness; yet, such as they are, and such as my success in them is, I would not exchange them for yours—what! exchange your cold, leaden, measured theories of feelings, for they are nothing more—or the beating pulse of spontaneous joy, which even in this moment of our communing is mine; no, Lord Albert, no—meanly as I think of myself when measured by your standard in the general tenour of our existence, and in the scale of being, there are moments when I soar above all that was ever dreamt of in your philosophy,"—and as she spoke her eyes danced in a deceptive brilliancy that for the moment turned Lord Albert's brain. He shuddered as he felt the pressure of her arm on his while she uttered these words, and his uncertain footsteps slid upon the base of a marble tomb.

In the action of recovering himself, a kind of change seemed to pass through his frame; so much are we influenced by trivial circumstances, which yet are surely not the agents of chance; in so doing his eyes rested on an inscription engraven on the stone, and as if glad to escape from answering her, he read the following lines:

"The lines are indeed beautiful," said Lady Hamlet Vernon, "and I could be content to be the mould under that stone, if I had ever enjoyed an existence to which they might with truth have been applied—but as it is, non ragionam di lor;" and she sprang lightly forwards, adding in a tone of affected levity, "let us make haste back to Restormel; why, dear Lord Albert, we shall be laughed at if it is known that we have been to church." The spell was broken, he made no reply, and they continued the remainder of their walk in silence.

"Hard, cold, insensate man!" cried Lady Hamlet Vernon, when she reached her own apartment; "but he shall be met with an equal share of self-love. I will subdue this haughty nature, and mock at him, when his hour of suffering arrives. If he loved passionately any thing, even that doll, that infant, that piece of clock-work Lady Adeline Seymour, I could forgive him; but he does not, it is a systematical pursuit of an ideal perfection, that leaves his heart always cold and untouched, and fenced round as it were with adamant. Proud D'Esterre, thou shalt weep for this"—and she paused for a moment, then collecting all her thoughts, her final resolution was taken, and availing herself of a communication which she had to make to Mr. Foley, who she trusted might be instrumental to her purpose, with a breaking heart, and with contending feelings she seized a pen, and traced the following letter:

"I am happy to inform you, my dear Mr. Foley, that the official patronage, which you have long wished me to procure for you, is now actually obtained, and your arrival in town is all that is wanted to arrange the necessary preliminaries. A letter received yesterday informs me of this; but in the interim, I wish you could make it convenient to pass a few days here on your road to London; for between ourselves, this place and its society is insufferably dull; and were it not for tilt and tournament between Lord Tonnerre and Lady Tilney (who you know under the rose cannot hear each other,) we must have all gone to sleep, or torn one another to pieces, or eaten our own paws, like antediluvian hyenas, from the absolute want of mental nourishment. But in this predicament, resembling people reduced to starvation on a sea voyage, we cast lots to see who should first be sacrificed for the benefit of the rest, and fortunately by the address of Lady Tilney, the lot was made to fall on Lord Tonnerre, who finished his existence amongst us, as he always lived, in a storm of passion; the only one of the party, I believe, who regrets his absence, is Lady Baskerville, who is now sans cavalier, and in the Roman phraseology, d'impeccarsi. I advise you then by all means to come quickly, and to supply the vacancy.

"But to leave joking, I must tell you my dear friend, that I languish for a rational companion, and one who will kindly enter into my feelings; nobody understands me here;—too good, and too bad, I am like Mahomet's tomb, hanging between heaven and earth, and I find no resting place for my sick soul, nor shall I, 'till you come with your kindly smile, to solace my weary spirit. Come, therefore, and that without delay, for you well know that when any thing is to be done, it had best be done quickly—all delays are dangerous, and with me they are despair.

"Would you wish to know something of those you will meet here? I have only to mention their names, and refer you to our old note book; I see no great visible change in any of them. Mr. Spencer Newcombe has been here for a few days, and is certainly the most diverting man in the world; and well he may be, for he lives entirely for that purpose.

"Lord Albert D'Esterre is here also; he sets up for a censor and corrector of men, manners, and things. He will have enough to do, if he persists in this unpopular walk; but I am much mistaken, if he will not soon find it a very arduous undertaking, and one indeed which is quite hopeless. If he were but content to do as other people do, who live in the world, and to be a little more like his day and generation, and a little less of Don Quixotte, he would really be a pleasant person. He does not, par parenthÈse, seem in a hurry to join his betrothed, which I think is rather a good sign; for I should have but a poor opinion of a man who did as papa and mamma ordered, and fell in love precisely as he had been desired to do in the days of his childhood.

"The Tilney, the Leinsengen, the Baskerville, the Boileau, go on in their usual way; and like the old quotation, though they all differ, yet they all agree in one thing at least, which is wishing the society of your agreeable self; so under pain of not only my displeasure, but that of all the world's, come quickly, and delay not. Adieu, and believe me to be the most true of your true friends.

"H. V."

In consequence of the occurrence of Lord Albert's morning walk, he felt little inclined to join the circle on his return to Restormel; and was in a mood too replete with contradictory feelings, to allow him to reflect calmly, still less to enable him to decide sanely upon the only vigorous step he should have taken, namely, to flee from temptation. He excused himself under the plea of being unwell, from leaving his own room; and sitting down with a determination of communing with his own heart, he found not the habit so easy, after long neglect; and was conscious that he mused, without deriving any fruit from his contemplations.

But by degrees, this confusion of mind subsided; and then came that soothing composure, which, after a state of emotion, is always welcomed with something like pleasure. He opened a favourite author, Owen Feltham; and he could not read long, without seeing his own necessities reflected in the page, as in a glass; this is one way by which to prove whether a moral or religious work be sterling or not, does it apply to our necessities? does it first probe, and then salve our wounds? Lord Albert D'Esterre found this book did both; and in its perusal, there was a sanctity of enjoyment to which he had been long a stranger. This enjoyment was, however, too soon disturbed by his servant bringing in a note; he felt it as an unwelcome intrusion; but it was opened after a moment's hesitation, and contained the following words:

"I am anxious to know how you really are. I too am unwell, and I dread lest I should have have said or done something this morning, which may have offended you—oh! if you know how terrible it is for those who have none to care for them, to suppose for an instant that they have given pain (however, unwittingly) to the only person whose good opinion they are anxious to possess, and who has evinced an interest in their welfare—you would now feel for me. I am not of those who make a display of their heart's feelings—far from it, I am a miser of the few treasures which lie hoarded there; it is for that reason that I mingle with the rest, as though I were one of them; and that I am now writing these troubled lines in the midst of the insipid turmoil which surrounds me; tout comme si de rien Étoit. Aid me in bearing my grievous burthen of existence, and send me one line to be a cordial for the moment at least; the present moment's ease is all I ever hope for."

What an overturn to all composure was conveyed in this little bit of perfumed paper; fifty commencements of reply were made and torn; at last he rang his bell, summoned his valet, and having given a verbal answer to the effect that he would shortly obey the commands of Lady Hamlet Vernon, he appeared in the drawing-room almost as soon as she could have expected a written reply. She was sitting apart from the rest of the company with a look of abstractedness and melancholy, the effect of which was heightened by extreme paleness; her beautiful dark hair was less carefully arranged than the laws of fashion demanded, but it was not the less beautiful for that, and some stray tresses fell gracefully upon her neck; her air, her dress, the subdued expression of her eyes, were all captivating, and precisely in Lord Albert's own way.

There was a carelessness or scorn of fashionable dress, which particularly suited his theories on the subject, not that his practical admiration had not fifty times been excited by a very different mode of attire; for the fact is, that men's tastes in respect to the costume of women are always regulated by that of the person they are in love with. On this occasion, however, it is certain that Lady Hamlet's attire was in the letter and in the spirit precisely what Lord Albert D'Esterre pronounced perfect. She held out her hand to him as he entered the saloon with the composed air of friendship, and expressed her pleasure at seeing him, for she had feared his indisposition would not have allowed him to leave his room: and then motioning him to sit down by her with that expression of calm interest, which attracts without affording any plausible application of the sentiment to a more vivid interest, she secured her object, and he occupied the vacant seat next to her's. Mr. Leslie Winyard, who was playing ÉcartÉ (even on the sacred day) with Lady Boileau, while the rest were studying and betting on the game, called to Lord D'Esterre, "ah! Lord Albert, we have all been guessing the reason of your absence; one said writing letters of love, another sleeping; but the successful guess was given to my penetrating judgment, writing a sermon on the vanities of human life, that is, holding up to censure all that we your friends are doing."

"I assure you, Mr. Leslie Winyard, that you have not proved your judgment infallible; for I do not plead guilty either to your charge, or to any of the others."

"Well, then, join in our game; Lady Boileau intends to beat me, and I'll vacate my seat in your favour, and, in parliamentary phrase, accept at the same time as many hundreds as you may choose to give me."

"Pardon me," said Lord Albert, "I cannot."

"Did you suppose Lady Hamlet Vernon would let him do so?" whispered Lady Baskerville.

"That may be," replied Leslie Winyard, "but my life for it that is not his reason, he will not play because it is Sunday."

"Sunday, is it?" yawned Lady Ellersby; "dear me! I did not know it was Sunday."

"Leslie Winyard declares you will not play because it is Sunday, Lord Albert D'Esterre," exclaimed Mr. Spencer Newcomb.

"Whatever may be my motive, or my fancy for not playing," replied Lord Albert, "I conceive that it is at variance with the high good breeding of this circle to inquire further into the matter, though, if it will afford any satisfaction to Mr. Leslie Winyard, I have not the smallest hesitation to give to him those motives."

"I am bounden to you, my Lord," rejoined the latter, putting his hand to his heart, "but for the moment waive the honour of hearing more, being at the very crisis of the game," and so saying he turned to the card-table, and left Lord D'Esterre to the undisturbed enjoyment of his conversation with Lady Hamlet Vernon.

She first broke silence (speaking in a low tone). "How many misnomers there are in the world; this society considers itself the mode and paragon of manners and of fashion—the world par excellence; and yet the members of it are always doing or saying something to offend the feelings of each other. Why was a being like myself thrown amongst them? one who sees their falsehood and folly, and yet cannot escape from it. But on the contrary, every day as it passes seems more and more to entangle me. I possess indeed one friend, from whom I look for consolation; but he, like every one in this world, has his own troubles, and indeed I have sometimes feared, that is I fear"—she broke off abruptly as if to find a suitable expression for what she would say, then again continued after a pause—"that I did not altogether act a generous part by him; one may excite a deeper interest than one intends, for it is so soothing to a desolate heart, to find any one whom it can like, and rest upon, that it is easy to be betrayed into a conduct, that would afterwards perhaps render one obnoxious to the imputation of coquetry; the character for which of all others, I have the most decided contempt. I have not yet learnt from you, Lord Albert D'Esterre," laying particular emphasis on her words, "that firm independence of mind, which never yields under circumstances; for whatever vain disputation I may hold with myself, I find I am continually yielding to the influence of events, and floating down the tide of life, guided more by impulse, than by principle. It will perhaps be as well in the end—who knows?"

Lord Albert D'Esterre had listened with evident pain to the sophistry these words contained, and as Lady Hamlet Vernon paused, added in his most impressive manner:

"Oh! dear Lady Hamlet Vernon, I fear it will undoubtedly not be well with us in the end, if we live by chance; and we may all know, if we chuse to know, that so to live will prove our condemnation."

"Persuade me of that, teach me your knowledge, and I will act upon it; give me your conviction and I will bless you."

"Surely," thought Lord Albert D'Esterre, "it is my duty to reclaim this person from the unhappy and destructive errors into which she has fallen; it would be altogether wrong, it would be barbarous, to abandon one, who calls upon me for aid, who appeals to me for instruction." Not but another view of the subject crossed his mind, for thoughts, as we all know, flow in from contradictory sources.

"Surely the friend to whom you allude, and on whom you say you rely, will be a far more able instructor than I can be."

"Ay, so he might (she replied) if"——"If what?"——"If I durst on all occasions apply to him—but—but there are existing reasons to which I before alluded, and which I now frankly tell you, have frequently made me deny myself the consolation of his society. We shall see how things are now, when we are to meet again after a long absence."

Lord Albert D'Esterre could scarcely misunderstand the meaning which these words implied, and he was too delicate to press the matter further; but when they separated for the night, the chief point which was impressed on Lord Albert's mind was, that Lady Hamlet Vernon was beloved by Mr. Foley, and if she did not positively return that sentiment in its full degree, that she owned a preference in his favour, to which it was very nearly allied. Yet if it were so, why should that circumstance cause him uneasiness? It could only be from the interest he had imbibed for a person, who seemed intended for a higher and better career than the one she was pursuing.

Men, even the very best of men, frequently deceive themselves on similar occasions; they are not, perhaps, in love, they do not mean to be so; still less is it their intention deliberately to awaken an interest which they feel they cannot return: but though they are few, who would attempt to win a heart under these circumstances, and merely for the triumph of doing so; all are not sufficiently free from vanity to refuse one, when spontaneously offered, nor, while its possession can be valued for the passing gratification of self-love only, voluntarily forego the distinction which its homage affords. That such was the predicament in which Lord Albert D'Esterre stood, or that such was the train of his thoughts, it would be difficult to say.

Lady Hamlet Vernon's conduct and manners towards himself certainly betrayed partiality, which it was impossible to avoid seeing; but it was equally impossible to attach to them the decided character of love; and even were it so, Lord Albert stood pledged to an engagement of the most sacred nature, and one which had it been intimated to him he could have abandoned, he would have started from the contemplation of its possibility; still, however, his mind was under delusion in regard to Lady Hamlet Vernon, and the interest which he would have persuaded himself was felt for her sake only, was, it is to be feared, nearly allied to a sentiment, which in his circumstances never should have been entertained.

If, however, Lord Albert D'Esterre was wandering in the maze of undefined resolution, and with an uncertainty of object, in all his speculations, not so Lady Hamlet Vernon, who well marked the nature of the interest she was gradually acquiring over him, and which she hoped soon to see augmented in a degree which would render him completely her own.

Many days did not elapse from this time before Mr. Foley arrived. With that refinement of tact which all women understand so well, Lady Hamlet Vernon made her first approach towards the object she had in view, by producing between Mr. Foley and Lord Albert D'Esterre a mutual partiality.

She effected this, as is often successfully done, by repeating favourable opinions respecting each, which were uttered, or were not uttered, as it chanced by the parties one of another; "mais on ne s'avise jamais de tout," and there was one circumstance which operated against her wishes whilst cementing their intimacy. Thus was the influence which Mr. Foley's vivid description and praises of the attractions of Lady Adeline Seymour produced on Lord Albert D'Esterre's mind. Although somewhat diminished by absence and by the too great security he felt of conceiving her to be beyond the possibility of change, these attractions still retained their power, and it needed but the description which he more than once listened to of her beauty and her worth, as the theme was dwelt upon by Mr. Foley, to revive in him all the latent feelings of his love and admiration for her. After this revival of the natural allegiance of his heart, Lord Albert D'Esterre started from his wayward dream as though he had been warned by his better angel. Shaking off the listless unaccountable thraldom which had of late palsied his resolution, he ordered post-horses, and determined to set off for Dunmelraise the very next day.

END OF VOL. I.

LONDON:
PRINTED BY J. L. COX, GREAT QUEEN STREET.

TRANSCRIBER'S NOTE:

Obvious printer errors have been corrected. Otherwise, the author's original spelling, punctuation and hyphenation have been left intact.