Mr. ELTON TO CHARLES SEDLEY, ESQ.

Aci reale, July 15,

My dear Sedley,

I believe I informed you, in the beginning of spring, of my intention of coming to this beautiful place, on account of its vicinity to the Villa Marinella, the residence of "La belle Adelina,"

(the appellation my fair one is known by at Catania). I have accomplished almost domesticating myself at this charming villa. I did not give its inhabitants the alarm at first, wishing to ingratiate myself in their favour before they should be aware of the object I had in view. My appearance excited no surprise, as Aci reale was such a natural place for me to choose for my abode at this fine season, from the facilities it affords for examining at leisure all the natural wonders of Etna, and all the wonders of art displayed in the antiquities of Taurominium. Adelina and I conversed on the beautiful ruins of Syracuse; of course, I could not do less than go there to take drawings of them, and she was equally bound in gratitude to examine them most minutely in my presence. One day her father, rather abruptly, asked me if I understood perspective? I said I was at that moment studying it, and thought it a most delightful employment! He was concerned that so much good inclination should be thrown away, so insisted on teaching me; and to make the matter worse, took the most abstruse method of doing it. To make a good impression on him I was obliged to brush up my rusty mathematics, and I assure you it required no small self-command to fix my attention on the points of sight and points of distance he expatiated on; whilst my mind was busily employed in settling these points to my satisfaction, as they regarded Adelina and myself. We have now got on a more agreeable subject, which gives us many delightful hours' conversation—namely, the beauties natural and artificial of this island. On my second visit to the Villa Marinella, I was taken into a saloon adorned with specimens of every thing Sicily could boast of: the floor was mosaic, of all her different marbles; the hangings of Sicilian silk; the walls were embellished with the paintings of Velasquez—in vases, of the alabaster of the country, bloomed every fragrant flower it produced. There was a cabinet of beautiful workmanship containing highly wrought amber, coral, and cameos; and a Sicilian museum and library of all the best books extant, of native authors ancient and modern, completed the collection. Amongst the moderns Adelina particularly pointed out to me the works of the Abate Ferrara, of Balsamo, Bourigni, and the exquisite poems of Melli and Guegli: the contents of this room afford us constant discussion. Nothing can exceed the beauty of this villa; the hand of taste has been impressed on it from the first stone to the last: it is seated in a rich vale at the foot of Etna, from which pours many a stream in foamy swiftness. The sea is seen, here and there, like a smooth glassy lake, through the dark foliage of magnificent forest trees, whose sombre hues are admirably contrasted with the brilliant tints of the orange and the vine. The myrtle, the rose, and all the choicest favourites of Flora are "poured forth profuse on hill, and dale, and plain." The beauty of the sky, the balmy fragrance of the air, and the classical and poetical associations which the surrounding scenery brings to the mind, conspire to give a charm to this delightful spot, which no words can convey to the mind of one who has not roamed amidst its enchantments, and still less can language do justice to the feelings of him who has!

Adelina is just the being you would fancy such a scene should produce; no cloud of sorrow, or of error, seems ever to have thrown on her its dark shade; serene in conscious virtue and happiness, and resplendent in mental and physical loveliness,

"She walks in beauty, like the night
Of cloudless climes and starry skies."

I have this day said to this charming creature every thing that man can say, except those four words, "Will you marry me?" and was proceeding to give them utterance, when I was most unseasonably interrupted. From her surprise and confusion I augur well; whenever I am secure of my happiness you shall know it, but perhaps you are tired of all this, and are ready to say with Virgil,

Sicelides musÆ, paullo majora canamus;
Non omnes arbusta juvant, humilesque myricÆ[10].

Yours ever,
Frederick Elton.

To Charles Sedley, Esquire.

Aci reale, August 3, ——

Upon my soul, Sedley, you are a pretty father confessor, and give pious admonition!

I am quite indignant at your answer to my first letter from Catania; either you or I must be greatly changed since we parted. I don't think our friendship could ever have been formed, if in the first instance our sentiments had been so dissimilar. I must honestly tell you, that if you ever write me such another letter about Adelina, our correspondence ceases on that head. It is true this charming Sicilian maid is fairer than Proserpine; but am I Pluto, that could tear her from the arms of her fond parent, and from the bright sphere she now moves in, to condemn her to the shades of woe, from which she could know no return? So powerfully do I feel "the might, the majesty of loveliness," that such a thought never entered my head, nor would it yours, if you had ever seen her; for one glance of her angelic eye would, like the touch of Ithuriel's spear, put to flight all the offspring of evil. Since I wrote to you last, Adelina's manner to me has totally changed; I scarcely ever see her when I come to the villa. I can't tell what to attribute this to, unless she thinks I have said too much and too little. The matter shan't rest long in doubt;—her father goes to Catania to-morrow, and I will take that opportunity for a complete explanation. I cannot tell you how much I dread the crisis of my fate so near at hand! No folly of my own shall deprive me of a wife possessed of every charm, and every virtue, that can sweeten or adorn life. If it did, I should deserve to be condemned to that matrimonial limbo my father and his frigid Venus are so pitiably bound in. I would prefer to such a trial the most ardent Purgatory! A wife so charming and so unloving would drive me mad!

Yours truly,
Frederick Elton.

A few months after the date of this last letter, Mr. Sedley received one from his friend, written at Paris, but probably from pique at the style of raillery in which he had continued to express his ideas on the subject of his love for "La bella Adelina," Mr. Elton never afterwards mentioned her name; and therefore, from that period, those Sedley received contained nothing of sufficient interest to present to the reader, who will now, however, have little difficulty in guessing the motive of the visit to Sicily, which Frederick mentions his intention of paying, in the letter which Lady Eltondale forwarded to Sir Henry Seymour, of which the subjoined is a copy. The "hopes and fears" he there speaks of, she supposed, alluded to some diplomatic appointments, as, for several months past, all his attention appeared to have been devoted to politics. And, whilst his father exulted in the hope of one day seeing the son he was so proud of "Minister Plenipotentiary" at Berlin, Petersburg, or Vienna, his fair spouse thought, with her usual sarcasm, "Frederick Elton is, no doubt, peculiarly qualified to carry on or develope the intrigues of a court, with his ridiculously romantic generosity, and high spirit, and candour! His elegant manner and his handsome person would carry every point he wished, if he would but avail himself of the influence these advantages would give him with the females, who are all-powerful in such scenes;—but the youth is much too high flown to have common sense on such matters. My Lord Eltondale is as silly on this subject as on all others, to wish to see his son in a situation where his mal-adresse will undoubtedly cover him with disgrace!"

MR. ELTON TO THE VISCOUNT ELTONDALE.

Paris, July 25, ——

My dear Father,

I hope to be able to give you a satisfactory answer to your question of "How do you spend your time at Paris?" for I have been constantly employed, during the last year, in endeavouring to acquire the political information necessary for the public career you have chalked out for me; and this course of study I have pursued with increased ardour, since my return to this capital, with the congregation, not of preachers, but of kings, in order to compensate for the unpleasant interruption my pursuits received in spring from the marvellous apparition of the resuscitated French Emperor. I am now tired of being a gentleman at large; and if you will insist on my shining as an orator in the British senate, my maiden speech ought shortly to be made, for being five and twenty, I think I have no time to lose.

I see the time approach, which we agreed on for my return to England, with a pleasure that is unalloyed by a shade of regret, as the Continent contains no object whatever of interest to me. I hope to add much to your stock of agricultural knowledge, as I have made the various modes of practising that useful art one of my principal objects of inquiry; and from Syria to Picardy I think I shall be able to describe the present processes of husbandry to your satisfaction. After all, perhaps, you will find me only an ignoramus, though I fancy myself quite an adept.

I set off to-morrow to pay a short visit to Sicily. You will, no doubt, be surprised at this retrograde movement; but should my mission prove successful, I will explain the cause of it when we meet, as I cannot trust my motives to paper; and if I do not carry my wishes into execution, you will, I am sure, spare me the pain of recapitulating them. But until my hopes and fears are at an end, I at least shall not repose on a "bed of roses."

I cannot well express my anxiety to see you, my ever kind father, after so long an absence! Pray remember me to Lady Eltondale. I am sorry she should so far impeach my gallantry, as to suppose it possible I could leave the letters of so fair a correspondent unanswered. I hope ere this the receipt of mine will have induced her to do me justice; if not, pray be my intercessor.

By the ship Mary, bound for Plymouth, I sent Lady Eltondale some Sicilian vases and cameos, with a few bottles of ottar of roses, and some turquoises I procured at Constantinople. If her Ladyship has not received them, will you have the goodness to cause the necessary inquiries to be made at the office of my agent in London, to whom they were directed.

Believe me, my dear Lord,
Respectfully and affectionately yours,
Frederick Elton.

Sir Henry Seymour, with an air of triumph, gave the above letter to Selina to read out to her aunt; at the same time casting a look at Mrs. Galton, as much as to say, "You see I was quite right. I have provided a husband for Selina, that we shall all be proud of." But her reflection on hearing it was, "I trust my affectionate, innocent, candid Selina is not destined to marry a cold-hearted designing politician. In what a style of heartless politeness does Mr. Elton speak of his father's wife! I fear he will treat his own in the same spirit of frigid etiquette;—indeed, nothing better is to be hoped, from the example he has always witnessed in his own domestic scene."