Venetia

  CHAPTER I.

  Party feeling, perhaps, never ran higher in England than during theperiod immediately subsequent to the expulsion of the CoalitionMinistry. After the indefatigable faction of the American war, and theflagrant union with Lord North, the Whig party, and especially CharlesFox, then in the full vigour of his bold and ready mind, were stung tothe quick that all their remorseless efforts to obtain and preservethe government of the country should terminate in the preferment andapparent permanent power of a mere boy.

  Next to Charles Fox, perhaps the most eminent and influential memberof the Whig party was Lady Monteagle. The daughter of one of theoldest and most powerful peers in the kingdom, possessing livelytalents and many fascinating accomplishments, the mistress of a greatestablishment, very beautiful, and, although she had been marriedsome years, still young, the celebrated wife of Lord Monteagle foundherself the centre of a circle alike powerful, brilliant, and refined.She was the Muse of the Whig party, at whose shrine every man of witand fashion was proud to offer his flattering incense; and her housebecame not merely the favourite scene of their social pleasures, butthe sacred, temple of their political rites; here many a manoeuvre wasplanned, and many a scheme suggested; many a convert enrolled, andmany a votary initiated.

  Reclining on a couch in a boudoir, which she was assured was the exactfacsimile of that of Marie Antoinette, Lady Monteagle, with an eyesparkling with excitement and a cheek flushed with emotion, appeareddeeply interested in a volume, from which she raised her hand as herhusband entered the room.

  'Gertrude, my love,' said his lordship, 'I have asked the new bishopto dine with us to-day.'

  'My dear Henry,' replied her ladyship, 'what could induce you to doanything so strange?'

  'I suppose I have made a mistake, as usual,' said his lordship,shrugging his shoulders, with a smile.

  'My dear Henry, you know you may ask whomever you like to your house.I never find fault with what you do. But what could induce you to aska Tory bishop to meet a dozen of our own people?'

  'I thought I had done wrong directly I had asked him,' rejoined hislordship; 'and yet he would not have come if I had not made such apoint of it. I think I will put him off.'

  'No, my love, that would be wrong; you cannot do that.'

  'I cannot think how it came into my head. The fact is, I lost mypresence of mind. You know he was my tutor at Christchurch, when poordear Herbert and I were such friends, and very kind he was to us both;and so, the moment I saw him, I walked across the House, introducedmyself, and asked him to dinner.'

  'Well, never mind,' said Lady Monteagle, smiling. 'It is ratherridiculous: but I hope nothing will be said to offend him.'

  'Oh! do not be alarmed about that: he is quite a man of the world,and, although he has his opinions, not at all a partisan. I assure youpoor dear Herbert loved him to the last, and to this very moment hasthe greatest respect and affection for him.'

  'How very strange that not only your tutor, but Herbert's, should be abishop,' remarked the lady, smiling.

  'It is very strange,' said his lordship, 'and it only shows that it isquite useless in this world to lay plans, or reckon on anything. Youknow how it happened?'

  'Not I, indeed; I have never given a thought to the business; I onlyremember being very vexed that that stupid old Bangerford should nothave died when we were in office, and then, at any rate, we shouldhave got another vote.'

  'Well, you know,' said his lordship, 'dear old Masham, that is hisname, was at Weymouth this year; with whom do you think, of all peoplein the world?'

  'How should I know? Why should I think about it, Henry?'

  'Why, with Herbert's wife.'

  'What, that horrid woman?'

  'Yes, Lady Annabel.'

  'And where was his daughter? Was she there?'

  'Of course. She has grown up, and a most beautiful creature they sayshe is; exactly like her father.'

  'Ah! I shall always regret I never saw him,' said her ladyship.

  'Well, the daughter is in bad health; and so, after keeping her shutup all her life, the mother was obliged to take her to Weymouth; andMasham, who has a living in their neighbourhood, which, by-the-bye,Herbert gave him, and is their chaplain and counsellor, and friend ofthe family, and all that sort of thing, though I really believe he hasalways acted for the best, he was with them. Well, the King took thegreatest fancy to these Herberts; and the Queen, too, quite singledthem out; and, in short, they were always with the royal family. Itended by his Majesty making Masham his chaplain; and now he has madehim a bishop.'

  'Very droll indeed,' said her ladyship; 'and the drollest thing of allis, that he is now coming to dine here.'

  'Have you seen Cadurcis to-day?' said Lord Monteagle.

  'Of course,' said her ladyship.

  'He dines here?'

  'To be sure. I am reading his new poem; it will not be published tillto-morrow.'

  'Is it good?'

  'Good! What crude questions you do always ask, Henry!' exclaimed LadyMonteagle. 'Good! Of course it is good. It is something better thangood.'

  'But I mean is it as good as his other things? Will it make as muchnoise as his last thing?'

  'Thing! Now, Henry, you know very well that if there be anything Idislike in the world, it is calling a poem a thing.'

  'Well, my dear, you know I am no judge of poetry. But if you arepleased, I am quite content. There is a knock. Some of your friends.I am off. I say, Gertrude, be kind to old Masham, that is a dearcreature!'

  Her ladyship extended her hand, to which his lordship pressed hislips, and just effected his escape as the servant announced a visitor,in the person of Mr. Horace Pole.

  'Oh! my dear Mr. Pole, I am quite exhausted,' said her ladyship; 'I amreading Cadurcis' new poem; it will not he published till to-morrow,and it really has destroyed my nerves. I have got people to dinnerto-day, and I am sure I shall not be able to encounter them.'

  'Something outrageous, I suppose,' said Mr. Pole, with a sneer. 'Iwish Cadurcis would study Pope.'

  'Study Pope! My dear Mr. Pole, you have no imagination.'

  'No, I have not, thank Heaven!' drawled out Mr. Pole.

  'Well, do not let us have a quarrel about Cadurcis,' said LadyMonteagle. 'All you men are jealous of him.'

  'And some of you women, I think, too,' said Mr. Pole.

  Lady Monteagle faintly smiled.

  'Poor Cadurcis!' she exclaimed; 'he has a very hard life of it. Hecomplains bitterly that so many women are in love with him. But thenhe is such an interesting creature, what can he expect?'

  'Interesting!' exclaimed Mr. Pole. 'Now I hold he is the mostconceited, affected fellow that I ever met,' he continued with unusualenergy.

  'Ah! you men do not understand him,' said Lady Monteagle, shaking herhead. 'You cannot,' she added, with a look of pity.

  'I cannot, certainly,' said Mr. Pole, 'or his writings either. For mypart I think the town has gone mad.'

  'Well, you must confess,' said her ladyship, with a glance of triumph,'that it was very lucky for us that I made him a Whig.'

  'I cannot agree with you at all on that head,' said Mr. Pole. 'Wecertainly are not very popular at this moment, and I feel convincedthat a connection with a person who attracts so much notice asCadurcis unfortunately does, and whose opinions on morals and religionmust be so offensive to the vast majority of the English public, mustultimately prove anything but advantageous to our party.'

  'Oh! my dear Mr. Pole,' said her ladyship, in a tone of affecteddeprecation, 'think what a genius he is!'

  'We have very different ideas of genius, Lady Monteagle, I suspect,'said her visitor.

  'You cannot deny,' replied her ladyship, rising from her recumbentposture, with some animation, 'that he is a poet?'

  'It is difficult to decide upon our contemporaries,' said Mr. Poledryly.

  'Charles Fox thinks he is the greatest poet that ever existed,' saidher ladyship, as if she were determined to settle the question.

  'Becau
se he has written a lampoon on the royal family,' rejoined Mr.Pole.

  'You are a very provoking person,' said Lady Monteagle; 'but you donot provoke me; do not flatter yourself you do.'

  'That I feel to be an achievement alike beyond my power and myambition,' replied Mr. Pole, slightly bowing, but with a sneer.

  'Well, read this,' said Lady Monteagle, 'and then decide upon themerits of Cadurcis.'

  Mr. Pole took the extended volume, but with no great willingness, andturned over a page or two and read a passage here and there.

  'Much the same as his last effusion, I think' he observed, as far asI can judge from so cursory a review. Exaggerated passion, bombasticlanguage, egotism to excess, and, which perhaps is the only portionthat is genuine, mixed with common-place scepticism and impossiblemorals, and a sort of vague, dreamy philosophy, which, if it meananything, means atheism, borrowed from his idol, Herbert, and which hehimself evidently does not comprehend.'

  'Monster!' exclaimed Lady Monteagle, with a mock assumption ofindignation, 'and you are going to dine with him here to-day. You donot deserve it.'

  'It is a reward which is unfortunately too often obtained by me,'replied Mr. Pole. 'One of the most annoying consequences of yourfriend's popularity, Lady Monteagle, is that there is not a dinnerparty where one can escape him. I met him yesterday at Fanshawe's. Heamused himself by eating only biscuits, and calling for soda water,while we quaffed our Burgundy. How very original! What a thing it isto be a great poet!'

  'Perverse, provoking mortal!' exclaimed Lady Monteagle. 'And on whatshould a poet live? On coarse food, like you coarse mortals? Cadurcisis all spirit, and in my opinion his diet only makes him moreinteresting.'

  'I understand,' said Mr. Pole, 'that he cannot endure a woman to eatat all. But you are all spirit, Lady Monteagle, and therefore ofcourse are not in the least inconvenienced. By-the-bye, do you mean togive us any of those charming little suppers this season?'

  'I shall not invite you,' replied her ladyship; 'none but admirers ofLord Cadurcis enter this house.'

  'Your menace effects my instant conversion,' replied Mr. Pole. 'I willadmire him as much as you desire, only do not insist upon my readinghis works.'

  'I have not the slightest doubt you know them by heart,' rejoined herladyship.

  Mr. Pole smiled, bowed, and disappeared; and Lady Monteagle sat downto write a billet to Lord Cadurcis, to entreat him to be with her atfive o'clock, which was at least half an hour before the other guestswere expected. The Monteagles were considered to dine ridiculouslylate.