CHAPTER IV.
We must now return to the dinner party at Lord Monteagle's. When theBishop of ---- entered the room, he found nearly all the expectedguests assembled, and was immediately presented by his host to thelady of the house, who received him with all that fascinating addressfor which she was celebrated, expressing the extreme delight which shefelt at thus becoming formally acquainted with one whom her husbandhad long taught her to admire and reverence. Utterly unconscious whohad just joined the circle, while Lord Monteagle was introducing hisnewly-arrived guest to many present, and to all of whom he was unknownexcept by reputation, Lord Cadurcis was standing apart, apparentlywrapt in his own thoughts; but the truth is, in spite of all theexcitement in which he lived, he had difficulty in overcoming thenatural reserve of his disposition.
'Watch Cadurcis,' said Mr. Horace Pole to a fine lady. 'Does not helook sublime?'
'Show me him,' said the lady, eagerly. 'I have never seen him yet; Iam actually dying to know him. You know we have just come to town.'
'And have caught the raging epidemic, I see,' said Mr. Pole, with asneer. 'However, there is the marvellous young gentleman! "Alone in acrowd," as he says in his last poem. Very interesting!'
'Wonderful creature!' exclaimed the dame.
'Charming!' said Mr. Pole. 'If you ask Lady Monteagle, she willintroduce him to you, and then, perhaps, you will be fortunate enoughto be handed to dinner by him.'
'Oh! how I should like it!'
'You must take care, however, not to eat; he cannot endure a woman whoeats.'
'I never do,' said the lady, simply; 'at least at dinner.'
'Ah! then you will quite suit him; I dare say he will write a sonnetto you, and call you Thyrza.'
'I wish I could get him to write some lines in my book, said the lady;'Charles Fox has written some; he was staying with us in the autumn,and he has written an ode to my little dog.'
'How amiable!' said Mr. Pole; 'I dare say they are as good as hiselegy on Mrs. Crewe's cat. But you must not talk of cats and dogs toCadurcis. He is too exalted to commemorate any animal less sublimethan a tiger or a barb.'
'You forget his beautiful lines on his Newfoundland,' said the lady.
'Very complimentary to us all,' said Mr. Horace Pole. 'The interestingmisanthrope!'
'He looks unhappy.'
'Very,' said Mr. Pole. 'Evidently something on his conscience.'
'They do whisper very odd things,' said the lady, with greatcuriosity. 'Do you think there is anything in them?'
'Oh! no doubt,' said Mr. Pole; 'look at him; you can detect crime inevery glance.'
'Dear me, how shocking! I think he must be the most interesting personthat ever lived. I should so like to know him! They say he is so veryodd.'
'Very,' said Mr. Pole. 'He must be a man of genius; he is so unlikeeverybody; the very tie of his cravat proves it. And his hair, sosavage and dishevelled; none but a man of genius would not wearpowder. Watch him to-day, and you will observe that he will notcondescend to perform the slightest act like an ordinary mortal. Imet him at dinner yesterday at Fanshawe's, and he touched nothing butbiscuits and soda-water. Fanshawe, you know, is famous for his cook.Complimentary and gratifying, was it not?'
'Dear me!' said the lady, 'I am delighted to see him; and yet I hope Ishall not sit by him at dinner. I am quite afraid of him.'
'He is really awful!' said Mr. Pole.
In the meantime the subject of these observations slowly withdrew tothe further end of the saloon, apart from every one, and threw himselfupon a couch with a somewhat discontented air. Lady Monteagle, whoseeye had never left him for a moment, although her attentions had beennecessarily commanded by her guests, and who dreaded the silent ragesin which Cadurcis constantly indulged, and which, when once assumedfor the day, were with difficulty dissipated, seized the firstopportunity to join and soothe him.
'Dear Cadurcis,' she said, 'why do you sit here? You know I am obligedto speak to all these odious people, and it is very cruel of you.'
'You seemed to me to be extremely happy,' replied his lordship, in asarcastic tone.
'Now, Cadurcis, for Heaven's sake do not play with my feelings,'exclaimed Lady Monteagle, in a deprecating tone. 'Pray be amiable. IfI think you are in one of your dark humours, it is quite impossiblefor me to attend to these people; and you know it is the only point onwhich Monteagle ever has an opinion; he insists upon my attending tohis guests.'
'If you prefer his guests to me, attend to them.'
'Now, Cadurcis! I ask you as a favour, a favour to me, only forto-day. Be kind, be amiable, you can if you like; no person can bemore amiable; now, do!'
'I am amiable,' said his lordship; 'I am perfectly satisfied, if youare. You made me dine here.'
'Now, Cadurcis!'
'Have I not dined here to satisfy you?'
'Yes! It was very kind.'
'But, really, that I should be wearied with all the common-places ofthese creatures who come to eat your husband's cutlets, is too much,'said his lordship. 'And you, Gertrude, what necessity can there be inyour troubling yourself to amuse people whom you meet every day ofyour life, and who, from the vulgar perversity of society, value youin exact proportion as you neglect them?'
'Yes, but to-day I must be attentive; for Henry, with his usualthoughtlessness, has asked this new bishop to dine with us.'
'The Bishop of----?' inquired Lord Cadurcis, eagerly. 'Is he coming?'
'He has been in the room this quarter of an hour?'
'What, Masham! Doctor Masham!' continued Lord Cadurcis.
'Assuredly.'
Lord Cadurcis changed colour, and even sighed. He rose rather quickly,and said, 'I must go and speak to him.'
So, quitting Lady Monteagle, he crossed the room, and with all thesimplicity of old days, which instantly returned on him, thosemelancholy eyes sparkling with animation, and that languid form quickwith excitement, he caught the Doctor's glance, and shook his extendedhand with a heartiness which astonished the surrounding spectators,accustomed to the elaborate listlessness of his usual manner.
'My dear Doctor! my dear Lord! I am glad to say,' said Cadurcis, 'thisis the greatest and the most unexpected pleasure I ever received. Ofall persons in the world, you are the one whom I was most anxious tomeet.'
The good Bishop appeared not less gratified with the rencounter thanCadurcis himself; but, in the midst of their mutual congratulations,dinner was announced and served; and, in due order, Lord Cadurcisfound himself attending that fine lady, whom Mr. Horace Pole had, injest, suggested should be the object of his services; while Mr. Polehimself was seated opposite to him at table.
The lady, remembering all Mr. Pole's intimations, was reallymuch frightened; she at first could scarcely reply to the casualobservations of her neighbour, and quite resolved not to eat anything.But his lively and voluble conversation, his perfectly unaffectedmanner, and the nonchalance with which he helped himself to every dishthat was offered him, soon reassured her. Her voice became a littlefirmer, her manner less embarrassed, and she even began meditating adelicate assault upon a fricassee.
'Are you going to Ranelagh to-night?' inquired Lord Cadurcis; 'I thinkI shall take a round. There is nothing like amusement; it is the onlything worth living for; and I thank my destiny I am easily amused. Wemust persuade Lady Monteagle to go with us. Let us make a party, andreturn and sup. I like a supper; nothing in the world more charmingthan a supper,
A lobster salad, and champagne and chat.
That is life, and delightful. Why, really, my dear madam, you eatnothing. You will never be able to endure the fatigues of a Ranelaghcampaign on the sustenance of a pate. Pole, my good fellow, will youtake a glass of wine? We had a pleasant party yesterday at Fanshawe's,and apparently a capital dinner. I was sorry that I could not play mypart; but I have led rather a raking life lately. We must go and dinewith him again.'
Lord Cadurcis' neighbour and Mr. Pole exchanged looks; and the lady,emboldened by the unexpected conduct of her ca
valier and the exceedinggood friends which he seemed resolved to be with her and everyone else, began to flatter herself that she might yet obtain themuch-desired inscription in her volume. So, after making the usualapproaches, of having a great favour to request, which, however, shecould not flatter herself would be granted, and which she even wasafraid to mention; encouraged by the ready declaration of LordCadurcis, that he should think it would be quite impossible for anyone to deny her anything, the lady ventured to state, that Mr. Fox hadwritten something in her book, and she should be the most honoured andhappiest lady in the land if--'
'Oh! I shall be most happy,' said Lord Cadurcis; 'I really esteem yourrequest quite an honour: you know I am only a literary amateur, andcannot pretend to vie with your real authors. If you want them, youmust go to Mrs. Montagu. I would not write a line for her, and no theblues have quite excommunicated me. Never mind; I leave them to MissHannah More; but you, you are quite a different sort of person. Whatshall I write?'
'I must leave the subject to you,' said his gratified friend.
'Well, then,' said his lordship, 'I dare say you have got a lapdog ora broken fan; I don't think I could soar above them. I think that isabout my tether.'
This lady, though a great person, was not a beauty, and very littleof a wit, and not calculated in any respect to excite the jealousy ofLady Monteagle. In the meantime that lady was quite delighted with theunusual animation of Lord Cadurcis, who was much the most entertainingmember of the party. Every one present would circulate throughoutthe world that it was only at the Monteagle's that Lord Cadurciscondescended to be amusing. As the Bishop was seated on her righthand, Lady Monteagle seized the opportunity of making inquiries as totheir acquaintance; but she only obtained from the good Masham that hehad once resided in his lordship's neighbourhood, and had known him asa child, and was greatly attached to him. Her ladyship was anxious toobtain some juvenile anecdotes of her hero; but the Bishop contrivedto be amusing without degenerating into gossip. She did not gleanmuch, except that all his early friends were more astonished at hispresent career than the Bishop himself, who was about to add, thathe always had some misgivings, but, recollecting where he was, heconverted the word into a more gracious term. But if Lady Monteaglewere not so successful as she could wish in her inquiries, shecontrived still to speak on the, to her, ever-interesting subject, andconsoled herself by the communications which she poured into a guardedyet not unwilling ear, respecting the present life and conduct ofthe Bishop's former pupil. The worthy dignitary had been prepared bypublic fame for much that was dazzling and eccentric; but it must beconfessed he was not a little astonished by a great deal to which helistened. One thing, however, was clear that whatever might be thedemeanour of Cadurcis to the circle in which he now moved, time, andthe strange revolutions of his life, had not affected his carriageto his old friend. It gratified the Bishop while he listened to LadyMonteagle's details of the haughty, reserved, and melancholy demeanourof Cadurcis, which impressed every one with an idea that some superiorbeing had, as a punishment, been obliged to visit their humble globe,to recall the apparently heartfelt cordiality with which he hadresumed his old acquaintance with the former rector of Marringhurst.
And indeed, to speak truth, the amiable and unpretending behaviour ofCadurcis this day was entirely attributable to the unexpected meetingwith this old friend. In the hurry of society he could scarcely dwellupon the associations which it was calculated to call up; yetmore than once he found himself quite absent, dwelling on sweetrecollections of that Cherbury that he had so loved. And ever and anonthe tones of a familiar voice caught his ear, so that they almost madehim start: they were not the less striking, because, as Masham wasseated on the same side of the table as Cadurcis, his eye had notbecome habituated to the Bishop's presence, which sometimes he almostdoubted.
He seized the first opportunity after dinner of engaging his old tutorin conversation. He took him affectionately by the arm, and led him,as if unintentionally, to a sofa apart from the rest of the company,and seated himself by his side. Cadurcis was agitated, for he wasabout to inquire of some whom he could not mention without emotion.
'Is it long since you have seen our friends?' said his lordship, 'ifindeed I may call them mine.'
'Lady Annabel Herbert?' said the Bishop.
Cadurcis bowed.
'I parted from her about two months back,' continued the Bishop.
'And Cherbury, dear Cherbury, is it unchanged?'
'They have not resided there for more than two years.'
'Indeed!'
'They have lived, of late, at Weymouth, for the benefit of the seaair.'
'I hope neither Lady Annabel nor her daughter needs it?' said LordCadurcis, in a tone of much feeling.
'Neither now, God be praised!' replied Masham; 'but Miss Herbert hasbeen a great invalid.'
There was a rather awkward silence. At length Lord Cadurcis said, 'Wemeet rather unexpectedly, my dear sir.'
'Why, you have become a great man,' said the Bishop, with a smile;'and one must expect to meet you.'
'Ah! my dear friend,' exclaimed Lord Cadurcis, with a sigh, 'I wouldwillingly give a whole existence of a life like this for one year ofhappiness at Cherbury.'
'Nay!' said the Bishop, with a look of good-natured mockery, 'thismelancholy is all very well in poetry; but I always half-suspected,and I am quite sure now, that Cherbury was not particularly adapted toyou.'
'You mistake me,' said Cadurcis, mournfully shaking his head.
'Hitherto I have not been so very wrong in my judgment respectingLord Cadurcis, that I am inclined very easily to give up my opinion,'replied the Bishop.
'I have often thought of the conversation to which you allude,'replied Lord Cadurcis; 'nevertheless, there is one opinion I neverchanged, one sentiment that still reigns paramount in my heart.'
'You think so,' said his companion; but, perhaps, were it more than asentiment, it would cease to flourish.'
'No,' said Lord Cadurcis firmly; 'the only circumstance in the worldof which I venture to feel certain is my love for Venetia.'
'It raged certainly during your last visit to Cherbury,' said theBishop, 'after an interval of five years; it has been revived slightlyto-day, after an interval of three more, by the sight of a mutualacquaintance, who has reminded you of her. But what have been yourfeelings in the meantime? Confess the truth, and admit you have veryrarely spared a thought to the person to whom you fancy yourself atthis moment so passionately devoted.'
'You do not do me justice,' said Lord Cadurcis; 'you are prejudicedagainst me.'
'Nay! prejudice is not my humour, my good lord. I decide only fromwhat I myself observe; I give my opinion to you at this moment asfreely as I did when you last conversed with me at the abbey, and whenI a little displeased you by speaking what you will acknowledge hassince turned out to be the truth.'
'You mean, then, to say,' said his lordship, with some excitement,'that you do not believe that I love Venetia?'
'I think you do, at this moment,' replied Masham; 'and I think,' hecontinued, smiling, 'that you may probably continue very much in lovewith her, even during the rest of the week.'
'You mock me!'
'Nay! I am sincerely serious.'
'What, then, do you mean?'
'I mean that your imagination, my lord, dwelling for the moment withgreat power upon the idea of Venetia, becomes inflamed, and your wholemind is filled with her image.'
'A metaphysical description of being in love,' said Lord Cadurcis,rather dryly.
'Nay!' said Masham, 'I think the heart has something to do with that.'
'But the imagination acts upon the heart,' rejoined his companion.
'But it is in the nature of its influence not to endure. At thismoment, I repeat, your lordship may perhaps love Miss Herbert; youmay go home and muse over her memory, and even deplore in passionateverses your misery in being separated from her; but, in the course ofa few days, she will be again forgotten.'
'But were
she mine?' urged Lord Cadurcis, eagerly.
'Why, you would probably part from her in a year, as her father partedfrom Lady Annabel.'
'Impossible! for my imagination could not conceive anything moreexquisite than she is.'
'Then it would conceive something less exquisite,' said the Bishop.'It is a restless quality, and is ever creative, either of good or ofevil.'
'Ah! my dear Doctor, excuse me for again calling you Doctor, it is sonatural,' said Cadurcis, in a tone of affection.
'Call me what you will, my dear lord,' said the good Bishop, whoseheart was moved; 'I can never forget old days.'
'Believe me, then,' continued Cadurcis, 'that you misjudge me inrespect of Venetia. I feel assured that, had we married three yearsago, I should have been a much happier man.'
'Why, you have everything to make you happy,' said the Bishop; 'if youare not happy, who should be? You are young, and you are famous: allthat is now wanted is to be wise.'
Lord Cadurcis shrugged his shoulders. I am tired of this life,' hesaid; 'I am wearied of the same hollow bustle, and the same falseglitter day after day. Ah! my dear friend, when I remember the happyhours when I used to roam through the woods of Cherbury with Venetia,and ramble in that delicious park, both young, both innocent, lit bythe sunset and guided by the stars; and then remember that it has allended in this, and that this is success, glory, fame, or whatever bethe proper title to baptize the bubble, the burthen of existence istoo great for me.'
'Hush, hush!' said his friend, rising from the sofa; 'you will behappy if you be wise.'
'But what is wisdom?' said Lord Cadurcis.
'One quality of it, in your situation, my lord, is to keep your headas calm as you can. Now, I must bid you good night.'
The Bishop disappeared, and Lord Cadurcis was immediately surroundedby several fine ladies, who were encouraged by the flattering bulletinthat his neighbour at dinner, who was among them, had given of hislordship's temper. They were rather disappointed to find him sullen,sarcastic, and even morose. As for going to Ranelagh, he declaredthat, if he had the power of awarding the punishment of his bitterestenemy, it would be to consign him for an hour to the barbarousinfliction of a promenade in that temple of ennui; and as for theowner of the album, who, anxious about her verses, ventured to expressa hope that his lordship would call upon her, the contemptuous bardgave her what he was in the habit of styling 'a look,' and quittedthe room, without deigning otherwise to acknowledge her hopes and hercourtesy.