CHAPTER VIII.
Among the intimate acquaintances of Lady Annabel's brother was thenobleman who had been a minister during the American war, and whohad also been the guardian of Lord Cadurcis, of whom, indeed, he waslikewise a distant relative. He had called with his wife on LadyAnnabel, after meeting her and her daughter at her brother's, and hadcultivated her acquaintance with great kindness and assiduity, sothat Lady Annabel had found it impossible to refuse his invitation todinner.
This dinner occurred a few days after the visit of the Herberts to theBishop, and that excellent personage, her own family, and some othersequally distinguished, but all of the ministerial party, were invitedto meet her. Lady Annabel found herself placed at table between apompous courtier, who, being a gourmand, was not very prompt todisturb his enjoyment by conversation, and a young man whom she foundvery agreeable, and who at first, indeed, attracted her attention byhis resemblance to some face with which she felt she was familiar,and yet which she was not successful in recalling. His manners wereremarkably frank and ingenuous, yet soft and refined. Without havingany peculiar brilliancy of expression, he was apt and fluent, and hiswhole demeanour characterised by a gentle modesty that was highlyengaging. Apparently he had travelled a great deal, for he more thanonce alluded to his experience of foreign countries; but this wasafterwards explained by Lady Annabel discovering, from an observationhe let fall, that he was a sailor. A passing question from an oppositeguest also told her that he was a member of parliament. While she wasrather anxiously wishing to know who he might be, and congratulatingherself that one in whose favour she was so much prepossessed shouldbe on the right side, their host saluted him from the top of thetable, and said, 'Captain Cadurcis, a glass of wine.'
The countenance was now explained. It was indeed Lord Cadurcis whom heresembled, though his eyes were dark blue, and his hair light brown.This then was that cousin who had been sent to sea to make hisfortune, and whom Lady Annabel had a faint recollection of poor Mrs.Cadurcis once mentioning. George Cadurcis had not exactly made hisfortune, but he had distinguished himself in his profession, andespecially in Rodney's victory, and had fought his way up to thecommand of a frigate. The frigate had recently been paid off, and hehad called to pay his respects to his noble relative with the hope ofobtaining his interest for a new command. The guardian of hiscousin, mortified with the conduct of his hopeful ward, was not veryfavourably impressed towards any one who bore the name of Cadurcis;yet George, with no pretence, had a winning honest manner that madefriends; his lordship took a fancy to him, and, as he could not at themoment obtain him a ship, he did the next best thing for him in hispower; a borough was vacant, and he put him into parliament.
'Do you know,' said Lady Annabel to her neighbour, 'I have beenfancying all dinner time that we had met before; but I find it is thatyou only resemble one with whom I was once acquainted.'
'My cousin!' said the Captain; 'he will be very mortified when I gohome, if I tell him your ladyship speaks of his acquaintance as onethat is past.'
'It is some years since we met,' said Lady Annabel, in a more reservedtone.
'Plantagenet can never forget what he owes to you,' said CaptainCadurcis. 'How often has he spoken to me of you and Miss Herbert! Itwas only the other night; yes! not a week ago; that he made me sit upwith him all night, while he was telling stories of Cherbury: you seeI am quite familiar with the spot,' he added, smiling.
'You are very intimate with your cousin, I see,' said Lady Annabel.
'I live a great deal with him,' said George Cadurcis. 'You know we hadnever met or communicated; and it was not Plantagenet's fault, I amsure; for of all the generous, amiable, lovable beings, Cadurcis isthe best I ever met with in this world. Ever since we knew each otherhe has been a brother to me; and though our politics and opinions areso opposed, and we naturally live in such a different circle, he wouldhave insisted even upon my having apartments in his house; nor is itpossible for me to give you the slightest idea of the delicate andunceasing kindness I experience from him. If we had lived together allour lives, it would be impossible to be more united.'
This eulogium rather softened Lady Annabel's heart; she even observed,'I always thought Lord Cadurcis naturally well disposed; I alwayshoped he would turn out well; but I was afraid, from what I heard, hewas much changed. He shows, however, his sense and good feeling inselecting you for his friend; for you are his natural one,' she added,after a momentary pause.
'And then you know,' he continued, 'it is so purely kind of him; forof course I am not fit to be a companion for Cadurcis, and perhaps, asfar as that, no one is. Of course we have not a thought in common. Iknow nothing but what I have picked up in a rough life; and he, youknow, is the cleverest person that ever lived, at least I think so.'
Lady Annabel smiled.
'Well, he is very young,' she observed, 'much your junior, CaptainCadurcis; and I hope he will yet prove a faithful steward of the greatgifts that God has given him.'
'I would stake all I hold dear,' said the Captain, with greatanimation, 'that Cadurcis turns out well. He has such a good heart.Ah! Lady Annabel, if he be now and then a little irregular, only thinkof the temptations that assail him. Only one-and-twenty, his ownmaster, and all London at his feet. It is too much for any one's head.But say or think what the world may, I know him better than they do;and I know there is not a finer creature in existence. I hope his oldfriends will not desert him,' added Captain Cadurcis, with a smilewhich, seemed to deprecate the severity of Lady Annabel; 'for in spiteof all his fame and prosperity, perhaps, after all, this is the timewhen he most needs them.'
'Very possibly,' said her ladyship rather dryly.
While the mother was engaged in this conversation with her neighbourrespecting her former interesting acquaintance, such was the fame ofLord Cadurcis then in the metropolis, that he also formed the topic ofconversation at another part of the table, to which the daughter wasan attentive listener. The tone in which he was spoken of, however,was of a very different character. While no one disputed his genius,his principles, temper, and habits of life were submitted to theseverest scrutiny; and it was with blended feelings of interest andastonishment that Venetia listened to the detail of wild opinions,capricious conduct, and extravagant and eccentric behaviour ascribedto the companion of her childhood, who had now become the spoiledchild of society. A shrewd gentleman, who had taken an extremelyactive part in this discussion, inquired of Venetia, next to whom hewas seated, whether she had read his lordship's last poem. He wasextremely surprised when Venetia answered in the negative; but heseized the opportunity of giving her an elaborate criticism on thepoetical genius of Cadurcis. 'As for his style,' said the critic, 'noone can deny that is his own, and he will last by his style; as forhis philosophy, and all these wild opinions of his, they will passaway, because they are not genuine, they are not his own, they areborrowed. He will outwrite them; depend upon it, he will. The fact is,as a friend of mine observed the other day, Herbert's writings haveturned his head. Of course you could know nothing about them, butthere are wonderful things in them, I can tell you that.'
'I believe it most sincerely,' said Venetia.
The critic stared at his neighbour. 'Hush!' said he, 'his wife anddaughter are here. We must not talk of these things. You know LadyAnnabel Herbert? There she is; a very fine woman too. And that is hisdaughter there, I believe, that dark girl with a turned-up nose. Icannot say she warrants the poetical address to her:
My precious pearl the false and glittering world Has ne'er polluted with, its garish light!
She does not look much like a pearl, does she? She should keep insolitude, eh?'
The ladies rose and relieved Venetia from her embarrassment.
After dinner Lady Annabel introduced George Cadurcis to her daughter;and, seated by them both, he contrived without effort, and without theslightest consciousness of success, to confirm the pleasing impressionin his favour which he had already made, and, when they parted, it waseven with a mutu
al wish that they might meet again.