CHAPTER II.
_Tender Relatives_
THE departure and, at length, the total absence of Mr. Dacre fromEngland yielded to Lord Fitz-pompey all the opportunity he had longdesired. Hitherto he had contented himself with quietly sapping theinfluence of the guardian: now that influence was openly assailed. Alloccasions were seized of depreciating the character of Mr. Dacre,and open lamentations were poured forth on the strange and unhappyindiscretion of the father who had confided the guardianship of his son,not to his natural and devoted friends, but to a harsh and repulsivestranger. Long before the young Duke had completed his sixteenth yearall memory of the early kindness of his guardian, if it had everbeen imprinted on his mind, was carefully obliterated from it. It wasconstantly impressed upon him that nothing but the exertions of his auntand uncle had saved him from a life of stern privation and irrationalrestraint: and the man who had been the chosen and cherished confidantof the father was looked upon by the son as a grim tyrant, from whoseclutches he had escaped, and in which he determined never again to findhimself. 'Old Dacre,' as Lord Fitz-pompey described him, was a phantomenough at any time to frighten his youthful ward. The great objectof the uncle was to teaze and mortify the guardian into resigning histrust, and infinite were the contrivances to bring about this desirableresult; but Mr. Dacre was obstinate, and, although absent, contrived tocarry on and complete the system for the management of the Hautevilleproperty which he had so beneficially established and so long pursued.
In quitting England, although he had appointed a fixed allowance forhis noble ward, Mr. Dacre had thought proper to delegate a discretionaryauthority to Lord Fitz-pompey to furnish him with what might be calledextraordinary necessaries. His Lordship availed himself with suchdexterity of this power that his nephew appeared to be indebted forevery indulgence to his uncle, who invariably accompanied every act ofthis description with an insinuation that he might thank Mrs. Dacre'sillness for the boon.
'Well, George,' he would say to the young Etonian, 'you shall havethe boat, though I hardly know how I shall pass the account athead-quarters; and make yourself easy about Flash's bill, though Ireally cannot approve of such proceedings. Thank your stars you have notgot to present that account to old Dacre. Well, I am one of those whoare always indulgent to young blood. Mr. Dacre and I differ. He is yourguardian, though. Everything is in his power; but you shall never wantwhile your uncle can help you; and so run off to Caroline, for I see youwant to be with her.'
The Lady Isabella and the Lady Augusta, who had so charmed Mrs. and MissCoronet, were no longer in existence. Each had knocked down her earl.Brought up by a mother exquisitely adroit in female education, theLadies St. Maurice had run but a brief, though a brilliant, career.Beautiful, and possessing every accomplishment which renders beautyvaluable, under the unrivalled chaperonage of the Countess they hadplayed their popular parts without a single blunder. Always in the bestset, never flirting with the wrong man, and never speaking to the wrongwoman, all agreed that the Ladies St. Maurice had fairly won theircoronets. Their sister Caroline was much younger; and although she didnot promise to develop so unblemished a character as themselves, shewas, in default of another sister, to be the Duchess of St. James.
Lady Caroline St. Maurice was nearly of the same age as her cousin, theyoung Duke. They had been play-fellows since his emancipation fromthe dungeons of Castle Dacre, and every means had been adopted by herjudicious parents to foster and to confirm the kind feelings which hadbeen first engendered by being partners in the same toys and sharingthe same sports. At eight years old the little Duke was taught to callCaroline his 'wife;' and as his Grace grew in years, and could betterappreciate the qualities of his sweet and gentle cousin, he was notdisposed to retract the title. When George rejoined the courtly Coronet,Caroline invariably mingled her tears with those of her sorrowingspouse; and when the time at length arrived for his departure for Eton,Caroline knitted him a purse and presented him with a watch-ribbon. Atthe last moment she besought her brother, who was two years older, towatch over him, and soothed the moment of final agony by a promise tocorrespond. Had the innocent and soft-hearted girl been acquainted with,or been able to comprehend, the purposes of her crafty parents, shecould not have adopted means more calculated to accomplish them. Theyoung Duke kissed her a thousand times, and loved her better than allthe world.
In spite of his private house and his private tutor, his Grace did notmake all the progress in his classical studies which means so calculatedto promote abstraction and to assist acquirement would seem to promise.The fact is, that as his mind began to unfold itself he found aperpetual and a more pleasing source of study in the contemplation ofhimself. His early initiation in the school of Fitz-pompey had not beenthrown away. He had heard much of nobility, and beauty, and riches,and fashion, and power; he had seen many individuals highly, thoughdifferently, considered for the relative quantities which they possessedof these qualities; it appeared to the Duke of St. James that among thehuman race he possessed the largest quantity of them all: he cut hisprivate tutor. His private tutor, who had been appointed by Mr. Dacre,remonstrated to Lord Fitz-pompey, and with such success that he thoughtproper shortly after to resign his situation. Dr. Coronet begged torecommend his son, the Rev. Augustus Granville Coronet. The Duke of St.James now got on rapidly, and also found sufficient time for his boat,his tandem, and his toilette.
The Duke of St. James appeared at Christ Church. His conceit kept himalive for a few terms. It is delightful to receive the homage of twothousand young men of the best families in the country, to breakfastwith twenty of them, and to cut the rest. In spite, however, of theglories of the golden tuft and a delightful private establishment whichhe and his followers maintained in the chaste suburbs of Alma Mater, theDuke of St. James felt ennuied. Consequently, one clear night, they setfire to a pyramid of caps and gowns in Peckwater. It was a silly thingfor any one: it was a sad indiscretion for a Duke; but it was done. Somewere expelled; his Grace had timely notice, and having before cut theOxonians, now cut Oxford.
Like all young men who get into scrapes, the Duke of St. Jamesdetermined to travel. The Dacres returned to England before he did. Hedexterously avoided coming into contact with them in Italy. Mr. Dacrehad written to him several times during the first years of his absence;and although the Duke's answers were short, seldom, and not verysatisfactory, Mr. Dacre persisted in occasionally addressing him. When,however, the Duke had arrived at an age when he was at least morallyresponsible for his own conduct, and entirely neglected answering hisguardian's letters, Mr. Dacre became altogether silent.
The travelling career of the young Duke may be conceived by those whohave wasted their time, and are compensated for that silliness by beingcalled men of the world. He gamed a little at Paris; he ate a good dealat Vienna; and he studied the fine arts in Italy. In all places hishomage to the fair sex was renowned. The Parisian duchess, the Austrianprincess, and the Italian countess spoke in the most enthusiastic termsof the English nobility. At the end of three years the Duke of St. Jameswas of opinion that he had obtained a great knowledge of mankind. He wasmistaken; travel is not, as is imagined, the best school for that sortof science. Knowledge of mankind is a knowledge of their passions. Thetraveller is looked upon as a bird of passage, whose visit is short, andwhich the vanity of the visited wishes to make agreeable. All isshow, all false, and all made up. Coterie succeeds coterie, equallysmiling--the explosions take place in his absence. Even a grand passion,which teaches a man more, perhaps, than anything else, is not veryeasily excited by the traveller. The women know that, sooner or later,he must disappear; and though this is the case with all lovers, they donot like to miss the possibility of delusion. Thus the heroines keep inthe background, and the visitor, who is always in a hurry, falls intothe net of the first flirtation that offers.
The Duke of St. James had, however, acquired a great knowledge; ifnot of mankind, at any rate of manners. He had visited all Courts, andsparkled in the most brilliant circles
of the Continent. He returned tohis own country with a taste extremely refined, a manner most polished,and a person highly accomplished.