CHAPTER IX.
_Old Friends Meet_
SIR LUCIUS GRAFTON called on the Duke of St. James. They did notimmediately swear an eternal friendship, but they greeted each otherwith considerable warmth, talked of old times and old companions, andcompared their former sensations with their present. No one could be amore agreeable companion than Sir Lucius, and this day he left a veryfavourable impression with his young friend. From this day, too, theDuke's visits at the Baronet's were frequent; and as the Graftons wereintimate with the Fitz-pompeys, scarcely a day elapsed without hishaving the pleasure of passing a portion of it in the company of LadyAphrodite: his attentions to her were marked, and sometimes mentioned.Lord Fitz-pompey was rather in a flutter. George did not ride so oftenwith Caroline, and never alone with her. This was disagreeable; but theEarl was a man of the world, and a sanguine man withal. These thingswill happen. It is of no use to quarrel with the wind; and, forhis part, he was not sorry that he had the honour of the Graftonacquaintance; it secured Caroline her cousin's company; and as forthe _liaison_, if there were one, why it must end, and probably thedifficulty of terminating it might even hasten the catastrophe which hehad so much at heart. 'So, Laura, dearest! let the Graftons be asked todinner.'
In one of those rides to which Caroline was not admitted, for LadyAphrodite was present, the Duke of St. James took his way to theRegent's Park, a wild sequestered spot, whither he invariably repairedwhen he did not wish to be noticed; for the inhabitants of this prettysuburb are a distinct race, and although their eyes are not unobserving,from their inability to speak the language of London they are unable tocommunicate their observations.
The spring sun was setting, and flung a crimson flush over the bluewaters and the white houses. The scene was rather imposing, and remindedour hero of days of travel. A sudden thought struck him. Would it not bedelightful to build a beautiful retreat in this sweet and retired land,and be able in an instant to fly from the formal magnificence of aLondon mansion? Lady Aphrodite was charmed with the idea; for theenamoured are always delighted with what is fanciful. The Dukedetermined immediately to convert the idea into an object. To lose notime was his grand motto. As he thought that Sir Carte had enough uponhis hands, he determined to apply to an artist whose achievements hadbeen greatly vaunted to him by a distinguished and noble judge.
M. Bijou de Millecolonnes, Chevalier of the Legion of Honour and memberof the Academy of St. Luke's, except in his title, was the antipodesof Sir Carte Blanche. Sir Carte was all solidity, solemnity, andcorrectness; Bijou de Millecolonnes all lightness, gaiety, andoriginality. Sir Carte was ever armed with the Parthenon, Palladio,and St. Peter's; Bijou de Millecolonnes laughed at the ancients, calledPalladio and Michel barbarians of the middle ages, and had himselfinvented an order. Bijou was not so plausible as Sir Carte; but he wasinfinitely more entertaining. Far from being servile, he allowed no oneto talk but himself, and made his fortune by his elegant insolence. Howsingular it is that those who love servility are always the victims ofimpertinence!
Gaily did Bijou de Millecolonnes drive his pea-green cabriolet to thespot in question. He formed his plan in an instant. 'The occasionalretreat of a noble should be something picturesque and poetical. Themind should be led to voluptuousness by exquisite associations, as wellas by the creations of art. It is thus their luxury is rendered moreintense by the reminiscences that add past experience to presentenjoyment! For instance, if you sail down a river, imitate the progressof Cleopatra. And here, here, where the opportunity is so ample, whatthink you of reviving the Alhambra?'
Splendid conception! The Duke already fancied himself a Caliph. 'Lose notime, Chevalier! Dig, plant, build!'
Nine acres were obtained from the Woods and Forests; mounds were thrownup, shrubs thrown in; the paths emulated the serpent; the nine acresseemed interminable. All was surrounded by a paling eight feet high,that no one might pierce the mystery of the preparations.
A rumour was soon current that the Zoological Society intended to keepa Bengal tiger _au naturel_, and that they were contriving a residencewhich would amply compensate him for his native jungle. The Regent'sPark was in despair, the landlords lowered their rents, and thetenants petitioned the King. In a short time some hooded domes and someSaracenic spires rose to sight, and the truth was then made known thatthe young Duke of St. James was building a villa. The Regent's Park wasin rapture, the landlords raised their rents, and the tenants withdrewtheir petition.