The Parisians, Book 2.

f the last chapter; the lime-trees i

ity of the Rue d'Anjou, a man was seated, very still and evidently abso

r be noticeable for an aspect of hardy frankness, suiting well with the clear- cut, handsome profile, and the rich dark auburn hair, waving c

en, in private theatricals, he had need to alter the character of his countenance, he did it effectually,

But perhaps this is the fit occasion to enter into some such details as to his p

of a brilliant, irregular genius, of princely generosity, of splendid taste, of a gorgeous kind of pride closely allied to a masculine kind of vanity. As soon as he was of age he began to build, converting his squire's hall into a ducal palace. He then stood for the county; and in days before the first Reform Bill, when a count

luxury, of pomp. He kept a famous stud of racers and hunters. He was a munificent patron of art. His establishments, his entertainments, were o

, but with power and fire, originality and genius; so that he was not only effective as an orator, but combining with eloquence advantages of birth,

less daughter of a poor but distinguished naval office

of his fortune was invested either in mines, the produce of which was extremely fluctuating, or in various funds, over rapid transfers in which it was his amu

over the bride's father a year or two later, when, by the death of intervening kinsmen, he became Duke of Alton; but in his then circumstances the marriage itself was so much beyond the expectations which the portionless daughter of a sea-captain has the right to form that Mr. Vane had it all his own way, and he remained absolute master of his whole fortune, save of that part of his landed estate on whi

to the freedom of a private gentleman: intolerable to me is the thraldom of a public servant. But I will bring up my son so that he may acquit the debt which I decline to pay to my country." There he kept his word. Graham had been carefully educated for public life, the ambition for it dinned into his ear from childhood. In his school vacations his father made him learn and declaim chosen specimens of masculine oratory; engaged an eminent actor to give him lessons in elocution; bade him frequent theatres, and study there the effect whic

d dissipations of that metropolis too keenly to retain much of the sterner ambition to which he had before devoted himself. Becoming one of the spoiled darlings of fashion, there was great dan

He could always obtain that from a money-lender, or from the sale of his funded investments. But it became obvious, on examining his papers, that he knew at least how impaired would be the heritage he should bequeath to a son whom he idolized. For that reason he had given Graham a profession in diplomacy, and for that

er's memory; indeed, with more reason than Alain, for the elder Va

nd even in more selfish enjoyments there was a certain grandeur in his princely hospitalities, in his munificent generosity, in a warm

Had I been a rich man, my experience of Paris tells me that I should most likely

w,-if I may use that phrase,-the Right Hon. Ric

erly and anxiously sought to supply. It is impossible to conceive a woman more fitted to invite love and rev

the alliance was not deemed quite suitable. Still it was not one to w

t-undistinguished member of Parliament, of irreproachable character, and ample fortune inherited fro

ppens that a woman uplifts her husband to the dignity of her own character. Ri

de from mere party politics into subjects of social and religious interest, and in devoting himself to thes

ject to secure a name as high in the religious world, so beloved by the working classes, as that of Richard Ki

now be detailed. Amongst them, however, certainly this: he was exceedingly sensitive to opinion, thin-skinned as to abuse, and very tenacious of the respect due to his peculiar character of sanctity and philanthr

wrecks of his paternal fortunes, and having a clear head and great experience in the transaction of business, he succeeded beyond the most sanguine expectations formed by the family solicitor. A

r income of about L500 a year, invested in a mortgage secured on a part of the

n the estate, and the lodge itself was a remnant of the original residence of his ancestors before it had been abando

be distracted from the large object of a career to the small object of retaining a few family acres; you will be constantly hampered by private anxieties and fears; you could do nothing for the benefit of those around you,-could not repair a farmhouse for a better class of tenant, could not rebuild a labourer's dilapidated cottage. Give up

whereabouts. But none saw in him any morbid consciousness of change of fortune, when, a year after his father's death, he reassumed his place in socie

d in the intermediate steps the chances of distinction are slight and few, but more because h

ead with much praise, in periodicals of authority, and had published one or two essays on political questions which had created yet more sensation. It was only the graver literature, connected more or less with his ultimate object of a public career, in which he had thus evinced his talents of compositio

gation; and when he learned the pledges which his supporters would have exacted, he would not have stood if success had been certain and the cost nothing. "I cannot," he said to his friends, "go into the consideration of what is best

e of thirty, Graham Vane was still one of those of whom admirers say, "He will

nd his repute, he might have made many an advantageous marriage. But somehow or other the charm vanished from a fair face, if the shadow of a money-bag fell on it; on the other hand, his ambition occupied so large a share in his thoughts that he would have fled in time from the temptation of a marriage that would have overweighted him beyond the chance of rising. Adde

arity among the houses of the poor. She had been to him as the most tender mother, and a lovelier soul than her

his will; after which he allowed Graham to call on him daily, on the condition that there should be no reference to his loss. He spoke to the young man on other subjects, rather drawing him out about himself, sounding his opinion on various grave matters, watching his face while he questioned, as if seeking to dive into his heart, and sometimes pathetically sinking into silence, broken but by sighs. So it went on for a few more weeks; then he took the

. Deducting government duties, legacies to servants, and donations to public charities, th

e; he still retained his modest bachelor's apartments, engaged no servants, bought no horses, in no way exceeded the income he ha

n of other offspring; and even after Richard King became a widower, he had given to Graham no hint of his testamentary dispositions. The young man was no blood-relation to him, and naturally supposed

nsal Green; her husband's remain

w him well said "that he had more head than heart," and the character of his pursuits, as of his writings, was certainly not that of a sentimentalist. He had not thus visited the tomb till Richard King had been placed within it. Yet his love for his aunt was unspeakably greater tha

with delirium. His recovery was slow, and when it was sufficiently completed he quitted England; and we find him now, with his mind composed, his strength restored, and his spirits braced, in that gay city of Paris; hiding, perhaps, some

nt politician, but of very rational and temperate opinions; too much occupied by the cares of a princely estate to covet office for himself; too sincere a patriot not

have examined the Register, and the party has gained rather than lost since the last election, when Vavasour was so triumphantly returned. The expenses for this county, where there are so many outvoters to bring up, and so many agents to retain, are always large in comparison with some other counties; but that consideration is all in your favour, for it deters Squire Hunston, the only man who could beat you, from starting; and to your resources a thousand pounds more or less are a t

he Stamm Schloss of your family, with the adjacent farms, can be now repurchased very reasonably. The brewer who bought them is afflicted with an extravagant son, whom he placed in the-Hussars, and will gladly sell the property for L5,000 more than he gave: well worth the difference, as he has improved the farm- buildings and raised the rental. I think, in addition to the sum you have on mortgage, L3,000 will be accepted, and as a mere investment pay you nearly three per cent. But to you it is worth more than double the money; it once more identifies your ancient name with the county. You would be a gr

ectionat

TO

etter, Graham heaved

ld soil once more! and an entrance into the great aren

-bell of the apartment

Paris as a laquais d

sie

portfolio, and said, "You mean the

me, Mon

him, of

re. If you had found yourself anywhere seated next to that man, your eye would have passed him over as too insignificant to notice; if at a cafe, you would have gone on talking to your friend without lowering your voice. What mattered it whether a bete like that overheard or not? Had yo

him courteously to a seat beside him, and waiting t

ad last the honour to see you, no less than four ladies of the name of Duval, but

Loui

No. 12, Rue de S-- at Paris for some years, but afterwards moved to a different guartier of the town, and died 1848, in Rue I--, No. 39. Shortly after his death, his daughter Louise left that lodging, and could not be traced. In 1849 official documents reporting her death were forwarded from Munich to a person (a friend of yours, Monsieur). Death, of cour

te r

elle is not a place where any Frenchwoman not settled there by marriage would remain. Nor does it seem probable that the said Duval would venture to select for her residence Munich, a city in which she had contrived to obtain certificates of her death. A Frenchwoman who has onc

I am beginning to be impatien

must have been, as Monsieur led me to suppose, a strictly private one, unconnected with crime or with politics; and as I have the honour to tell Monsieur, no record of such investigations is preserved in our office. Great scandal would there be, and injury to the peace of families, if we preserved the results of private inquiries intrusted to us-by absurdly j

advertisement which in all likelihood would be practically useless (it proved to be so in a f

rveillance, a task the most difficult. I have, through strictly private investigations, to discover the address and prove the identity of a lady bearing a name among the most common in France, and o

s; and there are reasons against the s

ils of information Monsieur can give me,

n our first interview, of asking some Parisian friend of mine, with a large acquaintance in the miscellaneous societies of your capital, to inform me of any l

l incendiary, then you might trust exclusively to the enlightenment of our corps, but this seems an affa

y delivered himself of that phil

ote of sufficient value to justify th

ther impatient sigh, and said to himself,

lf to something he dislikes, he dipped his pen into

to defer his resignation of the seat for another session, or at least for six or seven months, why then I might be free to avail myself of the opening; at present I am not. Meanwhile I am sorely tempted to buy back the old Lodge; probably the brewer would

t and unsatisfactory a reply to a letter so important that it excites me

AH