The Adventures of Harry Richmond - Volume 4

d not wasted time. And it was due to my father, I confessed, when he returned from his ball at dawn, . that I should thank him for speaking to Graf Kesensky. 'Oh!' said he, 'that was ou

sedaniers-porters to pay to-day. Poor men should be paid immediately.' I agreed with the monarch. Contemplating him, I became insensible to the sting of ridicule which had been shooting through me, agonizing me for the last eight-and-forty hours. Still I thought: can I never escape from the fascination?-let me only get into Parliament! The idea in me was that Parliament lifted me nearer to Ottilia, and would prompt me to resolute action,

welt on him. 'Are

estion. 'Who is accused

e denial of

Lika, my dear fellow, light me

ing the flame delicately

in another thing

y: there was nothing for him to gain or lo

elegant position, I have remarked-declares him dead, we are at Bartlett's (money-lender) by ten: and in Chippenden borough before two post meridian. As I am a tactician, there is mischief! but I will turn it to my uses, as I did our poor Jorian to-night; he smuggled in the Chassediane: I led her out on my arm. Of that by and by. The point is, that from your oath in Parliament you fly to Sarkeld. I implore you now, by your love for me and the princess, not to lose precious minutes. Richie

protect yourself?' was my form of stipu

h dragged humour at its heels like a comical cur, proclaiming itself imposingly, in spite of the mongrel's barking, to be prudence and common sense. Could I deny that I owed him gratitude for the things I cherished most? -for my acquaintance with Ottilia?-for his services in Germany?-for the prospect of my elevation in England? I could not; and I tried hard to be recklessly grateful. As to money, he reiterated that he could put his hand on it to satisfy the squire on the day of accounts: for the present, we must borrow. His argument upon borrowing-which I knew well, and wondered that I did not at the outset disperse with a breath of contempt-gained on me singularly when reviewed under the light of my immediate interests: it ran thus:

to the squire. Can you hope to have a princess without a battle for her?' More and much more in this strain, until-for he could read me and most human beings swiftly on the surface, notwithstanding the pressure of his fancifulness-he perceived that talking influenced me far less than activ

sley soon, and be happy.' What did that mean? Heriot likewise said in a letter: 'So it's over? The proud prince kicks? You will not thank me for telling you now what you know I think about it.' I appealed to my father. 'Canvass! canvass!' cried he; and he persistently baffled me. It was from Temple I learnt that on the day of our starting

ave appeared withou

force of his. serio-comic genius was alive in its element at Chippenden. From balls and dinners, and a sharp contest to maintain his position in town, he was down among us by the first morning train, bright as Apollo, and quite the sun of the place, dazzling the indepen

ly, in a right masculine manner,' my father said. 'We have the start; and if we beat the enemy by nothing else we will beat him by constitutio

ne. He would have been just as powerful, after his fashion, on the Tory side, pleading for Mr. Normanton Hipperdon; more, perhaps: he would have been more in earnest. His store of political axioms was Tory; but he did remarkably well, and with no great difficulty, in confuting them to the wives of voters, to the voters themselves, and at public assemb

sess the art of talking to the ladies. I shall try him in repartee

'My best wishes to you. Be careful of your heads. The habit of the Anglo-Saxon is to conclude his burlesques with a play of cudgels

ring bursts of indignation at the sarcasms, and an eviden

he said; 'I do not fee

ri

es of men should be considered before those of her sex, and then struck her hands together with enthusiasm for my father, who was, she observed-critical in millinery in the height of her ecstasy-the most majestic, charming, handsome Henri III. imaginable, the pride and glory of the assembly, only one degree too rosy at night for the tone of the lavender, needing a touch of French hands, and the merest trifle in want of compression about the wais

ious, and a hen's heart beneath his cock's feathers. 'Pourtant j'y allai. I saw your great ladies, how they carry themselves when they would amuse themselves, and, mon Dieu! Paris has done its utmost to grace their persons, and the length of their robes did the part of Providence in bestowing height upon them, parceque, vous savez, Monsieur, c'est extraordinaire comme ils ont les jambes courtes, ces Anglaises!'

ng that her petition had been that she might come to see, not to be seen,-as if, she cried out tearfully, the two wishes must not necessarily exist together, like the masculine and the feminine in this world! Prince Hal, acting the most profligate period of his c

ins,' she said: 'he ne

ust punish you he confer

with such women as thes

him harm but for hi

ntrigues against him which had their sources from very lofty regions. But in Chippenden he threw off London, just as lightly as in London he discarded Chippe

said. 'Busi

rsley with Temple to spend the Sunday. Temple, always willing to play second to me, and a trifle melancholy under his partial eclipse- which, perhaps, suggested the loss of Janet to him-would have it that this election was one of the realizations of our boyish dreams of greatness

will satisfy him; and if that is not done, he will join you and your father together in his mind; and as he has hitherto treated one he will treat both. I know him. He is just, to the ex

the promised restitution of the money, and begged me to warn him that nothing short of the sum squandered would be deemed sufficient at Riversley. My dear aunt, good woman though she was, seemed to me to be waxing miserly. The squire had given her the name of Parsimony; she had vexed him, Janet told me, by subscribing a miserable sum to a sailors' asylum that he patronized-a sum he was ashamed to see

what description of bant

eme consideration he means to indicate my Arms, I will inform him that they are open to

Chippenden could accuse the silver of rubbing off; and he offered forthwith an impromptu apologue of a copper penny that passed itself off for a crown-piece, and deceived a portion of the country:

Back with him to the Mint! and, with your permission, we will confiscate the first syllable

hen he answered a 'How 'bout the Dauphin?' by saying

old Roy!' Edb

ed the roar, an

dbury, come t

ellows round him edged aside to sho

e of Lords by right of his birth, born to legislate for you and me. H

mouth. The young lord looked confounded

ur land. Edbury whipped his four-in-hand to conduct our voters to the poll. We had to pull hard against Tory interest. It was a sharp, dubious, hot day-a day of outcries against undue influence and against bribery-a day of beer and cheers and the insanest of tricks to cheat the polling-booth. Old John Thresher of Dipwell, and Farmer Eckerthy drove over to Chippende

is day I have had my fears that we should haul more moonshine

s quick to Sarkeld as you well can, and tell the squire from me that I pardon his suspicions. I have landed you a Member-that will satisfy him. I am willing, tell him . . . you know me competent to direct mines . . . bailiff of his estates- wha

k of her room, as though the cry of delight came upon the leap from bed. She was dressed. She had commissioned Farmer Eckerthy to bring her the news at any hour of the night. Seeing me, she clapped hands. 'Harry, I congratulate you a thousand times.' She had wit

ll, one after the other, laden with dishes of cold meat; and not until the captain had eaten well did she tell him slyly that somebody, whom she had brought to Riversley yesterday, was abed and asleep upstairs. The slyness and its sisterly innocence lit up our eyes, and our hearts laughed. Her cheeks were deliciously overcoloured. We stole I know not what from the night and the day, and conventional circum

tch an early train, and returning-the song of skylarks covering us- joined h